Chapter 60 – Black Clouds

The rush of thoughts that swirled through Rhys' mind in that instance was incomprehensible even to himself. His heart raced with an adrenaline he hadn't felt in centuries; the aura that leaked through his paws felt like cinders. That dense pit in his stomach finally blossomed into a great, burning coal that cooked him from the inside.

Rhys rushed for Nevren. But Anam was in the way; the bulky dragon swung at Rhys with no technique or reason. That made it easy to dodge, but it was still a dodge. Rhys jumped away, gaining distance between him and the puppet Goodra, whose tears still flowed from his blank eyes.

"Nevren!" Rhys shouted. He swung his arm to the side, aura embers dancing in front of him in a small shower of lights. "You—what are you doing?!"

There was no way. Nevren had worked with Anam for centuries. Countless inventions to build Kilo Village to its current, advanced, peaceful state. The world had finally been unified and at peace! Save for the Guardians, there had been no more peaceful a time in all of Kilo than this very day. And Nevren was behind a large portion of it, all for the world.

"You said that Anam deserved the world!" Rhys roared, aiming an Aura Sphere toward Nevren, but the ember flickered with hesitation.

"I did," Nevren said, expression unchanging. "And at the time, I meant it. But unfortunately, centuries have passed, circumstances have changed… and perhaps Eon was right after all."

"You… you TRAITOR!" Rhys' Aura Sphere flared to life. He fired directly at Nevren, but Anam stood in the way, taking the blast instead. His gooey chest burst apart, spattering the walls, but more of the purple slime slid into place.

This time, Anam's throat glowed with red fire. Rhys' instincts screamed to get further away, and he had to obey. He jumped back again, gaining more distance, just in time to leap to the right to dodge the flames that singed his fur. He blasted another Sphere toward Nevren, but once more, in the narrow halls, Anam took the blow. This time, Anam's arm lost its shape, returning to normal after a few seconds.

"Ironic," Nevren said, "to call me a traitor, when you were the first to make that Divine Promise to Zena, explicitly abandoning your role."

"My role," Rhys repeated, aura sensors rising with his anger and overflowing power. "I never had a role here."

Nevren shrugged. "Star created us to gather the Orbs. Is that not—"

"Don't be so coy with me," Rhys hissed. "You know that's a lie. We were never created. We were conscripted."

"I suppose, yes. Auras cleansed with just her mark on our ancestry, all for the purpose of her divine mission. A bit haughty, in hindsight, is it not? And Star did warn us herself that should she ever lose heart, we should carry on for the greater good. We all know she was an undisciplined god. She herself knew this would happen. A rare moment of foresight. More irony for the Psychic, I suppose."

Rhys finally caught his breath during the pause. "Then I suppose I lost heart just as she did. What we're doing is not for the greater good. It is just borne from a desire for power. That much is obvious."

"Then you would prefer how things are now?"

Rhys kept his muscles tense and ready for any sudden movements from Anam. Despite this, he faltered briefly. Thinking that Anam would take advantage of this, he redoubled his stance and fired a warning Sphere toward him. Anam swung one of his horns and knocked it into the wall, shattering the rocks.

Nevren continued, casually waving his right spoon in a small circle. "Biding your time and living in blissful ignorance. Satisfied and resigned with your eternity. Does this not bother you, Rhys?"

"Of course it bothers me," Rhys said. "I wouldn't have become a Hunter had it not. But this, Nevren, is not the right course of action. It will only give way to more blood and more mistakes. Another war. Every time we fight for the Orbs, it always winds up the same way. The Orbs collect and scatter, mortal lives are lost, the Guardians live in stagnation."

"And your approach now is different, how?" Nevren asked. "Owen's charisma is impressive, seeing as he befriended over half of the Guardians, but that is really all he can do. He has no intention of gathering them into his person, just like Anam."

"Anam cannot. He made a Promise to never gather the Orbs as part of his spirit."

"Ahh," Nevren said. "That is true. That is true. When a Divine Promise is broken, their Mystic power will be channeled into the other that they made the Promise with. We have seen it before, after all, with Madeline and Tanneth. Yet Star and Arceus… they went to great lengths to not only gain Promises from the Guardians… but to also prevent them from breaking them. Have you ever considered why that is?"

"No," Rhys said. "It's quite obvious that they both want that power to stay separated, and for the balance of the world to be maintained. Arceus with a third, Star with a third, and the world with the rest."

"Perhaps," Nevren said. "Yet, the Promise has never been broken. Guardians fear Promises, because it is so easy to break them. You must have your fullest will when creating one, after all. Did you know that Star implied to Guardians that a broken Promise meant the destruction of not only their power, but their very spirit?" He tilted his head. "What a cruel thing to say."

Rhys growled. "It isn't wrong. Look at what nearly happened to Amia when her power was depleted. Body and aura as one, she nearly faded completely from this world."

"The best lies," said Nevren, slowly lowering his spoon again, ceasing his circle, "are the ones wrapped in truth. That is not why Star discouraged the Guardians from breaking Promises of any kind. The real reason is because if they broke just one Promise… they would learn the truth that Owen inadvertently uncovered for us. That the Orbs and their Mysticism are not intertwined."

Rhys stared at Nevren, his guard still up. "How is that relevant? What significance does that hold?"

"Long ago, Arceus created weak embodiments of the Types. The plates? I believe that was what they were called. He created many of them, really, though only one set was truly filled with any meaningful amount of power. And then he imbued a third of the Hands into a set of them, transforming them into the Orbs. That is the story we were told, is it not? We assumed that the Mysticism was forever bound. But when Owen fused with Gahi… part of that power went to him, did it not?"

Nevren paced left and right, as if he was reasoning this out for himself just as much as Rhys, perhaps to reiterate for himself the scheme the gods had tried to keep a secret. "I sensed it. I was waiting for it to happen. When Eon unleashed Gahi and they fused together… I checked Gahi's spirit shortly after. And within him, I detected ten Hands. At the time, at least. With all the fusing they do with one another, I imagine the number has shifted." Nevren shook his head, looking down. He spotted a bit of rubble caught in his left mustache. He shook it away with a tiny Psychic blast. "Rhys, if a Promise is broken by an Orb holder… they do not lose the Orb. They lose their Mystic power."

Rhys blinked. "Then—if someone gains their Mystic power, but not the Orb itself…!"

"Indeed," Nevren said. "Someone can gain Mystic power and uphold their Promise."

"Th-that's—that's preposterous!" Rhys said. "Why would Star and Barky allow such a huge oversight?!"

"Why indeed?" Nevren said. "While it's clear that Star and Barky are not fully aware of the very world they created, I doubt they were ignorant of this. Unfortunately…" Nevren clicked his spoons together. Anam, who had been stationary, stiffened. "That is the extent of my theory. I do not know what they planned to do with this knowledge, only that they did not want other Guardians to know about it. Frankly, we don't even know if they have other Promises with each other."

"That's it?" Rhys said. "The Orbs and the Hands are not tied together, and you plan to use this exploit to gather power into Anam? Why didn't you just have Eon gather the Guardians together?"

"Well, we would have," Nevren said. "Unfortunately, not only were the Guardians extremely evasive, but only Star knew where they were, and only after a lot of sleuthing in the aura sea and the spirit world. Only recently did the Guardians become so visible. Quite curious, isn't it? And not only that, but Eon trying to fight all of the Guardians himself would be a risk."

"So, you admit that Anam is stronger than Eon," said Rhys. "That if we combined our strength, we would have beaten him?"

"Perhaps," Nevren said. "The statistics suggest that Eon would still defeat you, though not without great sacrifice. This plan was merely to minimize casualties. For example, instead of waging a war of mutants—that would be plan D, if I have my lettering memorized properly—we are instead having Anam absorb the power of the Guardians, leaving the mortals uninvolved."

"And what does that mean for me?" Rhys asked, aura flaring wildly.

Nevren stared at Rhys with that same, unblinking stare. But there was a rare moment where he hesitated. "That is entirely based upon how you react here. I do not want to kill you. And the removal of your Mysticism may just do that. So, Rhys, here is my proposal: You speak nothing of this to the others… and I will not unleash Anam upon them."

Rhys snarled, showing his teeth. "I have no reason to believe you will hold up such a deal. You've already lost my trust, you…" His voice caught in his throat at the sight of Nevren's cold, blank stare. "How can I call you my friend?"

"Perhaps one day we can look back at this and laugh," Nevren said. "But as a friend, Rhys, I do not want to hurt you. Speak nothing of this and lend your Mystic power when the time comes. That is all I ask."

"You could not have asked the same from the other Guardians?"

"No," Nevren said. "Because ultimately, their goal was to gather the Guardians, not the power. Nobody there wants to be a god."

"Then the mission has always been the same," Rhys said. "To usurp Arceus and Star, and become gods instead!"

An uneasy silence fell between the pair. Anam continued to stand, awaiting a command that never came. The Alakazam rubbed his chin thoughtfully, pushing the end of his spoon along his left mustache. "Hmm…" Nevren finally crossed his arms. "Yes."

Rhys fired three Aura Spheres in rapid succession toward Nevren, each one in three different directions. The first one Anam blocked; the remaining two hit Nevren's spoons, cupped by the curvature, and redirected to the walls.

"Now, is this really necessary?" Nevren asked even as two more Aura Spheres came his way. His Revisor a dim gray, Nevren easily moved along, deflecting each Aura Sphere, completely ignoring the ones that he knew Anam would properly block. Like steps to a dance he would only have to perform once, Nevren made easy work of the Spheres the same way.

The Alakazam pointed his left spoon forward. Anam lunged toward Rhys, who grunted and stepped away. Anam still advanced, trying to grab the Lucario by the arm. Anam managed to grasp the spike on his wrist; Rhys reacted by slamming the back of his other one into Anam's arm, piercing through with ease. Anam pulled at Rhys, but the puncture weakened his gooey arm's integrity enough that it tore off completely.

Rhys flung his arm to dislodge Anam's hand, spattering it against the cave walls. He panted, realizing that he wasn't going to be able to last against Anam and Nevren both. Not without pushing himself to the very limit. If he could just kill Nevren, that would be enough. Kill Nevren… would he really have to kill… Nevren?

"Why?!" Rhys shouted. "Why couldn't you have just been truthful?! Why are you still aligned with Eon? You told me you believed in Anam!"

"I did," Nevren said. "But as I told you before, that was centuries ago. I now realize that Anam's hesitance to take action with his great power is what made me… disillusioned. Ultimately, Eon is the only one who has a vision for divinity, and one that can fix what the current administration broke. I'm afraid we will not see eye to eye on this, Rhys. I see that. And I apologize."

"If you're truly sorry"—Rhys pointed his paw at Nevren—"then you will stand down, free Anam, and… and I promise not to speak of this."

"Oh?" Nevren tilted his head. "If I free Anam of my shackles, all is forgiven? By your honor?"

Rhys' paw trembled. "Yes. I only want peace. I only want to live with Elder again. My Promise was made from the bottom of my heart, Nevren. I am truly done with being a Hunter. I am a Divine Dragon." Rhys slowly breathed out. "And it is the Divine Dragons that fight for the world."

Nevren's eyes widened just slightly in amusement. "Quite a while since we've used such a term," he said. "I believe it has been so underused that its original meaning has been lost to time." Nevren closed his eyes, turning his head downward. "Much like the reason being a Hunter was lost to you, I suppose."

"It's time that I free Anam," Rhys said. His aura rose to a fever pitch, the heat in his chest not unlike the fire within Owen. It ran just beneath his fur and exploded out, coating his body in a blinding flare and solid armor. A blade of aura extended from his right paw and a shield formed around the wrist of his left.

"Well," Nevren said. "At least you know to wrap things up."

Rhys vanished from view, appearing right in front of Nevren. He slashed down the Alakazam's chest, yet all that remained was a trick of the eye. Nevren was across the corridor, having teleported just a moment before. Rhys turned around and spotted Anam's horns swinging toward him. He ducked and sliced through the incoming horn, using his shield to block the other. He sidestepped around Anam, lucky to not slip over the slime, and dashed toward Nevren again. The Alakazam blinked, teleporting on the opposite side again.

Rhys turned around, only to be met by Anam's horns, the sliced one regrown. It wrapped around tight, pulling him off of the ground. Rhys, choking, tried to pry Anam's hold off, but not only was his horn too slippery, but his grip was too strong.

"Let go, Anam! Break free! Break free…!"

Anam's grip strengthened. Rhys' aura armor flickered from the pressure. With one hand, Rhys abruptly let go and sliced at the feeler that held him. It cut through like he was made of water. He fell to the ground, narrowly able to land on his feet. The detached feeler still held onto his neck with the same grip strength. He couldn't pull it off, the pressure putting immense strain on his armor.

Rhys rushed for Nevren again. This time, Anam's remaining feeler extended and hardened into a horn, slamming into Rhys' chest. He coughed and powered through it again, swiping at Nevren, who only took a step back. Rhys noticed that Nevren's lucky charm was a dim gray.

The armored Lucario held his paw out and formed a sphere of aura energy next. If he couldn't get to Nevren physically, then he'd just have to keep working with—

Anam opened his maw and sent a precise, silent burst of draconic energy into Rhys' spine. That was all it took. Too much time had passed. His aura armor shattered and evaporated into little, blue embers. Rhys collapsed to the ground, drained and paralyzed from the waist down. His back had a burning, black hole in the very center.

"Do you have any further protests, Rhys?" Nevren asked.

Rhys grunted, staring at the wall to his right. The caverns felt so much narrower now that the Dungeon was blessed and normalized. Even if he wanted to flee, it would be too easy for Anam and Nevren to catch up. The halls, with Anam's far-reaching strikes, would take him down instantly.

He was already down, in fact. But a defiance kept him from stopping. He still had time.

"No… please…" Anam whimpered.

Rhys' heart skipped a beat, looking back. "Anam… fight it!"

Nevren tilted his head. "I have no intention of killing him. The Alloy would be devastated, should Rhys die. Still, we cannot have him injured, either, can we? Rhys, you can't show signs of damage. Additionally, you are quite dangerous to approach." Nevren nodded, glancing at his still-gray charm. "Anam, if you may." He gave a small bow.

Anam's hands enveloped themselves in a black fog. He flicked them, and it descended upon Rhys.

"What—" Rhys tried to move away, but his body didn't respond.

"Ah, ah," Nevren flicked his spoon. "You shall remain where you are, yes?"

Rhys' body was rapidly deteriorating. The fur fell from his body in clumps; the flesh beneath it blackened. Rhys twitched to move, trying to push off the ground. With one final breath, he held his arm up. A sphere of white energy collected in the paw… and then faded. Rhys collapsed.

A golden light erupted from Nevren's bag and poured over the rotten Lucario. In moments, when the golden light faded, the Lucario remained, healthy, with a vibrant coat of blue-black fur. He gasped his first breath and jolted to his feet. The waste around him from his fallen fur and flesh faded into a dark mist, returning to Anam's body.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Anam said, yet his expression was blank.

"Now, we won't be doing that again, will we?" Nevren asked.

Rhys, hyperventilating, looked at his paws, and then back at Nevren.

"Why are you surprised?" Nevren said. "Who in their right mind would go without a Reviver Seed? Still, a shame I had to use one of mine for this. You will not strike again, yes? Your body may be restored, but your aura is another story."

Defiantly, Rhys held out his hand again. A flickering, fading sphere formed. Anam stepped forward—

"There is no need, Anam," Nevren said, tapping his spoons together.

Anam returned to a neutral stance.

Rhys fired, but Nevren merely waved his spoon, creating an invisible barrier. The Flash Cannon's energy evaporated like smoke in the wind.

With weak knees and a light head, Rhys collapsed, paws on the ground.

"Nevren…! You… you said you were finished with the Hunters," Rhys said. "How could you lie to me? How could you have hidden this?!"

Nevren shook his head, returning the Revisor to his bag. "I suppose I was very careful," he said to Rhys. "After all, I have always been the most intelligent of the Divine Dragons, even before the schism."

Rhys was still shaking, even with most of his energy depleted. "Star will know," he said. "Hecto will surely know… Hecto will tell Star. You know he will."

"And that's just fine," Nevren said, nodding. "Star has become irrelevant, unfortunately. Like Arceus, and like Anam, she has let her emotions cloud her judgement into inaction. The result? Centuries of suffering in silence by the Guardians, and indeed, by this entire, small world. It is as you said, yes?" Nevren asked. "When you and Star decided to nudge Owen into taking the Grass Orb, thinking that he, unaligned with anybody in this tedious shadow war, would finally lead to a resolution? That is what you meant when you spoke to Anam, when she finally convinced you to let him touch the Orb, correct?"

Rhys flinched.

"Yes, he told me everything about that conversation," Nevren said. "Using Owen to tip the scales in our favor. Yet Anam did not know what to do with that power. Nobody did. Everybody was happy with keeping things as they were. Guardians in isolation. The Orbs, separate. The world in stasis and stagnation. Pitiful, isn't it?"

Rhys spat. "Eon would be a horrible ruler."

Nevren shook his head. "Anything," he said, "is an improvement over two dead gods, Rhys. Fault Eon as much as you wish—he is at least compassionate for the plight of mortals, unlike Barky."

"Star is—"

"And responsible enough to know how much is too much."

Rhys replied with silence.

Nevren continued. "You believed that Owen, the most intelligent piece of the Alloy, could overthrow Star, Barky, and Eon? And then, at the last moment, you would claim his mind. In the end, Owen is an Alloy, subject to our control. And as the most experienced user of the aura, you could control his very essence better than any of us. Is that correct, Rhys?"

"That isn't at all what my plan was!" Rhys shouted. "Owen has just come to terms with who he is. I would never steal that way from him—even if I could!"

"Ahh." Nevren's eyes briefly glowed with realization, holding up a finger. "So, Owen is beyond your power, now? Is that it?"

Rhys' jaw locked shut.

Nevren continued. "An even greater shame is that you made that Promise to Zena. Owen's Mysticism is what bars you from controlling him. That is when I realized you were no longer working toward this plan. I was on my own. You've grown soft, Rhys. You, too, let compassion for the Alloy cloud your vision into inaction. You can no longer possess an Orb to control Owen. He will forever be ahead of you, simply because his Mysticism has outpaced yours. Of course, he could lower his guard, or you could slowly chip away at him…" Nevren glanced at Anam. "But it is impossible for this ordeal will last for another five centuries."

"Release Anam, Nevren!" Rhys swung his arm sideways. "This is too far!"

"That cannot be done, Rhys," Nevren said. "He was my assignment. And I do intend to let him continue in his position, as always." He looked to Anam with a small nod. "He will continue to be the Association Head. I will wipe his memories of this interaction so he is not distressed over it."

"Memories cannot be wiped for a Mystic, Nevren. You may be able to wipe them from a body, but a soul keeps them all. And a Mystic will ultimately access them more than any mortal could! Anam will remember. Just as Owen's memories kept returning the moment he became Mystic."

"Yes, but Anam will be near me," Nevren said. "Should something trigger their return, I will seal them again. It is not a problem."

Rhys' glare did more damage than any of his aura attacks currently could.

"Think about Elder, Rhys," Nevren said. "What would he do in this situation? I imagine he would tell you to stand down. There is no point in fighting further."

Rhys glared at Nevren, but his eyes softened when he thought about the Torkoal. "Elder…"

Nevren waved his hand slowly in front of Anam. The Goodra blinked confusedly, wiping his eyes. "What happened?" he asked.

"Don't you remember, Anam?" Nevren asked. "We were going to return to Kilo Village to perform another Reviver Seed blessing. The darkness of this strange Dungeon must have had you thinking. You got so worked up over the idea of Pokémon dying without them, you may have gone into a panic."

"O-oh." Anam sniffed, poking his fingers together into a big blob of slime. "Yeah."

"Come, let's avoid such a fate! A grand blessing it is!"

"Yeah!" He ran ahead, feelers twitching with an innate sense of where the end of the Dungeon was. He waited for Rhys and Nevren at the far end of the corridor, waving at them happily.

The Alakazam tapped his spoons again. "Shall we wait, Rhys?"

The ex-Hunter stared at Nevren. He didn't have the power to defeat him. With Anam nearby, he could easily kill them again. Nevren had this all planned out—every piece for five centuries, calculated to this very moment. But this couldn't be it. There had to be some way out. Some way to stop this madness.

"If this is too much for you, Rhys, I could wipe this encounter from your mind, if you wish."

"I will never," Rhys hissed, "allow you to manipulate my mind."

"I see," Nevren said. "Very well."

Something dawned on Rhys just then. Was Nevren manipulating him, right then? Was Elder, too, being controlled? Rim? Eon himself? No—Eon was too strong. Rim, too. They had Orbs within them. But Rhys was vulnerable. Could he, right now, be—

Rhys realized, right then, how Owen and the others must have felt. With whatever defiance he may have felt, he tried to push Nevren out of his mind, if he was there to begin with. He did not know. But he pushed anyway as hard as he could. When nothing happened, he did not know whether that was because Nevren hadn't tried, or his hold was already so deep that it was useless.

He wasn't going to let that stop him. Rhys looked at his paw. Nevren couldn't control him—he'd have been aware of it. If he took so long to manipulate Anam—who was already easily trusting and open—Nevren wouldn't be able to get him. Rhys sighed, hoping that the same could be said for Elder.

They walked toward Anam, Nevren to his right, Rhys to his left. Anam hummed a tune to himself, waving his head left and right.

"Oh, and Rhys," Nevren said. "As a reminder, if you tell the others about any of this… I will unleash Anam upon them early. If you are looking for a way to counter this plan, you'd best do it silently."

Startled, Rhys glanced toward Anam, yet the leader of the world hummed through it all. Did he even hear it? Or was he being controlled to hum? Was Nevren making him hum? Rhys watched Anam closely. He watched his eyes, happy as could be, beaming. Yet he didn't see the light in Anam's eyes. Instead, he saw gooey tears again.

Rhys wasn't sure what happened seconds later. Something new burned inside of him. He heard a horrible roaring inside of his mind, some primal anger that centuries of discipline had kept level and controlled. But this betrayal—this complete uselessness, despite all of his power, against someone he had trusted for lifetimes and generations—it was enough to shatter any dignified restraint he had.

"Nevren…" Rhys growled.

"Yes?" Nevren asked, glancing at his blue, glowing Revisor. Out of reflex, he reached down to hold it.

"You… truly think… you can silence me like this?"

"I do, yes." He held the Revisor.

His head pounded. Rationality left him. He didn't care how cunning he was or how much he had planned. Even if this, too, was part of his plan, he refused to take the order quietly. The outcome no longer mattered.

"I will NEVER—" In a spark of primal, helpless range, all of Rhys' muscles tensed into a final flash of aura might. His armor and blade returned, dashing straight for Nevren. The Alakazam flinched and jumped to the side—something that surprised Rhys, who had been expecting a perfectly timed Teleport. Anam squeaked, falling on his back.

"Rhys, stop!" Anam said, trying to get up.

Rhys didn't. With Nevren fallen over, he raised his blade and leaped into the air, red eyes glowing with aura. He slammed his blade down, grazing Nevren's arm. The blade's sharpness left a cut.

Nevren pressed on his lucky charm.

Nothing happened.

The Alakazam stared at the Badge in pure disbelief, then at Rhys, split-seconds away from him. He blinked and disappeared, reappearing behind Anam. "Take him," Nevren said hastily, waving a spoon.

Anam stumbled forward, limbs jerking without total control. He opened his mouth and fired another Dragon Pulse toward Rhys. He easily weaved through it, aura armor flickering. If Nevren was going to dodge behind Anam, then he had only one option left. Rhys brought his arm back and plunged forward when Anam's Pulse subsided.

His arm stabbed straight through Anam's bulk. His momentum carried him straight through Anam, creating a Lucario-sized hole through his gut and out his back. Nevren's eyes bulged in surprise, but the Lucario was too fast. He sliced at the side of Nevren's brown chest—the largest wound yet—and then rolled across the floor. His armor evaporated, but Rhys refused to give up.

Nevren had no idea where Rhys was drawing this power from, let alone why his Revisor wasn't working. But neither circumstance was favorable.

Rhys spun and fired one final aura Sphere toward Nevren's face. He brought his spoon up and clumsily deflected it, but his spoon slipped from his hand, clattering onto the ground behind him. Rhys fired again. Nevren ducked to the left and tried to get in front of Anam—who was standing eerily still—and blocked the second Sphere with his other spoon. He barely retained his grip on that one.

"Now, Rhys," Nevren said, pressing his Revisor again. Nothing. "Now is not the time to fight, yes? As I had warned you, Anam will attack all of Hot Spot should you rebel! We wouldn't want that, would we? Anam, is that correct?"

Anam said nothing. He was still motionless, the gaping hole in his gut slowly closing. Nevren noticed that Anam's slime seemed a bit darker than usual.

"Stop… fighting…" Anam said weakly. "Please… stop…"

Rhys suddenly stopped, looking back. "Anam! Are you free?"

"We will stop, Anam." Nevren waved his hand in front of the Goodra. "Rhys? Please, lower your aura. You know this won't do us any good. If I am defeated, Anam will lose himself completely and go berserk."

Rhys growled. "And if you're lying?"

"You know I don't make such gambles."

Rhys stared at Nevren in silence, but finally let his aura armor dissipate. His adrenaline was keeping him up, even as his aura cried out for rest. But now that the armor was gone, his legs wobbled.

Nevren quickly held Rhys by the chest, holding him up. "Hold, Rhys. Are you okay?"

"No," Rhys said. "My aura is… fading a tad. Performing the aura armor technique… twice in a row… ngh. No. I'm afraid I'm not at my best."

"Hrm," Nevren said, nodding. "Very well." He gripped Rhys' shoulder firmly, digging his clawed hands into his fur. Rhys gasped, jerking away, but Nevren redoubled his hold the weakened Lucario. Energy channeled from Nevren into Rhys. Then he let go.

Rhys stared at Nevren, eyes wide. Rhys then channeled a bit of aura through his paws, watching the flare's steady energy.

"Better?" Nevren asked.

"How do you know I won't merely strike you down?" Rhys immediately said.

"I know you well enough that you won't," Nevren replied. "…And I am still your friend, Rhys."

"You killed me."

"I apologize, but a single Oran wouldn't have been enough to restore you, and I unfortunately ran out of them. A Reviver had to work. It wasn't too painful, was it? From my experience, Anam's rot doesn't start to hurt until several seconds pass, and we killed you before that happened. I was being quite utilitarian about this, Rhys."

Rhys growled. "You're lucky that Anam is here," he said. "If you didn't have him go berserk if you were harmed… perhaps I would use your gesture of kindness against you for the greater good."

Nevren nodded. "I understand," he said, though he knew Rhys' words were hollow. "Now then, Anam." He turned toward the Goodra, though he eyed the slime that flowed through his system. Once pinkish-purple goo had flecks of deep purple swimming inside in a gentle current. "Are you okay?"

Anam stared emptily at Nevren.

"Hmm, Anam," Nevren waved his spoon toward the Ghost Guardian. "You will listen, yes? Return to normal. You remember none of—"

Anam's horn jerked forward and slammed on top of Nevren, pressing him into the rocky floor. Rhys leaped back, a mixture of horror, surprise, and glee rushing through him at once. Anam was fighting back! And yet the sight of Nevren crumpled on the ground still unsettled a part of him.

"Anam!" Rhys shouted.

A thousand voices spoke at once. "Die."

Anam's second horn darkened into a pure, inky black, the color slowly spreading through the rest of his body. The horn stiffened, straightened, and sharpened, plunging itself into Nevren's back. The Alakazam couldn't even cry out. The horn curled around Nevren—still pierced through—and flung him over Rhys. Nevren rolled across the rocks, blood splashing over every spot he went over, until a golden light from his bag washed over him.

Nevren panted, clutching at the phantom pain where the hole had once been. Rhys spun around and crossed his arms, triumphant. "What now, Nevren?" he said.

Nevren struggled to remain upright but could only manage to prop himself up with his arms.

"Anam is free of your hold, and—"

Nevren's eyes flashed with Psychic energy. Rhys tried to shield himself from the blow, but none came. Instead, he heard the dull slap of slime on an invisible barrier. He turned back.

Anam was almost totally black, with fog of the same color pouring lazily out of his mouth. More fog, with black specks of darkness floating inside, seeped from the surface of the Goodra's body. Rhys' aura sensors ached again. He watched the horn—which had been poised to stab Rhys though the chest in the same way—retract.

"A-Anam?" Rhys said.

The Goodra stared at Rhys. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Instead, it closed… but countless voices followed anyway. "Anam is asleep."

"Rhys," Nevren said. "Small bit of bad news. I've run out of Reviver Seeds."

"I know." The fog blocked the exit of the Dungeon completely. "Now you can join him."

The Goodra opened his maw and blasted them both with a piercing beam of darkness.