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The first thing he did was gather dirt, he built twenty three blocks in the air and he- jumped. It was intentional, a way to vanquish the fear (his hands shook for the rest of the day, his legs only ached as he walked, but they had a lot of walking to do).
The second time, he fell again, he wasn't paying attention. It just barely missed the water. He sighed, it was merely inconvenient. Not to mention the levels he lost. It was no matter, he would be able to recover them soon enough. Glitch ignored the persistent ache in their legs, ignored the way his heart sank as he looked over the edge to where his stuff was and ignored the way its heartbeat increased as they swum carefully down the water stream.
Something different, he slipped into a small pool of lava in the nether, as soon as he felt the sharp burn on his skin he ran towards the portal, but the fire licked at his health and he felt the moment his body gave in, waking up in his bed. He only had to take a couple steps into the nether to decide he was going to walk back through the overworld. He hadn't fallen this time - gold wasn't planning to make that a pattern - but perhaps the flames were more ironic.
He goes long enough without dying (mostly due to the fact it's hardly left his house), until they encounter Sparrow again. In the end, while the respawned dragon fires attacks at both of them. Sparrow shoots the odd arrow at them, despite his exhausted pleas for her to stop. He knows it deserves this; and that's why he doesn't even glance at his water bucket as the flames lick at his skin. He turns to Sparrow, making eye contact with his old friend as he dies.
Two deaths on the very same day - Gilded is unaware of their surroundings, its perception of reality thoroughly distorted beyond recognition. Sparrow is paces away, cautiously inching closer but flare only backs away. His brain unable to let it see anything but malice in her eyes. She tries anyway, begging and pleading for Gilded to stop. He doesn't hear fern though, and they inch closer the the void, not even glancing behind himself. He doesn't see how close they are to the edge, and they're taken by surprise when it runs out of ground. It doesn't make any effort to stop his fall. Everything is quiet in the void- just for a moment. It give up it's breath willingly.
Returning to the End after a leaving the homely dimension for the first time in a week, Gilded goes through the wrong gateway, finding his house further away than if he had flown from the centre island. He sighs, annoyed, his elytra looking far worse for wear, sure to break before he finishes the flight. So he removes them, letting himself plummet into the void below, and again, as always. He lets it suffocate them. And yet he returns to the End a moment later, lingering in the hole in the ground, letting himself fall asleep there.
The final day, Gilded sighs. Admiring the home they made for himself in the End. He's tired, he's so tired. They sincerely doubt the event later that day is another fight, and even if it was, its gear is nowhere near good enough for them to participate. He flies up to the top of the tower, admiring the way the Void shimmers in purple hues, and the way the tendrils beneath his skin squirm in content at being home, he feels them crawl slowly further down his neck and internally, he thanks them. For fixing him. For making him how they were always supposed to be again - making it perfect - and he jumped. It was intentional. This time, when the option came, to quit or continue. Gilded finally got to chose quit.
It ended how it began.
With a choice.