A Dragon's Tail
Ending I: Vermillion Dusk
"… It seems to be that I really have no other choice in this matter." Solance said with determined voice as they gazed back at the Shadow Lugia, who was still holding onto his chin. "As much as I hate doing this, I shall take this chance. I shall participate in this gamble."
"Wise decision, my other half." Lunoire spoke up with a sinister voice. "After all, it's always better to take the path with a chance to succeed, no matter how small that chance is, than to take the path with zero chance to win, isn't it?"
"… I have absolutely no fondness to gambling the fate of the world like this." Solance replied with strong voice, unfazed by their other half's demeanor. "However, I believe in the goodwill of mankind, and I only hope for the best for this world. I might only have but a tiny chance to succeed, but if I can sacrifice my existence in order to protect this world, then I will do it with no hesitation, and I won't have any regret in doing so."
"Such a noble hope, suitable for the embodiment of Super Ego." Lunoire spoke with a sinister yet somewhat sultry voice. "As for me, If I won, I will finally be able to fulfill my long-last dream of having a body of my own, and then I shall use it to devastate the world you love and care so much. Sound good?"
"…You are a disgusting creature, Lunoire." Solance replied with a voice that show loathing toward the Shadow Lugia. "You care about nothing but yourself, and you seek nothing but the destruction and the sorrow of the world. You are wretched filth whose goddess' salvation will never reach. The only place a filth like you deserve is the deepest abyss of purgatory. I only hope that your soul burns in hell for eternity."
"Oh? Is that hatred I see in your eyes? Well, it doesn't matter anymore, for that I might soon achieve the goal I have been dreaming of for over a millennium. Now, let's get this over with, shall we?" Lunoire said with an ominous voice as they grabbed onto Solance's chin and looked into the Lugia's eyes, before the Shadow Lugia implanted their mouth onto the mouth of the Lugia in front of them.
"You are mine now. We are going to be together… Forever…"
-Meanwhile…
Tower of the Gods… A lone tower located in the holy realm of Theocracy of Venturnome, which was also the southernmost point of the continent of Symmetria. It was said to be a place where the god Arceus resided as they observed the world of mortals from above, and the final battle during War of the God III, between the Hero/ine of Legend and the Ancient Demon who tried to conquer the world, was said to take place here about 200 years ago. And thus, it was considered a sacred spot of not just Theocracy of Venturnome, but also for the entire continent of Symmetria. So, most of the time, the tower was voided of any Pokemon in order to respect the god's sacred ground. Today, however, the tower would receive a visit from another group of Pokemon… Those with a power to decide the fate of the world.
"Sirius, wait!"
Rachael called out the name of the Silvally, who was running ahead of her and the rest of their comrades. The Pendragon had arrived at Tower of the God about 15 minutes ago, and now, they were climbing the seemingly endless staircases leading to the top of the tower. As for the reason behind their sudden visit to this place…
"Honestly, why are we here again?" Claura asked as she stopped to catch her breath. Half of the Pendragon could fly, so they had little trouble climbing the tower, except for Rachael and Richard, who were physically frail. The other half who couldn't, namely Korben, Claura, Anastasia, Baromyteus, Snow, and Sirius, often had to take a rest as they climbed the tower.
"It's Sirius." Diego replied as he and the other half of the Pendragon who could fly, namely Rachael, Richard, Xavier, Freya, Zetarus, and Diego himself, landed themselves onto the staircases to wait for those who couldn't. "They just barged in while we were having a meeting to decide what we were going to do next and urged all of us to follow them at once, as if it's an emergency."
"And we just… follow them? Without any explanation or anything?" Xavier spoke up.
"I am sure that Sirius had a very good reason for this." Richard spoke up. "If only they could talk, they would explain everything to us."
"Well, that Silvally isn't the only one…" Zetarus spoke up with a serious voice as he touched the Ring of Balance he was wearing. "Zygarde also urged me to bring all of you here as soon as possible. He won't explain the detail other than that something terrible is going to happen soon if we don't stop it."
"… The lost soul from the Afterlife… The soul of the ancient prince of the sky… I have located it at last…" Zygarde's voice came out of Zetarus' Ring of Balance.
"So… It's true that Lord Zygarde is the ruler of the Afterlife, where the souls of those who died in the mortal world gather together for the eternal repose..." Richard said. "And about the ancient prince of the sky part… You are talking about Prince Falcon Gale-norval the Lugia, aren't you?"
"Correct, sharp one, except the part that I am the ruler of the Afterlife, for that Afterlife has 3 rulers, and I am but one of them." Zygarde replied. "Either way, the ancient prince of the sky died over 1,000 years ago, at the end of Daybreak Crisis, and his soul entered the Afterlife, where he finally found repose at last… Or that seemed to be the case. Unfortunately, his soul suddenly disappeared from the Afterlife, and I had been searching for it since then. I even formed a pact with Zetarus in order to help me with my searching, for that, as the ruler of Soulyn, one of three realms of Afterlife, I can't leave the Afterlife for too long."
"Is it that easy to escape from the Afterlife? I don't think the realm of the death would be easy to escape from." Baromyteus questioned.
"Of course not. Arcarus, the three-headed Arcanine who guards the gate of Afterlife, always makes sure not to let any soul leave the Afterlife without the permission from one of three rulers of Afterlife, which are Diasol, the ruler of Lumina, Yterval, the ruler of Darkon, and me, the ruler of Soulyn. This, of course, doesn't counting the souls that never enter the Afterlife in the first place, like the souls of the 14th Dragonking—" Zygarde answered.
"… Lord Zygarde, please…" Ilia spoke up with a calm voice via Rachael's Mist Pendant.
"… You talk too much, old man." Holmer spoke with an emotionless voice via Richard's Luster Pendant.
"Then…" Baromyteus spoke up again. "Is the soul of that prince really that important that you have to go that far to find it?"
"No matter how important you were in life, in Afterlife, everyone is at equal status, or at least that is what seems so..." Zygarde replied. "This case, of course, is different. Let's just say that… something… managed to convince both Diasol and Yterval to search for this soul, so I had no choice but to go along with them too."
"Diasol and Yterval… The other two rulers of Afterlife beside Lord Zygarde…" Anastasia mumbled.
"… Something… or Someone… that managed to convince those two to search for the lost soul… Falcon's lost soul…" Holmer mumbled. "There's only one person that I can think of who could—"
"Aren't we resting enough?" Zetarus spoke up. His voice seemed to distort a bit. "Let's continue, then. Sirius must have been near the top. We can't waste any more time!"
"?!"
"!"
"Wait…" Zygarde spoke up, with his voice directing toward his pactbound champion. "What do you think you are doing—"
"Shut up." Zetarus said as he spread his wings and…
"Zetarus, wait!" Diego spoke up, but the Garchomp simply took off and continued flying toward the top of the tower.
"Geez… First Sirius, now Zetarus…" Claura mumbled. "Whatever… I am good now. Let us proceed too."
The rest of the Pendragon got up and continued climbing up the stairs. None of them knew what would await them at the top of the tower, so the only thing they could do now was moving forward, hoping to find the answer at their destination…
-A Few Minutes Later…
At last, after an arduous journey, the Pendragon reached the top of Tower of the God. For all but two one of them, this was their first time stepping onto this sacred ground, something that very few would ever get to experience.
"We are finally here…" Freya said as she and her comrades looked at their surroundings. "The top of Tower of the God… I never thought that I would ever get to visit this place… Normally, only the high-rank priests, those who are on a pilgrimage, could reach the top of Tower of the God…"
"Even though there's no guard stationed at this tower, most people wouldn't come here, for that they either respect Arceus' sacred ground, or that they already neglect Arceus in favor of Yggdrasil instead." Richard said. "And not just anyone could climb the tower, for that it is said that the tower has their own will, and they work in a mysterious way to determine which Pokemon get to reach the top of the tower. If the tower decides that you aren't worthy enough, you will never reach the tower top no matter how hard you try… Or at least that's what the myth said."
"We must be the first large group that managed to reach the top of the tower ever since War of the God III ends…" Rachael said.
"Oh, that's right…" Korben said as he walked around the tower top. "Hero/ine of Legend fought against the Ancient Demon at the end of War of the God III, didn't they? We are really standing on a historic spot…"
"…" Baromyteus and Anastasia walked toward the edge of the tower and looked down to the ground below, but all they could see was white clouds.
"We must be above the cloud level." Anastasia spoke up. "I wonder how high this tower is…"
"…"
"…?" Not hearing the answer from her brother, the Goodra turned her attention toward the demonic Shiny Haxorus who was standing beside her and found that he was having his full attention at the ground below the tower, as if he was thinking of something.
"Brother?" Anastasia called the Shiny Haxorus next to her. "Do you have something in your mind right now?"
"… I don't know why…" Baromyteus slowly spoke up. "… But as soon as I looked down from here, I suddenly have an urge to jump down from this tower."
"B… Brother?!" Anastasia was shocked after hearing her brother's words. "P… Please don't do—"
"Of course, I won't, Anastasia. I won't do something thoughtless like that." Baromyteus turned his attention to his sister. "It's just that… I feel like I am having a déjà vu right now."
"Déjà vu?" Anastasia looked at her brother.
"Yeah." Baromyteus said. "It's almost as if I have jumped down from this tower before, despite that this is definitely the first time I came here…"
"Brother…" Anastasia mumbled.
"… Forget it. It must have been my imagination." Baromyteus said as he walked back to join the rest of the Pendragon, with Anastasia following him. "Now, where's Sirius? They came here ahead of us, didn't they?"
"…"
The Pendragon's attention turned toward the Silvally who was standing near the center of the tower top. The Silvally neither moved nor made any noise. All they did was staring at the sky above them. The expression on their face was unknown as they were having their back turn toward the rest of the Pendragon.
"Sirius." Rachael spoke up. "Can you tell us now why you brought all of us here?"
"…"
"Why did you even ask them?" Diego facepalmed himself. "If that Silvally could speak, they would already tell us—"
"Grrrr…" Sirius suddenly let out a growl as they got into a battle stance while still had their attention on the sky above them, and then…
"CRACK!"
"SHINK!"
"THUD!"
Before any of them could act or say anything, they saw a 'crack' appearing on the sky, as if the sky itself was a fractured mirror. And almost right afterward, the crack 'broke' like a shattering mirror, and two creatures appeared, falling down from the sky onto the top of Tower of the God.
"!"
Of the two creatures that just appeared, the one who was met with the floor of the tower top first was a large Pokemon with the appearance of a cross between avian and draconic Pokemon. Most of this Pokemon's body was silver white except for a few parts, such as his underbelly, which was light blue. They had several dark blue plates on their back, and they had a long tail with two dark blue spikes near the tip of it. They had two wings that looked like arms and hands. They also had dark blue ridge protruding from the back of their eyes, and a single horn at the end of their back. Overall, this Pokemon was the Legendary Pokemon Lugia, and he seemed to be in pain, as if he was just in a battle against a powerful opponent.
"…"
The second Pokemon, who landed on top of the Lugia, was on the opposite spectrum from the Lugia. Their body was almost entirely black, with only their eyes and parts of their face that contained other colors. The rest of their body seemed to made of dark crystal or prism. They had two arms, each with large hand, and one of them was grabbing on the Lugia's head right now.
"AND NOW!" The black Pokemon spoke up. "YOUR LIGHT IS MINE!"
As soon as the black Pokemon finished their words, there was a sudden burst of light coming out of the Lugia's body, blinding everything around them, and the Pendragon had to shield their eyes from the light. After the burst of light subsided, and the Pendragon could finally see again, they found that the Lugia and the black Pokemon in front of them were no longer there, because…
"…"
On the other side of tower top, opposite of where the Pendragon were standing, the Lugia was there. He was in a standing position, except that his feet were a few centimeters away from the floor, indicating that he was actually floating in the air. Moreover, one look and anyone could see that there was something wrong with this Lugia, for that this Lugia had several black crystal-like prisms attached to several parts of their body, such as their chest, their neck, and their back. The plates on their back and the spikes on their tail were also replaced with black prism, and more of them also attached to the back of their paws and their feet claws. The upper part of his head was also covered with black prism like a mask, and their eyes were blank white and voided of any emotion.
"What… is that?!" Snow let out a gasp of surprised upon seeing the appearance of the Lugia.
"… The black prism on that Lugia's body… They are actually parts of the Legendary Pokemon Necrozma, which is the black Pokemon we saw just a minute ago." Richard spoke up as he was looking at his chronicle. "Without light, Necrozma's body becomes dark, so they are always in a constant need of light. They can attach itself to other Pokemon, namely Legendary Pokemon, to control them and feed off their light, and the Pokemon with Necrozma attached to itself completely lose their will to Necrozma."
"Which means that Necrozma is feeding off that Lugia's light." Baromyteus said.
"Still, that's weird. Lugia isn't the kind of Pokemon that Necrozma normally feeds off the light from, for that Lugia isn't a Pokemon known for being the embodiment of 'light'." Richard commented as he casted his gaze toward the Lugia-Necrozma, who was inspecting their body right now.
"… THIS IS NOT WHAT I HOPE FOR, BUT IT WILL MAKE DO FOR NOW." Lugia-Necrozma commented with a majestic voice with a hint of twisting in their voice. "AT LONG LAST, I HAVE REGAINED THE LIGHT I LOST."
"Regained the light?" Rachael repeated the words spoken by the Lugia-Necrozma. "What did you mean by—"
"Master?"
A small figure jumped down from Rachael's arms and slowly jumped toward the Lugia-Necrozma. It was none other than the Espurr doll that Rachael had been using as her weapon, Cathy. Normally, Cathy would sleep peacefully in Rachael's arms and only woke up during the battle. This time, however, Cathy was fully awake as it cheerfully approached the Lugia-Necrozma.
"Cathy!" Rachael quickly flew after the Espurr doll, grabbed it, and brought it back. "Don't rush in like that!"
"But Master is right there." Cathy spoke up as it pointed its paw at the Lugia-Necrozma. "Cathy finally meets Master again! Yay! Yippy Ho!"
"… Cathy…" Ilia spoke up from Rachael's Mist Pendant. "The being you saw here… They are not your master."
"Hm? What do you mean by that, Ilia?" Rachael asked as she looked at the Lugia-Necrozma. "And who is this Pokemon in front of us?"
"THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED FROM MORTALS, FOR THAT NO ONE REMEMBER ME ANYMORE." The Lugia-Necrozma replied. "NO ONE REMEMBER ME, THE OLD GOD OF LIGHT OF THE LAND OF EQUILIBRIUM, ANYMORE, EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING I HAD DONE FOR THEM."
"Old God of Light?" Snow spoke up. "I don't recall any god beside Arceus, Yggdrasil, and the Dragon God."
"Old Gods… If I have to give the laziest summary, they are pretty much what Yggdrasil currently is, except to the nations on the Great Continent instead." Xavier spoke up.
"… Several millenniums ago… Before the Apocalypse happened, without the direct influence of Arceus and the Dragon God, the Great Continent became a contested ground for Legendary Pokemon, who divided the continent into several realms, each realm with a Legendary as their ultimate ruler, as their god." Claura spoke up. "Those Legendary, who once ruled over their own realm on the Great Continent, are called 'Old Gods' now, for that the Great Continent had been reduced to nothing but the Land of Sorrow, with only Symmetria survived, and the Old Gods lost most or all of their influence over the world."
"… I didn't expect the two of you to know about this." Baromyteus spoke up.
"Is there a problem with that?" Claura glared at Baromyteus.
"…" Xavier didn't say anything in return, though his paw involuntarily reached toward his Scale Brooch.
"I ONCE RULED OVER WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS LAND OF EQUILIBRIUM. I BROUGHT LIGHT ONTO MY REALM. I PROTECTED MY REALM FROM THE APOCALYPSE CAUSED BY THE WRETCHED HERO/INE OF LEGEND." Lugia-Necrozma spoke up. "AND YET, THE WORLD HAS FORGOTTEN ME, MORTALS ARE SUCH INSOLENT AND FEEBLE CREATURES, INDEED."
"Well… Everyone now worships Yggdrasil instead, despite that she barely did anything to deserve the faith of her people." Xavier said. "All she did was assisting Hero/ine of Legend during the Fallen Crisis. That's all."
"AND NOW, WITH MY POWER BACK, I SHALL DETHRONE YGGDRASIL." Lugia-Necrozma spoke up. "AND THEN I SHALL RECLAIM MY RIGHTFUL SPOT AS THE GOD OF THE LAND OF EQUILIBRIUM, AND MORTALS SHALL GET TO BASK IN MY GLORY ONCE AGAIN."
"Y… You want to kill Yggdrasil?!" Freya said. "B… But why did you have to do that?! Can't you just talk to her about this?!"
"THERE ARE NOT TWO SUNS IN THE SKY, NOR TWO SOVEREIGNS OVER THE PEOPLE." Lugia-Necrozma answered. "THIS REALM IS MINE. I AM THE ONLY GOD OF THIS REALM. I WILL LET NO ONE TAKE IT FROM ME. NO ONE. NOT EVEN MY FELLOW OLD GODS CAN STOP ME. HEED MY WORDS, VASTRIA, ZASTRA!"
"?!"
"!"
"Vastria… Zastra…" Diego spoke up. "Why do I feel like I have heard of those names before."
"Because they are the names of the Legendary Pokemon that two of us had formed a pact with." Richard said as he turned his attention to two Pokemon who were the cousins of each other, Claura and Xavier.
"…" Claura and Xavier didn't say anything. All they did was touching their Dragon Relic, Claura's Feather Brooch and Xavier's Scale Brooch. As they did, silhouettes of two dragons, one black and one white, appeared behind them. They were the Dragon of Truth, Vastria the Reshiram, and the Dragon of Ideal, Zastra the Zekrom.
"… Yxmaz, long time no see." Vastra spoke up with majestic voice as her gaze was at the Lugia-Necrozma on the other side of the tower top.
"… You have been dormant for such a long time, Yxmaz." Zastra spoke up with strong voice as he also casted his gaze on the Lugia-Necrozma.
"Wait…" Korben spoke up as he looked at Vastria and Zastra, then looked at Claura and Xavier. "Claura, Xavier, your pactbound Legendaries…"
"Yes, that's right." Xavier spoke up. "Vastria and Zastra are Old Gods too."
"Each of them once ruled over their own realm on the Great Continent, before the Apocalypse happened." Claura said. "And that is how Xavier and I know about Old Gods."
"VASTRIA, THE DRAGON OF TRUTH… ZASTRA, THE DRAGON OF IDEAL… MY FELLOW OLD GODS… SO, YOU TWO ARE REALLY HERE…" Lugia-Necrozma spoke up after seeing the Reshiram and the Zekrom appearing. "TELL ME, WHY ARE YOU TWO HERE? ARE YOU AIMING TO TAKE OVER THIS REALM?! ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE THIS REALM AWAY FROM ME, ITS RIGHTFUL RULER?!"
"… We have no intention of doing something like that, Yxmaz." Vastria answered. "The Great Continent, Irtha, is currently in ruin from the Apocalypse. The only inhabitable land left in this world are Kingdom of the Dragonking, ruled by the Dragon God themselves, and Symmetria, the Land of Equilibrium, which is under Yggdrasil's influence right now."
"Our time of reign over the realms of mortals is over, Yxmaz." Zastra spoke up. "As long as the Great Continent remains in ruin, we have no intention to regain our control over the world."
"… LET ME DECLARE MY INTENTION TO YOU, VASTRIA, ZASTRA, MY FELLOW OLD GODS." The Lugia-Necrozma spoke up. "IF YOU EVER DECIDE TO CONTEST WITH ME FOR THE RULE OF THIS REALM, I SHALL CONSIDER THE TWO OF YOU MY ENEMIES, AND I WILL SHOW YOU NO MERCY!"
"…"
"…"
Vastria and Zastra said nothing in response to the Lugia-Necrozma's words, before their silhouette dissipated, returning to Claura's Feather Brooch and Xavier's Scale Brooch.
"Well… At least your Dragon Legend aren't a crazy god like Necrozma here." Richard spoke to Claura and Xavier as the Pendragon turned their attention to each other. "Now, we need to decide on what to do with Necrozma here…"
"Well, according to the purpose of the Pendragon, defeating a crazed Old Hod who wants to take over the world isn't anywhere in our agenda." Xavier replied with a bored voice. "So, I suggest that we head back to our base and grab a nice cup of hot milk while watching the world burn."
"Are you serious?!" Diego spoke up.
"No, I am Xavier. Sirius is over there." Xavier replied and glance toward the Silvally, who, unlike the rest of the Pendragon, didn't join the discussion. Instead, they were still facing the Lugia-Necrozma.
"… This is hardly the time for a joke…" Baromyteus sighed.
"Still, are we just going to let Necrozma kill Yggdrasil and take over the world?!" Rachael spoke up with a worried voice.
"Well… You have seen how shitty this world is when it's under the rule of Yggdrasil…" Xavier said. "I can't say if it will be better or worse if it's Necrozma who's in control of this world…"
"For me, I couldn't care less of what will happen to Symmetria." Claura said. "Who care if there are two mad gods instead of one?"
"Besides, this isn't our duty at all." Baromyteus spoke up. "Stopping the crazy god from taking over the world sounds like the work of Hero/ine of Legend instead."
"Then, perhaps we should contact Hero/ine of Legend and inform them of our situation." Snow suggested. "However, I am not sure if they will get it here in time or not, or if Necrozma would still be here by the time they get here."
"Then it would be up to us to deal with Necrozma while waiting for Hero/ine of Legend to come here." Korben said.
"It's not our duty." Claura said. "Pendragon isn't a group who fights for justice and righteousness of the world. We are just a group seeking revenge on Hero/ine of Legend for their wrongdoing."
"What Claura said." Xavier said and yawned. "Well, let's go back to Pendracomonium and—"
"…"
As the Pendragon were discussing among themselves, one Pokemon slowly walked pass them and headed toward where Lugia-Necrozma was, causing the Pendragon to stop their discussion midway and had their attention turned toward the Pokemon who was approaching the Lugia-Necrozma instead, for that he was none other than one member of the Pendragon who had been staying quiet ever since the Pendragon arrived at the tower top.
"Zetarus?" Diego called the name of the Garchomp, who was approaching the Lugia-Necrozma. "What are you doing?"
"Shut up, faggot." 'Zetarus' turned his head to the left side and looked at the Pendragon with his left eye as he spoke up, and yet his words, his voice, or even the spark in his eye seemed so foreign to the Pendragon. His voice was now rough, deep, and intimidating, and the spark in his eye showed no emotion at all.
"F… Faggot?!" Diego was greatly taken aback by the Garchomp's words. "What are you saying, Zet?! Why did you call me—"
"BANG!"
"!"
Before the Mega Charizard X could finish his sentence, the sound of gunshot was heard, and the bullet narrowly missed Diego's torso as it landed on the floor behind him. At the direction where the bullet came from, the Garchomp who was standing there now turned his body to fully face the Pendragon, and his pistol still had a faint smoke coming out of it, indicating an extremely recent use of it.
"I told you to shut up, fucker." 'Zetarus' spoke up again with intimidating voice.
"Z… Zet…" Diego was clearly shocked by his partner's sudden chance in personality. "Y… You aren't Zetarus! What have you done to him?!"
"I don't need to answer your question, cocksucker." 'Zetarus' replied as he put away his pistol. "You will get my faggot great-grandson back once I am done here."
"Great-grandson…" Diego mumbled the words he just heard. "Are you saying that you are Zetarus' great-grandfather?! Wait, now that I think about it… Zetarus said that he met his great-grandfather twice during his visit to Terra Room in Desert Palace, during two times he tried to kill his own father."
"… I knew it." Holmer suddenly spoke up via Richard's Luster Pendragon. His voice seemed to be directed at 'Zetarus' "I've had my suspicion when the young Garchomp was acting strange as we lived Tower of the God, and my fear turns out to be right."
"We never thought that we will get to meet you again." Ilia spoke up via Rachael's Mist Pendant. Like Holmer, her voice was directed toward 'Zetarus'. "You are one of the Pokemon we want to meet again the least, for that you are among the most disgusting Pokemon we've met."
"Tysand…" Holmer said. "It's you, isn't it?"
"Oh? I was wondering who was it that knows me…" 'Zetarus' spoke up with a devious voice. "Well, if it isn't the incest king and his queen consort! Long time no see. How are you two? Have you destroyed Kingdom of the Dragonking for the third time yet?"
"… Still as much of an asshole as ever, despite that it has been over 1,000 years already." Holmer sighed.
"… Are you going to explain everything to us, Lord of Blindness?" Richard spoke up. "It might be your imagination, but you seem to be acquainted with 'Zetarus' over there."
"… The Twilight Crisis… About 1,200 years ago…" Ilia spoke up. "It happened on the ancient continent of Mytherel. The Ancient Demon from another world tried to pillage Power of the God from Arceus, and the Hero/ine of Legend managed to defeat the Ancient Demon and sealed them for the time being. That was the very first gathering of Hero/ine of Legend after War of the God II, after the Apocalypse. As a result, only 8 Hero/ine of Legend managed to awake their power and joined up. They were also joined by two Legendary Pokemon who assisted and guided them throughout the journey. That was me and Holmer. We journeyed alongside the Hero/ine of Legend during the time of Twilight Crisis."
"8 Hero/ine of Legend during the Twilight Crisis… They were those of the Grass, Fire, Water, Electric, Ground, Ice, Flying, and Dragon type, and among them, we had this fucked-up Garchomp as the Hero of Ground type." Holmer spoke up, with his voice directly toward 'Zetarus'. "He was the prince of the ancient Earth Kingdom, as well as the grandfather of the late Emperor Garland of Dustorm Empire, making him Zetarus' great grandfather, and his name is Tysand Quakersand the Garchomp."
"Bravo! If I was a little bit nicer, I would clap for you for accurately summarize my story." 'Zetarus', or Tysand, spoke up with sarcastic voice.
"Tysand Quakersand…" Claura spoke up as she looked at his cousin. "Does that name ring a bell for you, Xavier? I think I've heard that name before."
"Well, that's the name of 13th Dragonking of Kingdom of the Dragonking, dubbed the worst Dragonking of the history of the kingdom, not counting the 11th Dragonking." Xavier answered. "And the period of his reign is around 1,200 years ago. The name and timing do match, aren't they?"
"Heh… Not bad… Not many people know of my history as the Dragonking, after all." Tysand spoke with his arms crossed. "Yeah, I fucked up Kingdom of the Dragonking pretty badly, and I would do it again. Anyway, the following Dragonking had a lot to deal with my mess, isn't that right? Dragonking Holmer and Dragonqueen Ilia, the 14th Dragonking and Dragonqueen of Kingdom of the Dragonking."
"… Parts of the reasons why people of Kingdom of the Dragonking hated you was something that is totally out of your control…" Ilia spoke up with a sad voice.
"… But you are also a terrible Dragonking too." Holmer spoke up. "Kingdom of the Dragonking had suffered so much from the Apocalypse. It's thanks to King Baron, the 12th Dragonking, that the kingdom managed to reach its golden age once again… And then you just ruined his work within year… No, months of your rule."
"Still, this is such a nice cast you managed to gather. I never know that there's a Dragonking reunion happening…" Tysand ignored Holmer and Ilia's remarks as he inspected the Pendragon while also doing a count. "Let's see… We have Nemesis, Ezekiel, Roland, Caspion, Frostic, Tysand, Holmer, and Ilia here. And I can sense a faint presence of LD, Ryouma, Julius, Baron, Anna, and… Whatever the name of that stinky thorn dragon is, too. Oh my Arceus' ass! That's almost everyone, isn't it? Only Dracaros and Vernoir are missing."
"… Those names… The names of all Dragonkings…" Xavier mumbled.
"But it doesn't make sense!" Claura spoke up. "Several of those people already died long time ago! How could they still be here?"
"Well, of course, you and Roland won't remember, Caspion. And I bet Julius doesn't remember too." Tysand said with a nonchalant voice. "Don't think too much about it, okay? Always thinking of small details is a sight that you're still a virgin, after all."
"You…" Claura's body was trembling from anger from Tysand's remark.
"Enough with those stuffs, asshole." Diego spoke up with irritated voice. His voice was directed toward Tysand. "I don't care if you are Zet's great-grandfather or anything. Why did you take over his body?! Leave his body at once, fucker!"
"Do you think I even want to use this fag's body?" Tysand said as he inspected Zetarus' body. "I don't have a problem with his blind right eye, but his body is so lean and thin, and his butthole feels sore and loose of all time. Is this your doing?"
"W… What are you saying!?" Diego seemed very flustered after hearing Tysand's words, and his face turned red from blushing.
"Tauros' eye, as ever." Tysand mumbled. He seemed to be proud of himself. "Whatever. What my great-grandson did is no concern of mine, and you'll get your bitch back… Once I am done with this matter."
"Z… Zet isn't my bitch!" Diego roared out in angry voice.
"… What did you mean by 'this matter'?" Baromyteus asked.
"… Of course, Ezekiel didn't even properly explain it to you. I doubt he even did so to his pactbound champion…" Tysand said. "Well, Ezekiel already told you about the lost soul of the ancient prince of the sky, of Falcon, from Afterlife, didn't he? Well, it was me who 'convinced' Ezekiel and the other two rulers of Afterlife to find Falcon. Diasol, being the reincarnation of Falcon's daughter, has as much reasons as I do to find the said lost soul, and Yterval, being the reincarnation of my own son, can't refuse my request."
"Falcon... The ancient prince of the sky… The Hero of Flying type during the time of the Twilight Crisis… I see it now… You have every reason to search for him, after all…" Holmer spoke up. "This also explains Cathy's behavior earlier too. After all, Cathy must remember its master… The one who created it."
"… Despite of how much of a jerk you are, something about you will never change." Ilia spoke up. "Your sibling bond is truly unbreakable, Tysand."
"Stop trying to make me look nice. It's nauseating." Tysand said before he slowly turned his attention away from the Pendragon, to the being on the other side of the tower top. "It takes quite some time, but finally… Falcon, I found you."
"… FALCON? THAT MUST BE THE NAME OF THE ANCIENT PRINCE OF THE SKY…" The Lugia-Necrozma spoke up after staying silent for a while. "NO MATTER. IT DID NOT MATTER WHOSE THIS BODY USED TO BELONG TO. NOW IT IS MINE, AND I SHALL USE IT TO RECLAIM MY RIGHTFUL TITLE AS THE GOD OF THE LAND OF EQUILIBRIUM."
"… And that's where you are wrong, parasite." Tysand spoke while having his attention fixed at the Lugia-Necrozma, and his voice changed from the devious voice into a serious voice. "That's my younger brother that you are using, you parasite. You have 30 seconds to get out of his body before I made War of the God III look like a tea party comparing to your death."
"INSOLENT!" The Lugia-Necrozma exclaimed. "I AM THE SUPREME RULER OF THIS LAND, THE WINGS OF RADIANCE, THE LIGHT OF RUINS, AND THE BLINDING ONE—"
"BANG!"
"!"
"20 seconds left." Tysand spoke up with an ominous voice. He was aiming Zetarus' pistol at the Lugia-Necrozma, and the fume from the pistol indicated that the pistol had been used very recently used.
"… YOU DARE CHALLENGING ME, THE BLINDING ONE?!" The Lugia-Necrozma spread their wings and let of a bloodcurdling shriek. "IMPERTINENT CREATURES LIKE YOU HAVE NO PLACE UNDER MY RADIANCE. YOU HAVE TO RIGHT TO EXIST UNDER MY LIGHT. IN THE NAME OF THE BLINDING ONE, THE GOD OF LIGHT, I SENTENCE YOU TO THE ETERNAL DARKNESS!"
As the Lugia-Necrozma shrieked, the tower top of Tower of the God started shaking violently, forcing most of the Pendragon to crouch down in order to keep their balance and not to fall down from the tremor, and not before long…
"W… We are flying!"
As the Pendragon looked under themselves, they found that the tower top slowly moved away from the tower top, as if the tower had crumbled under their feet… No, it was the tower that's crumbling, it's them who slowly moved upward, away from the tower top. They also noticed a clear platform as large as the tower top itself seemingly created from magic under their feet, indicating that the magical platform based on the tower top was created under their feet, and the platform itself was slowly ascending from the tower top, bring everyone who was on the tower top along with them!
"… Way to go, Tysand." Holmer made a sharp remark as the Pendragon regained their balance and slowly stood up again, this time on the magical platform. "You have pissed off the Old God of Light, and now they are going to kill all of us. Well, all of you and the Pendragon."
"I am not in a mood to counter your jabbing, Holmer." Tysand spoke up with the same serious voice he used before as he turned his face toward the Pendragon. "Well, as you all can see, the egocentric asshole who thinks of themselves as a god had taken my younger brother as their host, and they are going to kill us now, and we don't have any way to escape… I hope you know what I am going with this."
"It was you who started it all!" Diego roared as he pointed his claw at Tysand.
"Even if I didn't do anything, are you going to let that fucker go?" Tysand said as he glanced at the Lugia-Necrozma behind him, who seemed to be preparing for something. "That fucker is going to take control of this world, and that's the least of what they are going to do. Are you going to let them take control over you? To rule and trample you under their feet? Are you going to let that happen?!"
"Of course not!" Korben spoke up. "This world belongs to everyone, not just a single Pokemon! I won't let this inequality stand!"
"Symmetria… It's not my home, so what happened here is a little concern for me." Claura spoke up. "But that Old God of Light… They pissed me off, and I won't be stagnant about it!"
"Yawn… This is such a painful situation we got ourselves into…" Xavier spoke up. "But to let someone like that go… That would be the indiscretion of the highest order."
"… The Old God of Light's voice… I sense no love from it." Anastasia spoke up. "I can only sense hatred and anger toward the living beings of Symmetria…"
"Which means that, to say that they would be a fair and righteous god of this realm, would be nothing more than a deception." Baromyteus spoke up. "Not that I am fond of gods anyway."
"That Old God of Light claimed that the people of Symmetria had abandoned and forgot them." Diego spoke up. "I bet that they only think of reprisal toward the people of Symmetria for what they did."
"Poor Lugia…" Rachael spoke up. "Look at his body… His body has been contaminated by the furious of the Old God of Light… I feel bad for him…"
"… I can't be ignorant right now." Richard spoke up. "No matter how much I want to run away… No matter how cruel this world has been to me and Rachael, it is still our home."
"The Old God of Light Necrozma… They are letting their arrogance getting onto them…" Freya spoke up. "Someone like this doesn't fit to rule over anything or anyone at all!"
"… If we let the Old God of Light go, the consequence will be most dire." Snow spoke up. "I am most certain that they are going to enact their wrath over the people of Symmetria, people whom they claimed to betray them before. But that action would be none other than a betrayal to the people of Symmetria, those they claimed to be under their rule, too."
'… The blinding one Necrozma… Your monstrosity is a quality not fits for a god.' Sirius thought. '… In the nameth of Arceus' avatar, I judgeth yond thou art not fiteth to beest the ruler of the world.'
"… This is why I can't stand heroic type. They make me nauseous." Tysand spoke as he turned his face toward the Lugia-Necrozma, with Zetarus' pistol in his paw, right as when the Pendragon also grabbed their weapon, preparing for the battle. "To be honest, without Falcon being under that fucker's grasp, I am quite ambivalent about this situation. On one hand, having a tyrant god ruling over the world sound like it would be entertaining, but on the other hand, they also pissed me off too. It's time to bury the relic of the past, to where they really belong."
"THERE ARE NOT TWO SUNS IN THE SKY, NOR TWO SOVEREIGNS OVER THE PEOPLE." Lugia-Necrozma spoke up with a majestic voice as the magical platform slowly ascended into the sky, which gradually changed its color from azure blue to vermillion, as if it was currently the time of twilight. "ALL WHO OPPOSE ME WILL FALL TO RUIN. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE RULER OF THE WORLD."
The Blinding One
Yxmaz the Lugia-Necrozma
12 dragons… All were parts of a group called Pendragon, a group formed to fight against the corruption of the world, faced their opponent, a Lugia cladded in black prism, indicating that he was possessed by the Old God of Light Necrozma, who aimed to regain their title as the god of the Land of Equilibrium. Both sides gazed at each other across the magical platform in the sky, which served as the battleground of their showdown.
"BASK IN MY RADIANCE!" The Lugia-Necrozma roared as they summoned several spheres of light, which soon turned into ribbons of light aiming toward each of the Pendragon, who anticipated the attack. Some of the more agile one, like Richard or Baromyteus, quickly dodged the attack, while some of the more defensive one, like Xavier and Anastasia, shielded themselves from the attack instead. One of them, Korben, managed to counter the ribbon of light back to the Lugia-Necrozma, but it turned out that, not only it did no damage to them, it also healed them too.
"Use your brain, idiot." Tysand spoke up as he did a backflip to avoid another ribbon of light, while also aiming the pistol at the Lugia-Necrozma. "That fucker absorbs light as their power source, so any light attack would help them, not hurt them. That also extends to any Psychic attack or Fairy attack too."
The Kommo-o nodded to the Garchomp. This meant that he was at the most disadvantage among the Pendragon against the Lugia-Necrozma, for not only that their attacks were not very effective toward the Lugia-Necrozma, both counterattack and their own Fighting attack, but he was also weak to both Psychic attack and Fairy attack too. And thus, the Kommo-o decided to change their fighting style from offensive to support role, for that he could heal and buffs his allies too.
"BANG!"
A bullet was launched from the pistol toward the Lugia-Necrozma. It hit the black prism that served as the spikes on the Lugia-Necrozma's tail, causing it to shatter into pieces!
"Nice aim." Xavier spoke up as he grabbed Claura and put her behind him in order for him to shield both of them.
"As I thought…" Tysand mumbled. "Those black prisms are parts of the fucker's body. In order to free Falcon, those black prisms must be destroyed."
"Easier said than done!" Diego spoke up as he and everyone observed the Lugia-Necrozma. Quite soon after the black prisms on Lugia-Necrozma's tail was destroyed, it gradually reformed itself again.
"… Necrozma's source of power is light." Richard spoke up as he looked at the vermillion sky surroundings the battleground. "As long as there is light, Necrozma could always repair themselves."
"Which means we must block off all the light." Korben spoke up. "It's dusk time now. If we can stall the battle until the nighttime—"
"We can't do that." Richard spoke up as he looked at the ground below them, which seemed to gradually move further and further away from them. "We are gradually ascending into the sky. If this keeps going, we will find ourselves in different layer of atmosphere, which will cause a different in temperature and air pressure—"
The Latios' words were interrupted as he had to dodge another ribbon of light. As soon as he regained balance, he spoke up again. "In other words, it will be more difficult to breathe as the battle goes on. If we don't finish this battle soon…"
"So, we need to finish this battle as soon as possible? Got it." Diego used his naginata to parry the ribbon of light as he summoned a blue flaming circle under the Lugia-Necrozma, which soon erupted into a spiral of flame, burning the Lugia-Necrozma inside. The attack also managed to remove some of the black prisms on the Lugia-Necrozma's body too.
"Shadow Blade!" Baromyteus stabbed one of his swords onto the magical platform below him, releasing shadowy aura, which quickly spread throughout the battleground, blotting the light of the surroundings!
"DO NOT THINK THAT THIS WOULD STOP ME!" The Lugia-Necrozma summoned the black prism fragments that already broke off from their body, aiming it at Rachael and Richard!
"Allow me!" Snow summoned several icicles, aiming toward each black prism fragments. As the icicles and the black prism fragments clashed, the icicles froze the black prism fragments, rendered them useless as they fell onto the platform below.
"A… Are you two alright?" Freya asked the Lati siblings as she used her staff to heal Xavier, who continued to guard against the Lugia-Necrozma's attack.
"Necrozma… They are aiming to leech out light from me and Rachael too, since we both are Psychic type, just like that Lugia." Richard mumbled as he opened the chronicle, summoning dark clouds above the Lugia-Necrozma, before launching a bolt of thunder upon the Lugia-Necrozma. The dark clouds summoned by this attack also served as a blockage between the Lugia-Necrozma and the light too.
"Xavier, with me!" Claura casted her anchor at the Lugia-Necrozma, binding them in one place. The Kingdra then summoned a spiral of water around the Lugia-Necrozma, following by several blades of gale from the Dragonite. The combination of their attacks also broke off more black prisms from the Lugia-Necrozma, including the black prisms on the back of their wings!
"YOU SHALL BE OBLITERATED!" The Lugia-Necrozma commanded the black prism fragments to float around their body. This time, however, they didn't aim them at anyone, and everyone could see a silhouette of night sky appearing behind the Lugia-Necrozma.
"Everyone, the Lugia-Necrozma is powering themselves with space energy for their next attack!" Richard spoke up. "Use this chance to attack or defend, but be careful of the upcoming attack!"
The Pendragon nodded to the Latios' words. Some of them, like Rachael, Freya, Snow, Xavier, Korben, Anastasia and Richard, got into defensive stance, ready for the upcoming attack. Meanwhile, Baromyteus, Claura, Diego, Sirius, and Tysand rushed up toward the Lugia-Necrozma. Diego and Claura created spirals of flame and water, trapping the Lugia-Necrozma. Baromyteus and Sirius created the slices of dark energy from their sword slash and claws, aiming them toward the black prism on Lugia-Necrozma's back, and Tysand barraged bullets onto the black prism on Lugia-Necrozma's chest. The result of their attack created noticeable fractures on the black prisms on the chest and the back of Lugia-Necrozma.
"Now, everyone!" Richard spoke up again, seeing that the Lugia-Necrozma had readied their next attack. As soon as they heard of Latios' words, Baromyteus, Sirius, Claura, Diego, and Tysand quickly made distance between themselves and the Lugia-Necrozma, anticipating their next attack!
"BEHOLD, MY ILLUMINATION!" The Lugia-Necrozma generated several Meteor Beams, aiming toward all of the Pendragon. Their attack, this time, was harder to dodge. Those who were the most agile one only barely dodged the attack. Those who were not…
"GAH!"
Diego's body was pushed down onto the ground as the Meteor Beam was launched toward him. The beam, however, barely missed him as someone else tackled the Mega Charizard X's body onto the ground, allowing both of them to barely dodge the attack!
"Y… You?!" As he recovered from the dodging, the Mega Charizard X realized that the one who helped him dodge the attack was none other than the Garchomp that he cursed at earlier.
"… You stink." Tysand mumbled as he got himself back onto his feet again. "Have you ever bathed after a session with my great-grandson?"
"… Despite of how rotten your mouth and your personality is…" Diego spoke as he also got himself back onto his feed. "… Thank you."
"Don't thank me, stinky." Tysand said. "I didn't intend to help you, but this body moves on its own. It seems like I don't have a full control over this body, after all."
"W… What?! Then…" Diego said before he realized the meaning behind Tysand's words. "… Thanks, Zet."
The Garchomp and the Mega Charizard X regrouped with the rest of the Pendragon, seeing Freya, Rachael, Korben, and Anastasia were healing those who defended against and those who got hit by Lugia-Necrozma's Meteor Beam, while the rest of them prepared to attack the Lugia-Necrozma again.
"GRRR!" Sirius appeared behind the Lugia-Necrozma, with their head crests and tail fin changing their color into black, before using the move Multi-Attack on the black prism on the Lugia-Necrozma's back, which shattered the prism even more.
"GRRRR!" At the same time the Silvally attacked the black prism on the Lugia-Necrozma's back, Baromyteus rushed toward the Lugia-Necrozma and stabbed his swords onto the black prism on the Lugia-Necrozma's chest. The combination of both attacks caused the black prisms on the chest and the back of the Lugia-Necrozma to break apart at last!
"SUCH IMTERTINENT!" The Lugia-Necrozma concentrated the power at their mouth before blasting off a stream of gale, attacking Baromyteus and Sirius with Aeroblast. However, both of them managed to jump away before the attack hit them, just in time for Claura and Diego to join up with them. The Kingdra and the Mega Charizard X summoned the whirl of fire and water to cancel out the Lugia-Necrozma's Aeroblast.
"It seems like we have taken care of most of the black prisms…" Richard spoke up as he observed the Lugia-Necrozma. With the black prisms on their back and their chest breaking off, the only black prism remaining on their body was the black mask on the upper half of their face.
"Then, it's time to finish this battle against this fucking insane god." Diego said as the rest of the Pendragon joined up with him, Claura, Baromyteus, and Sirius.
"DO NOT THINK THAT YOU HAVE WON, MORTALS!" The Lugia-Necrozma roared. "I AM THE OLD GOD OF LIGHT, THE WINGS OF RADIANCE, THE LIGHT OF RUIN, THE BLINDING ONE! I AM THE LIGHT AND DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD! EVERYONE SHOULD WORSHIP ME! PRAISE ME! PRAISE MY NAME! PRAISE THE NAME OF YOUR GOD!"
"Being gods or men have nothing to do with whether you deserve to be worshipped or not." Tysand spoke as he stepped forward, toward the Lugia-Necrozma. "Gods sacrifice their ability to change in exchange for eternal life, becoming the embodiment of eternity. Mortals, on the other hand, possessed an ability of change. They can undergo a development of themselves, and they can change the world to their liking, something that no god can do. Right now, you are merely a relic of the past, being eroded by the stream of time. You don't belong to this world anymore."
"GRRRRRR!" The Lugia-Necrozma started concentrated power at their mouth, preparing their desperation attack.
"Necrozma, your tyranny ends here." Tysand spoke up as he pointed the pistol at the Lugia-Necrozma, aiming at the black prism mask on their face. "I'll take my younger brother back, and your pathetic life ends here."
As the Garchomp finished speaking, he fired the final bullet from the pistol at the Lugia-Necrozma at the very same moment the Lugia-Necrozma fired a spectrum beam of light from their mouth. The bullet and the Prismatic Beam clashed mid-air, creating a big blast that forced the Pendragon to crouch down to take cover. The result of the class between the bullet and the Prismatic Beam was soon revealed as the bullet pierced through the beam as they headed toward their target. The bullet then hit the black prism mask on the Lugia-Necrozma's face head-on, shattering it into pieces.
"GRRRR… I… IMPOSSIBLE… HOW COUD… I LOSE… TO A BUNCH OF IMPERTINENT MORTALS?!" Necrozma's voice could be heard from the shattering mask as it slowly dissipated. "THIS WORLD... EVERYTHING... IT IS ALL MINE... THIS WORLD IS MINE... AND MINE ALONE... A… AS LONG AS THIS WORLD IS BASKED IN LIGHT… A… AS LONG AS LIGHT EXISTS... A.. AS LONG AS… L… LIGHT… LIGHT… LIGHT! GRRRRRRR!"
Necrozma let out a bloodcurdling cry for the last time before the black prism mask shattered into countless pieces, scattering into the wind as the gloomy atmosphere surrounding the battleground disappeared, and the rays of light from the twilight sky shone onto the battleground once again.
"… Farewell, Yxmaz." Vastra's majestic voice could be heard from Claura's Feather Brooch.
"Rest in peace, Yxmaz." Zastra's strong voice could be heard from Xavier's Scale Brooch.
"Is it… Is it over?" Diego asked as he and the rest of the Pendragon stood up again. They also saw the Lugia's body slowly descending down onto the floor below. Tysand wasted no time by rushing up toward the Lugia, in which he managed to catch the Lugia's body before it hit the floor below.
"Falcon…" Tysand gently placed the Lugia's body onto the floor and caressed the Lugia's face.
"Is he… going to be okay?" Rachael asked with a worried voice as she and the rest of the Pendragon looked at Tysand and Falcon. "His life force… Is not normal…"
"… Falcon already died over 1,200 years ago, so we won't be able to sense any life force within him." Richard spoke up. "But from the look of it… Everything should be okay… Everything is going to be okay…"
"Master…" Cathy spoke up with a worried voice as it looked at the Lugia.
"…"
"…"
"…?"
The Lugia's body started moving a bit as he slowly opened his eyes and be greeted with the Garchomp who was holding onto him.
"Falcon, you are awake…" Tysand spoke up as he looked at the Lugia.
"… Tysand… Big brother…" Falcon slowly spoke up as he managed to stand up alongside the Garchomp.
"Falcon… Thanks goodness you are alright…" Tysand spoke with a gentle voice as he stood in front of Falcon, looking at his own younger brother. "I had been so worried about you…"
"Big brother, I… I am sorry…" Falcon slowly spoke up and lowered his head.
"It's okay, Falcon…" Tysand said. "Everything… It's just a nightmare…"
"Nightmare… Yes… You are right…" Falcon said. "Everything… is just a nightmare…"
"Yes, and it's over now…" Tysand said. "Both of us already died over 1,200 years ago. We no longer have place in the world of living, and whatever happened here is no longer our concern…."
"Yes… That's right…" Falcon said. "Both of us… We already died… Long time ago…"
"That's right, Falcon." Tysand said, and a smile gradually appeared on his face. "Now, let us return to Afterlife, to the world of the dead, where we belong—GRH!"
The Garchomp's words were cut off as his body was forcefully lifted up into the sky, as if an invisible force was getting a hold onto his body. It didn't take long for everyone to see that the source of the force that was holding onto the Garchomp was none other than the Lugia, who was reaching their paw forward, toward the Garchomp in the sky. His face, however, was completely blank and voided of any emotion.
"F… Falcon… W… What are you doing?!" Tysand tried to speak as he struggled with the invisible force that was holding onto his body. "W… Why are you doing this to me?!"
"… Farewell, big brother."
"SHINK!"
"!"
It was just a single second, but for everyone involving, it seemed like eternity as a single spear of light was created from Falcon's paw and fired toward the Garchomp's body, hitting it directly at the left side of his chest, at where his heart was located. The spear of light penetrated through the Garchomp's chest and came out through his back, as if someone was piercing a beam of light right through his heart.
"!"
Everything happened in a mere second. It happened so fast that none of them could act or say anything. All they could do was stare in shock and horror as the spear of light piercing through the Garchomp's body, Zetarus' body, as the Lugia attacked the one who was his own elder brother.
"… You too, Falcon?"
That was the very last words ever spoken by the Garchomp as his body, being released from the invisible force that was holding onto it, slowly descended down from the sky, not to the magical platform that everyone was standing, but to the ground below, the ground further away.
"ZETARUS!"
The first person who reacted was the Mega Charizard X, who quickly rushed up toward the edge of the platform, trying to catch the body of the fallen Garchomp, but it was merely a futile attempt. All that the Mega Charizard X could do as he reached out his arms toward the fallen Garchomp, failing to catch him, was staring at his face, staring at the Garchomp's face. It was a face with the expression of shock and horror… As well as the face with the expression of someone who was betrayed by those they truly trusted with all of their heart. The expression on the Garchomp's face remained unchanged as his body fell down from the platform, further and further away from the Mega Charizard X.
"ZET!"
Before anyone else could react, the Mega Charizard X spread his wings and flew down from the magical platform, following the Garchomp, who was still falling down, leaving everyone else on the platform, on the battleground, as it was still slowly ascending into the sky.
"… He is such a fool… That brother of mine…"
The first person who spoke up after the Mega Charizard X left the platform was the Lugia themselves, who still wore the same blank expression on his face.
"H… How could you do something like that?!" Anastasia was the next person among the Pendragon who spoke up. "Y… You just killed your elder brother!"
"Both my brother and I already died 1,200 years ago, so, I didn't kill him." Falcon turned his attention to the Pendragon. Most of them were still shocked from what happened earlier. Those who managed to recover from it, on the other hand, had the expression of anger and sorrow on their face.
"Z… Zetarus…" Freya's voice was trembling, and tears started to appeared around her eyes. "Y…. You… You killed him… You killed Zetarus… You killed my brother… Why? Why did have to do that? Why did you have to kill my brother?"
"You are mistaken, young Flygon. It's actually thanks to me that his death was delayed by 3 years." Falcon spoke with emotionless voice. "His life already ended 3 years ago, when he was put on the execution block. The only reason that his death was delayed is me. My disappearance from the Afterlife forced Ezekiel to search for me, and thus, he formed a pact with that Garchomp in order to use him to search for me. His fate was already decided on that day, 3 years ago. Now that I have returned, he is no longer needed to be kept alive. I merely did him a favor by correcting his tide of destiny."
"… You still kill him, and nothing… nothing can change that." Snow spoke up.
"Why are you concerning yourself with the death of a single lowly creature?" Falcon asked with a voice that showed genuine curiosity and tilted his head to the side a bit, like a curious child. "You all also kill people of all time, and yet you didn't think much of it. In fact, your group was found with a purpose of killing someone else, wasn't it?"
"Don't compare what you did to what we do!" Claura shouted angrily. "We… We actually don't want to do what we are doing, but if we didn't do it, more people will have to suffer like we did. We don't want anyone to suffer like us. But you… You… what reason would you have to kill Zetarus?! We just rescued you from that jerkass Old God of Light, and now you are stabbing us on our back. You are nothing different from Necrozma!"
"I could sense anger and sorrow coming from all of you. Those are understandable emotions given the current circumstance." Falcon spoke up with emotionless voice. "You have just lost someone important to you. Friend, perhaps? I once lost someone dear to me too, and it was as if the entire world had crumbled, the sky torn apart. It was as if my life no longer has any meaning."
"Then, why… Why did you kill Zetarus?!" Korben asked.
"Because my foolish brother was using him as a host." Falcon answered. "Tysand… He is a jerk and an asshole to everyone else, but to me, he is a very dear brother. He is always so kind and caring to me. Not many people act like that to me, not even our parents. It was our mother's ambition that caused me to suffer like this. Our father… He was no better than our mother, and Tysand had to kill him in the end. In my life, my brother and Florentine are the only people who truly care about me."
"Master?" Cathy spoke up as it jumped down from Rachael's arms, standing in front of the Lugia. "How is Master feeling right now? Cathy can't sense any motion coming from Master at all."
"Ah, Cathy… My creation. So, you are still 'alive' and well." Falcon spoke up as he saw the Espurr Doll. "You were once a lifeless doll among my possessions back then, when I was still living at the palace. It was such a boring time whenever my brother wasn't visiting me, so I messed around with Cathy and managed to bring it to life, turning it from a lifeless doll into what you are now."
"Cathy…" Rachael looked at Falcon as she grabbed Cathy and brought it back to join up with the rest of the Pendragon. "So… It was you… who created Cathy..."
"However,… Cathy, your life isn't real… Not at all…" Falcon continued speaking with emotionless voice. "You are merely a magical doll that imitates a living creature. You don't even possess a soul. You aren't alive. It was my failure to create a new life, but at least you are useful whenever I got an urge to destroy something. I can just 'kill' you and tear you apart, for that I can always revive you afterward."
"You… How… How could you?" Rachael spoke up as she hugged Cathy. "How could you… do something like that… to Cathy?"
"Why are you caring about Cathy so much?" Falcon tilted his head again, showing genuine curiosity. "Cathy is just a doll. It isn't alive at all. It is nothing different from any object without life you can find anywhere. Or maybe… You are just like my brother. After all, he also cared for me, despite that he has absolutely no reason to do so, and it even brought upon pain and suffering to him too. Tysand even lost one of his eyes to our father's wrath when he was just being nice to me. I wonder why he would go that far for someone like me..."
"You… And your brother…" Rachael mumbled as she hugged Cathy.
"Of course, the answer is obvious. My brother is a fool, after all." Falcon continued speaking. "The emotion he showed… The effort he put to search for me… The sibling bond he and I shared… All of them are meaningless."
"W… What?!" Freya was taken aback by the Lugia's words.
"Emotions… Bonds… Love… They are extremely fragile and don't last forever, and yet mortals always cling onto them." Falcon said. "It is still understandable why they did so. After all, emotion, bond, and love are highly susceptible to the power of chance, something that mortals possess and not gods. It is the only power that mortals possess that is superior to gods. And it feels good to be good, be superior to other people, at something, isn't it?"
"You are… wrong about that!" Rachael spoke up. "Emotion… Bond… Love… They are what make us today! Without them, we… we won't be different from heartless robot! We… We won't be truly alive with them at all!"
"Your words… They are also empty and meaningless And I find them so irritating…" Falcon spoke up again. This time, however, his voice seemed to distort at the last part of his words. "It is as I suspect… Everything in this world is meaningless. Nothing in this world actually has any value at all. What lies at the end of everything is nothing… And destruction."
"Master?" Cathy titled its head as it looked at the Lugia.
"… Is it just me…" Claura spoke up to the Pendragon. "Or that bastard's voice… distorted a bit… at some parts?"
"You are right… I… I notice too…" Snow spoke up. "A… And is it just me… Or… I… I don't feel so good right now…"
Just like what the Draconic Lapras said, each of the Pendragon started to notice that they didn't feel alright at all. Some of them started to struggle with speaking, and some even struggled with breathing.
"Onii-chan… I… I can't breathe…" Rachael spoke as she, like everyone, struggled to breathe.
"We… We are so high in the sky right now…" Richard spoke up as he looked at the ground below, as well as the magical platform that they were standing on, which still continued ascending into the sky. "T… The air is so thin here…"
"At this rate… We… We won't last much longer…" Korben spoke as the Pendragon turned their attention back to Falcon. "We… We have to do something…"
"… The magical platform… It didn't disappear when we defeated Necrozma… Which means…" Baromyteus spoke up as he looked at Falcon. "… If… If we can defeat that Lugia…"
"And… And we have more reasons to defeat him too…" Claura spoke up. "He… He killed Zetarus… And… And if he is left alone…"
"… I can sense your murderous intent toward me. Good… Please…" Falcon spoke up again. This time, his voice distorted even more. "Very well… I am already dead, so I can't be killed again. But if you are going to defeat me… I will kill all of you!Please, defeat me…"
"… What… was he saying?" Korben spoke up. "First… He said he will kill us… And then… He wants us to kill him. It is as if… if he acts as two different people just now."
"That doesn't matter for… for us now!" Baromyteus spoke up. "Everyone… This will truly be… Our final battle… We shall defeat this bastard… And avenge our fallen comrades… Everyone, to arms!"
Wind of Melancholy
Falcon Gale-Norval the Lugia
"Everyone… We… We don't have much time…" Richard spoke up. "We… We are so high in the sky now… Which means that we… we will gradually lose our HP as the battle goes on… And… And we might fall unconscious soon if the air becomes too thin…"
"We… have to fight Master?" Cathy asked. "Cathy doesn't want to fight Master…"
"Cathy…" Rachael gently petted the Espurr doll.
"That… won't be easy… Especially since… Zetarus… and Diego aren't with us now…" Xavier said.
"But we… have to do this… For Zetarus…" Claura said as she swung her anchor at Falcon, aiming to attack him with it. However, the anchor merely passed through Falcon's body, as if it's just a shadow!
"Foolish mortals…" Falcon spoke up with emotionless voice. "I am already dead. It is impossible to kill the dead. Meanwhile, I can kill all of you, and I will make your death as painful as possible.Please, stop me… Don't let me destroy this world…"
"Again… with the distorted voice…" Korben said. "What… is happening to him?"
"… I get it now." Ilia spoke up via Rachael's Mist Pendant. "The three beings within his body… They are fighting each other for the control of Falcon's body…"
"Wait… There are… three people…. in one body?" Freya asked.
"Not quite." Holmer spoke up via Richard's Luster Pendant. "Every person has three beings—No… Three concepts within their body. They are Id, the embodiment of instinctual desires, Super-Ego, the embodiment of morality and thought, and Ego, the embodiment of self. Have you ever come to a time when you have to decide on something, and then you hear the voice of the devil, who tells you to ignore your morality and just choose the one you want without caring of what will happen to others or to you afterward, and the voice of the angel, who tells you not to succumb to your desire and tell you to choose the one that is morally correct? The 'devil' is your Id. The 'angel' is your 'Super-Ego'. And you are the 'Ego', the one who have to balance the desire between Id and Super-Ego."
"… Lord… of Blindness…" Richard spoke up with a weak voice as he struggled to breathe. "I… don't think… this is… the time."
"… What I want to say is that the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego inside Falcon's body are fighting for dominant." Holmer spoke up again. "Falcon… He was born with a shadow side. His shadow side is like Id, except that it is much more violent, cruel, and destructive than normal, and it caused a lot of pain and suffering to everyone around him, as well as to Falcon himself."
"Calling me violent, cruel, and destructive… You are correct, Holmer, but that doesn't make you any less detestable." Falcon spoke up, but his voice this time wasn't the ordinary voice he used.
"… I knew it." Holmer said. "At the final battle of the Twilight Crisis, the Ancient Demon extracted Falcon's shadow side and used it as his host in a desperate attempt to defeat the Hero/ine of Legend, and yet he still failed, and the Ancient Demon was sealed away. Without the Ancient Demon, Falcon's shadow side couldn't sustain itself. It tried to return to Falcon, but Falcon rejected his shadow side, causing it to dissipate… I never thought that, 1,200 years later, his shadow side will succeed in returning to Falcon's body…"
"It must have been his shadow side, his Id, to cause Falcon, the Ego, to act and speak like that. After all, Falcon would never 'kill' his elder brother like that…" Ilia spoke up. "And another distorted voice we heard… That must be Falcon's Super-Ego, begging us to stop him."
"We… We understand… that…" Rachael spoke up with a weak voice. "But… What can… We do? I… I can't hold on… for much… longer…"
"… This will be dangerous, but I don't see any other choice." Holmer spoke up. "We need to destroy his soul."
"This is different from the killing you all have done so far…" Ilia spoke up. "Destroying someone's soul means that they will permanently cease to exist. They won't go to Afterlife or reincarnate again. They will just… go. Disappear forever."
"We… Don't have any choice…" Xavier spoke up.
"We haven't finished speaking yet." Holmer spoke up again. "Destroying someone's soul, however, is extremely dangerous. After all, every soul contains the Essence of Soul, or mana. Mana is the essence of every living creature. If used right they can benefit us, but they can also be extremely destructive. Remember what happened at the Hidden Village of Dragon? Those invaders used weapons powered by mana harvested from the fallen people to cause massive destruction there."
"The Dragon… Massacre…" Korben mumbled as his body trembled slightly.
"When a living creature dies, they will release an amount of mana from their body as their soul leaves their body. Those amounts of mana, however, won't cause much different to the world or its surroundings." Holmer continued speaking. "However, it will be a completely different matter if a soul is destroyed, because a soul contained a large amount of mana in order to sustain its existence. And thus, if a soul is destroyed, it will release an extremely large amount of mana, and when a large amount of mana is released at once, the consequence will be dire. At very least, a massive destruction is almost guaranteed."
"What… did you just say?!" Despite growing weak, the Pendragon seemed to be horrified by what was told to them by the Mega Latios.
"Well… We are so high… in the sky… Which means… Any destruction that happens here… Would have a minimal effect to the world…" Xavier spoke up. "The minimal effect I was talking about… However,… Would be us… After all… We won't be able to avoid it… Even if we jump down from this platform… As soon as the soul is destroyed…"
"So… We have… To sacrifice ourselves?" Korben spoke up.
"No… I… I don't want to die…" Richard spoke up with a trembling voice as he and the rest of the Pendragon looked at Falcon.
"So, you are going to destroy my soul? That would be such a bold attempt." Falcon spoke up again as he saw the Pendragon looking at him. "Regardless, I have no problem if you are going to do so, for that everything in this world is meaningless for me. Aren't you arrogant, thinking that you can destroy my soul? How dare you?!Please… Destroy me… I don't want… to harm this world anymore…"
"Damn it…" Claura mumbled. "After all… We went through… After how much this world… Had done to us… We still have to die… For it?!"
"… If it means… That I can destroy this bastard…" Baromyteus spoke up as he gazed at Falcon. "Then I… I don't have any problem…"
"Hm? You…" Falcon looked at Baromyteus, as if he's judging the demonic Shiny Haxorus. "You are not him."
"… Him?" Baromyteus looked at the Lugia.
"You bear resemble to him… That 3,000-year-old black dragon… He who no longer lives or dies… He who is no longer mortal or immortal… He who exists outside fate, just like one of you…" Falcon spoke up. "He arrived at the Afterlife one day, and he tried to mess with the law of nature, the law of life and death. I tried to stop him, but I failed. He cut my soul into three parts. Two of them managed to merge into one of half of mine, while the last one failed to merge with the other two parts and simply dissipated, only to encounter the remnant of my shadow side, where they merged together into my other half. I existed as two incomplete halves for some time… Before I am finally one again."
"The 3,000-year-old black dragon… Could it be…" Baromyteus mumbled. "… Bahamut."
"So… It was him to allow me to return to the world… Maybe I should thank him before I kill him…" Falcon spoke up, this time with a distorted voice, before his voice changed again. "Don't worry… Everything will be okay… Please… Trust me…And kill me… Destroy my soul…"
"… Got it." Baromyteus said as he turned to look at the rest of Pendragon. "Can you guys… still fight?"
"Y… Yeah…" Korben mumbled.
"But not… before long…" Richard mumbled. "So… Whatever you are… going to do… Hurry…"
"Okay… When you get my signal… Strike… with everything you can…" Baromyteus said as he sheathed his swords. The demonic Shiny Haxorus reached his paws forward, summoning conjured swords out of the air. "… Thanks to Bahamut, I learned how to do this. I never thought that I will get to use it soon."
Baromyteus pointed one of the conjured swords at Falcon before he dashed up toward the Lugia, aiming to strike him with his conjured blades. However, his attack was stopped by a conjured scythe summoned by the Lugia.
"Conjured weapons… They can damage souls… Not bad… However, do you think I am going to simply let you destroy my soul?" Falcon said as he held onto the conjured scythe to block Baromyteus' attack. "It is such a shame, really. If we met under a different circumstance, you would make a nice slave for me."
"And I… I would cut you down… Again… And again…" Baromyteus spoke, struggled to break through the Lugia's block. He had faced someone whose skills in physical attack was stronger than this Lugia, but with the current circumstance, it wouldn't be easy to defeat his opponent, even if his opponent wasn't skilled in physical attack.
"If you think you can win against the lord of shadow, then you are a mere foolish mortal." Falcon spoke with distorted voice as he slowly managed to push Baromyteus back while both of them were clashing. "I shall create the world of shadow, where no light would ever touch. And when I succeed, you and your friends will become my thralls, serving me for eternity."
"Grrr…" Baromyteus struggled as he felt his body became weaker and weaker from lack of air, and he was slowly pushed back by the Lugia… Until he felt another pair of paws grabbing onto the hilts of his conjured blades next his paws, and they came from another Pokemon who now stood next to him.
"D… Don't give up… Brother…" Anastasia spoke up. Her voice was weak, but her grip on the conjured blades was strong as she helped Baromyteus pushed back against the Lugia. "We… We failed to protect the world before… But this time… We won't… repeat our mistake…"
"You are right…" Baromyteus said as he continued to push back against the Lugia alongside his younger sister. "I… I am not a hero… But I… I won't repeat the mistake I made in the past! GRRRRRR!"
"Hehehe… Do you think that you can win even with two of you?" The Lugia spoke with the distorted voice. "I am the lord of shadow. I will never be defeated. Your defeat is all but guaranteed—"
"!"
The expression on the Lugia's face suddenly changed from arrogant to surprise as he looked at the Goodra and the demonic Shiny Haxorus who was clashing against him. For a few seconds, he didn't see both of them there. Instead, he saw silhouettes of other Pokemon in their places instead. They were silhouette of a Shiny Haxorus and another Goodra, both which were older than Baromyteus and Anastasia. Moreover, they were the Pokemon that the Lugia once knew!
"Baron… Anna…"
"GRRRRRR!"
Using a mere moment that the Lugia let down his guard, Baromyteus and Anastasia pushed back against the Lugia with everything they had. This time, it worked. They managed to break through the Lugia's guard, causing the Lugia to stagger back and dropped the conjured scythe he was holding.
"FADE INTO OBLIVION!" Baromyteus wasted no time as he lifted his conjured blades and slices the Lugia in the cross-shaped twice, causing his body, his soul, to shatter into 8 pieces!
"EVERYONE!" Anastasia looked at the rest of the Pendragon, who seemed to be at their limit. Nevertheless, all of them nodded to the Shiny Haxorus as they prepared their strongest attack, aiming each of them toward each piece of Falcon's soul.
"NOW!" Baromyteus roared, signaling the Pendragon to unleash their final attack, to end the battle once and for all.
"I WILL PROTECT EVERYONE!" Korben unleashed barrage of fist, aiming them to attack the first piece of Falcon's soul.
"EAT THIS, SUCKER!" Claura unleashed a stream of water coming out of her mouth at high speed, attacking the second piece of Falcon's soul.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Xavier whipped up hurricane with his wings, tearing apart the third piece of Falcon's soul.
"I AM SORRY!" Rachael concentrated her power before firing a beam of draconic energy, attacking the fourth piece of Falcon's soul.
"WATCH AND LEARN!" Richard opened his chronicle and summoned a bolt of thunder onto the fifth piece of Falcon's soul.
"PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" Freya pointed her staff at the sixth piece of Falcon's soul, summoning several vines that entwined and crushed it.
"YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE SERVED!" Snow grabbed his dagger and threw it with precise accuracy, hitting the seventh piece of Falcon's soul head-on.
"GRRRRR!" Sirius rushed up and jumped toward the final piece of Falcon's soul. Their claw glowed with draconic energy as they unleased the Multi-Attack move on it.
"THIS IS THE END OF YOUR STORY!"
"GRGRGRGARGAGRRR!"
Three distorted voices could be heard at the same time as the 8 attacks hit 8 pieces of the Lugia's soul, shattering them. As the Pendragon regrouped from executing the attacks, they saw all pieces of soul came close to each other, trying to merge into one. However, not only that they could no longer merge with each other, each piece of soul also had noticeable cracks on them, and the cracks gradually grew larger and larger, indicating that the soul was about to shatter apart.
"Did we… do it?" Claura asked as she struggled to breathe.
"Master is injured…" Cathy spoke up with a worried voice. "What… will happen to Master?"
"…" Rachael didn't answer as she and the rest of Pendragon watched Falcon's soul slowly shattered apart.
"S… So… T… This is… the end… of my story…" Falcon spoke up with weak voice as his soul was shattering apart. "Soon… I'll… I will truly be free… Free from this world… At last…GRRRRR!"
The Lugia let out bloodcurdling roar as his body, his soul, changed its color from Lugia's normal color scheme to the scheme of a Shadow Lugia, and his voice was distorted again. "NONONONONONO! I HAVE FAILED! C… CURSED YOU, DRAGONS… GRRRRRRR!"
The Lugia let out another cry as his body changed back to his usual color scheme, except that his voice changed to a much milder voice. "T… Thank you, everyone… Now I… I won't hurt the world anymore… I… I will make sure… That you all here… Survive… Grrrr!"
The Lugia roared again before he spoke up for the final time, with his own voice, as he gazed upward. "A… Ah… The twilight sky… S… So beautiful… S… So sorrowful… S… So… meaningless… Why?... I… I don't… I… I want… I want to understand… This world… I… I want…to… GRRRRRARARARRARS!"
The Lugia let out a bloodcurdling cry for the final time. This time, his voice was filled with a hint of his sorrow, like the twilight sky surrounding the battleground. Several small beams of light started coming out of each piece of the Lugia's soul, indicating that his soul was at its end. And…
"E… Everyone, take cover! ARGH!"
As Falcon's soul came to the end, the Pendragon felt a huge tremor from the magical platform they were standing on. Some of them was able to crouch down in time, while some lost their balance and fell down onto the platform. A second later, the magical platform suddenly descended down at a much higher speed than the speed it was ascending into the sky, and a magical barrier was formed in the shape of a dome over the platform, protecting the Pendragon inside as the platform fell down.
"MASTER!"
"CATHY?!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"
Cathy suddenly jumped out of Rachael's arms and onto where Falcon was, and Rachael failed to catch it as the platform started to fall down and the magical barrier was formed almost at the exact same moment. A second later, the Pendragon witnessed a huge explosion in the sky, right at where the platform was before it started descending, at where Falcon was, as well as where Cathy jumped onto. The explosion was like a nuclear blast in the sky, and the Pendragon would be killed from it if it wasn't for the barrier that was protecting the magical platform. The explosion, however, indicated one thing.
That the soul of Falcon, the nihilistic Lugia who had suffered so much in his life, had been completely destroyed, alongside the magical doll he created. They would never be revived again. Both of them were gone forever…
"…"
All that the Pendragon could do as they descended down alongside the magical platform was watching the explosion in the sky against the vermillion backdrop of twilight sky… As if the sky was mourning for the world… The world where the melancholy Lugia and his magical doll had faded into oblivion…
"THUDDDDDD!"
The magical platform fell down from the sky, crashing onto the ground below, causing the dust to stir around itself a bit. Thanks to the barrier that was protecting them, the Pendragon who were on the platform received no harm even as the platform crashed onto the ground. As soon as it happened, the platform and the barrier dissipated, for that their creator was already gone from this world.
"Cough! Cough! Everyone, are you alright?!" Snow was the first person who spoke up, coughing out the dust caused by the platform hitting the ground.
"We are okay!" Claura spoke up as she and the rest of the Pendragon slowly recovered their balance and stood up.
"I… I can breathe again…" Korben spoke up, realizing that he and everyone no longer suffered from asphyxiation.
"Rachael, are you alright?" Richard said as he checked the condition of his younger sister. Luckily, it seemed like neither of them was hurt much.
"I… I am fine…" Rachael spoke up. "But Cathy… Why? Why did it…"
"…" Richard had no answer for his younger sister. All he could do was staring at the sky as the dust slowly dissipated, revealing the vermillion sky once again.
"Is it… Is it over?" Anastasia asked as she looked at the twilight sky, where the lingering smoke from the explosion earlier could still be seen.
"Yes… It is over now, Anastasia." Baromyteus spoke up as he and the rest of Pendragon also looked at the vermillion sky. "That Lugia is gone, permanently."
"I see… It's… over now." Freya spoke up with a sad voice, as if she didn't feel like they had won at all. In fact, all of the Pendragon shared the same feeling as the Flygon...
"… Where are we?" Xavier spoke up as he started looking around. It didn't take long before the Pendragon saw Tower of the God next to them, and they realized that they were right outside Tower of the God, right next to its base.
And not far from them…
"…"
"…"
Blood… There was blood splatter not too far from the Pendragon. The shape and length of the blood splatter showed that the 'source' of the blood had fallen from high place at high speed. As the Pendragon tracked the blood splatter to their source, they found two Pokemon near the base of Tower of the God. Both of them didn't stand up. One of them was sitting down, holding the other Pokemon, who was laying on the ground, with their arms. As the Pendragon approached them, they saw a pool of crimson blood on the ground under where both Pokemon was, and the source of the blood was none other than the Pokemon who was laying on the ground... And he was a Garchomp.
"… Zetarus."
The Garchomp was laying on the ground, not moving at all. His body had several bruises and wounds, which were most likely from the battle or from the fall earlier. The biggest wound, however, was on his chest, right at where his heart was. There was a large hole there, as if a spear was pierced through his chest. Crimson blood kept seeping from the hole on the chest, indicating that this was the fatal wound.
"…"
On the Garchomp's claw was the Ring of Balance, his Dragon Relic, that he always wore. It would normally glow with mysterious aura. Right now, however, the ring didn't glow at all. In fact, it was broken and shattered, completely lost its luster.
"…"
Another noticeable feature on the Garchomp's body was his face. The Garchomp's face was normally cheeky, brash, and full of life and laughter. Right now, however, all the cheekiness and life had completely disappeared from his face. He didn't even have a peaceful or serene look on his face. Instead, his face had the same look he had right when the spear of light hit him, as well as when he fell down from the sky…
A look of shock, horror, … And betrayal.
"…Diego."
"…"
The other Pokemon on the pool of blood, the one who was holding onto Zetarus' body with his arms, was a Mega Charizard X. His blue and black body also suffered from bruises and wounds, though not as much as the Garchomp. The most noticeable change on the Mega Charizard X was his left wing, which was bending downward instead of upward like it normally was, showing that his left wing was broken, most likely happened when he flew down from the battleground in the sky, and that no amount of healing could fix it back to normal.
Of course, his wing wasn't the only thing that would never heal…
"…"
Unlike the Garchomp, the Mega Charizard X was still alive. He didn't say anything. All he did was holding onto the lifeless body of the Garchomp with his arms, and his body was trembling. Clear water could be seen seeping out of his eyes as the Mega Charizard X wept silently. He continued to sob and hug Zetarus' lifeless body, not even care that the Garchomp's blood was staining on his body. This was the very first time that the Mega Charizard X was seen shedding his tear.
"…"
The rest of the Pendragon said nothing as they witnessed what happened in front of them. Rachael, Richard, Freya, Korben, and Anastasia started to cry too, while Claura, Xavier, Baromyteus, Snow, and Sirius lowered their head and mourned. All of them had pained expression on their face. None of them could say anything at all. All they could do was crying and mourning for their fallen comrade, their fallen friend, as the sun in the sky slowly descended down, dying the world in the tone of vermillion.
It was as if everything was frozen in time. Even as the sun disappeared from the sky, and the vermillion dusk was replaced with dark night. 11 dragons continued to cry and mourn for their fallen friend...
A friend who couldn't return anymore...
And thus, everything came to the end…
None of us said anything as we returned to Pendracomonium, with Zetarus' lifeless body in tow. It was as if life had been taken away from all of us, not just from the Garchomp. All we could hear as we journeyed back to our base was the sound of our footstep, as well as the sound of some of us sobbing, weeping over Zetarus' death…
Without Zetarus, the Pendragon was never the same as before. It was as if an important part of our body was forever torn apart from us. We spent the rest of our time in Pendracomonium, which was filled with inescapable gloomy and sorrowful atmosphere… permanently.
Eventually, some of us could no longer stand it. One by one, the dragons of Pendragon left the team, completely disappeared from Pendracomonium. Our number gradually dwindling, until only a few of us remained. After such loss, our team could no longer function, and thus, the Pendragon was eventually disbanded, and the remaining members went on separate way, never to cross path with each other again…
On the day that the Pendragon was disbanded, Bahamut appeared before us once again. We told us everything that happened on Tower of the God, as well as our decision to disband the Pendragon. He didn't say much in response. All he said was that he would respect our decision, before he vanished before our eyes, and he didn't appear before us again…
With the team being disbanded, Pendracomonium, a mysterious ancient underground ruin that served as the base of the Pendragon was sealed once again, alongside all of its guardian gargoyles, and they would never be unsealed again. They would never see sunlight again… Not anymore…
We buried Zetarus' body in the ruined Hidden Village of Dragon, near the shrine that served as the entrance of Pendracomonium. Zetarus… He was supposed to die 3 years ago, but he managed to escape death due to a curse that had plagued his family for countless generations. With the curse being fulfilled, Zetarus could no longer escape death, and he met his end, a tragic one, at last. We didn't get a chance to say goodbye to him, nor hear his own last words, at all. Rest in peace, Zetarus Quakersand.
Diego didn't say anything to any of us ever since we reunited with him at the base of Tower of the God, not even afterward. The next day after Zetarus' funeral, however, he disappeared from Pendracomonium, never to return again. It was a few months before I met him again, at the Brawl Arena in Fireview Kingdom. Apparently, he had signed a permanent slave gladiator contract, and he now lived his day by fighting in the arena as if there was no tomorrow. His ferocity in the battle, along with his permanent broken wing, earned him a title of 'One-Wing Devil'. Every time I saw him ever since, I could see that he was never the same person he was before, as if some parts of him, not just his wing, was permanently broken…
Following Diego's disappearance, Rachael and Richard followed suit. Both of them simply left one day, with only a letter leaving behind, telling us that they had decided to quit being parts of the Pendragon. They didn't tell us where they went, and unlike Diego, we never see them again. None of us had any idea of where they were right now, but if I had to guess, I remembered both of them often saying that they wanted to find a place to call home. I wonder… Had they discovered such place yet? Or were they still searching? Those were questions that would never be answered…
Freya was the next person to leave the Pendragon. She returned to Desert Palace and continued her life as the princess of Dustorm Empire, alongside her siblings. Despite of her limited power as a princess with no chance in succession, she continued doing what she could in order to fight the corruption within the shadow of the desert nation. Poor Freya… Losing her elder brother must have broken her pretty badly, and yet she turned her sadness into strength to fight against evil, to make the world a better place, so that no one would have to suffer like Zetarus again…
Snow was the last person who left before the Pendragon was officially disbanded. I still remembered the night before he quitted the Pendragon. The Draconic Lapras had disappeared for that entire day, and when he came back, his body was wounded and heavily bruised, but he was still alive. He didn't tell us where he went other than that he left to complete an unfinished business. Like Rachael and Richard, he had completely disappeared following his leaving. Though I never got to confirm it myself, I heard a rumor of a monstrous ice dragon being spot in the vast icy land of Queendom of the Riverbrine. The said ice dragon was either seen patrolling Mt. Snowlost amidst the howling blizzard, or at Snowlost Castle, guarding the Nevermelt Crystal containing the body of Queen Nyxier inside. The identity and origin of the ice dragon were shrouded in mystery, and it had become a well-known folk tales of Mt. Snowlost ever since…
After the Pendragon was disbanded, Claura and Xavier, with no purpose left on the continent of Symmetria, journeyed back to Kingdom of the Dragonking, the place where they were from, with heavy hearts. They came to Symmetria in order to search for the Hidden Village of Dragon, which was now in ruin. Both of them joined up with the Pendragon afterward, to fight against the corruption of the world. But now, the Pendragon was no more, so they went back to where they came from, with the news of everything that happened on Symmetria. Both of them didn't look happy to go back at all. I wondered what happened that caused them to journey from their home to the Land of Equilibrium. I guess I would never know now…
With their roles within the Pendragon came to the end, Anastasia and Baromyteus went back to what they were before everything happened, before the Dragon Massacre. I heard that Claura and Xavier invited them both to go to Kingdom of the Dragonking with them, but the siblings refused. Instead, both decided to stay on Symmetria, travelling around the continent, just like what they did before. Baromyteus returned to be a mercenary, those who fought for money, while Anastasia returned to be a songstress, someone who danced and sang beautifully on the stage. Those two… They were the Hero/ine of Dragon type who was forced to betray their comrades 30 years ago. Now, both of them tried to correct their path, to do what they thought was right, only for their effect to end in futile…
Korben, unlike the rest of us Pendragon, chose to stay behind in the Inaccessible Valley. He told us that he didn't belong to the outside world, the world outside Valley of No Return. He wouldn't fit in the modern world, and the valley was his home. As the only dragons of Hidden Village of Dragon who was still alive, he wouldn't be able to revive his hometown. Instead, he wanted to protect Valley of No Return from any possible invaders. It was his home, the final thing that he had left that he could protect, after all. Such a lonely fate for the last survivor of Hidden Village of Dragon, destined to be alone in the end…
And that… was the end of the Pendragon…
We saved the world from the Old God of Light who wanted to reign over the Land of Equilibrium, as well as defeating the melancholy Lugia who had been tormented for over a millennium, and we suffered a heavy loss in return. Now that our team was no more, whatever happened to the world afterward, it was no longer the Pendragon's concern, for that we were powerless to do anything else. It was time for Hero/ine of Legend to shine, not us. We had done all we could. Now it was their time to save the world for any upcoming crisis in the future, one that we wouldn't be a part of.
Not me, however…
As for what I would do after the Pendragon was disbanded…
"Bid me, Sirius, how doth thee feeleth whenever thee seeth the vermillion sky during the timeth of twilight?"
I turned my attention to the Pokemon who was standing next to me as we stood on top of Tower of the God, watching the sky at dusk.
'… I feel sad.' I closed my eyes and answered, having no need to use telepathy. 'I feel as if I am experiencing a parting, a goodbye. Maybe it is because of the sun descending from the sky.'
"…From mine own experience as Aleph, some mortals believed yond twilight is the timeth where a link between the world of the living and the world of the dead wast established, allowing the living and the dead to communicateth with each other again."
Twilight… The time where the living and the dead could communicate, huh?
'As long as we continue to live, we can't escape death.' I closed my eyes.
"The life of mortals is short and fragile, forsooth, but yond is what maketh it quite quaint and invaluable."
That's right… It was such a short time, but it was invaluable, regardless…
"… Thee seemeth to has't something on thy mind, Sirius." I could feel the gaze of the Pokemon next to me. "Doth thee wanteth to shareth it with thy 'pactbound' partner?"
"I am thinking back to that day, when I was still with the Pendragon, when we fought against our final battle on the top of this very tower." I opened my eyes and answered the Alpha Pokemon. "We defeated the Old God of Light and the melancholy Lugia and saved the world, but at what cost?"
"What doth thee cullionly by yond?"
"… To save the world, we had to pay a price. A heavy price." I continued speaking. "I am thinking that… Was it worth to sacrifice that much to save the world? Personally, I have nothing against sacrificing for the sake of the world. When it comes to my friends, however, I start to have a second thought."
"…"
"Each and every one of my friends… The Pendragon… They had suffered so much from the cruelty of the world, from its inhumanity." I continued speaking. "They ended up joining together to fight against the corruption of the world, only to have their life completely ruined in order to save the world, the same world that had been cruel to them. The most brutal part is that they don't receive any recognition of their deed in return at all. Their effort is like the twilight sun, fading into shadow of the night. In the end, they return to their old life before the Pendragon was formed, as if the Pendragon never exists. It is as if we didn't accomplish anything at all."
"…"
"… There's no point in thinking about all of it." I looked at Arceus, my 'pactbound' partner. "Everything is already over. We can't go back to fix anything, no matter how much we want to. The only thing we can do now is moving forward, and not repeating our mistake again."
"… What art thee going to doth next, Sirius?" Arceus asked.
"… My life as a part of the Pendragon is over, and I am not a Hero/ine of Legend. However, that doesn't mean that I will give up on this world." I spoke up with a voice that showed my conviction. "Despite of how inhumane this world is, I still love it, and I want to continue to protect it. My goal hasn't changed at all. I will continue to protect this world. I will help mortals make this world a better place, from the shadow. This will be my life from now on, for the rest of my life."
"I seeth. Thee haven't hath changed at all from yond day, at which hour we reunit'd at this very toweth'r top." Arceus commented. "Very well, then… If 't be true yond is the path thee chooseth, then I shalt walketh alongside thee and observe thy deed until the endeth"
I stood on the top of Tower of the God, facing Arceus, one of two creator gods of this world, as well as my 'pactbound' partner. Neither of us said anything else to each other as we turned our attention back to the twilight sky, watching the light from the descending sun dying the world in the tone of vermillion.
Descending sun, beckoning twilight…
The Old God of Light has awakened to seize the light…
The gale of sorrow shall be reborn…
Hear me sing a melody of Vermillion Dusk…
Once, a sky, now, light and shadow…
The reunion of two storms shall shatter the ground…
A Dragon's Chronicle…
Ending I: Vermillion Dusk
-The End-
Dragon of Vale: And thus, the story of A Dragon's Tail has come to the end, the first ending, at least. Didn't expect this, did you? The thing is, this story will have more than 1 ending. Except for the True Ending, all endings will end the story prematurely, just like this one, which ended after Tail 8. As for how many endings there are in this story, you'll have to find out later. Oh, and there won't be a Q&A session at the end of Ending Chapter.
The first ending, Vermillion Dusk, is the 'stagnant' ending of this story, where everything returned to the state it was before. It is also a really gloomy ending, with how the story of the Pendragon ends, and many questions are left unanswered...
After each Ending (except for True Ending), the story will continue from the chapter before the ending. In this case, the story will continue from Tail 8-Interlude, but with a different path, as if the event in this chapter didn't happen at all. The next chapter will be the start of Intermission II (for real this time). I'll see you soon.