The catacomb's walls were a stark contrast to how Maya was feeling. Despite being back in her human form, she felt very warm. But she didn't feel sick, not in the slightest; there was a great intensity that still echoed through her mind: something intangible but so very real.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright?" Sophia asked, waving a hand in front of Maya's face.

She blinked a few times before answering. "Y-yeah, I'm good."

"You've been acting weird ever since you reverted back from being that bat monster."

"It's nothing, I'll…get over it, eventually."

"Well, just let me know if you need me to cast [Heal] on you again."

"Thanks, but I should be fine."

Maya took several deep breaths and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened her eyes and glanced at Sophia. "Let's go."

***

The two continued walking deeper into the catacombs. The experience became incredibly repetitive after a while. Both Maya and Sophia felt like they were going in circles through the labyrinthine space. At one point, they could have sworn that they had seen the exact same corridors over and over again.

"Okay, this is getting out of hand," Maya said as she touched parts of the walls nearby. She had been periodically touching the walls in hopes of finding something, but so far, nothing had happened.

"Yeah, we're not exactly going anywhere," Sophia replied.

"I bet there's something we're missing here," Maya said.

"Definitely," Sophia replied. She then began pacing around the space. Her eyes scanned the walls, the floor, and the ceiling in hopes of finding something. For a moment, everything seemed useless until finally, the Paladin's eyes widened. "Wait. I think I might actually see something."

Maya moved closer to Sophia and asked, "What do you see?"

"Think I see some roots there." Sophia approached a part of the wall and pointed at a very small crack in it. "You might have to squint, but it's there."

Maya bent down a bit and closed one eye to get a better look at the small crack. Indeed, she did see some roots growing through it, though their significance was lost to her. She then straightened her back again, turned to Sophia, and asked, "Is this the first time you noticed the roots?"

Sophia nodded. "I'm not sure, but I think it's worth checking out regardless."

"Alright, I'll see if I can chisel it out more then," Maya replied.

Maya took out her dagger and struck the crack on the wall, aiming to expose more of the root. This part of the wall felt surprisingly loose and brittle, and it broke off a lot easier than she had expected.

As she cleared away more debris and revealed more of the root: Maya gasped. The root began to pulse slightly: it was subtle but definitely unmistakable.

"You saw something?" Sophia asked, noticing Maya's reaction.

Maya leaned back. "I saw the thing glow."

Sophia bent down slightly to get a closer look at the root. At first, she was about to dismiss Maya's observation. But then, she saw it too: a soft glow emanating from the root, very faint but there.

"That is very interesting," Sophia said.

"Gonna try something," Maya positioned her dagger's tip into the crack and aimed for the glowing root. The moment her dagger made contact with the root, the Shapestealer stumbled backward as the room began to shake violently.

As the catacombs trembled, Maya's dagger slipped from her grasp and clattered to the stone floor. A large hole suddenly opened on the floor to the right of Maya and Sophia, sucking in a lot of the fallen debris from the ceiling.

The dagger began to slide towards the hole, inching closer and closer to the edge. But just as it looked like it was about to fall into the darkness below, Sophia lunged towards it and wrapped her fingers around the handle just in time.

Yet, because of this, she found herself teetering far too close to the edge of the hole. At the last moment, Maya grabbed Sophia's hand and anchored herself against a nearby wall to gain more leverage and pull them both back.

With Maya's assistance, the Paladin managed to find her footing once again. Together, they retreated from the gaping hole just as the tremors began to subside.

Maya looked at Sophia and gasped as she tried to catch her breath, "That was close."

Sophia let out a relieved chuckle, "Thanks for the help." She then extended the mithril dagger back towards Maya. "And this is yours, I believe."

Maya smirked and accepted her dagger with a nod. "I appreciate it, really."

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"Seemed expensive, figured you probably didn't want to lose it."

"It was actually given to me."

"By family?"

"You could say that." Maya replied with a light chuckle. "Anyway, let's check out that hole for now."

Sophia and Maya cautiously approached the edge of the hole and looked down. Surprisingly, the bottom of the hole wasn't as far down as they had expected. It appeared to lead into some kind of cavern with walls that were illuminated by glowing roots.

Maya glanced at Sophia, the flicker of adventure in her eyes. "Try going down?" she asked, her voice tinged with both curiosity and a hint of excitement.

Sophia shrugged. "It's our only lead so far."

***

Maya and Sophia took a deep breath and then jumped down into the hole. They landed with a soft thud onto the cavern floor.

The place was filled with glowing roots sprawling across the ground and climbing the walls. All of the roots emitted a soft light that lit up the cavern in a soft glow that allowed them to see more easily. But with each step they took, the roots seemed to pulse gently, as if the cavern itself was alive.

As the two kept going deeper, they soon saw the skeletal bodies of four former adventurers near part of the cavern wall. Their bodies were entangled and partially covered by the thick, glowing roots. Even their gear: including several swords and a staff, seemed to be sucked into the ground by the roots too.

Sophia glanced at the bodies. "We weren't the first here."

Maya moved forward, her gaze sweeping across the cavern. "These roots are everywhere here, it's not too different from what I saw on the fourth floor."

"You saw these roots before?"

"Maybe not these exact ones, but definitely similar."

"Did the ones you saw on the fourth floor also suck people in?"

"Yeah…and uh, they did a lot worse than that too."

"How so?"

"I saw this guy who had half his body fused to a wall and tied down by the roots. He was still alive too."

"That sounds...rough." Sophia said.

Maya snorted. "That's putting it lightly."

Maya walked closer to the bodies of the entangled adventurers. She then knelt down beside them and saw that as the roots pulsed beneath and around the skeletal remains.

Sophia walked next to Maya and watched the Shapestealer closely. "You got a plan?"

Maya stood up again, dusting off her hands as she turned to face Sophia. "I have an idea."

Sophia immediately took a few steps back to give Maya some room. "Go for it."

Maya turned to Sophia and laughed. "What, you scared?"

"Just do whatever you were planning," Sophia replied.

Maya let out a light chuckle, then took a step back and held out her hand. As she concentrated, the air around her hand shimmered with heat. Suddenly, a fiery sword manifested and hovered to the right of her head. The blade crackled and hissed, its flames casting a warm, flickering light.

Maya made a swift motion with her hand, directing the fiery sword towards the thick roots entangling the adventurers' bodies. With precision, the sword lowered and sliced through the roots, severing them from the skeletal remains.

The severed part of the root broke away and began charring instantly upon contact with the flame. The intense heat turned the roots to ash: their glow fading as they disintegrated.

As the roots were cut away, the bodies began to stir and bursted out from the ground. Most parts of the skeletal adventurers' bodies were now composed of roots, such as: their hands, stomach, and even the entire lower half of their bodies. Their movements were jerky, unnatural even.

One of the root-infested skeletons reached out its hand and staggered towards Maya. Immediately, she motioned for her sword to come down and stab it directly in the chest. The skeleton staggered and fell to the ground. The fire from the sword spreaded fast across its root-made body and consumed it in flames.

Maya took several steps back as the remaining root-infested skeletons advanced towards her. She glanced at Sophia. "You want to do the honors?"

Sophia smirked and pulled out her sword confidently. "Gladly." She then activated her [Smite]

Sophia charged forward, her sword raised high and imbued with the radiant energy of her [Smite]. First, she brought her sword down on one of the root-infested skeletons. The moment her blade made contact with their tangled root-body, the skeleton disintegrated under the sword's radiant glow, leaving nothing but a heap of ash.

The Paladin then moved onto the next skeleton and prepared to unleash another attack. As her sword sliced through the air and struck each root-infested adversary in turn, they disintegrated one after another.

In barely a few minutes, Sophia had cleared the area.

Maya clapped. "Not bad."

Sophia was unable to hide her satisfied smirk. She sheathed her sword and turned to Maya. "That was nothing,"

Maya walked over to the remains of the skeletons. Her gaze moved from one pile of ashes to another, searching for clues. "Wonder how they got that way."

Before she could think further, Sophia tapped her on the shoulder and pointed towards the cavern's deeper shadows. "Don't think we have time for that."

Maya turned around and her eyes widened at the sight before her. A horde of vaguely humanoid figures were slowly shambling towards them. Each of them had the vast majority of their bodies consumed by roots. Most had parts of their upper body revealed: visibly skeletal, with roots growing through their exposed skulls. But quite a few also still had rotten flesh dangling from their bodies.

The Shapestealer drew her dagger and held it firmly in her right hand while she raised the palm of her left hand upwards.

Sophia noticed this and couldn't help but ask, "This another one of your plans?"

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Maya replied, "Kinda."

The Paladin Sophia quickly moved away from Maya to give her space, drawing her sword once more. "Ready when you are."

With a nod to Sophia, Maya then made a cut across the palm of her left hand with her dagger. The moment the blade pierced her skin and drew blood, she felt her blood ignite as a fiery energy coursed through her veins before enveloping her entire body.

With a burst of intense heat, Maya completed her transformation into the Blaze Knight. She collapsed her hands and manifested a fiery sword, then held its hilt with both of her hands.

Maya charged forward towards the advancing horde of root-infested creatures. As she moved, she dragged the tip of her fiery sword across the ground, creating a trail of sparks. With every step and drag, the flames enveloping her sword seemed to grow brighter and hotter.

As she closed the distance to the horde, the Shapestealer raised her sword in a powerful upward swing. She unleashed a devastating wave of flames from her attack. The flames roared through the air and engulfed several of the root creatures in a blaze that burned them instantly and turned them to piles of ash.

After unleashing her fiery assault, Maya moved back to assess the situation. She saw that Sophia had also joined the fray, her sword glowing with the energy of her [Smite]. The Paladin used her blade to cut through the root creatures with ease. With each attack destroying chunks of their plant-like bodies.