Ever heard the saying "no pain, no gain"? The reasoning behind it doesn't necessarily directly mean pain. To buy something at a store you require funds and to get those funds someone has to put in work for it. Do you want better grades? Well you have to study hard, either that or bribe the teacher. Even the rich whom don't lift a single finger for their wealth, got there on the labour someone put in. Sometimes however the literal meaning holds true and to get what you want, you have to suffer for it.

"He......he just got hurt a few hours ago?!" Eian questioned the miraculous healing.

"We've already established magic is real Eian." Sarah bit her lip, she was attempting to keep her emotions in check.

"Who cares?! Alex is getting better!" Jessica said with a happy smile on her face.

Alexander was still contemplating the speed of the healing, he ignored their ramblings. He focused on his leg, felt his desire burn hot and directed it towards his leg. He was prepared for the pain this time, though he bared his teeth in agony. The wound slowly mended, which was disturbing in itself to watch in action. Flesh wriggled simliar to intense cramps, while blood visibly pumped out as blood vessels stretched and knit themselves together. Muscle fibers reconnected, elicting groans from Alexander. Finally hairless baby flesh washed over, covering the injury in its entirity. By the end Alex was sweating bullets and out of breath.

"Holy Shit! That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Eian's wide eyes declared his honesty.

"Real Magic! I knew it!" Sarah enthusiastically declared, eliciting stange looks from the others.

"Alex? Are you feeling okay?" Jessica frowned over him, with concern over his ragged state.

"The healing must have been extremely painful. We don't have pain killers here." Sarah theorized.

Eian approached and tried to help him up, to which Alex shook his head. Alexander focused himself once more determined to be whole once more. He targeted his throat this time. Weird pain filled sensations crawled over his throat and he gripped his neck in pain. The group fussed over him in the background. The pain lasted noticably less than his leg and he breathed a sigh of relief at the small blessing.

"I... Think I'm all better now. Help me up now please." Alex drawled out testing his mended throat.

"Sure thing." Eian was staring at Alex, one eyebrow raised.

"Are you sure you're ready to be walking." Jessica expressed her concern.

"He'll be fine." Sarah smiled, strangely being the optimistic one.

Getting up Alex tested his mended leg's strenght. It felt a little stiff, but that might have been his imagination. The horrid itch in his throat was a bygone memory. He took a lungful of air and breathed relief.

"YES!" Alex boomed joyfully, spooking his friends.

"Do you think he can re-grow limbs?" Sarah asked excited at the implications.

"Sarah! What kind of question is that?! He just got better!" Jessica scolded, alarmed at her insensitive remark.

"I don't think I want to test that until I have to Sarah. Thanks Jess." Alex said too joyful to be put off by minor mishaps and he knew Sarah didn't mean anything by it.

Everyone went quiet and Alex stretched he felt much better.

"Can you heal my ass?" Eian smirked, as he rubbed his lower-back, from when he engaged the largest aracnid to date.

"Into that?" Jessica raised an eyebrow, Eian snorted and ignored her.

As it turnt out, Alex couldn't heal anything or anyone else apart from his own injuries. They theorized perhaps his spirit was too weak or the magic was solely for internal use. Alex took the time to relate his bizarre experience with the doors to the team. He explained his thought process and the living door of flowers and vines.

"So you chose the vine door because you thought it was nature?" Sarah frowned and tilted her head at Alex, to which Alex nodded in affirmation.

"Man that's weird, I wonder if everyone would go through the same thing." Eian stared at his tattoo.

Jessica trembled at the memory of Alex screaming his voice raw and Eian wrestling to subdue him, she wanted nothing to do with that.

"I'm not so sure it was nature. Alex." Sarah reasoned, ignoring the antics of the other two.

"Why? It had all the signs. Vines, flowers, even the knob was made of wood." Alex inquired, though her tone had him was begin to doubt.

"If I'm understanding the picture right. Fire was opposed to the ice door. Air opposed the Earth door. What did the vine door oppose?" Sarah questioned, hoping they would figure it out themselves.

"....A door of skulls." Alex replied remembering the creepy off putting door, understanding came to him.

"Yes and everyone knows what skulls represent. Death." Sarah smiled at Alex mistake.

"So your saying I won't be able to grow food for us?" Alex said with mixed feelings, relieved at his recovery, but lamenting the lack of edible food.

"Not nesecarily. We don't have enough information. Maybe you can, but your spirits too low." Sarah reasoned with a smile.

Silence descended as they contemplated the possiblities.

"We have another important matter to consider now though." Sarah broke the silence.

"Apart from food?" Eian gulped and licked his lips, he was starving.

"Yes and no. Alex told us of the doors. We have to consider which ones we're going to choose." Sarah caught their attention instantly.

"Don't you think, we should all choose the vine door? It would be a good idea if we got hurt?" Eian spoke thinking of his job as the vanguard and the dangers it entailed.

"Your thinking too narrow Eian. Alex might be able to heal us when he's stronger, and we don't know if we get a second choice at the doors. Also I hate to say it, but we've been in here for hours. I think we should begin considering we might be in here for longer than we though." Sarah corrected him.

"The Earth door might help us break through the metal bars!" Jessica joyfully yelled, Alex scratched his head thinking he almost chose that one.

"Your thinking better than Eian, but still there's no guarantee outside is any better than in here. It might acutally be more dangerous." Sarah said.

"What are your thoughts?" Alex stared at Sarah confused, it was clear she was going somewhere with this.

She looked them each in the eyes and resolutely declared her plan.

"I think, I should choose the door of fire. We need to eat this lizard meat. Everyday we spend here, we will need to eat. We don't know what parasites the meat may have, so we have to char it till it they die." Sarah explained, aware of the dangers of raw meat.

"Well I for one am all for that." Eian his intense hunger began to cloud his judgement and weakness would soon follow.

"Are you sure? What if it hurts you?" Alex frowned worried, while Jessica's eyes widened comically and she backed away.

"I don't think any of the doors will actually harm us Alex, but we have to do something fast, before we're starving to death." Sarah declared, she briefly looked at Eian's miserable state.

"Maybe I should take the Fire door then." Eian rubbed his belly, though he felt perhaps the vine door was better.

"No. Eian, I think the door of Stone is the best one for both you and the group." Sarah said looking at him in the eye.

"Stone? For the metal bars?" Eian asked, which perked Jessica up.

"That and Earth magic might make you able to make armor, seal dangerous tunnels and a multitude of other benifits." Sarah quickly explained her ideas.

"Ummmm... So what should Jessica choose?" Eian asked, which visibly made her pale and uncomfortable.

"I think it's best we not choose anything for her just yet. We might need another kind of magic later on and we can decide then what the best option is." Sarah said.

The group continued conversing, but ultimately decided Sarah had a solid plan. They got up and Alex volunteered to carry the meat Sarah had been carrying. They chose the tunnel on the right as Eian said he thought he heard something there. They thus went off searching for either the lizards exit or something to kill to gain fire power.