Mahnaka paced anxiously across the hectare of farmnd, his body fling every time Pinaka's screams rang through the air. A pang of sympathy and ay struck his nerves.

  'I'm sorry! It will hurt, but you must bear with it. There's nothing you do. Please, don't die…'

  The screams cut off abruptly. He turned around in a panibsp;

  'No! Did he resist?’

  'They will kill him if he does that…Dammit!'

  Mahnaka stared at the mortar-covered tunnel leading into a crete facility. Just twenty meters ahead was the room where the balding middle-aged man would remove Pinaka's thumbs.

  A sprint, and he'll reach it in enough time to stop the man.

  'I kill the human…kill?'

  "Ha…Mahnaka, you idiot!" His legs locked in pce, his throat burning to scream, and tears streamed down his face as his feet didn't budge, "Move, you idiot. Do…something. At least this time..."

  "Anything!"

  —Thud! Crash!

  Moments ter, two Humans dragged a bloodied Elf forward and dumped him at Mahnaka's feet. One of them jabbed a fi him. “You! Get him ready to work by dawn.”

  A sharp crack split the air as a whip shed the ground, making Mahnaka flinch. Unsympathetic, the two men turned and strode to their quarters.

  "Taking care of these damn Elves is tiring," the man muttered, loosening his colr. "Prideful, aren't they, for mere sves?"

  His colleague snorted. "Pride? They’re born with it. But give them a few months of ‘education,’ and they’ll be obedient little farmers." He let out a harsh chuckle, and the other man joined in, their ughter eg down the corridor.

  Mahnaka stood frozen like a statue, uo budge until he heard the Humans' versation subside. Only after they were out of earshot did he hurriedly crouch to grab the wounded Elf before him, "Pinaka! Are you alright? Stay with me!"

  "I'll patch you up—" His words stopped. Despite his body vulsing in agony, Pinaka’s eyes…they were cold—a killer’s eyes.

  Tears had streamed down the cheeks, veins bulged, and lips cracked from being bitten raw. Weak yet fuelled with rage, Pinaka's eyes focused on Mahnaka as he extended his bloody hands and csped his bloodied fingers around Mahnaka's neck.

  He leaned in closer, his body swayed from exhaustion, whispering, "You've been here…for a while, right?"

  Mahnaka oo stuo speak. Pinaka let out a weak grunt and then colpsed.

  "Then...tell me everything about this cursed world!"

  ???????????

  "The World Tree must have told you this."

  It was te afternoon as Mahnaka ed and bandaged Pinaka's wounds, "We…died oh and were reinated here by the World Tree."

  "Fug hell!" Pinaka shen sucked in a sharp breath in pain right after as he clutched his hands and stared at the stumps where his thumbs once used to be, "Are there no damn painkillers here?"

  "There used to be plenty." Mahnaka shook his head. "But after our defeat, the Humans took trol of all our medial herbs. As Elves, we're nothing but sves now."

  "I'm a fug human!" Pinaka grunted and tried to stand but hadn't recovered enough to move. His breath came ragged as he gred at Mahnaka. "You're from Earth, tht? We're humans!"

  Mahnaka met his gaze, unyielding. "You're an Elf now." His voice was steady, final. "And here, humanity is OUR enemy."

  A heavy silence lingered before Mahnaka finally spoke again. "I was born on the fourth day after the Elven Race fell. That makes me one of the oldest sves at this pce."

  Pinaka scoffed. "Guess you've made peace with being a sve." His words were sharp, bitter—but almost as soon as they left his mouth, he ched his jaw and sighed. "Damn it… sorry. That was uncalled for."

  "That’s… more kihan I’m used to here." Mahnaka smiled in gratitude and exhaustion, "I almost fot what it felt like."

  He reached for a small pouch hidden uhe tilled ground and pulled out a vial of dull green liquid. "I made this from the Agri crops here. It’s not much, but it should dull the pain."

  Once he had finished dressing the wounds, he said, "I'll expin usih terms as simply as I ."

  "This world is a vast, singur ti called Gangnea. Regarding ndmass, it's about the same size as Earth." He paused and then added, "Acc to its legends, a Dragon named Bolomere created this world and birthed sixteeient races—each with a uhority."

  Mahnaka reached down, brushing his fingers against a bde of grass. "The Elves hold dominion over wood, while our enemy, the Humans, wield fire."

  "What type of authority is it?" Pinaka stared wide-eyed upon seeing Mahnaka grab a long strand of grass and weave it into a glove.

  "There are four stages," Mahnaka said. "trol, Creation, Relid Divine."

  He held up the woven glove. "This is trol. We and the Wood element at will. That is Level 1."

  "Level 2 is Creation. Such Elves create Wood." He expined in a solemn tone.

  Pinaka hesitated, "So they... grow trees fast or something?"

  "No." Mahnaka said in all seriousness, "They create it."

  He let the words settle before adding, "At Level 2, every Race create their respective element. It’s like holding a fragment of a god within us."

  "Suppose I reach Level 2," Pinaka said. " I just spam and create as much wood as I want?"

  "Yes," Mahnaka nodded, "When too much matter is created, the Gangnea ti expands to aodate it. That’s how it’s been growing sihe beginning."

  "Then, why are we in this mess?" Pinaka asked.

  “Elves were the first Ra Gangnea. And now? We’re sves. We lost the war and became nothing more than resource points—farming food, grains, and pnt produce for Humans." Mahnaka let out a bitter sigh, "Wood fuels fire. And that's why we ever win against Humans. We ck the numbers, strength, and elemental advao fight back."

  Pinaka's expression darkened. "Then, what’s the World Tree’s goal?"

  "Exactly as it said." Mahnaka nodded. "It wants us to restore the Elven Race's flory. If we succeed, it'll send us to Earth."

  "Does it truly have such power?" Pinaka wondered.

  "If the World Tree 't, it'll call upon Bolomere. trol and Creation, remember?" Mahnaka added thoughtfully, "I think Bolomere might have authority over space-time, so it shouldn't be impossible to send us to our past oh. And if anyone knows where he is… it’s the World Tree."

  "O question," Pinaka said after a moment of thought, "What about a peace talk? We used to be Humans. 't we unicate with the Humans of this world? The nguage isn’t from Earth, but we uand it. And everyone here seems to speak the same one."

  Mahnaka sighed and stared at the sky, notig it was evening. He got up and motioned for Pinaka to follow him, saying, "It's better to show it to you firsthand."

  "Are we allowed to move as we please?" Pinaka gnced around warily. There was too much he didn’t know about this twisted world he’d been thrown into without sent. And Mahnaka… he was the only other Elf in sight. That didn’t mean he could be trusted.

  "It's almost curfew," Mahnaka muttered as he walked into the mortar tunnel. His face gradually lost color while his body occasionally trembled. The first few rooms were where Pinaka had been scrubbed and then had his thumbs cut off.

  The air was damp and heavy with silehe corridor stretched for hundreds of meters before opening into a massive drical prison, its walls lined with narrow cells—cramped, dark dwellings for Elves.

  Then he saw it.

  The momeepped inside, Pinaka froze.

  An Elf hung o the tral pilr.

  His chest had been split open, a jagged fang buried deep in the wound.

  The Elf stared at them, lips moving soundlessly.

  Pinaka didn’t o read lips to uand.

  "He…lp…me!"

  Mahnaka exhaled shakily. "He’s the test one who admitted he was from Earth." His voice was heavy with despair. "These Humans don’t care about us, Pinaka."

  He looked up at the dying Elf, his fists ched.

  "To them, we’re nothing more than a resource point."

  Gangnea Daily Article 2:

  Aakes a tury to reach adulthood and typically averages a lifespan of 4000 years. Their life expecy though, was another matter altogether, dropping to a mere 20 years now.