[First Day of Destruction, 06:00AM]
[ The Outskirts of the Elven Royal Capital ]
High amidst the emerald canopy of the Great Forest, three figures crouched atop the sturdy branch of an ancient Elf Tree.
A female Wood Elf peered through the gaps in foliage, her gaze sharp and heavy with loathing as she tracked the movements of the Theocracy soldiers patrolling the forest floor far below. Flanking her were two males: another Wood Elf keeping watch on the rear, and a Dark Elf resting against the trunk.
Blueberry Egnia.
He was a conscript, pulled from a remote Dark Elf village to reinforce the capital's failing defenses. Though renowned among his kin as a master bowman, this was his first true taste of war against humans. Fate, however, had been cruel; he had been struck by a poisoned arrow during a night raid and had spent hours hovering at death's door. Only now, as the sun climbed the sky, had he regained consciousness.
"... To think you Wood Elves didn't abandon a Dark Elf like me," Egnia rasped, his voice thin. "I am surprised."
"Looking at the situation down there, leaving you behind wouldn't have improved our odds," the male Wood Elf replied with a wry, self-deprecating smile. "The humans flooded the sector last night. We're all trapped like rats in a barrel now, regardless of the color of our skin."
The female elf didn't turn her head. Her voice was pure ice. "... Since the small hours of the morning, the human troop density has tripled. They are preparing for a full-scale suppression. We need to make a choice. Stay here and rot, or move and likely die."
"Should we attempt a retreat to the Royal Palace?" the male Wood Elf suggested, though his tone lacked conviction. "It's the most fortified structure we have. The survival rate should be highest there... theoretically."
"Don't be disgusting." The female Elf clicked her tongue, her face twisting in genuine revulsion. "That pervert... that King tried to drag me into his bed the moment I was conscripted. I had to lie about having a contagious skin rot just to escape his hands. You think that kind of trash can protect his people? He'd sell us to the humans if it bought him five more minutes of pleasure."
"But... do we have another option?"
"I agree with her."
Egnia pushed himself off the tree trunk. "Fleeing to the Palace is suicide. I have never met this Elf King, so I cannot speak to his character, but strategically, the Palace is a dead end. It will be the focal point of the human siege. Rather than cowering inside a coffin, I would rather take my chances in the forest."
Egnia paused, testing the weight in his limbs. "Apologies, I realize I never asked for your names. I am Egnia."
"...Sasha."
"Aris."
"Sasha is correct," Egnia continued. He stood up on the branch, balancing effortlessly. He felt a strange surge of vitality. It seems the Gods—no, the Goddess—is watching over me. The poison that should have killed me has been metabolized. My body feels lighter than a swallow.
"Even if hope is but a sliver, we must bet everything on it! What is the point of giving up before the arrow is even loosed?"
Aris blinked, looking at the Dark Elf with bewilderment. "Why are you so... positive? Did the fever burn away your fear?"
"Because I have someone I love."
Egnia's expression softened, his eyes losing focus as he recalled a memory more vibrant than reality. He thought of the most beautiful being in creation—Aura Bella Fiora.
Until a week ago, the Dark Elf girl, along with her 'Uncle' and 'Brother', had been guests in his village. The moment Egnia laid eyes on her, he had fallen into a state of worship that transcended mere romance.
"Lady Aura's lively, commanding face..." Egnia murmured, clutching a small, leather sachet hanging around his neck.
Inside were three strands of golden hair he had scavenged from the ground where she had walked. He had no proof they were hers, but his heart knew. Who else could possess hair that seemed to be spun from solidified sunlight?
"She isn't waiting for me—I know that. I'm a coward who couldn't even confess before being dragged to this war. But that is exactly why I cannot die here! I must find her! I must tell her how I feel!"
"Pfft." Sasha couldn't hold back a sneer.
Aris shook his head sadly. "It's a pity, friend, but our country is falling. Your beloved has likely fled or... well, you know what happens to beautiful elves when the Theocracy catches them. Those beasts..."
"Silence!"
Egnia's hiss was sharp enough to silence the birds. "You know nothing! You think she is just an ordinary woman? No! She is a Goddess! ... Have you ever heard of the Elven Path?"
"I've heard the legends," Aris muttered. "Ancient magic that allows one to walk between trees, crossing leagues in a single step. It's how our ancestors supposedly migrated here."
"If such a thing were real, we would have escaped hours ago," Sasha scoffed.
"Hmph." Egnia puffed out his chest, a nasal tone of pride entering his voice. "It is real. Lady Aura traveled effortlessly between nations using the Elven Path! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"What!?"
"Impossible..."
"She is a deity in mortal flesh!" Egnia continued, his passion fueling a feverish eloquence. "Eyes like bi-colored jewels! Power that can suppress the Armored Bear King with a single glance! If she were here, this human army would be scattered like leaves in a gale! She—"
Sasha and Aris exchanged glances. The unspoken consensus was clear: The fever fried his brain. He's hallucinating a savior.
But, in the face of death, perhaps a pleasant delusion was better than the cold reality of the forest floor.
"Pfft!" Sasha laughed again, but this time it was louder, bordering on hysterical. "Pfft, hahaha... You're a complete weirdo. Fine! I was planning to rush out and take as many humans with me to the grave anyway. If you want to chase a miracle, I'll help clear the path. Hey, Aris?"
"No other choice, is there? I'm in."
"Then let's move! While we still have the strength to draw a bow!"
"The patrol has passed," Sasha signaled. "Let's go!"
The three moved with the silent grace of their kind, leaping from branch to branch. Sasha took point, guiding them south where the tree density offered better cover for a breakthrough.
They moved for several minutes until Sasha suddenly froze.
"What is it?" Egnia whispered, nocking an arrow. "Theocracy elites?"
"No... how do I even describe this..." Sasha's voice trembled, a rare crack in her icy armor. "Something... incredible has appeared over there."
Egnia and Aris followed her trembling finger. Through a break in the canopy, they had a clear line of sight to the open plains between the Elven Capital and the main Theocracy encampment.
Hovering in the sky, completely unopposed, was a single figure.
He was draped in robes as black as the void between stars, holding a twisted golden staff that radiated a palpable aura of dread. Even from this distance, the figure commanded the sky.
"Hey... what is that?!" Aris hissed. "A Theocracy trump card?"
"No. Look. He is facing the human lines."
"Wait... look at his hands," Egnia squinted, his enhanced vision focusing on the details. "Is that... bone?"
"An Undead?" Sasha's fear suddenly morphed into manic glee. "Ha! Haha! Maybe it's a legendary Undead risen from the mass graves of our people! It's come for revenge! The Theocracy is in for it now— Eek!?"
Her laughter died in her throat.
The world changed.
A sphere of light, nearly ten meters in diameter, manifested around the floating figure. It was not the simple light of a fireball or a lightning bolt. It was a three-dimensional mandala of azure blue.
Countless glowing sigils and complex runes rotated within the sphere in clockwork patterns. It was beautiful. It was terrifying. It looked as if a star had descended from the heavens and wrapped itself around the caster.
"Wh-what is that!?"
"I don't know! ... How could mortals understand such a thing?!"
Egnia gripped the bark of the tree to keep from falling. The sheer pressure emanating from that light was primal. It was the presence of a being far removed from the food chain of this world.
From the human lines, screams began to erupt—the panicked cries of men who realized they were no longer predators, but prey.
Egnia felt his heart seizing in his chest. In his terror, his hand instinctively flew to the sachet around his neck, clutching the golden hairs of his 'Goddess' as if they were the only lifeline in a world suddenly drowning in azure light.