Pikshbxgro gathered all his courage and left his temporary shelter to fly to the elf. He was aware that they couldn’t last much longer, since he could perceive how their energy and mana reserves were being depleted. And, while he couldn’t fight, it didn’t mean he couldn’t do anything.

“Aunt Omi! Let me help! Like that time!” he exclaimed while approaching her.

Surprised, the elf turned to the voice that was calling her, but didn’t hesitate to open one of her arms to receive him, the one that wasn’t wielding a bow.

“Are you sure? These plants…” the elf doubted.

“The plants want to fight. They would rather die fighting than become that,” assured the spirit.

Goldmi didn’t doubt his word even for a moment, because never a being as innocent as him could lie to her like that. Perhaps, he could commit mischief, but only innocent mischief, never lie or cheat. She let him hold her and put his forehead next to hers, after what she felt like the young spirit was touching her soul.

She closed her eyes, but still her vision increased, although now she was seeing in a different way. Her connection with plants, with all the nature that surrounded her, had intensified. Now, she could feel every blade of grass, every root, every branch, every mushroom, every bush, every one of the reeds that were drinking water from the lake.

She could feel how they were feeding on the earth, how they were absorbing moisture or the sun’s rays, and transforming their energy into a part of their sustenance. The other part came from the mana that enveloped them, which gave them a deeper essence than the plants from her birthplace.

She could clearly perceive how their primitive souls, more instinctively than aware, hated and feared that dark essence that had corrupted their ancient domains, and that was threatening to corrupt them, to steal their being. She could sense that they were willing to do anything to fight them. They just needed someone to guide them.

The ground shook as hundreds of roots emerged from it. With a single thought, and with hardly any energy wasted, Tangle’s power multiplied in strength and range. Now, not only did she encompass the entire oasis, but more roots were coming into play, even if it put the stability of the trees themselves at risk.

The slightest pressure was transmitted to the druid archer, so she didn’t need to see in order to know where her enemies were. Soon, most of them were trapped in thick roots, so only those farthest from the trees could move, or at least had a chance to break free.

This was something that forest spirits rarely did. In part, because it wasn’t easy to find someone compatible to carry it out. In part, because it was sacrilege to call upon the forces of nature without a powerful cause to justify it, and few causes were. After all, even life and death are part of nature itself, not something to fight.

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In fact, the vast majority of spirits and fairies had never carried out something like this. Pikshbxgro was, without a doubt, a notable exception, as it was the second time that he had fused his soul with another being to invoke that power, both times with the same person, “aunt Omi”.

Perhaps, even protecting a unicorn wouldn’t have been enough if their enemy hadn’t been that corruption. It was a threat against the very essence of nature, so fighting the unnatural beings that were attacking them, that were threatening to corrupt them, fully justified their actions. Nature itself preferred to weaken and even die than to be corrupted.

The lynx didn’t stop attacking, so she was diminishing their numbers little by little, but at a lower speed than the reinforcements were arriving. However, there didn’t seem to be an imminent danger, as the corrupted beings couldn’t break free from their powerful bindings.

It was true that the plants’ energy and vitality wasn’t infinite, and that it was diminishing as they moved and resisted their enemies, but, for now, they hadn’t reached a critical situation.

Soon though sporadic, they began to see the effects of their strategy. Another of the corrupted beasts awoke, so she set it freed and let it turn fiercely against the other corrupted ones. It was the hatred accumulated by its soul during its unbearable captivity. Perhaps also the desire to end everything that looked like its prison. Or maybe the desire to free others like itself.

It didn’t take long for another to awaken, and another. More and more turned on their former allies, with not fear to death, but even wishing it. Thus, little by little, the tables were turning, as the number of awakened were growing, so the pressure on the plants was reduced, as those beings were taking their place.

Everything seemed to indicate that this battle was on track, because, with the help of Pikshbxgro, they had come out of this almost desperate situation and were gaining ground.

The biggest problem was that the little unicorn hadn’t been born yet, and it was impossible for them to know how long it would take. They couldn’t even be sure if he was going to make it.

The only thing they could discern was that the unicorn continued to put all her effort into it, for the sweat that covered her white body was evident, and even her soaked mane was falling into the grass. And her expression was no less evident, as she was holding back the pain and was trying to stay focused.

Suddenly, a strange wind began to blow. It wasn’t a wind that moved leaves or stirred waters, but a gloomy wind that was felt in the soul, that was overshadowing it, making them feel a chill, a chill that was not due to the temperature. It was a wind unable to move a single blade of grass, but was moving the miasma.

The same miasma that had been slowly invading that oasis of life began to stir and gain speed. It was threatening to engulf the place in its sinister mantle.

And while that miasma would weaken the plants little by little, that wasn’t the biggest problem, but rather that it threatened to destroy their strategy. With enough miasma, there would be no more awakened, and even the existing ones were in danger of falling under its yoke again.

The lynx, which had retired to rest and regain strength, got up again, restless, while Goldmi suddenly felt the spirit was trembling, terrified.

“Pikgro… Are you okay? What’s happening?” she worried.

“T… They… It’s… They’re here…” he stammered while shuddering.