Chapter 17 The Rabbit-Hole

As Alice steered her mechanical spider, plowing through the labyrinth with ease and tearing down countless walls, she was nearing the end when the surroundings suddenly changed. The floor beneath the spider vanished, and intense weightlessness made her heart feel like it was about to leap out of her chest. She let out a gasp before clamping her mouth shut.

"It's all an illusion," she told herself. As if by magic, the terrifying sensation of falling stopped. Alice found herself floating in mid-air, surrounded by darkness on all sides.

"So, this is it," Alice muttered to herself. "I'd be surprised if the professors didn't have something up their sleeves." She stood in the darkness, her body tense and ready for action. The air around her was unnaturally still as if the ever-active magical elements had gone into hiding. This feeling was terrible, as if something important had been stripped away.

Her breaths grew shallower and quicker, betraying her calm exterior. The pounding of her heart and the rush of her blood grew louder with each passing moment, eventually engulfing her like a tidal wave. Alice felt like she had been caught in a massive whirlpool's eye, and the moment her willpower wavered, she would be dragged into its depths.

"Keep calm. It's all an illusion," Alice repeated to herself, sweat beading on her forehead.

In the control room, several professors were gathered around a floating magical screen, which displayed Alice, eyes closed and motionless, suspended in darkness. Sweat still glistened on her face from the tension, but she soon grew calm. When she opened her eyes again, a confident smile spread across her face.

Master Beck nodded approvingly and glanced at the magical clock beside him. "It's impressive that an apprentice in her age has such strong willpower. She regained her composure in just three minutes. I believe the previous record for breaking free from the 'Black Box' in training was held by Opsis, who took eight minutes, or was it ten?"

The other professors nodded in agreement. Alice's abilities were exceptional compared to other apprentices, who were still struggling with their illusions.

"It appears we need to elevate the challenge for you," Master Mirage said with a smile, observing Alice on the screen while tracing glowing runes in the air with her fingers.

On-screen, Alice suddenly seemed to detect something and glanced around in alarm.

"What have you done this time?"

The professors in the control room could not see what Alice was experiencing in her illusion, just as they couldn't see the type of illusion each apprentice had been ensnared by, as it was created by their own minds.

"I call this a scaled-down Mirror Maze. It's an adapted version of a larger magical illusion spell array I created," Master Mirage said, her voice filled with happiness and delight.

"The Mirror Maze? The one that brought you fame when you ensnared four top-ranked Masters with it?" asked one of the professors.

Master Mirage nodded with gratification, observing Alice on the screen, who seemed disoriented and bewildered. "Although this is a scaled-down variant, it poses a considerable challenge for a magical apprentice. We've never utilized it in training before. I'm eager to see how she fares."

"Poor girl," another professor remarked, looking at the screen with empathy.

At this moment, Alice felt as though she was trapped in a kaleidoscope of darkness. Suddenly, countless mirror shards appeared, each reflecting a different version of herself.

In one mirror, Alice was shown wielding a greatsword but ultimately succumbing to a monstrous creature. Her face was etched with despair as she fell. In another, Alice was being scolded by Master Carna, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she devoured food ravenously, forgetting all about proper etiquette due to her hunger. Another shard revealed a young Alice, huddled in fear at the foot of her bed, sobbing because of her fear of the dark, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Each shard represented a memory Alice wished to forget. But they were fully displayed, forcing her to relive her past loneliness, failures, and disappointments. These memories were like sharp thorns, causing her unbearable pain in her heart.

Finally, the shards came together to form a complete reflection of Alice, identical to how she appeared now, wearing her apprentice uniform and wielding her greatsword. However, her beautiful face was void of any smile, replaced by a gloomy expression.

Alice looked at the mirror Alice felt she was so strange, a scared feeling rising rapidly. " That's not me!" Alice screamed in her head but could not open her mouth to talk.

"What's so wrong with being a big bad villain?" the mirror Alice questioned. "I abandoned them first, not the other way around. What do parents, Master, or friends matter? I don't need any of them. I want to be a big bad villain so that everyone will know me and remember me, no matter what!"

Instinctively, Alice knew that the mirror Alice was wrong. This wasn't her true reason for wanting to become a big bad villain, but the illusion was affecting her mind, amplifying her negative emotions and causing confusion. A voice inside her screamed that it was wrong, but she couldn't find the strength to speak against it, as if some force was controlling her, forcing her to listen to the gloomy Alice in front of her.

"Abandon them all, kill them all," the mirror Alice continued.

Kill Master Carna? Alice's eyes widened in shock as if something had deeply wounded her. The pain freed her from the force that held her, and she screamed, "No! You're lying!"

The mirror Alice retreated a few steps in surprise.

Gasping for breath, sweat dripping from her brow, Alice insisted, "You're lying. My goal is to become a big bad villain, not to abandon them, but to save them. Master Carna is kind and gentle, forced to hide in the East Tower in her prime. Spinel is a good-natured, sunny boy, yet tormented by evil experiments. My parents may be dead due to their exceptional elemental control abilities. In the storybooks, the hero's loved ones and friends always die because of evil forces, leaving the hero alone. What's the point of happiness to be happy ever after with a princess if there are no friends or family to share it with?

That's why I choose to become a big bad villain – to protect those I care about. To keep them away from danger and draw the attention of evil forces away from them. I want to be a villain so that they can be better protected. As long as they live happy lives, I'll be satisfied, even if I must walk a challenging and lonely path. And you," Alice glared at the mirror Alice, angrily saying, "You, vile and filthy creature."

With determination in her eyes, Alice swung her sword at the gloomy mirror Alice. The reflection's eyes widened in fear, attempting to defend herself, but shattered into countless pieces.

Shards scattered around Alice, and she found herself revisiting those fragmented memories. When she was knocked down by the monster, Opsis, who had been hiding in the shadows, rushed to help her. "Alice, are you alright? You can't fight this creature with brute force alone; you must learn to combine it with magic."

When she had been ravenous and eating without regard, Master Carna scolded her: "Alice, stop eating that way!" But then she explained, "The food is cold and might upset your stomach. I had Golemelet prepare your favourite dark cuisine – it's all black, just as you like it."

When a young Alice had cried in the darkness, Spinel tiptoed to her door, took out a seven-stringed lyre, and played a gentle melody. As the soft music filled the air, young Alice drifted off to sleep with a smile. The final scene showed a young Alice closing her storybook, solemnly making a decision that would shape her future.

A smile spread across Alice's face as these long-forgotten memories filled her mind. The sweet sensation of being cared for filled her with a newfound confidence she had never felt before.

Lifting her greatsword, she surveyed the now silent darkness around her. "Let's see what else you've got," she challenged.