The carriages continued their rhythmic gallop, finally emerging from the scarred wasteland into a realm where the greenery remained untouched. The lush, vibrant scenery returned like a long-lost friend.
"Finally," Alice whispered, her composure softening as she gazed out the window. "The beauty has returned. I've missed this more than I can say."
From his seat across the carriage, Adam watched her. In the soft, dappled light of the forest, she looked dazzling—a rare, radiant beauty that seemed to belong to the landscape itself.
"Yes," Adam murmured, his cold gaze following her line of sight. "It is beautiful."
Exhausted by the dragon's clash and the weight of her own mana, Alice eventually drifted into a deep sleep. As her eyes closed, the world shifted, pulling her into the fragments of a memory she had long ago buried.
She was young again, standing on a sun-drenched cliff that overlooked a familiar horizon. Her breathing was sharp, her stance aggressive.
"Are you alright?" a voice asked. It was calm and melodic, yet possessed a startling depth.
"Who the hell are you?" Alice snapped, her eyes flashing with a youthful, fiery rage.
The boy before her smiled, a serene expression that didn't waver. "My name is Arka."
"I'm Alice," she replied, her tone still jagged and furious.
She had fallen during her training, and Arka reached out to her. Alice gripped his hand—it was strangely cold, like a winter stone, yet his presence felt warm and luminous. He was her age, perhaps fifteen, with a face that seemed to shine with an inner light.
"How old are you? Where are you from?" Alice demanded. Her voice was like a devil's snarl, but beneath the armor of her temper, her heart was curious.
"I am fifteen," Arka replied, his face clouding with a sudden, desperate sadness. "As for where I am from... I don't know. My memories are a blur of shadows."
They sat together beneath the sweeping canopy of a massive tree. Alice leaned against the trunk, her body aching from her relentless training.
"Do you know how to fight?" she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and bravado.
"I don't," Arka admitted softly.
"Hmph. It's fine," Alice declared, her eyes sparkling with a grand, ambitious light. "I'll train you. You can be my assistant while I chase my goal."
"And what is your goal, Alice?" Arka asked, calling her name for the first time.
"I want to build a tower," Alice said, her voice ringing with a clear, sparkling pride. "A place where wizards, mages, and everyone with power can merge their strength. We will invent things that make the whole world happy—a place where no one has to worry or be afraid. I want to create a paradise."
As she spoke, the wind caught her hair, and her smile was so dazzling that Arka couldn't look away. She looked like the sun itself.
"I will assist you," Arka promised, his deep voice filled with a quiet, unshakable devotion. "I will help you achieve your dream."
"I'll have to be strong," Alice continued, her resolve hardening. "Stronger than anyone. I won't kneel to anyone, and I won't give up. If I fail, I'll rise again and again, until the dream is real."
Arka was moved by her words, his heart swelling as he watched her in the warm daylight. For a moment, they were just two children beneath a tree, unaware of the storms to come.
Suddenly, a violent jolt shook the carriage.
Alice bolted upright, her skin slick with a cold sweat. Her breathing was ragged, her hands trembling with a phantom chill. Adam, who had never seen the "strongest alice in such a state of panic, watched her with genuine fear.
"What happened?" Alice roared, her voice thick with lingering rage and confusion.
"Calm down," Adam said, his voice unusually soft. "We've reached a town. It will take days to reach the Capital, so we must stop here."
"Why?" Alice demanded, her voice returning to its normal, icy tone.
"The horses need recovery, and we cannot spend weeks inside a carriage without rest," Adam explained with a cold gaze.
Alice jumped from the carriage the moment it slowed. As she took in her surroundings, her breath caught.
The town was magnificent—a sprawling, advanced metropolis that made her own region's towns look like humble villages. The streets were wide, defined by bustling markets and a massive, diverse population. People moved with purpose, tending to their own lives. Most were simple humans, devoid of magic or demonic aura, living the very life Alice had once dreamed of creating.
For a moment, Alice was lost. A warm smile touched her lips, even as a heartbreaking pain throbbed in her chest. She was seeing her dream, but she was seeing it alone.
Adam snapped his fingers, breaking her trance. "Let's move. Standing here won't get us to the Capital."
They arrived at an inn far more sophisticated than the ones in the villages. A massive bulletin board stood in the lobby, pinned with missions for adventurers, families, and travelers.
Suddenly, a harsh shout echoed through the hall. "Give me my money, woman, or I'll destroy you!"
A brute of a man was looming over a fragile woman, his hand raised to strike her. "Please," she begged, "I'll pay you back today, I promise!"
"How many months has it been?" the man roared.
In a millisecond, a streak of lightning-fast motion cut through the air. Alice gripped the man's wrist. The sound of his bones shattering was like dry wood snapping. The force of the impact forced him to his knees, his face contorting in a scream of pure agony.
"Apologize, you bastard," Alice hissed, her eyes burning with a furious, red light.
The man blubbered an apology through his tears. Alice released him, and he scrambled away, shouting back from a distance, "I'll kill you tomorrow! You got lucky today!"
Alice ignored him and turned to the woman, offering her hand with a warm, genuine smile. "Can you stand? Are you alright?"