203 Wrapping up (1/2)

One minute she was fighting against Flora in the core ring of Hana's lost garden, and next thing she knows, she is sitting on a bench with a girl by her side while her aunt and Marcus were in a line to buy ice-cream from a food truck in the middle of a park.

”What the hell...??” she whispered.

She looked around and noticed that Daren and Lilith were on the other side sitting on an opposite bench with Lance in the middle.

On her left, Claire and Joseph were fighting and calling each other names while disturbing the people around them.

Detra was standing next to three other adults and chatting with them while looking a little grumpy, but somehow not as grumpy as the usual Detra. On a closer look, she realized that these people were her parents and her grandmother.

”What's going on...???” she whispered again.

”Ellie, which one you want??” Evlin asked making Ellie notice that they had reached the end of the line and it was already their turn.

”Wha...?” Ellie replied, still feeling lost.

”The flavor, Ellie... Which one do you want?”

”Oh...” Ellie didn't know what was happening so she just answered the question, ”vanilla... I think...”

”Ok, so it will be one of vanilla just like mine, a strawberry one for Marcus, and what about you shortie?” Evlin commented while picking her credit card.

Ellie wondered if she was dreaming. She was reunited with her whole family for the first time in ages and they were just enjoying a free day outside as if nothing bad ever happened. It felt like heaven.

”I will want one of brigadeiro...” the girl on Ellie's side answered, ”and please don't call me shortie, I'm sensitive about my height.”

Ellie felt like time had frozen. The girl's voice sounded strangely familiar. She turned her head and finally gave her a proper look. A kid about her height with chestnut skin, black hair tied up by ponytails, and wearing a red jacket over an orange shirt.

Evlin came over to deliver their cones, ”there you go, Mia!”

”Thanks!” Mia replied.

Ellie couldn't move. It was like someone just delivered her the best Christmas gift ever just to drop it on the ground, step on it, and burn it with a flamethrower.

”Here you go, Ellie!” her aunt said while she gave her vanilla ice-cream, but Ellie was so shocked she didn't even respond, ”Ellie...? Ellie! Ellie!!!”

The girl finally woke up from her dream to the sound of Marcus calling for her.

”ELLIE!!! Ellie are you awake!!??”

”Wha... Wha... What!!??” Ellie replied as she realized Marcus was carrying her on his back while they tried to run away from a crumbling mountain, ”what's happening!!?? Where are we??”

”We are in the core ring!! The garden's spirit was killed so now the entire forest is falling apart!! We need to leave!!” Marcus shouted.

While the two descended the mountain she could see the entire place being destroyed. The cursed energy that was feeding it for all these years was gone and now all the magic was vanishing from the place. Trees were falling down, the red smog was vanishing, the summoning spells were getting deactivated and the blue trees were returning to their original color.

”What happened to me??” she yelled.

”I don't know!! I just came to bring you back after I dropped Lilith and my mother outside and you were unconscious on top of the mountain! The second I grabbed you the place just began to shatter!”

Ellie tried to think of the last thing she remembered, before her weird ice-cream dream. She had found a way to access terminal energy and defeated Flora. She also remembers Flora tearing up as she realized she was about to die, which for a second made Ellie feel really guilty about her action.

She never really wanted to kill the forest's spirit, but she kept talking about how she would go on a rampage and start killing people just for the heck of it after she was done with Ellie and her friends.

At the same time, they were the ones that barged in, so in a way, she had the right to be angry at people.

”Ellie...?? Ellie, you ok??” Marcus asked after they finally reached the ground.

”I actually killed her... I killed someone...” Ellie whispered.

”Ellie...” Marcus was about to say something but the crumbling pieces of the mountain began to fall one after another and forced him to start moving again.

He started to look for one of the teleportation circles there were hidden underneath the ground and hoped that they still had enough magic to get them out of there before the entire mountain dropped on them.