Chapter 35: The Trial of the Abyss

This was an illusion!

Alice reacted instantly.

The Mad Hatter’s sudden appearance, coupled with his immediate recognition of her as a witch, was utterly inconceivable. The only plausible explanation was that this was an illusion, intricately woven from her own memories.

“Sit down and have some tea, though there isn’t any room left,” the Mad Hatter chuckled, beaming at her.

Unlike his disheveled appearance in the dungeon, the Mad Hatter here was impeccably dressed. He wore a flamboyant tailcoat and a towering top hat.

“Though this is likely an illusion,” Alice said, her gaze fixed on the Mad Hatter, “I must still thank you. Thank you, Mad Hatter. If not for you, I certainly wouldn’t be standing here so soundly now.”

She found it rather odd. Given the Duchess’s context when mentioning illusions, this one should have been quite dangerous. Yet, Alice couldn’t fathom what danger the Mad Hatter’s presence in an illusion could pose; strictly speaking, he was her great benefactor.

“No, no, this isn’t an illusion at all, but a trial,” the Mad Hatter declared, suddenly serious.

“A trial… one could certainly call it that. If I overcome this illusion, I can advance to the eighth-tier witch rank,” Alice conceded, agreeing with his assessment.

“Wrong, wrong! I’m not talking about a witch’s trial, but a trial of the Abyss,” the Mad Hatter grinned maniacally, pointing behind Alice. “If you don’t believe me, look! The Gate of the Abyss is right behind you.”

Alice turned around in surprise, then froze.

Where the study door should have been, she now saw a colossal black stone slab gate. The study’s ceiling seemed to have vanished, and Alice stared upward in a daze. This gate was nearly as tall as a tower, not affixed to a wall, but suspended about two meters above the floor.

“Why is a raven like a writing desk?” the Mad Hatter suddenly asked.

Alice turned her face back, looking at the Mad Hatter strangely, wondering why he would utter that nonsensical phrase again.

“Time’s almost up; I must be going,” the Mad Hatter said, pulling out his pocket watch to check it, then casually tossing it into an open teapot. “Next time, we’ll have tea together again.”

Having spoken, the Mad Hatter once more doffed his hat in a bow. Before Alice could respond, he suddenly raised his hand and tossed the hat towards her.

Alice was caught off guard for a moment, but reflexively reached out and caught the hat.

She was about to speak, but when her eyes focused, the Mad Hatter had vanished from his seat.

“My hat is for you. From now on, the tea party is yours to host,” the Mad Hatter’s voice echoed as if from the void, making it impossible for Alice to pinpoint its source. “Hehe, what a splendid bargain.”

Alice looked around bewildered, but could not find the Mad Hatter anywhere.

Just then, she heard a cat’s meow.

Following the sound, she saw a black cat directly beneath the suspended black gate.

“Dina?” she blurted out.

Although all black cats looked much the same to humans, Alice felt certain this was Dina. After all, this was an illusion woven from her memories; if the Mad Hatter could appear, it was not strange for the deceased Dina to reappear.

Hearing her call, “Dina” took a few steps closer, as if recognizing that the girl before it was actually Levi, who had fed it in the past.

Alice crouched down, hoping the black cat would approach for a closer look.

However, the black cat stopped a few steps away from her.

Then, Alice watched as the black cat smiled—in her astonished gaze, the black cat stretched its mouth into a horrifying grin, its lips curling almost to its ears, an impossible feat for a normal cat.

Faced with this eerie sight, Alice was momentarily unsure how to react.

Subsequently, the black cat suddenly swelled and began to transform.

It rapidly expanded into a monstrous beast, fully three meters tall at the shoulder, utterly black and terrifyingly grotesque. Dense chains appeared around the beast’s neck, their other ends connected to various points along the edges of the dark gate.

Black smoke billowed from its razor-sharp fangs. It roared ferociously in the black smoke, its cries deafening.

Alice swallowed hard. This colossal beast nearly filled half the room, its oppressive presence enough to suffocate anyone.

Accompanying the beast’s roar, the black gate creaked open a crack. Swarms of grotesque birds, like a flock of crows, poured out from the gap, darting wildly around the room. Though only a fleeting glimpse as they swept past her face, Alice noticed the horrifying appearance of these “monstrous birds.”

They resembled snakes with bat wings, their bodies long and slender, covered in grayish-black scales, their wings a skeletal frame wrapped in tattered membranes. Their heads were mere bone, devoid of flesh, with empty eye sockets glowing with an eerie blue light, and a pair of demonic horns extending from their skulls.

These monstrous birds continuously emitted strange, maddening “choo-bah choo-bah” sounds.

Alice clutched her head and closed her eyes in discomfort, desperately telling herself that this was all just an illusion, reminding herself not to succumb to fear.

Just then, the dark gate emitted a deep, resonant rumble, like thunder.

Alice opened her eyes in surprise, discovering that the Gate of the Abyss had fully opened.

Behind the gate was a darkness even deeper than night. Yet, Alice vaguely sensed that something within this immeasurably dark abyss was staring at her.

A long, bloodcurdling shriek suddenly erupted from the abyss, completely overpowering the beast’s roar and the monstrous birds’ screeching.

In an instant, both the colossal beast and the monstrous birds fell silent. The beast respectfully prostrated itself on the ground, while the monstrous birds began to fly in an orderly circle around the gate.

At this moment, Alice understood.

If the chained beast guarding the gate was its watchdog, and the monstrous birds flying out were its messengers, then this voice must belong to the master who controlled this gate.

Within the black abyss beyond the gate, an alien silhouette gradually emerged—a colossal entity several times larger than the guardian beast.

Alice seemed to see the creature’s eyes ignite like torches in the abyss, thoroughly awakening the terror within her. Instinct told her not to look directly into those eyes. This time, she could no longer maintain her composure, retreating step by step.

In a daze, she heard church bells chime. The Mad Hatter’s melodious voice, accompanied by the bells, seemed to drift from a very distant place.

The Mad Hatter sang a minstrel’s song in a peculiar cadence, his wild laughter interwoven with the melody:

“Beware the Gate of the Abyss, my child.

Beware the troublesome Jubjub Bird, shun the fuming, furious Bandersnatch.

Your nemesis awaits on the other side of the gate.

Beware the master of that abyssal gate, the Jabberwock.

Child, take a sharp sword and sever its head!

Stare into the Abyss, embrace the Abyss.

My child, you shall become the Demon Lord of the Abyss!”

Upon hearing this line, Alice, who had been retreating, suddenly stepped into empty air, for a bottomless chasm had appeared behind her without warning.

She screamed, plummeting into the unfathomable depths of the Abyss.