Alice took a slow breath before speaking again.
"In the first few days of getting to Fillory, everything seemed… okay." She gave a faint, almost nostalgic smile. "Julia and Quentin were ecstatic at being there. I was too. But we couldn't enjoy it, because we had a friend to rescue."
Kai stayed silent, letting her talk.
"Jane came to us and told us to seek out one of the creators of Fillory to ask for his guidance and help. So we sought out Ember one of the two creators for his help against the Beast. But… he was in hiding. Too fearful of the Beast to do anything, except give us his essence."
Kai scrunched up his face. "And pray tell… what was this 'essence'?"
'That would be his semen… urgh'
Alice shifted uncomfortably. "Well… uhhh… it was his, umm… life essence."
From her expression, Kai nodded at that. "It's not his blood… but something more intimate, isn't it?"
She hesitated, then nodded.
Kai swallowed with visible disgust. "...Move on. Please."
"The villagers and blacksmith gave us a knife that could only be wielded by someone blessed and potentially kill the beast. Hence the use of Ember's essence to wield it. Of course, we had to choose between ourselves who'd drink it and Julia volunteered. But it all went to hell when we got to the cabin he had Marina in."
Kai tilted his head. "How so?"
"When we got to the cabin, Marina wasn't there. But we found something else."
Kai frowned. "Wait, What do you mean she wasn't there?"
"That's just it, we all believed she'd be there but she wasn't. We looked around and couldn't find her anywhere… but we did find something else."
"What?" Kai asked.
"The source of magic. The Wellspring."
Kai nodded slowly. "Then what?"
"Before we could do anything… the Beast came for us. Julia tried to fight him, and she was winning. But she exhausted the essence before she could deal the final blow. We tried to help her. Penny tried to teleport us all away, but"
Her voice broke, distress threading every word.
"He cut off his hands and legs and when he was done with penny I was next." She swallowed hard. "He was about to kill me but Q, got in his way and so he decided to punish him for interrupting him"
Tears welled in her eyes as she continued. "The Beast tore his arm off… layer by layer. And the screams… they delighted him."
Kai's jaw tightened.
"We were useless… until Julia started to cast. And it got out of control."
Kai frowned. "Don't tell me…"
Alice nodded. "She turned into a Niffin."
She went quiet.
Kai's voice was low, serious. "What did she do?"
"She killed the Beast."
Kai blinked. "Wait, wait… she killed the Beast?"
Alice nodded.
"Then who the fuck did all this damage to the school?"
"The Beast did."
Kai's confusion deepened. She cut him off before he could say more.
"After the Beast was killed, we tried to get through to Julia, but we couldn't. She was was lost and was on a war path. In a last-ditch effort to save us from being killed as well, Penny who'd lost his limbs managed to teleport his body to make contact with her. And they… teleported. I have no idea where."
"Fuck," Kai muttered.
"This still doesn't explain how the Beast is still alive, Alice."
"I'm getting there."
"With Julia gone together with Penny, who I'm sure she killed. Quentin and I were attacked from behind by someone. We both lost consciousness. When we came to… we were bound. And the person we saw was… Marina. And Fogg."
Kai's eyes narrowed. "What??"
"It all made sense. Fogg had been desperate for a way to regenerate his hands that the Beast took from him. The only possible solution was to seek out that which made the Beast as powerful as he was."
Kai whispered, "The Wellspring."
Alice nodded.
Realization dawned on him. "The shackles. The ward…"
"It was him all along, he had followed us without us knowing," she said bitterly.
Kai leaned back slightly. 'A turncoat. This is sounding like the crazy Fogg that exists in one of the alternative timelines'. "Tell me one thing… he's the Beast now, isn't he?"
Alice nodded.
Kai sighed. "What happened next?"
"Fogg blamed us all for bringing that abomination to Brakebills. But most of all… he blamed me. For the summoning. I thought it would summon Charlie. But I ended up creating a gateway."
Kai sighed. "And Marina? Why betray you guys?"
"For love."
He stared. "What?"
"She loved him like a father. And he loved her like a daughter."
Alice went on, voice shaking. "She was the one who killed Professor Lou. She cut off her own finger for him."
Kai's mind reeled. 'Mutilating yourself for Fogg? That's beyond fucked up.'
"What happened after he drank from the Wellspring?"
"Oh, it healed him yes. But it came at a cost."
Kai's expression didn't change. "It burnt away his shade, didn't it?"
She nodded. "He thought he could handle it… so he cut off a portion of his shade."
"Shade amputation," Kai muttered.
"Marina was supposed to implant it back."
Kai palmed his face. "Lemme guess it didn't go as planned."
Alice nodded. "The moment he drank from it, he was consumed by the power. Marina tried to reach him… but he burnt her to ash."
Kai let out a dry scoff. "Why am I not surprised."
"Jane came to our rescue and used a protection spell on me and Quentin… but it wasn't enough." Her voice cracked. "He killed them both. Right then and there."
Kai's gaze darkened. "How did you survive?"
"He brought us back to Brakebills. Said he wanted me to see something. He told me that as long as there were magicians at Brakebills stupid enough to use their power against him, he could have that. Then he made me watch as he killed every single last person in the school. Some fought, but he killed them all. And he left me there… in the aftermath. Said having one person carry on the memory of his 'beautiful cleansing' was much sweeter."
Kai shook his head slowly. "That is… unbelievably macabre."
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