The ecosystem was a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. It had been one of my favorite things to learn in school. 

There was a natural order to it and to be fair, it was really easy to change the way it worked. 

It often started with a predator and some prey. 

This meant that the prey would find itself feeding and propagating as much as it could. 

Eventually becoming food for the superior specie.

Yet, if it was overly hunted, the prey would start to learn evading and hiding mechanics.

With the scarce food, the hunters would starve, allowing the prey to once again prosper.

It was simple logic.

And we were about to meddle with the mushrooms to complete the quest.

Katherine however, seemed far quieter than usual.

It was as if she wasn't as supportive of Alice as before.

The blood omen vision had painted a picture of doom in her mind. She couldn't come to terms with what she saw and now didn't know what else to do. Was the marriage something Alice wanted? Was it in favor of something? Forced even? Did the army beyond the mountain come to destroy their union? The two of them being together, did it cause such a threat? If they were so strong, then why was the girl with the chains so sad?

Katherine's strands faltered one after another as her nails scratched the surface of her scalp. A genuine, lavish amount of stress penetrated her mind, ruining it at every pacing second. 

She had to do something to change our future.

Anything, whatever it was.

The entire thing ran around till Alice's finale.

'What if...' Her fingers had come to a halt, her mouth had opened slightly, and her entire self looked like she was now stuck in time, in awe.

'What if my lady choices were not the best ones?' Her loyalty was not amiss on Alice's side. But she remembered how Theseus had teased her, saying she was only a child, a special one nonetheless.

'But a kid is just a kid,' she tighten her grip realizing that they were being led by a far too young leader, with low experience in life or anything that could help them survive.

But the more she thought of her magical entry, her physical appearance, and everything she had done till now. Well, they hadn't been bad actions. There had been some hesitation as if she took a while to get to them.

'Because she's a kid,' Katherine concluded. Everything seemed to fit. It was thanks to whatever had happened in her absence that Alice gained a mysterious power. 

'The reaver,' her eyes hovered over to Alice's hand where a sharp needle would come out upon her call and it would suck its enemy's insides. A powerful ability to be wary of.

'The quest appeared on the lower floor because I killed some monsters and brought them here,' she pondered even harder at the why.

It took her a bit but she came to terms after recollecting Viktor's words. He hadn't attempted to kill any of those ants. If he had and if his hands brought one of their corpses here, then certainly, a quest for the higher floor would've appeared. 

She was unsure if that's how it actually worked but it made sense if it did.

There was only one way to find out.

"My lady, I wish to test something before we head lower."

Ever since Katherine became a vampire, her mind seemed to be less dull, and far more active, inducing it to work with a purpose. 

The motivation to serve another, whose life depended on her kin's hands was far more exciting than a guardian who didn't allow their freedom.

But it was different now.

They were no longer mere captives.

They were the blood villagers.

"What do you suggest?" Alice's curiosity took the best of her, possibly allowing a turn of destiny, or perhaps, heading straight into it. 

"I believe we should kill a few from the sixth floor and bring their corpses here."

"It would be more experience than what the mushrooms gave," the murmur escaped the girl who wanted to see the core maxed out.

"I believe that it might trigger a quest with better rewards since Viktor said it's harder," they traded gazes with one another causing him to defend himself.

"And far more dangerous," Anasthasia followed by agreeing with him.

"If it's all of us with abilities, then it would still be eight versus who knows how many."

Katherine quickly rebuked her concerned comment, "it won't take long for them to find out Theseus is gone."

Silence befell the group, allowing me to embrace the child's mind with my serene voice, 'challenge yourself, dear Alice.'

She took my words to heart, whose influence was a level higher compared to what everyone else could say.

Her sapphire gems sparkled for all to see. The many opinions swirled inside her head, each becoming a blackened face whispering its contents. Her father's own words, too, joined their dance.

In the middle of the darkness she stood sitting, hugging her naked knees.

"I'm not anyone's doll!" Despite her shouts, they didn't stop waltzing. Instead, she began hearing different types of laughter. 

The numbness within her started jolting, causing her brain to crumble as if it melted from the lightning of her nerves: fury was consuming her like a dog with rabies virus. Uncontrollably with the will to kill everything and everyone that dared defy her. She flared her eyes with an icy glare, freezing the shadowy silhouettes who may have thought the blackness to come with safety.

But it didn't, for they shook and shrouded away in fear and what sounded like screams of pain.

In the vastness of her mind, Alice stood up, allowing a razor-sharp curved white line to sprout in its center. Her angelic smile basked away all the horrors.

It seemed she was no longer numb and had managed to become less of a doll, even if only by a bit.

Her body plunged itself into reality, giving birth to the many colors that composed those who lived there with her, along with the rocky aspects of the cave.

"I shall name the last four before we depart to the sixth floor."

Finally, she had come to terms with her own decisions, giving birth to a new path of leadership.