Chapter 235: Aestrea Against The World (XII)

“…Actually,” the dark elf woman finally said, her voice was extremely quiet, like she was afraid the trees themselves might be listening to us.

That made my eyes narrow.

Fucking hell…

Here we go again.

“Another prophecy,” I muttered under my breath, unable to hide the disgust curling at my tongue.

“Of course it’s a prophecy. It’s always a prophecy.”

She looked down but kept speaking, almost like she hadn’t heard me.

“It came from our Goddess. The one who never speaks lightly… not unless the future demands it.”

I said nothing, but my fingers tensed slightly at my sides.

“The prophecy said that he, the Vessel of the Moon, would finally awaken,” she continued, her red eyes lifting to mine, glowing faintly beneath the shadows of her lashes.

“And that he would be the one who’d bring an end to our suffering. Not with chains or judgment, but with actual understanding from other races.”

I kept my face cold, continuing to stare at her.

“Huff…”

She took a slow breath, her voice trembling just a little now.

“She said you would be the one who’d liberate us… the one who would give us the place we deserve, as equals to the other elves. Not as ’mistakes’… not as ’cursed blood’… but as a real race, with dignity.”

Fwoooo~

A gust of wind blew past us, and snow lifted gently into the air.

And for a moment…

I just stared at her, thinking about her words… almost frozen.

Not from the cold, but from the words she said… I could hear it again, that bitter echo inside of my damned chest.

The Vessel of the Moon.

The one who’d save, or damn, depending on who told the story.

It was just like back then… the prophecy told by the Dark Order that I didn’t know about.

All so I could become what they wanted.

A mere pawn, and now…

Another race…

Another Goddess…

Was asking me to play that same part.

Again.

To be the sacrificial pawn so they could be ’free’.

And what about me?

Those guys don’t fucking know that I’m also tired of this shit? There’s a fucking hero, a real hero in this world, why can’t he be the one doing those things?

A big sigh escaped my lips.

“…So let me get this straight,” I said coldly.

“You kidnapped my friends, dragged them across the snow in silence like corpses, just so you could ask me to be your savior?”

“We didn’t mean—!” The dark elf flinched, her eyes widening in realization.

“I don’t care what you meant,” I snapped.

’I fucking know that you were going to threaten me if I didn’t help you.’ I added inwardly, making my magic pulse beneath my skin.

“You want respect?” I growled, stepping forward, the snow freezing harder beneath my boots.

“Then earn it like everyone else. Don’t kidnap my friends and hide behind some prophecy you barely understand.”

Her mouth opened.

Then closed.

She lowered her head.

“…I just thought,” she whispered, “that maybe… you of all people… would understand what it’s like to be born into a role you never asked for.”

My breath caught for a second.

Just for a second.

Because…

Damn it.

She was right, I did understand that role… too damned well. But I wasn’t going to do something for free, of course.

“…You have two minutes to explain everything,” I muttered.

“And if you lie to me once… I’ll show you why the Vessel of the Moon doesn’t need a prophecy to kill.”

The woman hesitated slightly.

Her hands were still slightly raised, as if she feared I might lash out again. The other dark elf beside her remained unconscious, a bruise swelling under his eye.

I kept my mana poised behind my skin in case they tried to attack me or something.

But still, I waited.

“…You asked why we kidnapped your friends,” she finally said, her voice sounding rough with guilt.

“It wasn’t our original plan. We came here only to find you. But when we saw those two… we panicked. We feared they might expose us before we had the chance to speak.”

She paused slighly.

“They’re safe,” she added quickly.

“We didn’t harm them. I swear it.”

I said nothing and simply nodded, urging her with my eyes for her to continue talking.

“Dark Elves,” she began slowly, her voice was surprisingly lower now, “are not born the way others think we are.”

Her eyes lifted to the sky, where snow was still drifting lazily in the air. I also looked in that direction, but grew bored in a second.

“We are not a natural race. We’re not born from love. Not even from sin.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“…Then how?” I asked coldly.

She bit her lower lip, almost avoiding my cold gaze.

“Dark Elves are made,” she said, “when a High Elf or Frost Elf… is purged by their people.”

That made me tilt my head slightly.

’Aren’t elves corrupted or something? That’s one of the reasons why the Elven Kingdom is attacking the Human Kingdom, no?’

I frowned slightly.

“…Purged?”

I repeated, and she nodded.

“When an elf disobeys the laws of purity, when they defy their Queen, or speak against the Old Prophecies, they are sentenced to ritual exile. The ritual… it doesn’t just exile them from the cities.”

Her voice dropped lower.

“It strips their mana. It corrupts their bodies. Their hair darkens. Their skin turns to ash. And their connection to the Elven gods is shattered.”

I blinked slowly.

’...So that’s how corruption works… so, how did those Dark Order motherfuckers try to corrupt the Royal Elf Princess…?’

’Maybe… hypnosis?

’

I wondered inwardly, still keeping my gaze on the dark elf woman.

She kept going.

“They become cursed. Cast out. Hunted. Even their children… are born with the curse. It spreads through the blood, through generations. A reminder that we are no longer ’worthy.’ That we are no longer elves.“

Her shoulders shook, and I easily noticed that her fingers were trembling.

“We’ve been hunted. Starved… even burned alive. Some of us begged to be killed instead of transformed. Others never even had the chance to beg.”

Her voice was shaking now.

“But we didn’t disappear.”

She stepped closer, just a little, as if to make a point.

“We adapted. We changed. We lived in the mountains, the deep caves, hidden from the Frost Elves, the Forest Courts, even the humans. We built small tribes, whispering of a day when the chains would break. When the Moon would shine on us, too.”

“And now… you’re here.”

I didn’t respond to her words.

I just… stood there.

So many thoughts, too fast, too loud…

So, I’ve decided to ask them anyway, perhaps they have an answer.

“…Why me?” I asked after a long silence.

“Why do I keep being chosen? Hero. Vessel. Liberator. Do I look like someone who gives a damn about saving everyone?”

She didn’t answer.

Just looked at me with those red eyes of hers… eyes filled with hope.

It pissed me off.

“…What’s the name of your Goddess?” I asked suddenly, almost bitterly, like I didn’t want to care, but the words slipped out.

The woman slowly smiled.

Like the answer meant more than I could ever understand.

“…Gaia,” she said softly.

“The Goddess of the Earth.”

There was complete silence as soon as I heard her name.

“What…?”

I muttered in shock.

Gaia?

The Earth Goddess?

The one who literally rules the planet itself?

Why the hell would she… why would someone like her speak to outcasts and cursed elves in the mountains?

“…You’re saying Gaia sent you a prophecy?”

The woman nodded slowly.

“And she’s asking for my help?”

Another nod.

I stared at her, really stared this time.

“…That doesn’t make sense.”

I took a step forward, boots cracking lightly in the snow.

“If she’s the Goddess of the Earth… then she’s the one who commands the ground, the weather, the soil, the balance of life on this planet. That literally makes her the most powerful deity here. So why is she hiding? Why not just… change the damn laws? Burn down the courts? Heal your bloodline herself?”

The woman looked down.

Then spoke quietly.

“…Because she can’t anymore.”

I blinked twice in complete surprise.

“…What?”

She clenched her fists at her sides.

“A long time ago… Gaia held all the authority. The other gods were born from her or granted domains by her. The stars, the fire, the ice, even time itself… all answered to her.”

“But the gods…” her voice grew bitter, “they interfered. Again and again. They mingled with humans, shaped empires, played favorites, and twisted fate to suit themselves. And Gaia… She tried to stop it.”

She looked up at me.

“She told them not to interfere in mortal destiny. But they ignored her. They acted like the world was a game.”

I nodded slightly at her words, then asked.

“So she punished them?”

“No,” she said quietly.

“She surrendered.”

I stared at her.

“…What?”

’Is she dumb or something?!’

“She gave up her power. She locked herself away. She handed over control of the flow of time, the weather, life, and death to the lower gods. She thought if she disappeared… the world would stabilize. That the chaos would stop.”

She laughed softly.

“But it only got worse.”

“And by the time she returned… the Elven Courts had already labeled us monsters. Mistakes. They declared our ancestors cursed. And she had no power left to stop them.”

I was silent.

The snow resumed falling.

She slowly walked forward until there were barely a few feet between us. Then, with a trembling breath, she dropped to her knees in the snow.

The others behind her, silent until now, followed her lead.

Dark cloaks, stained with frost. Hoods pulled back to reveal silver scars on their faces. Ears that twitched slightly in the cold

. But none of them flinched.

All of them knelt.

As if I was someone sacred.

As if I was someone that mattered.

“…Please,” the woman said softly, her voice cracking in hope, as if I was actually their last choice in this matter.

“Please help us…”

I didn’t move.

I didn’t speak.

I didn’t even breathe for a second.

The moonlight reflected against the snow like pale fire… which was quite weird, considering that it was probably around 4 PM or something.

My thoughts blurred slighly.

’Gaia…

The Earth Goddess.

And she was powerless?

And now I was supposed to save her people?

Again with this. Again with the damn burdens.’

I looked down at them.

Still kneeling, and still waiting for my response.

But…

There was one thing I was curious about, so I asked directly.

“…What will I get in return?”

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