"Sir? Sir! Wake up!" came the muffled sound of a woman's voice. It had sounded oddly familiar, but I couldn't quite get my brain to register who's it was. The wake-up call wasn't for me, however, as I heard the light sound of shifting soon afterward.

"This had better be good," came the groggy reply, this time from a male-sounding voice. The sleepiness was quickly lifted after the female voice spoke only six words:

"We got a reading...It's alive."

"And you doubted me," I found myself thinking, feeling rather smug in my semi-conscious state, hearing a chair screech it's complaint against gravity as it slid a short distance across the floor.

"No foolin'? I don't believe it. That occult bastard did it...He actually played "God"."

"I'm right here, ass-hat," came my mental reply, the smugness that had taken hold replaced by the grumbling of my thought. Just who did he think he was, throwing something like that at me like I wasn't even there. The girl's voice broke that train of thought when she spoke up again, sounding a bit disheartened.

"Shame he's not here to witness this himself." I was about to say something in protest to the claim of my absence, but the guy's voice picked up before I could.

"Yeah...But, he just had to go and get himself killed, didn't he?" was what left the male's mouth, which cast a feeling of confused dread to wash over me.

"I'm...dead?" I thought to myself, the male carrying on with more gripes before the sounds cut out completely. I sat there, in silence, for what seemed like the longest time before sounds returned to me.

"Is it that surprising?" a voice called out, shattering the quiet with it's deep tone. "For every life that begins, so must it end; souls, eternally cycling through life and death, just as the seasons chase each other without end...That is the very essence of being." Before I had a chance to say anything, a massive white creature with tattered black wings appeared in front of me. "Come, you have been summoned to serve a higher purpose."

The trip had passed in an awkward silence, my mind trying to figure out exactly who would use Giratina, supposed gate-keeper to the underworld (or "afterlife", if you preferred) as a mere messenger boy and guide.

"Patience; you'll have your answers soon enough," his voice echoed. I could only issue out a meek nod before we stopped at the base of an all-too familiar landmass; Mt. Coronet. "Head up to the top of the mountain. From there, you will be guided to the one that calls for you. I, however, must return to my duties. May it be many years before we meet again," the Giratina instructed, ending with a slight but solemn bow before flickering out of sight.

The climb up the mountain had been less eventful then the journey toward it, though it still took several hours to reach the summit, a place called Spear Pillar. Imagine my surprise when I saw how flat the place was. Aside from the occasional column, Spear Pillar was very much level. Rather disappointing, as I had expected the name to be more fitting, especially due to the fact that it was the peak of the mountain that literally divided the Sinnoh Region in half.

As I began exploring the destination that Giratina had set for me, I took notice of the faint white outline of a staircase that led upward into the darkening twilight sky. Figuring that the said structure was what he was referring to, I took to its Ascension. The staircase seemed to continue on forever, climbing higher and higher into the heavens, with only a few steps of the clear staircase revealing themselves at a time. Stars were out and shinning in earnest as the half moon glowed without restraint by the time I had reached level ground, the sun having already given up its daily spot to shine on another part of the world. A dark cloud obscured my view ahead, but a gentle breeze was pushing it slowly out of my line of sight.

As the cloud pushed passed me, I became aware that I wasn't alone up here in the sky. The creature held itself up majestically on four legs, its body coated in white fur, contrasting it's black underbelly, and, while its light green face stood out quite a bit, its most noticeable and prominent feature was the large, golden ring that circled around its midsection. The regal air it gave off as it stared into my very being with its red eyes was unnerving. I almost broke out into a run to escape its piercing gaze, but the staircase had masked itself with the sky, and one false step would mean the end of me.

Finally, it broke its stare, allowing itself a small, knowing smirk before speaking, its speech graceful and direct. It said only three simple words, but no others were needed then: "I am God."