I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

"They only obey others' arrangements and never walk their own path." The voice ignored her panic and continued speaking, its tone even carrying a mocking pity.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Come out here!" Alice shouted.

“I’m not talking nonsense, Alice.” The voice became clearer. “From the moment you were born, you have been obeying other people’s arrangements.”

"Now, you must obey the direction a pile of broken stones points to without hesitation."

“I did it to survive!” Alice retorted loudly, her eyes already red. “I have no power; I have to obey so I won’t cause trouble!”

"Survive?"

The voice suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"You should know best what will happen to you once you get to the royal city, shouldn't you?"

Alice's pupils contracted sharply.

"Do you really think that your shrewd grandfather went to great lengths to send you to the Duke of Valerius's mansion just to find you a safe haven?"

“Shut up…” Alice covered her ears and shook her head desperately. “Grandpa was trying to protect me. Those who are hunting down my mother haven’t given up yet.”

“Yes, they haven’t given up.” The voice ignored her resistance. “Duke Valerius will certainly protect you. He will give you the most magnificent rooms, the most delicious food, and the most secure guards. He will treat you like a rare treasure.”

"But his purpose is to use you to continue his bloodline."

"To create another immortal species."

Alice's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

"No...it's not like that..." she murmured to herself, tears finally streaming down her face.

"Have you forgotten your mother's tragedy?" The voice pressed closer, cruelly tearing open the deepest scars in her memory. "The blood of the immortal race can prolong life. Although you did not inherit the bloodline, your womb is the only vessel your mother left in this world."

"If you get there, you'll only become a breeding machine kept in captivity."

"This is the consequence of your compliance."

"Go your own way, okay?"

The voice suddenly became incredibly gentle, like an alluring spell, echoing in Alice's ears.

"No!"

Alice suddenly raised her head and shouted into the empty mist.

"I don't want to disappoint Grandpa."

"He did so much to protect me. Guards in the manor died one after another. He used all his money to hire mercenaries and even mortgaged the family business. He is old now, and he doesn't even dare to close his eyes when he sleeps."

She raised her hand and forcefully wiped away the tears on her face.

"If going to the royal city is my destiny, if this is the last thing I can do for the Laurent family, then I accept it."

Alice turned around and faced the towering phoenix statue again.

The bird's beak still coldly pointed ahead.

She ignored the voice in her mind and continued walking in the direction indicated by the stone statue.

One step, two steps.

The mist swirled around her, as if mocking her foolishness.

The thirtieth stone statue.

The fiftieth stone statue.

The 100th stone statue.

Alice didn't know how long she had been walking. Her soft-soled leather shoes were worn out long ago, and the rough particles on the stone pavement pierced her soles. With each step, she left a glaring bloodstain on the gray-white ground.

Endless.

This road paved with obedience has no end.

"Is this the direction you've chosen?"

The voice rang out again, but this time it was no longer gentle; instead, it carried a haughty and aloof quality.

"To live up to the expectations of others, even at the cost of sacrificing all one's dignity and freedom, is a deeply moving kind of foolishness."

Alice gritted her teeth and didn't stop.

She endured the excruciating pain in her feet and mechanically took steps forward.

“You always felt like you were a burden to them, and you were filled with guilt, so you chose to listen and obey.”

"But what if you could become stronger yourself?"

Alice finally slowed down.

"If you possess power, even..." the voice paused, "...you could become a god."

Alice stopped in front of the next phoenix statue.

She stared blankly at the stone statue.

“God?” she murmured, repeating the word.

"Yes, God."

“That spirit deer has already planted the seed in your body. You have already experienced that power, haven’t you? That flower that bloomed in the cold winter, that withered leaf that came back to life.”

"As long as you are willing to abandon the path that others have drawn for you, as long as you dare to break free from your own shackles."

"You will no longer need anyone's protection."

"You can protect your old grandfather and let him enjoy his later years in peace."

That last sentence completely shattered Alice's psychological defenses.

“Lynn said…we are not gods, we can’t save everyone,” Alice murmured.

"But he's not a god, you can be." "As long as you dare to make a choice."

Alice opened her eyes.

She looked at the phoenix statue in front of her, its beak still stubbornly pointing forward, pointing to that dead end that was forever looping.

"That's true."

Alice took a deep breath, and a resolute look suddenly appeared on her face, which was originally covered with tears and fear.

She glanced at the long trail of blood she had left at her feet.

If the end result of obedience is being used as a breeding tool, if the price of compliance is becoming a burden to others forever.

She no longer wanted to comply.

Alice turned around.

She neither followed the direction of the bird's beak nor returned to her original path.

She turned ninety degrees to face the thick, impenetrable gray-white mist, devoid of any stone statues for guidance.

After a period of intense internal struggle, she lifted her foot and stepped into that unknown, blind spot without hesitation.

She chose a path that belonged to her.

……

When Alice stepped off the planned route, the entire space seemed to tremble.

The surrounding gray-white mist instantly became violent.

The once still fog transformed into a tangible resistance, like invisible walls, crashing heavily against her.

"go back."

"You will die in the unknown darkness."

"Compliance is your only way to survive."

Countless cacophony of sounds exploded in the mist, and illusions flashed incessantly through the fog.

"Go away!"

Alice let out a hysterical scream.

She did not back down; instead, she faced the immense resistance head-on, swinging her arms forcefully as if trying to tear a crack in the swamp.

She didn't know what lay ahead; all she knew was that she absolutely could not turn back.

The wound on the sole of his foot tore open again under the intense friction, and blood trailed a shocking red line through the grayish-white mist.

Alice struggled to breathe; the mist seemed to have a life of its own, desperately trying to suffocate her by trying to force its way into her mouth and nose.

"I will not... be a burden anymore."

Alice bit her tongue, and with all her might, she rammed forward.

"call."

A violent gust of wind suddenly blew in from the front without warning.

This breeze lacked the harshness of ice and snow; instead, it carried a refreshing fragrance of earth and grass.

The fierce wind swept away the raging gray-white mist with overwhelming force, and also shattered the noisy illusions and sounds.

Alice fell forward due to inertia, but she did not fall onto the cold ground.

She fell into a soft meadow.

Alice gasped for breath, greedily inhaling the fresh air. She slowly raised her head, and the sight before her completely stunned her.

The fog disappeared.

Instead, there is a small, tranquil pond.

The pool water was crystal clear, emitting a faint glow.

The pond was surrounded by exotic flowers and plants, which thrived even without sunlight, each leaf exuding a rich life force.

In the very center of the pond stands a huge black rock.

On the rock, perched a real, living phoenix.

It is not large, only the size of a falcon, but every feather on its body looks as if it were formed from pure flame.

It wasn't a scorching flame that could burn everything, but a life-giving fire that was emerald green and represented absolute vitality.

The phoenix stood silently on the rock, its eyes, which held the weight of countless stars and the vicissitudes of time, calmly watching Alice, who had fallen to the ground on the grass.

The air was filled with a sacred pressure that made one want to prostrate oneself in worship.

Alice held her breath, even forgetting the pain in her feet, and could only stare blankly at the legendary creature.

The phoenix did not open its beak, but the voice that had guided and questioned her in the mist before rang in Alice's mind once again.

This time, there was no mockery or coldness in the voice; only a solemnity and approval belonging to the gods remained.

"You made your choice."

The phoenix lowered its head slightly, and emerald green flames danced gently on its tail feathers.

"Conformity is the way of survival for the weak, but power belongs only to those who dare to break the rules."

As the phoenix spoke, the water in the pond suddenly began to boil, and countless green lights rose from the water, like a reverse meteor shower, frantically converging towards Alice.

"Remember the step you took today."

The sound of the phoenix echoed throughout the space, deafeningly loud.

"We must make good use of the power over life and nature."

The moment the words left her lips, those green light spots surged into Alice's body.

Alice let out a muffled groan as she felt a tremendous force explode within her body.

The wounds on the soles of her feet healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, her fatigue vanished, and her senses were amplified to an infinite degree. She could even hear the sound of every blade of grass growing around her.

The emerald green light completely engulfed her.

……

"boom!"

In the real world, the door to a guest room on the second floor of the Hearthfire and Anvil Inn was shattered by a violent wind blade.