The blades of the Demon Tribe were hacking at her parents’ bodies.
They didn’t kill them at once.
With foul and cruel smiles, they took turns repeatedly inflicting deep wounds upon her beloved parents’ bodies. It was as if a mad artist were using pain as a canvas for his brushstrokes.
Her parents’ piercing screams rang in her ears, stabbing into Yulli’s small, fragile heart like blades. The cries of her loved ones, bursting out in agonizing pain again and again, crushed Yulli’s heart and dyed her world gray forever.
She could no longer endure it.
The strength drained from her entire body, and she collapsed on the spot. At the moment her consciousness began to fade, the blood-stained sword of the Demon Tribe flickered at the edge of her vision, capturing the horrific sight of her parents’ final breath being snuffed out.
With that image as the last thing she saw, Yulli let go of her consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in an unknown land deep within a forest. Faint sunlight broke through the trees, but the world was still cold and dark.
Thanks to the noble sacrifices of countless Elves, the survivors had narrowly escaped the pursuit of the Demon Tribe and reached a new land. All around her, the surviving Elves were tending to one another’s wounds, their faces a mixture of sorrow and relief.
While they wept as they accounted for the survivors, Yulli could not make any expression. Even her attempts to speak faded away like a weary breath.
The tears that caught in her throat like a ragged scream never managed to break out.
After that day, Yulli could not show any emotion on her face and lost the ability to speak. She lived as if merely prolonging her life day by day under the careful tending of the surviving Elves.
Their touch was warm, but it could not reach the fragments of her soul shattered deep within her heart.
She did not know how long or how far she had wandered since then. Chased by the Demon Tribe and Monsters, she had to wander like a shadow, unable to rest even among her own kin surviving the tragedy due to their jealous gazes.
Every night, when she closed her eyes, the sight of her blood-covered parents and their ear-splitting screams returned as vividly as reality to torment her.
After her parents died, the world was no longer filled with laughter or warm sunlight; it became a gray space where she struggled just to survive, filled only with cold air.
How long had she wandered without hope like that?
One day, a brilliant Yellow Gate suddenly appeared within that endless, gray reality. The Elves felt both wonder and fear at the sight of this mysterious phenomenon they had never seen before.
However, the fear did not last long. The air and energy flowing from the Yellow Gate were incredibly warm. It felt like the breath of something precious they had missed so much — something they had never felt since birth, or perhaps something they thought they had lost.
As if pulled by a powerful magnet, the Elves moved toward the Yellow Gate with an irresistible urge. And finally, they encountered the world beyond the Gate.
Surprisingly, this was a pure land where not a single trace of Magi or the aura of death could be felt. More astonishing was the fact that the World Tree, the aspiration of all Elven kind and the source of life, stood tall upon that land.
That precious something they had longed for so much was the World Tree.
Faced with this miraculous sight, the Elves could not hide their joy as they let out their suppressed emotions.
“It’s the World Tree… It’s really alive…”
Tears streamed down their cheeks, and voices filled with deep emotion broke out.
Furthermore, Sang-woong, the Owner of the Land, welcomed them wholeheartedly instead of being wary or suspicious. His warm hospitality was a grace the Elves had never even imagined.
Every day felt like a dream.
Ending their long period of wandering — the memories of being constantly chased and hiding now fading — the Elves were finally able to settle anew in this safe and warm land.
Thanks to the clear and vibrant energy of the World Tree, the bodies and minds of the deeply wounded Elves healed quickly and regained their vitality.
The clear sound of singing, which had been lost, was heard once again throughout the Elven village. The laughter of children drifted on the wind.
They quickly recovered their daily lives under Sang-woong’s generous protection.
Sang-woong gave the Elves the best land centered around the World Tree they desired and provided not only food but everything else necessary for life. To the Elves, Sang-woong appeared to be no different from a god of this world.
However, Yulli could not truly laugh with them. For some reason, enjoying this newfound peace and happiness felt sinful.
Her parents and friends had not been able to come here. They had fallen into an eternal sleep in the cold darkness to save her.
Even when the other Elves embraced the healing energy of the World Tree and regained their smiles as they tended to their physical and mental wounds, no expression appeared on Yulli’s face.
Even as the warm sunlight caressed her cheeks and clear songs drifted on the wind, the final screams of her parents seemed to linger in her ears.
A safe land, plenty of food, and the World Tree they had searched for so desperately. Everything was perfect, but Yulli’s world was still trapped in the gray light of the day her parents and friends had disappeared.
She merely existed like a shadow with a broken soul amidst the happy gap of the survivors. She would sit alone under a large tree on the outskirts of the village, watching the other Elves.
Their happy appearance, having regained their vitality through the energy of the World Tree, paradoxically made the pain embedded deep inside her stand out even more.
A young Elven warrior approached Chieftain Astilbe and asked carefully. His gaze rested on Yulli, who sat alone on the edge of the village.
“Lady Astilbe, Yulli… it seems her wounds are still deep.”
A shadow of deep concern crossed Astilbe’s face as well. Her gaze also turned toward Yulli.
“She is a child whose healing is slow. It seems the wounds inflicted on the soul by the Demon Tribe are not easily erased, even by the pure energy of the World Tree.”
Astilbe spoke with a sigh.
Yulli faintly heard their conversation. The worried gazes directed toward her felt like another weight. Yulli vaguely sensed that her silence remained like an unhealed wound within the community. It was a feeling mixed with guilt and apology.
From a certain day, Yulli began to feel a gaze upon her. It was a warm, non-demanding, and light gaze.
When she turned her head, Sang-woong, the Owner of the Land, was standing not too far away.
To the Elves, this land was the final refuge obtained after a hellish escape, and Sang-woong was a magnificent, god-like being who provided that refuge and protected them from all dangers.
The fact that such a person was interested in her and watching her quietly made Yulli feel that her deep loneliness was easing just a little. It was as if she were standing under the shade of a massive, reliable tree — a feeling of being safe from all the storms of the world.
Sang-woong did not approach Yulli directly to talk or ask her to do anything. He would simply sit quietly a short distance from the small rock where Yulli sat alone, sharing the same space and time.
Sang-woong was the busiest person in this land. He was a man who moved constantly, blocking the Monsters that invaded, looking after the various tribes, and handling the affairs of the land.
Yulli felt a faint surge of emotion deep within her paralyzed heart at the fact that such a man would take his precious time just to be by her side.
Occasionally, when her eyes met his, her body would shrink back without her realizing it, but he did not approach. He simply looked at her with a soft gaze.
As time passed and they happened to pass each other on the village path, Sang-woong would be the first to meet Yulli’s eyes and offer a warm greeting.
“Hello, Yulli.”
His voice was short and affectionate. And he would give her a bright smile full of sincerity. His smile was as warm as sunlight, and every time it happened, Yulli felt a tiny bit of warmth seep into the cold ice barrier of her heart.
It wasn’t that her frozen emotions were melting away, but at the very least, that warmth felt like a faint color within her gray world.
Today, Yulli went to the place where she felt most comfortable. A small, sunny rock where other Elves rarely came. Sitting alone on that rock usually made her feel at ease.
But starting from a certain day, small gifts had been placed on that rock. Pretty and delicious-looking red berries, and strange, sweet snacks wrapped in colorful bags the likes of which she had never seen before.
Yulli knew who had brought these things. Sang-woong, the Owner of the Land.
At the thought that he was paying such careful attention just for her, Yulli felt a very faint sense of elation even within her paralyzed emotions. Her shoulders puffed out slightly, like a small child.
Yulli carefully picked up the small gifts. As she put a red berry into her mouth, its sweetness spread, and the taste was as warm as Sang-woong’s smile. The snacks in the bags were soft and melted in her mouth.
The delicious fruit and snacks, along with his unchanging warm gaze and kind smile, seemed to cause minute cracks in Yulli’s cold ice barrier. Very slowly, but surely.
Aria, the spirit of this land, also sent a gentle and soft energy to Yulli. Whenever Yulli was alone, Aria would sit beside her like an invisible warmth and spend time with her in silence. It was just like a best friend would do.
‘Yulli, shall we go to the pond?’
One day, Aria spoke softly into Yulli’s mind. Yulli did not refuse and headed toward the pond as Aria led her.
Sitting by the pond, Yulli watched the children of the Ahoa and Kauka tribes playing innocently. At first, even the pure gazes of the children felt like wounds, causing her to shrink back, but the children were not wary or afraid of Yulli.
They simply laughed and chatted brightly like sunlight, and that pure sound of laughter occasionally reached Yulli.
“Look at that! A frog is swimming! Hawi!”
“Puh-hahaha! I’m going to catch it! Kau!”
The children’s innocent laughter struck the hard, frozen walls of her heart and created small ripples, and those ripples minutely shook the surface of her frozen emotions.
Amidst the constant and unconditional consideration of Sang-woong and Aria, the clear and warm energy of the World Tree and the land, and the bright laughter of the children, a faint but clear change began to appear in the cold ice barrier settled within Yulli.
Yulli started to eat the fruit and snacks Sang-woong left behind a little more than before — just a tiny bit more.