When the moon once again climbed up to the sky, the cold and desolate light shone through the thick fog into the mushroom hut.
Alice held onto the almost red hot soup pot, silently raising her head to look at the wisp of moonlight that shone through the cracks of the wooden hut. Her bloodshot eyes were filled with deep despair, sorrow, and numbness!
Crying, begging, cursing, cursing …
She had already done everything she could in the past few days.
Unfortunately, facing a stubborn old witch, regardless of whether she pretended or revealed her true feelings, they were all ignored by the other party. The only thing the old witch would do every day was to stand on a tall wooden stool, stirring the soup pot with a huge wooden ladle while rambling on and on about some stories that no one could understand.
And that hateful black snake was entrenched on the roof beam above the soup pot. Every time Alice wanted to escape, it would appear at the right time, hissing and flicking its tongue to force her back.
The gloomy swamp, the scary haunted house, the ugly witch, and the creepy black snake …
All of this sounded like a bizarre dark fairy tale!
But what it brought to Alice was unbearable torture and suffering.
Alice could not sleep, and did not dare to sleep.
Every time she fell asleep, the space barrier on the surface of her body would disappear, and what awaited her was the boiling soup. Her tender, white, and petite body would be scalded red, instantly covered with big and small blisters and festering bright red flesh.
And when she mournfully wailed in the soup pot, no matter where she was, the old witch would run over excitedly, scooping up the scarlet soup with a ladle, and drink it in one gulp. In the old witch's own words, the soup that was soaked in Alice's blood carried a trace of the taste of fate!
Therefore, the only thing Alice could do was to maintain a clear mind at all times, using all her strength to fight against the exhaustion of her body. Every time she felt that she could not hold on any longer, she would silently remove the space barrier on her left hand, and then use the piercing pain to stimulate her tired spirit, driving away the heavy drowsiness.
After a few days, her left hand had been steamed by the boiling soup until there was not a single inch of flesh left unscathed, and a thick layer of purplish black blood crusted over. Before he could completely heal, a new burn would appear.
In this way, Alice barely made it through the last two days.
When Grim appeared in the Mushroom Hut, Alice was on the verge of a mental breakdown! He was in a daze and seemed to have lost all sense of the changes in the outside world. But what was surprising was that even in this situation, Alice was still wrapped in a thin layer of space membrane that protected her from the boiling soup.
Seeing Alice's miserable state, Grimm's Heart of the Balrog in his chest violently beat twice, and he almost broke free from the Witchcraft Seal. The anger in his heart burned through his entire body.
"Ten days have passed. I'm here to take Alice away!" Grimm said coldly. He then reached his arms into the boiling hot pot and scooped up Alice.
Seeing Alice's completely purplish black left hand and the spots of festering skin and blood crusts on her body, Grimm's black eyes lit up with two small flames. He used his last bit of rationality to suppress his anger, and with both hands holding Alice's weightless body, he turned around and strode away.
What was strange was that the short and stooped old witch only watched all this with a smile, and did not interfere with Grimm's actions.
When Grimm's tall body was completely covered by the Dark Swamp's fog, the old witch stopped smiling and let out a mournful cry like an owl.
"Fate! Fate! Fate … "
… …
When Alice woke up again, she was already in a clean and bright room.
The room was decorated very simply.
A single bed, a chair, and a brown wooden table were all the furnishings in the room.
In front of the wooden table, a tall and sturdy figure was sitting there, quietly reading a book.
Alice wriggled a little under the soft lace of the quilt.
However, based on the silky touch, she could sense that she wasn't wearing any clothes. At the same time, a cooling sensation came from the wounds all over her body. Mixed with the burning pain, it made her feel unbearably itchy.
Alice gently raised her left hand, which was wrapped in a dense white cloth like a dumpling. She brought it to her nose and sniffed, and could smell the scent of hemostatic cream and toner.
Her mouth felt numb and bitter, and when she stuck out her tongue, she realised that there was a Leaf of Life in her mouth.
Hmph, you threw me to that old witch without saying a word, and now you want to win me over with these small favours? Dream on!
She did not know why, but even though she was disdainful, Alice could not stop her tears from flowing down.
With a Magus' keen senses, even the smallest movements in the room could not escape his eyes.
When Alice's eyes blurred with tears, Grimm's tall figure had already appeared in front of the bed, bending over and looking down at her.
"Does your wound still hurt?"
"Yes!"
"I've already applied medicine on it. With your physique, you should be able to fully recover in two or three days, and there won't be any obvious scars! "
"Yes!"
After the simple conversation, there was an indescribable silence.
They had all been acolytes before, and had all climbed their way up from the bottom. They had experienced at least 800, if not 1,000, terrifying hardships. In comparison, the torture they had suffered this time was not the worst. No matter which acolyte it was, they had to bear all the suffering alone. Even if they bled to the point of tears, no one would bear it for them.
Hence, regardless of whether they were Magi or acolytes, they had developed a cold and unsociable temperament.
Hence, at this moment, Grimm, who had taken the initiative to show concern, and Alice, who was being cared for, did not know how to continue.
"Alice, where did you stay for ten days? Do you know why that old witch treated you like this?" Grimm suddenly thought of a question and could not help but ask.
"What other reason could there be? Of course it's because she's gone mad! She's a nervous woman … "Alice gnashed her teeth at the thought of the torture she had suffered during this time.
"I have a feeling …" Grimm frowned and hesitated.
"What kind of feeling?"
"She seems to want to help you!" Grimm hesitated for a moment and finally said what was in his mind.
"Help me!" Alice's eyes were wide open, and she almost jumped out of the quilt. She waved her left hand angrily and roared, "I've been hurt so badly by her, and you still say she wants to help me? Are you crazy? "
Grimm was not frightened by Alice's angry roar, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
"You and I both know very well that the Northern Witches are a closed group that is very particular about tradition and inheritance. That Loana belongs to a different school of witches, so she won't easily hurt you to avoid interfering with the selection of the Destiny Witches. "
"So what?"
"If what we know is true, don't you think her behavior is very strange?"
"Of course she's strange, because she's already gone mad!"
"Alice, calm down. Don't let anger confuse your reason. Think carefully about what kind of message she wants to send you with this behavior! "
Alice still shook her head in confusion.
"Her behavior makes you very angry, and also makes you feel very weak. So what do you want the most when your emotions are brewing to the extreme? "
"Power!"
"Yes, it's power! You need power to strengthen yourself, and you need power to avenge yourself. So where does your power come from? "
"Where does my power come from?" Alice repeated in confusion.
"You've awakened the talent of the Destiny Witches! Although there are many Destiny Witches who awaken at the same time, you have to find the source of your power! "
Alice shook her head as if she didn't understand.
Although she was talented and intelligent, she still couldn't keep up with Grimm's rapid thinking due to the lack of experience.
"You must always remember the source of your power," Grimm patiently taught her. "You've awakened the talent of the Destiny Witches, so the source of your power can only belong to the word 'destiny'. Alice, let me ask you. Do you believe in destiny? "
Alice raised her head and looked at Grimm's determined eyes. She finally began to seriously think about the true meaning of the talent of the Destiny Witches for the first time.
Do I believe in destiny? Do I believe in destiny?
Alice asked herself over and over again, and for a while, she became dumbfounded.
Yes, ever since she awakened her talent, the power of space had become like an instinct to her. It became an ability that she could summon and leave at will. Relying on this powerful talent, she could almost easily defeat all opponents of the same rank.
Her great power made her confused.
Everyone's respect and praise made her feel like she was floating.
One success after another made her intoxicated, and she had forgotten where her real power came from!
Destiny?
Destiny!
Thinking back to the journey after becoming a wizard apprentice, she seemed to have never consciously understood or grasped the meaning of destiny.
She just enjoyed the glory that the talent of destiny brought her, but she never tried to approach it or understand it.
At this moment, when she successfully tasted the humiliation of being weak, when she once again yearned for greater power, what should she do? Should she meditate day after day like other wizards, accumulate knowledge and resources, and strengthen her power, or …
Alice suddenly felt lost.
Even if she recognized her own path forward and understood the nature of her power, how could she understand the illusory fate?
Could it be that shouting "Destiny, I believe in you" to the sky would give her more power?
Alice still couldn't find a clear way out. She finally raised her head and looked at Grim with hope in her eyes.
"What should I do? Teach me! "This was the first time that Alice had sincerely begged.
"Do you believe in destiny?" Grimm asked again in a serious tone.
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