Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 117: Ch115. Mysteries of the Horizon

Chapter 117: Ch115. Mysteries of the Horizon

The blue fire crackled, its light casting flickering shadows against the rusted metal walls of the chamber. The scent of sizzling meat filled the air, rich and smoky, though the sharp metallic aftertaste of the Revenant flesh still lingered at the edges of Miles’ tongue.

He had grown used to it. More than that, he had come to appreciate it, if only because it meant he had survived long enough to eat it without almost gagging on it.

Kurt sat across from him, expertly flipping a charred piece of meat onto a makeshift plate fashioned from scrap metal. He leaned back, smirking as he watched Miles take a bite without hesitation.

"Well, look at you," Kurt drawled, stretching out his legs. "Didn’t even flinch this time. I remember when you vehemently refused to eat your first serving of it down here. Now you eat it like it’s prime steak."

"You get used to things when starving isn’t an option." Miles chewed thoughtfully before swallowing.

Kurt barked out a short laugh.

"That’s the spirit. Horizon Rule Number One: Adapt, or get eaten." He tore into his own meal, the juices running down his fingers, which he sucked as if it was the gods’ nectar. "Speaking of adapting, it’s time we have a real talk, you and I."

Miles poked at the fire with a rusted metal rod, watching the embers shift and scatter. Now that he had finally finished his seven days of hellish training, he had his goal set, but there was a question mark about it that lingered in the back of his head.

’Why do the Hatter want me to go there...?’ He chewed on thoughtfully. ’I mean... He said he wants to go there, but why...?’

"You’ve been through The Maw," Kurt continued, unaware of Miles’ concern, eyeing him with something resembling curiosity. "That alone puts you ahead of most people who are tossed into The Horizon."

"Then tell me about the places I haven’t been. I want to know about them before I get to ask about The Last Verse." Miles exhaled, considering his options.

Kurt’s grin widened.

"Sure. It’s better to know where you stand before stepping forward." He wiped his hands clean and gestured outward, as if the world itself was sprawled before them. "The Horizon isn’t just a scrapyard for stories, as you’ve probably figured out by now. It’s like a puzzle pieced together from dead players and discarded nightmares. And if you plan to survive, you need to know what you’re walking into."

Miles nodded, waiting as Kurt began listing them off.

"First, there’s Luna Sea. It’s one of the rare places here that could be called a ’settlement’... If you’re feeling generous. It’s a scraptown built by people who learned to use everything they could scavenge. Magic, tech, organic matter, you name it. They turn it into weapons, tools, even artifacts. It’s a decent place to resupply, but it’s not exactly safe. Too many scavengers looking for easy marks. And let’s not even talk about the rogue constructs wandering around."

"Sounds useful, though. If I need gear, that’s the place to go?" Miles frowned.

"If you’ve got something valuable to trade. Otherwise, you’ll end up in someone’s experiment." Kurt nodded.

"Noted. What else?"

"The Maw." Kurt tilted his head. "You already know that hellhole. But what you might not know is that the deeper you go, the worse it gets. The Revenants down there... They’re just the surface-level predators. The real nightmares are the things buried under the rust and bones. And then there’s the whispers."

"Wait, you’re telling me that even that crowned son of a bitch was not a real threat?" Miles frowned, one of his brows going straight up.

"Oh, no." Kurt shook his head. "It was a death-level threat, just like the other ones at the higher levels, but the ones deep down... I only heard stories about them, and even the stories are enough to turn your blood into ice."

"Noted..." Miles glanced up, letting out a sigh.

Kurt’s expression darkened slightly.

"Yeah. And then there are the voices, you heard them I’m sure of it. People say they’re the voices of those who were swallowed by The Horizon, trapped in the metal itself. Others think they’re something worse. Either way, not many people came back after following the whispers. And the ones who did, were never the same..."

Miles felt a shiver run down his spine, but nodded, signaling for Kurt to continue.

"We also have the Spire of Echoes," Kurt said, his tone shifting slightly. "That one’s a mindfuck... It’s a skyscraper, or at least, it used to be. Now it’s... Twisted. The walls are fused with something alive, and the whole place plays tricks on you. It records your voice and plays it back at random. Sometimes it says things you don’t even remember saying."

"That sounds..." Miles hesitated. "Unsettling."

"Oh, it gets worse." Kurt said with a smirk. "At the peak, there’s a room. It’s filled with frozen Revenants, right in the middle of changing. They don’t move. They don’t attack. But their faces... They look like they’re screaming."

"And what’s the point of going there?" Miles suppressed a shudder.

"Hell if I know." Kurt shrugged. "Some people think there’s something important at the top. Others say it’s just another one of The Horizon’s sick jokes. Either way, not many make it back down."

"Next?" Miles exhaled.

"Rustgrave." Kurt leaned forward. "It’s a junkyard the size of a city, and the ground itself is your worst enemy. Step in the wrong place, and you’ll sink into the metal and bone. Some say there are ancient machines still alive down there, failed gods, broken AIs, things that whisper forgotten knowledge if you’re dumb enough to listen."

"And the Revenants?"

"Bigger. Slower. Fused with whatever the hell they were attached to before they died. Some of them have tank treads instead of legs. Others have cannons grafted to their arms." Kurt chuckled darkly. "Fun place."

"Pass. Next?" Miles shook his head.

"The Black Vein." Kurt’s smirk faded slightly. "Underground tunnels. Old factories, still running on... Something. No one knows what. But whatever it is, it’s keeping the machines alive. And those machines?" He exhaled through his nose. "They don’t come out right. They’re half-formed. Twisted. Like something tried to build soldiers and failed halfway through."

Miles’ grip tightened around his makeshift plate as Kurt kept speaking.

"Ah, and there’s a black, sludgy thing that drips from the ceilings, seeps into the ground. Some say it’s what powers the factories. Others think it’s alive. Either way, don’t touch it."

"Good advice." Miles shifted, knowing there was only one place left to discuss.

And now, he was slightly unsure he wanted to know about the place at all.

"And... The Last Verse?"

For the first time, Kurt hesitated. His silver eye flickered, the blue fire reflecting in it like a moon.

"The Last Verse is different," he said finally. "It’s at the center of The Horizon. A tower so tall you can see it from anywhere. You probably just never looked at it to really notice. The surface is constantly shifting, rewriting itself, like it’s made of something that can’t decide what it wants to be."

"And inside?" Miles felt an odd pull at the mention of it.

"Time moves... Wrong." Kurt’s voice was quieter now. "Some say they spent weeks climbing it, only to find out mere moments had passed. Others claim they were inside for seconds, but when they left, years had gone by."

"Noted..." Miles felt his skin crawl. "And at the top?"

"Well... Here’s where things get really fun." Kurt became serious. "At the top of it, you’ll find The Story’s Oracle." Kurt’s smirk returned, but it was tinged with something else – something like true fear, mixed with what looked like... Reverence. "It’s the only thing in The Horizon that knows the way out. But it doesn’t just hand out answers. It gives trials. And those trials?" He leaned in. "They show you the truth of your own story."

Miles met his gaze, recalling the White Rabbit’s words, back when he first fell into Wonderland.

"You might even find the truth about yourself."

"And the Revenants?" He asked, curiosity seeping into his every word.

"They don’t go near it. But some wander close. Like they remember something about it." Kurt’s voice was almost a whisper now. "Like they’re drawn to the echoes of who they were or something."

Silence stretched between them, the fire crackling in the background. Miles let the information sink in, weighing his next move.

"Tell me, kid," Kurt finally said, his tone shifting. "Why do you want to go there? Why put yourself through all this? What are you really after?" He paused. "It’s not just to go back to your world, is it?"

Miles looked at the fire, watching the embers swirl. And for a moment, he was not sure if he had an answer.