The Wizarding Age

When the moon climbed up the sky again, the cold and desolate glow shone into the mushroom house through the heavy fog.

Alice leaned on the almost red-hot soup pot, silently raised her neck to look at the moonlight that penetrated through the gap of the wooden house. Her bloodshot eyes were full of deep despair, sadness and numbness!

Crying, begging, cursing, scolding...

She had done everything she could do in these days.

Unfortunately, facing an old witch who was stubborn, her emotions, whether she was pretending or really showing, were directly ignored by the other party. The only thing the old witch did every day was to stand on a high wooden stool, stirring the soup pot with a huge wooden spoon, and babbling about some stories that no one could understand.

And the hateful black snake was entrenched on the beam above the soup pot. Whenever Alice wanted to escape from here, it would appear at the right time and force her back with its hissing snake tongue.

The gloomy swamp, the scary haunted house, the ugly witch, and the creepy black snake...

All this sounds like a bizarre dark fairy tale!

But what it brings to Alice is unbearable torture and suffering.

Alice can't sleep, and she dares not sleep.

Every time she falls asleep, the space barrier on the surface of her body will disappear, and what awaits her is the boiling of soup. The pink and white petite body will be burned red, and instantly covered with large and small blisters and bright red flesh after ulceration.

And when she wails miserably in the soup pot, the old witch, no matter where she is, will run over happily, scoop up the scarlet soup with a spoon, and then drink it all. In the old witch's own words, the soup soaked in Alice's blood has a hint of fate!

So the only thing Alice can do is to keep her mind clear at all times and use all her strength to fight against physical fatigue. Whenever she felt that she couldn't 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 and drive away the heavy sleepiness.

After a few days, her left hand had been steamed by the soup and there was not a single inch of good flesh left, and thick purple-black blood scabs formed layer after layer. Before she could completely heal, new burns appeared again.

With this method, Alice barely survived the last two days.

When Grimm's tall body appeared in the mushroom hut, Alice's spirit was on the verge of collapse! The whole person was drowsy, as if she had lost all sense of changes in the outside world. But what was amazing was that even in this situation, Alice was still wrapped in a thin space membrane to protect her body from being invaded by the rolling soup.

Seeing Alice's miserable condition, Grimm's heart of the flame demon in his chest beat violently twice, and he almost broke free from the witchcraft seal, burning the anger in his heart all over his body.

"The ten days are up, I'm here to take Alice away!" Grimm said coldly, leaned over and put his arms into the boiling soup pot, and fished Alice out.

Looking at Alice's completely purple left hand and the spots of festering skin and blood scabs on her body, two small flames ignited in Grimm's black pupils. He suppressed his anger with the last bit of reason, lifted Alice's light body with both hands, and strode away.

Strangely, the short and hunched old witch just watched all this with a smile on her face, and did not interfere with Grimm's actions.

When Grimm's tall body was completely covered by the dark swamp fog and could no longer be seen, the old witch put away her smile and let out a shrill scream like a night owl.

"Destiny! Destiny! Destiny..."

…………

When Alice woke up again, she was already in a clean and bright room.

The room was decorated very simply and plainly.

A single bed, a chair, and a brown wooden table, these are all the furnishings in the room.

In front of the wooden table, a burly figure sat there, quietly reading a book.

Alice's body, lying in the soft silk quilt, twisted slightly. Based on the silky touch, she could sense that she was not wearing any clothes. And the wounds on her body felt a little cool, mixed with the burning pain, making her itch uncomfortably.

Alice gently raised her left hand, and the dense white cloth wrapped her left hand like a small dumpling. When she put it to her nose and smelled it, she could smell the smell of hemostatic ointment and skin water.

Her mouth was numb and bitter. Alice stuck out her tongue and realized that she actually had a leaf of life in her mouth.

Hum, she threw me to the old witch without saying a word, and now she wants to win my heart with these small favors, wishful thinking!

Somehow, although she was obviously disdainful in her heart, Alice couldn't help but shed tears.

With the wizard's keen perception, no matter how small the movement in the room was, it would be impossible to hide it from his ears and eyes.

When Alice's eyes were blurred with tears, Grimm's tall figure had appeared in front of the bed, bending down and looking down at her.

"Does the wound still hurt?"

"Yes!"

"I've applied medicine to you. With your physique, you will be able to fully recover in about three or two days, and there will be no obvious scars!"

"Yes!"

After the simple conversation, there was an unspeakable silence.

They have all been wizard apprentices, and they have all worked their way up from the bottom. They have experienced not only a thousand but also eight hundred terrible sufferings. In comparison, the torture suffered this time was not the most severe. No matter which wizard apprentice you are, you have to bear all these sufferings alone. Even if your blood is gone and your tears are dry, no one will bear it for you.

Therefore, both wizards and apprentices have developed a cold and withdrawn temperament.

Therefore, at this moment, both Grim, who took the initiative to ask questions, and Alice, who was being cared for, looked like they didn't know how to proceed.

"Alice, where have you been for ten days? Do you know why the old witch did this to you?" Grim suddenly remembered a question and couldn't help but ask.

"What other reason could there be? Of course it's because she's gone crazy! She's just a neurotic woman..." Alice gritted her teeth with hatred when she thought of this period of torture.

"I always have an illusion..." Grim frowned and hesitated.

"What illusion?"

"She seems to want to help you!" Greem hesitated for a moment and finally expressed his feelings.

"Help me!" Alice's eyes widened and she almost jumped out of the quilt. She waved her left hand like a rice dumpling angrily and roared: "I was hurt so badly by her, and you still say she wants to help me? Are you crazy?"

Grim was not intimidated by Alice's baring her teeth and claws, and showed a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You and I both know very well that the witches of the North are a closed group that pays great attention to tradition and inheritance. That Liana and you belong to different witch schools, so she will not harm you easily to avoid getting involved in the selection of the destiny witches. "

"so what?"

"If what you and I know are true, don't you think her behavior is weird?"

"Of course her behavior is weird, because she has already gone crazy!"

"Alice, calm down, don't let anger confuse your reason. Savor carefully what kind of message she wants to convey to you with this behavior!"

Alice still shook her head in confusion.

"Her behavior makes you very resentful and makes you feel weak. So what do you want most when your emotions are brewing to the extreme?"

"strength!"

"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 the power come from?" Alice repeated in confusion.

"What you awakened is the talent of the Witch of Destiny! Although there are many Witches of Destiny awakening at the same time, but tracing back to the source, you have to understand where the source of your power comes from!"

Alice shook her head in confusion.

Although she is powerful and intelligent, her lack of experience still makes it difficult for her to keep up with the leaping thinking of the two generations of Grimm.

"You must always keep in mind the source of your power." Greem taught earnestly: "What awakened in you is the talent of the Witch of Destiny, so the source of your power can only be attributed to the word destiny. Alice, Let me ask you, do you believe in fate?"

Alice raised her head, looked into Grim's firm eyes, and finally began to seriously think about the true meaning of the Witch of Destiny's talent to herself for the first time.

Do you believe in fate? Do you believe in fate?

Asking herself over and over again, Alice became demented for a while.

Yes, since the awakening of her talent, the power of space has become like an instinct, becoming her ability to come and go at the same time. Relying on this powerful spatial talent, she can easily defeat all opponents of the same level.

The power confuses her.

The awe and praise from the crowd also made her feel elated.

She was intoxicated by one success after another, but she had forgotten where her true strength came from!

destiny?

destiny!

Looking back on the journey after becoming a wizard's apprentice, she seemed to have never consciously understood and grasped what fate was and what destiny was.

She just enjoyed the glory brought to her by her destiny with peace of mind, but never tried to get close to it or understand it.

So at this moment, when she successfully tasted the humiliation of being weak, when she once again longed for powerful power, where should she go? Should he meditate day after day like other wizards, accumulate knowledge and resources, and strengthen his own power, or...

Alice suddenly felt confused.

Even if she recognizes her path forward and understands the nature of her power, how should she understand that elusive fate?

Could it be that shouting "Destiny, I believe in you" to the sky can make you gain more power?

Though still unable to find a clear way out, Alice finally raised her head and cast her hopeful eyes on Grim.

"What should I do? Teach me!" Alice asked sincerely for the first time.

"Do you believe in fate?" Greem asked solemnly again.

This is both a question and an answer!

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