Chapter 134: Ch132. Departed
The Spire trembled. Shadows curled around Miles, the echoes of the past still whispering in his ears. He could feel the weight of the revelation pressing into his bones, the cold truth settling deep inside him. The Hatter had not been a savior.
He had been ruin, a force of destruction that did not know how to stop, even though, deep inside him, there was a slumbering part that wished for him to do so.
And now, he was stirring.
Alice raised a hand, her fingers dancing through the air like a conductor weaving an unseen melody. The space between them shimmered, and Miles felt his body twist, not in pain, but in a sensation far stranger. Something inside him was uncoiling, being drawn out, like a string pulled from a tangled web.
The shadows deepened around him, and a figure took shape from them.
The Hatter stood there, separated from Miles after what felt like an eternity of him living with that being inside his mind. His coat still bore the color of old blood, his golden eyes glinting with something unreadable. And yet, he no longer felt like a looming specter within Miles’ mind.
He was himself, whole, and apart.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. And after a few moments of impossible silence, the Hatter tilted his head, his stitched grin widening.
"Well, dear boy... Our little arrangement, does it still stand?"
Miles inhaled sharply, his hands curling into fists. There was hesitation, yes, but also certainty beneath it.
He had seen what the Hatter had done, what he had been. And yet, he had also walked his path, step by step, making it his own.