Magnus's eyes needed a bit to comprehend the scenery around them. No longer were they trapped in the dark and gloomy island archipelago of nothingness, but standing on green grassland. The silvery fog made it difficult to see it at first, but a small lakeside was just in front of them. A soft breeze seemed to breathe new life into this place and waves gently roamed across the lake.
"Are we... dead?" he asked Cynthia while his eyes were still fully captured by steady up and down of the waves. She chuckled.
"No, we aren't", she answered and tried her best not to laugh. She turned around to face him. In this eerily silent place, her bright smile seemed to be utterly surreal.
"You did it!", she exclaimed as she grabbed his right hand between hers, "You calmed Giratina! You can be proud of yourself!"
Only now did he realise that his right hand was holding a Pokéball. The Pokéball that caught the god of the otherworld. The gravity of the situation hit him. He held a third of the cosmic balance in his hand, encapsulated in a little red-white ball. Taking a deep breath, he now felt the gravity of planet earth hit him, too. His mind had just barely adjusted to the strange physics of that distorted world and now it again felt like being turned upside down. He stumbled backwards and if Cynthia hadn't grabbed his arm, he would have just fallen over and blacked out. Landing on his knees, he felt everything hit him at once. She kneeled down next to him and, unsure what to do, gently patted his back.
"Do you need some water?"
He shook his head. Just the thought of drinking made him almost throw up. He had to lean on his arms.
"Close your eyes and take a deep breath."
Doing as he was told, his eyes could relax for a blissful moment of darkness as his lungs filled with the cold lakeside air. For the first time, he felt grateful for Sinnoh's cool climate. He exhaled and slowly opened his eyes. Long, golden strings were in front of his face and Magnus thought he was going crazy, but chuckled as he realised it was just Cynthia's hair.
"I'm glad you cheered up", she said with a gentle smile, "but what's so funny?"
"Nothing", he replied and let himself drop onto his back, "Just needed a moment to come back to our world."
Through the fog, he managed to spot two Staravias in the sky and his gaze followed their aerial acrobatics. Were they playing? Fighting? Who knows...
"Where are we?" he asked.
"This is the Sendoff Spring. A place between us and the afterlife."
He raised an eyebrow. So being dead hadn't been a far-fetched guess.
"We shouldn't stay here for too long", Cynthia reached out a hand and Magnus gladly took her offer to help him get up. She was much stronger than such a slender person should be.
"Sinnoh needs to celebrate the fall of Team Galactic."
Five large spires pierced through the sky. Their imposing size could be seen from far away, towering over the entire region. What a fitting architecture for the Pokémon League! Even from a distance, every challenger could witness the might of the Elite Four and their Champion! But today, Magnus did not come here as a challenger. Not that he felt in any condition to challenge the League anyway. Since he returned from the Sendoff Spring one week ago, his sleep had been restless, to say the least, and he knew that he needed a well-rested head to prevail against the Elite Four. But during the last couple of days, he felt way too excited to fall asleep. After all, today was his day. At least that's what he told himself.
"Ah, there's our hero!" the deep voice of Byron greeted him as he entered the League's castle.
"Don't congratulate him yet!", Roark tried to hold back his father, "We should at least wait until the ceremony is over!"
"Was it really that spooky?" Gardenia asked him and shivered thinking about what Cynthia told her about their adventure.
"Let's talk about this during the evening", Magnus said and tried to politely end the conversations before they even started. He felt a bit too exhausted for all of this and gladly took the receptionist's offer to show him his guest room. A luxurious suite had been prepared for him and the delicate decorations on the furniture made him feel like a nobleman. He thanked the receptionist and decided to rest a while on his bed before the main event started. His limbs felt heavy and his head even heavier. A short nap might be a good idea. Closing his eyes, he expected to quickly drift off to sleep, but whenever he felt like falling asleep, something shook him and he was wide awake again. Eventually, he decided to leave his room to catch some fresh air. Hearing the echo of his own footsteps in the giant hallways of the Pokémon League's castle, he could not stop himself from being awestruck by the sheer might this building expressed. Truly fitting for a Champion like Cynthia. Outside, he sat down on a mossy rock close to the waterfall that separated the League from the commoners. He closed his eyes and listened to the steady stream of water rushing down the waterfall, imagining that his worries could just be washed away downstream by the torrent. The undercurrents of the waterfall might constantly be changing, but its noise still always sounded the same. Magnus found some comfort in this thought, when he suddenly felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
"Long time no see!"
Magnus immediately recognised this voice and jumped to his feet.
"Steven! You came all the way from Hoenn?"
"Of course!", Steven made a gesture with his hand and the many gemstones on his rings glimmered magnificently in the sunlight, "I have followed your career as a trainer ever since we met in Granite Cave. I am not going to miss out on today's ceremony! Which reminds me: How are your Pokémon doing?"
"Oh, I have some news for you!" Magnus answered excitedly and released his Rampardos.
"I've dug him out in the Underground of Sinnoh", said Magnus while patting his Pokémon's head.
"A great place for any collector", remarked Steven and carefully touched Rampardos's horn with the tip of his finger, feeling its surface's texture and structure.
"But there's even more", said Magnus and released Magnezone from its Pokéball.
"Ah, you figured out how to evolve it!"
"Not by myself", Magnus admitted, but Steven seemed to overhear this.
"Your Pokémon look as tough as steel – you must have done a good job raising them!"
Hearing this made Magnus blush a bit.
"So when are you returning to Hoenn?" Steven asked.
"I don't know", Magnus shrugged, "After everything that happened on Mount Coronet, I feel like I should stay here in Sinnoh for a while." Magnus tried his best to ignore the sudden feeling of emptiness in his gut.
"Understandable", Steven nodded, "it would be strange if the region's hero would just leave right after his great ceremony." Though we could really need a decent challenger in Ever Grande, he thought to himself.
"I think I need some rest before the main event starts", Magnus said as the feeling in his body became stronger and stronger.
"Sure", Steven said and eyed his former student up, "If you ever need some weeks off, feel free to take my holiday home nearby."
"Thanks", Magnus creaked and quickly returned to his room. The feeling just became worse with every step. If he wanted to get some rest, he'd need help. And help was available as he pulled out a small bottle of liquor from his backpack. He greedily swallowed a mouthful of it and let himself drop onto his bed. Knowing that he should get some sleep, he forced his eyes shut. Through his eyelids, he could see the light from outside the window as a faintly dark red glimmer. The red turned brighter and brighter, first into a vibrant scarlet, then a light rose and finally so bright that it looked perfectly white. He walked through the white snow on Mount Coronet. Every step felt heavier than the previous one as the snow became thicker and thicker. Maybe he should descend? Magnus looked over his shoulder to gauge how difficult the way down might be. Behind him, in the middle of the white snowfield, there was a purple dot. He could not turn his eyes away from it as the dot suddenly exploded in size and the dark purple field erupted across the entire landscape.
He woke up covered in sweat. A glance on his PokéNav's clock told him that he had slept for about 40 minutes. Too little to feel rested, but enough to carry on with the day.
When he entered the great hall of the League's castle, Magnus expected everyone in the room to turn their heads towards him. However, none of them even flinched as the ancient doors squeaked and announced his attendance. They were all firmly and sternly looking towards the other end of the hall, where the Champion was waiting for him. He sighed in relief. Luckily, the crowd was actually rather small. He recognised the Gym Leaders and some of the Elite Four members, also Professor Rowan and Steven. There were also a few unknown faces, including a blonde man in a blue uniform, looking almost as detached from this place as Magnus felt himself. Overall, maybe thirty people at most. But when he passed the first row of seats on his way towards the Champion, he could feel each and every of their eyes pierce through his body with their gaze. The second row made things even worse and when he walked past the final row, he had to stop for a moment. The black suit into which he had squeezed himself seemed to wrap around his stomach like a tight rope. Sweat started to run down his forehead. With one strong jerk, he managed to stumble towards the podium in the front. He looked at the staircase for a second, then placed his foot on the first step. Carefully, he took each step on the staircase, trying his best not to stumble again. When he reached the top, he took a deep breath and looked up from his feet. Cynthia was already waiting for him in the same elegant dress as always, but something shiny was sparkling between her fingers, hidden in her hands. She made a small movement with her head as if she was trying to tell him something. Oh yes! Now he remembered! He quickly kneeled down in front of her and as his knees touched the ground, he could hear everyone in the audience stand up from their seats. The ceremony could begin.
Cynthia recapitulated the fight against Team Galactic and what had been at stake on the summit of Mount Coronet, but after the first few sentences, all words entered Magnus's ears without being heard by him. You wouldn't listen to a storm and try to understand it, would you? Mechanically, Magnus said "Yes" whenever Cynthia asked a question. He had learnt this in the rehearsal for today and it did not matter if the question was "Will you swear to always honour the people and Pokémon of Sinnoh?" or "Do you promise to always strive to protect Sinnoh?", the answer was always the same. "Sinnoh's highest order shall be a testimony of your bravery" – he luckily remembered what to answer – "It shall be an incentive to always dedicate my heart to Sinnoh and its people" and she concluded "It shall guide others to follow in your footsteps". He startled when something heavy and cold touched his neck, only to realise that Cynthia had just placed the necklace on him. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the golden metal shine. The light sparkled in all kinds of colours as it was reflected by the many gems which decorated the ribbon attached to the necklace. Sinnoh's order of merit. He rose to his feet and turned around as Cynthia exclaimed "The hero of Sinnoh!" and the crowd answered "For the glory of Sinnoh!"
He wanted to descend from the podium, but was held back by the Champion.
"The first congratulation is always mine!", she said as she shook his hand.
"Thanks", he mumbled.
"You must be exhausted", she whispered as she noticed his almost empty gaze, "Don't worry, the official part is over. You don't have to stay here for too long."
Halfway down the stairway, he was intercepted by Steven who had somehow managed to get two glasses of champagne.
"A son of Hoenn becoming the hero of Sinnoh! Let us toast to that!", he shouted and Magnus obediently drank from his glass before objecting that he was born in Sinnoh and therefore technical–
"But there is a bit of Hoenn inside you, too!" Steven said and pointed on Magnus's chest, right when his gaze fell on the gems of Magnus's ribbon.
"Pale and Prism Spheres in such a high quality... Sinnoh is really a marvellous place", he remarked, "That reminds me! Researchers from Hoenn and Kalos found a new kind of stone that can greatly enhance the strength of some Pokémon, it's really fantastic! So much power in such a small stone, you wouldn't believe it if–"
"Hey, Champ!", Wake shouted at Steven. Dressed in a formal shirt instead of his wrestling outfit, Magnus would not have recognised him if it wasn't for his energetic voice. "It's our time to congratulate the boy!"
With that, Magnus was passed through the crowd of Gym Leaders and other people who had been following his ceremony. Some also drank a toast with him, some were satisfied with a simple handshake and some tried to have a bit of small talk, but Magnus's mind was already too dizzy for that. It wasn't long until he excused himself to his room where he threw himself onto his bed and immediately fell asleep and the sweet darkness of the night allowed his mind to rest. The darkness embraced him with its six long and mighty fingers. They wrapped tightly around him. Breathing got heavier. Two red eyes. Wrapping tighter. Heavier. Red eyes. Can't breath. Staring. Darkness.
He screamed as he sat up straight in his bed. Sweat covered his whole body. His eyes glanced over to his belt to which his six Pokéballs were attached. Where its Pokéball... Breathing was still heavy, but at least there was nothing trying to tie his throat. He grabbed the half-full bottle of champagne besides his bed and emptied it in his throat. After a few minutes, he felt better and calm enough to sleep.