The Abyss Warriors

In a dimly lit room, a tall man stood. His right hand gripped a massive sword, and his left held a pendant. A person standing in front of him saluted and said "Master, the village has been dealt with." The man smirked, and replied, "Good." He had jet-black hair and red eyes that pierced the darkness menacingly. Looking out the window, he saw the village Makoto had seen when he first arrived, now almost completely destroyed. The man laughed sinisterly before saying in a low voice, "Next...
We take the Forest."

Makoto, Ryu and Chihiro walked through the forest, trying to clear their minds. Ryu stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "I like the air here; it's fresh," he said. The forest was very thick, with the trees being much bigger than the ones Makoto had seen in Tokyo, and the grass much softer. The three soon came to a sun-lit clearing with a small pond. "Um, Ryu?" Makoto hesitated. Ryu looked at him and said "Yes, Chosen- er, Makoto. What's on your mind?" Makoto thought for a moment, and then said "That village I saw next to the Tower, do you know anything about it?" Ryu stayed quiet, casting his gaze down. Then, after a moment, he let out an exasperated sigh, and said "Makoto, that village... is my hometown." Makoto looked at Ryu for a second, and then he remembered the state it was in. He started to apologize, but Ryu held up his hand and said "There's no need to apologize; it isn't your fault. Chihiro was too young to remember anything of back then, and I don't want to remember." For a second, Makoto thought he heard Ryu's voice break. He didn't mention it, and he just said "That's fine, I-I won't ask anymore..." Just then, the three of them heard the sound of an arrow.

The three ran towards the source of the sound, and soon, they were in another clearing. Standing there was a hooded figure. The person was holding a bow in one hand and had an arrow bag over their shoulder. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Ryu said sternly. The figure turned to face them, and said "You must be the Apex Paladins. Don't tell me why you're here, let me guess," they looked at Ryu, then Chihiro, then Makoto. "You must be here to put me in your dungeons. Am I correct?" Ryu looked at the person in anger. "We only have to resort to such measures if you don't cooperate. Now, answer my question: who are you, and why are you here?!" he shouted. The person laughed under their breath and said to themselves, "They really don't know just what I'm capable of, do they?" They looked up at Ryu and said, "Fine, I'll tell you," and they slowly pulled their hood off, reveling them to be a boy about Makoto's age, and to have shoulder-length silver hair, eyes green like the leaves, and...
Elf ears.

Ryu looked at the Elf for a moment, and said, "You must be working with the Abyss Warriors! Elves have always desired human submission, but I never thought your kind would stoop so low as to aid the Abyss Warriors!" To this, the Elf laughed and said, "I see, Humans will never change. Still greedy and full of pride." "You're wrong, Elf!" Chihiro said. "It's your kind that's greedy and proud!" The Elf looked at Chihiro for a moment, then said, "It looks to me like you two are related. Brothers, with the younger one having icy hair and the older one, a temper like fire" This made Chihiro's eyes widen in shock. "H-How did you know that?" The Elf laughed sinisterly and said, "I know everything because the forest knows everything. Therefore, I am all-knowing!" He said, chuckling sinisterly.

Ryu reached for his weapon, ready to fight, but Makoto ran to stop him. He said, "There's no need to fight! I-I'm sure there's another way to get what we both want!" The Elf, grinning sinisterly, turned towards him. In a flash, he appeared behind Makoto. The Elf said, in a chilling whisper, "You believe yourself powerful, Human? Well, I'll have you know I have more power in a single ear than you do in you're entire body." Makoto couldn't stop himself from shaking when the Elf said this. After a few seconds, he managed to say, "Well, I know I'm nowhere near as strong as you, but what if the Abyss Warriors take your home next?" But before he could finish his sentence, the Elf held an arrow near Makoto's face and said, "If you dare utter another word about those Humans targeting my homeland, I will not hesitate to attack those two of the Apex."

"Get behind me, Chihiro!" Ryu shouted as he ran between the two, prepared to protect Chihiro with his life. The Elf chuckled and said to Makoto, "Well well, it seems I won't need to fight you; the other Human is more willing." He pushed Makoto to the ground, and walked towards Ryu. "Let us settle this fairly, shall we?" The Elf said as he produced a deck of cards from his deep pocket. "We'll each draw a card, and if my number is lower than yours, you can all leave here unharmed," the Elf explained. "However, if my number is larger, then I get to attack one of you." Ryu gritted his teeth as he said, "Very well Elf, I'll draw first."
"Alright then," the Elf said sarcastically. Ryu and the Elf then each drew a card from the deck. Then, the Elf, with a mocking tone, asked, "So, what's the number on your card? I have a ten." As soon as Ryu looked down at the card in his hand, and he froze. It was a five, and the Elf had a ten. Recalling what the Elf had said, Ryu glanced over at Chihiro, and fear ran through him as he realized the Elf's true intentions. 'I know who he'll attack, but how can I stop him? If I'm not fast enough, he'll...'
Suddenly, Chihiro shouted "It's a King, so you lose, Elf!" Ryu turned quickly to Chihiro and said
"Chihiro, don't-". The Elf had already snatched his card. He turned the card around and, smirking, said "I see, Humans never change. Always lying."

Then, suddenly the forest got dark. "What's going on?!" Chihiro shouted. The Elf put his cards back and started helping the animals get to safety. 'It must be the Abyss warriors!' Makoto thought. He had never seen them, but they sounded evil. Then, a man with dark hair walked towards them. The man looked at Makoto and said in a sarcastic voice, "So, you must be the so-called Chosen One, correct?"