Chapter 25: Prognostication of Peril

Throughout the desolate tunnel, inscriptions of unfamiliar Unown wrought perfectly into heavy stone bricks. Sylisa could not help but marvel at their intricacy and exquisiteness, at how well they were preserved in the ruins.

"If they're meant to be letters, the language is completely foreign." Syl traced the narrow grooves with her fingers. Groups of these Unown runes flowed like threads up the pillar, their pitch tapering, eventually passing beyond the column and onto the ancient ceiling. There, they crossed the trajectories of similar engravings, forming grand spirals of unlit eyes wrapped in mystery. "Something's bugging me." In a diffident voice, Sylisa articulated her unease: "Mira, if the ruins are as ancient as the 'mons we saw, could we be somewhere in the past?"

Unsparing in her aplomb, Mira vanished around a sharp corner, a light chirp resounding in response. Her lantern seemed to grow dimmer with each abrupt twist of the path.

"Hey!" Syl groaned in a displeased fashion. "When you don't use telepathy, I don't know what you're sayin', runt!"

The diminutive creature paused, whimsically adjusting her bow. "Time travel," she mused. Swiftly she spun to face her, a wry smirk on her pale face. "It's tedious to traverse a dimension touching all others. For someone as queasy as you, I'd stick to spatial planes."

"Quit being such a jerk!" Sylisa pouted, her stomach roiling from thoughts of Mira's teleporting power.

Simpering softly, Mira asked, "Why are you so distraught?"

"I guess, I didn't want to believe it. I pushed the idea off as crazy after the Eclipse, but coincidences kept piling up. Didn't help that I got headaches whenever I thought of the way things used to be. But seeing ancient 'mons and Unown in languages I've never heard of, it doesn't make sense how much everything changed in one night."

"Like what?" asked the pixie.

"Nia's a Sneasel. Capture balls – can't find 'em anywhere. Currency – silver coins. Old school kinda guap hasn't been dosh since before Pokéballs! Yet here it is, traded by florists and guilds who, by the way, don't know what a Pokéball is!" Sylisa pinched the bridge of her nose and growled. "There's one problem. A big one. If this is as far back in the past as I think it is, Nia would be old. Way old."

A look of intrigue dashed across her companion's face. "How old?"

"Too old for any Weavile." Syl shook her head, which had begun to throb from the pain of recollection. "See, long ago, like, before my parents were even born, was a global conflict called the Great War. Before then, the only way to carry 'mons around was the ultra-rare, hard-to-make Apricorn. Pokéball tech from the war changed all that. Sorta the way old radios got replaced by cell phones. Anyway, after the war, capture balls were, well, literally everywhere. 'Cos of the convenience, you'd find one in the hands of everybody. Everyone and everything revolves around it. It's how the Pokédollar – cost to make one – became a currency index," She made a fist with her hand, imagining the ubiquitous orb in her palm once more.

Mira wore an incredulous frown. "I've never heard of such a war."

"Didn't expect you to. What I'm sayin' is if balls haven't been invented, and no one's heard of the currency, maybe the Great War hasn't happened yet." She felt herself wince, as though she had taken some bitter medicine, a terrible feeling overwhelming her. "That'd make Nia like a grandma to me!" She pulled her chin back, revolted by the thought. "Gross!"

"Perhaps you should refrain from jumping so hastily to conclusions." Nonchalantly, Mira twirled back around, hopping atop a heap of bricks resembling steps lining the side of the narrow passageway. "I showed you how easy it is to fall for an illusion when your heart longs for an answer."

"I know, I know." She gave a strained sigh. "It just feels so wrong. Like I don't belong here."

"The wrongness – I feel the same way," replied Mira. "However, I also realize our sense of being in the wrong place, is just that, a feeling."

"Whaddya mean?"

"It's simple: We either take ownership of our feelings, or feelings take ownership of us." Mira resolutely continued forward, following a trail covered in Unown markings. "The only thing that matters is right in front of us."

"Yeah, that's more my kinda attitude." Ducking into a crouch to navigate a low part of the tunnel, Syl muttered under her breath, "So, how close?"

"Very." Ahead, Mira slipped past a partially collapsed portion of the tunnel. "This energy source, it feels very familiar. But, something's different. I feel a sense of impeding fulfillment, rather than doom."

"Doom?" she repeated, trying to catch up with her. "Oh, great. Just great. Fending off friggin' Killosaurs wasn't enough?"

"I think it involved the Black Star, you know, the one who follows the Eclipse," answered Mira. "There's something else, Sylisa. After I met you I remembered this place existed. Ever since then, it's like something was drawing me back here. I don't know whether it's malicious, but it's strong."

"Totally not ominous at all," she said sarcastically. Navigating the debris, Syl found herself in front of a grand stone door inscribed with more Unown runes. She softly whistled in awe of its towering size. "Wow…this… is what we gotta crack?"

"Beyond this is the Altar of Life in the Sea of Eyes. Just like I saw in my visions. We're so close, Sylisa. I felt it once, a powerful warmth that changed my world. My feelings are all jumbled now. I can't remember why I felt it or what it meant for me." Mira fidgeted, fretfully tilting her head toward the door. "I'm sorry."

"Who cares? It's got answers for both of us. Treasure too." Syl rubbed her fingers together. "Uhh, don't see a lock though."

There was a change in the tone of Mira's telepathy; her enunciation strengthened, she sounded more certain. "Breaking the door open is our path forward, that's the one thing I can be sure of."

"Sheesh. You're confident." Syl clicked her tongue and smirked. "Better than being scared, huh, runt?"

"I'm not scared," huffed the Kirlia.

"Nothing wrong with being scared of shitheads that wanna kill ya." Sylisa shrugged. "Almost died trying to get here. Turning back now'd be a huge frickin' waste, that's for sure. So, how we gonna break through?"

"Use your claws." Mira gestured to the Armadas. "Their strength will unseal the Vault's lock."

"The Sparkling Stone. Right." A faint glow of ruby light ran up her arm as she placed both hooks against the massive stone door. Using all her strength, she pulled her arms apart. And as she did so, she felt a surge of energy race across her skin. Over the sound of her heaving breaths the door began to separate. After the initial tug, an invisible chain reaction started. The weighty grinding of gears and the clicking of levers sent Syl recoiling back in surprise.

To her side, Mira silently bowed her head, her magic lantern's spark dwindling to the debility of a candle in a sea of darkness. As the light faded out, Mira wore a serene expression. "The rest is up to you," she said.

"Mira?" she asked, feeling tension in her brow.

From between Mira's horns, a psychic force manifested, creating a conic blast Sylisa could both see and feel. Mira's power, with all the strength of a raging bonfire, expanded outward colliding against the great door with a thunderous crackle. Whole slabs of stone split off like splinters. Dust from the edges buckling inward released a dense cloud of smoke.

Knocked on her rear from the energy wave, and coughing from debris, Sylisa rubbed her irritated eyes. "Hey! Runt! You okay?" she asked.

However, her lantern's gentle orange glow was gone. An ominous, deep red light came from within the narrow gap leading into the Vault, illuminating the vacant spot where Mira once stood.

"Mira!" Again, Syl called out to her in vain. She spun around, her heart pounding in fear of never escaping this crypt. Her hand reached out in an expecting fashion, her fingers grappling at the still air to determine if the fairy concealed herself behind another illusion. Her wrist wilted as the light danced along the leather of the Armadas. "Shit! She's gone!"

Bathed in the peculiar red light coming from the Vault, her treasure hunting device began to sparkle brightly.

"Huh?" This glow, it's just like before at the mansion! Clenching a fist, Sylisa steeled herself. Dammit! Maybe she 'ported inside. Better have. She's my ticket outta here.

She sprung through the small opening and into the chamber. Once inside, she looked around in amazement. The walls stretched impressively high. Large stone slabs atop wide columns were like treetop canopies above the sand floor. Beyond their shelter, the roof was covered in countless flickering lights. In the center of the room, she saw the ceiling held a red sphere so massive, only its lower hemisphere was visible. The domed chandelier produced dim ruby light.

This place gives me the creeps.

As she walked in from the perimeter, she saw the twinkling lights on the ceiling came from the eyes of countless Unown.

Oh wow! She caught her breath. They're just like stars… so many of them and they're so beautiful. Hey, I recognize those bright seven lights in that shape, seen them before late at night on walks with Nia. Looks exactly like Ursaring – the Great Bear in the sky! The Stargazers mapped out constellations using the Unown. She smiled excitedly. Where there's a map, there's gotta be treasure!

Tempering her desire to rush forward, Sylisa cautiously made her way toward the middle of the chamber. Along the way there were several trenches in the floor which she had to jump over. Each channel circled the red globe at different distances. Each contained a megalith, a set of carved columns dug into the trough, supporting platforms upon which huge smoothed spheres of granite rested. In the very center of the starry room, underneath the giant red dome, she saw metal partially buried in a pit, yet the slope obscured details. Whatever it was, the uncanny light shone directly upon it, creating a shimmering, inviting glow.

Looks promising, but I don't see Mira. I'm starting to get a little worried for the runt. Why'd she vanish after all that work getting here? She told me she'd kill for this treasure.

As she proceeded toward the crimson rays raining down upon the trove, Syl sensed she was not alone. Then she heard it: the garish sound of heels echoing from the direction where she entered.

Company. Sylisa slipped into the shadow beneath one of the slabs suspended between supports. I got a bad feeling about this. Her body pressed close against the cold stone column and she desperately fought to control her panicked breaths. No way those steps belong to Mira, too heavy.

"Why're you hiding?" said a youthful and bright voice. "I know you're there, Sylisa."

Her heart jumped. The female's voice was so familiar, yet she could not place it. She bit on her lip since words escaped her.

"What's wrong?" Her voice sounded slightly more mellow. "Did you forget me already?"

Sylisa deduced her voice was coming from somewhere higher in the room. Reluctantly, she croaked, "Who're you?"

A pair of tall, laced boots emerged from behind the largest of spherical rocks. Then her short skirt became visible in the chamber's dim light. Thick scarlet hair danced on her waistline as she sauntered along the platform.

"Tear!" Sylisa gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. The confusion and fear left her as soon as she locked eyes with her.

Reaching the edge, she beamed, gracefully dipping her western hat with slender fingertips. "Sylisa!" she called out in greeting.

"Dammit." Syl panted. "Scared the crap outta me."

"Sorry, didn't want to startle you, but had to let you know I was here." The young woman tried to force a smile, which came across as sheepish. "This was the only way I could think of."

Huh. She's all by herself, without her bruiser of a bodyguard. "Where's Warren?" asked Syl.

"Oh, the big guy?" Tear winked, fanning her face. "Still recovering."

Weird, wouldn't've expected him to let her out of his gray-eyed sight. "What about Kahlo? Did he come along?"

Scanning the vicinity, she exhaled a tentative "No."

Shoulda guessed it, Kahlo's a pro at running away. Still, something's weird. How'd she get past the monsters in the ruins? "Did something happen to your friends?" she asked. "Mienfoo's usually tailing you."

"The little scamp's a nuisance." She raised her chin. "What's it to you? Why do you care?"

"Hey, ya don't gotta get all feisty. Just wanted to thank him for saving us when the Onix attacked. Reckoned he helped you get here, coming here alone'd be a bad idea—" Syl quickly bit her tongue.

"Did you need help?" Tear toyed with a lock of her hair. "Strange, I don't see your pet cat."

"Hah, Nia's gettin' her beauty sleep," said Syl, brushing the question away. "Oh, yeah, weren't you filing a statement with the cops? How'd that go?"

Following a scoff, Tear replied, "After the earthquake, I made other plans. Couldn't resist when I saw the path opened to the ruins."

"Hm, why're you here?" demanded Sylisa.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tear massaged the back of her neck amid a stretch. "I love searching for treasure as much as you."

What shit luck. More competition. Now I got her and Mira as rivals for the loot. Trying to conceal a grimace, Syl replied, "Didn't take you for one of those."

"Tough not to be," she said with a mild laugh. "Orre is full of treasure."

"Yeah, but weren't ya hunting 'mons?" Syl tilted her head. "Y'know, the one of them who stole War's emotions, Sibyl, err, Sybil, was it? Any luck tryin' to catch that rotten Kirlia?"

Tear's lighthearted smile quickly evaporated into a scowl. "Say," she said in a serious voice, "did you meet another Kirlia?"

Mira? Syl hesitated to say her name. Why's Tear wanna know if I met her? Maybe 'cos Mira's a Child of the Eclipse. Still, I don't feel right ratting the lil squirt out. She made it clear she didn't attack Warren like Sybil did 'n I don't wanna deal with any more drama from the cowgirl.

Tear, keen to Syl's contemplation, leaned forward, perching both hands on her shapely hips. "She'd have a gold marking in her hair. Did you see her?"

"Naw," deflected Sylisa, fluffing her hair, "I'm the only one with one of those."

"Oh, don't be so sure," cautioned the girl dressed for a rodeo, "the past has seen many Eclipses."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see anyone down here, 'specially not you," replied Sylisa. "Know anything about this place?"

"Much more than you!" Tear puffed out her chest. "Which is why I'm curious: What brought you here?"

"Me? Doin' recon. Guild business 'n all," she lied.

"Don't be so obtuse. You're a treasure hunter." In a cheerful voice she conceded, "Well, you did get here first."

"Just so ya know, I ain't sharing the prize," she said gruffly.

"Fine by me," replied Tear, a content yet tight grin on her lips. "I've already got what I came here for."

What's she so smug about? Doesn't look like she's got anything.

"Well, hurry up," Tear gestured with a thumb to the illuminated lower half of the red dome in the middle of the ceiling. "There, in the center. From where you are, near Mars, simply follow the path toward the earth's moon, past earth, and straight to the sun."

"So these stones on the slabs are planets. And the red globe in the sky – err, ceiling – is supposed to be the sun?"

"Yeah," assured Tear. "This is a heliocentric model after all."

Doesn't look like the sun I know. Why's it a weird red color? Following the path Tear described, she walked along the sandy floor, passing the inner planets on her way to the center. Must've taken ages and a lot of skill to build. "For an ancient contraption, amazing how complex it is."

"The Stargazers of Centennial saw the future by using the Unown's special power over this orrery." Tear emphatically expressed her familiarity of the subject. "They knew they had to predict the Eclipse."

"Hm, looks broken to me," grumbled Sylisa.

"Indeed, time has stopped," replied Tear. "As predicted at the end of days."

Reaching the giant centerpiece, Syl's gaze traveled down to the pit beneath the fiery dome. Reflecting the sun's redness, steel-plated caskets glowed brightly like heated metal. Their lids had been pried off, tossed hastily to the side, revealing their vacant innards. Her breaths quickened. Those crates! "I've seen them before at the mansion!"

"A mansion—?" The pitch of Tear's voice rose, and her words trailed off. "So that's where—"

"They're all empty!" spat Syl. "What are you hiding!"

"Some things never remain hidden for too long." Tear spoke in a grave tone. "Look up."

"At the sun?" Internal alarms were going off inside her head, all of them telling her to turn away, to run from the blazing sun fire.

But she still looked.

Her eyes adjusted to the luminous globe, which, though warm and bright, it was nowhere near the same magnitude as the real sun.

And there, deep in the center core, she saw countless figures. Shadows in suspended animation, like sunspots, floating in the glowing pool.

"What the… are those… bodies?" Her knees felt weak. The closest to her was a human-looking figure. Green hair fluttered from her otherwise frozen head like a small cascade. At the core of her body, a vertical wound cut through her back. A rush of déjà vu overwhelmed her. "That's…! The hallucination from before!"

The scarlet-haired woman answered from afar, "Hallucination? No. It's quite real."

She looks like Mira all grown up. "Tear!" she yelled. "What is this?"

"This is the Stargazer's ancient orrery." She paused. "At its center, is the Altar of Life."

Mira told me to find the Altar of Life in the Sea of Eyes, this must be it! But what happened to her? What's her evolved form doing trapped inside the red sun? Syl studied it, watching many other creatures drifting within the giant sphere. "How'd they get stuck in there?" she asked breathlessly.

"To join the eternal," answered Tear solemnly, "that is the price."

Sylisa cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered "MIRA!" However, the suspended Gardevoir continued to drift aimlessly through the ether.

"Save your breath," replied Tear. "The flow of time has halted for those joined with the celestial."

"What the hell is going on? They're all lifeless shadows." Hanging her head low in defeat, she backed away from the trove below the crimson sun. "Why is this happening?"

From her perch next to Jupiter, Tear pointed to the stars on the ceiling. "It's the Unown. Since their procession through the heavens has ceased, so too has time."

"Time stopped 'cos of the Unown? How you know all this?!" demanded Sylisa.

Tear gave a light laugh, then lifted the brim of her hat, revealing she too had a streak of gold running through her hair. "I'm a Child of the Eclipse, just like you and oh so many others who made the journey here."

"Dead ass!" exclaimed Syl. "That's what you meant when you said there were many Eclipses in the past."

"Each Eclipse produces a Shade from beyond the Gate." Pointing to Mira's evolution in the swollen sun, Tear explained, "Every one of them is a Child of the Eclipse. However, there are only two Shades left capable of traversing time."

"So, these former Shades, they're stuck here, from other Eclipses, frozen in time—" Syl pointed straight up at the countless Unown stars covering the ceiling "—'cos they ain't moving?"

"Precisely."

Syl exhaled loudly. "Damn, well, how do we break 'em outta here?!"

Closing her eyes in thought, Tear shook her head. "There's nothing you can do. You're simply too weak."

Hearing Tear call her that pissed her off. "Excuse me?" Her hands squeezed into fists. "I brought you back to town safe 'n sound. Who do you think you are, calling me weak?"

"You can't change the heavens, dear." Tear gave a bitter laugh.

"Don't like your attitude." Syl cocked her head to the side. "Gonna make something real clear to you. I'm the reason you're here in the first place. The one who opened the path to the ruins – yeah, that was me 'n my friend. Capiche?"

"There's no need to swank." Tear rested a hand on her hip, bent her knee, relaxing her sole upon the giant stone globe next to her. "I know, I saw. Your piteously weak cat stole the guardian's Fire Seal. This is out of your league however."

The way she said that! Same as the voice in the Gully! No freaking way! SHE was the voice in my head!? "Was it you?" she asked in wide-eyed surprise. "Were you the one who got in my head?"

"Not just your head. The Commander as well. He fought for a cause, to eliminate the Shadows, spurred by a passion deep in his heart. Had the opposite effect as the martial artist, who lost his passions completely." While Tear studied Mira's evolution from afar, her burgundy nails danced on the planetary sphere next to her. "You see, she is the source of those powers."

"You stole Mira's evolution!" Tear's ability to steal a monster's power impressed the young thief. So much so, she started to feel dread she was outmatched.

"—Go on," interjected Tear in a soft voice, "you've almost figured it out."

Despite her diminished bravado, Sylisa maintained a sharp focus. "The REAL Tear was on to you. She told me: a lookalike Kirlia used her powers on Warren. You got the same power, makes you the imposter. You're the shapeshifting witch!"

"People these days—" she smoothed her skirt with a brush of one hand and tossed her hat away with the other "—rarely judge by deeds, instead look only to appearance."

"Don't give me that shit, you fraud!" snapped Syl. "You're the body-snatching, evil witch. Got the whole town scared of you, but, it's your piss-poor luck, I ain't from around here."

"If I'm an evil witch, why haven't I slaughtered you?" questioned Tear. "Could it be, perhaps, I wish to help you."

Syl scoffed. "Nice try – not falling for it. Witches 'n mindfuckers, nothin' but bad news."

"You made the choice to stay here, Shade. Every misfortune that follows is yours to blame. Yet, it doesn't have to be this way. I'm offering you release from the struggle of our kind." The woman placed her palm on Jupiter's visage, and suddenly waves of mystical energy formed ripples on the granite. A fiery redness swirled beneath where her hand lay.

What's she doing?!

Somehow Tear pried a fist-sized object out of the solid globe. After she heaved it free from the red spot, she became veiled in a heat haze. The clouds of distortion darkened, engulfing her in a familiar murk.

"You gotta be kidding!" Sylisa's heart sunk, recognizing the Shadow Aura. "Shoulda known a witch would have her friggin' spells."

"It's no trick. You can see it, plain as day—" Tear's outline radiated from within the dark mist like a bright cocoon "—My Aura of Night."

"Geez. Seen Shadow 'mons, but never a person bending it to their will," said Syl, thinking: Could it be the Night's Blight?

The nebula around Tear expanded, evaporating into thin mist. Small puddles of dark oil from the cloud pooled on her bare skin, forming a coat of ebony around her svelte body. Her crimson hair soared behind her like a thick mane. A nocturnal phosphorescent green glow reflected from her irises. Suddenly, the miasma around her vivified, becoming as dazzling as the midday sun.

"What the fuc—!" Syl covered her eyes from the flash, which illuminated the room. After the radiance subsided, she cowered in fright. Is she even human?

Still lustrous with power, the red and black figure tilted her head, casting ghostly shadows on the planetary sphere behind her. Surrounded by shadow and light, she professed, "I am the Black Star."

"The Calamity…! It's you!"

"This power we share—" she extended her dusky arm, revealing a brilliant gem in her hand "—is born of the Chromatic One."

Sylisa gasped. That's from the mansion! Shit! She's got my missing treasure!

The shadow aura around the witch faded. She returned to a vaguely human form resembling Tear, but with darker and wilder features than the young explorer being impersonated. "Our power comes from the same source," she explained. "The Chromatic One's crystals, the Seals you place upon your wrist's Sparkling Stone, create spiritual connections, bridges that become visible from the Heaven's Light."

"Bridges?" Recalling what Daphne told her, Sylisa peered down at the slot on her Armadas where she tried to place the Fire Seal. "When I connect with her, it makes the Sparkling Stone shine."

"Yes. You understand, and without the need for telepathy. That means the power of the Seal still works," she said cryptically.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Hollow Crystal, the Dark Seal—" she gestured to her wrist "—is in your possession."

"On the Armadas?" Syl's fingers pressed against the smooth surface. Although transparent, it felt like polished quartz. So that's why the Fire Seal didn't fit, there's already something there. "A…Dark Seal?"

"Armadas, Arm-a-Das, Arm-of-Dark," reiterated the witch. "Whoever named it left a clue to its power."

"Mathias… Why the hell didn't you tell me its secret was the Dark Seal?" She cursed in frustration, she was more upset at herself for not figuring it out than her mentor.

"Like the Dragon Speaker, your ability to communicate using the Seals breeds envy. Lodges of Scholars, secret societies, worked tirelessly to forge imitation bonds, chains crafted of Sparkling Stone, in hopes to mimic the power of the Chromatic One." She gave a long-suffering sigh. "As you can probably guess, none are as prolific a connection. The Seals of the Chromatic One are the source of Mutual Resonance, or, to put it bluntly, your proclivity to speak to monsters."

"You're wrong!" snapped Sylisa. "Me 'n Nia were always able to talk! Long before we had the Armadas to help us fight!"

"She lied to you. Made you think you had a special bond with her and only her. The truth is: She possessed the Dark Seal before it was set in the Stone. Her jealousy, possessiveness, caused her to hide the Dark Seal."

"You don't know jack shit!" Sylisa shook her head. "We're best friends, I'll always trust her."

"Best friends, huh?" Tear's darkened hand grasped the precious gem. "Aren't best friends supposed to share their deepest secrets? After all, you're able to understand the type related to the Seal."

Doubt began to creep through Syl's mind. Why wouldn't Nia tell me? "The Seal's a bridge when combined with the Stone, so I could learn to understand other monsters in sync with the Seal?"

The witch brushed her hand through her hair. "Didn't you find it strange how the dark types you met in town all had a way of disappearing before you got to know them? For instance: the bartender hid his Meowth, replaced him with a cat who lacked capacity for Mutual Resonance with the Dark Seal."

"What?!" Her jaw dropped. "So that's what happened to Murmur."

"I tried to be discrete, to prevent you from exposing the Dark Seal's power." Tear dipped her head. "In that regard, we shared a common goal. I sought to prevent you from causing a scene – and meeting the same grisly fate as the Dragon Speaker."

A haunting memory of the small corpse in the bandit's cave made her tense up. "The kid who spoke to dragons was murdered and caused his friend to go berserk! Such cruelty…all because he could use the Seal's power."

"All life is cruel – person or monster, it makes no difference – they'll lash out and destroy what they don't understand," insisted the witch.

"You're wrong. Not everyone's cruel. There's good 'n bad in everybody."

"Must be nice, living in an illusion." Tear guffawed. "But, I digress. Dragons carry in their bloodlines knowledge of antiquity, they're extraordinary long-lived species. Yet, without the Dragon Speaker, the town's connection to the Unown and their Gateway leading to other realms remains a secret."

"Other realms – like, where I'm from, right?" asked Syl, thinking of Unova and the more advanced Orre region she visited before the night of the heist.

"Correct. Unown gathered beneath the Eclipse expose the heavenly Gateway. That Gate relies on the twin Dragons of Dimensions, Time and Space, the Dragons of Form, Truth and Ideal, and the heavenly lights, Sun and Moon, Day and Night, Dawn and Dusk, which guide the way between worlds. However, the price to traverse the Gateway is something precious: memories, or even an evolution. Some from other worlds call these dimensional travelers Fallers." Tear's voice became softer. "Your best friend shielded you from the Gateway's toll at cost to herself."

"Nia saved my ass, what else is new?" she muttered.

"She saved your memories, however you're still a Shade from another world." The sorceress ran a hand through her red and black hair. "Your Marking from traversing the Gateway, it's a sign, to those of esoteric persuasion, that you don't wholly belong in this world. Means you're living on borrowed time."

"Knew something was weird about it." Sylisa shrugged. "Guess I'll get Nia to snip it off. No biggie. Hair grows back quick."

"Your otherworldliness will manifest in another way," she said, unamused. "You'd stand out even more."

"Jackasses." Her stance wilted. "Hate standing out."

"Shades are invaders by their nature. Viruses to the world they fall into. The immunity of the world purges Shades after one month, on the night of the new moon following the Eclipse you arrived by." She looked dead serious. "Even if it means the destruction of the entire city in which you seek refuge."

"That what happened to the Stargazers?" wondered Syl.

She nodded. "All that's left are their ruins. As fate would have it, these ruins are all that's needed to prevent the catastrophe from happening again."

"Yeah, but you're the Black Star who brought about the calamity! Haven't you heard your own legend?"

"My appearance in the old stories is, rather unfortunately, associated with malady and misfortune due to an imbalance of two forms of energy: My Aura of Night, and the Seals producing Heaven's Light. These two forces are opposite charges, tugging on different poles of the Chromatic One's power. When a Shade falls though the Dimensional Gate, she upsets that balance. Much more so when she brings with her artifacts of her home world." The witch acknowledged the Mirari in her hand.

Crap, that's what's got everything screwed up. Heaven's Light and her Night's Blight are at odds. "If it's the Blight… I mean, your Aura of Night, why can't you stop the Shadow Aura from infecting other 'mons?"

She glared at Sylisa. "The rapid changes in the world, the longer Nights, the spreading Blights, these are the immunity I spoke of, which will ultimately lead to your end. My Shadow Aura is a barrier force between monsters and humans – the necessary opposite of the power of bonds releasing Heaven's Light. I cannot change its nature, nor its effect on a weaker monster going insane from being unable to adapt to the shifting of source – drawing on a void instead of across a bridge."

"Think I get it." She scratched her head. "Why not give me back my treasure if it's causing all this chaos? Then I can go home through the Unown Gate, 'n it'll be like none of this happened."

The witch smiled, bearing quite sharp teeth. "You wouldn't dare leave your best friend behind."

Was worth a try. "Well, what about the other Shades?" She pointed at Mira's evolution. "Why're they still here, if they cause unbalance to the world just by existing?"

"As I told you before, Time has halted in this vault." Gradually, she waved her arm palm up at the stationary model of the solar system. "In this sacred grove, the death and rising of the new moon, the ensuing destruction to purge the Shade, none of it arrives. Here, we stand at the end of existence. Still, more Eclipses occur beyond these hallowed walls, bringing with them fascinating Shades. There's much to learn from other realms… especially yours."

The witch is like a warden. Sylisa felt a knot in her throat, thinking of how Mira managed to escape the stellar prison in her Kirlia form. "What if they try to leave?"

Her big smile disappeared slower than normal. "You'd be surprised how quickly people in the town forget strange visitors from other worlds."

"Not really, 'specially with a shapeshifter in their midst," countered Syl.

The witch's eyes narrowed. "Once the imbalance is quelled, people go back to leading petty lives, unaware their existence teeters on the brink of extinction every Eclipse. In any event, Shades here are invisible to the outside world."

She's wrong. Mira managed to get away. I saw her with my own eyes. Maybe no one else ever did, but I sure as hell did. Sure, she was weak and didn't remember her past, but she did help me get here. Just like Nia, she didn't give up – even in a weaker body.

"I can sense you're tired." The enchantress sighed. "You've suffered enough, as a Shade who's sacrifice was someone they love."

"Nia…" she whispered, a pang of guilt in her heart.

"We need each other," said the voice of Calamity. "I need knowledge of the world you came from. You need me to guard you from the devastation that awaits the bearer of the Shade's Marking. Most importantly, this world needs us to save it from—"

"—Why!" spat Syl. "Why should I give a damn about this world! If I can't save Nia, it's pointless!"

"You still can," said the murky figure. "But not on your own."

Sylisa bit her lip. "Since I'm a Shade from another world, that'd make me your next target. You'd want to lock me up in this prison too."

"It's not like that. Think of your deepest desire. Imagine it being forever, with no chance of it ever being taken from you. Don't you realize this gift is what I'm offering in return? How can that be anything but a heaven?"

Dark waterfalls resembling thick, bubbling oil poured down from where the Calamity stood. A pitch-black cloud formed above the boiling miasma. As the mist cleared, bellow the pedestals, she saw her best friend.

Sylisa exclaimed, "You wench! You can't have her!"

"SYL!" The Weavile's feathers bristled and she ran toward her. "It's me!"

"No!" Syl jumped back, placing her blades in front of her body. "Stay back!"

The feline paused, her claws sunk into the sand beneath her. "Syl, what's wrong?" She shook her head, a morose look on her face. "Why're you angry?"

"It's not you!" she belted. "You're that witch's illusion."

"What're you saying? It's me, Syl!" Her friend shivered, feathers wilting. "Stop acting like you don't know me, you're scaring me."

"You're a fake…" Sylisa realized her eyes were starting to tear, her words became uneven and torn. "You're not…not the real Nia…"

"Syl, please, don't say that." Weavile winced, her feathers wilting in dejection. "Would a fake remember all the days we spent together? What about our little apartment? The fair in the city, the pictures we took. The silly face I made. It was always so embarrassing." Her cheeks flushed. "I miss those days now more than ever."

Flashbacks of the past stormed her mind. Sylisa felt ice in her veins. How could she know those things?

"Syl, you know I love going on heists together. But, the truth is: I love being with you more than any treasure." Weavile purred, springing lively to her feet. "Our last one was our greatest yet. You know why? It gave us a chance to be together forever!"

Sylisa's muscles went limp, her posture collapsed. Fallen on her knees, she wanted nothing more than to hold Nia in her arms. She sniffed. "N-No…Nia, I don't believe it."

"Please, Syl! You have to believe me! I don't want to be alone! I don't want to forget who I am! I don't want to forget us!" Weavile shook her head in dismay and clasped her claws together. "Sacrificing me, for a weakened Sneasel – a shadow of myself who's lost her memories? As your best friend, I'm begging you to understand!"

"Nia doesn't think like that! She's brave, cunning! Her hopes for the future are mine too. There has to be another way!" hollered Sylisa.

"You're wrong Syl!" Her feathery collar reddened. "You're always so childish! Never see when you're wrong. Always rely on me to get you out of a jam. Don't you get it?! It's your turn to save me! This heaven is a place where we can be together forever. We can save the world, prevent the calamity, and be together! Like we always were!"

"Like…we always were?" The nostalgic dreams of returning home with her friend at last were too much for her. She broke down, defeated by a yearning for the home she recalled, yet couldn't exist without her best friend.

"Syl, can we go back to the way things were before all this happened? Isn't this why we fought so hard? The reason you never gave up on me! Why I sacrificed everything for you!" Weavile reached her paws out, prostrating herself. "SO WE COULD BE TOGETHER AGAIN!"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Sylisa, wiping away tears. She felt powerless, hopeless in the face of monsters and destruction beyond comprehension. But she was certain of one thing: she was not content with a delusion of her best friend. Just like before with Mira's deception, as much as it pained her, she had to reject the ghost of the past. Had she not met Mira, it might have been impossible to reject the witch's ensnaring spell. It still crushed her spirit, because she was refusing Nia's cherished memories this time. Emotionally spent, her body racked from exhaustion to the point of shaking, Sylisa closed her weeping eyes.

"Syl…"

"SHUT UP!"

I made my choice out of love for Nia.

"Syl…"

"SHUT UP!"

My love won't let anything replace her.

"Syl?"

Sylisa snapped open her eyes. Through the fleeting mist of her sentiments, she saw a familiar black haze surrounding her best friend.

I ain't fallin' for your lies, bitch.

"Nia needs me!" Sylisa stood up, straightened her back, and crossed her blades. "This charade, this twisted system, this prison of the past – Whatever the hell you wanna call it! – it ain't a heaven for me."

The doppelganger silently leered, her sharp, predatory gaze fixated on the floating sacrifices in the center of the orrery.

A cool breeze blew against Syl's back, ruffling her hair. For the first time she felt like everything was going to be alright. She took a deep breath, summoning defiant willpower from her heart, squaring her shoulders. "We're gonna slice our way through you and your fucking illusions!"