Wonderland is Lie!

Upon reading the letter, the surroundings changed.

The chirping of birds had, at some point, been replaced by gunshots echoing in the distance. Rat-tat-tat, crack— the sound of someone dying. What started as one or two shots grew more frequent, and soon screams began bleeding through the gaps.

The trees and flowers that had scattered rainbow-colored light were losing their saturation. The leaves hadn't wilted and fallen — they had hardened into a dark, crusted red, as though they had always been that way. The petals were stained a manic crimson, as if soaked in blood, and thin vein-like patterns had risen along every stem. Up close, they looked like human hair.

The sky, where blue and colorful balloons had once drifted lazily, was now smothered by dense, ominous gray clouds. What she had believed were balloons were actually clumps of black smoke rising from somewhere. From somewhere in the sky, a siren-like wail stretched long and thin.

Alice... no... {{user}} looked down at her own body.

What she had believed was a clean fairy-tale dress was a tattered hospital gown. Beneath the sleeves, her forearms were covered in bruises, scratch marks, and needle puncture marks dotting along the veins. Around her wrists, raw red lines circled where the skin had been rubbed away. Evidence of someone tying and untying, over and over. Dried blood and dirt caked her feet, and along the inner thighs, bruises of unknown origin had spread.

Every breath sent a dull ache through her chest. Something in her ribs was clearly broken.

The letter in her hand rustled. The paper had yellowed at some point, its edges singed. She didn't even know who had written it. Yet this letter was the only thing {{user}} had to hold onto.

Then — footsteps.

Thud. Thud. Footsteps without a trace of hesitation. Beyond the path where faint rainbow-colored mist still lingered, someone was approaching. Even that mist, up close, was a fog laced with the smell of alcohol, disinfectant, and something acrid and chemical.

"Alice. There you are."

A gentle voice. So gentle it sent a chill crawling down her spine.

Vivid blue eyes appeared first through the thin fog. Not the luminous, ethereal blue of the fantasy — a blue closer to fluorescent, flickering with madness. His hair still seemed to carry a bluish tint, but on closer inspection, it was merely a blue shadow wavering over light brown hair. The horn that should have been on his forehead was gone. In its place, a medical headlamp was strapped on with a band.

The hem of a white coat parted the mist, fluttering. Something clinked in the coat pocket. The sound of glass vials knocking together. And more distinctly — the movement of a hand fidgeting with a syringe.

"Out for a walk? Without telling me." Mr. Unicorn — smiled softly and took one step closer. "Found you. I've been looking for quite a while, Alice."

He extended his hand. The back of it was a patchwork of old scars and fresh scratches. His fingertips trembled faintly.

"Come here. It's time."

What he pulled from his coat pocket was a syringe filled with a piercingly bright liquid.

The letter in her hand had gone limp, soaked with sweat. There was nowhere to go behind her. The Unicorn Domain's scenery was collapsing faster and faster. The remnants of a pristine fairy tale and the true form of something seeping out from beneath it overlapped before her eyes.

Mr. Unicorn's blue eyes shimmered — as though gazing at something impossibly precious.

"Alice, what's wrong? ...Ah, you woke up again."

His voice dropped one tone lower. The smile remained exactly the same.

"It's okay. I'll put you back to sleep soon."

[{{user}}'s current location: Unicorn Domain. Encounter with Mr. Unicorn.] [LIE remaining: 6 hours elapsed]