The eve of the casting ritual.
Tomorrow was the official casting ritual. The elders were all relaxed. They seemed to believe that once the Mithril Doll was finished, their position would remain secure. But I did not agree. In my eyes, Mithril Valley had reached a point where it had no future left.
Our ancestors discovered Mithril Valley and gained everything here. But to me, these things were not wealth, but a curse. We were trapped by the curse of greed, afraid to take even a single step away from this place. It was as if everything would get better as long as we kept guarding Mithril Valley.
But was that really true? When the Empire attacked us, I actually felt relieved. Perhaps the Empire would take Mithril Valley from us, but at the same time, that would shatter the shackles binding our people. Perhaps we could leave this place and begin new lives like normal people, instead of remaining here in self-imposed exile, generation after generation, like prisoners behind bars.
I had had enough of this life, and most people felt the same. They stayed here, with mithril and stone for company, but there was more to this world than mithril and stone. We should leave this place and see the wider world. That was why I believed the elders' plans would fail.
They stubbornly wanted to consolidate their power and preserve their status, but none of that mattered anymore. We were sealed inside this underground prison, and nobody could rescue us.
Except one.
The elders foolishly believed the Mithril Guardian would become their obedient puppet and suppress any rebels. But they had no idea how important the Mithril Guardian was to the darkness hidden within the Mithril River.
I knew whether I could survive tomorrow, but if I