Chapter Text
The day was strangely beautiful.
The sky remained clear, painted in an intense blue that seemed completely out of place with the chaos that had dominated the server for so long. The cold wind swept through the biome, rustling the leaves of the trees and scattering small snowflakes across the ground, while the sunlight illuminated the landscape with an almost absurd sense of tranquility. For a brief moment, as he ran, Parrot allowed himself to admire the scenery. It was curious how nature continued exactly as it always had, even after so many wars, so many losses, and so many destroyed kingdoms. The trees kept growing, the snow kept falling, and the sky remained blue, as if the world simply did not care about everything that had happened.
A tired smile appeared on his face.
Despite everything... he had still managed to save another player.
The young player he had found trapped in an old outpost was now far away from there. Perhaps he was already hiding somewhere safe. Perhaps he had managed to find other survivors. Parrot didn't know, and at that moment, it didn't matter either. What mattered was that he was alive. In the end, that was exactly why Parrot was still there. He didn't want to give up. Even after losing his kingdom, even after running away from his own friends, and even after watching everything he had fought for crumble before his eyes, there was still something inside him that refused to disappear. He would rebuild a new kingdom. He would find a suitable place, gather people once again, and create a territory where new players could live without having to feel afraid every time they left their homes. But first, he needed to survive.
His kingdom had been taken. His crown no longer meant anything. He had run away from his friends, and perhaps, somewhere deep inside, he still felt ashamed for doing so. However, he tried not to think too much about it. Maybe it was better this way. Maybe it was much safer for them to remain far away from him. Each of them was trying to survive in their own way, and Parrot didn't want to drag anyone into the dangers that followed him. Still, no matter how hard he tried to distance himself, he could never abandon someone who needed help. If he could save at least one more person, then all that suffering would still have some meaning.
Unfortunately, this time, things had gone wrong.
As soon as he freed the boy, the soldiers found him.
First came a few.
Then dozens.
Now, an entire army was chasing him.
Parrot was almost frustrated by it. They had sent far too many soldiers to chase a single person. Seriously, did they really need to send an entire army after him? He had just saved a new player, not conquered another kingdom. It was almost ridiculous.
"They really sent this many soldiers just because of me...?"
Despite his disbelief, he did not slow down.
Parrot crossed the biome at high speed, creating a trail of ice beneath his feet to gain distance. Every movement required more effort than the last. His body no longer responded the way it used to, his breathing was heavy, his arms ached, and the countless cracks scattered across his armor made it clear that it would hardly withstand another confrontation. Even so, he kept running, because stopping meant giving the soldiers exactly what they wanted.
His inventory was practically empty.
No totems.
No potions.
Very little food.
Almost no resources.
Even so, he kept running.
Maybe there was still a way out. Maybe he could shake them off. Maybe he could find a denser forest, a mountain, a cave, or anywhere he could disappear for a few minutes and catch his breath.
Maybe...
The whistle of an arrow cut through the silence.
Clang!
The impact was so strong that it knocked his diamond helmet off. The helmet spun through the air before falling onto the snow, sliding several meters away. Parrot felt his heart race, but he didn't even dare to stop for a second to pick it up again. There was no time. If he went back for the helmet, he would lose the distance he had managed to gain.
So he kept running.
But when he raised his eyes, his heart sank.
Ahead, soldiers emerged from between the trees.
Others appeared on the left.
More closed in from the right.
When he looked behind him, he realized that the pursuit had already reached his rear.
This was no longer an escape.
It was a carefully prepared trap.
Parrot slowed down until he came to a complete stop. His heavy breathing mingled with the cold air as his eyes scanned every detail of the terrain almost automatically. The distance between the trees. The terrain. The height of the rocks. The number of enemies. The possible escape routes. The gaps that could be used to get away. His mind kept searching for a solution, just as it had throughout his entire life.
He was Parrot.
This was what he did.
He thought.
He analyzed.
He found a way out when everyone else believed there was none.
But, for the first time...
He couldn't find one.
The soldiers slowly opened a path.
Saparata emerged from among them with calm steps, like someone who already knew exactly how this story would end. Behind him, hundreds of warriors waited in absolute silence, forming a barrier that was nearly impossible to cross.
Separata stopped in front of him.
"I told you I'd come back when I finished my work."
Parrot simply stared at him.
The massacre of the new players had finally ended.
And now the promise was being fulfilled.
For a few seconds, no one said a word.
The wind began blowing across the snow again, making the branches of the trees sway slowly as small snowflakes drifted through the space between them. Parrot could feel his heart pounding hard inside his chest. His legs were heavy, his breathing was uneven, and every part of his body seemed to be begging him to simply give up.
He was afraid.
Damn it... he didn't want to die.
Not here.
Not like this.
Not after everything.
For a moment, a thought crossed his mind: if he hadn't helped that new player, perhaps none of this would be happening. Maybe he could have remained hidden. Maybe he could have found somewhere safe. Maybe he would still have time to rebuild his kingdom.
But no.
Parrot immediately pushed that thought away.
He would not regret saving someone.
He had done the right thing.
And he would do it again.
Parrot closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, there was something different in his gaze. The fear was still there, but now there was determination as well.
He would not die there.
Not at Saparata's hands.
Not after everything he had lost.
Parrot slowly raised his gaze and looked at the man in front of him.
"You really think this ends here?"
Saparata simply maintained his faint smile.
Parrot clenched his fists.
"My kingdom may have fallen. My crown may have been lost. You may have destroyed everything I built..." He took a deep breath, keeping his eyes fixed on him. "But that doesn't mean you've won."
His gaze swept across the surrounding army, searching for an opening once again.
"And as long as I'm alive, there's still a chance."
He took a small step forward.
"I will rebuild everything."
His voice was firmer now.
"I'll find a new place. I'll build a new kingdom. And this time, it will be a place where players like that boy won't have to run just to stay alive. A place where no one has to go through what we all went through."
Parrot then looked back at Saparata.
"And when I return..." A small smile appeared on his face, despite the fear still tightening his chest. "You'll regret everything you've done."
For a few seconds, Saparata's smile disappeared.
Parrot noticed.
Maybe he couldn't defeat him at that moment. Maybe he was surrounded, without resources, and with practically no chance of escaping. But there was still one thing Separata had failed to destroy.
His conviction.
Separata let out a small laugh and regained his calm expression.
"Perhaps you're right..." He slowly raised his sword. "But you won't be here to see it."
Parrot saw the light of the sword reflecting in the sunlight.
His heart raced.
For a second, his entire body became still.
He was afraid.
Very afraid.
He didn't want to die, damn it. There was still so much he wanted to do. He wanted to find a new place. He wanted to rebuild his kingdom. He wanted to protect more players. He wanted to find out if someday he could meet his friends again and tell them that everything was okay. He wanted the chance to fix everything that had gone wrong.
But now...
There was no way out.
Even so, he remained standing.
Without kneeling.
Without lowering his head.
Without allowing Saparata to see how frightened he was.
He simply remained there, looking toward the horizon, like a king who no longer possessed a kingdom, whose crown had disappeared and whose army no longer existed, but who still carried with him the dream he had fought for from the very beginning.
Then Saparata advanced.
The final blow broke the silence.
And, on that day, the king who dreamed of saving everyone fell for the last time.
His kingdom had disappeared. His crown had been lost, his enemies had won, and his name would be hunted by the victors.
But his hope...
That would remain alive in everyone who had once decided to fight for what was right.
«ParrotX2 was killed by Saparata.»
"So... I lost."
That was the last lucid thought that crossed his mind.
After that, everything became strangely silent.
There was no longer the weight of battle.
There were no more screams.
There were no more soldiers.
Only silence.
They say that, in the final moments before death, the human mind relives the most important memories of its life.
Perhaps it was true.
Because Parrot began to remember.
The memory returned whole.
The arrow.
The army.
Saparata.
His speech.
The final blow.
And then...
Everything disappeared.
In place of the war, a blue sky appeared.
A gentle wind swayed the grass while the sun illuminated the world as if there had never been a war at all. There were no soldiers, no destroyed buildings, and no kingdoms in ruins. Only a peaceful landscape, so different from the one he had just left behind that, for a moment, it seemed to belong to another world.
Then the happy memories began to appear, one after another.
"...Thank you..."
The voice of a rookie he had saved.
"...You saved me..."
He saw children running around spawn without fear, buildings being constructed, and people laughing. He saw players who had once lived in hiding finally walking through the streets without having to look behind them every few seconds.
Then Theo appeared beside him, complaining about some ridiculous plan that, in the end, somehow worked.
Reina was there too, laughing because he had spent hours solving a completely unnecessary puzzle.
"...Thank you for believing in me..."
Maps.
Buildings.
Victories.
Failures.
All those faces.
Even those who had once been his enemies.
"...You were a good king..."
Parrot smiled.
It was a small smile.
Tired.
But genuine.
Maybe...
Maybe he really hadn't managed to save everyone.
Maybe his kingdom had fallen.
Maybe he had lost the war.
But those people...
They lived.
For a while, they lived in peace.
And that meant something.
He had not managed to build the perfect world he had imagined, but he had managed to give some people another day, another chance, another opportunity to keep living. Maybe it was little compared to everything he had lost, but, to Parrot, it had never been necessary to save the entire world.
It was enough to save someone.
Then another person.
And another.
The voices grew more and more distant.
The images began to disappear like leaves carried away by the wind.
The blue sky slowly began to fade.
The silence returned.
Parrot closed his eyes.
And, for the last time, he thought about that dream.
A new kingdom.
A safe place.
A place where no one would have to be afraid.
Maybe he wouldn't be there to build it.
But perhaps someone else would.
Perhaps someone he had saved would continue his work.
Perhaps someone would remember his words.
Perhaps someone would look at that destroyed world and decide to try again.
And as long as that hope existed, what he had started could never truly be destroyed.
Because a king does not live forever.
But an ideal...
That can cross generations.
And as long as there is someone willing to protect the weak, as long as there is someone willing to rebuild what was destroyed, and as long as there is someone who still believes that this world can be better...
The Kingdom can always be reborn.