The moon hung above the sky, and seven cloaked elves trekked through the elven forest. Each of them was equipped with a slender sword tied to their waist, and a bow on their back. At the end of their midnight hike, they reached the edge of a deep ravine.

“Are you sure he's here?” one of them asked.

Unlike the rest, he had a red feather sewn onto his hood, where his right ear would've been.

The cloaked elf next to him nodded, a few long platinum strands of hair showing from his cloak. He was the sole elf with platinum hair amongst them, the rest having charcoal-black hair.

“He’s down there. No one should’ve found him,” the platinum-haired elf said.

The others walked next to him, looking down at the ravine.

“Why’d you put him here? Don’t you know this is a sacred place?” an elf shook his head, though his voice reeked of sarcasm.

The platinum-haired elf scoffed.

“Sacred? As if you bunch care about that. We’re here to fetch the sacrifice for our god. Let's go,” he said and started climbing down.

“We just climb down like that?” the elf with a red feather said in disbelief.

However, the platinum-haired elf ignored him, climbing down with finesse.

“This guy… haaa, be careful,” he said to the other elves and began his descent. The rest followed suit.

A few dozen minutes later, all seven of them stood before a small cave opening.

“He’s here,” the platinum-haired elf said.

“You fit through that?” the elf with a red feather pointed at the cave entrance.

It was barely enough for a child to squeeze through.

The platinum-haired elf scowled, turning around and walking away.

“You can try,” he snarked.

The rest glanced at each other, before following him.

Soon, they were in front of another cave entrance. It was large enough to fit each of them, granted they crouched and didn't stand.

“Be careful of sharp edges and spiders. They’re venomous,” the platinum-haired elf said, crouching and crawling into the cave.

The elf with a red feather clicked his tongue.

“You pure elves sure have it nice,” he kicked a pebble, before starting to chant.

“O’ Great Ymer,” his face showed disgust, be he continued, “The ocean engulfs flames, veil me from fire, [MistBarrier].”

His chant echoed in their ears, and a faint mist manifested around him, forming a protective bubble. Soon afterward, he followed after the platinum-haired elf.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The remaining elves shrugged at each other, repeating the same incantation and following suit. Just like him, the other elves spoke Ymer's name with venom in their tongues.

Before long, giant spiders rushed toward them, trying to bite. On the other hand, the platinum-haired elf was ignored by the spiders.

“Finally! I thought I’d eat a spider after all that!” the elf with a red feather grumbled as he exited the narrow tunnel.

Looking around, the group found themselves in a cavern. The ceiling was littered with stalactites, each pointed stone dripping with clear water. The cavern itself was cold, and there was no sign of recent activities.

The platinum-haired elf shook his head slightly, stretching his hand out. Then, opening his palm, he mumbled an incoherent chant.

“[FlameBurst],” he said at the end of his incantation.

Sparks appeared above his palm, and he quickly made a fist. Grabbing the unlit torch tied to his waist, he opened his fists and a burst of fire engulfed half of the cavern. Bats flew around, startled, and some rats darted across the floor.

Meanwhile, the platinum-haired elf used the flames on his palm to light up the torch. When the air grew warm, the fire was extinguished, leaving behind the lit up torch.

“Let’s go,” he turned to beckon the other cloaked elves. “Don’t stray too far, it’s easy to get lost. This cave has multiple tunnels,” he explained before walking forward.

The elves behind him shared a glance, before the one with a red feather lifted his hood. His face was pale like snow, his eyes were pitch-black—just like his hair, and his ears were pointy like spearheads. Looking at his forehead, one would see a red dot.

“Ugh, it’s getting hot in here, don’t you think?” He snickered, staring at the platinum-haired elf.

In his example, the other five elves took off their hoods, revealing similar features—though they didn’t have the red dot on their forehead. On the other hand, the platinum-haired elf stayed silent for a while.

“Tch,” he spat on the ground, yanking off his hood.

His platinum long hair was tied to a ponytail and was tucked inside his cloak. And just like the other six, his eyes were pitch-black—even more so than the others.

The black-haired elves started laughing as the platinum-haired elf revealed his face.

“Follow me,” the latter said, walking away without hesitation.

In silence, an hour passed by. When the group of seven stopped, they were standing in front of a mass of vines. As the platinum-haired elf started moving the vines away, the elf with a red dot on his forehead couldn't hold his tongue.

“I didn’t know vines magically grow deep in caves nowadays.”

The platinum haired elf took out a dagger, swiftly cutting away at the tangled vines.

“It’s here to fool animals. But,” he glanced at the elf with the red dot, “who knew it would fool you.”

“Che.”

Ignoring the grumpy elf behind him, the platinum-haired elf unveiled the secret entrance. Entering yet another chamber, they all looked at the figure in the middle of the ground.

The figure had milky-white skin, his clothes having been torn all over the place—mostly around his hips. White foam oozed out of his openings, red lines littering his once unblemished skin like a whip’s love. His platinum hair was scattered on the floor like a waterfall, and the blindfold over his eyes was lifted, revealing his rolled-back amethyst eyes.

Staring at the elf’s debauched look, the elf with a red dot shivered, pressing his legs together. Glancing at the murderer, the platinum-haired elf, he whispered with a shaky tone.

“Of all the elven beauty, you chose a dead one. Chimera, you are…”

The platinum-haired elf scoffed, stomping toward the corpse.

“This isn’t my doing. I left the prince with his clothes intact, and I only slashed his neck,” he said, but the other elves cast doubtful glances.

“Then why…”

“Don’t ask me,” Chimera scowled.

Moving the dead prince to his back, he quickly realized a problem. There was a strange, decaying plant stuck on the corpse’s neck. It was barely half a foot tall, and its leaves were slimy and falling off.

Once again, the elf with a red dot shot a comment.

“Not only do you enjoy the dead, your taste in gardening is just as unique.”

Chimera ignored him. Squinting, he glanced at a small entrance to the cavern.

“Did a kid crawl here?” he muttered. “Children are so brazen,” he sighed, raising his dagger to dig out the strange plant.

Either way, the prince’s corpse was seen by the black-haired elves, and their alliance would be secured. Unfortunately, the prince wasn't suitable to be a sacrifice now.

However, as the blade neared the plant’s stem, new leaves sprouted from its branches. Within a second, the plant grew more and more, the red leaves’ glowing crimson veins illuminating his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Behind him, the other elves witnessed the anomaly. Together, they surrounded the rapidly growing plant, as well as the rapidly drying corpse.

“This is… a gift from me,” the platinum-haired elf claimed, his breathing stable unlike his mind.

Likewise, the other elves doubted his words.

A long minute passed, and the corpse was now drier than sand. On the other hand, the plant grew to be taller than them, its leaves dense and plentiful.

Chimera spread his arms wide, his eyes glimmering with craftiness, his voice loud and clear.

“Everyone,” a chuckle escaped his throat, “Let us greet the Elfrid Tree’s reincarnation.”

The black-haired elves stared at him speechless. After a deafening silence, the elf with a red dot on his forehead spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You need to get your eyes checked, you must be colorblind. It looks more like the demonic tree, Chimera.”

Chimera smiled gently, patiently explaining to the other elves.

“Trees of life are influenced by external factors. Once, the demonic tree had white leaves, and the elven tree had golden leaves. But overtime, the demonic tree grew red leaves, and the elven tree grew amethyst leaves," he stepped toward the young tree, patting its red, glowing leaves.

“Now, let us worship our new god.”

----------------------------------------

At the same time, Arloum’s soul stirred awake, only to be met with drowsiness heavier than a boulder.

‘Who’s noisy brat came to visit?’ he wondered, thinking of two young elves.

‘Tch, shut up and leave my food, or I’ll whip you!’

In the end, his consciousness faded away. Before he fell into slumber, however, he anxiously checked his inner-body.

[Absorption T1, TreeOfDarkness T1 → TreeOfDarkness T2 (1%)]

[Energy → DarkEnergy T1 (1%)]