In this vast and boundless world, everything under the heavens rotates beneath the wheel of destiny. And I, Alice, shall be the master of my own fate! — Alice
The Flaming Forest on the Camelot Continent was like a cursed and forbidden land, permeated with the breath of death and fear.
"Ah —"
Under the pitch-black night sky, a shrill female voice, like the shriek of the Grim Reaper, suddenly tore through the suffocating stillness. This sound was like the death knell of doomsday, sending the magical beasts in the forest fleeing in panic and the birds taking flight like frightened ghosts, hastily escaping this terrifying place.
"Alice, don't complain. This is the tribulation fated for you!"
"Somebody, throw this wretch off the cliff and let her experience the taste of despair during the fall!"
In the dim yellow light, a woman in white was like a witch from hell, tightly gripping a thorny whip in her hand. The thorns on the whip were like the fangs of demons, each stained with blood. The blood trickled down the length of the whip, dropping one by one into the soil, like dark flowers blooming on the earth.
Behind the woman in white, dozens of shadow guards were like silent ghosts, their figures blending with the darkness, further accentuating the woman in white's aura of a demon queen.
The screams coming from the girl struggling on the ground were from none other than Alice, the protagonist of this cruel tragedy. Her blood-soaked dress was drenched with blood and mud, and her face was covered with dirt and bloodstains, making her once beautiful features unrecognizable. The dress had been torn into shreds by the repeated lashings of the thorny whip, and her exposed flesh was a mangled mess, with the wounds gaping open. The ghastly sight was like a vivid portrayal of a scene from hell.
Two shadow guards obeyed the order and mercilessly kicked Alice off the cliff.
"Irina..." Alice's grief-stricken and indignant voice, before she could finish shouting, was ruthlessly swallowed by the howling wind, just like her soon-to-vanish life.
Seeing this, the woman in white's face contorted into a hideous grin, like a demon from the abyss, full of malice and satisfaction. Alice, whom she regarded as a useless wretch, was finally going to disappear, which filled her heart with a warped sense of pleasure.
"Hahaha..."
Her maniacal laughter echoed on the edge of the cliff, like a curse from hell, lingering for a long time, as if it were going to drag this land into endless darkness.
The next day, the faint light of dawn struggled to penetrate through the thick foliage and shone on the bottom of the cliff. Alice struggled to open her heavy eyelids, and a weak ray of light entered her violet eyes. She tried hard to make out her surroundings, and her vision gradually became clear.
She found herself lying beside a stream. The water in the stream gurgled merrily, making a crisp sound. The banks of the stream were strewn with pebbles of various shapes. Some were smooth and round, like gems meticulously polished by dwarves; others were angular, resembling the battle-axes wielded by giants. These stones sparkled with a mysterious and fantastical glow under the reflection of the water, as if they held ancient magic within.
The grass beside the stream was like a magic carpet, dotted with star-like wildflowers. The light blue hyacinths swayed gently in the breeze, symbolizing eternal remembrance. Their delicate color was like the teardrops shed by the Sky God; the purple irises were like mysterious magic symbols, blooming with an air of mystery in the grass, as if they were telling ancient legends.
As soon as Alice regained consciousness, a searing pain like being gnawed by demons struck her head, and she couldn't help but cry out in pain. In an instant, countless images flooded into her mind like a raging tide.
On the Camelot Continent, in the Augustan Empire, the Alva family had once been as glorious as a shining pearl on the continent. However, now the Alva family was like the setting sun, gradually declining. Alice, as the legitimate daughter of the family, should have enjoyed a life of luxury and wealth, but due to her inability to cultivate magic, she had become a useless wretch in the eyes of everyone.
A few days ago, she had been plunged into deep misery because of her fiancé's broken engagement. And her so-called good friend Irina had lured her to this desolate forest under the pretext of "cheering her up". It was clearly a carefully planned death trap.
The backstab, the brutal torture, the malicious taunts, and finally being mercilessly kicked off the cliff, each moment kept replaying in her mind like a nightmare. Each and every one of these evil deeds was like a blood feud, deeply engraved in the depths of her soul.
In this world where magic was revered, everyone on the continent could resonate with magic and embark on the path of cultivation, except for Alice. But it seemed that fate had a special favor for her, endowing her with a beauty that could topple kingdoms. It was said that she bore a seven-tenths resemblance to her missing mother, looking as enchanting as a fairy in the morning light.
The Alva family was now in a precarious situation. If it weren't for Duke Alva the Elder's tenacious struggle to hold on, perhaps the family would have long been reduced to being trampled upon by others in the Augustan Empire. Now, among the descendants of the family, only Alice and her aunt Evelynn, who had been in a poisoned coma for seven years, remained. Both aunt and niece had suffered the misfortune of broken engagements one after another, and the reputation of the Alva family had plummeted, becoming the talk of the town.
"Irina!"
Alice narrowed her eyes slightly, with flames of anger flickering in them. The searing pain from her wounds made her feel as if she were reliving the inhumane torture from last night. Irina's malicious and triumphant face was like the mark of a demon, deeply engraved in her mind and impossible to erase. The grief and hatred of the original owner welled up in her like surging magma, and having merged with this body, she could feel it all.
"Since I have inherited your body, I will protect your family, avenge you, and drag those who have hurt you all into the abyss of hell!"
Just as Alice was about to get up, a faint "tick-tock" sound came from behind her. The sound was like a whisper of a ghost in the dark, making her immediately alert. She laboriously turned her head to look back and saw a blurry figure in the distance. Before she could get a clear look, a dense glow of starlight engulfed the figure like a tidal wave.
"The Great Destiny Plate of the Star Lord!" Alice couldn't help but widen her eyes in astonishment.
This was a mysterious existence that she had only read about in ancient magic tomes. In her past life, she had possessed the spiritual pupils that could peer into souls and see through others' destiny plates. Unexpectedly, after being reincarnated into this girl also named Alice, she was once again connected to this miraculous power. However, in the original owner's memory, these spiritual pupils had always been dormant.
A strong sense of curiosity surged within Alice, like a moth drawn to a flame. She wanted to approach the mysterious glow to find out more. She struggled to stand up, with the water of the stream reaching above her knees. Each step felt like a heavy burden, but her steps remained firm, like a fearless warrior advancing towards the unknown mystery.
The trees around were towering into the sky, like ancient giants guarding this mysterious land. Their bark was engraved with mysterious patterns, like the magic runes left by the ancient elves. Each pattern held the secrets of the ages, as if whispering ancient legends. Hanging from the branches were some strange vines, covered with small but sharp thorns. The thorns glinted with a cold light in the dim light, like loyal guards protecting this mysterious realm engulfed in starlight.
Those who possessed the Great Destiny Plate of the Star Lord were extremely rare throughout history. They were all legendary figures in various fields, favored by the Goddess of Destiny and possessing the power to change the world.
Alice walked closer step by step. Before long, she had reached a distance of only ten meters from the place where the starlight was emanating. The light grew stronger, as dazzling as the sun, blinding her almost to the point where she couldn't open her eyes.
Suddenly, a powerful and mysterious force, like an invisible giant hand, yanked her forward.
She felt a tight grip on her wrist and was instantly clamped by a cold, large hand. The force was astonishingly strong, as if it were going to crush her bones, like being grabbed by the claws of a dragon.
"Who are you?" A deep voice rang in her ears. The voice was like a cold wind from the abyss, carrying a sense of coldness and indifference, sending a chill down one's spine, as if the Grim Reaper were whispering in one's ear.
Alice:!
The dense starlight enveloped the other person, making it impossible for her to see his face clearly. But just from this authoritative voice, an image of an extremely handsome man involuntarily formed in her mind.
In her past life, she could freely control the opening and closing of her spiritual pupils. However, at this moment, no matter how hard she blinked, the spiritual pupils remained unresponsive.
Feeling the increasingly intense murderous intent from the man, Alice was startled. She realized she had been too careless. Now, to save her life, she could only pretend!
She immediately put on an act of being blind, looking up blankly and searching around, with a hint of delight in her tone: "Dear Jack, is it you?"
"Is it night now? Why can't I see anything? Those wretched wilderness ruffians, they're like demons incarnate, bullying me, a defenseless woman with no magic, and even pushing me off the cliff!"
As Alice spoke, she began to sob, her shoulders shaking continuously to make her performance more convincing. However, she just couldn't squeeze out any tears, so she had to lower her head and whimper pitifully, like a helpless child.
When the man heard the name "Jack", the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly. And after hearing her subsequent words, his face was covered with black lines. If it weren't for the fact that this woman in front of him had no magic fluctuations and was covered in wounds, he probably would have snapped her neck the moment he opened his eyes.
"Are you really blind?" The dangerous aura in the man's words burst out like a surging undercurrent, as if it were the calm before the storm.
Alice heard this and her dirty little face instantly turned as pale as paper, her eyes glazed over, showing a look of terror. She struggled violently, trying to break free from the man's grip on her hand.
"You... you're not Jack! Who on earth are you?"
As soon as Alice finished speaking, her eyes suddenly stung, and the starlight gradually faded away. She could vaguely make out a figure.
As her vision gradually cleared...
The man had blond hair that shone like the sun, flowing smoothly over his shoulders, emitting a divine glow. His features were cold and stern like the frost of winter, each line seemingly carved by the hands of the gods, perfect and flawless. His posture was as straight as a pine on a lofty mountain, giving an air of lofty and unapproachable dignity. He was like a god emerging from mythology, with an aura of noble elegance that overwhelmed everything around, making everything else seem dull in comparison.
His rose-colored thin lips were slightly pursed, seemingly carrying a hint of coldness and mystery. His pair of deep blue eyes was like an endless ocean, mysterious and unfathomable. The power contained within them seemed capable of seeing through souls, yet also carried a menacing danger, like a hidden vortex in the deep sea, capable of sucking everything in.
He was dressed in an exquisitely magnificent black cloak, embroidered with silver star patterns and mysterious and complex magic runes. The star patterns were like the real stars twinkling in the night sky, emitting a mysterious glow; the magic runes were like flowing rivers of magic, fluttering gently with his movements, as if they had a life of own, as if each flutter could trigger a magic storm.
He had a longsword with gems inlaid on its hilt hanging from his waist. The gems on the hilt emitted a cold light, like the eyes of demons, peering at everything in the world. The scabbard was engraved with ancient characters, which seemed to be telling the legendary history of this sword, demonstrating its extraordinariness and mystery, as if drawing the sword would break the shackles of destiny.
His cold and ascetic temperament exuded an indescribable allure, like the forbidden fruit, making people both desirous and in awe.
He showed no trace of tenderness, yet seemed to possess an invisible magic that made everything around him seem dull in comparison, as if the whole world revolved around him.
A flash of admiration quickly passed through Alice's violet eyes, but this subtle expression was keenly captured by the man.
The man frowned slightly, a flash of anger in his eyes. How dare someone tease him! He swiftly stretched out his hand, his long and powerful fingers like iron pincers, clamping around Alice's neck and tightening his grip, the murderous intent in his eyes growing stronger.
Alice: "..." She thought to herself that it was bad luck. Her spiritual pupils had recovered neither too early nor too late, but precisely when his guard was at its lowest. Wasn't this clearly inviting death and increasing the hatred towards her?
Alice struggled desperately, but with her powerless and frail body, in the face of the man's powerful strength, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. How could she possibly break free?