Chapter 5: The Lands of the Elves
Grey
My eyes blinked repeatedly to the dimly lit room, coldness penetrating my bones. My eyes settled on the robed people standing in front of me across the bars.
"So, you are telling us you fell from a cliff and somehow magically ended up here?" The old man asked, bewildered.
"Yes, that is true," I replied.
"Father, this kid is clearly lying! How does it make any sense for a child to end up in the middle of Elven Forest out of nowhere. And the kid is even a mage at this age! If anything, I'd rather believe he is that reincarnate that ran away," The one standing beside the elder spoke.
Sighing deeply, the elder replied, "I wish I could agree but everything the kid has said thus far is all true and there is no way someone can reach all the way here from there in just a few moments. Besides, I also have a lot of questions to ask from the kid too."
A continuous flood of questions continued to strike me, about my core stage, did I know some names or not. But his questions were interrupted as a guard barged into the place.
"Elder Virion, Your Highness!" Bowing, the Knight continued, "there is a command for you both to attend the meeting."
Both of them tensed at the news, was there really someone out there who could summon even a king?
Alongside the many things, I noticed a few things odd here. Instead of using chains or handcuffs to bind me, vines of trees restrained me.
"You needn't worry about your food, your necessary nutrients will be supplied from the energy of those vines," An alluring voice echoed in the lone place. A girl who didn't look any older than 20 sat down while staring at me.
Her black hair swayed from the air that blew around her.
"Then why is it growing like this?" I asked as the vines continued to coil around me, restraining me further.
"It is an automatic function for the vines to grow and subdue the prisoner," she replied.
With a deadpan expression, I said, "You really believe a child such as I could even try to get out of this?"
As I was saying that, the vines had already covered my whole body except the head.
Truthfully speaking, this was happening thanks to my core unconsciously draining the mana from the vine. Ever since Sylvia had given me her essence, my body writhed in pain every day, my core was being refined by mana unconsciously without any control.
And of course, there is something else to say as well.
"You really are very weird," she replied with an exasperated tone.
The elves really hated me for some reason. Everyone eyed me in hostile silence whenever their eyes landed on me.
"What is your name?"
"Shouldn't you first introduce yourself before asking for someone else's?"
"Ah, my bad. My name is Aya, Aya Grephin. What about you?"
"Grey, the name is Grey."
Disowned by my parents and failing my comrades in my past life, it felt as if I had lost all the rights to use either of the names Arthur or Morgan.
The name Grey really suited me, even back in my past life and here, I really ended up all alone in the end. My heart ached a little at the thought.
Hearing my bland response she pouted, "Such a disappointment, and here I thought you would be the reincarnate everyone was looking for."
"How are you so sure that I am not it?" I asked, my voice shaking a bit.
"That is because the reincarnate's name was told to be Arthur and not the boring name you have." My body shook a little at her reply, the thought of being so close to getting caught right now sent shivers down my spine.
"Your reaction really baffles me, even though you are trapped in a cell of Elenoir with vines restraining you, your reaction is really mild. Especially when you are a child so young," she spoke.
"So, you want me to throw a tantrum in an unknown place surrounded by strangers only to get them more hostile towards me? No thanks, I am already content enough with the hostility you all have been directing towards me," I replied.
"You are really sensible considering your age," she mumbled, "Either way, are you not curious as to why we are so hostile towards you?"
"Is it not because of Racism?" Her head tilted in confusion to my reply, maybe because the word still hasn't been invented here yet.
"It's nothing," I replied, "Besides why are you so hellbent on this?"
"Well, that's because I was the one who captured you," she replied.
"Is that so," I said with a monotonous voice.
She replied while pouting, "What's with that boring answer?"
"Well, if it was someone else then I might be dead considering how hostile you bunch are. So I have to be thankful for the fact that you were kind enough to keep me alive."
From a bewildered expression to a sneering face, from baffled stare to a smirking one. Her face showed more emotions in the span of a blink than our whole lengthy conversation. She soon composed herself as her playful smile was back.
"Anyways, one or two decades ago a great war took place in our continent between the three races. It was a devastating war which took a severe toll on three of the sides. None of the three backed down, and as such major losses occurred on all sides. It is said that a dragon descended and the war ended, but there is no mention of what the dragon did and what happened to it. The humans and dwarves now worship the dragon while the elves just revere them as the peak of all beings."
It was a lot to take in, considering the fact that I was chased out by my own parents before I could learn more about the world.
My mouth gaped open for a few moments at the rapid storytelling.
Dozens of questions revolved in my mind, one question led to another which again gave birth to a new question.
Chuckling at my reaction, she soundlessly left. A cold silence lingered in the cell with her departure.
My mind hovered to my core as I continued to ignore whatever negative emotions were forming in my mind. It was still draining mana from the vines without any conscious control.
It felt as if a foreign presence lingered on my core, drawing in the mana and causing changes to my body.
Everytime my core was overloaded with mana, I had to release it outwards. A discordant harmony of spells forming and dispelling persisted in the air of the place.
Water formed, which was soon evaporated by fire, which was extinguished by dust, which was eliminated by wind.
Like that a cycle continued.
My core was currently in the Solid Red stage. This fast development of my core perplexed me.
Seconds turned into minutes which turned into hours as time went by. With a sharp clang, the door of the place opened. Hushed footsteps made their way to my cell.
It was an elderly lady, her hair looked as if it had been struck by lightning while her wrinkled eyes were a strange mixture of colors, all blending.
"Well, it is nice to meet you King Grey, or is it Morgan?" Her words sent shivers down my spine. My vision shook, my throat getting more dry by each moment.
"Oh don't worry, I won't hand you down to those savages! Rather I am here to have a talk with you," she said.
Taking my silence as an affirmative, she continued, "You see, I rather wish to know what path you will take."
Tilting my head in confusion, I asked, "How am I even supposed to help you with that? Right now my biggest concern is whether I will stay alive or not."
Smiling weakly, she replied, "You don't need to worry about that, I will have it figured out."
"Then would you please answer some questions of mine?" I asked.
"Sorry dear, but doing that here would attract their attention to me so I can't," she replied.
"Then who is this 'they' that you are talking about?" I asked again.
"Well, I am pretty sure even you know who they are," she said, "If you just try to connect everything, you will finally see it."
Her words struck me as odd. My mind continued to revolve, trying to understand what she meant. The process of letting out the excessive mana hindered my thinking process.
Realization hit me as soon as I thought of the abnormalities that haunted me.
'By the decree of our king and the holy dragon.' Be it the message that the knight stated.
'I hope you will find solace and peace in this world, King Grey.' Or the one who saved me.
'—a dragon descended—' Even in the tales of the past, there was always the presence of one being.
"You are quite quick to catch things I see," the elderly woman said.
It was none other than a Dragon.
But that conclusion gave rise to even more questions, what did a dragon want from me? Are they all like Sylvia?
"Sorry but I can't give you the answers you wish to ask right now," she said before I could even ask, "But I can help you with the things you need help with right now."
A smirk was plastered on her face and right then the door opened with a loud bang.
Knights adorned with the same armor as that day along with the King and the Elder barged in.
"Also, my name is Rinia," the elderly woman, Rinia, said while facing the Elder.
"What does this mean Rinia?" The Elder asked. "You can also sense it too, Virion, so why are you asking me?" Rinia replied.
Gritting his teeth, the Elder, Virion said, "Even then, if word goes out then we all will be put in danger. That child is a-"
"Word won't get out, I can assure you of that," Rinia interrupted Virion, "Besides even the scrolls won't work on him for the time being thanks to the blessing he has now."
What did she mean by blessing? They are talking about me being a reincarnate right?
A sense of restlessness took over me, questions continued to pop up in my mind like an unbridled storm.
Clicking his tongue, Virion conceded, "Alright, do whatever you wish to, just remember to clean the place."
"Of course, I would have done that if you didn't give up," Rinia chuckled, her fingers flowing like a ripple of water. But that one gesture changed many things.
Mana parted for something to move, I wasn't able to see it clearly. Only after I focused a bit more, it became clear.
It was an ethereal energy, like the presence of something otherworldly. Amethyst dots coalesced together as I felt the mana in the atmosphere changing.
Soon the mana flowed in two ways, one going forward and the other going backwards.
Like that something changed, the knights and the King's face became disoriented, as if they forgot why they were here at all.
My eyes fell on Elder Rinia, her body covered in runes. But they soon disappeared as she fell into a coughing fit.
"Are you okay?" Elder Virion asked. In response, Rinia just waved her hand to imply that she was fine.
The vines that restrained me also disappeared, as if they never existed in the first place.
My bones creaked, my body felt foreign, way more than I did when I first came into this world. My eyes went down, I realized that my body had looked more older than it did before.
"Don't worry, only a day has passed by since you lost your consciousness," Elder Rinia assured, "Your body just aged a little more due to the blessing granted to you."
A cold shiver went down my spine at her constant mention of the blessing.
After that, I was given a robe to hide my ears with as I was led outside of the prison. As soon as we came out, I was pushed to a carriage before I could even get a proper look at my surroundings.
"What was that for!?" I yelled, taken aback from the sudden action.
"It was a necessary action," she replied while still keeping that mysterious tone, "Besides, although I can't help in resolving your confusion, I can help you get used to your situation."
With a wide smile she continued, "For the future endeavors you shall go through and the blessing you were gifted."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone