We open on a scene featuring a man and woman. The woman, full of life and excitement, bounces around with her loving partner despite her prominent belly. Moments later, they both take a seat, gazing lovingly at one another. A large window in front of them bathes their faces in light, and passersby outside smile at the couple, who are eagerly awaiting a new addition to their family. Behind the onlookers stands the striking building known as Arcane.

  We fade to black, transitioning to the woman in labor, breathing heavily as sweat drips down her face. Her partner gently holds her hand and whispers in her ear, “It’s all going to be okay.” Nurses and doctors rush in to assist with the delivery. The baby is born—a healthy young boy. The nurse hands the child to the smiling woman, who cradles him for the first time. Her smile quickly fades into a scowl as she mutters under her breath, “Oh, it’s his.” Turning to her partner, she feigns a smile and asks, “Do you want to hold your son?”

  The man hesitates, responding, “Won’t I hurt him?” The nurses chuckle and reassure him, “Don’t be silly.” We fade to black as the boy is handed to the man.

  The nurse checks the baby boy’s affinity several times, convinced that the results are unbelievable. After multiple attempts, the conclusion is clear: the boy has no affinity for any elements. She hands the baby to the father and whispers, “I’ve tested him several times, and the results are consistent—your son has no affinity.” The father reacts with disbelief, yelling, “Nonsense! There has never been a recorded case of someone with no affinity. Run the test again!” The nurse calmly replies, “As I mentioned, we tested him multiple times, sir.”

  The mother, sensing the tension, weakly asks, “What’s wrong, dear?” The father responds, “The nurse says our son has no affinity.” The scene fades to black, and we find the parents discussing how to dispose of him and make it look like an accident. They already face judgment for giving birth to a nullborn and don’t want to be seen as murderers. They decide to arrange a trip and stage an attack by bandits.

  Recalling the disdainful faces of the villagers, the mother throws the baby without hesitation. He lands in a bush by the roadside, his blanket snagging on a branch and leaving him exposed to the elements. A hooded adventurer notices the blanket fluttering in the wind, followed by the sound of a baby crying. She approaches to investigate and finds the newborn severely injured by thorns.

  Furious, she bellows, “Who would do this? Argh! Filthy humans!” As she shouts “filthy humans,” she punches a nearby tree, the impact knocking off her hood to reveal a beautiful Dark Elf with tears streaming down her face. She turns to the boy, picks him up, and he instantly stops crying. The Dark Elf smiles and says, “It’s okay, I’ll be your mother.”

  (A montage shows the boy growing up and experiencing milestones: his first sword, standing up for the first time, taking his first steps, etc.)

  Once he can walk freely, the boy begins to explore his surroundings, venturing further each day. Since their homestead in the forest is safe from any hostile monsters nearby, the Dark Elf encourages his curiosity. As days pass, the boy eventually wanders into the local forest, where he encounters his first monster: a Slime.

  Having only known his mother, the boy is filled with curiosity. He approaches the slime and starts to poke it. The slime interprets this as an attack and scurries away, causing the boy to cry, thinking he has done something wrong. Seeing the boy in distress, the slime realizes he meant no harm and cautiously approaches. It jumps onto his head, signaling that it wants to play. The boy beams with joy and spends hours playing with the slime.

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  As time passes, the Dark Elf begins to worry about her son’s whereabouts and calls out, “L’arc! Where are you?” When she hears giggling from the trees in front of the hut, she follows the sound and discovers L'arc happily playing with the slime. Initially concerned, she instinctively tells him to stop, aware that it's a monster, but seeing his unrestrained joy makes her smile. “Be careful; not all monsters are friendly—most aren’t,” she gently warns. Then, she adds, “Anyway, it’s time for dinner. Let’s go, and make sure to say goodbye to your friend.”

  A year later, the Dark Elf practices her sword swings on a makeshift dummy. L'Arc watches her and attempts to lift one of the swords, but it proves too heavy for him. Noticing his struggle, the Dark Elf stifles a laugh and says, “You’re still too young to wield a proper sword. Here, I made this for you, anticipating this day.” She hands L'Arc a wooden curved sword. He desperately tries to lift it but finds himself still too weak. The Dark Elf reassures him, saying, “Don’t worry; you’re still growing. Give it time.”

  In the following months, L'Arc divides his time between trying to lift the sword and playing with his slime friend.

  L'arc goes to the forest to play with his friend, a slime. They start with a game of hide and seek, but after several unsuccessful attempts to find the slime, L'arc grows frustrated and suggests a different activity. He begins tossing the slime into the air and catching it. L'arc laughs and giggles, clearly enjoying the moment, while the slime jiggles in delight, indicating its enjoyment as well.

  Suddenly, a human clad in leather armor enters the clearing where L'arc and the slime are playing. Disgusted by the sight of a human playing with a monster, he rushes over to L'arc and kicks him away just as the slime is airborne. The slime lands and rolls away, while L'arc is thrust against a tree. The human unsheathes his sword, raises it above his head, and slashes at the slime, muttering “Freak” under his breath. With the slime now dead, the human strides off into the forest, leaving L'arc in despair.

  Heartbroken, L'arc rushes to the slime, which has now become a mere puddle. Tears stream down his face without stopping. He tries to pick up his friend but realizes he can't, and his cries grow even more desperate. His sorrow reaches his mother, who dashes toward the forest with such speed that all that can be seen is a cloud of dust and rustling leaves from the trees she leaps into for a better view.

  The Dark Elf finds L'arc, who is struggling to embrace his fallen slime friend and has a cut on his head from the impact with the tree. She uses her nature magic to heal L'arc’s injury and whispers, “Run home; I’ll be there soon.” L'arc complies and runs home, while the Dark Elf walks resolutely into the forest in pursuit of the human.

  L'arc exits the forest and approaches the hut when he hears a scream. The scene shifts to the forest, where a human's head falls from his shoulders and hits the ground. A Dark Elf stands behind him, hood up and sword sheathed. The scene fades to black, and the Dark Elf is now seen consoling her son.

  Back at the hut, the Dark Elf holds her son and whispers, “I’m here, let it all out. We can honor him tomorrow; for now, just get some rest.”

  The next day, the Dark Elf takes a bottle containing the remains of slime and hands it to L'arc while she digs a small hole in the clearing. She places the bottle in the hole, covers it, and sets a carved stone resembling the slime over the grave. L'arc tries to hold back his tears but sniffles as his mother says, “It’s okay to cry; take heed of this feeling.”

  As the day comes to an end, they sit down for dinner. Curious, L'arc asks his mother, “What was that shiny light you used in the forest?” She replies, “Magic.”