Chapter-41

Chapter: Breaking the Chains

The cavern holds its breath.

The dragon's obsidian eyes remain locked on mine, ancient and knowing.

"Guide me. Show me the path to freedom."

Its words vibrate through the very stone beneath us. Power hums in the air, raw and unshaped, waiting for someone bold enough to wield it.

That someone is me.

---

The Mad Hatter's Unwanted Input

"Ahem."

I turn my head slowly. The Mad Hatter, having finally found his voice, is waving one gloved hand in the air like a student desperate to answer a question he absolutely should not answer.

"Not to ruin the moment—" he gestures vaguely between me and the massive ancient dragon I just allied with—"but did anyone else hear the part where the big, scary very powerful dragon said it was woven into the very fabric of this realm?"

I raise an eyebrow. "And?"

The Hatter throws up his hands. "AND?! My dear, possibly-terrifying friend, you just promised to unweave reality itself like it's a loose thread on your coat! That's not a 'and?' moment! That's a 'oh, what a dreadfully complicated, highly unstable, probably going to end in catastrophic disaster' moment!"

The rabbit, still perched on his shoulder, twitches its nose and squeaks.

The Hatter sighs dramatically. "See? Even the rabbit agrees!"

I fold my arms. "Did you have a better idea?"

"I do! In fact, it involves significantly less reality-warping and possibly fewer existential crises!"

I wait.

He grins weakly. "…I have no idea what that idea is yet, but I definitely have one!"

I roll my eyes. "Useless."

"Excuse me, I'll have you know I am delightfully useless!"

The dragon exhales a slow puff of smoke, watching us like an extremely patient parent dealing with unruly children. "The Mad One has a point, in his… peculiar way."

The Hatter beams. "See? The big scary dragon thinks I have a point!"

The dragon blinks. "I did not say you had a good point."

The Hatter gasps, utterly betrayed.

I smirk.

---

The Forgotten Passage

I turn back to the monolith, running my fingers along its smooth, pulsing surface. The energy trapped inside it wants to be shaped. But the dragon's chains are not just magic. They are woven into Wonderland itself.

I need something else.

"You mentioned a forgotten passage," I say, glancing at the Hatter. "You said something about an old rhyme?"

The Hatter blinks, caught off guard by the sudden shift back to competence. "Oh! Yes! That! Right. Where was it…?" He pats down his coat, pulling out—of all things—a slightly burnt sugar cube, a playing card with a bite mark in it, and what appears to be a spoon with sentience.

The spoon wiggles.

The Hatter glares at it. "We do not have time for your nonsense, Gerald."

I pinch the bridge of my nose.

The rabbit, wisely, ignores everything and instead sniffs the cavern air, ears twitching.

"Ah-ha!" The Hatter triumphantly pulls out a very crumpled, very old scrap of parchment. He clears his throat dramatically.

"Through whispered halls and fractured time,

Where echoes laugh and shadows climb,

A door unopened, locked in rhyme,

Shall break the chains that twist and bind."

He pauses. "…Well. That's ominous."

The rabbit twitches its nose.

"Yes, thank you, little one. Very helpful."

---

Interpreting the Riddle

I take the parchment, smoothing it out.

"Whispered halls." Hidden places. Places lost to time.

"Fractured time." Wonderland is fractured. The Shadow's corruption has altered reality itself.

"A door unopened, locked in rhyme." A place sealed away.

I look at the dragon. "This monolith—it's not just binding you. It's sealing something away."

The dragon's gaze darkens. "The first wound. The first bargain."

The Hatter makes a choking noise. *"Wait, wait, wait—are you saying the actual place where Wonderland first broke is inside this chamber?"

The dragon inclines its head.

The Hatter groans. *"Oh, brilliant. Let's definitely open that door, shall we? What's the worst that could happen? Oh, I know! Everything unravels in a cascade of terrible, reality-bending horror!"

I roll my eyes. "Stop being dramatic."

"I AM dramatic!"

Ignoring him, I step forward and press both hands against the monolith.

It reacts instantly.

Power rushes through my body, surging through my veins like wildfire. The runes on the monolith flare to life, shifting, moving—unlocking.

The cavern shudders.

The air splits.

And then—

A door.

A real door, materializing out of thin air.

It is ancient, ornate, covered in spirals of glowing script. The chains around it are heavy, shimmering with raw magic.

The Hatter takes one look at it and whimpers.

The rabbit's ears flatten.

The dragon watches closely, its great body tensed.

I place a hand on the chains.

They melt away beneath my touch.

The door swings open.

---

What Lies Beyond

The moment the door opens, time bends.

A rush of something vast floods the cavern—memories, echoes, voices. A storm of Wonderland's past, unfurling into the present.

And at the center of it—

A figure.

Not a shadow. Not a creature.

Something… else.

The dragon inhales sharply.

"Impossible."

The Hatter takes several rapid steps back. *"Nope. Absolutely not. I refuse. I reject this reality and would like a refund."

The rabbit, to its credit, does not scream.

I, however, smile.

Because I know what this is.

The first bargain.

The real secret behind Wonderland's fall.

And finally—

The true game begins.