449 Erika's Rebirth
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With both Alchemy Spirits being defeated, the last one quickly emerged. It wasn’t the strongest, however, and it didn’t even seemed to hold animosity. It was a beautiful woman with a body covered on leaves and roots, her eyes shone bright gold and her long hair was covered by colorful flowers.
It was the Dryad which the Spirit Orb belonged from.
“I remember when Ellergest told me he would use the Spirit Orb I would gift to him to give a new life to an innocent soul.” She said. “So it is happening now…”
“Y-You’re the Dryad?!” Asked Erika’s father.
“You’re Ellergest’s friend?” She asked. “I suppose the beautiful soul here is your daughter’s, isn’t it?”
“Yes… Y-You’re not going to fight?” Erika’s father asked.
“I don’t desire to fight. However, I have come to see the world one last time. I wanted to see everyone’s faces; my last fragments of consciousness are going away now.” She sighed. “Is Ellergest okay? Has he found what he sought after for so long?”
“He’s… He died.” I said to the Dryad, as she looked at me and nodded.
“I see…” She sighed.
“But I think… he found something.” Elizabeth said. “He found… someone he cared for long ago, his old friend. And decided to go with him.”
The Dryad sensed within Elizabeth the energy of Ellergest, as she was surprised of the little girl’s surprisingly familiar aura.
“I see… So that’s how it was.” She sighed with a smile, glancing at each one of us. “Are you the daughter he always wanted to have?”
“Me?” Elizabeth asked. “Yeah… Were you and papa good friends?”
“Yes, he was my other half.” The Dryad sighed. “It pained me to think that we meet each other when we were both already at the end of our lives… I wish… I could had stayed a bit longer with him.”
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“You’re his precious daughter, and I can sense you’ve inherited his strength and will. Please, take care. I will now go. I shall sacrifice the last bits of my existence to let that young and innocent soul be reborn…” The Dryad said.
“I am sorry for asking you something like this…” Erika’s father said. “I didn’t knew you were still… Somewhat alive…”
“No, I am long dead. What I am now is merely a remnant of a memory… My last will.” The Dryad said. “And quite honestly, it couldn’t be better to give my last strength to save the life of someone that deserves a second chance.”
As she was slowly beginning to dissipate, I couldn’t contain myself and asked her something.
“Dryad, do you know a path that could lead us to the forest where you came from?” I asked.
“The forest…” She said. “Follow the East Wind and cross the Black Sea. You’ll be guided by the Spirits of the world if you’re someone that deserves to meet us, if not, you will be lost. You’re an interesting soul…” She suddenly whispered to me. “In fact, I can even sense your true age, you’re truly an old monster, are you not?”
“Heh, so a Dryad can see through my Soul’s Age…” I whispered to her.
“We all can. To us, there are no secrets.” She said. “But I can tell you’re someone that is responsible for his people. I wouldn’t call you a righteous person, but you’re good in your own ways… Take care of this girl, she’s deeply in love with you and only wants to spend the rest of her life at your side.”
“Erika…” I sighed. “I understand.”
“Hm.” The Dryad nodded, her last bits slowly dissolving into essence. “You’re an honest man, I can see you don’t lie… Goodbye.”
FLAAASH!
As her last essence dissipated, she completely merged with the Cauldron’s contents, converging all materials within, the purest essence of spirits emerged, shaping itself and materializing. The Synthesis was done, and now, what we created was beginning to take shape.
“T-Those are roots?!” Eric wondered.
“A tree?” Elizabeth asked.
“This is…!?” Erika’s father was also surprised.
“Don’t worry, it is working.” I reassured them, as the roots quickly grew out of the cauldron, growing into strong wood and branches spreading upwards. Leaves emerged everywhere, and countless of beautiful flowers.
However, one of such flowers was the biggest, growing with a disproportionate size and then closing, forming into a small fruit that grew bigger and bigger, so big, and heavy that it made the plant’s entire trunk bend down.
It was a beautiful red fruit shining brightly with spiritual essence, it had a big size, surpassing all of us. And something from within emerged, a seed, which slowly began to grow larger and larger, from a fetus to a baby, a toddler, and a beautiful young girl.
Crash!
And then, her hands ripped out the fruit’s exterior, sweet fruit juices poured out and filled the entire room with a citric and sweet aroma. And from within the fruit, a beautiful girl emerged. It was Erika, yet she was so different and at the same time, so recognizable that it gave all of us a different feeling.
The aura she emanated was filled with life and nature elements, but deep within, there was also a new draconic fierceness hidden. Her skin was pale white, but alive, not just wood, but flesh and skin. She had bones now, real eyes, beautiful pink hair growing out of her head, so long she really would need a haircut if she wanted to continue fighting using a sword.
As her eyes opened, a flash of green and golden light emerged. Her two eyes turned monochromatic. One was gold and the other green, I could notice the green eye held within a jewel, it was formed from the crystallization of all essences. The other golden eye also had a jewel, gold with a deep red in its interior.
“Welcome back, Erika.”
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