When the first Dark Elf of that dungeon was born, there was only darkness around her. She remained alone in that place for a time she couldn't measure. At some point, a ground formed beneath her feet, with pink and blue flowers blooming. Trees began to grow, and she was finally able to walk upon the land. She fell the first time—having never walked since she was created. Once she got used to walking, she began to run, curious like a child. She played among the flowers and trees, but could only remain within a hundred-meter radius, which was the entire area that had formed. She spent a long time confined to that space.
Over time, though she was happy, she began to feel lonely. She wanted the world to grow, to see what else might be born, and whether others like her would appear. Signs began to manifest in the area, with words as if urging her to learn to speak—and she did. Everything that appeared, she explored with curiosity, trying to find joy in the emptiness.
She discovered that a god was the one creating that place, so she learned to pray—grateful that all of this was thanks to him.
"I humbly ask, my lord, that other beings may appear in this place..."
After that request, in time, animals began to appear in that small place, which started to expand. After years, others like her began to appear—though as children—which made her even happier. She cared for them, watched them grow, and also saw them die. Each loss pained her, and it got worse when shadows began to emerge, devouring the world that had grown to the size of a continent.
"My children..."
She saw the children she had raised being consumed by shadows and turning into enemies, killing their own kin. The worst part was that some of them willingly gave themselves over, betraying her. They were kept alive to be used in a sacrificial ritual for something. She was in despair—until a new purple sign appeared, speaking of magic. A fire spirit appeared and fought alone for months until the elves understood the concept. With that, she and her children managed to survive by supporting the spirit, which to them was a gift from the god.
"Thank you, my lord."
She then created arcane circles that amplified their magic to the maximum. She developed various spells and mastered the four main elements of nature. Lastly, she created multiple guardians to protect her children. Her children trained so hard for her sake that some of them died trying to surpass their potential. That saddened her deeply.
"Master, should I guard the side of the forest? Lord Vaelith said he couldn't today."
Val'Drakar was the strongest guardian of that place, second only to the commander of the Elves, Vaelith, and the very first Elf, Ylrie Marlial.
"You should call me by my name after all these years I spent without one."
"Sorry, but I could never do that."
She always cared for everyone like a mother. Being the only one with so many years, she felt responsible for taking care of her children. Those years were also the reason she had mastered four types of magic since the war began 200 years ago. Over time, her communication with her god became less frequent.
"My lord, why don't you speak to me anymore? Did I do something wrong?"
Val'Drakar was one of her main guards and spent the most time with her. Seeing how devoutly she prayed, he began doing the same every morning.
The war continued for years. The once-growing land stopped expanding, and the shadows drew ever closer, with more and more elves dying. They were all pushed back into a single area the size of an island. She knew she had to act, so she tried to speak with her lord, but nothing worked—until she developed an ability that allowed her to see the future and anticipate enemy movements, buying them more time.
"Where am I?"
Ylrie found herself in a white space and, for the first time, saw her lord. He had no human form, looking like shadows without a physical body. She approached with hope, but was stopped by something invisible. The shadow spoke, disappointed.
"You are truly failures. You can't even tear open the dimension of that being properly."
Those words broke her. Why would her lord call them failures after everything she had done? She was expelled from that space, and as she fell, her ability activated—showing her a future where the god she admired was the one who had summoned the shadows.
"Master, why are you crying?"
When she awoke from the vision, tears ran down her face. The god she once worshipped had betrayed her.
"Val'Drakar, our god is not benevolent… he is actually an evil god named Sairao..."
In all those years, he had never seen his master cry, but that day she looked like a wounded child.
She tried to see the future as much as she could—to find a way to stop it. In that vision, she learned that Sairao had created that place but failed. After that failure, he decided to use it to build a vessel to descend into the original world. Since no elf could cross the dimension imposed by the supreme god, he changed tactics and planned to sacrifice all the elves in the dungeon to build a new body from scratch.
"I won't let that happen, Master."
That was Val'Drakar's promise. And she too vowed to fight, along with all the elves, until the end. All the guardians were destroyed, leaving only 100 elves. Val'Drakar managed to transfer most of his power into a tree, which formed a dome that hid the darkness outside and protected those within. New elf children were born, while the older ones died defending the dome from traitors outside.
"Only fifty children now, fewer and fewer..."
As Ylrie sadly watched the children running around, Val'Drakar longed to see his master smile again.
"Mommy, can I go play in the river with little Tarcen?"
"Of course, dear."
The girl ran to the river while Ylrie looked on with nostalgia. Val'Drakar wondered about that look, and she realized it.
"You could say... she'll be the next me."
He didn't know what those words meant, but he began to care for that girl more than the others. Her name was Lyrielle. Together, they learned what was to come. Ylrie told them of a boy with a sword who would become a great hero, wielding a light that burned what was impure.
Every new vision carried a message of salvation. One day, Ylrie awoke with hope in her eyes and spoke of a child who might be chosen by the fire spirit that had just died and transformed into a tree.
"This may be our salvation... if she can free us. Val'Drakar, we must prepare something that can transport many elves and resist transfer without the supreme god's permission or mental resistance."
"Yes, Master."
"Yes, Mother."
At that time, she was more hopeful than ever. Even a new friend appeared, a humanoid lizard named Laflez who was very lazy. They prepared diligently and managed to create something: a crystal orb made of pure magic, using the power of all the survivors.
"I'll seal everyone—don't worry, for us it will feel like only a second has passed once you fall asleep."
That day, Lyrielle turned 17 and had become the strongest of the fifty children. They were only waiting for the last survivors to return. Vaelith and two other elves arrived, bringing the total to fifty-four survivors.
"Very well. Val'Drakar, Tarcen, and Laflez will handle everything—and please, don't die."
"Don't worry, my lady. Of the three of us, I can revive as many times as needed."
The youngest entered the sphere first. It seemed everything was finally going well—until a new vision struck Ylrie, causing her to fall to her knees.
"What's wrong, Master?"
"The original world will be destroyed... even with Kai being the strongest human in history..."
She trembled. The hope in her eyes vanished—just as a blade pierced her chest, coming from one of the elves who had arrived behind Vaelith.
"As Lord Sairao said, you cannot see the future of someone cursed by the Hidden."
"VALDIR!"
Vaelith, enraged, slashed at Valdir, nearly hitting him.
"Vaelith, you were always the strongest—but now, with Lord Sairao's power, I surpass you."
Vaelith pointed his sword toward the spinning crystal orb, ordering the others to flee while he handled things. Lyrielle wanted to kill Valdir, but followed orders and took her mother with her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
More traitors appeared, smiling. Tarcen and Laflez charged to delay them. Val'Drakar apologized to his comrades and thanked them for their sacrifice, then grabbed the orb and took the three to his tree.
"My lord, I should stay and delay them like the others."
Before Val'Drakar could respond, a barrier formed around the girl and Lyrielle. It was made by Ylrie, who sent them quickly into the sphere.
"Master?"
A shadow approached them—it was Sairao, with corrupted Tarcen and Laflez at his side. Val'Drakar stood ready, eyes full of pain seeing his friends in that state. A battle began in a small dimension Ylrie had created to avoid damaging the land.
The battle lasted days. Vaelith eventually appeared, having defeated Valdir, and helped fight—though he ultimately died by Sairao's hand. Everyone fell. Sairao approached the orb containing the survivors.
"With this, I can finally descend to the original world."
"No..."
Ylrie stood one last time. With her final wish, she used her life to create two rules within that dungeon:
"Only non-elven beings may enter here, and no Nartheis may interfere with the trials."
With those rules, all elves were instantly expelled. Sairao weakened, needing followers to maintain that form, and vanished with a vow to return. Tarcen and Laflez, corrupted, fled to hide. Val'Drakar ran to Ylrie, who lay on the ground.
"Master, please wake up."
"Val'Drakar... I feel pain, but not physical. I'm trying to see the future again and again... but I only see my remaining children dying..."
He stayed silent, trying to make the crystal absorb Ylrie to save her, but he lacked the level to open it. Maybe if he undid the tree—but before he could proceed—
"Don't try... even if you do that, I'll already be dead."
She didn't want her children to see her dead body—it would be too painful. All she wanted was to glimpse a new future, something, even small. She could no longer speak, but kept trying again and again until she saw something different, her eyes glowing.
"This will be my final effort... my children..."
Val'Drakar, devastated, saw her raise her hand. A light emerged from it as the light in her eyes faded. She had sacrificed the last spark of her life to create something. It flew to a blue rose. Not knowing what it was, he approached and buried his master right in the center, where the blue roses grew. He did not cry—he couldn't, being a statue—and spent days doing nothing, simply protecting the flower and the sphere left behind by his master.