The bird reached the giant tree it had frequented as a child and descended toward the cramped house where it had grown up, where its father used to prepare food with that ever-open mouth. Red and yellow flowers bloomed beside Neuschwanstein Palace, the very place where the player had fallen. Looking toward the top of the mountain beyond the river overlooking the castle, the bird remembered the way the queen bee had left her first hive.
The horror within that palace seemed to tell endless fairy tales. Visitors came from everywhere, as though the palace carried the breeze of an opera, while the mountain peak above witnessed a grand carnival. Discussions echoed through the house like scenes from The Magic Mountain by .
There was pain, fear of death, and fear of leaving home for the confinement of a narrow asylum. There were debates and confrontations. The whole world seemed present in those discussions, and the nations of the world were reflected in the Middle East. In the novel, Thomas explains that Grandpa Kastrup believed Asia symbolized relaxation and stagnation, yet that same continent hosted the largest gathering in the world: the World Cup. Just as Kastrup adapted to his illness in his own way, the bird's father and the queen adapted to Player Ni's suffering. And just as Kastrup eventually separated himself from others, Player Ni abandoned the bird after defeat and left the tournament.
If Kastrup hated politics, then the World Cup forced every team to set ideology aside, leaving all eyes focused only on football. If one of his chapters spoke about the happiness of an individual, then this was happiness without borders. And if Kastrup once spoke of love, it resembled the hidden love witnessed by the queen bee. If alcohol existed in Kastrup's world, there was instead a ban on alcohol here. And while Kastrup raised the spirits of the sick, inspiring them even during the outbreak of World War I, Player Ni struggled with pain and would say:
"If a nuclear war breaks out, my mouth will remain open forever."
Yet the World Cup was still played, and the world never witnessed World War III.
The bird awoke from its trance as though it had encountered the emotions of that old novel once more. It thought of the player's house and remembered what its father, the sparrow, had once said:
"Did you notice, son? The mouth of our house was shaped like the letter N, and it was always open."
From this, the bird concluded that among the houses beside the palace, there must be one marked with the symbol "Ne."
The bird flew directly toward that house and found a sign above the door marked with the symbol "Ni." It landed on a branch opposite the window and cried out:
"Player Ni, I came for you! Come out! An unprecedented blizzard is approaching. Please—the bird is wounded. Perhaps shrapnel from the war struck him while he was flying back through the skies over Europe."
Its body grew weak and fragile, blood slowly flowing from its wounds as it continued shouting:
"Ni… Yani… Yani… please come out. My mouth will remain open like yours, but I wonder—who will take this pain away?"