"Ciela is alive?"

As Rey uttered those words, looking at Kara's slightly stunned face, he realized he never actually thought about the fate that befell Esme's mother.

He never considered the implication of her being alive eitheruntil now.

"Tell me more about this." His exhaustion instantly vanished, and the pale expression on his face brightened up instantly.

He led Kara into his abode, closing the door behind them as he listened to her explaining how she was able to piece it all together.

Talking to the Elders, narrowing it down by speaking to the Esteemed Ones, her investigation was very thorough. Still, even though Rey was very impressed that she could get such cooperation out of the Elves and pry into so much information, he wasn't really interested in her methodology

All that was relevant was the actual information on Ciela.

"You said they have her captive, right? Tell me more about that." Rey sat on his chair, opposite his bed where he told her to sit.

"W-well yeah. In a secret chamber where only the Esteemed Elders have access to."

"And she's alive."

"Well yeah. But it's not that simple." As soon as Rey heard this, he raised his brow and made a complicated face.

Kara took this as her queue to explain further.

"The Elves placed her in a state of Eternal Sleep. That is the highest punishment they can give to one of their ownforcing them to sleep until their life runs out and they die."

Since Elves had a no-kill Rule, they couldn't eliminate even their most severe offenders. However, by placing the perpetrators in a state akin to death, allowing nature to run its course over them, they had their own form of execution.

"So, she's not fully dead but she's not really alive either" Rey mumbled to himself, his fingers stroking his chin as a certain image flashed into his mind.

'Reminds me of Alicia. Did they use some kind of Curse, or is it just Magic?' He couldn't determine that on his own.

"I see. Well, I better hear all of this from the horse's mouth." Closing his eyes and controlling his breath, Rey spread his senses beyond the confines of his immediate surroundings.

"I'd like to speak to the Esteemed Elders about this."

************

[Moments Later]

"Please, Lord Rey do not see her."

"She has become taintedcorrupt and unholy. Do reconsider your choice."

"We beg of you"

The Esteemed Elders all had their heads bowed as Rey stood before a rather gnarled tree.

The tree stood at the center of a large roomat the basement of the Esteemed Council Hall. It had fireflies dancing around it, with darkness filling the expanse for the most part.

The little critters not only illuminated the ugly-looking bark, but also highlighted the worried faces of the Elves that were still pleading with Rey even as he stepped forward and neared the tree.

The room was plain, and it smelled of earth.

The grassy ground and perpetual darkness almost made it seem like this was nighttime. However, if one looked up, they would only see the cold hard ceiling that reflected the same blackness around

In essence, a starless sky.

"I've already come this far. I might as well" Rey muttered under his breath and stretched out his hand towards the tree's massive trunk.

'I need to see for myself.'

Once his hand touched the tree, he did not feel any hard bark or rough resistance. Rather, he felt a rather slimy membrane that seemed to pull him in the further he pushed.

And so, he pushed even further.

Slowly, Rey began to get sucked into the tree. Offering no resistance at all, it only took him a few seconds to be completely absorbed into it.

And, once he was, Rey was transported into another space.

Within this tight compartment, there was nothing in sight but one entity. She seemed glued to the wall, completely naked, with parts of her body buried deep inside the black, slime-like wall.

Her arm was stuck in, up to her elbow, and her legs suffered the same fate, leaving her knees upward exposed.

A part of her hair was also sucked in, but everything else was exposed.

Rey could see all of itfrom her bare chest, to her slender, malnutritioned body, to the long ears she possessed, and every aspect of her body.

'So this is why they didn't want me to see you, Ciela.' Yes, the one before him was an Elf but she was one unlike anything he had seen in this world.

For one, her entire skin was ebony, having a slightly darker tint than Trisha's. Her hair, which must have been previously white, was now pitch black. Her ears seemed much longer than a normal Elf's, and that was pretty much the visible difference that existed between her and the others.

'A Dark Elf, huh? So this is what it means to be tainted'

The scent coming off her was moldy, and even Rey could feel bitternessalong with a hint of sournessooze out of her.

He reckoned she must have smelled really nice at some point.

'If I ignore the tan and malnutrition she really does resemble Esmeespecially the Esme that I first met back when she was to be sold as a slave.'

They were so similar that Rey was thankful this one had a darker skin-tone. Else, their images would overlap perfectly with each other.

He took a few steps closer to the sleeping Elf, his eyes fixated on her every feature until he was mere inches from her.

Then, he touched her face and felt its roughness.

'She's been here for over sixteen years. According to the Elders, it'll take a few more decades before she finally dies off due to malnutrition and Mana deprivation.'

Regular Elves would have died at this point, but thanks to the heritage that Ciela hadthe same one within Esmeshe was more tenacious than other Elves.

And it was due to that very same identity of hers that she was being punished now.

"You became tainted after killing, and abandoning your duties as The Oracle's heir. Now, you suffer here forever" As he whispered this, something inside him began to clench.

He felt a spark rising within him.

'I want to change that somehow!'