MMORPG : Ancient WORLD

"Child, Welcome to my humble adobe," A serene, calm, and collected voice, its soothing tones echoing in Alex's mind, jolting him awake from his chain of thoughts and making him look around with vigilance.

Alex's first thought was that a Beast King or, worse, a Beast Emperor was inhabiting this place, and after what he had seen, it would be surprising not to find such creatures in this place.

If it was Beast Emperor and he wanted him gone, Alex would take help from his guardians, but if not, he would deal with things on his own because he was very clear about the role of guardians.

The Guardians were present to save him from permanent death and guide him, which was why Alex only took their guidance and advice and did not abuse their powers, even though he was certain they wouldn't deny his requests.

Alex knew a tree of the same species, planted in a garden where it was given all the necessary food and water, would be nothing compared to the same tree that grew in the jungle.

Because one never needs to grow its roots to gain the nutrients it needs for growth, and when a disaster strikes, the former would fall, and the latter would stand proud, and the same concept is true for every other living creature.

Alex was lost in thoughts when he felt his surrounding space shift, and before the panic of being attacked could settle in, he saw himself standing before a tree with such brilliance and presence that it was suffocating for an instant while soothing at the same time.

Alex looked at the that released and unconsciously used appease and was shocked to see that it was the Tree of Light and an early Ninth Rank creature with all of its stats being ???, giving away no information besides her title and name.

Alex stood in astonishment, witnessing the mesmerizing spectacle unfold before his eyes. The radiant light emanating from the tree gracefully shifted, condensed, and gradually assumed a form of breathtaking beauty.

With hair as white as translucent silk, her face and body embodied a beauty that humbled any standards, and adorned in a flowing white dress, she exuded an ethereal grace, casting an enchanting radiance that left Alex in awe.

"Child, I am Anaëlle Seraphina, and you have my deepest gratitude," She said with a smile and a noble grace.

"I am Hidden One, and it is my pleasure to meet with you, senior," Alex replied after a moment of silence that it took to get comfortable with the mighty presence before him.

After the introduction, lady Anaëlle turned silent as she was having a conversation with two elders, a conversation that if Alex heard, he would be left dumbfounded and sad at the same time.

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"As you both could have sensed that the entrance to this place is only possible through that ring worn by that Child,"

"This place was created by the great Elven Emperor, Selfok Solas Ghalza, the Monarch of Light, sometime after the Chaos Spawn Invasion so that I can stay safe and, after times of war, again be the guardian of elves,"

"He gave the key to this place to a family of Elves he trusted and gave them the task to produce a talent who could inherit his legacy and come to this place after the war against the chaos spawn was over,"

"It's evident that the family fell victim to the war, losing the key, but destiny had not forsaken me to rot away in this place nor the elven race,"

"While the child has a destiny with the ring to have acquired it, I don't think it would do him any good to give him a light element legacy as his second legacy, seeing he holds little affinity with the element of light,"

"So, If you can help me find a candidate, then I will be forever indebted to you and power backing you while also compensating the child to the best of my ability," Lady Anaëlle said telepathically and waited for an answer.

"I believe you can't leave even though the key to exit this place is present," Elder Darrien said to confirm his thinking.

"Yes, this space pocket is currently bound to me, but it originally belonged to Monarch Selfok, and when he gave me this, he made me take an oath that I could only leave once I gave the space pocket back to his legacy holder," Lady Anaëlle replied in kind.

"Before we make any promises to help you, you should know that the outside world has changed quite a bit in the last thirteen hundred years."

"The Ancient Elves have been slaughtered to the last individual on the elven continent, and it was done so by the High Elves who now rule the Mother Adobe continent,"

"I believe you would need an elf with good talent in light element to acquire the legacy and free you from this place,"

"I can tell you that even if we find you a trustworthy individual who will free you from this place, your presence on the elven continent will not be welcomed because the current rulers of elves have sold their loyalty to a power they can't resist,"

"The continent will be plunged into chaos in a few years, and billions of elves will get slaughtered, and the same would be true for every other continent before slowly the entire world is plunged into a state of apocalypse," 

"You know that I am not lying, and as hard as it is, believe this is the reality, and there is nothing you or any of us could do to change it,"

"But there is hope, and this child is that hope, as he is the Domain Ruler of the Malefis Domain," Elder Darrien said after moments of silence.

"What happened to the Royal Dryads, Darklings, The Tree of Darkness, and the Mother World Tree?" Lady Anaëlle asked, her words breaking as crystal tears drenched her face like she already knew their fate.

"They all perished, but it was because of them that the invasion of the Chaos Spawn ended," Lady Margaret spoke, aware that the loss of her family would be devastating.

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Alex knew the elders were having a conversation, and even though he didn't know the contents of it, he knew it was not pleasant after seeing Elder Anaëlle's face drenched in tears and the sadness in her eyes.

Lady Margaret shared that the reason she was crying was because she had learned about the death of her sibling and the Mother World Tree, which were her only family, and the destruction of two races and a great betrayal.

She didn't explain things in great detail, but he got the gist of things through her message.

She also shared about how elder Anaëlle was placed here to protect her from chaos and invasion, but because no one came to free her, this place had become a prison, and for her to be free, someone had to acquire the legacy of the elven Monarch and let her out.

After learning about this, Alex felt quite sad at her loss, but his mind was filling with questions as he tried to make sense of the events of his previous life. 

Elder Anaëlle should have left this space after Boras acquired the legacy, and if she did, then why didn't she appear when the devourer beasts were rampaging through the elven continent and elves were in despair?

After seeing what the hidden space pocket had to offer, Boras becoming a thief didn't make any sense, and knowing that elder Anaëlle freedom depended upon him, she would have given him the whole place, and even more, so him becoming a petty thief was out of the question.

So that raised the question of whether her absences and Boras stealing from the Elven Empress have anything to do with her having some sort of grudge against the elves, or were they completely separate matters?

Alex had many questions, and nothing made sense to him, but for now, he kept silent and decided to ask his guardians about the occurrences in detail a bit later, like who was her brother, what betrayal, and why she was trapped here.

Alex knew those answers would reveal the missing part of a bigger picture, and maybe then he could make sense of the occurrences of his previous life.

Elder Anaëlle regained control over her emotions and told she needed some time alone and asked Alex to explore the area before her form dissipated into the light.

Alex left the area, and after reaching tens of kilometres away, he asked the queries plaguing his consciousness and began learning about the Darkins and the tree of Darkness, who also was the son of the Mother World tree.

Elder Anaëlle's relationship with the elves and the betrayal, a dark part of the high elves' history that was removed from all the records of history their hands could reach.