Standing by a corner of the labyrinth, where these strange hair-like tufts did not grow. Curie began to observe with the aid of her Soul Incantation, as the mist was not present within the area she could do so with little interference. Meanwhile, Sandro leaned against a wall, casually observing her as she conducted her examination.

  She was able to uncover several things about the strange, plant-like organisms growing along the walls. Most notably, there were small floating balls made of the same hair-like material drifting throughout the passageway.

  The hairs on the plant-like growths along the walls, along with the floating balls of similar material, behaved in an unpredictable and docile manner. That was, until the mist attempted to reoccupy the passageway. Mere moments after it began filling the space, it was suddenly dispersed.

  At that moment, Curie straightened her posture as she came to a realization. Noticing this subtle change, Sandro, still leaning against the wall, asked in a nonchalant tone, “Have you made some grand discovery?”

  Curie remained focused on the passageway ahead. Although she found Sandro’s comment slightly annoying, she didn’t respond to it directly. Instead, she began explaining her findings, albeit in a tone reminiscent of a parent simplifying a concept for a small child.

  “Those floating balls in the air are organic sensors. If something disrupts them, the hairs of the plants growing on the walls will fire with tremendous force and speed—similar to tiny needles.”

  After finishing her explanation, she turned around, dropping the patronizing tone. Her face bore a look of annoyance, though not directed at Sandro, “Given how numerous the sensors are, as well as how unpredictably they move, I’m struggling to create a path for us to navigate through them.”

  Taking in her words, Sandro pushed off the wall with his leg and walked beside her. Looking down at her, he asked, “Your Soul Incantation improves your mental capabilities, correct?” Curie nodded, unsure of what he was getting at.

  Sandro continued, pointing a finger at her forehead. “Meaning you could do things like copy movement.”

  Again, she simply nodded, still uncertain of his point. However, this confusion didn’t last long, as Sandro quickly explained—though in a rather poor fashion, "Perfect! Then follow my lead!”

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  He then suddenly reached out and grabbed Curie hand and dragged the both of them into the area where the floating balls resided.

  In response, Curie activated her soul incantation. Everything slowed down for but a few short moments as she began to analyze the situation. The more she observed, the clearer Sandro's plan became.

  Even though the balls of fluff were numerous and chaotic in their movements, Sandro somehow had the ability to dodge and avoid them. In short order, Curie figured out how he was doing this while simultaneously copying his movements to pass safely.

  It appeared he was utilizing his Thought Process to take in all the minute movements. While doing so, he merely let his body react naturally with little conscious thought.

  As the two maneuvered through this stretch of the labyrinth, Curie couldn't help but smile in amusement as she thought to herself: With the way these balls of fluff are forcing us to move, it appears as if we're performing a strange dance.

  ...

  After a while, the two managed to exit the section of the labyrinth filled with the strange hair-like plants.

  They now found themselves in a region containing the mysterious closing hallways. As they maneuvered through them in search of their allies, Curie began studying the mechanisms in order to understand their characteristics.

  She was just about to share her discoveries with Sandro when he intentionally interrupted her before she could do so.

  "Yeah, yeah, no need to explain. If we stay within any of the passageways for too long, they'll close shut around us," he said.

  This section of the labyrinth had far more pathways than the previous ones, making navigation significantly harder. The complexity of the layout made the traps deadlier, as it forced those moving through to make quick decisions or risk being captured. Both Sandro and Curie realized this simply by observing the layout of the labyrinth.

  Curie wore an annoyed expression at being so rudely interrupted. It also didn't help that, even though Sandro was running slightly ahead of her, she could tell he had a mischievous smirk—fully aware of what he had done.

  She wanted to trip him in retribution, but the current circumstances prevented her from doing so. However, she fully intended to get her revenge once these trials were over. Even though Sandro couldn’t see her, he was well aware that she was staring daggers at the back of his head, which only amused him further.

  Eventually, they reached a long stretch of passageway, blocked off by a strange plant.

  Examining their surroundings, they discovered various claw markings on the walls and floor. This led them to one conclusion—they had found Coraline, Ebony, and Jackson.