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Wifies led them into a pink sakura house. He had built it beside a small lake. It would have seemed cute if not for the grotesque obsidian walls looming outside the window. Sometimes Parrot felt like the walls were shifting closer by one block every day, and they would keep moving until they crushed him in a single block. And then he would be gone. His wings twitched at the unpleasant thought.
“Are you okay? Your wings are trembling.”
Always so observant. Parrot wanted to answer. Poisonous words sat on his tongue, which refused to move in his parched throat. He drank on a schedule, and it wasn’t time yet. It was so stupid. Instead, he gave a simple wave of his hand. Let him figure out what it meant. He was smart. He had predicted all of this, after all.
Parrot deliberately avoided saying Wifies’ name even in his own head. Because this… thing wasn’t Wifies. Wifies had died in the void, and nothing could change that. Even if everything suggested that Parrot was just a delusional optimist.
“Sit down.”
His voice was cold. Nothing like Wifies’ voice. Wifies had a warm voice. Even with his eyes closed, you could tell he was always smiling when he spoke to Parrot. His heart ached in its familiar rhythm. Wifies used to speak calmly, and you rarely heard threats from him. And if there were any, they were the kind you could laugh at.
Parrot stood motionless by the window. Nearby was a modest table and two chairs. Of course, there would be no more guests here. Just him and this monster. The exit was blocked by a tall, slender figure that was almost perfect. He held perfect posture, which made him seem even taller. Even more oppressive.
But the creature wearing Wifies’ face carried out its threats. There was nothing funny about them.
“Parrot. Sit.” It sounded like an order. Like a command given to an unruly dog. Parrot swallowed a large, prickly lump in his throat. The voice softened slightly. “Please. I promise I won’t bother you for the next few days after this.”
Parrot resentfully scraped the wooden floor with the chair leg as he pulled it out from the table. He sat down slowly, as if lowering himself onto spikes. The other watched him, piercing him with his gaze, studying him. How disgusting he was. Why did he have to look like Wifies?
A wooden sword appeared in his hand. Parrot gripped the chair with both hands in silent terror. Splinters dug under his nails. His throat tickled with the urge to cry, scream, or laugh hysterically. Parrot had already killed him with this sword once before. This was probably the same one. Its edge looked slightly dulled. Only Parrot had no totem.
The sword was raised, and Parrot flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. No blow came. The other was playfully tossing the sword into the air and catching it.
“Do you really think I would hurt you?” Mockery dripped from his throat. “I built you the safest place on the server, and you think I’d hurt you? Oh, Parrot…”
The man stepped closer. Parrot literally pressed himself into the pathetic chair. There wasn’t even a single small step between them. They stood toe to toe, yet there was still space as long as the other remained standing.
“Do you know why I brought you here?”
Parrot hadn’t really thought about the answer. Honestly, he didn’t care. He was too tired to guess. His brain had been so focused on escape for so long that he sometimes forgot to analyze the behavior of the person holding him captive.
“I don’t know. For another trick to get closer to me? Or to tell me again that there’s no way out and that I should be grateful to you, even though you know perfectly well I hate all of this?”
He clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth pressed into his gums. Parrot sharply turned his head away, trying not to look at the person in front of him. There was too much hatred in his eyes. He wouldn’t want to look at Wifies like that.
“You seem completely obsessed with the idea of freedom. Even though I showed you the exit—you could have run away anytime—but the way you stuck to your plan of getting close to me… It was almost cute.”
“And you still know I won’t stop trying. You know that and you keep holding me here. Tell me, do you really still think we’re friends after all this?”
“Sometimes you have to be selfish, Parrot. I always told you that. But since you couldn’t do it, I had to.” Parrot wanted to argue, but a hand roughly silenced him. The sword in the other hand now looked even more dangerous. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you here to argue. Not in this place. It’s too peaceful for shouting.”
Parrot disagreed. He could still see the walls outside the window. No lake or sakura tree could change that.
“I want to play a game with you. A game of trust.”
He slowly lowered his hand, allowing Parrot to speak.
“Trust?” Parrot replied suspiciously, loosening his grip on the chair. “Like… when you fall backward into someone’s arms? Bro…”
“Oh no, that’s too boring and unreliable,” he said, waving the wooden sword in front of Parrot’s face and trying to put on a sweet smile. Parrot felt nauseous. “Don’t worry, the sword will only be with you.”
Parrot’s pulse pounded in his ears. He couldn’t be serious. He definitely had a totem stashed somewhere.
“The rules will be simple,” he said, handing Parrot the wooden sword. Parrot’s fingers trembled slightly as the hilt settled into his palm. “I’ll drop all my items.”
True to his word, he placed his armor, food, tools, potions, and totems aside. Parrot tried to count how many inventory slots he was freeing and whether he still had a totem left. The other moved slowly, as if deliberately letting him count. Saliva scraped against Parrot’s dry throat.
He stepped right up to Parrot again. Sitting in the chair, Parrot felt the other’s superiority even more strongly. And because he was looming over him, blocking most of the light, his eyes looked completely black and empty.
“Now, Parrot, pull the bandana down over my eyes.”
He leaned in so their faces were level. Parrot stared at the purple bandana. His limbs felt wooden and barely obeyed him. He set the sword on his lap and reached out with trembling hands toward the back of the man’s head to loosen the knot and lower the bandana.
His sweaty fingers caught on the knot and froze, as if still waiting for permission. Wifies’ hair tickled his knuckles, and Parrot felt like all the blood was draining from his fingers. He was slowly losing sensation in them.
“Go on, Parrot. Do it.”
His voice sounded softer than usual. Almost like the real one. Still cold, but Parrot swore he heard him—the real Wifies. His fingers finally gave in and loosened the knot. The bandana slid down to his eyebrows on its own. Parrot slowly moved his hands to the man’s face, grabbed the edges, and pulled the bandana over his eyes. The dead stare was gone. His muscles relaxed on their own. A strange wave of confidence ran through his body.
“Now take the sword.”
Parrot was still holding the edges of the bandana. His fingers unintentionally brushed against the man’s cold cheeks. The pale skin felt like porcelain—smooth, cold, lifeless. This couldn’t be him.
“Parrot, please take the sword.”
Parrot lowered his hands and grabbed the sword. His palm quickly grew sweaty, and breathing became unbearably difficult. All he could see in front of him was that face covered by the bandana. He felt sick. There was nowhere else for Parrot to look.
“The rules are simple. I am entrusting you with my life without question, Parrot. You can do nothing and stay here with me, safe. Forget about escaping, stop being a hero for everyone, and just be with me.”
A heavy silence fell. The answer was already clear in it. Parrot could hear his own breathing—fast and anxious. Wifies could probably hear it too.
“Or you can kill me. Right before this, I drank several potions of instant damage, so you’ll be able to kill me with one precise strike.”
The weight of the choice settled into the pink walls. Parrot didn’t move. This was his chance. Or rather, the last offer he couldn’t refuse.
“For some reason, I already know your choice.”
Parrot’s breath caught. It was his voice. There was no coldness in it.
“Wifies…?”
Parrot’s voice trembled. He had almost whispered the name, as if it were something forbidden.
“You said my name,” Wifies said, incredulous.
“Why are you putting me in front of this choice?” Parrot felt a prickling in his throat. His eyes stung. “Why can’t we just leave together, man? What the hell is wrong with you?! Just take it all back, apologize like a normal person, stop being a dick, and we can go home together!”
Parrot hugged Wifies as tightly as his hunger-weakened body allowed. Wifies felt Parrot bury his face in his shoulder. The poor guy had completely lost it. Wifies wasn’t sure if he had the right to touch Parrot, so he stood on shaky legs and simply let himself lean into his friend’s shoulder.
“I can’t.”
“You can, god, bro, stop being so stubborn! I know you’re sorry! Yeah, it’ll take me time to forgive you—maybe a lot of time—but I want you with me. I want us to solve puzzles again, build civilizations, and fight together. I want… I want us to sit on swings looking up at the End sky. I want… you to be there when I protect the server.”
His wings hung limply, painfully pressing against the back of the chair. Wifies pulled back slightly so Parrot could move with him and free his wings a little.
“You know, ever since I was first taken captive to manipulate you, I realized I couldn’t go through that again. I can’t be the reason your plans fail. I’d rather die than become a burden to you. I’d rather lock you here than see a death message with your name in chat. Parrot… There’s no point playing on this server if you’re not here. You can achieve so much more without me by your side.”
“That’s not true!”
“Parrot, raise the sword behind my back.”
“Wifies, no! Please, no.”
Wifies pulled away roughly, and they were face to face again. Parrot reached out to tear the bandana off Wifies’ eyes, but the other, as if he had predicted it, caught his hands right before they reached his face.
“Don’t. I know you’re crying. I don’t want to remember you like this. Your face full of hatred is what I deserve.”
Wifies’ hands were strangely warm. In the past, when Wifies touched him in Paragon, his hands were always icy. Parrot used to get goosebumps from his touch. He was the living definition of an iceberg. So why was he melting now, at the worst possible time?
“Say my name one more time… I missed you, Parrot.”
“Bro…”
“Parrot, you need to know that I won’t let you go if you leave me alive. So please… Please make the right choice.”
Parrot swallowed his tears, trying not to make a sound so Wifies wouldn’t realize how much he had fallen apart, how red his face must be. Hot tears blurred his vision. Wifies’ face was hazy and smeared. God, he really couldn’t remember what his eyes looked like anymore, but he remembered how they used to look at him with admiration.
And how had Parrot never noticed that Wifies had never stopped looking at him that way?
The sword hovered behind Wifies’ back. He had done this before. One sharp strike would end his life. His selfish, stupid life that had caused so much suffering.
“I’m sorry I ended up causing you so much pain. I’m a terrible friend, but you know… you were the best thing I had. It’s a shame you can’t just keep the best things for yourself.”
“Wifies…” It came out choked. Parrot was using every ounce of strength to hold himself together. He gripped the hilt tightly. “I don’t forgive you.”
I don’t forgive you.
“But I’d like to remember you as who you were before all of this.”
“Yeah… that sounds good.”
Parrot heard Wifies’ voice tremble too.
“Goodbye, friend.”
“See you on the other side, friend.”