Azel stopped abruptly at the base of the tree and there was a moment of complete silence.

The others were still far behind, their figures small in the distance as they hurried to catch up.

That left Azel alone with the damn tree, standing at its massive trunk while trying to process what had just happened.

Yggdrasill swayed beautifully in the wind, its countless leaves beginning to glitter as if responding to his presence.

Each leaf caught the light differently, creating a mesmerizing cascade of golden-green sparkles that rained down around him.

"Hehehehe~"

A childish giggle sounded directly beside him.

Azel swore he could feel something pressing down on his shoulder, a distinct weight that shouldn't be there.

However, the feeling faded almost immediately, vanishing like morning mist.

Next came a similar sensation on his leg.

He looked down quickly, expecting to see something.

Nothing…. There was just empty air.

Instead, another bit of weight appeared on his shoulder once again, more persistent this time.

Azel turned his head slowly.

A spirit sat perched on his shoulder.

It was a young girl… or at least appeared to be with vivid green hair that seemed to be made of leaves and flower petals woven together.

Her skin had a soft bark-like texture, and her eyes glowed with the same golden-green light as the tree itself.

She was roughly the same size as Lillia, his daughter which meant she was tiny enough to sit comfortably on his shoulder without weighing him down.

"Ah… I was right," the spirit said with obvious satisfaction in her voice. "I can sense mama's divinity coming from you. It's all over your aura."

She tilted her head curiously, studying him with those luminous eyes.

"Does that make you my papa…?"

"I'm not—"

[Absolutely!] Elarielle's voice suddenly shouted from inside his head with explosive enthusiasm.

And somehow, impossibly, Yggdrasill could pick up on the goddess's declaration.

The spirit's eyes widened with delight.

"I see! Then you are papa!" Yggdrasill nodded its head completely, as if that settled the matter beyond any possible dispute. "Papa, have you come here specifically to see me? I can give you any one of the treasures that you want from within the tree's vault. I've been collecting things for millennia."

The spirit leaned closer conspiratorially.

"I heard that humans sometimes have financial issues, so I can provide—"

"I'd have you know," Azel interrupted firmly, "that I'm filthy rich."

He crossed his arms with obvious pride.

Then he pointed toward the others who had closed the distance greatly now, their figures becoming clearer as they approached the base of the tree.

"I'm with them… participating in the Elf King trials, so I would appreciate it if you didn't go around calling me 'papa' in front of them."

Yggdrasill's expression shifted slightly, disappointment flickering across its childlike features but then it brightened again immediately.

"A first order from papa? As your daughter, I will absolutely listen to your commands!" The spirit floated off his shoulder gracefully, rising into the air until it hovered at eye level with the approaching group.

The Elf King arrived first, its tri-tone eyes taking in the scene with obvious curiosity.

Behind it came Sylvia, her expression carefully controlled despite the clear irritation lurking beneath her pleasant mask.

The other contestants followed in a loose cluster, all of them watching Yggdrasill with a mixture of awe and fear.

"What have you all come for today?"

The spirit's voice changed completely.

From the cute, girlish tone it had been using to speak with Azel, the voice transformed into something utterly divine… so ancient and powerful, like a deity speaking down judgment upon the mortal world.

The very air trembled with the weight of that voice.

Several of the weaker elves actually stumbled backward.

"We have come for a trial, Yggdrasill." the Elf King said with a small, respectful bow. "Please allow us to use your mirrors for the Trial of Reflection."

"I see…"

The spirit floated downward slowly, its green hair drifting around it like underwater plants.

"I still remember the time you took the trial yourself… it has been quite a while, Elf King."

"I hold the same nostalgia, Yggdrasill," the Elf King replied as the other contestants bowed deeply behind it. "It truly has been a while since we last spoke properly."

The Elf King straightened, then added casually.

"May I ask what you find so interesting about that human…?"

Its gaze shifted meaningfully toward Azel.

Azel was genuinely surprised at how quickly the Elf King had transformed from the blushing, vulnerable mess of yesterday evening into this straightforward, business-focused ruler.

The contrast was almost jarring.

"Oh, it seems that he has received a blessing from my mother, making him very special indeed," Yggdrasill said, waving one small hand dismissively as if it didn't want to discuss the matter further.

Then it changed the subject abruptly.

"I'm thinking the Trial of Reflection will be the same format as the one from a year ago?"

"A year?"

The Elf King's eyebrows rose slightly.

"You seem to have lost your perception of time, dear World Tree. It has been five hundred years since the last trial was conducted."

"What…"

Yggdrasill's eyes went distant, losing focus as if trying to process this information.

A nearby pixie nodded vigorously in confirmation, fluttering its wings rapidly.

It seemed that the spirit was the only one completely out of the loop regarding the passage of time.

"That is… surprising," Yggdrasill admitted, a note of genuine confusion entering its divine voice. "Time passes so strangely when you're rooted in one place for eternity."

The spirit shook itself, refocusing.

"Well, regardless, you may proceed with the trial. I have something which I must attend to."

Before anyone could respond, the spirit shot directly into the massive trunk of the tree, vanishing within as if absorbed.

The base of Yggdrasill immediately began to glow with brilliant golden light, the bark becoming reflective like polished glass.

The Elf King stepped forward, its voice carrying clearly across the gathered group.

"The next trial is the Trial of Reflection. Every individual's reflection is very different, but it still has the same end goal." It paused, letting that sink in. "I will not tell you what happens in the trial, as that is explicitly against the rules. However, I can say this much… it will help you look deeply into yourself through the eyes of your ancestor."

Several elves shifted nervously.

"Everybody must go through their own reflection," the Elf King continued. "And for the people who have brought lovers here as partners, if your lover fails, then you fail as well. Your fates are bound together for this trial."

That last statement made Sylvia reach over and squeeze Azel's hand tightly.

He resisted the urge to pull away.

The Elf King clapped its hands once, a sharp sound that echoed strangely.

"Approach."

They moved forward as a group, closing the distance to Yggdrasill's glowing trunk.

As Azel got closer, he could see that the bark had transformed into a perfect mirror, reflecting each person who stood before it with impossible clarity.

But the reflections were changed.

When Azel reached the trunk and looked at his own reflection, what stared back at him was not his current appearance.

Instead, he saw a beautiful elf with flowing silver-green hair and those same distinctive tri-tone eyes as the Elf King… gold at the center, silver around it, and emerald at the outer rim.

But the difference was immediately obvious.

This elf was a queen.

She wore a regal gown of flowing white and gold, a crown of living branches resting upon her head. Her posture radiated authority and grace, and her eyes held centuries of wisdom.

Azel blinked, momentarily stunned then the reflection reached out and pulled him inside.

The world inverted and he was consumed by the reflective trunk completely, falling through layers of time and memory as everything went dark.

…

Sylvia took a deep breath as she approached her own section of Yggdrasill's trunk.

Her hands were trembling slightly, though she quickly steadied them.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

What reflected back was one of the ancient Royal Elves, the ones who had statues erected throughout Elun'varis in memorial.

This particular ancestor had died during the Great Calamity that had befallen the elven kingdom centuries ago.

Nobody alive today knew what had actually caused the death of so many Royal Elves in such a short period… dozens of them wiped out within a single generation, reducing the bloodline down to the point that the current Elf King was literally the last one remaining.

It was one of the greatest mysteries in elven history but Sylvia was about to witness it firsthand.

She stepped forward and the mirror consumed her.

Her vision turned completely black, as if someone had extinguished every light in existence simultaneously then sensation returned.

When her eyes opened again, she was on the ground in the Royal Elf's body, lying sprawled across shattered stone.

She pushed herself up slowly, her ancestor's body responding to her commands and what she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

Elun'varis had been utterly destroyed.

Buildings that should have stood for millennia had been reduced to rubble. The elegant spires and towers that defined the elven capital lay broken and scattered like a child's discarded toys.

Even the royal castle… that magnificent structure that had been built to withstand anything was broken cleanly in half, its upper section collapsed and burning.

Bodies lay everywhere.

Elves… Hundreds of them… maybe thousands.

Sylvia looked up, following the sound of explosive magical combat.

High in the sky, two figures battled with world-ending power.

One was a human wizard with a long white beard and flowing robes, his body crackling with barely contained magical energy.

He fired spell after devastating spell, each one powerful enough to destroy entire towns.

The other was a mature elf floating opposite him, dodging and counterattacking with equally terrifying magic.

'The original Elf King…' Sylvia thought, recognition flooding through her.

This was the ruler who had come before the current one, the one who had died defending the kingdom and it was losing badly.

'A human destroyed Elun'varis to this level…'

Sylvia's lips curved into a slow, triumphant smile.

Her eyes gleamed with dark satisfaction as she watched the battle rage overhead.

'This is exactly what I need!'

She pushed herself to her feet using her ancestor's body, already planning how she could weaponize this knowledge.

Her reflection began to run, sprinting through the destroyed streets toward where the human wizard… continued his assault.

"This is exactly what I need for my conquest!" Sylvia shouted, her voice filled with manic glee as rubble crunched beneath her feet.

…

Sylvia ran as fast as she could in her ancestor's body. Truly, being a pure Royal Elf male had its incredible benefits.

She was moving faster than she ever could in her regular form, her enhanced legs devouring distance with each powerful stride.

The strength coursing through this body was absolutely intoxicating… every muscle was perfectly optimized and every movement was precise and devastatingly efficient.

The current Elf King of this time period had already died.

Its body lay sprawled on the ground amidst the rubble and shattered stone, blood pooling beneath it in a dark crimson stain.

A younger version of the current Elf King… perhaps only a century old knelt beside the fallen ruler, holding onto the corpse with desperate hands.

The younger Anastasia's tri-tone eyes were wide with shock and grief, tears streaming down its face as it clutched at the dead King's robes.

Sylvia's gaze passed over the scene without even a flicker of sympathy.

She really didn't give a fuck about any of that.

Her eyes were locked entirely on Merek, the human wizard who had descended slightly from his aerial position.

Glowing chains had suddenly emerged from a shimmering portal, wrapping around the mage's body with supernatural force and beginning to drag him backward.

She needed to know who this man was, whether he still existed in their current time period.

And if so, whether she could recruit him to her cause.

After all, everything in this world was merely a mirror of what had happened centuries ago… a reflection of true historical events. If Merek had been sealed rather than killed, there was a chance he could still be accessed.

Sylvia leapt upward with her ancestor's enhanced strength, her hand shooting out to grasp Merek's ankle just as the chains pulled him violently into the portal.

They were sent flying together.

Reality twisted around them as they crossed dimensional barriers, space and time compressing into a single nauseating moment.

When the sensations finally stopped, Sylvia found herself in a world composed entirely of darkness.

Absolute, suffocating darkness that pressed against her skin like physical weight.

'It is merely a reflection… is it not?' she thought, trying to steady her breathing.

But a very bad feeling was rapidly overrunning her rational mind.

Something was wrong here… terribly wrong.

She looked down at her clothes, expecting to see her ancestor's royal garments.

Instead, she was wearing the outfit from her real body… the elegant dress she had put on that morning before entering the trial.

"An elf…? In here…?!"

A voice boomed out across the darkness, so powerful and overwhelming that it made Sylvia's ears immediately begin bleeding.

She winced violently, falling to her knees.

The darkness beneath her feet felt like liquid ink, rippling outward from where her hands pressed against it for support.

Blood ran down the sides of her face from her damaged ears, it was warm and sticky.

"How did you manage to enter this place, little elf…" the voice continued, slightly quieter but still devastating. "And why should I spare your pathetic life?"

Sylvia forced herself to speak through the pain.

"I possess the capability to release you from this prison."

The crushing pressure surrounding her body immediately receded, pulling back like a retreating tide.

She gasped, drawing in deep breaths as the weight lifted from her chest.

A figure made entirely of shadows floated slowly into view before her, its form constantly shifting and reforming. It had no distinct features… just a vaguely humanoid shape constructed from living darkness.

"Please," Sylvia said carefully, maintaining her formal tone despite the blood still dripping from her ears, "if I may be so bold as to inquire… what is your name?"

"I am Merek," the shadow declared, its voice echoing strangely in the void. "The Archmage of Destruction. I have been sealed within this accursed place for quite some time now. I have not bothered to count the years."

The darkness around them pulsed with barely contained power.

"However, I am most curious… how do you plan to accomplish my freedom, little elf?"

Sylvia straightened her posture, ignoring the pain in her body.

"I am Sylvia Du Sorenia," she announced with perfect formal diction, "and I am the adopted daughter of the High King of the Elven Dominion."

The pressure returned instantly, far more intense than before.

It crashed down on her like a physical blow, forcing her back to her knees with crushing force. Her bones creaked under the strain.

"However!" Sylvia managed to gasp out, "I am not like the Elf King in temperament or ideology. I wish to respectfully request your assistance in a certain matter of great importance…"

The pressure eased slightly, not completely, but enough for her to breathe.

"You may speak," Merek's voice sounded once more, carrying a note of dark amusement.

Sylvia took a steadying breath, then launched into her proposal.

"I wish to propose a mutually beneficial arrangement. We may even sign a formal soul contract if such would ease your concerns regarding my sincerity." She bowed deeply despite still being on her knees. "I shall assist you in achieving your freedom from this dimensional prison. In exchange, you shall eliminate the current Elf King and a significant portion of the elven population."

She paused, letting that sink in.

"I request that you leave only a small breeding population of males and females to ensure reproduction. Even if the recovery process requires considerable time, the elven race shall be repopulated under proper guidance. Once we have achieved sufficient numbers, we shall wage war upon the entire world and reshape it according to our vision."

Sylvia pressed her forehead to the inky ground.

"I do not mean this proposal disrespectfully, Great Mage. I offer it as one revolutionary to another."

"I do not take it disrespectfully at all…"

Merek's tone had shifted, becoming thoughtful rather than threatening. There was a long pause as the Archmage of Destruction considered her offer and then his attention suddenly shifted, looking past Sylvia entirely.

"Does that ghost trailing behind you belong to you, by chance?"

"Ghost?"

Sylvia turned sharply, confusion flooding her features.

She couldn't see anything in the darkness behind her.

All the shadows in the world suddenly shot forward like spears, converging on a single point in space that Sylvia couldn't even perceive but Gwendolyn could.

The ghost's eyes widened in absolute terror as countless attacks rushed toward her translucent form.

She dispelled herself instantly, returning directly to Azel's soul before the darkness could impale her ethereal body.

It was a desperate escape, barely accomplished in time.

'I cannot believe Merek is still alive… no, even worse—' Gwendolyn's thoughts raced as she fled. 'Sylvia intends to destro—'

She vanished completely.

"I believe someone was eavesdropping on our conversation," Merek said casually, as if attempted murder were a minor inconvenience. "It matters not. They have fled, and this seal prevents me from pursuing beyond these boundaries."

He turned his full attention back to Sylvia.

"Your task is relatively straightforward, young elf. If you genuinely wish to free me from this seal, there exists a specific ring that the former Elf King wore. This ring contained the key to my dimensional prison." The darkness around him pulsed with anticipation. "I am quite certain that the current Elf King is wearing that very same ring as we speak. It is likely a hereditary item passed down through the royal line."

Merek leaned closer, his shadowy form looming over her.

"If you can successfully shatter that ring, then I shall be freed from this cursed place and shall wreak appropriate havoc upon those who imprisoned me."

"I understand completely," Sylvia said, rising to her feet with renewed determination. "Then we have reached an agreement. I shall accomplish this task to the absolute best of my abilities, Great Mage Merek."

She bowed once more, deeper this time.

Then she began walking backward carefully, maintaining eye contact with the shadow as long as possible.

She had a distinct feeling that this place had been created strictly and specifically to seal Merek… a custom-designed dimensional prison from which escape should have been impossible.

Sylvia reached what felt like an edge in the darkness then she leapt.

Her body fell through layers of reality, tumbling through the void.

Instead of returning to the wreckage of ancient Elun'varis as she had expected, Sylvia found herself landing hard on cold stone.

She rolled with the impact, coming up in a crouch.

Looking around quickly, she realized she was inside a cave.

Torches lined the walls, flickering with pale blue flame that cast strange shadows. The cave stretched forward into darkness, with what looked like a pathway leading deeper underground.

"I suppose my trial is properly beginning now, is it not?" Sylvia muttered to herself as she was in her Ancestor's body once more, brushing dust from his clothes. "Though… if my ancestor survived that attack, why is he dead now?"

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