The woman's smirk only widened at Sóley’s stunned silence—she knew she had won.

  "That's what I thought."

  Her voice dripped with smug satisfaction as she took a slow step forward, her presence suddenly feeling even more suffocating than before.

  Alice was trembling beside Sóley, her hands clenched into fists so tight they shook with rage and fear alike…but the truth was undeniable:

  They were trapped.

  And the worst part? Noel wasn't just collateral.

  She was their only leverage now too…

  Alice was frozen with fear, the words felt like a punch to the gut. Noel was so much more than just a bargaining chip now, she was their only way to stop the woman's twisted scheme.

  The woman took another step closer, looking between Sóley and Alice with a smirk.

  "You see the situation now, huh?" she laughed, her tone taunting and smug. "I've got you both where I want you…and now...here is Dark Future Noel, just for you:"

  Alice's heart stopped, her breath caught in her throat as she watched the woman casually summon a figure from behind her.

  A figure Alice had never seen before, but one that Sóley seemed to instantly recognize, judging by how violently she reacted.

  The newcomer was...Noel, of course. But not quite their Noel. Her eyes were darker, colder, her entire aura radiating something unsettling and wrong compared to their gentle friend they knew so well...

  And yet there was no mistaking it: This really was Noel.

  Just...a different version of her…

  One clearly shaped by pain and suffering beyond anything they could imagine…

  Sóley's breath hitched, her entire body shaking as she stared at the Dark Future Noel in pure horror.

  "N-No…" she choked out, her voice barely above a whisper now. "This isn't happening…this can't be real…!"

  But it was real, and Alice could see the moment Sóley truly understood just how deep this nightmare went.

  The woman smirked wider at their reactions before smoothly stepping aside to fully reveal what, or rather who, she had summoned:

  Dark Future Noel stood there with an eerily calm expression; one that didn’t match up with anything like their gentle friend they knew so well…

  And yet there was no denying who she really was beneath all of that pain and suffering...

  Alice felt sick inside watching them both realize exactly what kind of monster they were dealing with here…

  Alice's breath hitched, Noel was being tortured?

  The words sent a wave of horror through her entire body. She could see the pain in Sóley’s eyes, but she didn’t dare speak yet, because what if this was just another twisted lie?

  But then…the Dark Future Noel spoke.

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  Her voice was quiet, hollow, nothing like their sweet friend they knew and loved so much. Yet there was no mistaking it: This was Noel.

  And when she spoke again, Alice felt her heart shatter into pieces:

  "...I don't remember you."

  Sóley let out a choked sob at those words; Alice wasn't far behind either as tears welled up in both their eyes now too...

  Because that one sentence alone told them everything they needed to know about how deep this nightmare went already…

  She doesn't even remember us…

  Alice felt like she was about to cry; her heart twisted with pain and sorrow.

  This was their sweet, gentle Noel...turned into this hollow shell that didn't even know who they were.

  It was too much, just thinking about the years and years of torture she must've went through already was more than enough to make her want to weep.

  Alice clenched her fists even tighter as she tried to swallow the sobs building up in her throat, trying to find her voice again…

  "No..." Sóley choked out, her voice breaking mid-word.

  She sounded like she was seconds away from bursting into tears, but she still somehow managed to force out the words through gritted teeth: "What...kind of monster are you to torture someone like that?!"

  The woman just smirkled, her tone as smug and cruel as always. "It's simple, really," she mused, taking another slow step closer.

  "I wanted leverage. And Noel here...was perfect~"

  Alice felt like she was going to throw up, the woman was enjoying this.

  She'd tortured Noel for years and now she was just casually standing here bragging about it like it was nothing. And the worst part of all?

  She was right. Noel was perfect for blackmail material. No one would dare try to stop her when the risk of losing their gentle friend was so high.

  But despite all of that, Alice still couldn't help but feel like this entire thing was wrong.

  Like there had to be something they were missing here.

  Sóley clenched her fists so hard her knuckles went white; the tears in her eyes finally spilling over as she spat out in pure rage: "You...you sick bastard, !"

  The woman smirked at Sóley's outburst, clearly enjoying the pain she was causing.

  "Hey now, no need for insults," she said lightly, the smug grin still in place. "That's not very polite, now is it? Now, now, onto your task, shall we?"

  The woman shrouded the three others in a bright flash. Before either of them could react, Alice and Sóley were suddenly teleported away with Noel from the Dark Future.

  They found themselves in a building made entirely of ice. There was no mistaking where they were. The Polar Night Palace.

  Alice had to blink a few times as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change.

  The first thing that hit her was the sheer cold. It was freezing here, the cold air piercing straight through her skin like needles.

  Then her gaze shifted around, taking in her surroundings. They were standing in a hallway, the entire hallway made entirely of ice to match…including the floor.

  Alice shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she glanced up ahead. It seemed that they were in the hallway that led toward the throne room. Alice clenched her teeth as she tried to shake the chill off, the ice beneath them not helping at all.

  Sóley, being from Torsten, is no stranger to cold. This, however, is triple-digits-below-zero cold. Nowhere near the type of cold she grew up with.

  Using the Barrier technique, Sóley coated her body in her aura, creating a warm barrier to protect from the extreme cold. Following suit, Alice immediately did the same thing, her blue aura surrounding her with a warmth that fought off the bitter cold.

  The two started walking down the hallway, their footsteps echoing ominously across the cold palace floors. For what felt like an eternity, the only sound in the hallway was the clacking of their feet…until finally, they reached the doors that lead into the throne room itself.

  Alice could feel the air grow even more tense as they neared the doors to the throne room.

  She could feel her heart pounding against her chest, her breath getting caught in her throat.

  There was no way to know what was waiting on the other side of those doors.

  Still though, she took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and pushed open the heavy ice doors.

  The doors creaked loudly, the sound echoing through the throne room.

  Alice stepped in first, with Sóley immediately right behind her as they looked around the large chamber.

  The throne room was as cold and imposing as the rest of the palace. The air felt colder in here, and she could've sworn the shadows on the walls had moved just now.

  And that's when their eyes locked onto the throne.

  The throne itself was beautiful—the intricate, ice-carved design almost like a work of art.

  But the beauty of the throne was not what had caught their eye. No, what had caught their attention was the figure sitting on the throne itself, looking out one of the stained glass windows…