Glace had always liked the woods for as long as she could remember. Though her clan had preferred to settle amongst the mountains during the travels, there were times when they stayed in the thick forests of the region. She had always liked all of the colors of the plants and Pokémon that lived there. In the mountains, there were always dull shades of brown, green, and grey. But in the woods, entire spectrums of colors filled her sight. Blue berries grew from bushes, pink flowers sprouted at Glace's knees, emerald and yellow leaves hung from the branches of mahogany trees, and the brown furs of ferals rushed in and out of her vision.
Everything felt far more alive in forests. Although the mountains had always seemed desolate and unwelcoming, which Glace did appreciate at times, it refused to spark any semblance of emotion from her. She always felt there was far more to be found in the woods, as though they were a grand adventure beckoning to her.
That was why, when Glace emerged from her portal and found herself in a forest, her rapid heartbeat finally slowed. It was a strange forest, certainly. All of the colors were far darker than she had seen in her dimension. The bark of the trees seemed to be almost black even though the sun had reached its highest point in the sky. No flowers grew upon the forest floor, only dull blades of grass. A thin, violet fog shrouded the forest. She even thought she saw a few orbs of light blinking into the distance. But it was a forest all the same, the perfect haven she needed.
The Weavile made her way through the forest, caring not what lay ahead. After all, did it matter where she went if she didn't know where she wanted to go? She lightly traced her claws along the trees as she strolled along. She noted that they felt cool and smooth like stones. She didn't find it surprising; some dimensions must have had trees that felt like this. If anything, they gave her a sense of comfort.
The further she went into the woods, the darker it seemed to grow. The canopy wasn't growing any thicker, and yet less sunlight poured down upon her. But despite this, not a single shiver went through her body. She only continued forward, caring not how much darker it could possibly get. The deepest part of the woods could be as dark as a cave and she wouldn't stop walking.
Glace… please. Talk to me.
The Weavile ignored Sonata's voice. She knew that if she stayed quiet long enough, the Noivern would leave her alone.
Look, I got what happened was probably really scary to you. It'd freak me out too if I thought I was someone else for a while!
Glace wondered just how far this forest went on. She didn't see an end to it in any direction, just endless trees towering far above her. She considered that maybe this entire dimension was a massive forest. Jera's dimension had been mostly underwater from what she could gather.
Glace, where are you going? Why are we here?
The Weavile came across a small creek in her path. Algae that emitted an ethereal green light clung to the rocks at the bottom of the stream. She reached into the water and grabbed a handful of the strange growth. It felt slimy and she could have sworn she felt it move in her claws, but she only grasped it tighter. Perhaps it would come in handy. It still radiated just as bright as she removed it from the creek, flickering like a tiny flame. It didn't offer much light, but it at least chased away the darkness lingering in front of her face. With her new source of light, she leapt over the brook and continued on her way.
I know you can hear me…
Glace found it odd how her night vision didn't work in this forest. In all of the other dimensions, she could see through the darkness just fine. And yet in this one, the darkness obscured her vision just as it did with any other Pokémon type.
Please… just say something… anything…
Maybe her abilities didn't work in this dimension. She didn't understand why that could be, as she always saw darkness as a stubborn, unchanging element of reality, but then she remembered that nothing about her circumstances had any semblance of sense. Everything she thought she knew about reality was nothing more than a lie that made her own perception of the world comfortable.
At least, that's what Giratina said. She still didn't know if she liked what he said. It made her feel powerless to the whims of life, like she was nothing more than a meaningless speck within the infinities.
The Weavile expected Sonata to make a comment, but she didn't. Glace could still feel the Noivern lingering, but she kept the silence between them.
Many hours passed and Sonata's presence disappeared altogether. She had finally joined Yore, wherever he had gone. Glace couldn't feel him either. But then again, she didn't want to feel either of them.
Glace breathed deeply as she finally took a moment to sit upon a fallen log off to the side of her path. She felt something moist and slick press up against her as she settled upon the tree. She shuddered at the touch. It felt just like moss, except that she could see there was nothing growing on her seat. It was nothing more than a rotting tree with a few red mushrooms growing along it.
She glanced around and saw that she still could not find anything resembling an exit from the forest. All she could tell was that the purple haze had grown thicker. Breathing it didn't seem to cause her any problems, but she still couldn't help but wonder why it seemed to be more like smoke than thin fog like before. Perhaps there was something that was making this fog deep in this forest. She didn't know if she wanted to find what was making the haze if that was the case. A creature she didn't want to meet could have been the center of it all. Maybe it was the very reason why she hadn't seen a single creature in the woods.
She wouldn't be able to stay in these woods if there wasn't anything to eat then. She would have to find another dimension if that was the case.
"So you really are running away. How typical."
Glace drew her claws and snapped her gaze to the voice. Sitting there only a few feet away was a Weavile just like her, only male. He sat there with a devious smile. The corners of his mouth went too far past the edges of his face and curled toward the back of his head.
"I expected better of you, Glace," the Weavile said with a sneer.
"Who… Who are you?" Glace asked as she forced a threatening growl into her voice.
The male chuckled as his eyes glimmered.
"The narrator of your story," he answered insidiously.
Glace finally recognized the chilling, yet oddly enticing tone of the male's voice. Even though she didn't want to believe what she was thinking, she knew exactly who was with her. She slid further away from him. The stranger didn't move, only watching her with the same amusement he had before.
"Oh yes, I don't have to remain inside of you," the Weavile said. "I can stay in your mind if I want, or I can manifest myself into your reality through a different mask. I'm not limited to remaining in one place at a time."
But don't worry, Glace. I mean you no harm. I only manifest myself in your reality to help you in your current predicament.
Glace cupped her claws over her ears as Giratina's voice violated the silence of her mind. She quickly got up and hurried away from the Weavile. She didn't know where she could run to, but it was better than where she was now. She rushed deeper into the woods, further into the darkness that was her only salvation from the abomination.
Or she could open up a portal to another dimension. There was no reason she had to stay in this eerie forest any longer. There were undoubtedly less ominous woods in other dimensions.
"That's right, try to escape from this reality by fleeing to another. Be just like all mortals. It won't let you escape from the true reality of your situation."
Something grabbed Glace by her wrist. The sudden inertia in the midst of her run sent Glace tumbling forward, but she didn't fall onto her face. Whoever held her yanked her back, pulling her back onto her feet.
It didn't surprise Glace to see that her captor was Giratina in his Weavile form. He still wore that awful grin as he clutched her with frightening strength. No matter how much Glace wriggled her arm, she couldn't free herself from his grip.
"Let me go," Glace growled as she continued to struggle.
"Then stop running," he returned snidely. "Stop fleeing from the truth of your reality like a mortal. Face it with dignity and strength."
"I'm not doing this anymore," Glace shot back. "I'm not going to lose myself while I go look for the others. I'm not going to forget who I was as I keep absorbing other Pokémon."
"Oh, but where would you go?" Giratina asked in a mocking tone. "There is nowhere for you to run to. Everywhere you go, Sonata and Yore will follow you. I will follow you."
Glace knew she didn't have an answer for that. She knew deep down that there was nowhere to hide from her other selves. It was already a miracle that they were offering her peace of mind at the moment. But she didn't want to give any satisfaction to the abomination.
"I'll find somewhere," Glace insisted. "You'll see."
"The only possible way you can ever escape from your other selves is if you somehow rip them out of your mind," Giratina stated. "And even then… only I can do that. But you already knew that."
The male's smile widened as he tightened his hold around Glace's wrist.
"And I'm not going to split you apart again, no matter how much you beg me," he added. "No, I'm afraid I can't do that. The state of the multiverse depends upon all of you fragments merging back together."
Glace finally stopped fighting. Her wrist was growing sore and she was running out of energy to keep struggling. She wanted to claw at the male's face, but realized it was pointless. He may have looked like a Weavile, but he was still a god. He probably wouldn't even feel a thing if she dared to attack him.
The Weavile refused to look at Giratina in the eye, but she knew he was still smiling at her. She stared at her feet in the soft glow of the algae she still carried.
"No one ever said that this was supposed to happen," Glace muttered. "Sonata never said that I would actually start becoming the others."
"I don't know why you didn't expect that this would happen," Giratina said impassively. "You were told to assimilate all of the Yog-Sothoth fragments. You knew that all of you would eventually become one being at one point. You should have realized that the merging of minds was a process, not something instantaneous."
Glace frowned, but didn't say anything. She had been stupid to not consider that. She should have realized from the very start that she would slowly lose herself with each fragment she assimilated.
It was then that the god released his grip around Glace's wrist. She glanced over at him to find that he was no longer wearing his sinister grin. He was now frowning, his expression somewhere between disappointed and contemplative.
"I should have expected as much. Your perspective is limited compared to mine," Giratina grumbled.
However, for once his voice wasn't condescending. It seemed pitiful to Glace, as if finally realizing how she could have been so blind to the circumstances. It was an unnatural tone that nearly made Glace gawk.
"What do you intend to do if you somehow silence Yore and Sonata?" the male asked.
"Live out the rest of my days in peace," Glace answered honestly. "Pretend that I was never involved in all this insanity in the first place."
"And what of the multiverse?" he then asked. "The multiverse will destroy itself if you don't join with the others. You will live to see every living creature in all the infinities perish, all because of your inability to act."
"Maybe the multiverse won't actually fall apart," Glace considered quietly. "Maybe this is all a misunderstanding."
"Ketetetet, wouldn't that be convenient for you," he said with a purr. "Unfortunately, it's not. I can promise you that if you and the other spawn don't merge back into Yog-Sothoth, all of the realities will fall apart, and not a single soul will remain in all the infinities. Only I will exist. Azathoth as well, I suppose."
"Well, you could be lying to me," Glace said with a frown.
"Oh, but have I told you a single lie in the entire time that you've known me?" Giratina chuckled.
Glace sighed. No, he hadn't. He hadn't even harmed her. He had only offered his aid and guidance in her journey. Insidious help, certainly, but still help.
"You can run away from all of this, if you truly want to," the male then said, snapping Glace out of her stupor. "I won't stop you."
"You wouldn't…?" Glace asked. "But I thought you said that our whole self asked you to make sure we all merged back together."
The godly being smiled to himself as he made his way over to a nearby tree. Glace watched as he carved his claws into the wood. Somehow, despite them seemingly being made of stone, he etched a series of interlocking circles. It was the same sketch he had created when explaining how all the dimensions were linked.
"I did, yes," he admitted. "I intend to have Yog-Sothoth's plan succeed. However, I don't need you to find the others in order for that to happen."
"How?" Glace asked cautiously. "How are you going to do that when I'm the one who's getting everyone?"
The god giggled insidiously. He glanced back at Glace with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.
"No one said that you were the only one searching for the spawn," he answered.
He scratched a star into two of the circles with loud scrapes. Glace flinched as the harsh sound penetrated her ears and sent shivers up her spine.
"You already told me that you sent one spawn out into other realities to find the others," Giratina stated as he pointed to one of the stars. "If you cease your efforts, that one spawn will still be searching. She will take your place and finish what you started. She will find all the other spawn that you have yet to collect. One of my masks will eventually find her and assist her as well."
He lowered his claw, chuckling to himself as he did so.
"You can remain in another dimension if you want," he went on. "You can live peacefully without ever being expected to find the other spawn. However, you will be assimilated in the end. I'll allow you to be the last spawn that is ever found, giving you perhaps a few years of the peace you crave, but you will become Yog-Sothoth once again. That is a fate you cannot escape from."
"You wouldn't let me do that," Glace said pointedly.
"Oh, but I would," Giratina assured. "I make a valid offer to you. You will be the very last spawn to be assimilated. Depending upon which dimension you reside in, you can very well live a hundred more years before you see me again."
"You're not worried about me dying?" Glace asked with a dark glare. "What happens if I die before someone else comes to get me? Your whole plan is ruined."
Giratina snickered as his unsettling smile returned. He shook his head as he made his way back to Glace. Glace thought about running away again, but realized it was pointless. The god could follow her anywhere she went and overpower her so easily. She kept still as he stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes with that awful grin.
Then, he extended a claw to her. Glace stared at it warily as she drew her own claws away from him. She worried that if she touched his hand, spikes would emerge from the palm and impale her skin.
"Take my hand, Glace," he told her in a suave, soothing voice. "I want to show you something."
"What do you want to show me?" she asked cautiously.
"A surprise," he said, still not losing his pacifying tone. "I won't hurt you, I promise. Go on, take my hand."
And though Glace didn't want to, she did. She placed her hand in his and he gripped her tight. With his free hand, Giratina ripped open a new dimensional tear before the two of them. The ethereal colors of the multiverse leaked into the dreary forest, casting the two in its sublime and alien beauty. However, the light especially seemed to wrap around Giratina. It clung to him eagerly and distorted his image, making it seem that his entire body was covered in hundreds of mouths.
Glace trembled. She told herself that it was nothing more than a trick of the multiverse's enigmatic energy.
"Come along," Giratina said. "I think you'll quite like this."
He stepped into the rip, disappearing into another dimension. And though Glace feared for what was on the other side of the vortex, there was nothing she could do but let Giratina pull her in right behind him.
On the other side of the portal, Glace found herself surrounded by blinding light. Glace squinted her eyes as the sudden whiplash from dark to light bombarded her. She thought she heard Giratina laughing at her reaction, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't see him in the white and red blurs that were now her reality.
But eventually, her eyes did adjust, and Glace realized she was atop a mountain. Just like the mountains of her youth, this one was various shades of dull grey and brown. Granted, there were a few shrubs springing up between the rocks, but they might as well have been seedlings compared to the monumental trees of the forest she had left behind.
Glace could see a small town settled at the base of the mountain. She couldn't make out the details too well from where she stood, but she couldn't help but feel that the town looked familiar. There was something in the way that all of the buildings were arranged, particularly all of the cottages sectioned to a single part of the town, and how they were all identical.
Giratina closed up the dimensional tear with a wave of his claw, and then gestured to the humble settlement.
"I wonder where you think we are," Giratina wondered aloud.
"On a mountain overlooking a town," Glace answered with a dismissive shrug.
"Ketetet, typical obvious answer. You don't recognize where we are?"
Glace shook her head. Giratina snickered as he released her from his hold. He shot her a smug grin before looking back at the town.
"This is where you used to live before Sonata found you," he proclaimed. "I believe it was called Granite Town according to your memories."
Glace was speechless. Now that she thought about it, that would explain why the town had an air of familiarity to it, even from so far away.
"Actually, that's not entirely accurate," Giratina then said. "The town you see before you is a version of Granite Town in another reality. Some dimensions are nearly identical to one another with miniscule differences, such as one lacking a certain continent or a particular war having never occurred. In this reality, you never existed. There are no Weavile clans. There are no Pokémon that wander down the mountain and roam about the streets during the night. Therefore, those tiny differences make this dimension very… optimal for you."
"What do you mean?" Glace asked warily.
"Ah, making me spell it out exactly," Giratina said with a mocking smile as he shook his head. "What I'm telling you is that you can live in this reality, if you would so choose to, until it is time for you to be assimilated. It is the one reality you would be most comfortable with, all because it is so similar to the reality you resided in for all your life."
"You mean you're actually showing me somewhere I can stay? You're not going to sway me to be keep looking for the others at all?"
Giratina chuckled before he grabbed Glace by the wrist. Then, he made his way down the mountain, dragging Glace with him. Like before, she didn't bother to resist his pull. She only followed him down the rocky terrain, careful to watch her footing. Even though she had a god with her, that didn't make her immune to accidentally stepping on a sharp rock.
A few minutes later, Giratina brought Glace to the base of the mountain and deep into the town. Just like Giratina had said, the village looked exactly like Granite Town. She saw the quaint Sumptuous Plaza where all the merchants gathered to sell their goods and wares, the humble Arceus Shrine settled near the town pond where you could pray and provide offerings to the great creator, and the brick school where all of the yearlings went until they reached the age of ten. Glace even saw the old dojo in the distance, still just as rugged as ever with its ripped banners streaming through the air in the light breeze.
Eventually, Giratina took her to the one place that she recognized most; the residential part of the settlement. Just as with her original dimension, every single home was nothing more than a simple cottage identical to all the ones surrounding it. However, there was something different about the homes here than in her dimension. All of the cottages were made out of stone instead of wood. The door was still carved from wood, and the roof was still formed from ceramic tiles, but the exterior was now a mesh of grey and brown stones.
This one, tiny detail was all that it took for Glace to realize she was truly in a different dimension, something different than her original home. From how bleached each of the stones were, Glace imagined that these homes had been built a long time ago.
Giratina brought her to one of the houses and stopped before it. There was nothing remarkable about the home other than a thin network of ivy clinging to one of the walls.
"No one is living in this particular cottage," Giratina stated as he let go of Glace. "If you truly want, you can make this your new home. I'm sure the neighboring mortals would welcome you with open arms."
"And you're certain that no one lives here?" she asked.
"Ketetetet, I don't think you need me to answer that question," he snickered.
Glace grumbled to herself before walking up to the house and carefully opening the door. Just as Giratina had said, no one resided in the home. There was a bed that looked exactly like Glace's old bed on the far side of the house, but that was the only furniture in the entire house. The rest of the house was completely empty.
She stepped inside of the house and carefully looked around. It truly did look like her old house on the inside; she could tell where she used to have all of her belongings. Was this really an alternate universe? How was she to know that her home wasn't merely robbed in her absence? She even thought she saw marks on the floor where her table used to sit.
"Does anyone I used to know exist in this dimension?" Glace asked.
"There are a few mortals that are similar to the ones that you were once acquainted with," he answered. "I believe your co-workers are borderline identical to the ones here."
"And if I see them, they won't recognize me? Something strange won't happen like them getting memories from the Pokémon in my dimension?"
"Ketetetetet, no, they won't. Mortals have no connections to other versions of themselves."
"And… there's no version of me here in this dimension, right?"
"You are a spawn, Glace. You do not have any other versions of yourself. You only have other spawn that take on entirely different forms in other realities. You do not exist anywhere else. You are the only Glace in all of the realities."
Glace gave the house another quick look, and then shut the door. She could easily make this her home, she knew that. It wouldn't be that difficult to rebuild her life in this dimension. However, she wanted to see if Giratina was being completely truthful.
She unceremoniously wandered away from the cottage and headed for the dojo. Giratina didn't seem to be following her anymore, but she knew that wasn't true. He was always following her even when he wasn't present in the real world. He was still watching her every move from within her mind.
Many minutes later, Glace came across the dojo. Now that she was actually standing before it, she could see that there was a small variance between her dojo and this dimension's version of it; the banners no longer had snarling Luxray embroidered into the fabric. Instead, they were Seviper baring their fangs, coiled and ready to strike. It was such a tiny, almost unremarkable difference, but it still made a nervous tremor go through Glace's claws.
The Weavile took a deep breath and entered the dojo. She was relieved to find that the interior of the training center was exactly the same. There were still seven makeshift doors covered with drapes, all that same faded red color she had grown acquainted to. Then in the very back of the dojo was the leisure room. She could see a few Pokémon gathered in the room from where she was, but she couldn't determine what species they were. All of their bodies and colors seemed to merge together into a disjointed amalgamation.
Glace took a deep breath, and then crept down the hall and into the back room. When she was right before the doorway, she was finally able to see all the Pokémon. And just like Giratina had assured, quite a few of the Pokémon actually did look like her old co-workers. She didn't remember any of their names, as they had never been important to her, but she did recognize their behaviors. There was the Monferno trainer sitting at one of the tables and soaking up the sunlight peeking in through a window. He was quite a lazy and lax instructor and Glace never understood how he was able to keep his position.
Then there was the Liepard affectionately nuzzling a blue-ringed Umbreon in the corner of the room. Those two were mates and acted as a team in their training sessions. They offered team building exercises, which had always been rather popular from the number of duos Glace saw coming in and out of the dojo every day. Then finally there was the Malamar that Glace never liked, eating a helping of Remoraid at one of the tables. Glace never liked her. Even though that Malamar never said anything spiteful, Glace hated the way she looked at everyone with a condescending glimmer in her eyes, like she was silently prying into everyone's thoughts and judging them for all their shortcomings.
But at the same time, there were a few Pokémon that Glace didn't recognize however. For instance, there was a Serperior who now slithered out of the room and disappeared into one of the training areas. Then there were a Ribombee and Floette buzzing around, both being so small that Glace could barely even see them.
Even more, as Glace explored the rest of the dojo, she realized that she couldn't find Mar anywhere. She peered into every room, but he wasn't in a single one. She considered that maybe the Marowak wasn't working today or running an errand, but she knew the truth deep down. The only co-worker she had ever talked to didn't exist in this version of her home. She hadn't liked him that much, but her heart still grew heavy at the very thought.
"Can I help you?"
Glace snapped her gaze to her side to find the Monferno standing there. She couldn't help but fret that he would recognize her even though she didn't exist in this dimension. Her innards churned as he looked over her carefully.
"Hey Weavile, you okay?" the Monferno asked as he poked her shoulder.
Glace reflexively swatted his finger away with a claw. He flinched as he withdrew his hand and promptly backpedaled.
"I didn't mean to do that," Glace said, lowering her claw. "You startled me."
"Hey it's okay, you didn't hurt me," the Monferno said with a soft smile. "So no harm done right?"
"Yeah… that's right."
"Well anyway, what brings you here? Were you interested in training with one of our instructors?"
"I was just looking around. I'm… I'm new to town."
Glace almost wished that Sonata would start talking again, just so she could help her through the situation. Sonata might have been quirky and much too chatty, but she at least knew how to interact with Pokémon better than Glace could.
But for whatever reason, Sonata wouldn't respond. She remained silent and hidden away in the darkest reaches of Glace's mind.
"Oh, well then nice to have a new face around," the Monferno said with a smile. "May I have your name?"
"It's Glace," she said apprehensively.
She waited for the moment that he would say that the name sounded familiar, or that he felt he had seen her from somewhere else. And if he did that, then he would probably ask her where she used to be from. That's what he had done the first time they met, the nosy Monferno that he was. Glace felt that he had done this to everyone in the dojo, butting into their business whenever he heard something interesting.
If he was the same Monferno, then he would undoubtedly do the same now in this new dimension.
"Glace huh?" he asked. "Well that's an interesting name. My name's Calamar. I'm one of the instructors here."
"So you are," Glace said impassively, bracing herself for the intrusive questions that were to come.
"I am," he said pleasantly. "Been here for five years now. Nice little town, let me tell you. You're really going to like it here. Everyone's very friendly and close-knit."
"I can tell. It's a small town."
"Yeah, it is. But that's what I like about this place. You get all the quiet that you can't get in the big cities."
Calamar gave Glace a quick glance-over. The Weavile resisted the urge to raise her claws.
"Say, would you like me to show you around?" the Monferno then asked. "I don't have any students for a little while. I could show you the whole dojo if you really want. I can even introduce you to all of the instructors. I think they wouldn't mind talking to you for just a few moments."
Glace didn't know how to respond to that. Why wasn't he asking her about her life? Why was he being this way?
"I think you'd make a fine student, if I do say so myself," Calamar said with a smile. "You already hold a good stance. I don't think I could knock you over so easily if I wanted to."
"No… it's fine," Glace said after a moment of deliberation. "I've seen everything I need to see…"
With that, Glace slipped past Calamar and hurried out of the dojo. She couldn't find it in her to keep talking to that Monferno. He was a Pokémon she technically knew… but at the same time, he was a stranger. He wasn't acting the same way as he did before. Because of that, she couldn't even begin to figure out how she actually wanted to treat him.
She didn't remember the walk back to the empty cottage. She only knew that one moment she was walking away from the dojo, and then next moment, she was sitting on the bed. She dangled her legs off the side as she stared off into a wall.
"Welcome back, Glace."
Glace turned her head and immediately jolted back. There sitting beside her was Giratina, once again a Weavile. He still wore that awful grin as he swung his legs back and forth.
"You're having quite the reaction to this dimension," Giratina snickered. "It's deeply amusing to me."
Glace shot the Weavile a glare, but didn't bother to berate him. She only sat back down with a sigh and looked down at her claws.
"This dimension doesn't feel right," Glace said. "It looks the same and some of the same Pokémon are here, but…"
"No two realities can ever be exactly the same," Giratina stated impassively. "Realities are exactly like narratives; no two are alike. There will never be a dimension that is exactly like the one you lived in."
"I didn't think it would feel so surreal," Glace admittedly ruefully. "I thought that I'd adapt easily and that I could pretend that I never left. But this dimension doesn't feel right. The differences are small, but they feel so unnatural to me."
"Just as how every reality should make you feel. You don't belong to any of them. You never have. Not even the dimension you lived in was yours."
Glace frowned. She wanted to tell Giratina that she actually did belong to her old dimension, but she realized that was a lie. Never in her life did she feel that she had a true place to be. Even as one of the huntresses for her clan, she was never happy with her role. She had always felt empty inside. She had always blamed that on the fact that she was a Whiteout, but now she started to wonder if there was a deeper reason for it.
"I don't want to keep finding the other fragments," Glace said after a moment. "I don't want to lose more and more of myself with every fragment I find."
"As I said before, you are not obligated to," Giratina assured. "I will find that other spawn that you sent off into the other realities. It might take some time, but eventually one of my masks will find her. If you want to remain here until it's time to be assimilated, then fine. I will not force you to do anything."
"But why?" Glace asked. "Why are you letting me do that? I thought you put yourself into me so that you could help me with any challenges I'd be facing. But now you're telling me I'm allowed to stop everything and let Jera take care of everything."
"Because I've finally realized something that I could only see for myself after spending enough time in your mind and feeling all of your emotions."
"And what would that be?"
"That you are weak."
Glace felt something sharp stab into her chest. She found herself paralyzed before the godly being as he turned to face her completely with a deep scowl that made her claws tremble.
"You are a feeble spawn," he told her with a low tone. "You lack the strength to traverse the other realities and partake in the unknowns of the vast multiverse. You can handle physical struggles with ease, but when something attacks your mind or heart, you crumble. You cower away and flee into solitude. If you reacted so poorly to Yore's mind temporarily merging with yours, then you're not fit to keep searching for the others. You won't be able to handle what happens if you continue to assimilate the others."
"What is going to happen to me if I find the others…?" Glace asked carefully.
"You will forget," Giratina answered solemnly. "Glace will slowly cease to exist. Little by little you'll lose your memories. With each spawn you find, you will lose more and more of your identity until you can no longer remember your name. You won't even remember why you are finding the others. All you will know is that you must find them for a reason you cannot explain. You will be nothing more than a mindless animal following one instinct and one instinct alone."
Glace's body turned cold. She could still remember forgetting who she was when she was in Yore's dimension. She had been so sure that she had been Yore the entire time. And yet, she had known her name was Glace. She could still remember that she was a Weavile and mostly still acted like herself. Not only that, but the mental synchronization didn't last for too long. It had only truly taken effect when she was at Yore's old guild.
But to imagine that she could forget everything, including her own personality…
"That is why I will find this Jera instead and have her find the others," Giratina went on. "I would prefer it if you would find the spawn, but not if you're this weak. You'll be nothing but a detriment. I said I would aid you, but I don't have the patience to deal with your feebleness."
Glace shirked and dug her clawtips into her legs. She didn't want to admit that Giratina was right. She wanted to say that she was far stronger than he gave her credit for. But she knew the truth. It nagged at her, refusing to be buried until a mountain of lies and justifications.
She was weak. She was giving up when it was only the beginning.
"You will adapt to this reality eventually," Giratina said as he got up from the bed. "Eventually you will weave together a narrative that you always belonged here. That's always what the mind does when it wants to retain its sanity. Perhaps your mind will even force you to forget about me."
"But what about Sonata and Yore?" Glace asked. "They're still here in my mind…"
"They are," Giratina admitted. "However, I silenced them. Your mind might be able to create a new narrative, but it cannot quiet their voices. Consider what I did a mercy you don't deserve."
The god raked his claws through the air and tore open a dimensional rift. He took a step into the portal.
"Giratina, wait," Glace called.
He stopped and glanced over at Glace, half of his face deep into the vortex. Glace thought she saw the hundreds of mouths covering his face again, but she ignored it. She couldn't let that distract her.
She looked at him straight in the eye as she got to her feet. He was watching her carefully, waiting in curious anticipation. She mustered up all of the strength she had and finally spoke.
"Giratina… I'm not going to stay here," she said, her voice still quieter than she would have liked it to be. "I'm going to find the others."
The male's expression didn't change, but he didn't disappear into the portal. He continued to stare at Glace, waiting patiently in between dimensions.
"I want to give up," Glace admitted. "I don't like the idea that I'm going to lose myself with every fragment I merge with. But… I don't think I can live with myself if I do. It doesn't feel right to stay here. I don't know if it's because I don't want to admit I'm weak or because I just don't feel I belong here, but I can't stay here."
"What will you do then when you assimilate another spawn and lose traces of your identity?" Giratina asked flatly. "It will happen. You cannot avoid that fate."
"I know," Glace said.
"Are you going to flee again?" he asked.
"… no, I'm not," Glace answered. "I'm going to see everything through. I'm going to find every last fragment."
Glace knew she was lying to herself. She knew that she still lacked the true conviction to stay strong even when her mind stopped becoming her own. But she needed to do this. She needed to find the fragments. She couldn't stay in this dimension and disgrace her former self. She needed to do her own part in gathering up all the others.
Giratina stepped out of the portal and closed it up. Glace saw that he was wearing that evil smile again. And although she always hated it, there was something particularly off about it now. Something that she couldn't name, and it made her very soul shudder.
"Ketetetetet, very well then," Giratina said as his eyes glimmered with otherworldly zeal. "My dear sweet child, let's see if you truly can handle what is to come, or succumb to the deepest despair…"