Chapter-47

Chapter : The Light Before the Storm

The Queen of Hearts stands before me, restored, her crimson dress flowing like liquid fire, her once-hollow eyes now piercing, alive.

The radiance of the jewels still lingers, a golden warmth hanging in the air, crackling with residual energy. The barrier around the castle hums, an unbreakable wall of light, sealing the Shadow out—for now.

The Mad Hatter, adjusting his now immaculate hat, lets out a low whistle.

"Well, that was… rather spectacular, wasn't it?" He gives me a sideways glance, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. "I mean, I'm certainly not complaining, but I do hope you realize you've made yourself very popular. Power like that?" He gestures toward the Queen, toward the castle now pulsing with restored magic. "You're not just an outsider anymore, Trice. You're a legend in the making."

The rabbit, no longer trembling, hops in a small, excited circle before straightening up, determined. "And legends don't waste time." It looks up at me, eyes bright. "The Whispering Woods are waiting."

The Queen steps forward, regal yet… human in a way she never was before.

"You have surpassed even my wildest expectations," she says, her voice carrying both command and reverence. "Your power… it is beyond comprehension."

The ancient dragon, still in her humanoid form, remains silent, but her respect is evident in the subtle nod she gives me.

I don't respond immediately.

Instead, I turn my gaze toward the distance, where the twisted trees of the Whispering Woods loom like silent sentinels. The Shadow's presence lingers, waiting, watching. It has lost this battle—but it is not gone.

Not yet.

And I am not finished.

---

Preparations for the Journey

"We leave now."

The Mad Hatter groans. "Oh, immediately? No tea? No celebratory madness? Just straight into certain doom?"

The rabbit huffs. "You could have tea on the way."

"That's not how tea works."

The dragon tilts her head, watching the exchange with amusement.

"He is right about one thing," the Queen says, regal and composed once more. "The Whispering Woods will not be easily traversed. It is unlike the other places touched by the Shadow."

She steps closer, eyes sharp.

"It does not simply twist what it touches. It remembers."

The Mad Hatter flinches, a rare look of genuine unease flickering across his face.

"Memories can be tricky things," he mutters. "You think they belong to you—until you realize they've been watching you back."

The rabbit nods solemnly, ears twitching.

"It is a place of secrets," the Queen continues. "Not all of them yours."

For the first time, I see hesitation in the dragon's emerald eyes.

She knows something.

But she does not say what.

Not yet.

---

The Road to the Woods

The castle fades behind us, the barrier's golden glow casting a long shadow as we travel toward the edge of Wonderland's heart.

The landscape changes the closer we get.

The grass is no longer vibrant, but ashen—as if the color itself has been stolen. The air grows heavy, charged with an invisible weight, pressing against my skin like static before a storm.

And then, as if crossing an unseen threshold, the trees appear.

The Whispering Woods.

Not simply a forest, but a presence.

The branches are twisted, gnarled like grasping fingers. The trunks pulse faintly, as though breathing.

And the whispers begin.

Soft at first.

Indistinct.

Then—clearer.

"Why do you walk this path?"

"Who are you to seek what is hidden?"

"What secrets do you bring, Defaulger Trice?"

I do not stop walking.

I do not answer.

But I smile.

"You already know the answer."

The Whispering Woods laugh.