Prologue

An elf in a torn white dress ran down the hallway towards the path to the underground, a secret place she was forbidden to enter. Her enemies, the stalled knights, shouted a war cry and called reinforcements to chase her. Followed by three people in heavy equipment, she forced herself to run as fast as possible, her legs trembling.

Just before she encountered the thick metal doors that lead beneath the castle, a tingling sensation scratched her stomach, accompanied by sudden nausea. If she collapsed now, she already imagined that her fate of becoming a slave would be certain.

After entering, she locked the metal doors from the inside. Securing her safety, her hand supported her weakened body by clinging to the walls. She faced down to the ground and vomited out her exhaustion. The dryness of her throat made her seek for water. Her eyes were blurred from her tears and dizziness; the circular ladder lit by torches welcomed her.

Uncertain of her fate, she ventured into the path, hearing explosions synchronizing the earth’s shaking. She reached the dome-shaped room she never knew existed. Its ground was painted with a distorted magic circle; its symbols represented messages even an elf couldn’t discern.

The circle glowed bright blue after she made her step on it. Soon, the massive blue light covered the room, wrapping and blinding her into uncertainty.

“What’s happening!?” Incalculable of her path, she experienced rasping breaths, her eyes bulging and unable to blink. The force from the magic activation felt like she was being pushed in all directions. Soon, a crack from her brooch slightly shook her head. She didn’t only develop fear, but terror towards the unknown.

The knights managed to breach the metal door and chase her… but they were too late. They didn’t intend to venture into an unknown magic circle that they thought was dangerous.

Like a bubble soon popped, she vanished without a trace.