Chapter 25 - She's Dead

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"Agh!" The bolt of nausea hit Pearl's stomach. Pearl swore. This hasn't happened since... oh no... Pearl's gut sank. The Nether. What had changed? What was going on? The last time this had happened Pearl's sanity had dove...

"Pearl!" Martyn yelled. "We were supposed to be out an hour ago!"

"Comingggg!" Pearl sighed, pulling on her red flannels and boots. "I still think this is a bad idea." Pearl skipped out into the clearing to meet Martyn.

"Well, it's a good thing nobody asked," Martyn replied in the most Martyn-esc fashion possible. Pearl merely rolled her eyes.

"I could stay here and leave you to do it all on your own."

"Ah, we both know you wouldn't do that." Martyn grinned. Pearl stuck her tongue out.

"That's what you think."

"That's what I know."

"Shut uuuuup." Pearl groaned.

"Make me."

"That's the stupidest, weirdest most immature thing you've said in your life and you know it." Pearl snapped back.

"Maybe." Martyn snorted a laugh.

"Definitely." Pearl's nose wrinkled. "What are we doing?"

"We're going to find allies."

"The sun hasn't even risen yet, can you explain why this couldn't have waited?" Pearl complained.

Martyn didn't bother responding. The sun peaked above the horizon as Pearl trudged along the rim of the plateau, right on Martyn's steps. The air became crisper, and you could hear the distant murmur of the nearby stream.

As they ventured deeper into the woods, Pearl's mind couldn't help but wander to Scott, her soulmate who was miles away. She didn't think of him often, well at least not as often as she had before. Today, however, a sense of foreboding lingered in the back of her mind.

. . .

On The Other Side of The Server, unbeknownst to Pearl, Scott found himself in a perilous situation. He hadn't expected the sudden confrontation. He hadn't even seen Joel since before all this madness had started. Scott had known Joel had carried a grudge, but he hadn't thought Joel would act on it so decisively.

The confrontation had escalated, leading to a knife wound that pierced through him. Cleo, Cleo where are you!? Scott gasped in pain.

. . .

"Agh!" Pearl collapsed to the ground.

"Pearl!?" Martyn frowned, turning around. "PEARL!" Martyn's eyes widened. He immediately dropped to his knees, fear etched across his features.

"Urghhh..." Pearl rolled onto her side, clutching her stomach. There was so much blood. There was nothing anyone could do...

"Pearl, are you okay?" Martyn asked, his voice lit with worry.

Tears welled in Pearl's eyes as she moaned, gasping for breath. "No... it's Scott. Martyn, it's too late."

Martyn's expression morphed from concern to confusion, but before he could utter another word, the pain intensified. Pearl's legs gave way beneath her as she collapsed to the ground, the agony overwhelming her senses.

. . .

"Joel stop this madness! We can work this out! We can work this out-" Scott grabbed his stomach. He raised his sword above his head feebly but it was no use.

"What's there to work out? We have a score to settle. You have three lives, I have one. Only one of us is making it out of this arena... there's no mercy for you."

"Joel she wouldn't want this - JOEL SHE WOULDN'T WANT THIS!" Scott cried his last desperate attempt to survive.

"Lizzie is DEAD!"

. . .

As the blade ran through Scott's heart, the ethereal threads zipped through Pearl's life force, too. An invisible force struck her. At that moment, the connection between Pearl and Scott became a cruel, unrelenting bond. She could feel him, down to every little emotion and every tiny scar. Everything Scott endured manifested in Pearl's body and mind. She tasted the blood on her tongue.

As Martyn frantically called to her to wake up, Pearl's consciousness slipped away. The world around her blurred, and she felt herself being pulled into a dark abyss. The last thing she heard was Martyn's desperate voice, pleading for her survival.

Then, silence.

. . .

Pearl awoke with a start, gasping for air. Cold sweat clung to her skin, and her heart pounded in her chest. The room was familiar—her little bed chamber thing, hole in the hill. But something was different. The air felt heavier, and an eerie stillness hung in the atmosphere.

She sat up, scanning the room with wide, wild eyes. Memories of her last few moments flooded back, and the realization struck her like a thunderbolt. Scott had been hurt, and the pain... the pain was unbearable.

Except, it wasn't. The pain had subsided, replaced by a disconcerting emptiness that echoed through her soul. Pearl clutched her head, trying to make sense of the conflicting emotions tearing at her sanity.

Was she alive? Or was this...? No this wasn't the afterlife.

With trembling hands, she reached for her axe. Gone. Was everything she'd been wearing and had on her left in the meadow? Pearl immediately pulled her blanket around her, jumping. Pearl glanced down, to find anything of use.

My wristband. Pearl's eyes widened. The basic white band, with its strange writing. It's strange green writing, now yellow. The only thing that made Pearl truly believe it had all happened. But the scars of the experience lingered in her mind, and as she gazed into the pool of water at her bedside, the reflection staring back at her was a distorted visage of the person she used to be.

Perfect. Not a single scar, not a speck of dirt. It was like she'd been reborn. Was this what it was like when you got a revive at the arena? Pearl had never needed one. She had still carried the scars of her infanthood until this day.

Pearl hated her new body.

Cold fear wove its tendrils into Pearl's consciousness. A haunted gaze stared back at her. Hollower eyes, a bluer complexion. A mind teetering on the brink of madness. The cold dark void of death left her feeling adrift in a world that had lost its coherence. Detached.

As Pearl took in the uncertain waters of her second life, she couldn't shake the feeling that something had irrevocably changed. The echoes of the dark void lingered, leaving scars that ran deeper than any physical wound.

A/N: I'm curious... who wants Scott's PoV to come back? I'm debating whether or not to show Cleo and Scott's life a bit... You can vote yes or no on this paragraph, I really want to know... 

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