A small elven girl walked through a castle filled with sky-blue tones. Her steps stopped in front of her mother's room. Inside, a tiny baby was sleeping peacefully in a soft wooden crib. The wooden bars on the sides kept her from falling, even though the baby rolled around a lot while sleeping.
"So cute."
The little elf looked around to see if anyone was nearby. When she noticed there was no sign of her mother, she quietly slipped into the room without making a sound. Reaching the crib, she rested her arms on the wood and leaned her cheek on them. Her eyes were curious when the little one opened her eyes sleepily. With a smile, the baby extended her hand toward the elf in front of her.
"You want to touch me? How audacious, little sister. I'll allow it just this once."
The elven child extended her finger, letting the baby grasp it. As the little one laughed while playing with her finger, the older girl slowly brought her other hand closer with a small innocent smile.
"Since it's your last time."
The baby saw a dark smile appear right after those words from the one who was supposed to be her sister. The hand approached her tiny neck. Everything seemed to freeze as she felt fear despite being so small. A cold aura burst from her little body, slightly freezing the girl's hand—but that hand kept moving until it began to tighten around her neck. It was terrifying, and if the door hadn't opened before any mark could be left, she would have…
"Elithia, what are you doing here?"
"Hello, Mother. I wanted to see my little sister since they didn't let me watch her be born."
Elithia wore an innocent smile, as if nothing had happened. When her mother asked about her frozen hand, she simply answered with a half-truth.
"I tried to stroke her head, but she released something cold onto my hand. It was incredible."
"Incredible? Your hand is frozen, you little demon."
"Hehehehe."
After that day, surprised that she had released magic, her mother began watching her with expectation, caring for her and never giving the sisters another chance to be alone. In fact, it seemed as though that first attempt had never existed, because Elithia treated Elaris as if she were her greatest treasure.
The three women of the family bathed together, played in the garden, practiced nearly nonexistent magic since two of them weren't even circle zero yet, and finally created a garden mainly for the youngest—leaving their father disappointed he couldn't join because of his duties as king. Even so, he found time to tell stories about when he met the strongest creature in the Elven Dimension.
"So you helped Lady Skadi protect the blessing?"
"Yes. Some corrupted elves tried to invade the blessing's location to further corrupt our dimension."
"Corrupted elves? What are they, Father?"
Elithia's question made her father pause. She didn't understand her sister—because instead of asking about his adventures, she asked about other things that happened during them. Then again, he couldn't say much; her questions were always accompanied by a curious and innocent childlike gaze.
"Well, the corrupted elves…"
They were mainly a faction of elves who believed the World Tree should be used to increase elven strength or to bring chaos to other worlds. They believed they were right because a rotten fragment of the World Tree that fell upon the first corrupted elf prophesied that they would be exterminated in the future by another race. Convinced that if they didn't eliminate other races first, they themselves would be destroyed, these elves fed on the rotten bark to grow stronger.
Upon hearing that, Elithia seemed to huff in disappointment, but soon began asking about other things that might interest her.
At ten years old, it seemed her bond with her older sister had grown stronger. Elaris was increasingly protective of her. Walking through a corridor, she saw her sister preparing to become the next queen, though some elders seemed to disagree—mainly because she didn't have as much potential as Elaris.
"I don't want to be queen. That title belongs to my sister. The only thing I want is to stay by her side."
That was her declaration before the elders, her father, and her sister. Both her father and mother sighed at her imprudence, but since she didn't want to compete with Elithia, they smiled and declared the elder as the next queen.
Even with some disagreement, the elders accepted with a sigh, mourning the loss of a potentially stronger future queen—but on the condition that she would not stop training, since she could still become the strongest elf. When the ceremony ended, she ran to her sister.
"Sister, what did you think of my decision?"
"I liked it, little sister. You did a good job."
Her head was gently patted. With her eyes closed, she didn't notice the different smile forming on the sister she admired so much. It was a smile of satisfaction, as if all those years spent with her had been worth it.
Called away by her father for training, she said goodbye to Elithia and ran off. Being so far away, she couldn't hear the final words her sister spoke before the day she lost everything—by the hands of the one she admired most.
"Even so, it's not enough."
The day she lost everything was the day her garden was finished—a garden created by the three women of the family. Her favorite flower would be given to her favorite person, and of course, in her mind, that was her sister.
In the middle of the garden, she was making the final touches while Elithia calmly read a book atop a tree.
"Lady Elithia, Lady Elaris—the king has been poisoned."
Turning her head, terror appeared on her face. Meanwhile, atop the tree, an irritating small smile formed on the elder sister's lips. She was not an elf; her actions made it clear that she was undoubtedly a demon who wanted to devour the entire Elven Dimension.