"Mom... Mom, wake up. Wake up..."
Alice bolted upright, her body drenched in a cold sweat. The phantom voice of her child still echoed in the corners of the room. Shivering, she slammed her palm against her forehead, trying to beat back the haunting memory.
"Again," she whispered, her voice cracking in the dark. "Again and again, this same dream."
By the time dawn broke, the nightmare had retreated, replaced by a fine morning filled with the scent of dew and fresh earth. Alice stood outside her home, the greenery of Albelion stretching out before her. She clutched her book to her chest—not as a mage grips a weapon, but as a survivor grips a lifeline.
She sat beneath the shade of a massive, ancient tree and opened the cover. Her eyes fell upon the handwriting that always made her heart ache:
"My dear Alice, may this book help you find light in your darkness. Yours, your loving husband."
As she read the words, a dazzling, beautiful smile transformed her face. In that moment, the dead sunflowers near her feet suddenly bloomed, turning their golden faces toward her as if her very joy provided the sun they needed.
"I will find you both," Alice whispered in a tune that was equal parts happy and heartbroken. "I will."
The tears came, but she wiped them away quickly. Her grief was a luxury she couldn't afford today. With a bold, iron-willed decision, she turned her back on her home and marched toward the Great Clock Tower once more.
Alex was already there, standing like a sentry in front of the tower's iron gates. His face darkened the moment he saw her approaching.
"What is your purpose here again?" he demanded, his voice furious. "Have you come back to finish destroying this place?"
Alice didn't even slow her pace. "Does anything I do concern you, Alex? No. Then get the hell away from my sight."
Alex flinched at the rage in her tone, but he didn't move. "You destroyers see this place as a joke. For me, it is our heart!" He stepped directly into her path, his jaw set. "Miss Alice, if you want to enter, you must fight me. If you don't wish to fight, then leave."
"Get out of my sight," Alice hissed.
The air grew heavy. The veins in Alice's hands suddenly pulsed, turning a violent, glowing red. With a sharp motion, she smashed her hand into the empty air.
A wave of crushing wind pressure exploded forward. Alex's eyes widened. "Block!" he roared.
A shimmering shield manifested in front of him just as the pressure hit. The impact was deafening. If I hadn't used the shield in time, Alex thought, his heart hammering against his ribs, I would be dead meat right now.
A thick curtain of dust kicked up, obscuring everything. Alex stood his ground, though his legs were trembling. "Where are you? Come out and fight! Look, I am not weak!"
He clenched his fist, and a bolt of lightning began to coil around his arm, loud and thunderous.
"You're dead, Miss Alice! Any last words?"
He unleashed the thunderbolt into the dust cloud. The blast was tremendous; the very ground beneath the tower shook uncontrollably as the lightning searched for its target.
Alex panted, exhaustion and fear fighting for control of his body. But as the dust cleared, his breath hitched.
Alice was standing there. Her dress wasn't even wrinkled. She looked as though she had been standing in a summer breeze rather than a lethal lightning strike.
"How... how are you standing?" Alex's voice broke. "It was a death attack! How!"
Alice began to walk toward him, her footsteps steady and terrifying. She looked at him not with anger, but with a hilarious, threatening pity.
"Are you wondering why I'm not dead, Alex?" she asked, her voice cold as ice. "Let me tell you the truth. It's because you are far too weak."
Alice stopped inches from Alex, her presence looming over him like a storm cloud. Before he could move, she reached out and grabbed a handful of his hair, jerking his head back until he was forced to look into her eyes.
"Don't get too cocky, you bastard," she hissed.
As she spoke, her pupils ignited, shifting from their natural hue into a dazzling, terrifying swirl of red, orange, and emerald light. The glow was so intense it cast shadows against the tower walls. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the light vanished. She shoved him aside like a broken doll and marched toward the heavy iron gates.
As Alice stepped into the yawning shadows of the tower, her eyes began to bleed red once more, and sparks of raw mana danced across her fingertips. She wasn't just exploring; she was hunting. She reached a pitch-black chamber, her face a mask of cold resentment.
"I know you are here," Alice projected, her voice echoing off the damp stones. "Tell me! How do you know?"
A chilling, disjointed laugh rippled through the dark. "I knew you would return, Alice."
"I am not in the mood for tea-time chatter," she snapped, her mana flaring. "Tell me what you know, or I'll level this floor."
From the shadows, a humanoid figure coalesced, formed of shifting, oily dark matter. "Ah, be patient. I will tell you everything you crave to know."
Alice gritted her teeth, the sound of grinding bone audible in the silence.
"This Albelion region is but one of three," the shadow began, its voice like dry leaves on a grave. "You know of the others—the devil's realm, Blackilion, and the angelic light of Axelion. A thousand years ago, after the Great War, the world split and the World Contract was born. For centuries, the peace held..."
"Wait," Alice interrupted, her eyes narrowing. "What is this contract?"
The dark figure chuckled, a sound that made the air feel thin. "Oh, Alice... it is something you broke."
"What!"
"The contract was simple: Do not interfere. Do not approach. Do not enter. Each region stays within its own borders. No connections. No crossing over."
"I understand the law," Alice said coldly. "So, what have I done to break it?"
The dark matter pulsed with amusement. "Do you truly not remember, or are you merely a talented actress? You fell in love. You had a child. You remember him, don't you?"
Alice's face flushed with a dangerous heat. She clenched her fists so hard her glowing red veins seemed ready to burst. "So what?" she shouted.
"You broke the law of the universe, Alice," the shadow hissed, leaning closer. "You knew he didn't belong to Albelion. He was a king of the shadows... of Blackilion."
Alice didn't flinch. She didn't look surprised. She simply stood her ground as the truth settled between them like a shroud.
"So," the dark matter whispered, "you knew it all along, didn't you?"