Far from the hustle and bustle of the Labyrinth City of Orario, on the outskirts of a dense forest region directly bordering the waters leading to Hjaðningavíg Island, an Elf village hid behind a veil of giant trees. Hjaðningavíg was a land of war, an eternal war zone where the Elf and Dark Elf tribes had slaughtered each other for hundreds of years with no signs of peace.
The hatred on that island was rooted so deeply. And for the two girls forced to live inside the hollow of a rotting giant tree on the outskirts of this village, that venom of hatred was a daily suffering they had to swallow.
Dina sighed softly as she combed her younger sister's silvery-white hair. Dina's pale white and soft hands contrasted sharply with her sister's exotic tan skin.
"Does it hurt, Vena?" asked Dina softly, her bright green eyes radiating boundless affection.
Vena, the younger sister who was a Dark Elf, shook her head slowly. Her deep red eyes stared at the reflection of the two of them in the water mirror inside their small wooden hut.
"No, Big Sister Dina. Your combing is always gentle."
Dina smiled faintly, though there was pain hidden behind that smile. She was a White Elf, a race that took great pride in blood purity and elegance. However, Dina had long discarded that false pride to protect the only treasure she had in this world.
Because their blood tie deviated from the norm, Dina and Vena were ostracized. The Elf tribe in this village was highly racist and strictly upheld their supremacy. To the residents, Dark Elves were eternal enemies, filthy creatures only fit to be killed on the battlefield of Hjaðningavíg. Vena's presence in the village was considered a disgrace, a disgusting anomaly. And the fact that Dina—a pure White Elf—desperately protected and loved a Dark Elf, made the entire village treat the two of them like a contagious disease.
Cynical glares, spitting on the ground as they passed, to rejection when they tried to trade their hunted game with their neighbors—all of it had become a routine. Dina bore it all in silence. She became a shield for Vena from a world that rejected their existence.
"Sister... forgive me," Vena squeaked suddenly, lowering her head until her silver bangs covered her face. "Because of me, you had to be kicked out of the village and live in poverty inside this leaky dead tree hollow. Because of me, the people in the village hate you. If only... if only I had never been born—"
Dina's hand stopped combing. She knelt before her sister, cupped Vena's face adorned with charming tanned skin, and looked straight into her sister's red eyes with a firm gaze.
"Never say that again, Vena," said Dina with a tone that brooked no argument, yet at the same time was filled with gentleness. "You are my sister. My only family in this world. Let the whole world hate us, let them curse us. As long as we have each other, that is enough for me."
Vena bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes before she threw herself at her sister, hugging her tightly. Dina returned the hug, stroking her sister's back, and swore in her heart that she would protect Vena from any danger, even if she had to trade her own life.
However, the world was never kind to the powerless. And that night, fate knocked on their village's door in the cruelest way.
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A piercing scream tore through the silence of the night, followed by the crackling sound of burning wood.
Dina jerked awake from her sleep. The pungent smell of smoke immediately stung her lungs. She looked out the window and found the night sky had changed into a horrifying reddish-orange color. Fire blazed, licking the ancient trees and treehouses that had been the impenetrable pride of the Elves.
"Sister... what's happening?" Vena woke up, her voice trembling in fear as she squeezed their thin blanket.
"Let's go! We have to run!" Dina didn't waste any time. She grabbed her sister's hand, snatched their shabby cloaks, and burst through the back door of the hut toward the forest.
However, the view outside was far more horrifying than just a forest fire. A group of humans in black cloaks with iron masks covering half of their faces were slaughtering the villagers. They were not ordinary bandits. Their movements were tactical, coordinated, and highly efficient. Their weapons were smeared with the blood of Elf warriors who tried to fight back but were easily broken.
"Capture everyone left alive! Don't let a single one of these long-ears escape!" shouted one of the large-built men, his voice hoarse and cruel. "Kill the warriors and anyone who dares to resist! Leave the women and children, then bind them with chains! They'll be worth tens of millions of Valis as slaves on the black market!"
Dina held her breath. Terror froze her bloodstream. This unknown force—which was none other than the Evilus troops acting under the mad scenario of the Goddess of Misery, Alecto—came not to loot, but to destroy, enslave, and harvest despair.
"Get here, you whore!" A mercenary dragged an Elf woman—the woman who had spat on Vena's shoes just yesterday morning—and slapped her until she fell to the ground. The arrogant woman was now sobbing, begging for mercy with a face covered in mud and blood.
"This way, Vena. Hurry," whispered Dina in a panic. She pulled her sister toward the dense bushes, trying to crawl toward the river to the north.
However, unfortunately for them, nervousness caused Vena to trip over a protruding tree root. A dry twig cracked loudly beneath her footing.
"Hey! There are two rats trying to escape toward the river!" shouted a guard with sharp hearing.
In a matter of seconds, three armed men surrounded them. Dina immediately stepped forward, spreading both her arms to hide Vena behind her back, her body trembling violently but her eyes glaring sharply like a mother wolf.
"Don't touch her!" screamed Dina, trying to grab a thick branch on the ground to defend herself.
One of the men laughed roughly, swinging the hilt of his sword with a speed Dina's eyes couldn't follow, then slamming it hard into the Elf girl's stomach.
"Ugh!" Dina coughed hard, spitting out saliva and falling to her knees while clutching her stomach that felt crushed.
"Big Sister Dina!" Vena screamed hysterically. She tried to help her sister, but another man immediately grabbed her silver hair and pulled her up roughly, making Vena shriek in pain.
"Well, well... look what we found. A White Elf and a Dark Elf?" The man smirked lewdly from behind his mask, staring intently at Vena's exotic face. "A very rare combination. Goddess Alecto will surely love their suffering, and the rest of the bosses at headquarters will definitely give us a huge bonus for merchandise this unique."
Dina tried to crawl, reaching for the man's leg with trembling hands. "P-Please... let my sister go... just take me..."
A hard kick from an iron boot landed squarely on Dina's temple. The world spun instantly, the Elf girl's vision went dark, and the last thing she heard was the crying scream of her sister calling her name before her consciousness completely sank into the void.
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When Dina opened her eyes again, the first thing that assaulted her senses was the smell of rust, sweat, and dirt. Her head throbbed as if it had just been struck by a sledgehammer. She groaned softly, trying to move her hands, but the clinking sound of thick iron chains stopped her. Her hands were shackled together with dozens of other Elves.
They were inside a tightly sealed giant steel caravan, specially modified to transport slaves. The caravan was only illuminated by small slits from the ventilation grates on the roof, letting in a little night air. The room was extremely cramped and stuffy. Around her, the Elves who used to be haughty and looked down on her now looked incredibly pitiful. Their beautiful clothes were torn, their faces bruised, and the sobs of despair echoed in every corner of the darkness.
"Sister... Big Sister Dina, are you awake?"
Dina turned her head with great effort and found Vena huddled beside her. Her sister's face was covered in tear streaks that washed away the dirt stains. Vena's wrists were chafed and bleeding from constantly pulling at the iron handcuffs.
"Vena..." Dina hugged her sister tightly, ignoring the pain all over her own body. "Are you okay? They didn't touch you, did they?"
"I-I'm fine," sobbed Vena, burying her face in her sister's neck, seeking a sliver of safety that was growing ever thinner. "But what will happen to us, Sister? I'm afraid... I'm so afraid. My ears heard them say they will depart with us to a city called Orario tomorrow morning."
Dina swallowed saliva that tasted as bitter as bile. She knew exactly what fate awaited them. They would be sold. Their honor, freedom, and lives would no longer belong to them. The moment the sun rose, this caravan would move, taking them to a hell with no way back.
"It's okay... I am here," Dina whispered, stroking her sister's hair, trying to calm Vena even though her own heart had been shattered by terror.
In the darkness of the caravan, Dina closed her eyes. She clasped her shackled hands together and began to pray. She pleaded with all the remaining fragments of her soul. She prayed to the gods she had heard of in her childhood fairytales, to the great spirits of the forest, to anyone—any god—who was willing to listen to the cries of powerless mortals.
Please... save my sister. Let me bear all this torture, let me die, but please let her go. Anyone... I beg you, show Your miracle.
Vena, seeing her sister praying, also closed her eyes and clasped her hands. The two sisters prayed in silence, channeling every drop of their pure despair to the night sky.
Time crawled slowly like a wounded snail over salt. Hour after hour passed. The night grew later and the air became more bone-piercing. However, there was no flash of saving light. No knight in shining armor bursting through the caravan doors. Not a single god punished their kidnappers.
Only silence and the heart-wrenching sound of sobs.
Dina's eyes slowly opened. The hope that had burned weakly was now completely extinguished, replaced by a black hole of absolute despair. Those gods were deaf. Miracles were just nonsense created to give false hope to the poor. This world was indeed created only for the strong and cruel, and the weak like her were only destined to be trampled and thrown away.
Tears streamed profusely down the White Elf's cheeks. Absolute despair—exactly like the dessert Alecto had been anticipating—now tightly gripped Dina and Vena's hearts.
However, at the exact second when that despair reached its nadir... an anomaly occurred.
Whoosh...
A very gentle gust of wind, smelling of freedom, swept across Dina's face. It was completely illogical, considering the caravan was tightly sealed and the air inside was very static. The wind did not smell of blood or smoke. It carried the fresh scent of a green meadow, the fragrance of Cecilia flowers that had never existed in this world, and a slightly sweet aroma like... fermented wine?
Suddenly, a dot of turquoise light flared in the air, right between Dina and Vena. The light slowly expanded. It wasn't a deadly spell, but a small, glowing creature that looked... adorable.
Its shape was round like a softly glowing cotton ball, with two tiny wings on its back, and an extremely innocent face. It was a wind spirit (wisp).
Dina and Vena went wide-eyed, momentarily forgetting how to breathe. Strangely, the other Elves in the caravan didn't seem to notice the presence of this glowing creature; it was as if the little spirit had isolated the space and sound around the two sisters with an invisible curtain of wind.
The small ball-shaped creature spun slowly, hovered for a moment, and then... it made a sound. Not a majestic spiritual resonance, but the voice of a young man who sounded incredibly exhausted, annoyed, and slightly sleepy.
"Uwaaaaah... so loud, loud, so looooud..." whined the cute creature. Its tiny wings flapped lazily. "My head, which is already dizzy post-giant dragon fight, is throbbing even more. Who is screaming inside my head this late? Even though I'm trying to get a good sleep."
Venti, whose main body was currently hiding and fast asleep deep in a forest somewhere—resting his body and power that were completely drained after the deadly battle against the One-Eyed Black Dragon for Aria—was now disturbed. He had planned to sleep soundly for a few days before returning to Orario. However, this wisp form—a small wind spirit he had created and separated from his main body since before infiltrating the dragon's lair back then—now moved in response to the call.
Dina and Vena's prayer of despair was so pure, sincere, and strong. The frequency of their suffering created a massive resonance that attracted the essence of the Wind element in the wild, disturbing the consciousness of the little spirit that was also asleep, and pulling it across distances to pass through the caravan's steel bars.
Dina swallowed hard, her voice trembling between fear and awe. "W-Who... are you? Are you a messenger of the gods?"
The little spirit laughed softly, a laugh that sounded like wind chimes. "A messenger? Isn't that a bit demeaning? I'm quite powerful, you know. But well, for now, just consider me a passing wind drawn here by your cries. You were calling out for a miracle to the sky, right?"
Vena's eyes immediately sparkled with hope. She leaned forward, ignoring the stinging pain in her wrists from the chains. "Then... can you save us? Can you destroy these iron bars and defeat the bad guys out there?"
The cute creature fell silent for a moment. It swayed slightly left and right, looking at the two poor girls, then answered with an overly casual tone.
"Of course... I can't."
Crash. The hope that had just bloomed a second ago in the sisters' chests shattered into pieces back into dust.
"W-What?" Dina stammered, not believing her ears.
"Just look at my form. I'm just a wind spirit the size of your fist," complained the wisp, sounding very helpless. "The god who controls this wind is in a very, very tired state somewhere. He just fought a giant black lizard and ran out of energy. I don't even have the strength to snap a tree branch, let alone fight dozens of armed soldiers guarding you. Please understand, okay?"
Dina lowered her head deeply again. The tears of despair that had stopped earlier now fell heavily once more. So, this creature was just a weak spirit passing by accident. There was no salvation. No grand hero would wipe away their tears.
However, the little spirit floated down gently and landed on Dina's trembling knees.
"I indeed cannot free you," said the creature. But this time, its tone changed entirely. There was no longer a childish whining tone. Its voice now sounded ancient, authoritative, and radiated a charisma that made the hairs on Dina's neck stand up. "But... why must you wait for someone else to free you?"
Dina looked up, staring at the glowing little spirit in confusion. "W-What do you mean? We are weak. We are bound. We don't have any power..."
"True freedom is not something handed on a silver platter by a hero, little girl," the wisp said softly, yet its words echoed directly into Dina and Vena's souls. The turquoise wind around it glowed brighter, providing magical warmth amidst the freezing night air.
"Freedom is the most fundamental right that you must seize yourselves with your own two hands."
The small creature flew up again, circling the two of them like a dance of the wind.
"If you surrender to despair, waiting for death or a miracle that never comes, then this steel cage will truly be the end of your story," the voice said. "But if you believe in me... if you believe in the wind that carried your prayers across distances, and are willing to call the name of the god of wind and freedom, Barbatos... then I will give you the key to destroy your cage yourselves."
Dina and Vena's hearts beat rapidly, pumping blood that felt hotter than usual. There was something very magical in the little spirit's offer. Something that stirred their deepest souls, awakening the seeds of courage that had long slumbered and been suppressed by the harshness of the world. Dina turned to her sister, and Vena looked back at her. The Dark Elf nodded slowly; the look in her eyes that was once full of fear was now filled with newly ignited determination.
They didn't want to be victims anymore. They didn't want to be anyone's slaves. They wanted to fight for their own lives.
Without hesitation, Dina and Vena closed their eyes again. But this time, there was not a single drop of despair in their prayer. There was only resolve, absolute conviction, and the will to fight back.
"We entreat you..." whispered Dina, her voice flowing steadily, piercing the silence of her heart.
"Give us the power to sever these chains," added Vena, her eyes shut tight, her hands clenched hard.
"God of Wind and Freedom, Barbatos!" they both said in unison, merging the frequency of their souls into a single plea.
WHOOSH!
Inside that cramped iron caravan, a miniature storm suddenly erupted. A swirling wind roared fiercely, blowing their silver and blonde hair, yet strangely not harming their skin at all. Instead of brutally destroying, the wind gathered and centered between Dina and Vena's hands. The pure element solidified, compressing its energy into two points of blindingly bright turquoise light.
CRACK! CLANG!
The thick iron shackles and handcuffs binding their wrists creaked loudly, withstanding the pressure from within, before finally shattering into pieces of rust dust as if slashed by an invisible sword.
Dina and Vena opened their eyes. Right in the palms of their now-freed hands, floated two extraordinarily beautiful crystal gem objects. The gems sparkled with a pure turquoise green color, framed by an elegant metallic material of gold and silver, and in the center was engraved a winged elemental symbol with three feathers—the sacred symbol of Anemo.
"So beautiful..." murmured Vena, unconsciously reaching out her fingers and fully grasping the gem.
The moment Vena's palm made direct contact with the crystal, a sensation of massive, soothing power flowed rapidly through all her blood vessels. The pain from her wounds, her exhaustion, and her fear simply evaporated, replaced by an explosive vitality.
Dina did the same. As her slender fingers tightly gripped her gem, she could feel the air currents around her seemingly come alive and breathe with her. The wind listened to every heartbeat and command of her mind. She no longer felt like a weak, marginalized Elf.
The small creature before them slowly began to fade, transforming into thousands of light dust particles preparing to merge back with the world's air currents.
"The gods of this world may call their blessing of power a Falna," Venti's charismatic voice echoed faintly in their ears for the last time before the wisp form truly vanished. "But that gem in your hands... I call it the Anemo-Calyx. Use that power, carve your own path, and send your cage of despair flying into the free sky!"
The final turquoise light particles faded into the air. The wind curtain isolating them reopened. The sound of other Elves sobbing, the stuffy smell, and the shaking of the caravan assaulted their senses once more, but this time, everything felt different.
Dina stood slowly from the dirty caravan floor. Her bright green eyes now radiated a calm storm ready to rage. Vena stood tall beside her, the Dark Elf's red eyes glinting lethally in the darkness, while the Anemo-Calyx glowed brightly in her palm like a second heartbeat.
Outside the caravan, on the eastern horizon, the night sky slowly faded, letting the orange tinge of dawn break. The Evilus soldiers out there were gulping down their last liquor and preparing to whip the horses, thinking they would bring home a massive profit and sweet despair for the goddess Alecto.
However, they had absolutely no idea. This breaking dawn was not a sign of the start of a good day for them, but rather the seconds preceding the arrival of a storm that would leave nothing but destruction. The script of absolute despair meticulously designed by Alecto had failed to take root before it could be staged, replaced by a gust of the storm of freedom ready to sever their necks.