Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 103: Ch101. Pain as a teacher (25) - Not so bad

Chapter 103: Ch101. Pain as a teacher (25) - Not so bad

"How much do you really know about this place?" Miles’ voice came out steadier than he expected.

He had barely caught his breath, and the effects of the [Ether Teapot] were but a pale shadow of comfort after his world came crashing down.

Kurt pulled his knife back, crossing his arms, his silver eye gleaming faintly in the dim glow of the glyphs behind Miles. The air between them was thick with unspoken tension.

"More than most." Kurt exhaled sharply through his nose.

"Bullshit." Miles narrowed his eyes. "You’re hiding something."

"Maybe. But so are you, kid, and I’m not pushing you against a wall for it."

"You just pulled a knife at my throat." Miles clenched his jaw.

"Yeah, well, you have a point." Kurt scoffed. "But still... Do you really mean it? That we come from different worlds?"

Miles nodded somberly.

"Yeah... It’s the only explanation for how you were born in The Glitch and I lived through it since only four months ago..."

"No time travel or anything of the sorts?" Kurt smirked.

"there’s no such thing, and if you played the game, as you call it, for as long as you said... Then you should know better."

"Well, it raises some questions, doesn’t it?" Kurt laughed quietly, startling Miles. "You come from a different world than I do, we’re in a place where the game can’t reach, with an unwelcome guest that lurks inside you... If I didn’t know better, I’d say we’re in the middle of a weird genre novel, don’t you think?"

Miles rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Sometimes I really want to punch you in the face, you know... But you didn’t say what you saw."

"I got that a lot back home." Kurt retorted, chuckling, as soon as Miles said it. "Also, I fought it."

Miles’ lips were curling upward as he felt the tension breaking slightly, but when Kurt said those three words, it felt like everything made sense, but at the same time, it felt like...

It felt like it was real.

At first, Miles thought that he could hold the Hatter’s whispers in his mind back by his sheer willpower, but then things got a bit more complicated when he started talking about his insecurities.

However, it did not feel real enough to make him feel an immediate sense of danger. But when Kurt said that he fought it, that he fought the Hatter when he was walking around using Miles’ skin...

What if it happened back on Earth, and Miles became possessed by the Hatter near...

’No!’ Miles shook his head.

The mere idea of him – even though not quite him – laying a finger on his little brother, made a shiver run down his spine, and his stomach crash like a wave.

"What’s wrong?" Kurt asked, a slight tone of concern finding way into his voice.

"Nothing." Miles shook his head again. "Go on, you said you fought it..."

Kurt fell silent for a while, but when he spoke, Miles felt like the walls of the hidden chamber got closer, making the space feel suddenly too tight for him to breathe properly.

"Why do you think you woke up feeling like you were run over by a truck?" Kurt smirked. "But it did put up quite a fight, I must say... Even the Revenant up there wasn’t as strong as your friend."

"He’s... Not my friend..."

"Oh, but he should be." Kurt got up. "It’d help you quite a lot on your way to getting stronger. Are you hungry?"

Miles wanted to say he was good, but as soon as the idea of food seeped into his thoughts, his stomach growled like a wild beast.

"I don’t think you can say no to food this time, kid." Kurt laughed for the first time in a long while. "Also, I don’t think we need to discuss it over empty bellies, am I wrong?"

"No, you’re not." Miles rolled his eyes but shook his head.

"So, let’s get going and find a better place to hide and make some grub." Kurt dusted his hands against each other. "This chamber gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Miles got up without saying a word, his thoughts still in turmoil, and followed Kurt out of the hidden chamber.

He looked back, though, a thought seeping into his head.

’I’d better come back when I can...’

***

After leaving the hidden chamber, since it was too eerie for them to train in there, they walked and fought against some lesser Revenants, scavenging for meat and more scrap metal for new daggers, before finding another hiding spot.

The chamber they found was small, tucked away behind a collapsed section of the ruins, hidden beneath a mess of twisted beams and fallen stone. It wasn’t much, but it was safe – for now. And to make it even safer, Miles noticed that it was a place Kurt already knew and used before.

He crouched near a makeshift firepit, igniting a small blue flame with a flick of his knife against some scrap metal. The eerie glow cast flickering shadows across the walls, making the chamber feel even more isolated from the rest of The Horizon.

For a while, neither of them broke the silence. The only sound was the crackling of the fire and the distant, unsettling groans of the ruined world beyond their hiding place.

Kurt reached into his coat and pulled out two pieces of meat wrapped in cloth. He roasted them in the fire, and after they were done, he tossed one toward Miles.

"Eat."

Miles caught it without thinking, staring down at the dark, fibrous meat in his hands. The last time Kurt had offered him food, he’d turned it down without hesitation. Knowing where it came from – what it came from – had made his stomach churn. But now?

After everything, he was starving.

His hesitation only lasted a second. With a sigh, he tore off a piece and chewed.

It was tough, slightly bitter, but not nearly as awful as he expected. Even more because of how Kurt had seasoned it.

The flavor was odd, tinged with something metallic, but not nearly as bad as he had thought. He forced himself to swallow, taking another bite.

"See? Not so bad." Kurt smirked.

Miles grunted, not dignifying that with a response. He took another bite, chewing slower this time.

They ate in silence for a while, the fire casting long shadows along the walls. It was not until Miles was nearly finished with his meal that he finally spoke.

"So... You fought the Hatter." His voice was tinged with a dark emotion that he did not know how to describe, but he kept speaking between his munching. "I want to know everything..."

And after a moment of silence, broken only by their chewing, Miles added.

"And I want to know what exactly you know about the Mad Hatter and Wonderland."