Chapter 32: The Ruins of the Heart

The carving beneath my fingertips radiates a slow, pulsing chill, like a heartbeat trapped in stone. The spiral of thorns is deeply etched, worn smooth by time but still unmistakable. There is power here—old, waiting, watching.

And it knows I'm here.

The Mad Hatter watches me from a cautious distance, his fingers twitching as if debating whether to speak. The rabbit remains still on my shoulder, though I can feel the subtle tremor in its tiny frame.

The entrance is blocked, choked with vines and rubble, but that is intentional. The ruin does not want to be found.

"She spoke of a hidden passage," the Hatter says, voice barely above a whisper. "Not a door, not a tunnel, but something… else." His gaze flickers toward the shadows pooling at the edges of the ruin. "She said it was guarded. Not by teeth or claws, but by—" He hesitates. "Something that tests the mind."

I lift my hand from the carving, flexing my fingers. The chill lingers.

"Tests the mind, you say?" I glance at him.

The Hatter nods, pulling his coat tighter around himself. "She didn't say much else. Just that those who fail… don't come back quite the same."

Ah. So, not a simple puzzle, then. Something deeper.

I shift my attention to the air itself. The low thrumming isn't coming from the stone—it's woven through it, through the ruins, the trees, the very ground beneath my feet. A hum of ancient energy, stretching beyond the visible, waiting for recognition.

It's not just guarding the artifact.

It's searching for something.

Testing.

I exhale slowly, rolling my shoulders. The direct path—tearing through the rubble and vines—would be easy. Too easy. Which means it's a trap. The hidden passage, however, is designed to be found. But only by those who understand.

"You're thinking of taking the test, aren't you?" the Hatter asks, shifting uneasily.

I smirk. "Of course."

He exhales sharply, shaking his head. "Well, that's… madness."

"I thought you'd appreciate that."

He blinks, then lets out a short, breathy laugh. "Touché."

The rabbit makes a small, nervous sound. I absently run a gloved finger along its head, a slow motion meant to reassure.

I turn my full focus to the energy pulsing around me, closing my eyes for a brief moment. It's not random. It's a pattern, layered, shifting just beyond perception.

And then—

A whisper.

Not words, not sound. A presence.

The test has begun.

---

The world does not change in the way a door opens or a light flickers. It shifts sideways, slipping from what is real into something more fluid, more unstable.

When I open my eyes, the ruins are gone.

The clearing is gone.

The trees? Gone.

Instead, I stand in a space of pure, unbroken white. No shadows. No sound. Just an absence.

And then—

A single voice.

"Who are you?"

I smile.

"You already know."

The voice does not respond immediately. But I feel it shifting, wrapping around my thoughts like fingers tracing along glass.

"Tell me," it whispers, "why do you seek the Heart?"

Ah. So that's the game.

I clasp my hands behind my back, tilting my head slightly.

"Because it is mine to take."

A ripple moves through the white void, like ink spreading through water. The voice is silent for a moment.

"Arrogance."

"Accuracy," I correct.

Another ripple. A shifting of presence.

"And what will you do with it?"

I let the silence stretch before answering.

"Remake."

The presence tightens, like a grip closing around me.

"Then prove it."

---

The void shatters.

I am no longer in the blank expanse. I am… somewhere else.

A room. No—a throne room.

The Queen's throne room.

The walls bleed color, shifting between red and black. The checkered floor stretches infinitely in all directions. At the center of it all—

A throne.

And in that throne—

A figure.

I step forward, feeling the weight of unseen eyes watching. The figure does not move, does not breathe. But as I approach, I recognize it.

Not the Queen. Not the Hatter. Not the Shadow.

It is me.

Seated upon the throne, watching with an unreadable expression.

A test of the mind, indeed.

The other me tilts its head. "Do you deserve the Heart?"

I exhale slowly.

"Deserve? No. But that's never mattered, has it?"

A slow smile spreads across the face of my reflection.

"Correct."

The world tilts—

---

I inhale sharply as reality reasserts itself.

I am back in the clearing. The ruins stand before me, untouched. The Mad Hatter is staring, his mouth slightly open. The rabbit is still, as if sensing something unseen.

"You were only gone for a second," the Hatter breathes. "But… it felt longer. What happened?"

I flex my fingers, feeling the lingering traces of the test's presence.

"I passed."

The ruins respond.

A deep, echoing vibration ripples through the stone, and with a low, grinding sound, the entrance—once blocked by rubble and vines—opens.

The path is clear.

The Heart of Wonderland awaits.

And I?

I never lose.