Once their water-breathing stats were replenished, the players left the cave and continued exploring the labyrinth.
The coral blossoms spread wildly but moved in a certain pattern, allowing the players to traverse through the labyrinth once again.
Their footsteps crunched on the sand they stepped on, creating a deadly and ominous atmosphere. Just when they assumed that something bad would happen, it did...
One of the coral leaves wrapped themselves around an unsuspecting player and lifted her from the ground, causing her to squeal as she struggled to free herself.
"Shit!" Jax exclaimed as he pulled out a short knife and imbued it with a blue mana. Then, he cleaved through the coral leaves and freed the player.
She lifted her head and smiled softly at Jax. "Thank you," she said in a grateful tone. "I was almost a goner there."
While Jax would've normally replied, he didn't this time. Or rather, he couldn't.
The woman raised a single eyebrow and slightly tilted her head. "What's wrong?" she inquired as she looked at Jax, then slowly turned her attention to the players around her.
"Your arms..." Jax replied in a low voice as he limply pointed at the woman's arms.
She looked at her arms and her heart began beating faster. At first, they were peachy and fair, just like her skin.
But, after she was freed from the coral leaves, they had turned purple and green, amalgamating into a perplexing and vibrant colour of sorts.
Her eyes watered for a minute. Then, she wore a panicked smile. "What's going on...?"
"I'm not sure..." Jax responded. "But... It should be fine, right?" he added with a nervous smile.
"No, it's not fine," interjected Sophia as she approached the woman and grabbed her arm, inspecting it for herself.
"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Nico queries as he stands next to Sophia.
Sophia shook her head. "No. But, it's clearly something that's not good," she responded.
"How can you tell?" Victor asked.
Sophia licked her thumb and rubbed the vibrant colours on the woman's skin. Then, she showed everyone around her the base of her thumb.
"... It's clean..." Nico pointed out.
"That means that it isn't paint or secretion of sorts that the coral releases when it dies. This is clearly poison," Sophia explained as she stood up and dusted off her hands.
"It isn't contagious it seems, so none of us will be getting it from her. But, it means that whoever gets trapped by those coral leaves again isn't leaving alive," she continued.
"W-Wait! What about me?! What do you mean I've been poisoned?!" the woman panicked as cold sweat ran down her neck and surfaced with the water pressure.
"Are you deluded? You're going to die," Sophia coldly responded.
"Don't say it like that, for God's sake," Nico reprimanded as he took a deep breath. 'The way she nonchalantly responds to everything reminds me of Lindsey and how she does the same bullshit.'
"C-Can't we do anything to help her...?" Veronica pleaded with a worried expression.
"Yeah...! She clearly wants to live, just like the rest of us..." Jax added.
"I'm not a healer, so I don't know," Sophia answered honestly. "Actually, I think I might have a way I can help..." she said soon after as she rubbed her chin and contemplated.
The woman coughed up blood and stared at Sophia worriedly. "Please do it! Hurry!" she screamed in a saddened voice.
Within a second after, the woman's head fell on the floor and her body bled out.
{ Reverand_Of_Luv has been slain! }
The players surrounding Sophia widened their eyes and backed away from her while he spun the knife Jax used.
She then tossed it in the air and caught the bloodied blade, facing the handle back to Jax. "I think this is yours."
Jax backed away and gritted her teeth. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Jax shouted in anger. "You just killed her!"
"I did, yes," Sophia nonchalantly responded as she shrugged. "I wasn't supposed to?"
"No shit!" Jax shouted as he grabbed Sophia by the collar, only for Victor to grab him by the arm and pull him back.
"A real man doesn't put his hands on a woman, no matter how angry he is," Victor said as he stood in between Jax and Sophia.
He then turned his head and glared at Sophia. "But, that doesn't mean that women should go around killing whoever they wanna kill."
"... Why did you kill her?" Nico inquired as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Pulsing veins were quickly covering her body. Eventually, she would've felt a sharp pain in her chest, ran a fever and had severe migraines," she explained. "She would've died a slow and painful death. I saved her."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Jax asked in a bitter tone of voice.
"Because I'm familiar with the type of poison. It's similar to a Death Curse; you can't be cured once you've been touched. Unless of course, you know a dryad."
"How long would those symptoms have lasted?" asked Nico.
"About a day, maybe even two."
"So it was a mercy kill?" Victor asked suspiciously with one eyebrow raised.
"I did it so that she wouldn't be a hindrance to us. Remember, our water-breathing supplies run out after a day. If we spend the entirety of it trying to drag along a poisoned player, we would've drowned."
"I suppose... that makes sense..." Veronica said as she scratched her arm.
"Let's keep moving. The longer we stand around doing nothing, the more time we waste," said Sophia as she began walking.
Jax glared at her and scoffed. "Fucking bitch... She could've at least said what she was going to do," he said in a distasteful tone of voice.
"Would you have allowed her? Or even lent her the knife?" Victor inquired as he picked up Jax's knife and handed it back to him after Sophia dropped it.
"I guess there are some things that only a few select people can do. She probably didn't want to do it, but did it because no one else would. Try not to think about it too much," he added as he walked away.
"I can't... If I do, then I'll be no different than her," he retorted as he stood in the same place, looking at the woman's corpse.
"... Have you killed anyone before?" Victor asked as he stopped walking without facing Jax.
Jax bit his lower lip and clenched his fists. "... It was an accident..."
"Doesn't matter; what matters is how you choose to move forward. Dwelling on the past doesn't allow you to look forward to the future," Victor said as he smiled at Jax.
"Do you think the person who died would've wanted you to be so glum whenever someone else dies? Even if it wasn't your fault?"
Jax looked at Victor with a sombre expression on his face, tears slowly forming. Nico then wrapped his arms around Jax's neck and began walking with him.
"I still haven't gotten over the fact that my first kill was an innocent man. But, I had to protect myself against him. So, you don't have to get over it now, just don't let it dictate your life and cloud your judgement," Nico suggested as he smiled behind his mask.
"You guys..." Jax said as he smiled softly. "... Thank you..."
"Say less, dude," said Victor. "Come on, we're falling behind the others."
With that being said, Nico, Victor and Jax quickly followed behind the others and caught up with them, continuing on the path.
Unbeknownst to them though, golden beast eyes peeled through the tall seagrass and watched the players' movements.
Then, they vanished from sight and gathered quietly in a nearby cave. After discussing their execution, the beady eyes scattered and disappeared into the dense coral forest once again.