The afternoon sun filtered through the wooden slats, dust motes dancing in lazy spirals, and Nox felt the weight of the soft blanket on his shoulders, realizing how different life here was from the academy.
"Nox. Wear the golden shirt I gave you!" Lina shouted from the bathroom. She put her hand into the dimension bag, desperately searching for her make up.
"But it's gonna get dirty. And it's cold," Nox replied, holding the academy uniform – a plain black sweater in his hands.
"I have a nice jacket for you. And don't you dare wear our academy's black jersey again!"
"I- I would never." He quickly threw the clothing away.
"Don't lie to me."
"Guys, we're late," Alma said, waiting at the door.
Everyone had nice clothes on, which made Nox thankful for Lina's words.
"Where's your girl?"
"Still in the bathroom," he answered instinctively.
"Sorry for the wait," Lina said as she came over, fixing her blonde hair.
She wore a black dress with gleaming golden pieces woven into it, similar two Nox's.
"The noble partner look," Beatrice said, leaning on her wooden crutches.
"…"
"Don't you want to say anything?" Alma whispered to Nox.
"I- It looks good on you," he murmured, barely audible.
"Could you say that a bit louder?"
"It looks good on you!" he shouted, even more embarrassed.
"Thanks. Likewise," Lina replied with a calm expression.
Nox gulped heavily and mustered her with a confused gaze.
"Why the hell is she so calm? I'm the man, aren't I?" he thought as he stepped outside in defeat.
The group rushed through the empty city, following the distant sounds of music.
The city was extremely large, but their house was near the center and thanks to mana walk, they could walk at running speed.
"Good thing I've practiced for this encounter before," Lina thought, crossing her arms in relief. She briefly glanced at Nox to see if he had noticed her nervousness. He didn't.
As they came by the palace, thousands of elves sat at long tables, eating meat and plants they had never seen before.
Some froze when they saw the humans, grabbing their bows.
"Lower your hands. They are my guests," a loud voice rang out.
The king of the elves sat before them on a separate platform.
"Please, have a seat."
At the crowd's confused gazes, he rose from his throne and pointed at the group.
"These humans rescued an elf girl in the forest. But instead of welcoming them with open arms…"
His gaze turned strict.
"Every one of us, even the children, looked at them with disgust and contempt, simply because some of their ancestors committed evil deeds."
A hush fell over the crowd, their arrows lowering but their eyes still wary, as if the forest itself held its breath at this unprecedented announcement.
"We judged people we did not even know. So, who do you think is the real evildoer now?"
The elves froze, their gazes changing completely.
Nox realized that they were a lot more forgiving than humans. Almost every one of them now looked at them with curiosity instead of hate.
"This day shall mark our first alliance with humans, in the hope of further exchange in the future!" he shouted, his words lying over the forest like a heavy blanket.
"Did he just establish an alliance with us? Well, it seems to be alright," Nox thought, glancing at Lina's calm face.
"From now on, please call me by my name. I'm Elvenar."
"As I already said, if you need our support, the elves of Vinar will gladly assist you. I believe it is in both our interests to form a closer relationship," the king said.
"We would be glad," Lina replied. "May I ask about your eyes, Elvenar?"
"It seems you already know about them. Yes, these are the Gaia eyes. I am the only possessor remaining."
"Does that mean you can tell us what happened in the war? And what happened to Gaia?" Nox asked.
"No, that is not possible. Because all of us elves are…"
He stopped for a brief moment and gulped heavily.
"…cursed."
"What?" the group froze.
"Who could be powerful enough to curse every single elf? And why?" Nox thought, cold shivers running down his spine as he considered the many secrets of the past.
"Thanks to the forest and someone else, it doesn't kill us" the elven king said, pointing at the branch in his hand.
"What do you mean by 'someone'?"
"The go-"
The air suddenly turned cold. A massive surge of mana descended from the sky and struck Elvenar.
Cough- Cough-
Green blood splattered from his mouth.
"A- Are you okay?" the six shouted, staring at him in disbelief.
"Hahaha, don't worry. I'm used to this," the king laughed, wiping his mouth with a towel made of leaves.
"But as you can see, I cannot speak about certain things. That includes the war and the abilities of the Gaia eyes."
"The only thing I can say is that they are based on the user's strength and adaptability, meaning they are not some omnipotent eyes as everyone claims," Elvenar clarified.
Nox felt a chill run down his spine, imagining eyes that could pierce every lie and see the true origin of every being. And that was only a portion of their power.
An unpleasant silence lingered, with no one knowing what to say.
"U- Uhm, could I perhaps use a few of those plants for my research?" Regea asked, pointing at his wooden plate.
"Of course, but that is just normal food."
"No. The mana concentration is five times higher than that of ordinary plants, leading to a drastic increase in photosynthesis and the probability of magical mutations," Regea shouted, staring at him in excitement.
"I- I see," the king replied, looking at him with a baffled expression.
Beatrice desperately tried to hold back her laughter.
"But if you're that excited about the food, then how about this?" the king said, extending his arm. The branch hovered over a strangely shaped yellow plant.
A drop of green mana fell onto it. The plant hissed and turned dark red.
"W- What is that?" Regea asked, touching it carefully.
"I enhanced it with the Tree of life's energy. It should be better for your research," Elvenar said. He stole a brief glance at Nox before turning back.
"W- Wait, I can't accept this!" Regea said, staring at the plant with greedy eyes.
"It's too refined to be used as medicine. Just take it."
"But-"
"It's okay," Beatrice whispered, nodding in encouragement.
"T- Thank you very much, Your Majesty."
Regea's eyes gleamed as he reached for the crimson plant, his fingers trembling, while Beatrice let out a small chuckle at his overzealousness.
"Uhm, Elvenar? I have the Stigma of Archery. Do you perhaps know someone who could teach me?" Alma asked, stuffing blue meat into her mouth.
"Yes. Your friend must recover for at least a week. You may train with Elvin during that time."
"He's surprisingly tolerant. And another thing… he keeps looking at me as if I'm some kind of strange species," Nox thought, but quickly dismissed the idea.
The king stood up and addressed the elves.
"The forest has started to swallow the sun. The daily dinner is hereby over!"
At his words, the elves stood up and marched toward their treehouses.
"I'm going back. My stomach hurts," Beatrice said, standing up as well.
"I'll go too," Regea and Lina said in unison.
Nox followed them, leaving Alma and Amon behind.
"Thank you for accepting us so warmly, Your Majesty," Alma said, bowing deeply.
"No problem. I was waiting for such kind-hearted humans like you. You seem older than the rest though, how old are you?" the king asked.
"We are 21 years old. All of us are from Yom academy," Amon replied.
"Yom academy? Sounds interesting. But… one more thing," Elvenar said, his eyes sharpening.
"Who in the world is that silver-haired boy?"
"Nox van Strier, a student of our academy."
"So, he is… a human?" The question was calm, but there was a strange weight behind his eyes, a hint of hesitation.
"Y- Yeah."
The two looked at him with puzzled expressions.
"What are his powers?" The king glanced to the chair where Nox had been sitting a minute ago.
"Ice," Amon replied.
"Yes, I remember. What about electricity or magnetism?" the king asked, his golden eyes with purple dots staring straight at them.
"No, he has the Ice Stigma."
"Ice? Very well," Elvenar said, rising from his wooden seat.
"Good night, Your Majesty," the two said, watching him walk back to the palace.
"That was strange."
"Elves grow old too, I guess."
"I'm not tired at all. How about we stroll around for a bit?" Alma suggested.
"You want to do it again? Sure," Amon muttered.
As the two walked through the city, no elf was in sight.
"The rumours are true. Elves really do gain their energy from sunlight."
They headed toward a large clearing with no houses in sight.
Children's slides and climbing frames dotted the area, faint mana bathing it in a soft, warm glow.
"You had everything to choose from, and you decided on this?" Alma asked, grabbing his hand. A shiver ran up her spine, her smile mischievous.
Before he could react, she pulled him toward a small climbing frame.
"Then let's play," Alma whispered, pushing him lightly onto the soft grass. Dirt scattered around, and their laughter mixed with the fading sunlight.
"They're dirty. You should take them off," Amon said, running his fingers over her dress, his chest rising faster than usual.
"Maybe we'll get an extra stamina boost through that," she muttered under her heavy breath as she engaged him in a kiss. Her fingers traced just above his belt line.
"Who's the dirty one now?" he whispered, his eyes gleaming softly as he matched her teasing tone.
Her laughter softened, and she pressed against him, their closeness electric.
For a moment, neither of them moved. They tried to hold themselves back, but soon their patience ran out. Alma rubbed her body against Amon's, accompanied by soft yawns.