Leona sat in silence for several minutes after Nyx's words, her mind an ever-turning storm of conflict.
On one side was the human empire, a ruthless, insatiable machine that would never stop until the entire demi-human continent was stripped bare.
She knew their hunger well; it wasn't just about land or resources.
It was about domination, conquest, and humiliation.
They would raze their forests, plunder their rivers, and turn her people into nothing more than slaves and playthings.
Every woman would be in chains, every child born into servitude, every whisper of elven song silenced beneath the marching boots of men.
And yet...on the other side stood him, Luca.
A being who claimed to be their hero, who had halted the war single-handedly.
A savior...but one who had the power to destroy them all without breaking a sweat.
He wasn't a king, or a soldier, or a strategist—he was something else entirely.
A superbeing who could erase armies, rewrite borders, and crush any rebellion simply because he could.
The humans were a predictable evil. Mortal, flawed, bound by greed and limitation.
But Luca? He was limitless.
And that was what truly terrified her.
She pressed her palms together, elbows resting on the desk as she stared blankly at the grain of the wood beneath her hands.
'Which is worse?' She thought bitterly. 'To be conquered slowly by an empire of men...or to be saved by a god who could destroy us in a single moment of rage?'
Her sister, her mother, even the Goddess herself—everyone seemed convinced that Luca's presence was a blessing.
That he was chosen, destined, trustworthy.
Leona wanted to believe that too.
She wanted to believe the faith in their eyes wasn't misplaced.
And perhaps...maybe they were right.
Maybe having him near, having someone so powerful on their side was safer than having him against them.
Still, she couldn't quiet the unease in her chest.
The thought of depending on one man, one unpredictable being, felt like dancing at the edge of a blade, especially since the last man she depended on had failed her miserably.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But just then, her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden clang in the distance.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Then another. A series of sharp, metallic bangs echoed faintly through the forest, followed by a low hum unlike anything she'd ever heard before.
Leona's brow furrowed. "What is that sound?" She asked, glancing toward the open window.
"Where is it coming from? I've never heard anything like it before. It sounds...unnatural."
Nyx barely looked up from her paperwork. "Ah." She said casually, tapping her quill against her chin. "That would probably be...Luna and Lulu."
"What?"
Nyx shrugged lightly. "They're on duty today—cutting down Mother's tree, remember? But because there's no mana left they can't use wind magic to easily cut down the tree anymore."
"Without it, they're really struggling to chop the trunk down. Apparently, no matter how hard they try, the thing won't budge."
Leona crossed her arms, still frowning. "And that explains the strange noise how?"
"Well." Nyx continued lazily. "They got frustrated and went to ask Luca for help. Apparently, he said he had something that could make the job easier."
"So I'm guessing that noise is coming from...whatever thing he's using."
Leona froze.
Then, very slowly, she turned to face her sister.
"Wait. Did you just say that Luna and Lulu are with that human right now?"
Nyx glanced up at her, unconcerned. "Mm-hmm. That's what I said."
"And you let this happen?" Leona's voice sharpened. "You knew about it and said nothing? We agreed that none of the clan members were to approach him directly without supervision!"
Nyx rolled her eyes, setting the quill down.
"Oh, calm down, sister. They came to me complaining that it was impossible to cut the tree down. He offered to help. I said yes. It's not the end of the world."
Leona's jaw tightened. "Not the—Nyx, do you realize who he is?! You think this is a game?"
Nyx merely leaned back in her chair, her expression teasing. "Relax. Lulu, Luna, and a few others are there too. He's not going to eat them."
Leona let out a frustrated groan, snatching her dark red cape from the wall and fastening it around her shoulders with practiced speed.
"You'll never change." She muttered.
Nyx sighed as she rose from her seat, grabbing her dagger and following after her.
"You worry too much, you know. Maybe he's just helping them like a good neighbor."
Leona ignored her entirely, already striding toward the exit.
The two sisters descended through the winding spiral stairs of the great tree, stepping out into the forest canopy. They moved swiftly, their feet barely making a sound on the woven bridges connecting the village's platforms.
As they went deeper into the forest, the strange metallic clanging grew louder, almost mechanical.
The gentle harmony of birds and rustling leaves was replaced by the grating shriek of metal against wood and the dull, repetitive pounding of some strange contraption.
And when they finally reached the clearing where the ceremony had been held the night before, both of them froze in their tracks.
The grand tree, the sacred Cedar of Life that had burned in the ceremony still stood tall, though its leaves were entirely gone.
Its once-bright bark was now a dark, charred brown, hardened by fire and around it, a dozen elves were gathered, moving with bustling energy.
But what caught Leona and Nyx's attention wasn't the elves—it was what they were using.
Scattered all around the tree were strange constructs and devices, gleaming faintly under the morning sun.
Some looked like long bars of metal with spinning edges that shrieked when pressed against the wood.
Others had handles and pulleys, grinding and slicing through the hardened bark with alarming precision.
There were even a few contraptions that seemed to move on their own, vibrating and emitting that unnatural hum that had reached all the way to their office.
None of it made sense.
The elves, who had never seen human engineering beyond crude weapons, were handling these bizarre devices clumsily but effectively—cutting the great cedar into perfect planks and slabs.
Leona and Nyx stared, speechless.
And there, above them, halfway up the burned trunk, was Luca.
He was perched comfortably on one of the branches, wearing his usual relaxed expression, holding a small, silver apparatus that glowed faintly along its edge.
When he brought it against the wood, it cut clean through the branch like a knife through butter—no struggle, no resistance.
A thick branch fell with a heavy thud onto the grass below, and a chorus of elves gasped in awe.
Leona's eyes widened. "By the Goddess…" She whispered. "What in the world is he doing?"
"Well...he did say he had something to help." Nyx's lips twitched upward in surprise and awe. "And I'm guessing those strange objects are what he was talking about."
Just then, a loud and high-pitched voice rang through the air, cutting through the metallic hum of the clearing.
"Mother! Auntie Nyx! Over here! Over heeere!"
Leona and Nyx both turned sharply at the sound of Lulu's voice.
The young elf was waving her arms wildly from across the clearing, practically bouncing on her heels.
"Come here already! You have to see this! I wanna show you what we're doing!"
She was positively glowing with excitement, like a child eager to show her parents a brand-new toy she'd just discovered.
Leona and Nyx exchanged a look part bewilderment, part resignation before making their way toward the center of the activity where a cluster of elves were gathered.
The moment they reached, one of the older elves stepped forward, clearly just as confused.
"Lady Leona, Advisor Nyx...what's going on here? And what are all these strange devices everywhere?"
Before either sister could answer, Lulu immediately took over the conversation with a beaming smile on her face, standing tall like she was giving a grand presentation.
"Well, let me explain!" She said proudly, puffing out her chest like a scholar delivering her thesis. "Because we couldn't use our wind magic anymore, we couldn't even crack the tree."
"I'm telling you, we spent hours trying, our tools could barely make a dent! It was so frustrating! The blades chipped, the wood didn't even groan, and nothing worked no matter how hard we hit it."
Nyx raised a brow, while Leona stood silently with arms crossed.
"So this morning..." Lulu continued. "...after hearing all the noise we were making, Luca came over. And when I told him everything, about how we couldn't even get the bark off the tree, he nodded, smiled, and said: 'Don't worry. I have just the thing.' And then he brought out all these!"
She gestured dramatically to the array of unfamiliar devices spread across the clearing.
Some were small enough to hold in one hand, others were massive—resting on stands or wheels and all of them buzzed, spun, or shimmered faintly with energy that pulsed like living light.
Leona's brow furrowed as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing at the foreign machines.
"These are his doing?"
"Uh-huh!" Lulu said proudly, as if she herself had invented them. "Aren't they amazing? Some of them are for cutting, others for smoothing, and others for shaping! And they all make different sounds!"
"Look, look, I'll show you!"
Before Leona could stop her, Lulu darted toward a nearby log where several axes and tools lay scattered.
She picked up one that gleamed brightly in the sunlight, its surface smooth and reflective, the handle polished and straight, completely different to the primitive axes the elves were used to.
Seeing her duaghter take up such a dangerous weapon, Leona's voice immediately rose.
"Careful with that! Don't swing it around like—"
She stopped herself mid-sentence, realizing how worried she sounded. Clearing her throat, she straightened up.
"I mean...just be mindful. Those look sharper than anything we've forged."
Lulu giggled, twirling the axe lightly in her hands.
"It's fine, Mother! I'm not that clumsy. Besides, look how beautiful it is!"
Leona glanced at it more closely, and indeed, it was unlike any weapon or tool she had ever seen.
The blade shimmered faintly, as though coated in a silver film, and yet it didn't look heavy.
Lulu easily lifted it with one hand.
"It's made of some kind of metal." Lulu continued enthusiastically. "I don't even know what kind! It's so shiny, and so light, but still really strong! When you hit the wood with it, it cuts through like it's nothing!"
She placed a thick wooden block upright before her and then raised the axe over her head.
Leona instinctively reached forward, tense, while Nyx leaned in curiously.
"Lulu—" Leona began.
But before she could finish, the axe came down with a loud whack!
The block split cleanly into two halves, the cut so smooth it looked like it had been carved with a blade of light.
Leona and Nyx both froze, wide-eyed.
"See?" Lulu said triumphantly, smiling like she'd just performed a magic trick. "Didn't I tell you? It's amazing!"
Leona blinked, stepping forward to touch the wood's surface. It was perfectly even, smooth to the touch.
"Incredible…" She murmured. "Not even enchanted steel from the old times could slice this cleanly."
Lulu, delighted by their astonishment, ran to the next strange contraption, a large, humming device that another elf was feeding long wooden pieces into.
"But wait! It doesn't stop there! Look at this one!" She said eagerly, motioning them over. "You put in the wood from the tree here—like this—and then turn that handle!"
The elf beside her demonstrated, turning a rotating wheel connected to the machine. It let out a loud, rhythmic whirr as the wooden slab was pulled in, and on the other side came out a smooth, evenly shaped plank—perfectly flat, uniform in thickness.
"See?" Lulu clapped her hands in delight. "It turns big heavy logs into planks so fast! Before, we'd need an entire week to make just a dozen of these, but now we can make hundreds! And they're all perfect!"
Nyx's mouth parted slightly, her eyes gleaming with fascination.
"This...this is unheard of. It's like magic without magic."
"I know, right?" Lulu said, bouncing on her toes. "And the best part is there so many other amazing creations that look brought out!"
She ran to the next device.
"This one chips the bark off completely! Look, you just press it against the wood like this, and it scrapes off all the outer bark without damaging the inside!"
Another few steps, and she showed them a machine with a spinning blade.
"This one's scary but cool! It spins so fast, and if you hold the edge of the log to it just right, it splits it into two or even four parts!"
And on and on she went and guided them around the clearing, pointing out each piece of Luca's mysterious handiwork, explaining in her bubbly, rapid-fire way how each one worked—or at least what she thought it did.
Leona and Nyx followed her in silence at first, but soon even they couldn't hide their wonder.
Every time a plank came out smooth, every time a blade cut effortlessly, every time another elf shouted in astonishment at how easy the process had become, the sisters exchanged glances that said the same thing.
This was something far beyond anything they had ever seen in their lifetimes.
But little did they know they know this was simply the start and there were so many more surprises that Luca was going to bring to their humble village.