Lin stood on a branch, glaring down at the humans.

They were cutting down trees again.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s fall back,” Viya said, gently tugging at shoulder.

As they had done countless times before, the plan was to move their home deeper into the forest.

“Don’t you get angry, Viya? They’re cutting down the trees recklessly.”

Lin was furious. She raised her voice, something she rarely did, even to a friend she’d grown up with since infancy.

Viya made a troubled expression.

“Lin, we should pity them. They can’t survive these cold days without burning firewood.”

“But...”

“They are our distant neighbors.”

As Viya spoke, she turned her back, signaling that it was time to leave. Lin had no choice but to follow.

The sight of the humans cutting down the trees still gnawed at her.

However, deep down, she didn’t believe it would be a huge problem.

The forest was vast—immensely vast.

Surely the humans wouldn’t take it all.

That nonsensical thought shifted into doubt, which soon turned into certainty.

The humans were indeed swinging their axes with the intent to chop down the entire forest.

The massive forest was being devoured by the swarm of humans, leaving only stumps scattered like drops of blood.

“Why are they cutting down so many trees? If they just need firewood, they should already have enough,” Lin asked, barely holding back the urge to draw her bow and fire.

Viya smiled and patted Lin’s head.

“It’s because of fear.”

“Fear?”

“They fear tomorrow, next year, the future. So they hoard firewood. They fear themselves, too.

They’re afraid that while they’re resting, another neighbor might come and take their trees.”

“How foolish.”

“Lin, they can’t live as long as us elves. It’s only natural that they fear what lies ahead and their neighbors.”

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

Lin muttered to herself.

With her sharp hearing, Viya didn’t miss those words and smiled gently.

“That can’t be true. Even we elves have things that we fear.”

“Are you talking about humans? Are you saying we’re retreating because we’re afraid of them?”

“Heh, so you dislike humans, huh?”

“I hate how they invade our home and behave so rudely. Viya, are you really going to keep tolerating this? Are you going to let them take down every tree in our forest?”

“It can’t be helped. We’ll come up with a plan soon,” Viya said just after speaking.

Lin felt something strange and perked her ears up.

“This...?”

“Can you feel it? That is the pulse of our kin, the elves.”

Hundreds of elves were crossing the branches.

Countless leaves rustled in waves, greeting them.

“Kin!”

Until that moment, Lin had never seen another elf apart from Viya.

Excited like a child, she darted through the forest. The humans, chopping down trees, no longer mattered to her.

Some of the elves found Lin a little bothersome, but most warmly welcomed the youngest elf among their kin.

Although it wasn’t Lin’s intention, her presence lightened the atmosphere, and the meeting was quickly concluded in a cheerful mood.

“Let’s negotiate with the humans. In the end, they can’t survive without the forest either.”

“To stand against the ice dragon, Sarthgard, humans and elves must join forces.”

“Perhaps it’s better for us to bridge the gap with the humans a bit more.”

Hopeful discussions filled the air.

The negotiation seemed on the verge of success.

But the negotiation fell apart.

The elf sent as an envoy to the humans never returned.

The deforestation continued.

In a more destructive manner.

It was a blatant provocation.

The oldest elf sighed and declared war to protect the forest.

Everyone took up their bows—except for the youngest elf.

“I can fight too,” Lin said, raising her bow.

“No, you’re too young,” Viya  shook her head.

Even the other elves shook their heads in agreement, leaving Lin alone deep in the heart of the forest.

Though she didn’t see it herself, the desperate shaking of the trees made it clear.

The war was brutal.

The elves were skilled archers, each shot precise, but there were too few of them, and, more than that, they were unaccustomed to war.

The humans, as they felled trees, pushed forward. When the dense forest made progress difficult, they set fire to it.

“Have they forgotten they came here to gather firewood in the first place?”

One elf sighed.

He was captured in the next battle and burned alive, bound to a tree.

As the war dragged on, fewer elves returned to the forest’s refuge.

Those who did return had darker expressions with each passing day.

The day the great tree fell,

when only ten elves remained in the heart of the forest, the oldest elf spoke.

“Viya, take Lin and leave the forest. To save the forest, you must leave it. I entrust this mission to you.”

Lin protested, saying she would fight too, but she couldn’t shake off Viya’s grip.

While the remaining elves desperately tried to block the forest path, Viya dragged Lin away, running for their lives.

But their escape lasted barely a day.

The humans pursued them relentlessly, their hatred as unyielding as ever.

Lin bit her lip until it bled, muttering to herself.

They came to cut the trees, didn’t they?

Now it’s over. We’ve lost. So why are they still chasing us?

Why do they want to kill us?

Lin couldn’t understand the humans, not at all.

But, in a way, she already did. Through hatred. Through disgust.

She cursed the humans as she ran through the dark forest.

Suddenly, Viya, who had been running behind, tripped and tumbled to the ground.

Lin quickly ran to her side.

“Viya! Are you alright?”

Instead of answering, Viya gently pushed Lin onto a nearby tree stump.

“Lin, listen carefully. I have a lot to say.”

“Viya... why are you...”

“Follow the path where the fire mouse runs. He will guide you.”

A small mouse emerged from Viya’s sleeve, its long nose twitching.

Its tiny body seemed to be wrapped in flames, but the fire didn’t spread to anything else.

Without thinking, Lin reached out her hand.

The fire mouse climbed up her hand.

For a moment, Lin forgot her hatred and smiled softly at the tiny creature’s cuteness.

But Viya, still holding Lin’s shoulder, quickly continued speaking.

“First, head east to the Gloria River. Avoid human villages and towns, take the back roads. If you cross into Gloria, you’ll be able to find the volcano of Horungorath. If you can settle there, do so. But if the followers of Horungorath do not allow your stay… then go back to Gloria and seek out Duke Shade. Use the bracelet’s pact to ask him to protect the Brown Spruce Forest. It may not be perfect, but it’s the best plan I could come up with…”

Viya collapsed over Lin’s knees.

Lin instinctively reached to embrace her, but then froze.

Viya’s back was riddled with arrows.

For a long time, she had run with arrows embedded in her, never uttering a single groan of pain.

The hateful humans. Where could they possibly find a place on her slender back to shoot their arrows?

Lin bit her lip again, feeling the blood flow.

Viya weakly raised her hand and gently touched Lin’s face.

She could sense that her final moments were near.

There were still so many things she wanted to say, so many lessons she wished to teach.

“Lin...”

Lin was the youngest elf among them.

She hadn’t known the days when the sun shone bright in the sky. All she knew was:

A dying forest.

Selfish humans.

Their disgusting shortsightedness.

And that was reflected on Lin’s face—hatred and sorrow, overlapping.

“Lin, I never wanted to make you wear that expression…”

“Viya, don’t die. If you die, I’ll live my life seeking revenge on humans.”

“Please don’t. Lin, I don’t want that. Your life is too precious... I hope you won’t be swayed by futile revenge. There are things in this world far more important than that. Your life should be filled with those things...”

The time when the sun shone brightly in the sky,

when humans went on adventures with certain rare elves,

the countless heroes and their deeds,

and on the other hand, the small, humble, yet tearfully grateful acts of kindness.

The cities, civilizations, and stories, all painted in different colors.

Humans did have that side to them.

But not just humans.

The world itself, with all its wonders. The seas, skies, mountains, and valleys that even the greatest adventurers could not step into. The countless lives, from beginning to end.

Viya reached out her hand toward Lin.

“There is so much beauty in this world... I’m sorry I couldn’t show it to you.”

“It’s not your fault, Viya... This world froze because of humans’ greed. They took the sun for themselves, and now all that’s left is snow, ice, and darkness.”

“It may look that way, but it’s not true. Beneath the snow, ice, and darkness, there are still beautiful things... beautiful things... left.”

The hand that had been gently caressing Lin’s face slowly fell away.

Viya was gasping for breath.

The end was drawing near. Her body began to harden, like tree bark. Her feet sank into the ground, stretching out like roots.

“Viya...!”

Lin cried out, her tears freezing cold as they streamed down her face.

The tears left trails on her cheeks, frozen in place.

Viya looked at her with a deep, sorrowful gaze.

She had wanted to hold her one last time, but already, branches were sprouting from her hands.

“Viya… Please… please go with me. I can carry you. Anywhere, just please…”

“No, Lin. I’ll become the forest and protect you. There’s no time. We must leave now. The humans, blinded by fear, are coming.”

“I’ll stay here too. I’ll become the forest.”

Viya was nearly buried in the trunk of the tree.

In the time it would take for a blink of an eye, she would finish her life as an elf, and become nothing more than wood, the forest itself.

She reached out one last time, apologizing, wishing desperately:

“Lin. My dear… please live. Live, and know that the world is still full of love, full of beauty…”

The tree could speak no more.

No matter how many times Lin called out, it didn’t respond.

No matter how much she pulled or hit, there was no answer.

Lin thought, “I’m not afraid of anything.”

But no elf, no matter how brave, could face the eternity of time alone without fear.

“Viya... But I’m not afraid.”

The humans, those filthy torches, were drawing closer.

“They’re coming. Those hateful beings are so close.”

Even the flames of human greed, which devour everything in their path, could not erase the trace of Viya’s spirit, rooted here in the earth.

Lin stood, grasping her bow tightly.

Flames flickered in her eyes.