Luna climbed the winding staircase that spiraled around the ancient tree, her hand trailing along the smooth wood that had been shaped by elven magic centuries before her birth.

The steps, grown rather than carved, seemed to curve more gently tonight, as if the tree itself recognized her delicate condition as an elf with a baby in her belly.

Halfway up, she paused to catch her breath, a pregnancy symptom her mother had warned her about and looked out across the village.

What she saw made her smile despite her weariness.

Every treehouse was lit.

Every single one.

Lanterns hung from porches, candles flickered in bedrooms, and even the communal cooking fires still glowed, though the feast had ended hours ago.

Normally, the elves maintained a strict schedule—asleep by moonrise, awake with dawn.

But tonight, the entire village defied tradition.

’Of course.’ She thought with a gentle smile. ’They’re all awake.’

Right now, every elf in the village was experiencing something they’d never dared to hope for.

Time alone with Luca. Real, focused, uninterrupted time.

Not the hurried conversations they’d stolen during meals or the brief touches as he passed through the village.

Not the shared attention they’d grown accustomed to.

Tonight, each of them had their own Luca.

From her elevated position, Luna could hear snippets of laughter drifting through the night air.

Giggles from the treehouse where Tessa lived.

The low murmur of conversation from Selma’s home.

A delighted shriek from somewhere near the stream, followed by Ivy’s distinctive laughter.

The village sounded like a festival night, though no instruments played and no fires burned beyond the hearths within each home.

’They’re like children.’ Luna mused, continuing her climb. ’Giddy with a new toy. A toy that happens to be the man they love.’

She knew her own circumstances were different.

As one of Luca’s closest companions, she got more of his time, more of his attention.

She’d never had to wonder if he would visit her treehouse or if she would be one of the many waiting for his rare, precious moments.

But her friends, the other villagers...they hadn’t been so fortunate.

She’d carried that knowledge like a secret weight—the awareness that she was privileged in ways others were not.

She’d tried to share him, to encourage him to spend time with others, but the mathematics of it all had been impossible.

One man, fifty women.

However generous his heart, however boundless his energy, the division had been inherently unequal.

’And I could do nothing about it.’ She’d thought on those lonely nights when guilt kept her awake.

But now...now that guilt was gone.

Replaced by a profound relief that warmed her from the inside out.

The Goddess’s gift had leveled the playing field.

Now every elf had her own Luca.

Now no one had to be lonely. Now no one had to wonder if they were loved enough.

The thought made Luna’s steps lighter as she reached the top platform and approached Luca’s door.

—

Unlike the other elves, however, Luna was quite sleepy right now.

All the events that had happened this day had completely exhausted her.

Not to mention the fact that she had been told that women with a baby like her needed to sleep properly.

The little life growing inside her demanded rest, demanded peace.

So she was going to ask Luca to go to bed with her.

It was only with him that she got the best sleep ever—his presence was like a warm blanket that chased away all her worries.

With that intention in mind, she made her way to his house.

She entered the living room, expecting to find him sprawled on the sofa or perhaps reading one of his strange human books.

But the room was empty, the fire in the hearth having died down to soft, glowing embers.

She went to the bedroom. Empty.

She checked the kitchen. Empty.

She checked every room in the house, growing more confused with each empty space.

Where could he be? Had she mistaken? Had he gone somewhere else?

Just then, she heard Luca’s voice coming from the balcony behind the house.

That was strange...it almost seemed as if he was talking to someone else.

She wondered if someone else had also come here to meet Luca, perhaps one of the other wives who had finished their own activities and wanted to spend time with the real Luca.

So she went closer and closer to the noise.

But the closer she went, the stranger it felt.

Luca was clearly talking to someone else, and the tone he was speaking in was one she had never heard before.

There was no hint of bravado or goofiness that he always had.

No playful banter. No mischievous teasing.

It was soft, vulnerable almost as if he were a child speaking to an elder family member.

And then there was also a voice coming from the other side—a voice that was quite beautiful and had a hint of maturity to it.

But the thing was, she had never heard this voice before.

It wasn’t one of the villagers. It wasn’t one of the other elves. It was completely unfamiliar to her.

’Who was Luca speaking to?’

She made her way until finally she was at the edge of the balcony door. She didn’t immediately go into the balcony to interrupt.

Instead, she stayed hidden, listening to the conversation that was going on.

"...truly, I’m glad." The woman’s voice was saying.

The tone was so tender it made Luna’s heart ache.

"You’ve been searching for so long, little brother. Wandering from place to place, never quite finding a place to rest. To belong. And you’ve finally found it."

Luna’s eyes widened.

’Little brother? Who could possibly call Luca little brother?’

That made no sense at all. In this village, the only relations that existed with Luca were either daughter, lover, or elder.

There was no one who could possibly call Luca little brother and certainly not in such a gentle tone, as if she truly were his older sister at the moment.

What looked even more surprising was that Luca also replied in a quite timid manner like he truly was the little brother right now.

"I guess I really have."

He said, his voice soft and shy. Then he chuckled, a sound that was so unlike his usual boisterous laughter.

"But who would have thought it would just appear in front of me out of nowhere in the form of a portal?"

"I almost wish the humans had invaded earlier. I could have been here sooner."

"Timing matters, Lucci." The woman said gently. "You know this."

’Lucci?’ Luna thought, her mind reeling. ’Who calls him Lucci?’

"Thank you, Big sis." Luca lovingly said. "Thank you for...for understanding. For not..."

The rest was lost in the sound of movement—fabric rustling, a soft sigh.

Luna could picture the scene now: an embrace. Luca being held. Comforted.

’What in the spirits’ name is going on?!’

She thought, her hand going to her mouth.

’Is this...some kind of roleplay?’

The idea wasn’t entirely implausible.

Luca had...varied tastes when it came to intimacy.

He enjoyed scenarios, fantasies, playing different roles.

Luna herself had indulged in a few such games—the innocent maiden and the experienced traveler, the strict teacher and the eager student.

It was fun. Exciting.

But this...this didn’t sound like roleplay.

There was no playful undertone, no hint of the erotic. The affection in the woman’s voice sounded genuine.

The vulnerability in Luca’s sounded real..

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Luna edged closer to the door.

She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop, knew it was rude, but she couldn’t help herself.

This was too strange, too unexpected.

She reached the doorframe and paused, listening.

"...so proud of you, Lucci." The woman was saying, her voice soft. "You’ve built something beautiful here. Something real."

"It doesn’t feel real sometimes." Luca admitted, and the rawness in his voice made Luna’s heart ache.

"It feels like a dream. A beautiful dream I’m going to wake up from."

"It’s real." The woman insisted. "As real as the child growing inside your wives. As real as the love these women feel for you."

There was another rustle of fabric, then silence. A comfortable, companionable silence.

Luna made her decision. She had to see. Had to know who this woman was, how she could draw this side of Luca out, a side Luna hadn’t even known existed.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and peeked around the doorframe.

But the moment she saw the sight in front of her, her entire body froze up like she was thrown into the very depths of the Arctic Ocean.

Her pupils dilated to pinpoints, and her hands that were holding the door frame began shivering uncontrollably.

The sight she had just witnessed before her eyes wasn’t just simply shocking.

It was so mortifying that it made her very soul tremble!

Luca was actually in the embrace of another woman, his head pressed to her chest like he was feeling comfort in her embrace like a little kid.

He looked extremely innocent and vulnerable, his eyes closed, his expression peaceful.

But the woman holding him...

She couldn’t really be called a woman at all!

Instead, she looked like an abomination that had crawled out from the very cracks of hell!

This so-called woman that Luna was looking at right now actually had no skin at all!

It was almost as if her entire skin had been completely stripped away, leaving only her fleshy body and muscles exposed to the open air.

Her face was worse.

She had no eyelids.

Her eyes, one milky and blind, the other a dark, knowing orb stared out from naked sockets.

No lips covered her teeth, which were broken and jagged, some missing entirely.

Her nose was a ruin of cartilage, twisted and malformed.

Her hair—what little remained clung to her scalp in sparse, brittle patches.

And her body...

Her body was a tapestry of violence.

Deep gashes crisscrossed her torso, the wounds gaping open as if freshly made.

Her spine protruded in one place, a sharp ridge of bone pushing against the ruined muscle.

One leg was twisted at an impossible angle, the foot facing backward.

One entire side of her body was charred black, the flesh melted and fused in places, cracked and weeping in others.

She looked like someone who had been skinned alive, then beaten, then cut apart and hastily reassembled, then burned, then left for dead.

And yet...

And yet she was holding Luca with a tenderness that was almost beautiful.

One mangled hand—fingers missing, bones visible stroked his hair gently.

And though her expression was impossible to read on that fleshless visage, her posture spoke of love. Of comfort.

Despite that, Luna felt her stomach twist. Bile rose in her throat.

She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming, from vomiting, from doing something that would draw their attention.

But unfortunately, that seemed to have attracted the attention of the abomination in front of her.

—

Slowly, the woman, who despite only having one single eye turned her head to look at her.

The moment she saw that single ugly face that was marred all over and felt like it had been smashed and put together, Luna shivered all over.

She thought she was going to die on the spot from sheer terror alone.

But that didn’t happen at all.

Instead, the so-called older sister just looked at her for a moment before showing a smile.

But it was such a weird smile, as part of her lips had been cut off and her teeth were also broken.

So it could be said to be the ugliest smile possible.

But nonetheless, it was a smile. And a gentle one at that.

Even her eye, that single eye was looking at her in a caring, tender manner.

Luna’s terror didn’t vanish, but it...shifted.

Became something else. Something more complex.

Because in that smile, in that eye, she saw no malice. No threat.

Only...affection. And sadness. And an old, old weariness.

’She looks at me like...like an older sister.’ Luna thought, the realization coming to her unbidden. ’Like she knows me. Cares about me.’

But the horror of her appearance was too much.

—

Luna stumbled back, away from the door, her heart hammering against her ribs so hard she thought it might burst.

She pressed herself against the wall of the treehouse, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

’What is that?’ She thought, her mind racing. ’What is she? How is she alive? How is she standing?’

’How is she...hugging Luca?’

The questions tumbled over one another, none finding purchase.

Nothing in her experience, nothing in elven lore, nothing in the stories Luca had told them, prepared her for this.

’Is she...dead?’ She wondered, a fresh wave of terror washing over her. ’A spirit? A ghost?’

But no. She was solid. Real. Her embrace was physical. Luca leaned into it with his full weight.

’And Luca calls her...big sister.’ Luna remembered. ’And she calls him little brother.’

The familial terms, spoken with such genuine affection, clashed violently with the horror of the woman’s appearance.

It was like hearing a lullaby sung by a monster.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Luna forced herself to move.

She couldn’t hide here. She had to...she had to confront this. To ask Luca. To understand.

Steeling herself, she stepped back toward the balcony door.

She pushed the door open fully, ready to speak, ready to demand answers.

But...the balcony was empty.

Well, not completely empty. Luca stood at the railing, looking up at the moons.

But the woman...the horrifying, skinless, mutilated woman...was gone!