Who are you?

Harold, with a worried expression, drew his sword. A hand emerged from the darkness, pale and lifeless, like that of a corpse.

"Who are you?"

Harold waited for a response, but suddenly a sound arose from the depths of the chasm—a sound resembling a heartbreaking wail.

[What was that?!]

For a moment, his attention was drawn to the noise. When he looked back, the pale hand had moved closer. Now, he could see a young girl with a childlike face pulling him toward the darkness.

For an instant, Harold noticed the girl's pointed ears.

[An elf? Could it be that elves still live here?]

But before he could think further, a massive shadow fell over the city's buildings, erasing all other thoughts from his mind.

A crushing aura, like a cloud of ash, settled over the city. A terrifying darkness engulfed the space. Harold could barely hear the sound of the girl's breathing. He himself tried to stay as quiet as possible.

"Hissss..."

This eerie sound broke their maddening silence. Harold slowly raised his head and saw something he never thought could exist—a massive serpent, so enormous it could be mistaken for a dragon, looming over the city. Its skin was darker than the night, and its eyes redder than blood.

"Hissss..."

Harold averted his gaze from the terrifying creature. The trembling girl clung tightly to him.

Moments later, the giant serpent slithered back into the depths of the chasm, and a faint light once again illuminated the city.

[What was that?! Does such a creature live beneath this mountain?!]

Harold turned his gaze to the girl. She seemed a bit calmer now.

He asked, "Can you speak?"

The girl, wide-eyed, stared at Harold without answering and then ran toward the third gate.

Harold followed her.

They passed through the three-story buildings, hiding in corners whenever a sound echoed from the depths of the chasm. Finally, the girl opened the door of an old building in one of the city's narrow alleys and went inside.

When she closed the door behind Harold, several green candles suddenly lit up. The girl moved ahead and pressed a wall-mounted candelabra. It was, in fact, a hidden lever that opened a secret door.

The passage sloped downward, leading to a network of underground corridors.

Harold studied the girl in astonishment. She appeared to be around seventeen years old, with short, wine-colored hair, pale skin reminiscent of a corpse, a slender nose, and icy blue eyes that gleamed coldly.

They walked a considerable distance. Harold lit his torch, and the girl, as though seeing fire for the first time, stared at the flames in amazement. She tried to follow the light with her large eyes and even reached out to touch it, but Harold stopped her.

Harold asked again, "What's your name? Do you live here alone?"

But once more, the girl's only response was a bewildered look, as if she didn't understand his language at all.

After some time, they ascended a wooden staircase and entered another building. The room was filled with old books written in an ancient and unfamiliar script.

Harold noticed a makeshift bed the girl had created by stacking books. Next to the bed was a basin of water.

The girl walked to the basin. Stretching out her hands, she performed a magical gesture that summoned a sphere of water, which she poured into the basin. She then washed her hands and drained the dirty water through a wall channel.

She moved to the other side of the room and opened a door. Harold watched her with curiosity.

[Does this girl really live here alone? How did she end up in a city that's been erased from maps for thousands of years?]

[Could she be...?]

The girl returned, holding a large chunk of a giant rat's leg in her hand.

Harold asked hesitantly, "Are you going to eat that?"

The girl looked at the meat, then pointed to her mouth.

Harold smirked. "Ah, forget it. I doubt there's much else to eat here besides rats."

He took her hand and checked her pulse.

[Good, she's not a ghost...]

But the bigger question remained: How had this girl found Asryndor? More importantly, why did she seem to know the city so well? She could hunt rats with ease and even used magic.

Harold looked closely at the girl. Only one answer formed in his mind.

"You're the last of your kind, aren't you?"

He murmured, "The elves we know are either from Siralda or the dark elves. Your race should have disappeared centuries ago... but..."

Harold fell silent, his gaze lingering on the girl's face—a face that resembled that of a century-old elf.

How was it possible that this girl, after thousands of years, was still alive? Only one hypothesis remained:

"Elves that never die... The Immortals!"

Although humans considered elves immortal, their typical lifespan was about a thousand years. Human mages, through mana absorption, could extend their lives to two or even five centuries.

Harold pondered another possibility:

[Could it be that the elves connected to the dwarves didn't originate from Siralda but from Asryndor and the Immortal race?]

If that were true, Asrindor might have been the largest underground trade city of the ancient world—a forgotten hub connecting the East and West.

Harold observed the girl intently as she moved about the room, busy with various tasks.

[Did she really spend all these thousands of years alone in these empty chambers?]

[And if she could once speak, maybe she's grown so accustomed to silence and fear that she's forgotten how.]

The girl, using fire magic to roast the meat, noticed Harold smiling as he approached. She widened her eyes as his calloused hands took the meat from her and dropped it into a basin of water.

"Even if the meat you're eating is rat meat," Harold said, "you should prepare it properly."

He used fire magic to bring the water to a boil and continued, "Maybe you don't get sick and die from disease, but I'm not like you."

As the water boiled, numerous worms emerged from the meat and floated to the surface. The girl curiously observed them and reached out to grab one, but Harold quickly stopped her.

"No! You can't eat these. It's better to get rid of them."

Harold froze the meat using ice magic, then thawed it and used healing magic to restore its decayed tissues, giving the meat a fresh appearance. He repeated this process several times to ensure it was entirely clean and edible.

When he was done, the meat looked so fresh and appetizing that no one would believe it had come from a giant rat's leg.

Harold patted the girl on the head and handed her the meat. She was overjoyed and, in a burst of excitement, hugged him tightly.

Harold stared at the innocent smile on her face. This was his first meeting with Evelina.