“Are there any news about them, Kraro?” asked the first shadow.

“No, Kroljo, they’ve disappeared. There’s no trace of them,” Kraro replied.

“Dammit. There were supposed to be no high-level spirits in the area. But it’s clear that there were, and that they’ve been killed. There’s no other explanation.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t make sense. What were high-level spirits doing in such a low area?”

“Maybe they knew something. Maybe someone warned them. That’s it! That would explain everything!” Kroljo exclaimed.

“You mean that…?”

“Yes, there must be a traitor among us.”

“That wouldn’t make sense either. What would he gain? He can’t go back,” Kraro disagreed.

“He doesn’t need to go back. It could be Jralon. You know he isn’t content to be under us. He wants to be the boss.”

“You mean that it’d come to sacrifice the immature shadows to achieve his goals? He’s really ruthless!”

“Yes, it’s a pity that he’s become our enemy. We must find a way to get rid of him without suspicion. We have to be careful, he’s dangerous.”

“This has to be a Kroljo thing. No one else could be that twisted,” Jralon muttered.

“And why would he get rid of some immature shadows? What sense would it make?” asked a corrupted, puzzled spirit.

“You’re very naive, Jreneg. Do you really think we’re all friends because we’re on the same side? Clearly it’s some kind of trick. They’ll want to blame us, win allies against us. No doubt that they intend to get rid of us.”

“But… what good would it do them? Now, the greatest threat are the living. Without us, they too would be in danger.”

“Kroljo is patient and cunning. He’s paving the way. When he no longer need us, he’ll try to get rid of us.”

“That… Could be…” Jreneg muttered, half convinced.

“And then, there’s the strange problem in the eastern part of our domain. It can’t be a coincidence,” Jralon insisted.

“You mean!? They are so… so… How could I not have seen the link!? It’s true, it can’t be a coincidence. They want us to look weak and gain support! I’ll send Jrevlo to investigate!”

“Good idea. It’s evident that those who have eliminated so many beasts can’t be the living. We would’ve detected it earlier.”

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“Unless they had let them go in.”

“Mmmmm. Would they be able to ally with the living to harm us? If we can find evidence, we’ll have them grabbed by the neck.”

“Heh, heh. They sure don’t expect us to see through their plans,” Jreneg congratulated himself.

“Yes, ha ha. We have to take advantage of the fact that they’ll be confident in order to get ready. When the time comes, we’ll hit first.”

The stars were shining while both moons were illuminating the night, blending their light into the miasma, thus creating a gloomy atmosphere. Several corrupted beasts lay motionless, with nothing to do but remain submerged in miasma, waiting to be called. And around it, the dark and leafless trees stood like a terrible nightmare of what they once had been.

Inside that gloomy setting, a shadow was moving invisible to most eyes, but to which corrupted beings owed obedience. He moved silently, and was irritated at having to carry out that mission.

He had been commissioned to investigate the disappearance of several of those beings in a nearby area, something for which he felt humiliated, as considering that it wasn’t a job worthy enough for him.

“Dammit. Who cares about a couple more beasts or a couple less! They’re not even at level 10!” he grumbled sulkily, though there was no one to hear him.

It took him several hours to get there, occasionally kicking beasts in his path, the reaction of which was only to get out of his way. To rebel against their masters was impossible for those slaves which had lost the ability to reason.

But kicking the beasts did nothing to ease his bad mood. After all, he could barely hurt them, as their physical abilities were extremely limited. It irritated him even more, so he ordered one huge ant to attack another.

They obeyed without question, pouncing against each other, attacking each other mercilessly, recklessly, without worrying about the damage they were taking. Jrevlo watched the battle like a spectator of a play, until one of the two succumbed and ended up disappearing, while the other lay down, letting the miasma enter it, and while its wounds were, little by little, repairing themselves.

After having partially vented his anger, the shadow continued on its way, until it reached the area where Goldmi had eliminated several dozen corrupted beings. He wandered around, checking the terrain, until he discovered an object on the ground.

“An arrow…” he murmured in surprise, looking at it with wide eyes.

He continued to survey the area, discovering other arrows, and obvious signs of fighting that seemed recent, but no trace of the attackers.

“Wow, this is more interesting than I’d expected. There’re living beings around here” he smirked.

He then ordered hundreds of corrupted beings to go there and spread over an area of almost one hundred kilometers, inspecting every hole, every cave, every possible hiding place. Their mission was to locate the living and notify him as soon as they were found. They were simple orders, that even those beings could carry out.

“I’m lucky. It’d been a while since I’d tasted living beings. Hahaha. And they’re all mine! I’ve to think carefully about how to torture them, there may not be many. And I’ve to make sure none of the others find out. I’ll let them know when I’m done,” he said to himself, laughing cruelly.

He hated the living. He had hated having to watch over and care for the forest dwellers. He had considered himself a superior life form, so he hadn’t understood why he had had to worry about beings with flesh. So, along with others which had thought like him, they had seized the opportunity that had been presented to them, and had betrayed their kin. Thus, they had obtained power and the control of the miasma to eradicate life, reign over it, and transform themselves, by renouncing their essence.

To their regret, the living and other spirits had managed to oppose them and stop their advance, although he was convinced that they would eventually win. After all, “we’re superior to the weak living beings, and to spirits too soft to see reality.”