Hi there! It looks like you're interested in this story, huh? My name is miriui, but feel free to call me by miri!

Welcome to the first chapter of Shadows of Almia: The Three Gifts! This is the edited version of Chapter 1, renewed to my current writing style. The story has changed quite significantly, thus I needed to delete all the chapters and start anew.

I tend not to update quite often, as I am busy and have other things to worry about as well. However, I do not plan on giving up on this story! Whether it takes me a year or five, I will finish this story. I hope you will stick with me to the end!

Also, I won't have many author notes unless I have something to say, so feel free to ignore them and continue on with the story!

DISCLAIMER: miriui does not own Pokemon.

Chapter 1: Prologue

Kate's POV

Throughout history, the gifts were known as legends, objects created by Arceus to maintain the balance of our world. The names of the gifts were familiar to all: the gift of light, the gift of darkness, and the gift of nature. The gift of light represented hope and the gift of darkness represented chaos. Neither could go without the other, as there must be an equal amount of good and evil in the world to maintain balance. But the true balance lied within the gift of nature, protecting the flora and fauna, both Pokemon and nature alike.

They were unobtainable. Everyone knew the gifts had a physical form, but nobody knew where they were. Thus, nobody could protect them. In a way, it had been a good thing. If the gifts had a physical form, the gifts could be controlled. And if the gifts could be controlled, humans could control the fate of their world.

Nevertheless, Arceus believed they would not be able to find the location. Hidden deep within a temple buried underground, it ensured they were protected. But he never realized the potential of human curiosity and determination. Once the humans found the gifts' location... there was no hope.

Greed had overtaken them.

An all out war between the regions ensued, bringing forth chaos and animosity. The regions that had once gotten along fought over the one thing that was never to be touched. They were power-hungry fools who wanted power and control. To them, the gifts were only a tool to becoming godlike.

Truly, mankind were the unwise. Unable to watch this war any further, Arceus appeared in the midst of the war, enraged with the betrayal of the humans. "I gave you the gifts to keep this planet alive," the god's eyes were filled with anger and hatred. "And yet you thought you could overthrow me?! Foolish humans, if trust is something you do not possess, you are not worthy of keeping the gifts in your possession!"

As soon as Arceus took back the gifts, the war ended. There was nothing worth fighting for. But little did they know, the humans were oblivious to the crumbling world in front of their eyes. The gifts maintained ultimate balance, and without their presence, the world had started to die off.

Arceus knew he had to do something.

Even with a lack of trust for humanity, he chose to embed the gifts within humans. They were entrusted with the duty to maintain balance in the world without revealing their prowess to the world.

As centuries passed, Arceus continued to transfer the gifts from human to human, extracting the gift from them before they passed away and embedding it into another newborn. It was a cycle that would continue to repeat on for the existence of mankind.

Some still believe the gifts are out there, in another form, in another place. But nobody ever realized that a human would be able to possess such power. The prophecy states that on the day of black tears, the gift of darkness will shroud the world in eternal darkness, and only the gift of light will be able to prevent the destruction. Only then will the gifts be revealed to humanity once again.

I've always thought my gift as a curse. My home, Summerland, was filled with people who despised my very existence, because of what I possessed within me. In reality, I was safe here, as nobody would dare tell others of my existence. Even so, I hated my life here.

"You're a monster!"

"No one will like some freak like you."

"Get out!"

"Leave us alone!"

"You never belonged here anyways."

There was really only one person who cared for me. But I always thought the only reason she cared was because she understood how I felt. There was a part of the gift of nature inside of her, the gift of summer to be precise. Ironically, her name was also Summer, Summer Minami. Her life in Summerland wasn't much different, but it was certainly wasn't as bad as my life.

I always thought of my gift as a curse, but what was I to do about it? I am the current carrier of the gift of darkness, it was my destiny to carry out the prophecy. My name is Katherine Hitomi, the girl who will bring forth destruction on the day of black tears. And that's why...

You should all stay away from me.