He struggled futilely against the countless chains and tried to scream. But the only thing that came out of his mouth was a gurgling, distorted screech. Black blood spurted everywhere, flooding his windpipe, streaming down his face from his eyes, and oozing slowly from his pores. But they wouldn’t stop. No. They even smiled deviously. Those old, wrinkly bastards never stopped poking, prodding, warping and manipulating his insides, trying to find the reason for his power.

And the only thing he could do was let out a scream, a scream that he himself could only hear.

“NO!”

Dun sat up from his bed in a panic with thick lines of black tears flowing down his face.

“You good there, buddy? Seems you had a little nightmare,” a voice softly cooed from besides him.

Dun blinked his eyes a few times in a stupor and groggily turned his head. His eyes widened at the man in a beige cloak who was tilting his head. Dun hurriedly wiped away the tears and drool. He jumped out of the bed and with wave of his hand it disappeared into the shadows.

“M-Master! I, I apologize for my appearance, it was just—”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Em dismissed and started walking towards an opening in the cave. “Seems you built up quite a bit of stress. I’ve got the perfect solution for you.”

Dun blushed with his head held down but quickly walked after him. The opening lead to a long tunnel that sloped upwards.

The duo then began to trek their way up leisurely. The higher they went, the brighter the tunnel became. A calming silence and stillness permeated the atmosphere. Gradually, green moss appeared more frequently. It was obvious that the cave they had been in was at least hundreds of feet underground. Their shadows danced and the musty odor of the underground world filled Dun’s nose. Regardless, the two advanced forward while enjoying the pleasantries that the tunnel could offer.

“Hey, how long have I been gone?” Em suddenly called out as he strolled along with Dun following behind.

“I believe it was about only about 5 hours.”

Since Em was in the White Realm for a little over two days, time had deviated by about 10 times.

“It changed…” he muttered under his breath.

Then he shrugged and continued on in silence. Finally, the brightness intensified considerably until they exited the tunnel and the two found themselves in a familiar forest of dead trees. What was noticeably different, though, was the absence of the gray fog that had previously covered the entirety of the land. The giant, red sun beamed down relentlessly on them and the cracked, rotting limbs of the trees were clearly illuminated, creating a fallow color. However, if one observed closely enough, they could see thin, green trees, saplings, and little patches of grass starting to take root here and there.

Em and Dun were standing at the top of large hill. In the distance, they could see a a ruined black castle and a chaotic sea of creatures clashing against each other like giant waves. They looked like a huge mass of tiny, swarming ants.

“The nobles are so obstinate. They’ve been fighting for a month now,” Dun snickered to himself once he saw the scene in the distance.

“Good thing we made a base here or we wouldn’t have been able to join in on the fun!” Em exclaimed mischievously.

“What—” Dun started but was abruptly rendered speechless.

Em had grabbed Dun’s arm and sprinted forward. He made large strides and deep imprints were made in the soil wherever he stepped. They sped forward while Em laughed with glee. Dun couldn’t shut his eyes and mouth because of the sudden and ridiculous wind pressure. The skin of his face flapped comically and his body flailed wildly. In the span of a few seconds, Em arrived at the edges of the battlefield with an elf who was desperately gasping for air. When Dun calmed down, he could finally see the nitty gritty details of the battle up close.

Warcries, screams, and the sound of explosions rang out deafeningly. Just near them, a soldier’s head was chopped off by a huge waraxe held by a giant, furred beast. It gave off a mighty roar before swinging its weapon and beheading a few more of its enemies. Shards of ice summoned by Faeries, but much smaller than the one seen in the White Realm, were flying around like homing missiles. Tornadoes of fire enveloped soldiers from many races and kingdoms in bursting infernos. Red, human-like creatures with malevolent smiles, horns, and huge bat wings flew down and pounced on fleeing prey. Those who killed were eventually cut down, burned, or crushed themselves. Severed limbs and entrails drenched in bodily fluids scattered throughout the surrounding forest of dead trees. Blood of all colors soaked the soil and created a repugnant, sticky mush.

“Perfect!” Em took in the scene as if he were gazing upon a field of flowers. “I’m gonna go off and have me a bit of low-key fun. You should too, dude!”

Em slapped Dun’s back before adding, “And once the big fishies come, it’ll really be your time to shine!”

Em waved his hand to the dumbfounded Dark Elf and sprinted once more into the chaos. Dun stared at his Master’s back until it disappeared into the raging sea of blood and gore. A warm feeling enveloped his heart knowing that his Master acknowledged his abilities. After all, the “big fishies” referred to the ancient powers of Solvenheim. Even Dun ventured that he could only take on 40 or 50 such beings at once.

The ancients of Solvenheim were legends whose names reverberated throughout history. They were considered individuals who reached levels far beyond that of the modern powerhouses and their accomplishments were mind-boggling. Some were even considered the progenitors of certain races or the pioneers in specific martial arts and magic fields. However, they were very reclusive and clandestine. Dun was unable to find the ancients because he was skilled in stealth, not detection. He was only able to kidnap the powerhouses who were famous across Solvenheim, but the ancients hadn’t appeared for centuries and some for thousands of years. That’s why in the end, the ancients didn’t become “inhabitants” like others.

It seemed that Em decided not to take the ancients to the White Realm and instead leave them in Solvenheim anyway even though they fit the criteria for “those with potential.” As for the reason, Dun guessed it was because he himself would have to battle them. Maybe as a form of training? The Dark Elf didn’t know.

“That means…” Dun observed the turbulent crowd from his hiding place in the trees for a long time. “Master will do something to lure them out.”

Dun stared at the spectacular scene for a while longer before two black blades popped out from the sleeves of his long-coat.

“Y-Yeah, I think I’ll go. If Master were to word it, this would be like ‘the appetizer before the main meal,’” he laughed nervously as he thought about the upcoming battle and disappeared into the shadows.