Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss

They continued their journey through the maze, the glowing moss above lighting their way with its soft, unnatural brilliance.

As they moved, the walls around them shifted subtly in tone and color, as if the maze was somehow tracking them.

Zuzu led them forward, her eyes scanning each intersection and each bend, feeling the flow of the water with her feet in it.

It wasn't as easy as it would've been outside the deep. It was as if the Deep was intentionally blocking the currents to not not allow him know the route.

They finally reached a junction where the path split into two possible directions.

One leading into a narrow corridor, and the other wider but covered in a faint mist.

"I definitely hope it's not that one." Thorn said, eyeing the narrow corridor.

Zuzu paused.

She couldn't sense the right path with just her feet in the water.

So, she knelt at the fork, dipping her fingers into the water. Her eyes closed.

The others stood in tense silence behind her, weapons relaxed but ready.

The water rippled gently around her hand.

"Give her a moment." Ren murmured as Thorn shifted beside him.

"Looks like a coin toss to me." Thorn muttered. "At least the spooky mist might smell nicer."

"You don't pick paths in the Deep by smell." Elias said dryly.

After nearly a minute, Zuzu opened her eyes and pointed to the left. "There. The current pulls that way."

"Yes!" Thorn fist pumped. "Scary mist it is."

They followed her into the left corridor, the passage narrowing and widening with no apparent logic.

After several minutes, they emerged into a wide opening where the maze had given way to a circular and enormous open space.

There were seven paths leading out of the space, and water flowed out of all of them into the courtyard.

At the center of the space, submerged in the water up to its chest, stood a broken statue.

It was humanoid, but twisted. Its limbs were elongated and frail, parts of its body hollowed out like erosion had carved through it.

Faint, melancholic humming echoed from its hollow chest.

A song.

Low.

Beautiful.

Eerie.

The group slowed as they entered.

The sound was barely audible but it lingered like a memory you hadn't known you missed.

"What the hell is that?" Elias asked, eyes narrowing.

"A statue, obviously." Thorn said. "Or what's left of one. It looks like it's been crying for a long time."

"Like you." Zuzu chuckled.

"You wish." Thorn grinned. "I was born laughing. That was why I was named Thorn."

"Err… what does laughing have to do with the name 'Thorn'?" Elias frowned.

"I laughed so much that my laugher became a thorn in their side, and so they named me Thorn" Thorn grinned. "Allegedly."

Elias stared at Thorn before nodding. "Fair."

"Yeah." Zuzu chuckled. "Somehow, I believe that."

"Hey, wait a minute." Thorn raised a hand. "What if I lied?"

"Doesn't matter." Zuzu grinned. "Still sounds like something that could happen."

Ren chuckled as he listened to them banter. Then, out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Lilith's eyes narrowing.

"What's wrong?" He asked her in a low voice.

Lilith kept her eyes on the statue. "It's… singing."

"Yeah." Ren nodded, paying more attention to the statue. "We knew that."

"But…" Lilith took a step back. "Why?"

Zuzu waded closer, the water swirling around her knees. "The statue feels... old. I think it's a part of the maze. Maybe a marker? Or a warning."

"I don't like it." Lilith said, her voice soft. "Nothing that sings in the Deep has to be friendly."

Ren's mind began running, trying to puzzle out what this meant. He took a step forward.

"I think we were meant to find it. The maze wants us here."

"What do you mean?" Zuzu asked, taking a step back.

That was when Ren noticed something… odd.

"I can feel it. The statue is not just singing. It's pulling."

They turned to look at him.

He clenched his fists.

"My soul energy... it's draining."

"What does that mean?" Thorn frowned.

"I think…" Ren's eyes widened. "It's draining our souls!"

Lilith moved without hesitation.

She surged forward, leapt into the air, and with a single cry, drove both feet into the center of the statue's chest.

The song snapped.

Cracks spread through the stone as it began to crumble.

Then it exploded.

A splash of black ink erupted from the stone, arcing into the air like a geyser.

The ink hissed as it landed in the water, smoke rising where it touched. The scent was acidic, sharp, and bitter.

"Move!" Ren shouted.

They scrambled backward as the water began to darken.

The ink spread like veins, tendrils of black lacing through the currents.

"What was that stuff?!" Thorn coughed.

"Acidic." Elias said, dragging Zuzu back. "And definitely not natural. And judging by the fact that the statue it came from was trying to suck out our souls, it can definitely kill us."

Zuzu looked back at the remnants of the statue, horrified. "And while it was feeding on us, we were just standing there, letting it drink us dry."

"The maze knew we'd stop to look." Ren said grimly. "It wanted us to admire it. To hesitate."

As they backed away, Elias turned to the other exits.

And froze.

"Guys..."

The group turned.

All seven openings were sealed.

The arched corridors that had once offered them options were now blocked by smooth stone.

The tainted water in the chamber began to swirl.

Not gently.

With force.

"Oh no." Zuzu whispered. "What now?"

The inked currents twisted into spirals, converging toward the center where the statue had stood.

And something began to form.

It rose from the water slowly, its massive form, shifting and solidifying.

When it settled, it took the shape of a squid. But not like any they had seen before.

Its body was made of the dark ink, and its limbs were long and uneven, stretching wide and curling inward.

From the center of its mass, a gaping mouth opened, ringed with small teeth that churned constantly.

It had no eyes.

Only the mouth.

And it roared.

The sound shook the courtyard rippling through their bones.

Thorn stepped back, his blade up. "Shit!" He swore. "It eats souls, doesn't it?"

"Probably." Ren said, stepping forward, taking out Freedom. "Let's not give it ours."