Chapter 10

Hex.

The desire to wish for utter despair, great suffering or death.

Depending on which part of the world you were in, you would find all different kinds of taboos, superstitions, faiths and blasphemies.

They are something that transcends borders, cultures, languages and all other barriers.

They and they alone are what unite humanity.

The oldest curse is the fall of the Tower of Babel - the monument built by mere mortals that threatened the authority of the Gods, a mockery of their divine existence in the heavens, a curse upon their very existence.

So, the Gods broke the tower and forever cursed humanity to be divided by all manner of things.

Well, the irony is that very curse is what keeps us united.

I’d often wondered what went through the heart and minds of the people who were cursed or curses others.

Black Magic is beyond the level of taboo.

It’s a crime against nature.

It’s a violation of the soul.

It brings nothing but evil.

So then, why do so many trifle with it?

I never understood until my run in with her.

“Ya~ho~!”

The greatest disaster of my life was encountering her.

The one in the shadows.

The one who walks silently in the rain.

The one who never sleeps, never stops, never blinks, never relents.

No matter how much I ignored her, she remained.

No matter what I did, she never disappeared.

The ultimate curse - older than perhaps even Pandora and Lilith themselves.

Alice the Chained Witch.

She who rules over Wonderland.

She who knows every single story that has ever been told.

She who holds the power of every single curse and taboo inside her texts.

Why is she called the Chained Witch?

I wish I could laugh at the golden chain connecting my wrist to hers, a bond none but we could see.

Once bound, she would never leave me, not until I died.

Until then, every horror imaginable would be levied at my feet.

In a way, I was one of the lucky ones.

Those cursed by Lilith had insatiable lust.

Those cursed by Pandora always heard her voice encouraging them to act foolishly.

Alice, at least, could hold conversations.

“Hey, why are you ignoring me?”

“Shut up, go over there.”

Not that I wanted to talk to her.

Alice was here.

She was the one who shaped my world.