2 The Beginning

When you hear the term elf, the first image that springs to mind is the fantasy humanoid creature with tapering, elongated ears and long lifespan.

If you are a bit more of a fantasy geek, then you might even think of the various classifications like the wood elf, dark elf, high elf and so on and so forth.

But the Elf in front of Aman was a bit removed from fantasy.

Elf: a human who has been genetically modified to have extended lifespan and as a side effect has developed elongated ears.

From the beginning of time man has been fascinated by the concept of eternal life and eternal youth.

So, when a new breakthrough appeared in science in the form of the nano-photons, everyone thought that this time, they might just have found the key to unlock the gate to immortality.

While many researchers tried to find a clue from long-lived animals like the tortoise and the Koi fish, the first ones to succeed was the Indian company: Ganesh Genes.

Named after the Hindu elephant-headed god of prosperity: Lord Ganesh, the company used the genome of the Indian elephant to create the Longevity gene ampoules.

The thing is, the more the genome differs from humans, the harder it is to adapt the genes for human use.

The others were trying to adapt reptiles and fishes while they tried it out with a mammal, so while the gene ampoules only increased five years of life and had the side effect of elongating the ears of the patients, they were the first kids on the block and their gene ampoules were all the rage.

When the first ads for the Ganesh Gene Longevity gene ampoules hit the network, the entire world went into a tizzy.

The bloggers and memers of the world took very little time to give the handsome actor in the ad the moniker of Elf despite his ear shape being different than his pointy-eared fantasy cousins.

Not only were the ampoules lauded as the modern fountain of youth and the scientific version of the elixir, as more and more elves began to appear across the globe, the formation of a new social community was underway.

Today, four years after the release of the ampoules, most of the elite in the world have transformed into elves and possessing elven ears has become a status symbol.

Several elves have even taken to decorating their ears with blingy jewellery to further emphasise their feature.

Basically, the statement they want to make is something along the lines of: "Look here plebs, look at my ears and despair, I'll live five years longer than you cause I'm so much more deserving. In your face, bitches."

So, you can easily imagine Aman's surprise when he came across an Elf bleeding out in a shady alley in the shadiest part of town.

He slowly took a step backwards.

Nope. Nothing to see here. Moving on. An unimportant person like him shouldn't get involved with matters that had Elves getting injured so badly.

"B-oy if you t-ake another step, I'll des-cribe you t-o my pursuers."

Aman stiffened and slowly turned around. Narrowing his eyes, he began to appraise how close the Elf was to death and whether he would croak before his so-called pursuers showed up and whether there was anything he could do to hurry him on his way.

He just wanted to peacefully go and buy a Soul Sensor for Preeti and go home.

He didn't want to involve himself with what looked like a gang war gone bloody. But with the thret of the Elf looming over him, he couldn't afford to just walk away.

What if the elf's pursuers traced him to his home. His family would be in danger.

He was just about to test how effective a kick to the balls would be when the elf spoke out again in his feeble voice.

"B-oy, you best not try an-yt-hing stup-id."

Suddenly, Aman felt a huge pressure covering him and oppressing his soul. He was forced to his knees by the oppressive feeling.

It was as if he was staring into the eyes of a snake and he had stiffened with fear. What shocked him the most was that the pressure originated from the dying elf.

This was at least Tier 3 soul pressure!

The Elf was not one of those filthy rich businessmen. He was a veritable genetic expert. A warrior who had exceeded the limits of humanity.

He shivered. If he had actually tried to kick the guy in the balls, it would probably be the last thing he would do in his life.

"Wh-at do you want from me?" he managed to squeeze out through his mouth as he fought the soul pressure.

"Oh? You c-an speak ev-en under my op-pression? It see-ms that you aren't the waste I tho-ught you we-re."

Suddenly the pressure was gone and Aman collapsed onto the ground, gulping in deep breaths.

He shakily stood up and looked at the seemingly harmless man with fear in his eyes.

The elf took a deep breath and suddenly, his wounds stopped bleeding and his entire being became energetic. He got to his feet and a huge pressure once again emanated from him.

It was like looking at a mountain even though the man was the size of an ordinary human.

But, from his pale face, it was clear that he had used some sort of soul technique in order to forcefully stimulate his body's potential.

It was his last burst of magnificence before dying. When he spoke, his words were no longer feeble, they possessed a magnetic charm that made one subconsciously take him very seriously.

"Now, I am going to give you the thing they have chased me for. Seeing how you tried to run away when you first saw me, you have a good head on your shoulders. You should understand what will happen to you and anyone remotely close to you if they find out that you have this thing.

"Take it and run away. I will delay them as much as possible. then what you do with it is up to you. You can throw it away in a trash can, bury it in an unmarked plot. I will be happy knowing that they didn't get their hands on it.

"But, if like me, you aren't able to bring yourself to throw away the limitless potential locked away inside it, you can use it. Sooner or later, you will find your interests clashing with theirs." He grinned in a feral manner. "I would love to see how much better or worse you would fare against them."

After he had finished speaking, he grimaced and reached behind the nape of his neck and with a grunt of pain, he dug his fingers into his body and pulled out his Soul Sensor.

Aman's eyes widened in disbelief. The soul sensor was attached to nerves, just brutally pulling it out would hurt like hell. The elf's willpower was inhuman as he barely let out a grunt.

After pulling it out, the elf's aura diminished greatly. The soul sensor was very important for a gene-warrior. Without it, their abilities would not even be half as effective. Not that Aman could take him on now that he was weakened.

The elf could still kill him easily.

"Take it." Said the elf as he held out the bloody sensor.

Aman dropped the two garbage bags, took out his handkerchief, wrapped the bloody sensor in it and put it in his pocket.

The elf nodded in approval. "Now go!"

Then in a show of superhuman strength, in a single leap, he jumped nearly ten metres and caught the projected grille of the third floor window of the building adjacent to the alley before swinging himself up and jumping again.

Soon, he had reached the roof and disappeared from sight.

Recovering from his shock, Aman ran away from the alley as fast as his feet could take him. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew that getting far away was the best choice.