Miles stared at Cheshire, his pulse hamring in his ears. The cat’s words sank in like lead in his stomach, twisting sothing deep inside him.
"That girl..." He muttered, his voice barely a whisper. "You’re telling Sarissa is the one you’ve been looking for?"
"That’s right." Cheshire’s luminous grin didn’t waver, but his piercing blue eyes held sothing different this ti. Sothing serious.
"Okay, can soone explain to what the hell is going on?" Diego shifted uncomfortably in his chair, glancing between the two.
Miles exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair before turning back to Cheshire.
"You told that you were looking for soone... That you needed my help to find them." He clenched his jaw. "I thought it was about finding Alice’s incarnation on Earth, like you told before, not... Her."
"It’s both, my dear boy. Alice and Sarissa are deeply connected. More than you know." Cheshire hopped onto the table, his tail flicking lazily.
"And you conveniently left that part out?" Diego crossed his arms.
"I didn’t know it was her." Cheshire’s grin widened, sharp and knowing. "Not until I saw her."
Miles felt a strange sense of unease settle over him. Sarissa... The sa girl who had just stood in front of hundreds of players, declaring that she had found the first clue to unlocking the [World Quest]. The sa girl who had reached level 50 before anyone else.
The sa girl who, despite her arrogance, was the one player everyone looked up to.
And now, sohow, she was also connected to a place Miles thought himself to be the only one who would ever know about.
"Shit!" Miles muttered under his breath. He hated this. Hated feeling like he was being dragged into sothing bigger than himself.
And yet, it felt exactly like that.
"So, what do we do now?" He spoke, begrudgingly.
"I think this ans goodbye for us..." Cheshire’s voice beca grim. "Even if it’s just for now."
"WHAT?!" Miles slamd his fist at the arm of the couch. "You’re going to abandon ? Just like that?"
Cheshire didn’t flinch at Miles’ outburst. Instead, the cat tilted his head slightly, his tail flicking in slow, deliberate motions.
"Abandon? No, no, my dear boy. That’s such a harsh word," he mused. "Let’s call it... An adjustnt of priorities."
"You dragged into this. You made agree to help you find her. And now that you have, you’re just going to leave?" Miles shot up from the couch, his frustration boiling over.
"That was the deal, wasn’t it?" Cheshire stretched languidly, his body twisting in impossible ways as he hovered midair. "I told you, my goal has always been to find her. And now that I have, my role in your journey..." His grin widened, sharp as a blade, "... Is temporarily on hold."
"Hold on, hold on. This is insane. Sarissa, out of all people?" Diego frowned. "Are you saying she’s so kind of key to this whole Wonderland thing?"
"More than a key," Cheshire purred. "She’s the door itself."
The words sent a chill down Miles’ spine. He didn’t know why, but sothing about them felt... Final. Inevitable. As if his fate had been written and sealed the mont he had stepped into Wonderland.
"And what am I supposed to do now? Just let you run off to her?" He gritted his teeth.
"You have your own path to walk, Miles," Cheshire said simply. "And she has hers."
A silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken words.
"Fine. Go. See if I care." Then, Miles scoffed, his nostrils flaring.
"Oh, but you do care, Miles. You care far more than you’d like to admit." Cheshire’s grin remained, but there was sothing almost... Sad in his glowing eyes.
And with that, his body dissolved into a swirl of bright blue sparks, fading into the air until only Cheshire’s grin remained, it, too, gradually fading until there was no sign of the cat anymore before either of them could say another word.
"Well. That was... Sothing." Diego let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
Miles didn’t respond imdiately. He just stood there, hands clenched into fists, staring at the spot where Cheshire had been.
"We’re leaving." Then, finally, he turned to Diego.
"Leaving? Where?" Diego blinked.
"The [World Quest] just beca a lot more interesting." There was a wide, bitter grin on Miles’ lips. "And I’m not about to let Sarissa be the only one to uncover its secrets."
"But—"
"No buts. Pack up. We need to hit level fifty as soon as possible."
"Alright... But sothing tells this just got a whole lot more complicated." Diego hesitated for a mont before nodding.
"It always was." Miles smirked, but there was no humor in it. Only cold determination.
With that, Miles summoned sothing from his inventory. A small, tallic item that resembled a...
"What’s that key for, big bro?" Diego asked, tilting his head ever so slightly.
"This, my little best friend..." Miles turned toward him, a hint of warmth behind his determined, bitter grin. "Is what I wanted to talk to you about when we arrived ho, but... Since everything beca so chaotic, right now..." He sighed and then added up. "I guess I’ll just have to show you first-hand."
"Show what?" Diego frowned, a drop of urgency and concern finding purchase in his voice.
"Wonderland." Miles’ eyes glead as he motioned with the key as if to put it inside a keyhole. Only it simply t the empty space beside them.
A few seconds later, though, that empty space resounded, crackling with energy while Diego looked, baffled, as a bright red portal opened to his left, sparks of energy flying all around.
"Wha-" Diego tried to say sothing, but his jaw dropped. "Since when do you have a spatial skill like that?"
"It’s not a spatial skill, you dimwit." Miles chuckled. "It’s an item I acquired after I killed the White Rabbit, back in Wonderland."
"Wait..." Diego’s eyes widened, realization finally taking over. "We’re really going to Wonderland?"
"Yeah." Miles nodded. "We’re reaching level fifty, you and I, and don’t worry, little bro." His smirk brightened. "I got your back, as long as you got mine."
Hesitantly at first, Diego nodded, his eyes sparkling with anticipation as he closed them shut. And together, they stepped into the portal.
When Diego opened his eyes, though, he could not believe what he saw.
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