Page 93 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
"But killing her isn't enough, is it?" I pressed, feeling the truth even as I spoke it. "The corruption she's already spread—it won't just disappear when she dies."
Clever child. You understand the deeper problem. The blood magic has taken root in my very foundation. Simply removing its source will not undo what has already been poisoned.
The healthy circle around me pulsed weakly, struggling against the encroaching darkness. I could feel Wonderland's pain through the connection, a deep ache that resonated in my bones.
"Then what? How do I cleanse corruption that's already taken hold?" I asked, desperate for answers. The voice grew fainter, as if this dream-connection was requiring too much energy to maintain.
The pattern within you... it remembers what I was before. Pure creation, untainted possibility. If you canreach the Heart of Hearts—the nexus beneath her palace—you might—be able to reset the pattern. But it will require all the bonds, all the connections you've formed. A complete network, Alice, to channel enough power to purify what has been tainted.
The dream was starting to fragment around me, the corrupted garden maze blurring at the edges as Wonderland's voice grew fainter.
"Wait!" I called out desperately. "What about Seth? The void bond—is that why it's so important?"
A whisper, barely audible:The void is balance. Shadow defines light. Without it, the pattern remains incomplete.
The ground beneath me trembled violently, and I felt the connection slipping away. The circle of health I'd created was rapidly shrinking, corruption rushing in as Wonderland's consciousness retreated.
Complete the bonds. Find the Heart of Hearts. Remember, Alice—I chose you because you can remake what has been broken.
The dream shattered like glass, and I jolted awake with a gasp, sitting upright between Heart and Chi as struggled to hold onto the fragments of the dream, the voice of Wonderland itself already fading from my memory like water through cupped hands. But the essential truth remained, burning in my mind with crystal clarity.
I knew what needed to happen…but I hoped It was enough.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
ALICE
Heart stirred instantly, his golden patterns flaring as he felt my distress through our bond. "Alice? What's wrong?"
Chi's eyes snapped open, his tail tightening around my ankle as he sat up with feline grace. "Nightmare?" he asked, though his teal eyes were already scanning the room for threats.
"Not exactly," I whispered, my voice hoarse from the intensity of the dream. The pattern beneath my skin was blazing brighter than I'd ever seen it, silver and gold light casting dancing shadows on the walls. "I... I think I just spoke with Wonderland itself."
Both of them went very still. Through our bonds, I felt their shock mixing with careful assessment—not disbelief, but the kind of cautious evaluation that came from living in a realm where impossible things happened daily.
"Tell us," Heart said simply, his hand finding mine as he helped anchor me back to reality. Chi's tail unwound from myankle to curl around my wrist, providing additional grounding as I struggled to organize my thoughts.
"I saw a nexus point," I began, the images still vivid despite the dream's fading edges. "One the Queen has already corrupted. Everything was dying, withering away, but it wasn't just plants and soil—it was Wonderland's essence itself."
Chi's ears flattened against his head, his tail tightening around my wrist. "You're saying Wonderland is... conscious? Sentient?"
"Yes. It spoke to me through the pattern." I touched my skin where silver and gold light continued to pulse with unusual brightness. "It showed me what the Queen's corruption is doing—not just changing the surface, but poisoning the very foundation of this realm."
Heart's ruby eyes were intent on my face, his golden patterns flowing beneath his skin with agitated energy. "What did it tell you?"
"That killing the Queen won't be enough," I said, feeling the weight of that truth settle over us like a shroud. "The corruption has already taken root too deeply. Even with her dead, the blood magic will continue spreading until Wonderland becomes a nightmare realm where only corruption can survive."
Through our bonds, I felt their growing horror as the implications sank in. Chi's tail went rigid around my wrist while Heart's hand tightened on mine with bruising force.
"Then what's the solution?" Chi asked, though his voice suggested he already suspected the answer wouldn't be simple.
"There's a place called the Heart of Hearts—a nexus beneath the Queen's palace. Wonderland said if I can reach it with all the bonds complete, I might be able to reset the pattern. Purify what's been corrupted at its source."
Heart's golden patterns dimmed with recognition. "The Heart of Hearts... it's not just legend, then."
"You know of it?" I asked, surprised by his reaction.
