You came back to your mind and calm down with the support of the survivors surrounding you. Once your tears dried up and you're tremors ceased, Claudette, who is definitely the most empathic of all, gently asks you:
"What happened in the forest that put you in such distress?"
Before you give any answer, Yun-jin steps in, wanting HER question to get priority:
"First of all, what were you doing in the woods all alone?"
Some of your mates try to cover you, saying that many go into the forest without them being suspicious to her. Others who aren't trusting you yet imply that you've made a lot of shady moves already and they just want to make sure you're not selling them or something.
You could say that you just wanted to go for a walk and discover your surroundings, or that you wanted to take a break after your second trial. But dishonesty is surely something you despise and decide to tell the truth instead:
"I wanted to know if my theory about the killers living in the same forest as us was true or not..."
You got the talent to make everyone uncomfortable with a few words. They are all standing still, once again, staring at you with a mix of surprise, curiosity, and dread.
"Is that the reason why you jumped out of there terrorized?"
You didn't think of a proper answer and immediately reply :
"Yes. They are down here with us."
You don't pay attention to them anymore. And they are too busy arguing about this new problem you just brought up to notice you.
You look lonely sitting on that log but in your head, there is a vivid debate:
*Why did I lie to them? I was just thinking about being honest with them and in less than a minute I'm already lying. What is wrong with me?*
*No, I didn't lie! I told them the truth. The killers are in the forest too and that's what they asked for.*
*I'm being dishonest with myself. It's not about telling them the killers are here or not... It's about telling them... what I am.*
*Well, omitting something isn't really lying. If they learn about my double identity, they'll freak out and I will never gain their trust again.*
*I would have freaked out too if I was in their shoes...*
*I should tell them about 'the new killer' and all I know about it. After all, I created that monstrosity. I want them to get all the tools to fight against me next time. But let's keep my 'link' with that killer secret.*
*But what will happen when they see FIVE survivors being summoned to a trial every time they meet that killer? They will do the maths and my cover will shatter after one sole match.*
...
...
"Oi ! Huston, we've got a problem! Shake it off! Wake up !"
Meg is shaking your shoulder strongly while snapping her fingers in front of your face like she would do to get you out of Freddy's dream world.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I might have phased out."
Elodie softly grabs Meg's hand to make her stop:
"Don't worry, it happens sometimes. but besides the killer's camp, we got another bad new. Some of us met the new killer."
It is the moment you have to fake it. Fake it to the point you could believe your own lies. No doubt or hesitation, stay coherent but don't think too much. Were you good at pretend games when you were a kid?
You focus on your emotions. What would you feel if they find any clue on how to escape the entity realm?
Yes, you got it. That feeling of surprised mix with the desire to know more.
"Really? What does it look like? I hope it doesn't come from one of my preferred horror movies or games."
Dwight gets closer, followed by Laurie, Yoichi, and Nancy:
"It was awful. I never considered myself an arachnophobe, but your killer made me reconsider that aspect."
You now put an inquiring expression on your face with a bit of disgust:
"It's a spider? Like a real spider or a creature that looks like a spider?"
"Humanoid spider. But it got its own weird features and... it was crawling on the ceiling and all! It was so hard to see it coming !"
You amplify your disgusted grin:
"But what does it do? Besides crawling above us, does it have any other power or ability?"
Yoichi and Nancy take turns explaining the killer's mechanics they've witnessed during the match:
"It crawls on ceilings and jumps on you but it can also pounce on your back while chasing you. When it grabs you, it bites in your neck and releases its venom."
"It's a sickening feeling that makes you dizzier and dizzier as time pass. If you wait too much, you get paralyzed. "
"After running for a bit, I saw a strange mass of web in a corner of the map with a shiny item in it. It was a glowing gland of some sort hidden inside a dead body and I think it is the antidote. I couldn't try it because I got paralyzed by the poison just before. And the killer hid it again with its web, so it must be important to fight again it."
Laurie finally speaks up:
"It didn't put me on the hook. The thing killed me by itself. It rolled me up in its web and... a gigantic mouth opened from its chest. It was glowing like the glands, with an orange yellowish hue. It swallowed me up fully in there. Then I came back to the campfire."
They gave enough information for you to act up. You suddenly gasp, open your eyes widely, and put your hands near your lips. You got an epiphany. At least, that's what you wanted them to believe. Elodie kneels down before you and puts her hand on your shoulders:
"Do you know that creature? Where does it come from? How can we fight it?"
You move slowly. Cautiously. You keep the wide-eyed look to fake the shock as you ask:
"You said it was crawling on the ceiling. That thing got spider legs in it back right?"
They nod.
"And those spider legs... they look exactly like the entity claws, right?"
The four of them jolt once then freeze. It seems that they didn't think about it but now you've told them, it becomes clear evidence.
You act appalled and mumble to yourself:
"That's even worse than I thought."
They are all looking at you, patiently waiting for you to tell more about the killer.
Time for the grand reveal:
"I...I do know this monster very well, for I created it."
"What do you mean by 'created'?"
"Remember. In my world, all of this is a video game. And when a video game gains in popularity, people start creating around it. Fanarts, fanfictions, theories, roleplay... there is no limit. And because the game developers always add new survivors and killers to the game, fans had been creating their own character from either side, hoping their ideas might come to the game one day."
Feng seems like she got where it's going:
"You created that creature as a fan for the developers to see? You got some nasty imagination... That's cool!"
They all raise a brow at her and come back to you:
"Well, you do have a lot of creativity. Tell us everything you know."
"Well, in terms of lore, it's meant to be an avatar of the entity itself, who is upset when the other killers aren't doing the job. It's not exactly the entity, so arming it won't do shit to our godlike tormentor. It's just a puppet created to go on trial. That's why it shares so many features of the entity, like the spider legs, or the yellow glow. Its purpose is its name: The avatar."
You skip the part where YOU are the puppet being controlled out of your will.
"You already discovered most of its mechanics. Pounce on your back when chasing or jump down on you if crawling above, which makes it silent and dreadful. It puts web everywhere with some dead bodies hidden here and there. Those bodies contain glands full of antidote and you need to open them up to reach it. There should be five bodies hidden in the map and the gland take two minutes to reload fully. Drinking from one that hasn't been fully filled will just delay the poison's effects. The poison takes thirty seconds to completely get you down and you will first experience dizziness and you will get slower and slower over time. Another way to get rid of the venom is when you get adrenaline. That's why being hooked cleanses you from it. If you manage to have an adrenaline rush, the poison should disappear. Overall, that killer is quite fast but that's its sole advantage since it's a very tall creature, it's hard to not see or hear it comes if it isn't using its web."
As soon as you finish your explanations, Nancy and Nea call whoever wants to join them in exploring the forest. Leon, Rebecca, David, Tapp, Bill, and Yui tag along with them and sink into the dark woods. The ones who stayed are debating vividly about everything they just learned, giving you a headache.
You find a small group of people that avoid arguing and try to rest or talk peacefully. Kate is playing her guitar again, Felix and Quentin are talking and Jake is just listening to them. You sit next to them and Felix greets you with a smile:
"You can't stand all that noise too, right?"
You smile back and chat with them for a bit.
You still have that problem you can't find a solution for: What will you do when the entity will call you as its avatar in front of them? You better think about it as soon as possible.