Arloum stared at Enis.
The latter was carrying a woman on his back. A naked woman. Her hair was long and curly, brighter than gold, even with all the dust coating it. Not only that, her skin was a healthy milky color, and just one look and you'd feel how soft it was.
‘Curly golden hair? What’s next, her eyes would be ash-colored?’ he joked.
But then, Enis dropped the woman in front of him, and the woman spasmed. Slowly, she arose, staring at Arloum with her gray eyes.
‘Isn’t she an angel?! What’s an angel doing here? Where’s her wings?!’ Arloum cursed, wanting to whip Enis.
‘Angels are vindictive behind their fragility. What are you thinking, madman?!’
Alas, after all his inner-monologue, the “angel” spoke up.
“Are you the so-called Elfrid Tree?” she asked, her voice hoarse, though trying to sound polite.
‘She sounds… elf-ish. No way, that’s not an angel,’ Arloum frowned, lowering his branches further to look at the woman.
There, he found an oddity in the woman's face—she had pointy ears. Angels didn't have pointy ears, nor did they have sing-song voices. Rather, their voice echoed in your ears.
‘Another half? This era is full of hybrids, tsk.’
“That’s right. Before you is the sacred tree, the Great Elfrid,” Enis said, grabbing a handful of the woman’s hair and yanking it up.
Without a peep, the woman
stood and Enis let her go. Arloum noticed her knees trembling, and she was coated in a fine layer of slime.
‘Hm, how vile.’
“Great Elfrid,” the woman said, her polite tone straining, trembling as she held back her rage. “Why have you made union with these heretics?”
“Pfft,” Enis scoffed, kicking the woman in the back.
She fell on the ground, face first, but didn’t let out any cry of pain. Instead, she simply crawled back up.
“Queen,” Enis said, “know your place.”
‘Queen? A half angel, half elf, is a queen? Ha! Laughable,’ Arloum’s leaves rustled, his roots slowly converging around the naked woman.
“Enis, I know you. Do not interrupt my last moments,” the queen said, her voice solemn and clear despite her hoarse voice.
“Tch,” Enis crossed his arms, glaring at the queen.
“Now,” the queen turned back to Arloum. “Great Elfrid, please. Do this mortal a favor, give light to my ignorance. Why bless the accursed?”
Arloum thought about it, shaking his leaves. His roots wrapped around the queen’s bruised ankles, making their way up her soaked legs.
‘Woman, not everyone gets their wishes. But to answer you, it’s rather simple,’ his roots tightened around her slightly bulging stomach.
The queen winced, her hands grabbing his roots.
“Not there,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
No one heard her.
‘They offered me something, while you haven't. Follow the old rules, pass on in peace,’ he said in his mind.
Of course…
“Uck—ha… You won’t answer me, after all,” the queen let out a soft laugh, closing her eyes.
She heard not a single word from Arloum’s thoughts. Arloum couldn’t be bothered either, not wanting to give her his dark energy.
‘I learned my lesson,’ he glanced at Enis.
After a few seconds, the queen was encased in a cocoon of roots. She was still alive, but Arloum didn’t mind. No, he welcomed it.
‘Absorbing life energy from the living is harder, much harder. However, the life energy will be pure, without any decay.’
While alive, creatures would produce a stable amount of life energy. Provided, they weren’t ill. In the case of injuries, the decayed life energy is quickly expelled and replaced.
‘That’s why, absorbing life energy while the target is alive is ideal. For one, they won’t die instantly while their life energy is being absorbed, meaning they’d provide more life energy. Secondly, there won’t be any disgusting decayed life energy, so nothing is wasted.’
He hadn’t absorbed life energy after waking up, but he had a plan. He’d take his time sucking the queen’s life energy, whilst simultaneously upgrading his dark energy.
‘As for her retaliation… my roots have crawled inside her heart. She can’t resist, unless she’s a high-ranked fighter. But, dark elves managed to capture her. The chances of that are nil.’
[DarkEnergy T1(1 → 2%): 10/10]
‘Ahh…’
Silence ensued for a brief moment, when one of Arloum’s roots approached Enis.
‘Enis, can you hear me?’ Arloum channeled dark energy to the tip of his root, connecting with the dark energy inside Enis.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“M’ lord, I am here. I can hear your voice,” Enis said, shivering.
After Arloum accidentally transferred a point of dark energy to Enis, the latter’s body turned robust. Not only was he stronger, he also started practicing the ancient dark elf arts—Primal Magic.
This, Arloum had no idea about.
‘The most useful feature is that connecting our dark energies allows communication. Fortunately, his dark energy will never grow,’ Arloum was sure of it.
Not everyone can absorb life energy. Not to mention, no one else knew how to access their status mirror—it was something he invented and taught to no one. Also, few had his skill in energy mixing, though a lot knew it in theory.
‘Enis, how many of you are there?’
Enis paused, answering rather slowly. “M’ lord, there are seven hundred dark elves, with me being the sole accursed one.”
‘Seven hundred… how do you plan to revolt with such numbers?’
Since they were able to communicate, Arloum consulted Enis about his plans. He then learned that Enis was the current patriarch of the dark elves.
With their ever dwindling numbers, they planned to overthrow Yuriel in secret. After replacing the king and plundering its resources, they wanted pure elven women to give birth to dark elves.
Afterward, they’d leave and target another kingdom.
‘They had truly fallen. To think that the once mighty dark elves now only have seven hundred people… and this crude plan. It's bound to fail. In the first place, pure elves and dark elves cannot produce offspring.’
“M’ lord, we have spies all over Yuriel. We may not be masters of mystic arts, but we are masters of assassination,” Enis said.
‘Fool,’ Arloum laughed, ‘Don’t you know the world you live in?’
Enis blinked, lowering his head. Obviously, he knew. But, what else could they do? It was this, or slowly die.
‘A single druid can eliminate half of you, and a single sage can do it much faster. Now, tell me, how will you act against such force?’
Enis remained silent, sighing.
“We have the Chimera on our side,” Enil said with the voice of a mosquito.
‘Ha. Face reality, accursed one. If you wish to lead your race to glory once more, you need one thing.’
“Power?” Enis asked.
‘Yes,’ Arloum answered, his leaves glowing brightly.
It wasn’t intentional.
[DarkEnergy T1 (2% → 3%)]
‘... and I will give you power. With my essence inside of you, you have escaped Ymer’s curse.’
Enis looked at Arloum in a startle. “Is, Is that true, m’ lord?!”
‘Ha, lower your voice,’ Arloum barely disguised his amusement.
“My apologies,” Enis hurriedly steadied his breathing.
‘But yes. It is true. Ymer’s curse is… nothing, hmph. Now, if you wish to gain power…’ he paused, chuckling darkly.
Enis felt his heart drop. He couldn't help but wipe off the cold sweat on his forehead.
Seeing that, Arloum wanted to slap the dark elf.
‘It’s simple. Bring me…’
Enis closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Hearing Arloum's wishes, he let out a smile.
“It is a simple task, m’ lord. The dark elves are yours to command,” he pledged, kneeling on the ground and reciting an ancient prayer.
Arloum’s leaves trembled, and his branches whirled around. He wanted to whip Enis to stop the nauseating prayer, but…
‘For my plans, I can endure. Elfrid… ha.’
As soon as Enis finished his prayer, Arloum's roots poked his forehead.
‘Accursed one, Elfrid. Forget those names,’ Arloum scoffed. ‘From now on, you'll be an Onyx, and my name is Arloum, never forget.’
“This Onyx will never forget, lord Arloum,” Enis knelt, wanting to recite another ancient prayer.
Arloum hastily stopped him. Reluctantly, Enis left under Arloum's orders.
Watching the latter's departure, Arloum waved his branches around, his leaves creating a strange symphony.
‘A race thirsting for hope for centuries, wishing nothing more than to reclaim what was once theirs… is a race too easy to fool. They act mature, cunning, and wise. But in the eyes of an ancient’s, they're nothing more than children calling out their mother's name. Ymer, for this, I thank you.’
Arloum laughed in his mind.
[DarkEnergy T1 (3% → 4%)]
----------------------------------------
“Lord Arloum…”
Enis stared at his palm, watching as a black energy hovered over it. This energy gave him boundless vitality, healing him back to his peak. With it, he could conquer the world!
He chuckled, shaking his head and clenching his hand into a fist.
Of course, he knew it was an illusion. Like how a starving man would think that rotten food is delicious.
“The Onyx… not bad,” he smirked.
Standing up, he left his tent, calling his subordinates to gather the dark elves.
It only took an hour, and the once empty cave system was packed with hundreds of dark elves.
“Listen, you all. God has abandoned us,” he said, and an uproar instantly engulfed the silent cave.
Enis watched them, doing nothing to appease their distress. Soon, the dark elves realized this too, and they all quieted down.
“But now, we have a new lord,” he outstretched his arms, black smoke surrounding his chest.
“This is proof. Do you see it? Do you?!” he grinned, showing off his teeth.
Then, releasing an aura that sent shivers to all the dark elves, he continued. "This is the lord's blessing! With this, with our lord, we will shed our curse and soar back to the mountain peaks!”
Enis panted, having spoken at the top of his lungs. Similarly, the dark elves all had widened eyes, their chests heaving up and down. He grinned.
“Will you follow me? Will you follow our lord?!” he roared, stomping on the ground and forming small cracks.
The dark elves all roared back.
“Glory to dark elves! Lord Enis!”
“Glory to dark elves!”
Enis cackled, his laughter drowning out the dark elves' excited yells.
“ENOUGH!” he yelled, freezing all the dark elves on the spot. “Our lord's name is Arloum, remember it well. And I, the first Onyx, is his messenger. Now…”
Enis stretched his hand, dark flames dancing atop his palm. Feeling hundreds of eyes on him, he could barely maintain his boiling blood. Ever since he was born, he had never been so excited!
“Our lord needs sacrifices. And what better sacrifice is there… other than Ymer's descendants, Yuriel?”
The dark elves once again filled the cave with their voice.
----------------------------------------
“Sir,” in the middle of the dead night, a cloaked figure knelt to a man on the golden throne.
The man on the throne had long platinum hair that pooled onto the carpeted floor. His head was slightly downturned, and his features were hidden by darkness.
“Your majesty,” the cloaked figure repeated himself, bowing deeper to the king.
The king of Yuriel raised his hand.
“You may speak.”
The cloaked figure trembled, staying silent for half a minute before opening his mouth. His words trembled like a taut string that was pulled and released.
“The—the Chimera, he found a tree of life.”
“Hm,” the king hummed, tapping the throne’s armrest with a finger, the sound echoing throughout the throne room. The cloaked figure shivered at the sound, his kneeling figure shifting to that of a kowtow—as if he was a peasant begging for mercy.
“Continue.”
The cloaked figure inhaled sharply, before pressing his lips shut.
“The Chimera found the demonic tree… in Elfrid’s tomb.”
“The, demonic tree?” The king let out a chuckle, each laugh sounding deeper than the last.
“Nonsense.”
After waiting in silence, the cloaked figure heard the king speak again.
“Have the druids found Ganesha?” He asked, his voice a little strained.
The cloaked figure flinched, slightly raising his head. Then, he opened his mouth.
“My king… The dark elves have… recently appeared,” he said in a hushed voice.
His words were vague, like a fleeting butterfly, but the king’s forehead throbbed painfully.
“Dark. Elves. Hmph,” the king leaned back on his throne, resting the side of his face on the back of his hand.
Then, looking down on the cloaked figure, he spoke.
“Rally the druids. And call the sages. We… are at war.”