The Four Golems (ca. 2400 BC)

When Arceus emerged from the Arctic, it was Dialga who greeted him first.

The young dragon was frightened, and at first stood guard over his sister, fearing that perhaps some otherworldly force had taken over his father. But when Arceus bowed his head and rumbled a gentle greeting, Dialga softened somewhat and ventured forward. The Alpha's countenance had become bright and fiery, but he was still the Alpha. His mind was still his.

During the next several years, the family continued their journey westward across the bridge between Canada and Russia. Arceus refined his newfound powers to keep them warm even in the bitter winter, Palkia delighted in the vivid splendor of the aurora borealis, and Dialga practiced using his phasing technique to scout ahead for danger.

Near the end of the twenty-fifth century BC, the trio approached the southern border of what would become modern-day Russia. Arceus planned to show his children the steppes of Mongolia, where he had been born eight thousand years ago.

Unbeknownst to them, they were approaching the territory of four gargantuan gods of earth.

An elderly golem had come into contact with a large sector of Arceus' meteorite while digging a den in which to hibernate. This shard seemed to filter down through the soil and embed itself into the golem's thick outer shell of rock. In fact, this shard held four separate nexuses of power, similarly to the way Kyurem's shard had held two distinct powers within. However, because this golem's shell was so thick, it prevented most of the shard from coming into contact with the creature's bodily cells. Three of the nexuses remained buried in the rocky outer layer, and one pierced through into the golem's body. He transformed in his sleep throughout that winter and became an enormous behemoth of stone and steel, blessed with the power of life-giving itself.

This creature became known in folklore as Regigigas. When he awoke in the spring, he was ten times as massive, his limbs were coated with plants and moss, and the cave was full of newborn geodude and graveler that had spawned from his life-energy. The three other gems of power still remained buried in the soil upon his back, waiting to be bestowed upon their next host.

When Regigigas met the Alpha, it began rather peacefully, but swiftly devolved into a battle - as these types of encounters so often do. Even now, Arceus is loathe to speak of what transpired between him and the king of the golems. Perhaps it is out of regret, or shame, or a desire not to frighten his children. But regardless, Regigigas and his children all met a swift end at the hands of the Alpha, and now lie buried beneath Siberian soil.

Arceus, at first, was delighted to meet the towering creature. He enjoyed watching Regigigas extend his hand towards rocks and plants, bestowing them freely with sentience and strength.

However, the Alpha's irritation was raised upon noticing the three gems still in the golem's possession.

He seemed to be saving them intentionally, knowing that they contained more power than he could abide in himself. Arceus implored the golem - in the nonverbal language of ancients - to give him the gems, as they belonged rightfully to him. Regigigas refused outright.

Now, if this encounter had happened even two centuries earlier, perhaps Arceus would have let the matter lie for the moment, and tried again later to reason with the creature. However, because of the extreme plasmatic energy he had just absorbed, he was filled with a manic drive to collect even more of the power that was his birthright. And so it was that he challenged Regigigas directly. He demanded the gems be given to him, or he would attack without mercy.

Dialga noticed the impending danger, and attempted to dissuade his father from losing his grip on himself. Arceus ignored the dragon and pressed forward, aiming spears of steel, rock, and ice toward the rock giant.

Regigigas, perhaps with a wry sense of humor, merely extended his soil-covered arms toward the Alpha's earthy weapons and lifted the three gems into each of them. Immediately, the three masses of matter burst to life. Arceus, momentarily stunned, was knocked backward.

Regigigas took the three masses and shaped them into golems of his own image. The godly power coursed through each of them and gave them immortality, strength, and intelligence. Registeel, Regirock, and Regice were born before him, in an act of defiance towards the Alpha.

Arceus, enraged, began an onslaught at once. Dialga again attempted to interrupt him, but was forced to back away lest he be pulverized by a beam of energy. Regigigas protected his newborn children with massive walls of earth, and returned Arceus' magical attacks with brute physical force with his towering limbs.

The battle was fierce, but brief. Arceus summoned every ounce of power within himself and launched it toward the family of golems, triggering an explosion that would have leveled a human town, were they near one.

As the dust cleared, four golems lay broken and comatose upon the soil. They were alive, but unconscious.

Arceus approached them to take back his power, but as he came near them and detected that there was still a tiny spark of life left within their earthy forms, he froze.

He realized that he had become Kyurem. Envious, lustful, and wrathful. He had lost himself, and had killed four gods in the process.

Disgusted with himself, Arceus let out a shrill, mournful cry. He lay in vigil for many weeks, waiting and hoping that his victims would wake. They never did.

Dejected, the Alpha enlisted the help of Dialga and Palkia to construct a tomb for the four golems in the Siberian tundra. Dialga formed a temple of rock and steel, and Palkia coated it with smooth ice like glass. The four golems were laid therein, where they would remain asleep for the next five thousand years.

The Alpha then excused himself from his children and returned alone to his birthplace in southwest Asia.

I do not know whether I believe in God. As the Being of Knowledge, I place great importance on evidence that can be collected using our physical senses. I have never seen the face of God nor heard his voice. That being said, Arceus has told me that he spoke intimately with God during those dark days, and I trust the Alpha's intelligence enough to believe him.

Arceus lay in tearful prayer for many agonizing weeks, and eventually concluded that he must rid himself of the power that had slowly been consuming him. It caused him excruciating pain - similar to the feeling of ripping out one's own vital organs - but he willingly extracted the plasmatic core from his bloodstream, trapped it inside a large mass of stone, then buried it in the exact place where he had emerged from a meteor, eight thousand years prior.

Dialga and Palkia found him exhausted, bleeding, and grieving. They rested with him for several days and brought him food and water. As he began to recover his strength, one morning came when the Alpha woke alone, as his two children had left to fetch supplies. He lifted his head and, in the distance, beheld the approach of none other than Giratina.