Alice gripped the edge of the bed, her gaze settling on Amon with surprising calmness. Her voice was steady as she asked:
"Is this what you want in return?"
Amon raised an eyebrow. "It was just a favor between friends. Why make it sound so unpleasant?"
Alice didn't take the bait. Her tone remained unchanged. "Is this what you want in return?"
Amon pondered for a moment before responding, "And if I say yes?"
Alice paused, then smiled faintly. "Then you may change that phrase to 'Companion of Trickery and Mischief,' and I will respond accordingly."
—It was a clever dodge. Alice wasn't actually changing her title, only making an exception for Amon.
Amon caught on immediately and chuckled. "You consider that 'fair'?"
Alice lifted her chin slightly. "I am both the participant and witness of this transaction. I decide what is fair."
"you can go"
Her unwavering stance made Amon frown briefly before he laughed again, this time with genuine amusement. "Did you know I brought the deck of cards with me?
"And until now, you still haven't told me what 'Mad Hatter' means…"
His voice drifted away with the wind, and in the next instant, he vanished—leaving only silence in his wake.
Alice remained still for a few seconds, staring at the spot where he had been. Rationally, she knew Amon was the embodiment of deception and mischief, someone she could never trust.
But even so, a crack had formed in her wall of caution.
—Because, in all honesty, Amon had never truly harmed her.
More than that, he had always listened patiently whenever she spoke.
Even Klein couldn't match that. Klein often interrupted her, refused to humor her jokes, and, just earlier, had even gotten angry with her.
Alice sighed and tightened her grip on the bedsheet. She understood why Klein had been upset. She understood she needed to apologize. But even so, she couldn't help feeling a little sad.
Where was he now…? Would he even listen if she tried to talk?
Alice rubbed her temple, feeling a headache coming on. Then, she recalled something Amon had said.
—Something was wrong.
…But what?
She shook her head. She could figure it out later.
Instead, she focused on something else—the faint, almost imperceptible tug that had appeared in her consciousness.
She knew where it pointed.
—West Continent.
Since reclaiming the Uniqueness, she had finally gained a sense of the connection—a distant call that had always been there but had eluded her grasp until now.
She had a strong feeling that the answer she sought lay somewhere in the West Continent.
But what exactly was waiting for her there?
Pushing aside the unanswered questions, Alice turned her focus inward, examining her current state.
She wasn't sure if 'Beyonder' was even the right term for her anymore. She was no longer just a person who had assimilated a Uniqueness—she was more like a living embodiment of it.
Her very existence was tied to her authority.
The good news? She no longer needed to search for Mythical Creature blood for the 'Hermit' lady. Her own would suffice.
The bad news? She might still need to consume potions or Beyonder characteristics…
And if she really wanted to be thorough, she'd eventually have to confront Will Auceptin. And after that… Ouroboros .
Alice grimaced. Even if she had authority over the pathway, she doubted she could win in a direct confrontation.
Uniqueness alone wasn't enough. It granted power, but without a solid foundation—a proper sequence structure—it was like a castle in the sky.
Uniqueness represents authority to a certain extent, and also represents administrator authority... Well, it means that, in theory, she can adjust the abilities of the extraordinary people on this path.
Why in theory? Because the angel of Sequence 1 also has some authority, and the uniqueness without the support of the complete sequence is like a castle in the air.
Maybe her authority is higher than Will Auceptin, but Alice knows her own weight. In terms of practical application, she can live under Ouroboros for so many years, and she must have more skills than her.
Maybe her authority was technically higher than Will Auceptin's, but she wasn't foolish enough to think she could outmaneuver someone who had survived under Ouroboros for so long.
She needed time to master her newfound abilities.
She needed time to gather lower-sequence Beyonder characteristics.
She needed time to understand what had changed within her.
For now, Will Auceptin was still in his 'rebirth' phase. Even after he was born, he would be in a weakened state throughout childhood and adolescence.
But even then, she had no doubt he had ways to fight back if necessary.
And Ouroboros … He likely wasn't weakened at all.
Alice let out a slow breath. She could plan for that later. Right now, she had another concern—her 'anchor.'
The moment she thought of it, Amon's words resurfaced in her mind.
Something was wrong.
What had changed?
Alice frowned, then forced herself to move on. She could figure that out later.
Instead, she turned her thoughts back to Will Auceptin.
She was angry at him—but not because he had deceived her. That wasn't it.
No, what truly made her angry was that he had manipulated fate itself to get what he wanted.
—And that was disrespecting fate.
Alice's gaze darkened as she murmured, "He should pay the price for that."
She clenched her fists, then took a deep breath to calm herself.
There was at least one more piece of good news—she no longer needed to search for potion formulas. The Uniqueness contained all the necessary knowledge.
But that came with a troubling revelation.
—Some of the knowledge didn't match what was in Beyonder characteristics or potions.
When the 'Hermit' lady had spoken of high-sequence Beyonders experiencing anomalies, Alice had suspected she was responsible. But this…
Something was definitely off.
Sequence 7 'Lucky One'—As the name implies, a 'Lucky One' is extraordinarily fortunate, but their luck is entirely passive and fluctuates greatly. Sometimes, they experience extraordinary fortune; other times, they are no different from an ordinary person.
—In the original description, there should have been a warning not to rely on luck.
Alice recalled the moment Ince Zangwill had killed her and felt an unsettling sense of irony.
Had she… accidentally set herself up for failure?
Sequence 5 'Winner'—
"Fate has chosen you, and only then can you become a true 'Winner.'"
Alice whispered the phrase to herself, then exhaled sharply. "I might really need to take the potion just to figure out what I've done to myself."
A wave of unease settled in her gut.
For the first time, she found herself genuinely worried about her own fate.