While tuberculosis-related deaths in the United States are virtually non-existent in this day and age, the disease still regularly claims over 1 million lives per year in other parts of the world, and was once a vicious killer in the US as well. Advancements in medicine has helped curb some of the damage caused by tuberculosis, but in the time of Red Dead Redemption 2, which is set in 1899, the disease was far deadlier.

Some survived, but getting tuberculosis in 1899 was more or less a death sentence for many people. As a result, the disease has been portrayed in various forms of media and art set in the 1800s and early 1900s, with Red Dead Redemption 2 being the latest. Please note that the rest of this article will have MAJOR SPOILERS for the open world western, and so anyone who has yet to finish the game should be cautious.

There is a point late in Red Dead Redemption 2’s story where Arthur Morgan contracts tuberculosis. And in fact, it is the disease that causes Arthur, the hardened cowboy and outlaw, to ultimately lose his life. Players then take control of John Marston, the playable character from the first Red Dead Redemption, to experience the endgame activities.

Arthur has proven to be a rather popular character, and considering the amount of time it takes to beat Red Dead Redemption 2’s story, it’s understandable that players have grown attached to him. Some may be hoping that there is a way to cure Arthur’s tuberculosis and keep him as the main playable character, but unfortunately, it seems impossible. At the time of this writing, there is no cure for tuberculosis in Red Dead Redemption 2, and so players have to accept Arthur’s fate.

It’s possible that Arthur’s death is meant to mirror the death of real-life gunfighter Doc Holliday. Famously, Holliday expected himself to die in a gunfight with his “boots still on,” but he ended up dying from tuberculosis, not in the blaze of glory that he expected. Of course, many people of the time died from tuberculosis, and so it’s possible that Arthur’s death being similar to Doc Holliday’s is just a coincidence.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is out now for PS4 and Xbox One.