The elf shrieked out in surprise as she and the stranger bumped into each other in the dark cave. At first, she thought about making a run for it, but then, she saw that the stranger seemed to be just as scared of her, if not more. Then, her eyes narrowed as she noticed his distinct lack of sharp ears and his strange heterochromatic eyes. "No way..."she whispered. "You're that human that went missing over ten years ago!"

"No, no, no," Arthur responded hastily, pulling his hood over his head as he quickly withdrew further into his cave. "You've got the wrong person."

"Yes, you are!" the elf insisted. "I can smell that you're not like any of the other races in this world." She looked around at the bleak, mossy cave and frowned. "So this is where you've been hiding all this time. It looks so depressing..."

"Look, I'm sorry, but I don't want to marry you," Arthur said abruptly. "And it's not you, it's me. I came here because I was so sick of everyone chasing me down to marry me for my "legendary" power as the Chosen One or whatever nonsense they said. So, I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone I was here."

The elf stared at him in confusion. "Oh...you don't know..."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "Know? What don't I know?"

"Ah...well, this is a little embarrassing, but it turns out that you're not actually the Chosen One," the elf said sheepishly. "Turns out the same truck that transported you here also hit a moose. The seers figured out that he was the real Chosen One a decade ago."

Arthur looked at her, completely flabbergasted. "You've got to be kidding me -- a fucking moose?!"

"The Antlered Champion, Densetsu no Herajika," the elf corrected me. "He was the one that saved the world from the emu demons years ago."

Arthur sank against a nearby wall in shock. "So...all of this time, I could have just left whenever I wanted..." A sudden revelation hit him. "I...I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I mean, I always hoped that everyone would stop trying to mob me for their attention, but now, I'm not sure what to do next...I guess I always assumed that I would just die in this cave."

The elf looked at him sympathetically. "Well, if you want, I could show you around. The world has greatly changed since you last saw it." She held out her hand. "My name's Lyra."