A Dragon's Tail
Tail 8: Sirius' Tail - Monstrosity
Tail 8-3: The Teaching of Venturnome
"Here we are!" Ridley spoke up. "This is Solar Village's Temple of Yggdrasil, the biggest one in this region of Theocracy of Venturnome!"
We were standing in front of a huge temple locating on the east side of Solar Village… That's right, this temple is HUGE. Even by standing at the entrance made all of us look very small, and I could estimate that the size of this temple is about 40 percents of the area of this village.
"Wow…" Korben commented. "It's… heavenly."
As Korben said, the entire temple was golden. Even just the entrance of this temple was decorated with many delicate carving and sparkling gemstones, which could easily enrapture anyone who saw them the first time as it mimicked everyone's imagined concept of 'heaven'. I could see that all the gemstones used to decorate this temple were the real one, and all the carvings were made by professional engravers…. And the reason why the entire temple was golden was because it was made from pure gold...
In front of the temple, we could see many knights of Yggdrasil standing guard there, and many Pokemon were seen entering and leaving the temple of all time. The expression on those who entered the temple were mixed, but everyone who left the temple all had the joyful and pleasant look on their face. The knights of Yggdrasil, on the other hand… I couldn't tell what expression they currently had on their face as they had the helmet to obscure their entire face.
"Let's go." Ridley said as everyone walked into the temple.
"!"
While the exterior of the temple was impressive, it couldn't be compared to what was lying inside. The entire interior of the temple was sparking gold (because the temple itself was made entirely of gold) and the countless amount of gemstones were used to decorate everywhere inside the temple. The wall, the ceiling and even the floor had exquisite carvings that could only be made by the best engravers out there. Other than that, there were many statues depicting many beings inside the temple, with the largest one being the statue of a tree, which I assumed to be the one that depicted goddess Yggdrasil. Other notable statues I could identify was one that was made in the shape of Arceus, and another one was in the shape of a Lugia, which I assumed to be the deceased Pontifex Hawkins, the former Pontifex of Theocracy of Venturnome. And on the note, all statues here were made from pure gold and were decorated with many gemstones too.
As for the Pokemon here. Over half of them were the visitors who came from outside this temple, such as the citizens of the Solar Village and the nearby settlement. Most of them were praying in front of the statue of Yggdrasil while some of them were somewhere around this temple, but I could see that all of them had a look of peacefulness and happiness on their face. Other than the visitors, there were many priests who resided in this temple, all wearing a white robe with the symbol of Yggdrasil on it. I could see many Knights of Yggdrasil here too, all still wearing the armor suit to conceal their body, their face… As well as their expression.
"So… This is the Temple of Yggdrasil…" Korben commented as Ridley guided us into the main hall of the temple.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Katarina spoke up. "This place was once but an abandoned building named Fullmoon Temple, but it was renovated and turned into Solar Village's Temple of Yggdrasil 33 years ago. However, the current state of the temple right was the result from these past three years."
"P… Past three years?" Korben repeated the words he heard.
"Y… You remember that day, don't you? The day when the sky turned dark all of the sudden during the daytime." Eva spoke up. "The Councils of Venturnome announced that the reason behind that catastrophe was due to the sin of monkind…"
"Sin? Does something like this really exist?"
"… They said that we Pokemon have been intoxicated in our current lifestyle, in which Goddess Yggdrasil has to suffer the penance for our deliverance…"
"Deliverance? What is the meaning of Deliverance? Deliverance from what? Why do they seek deliverance?"
"… And thus, it's time for us to devote ourselves to the teaching of Goddess Yggdrasil, so that the entire world would never be swallowed by the sin of our kind…"
"Swallow? I thought that the concept of 'sin' is an abstract concept, so, how could something without a physical concept performs the action of 'swallow'?"
"… And that's the summary behind the flourish of the Temple of Yggdrasil in these past three years." Eva said.
"… And they believe in something like that?"
"So…" Korben spoke up. I can see that he was still trying to process the story told by Eva. "It was that one day that caused the Temple of Yggdrasil to flourish?"
"Only partly." Eva replied. "According to my mother, the true reason behind the flourish of this temple is the faith of monkind…"
"Faith?"
"… She said that the faith behind the teaching of Yggdrasil was restored to everyone after that day, and it was the same faith that pushes everyone to devote themselves to the teaching of Yggdrasil."
"So… There's something called 'faith' that could be the strong incentive for everyone to voluntarily do something… I don't know if the concept behind this is amazing… or scary…"
"I… see…" Korben mumbled.
"Anyway…" Ridley spoke up. "Since you're here, why don't you prey in front of the statue of Goddess Yggdrasil?"
"… Is it okay for me to do so?" Korben asked. "I am not religious."
"D… Don't worry." Eva replied. "Goddess Yggdrasil's mercy extends to everyone—"
"Welcome, my children."
"Huh?" Before Eva could even finish her words, we heard a voice directing to us, following by a group of three Pokemon in the priest robe approaching us, and they seemed to be somewhat upset by something.
"U… Um…" Eva seemed to be restless as she saw the priests approaching her.
"Welcome back, Zira." One of the priests spoke up as they reached us. "I heard of your victory over those spawn of sin. Congratulation!"
"Honestly, those sinful creatures are no match for the one who serves the Temple of Yggdrasil anyway" Another priest said. "Yggdrasil blesses you!"
"U… Um…" Eva mumbled.
"Thank you, fathers." Ridley spoke up. "How was the temple—"
"Ah… I've been expecting you, my lost child." One of the priests spoke up again. "So, you have finally decided to join our temple, Ridley."
"Actually, I am just here to guide our new visitors to this place." Ridley replied. "After all, I still have my father's dojo to run."
"Oh, you mean that… place?" Another priest spoke up. "Everyone's preference has shifted from training to kill to training to serve the goddess, which is a good thing, don't you think?"
"But we didn't train to kill." Ridley said. "We train so we can protect others, and the temple is training the priests to serve Goddess Yggdrasil, who protected our land, so we are basically doing the same thing. We are trying to protect everyone."
"Protect… Everyone? Is that what they really do?"
"Well spoken, my child." The priest said before turning their attention to Korben. "And who might you be, my lost Mareep?"
"I am just a traveler who visits this village." Korben answered.
"Then, would you like to join the Temple of Yggdrasil?" Another priest asked. "Yggdrasil's mercy extends to all lost Mareep in this world, and she will guide them toward the path of salvation. Those who doesn't accept our goddess teaching are merely those whose heart and soul have been tainted in their sin beyond her salvation."
"!"
"So, what do you say?" Another priest asked.
"… Thank you for your offer." Korben replied. "And my answer is that I will respect the wish of your goddess."
"?!"
"… And what could you possibly mean by that?"
"If Goddess Yggdrasil wishes for everyone in this world to devote themselves to her teaching, then everyone in this world would accept her teaching by now, as her power is omnipotent, but since there are still many Pokemon out there who haven't joined the Temple of Yggdrasil, then I believe that the goddess wishes for everyone to choose to believe in the teaching that each of them finds suitable for them, and thus, if I'm destined to be one with your goddess in the future, then I'll gladly accept it, but as of now, I'll let the time decide the course of my action. After all, for her, I am sure that she views all of us mortals in equality."
"Korben… That speech…"
"K… Korben…" Ridley, Eva and Katarina spoke up.
"H… How dare you—" One of the priests said with an angry voice.
"Well spoken, young Kommo-o."
Before the priest managed to complete their sentence, two Pokemon appeared and walked toward where we were standing. One of them was a large Pokemon who was wearing an armor suit of the Knight of Yggdrasil, and he seemed to be the bodyguard of the second Pokemon, which was the one who spoke up earlier. She was a female Eevee who looked much older than Eva, and she's wearing a priest robe, except that her priest robe looked like it belonged to those of a much higher rank than an ordinary priest. All of these made it easy for me to deduce who she was…
She was one of our targets… And the former Heroine of Legend.
"A… Archbishop?!" The priests' demeanor quickly changed as the older Eevee appeared. "W… What bring you here?"
"It's my duty as the Archbishop of Solar Village's Temple of Yggdrasil to take care of our visitors, so I am here to assist anyone should they encounter any inconvenient." The older Eevee answered with a gentle voice. "And I can't help but be interested in our new visitor here."
"M… Me?" Korben said as the older Eevee approached him.
"First, please allow me to introduce myself." The older Eevee said. "I am the Archbishop who serves the world in the name of Goddess Yggdrasil, as well as the patron of Solar Village's Temple of Yggdrasil. My name is Zira Daystar the Eevee."
"… I see…" Korben said. I could sense that he's trying to keep his face straight. "I've heard about you, Archbishop Zira. It's an honor to finally meet you in person."
"The pleasure is mine." Zira replied before turning her attention to a group of priests. "If you all don't mind, can I ask you three to assist other priests in training the new disciples of our temples?"
"O… Of course, archbishop. M… May Goddess Yggdrasil protect you." The priests replied before leaving us and entered the door to the inner part of the temple, leaving us in the main hall here.
"I'm sorry if my fellow priests made you uncomfortable, young Kommo-o." Zira said after seeing that other priests had already left her.
"N… Not at all…" Korben replied. "By the way, you did say that you're interested in me…"
"Ah…" Zira said. "It was your speech regarding your belief in our goddess that caught my attention, young Kommo-o."
"I… I am sorry if I said anything offensive regarding your goddess." Korben apologized. "I'm not very religious, after all…"
"Oh, no. You didn't say anything offensive at all. Quite an opposite, actually." Zira said. "I have never heard any interpretation of our goddess' intention like what you said before, and it pleases me to learn of that, as I am but her humble servant."
"So… That's what made you interested in me?" Korben asked.
"Your interpretation of our Goddess' teaching is fascinating, but that's not what really caught my attention about you, young Kommo-o." Zira replied. "What really caught my attention is your last sentence earlier, regarding 'equality'."
"Equality?" Korben repeated the words he heard. "What about it?"
"Your words…" Zira replied. "They reminds me of someone I known… who perished three years ago."
"!"
"Oh, you speak of my father, the Hero of Justice, right?" Ridley spoke up. "He died in duty when he, along with the six armies of Symmetria, entered the inaccessible valley to apprehend the culprit who killed Pontifex Hawkins. We still don't know what really happened there as almost everyone who went there died, and those who survived quickly died afterward, and we even lost Archsage Iris who went there to investigate a few months ago."
"Yes…" Katarina spoke up. "Archsage Iris is such a brilliant Pokemon. I was the trainee under her before, and I still mourn her loss."
"…" Korben remained speechless, and so do I (Even though I couldn't speak to begin with). Of course, both of us were among a very few who really knew what was happening there.
"Oh!" Noticing the chance in our demeanor, Zira spoke up again. "I'm sorry for bringing up my personnel matter. Please forgive me for my inappropriate action."
"D… Don't worry about it." Korben said. "Y… You didn't offend me at all."
"Thank you for your kind words, young Kommo-o." Zira said.
'Well… Good for both Korben and I that no one here noticed our uneasiness when they were talking about that event…' I thought to myself. 'However… I still couldn't feel at ease. After all, we're in our enemies' territory, and one of our targets is right in front of us. However… That's my least concern right now. What I'm concerning right now… is the strange feeling I've been sensing since Archbishop Zira appeared, and it didn't come from the Archbishop herself at all…'
"…"
With my face concealing behind the mask, I slowly shifted my attention to the Pokemon who had been standing behind Archbishop the whole time. He seemed to be Archbishop Zira's bodyguard, judged from his armor suit, which indicated that he was the Knight of Yggdrasil. I couldn't see his face or the look of it, as the helmet he's wearing was covering his entire face. However, parts of his body that weren't covered by his armor suit clearly suggested that he was an Aggron, an intimidating one, indeed. No wonder why he was assigned to be the bodyguard of someone important like this. While I couldn't see the look on his face, I had been getting a weird feeling from him since the moment he appeared alongside Archbishop Zira…
"…. Have I met this Pokemon before?"
"Anyway…" Zira spoke up again. "Young Kommo-o, it seems like you and your companion here are the new visitors of Solar Village and Temple of Yggdrasil, so, do you have any place to stay?"
"Oh, um…" Korben mumbled.
"That will be a problem..." Katarina spoke up. "Our village has become a popular destination of many visitors, so all inns and hotels tend to be full, and you won't get any room here unless you booked them beforehand."
"If you don't have any place to stay, you can stay here, at the Temple of Yggdrasil." Zira said. "After all, Yggdrasil's mercy extends to all the living souls in this world…"
"I know!" Ridley spoke up. "Why don't you two stay at our dojo?"
"Dojo?" Korben repeated the words he heard. "I think I remember hearing you mention one before."
"Yes. It's just a fighting dojo that's actually belongs to my late father thought..." Ridley said. "But there's plenty of rooms left, so you can stay there, free of charge, if you want."
"Oh, you mean that run-down place?" Katarina spoke up. "Well, since almost no one's there, of course, there's room for our visitors here."
"T… That's not a nice thing to say, Katarina…" Eva said.
"… Can I ask something?" Korben spoke up, and I could sense that his voice was much more serious than before. "… Are you all always this nice to strangers?"
"!"
"… I can't answer that, for that only goddess and not myself can give judgment to my own action." Zira answered. "However, as her servant, it's my duty to help those in need in the name of Goddess Yggdrasil."
"R… Right…" Eva answered.
"For me, I'm just doing what I think it's right." Ridley answered. "My father always taught me about justice, and my mother always taught me about mercy, so I kinda learned it from both of them. Plus, you two helped us earlier."
"His mother? Come to think about it… If he's the son of the Hero of Justice, then his mother must be…"
"As of me, I'm just supporting what my friends are doing. Don't get any wrong idea about it!" Katarina answered as she concealed her face behind her fan.
"… Then, I'll accept your offer, Ridley." Korben replied.
"Great!" Ridley said. "So, once you two finish your business here, we can go there at once."
"We already did." Korben said. "We can go right now."
"Then, farewell, my children." Zira said. "May Goddess Yggdrasil bless you."
After she finished speaking, Archbishop Zira and the Aggron guard walked away from us and entered the inner area of the temple, leaving the five of us here.
"Let's go, Korben, Sirius." Ridley said before turning his attention to Eva and Katarina. "Will you two join us, Eva, Katarina?"
"Well, if you are really desperate for my company, then I shall oblique to your request." Katarina replied.
"…" Unlike Katarina, Eva didn't answer the Lucario. Instead, she had been staring at the door that led to the inner part of the temple since Archbishop Zira and the Aggron guard left.
"… Eva?" Ridley called the name of the Eevee.
"Huh?!" Eva quickly snapped back.
"… Will you join us? Or will you…" Ridley spoke with a tone of worried in his voice.
"… I'll join you, Ridley." Eva replied with a mild voice.
"Then, let's go, everyone." Ridley said before all of us started walking toward the exit of the temple.
However…
'The temple… The priests… The visitors…' As we left the temple, I carefully observed everything around us, and no matter where I looked, I can clearly seen that this place emitted the aura of suspension, as if there's something more to it than it appeared, not counting the fact that everyone here seemed… fake, as if this place was hiding something larger than it appeared. I'll make sure to come back here later to investigate… Without Korben's knowing, of course.
-Outside Temple of Yggdrasil…
"So…" Korben spoke up once we stepped out of Temple of Yggdrasil. All five of us were now standing in front of Temple of Yggdrasil. "Where's the dojo we're going?"
"It's on the other side of the village." Ridley answered. "Don't worry. I'll guide you there. After all, that's also where I'm staying too."
"… Is there anyone else staying there?" Korben asked.
"Well… Since it's a dojo, everyone who trained there also stayed there too." Ridley answered. "But since there's almost no one who's currently training there, that place is almost empty right now."
"No one?" Korben said. "What happened to everyone who trained—"
"Mail Call!"
"Hm?"
Before Korben could finish his words, we heard someone speaking, following by the appearance of a Pelipper wearing a postman uniform flying toward us. He's also carrying a bag, which I assumed to be full of mails and letters, with him too.
"Oh! Good afternoon, Mr. postman!" Ridley greeted the postman.
"Good afternoon too, Ridley." The postman said as he picked up a letter and handed it over to the Lucario. "Today, we have one letter for you. It's from Shadowlost Territory!"
"Shadowlost Territory?"
"Thank you, sir!" Ridley said as he received a letter from the postman.
"Have a good day, Ridley!" The postman said before he flew away from us, leaving all of us here.
"Y… You got a letter?" Eva said as everyone's attention was now at the letter in Ridley's paw. "Who was the sender?"
"Let's see…" Ridley said as he read the words written on the later. "Ah! It's from my brother!"
"His… Brother?"
"Oh…" Katarina said with a clear hint of disappointment in her voice, as if she wasn't even trying to hide it. "You mean it's from that… guy?"
"Yes." Ridley said. "It's from Fenrir!"
"!" Ridley's words quickly caught our attention, especially Korben's.
"Oh… Good for you, then…" Katarina said as she turned her face away, looking a bit upset.
"Hey, come on, Katarina." Ridley said as he looked at the upset Florges. "Fenrir was just teasing you the last time he came here. He didn't really mean any harm."
"Tease?! You called it 'tease'?!" Katarina said. "Ridley, that guy is evil! I can't believe you and him are siblings!"
"Well… We got that a lot…" Ridley said.
"U… Um…" Korben fidgeted around restlessly. "… Should we leave you all for now?"
"Oh, it's okay!" Ridley said. "I was just receiving a letter from my elder brother, who's staying in Shadowlost Territory. It's just that him and Katarina don't really get along very well."
"I told you, Ridley!" Katarina yelled at the Lucario. "That guy is an incarnate of a devil!"
"Nah… Fenrir just doesn't get along with non blood-related people he met for the first time easily…" Ridley said.
"… While you are completely opposite, since you trust a stranger you met for the first time quite easily, if you ask me." Korben spoke up. "Don't you ever think that you could be easily deceived by that?"
"Wow! You speak just like Fenrir, Korben!" Ridley commented. "Well… I know that trusting people easily may lead to being deceived, but isn't it sad not being able to trust anyone? You'll be very lonely if you are like that."
"…" Korben said nothing after hearing the words of the Lucario.
"Now, let's see what was written on Fenrir 's letter…" Ridley openned the letter from Fenrir Jr. and started reading it. "… Ah! Fenrir said that he's now the new lord of Shadowlost Territory!"
"!"
"Oh, my Arceus!" Katarina said. "There isn't even an official notice about this yet. We must be one of the very first Pokemon outside the land of darkness to learn of such… news."
"R… Really? That's g… great!" Eva said. "B… But… W… What about your mother? D… Did something…"
"Nah… Fenrir didn't mention anything about that. I think mom and Fenrir figure that it's time for her to step down and let Fenrir take action." Ridley said.
"…" I glanced at Korben and saw that he, too, was trying to keep his face straight.
"Now, then…" Ridley continued reading the letter. "… Fenrir said that he's now leaving Shadowlost Territory along with Princess Natasha and Prince Largo of Dustorm Empire, and… They are heading to Theocracy of Venturnome!"
"What?!" Katarina said. "That wretched devil is going to come here?! Why?!"
"Hm… Fenrir didn't mention why..." Ridley answered while he's still reading the letter. "… But apparently, he said that he's going to stop by here to speak to me about something. I can't wait to see him again! It's been three years since the last time I saw him!"
"Right, and the last time that devil's here, he almost ruined my life." Katarina said.
"But again…" Eva spoke up. "It's been even longer for the last time you met Princess Natasha, right?"
"Yeah… I don't even remember the last time I met her." Ridley said.
"Still…" Katarina said. "To think that you and the princess of Dustorm Empire are actually related by blood…"
"Well… I was surprised too when I learned that my father and the former left empress of Dustorm Empire, Empress Sharon, are siblings." Ridley said. "As well as learning that Princess Natasha is me and my brother's cousin."
"So… Ridley of Venturnome and Fenrir Jr. of Shadowlost are the cousin of Princess Natasha of Dustorm… Wait a minute… I remembered that Richard once told me that Zetarus is also the son of Empress Sharon, as well as the full-blood younger brother of Princess Natasha… Which means that Ridley and Fenrir Jr… And Zetarus…"
"… And that's it!" Ridley said as he finally reached the end of the letter. "That's all he wrote in this letter."
"Hm…" Katarina looked at the letter in Ridley's paw.
"… Other than the part he said that he inherited your mother's title as the lord of Shadowlost Territory, did he mention your mother anywhere else?" Eva asked.
"Hm… I don't think so…" Ridley replied after rereading the letter again. "Is there anything wrong, Eva?"
"… Why didn't he mention anything else about your mother, Ridley?" Eva said. "I mean, he's living with your mother, both who are living separately from you, Ridley, and he wrote a letter to you telling about what's he doing right now, but he didn't even mention much about your mother. I thought I remembered that he usually wrote about your mother every time he sent a letter to you, didn't he?"
"Not only that… Something he mentioned in this letter doesn't feel right too…" Katarina said. "Your devilish brother mentioned that he was just made to be the new lord of Shadowlost Territory, and the next thing he did was leave his own nation to visit the farthest land from his own nation. As someone with a knowledge of politic and foreign affair, that isn't something that a new ruler should do. I mean, the first thing he should do is spend his time stabilizing his own nation, not visit other nation like this, and since he isn't at his own nation, who will be in charge there?"
"Well… Maybe he wants to strengthen the relationship between Shadowlost Territory and other nations?" Ridley speculated. "And he could also leave my mother be in charge of Shadowlost Territory as he left too…"
"Him? Someone who doesn't trust other people easily? Going to other nations to strength the relationship between nations? I don't buy it. And even if that's what he intended to do, he should know enough to send an ambassador instead of going by himself." Katarina said. "And about leaving your mother in charge of the nation, if he's going to become a new lord only to leave the nation in charge of the one who's previously in charge of the nation again, why would he get to become the new lord in the first place?"
"…" Korben and I listened to the conversation among Ridley, Eva and Katarina, unable to say that both of us had the answer behind the questions they had.
"I don't know, Katarina…" Ridley answered with a voice that concealed a hint of something. "I don't know what's happening anymore. All I could say is that something isn't right right now, and I can't do anything about it."
"Hm?" Eva and Katarina looked at the Lucario. "How can you tell, Ridley?" Eva asked.
"I don't know… I just a feeling about it…" Ridley said. "Right now, I even feel like I had made a huge mistake, though I don't know what it is, and I am not sure I even want to know anymore…"
"!"
"U… Um…" Korben spoke up after staying silent for quite some time.
"Oh!" It seemed like Ridley, Eva and Katarina had just realized that me and Korben were also here too. "Sorry for neglecting you and wrapping you in our matters. Please forgive us."
"… It's fine…" Korben replied softly.
"Alright, then…" Ridley said as he put away the letter and changed the tone of his voice into a much more cheerful one. "You two must be tired after standing here and listening to our talking for so long. Let's go to the dojo so you can rest, okay?"
"… That would do…" Korben mumbled. "… I'm sorry."
"Hm?" Ridley looked at the Kommo-o. "Oh, don't worry about it. You two saved our lives, after all. So, we're just doing anything we can to help you two, so there's no need to apologize."
"…" Korben just nodded in response and didn't say anything else as we started walking from in front of the temple to the dojo. However, I could see that he's still trying to conceal the sad face of him, which he had on his face the whole time Ridley's reading the letter of his elder brother.
"Korben…"
-Several minutes later...
"Finally, we're here!" Ridley said. "This is Solar Village Dojo, the training place for the warrior of Venturnome!"
The sun already started to set as we finally reached Solar Village Dojo… Which gave out a complete opposite feeling of the Temple of Yggdrasil. From what I could see, this dojo had definitely seen a better day. The exterior of the dojo was like a building made of woods that existed for several decades and hadn't been renovated lately, and in contrast of the Temple of Yggdrasil, there was almost no one around here too…
"Sorry if it's a bit shabby." Ridley said. "We lack the manpower for the upkeep of this place, after all."
"Now that I think about it…" Korben spoke up. "I remembered you said that almost no one's here anymore, so, what happened?"
"Oh, nothing extraordinary…" Ridley said as he scratched the back of his head. "It's just that almost everyone who studied here already graduated, and no one doesn't come here anymore."
"… Why?" Korben asked, though I could see that he, too, had already figured it out.
"Well… In these days, everyone went to train to be the priests or the Knights of Yggdrasil instead." Ridley answered. "After all, they are doing this to protect our home anyway, so, I don't blame them, of course."
"…" Korben said nothing after hearing the words of the Lucario, and I couldn't grasp what he had in his head right now.
"Okay, then… Let's enter this place…" Ridley said as he entered the door of the building, and all five of us entered the dojo.
-Inside the Dojo…
Even though the exterior of the dojo seemed really old, its interior, on the other hand, looked very pristine. Everything here was clean and well-kept, giving off the strange feeling that everyone that wasn't me would call 'nostalgic'.
"Wow…" Korben said while he's looking around the place as the five of us walked along the foyer of the dojo. "This place looks much better than it first seemed."
"See?" Ridley said with a big smile on his face. "We tried to keep everything in order here, but without enough manpower, it isn't easy to do so."
"I see…" Korben nodded.
"Now, let me show you two your room." Ridley said. "Since there are currently only two Pokemon who stayed here, you two can choose wherever—"
"Back already, Ridley, Eva, Katarina?"
"Hm?"
As we reached the end of the foyer, we encountered another Pokemon there, who was an Aggron… Wait a minute, isn't he the same one as…
"Oh, you're already back, Grimlock." Ridley greeted the Aggron. "But I thought that you still have works to do, aren't you?"
"Wait a minute… Grimlock… the Aggron? Isn't he the one that Richard used to mention?"
"I just here to grab something really quick, and I'll be back soon." The Aggron answered before his attention shifted from Ridley to me and Korben. "Oh, aren't you two your guests I met back at the temple?"
"Wait…" Korben said. "You know us?"
"Y'know… I am the one who stood behind mo—I mean, Archbishop Zira the whole time, as I'm her bodyguard." The Aggron said. "Anyway, my name is Grimlock Rusteel the Aggron. I am one of six current disciples of Solar Village Dojo, and since you two didn't introduce yourself when we met earlier, may I ask you to do so?"
"… My name is Korben Forcenter the Kommo-o. I am a traveler from Dustorm Empire. And this…" Korben said and glanced at me a bit. "… Is Sirius."
"Sirius? What a weird name…" Grimlock mumbled to himself. "It almost sounds like a kind of strange thing he would mention when he's reading his book."
"He? Wait, don't tell me that he's talking about…"
"Grimlock…" Eva spoke up. "How is your work today?"
"Um… Nothing extraordinary happens…" Grimlock answered as he tilted his head away from the Eevee.
"And what about mom?" Eva asked with a worried voice.
"Oh, she's doing fine." Grimlock answered. "I thought she's doing much better than when she learned that dad… Y'know the rest…"
"Wait…" Korben spoke up. "Grimlock and Eva… Are you two siblings?"
"R… Right…" Eva answered. "Grimlock is my elder brother, and he's also the son of Archbishop Zira and—"
"Anyway, unlike my mother, I am not some kind of a big shot." Grimlock spoke up. "In fact, I am not really the Knight of Yggdrasil. I was there just to guard my mother, and it's customary for me to wear the armor suit of Knight of Yggdrasil while I'm there…"
"By the way, Grimlock…" Ridley spoke up. "Have you heard anything about everyone else?"
"Well… Not much different than what you've heard before…" Grimlock answered. "Jasper and Zenpai are still going at each other's throat over the stuff about who gets to rule Leafburg, and Viola and Bismarck are still risking their hide doing you-know-what in Civilight."
"Jasper… Zenpai… Viola… Bismarck… I heard this name before from Rachael, Richard and Claura, so they must be…"
"Um…" Korben spoke up. "What do you mean by 'everyone'?"
"Oh, we're talking about other current disciples of this dojo, of course." Ridley answered. "There are currently six Pokemon who 'train' here. Other than me, there are Jasper and Zenpai, the sibling princes of Principality of Leafburg, Viola, the freedom fighter of Republic of Civilight, and Bismarck, the former pirate who's now assisting Viola."
"Honestly, I should be in that Feraligatr's place in helping Claura…" Grimlock said. "But with mom being like this, I have no choice to stay and let Bismarck take my place— Wait a minute… Why did I say all of these in front of strangers?!"
"For some reasons, I am happy for that Heliolisk that she didn't get someone who… can't keep their mouth shut…" Katarina said as she hid her face behind the fan.
"Aa… Shut it." Grimlock said before he turned his attention to Korben and me. "Either way, since I've already say many things that I shouldn't, I might as well ask you something that I've been wanting to ask."
"Sure." Korben replied. However… I noticed that, while he's referring to both of us, the Aggron's attention was focused on me instead of Korben.
"… Have we met somewhere before?" Grimlock said with a grim voice as he clearly focused his attention on me.
"!"
"I don't think so." Korben replied. "I have never left my village until about a month ago, and this is my first time coming to Theocracy of Venturnome."
"I see…" Grimlock said, but it was clear that he didn't pay much attention to Korben as his gaze still focused on me. "… What about you?"
"So… It's true. Me and this Aggron… We have met each other before… It must be that time… When I met Rachael and Richard for the first time in the Civilight Laboratory…"
"Hey." Grimlock spoke up again. "Didn't you hear what I asked? I asked if we've met each other before, as I thought I met you somewhere before—"
"You won't get any answer by continue asking it like that." Korben spoke up. "Sirius is mute, so it couldn't answer your question."
"Mute?" Ridley spoke up. "Ah, that explains why Sirius hadn't spoken anything since when we've met."
"… I see. That's a shame…" Grimlock replied and started walking pass us toward the exit of the dojo. "Anyway, I should be going now. See you later, Ridley, Eva, Katarina."
"Will you come back tonight, Grimlock?" Ridley asked.
"I think not, so, go on without me." Grimlock replied as he reached the exit. "Catch you soon." The Aggron said before he exited the dojo.
"… He's much different than when we met him at the Temple of Yggdrasil…" Korben commented after Grimlock already left.
"H… He may seem scary outside, but deep inside, he's really kind and nice…" Eva answered.
"Anyway…" Ridley spoke up. "I'll show you two a room. Since we have a lot of free room, will you two stay in the same room or in a separated room?"
"Separated room, please." Korben quickly answered, which I found not surprising.
"Then, follow me." Ridley said.
We spent the next ten minutes choosing the rooms for us to stay. While there were a lot of free rooms here since the only Pokemon other than Ridley who really stayed here was Grimlock, there were many rooms that were still occupied and couldn't be used, such as the room for other four disciples who were absent right now, as well as two more rooms, one which belonged to Ridley's elder brother, Fenrir Jr., and the other room belonged to the former master of this dojo and his wife, yet Ridley still kept this room out of respect of his father, and he said that, like his elder brother, his mother may come and stay here too, unknowingly that his mother had already passed too...
Finally, both of us had chosen a room for each of us to stay, and after Eva and Katarina already left, Ridley told us to make ourselves at home before he left to train, and he also invited us to join him if we want to.
"… We will continue doing what we must tomorrow." Korben spoke to me after seeing that everyone already left. "For now, do whatever you want."
After finished speaking, Korben entered his room, leaving me at the hallway in front of the rooms. I guess that he would soon join Ridley in his training. Me, however, had the other plan…
"…" I looked around to see that no one was around here before I walked toward the exit of the dojo and left this place, as I had something that I wanted to do right now…
-Meanwhile… In Korben's Room…
After leaving Sirius and entered his room, Korben sat down on the floor silently. While it was clear that no one else other than him was in this room, and no one was around to peek or eavesdrop them, a creepy voice suddenly spoke up.
"Tell me, Korben… What kind of punishment do you want to receive for your action?"
"I haven't done anything wrong, Giratina." Korben replied to the creepy voice, which was coming out of the diadem he's wearing on his head.
"Oh? So you didn't go to the temple of another deity? If you still remember, you and me are bound in a pact, and thus, you are my champion, and a champion must never bow to another deity other than the one they served."
"I didn't bow down to any deity, Giratina." Korben said. "It's true that I went to the Temple of Yggdrasil, but I didn't do anything else. Also, I may be your champion, but I don't follow you—ARG!"
Korben's sentence was cut off when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his body, causing him to let out a grasp of pain.
"The moment you form a pact with me, you sealed your fate. You already entrusted your soul to me. And I don't tolerate a champion who doesn't obey the command of their Dragon Legend, which I'm sure you already know."
"…" Korben said nothing as he felt the pain in his body already subsided.
"Now, then… Do you require any of my assistant, my champion?"
"Yes." Korben replied. "Please contact all of my friends who had a pact too. There's something that I want to discuss with them."
"Pledge your blood to me, and I shall grant your wish, my champion."
-Meanwhile…
I walked around Solar Village, hiding from the sight of everyone, until I finally reached Temple of Yggdrasil at the time of sunset. Despite the clumsy mask I was wearing, I was able to sneak around the village without being noticed by anyone easily because everyone else was minding their own business as they all headed to the same place as me, the Temple of Yggdrasil without caring of anything else in the world. From what I learnt during the last week that I was sent to scout Theocracy of Venturnome, there will be a daily chant at the temple twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, which was when the priests of the Temple of Yggdrasil gave their prays to Goddess Yggdrasil and recited the teaching of their religion, which the followers of Temple of Yggdrasil were welcomed to join too, and that's what everyone was doing right now…
While I was hiding and waiting for everyone to enter Temple of Yggdrasil, I observed the Pokemon of Solar Village and nearby settlements entered the Temple of Yggdrasil, and it sprouted many thought and questions in my head. First of all, why did everyone decide to join the evening chant? Of two major things they did during the chant, praying to Goddess Yggdrasil and reciting the teaching of their goddess, they could pray to their goddess of all time, not just during the evening chant, and that's what they've been doing the entire day. In fact, while I didn't know how their goddess operated, why do they have to go to the Temple of Yggdrasil just to give their prayer to their goddess? Couldn't they just pray at their home or at any other place? Or they had to pray in front of the statue of the goddess only? But then, why? And how did the statue 'deliver' their prayer to the goddess? Didn't they believe that their goddess is an omnipotent being? So she should be able to receive their praying anywhere, not just in front of her statue… Actually… Why do they have to pray? What is the purpose of their praying? To let their goddess acknowledge that they were following her teaching? But didn't they consider their goddess to be an omnipotent being? Then she should already know who follow her teaching and who didn't… In fact, she would also know who REALLY follow her teaching and who didn't really follow her teaching, so there's no point in praying other than wasting their time…
As for the 'reciting their goddess' teaching' part'… I could understand the purpose of this part, but why do they have to do it every day, especially since the Pokemon of Venturnome strictly followed the teaching of Goddess Yggdrasil in their daily life? If they already took their goddess' teaching into their daily life, then what's the point of reciting it again? Was it to protect the teaching from being forgotten or twisted? Was it to learn more about their goddess' teaching?
… Or was it because of another reason?
Every time I looked at the face of the Pokemon of Venturnome who visited Temple of Yggdrasil, I felt really uncomfortable for some reasons, like there's something wrong with it. I couldn't really describe it… It seemed like they were… brainwashed? It looked a bit like that everyone was brainwashed as they entered the Temple of Yggdrasil… No, that's not it. As someone who lived in the Civilight Laboratory, I could easily tell that these Pokemon weren't really brainwashed, and I could easily see that everyone still retained their free will… But then, what did I see on their face if they weren't brainwashed? I couldn't tell… The closest I could say was that everyone was… obsessed with the Temple of Yggdrasil.
"Mom, are you afraid of death?"
"… ?"
My train of thought was cut off when the words of another Pokemon caught my attention. They were from a young child, a Ralt, who was with a female Gardevoir, who I presumed to be his mother. While the conversation between those who visited the temple meant little to nothing to me, this one really had my attention because it mentioned something that I've been wondering the entire time.
Death…
Because I am an artificial Pokemon, many things about my life were sure to be different from other Pokemon, and one of them was my life span. Richard once told me that my lifespan would be much longer than any other ordinary Pokemon, even rivaled most Legendary Pokemon. But if that's true, then, what sort of being I really was? Was I a Pokemon? But my life span was too long for a Pokemon… Or was I a machine? After all, a machine didn't age as much as a living creature did, and even if it fell apart, it could always been repaired and became as good as new. I wondered… Would something like that happen to me too?
"Don't worry, my dear…" The Gardevoir who was the mother of the child who asked the question earlier spoke up with a soft voice as she gently stroke her child's head. "Dying isn't as scary as you might think. After all, everyone will eventually die. It's nothing but a natural occurrence."
"… Really?" The young Ralt said as he looked at his mother.
"That's right, my dear." The Gardevoir said with a gentle smile on her face. "Moreover, death isn't the end like everyone thought. Death is actually the beginning. It's the beginning of the new life, like a seed of a tree that fell from its tree into the ground and grew up into a new tree once again."
Death is the beginning? I've heard the theory of reincarnation, that living creature that died would rebirth into another living creature, starting their new life as a completely new being. I once heard Rachael tell this to Richard, and she seemed to believe in this. Richard, on the other paw, just dismissed it and said that he didn't believe in anything that wasn't scientifically proved. For me, I shared the same belief regarding reincarnation with Richard, but what if reincarnation was real? What if someone that died would shed their old identity away rebirth into another being with a new identity? Then… Maybe living creatures and machines weren't really as different as I might think…
"Oh? If it isn't my dear Mary! Long time no see!"
My attention was shifted again when another Pokemon, a Lopunny, appeared and approached the Gardevoir and her child. Like the mother and the child, she seemed to be another visitor of the Temple of Yggdrasil.
"It's good to see you again, Pia!" The Gardevoir greeted the Lopunny with a happy look on her face as the Lopunny approached her and her child. "How're you doing?"
"Pretty good, I might say." The Lopunny said. "By the way, Mary, I already heard the news about what you did. That was pretty big!"
"It's nothing, Pia, especially compared to what our goddess did to all of us." The Gardevoir said.
"Still, it was big for you to donate everything your parent and your uncle has to the temple." The Lopunny said. "After all, didn't your mother and your uncle used to be two of three Great Generals of our nation?"
"Yes. My uncle didn't have any child, so I ended up inherit everything he got, as well as everything my parents got." The Gardevoir said. "But all of that means nothing to me anymore. Money and properties are nothing but concrete object. They aren't ours to begin with, and when we died, we can't take it with them, so there's no point for us to hold onto such fleeting things like them. That's what the temple taught me before."
"Very commendable, Mary." The Lopunny said. "I am sure that your afterlife would be a wonderful one."
"It must be." The Gardevoir said. "With all the stuffs I donated, I am basically guaranteed to go to the most luxurious area of the heaven after I died, where I will be happy forever."
"I am sure you will." The Lopunny said. "I haven't donated much, but seeing your admirable deed made me want to donate even more!"
"I am sure that you could do it, Pia. And then we both will end up in the heaven together." The Gardevoir said.
"Very true!" The Lopunny said. "Now, shall we go? Everyone else has already entered the temple, and the evening chant will start soon."
"Of course, my dear." The Gardevoir said as she, the Lopunny, and the young Ralt, who had been quiet all the time, entered the Temple of Yggdrasil.
'Donate… Afterlife… Heaven…' I recalled the words I heard from both of them. 'What were they talking about? Hm?'
I noticed that everyone had already entered the Temple of Yggdrasil, leaving no one outside the temple, even the Knights of Yggdrasil who were guarding the temple had also entered the temple too. This meant that the evening chant must already started.
"…"
After making sure that no one was really here and no one noticed me, I left my hiding place and approached the Temple of Yggdrasil in order to start my work. However, the words I heard from the Gardevoir and the Lopunny in front of the temple still echoed in my mind…
-Meanwhile…
"Can you all hear me?" Korben spoke up as his paw touched the diadem he's wearing.
"… I can hear you, Korben, and so do Rachael." A voice of Richard was heard from the diadem.
"Me too." This time, it was Zetarus' voice.
"I can hear you, Korben." Anastasia's voice followed suit.
"What about Baromyteus, Xavier, Claura and Diego?" Korben asked again.
"… You don't have to ask, Korben." Baromyteus' voice responded to Korben's question.
"Yawn…" Xavier's yawn could also be heard too.
"… What about Claura and Diego?" Korben asked again after noticing the lack of respond from the Mega Charizard X and the Kingdra.
"..."
"…"
"Claura? Diego?" Korben spoke up again.
"Yawn… My Dragon Legend, Zastra, told me that he was trying to reach for Claura's Dragon Legend, Vastria, and Diego's Dragon Legend, Frostic, right now." Xavier's voice answered the Kommo-o's call.
"Which mean that we are already able to contact everyone except for Diego and Claura right now." Baromyteus spoke up. "… Are Freya, Snow and Sirius with you, Zetarus, Anastasia, Korben?"
"Freya's with me, thought she said that she couldn't hear any of your voice." Zetarus replied.
"Snow also said the same thing too, and he's with me right now." Anastasia replied.
"Did that Draconic Lapras do something—" Baromyteus' angry voice was suddenly heard by everyone, but it was quickly interrupted by Xavier's voice.
"Shh… Leave that for later, big brother. Now… Is Sirius with you, Korben?"
"… No." Korben paused a bit before he replied. "But as Zetarus and Anastasia said, if Freya and Snow, both who didn't form a pact with Legendary Pokemon, couldn't hear our conversation, then I doubt that… Sirius would be able to hear it too, not that it would matter much because it couldn't speak anyway."
"I see. So that leaves us with Claura and Diego…" Richard said. "… Can anyone contact them yet?"
"…"
"…"
"… Zastra said that he couldn't contact Vastria and Frostic at all. All he could say was that the champions of Vastria and Frostic are still in Theocracy of Venturnome, but no more than that." Xavier answered.
"T… This is bad. Did something bad happen to them?!" Rachael spoke up.
"Calm down, Rachael. We still don't know anything, so we shouldn't rush to a conclusion." Richard said.
"… Then… Xavier, try to contact Diego and Claura. Meanwhile, we will start our meeting here." Baromyteus spoke up.
"Fine…" Xavier said.
"Then… Korben, what is the reason for contacting all of us like this?" Baromyteus asked.
"First, I want to know the situation on each of your side, everyone." Korben said. "How are you all doing? And where are you right now?"
"… Rachael and I are on our journey to Venturnome City. It would take only a few days for us to reach it, so there's not much to report on our side right now." Richard replied.
"Same here with me and Freya. After we separated from you, we continue our journey and are now staying in the wilderness. It would take a few more days to reach Venturnome Strait too." Zetarus replied.
"Xavier and I had already reached our targeted area a few days ago, and we are still searching for our target, with not much luck." Baromyteus replied.
"Just like Richard and Zetarus, Snow and I are still on our journey, but I think we will reach it by tomorrow if nothing went wrong." Anastasia replied.
"As for me, we've already reached Solar Village today, after we separated from Zetarus and Freya." Korben said. "And we've encountered… Archbishop Zira."
"You've met Zira?" Anastasia spoke up. "How's she doing—"
"Anastasia, that Eevee is our enemy, not our comrade anymore." Baromyteus spoke up. "Back to our topic, did she suspect anything when you met her, Korben?"
"I think not." Korben replied. "However, I am a bit concerned about her bodyguard."
"Zira has a bodyguard?" Anastasia said.
"Yes. He's an Aggron named Grimlock, who's actually her son." Korben said.
"… Did you just say 'Grimlock'?" Richard spoke up with a plain voice.
"You know him?" Baromyteus asked.
"… He's just my acquaintance. Nothing more." Richard replied with the same plain voice. "However, you should be careful around him, Korben. He's the current Hero of Steel type right now after he inherited the power from his dead father."
"You're right. I remembered that Zira and Kamui, the former Hero of Steel type, were in love which each other." Anastasia said.
"… So, why are you concern with that bodyguard of her, Korben?" Baromyteus asked. "Did you get into troubles with him?"
"It wasn't me. It was… Sirius." Korben answered.
"Sirius?!" Rachael spoke up. "What happened to Sirius?!"
"Well… When we introduced ourselves earlier, that Aggron asked both of us if we've met each other before or not." Korben said. "And I think it's Sirius whom he really wanted to ask, not me."
"… I see." Richard spoke up.
"You know something?" Zetarus spoke up.
"Though very brief, Sirius and Grimlock had met each other before." Richard spoke up. "It was 3 years ago, at the Civilight Laboratory, the place where Sirius was created and imprisoned in its early life. Rachael and I met Sirius there 3 years ago too, and since Grimlock and some other Pokemon were with us, though only for a moment, I think Grimlock may remember Sirius due to its unique appearance."
"So… You're saying that there's someone there who might know that our beast is actually a weapon of destruction? That doesn't sound good, if you ask me." Zetarus spoke up.
"… Korben, did that Aggron remember Sirius already or not?" Baromyteus asked.
"He was close to, but we managed to dodge him with the fact that Sirius couldn't speak and I don't know much about it." Korben replied.
"Then, from now on, keep that Type: Null away from that Aggron as much as possible, and, if possible, tell that Type: Null to avoid other Pokemon as much as possible too." Baromyteus said.
"I will." Korben said.
"Wait a minute…" Rachael spoke up. "Korben, if Grimlock's there, then what about others? Are they there too?"
"Others? Who're you talking about, Rachael?" Korben asked.
"… Other than that Aggron, the Hero of Steel type, there are also several other Pokemon who should be with him too, and all of them are also the Hero/ine of Legend." Richard said. "There are Jasper the Sceptile, the Hero of Grass type, Zenpai the Scyther, the Hero of Bug type, and Viola the Heliolisk, the Heroine of Electric type, and I remembered Claura and Xavier told me that the Hero of Water type also joined them too. I think his name is Bismarck the Feraligatr…"
"Wait, I know those names." Korben spoke up. "They are the disciples of Solar Village Dojo too."
"What?" Rachael said.
"Well, right now, I'm staying at a dojo in the Solar Village. Because everyone went to be a priest at the Temple of Yggdrasil, there are currently only six disciples at the dojo, and Grimlock is also one of them. Those names you mentioned, however, are the name of four other disciples of this dojo too."
"So, you mean that everyone is at the Solar Village right now?" Rachael asked.
"Not really." Korben replied. "The only disciples who are here are Grimlock and another disciple who isn't among the four names you mentioned. I think those four Pokemon aren't even in Theocracy of Venturnome right now. If I remember correctly, I think two of them are in 'Leafburg' while the other two are in 'Civilight'."
"I see…" Rachael spoke up. "That's too bad…"
"At least we aren't at risk of running into them soon." Richard said. "By the way, you mention six disciples at the dojo of Solar Village, and you already revealed five of them so far, so who's the last one?"
"… His name is Ridley Couraura the Lucario." Korben spoke. "He's the second son of the Hero of Justice and the Chancellor of Shadowlost Territory, as well as Fenrir Jr.'s younger brother."
"You mean another son of Rucas and Fenrir?" Anastasia spoke up. "Wait, since Rucas is already dead, then… His son must be…"
"… That son of a bxxxxxd… He is the current Hero of Fighting type." Baromyteus said. "This is bad… One Heroine of Legend of the old generation… And two Heroes of Legend of the new generation… At the Solar Village. Solar Village has a lot of our enemies than I thought…"
"Do you think so?" Korben asked. "I mean… That Hero of Fighting type you mentioned… Ridley… He's not that bad. In fact, he's very friendly—"
"YOU FOOL!" Baromyteus suddenly roared. "It matters not if they appear to be friendly or not! They are the Hero/ine of Legend, our nemesis! They are on the opposite side of us! Don't you dare let your guard down or I will be the one who strike you down!"
"…" Korben said nothing after hearing Baromyteus' words.
"Either way, remembers to proceed with our plan VERY carefully, Korben." Baromyteus said. "Don't let our enemies know what you do, and be sure to tell Sirius about this too."
"… Acknowledged." Korben said.
-Meanwhile…
'!'
I thought that the amount of Pokemon that visited Temple of Yggdrasil back then was a lot, but it couldn't even compared to the amount of Pokemon I saw inside the temple right now. There are over 2… No… 3 times the population of Solar Village inside the temple right now, and all of them are committing themselves to the evening chant. While the amount of Pokemon here were shocking, it wasn't what really shocked me.
"Goddess Yggdrasil is an omnipotent being. Her mercy extends to us mortals, so we must devote our heart and soul to her. Only the most devoted followers of the goddess shall be allowed to live a life of happiness after we left our mortal shell behind, so we must show her how devoted we are."
"Our goddess taught us to not be bound to the mortal objects like fortune and glory. Those bound to fortune are condemn to the sin of greed, while those bound to the glory are condemn to the sin of pride. In order to achieve salvation granted by the goddess, you must first abandon the mortal objects. By doing so is the only way to achieve salvation. The more fortune and glory you abandon, the more salvation you will achieve in the afterlife, and we of Temple of Yggdrasil shall be the messiah who delivered the goddess' blessing as well as bear your sin, for we are the most loyal subjects to her benevolence."
"The priests are absolutely right! We have no need for money or anything as long as we get to live an eternal life of happiness after we die."
"Right! Let's donate everything we have to the temple!"
"The more we donate, the more happiness we got after we died, right? I can't wait to donate more tomorrow!"
In the main hall of the temple, the priests were chanting the goddess' teaching, and everyone were praying to the goddess. A lot of them decided to donate their money to the temple. On the side of the main hall, another group of priests were saying something else to a smaller group of visitors.
"This is the statue of goddess Yggdrasil made from the purest gold that was purified by the goddess' blessing. The goddess will grant her blessing to anyone who has this statue in possession. The starting price is 29,999 PokeCoin."
"I'll take three!"
"I'll take ten!"
"Thank you, lady and gentleman. Don't forget to bring the statue back to the temple everyday so the goddess could empower her blessing to the statue."
'So… This is how the Temple of Yggdrasil operates…' I thought as I observed what's going on inside the temple. '… It's truly scary on how much people's belief can do…'
Now that I think about it… We Pendragon were the same… We all believed in the fact that the Hero/ine of Legend were no longer just, which drove us into a mission to eliminate them… And speaking of the Hero/ine of Legend, they were chosen by Arceus to protect the world… And so, they all believed that they were doing the right thing, even if that 'right thing' might not be exactly right… Not that I was saying that what Pendragon were doing was right… But again, a bloodthirsty beast who only existed as the tool of destruction like me had no right to judge anyone's action.
'Now, what's left is…' I turned my attention to the inner area of the temple. This area was exclusive to the priests or the knights of Yggdrasil, and no outsiders were allowed inside. If there's a definitely suspicious place inside the temple, then this is definitely that place, and now that most priests and knights of Yggdrasil were in the main hall of the temple, it's time for me to sneak in and learnt more about this place, and uncovered whatever secret this temple was hiding.
-Meanwhile
"Xavier, you still can't contact Diego or Claura?" Korben spoke to his Diadem of Chaos.
"… No." Xavier's voice was heard from his dragon relic. "Zastra tried to reach Vastria and Frostic, but we still can't contact them."
"Now this is a problem." Richard said. "The only explaination I can think of is that something is preventing us from reaching them… Something that's as powerful as, or more powerful than, the power of Legendary Pokemon."
"Then, what should we do?" Rachael asked.
"… Xavier and I will go check them out" Baromyteus spoke up.
"Brother?" Anastasia said
"If what Richard said turns out to be true, it means we have an unseen enemy going after us." Baromyteus said. "And since Diego and Claura should be at the Trading Post to the east, Xavier and I should be the closest to them."
"What a pain…" Xavier spoke up. "But I guess I couldn't really complain if Baromyteus really wants to be a hero in front of Claura."
"… I'll deal with you later, Xavier." Baromyteus said. "In any case, continue with your work. Xavier and I will contact you later in case we find Claura and Diego. Any question?"
"…"
"Then, dismissed."
After Baromyteus' voice was heard, Korben could feel the connection to other members of the Pendragon being cut off, returning the room into its quiet state once again.
"… I should do some training." Korben mumbled to himself and left his room.
-Meanwhile…
It's been a while since I started infiltrating this place. I never thought that this place would be bigger than I thought. Luckily, with the evening chant in the main hall of the temple, the number of guards in the inner area is pretty low, making it pretty easy for me to sneak in.
'Hm…' I inspected my surrounding as I sneaked around the inner area of the temple. There were dining hall, kitchen, bathroom, and many bedrooms that I believed they are priests' bedroom.
'All bedrooms here only have a single bed, so it means each priest get their own room…' I thought after I inspected each bedroom. 'And every room here, not just the bedrooms, is very extravagant… This doesn't fit the image of 'priests' and 'priestesses' in my memory. Aren't they supposed to be humble and modest? Why do they live such a luxurious life? This place doesn't make any sense…'
I walked around the inner part of the temple more, hoping to find more clues that will help me understanding this place more. And that's when I heard a voice.
"Deep down in your heart, you know, right?"
I picked up a sound from the room located at the end of the corridor with a lot of bedrooms. Seeing that there wasn't anyone around, I quickly sneaked to in front of the room. The nameplate on the door had Bishop Zira's name, and since this is the bedroom corridor, this must be her own room. However, the voice caming out of her room earlier wasn't her voice. It was a masculine voice, the one I just heard a few hours ago.
"Please, Maxnet." This time, it's Bishop Zira's voice. "We aren't having this conversation again."
"You rarely appear during the evening chant despite that's the biggest daily activity of this place." Grimlock said. "That's because, deep down, you don't approve of all the stuffs they do, right?"
"…" There's a bit of pause, before Grimlock continued speaking.
"I mean, seriously? The more you pay, the more blessing of the goddess you will receive. What kind of bullsh-madness is that?"
"You are wrong, my son." Zira spoke up. "This is how our benevolence goddess works. The more you are willing to offer to her, the more her salvation will reach us."
"Mom… You have changed…" Grimlock's voice sounds a bit sad here. "I know that the fact that dad and master Rucas aren't with us anymore sadden you-"
"You are wrong again, my son." Zira spoke up again. "Kamui and Rucas… They are both with the goddess now… I am proud of them for fulfilling their duty until the end, and they will receive the goddess' salvation in return."
"Mom…"
"And since only I are still here, it means I am still not worthy of our goddess' salvation yet." Zira continued speaking. "My heart and soul already belong to the goddess. Without her, I am merely a lost Wooloo. She is the beacon shining alone in the darkness of this world. I must dedicate myself to her teaching even more."
"…"
"You should follow my example, my son." Zira said. "I know that the only reason you are here is because you are worried about me, but that is unnecessary. I have the goddess' blessing with me. If anything happened to me, it means that is the goddess' will, and I am more than happy to follow her decision. Your sister already followed my path, and you should do the same, Maxnet, so that you, too, shall receive the goddess' salvation."
"…"
"…"
"… I see that neither of us would budge…" Grimlock said with a defeated voice. "Very well, then. I will continue protecting you, mom. After all, with dad already gone, this is what I should do."
"Thank you, my son. I appreciate your concern" Zira said.
I quickly moved aside and hid in the shadow as I heard the sound of footstep toward the door of the room, following by the appearance of an Aggron in the armor suit of Knight of Yggdrasil leaving Bishop Zira's room. He then walked along the corridor and disappeared from my sight.
'…' After making sure that Bishop Zira isn't following her son, I silently followed Grimlock until I made sure that he already left the inner area. Then I continued exploring the inner area. This time, I managed to discover a hidden stairway that leads into the underground pathway. However, the door at the end of the underground pathway was locked tight, as if they didn't want what was inside to come out, or didn't want what was outside to go in.
'Now… What should I do…' I thought as I looked at my claws, which is clearly unsuitable for lockpicking. The door also looked too sturdy for me to destroy it with my attack, and even if I could do so, the attack would leave a huge mark that there was someone infiltrating this place. Asking someone for help was, of course, out of an option. I guess this was the end of the infiltration…
'!'
Before I could turn back, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching this place. The sound indicated that there were several Pokemon approaching where I was right now!
'Damn it! The evening chant must be over!' I thought before I quickly looked around for a place to hide. It was too late for me to run back to the ground floor. Luckily, the ceiling of the underground pathway was higher than the entrance of the underground, and underground pathway wasn't that long, creating a blind spot that was impossible to be seen by someone coming from the ground floor, making it the only place I can hide. With no time to spare, I quickly jumped up and latched myself onto the ceiling. With my forelegs that were created like those of bug-type Pokemon, it allowed me to easily latched myself onto the steep surface and stayed there.
"You two stayed here above the ground."
"Understood, sir!"
Just a few seconds after I hid, I saw three Priests of Yggdrasil accompanied by two Knights of Yggdrasil walked into the underground and headed toward the locked door. I could see all of them except for one of the priests were carrying chests with them. One of the priests, the one that didn't carry the chests, then unlocked the door and led other four Pokemon into the underground corridor.
"…" I silently dropped down onto the floor. Luckily that none of them looked back when they reached the door, or else they would have seen me. But now, according to the conversation I heard earlier, the paths above the ground guarded by two Pokemon, making it impossible for me to sneak back underground without being notice, and if I lingered here, soon enough the priests and the knights would return and see me. With no other choice left, I decided to silently followed them into the underground chamber, while making sure that I am too far for they to hear or see me. Thanksfully, it still allowed me to hear their conversation.
"Is this your first time coming here?" The priest leader asked one of the priests, the one who seemed to be unfamiliar with the underground corridor.
"Yes, sir." The priest answered. "I normally was the one who arranges the offerring we got into the chest for transporting it here, but today we got a lot of them that I have to come and help."
"Yeah. Those believers all want the goddess' salvation" Another priest spoke up. "And they will do anything to secure their happiness in the next life."
"They are greedy and foolish creatures…" The priest leader said. "They might think that giving the offering the goddess is a selfless act that would grant them salvation, but they are wrong. Deep down, all of their greedy hearts yearn for one thing, the salvation. That isn't different from someone who wants to get rich or want love. Goddess Yggdrasil will never grant salvation to those greedy peasants. Only us, the holy being chosen by the goddess, are deserving the salvation granted by her holiness."
'Harsh words… But they aren't exactly wrong….' I thought. 'From what I see, regardless of how selfless an action might seem to be, everyone still wants something in return when they do something…'
"You are right." One of the priests said. "We secured the goddess' salvation, and we got those greedy peasants' offering for ourselves too. This, too, must be the blessing of the goddess granted to her chosen followers."
"So… Which way to go next?" The new priest asked as the group of priests and knights then found themselves at the branching paths.
"The treasure chamber is on the right path." One of the knights answered, which prompted the group to head toward the right path.
"Then, what about the left path and the straight path?" The new priest asked as they continued along the dark corridor.
"The straight path is our evacation tunnel. It exists in the case that the temple need an emergency evacuation." Another priest answered. "As for the left path… It leads to 'The Purgatory'."
"Purgatory?!" The new priest said. "You mean the place that—"
"Yes, the very same place." The priest leader spoke up. "No matter how holy this realm might be, our sacred land of Venturnome is still ridden with sinner who opposed us, the chosen followers of the goddess."
"And so, one day, those sinner would 'disappear'." Another priest said. "And they would find themselves in our purgatory. That's where we would 'purify' them so they would be freed of sin. If not, then we would gladly 'purify' them for as long as possible."
'… Those bastards…' I could feel the anger and disgust dwelling inside my head as I listened to their conversation.
"Does the archbishop know anything about this?" The new priest asked. "I still couldn't believe that she permits all of these to be done inside this very place."
"Archbishop Zira? Yes, she is awared of all of these." The priest leader said. "She is a brilliant soul. Once a lost Mareep before she left the unclean land of Civilight. Once she got here, she found solace in our goddess' teaching, and since then she had become our most devout followers. And everything happening inside this temple, she, too, believed that it's the goddess' will for it to happen."
'…' I was shocked. I couldn't believe in what I just heard. Could someone really gone that far just because they believed that some kind of a goddess told them to do so? Wait… The same thing actually happened right at the Dragon's Massacre. Living creature's mind was scarier and more complex than I thought…
"So, here we are." The priests and the knights stopped in front of another large locked metal door. "Time to deposit another day of goddess' blessing, and then we are done for today—"
"Click"
My body almost paralyzed as I heard the sound coming from behind me. It was the sound of someone accidently kicked the pebble. Of course, that wasn't me, but it was more than enough to freeze my blood, because it told me 2 things. One was that, there seemed to be someone else following us, either following me or following the priests and knights like me. And two…
"Who is there?!" One of the knights said as he quickly drew out his sword and charged toward where I was, while another knight also drew out the sword and stood guard the three priests. Luckily, I was far enough for him not to see me yet, but they would if I still lingered here. With no other choice, I quickly retreated, running away from the knights that chased after me.
'Damn it!' I cursed as I ran as fast as I could, which wasn't much as this cursed helmet slowed me down considerably. Finally, I reached the branching path that we passed earlier. From my direction, the left path would lead back to the ground floor. The straight path would lead right into the purgatory. The right path will lead to the evacuation tunnel. Normally, heading toward the left path would be the way to go, but I knew that there were guards standing right at the entrance of the underground path. Heading toward the straight path won't bring me anywhere, and it would be easy for the knight to see me should I head toward the straight path. With no other choice left, I quickly headed toward the right path and continued running, while I still heard the sound of knights following me. But at the same time, I also heard the sound of heavy thump, the sound of someone heavy running, too. Meaning that, whoever was following me and the priests back then, they were also running away right now.
"You can't run away!" The knight shouted. It seemed he almost reached the branching path. "No one can escape the goddess' judgment! Surrender yourself and the goddess may grant you mercy—"
"ARRRGGGG!"
'!' I heard the sound coming from the path opposite of where I was, the path that led to the ground floor. It was the sound of someone getting attacked, which meant that…
"Hah! So that's where you went, huh!" The knight quickly turned left, heading toward the ground floor. With the knight gone from my tail, it gave me time to stop and rest, and to listen to any sound I could hear. It wasn't long before I heard the sound of the knight heading upstairs, toward the ground floor, following by the sound of the knights talking.
"What?! Who did this to all of you, my comrades?! Someone, call the healers! Also, sealed all the exits of the temple! Don't let the sinner escape! No one can escape the goddess' judgment! No one!"
'So… The intruder attacked the guards and then seemed to get away…' I thought to myself. 'But now that they will seal the temple's exit, I couldn't escape via the path I use before anymore, which leaves…' I looked toward the path in front of me, the path that led to the evacuation tunnel. With no other choice left, I started running again, toward the evacuation tunnel.
-A while later…
'Ha!' I finally sighed in relief as I reached the door at the end, which didn't have any lock, so I could open it and managed to finally get outside, under the night sky of Venturnome, at last.
'Finally…' I cautiously scanned around where I was. The evacuation path led to a well-hidden area next to a small cliff bordering the Venturnome Meadow, hidden behind many trees. It seemed like I was in the outskirt area of Solar Villager. There was no one else here, not even a single guard or a single villager, meaning that I successfully escaped the Temple of Yggdrasil. 'I didn't expect someone else to be behind me. Did they follow me? Or did they follow the priests? But… They seemed to not be aware that there were guards at the entrance of the underground path, or else they would have avoided it. Also, the guards were stationed there right before the priests entered the underground path, which means the other intruder couldn't enter the underground path via the entrance after me, or else me, the priests, or the guards would have seen them… Then… Did they enter the underground path via the entrance before I did? Or did they…'
I turned back toward the door of the evacuation tunnel. It was a big metal door that was a bit rusty, indicating that it wasn't used for a long time… Or that seemed to be. 'If thise door wasn't used in a long time before I used, then the door would have made noise when I opened it.' I directed my sight toward the hinge of the door and inspected it. '… As I thought. Someone have oiled the hinge… And they did it very recently too. Which meant that…'
'… I shouldn't linger here…' I continued thinking. 'Someone might find me here. I should head back toward the dojo and meet up with Korben…'
Before I left, however, my eyes managed to catch something on the ground, lying right around where the hinge of the door was. It was a small sparkling object lying on the ground.
'What is this…' I picked the small object with my paw. It was a small and thin brown plate-like object. Despite its shape, it's harder than I thought. The light of the moon above shining onto the object, making it sparkling ominously. Once again, my blood almost froze when I realized what the object I was holding is.
'A Scale… of a Dragon?!'
To Be Continued…
DoV: Finally… After 2+ years of absent, I have returned, and finally finished this chapter. I am sorry for being inactive for so long. I kinda got burnt out, and a lot happened in these past 2 years. It took me a very, very long time to rekindle myself and finally finished this chapter. I also admit that this chapter was very hard to write. Beside the burn out, the entire Tail 8 was very hard to write as I have to write it from Sirious' POV. You might find the writing inconsistency within this chapter, and that was because of the time gap in me writing. Honestly, I am still not sure of how long I can keep this inspiration and continue writing. I really want to finish this story, but a lot had changed… Nevertheless, I will try my best to finish this story, which still had a lot to go. Also, I thank anyone who still read my story. It meant a lot for me.
Q&A Session:
Tail 8-3 - Question: If you have to switch to use a weapon used by other members of the Pendragon, whose weapon would you choose?
Answer:
-Korben: I have always wanted to use magic like Richard does, so I will go with Richard's tome. I will have to study hard in order to use it, though.
-Claura: Korben's knuckle. There are a lot of time when I want to punch someone, especially a certain arrogant black dragon. Of course, that is just a dream for someone without a limb like me.
-Xavier: Zetarus' pistol. Why? Because pistol is the most convenient weapon to use when you want to kill someone, which will allow me to kill even more Pokemon within the same amount of time.
-Anastasia: That weapon used by Claura… An anchor, isn't it? Yes, I would want to try using it. Since I am a supporting fighter who usually fight from backline, having a long-range weapon like it would be useful.
-Baromyteus: Just look at me and see if I can use anything else other than Xavier's halberd. Honestly, a halberd is too cumbersome for me to use, but I understand why Xavier chose it as his weapon of choice. After all, cracking other's skill with a halberd is very satisfying.
-Diego: I would go with Baromyteus' double blade. I am actually a pretty good swordman, if I do say so myself. You need to know how to use a lot of weapons if you want to survive in the arena, after all.
-Zetarus: Diego's naginata, of course! After all, I am good with handling a long and hard object, if you know what I mean…
-Rachael: Freya's staff. It seems to be the only weapon I can reliably use. It would also allow me to support everyone else too!
-Richard: This might sound like a madness, but I am actually curious about what would happen if I implanted Sirius' chips into my body. Would it enhance my power and skill? So many questions…
-Freya: R… Rachael's doll, of course! Her doll is so cute! I r…really want to befriend her doll too…
-Snow: … Other than brewing tea, I also find a joy in music. A good music always calm my heart and make me relax, as well as capable of doing even more… With that said, it seems my only choice is the harp… Anastasia's harp…
-Sirius: :3 (Dragon of Vale: Sirius, let me see what you have! SNOW'S KNIFE?! NO!)