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n“WAIT! WAIT FOR ME! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO!?”

n“I’m going to test out the abilities of everybody here. I hope there isn’t a problem with that,” I replied, but the dark elf still looked troubled as her gaze scraped the floor. “So there is a problem with that… is there a no-fighting pact here or are you guys all just pussies.”

n“Where exactly were you going to find opponents?”

n“At a training ground or something. You have that right?”

n“Yeah, but… ugh… I’ll take you,” The dark elf stomped angrily down the hall and as I lightly smiled, she turned back towards me with an intense glare. “My name is Odnel, but people call me Nell.”

nƥαṇdαs ηθνε| …

n“Mother, why are we different?”

n“Because Mother Nature has cursed us. She saw us unbefitting of her glorious kingdom of plants and vegetation.”

n“Isn’t that unfair? What did we do to deserve this? Why must we hide in this dark forest while the other races get to play in the sunlight and create cities and towns.” 𝒐𝑣𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

n“Life isn’t fair, honey.”

nAs I looked sat on the edge of my fluffy white bed, I stared down at the ground. My separate room crafted and decorated by the royal architects was beautiful. There was not a single flaw painted onto this wide and welcoming room.

n“My prince… my son, the day of reckoning will arrive soon. Once that happens, can I trust you to run? Run as far away as you can… use your wind magic and glide as far as your feet can take you.”

n“Yes, Mother…” I muttered, but there was no sense of real danger to her words.

nAll my life, I hadn’t suffered. I thought I knew suffering when I was forced to go to a royal academy filled with tons of other races, but despite such diversity, I was picked out of the few dark elves and was bullied. Endlessly I was harassed until I begged my mom not to go.

nI wasn’t much of a fighter, nor was I much of a politician… but what could I do? I was only ten years old and was still developing. The others were geniuses, sending them further than I could ever imagine. Their skills and knowledge had no bounds compared to me who sat in his room all day, lying around, practicing my silly little wind magic.

n“Father, why are we different?”

n“Because we are hated by mana, but it isn’t the world’s fault. Do not blame the world for something our ancestors had done. And this might come as a surprise to you, but we use to live in harmony with the other races… until one of our stupid ancestors decided to tap into the power of the underworld.”

n“Hell?”

n“Yes, Hell. Our bodies were flooded with a substance called Miasma—the mana of the underworld. The mana of demons and devils. Our systems have adjusted to using miasma as our one source of power, ignoring practically any usage of mana, so we’ve just barely managed to scrape by…”

n“But we were cursed by Mother Nature?”

n“Indeed… and once the day of reckoning comes, I trust you to escape. I trust you to be able to leave and never come back. Reviving our clan is entirely up to you, but…” The king showered in a golden aura leaned towards me, giving me a kiss on the top of my forehead. “… Please enjoy your life. That is all I wish for you… my prince.”

n“Yes, Father.”

nAs I was escorted out of the throne room by a few royal guards, I noticed the canopy of leaves shielding us from the harsh jungle sun set ablaze. Our intertwining bridges and gaps leading to different tree houses were cut and sliced, not by natural means, but by physical and truly unfortunate hate.

n“EVACUATE THE ENTIRE VILLAGE! SEND WARNING TO THE OTHER VILLAGES THAT THE DAY HAS COME!” The commander shouted, but all of a sudden, a few foreign dark elves, not part of our forces arrived, their faces sunken in with grief.

nNobody had to say anything as the commander grit his teeth and sent a few other royal guards to escort me. Children and older dark elves no longer able to fight were escorted out of the village and to the muddy ground as streaks of white and black clashed in the air.

n“G-Grandma, who are they?” I asked the older woman who carried me on her back. She was strong and determined to get all thirty of us to safety under the protection and veil of one of her illusionary skills.

n“The High Elves. Royal Elves and even regular Elves pay no mind to us. Sure, they may not like us, but they would never go out of their way for this. On the other hand, High Elves are beings closest with Mother Nature and do as she says…”

n“S-So she is finally done with our presence? She no longer wants us?”

n“That’s not possible,” my grandma smiled, her radiant glow uplifting the heavy morale of all the survivors wading through the knee-deep water. “Royal Elves are selfish beings. They may follow the will of Mother Nature, but they also follow their own beastly instincts. No order from Mother Nature would be so vile and cruel.”

nFor what seemed to be days, we escaped through the dark forest. Many dungeons leaking various monsters attempted to attack us, but my grandma stayed strong. Out of all the elderly, she was the only one capable of fighting. Some children were of course competent in the art of daggers… but compared to my grandmother’s magic, they were but mere bugs.

n“Huff… huff… huff… my grandson… my prince…” Grandma heaved through a massive laceration cutting across her torso. “You must take the survivors to safety. You must keep them safe with your wind magic. You are a gifted individual… and loved by all… so you must take them. I will die here, but you will not. Leave, towards the west. You must escape further… you’re almost there…”

n“M-Mother Nature has forsaken us. We will not be able to escape her grasp. She has sent her underlings to clear us from this world,” I cried as the life in her eyes faded. But just before she couldn’t speak any longer, a few words slipped from those bloodied lips of hers.

n“When Mother Nature dines with her creations, will we not be there?”

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