0. Prologue

15 Years Ago…

The well-dressed woman sat, hunched in her chair, fingers darting around the keyboard. The day was over, yet she still worked long into the night. She worked on a large, heavy computer that covered more than half the desk, with large, thick metal wires that trailed down through cracks in the floor, pulsing with blue energy.

“Lorraine?” A voice called from the hallway.

Immersed in her work, Lorraine did not hear the man calling. She cracked her knuckles, smiling with satisfaction. The update was completed. Countless beta tests later, she had finally perfected it, making the program safe for usage. After hundreds of years of oppression from other nations, the humans would be given a chance to avenge themselves. With this newfound power, humans would be seen as formidable, an equal. Lorraine just knew it. With this new update alone, she estimated the rates of leveling would triple, or even quadruple.

“Lorraine.” This time, a warm hand touched her shoulder, a soft voice whispering into her ear.

Startled, she nearly jumped off her seat, body tense, but relaxed as she saw who it was. The man’s blue eyes glittered in the dim light, his face set into a sympathetic smile, creasing his lightly tanned skin and black beard.

“Ket!” Lorraine exclaimed, embracing him tightly.

“Honey, you’re working too hard. Let’s take a break. We can go down to our quarters and have some fun…” He smiled at her mischievously.

“Ket, I finished the update. It can’t be reversed unless I specifically say so - which I will never do. It’ll make things balanced for my country, the elves, and yours, the humans. We’ll all be equals!” She rambled on, and broke away from the hug, about to click the ‘Apply’ button when Ket grabbed her by the arm.

“Honey… let’s just leave it. We can come back to this tomorrow, It’s late now. Surely you can wait a few more hours?” He gave Lorraine that soft smile again, and it melted her heart. She would do anything for him. Smiling, she let him lead her out of the room and into the corridor.

As she left, three men emerged from hiding spots in the hallway. Still tottering away, giggling at one another, neither Ket nor Lorraine noticed them struggling with her door.

Then Lorraine heard a voice; “She locked the damn door!”

Whirling in alarm, she raised her hands, instinctively hurling a blast of air at the intruders. Then she stopped. She knew these people. They were Ket’s friends, people who Lorraine trusted.

“Dom? Harry? Seb? What’re you doing here?” She asked, a little suspicious, wondering whether she had misheard him. Lorraine rushed to Seb, giving him a hand up. “I’m sorry, are you alright?”

Rather than respond, he pulled her down, wrapping a burly, hairy hand around her throat.

“Don’t move, or I'll break your neck.” he threatened, using a little pressure, and Lorraine squeaked.

She didn’t doubt him. Enlightened humans could kill most without trying.

“Seb, we can talk this out. Please let go of me.” She reasoned, choking slightly.

Ket spoke up. But not with the words she wanted to hear. “Dom. Take Lorraine’s card to unlock the door. It’s in her back left pocket.”

“Ket?” She tried to turn, and Seb tightened his grip. “Ket? What’s going on?” The calmness she was desperately clinging onto slipped from her grasp.

Meanwhile, Dom, the slender young man who had often flirted with her during breaks, reached a hand into Lorraine’s back pocket. He groped inside, feeling for the keycard.

Lorraine grit her teeth, but didn’t resist any further. There was no point. Maybe she could take on one enlightened human in a far-distance fight, but not three. Or was it four? She felt a pang in her heart and prayed that Ket hadn’t betrayed her.

What could they possibly want, anyways? She wondered. Seb released her neck and now held both hands behind her back tightly. As the door slid open, she knew.

Her computer, unlocked, at the update screen.

They want to change it.

“Harry. You know what to do.” Ket said, tossing him an object the size of a thumb. A thumb drive.

Now that the wave of panic and betrayal had passed, Lorraine was thinking straight. She couldn’t let them alter the update. Burst. She thought, and a massive rush of air filled the room, knocking the flying object off course. It clattered onto the ground and slid away, underneath a shelf.

On a roll, Lorraine released a powerful rush of air from her palm, straight into Seb’s groin. His grip loosened, allowing her to twist out of it. Solidifying the air under her feet to form a platform, She jumped off it, towards her desk. One click and it would be over.

Hand stretched out, she scrambled to her feet, only to get knocked to the floor once again in a flying tackle.

Her ears rang and her vision blurred. “Don’t make me do this, Lorraine.” Ket stood over her, weapon in hand - an S graded spear that she’d given him as an anniversary gift.

She looked up at him. Ket. Her husband. Illegally married, yes, but still her husband. Someone who’d stood by her side while defending humans’ rights. Someone who’d been with her even as she was being hunted by the elves for treason. But not today.

Today he was against her.

“Ket, please.” She begged. “You don’t know what you’re doing. If you change this update, the world will become unstable. Please, I’ve already made you strong enough to take them on. You don’t need any more power.”

But Ket’s face remained impassive. “I’m sorry, Lorraine. I love you, I do, but this isn’t for us. It’s for the good of the world. The elves will grow stronger if we don’t crush them now. And there’s always the little factor of revenge…”

Lorraine looked desperately into Ket’s eyes, trying to find any sign of the man she had loved all these years.“I’m… pregnant.” She whispered softly.

Ket gawked in surprise. And for a moment, his face transformed into that sweet, sweet smile, his eyes dancing with joy. Then suddenly, his expression dissolved as fast as it had appeared, and he glanced back at Dom and Harry, who were scrabbling under the cabinet, trying to find the thumbdrive in the dark.

It hadn’t worked.

“I’m sorry, Ket.” She muttered, before swiping his feet out from under him. Seb came at her angrily, but crashed into an invisible wall of solid air, collapsing onto the ground. She didn’t know whether or not he was dead. She didn’t care.

As Lorraine trudged towards her desk, the world tilted and she stumbled over a stray wire, but thankfully, regained her balance almost instantly. All she had to do was press that damn mouse one time, and she could rest.

“Lorraine! If you take another step, I will shoot! Please, don’t make me do this.”

She froze for the second time and turned slowly. The voice had come from Ket, who had materialised a gun which now held her at gunpoint. She couldn’t block a bullet with her air magic.

“Ket…” She began, and they both locked eyes. Hers, a dull green. His, a sparkling blue. “I’m sorry.”

She whipped around and took the last step forward, slamming her hand onto the button.

A computerized voice echoed from the speakers. "Update applied."

Bang.

The bullet pierced through her left thigh, embedding in the muscle. Lorraine bit her tongue in pain, drawing blood. She refused to scream. However, a part of her was relieved. The world was safe from humans.

For now.

“Activate return pearl. Elf Territory.” She whispered softly, her voice shaking.

A warm white aura surrounded her body, and Lorraine looked at Ket for the last time.

“You will never have our son.”

And then she was gone.