Glace sat in the corner of a desolate chamber within Jera's cavern. She wasn't sure what the chamber's function was supposed to be, given that only a vast emptiness kept the Weavile company, but she was thankful for the quiet. She didn't want any of Jera's children to find her, nor the other caregivers. Of course, considering how there was no light in the room, Glace imagined they wouldn't be able to find her anyway if they came into the chamber. None of them were dark-types, and she wasn't sure what Pokémon had night vision that weren't dark-types.
Jera's going to be okay, Glace. The places you gave her shouldn't be too bad for her. I mean, she got that portal going pretty quickly, so that's a good sign.
I hope nothing is too difficult for Jera. I still can't help but think she might have been better off if she had been assimilated, especially when she's an Octillery and can't really move around on land as well as me.
I think she'll manage. She wouldn't have volunteered if she didn't think she was capable.
I just hope you didn't give her a fragment that lives in a desert… or somewhere with monsters that'll kill her instantly.
I don't think any of the fragments live in places like that. Well, I guess except my dimension, but there were some ways to stay away from the monsters in my dimension.
Reassuring.
Aw, don't be like that, Glace. She'll be fine. But hey, I bet Yore is happy to know that both of those fragments were boys. Remember how he was panicking over how we all seemed to be girls and he was the only boy? Aren't you relieved to know that there really are other boy fragments, Yore?
Yore didn't respond. Glace felt something shifting in her mind as something seemed to weigh down her heart.
Hey Yore, you there? You're being way more quiet than usual.
Huh? Oh sorry; I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?
I was asking if you were relieved to know that there are other boy fragments like you. Remember how you were getting all worried that we were all girls except you?
You already told me that there were other boys after that happened and I believed you from the start. There was nothing to be relieved of when so.
Oh.
The heavy feeling in Glace's chest only grew. Now Glace was no longer sitting in the cavern. She was now standing inside of the Guard Guild, facing a Haxorus behind a counter. He had just finished glancing through the list of Pokémon Glace allowed into Lilac City. He smiled at her, giving her the warmest of gazes. She could see that through his rugged exterior, he truly was quite pleased and ever grateful to have Glace in his company.
"You're the best sentry we could ever have, Patience. I don't know what we'd do without you."
Glace blinked, and she was back in the cavern, surrounded by the lonely darkness she craved. The Weavile quickly grabbed at her face, pushing her claws against her mouth, her nose, the gem on her forehead, and the feathers protruding out of her scalp. Yes, she was most definitely a Weavile again. She wasn't small and winged anymore.
She wasn't one of her other selves anymore.
This couldn't happen again. She couldn't live through something as heart-wrenching as that ever again. She could still feel the lingering pain of a broken heart after what had happened with Sonata's memories.
Oh, you saw that, Glace.
This time, Glace was the one to remain quiet. She didn't know how she even wanted to phrase her thoughts on this uncomfortable and invasive subject.
What did Glace see?
A memory of my supervisor. A memory that's... bothering me, due to recent events.
Whatcha talking about?
Jera made sure she provided her loved ones closure before she left them. Though it was painful, she said her goodbyes so that no one would have to worry about her and resolved any issues her absence might bring. I never did that. Though I have loved ones in my own dimension as well, I never told them I was leaving. I didn't tell my guild that I would be leaving either. I simply… disappeared.
Oh, I get it now. Well, I think they'll understand that you had to leave. I mean, you're a grown bird; you have the right to do whatever you want. If you don't want to stay somewhere anymore, you don't have to. That's one of the great joys of being a flying-type.
Sorry, but that's a myth. Having domain over the sky doesn't automatically grant me the freedom to do as I please. And even if I did, that doesn't excuse the fact that everyone is probably worried sick about me. I abandoned everyone and now they're all desperately filling in the hole I left behind.
We all had to leave, Yore. Glace had to leave behind her dojo life, Jera had to leave behind all her children, and I had to leave behind Downfall… none of us wanted to do any of that.
I know… I know. I know we didn't have a choice. I know we have to stop the dimensions from falling apart. I know that I was never meant to stay in my dimension for the rest of my life. But my guild… I can't help but wonder how they are doing and if I somehow destroyed them through my departure.
A gloomy silence filled Glace's mind. The Weavile held herself as the cavern around her warped and became hazy. She focused deeply on the uncomfortable rock beneath her and how much she wanted to sit in some snow instead, but it didn't stop her world from changing. She could see the cavern turning into the odd place with the ethereal lights where Sonata would always talk to Downfall. She could already see the divine leader, in all of his grand wonder and fortitude, forming before her. But Glace saw something else as well. As the Suicune slowly manifested itself before her, Yore's guild grew around them, and out of Downfall were many Pokémon Glace knew to be other members of the guild. She could see both of these at once; the meeting spot Sonata always met Downfall in and Yore's workplace. They blended into her reality, two wistful memories at once, both of them wanting her undivided attention.
No, this couldn't happen again. She couldn't be her other selves again. She couldn't live through their memories and their pain. Especially not the pain. That pain, that pain which destroys you from the inside out, never faltering in its strength no matter how many tears you cry or how loudly you wail. That pain which throws you into the darkness you always hide from, that darkness that rips you apart little by little until you're nothing but an empty shell.
How about we go back to your dimension after we get one more fragment, Yore?
Something seeped into the melancholy atmosphere, driving away the impending pain and replacing it with the hope that anything was possible, no matter how ludicrous it seemed.
What are you talking about, Glace? We can't take Yore back to his dimension! We have to keep finding the others. Besides, he's you now. I don't really think you can un-assimilate him.
I know that. What I'm trying to say is, maybe we can go to his dimension for a short time so that he can see his guild. We can give him closure. We can do that for you too, if you want, Sonata. We can make sure that Downfall is doing fine without you.
Would you really do that, Glace? Would you really bring me back to my dimension?
Yeah, I would. If it makes the two of you happier, I would.
... It would make me happier, yes. And it would help me undoubtedly, maybe even more than you can understand.
Alright. We'll go after we find our next fragment. Does that sound fine with you, Sonata?
Well it's just for a short while, so I don't see why not. We don't always have to be looking for the others, I guess. But… I don't want to see Downfall. I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to have to say no to that.
Alright.
Yeah, because I mean, if I go see him, I'm probably never going to want to leave. I'm not as strong as you guys might think I am and-
It's alright, Sonata. You don't need to explain yourself. But if you change your mind, you can tell me and we'll go visit him.
Okay… I'll keep that in mind. But for now, just don't go back to my dimension. We can go to Yore's, but please-
I know. I won't go to your dimension.
Okay. Alright.
Glace could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Or rather, she could feel Sonata's heart beating so roughly in her chest. She could almost visualize the Noivern fluttering her wings about or maybe wrapping them around her body like she did when they first met as separate beings. Glace couldn't blame Sonata for her reaction. Downfall had been a very special Pokémon to Sonata after all. To leave someone like that, even if you knew it was the right thing to do, that required a strength very few Pokémon had. It required even more strength to tell that someone directly why you had to leave. Glace didn't think she knew anybody that had that kind of power in them. For all of the Weavile that she knew and admired, she didn't think a single one could leave everything they cared about behind in order to save them.
Maybe Sonata was a bit of a quirky Pokémon, outspoken and driven to a fault even, but she was undeniably a strong Pokémon. Glace finally realized that now. After everything between them, Glace finally realized that through the memories she was forced to live through. And yet, Sonata was right; she wasn't strong enough to face Downfall again. She wasn't strong enough to leave him twice.
But maybe Yore was. Maybe Yore could leave behind his dimension twice. She sincerely hoped he was, otherwise she might have done more harm than good by making her suggestion.
Whatever would happen, Glace knew she couldn't think about it now. She knew the three of them had yet another fragment to find before she could bring Yore back to his dimension. There was no reason to fret over Yore's dimension when she had something else she needed to do. She didn't need to worry over Jera either. Jera was a strong Pokémon just like Sonata. She would be fine.
All of the fragments were strong Pokémon capable of achieving their goals and overcoming hardships.
I'm ready to go now, Sonata. Where is our next fragment?
Ah, about time. Was wondering how long we'd stay here. Let's see… well, there's one that I think might be interesting and maybe easy to get. But from what I got about her, she seems really weird.
What do you mean by that?
Well what I know about her is kind of vague, but it's like… she's not really alive? She's "dead" but not really? I really don't know how to describe it.
Do you mean that she's a ghost Pokémon?
Well technically? She's a Sableye, but she just looks like one. She's not actually a Sableye on the inside.
Are we not the same? I only appear as a Tranquil, and you two only appear as a Noivern and Weavile. On the inside, we are all Keeper of Realms.
Yeah, I know that, but… Arceus, how do I explain this? It's like she's an actual ghost, like a dead Pokémon, but she can still "die" if she doesn't eat? That's what I get out of all of the vague information I have on her. I really don't get what she is. I mean, I don't know a whole lot about any of the fragments, but she's the one I don't understand the most. I just know that she's not like the rest of us. She's different.
Then why do you want to go after her now and not save her for later?
Because I have this impression that she's not really connected to anything in her dimension. When I think about Ker, I feel this… darkness. Like this apathetic darkness that doesn't care about anything. So if she's not really connected to anything in her dimension, maybe she'd be more willing to come with us.
It doesn't necessarily mean that though.
I know it doesn't, but it can't hurt to get Ker next, can it? We have to get her sometime, so might as well be now.
Maybe. But fine, we can get Ker. I don't see why we can't. How do we get to her?
Ummmmm… with that tear! Actually, you know what? I'm going to see if I can just show you them instead. Close your eyes and focus for a minute or two.
Glace closed her eyes and focusing on the infinite tears cutting through the equally infinite barriers of all the dimensions. She didn't know what she was expecting to see, but she trusted Sonata knew what she was doing.
When she opened her eyes again, Glace almost jolted to her feet. She could see them now, those rips the size of her claws tearing through space and time. They tore into the walls, the ground, the ceiling, floated in the air, everything. They were everywhere, watching her and offering her glimpses into realms she was never meant to see. She could see so many Pokémon in those tears, but she saw other creatures as well. Creatures she couldn't recognize, like bipedal creatures with no fur and wore bright cloths all around their bodies.
There were so many of these tears that Glace almost couldn't see the current dimension she was in. She only saw all of the other dimensions in their surreal wonder, all of them demanding her attention at once.
There's so many of them…
Well of course! And this isn't even all of them. If you get out of this cramped little place, you'll find a lot more outside. But hey, we were lucky since the tear we want is right here with us.
And where is this tear?
Just look down. You'll know it when you see it.
Glace did as she was told and immediately saw the tear Sonata spoke of. Right there, in front of her on the ground, was a tear streaming with an ominous, black haze. Glace immediately retreated back and banged her head against the wall. Glace growled under her breath as she rubbed the back of her scalp.
Hey, don't worry! It's just something weird that comes out of that dimension. It's not poisonous or anything.
Glace honestly didn't know if she wanted to bolt or remain backed up against the wall. Sonata did say that this haze supposedly was harmless, but Glace couldn't shake the feeling that it was watching her and waiting for her to make the first move. She didn't even know why she thought that; it had no semblance of sentience. It only drifted out of the tear and crawled along the ground a few inches away from the rip like dry ice would when submerged in water. It didn't go any further than that, seemingly satisfied with staying close to its origin.
Well there you go, Glace! As soon as you're ready, you can just use that tear to get to Ker. Easy as that. It helps seeing all of those tears, doesn't it?
Somewhat.
Well I'll let you see them whenever we go dimension hopping then. I bet it beats me telling you to wander around and wave your claws around before you find what you're looking for.
Maybe.
Glace took in a deep breath as she peered deeper into the tear. She couldn't see anything within its contents, only that thick wispy substance that reminded her too much of those ghostly monsters from Sonata's dimension. She felt that if she dared go anywhere near that tear, it would devour her whole or maybe even possess her.
Just what kind of dimension did Ker live in exactly for a tear to even look like this?
It's okay, Glace. We'll be alright. Nothing will hurt us.
Glace felt a wave of calming energy come over her as Yore's words echoed softly in her head. He was right; they would be fine. They were the Keeper of Realms after all. She still didn't know exactly what that meant, but somehow the thought of that eased away the thoughts that this black mist had malevolent plans in mind.
The Weavile got to her feet, and then made her way over to the tear. Within a moment, she found herself standing right over the tear, peered down into its depths. She still couldn't see anything, only the murky fog.
Glace kneeled right before the rip. She slowly raised her claws and filled them with the ethereal energy she needed to manipulate the tear.
"Ymg' don't need l' ah cahf. Y' ahor ymg' hafh."
Glace's heart became ice cold as the harsh and guttural sounds echoed in her ears. The noise flooded her with a darkness so deep and black that it could draw down the moon and extinguish the very sun.
All of haze within the tear swiftly shot out at Glace and wrapped around Glace's wrist, where it immediately became a ropy, root-like tendril. Glace could no longer hear Sonata and Yore within her mind. She couldn't even hear her own thoughts as every muscle in her body trembled.
"Y''ve missed ymg', Yog-Sothoth."
Then, with a single pull, the tendril dragged Glace into the tear.
Glace collapsed onto something moist and pulpy. She felt something shudder beneath her body as soon as she hit the ground, as though the very ground were a living, sentient being very much aware of her presence. Glace scrambled to her feet in a frantic haste. However, she was only able to stay on her feet for a second before something yanked her back to the ground. Once again, the shudder went through the ground beneath her. Glace could feel an uncomfortable shudder of her own go through her body.
It was then that Glace saw she still had that tendril tied tight around her wrist. She could see it now, curling around her wrist all the more strongly, its base connected to the roots of a dead tree. At least, that's what it resembled. Something about it didn't feel right. Something about it felt alien and wrong, as though it were merely taking on a form Glace could comprehend, as if to save her from insanity.
All of her surroundings felt this way. She was in a spacious forest now, hundreds of these supposed trees surrounding her. They hid behind a thick shroud of impenetrable fog, a mist that smelt of decay and death and filled the air with ominous whispers she couldn't understand no matter how much she listened. There was no sky above her head, only an everlasting darkness that reminded her too much of the dark that had overwhelmed and tainted her just before being brought into this unsettling realm.
Glace tugged her claw away from the tendril, but she couldn't free herself. It gripped her with a frightening amount of power. When she looked back at it, she understood why. Part of the tentacle had fused into her skin. She could see it actively wriggling in her arm, moving her skin back and forth as it merged more and more of itself with her.
"Get out of me!"
Glace grabbed at the tendril with her free hand. The moment she touched its slimy skin, her palms stuck to it like glue. Little black veins bled into her ivory claws.
The Weavile screamed as she thrashed about, throwing her hands violently through the air. She could feel the tendril tugging away at her insides as she struggled, threatening to rip out her precious muscles and sinew, but she didn't care. She had to escape. She had to get away from this tendril, from this nightmarish world.
"Mgah mgehye'bthnk. Y''m ymg' hafh."
Glace suddenly froze. There it was again. There was that voice, that voice that seemed to speak directly to her soul, or whatever she had. She knew she needed to keep struggling. She knew that voice only spelt her doom.
But she couldn't move. Something about that voice petrified every muscle in her body.
"Geb c' bug."
The tendril suddenly ripped itself out of Glace's claws. She didn't even feel anything as the last of its ropy body left her own, only a numbing chill where it had touched her. Glace held her arm gingerly as the tendril collapsed on the ground a few feet away from her, but now with a rather large bulge in the middle of its mass, like an Ekans might appear after swallowing a Dedenne whole. Worse yet, she could see that bulge moving and something banging against the walls of the tendril's inner lining. She didn't want to imagine what that bulge could possibly be or if it had come from Glace herself.
In the end, it didn't matter what Glace wanted. The bulge in the tendril ruptured open with a revolting popping sound, and from it emerged a pair of claws. Red claws with many horrible scratches on them. Then came a black wing with a teal membrane. Then emerged a head Glace knew all too well; Sonata's head, both of her eyes whole and unharmed.
The Noivern dragged the rest of her body out of the tendril before shaking herself. Glace didn't know why she was; she couldn't see any of the supposed substance Sonata felt she was covered in. But that paled in comparison to seeing Sonata in the flesh once more. That was, presuming the Noivern even was Sonata. Maybe it wasn't her. Maybe it was something Glace should be deathly afraid of. After all, how could Sonata possibly have her own body right now? This didn't feel like the time they had their separate bodies.
The Noivern brought her gaze over to Glace. Her eyes lit up for just a moment before a wide smile broke out on her face.
"Glace, it's you again!" Sonata cheered. "Looks like you and me have separate bodies again."
Glace instantly backed away from Sonata before the Noivern could close the distance between the two, keeping a few feet of space between them.
"How do I know that you're actually Sonata?" Glace asked tersely. "How do I know you're not some monster pretending to be her?"
"Aw, what? Of course it's me! Why are you asking silly questions like that?"
"Because you came out of that thing behind you."
The Noivern looked back and finally saw the bizarre cocoon she had broken out of moments ago. Glace saw Sonata's wings shiver before she slowly inched her way back toward the tendril. Glace didn't dare follow her.
The Noivern stopped right before the still lifeless tentacle and peered into its gaping hole.
"Well I guess this would explain why everything felt really warm for no real reason…" Sonata said quietly. "And I just… crawled out of this thing?"
"Yeah. It burst open and you crawled out of it."
"Dear Arceus… no wonder why you think I'm some monster in disguise. But Glace, I swear, it's me. I don't know why I came out of this thing or why I'm me again, but I'm Sonata."
"I don't know that."
"Well then pretend I'm Sonata then. For just five minutes, pretend that you don't think I'm a monster and that I really am that Noivern that showed up your house out of nowhere."
"If you really are Sonata, then how are you in your own body again? This isn't a dream like when we all visited that tree."
Something shifted inside of the tendril. Sonata flinched back before she hurried away from the cocoon and made her way back over toward Glace. Glace didn't bother to run away from Sonata this time. The two only watched as something black and grey emerged from the depths of the tentacle. Something with golden, misty eyes that could see absolutely nothing despite being capable of seeing everything.
"Yore," Glace realized.
The Tranquill awkwardly fumbled his way out of the tendril before collapsing onto the ground. He coughed for a moment before righting himself up and shaking his feathers. He looked over at Sonata and Glace until the he haze in his eyes dissipated and his solemn clarity returned. Then, he carefully made his way over to the girls.
Glace once again felt the overwhelming need to hurry away from her supposed other selves, but she didn't. The two of them probably were the fragments she had already assimilated. She could see herself in the two of them now if she looked at them long enough, and she could no longer hear either of them in her mind. Not only that, but she still felt she had met them in a non-existent memory. She didn't think a monster could replicate that. At least, she hoped a monster couldn't. She didn't know what that tentacle actually was and what it was capable of.
Maybe it really was best to stay skeptical.
"I heard you two talking when I was inside of whatever that thing was," Yore said as he finally joined with the group. "I have to agree that I don't understand anything happening at the moment. I don't quite remember having to climb my way out of a dark and warm place last time we had our own bodies. This entire experience is rather bizarre, to say the least."
"Yeah… I mean, where are we even?" Sonata then asked. "I get this is Ker's dimension, but what exactly is this place? Is it like a forest?"
"What sort of forest has roots that can turn into tentacles, latch onto Pokémon, and then rip Pokémon out of them?" Glace asked.
"Some freaky dimension that clearly isn't anything like ours," Sonata said as she gave her surroundings a quick, uneasy glance."
"Seems rather fitting for someone as bizarre as Ker, as you describe her," Yore remarked.
"Man, I hope we can find her fast. I do not want to stay in this place any longer than I have to. I mean, sure, it's great to have a body again, but if it means having to be in this freaky place…"
"I don't understand how that tentacle could make you two though. You shouldn't have your own bodies; your bodies are gone. You're both me now. What kind of dimension are we in that has tentacles that can give you both bodies even though that's impossible?"
"Cahf's Iiahe Y''m dimension."
The three tensed as the eldritch noises echoed all around them. All paranoid thoughts of Yore and Sonata promptly vanished from Glace's mind as she drew closer to the two. They did the same and soon formed a tight huddle. Sonata wrapped her wings around Glace and Yore and held them close to her body, but didn't cover their faces. She only kept them in her protective embrace so tightly that Glace could feel the Noivern's quickening heart rate. The three darted their eyes about, searching for that dreadful voice's owner, but found themselves alone. Only the forest provided them company, as dead and dreary as before. However, Glace couldn't help but notice that the fog shrouding the trees had become darker, exactly like that haze that she had seen oozing out of that tear.
"H's vulgtmnah l' ymg' mgr'luh ephaii."
Glace blinked, and suddenly there was something standing a few feet away from her. Something black and tall. Something that had no distinguishable form. Some that was actually the fog itself, not something that only dwelled in it.
Sonata shrieked at the sudden appearance of the creature. She backpedaled, dragging Glace and Yore with her. The two of them couldn't react fast enough and stumbled back onto the Noivern's feet, instantly causing her to trip over herself and take the others with her.
Glace's eyes snapped shut as soon as her head hit the ground. One second later, they opened back up.
The monster had removed all distance between it and the group. Now it stood right over her with its shapeless form, right over everyone. Glace saw no face in the creature; she only saw a black hole that was more than willing to drag her into its abysmal depths.
"H''s vulgtmnah l' ymg' mgr'luh ephaii, Yog-Sothoth."
The three remained petrified on the ground, each of them trembling and holding each other like helpless children. Glace knew she needed to attack this entity if she wanted to live. She knew she could strike it right now and she could buy herself a few seconds of time. But she couldn't. The entity's gaze froze her, paralyzed her, made it impossible to do anything more than wallow in the dread coursing through her. She didn't even think she could hurt it even if she wanted to; it was the mist after all. You can't hurt mist.
The faceless one continued to loom over the three. The mist surrounding the forest slowly seeped into the entity, solidifying its vague, wispy appearance. The mist in the air thinned as the entity took on a more tangible form that Glace actually felt she could touch. But she still couldn't lash out. It still froze her there with the black hole that was its face. She could see something slithering within it every few seconds now, something yellow and with a toothy smile. What could be moving within that hole, Glace didn't know. She didn't want to know.
All of the mist disappeared, and the entity's form solidified completely. Glace could only remain on the ground, collapsed with Yore and Sonata in their feeble pile, and stare up at the monster looming over them.
"I've been waiting for you."
Glace gawked. She had heard this voice before. Now that the noise resembled an actual, coherent language and not a jumbled mess of sounds, she realized she had heard this voice from somewhere in the distant past. Some time ago in a memory she couldn't recall, she had heard this voice speak to her.
Glace felt an uncomfortable shiver go down her spine as this dawned upon her. She knew she had never met this monster before; she could never forget something as unsettling as this abomination. There was only one way she could possibly know this creature if so.
"Ker…?" Glace asked feebly. "Are you… are you Ker?"
An odd, chortling sound echoed from the monster, something Glace thought was supposed to be a laugh.
"Ah so you can only understand me when I speak in mortal tongue. Yog-Sothoth really did succeed in making you mortals."
"I don't understand what you're saying," Glace said as she shirked back. "Ker, what do you mean by 'mortal tongue'?"
More of the unsettling noises emitted from the being. It drew closer to the three. None of them dared to move as the entity gazed down at them with its hollow face.
"My name isn't Ker. She and I might be similar for far too many reasons, but I'm not her. Now that you understand that, I want you to talk to me, Yog-Sothoth spawn. It has been some time. I want to know of the progress of that plan Yog-Sothoth made, to know if it has been providing success."
"What plan?" Glace asked with a grim frown.
"Ah, you know very well what I mean. You have a plan to find all of the other spawn so you can be whole again. You want to do all of this because you want to preserve all of the dimensions in all of existence."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Ah, but you do. Yog-Sothoth told each of you to become one again, and now that is what you're doing. That is why two of the spawn were inside you until I ripped them out, Weavile."
Glace felt her insides twist into a knot. Based on the increasingly grim expressions on Yore and Sonata's faces, she imagined they felt the same. She didn't even know how she was able to keep talking. Just being in the presence of this unsettling entity seemed to mute every single one of her thoughts.
The being let out another chortled laugh.
"It is amusing to see you consumed with mortal dread. Yog-Sothoth always wondered how it felt to be filled with such an unrelenting feeling. Yog-Sothoth could never feel it within itself, no matter the circumstances you found itself in. But now you Yog-Sothoth spawn understand it while in those mortal bodies. Isn't it such a fascinating little thing? It strips you down to your most vulnerable, powerless self, yet also makes you more alive than you ever were before…"
"Who are you?" Glace asked.
"Ketetetet. You really don't remember me. I wondered if you spawn would keep any of Yog-Sothoth's memories."
"Who… who are you?" Glace asked again with increasingly faltering strength, feeling her body tremble more with each word the creature spoke.
The monster stepped away from the Weavile, finally allowing her to breathe. She watched as the creature made its way before one of the many trees of the vicinity before glancing back at her. Even though it lacked any semblance of a mouth, Glace felt it was shooting her a grin.
"I have many names. I'm sure in your time masquerading as mortals, you have heard of at least one of them."
The abomination stepped behind the tree, vanishing from sight.
A shorter, bipedal figure cloaked in the very darkness that shrouded the night emerged from the other side of the tree. Two large, circular eyes the color of blood locked onto Glace. They radiated with the light of a thousand burning pyres.
"I have existed since the moment life began. In those eons ago, I always existed, living within the darkness of the mind as an unknown mortals obeyed without a second thought. It was only when mortals gained self-awareness and their minds ascended from the primal did they finally wonder who I was.
"They gave me names, those mortals, to rationalize where I had come from, to justify why I made them act in certain ways. They gave me names, masks to wear. Different times, different dimension, different species… they all gave me masks. They gave me numerous masks, but all are me."
The cloaked one went behind another tree. Another creature swooped out of the other side. A creature Glace actually recognized; a Darkrai. However, unlike other Darkrai, this one seemed to be an emitting an ominous haze that made her seem like a living, black flame. The red growth around its neck seemed longer and more jagged, and the white wisps streaming from its head frayed out in multiple directions. The bottom of its body, normally supposed to resemble a tattered cloak or dress, now seemed to hold multiple tendrils. Its single, exposed eye was no longer blue as Glace had seen it depicted in multiple illustrations. Now it was a frightening black that somehow emitted an otherworldly glow.
"Some of them call me Erebus, the darkness of existence. Some of them call me Nyx, the mother of deities that bring suffering and pain to all mortals."
The demonic Darkrai disappeared behind yet another tree, and then out came a Seviper-like creature with six yellow eyes and a long, winding body that could encircle the three of the fragments with ease.
"There are countless other names. Set. L'rog'g. Yveltal. Giratina. The Crawling Chaos. The Faceless God. I obtain a new mask every moment, a new form to allow me to walk amongst the mortals as they desire me to. However, you can call me by one particular name, a name I treasure above all."
The creature slithered behind the tree. Glace anticipated the next creature, whatever horrifying, demented form this being could conjure up next, but no creature emerged from the other side of the tree. Only the empty forest remained around her, Yore, and Sonata, the shapeshifter nowhere to be found.
"That name is Nyarlathotep."
Glace blinked, and then it was right there in front of her. Right there, sitting right in front of her, now as a Sableye without gemstones for eyes. Now where the jewels used to be were black holes emitting a pinpoint of white light. Glace couldn't stop herself from screaming and thrashing about in a desperate escape to free herself from the tangled mess she found herself in.
She had to get away from this monster, whatever it was. It didn't matter if Ker was here; she had to leave. She couldn't be here with this thing.
Because this thing, with its incomprehensible name, was the screams you heard in the middle of the night, the flicker in those Flareon's eyes right before they burned you alive, the skittering you hear echoing around you when you're in that dark cave all alone, that blur you see in the corner of your eye that's gone when you give it a second look, the things that live deep beneath the ocean's black waves that are watching you with their cold eyes and are waiting for the perfect moment to drag you down into the black where you can't even scream as your lungs burn like fire, the home you can't ever go back to because it's dripping with the blood that you drew with your own claws and everyone there hates you because they know that you're dangerous and a monster and a-
"Ah, there's no need to run. I won't be frightening you any longer. I have had my fill of your dread. So settle down, Yog-Sothoth spawn, and engage in a friendly conversation with me as Yog-Sothoth and I always did."
"I'm… I'm not s-s-s-staying here," Glace managed to spit out. "I don't… don't want to ta… talk."
"I'll bring you dear Ker if you stay, just for a little while. I know that you need her to complete your plan. I promise I will bring you no further distress of any sort if you would remain here for a moment of your time, to provide me company once more."
Glace stopped struggling and looked back at the demented creature. This monster knew Ker? It made sense now when Glace thought about it; Glace had asked this monster if it was Ker. It could easily deduce from that alone that Glace was looking for the Sableye, and it had implicated before that it knew her when it said the two of them were similar to each other.
But did that really mean anything? Just because this thing knew Ker's name didn't mean that it actually knew anything about her. It could easily be fabricating everything to keep Glace in this twisted little realm that seemed to be growing darker and darker ever moment.
"You… you don't mean that," Glace remarked as she shot the entity a weak glare. "You don't… don't even know K-Ker."
"Oh, but I do. Ker, the precious Sableye that she is. Or rather, my precious one who merely appears as a Sableye. Can only thrive through devouring the fear of other mortals. So very much like me, so very little like how I knew her before Yog-Sothoth made each of you. You'll never find her if you search for her own your own; she's hardly ever here. You need me to find her. I always know where she is, when she is, why she is, what she is, how she is."
Glace frowned grimly. That Sableye the entity described did sound like Ker, even though she knew very little about the Sableye already. Sonata had said Ker was dead but not quite, as well as being "apathetic" to everything. And while Glace didn't like the thought of staying with this creature for another second, she knew she needed Ker. She needed all of her other selves, whether she liked it or not. And if this entity was right and it was the only who could honestly track down Ker…
"And how… how do I know you're not lying about ev…everything?" Glace asked.
The eyeless Sableye grinned and snickered a noise that sounded like bones snapping.
"You can't."
"Then h-how am I supposed to trust you?" Glace asked with a grim scowl.
"You do what all mortals do when when faced with an unknown; you force yourself to believe. That is all mortals can do when they cannot understand the nature of reality and find themselves desperately grasping for explanations and answers. The stubborn belief of something they're doing has meaning is the only true power mortals have, the power to warp and shape their entire reality into something that isn't even true. Perhaps because you're emulating mortals, you can emulate that power as well and see if it provides you the same results."
Glace didn't have any idea of what to make of the entity's ramblings. No matter how much she dwelled in its words, she couldn't parse any meaning from them. It sounded like the gibberish the hatchling Sneasel made before they could speak actual words.
"Let's just trust him for now, Glace."
The Weavile looked over to see Sonata staring back at her. The Noivern's wings quivered and it seemed to take a large amount of effort just for her to stay still, but Sonata kept her voice steady.
"Let's just see what happens," Sonata said. "I honestly don't know where to even find Ker around here. I get this weird feeling that it's okay to trust him. I mean, I know that's probably the stupidest thing you've heard since all you have to do is look at him to get why that's a bad idea. But I mean… what else are we going to do anyway?"
"Leave," Glace answered flippantly.
"Well okay yeah, we can do that. But I mean, what's the worst that can happen if we stay here and talk for a while?"
"I really don't want to imagine that, Sonata. I… I don't."
"I think I agree with Sonata," Yore then spoke as he got to his feet. "Staying here isn't exactly pleasant and I feel as though something is personally attacking my mind, we do need to find Ker. If this entitysays he can retrieve Ker for us, then maybe we should humor him for a while. See what happens."
Yore drew closer and then put his beak right next to Glace's ear.
"And if all goes poorly, then we'll leave," he said in a tiny whisper. "We can escape from here before that entity can ever stop us. I'll personally make sure I take you with me as I leave; I'm sure I can fly fast enough to escape from that entity."
Glace sighed. So both of her selves thought that they should stay with the demon sitting before them, watching them the same way someone might watch a group of Durant driving away a Heatmor from the nest. Glace wasn't sure how much longer she could stand being around that unsettling entity, whatever it was supposed to be.
However, her other selves had valid points. They did need Ker and if this was the way to get her, then this was what they had to do. And if it really was a trap, then Glace sincerely hoped that Yore meant it when he said he would help her escape.
"Alright," Glace said after a while. "Look Knee… Knee-Are… Knee-Are-Let..."
"Nyarlathotep."
"Yeah that," Glace said as she looked back at the false Sableye. "We'll talk to you for a while just like you want. But after that, you bring Ker here, got it?"
"Of course. You have nothing to worry about."
Glace highly doubted that, but she quickly shoved the thought away. She had to believe that this entity really wasn't as malevolent as it appeared. She had to earnestly think it wanted nothing more than to engage in friendly chatter. If she didn't think that, the paranoid thoughts would return, along with the crippling stuttering that had made her feel so weak and powerless.
"Now then, now that you've finally settled, we can finally talk. I notice that there are three assimilated together. I must admit I'm surprised; I would have thought you would come here after you found at least five more."
"We found another one that isn't with us right now," Glace answered. "We just sent her after two of the other fragments because she didn't want to be assimilated."
"So you did. Well then, for your sake, I hope that she doesn't run far away to another dimension where you will never find her. I might always know of Ker's whereabouts, but the rest of you spawn, not quite so."
"She's not going to abandon us," Glace said curtly. "She'll do her job. She knows how important all of this is."
"Ketetetet. There it is. There's that stubborn belief in a false reality. I knew you could emulate it."
Glace didn't know what she wanted to say to that. She didn't even know if there was a proper way to respond to that perplexing statement. The more and more she talked to this monster, the less and less Glace felt she understood anything.
"It seems Yog-Sothoth's plan has been providing some success, though not as quickly as I had imagined."
"It's hard to find them sometimes," Sonata argued, but without the usual confidence in her voice. "I know where to go and I know what part of the dimension they're in and what they look like, but it still takes a while to find them. Especially if they're in a big city like Yore was. And then getting them to leave is another story…"
"Of course it is. Yog-Sothoth knew it would be difficult for all of you to become one. To shatter your flimsy narratives and show you the true reality of the situation you never want to see was never thought to be simple. I told Yog-Sothoth this, but Yog-Sothoth created all of you anyway. Yog-Sothoth said you would see the plan through to the end."
"I guess. But you know, why do you keep saying that Yog-Sot… Yog-Sothought… whatever that name you just said made us?" Sonata then asked. "I thought that our old self was called Keeper of Realms. I mean, that's what it was called in that dream with the tree."
The Sableye's grin dropped into a dark scowl. The tiny lights in its eyes flickered like a candle flame in the wind.
"Such a trite name that name is, Keeper of Realms. I've always detested that name. It speaks ill of Yog-Sothoth."
"So… they're the same thing?" Sonata asked. "Keeper of Realms and Yog… whatever the name is, are the same?"
"Quite unfortunately, yes. Yog-Sothoth has many masks and names just as I do, of course not nearly as numerous as me, and that deplorable name is one of them."
The entity brooded in the thought of the supposedly insulting name, fuming in silence. Glace thought she could feel the ground around her shaking the same way her claws shook the rare times she felt consumed with an unrelenting fury. The Weavile tried to ignore the sensation, but it was a bit difficult seeing as how there was nowhere she could go that could offer her relief from the shuddering.
"But what exactly are we?" Yore then spoke up, speaking far more clearly than Sonata and Glace combined and holding an immoveable posture.
The shaking stopped. The Sableye glanced over at Yore, a bemused glimmer in its eyes now. Though the sight of the Sableye did make Glace's heart skip a beat, Yore didn't falter. He only kept his stern gaze locked onto the demon.
"Ever since I left my dimension, I've been trying to understand exactly who we are," Yore explained. "There were hints, such as when I saw Keeper of Realms in a dream with a tree seemingly as large as a world, but never concrete answers. However, from the way, you talk, you seem to be rather acquainted with our old self."
"I was. Despite our differences, Yog-Sothoth and I did engage in many conversations. Yog-Sothoth often visited here with a mask or I would visit Yog-Sothoth with a mask of my own."
"Then can you tell me exactly who that is?" Yore asked. "I told myself that I wouldn't continue collecting the fragments unless I made an effort to find the meaning behind all of it. There is no reason to continue finding the others if I don't understand why I am even doing it. I'd rather not blindly believe and follow someone."
The Sableye made that awful snickering sound again as the devious grin broke out on its face that seemed to plot a million evil plans at once. Glace readied herself to leave the dimension at a moment's notice. She would be gone before that demon even moved.
"You claim you don't want to blindly believe anything, and yet, that is what you have always done as a nearly mortal. If something sounds logical and momentarily explains your reality, you accept it without question. If someone you respect says something that validates or compliments your flimsy narrative, you accept it without question."
"I never did that," Yore stated firmly. "Maybe when I was younger, but not after I became an adult. I try to think through my philosophy before deciding what I believe, even allowing myself a long time to think over it. Then also, whenever I think of something new, I try it out for a while to see if it goes away in time. I test it, to see if it might have merit."
"Ketetetetet. If that really is true, maybe you are somewhat better than most mortals. But you will always live by a fragile narrative, Tranquill spawn. Every truth you think you hold is only something you have to make reality comfortable for you. You can never stop being that way. That is the very definition of being a mortal."
"I thought the definition of mortal was that you'll die one day," Sonata added in a sheepish tone.
"Oh, but there is more than one definition of mortality. They're as numerous as the stars in the sky."
"It doesn't matter," Yore then said. "You can say what you want, but in the end, I do want to know why I am doing all of this. I want to know who I was and why I'm the one stopping all of the dimensions from collapsing on each other."
The Sableye's grin widened a bit as a short laugh echoed out of its mouth. Yore remained steadfast where he stood, his feathers flat against his body and his wings tucked comfortably into his body.
"Knowing who Yog-Sothoth is won't help you. You won't even be able to comprehend Yog-Sothoth when you can't do the same with me."
"You're a shapeshifting entity that takes on the form of different deities throughout the dimensions," Yore said without hesitation. "I'm sure there's more to it than that, but that is what it comes down to, isn't it? You're a being that has no true face, only endless masks, as you call them."
More snickers from the Sableye. It shook its head before it grinned as wide as ever.
"Alright, I'll tell you who Yog-Sothoth if you insist that much. I'll tarnish your false narrative just a small amount."
The Sableye took one of its claws and drew something into the dirt. The three fragments inched forward toward the developing picture, but made sure to keep their distance from the demon. Despite how it had kept its word about not harming them, there was still an oppressive air surrounding the creature. Getting too close to it suddenly made breathing difficult.
When the Sableye removed its claw from the ground, it revealed a crude drawing of a large tree with sprawling branches that reached in every direction. Countless vines dangled from the branches that seemed caught up in an invisible breeze. It didn't take Glace to recognize what the demon had created, however basic it was.
"This is that tree we saw our old self at," Glace realized.
"This is Yog-Sothoth. This is where Yog-Sothoth dwells just as how this is where I dwell."
"But this is a tree," Glace said. "When we were in that dream, our old self was a Sawsbuck-like creature. This tree was only a part of that dream, like a background."
"Ketetetet. You see? You understand so little. That tree, as you so call it, is Yog-Sothoth. That creature you saw, Xerneas undoubtedly, was a mask."
"But it's a tree…" Glace said with a cautious, slow tone. "Trees aren't alive. They just exist. Trees can't split apart to make Pokémon…"
"Ketetetet. Typical mortal reaction."
"I think I understand," Yore then said collectively. "This tree is our old self. That creature, Xerneas, was only something the tree projected to talk to that Altaria. Because… it can't talk as that tree. It needs a mask to talk. Of course, how that Altaria was able to get to that dimension in the first place is beyond me."
"A sufficient enough explanation. Now then, onto exactly what Yog-Sothoth is in regards to mortals. Yog-Sothoth is the All-In-One and One-In-All. All of space and time are known to Yog-Sothoth. Yog-Sothoth knows what has happened, what is happening right now, and what will happen. No secret can be kept from Yog-Sothoth."
"So you mean that we're basically the fragments of Arceus?" Sonata asked with an almost gleeful tone. "Is that who we really are? We're basically the creators of the universe? Arceus really does exist?"
"Ah, so easy to think you are, but you are not. This Arceus you speak of, that is a projection of Azathoth. Azathoth, blind and idiotic, dead but dreaming outside of all realities. He is of little importance."
"But if he's technically Arceus, then didn't he create everything?" Sonata asked. "That sounds pretty important."
"Ketetet. I suppose Azathoth did in your mortal minds. That is the story all of you mortals weaved together, that amusing little narrative."
"So… did he then?"
"Azathoth did in your minds, and that is all that matters to you mortals. That is the only answer you need."
"But what does that even mean?"
The Sableye wouldn't respond, only grinning to itself with overwhelming deviance, as if it had played a great prank on the Noivern. Glace could see Sonata struggling to say something to the demon, maybe to argue more with it, but she could never say the words. She could only look at the Sableye with an almost helpless expression.
"So we govern all of time and space, along with every single dimension," Yore then said. "Does that mean that we were once Dialga and Palkia? Those two are the ones that governed those aspects of reality, according to the myths of my dimension."
"Those two are masks of Yog-Sothoth, yes."
"I see," Yore said with a slow nod. "I think I'm starting to understand everything a little better now."
"Oh, but you don't. You are only taking bits and pieces of my information to make it conform to your skewed perspective of reality."
Yore ruffled his feathers and shook his tail, but didn't respond. He only glanced down at the drawing for a moment before bringing his gaze back to the Sableye.
"There is something I don't understand about all of this, despite everything you've told me," Yore stated.
"There always is."
"Why did our old self make us to stop the destruction of the dimensions? Why did it split up into us instead of doing fixing the problem as itself? It had to be quite powerful if it's as all-seeing as you claim it is."
"Ah, there it is. There's the question I was waiting for."
The Sableye drew a circle around the tree. Then, it drew dozens more circles inches away from the bubbled tree. Each of these circles connected with one another, sharing a piece of their border with another, but never overlapping each other. They all touched, but never invaded the other's inner space. They formed a great circle of their own around the tree, forever out of its reach.
"Yog-Sothoth is locked outside of all realities. Yog-Sothoth must remain here, forever locked away. But that is the very reason Yog-Sothoth is the All-Seer. By being outside of all realities, fabricated and genuine, Yog-Sothoth can see them all at once. It's as you see here. The dimensions circle Yog-Sothoth constantly, never touching Yog-Sothoth, but always letting Yog-Sothoth see into them."
"So we were made because our old self can't actually leave wherever it is," Yore realized. "It's only by becoming mortals can it actually do anything."
"Yesssss."
"So by that logic… does that mean that by becoming one, we fragments will finally allow our old self a way into reality? And in doing so, it can actually do something about the tears?"
"Yesssss."
Yore stood there wordlessly. Glace couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his always tranquil, pensive eyes. She imagined he must have been in deep thought, but exactly what those thoughts were, Glace couldn't imagine. All of those thoughts could have been malicious threats and she never would have been able to see it.
"I think that's all I want to ask about," Yore then said after a while. "You've answered all of the questions I have about my old self. I feel a better sense of clarity and purpose now that I know exactly why I exist and who I used to be."
The Sableye didn't say anything, choosing only to keep its devious grin. It cleared away the sketch with a motion of its claw, and then focused its gaze on the fragments.
"I've also had my fill from our conversation. You've provided me everything I wanted to know regarding the success of Yog-Sothoth's plan."
"So then that means you're going to get Ker for us now, right?" Glace asked with a cautious tone.
"Of course. I know how important she is to you Yog-Sothoth spawn."
Glace sighed. So it seemed that this monster really didn't have any ill intent. It really did only want to talk to her and the others. Why it had wanted to talk to them in the first place, Glace still didn't know. If it really was being truthful in saying that it was acquainted with their old self, then it made sense. However, maybe this monster had only said that to gain their trust. After all, nothing about the creature seemed entirely trustworthy. After all, what kind of entity that thrived on fear and could turn into multiple frightening creatures could be considered truthful?
She just had to hope that this hadn't been a mistake. She didn't see what harm could have come from telling the demon of the progress of their plan, especially when it already seemed aware of said plan, but that didn't mean anything. Maybe this entity knew something Glace couldn't possibly imagine.
But it was too late now. The damage was done. She couldn't undo anything. She only had to live with it and hope that the monster would bring her Ker.
Glace watched the Sableye and waited for it to disappear, just as it always had whenever it wanted to change forms or teleport around the dimension. However, the creature never moved. It only sat there in front of her and the other fragments, still grinning and watching them with a sort of amusement Glace found unnerving on a deep and personal level.
"Aren't you going to get Ker?" Glace asked.
"Ah don't worry. She will be here soon. I'm bringing her here right now."
"But you're still here…" Glace stated quietly. "You haven't moved at all."
The Sableye snickered. It was brief, but when that awful creature laughed, every single branch of every single tree in the vicinity shook, as if a strong gale had blown through. Glace flinched and backed into Sonata's chest, nearly knocking the Noivern over. Even Yore, who had been standing so tall and resolutely before, stepped back into the feeble huddle.
"You still understand so little, Yog-Sothoth spawn. Despite everything you've seen and everything I've said to you… your narrative still remains unchanged."