A gentle, refreshing breeze blew through the empty plains surrounding Kai and Onyx. Grass as far as the eye could see, its greenery sometimes interrupted by a large boulder or a stray beast, which quickly ran away upon seeing the two. Kai let out a light sigh as he looked at the map, holding it with one hand while the other dragged the corpse. “Damn beast, we’re late by half a day at the very least. Well, not like Elly is expecting us, I wonder what she will say upon seeing me. Wait, how can I even find her…I think my parents mentioned her clan protects the gate… so that means she must be important. I should be able to find her if I mention her to the guards, after all… she seemed strong, or resourceful at least. Now that I think about it, how did they go from one end of the continent to the other in ten minutes?”

With these questions in mind, Kai rolled up the map and placed it under his thighs, letting out a few light groans as he did his best to cover his body.

The scorching sun loomed harshly upon Kai. Sweat dripped off his forehead, and his clothes were completely drenched as the heat bombarded his body. His arms trembled, and rope marks covered his hands as he dragged the heavy corpse. A soft sizzling sound, accompanied by the smell of burning flesh accompanied them on their path. Damn it, it’s getting worse and worse! Kai groaned in pain as the sun pierced his clothes, the rays that sneaked through the fabric burning and scorching his skin. At least it doesn’t hurt as bad as the first time…

…

Time slowly passed, and, much to Kai’s delight, the sun finally retired. The moon took its place, its light, although still harsh, was much more manageable. They took a break next to a large boulder, and Kai pulled out the meats he had purchased earlier in town, feeding Onyx quite a large portion. “Good job boy, I would have been a goner without you.” He said as he bit down one of the meats, quickly following up with a soggy, yet edible vegetable. “I wonder though, why did it decide to attack us?”

Onyx didn’t answer as he devoured whatever Kai put in front of him. However, his ears did twitch slightly upon hearing the question, though he ignored it just as quickly.

“Hmm, alright. I’ll let you eat then, not like you can talk back anyway.” Chuckling to himself, he raised his and looked at the stars as his head emptied. They sparkled like fireflies dancing in the night sky, each one of them telling a different story. Some of them may have been long dead, or some were just born. Regardless, they all had different experiences, and, despite seeming so close together, millions of light years separated them.

Kai’s pupils widened as he stared at them, an almost empty canvas, yet so full of life. A soft smile creased his lips as he looked at Onyx, whose snout turned into a mess after devouring the meats. Conveniently, he left every vegetable on the side, refusing to even touch them.

“Picky eater, aren’t we? Hehe…” He picked up his leftovers, storing them in the backpack and picking up the pace once again. Trees of a vibrant green could be seen on the horizon, peeking their crowns at Kai, whose expression changed to one of delight.

“Finally…” he murmured under his breath, almost letting go of the huge serpent’s body as he felt a wave of warmth wash over him. His first goal, finally appearing before his eyes. To go to Evicario and meet Elizabeth once again, heal, and seek guidance. “This is my first step, finally… I didn’t expect it to be so steep… perhaps it will be even harder in the future.”

As he neared the village, he could barely make out the figure of a few elves patrolling… floating… through the trees, moving from one to the other as they cautiously inspected the area. The guards were mostly women, each one of them dressed in a green military uniform embroided with golden patterns. On top of the uniform, they wore a few pieces of armor such as breastplates, bracers, shoulder guards, and knee pads. Some of them had swords tied to their waist or strapped to their back. Similarly, some had bows and spears, whilst others just played with their wands. A stark contrast quickly became obvious to Kai: The Elven women that wielded weapons were muscular, their uniforms ripped, exposing their toned skin. In comparison, the ones that wielded wands had fair skin, slim and curvaceous bodies, and seemed more leisurely.

Among the guards, however, were a few men. Unlike the women, their figures differed greatly from one to the other. The males with wands had a slim, almost feminine build, with short hair and pale faces. The rest of them, however, were burly, and muscular and held a multitude of different weapons in each of their hands. From spears to swords, to daggers and halberds, their finely crafted weapons shone with a luster unlike the ones owned by the females.

With a racing heart, Kai approached the kingdom’s entrance - A magnificent, giant tree standing guard over all the rest. Its height dwarfed the ones from The Dark Forest, and it exuded an oppressive aura that made Kai’s heart skip a beat. It’s just a tree… a really big… magical tree… Yegou.

<

Apart from that, the Elves use its branches to craft weapon hilts and wands, and its flowers, which bloom once every one hundred and fifty years, to form mana cores or to train. Further knowledge about the tree has not been distributed, end of log.>>

Amazing… Kai gasped as he looked at the tree, recalling all the information he’d read about it. They say it’s the foundation upon which the Elves built their Kingdom… they also say…it’s the originator of life on the continent. A reverent expression manifested on his face, and he jumped off Onyx’s back, slowly walking the rest of the way.

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The Elves quickly took notice of him, and rushed outside, gracefully landing on the ground as they readied their weapons. The archer’s muscles contracted and expanded as the arrow trembled on the bowstring, and the mages slowly chanted a spell under their breaths. The swordsmen stood in formation, creating a semi-circle around Kai and Onyx. A single woman walked out of the crowd, her dashing, authoritative appearance causing Kai’s heart to skip a beat. She had brown locks of straight her that fell down her back, just a bit past the shoulders. Her enchanting, mysterious purple eyes locked with Kai’s crimson pupils, a shiver running down his spine as he stopped.

Her well-toned abs were exposed to the elements as she wore a crop top with golden embroidery, above which rested a breastplate. On her belt lay an intricate sheath, similarly embroidered with golden threads, inside which rested a silver longsword. With a serious expression, she puffed in the air before yelling at Kai, her voice boosted by magic.

“Who are you? And how can you dare bring such a foul creature amongst my people?!” Her authoritative tone reverberated in the air, echoing in Kai’s ears as he parted his trembling lips.

“My name is Kai…” His barely audible voice barely reached the elf’s ears, and an annoyed expression manifested on her face as she cut him off.

“Hurry up and speak louder! I can barely hear you!”

“Eh… I-” Taken aback, Kai stuttered as he spoke a bit louder, however, the elf’s voice resounded once again.

“Louder!”

Ah, motherfucker I’m trying! Annoyance quickly grew inside Kai as well, and inhaled deeply as he yelled, “My name is Kai! I am here to see Elly- Elizabeth!”

A collective gasp echoed from the guards, and the elf captain’s expression quickly turned to anger. “HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS OUR CLAN’S HEIR BY HER NAME?!” Her voice exploded as she pulled out her sword, pointing it toward Kai. “AND EVEN MORE, YOU DARE BRING THAT THING WITHIN OUR DOMAIN. APPREHEND HIM!!”

As she said that, she rushed toward Kai, followed by the rest of the guards. Kai’s heart raced, and anxiety overwhelmed him as an empty feeling appeared in his stomach. This again…? He let go of the robe, enduring the burning sensation as he placed his arms behind his neck. “Alright, well… there’s nothing I can do…” He murmured under his breath, letting himself get caught, a helpless expression on his face. I just hope they’re not going to be rough, OW! The captain grabbed his arms, tying them behind his back with a rope. Her pupils, however, constricted upon seeing the snake’s corpse. This brat killed that…? And he’s, aye! Good thing the scales are resilient but any jewelry uses it had is now gone!

A shiver ran down Kai’s spine as she glared at him, however, he didn’t dare turn around. What is wrong with her…. Instead, he turned to Onyx and said. “Boy, cooperate, we’ll be fine… I hope…”

Hearing that, Onyx didn’t resist the guards, who tied up his snout and put a glowing, seemingly magical leash around his neck. Almost instantly, he felt the mana inside his body stop circulating, and even his body became weaker. He only let out a low whine as he walked behind Kai, staring hatefully at the woman.

“Hurry up, we don’t have all day.” She said, poking Kai’s back with the hilt of her sword.

“Aye, I got it, no need to be rude… just you wait until Elly hears of this…” The latter part of his sentence, which he said in a quiet, almost whispering voice, didn’t escape the Elf’s ears. However, she decided to remain on the side of caution and stopped bullying him.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the gates, which were placed inside one of Yegou’s roots. They stood at about five meters tall, towering over Kai, and even over Onyx. However, Kai exhaled sharply as he looked up, his pupils trembling upon seeing the tree’s imposing height so up close.

The gates rumbled, slowly opening and revealing what lay beyond them. A cacophony of lights, colors, and smells bombarded Kai’s senses. A mixture of voices, both old and young reverberated in the air. Bouncing within the forest which seemingly devoured another. Everywhere he looked, trees of all different sizes filled his vision. On their branches hung lanterns of a fiery orange color, like countless stars illuminating the village. Streaks of scattered moonlight sneaked through the canopies, adding to the surreal feeling of this painting.

Platforms and buildings were built on the tree’s bases, or slightly above them. Serving as houses, launch points, shops, or governmental buildings. Despite their seemingly scattered nature, the trees were arranged in such a way that it looked like a path formed, much like a street inside a city, with carefully planned interactions and crossroads.

The diverse elf population filling the streets didn’t pay Kai any mind, however their pupils constricted upon seeing the Obborik, and the large snake the army dragged with them. Almost immediately, whispers began to fill the air, and rumors quickly began to form and spread.

The captain’s brows furrowed, however, she could not stop the populus from talking. She walked forward, leading the way toward a fairly remote corner of the village. There, she threw Kai into an empty animal cage, taking away his backpack before glancing at him with hesitation. Whatever, we don’t need to see his face… She thought after careful deliberation of whether or not to take off his mask.

Onyx yelped as he got shoved inside another cage, however even curling up it seemed a bit too small for his size. Kai let out a chuckle at the sight before turning toward the captain. “Could you please tell Elizabeth Kai is here? I don’t mean any harm. And the snake, please don’t take it away, I almost lost my life killing it.”

His words rang inside the captain’s words like a bell, and she glared at Kai. “You…! How can you demand such things? You’re the prisoner here! Do you want me to prepare a hot bowl of soup as well? The nerve of some people!” She said, her voice loud but not quite a yell yet. “And for your information, our heir isn’t present at the moment. If you want to see her, you’ll have to wait quite a bit!”

“Uhm, sure? I’ll wait…” Kai replied, feeling defeated, not quite sure of what to make of this situation. I should have known it would not be easy… but to get jailed, in an animal cage no less… there has to be something wrong with her head. He sat down and let out a light sigh while watching the guards depart. Where did I go wrong…