บท 2: Chapter 2 - An Elf?
Deep underground, beneath the World Tree, the last known god left on Earth, lies a gigantic void that most people are unaware of. Even the citizens of Pelledia, the elven nation built around the World Tree, are unaware of its existence. There was one prisoner who had been imprisoned there for 200 years.
Even in the pitch-black darkness, her shining blond hair, her soft green eyes, and her long ears that were different from those of humans… She was an elf. She was so beautiful that it was hard to imagine that she had committed such a great crime that she would be imprisoned in a hell without even a small light.
"How long will I be here…?"
Her soul, which echoed hollowly in the hall, was scattered without a single person to hear it. Although it was known that elves lived for dozens of times or longer than humans, her 200-year imprisonment was by no means easy.
The hellish loneliness that no one visited, and the fact that she was imprisoned here because of the betrayal of her most trusted subordinate and beloved friend, were all factors that ate away at her spirit.
"Now, all she had left were her love and hate for her friend and unresolved questions. Why did you betray me? What on earth was so important?"
In this place where there was no one to answer, even that question echoed hollowly and then disappeared.
"…I'm lonely…"
Underground like this, the only prisoner in the group, was growing increasingly lonely day by day. Can you imagine? She had spent 200 years without any contact with others. Not a single person came to visit, let alone talk to them. There were no guards or other prisoners. It was the only way here. This unfilled emptiness and loneliness was not something the cold stone could fill.
Even for a high elf who had lived for hundreds of years, communication with others was too precious.
"Rather…"
Her fingers, staring at the pieces of stone rolling on the floor, sank even as she sighed.
"Would it be easier if I ended this pitiful life…"
Unlike humans, elves, known for their celibacy, could frame someone they followed for power and imprison them in an underground prison for 200 years, or they could commit the great sin of ending their own lives given to them by God for peace.
The moment her delicate, pale white, trembling hands grabbed the pieces of stone,
Paat!
"Whoa?!"
In the dark void where not a single ray of light descended, an enormous beam of light flashed as if it were exploding.
She squinted at the brightening vision that had developed after what felt like an eternity and caught a glimpse of a blurry figure in the light.
"Uh, uhhhh!!! F*ck!!!"
"…A person?"
A person was falling from the air. Without even having time to process what was happening, she instinctively raised her magical power. She used the last remnants of magic she had left.
Levitation.
The figure—whoever they were—had been falling in real time, but thanks to the successfully activated magic, they slowly descended toward the ground as if they'd opened a parachute. Somehow, it worked.
Thanks to that, the person managed to touch the ground safely. If I hadn't responded in time, they would have hit the ground hard—possibly even died.
The stranger barely managed to stand up on trembling legs. They stared blankly at me, their eyes wide with shock.
"… an Elf?"
***
Leo couldn't help but reflexively close his eyes after being suddenly blinded without any warning.
At that moment, he felt the surrounding air change, and when he opened his eyes again, he realized something was very wrong.
"Ugh, ugh! Shit!" he shouted.
He was falling from the sky.
Of course, there was no parachute, and the more he struggled, the faster he seemed to fall.
"Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy...!"
As he got closer to the ground, memories from his childhood flashed through his mind at lightning speed, like a video on fast forward. Was this some kind of kaleidoscope?
In the flood of memories, even long-forgotten events came back to him as vividly as if he was reliving them. He remembered confessing to the girl next to him in elementary school and getting rejected, confessing to his senior in middle school only to get beaten up by upperclassmen, and even asking a college girl out at the library and being ghosted after one date.
"No, why is this the only thing that comes to mind?!" he muttered to himself.
"Isn't this just some bad joke, not a kaleidoscope?"
"Whoa!"
As he plummeted further, Leo tried to surrender to gravity, resigned to his fate, when something suddenly grabbed him by the neck, stopping his fall midair.
He looked around to see what was happening, but it wasn't easy to figure out the situation. The dim environment looked like a cave with no lights, adding to the confusion.
After experiencing one unbelievable thing after another, Leo's body began to slowly descend toward the ground. When he finally stepped onto a solid surface, he exhaled in relief. He had survived.
"After all, even if you roll around in the dirt, life is still better than being dead," Leo thought wryly.
"But where am I...?"
He dug through his pockets, searching for his phone to turn on the flashlight when a woman's voice echoed in the darkness.
"Who are you...?"
Leo's throat tightened at the sound. The eerie voice, combined with the gloomy, dark surroundings, felt like the opening scene of a horror movie.
Nervously, Leo listened as the sound of her footsteps grew closer. The cautious attitude he adopted didn't stop his heart from racing. When she was finally close enough to touch, Leo extended his hand, his fingers brushing her figure. That's when he could finally make out her features.
"…Wow."
Her blonde hair, glowing faintly even in the darkness, and her striking green eyes gave her a strong, exotic appearance. She was incredibly beautiful. However, what caught Leo's attention the most were her ears.
"Your ears are kind of long...?" he blurted out.
She looked like an elf from a fantasy novel.
"…an Elf?" he whispered in disbelief.
The woman's appearance was surreal, almost like someone cosplaying a game character. However, the way her long ears twitched and moved proved she wasn't wearing a costume.
She was a real elf.
"You're real...?" Leo stammered.
Just as Leo was surprised to see the elf, the elf seemed equally surprised to see him. Fortunately, there was no hint of hostility in her gaze. No, she was far too pretty to be any kind of threat.
"Hello...?" Leo said cautiously.
The elf tilted her head, her expression blank.
Something about her seemed off. Should Leo assume she was simply confused?
"Where am I?" Leo muttered to himself. It was so dark that he couldn't properly see his surroundings.
"Hey, where is this place..." he called out, his voice trailing off.
"...A living person," came a soft reply.
Leo's attention was momentarily distracted, but then the elf girl approached him. She gently stroked his hand, her eyes gazing at him as if she was studying something new. Her touch was incomparably soft, contrasting sharply with his rough hands.
"Right? You're only 21..." She began to say, but before she could finish her sentence, the elf girl suddenly ran into his arms.
"Huh...!"
Leo froze, surprised by the ridiculousness of the situation. She was suddenly clinging to him, and now she had started crying.
He wasn't sure if this was some form of embarrassment, but he quietly patted the elf girl's shoulder and back, trying to offer comfort. She trembled violently as she cried, and Leo waited patiently for her to calm down.
"What is this..." Leo thought to himself. He was certain that today would go down as the craziest and most ridiculous day of his 21 years of life.
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