CHAPTER 159: DARK ELF

Quietly, Ling Yu stood, adjusting her cloak and stepping out of the tent without a sound. The night air greeted her immediately, cool, crisp, and tinged with the scent of damp earth and sweet blossoms. The elven village lay under a dome of natural luminescence; thousands of fireflies floated through the branches, and luminous vines coiled along the trees, bathing everything in a serene green glow.

She drew in a slow breath. "Peaceful..." she murmured. "Almost too peaceful."

The camp they’d been given rested near the edge of the elves’ inner sanctum, where the dense forest met a clear stream. The water’s surface mirrored the moon like a sheet of liquid glass, occasionally rippling as small silver fish darted below.

Ling Yu crouched by the stream, cupping a handful of water to her lips. The cold bit at her fingertips, but it cleared the haze in her mind.

It was strange. This realm, this dungeon, felt alive and real, unlike those artificial structures or VR games. Every leaf pulsed faintly with spirit energy, every whisper of wind seemed aware. It was a sharp contrast to the world outside, where the earth had long turned gray under ash and corruption.

Here, nature still breathed.

Maybe that’s why she couldn’t relax.

She was too used to the smell of gunpowder, to the stench of blood and dust. Places like this... belonged to another time. Another world.

Her thoughts drifted to Fluffy, who was still asleep in the tent, curled near her pillow. The little creature had been glowing faintly before she left, its divine essence pulsing in rhythm with her own heartbeat. The elder’s words about the "Starbound Guardian" haunted her now more than ever.

’If that creature truly carries the divine essence of the Guardian... then your coming here was not a coincidence. It is fate.’

Fate.

She hated that word.

Before she could delve too deep into thought, a faint rustling caught her ear.

Ling Yu’s eyes narrowed.

Someone, or something, was moving just beyond the brush line to her right. The presence was faint, carefully restrained, but to someone as perceptive as her, it might as well have been a flare in the dark.

"...You can come out," she said coldly, straightening to her full height.

The rustling froze for a heartbeat, then continued, slower, cautious. A figure stepped out from behind a cluster of low bushes, hands raised in an oddly peaceable gesture.

He wasn’t human.

Ling Yu’s eyes flicked up and down the stranger instinctively, tall, slender, skin like obsidian polished under moonlight, hair as pale as snow. His eyes were a startling shade of violet, glowing faintly in the dark. He wore black robes that shimmered faintly with shadow-thread patterns, and his pointed ears marked him unmistakably as elven.

But not like the others she’d met earlier.

"...A dark elf," she said quietly.

The stranger smiled faintly, his tone soft but tinged with wariness. "Sharp eyes, human."

Ling Yu didn’t lower her guard. "You were watching me."

"Only observing," he replied quickly, lowering his hands. "I didn’t mean to startle you."

"You were hiding behind a bush."

"...An unfortunate choice, I’ll admit."

She raised a brow at that. His voice carried a disarming smoothness, calm, refined, and oddly honest. He didn’t seem aggressive, but Ling Yu had learned long ago not to trust appearances.

"What do you want?" she asked bluntly.

He hesitated before replying, his gaze flickering toward the camp in the distance. "Curiosity," he finally said. "It’s not often that humans come here, especially the ones who walk under a dragon’s shadow."

That last phrase made her eyes narrow slightly.

So he could sense it too.

He noticed her silence and smiled faintly, taking a careful step closer. "You don’t need to draw your weapon, Slayer. If I meant harm, the forest would have told you long before now."

"The forest?"

He nodded. "It speaks to all who live here, even to us, the dark ones."

Ling Yu tilted her head slightly. "Strange. From what I know, the dark elves were exiled from the forest long ago. How is it that you’re here?"

His violet eyes gleamed faintly, amusement ghosting his lips. "Ah. So you’ve read the human histories."

"History has enough blood between your kind and the white elves to drown a mountain," she replied evenly. "It says you were enemies, that you betrayed them to the corrupted dragons."

The dark elf chuckled under his breath, though there was no humor in it. "History, as written by the victors, is a convenient liar."

He sat down on a low root, his posture casual, his tone thoughtful. "The truth is rarely so simple. Once, long ago, we were one people, children of the Moon and the Sun. But when the balance broke and darkness began to swallow the light, we chose different paths."

He looked up at the sky, where the moon’s reflection shimmered through the leaves. "The white elves chose the Sun, the light of purity. They banished their shadows, seeking perfection. We... chose to embrace what the others feared. We became the dark elves, not because we loved evil, but because someone needed to guard the darkness."

Ling Yu watched him quietly. His words carried an old melancholy, the kind that only came from living through centuries of loss.

"So, you weren’t enemies," she said slowly, "but guardians of balance."

He smiled faintly. "Precisely. We guarded the roots while they sang to the leaves. But as centuries passed, fear replaced understanding. They saw us as tainted, as the corrupted ones. They forgot that darkness is not always evil."

Ling Yu folded her arms. "And yet, here you are, in their forest, under their protection. How?"

At that, the dark elf’s expression softened. "Because the Elders remembered. Not all white elves are blinded by pride. When the corruption began to spread again, the same plague that tainted your world, the Elders sought us out. We formed an accord. The forest cannot survive with only light or only shadow. It needs both."

Ling Yu’s brows furrowed slightly. "You mean the dark elves protect the underlayer of the forest?"

"Yes," he said simply. "We dwell beneath the roots, guarding the tunnels where the corruption seeps in. When the white elves sing to the stars, we whisper to the stones. Our magic draws the corruption downward, where it can be purified. That is how this realm still stands."

He glanced at her then, his eyes sharp despite the calmness in his tone. "But lately, the corruption grows stronger. The white elves’ songs are faltering. Even our shadows can’t contain it anymore."

Ling Yu’s expression hardened. "The elder mentioned that the World Tree is weakening."

He nodded grimly. "If the roots fall, so does everything else, light, dark, elf, and human alike."

For a long moment, silence fell between them. The only sound was the gentle ripple of the stream and the distant hum of elven song.

Ling Yu finally spoke. "Why tell me all this?"

"Because," he said quietly, "you may be the only one who can reach the core."

Her eyes flicked toward him, assessing. "You know about the dungeon heart."

A faint smile curved his lips. "Of course. The elves call it the Heart of Oath. We call it the Root of Corruption. Two names for the same thing. The only difference is what you do with it."

Ling Yu’s gaze was sharp. "And what would you do with it?"

He looked away, his voice low. "If it were possible, I would destroy it. But it lies too close to the Tree’s core. To kill one might kill both. That is why we wait for someone who can sever the curse without burning the roots."

He looked at her then, his eyes glowing faintly in the dark. "A Dragon Slayer who carries both light and shadow. The forest’s balance might just favor you."

She exhaled softly, more to steady herself than to reply. "You seem to know a lot about me for someone who claims to be just curious."

A faint smirk curved his lips. "Perhaps curiosity has sharper eyes than most."

Ling Yu rolled her eyes lightly. "Then perhaps curiosity should stop stalking women in the dark."

That earned her a quiet laugh, deep, smooth, and surprisingly genuine. "Fair enough," he said, standing again. "You humans are much sharper than I expected."

She didn’t smile, but the tension between them eased slightly.

As he turned to leave, Ling Yu called after him. "Wait."

He glanced back.

"What’s your name?"

He hesitated before replying, his tone quieter now, almost hesitant. "Kael. Kael of the Umbral Vein."

’Umbral Vein? As if the name of his tribe?’

"Kael," she repeated, tasting the name. "Will I see you again?"

A faint smile touched his lips. "If the forest wills it."

And just like that, he was gone, melting into the shadows with a grace that made him seem like part of the night itself.

Ling Yu stared after him for a while, her expression unreadable.