Elyanthra’s little knowledge about the Humans came from what she learned from Aria and Annabelle’s brief tales. But tales weren’t enough to create a comprehensive image. Alisha and her aide, Jaxon, were… complicated.

The man was harsh-looking with a rougher face—tall and imposing, with the tangible presence of a deadly hunter. Some Elves had powers like that, and they made magnificent guards. But they usually didn’t have that pressure on all the time. She wasn’t sure if it was intentional or because he lacked control over the ability.

But the real enigma was Alisha; she was utterly indecipherable.

Alisha was a complete mystery, from her odd clothing and somewhat teasing voice to her inexplicable power. Elyanthra couldn’t get a read on her.

That mystery was already a problem. Elyanthra might not have been willing to work with her if it weren’t for Aria’s character guarantee.

But her worries couldn’t be the only consideration: the group belonging to Alisha looked strong.

The first one to appear was a woman of similar height to Anna with azure hair and bright green eyes—a lighter shade. She had fish-like scales on her lower arms, a gentle face, a calm and soothing presence, and a relaxing voice. Her outfit was simple; a matching pair of light-blue pants and a shirt.

Human clothing was odd, but seeing another race there was just as bizarre. Anna informed her that Bastion was made up of many races.

Elyanthra found her voice calming, even if her first introduction to it was the woman’s exclamation toward her long ears. It seemed that her people existed in Human myths. Absurd, but she couldn't dismiss the possibility that her people had been there before in ages long past.

“Elyanthra,” Alisha said. She patted the woman’s back, which made her stop staring at Elyanthra’s ears. “This is Alice—a pure healer.”

“A healer?” Elyanthra exclaimed. Those were incredibly rare! She lightly bowed her head. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Alice.”

Pure healer were incredibly rare and deserving of all respect.

“A-are you an… Elf?” Alice asked. “Like, a real Elf?”

Alisha smacked Alice’s back. “That’s rude!”

“I am,” Elyanthra said.

“That’s amazing!” Alice exclaimed. “We always figured you’d be out there, but to think I’m seeing the first one!”

“That’s not what we’re here for, silly girl,” Alisha said. She turned toward her office door. “Speaking of.”

Elyanthra didn’t need her to say anything—she felt and heard it.

Loud, heavy stomps coming up the steps.

“This better be good!” came a strong, heavy voice that echoed in the stairway. “I was just about to leave for the frontlines again!”

“There they are!” Alisha excitedly said, sounding amused by the sound of the loud man. “Elyanthra, these are my people.”

“Silence, brute,” came another. That man sounded slightly muffled—like he was speaking from behind something, but his voice was rather gravelly. “You’re hurting my ears.”

“You know it’s important if she called all of us.” That man sounded prideful, a natural arrogance in his heavier voice.

Was that all of them?

Alisha said they needed to wait for four people to show up, which would make those three the last.

But she didn’t feel like any of those voices belonged to a Dwarf.

The first to appear stunned her.

“Barbarian,” she muttered.

That was an instant revelation from the tan, tall, and hulking man who stepped through the door—he had to lower his head to fit through. He had a long brown ponytail going down to his waist with the sides of his hair shaved and a short beard.

He had steel plate armor that left most of his torso and arms uncovered, along with two massive axes strapped to his back. Beneath that, a variety of odd tattoos and scars.

“Yep, just like the one you told us about,” Alisha said. “His name is Thagrin.”

“The fuck?” Thagrin’s burning platinum gaze swept her body. “What kind of race is this? Pointy ears?”

“You do not recognize it?” Elyanthra asked—just to confirm.

“Nope, never heard of you.” He turned to Alisha. “What is this?”

“I’m sure our leader will explain,” the man with the somewhat hidden voice said. He stepped out from behind Thagrin, allowing Elyanthra to get a look at him.

But there wasn’t much to see. He was covered in heavy-tanned garb with a mask covering his face, preventing her from making out any details.

“This is Samir,” Alisha said.

“Pleasure,” he said, briefly lowering his head. “A new race getting introduced to Bastion?”

“Nope! Well, maybe…” Alisha glanced toward Elyanthra a few times.

“I have considered it.”

“A new race?!” came the third man—the one who naturally sounded arrogant.

He was… fascinating.

Tall, but that wasn’t what was striking about him. He had long golden hair and a powerful, glowing pair of platinum-grey eyes.

And they really were glowing.

But there was no ring around his head or in his vicinity. He wore a white and gold robe tied at the waist.

His platinum eyes looked at her appraisingly, lingering longer on her ears.

What was that? Elyanthra had never heard a tale of glowing eyes, even as a passive effect of a sigil.

“And this is Vlasis!” Alisha said. “Along with Jaxon, these are my people.”

“An Elf?” Vlasis said, intrigue in his tone. “Never thought I’d see the day! Nice to meet you, Miss…?”

“My name is Elyanthra.”

“Beautiful name.”

“Thank you.”

“What is this about?” Samir asked.

“Hold on, where is sir Dwarf—Gromak?” Elyanthra asked. That was the one she really wanted to meet, even if the figures before her were almost as absurd as Alisha.

“Sir? You want Gromak?” Vlasis asked, his brow quirked. “Why?”

“The tiny man has been grumpy lately,” Thagrin said mockingly. “Needs his beauty sleep to make sure he serves mice the best food.”

“He’ll be here, Elyanthra,” Alisha said. “Jaxon went to get him, and he’ll come running once he hears why you’re here.”

“And why would that be?” Samir asked. “Gathering us all is quite the show.”

“Let’s wait for Gromak.” Alisha gestured toward her couches. “It’s a long story—sit.”

But the only one to take a seat was Alice, and Samir chose to stand behind the couch while Vlasis stood at the table’s head.

It was awkward, but Elyanthra just wanted to get it over with so she could go home.

As much as she would love to see and learn more about Earth, there was something that ate at her about leaving Aria and Anna alone.

“Pointy, you know my race?” Thagrin suddenly asked, breaking the silence with his loud voice.

“Pointy?”

“Show some respect, Thagrin,” Samir said. “You are speaking to the representative of a race.”

“Bah. Do you?”

“Yes—there is an accursed of your race on my world.”

Thagrin’s eyes narrowed. “Oh? An’ how’s that possible?”

“And that is the story for when Gromak gets here!” Alisha interrupted before Elyanthra could say. “Which is now.”

They all turned toward the door.

Jaxon stepped out…

And there he was.

A Dwarf.

Just like the depictions and the stories she had been told.

He locked eyes with her—those strong bronze eyes containing strength and wisdom. His head was bald, but his beard was tall and wide… as the stories mentioned. He looked strong, even through his somewhat simple outfit. A black apron over tanned workmen’s clothes.

More correct depictions.

She instantly realized he did not recognize her.

But that didn’t matter.

Elyanthra stood and bowed toward him.

“Honorably Dwarf,” she said. “My name is Elyanthra—I am an Elf… and the apostle to Zeruphirin.”

“Elf? Zeruphirin?” Gromak said in confusion. She had added them in the hopes he would recognize it. But alas, it seemed it was not to be. “You speak like you know me… well, my kind.”

“Of course, sir Gromak!” Elyanthra could barely bite back her excitement. “My world will forever be grateful for what the Dwarves did for us.”

“Oh?” Gromak stepped forward. “It’s not surprisin’, really. You must have met a detachment squadron.”

“It was before my time, sir Gromak.”

Thagrin chuckled. “Sir.”

“Drop the honorific, girlie.” Thagrin took a seat opposite of her. “The detachment squadrons are… like the name says—detached. Anythin’ they did with you lot is not known to the rest if they never returned.” He regretfully sighed. "Which is quite common."

Disappointing, but expected. She didn’t see why they wouldn’t have returned if that was the case.

She sighed. “I believed that would be the case, si— Gromak. But your people will always have a place in my world.”

“Now that’s somethin’ we can discuss later, girlie.”

His tone was serious, too.

“Elves and Dwarves!” Alice suddenly exclaimed. “I still can’t get over seeing these two together.”

“You’re being rude,” Samir said.

“S-sorry.”

“Now, now, Samir,” Vasis lightly said. “We’re witnessing fiction become reality. Can you blame her?”

“Bah, enough of this nonsense,” Thagrin said. “Tell me about my race in your world. What does accursed mean?”

“Allow me!” Alisha said, jumping up and gathering eyes on her. “Despite how nice all of this is, Elyanthra brings us… dark news.”

And they wouldn’t guess based on Alisha’s tone—an enigma.

Elyanthra would have to be careful with her.

Alisha repeated, nearly verbatim, the story Elyanthra told her. She did not miss a single detail, recounting the story almost like it was her own.

Hearing her world’s plight said in a slightly mischievous tone felt odd, to say the least.

The faces of everyone in the room became darker as she progressed. At first, it was a matter of relatability—they were people who had fought the corruption. But it soon became worse.

It seemed her world truly was the first to display sentient accursed.

But how? They had a Barbarian, which meant they didn’t originate in her world; one was Human.

There was a missing piece to the puzzle somewhere, a mystery that alluded even her lord.

By the time Alisha finished recounting Elyanthra’s long story, nearly an hour had passed. The room was deathly silent, and the expressions of everyone had darkened considerably. They didn’t care that they were face-to-face with an Elf anymore.

“A god,” Vlasis mumbled. 

“That’s what you focused on?” Samir said. “A sentient corrupted… do you even fathom what that means?”

“W-we’re fucked,” Alice said, sinking into her seat.

“It’s heavy, ain’t it?” Gromak said. He leaned forward, peering into Elyanthra’s eyes. “Girlie, how sure are you of that?”

“She has recounted it perfectly,” Elyanthra said. “The sentient accursed attempted to corrupt Anna and Aria—he spoke to them.”

“Attempted?”

She hadn’t told them that part.

“He… failed.”

Alisha stared at her for a moment longer before facing forward. “What matters is that we were asked to help her!”

“I will go,” Thagrin said, his voice actually quieter. “I will rip his bones out one by one for touching one of my brothers.”

She felt his anger in those words.

“Would any of us decline?” Vlasis said. He smiled toward Elyanthra, but it was bitter. “We will help you, Elyanthra. It doesn’t even have to be an order from Alisha!”

That received a round of nods that made Elyanthra’s chest warm.

“I’ll come, too!” Alice exclaimed.

“Girlie, how are they?” Gromak asked.

Her story didn’t include much of Anna and Aria—purposeful. She didn’t want to tell the tale of others.

“Anna and Aria are fine. They have both grown stronger… in ways you cannot imagine.”

“Oh?”

“It is not my tale to tell.”

“Well, I’ll be goin’ with you,” Gromak said.

“We must capture one alive,” Samir said. “This advancement… I fear what it means for every world facing the corruption.”

"It is a universal level threat," Vlasis grimly said.

“My lord has it intended it to be so.”

“When do we leave?”

“Immediately!” Alisha said. “I don’t want to deal with the council bugging me about this, and we need to get this intel within the week.”

“Yes,” Elyanthra said. “I fear leaving Anna and Aria alone for—”

She felt something.

Rather, something magical sent a tingling sensation across her body.

“What was that?” Vlasis asked, his widened, shining eyes glued to her. “I just saw an… overwhelmingly powerful magic.”

Elyanthra knew what that feeling meant.

Her lord was calling her, which sent her heart to the bottom of her stomach.

For him to send a message, even with the monumental cost…

“They… have already begun.”

How long ago?

“What?” Gromak asked. “You’re tellin’ me they’re attackin’ right now?”

“Yes!” Elyanthra jumped out of her seat. “Anna and Aria are in danger; we must leave immediately!”

Everyone in the room readied instantly, standing up and moving toward Elyanthra.

“We’re ready,” Alisha said, turning toward her people. Her tone became heavier, the trace of natural lightheartedness suppressed. “Your mission is to fight—to kill. Prepare yourself for the most important mission of your lives; I want the sentient alive.”

“Yes, ma’am!” they all said.

“Everybody, please be prepared for immediate combat—my lord will teleport us into the Library of the Lost… and I fear that it is being invaded.”

Please, Anna and Aria—be okay.

She pulled on the magic her lord left within her, a piece of his power she felt in the depths of her mana and body.

And it activated immediately, creating a blinding green light that engulfed all of Elyanthra’s senses.