There was something strange about that cave. At first glance, everything seemed normal, but from the perception of a forest spirit, the harmony was totally upside down.

Mushrooms that must have been on logs were on rocks. Plants that were supposed to grow under the sun were in the shade of trees, some of which needed less water than was there.

Pikshbxgro approached confused, and curious about the cause of that strange phenomenon. And as he did so, he discovered that a strange energy was emerging from within the cave.

Since he lacked any danger sense, he let himself be carried away by his innate curiosity and innocence, so he entered the cave, and went deeper and deeper inside, while not understanding why he hadn’t yet reached that energy.

It was suddenly that, for the first time in his short life, the spirit knew fear. A dark and gloomy energy surrounded, and trapped, him. Creating some kind of bars, that he didn’t dare to touch, around him. His instincts made him terrified of that unnatural energy, even when it was the first time he had felt it.

“We have another one,” said a voice.

“Take it with the others,” answered another.

The spirit watched in terror as a being out of his worst nightmares raised the cage and carried him within it. It was similar to a spirit, but in a sinister way, for it seemed made of death instead of life. It seemed as if instead of having arisen from the essence of nature, it had arisen to destroy it.

He didn’t understand it, but he felt an uncontrollable terror towards that being. When it looked at him and smiled wickedly, he only felt his fear more acute.

The terrified spirit believed that there could be nothing worse than that, but soon found out how wrong he was. His nightmare had only just begun.

For the next several months, he was locked in a large cavern along with a multitude of other cages. Each one contained another brother, another forest spirit. And, a huge bear was guarding the entrance. Its body was darker than it should have been, and its essence had changed, brimming with death.

But the worst were the screams of pain and agony from other spirits. They weren’t supposed to feel pain, nothing should be able to harm them, but those beings which had brought them there tortured them. They introduced that dark energy inside them, so damaging their essence, making them disappear little by little in a terrible agony, until their essence was completely lost.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Dammit. It is impossible to force it, they don’t convert,” cursed one of the voices.

Pikshbxgro hated that voice, but he couldn’t stop hearing it even if he covered his ears. And the same happened to the rest of the spirits.

“Maybe Jralon is right and it needs to be willingly accepted,” whispered another.

“Mmm. Let me try. With the others we have had no luck. Let’s see if these...”

“Up to you. I’m not good at it.”

One of those dark beings approached them, and looked at them one by one. Then, he began to speak.

“The fairies oppress you. They leave you in the forest while they keep the power and the benefits. They tell you that you’ll grow up, but, have you ever seen anyone do it? Don’t be fooled, they use you. And then, they feed on you, so making you believe that your brothers have ascended, that they have evolved. Don’t believe them. We can set you free. We can empower you. This energy scares you, but it’s because of them. They’ve made you fear it in order to control you. You mustn’t be afraid of it, it’ll give you power, as it gave it to us.”

“I know that you’ve seen your brothers suffer. Liberation is painful when it isn’t accepted, when the prison that the fairies have put in your souls isn’t denied. So that, you’re weak. So that, you’re docile. Join us and you’ll have the power to oppose them. To claim your place.”

The spirits didn’t believe them. They feared them, but that didn’t make them deny who they were, or distrust the fairies. In fact, even some of them had witnessed the transformation of a brother into a fairy, although not most of them. And the few who had witnessed it didn’t dare to raise their voices. Even so, the talk was unsuccessful, except for one of them.

“It’s true! Those fairies don’t let us get into the best areas! They say that we’re small, that we have to grow, that we have to be one with the forest. Bullshit! How do I do it?”

The others looked at him in surprise and disbelief, They didn’t understand how he could say such a thing. The two dark beings smiled.

“Don’t be afraid and grab the bars. Trust its energy, let it fill you with power.”

And while Pikshbxgro and the other spirits looked at him in horror, he hesitantly advanced towards the bars, and reached out one of his little arms to touch them. He felt a chill throughout his being as he was invaded by that dark energy. But, unlike the others, he felt no pain, just a strange euphoria. Then, he grabbed the bars more decisively.

“Hahaha.”

He couldn’t stop laughing, a laugh that others spirits found macabre, although not as macabre as the transformation when life turned to death. His brother’s aura became corrupted, so transforming him into one of those beings that terrorized them.

“Hahaha. This feeling is wonderful! I have power! I’ll give those fairies what they deserve!”

He then turned to his former siblings, glaring at them.

“You don’t know what you’re missing.”

But no one else was tempted. They were too scared of what he had become.

“One. Not much, but better than last time. What do we do with the rest?” asked a voice.

“Since we have them, let’s continue with the experiments. We probably won’t get anything out, but it’s fun. Maybe the new one wants to try it, right?”

“Yes, yes. Hearing them scream is delicious. It’s your fault for not wanting to accept the truth,” it agreed, with an evil grin on its face.

The rest of the spirits got even more frightened, if possible, but they couldn’t escape. They were trapped in their cages, and forced to float so as not to touch the bars.