Chapter 175 – Reflection
Charizard let Owen talk as much as he wanted. He babbled on about his friends and family, how none of it was real. Something about it felt so familiar to Charizard—he knew, for sure, that he would be able to help him. A lot of Owen's struggles felt so familiar to him.
Owen told Charizard how he'd been lied to by everyone he knew. That his memories, everything he was, had been constructed by them so he'd fit into a certain role, and be none the wiser.
He spoke in excruciating detail about the supposed crimes he'd committed. Murders, really, of an innocent family. How he was supposed to be a weapon, and then he was erased so he could be some loyal soldier instead.
At that point, Charizard felt like it was a little too familiar.
"Owen, that was your name, right?" Charizard asked.
"Mhm." The Charmander nodded. "At least I have that. My name hasn't changed…"
"Right… You know, Owen, I don't remember having a name for myself, but—" Charizard nodded. "You know, I wonder if Owen used to be my name."
"Huh?"
"We're too similar. Almost like…"
Their eyes lit up as if they had come to the same conclusion.
Charizard exclaimed, "We're from different times!"
"Yeah! You're… me! from the future!" Owen beamed. "But… But that can't be right. I read all about this in the comics. Wouldn't this cause a huge paradox?"
"Yeah, I don't remember meeting me at this time… and I don't remember my name being Owen, either…" Charizard crossed his arms.
Owen mimicked the pose. "…Were we split? How come you're here, anyway?"
"I was… coming here to… do something. I think I had to return home to report on… some research. But… I can't remember what that research was…"
"Maybe it's a Dungeon trick. Right?"
"Oh, so you know you're in a Dungeon?"
"I—" Owen flinched. "I… I do… but that's not right. I thought… I was in Hot Spot…"
"Hmm…"
Owen shifted uncomfortably. "W-well… it's…"
"It's alright," Charizard said. "We have to get through this Dungeon, right? I entered it to take a test. Maybe… you're part of that."
But there was a haunted look in Owen's eyes. Charizard tilted his head. "You okay?"
"I… I don't know," he said. "I—sorry. Can I just… follow you for now?" he asked. "I need to think…"
Lacking his Perceive was making this part tricky. As far as he could tell, Owen was real. Yet he had a name, and Charizard had no memory of that whatsoever.
"Come on," Charizard said, holding out his hand and crouching down. "Hop on my shoulder. It's probably a long walk."
"Oh—thanks." Owen hopped on, tittering nervously. "I never got to ride on a Charizard before… They're rare in Kilo, you know?"
Charizard marched along, leaving a mark in the stone in case he ever got turned around so he didn't retread old ground.
"You won't be alone forever," Charizard said, resuming their conversation from earlier. "It's going to be hard to trust your family again after this. But I think… you'll see that they did a lot of it to protect you."
"Does that make it okay?" Owen asked.
Charizard sighed. "Normally… no. But because of what you are… I think… I can't blame them for what they did. It was a necessary evil to make sure I could heal. They didn't know how to fix me."
Owen's shoulders sagged. "…I don't… I don't know what I'm supposed to be mad at. Or… if I'm supposed to be mad. Or if it's just how things are… I don't… I don't understand…"
Charizard reached up and gently patted Owen on the shoulder. "Work through it. But don't take it out on people. I think… what helped me was when I framed it a little differently. Instead of thinking about who to blame and who to be mad at… I instead thought about how I should treat others who were involved. And what I should be careful about next time. Is there anyone you want to avoid forever now?"
Owen looked down. "…I… I don't think so. I don't want to push anyone away. I'm just…" He shook his head. Owen didn't know how to articulate himself. Charizard remembered the feeling. And when he was like this, Owen had been desperate to lean on someone to trust again. The smallest hint of forgiveness, of a path forward… Had Owen fallen for the wrong person, there was a chance he'd've fallen into the same torment again.
"If you don't want to leave any of them," Charizard said, "it means you think they had your interests in mind. But you don't want a repeat, right? So… what will you do differently so they can't do that to you again?"
"I'll… I'm gonna ask why they do the things they do," Owen said. "And if they don't give a reason, or… if I think they're lying…"
"Don't trust them," Charizard completed. "That's a good start. I think it worked out for me. But I'm still learning, too."
"Even now? But you're…"
"I'm big now, yeah," Charizard said. "It's going to be a while before you can… be confident people aren't always lying to you. Or if they only lie sometimes. But… sometimes, you have to think about why they might lie. And if they have no reason…" He shrugged. "Trust them."
"So, use… logic to figure out if they could lie?"
"And make sure they can prove it if you think they might," Charizard said. "But… don't get paranoid. You can't be alone, either."
Owen rested his chin atop Charizard's head. "This sounds impossible. How am I supposed to catch all of that?"
"You won't," Charizard said. "But I think… we aren't surrounded by evil liars. Not everyone wants to use us for our power. It's going to be okay, Owen."
Owen seemed unconvinced, his little claws tense against the top of Charizard's head.
"Yeah," Owen finally whispered. "I hope so. But what do we do now?"
"Let's keep going," Charizard said. "You have my name. I have your future. Maybe we're supposed to go together?"
"M-maybe…" Owen winced. "But… but I took your name. What if… what if you're supposed to take it back?"
"No," Charizard said firmly. "I won't do that. Right now… you need that name more than I do."
"I do?"
Charizard nodded., nearly tossing Owen off his head before catching him. "You're me at my lowest. When I was… lost. The only thing I could trust was my name. So… even if I found a way to take it from you, I don't want to do that. Not until you can stand on something else. Sound fair?"
"Okay…"
In their silence, Charizard wondered what this test was supposed to be and if he'd done it correctly. Nothing special happened between himself and Owen, despite surely them being the same person. He felt real. Yet without his true horns, he had no way to tell if that, too, was some elaborate trick.
As he walked to the next layer of the Spiral, Charizard had nothing but hope that he did the right thing.
Milotic gently guided a sphere of water down the corridors of the Dragon Guardian's domain. Within the sphere was a starstruck Feebas named Zena who watched in awe at every graceful gesture Milotic made to guide the sphere forward.
It was more comfortable for Zena that way.
"I really get to be as pretty as you?" Zena asked.
"Yes," Milotic said with a light chuckle. "And you find a beautiful, strong Charizard, and court him."
"A Charizard?" Zena said with a grimace. "But then I'll go somewhere all fiery and dry…"
"It's not so bad," Milotic said with a small laugh. Being around a little Feebas… She felt herself straightening her stance and talking with a more formal cadence. Maybe it was an instinct to encourage her to evolve one day.
"Sorry," said Zena. "Guess it wasn't… who I was expecting."
Milotic smiled warmly, thinking back to what Zena's fantasies must have been. But just as they advanced, she stopped what she was about to ask. Someone was slithering up ahead and she felt an intense aura of power. Another Guardian?
The glow in this part of the Spiral was stronger. The tree roots that intertwined with the dirt of the labyrinth walls radiated an indigo sheen. When Milotic ran her ribbons along them, she felt the ethereal flames of a Dragon singe her like a bowl left on the fire.
And then, a second Milotic slithered into view of the first. Her gaze was fierce, searching for something to attack. Whatever grace Milotic had, this frenzied one did not, and they locked eyes.
"You," she hissed.
"M-me?" Milotic said.
"Where is my name?"
Without realizing it, Milotic slithered in front of Zena. The Feebas, in response, hid behind Milotic's tail fan along with her bubble.
"Who are you?"
"I also don't have a name," Milotic said. "So… we're both Milotic. That will get… complicated."
The angry one stared back, looking more and more agitated.
A thought crossed Milotic's mind. This one's name was 'Fury.' Or… how she thought of her.
Fury slithered until she was only three feet away from Milotic. "You… you're me, aren't you?" she said. "Who, then? What… what part of the Dungeon's test are you?"
"…I don't know," Milotic said carefully. It was unnerving to see someone just like her look so…
"Was it Star?" Fury asked. "Was it any of the gods? Is this another test of theirs, toying with us to prove what they were given by chance?"
And then Milotic understood who Fury was. To see it out in front of her in full display, all those inner thoughts and bitterness…
It was… embarrassing. But she agreed, in a small way, with how she felt. In the past, she would have agreed so much more.
"It is," Milotic said. Zena nervously shifted in her water bubble. "We need to figure out what it is, but right now, I don't think we should try to weaken one another. We should—"
"No!" Fury cried. "No more. No more games, no more tests. We… tear it all down! Do you understand me?"
Milotic hardened her expression. "Now is not the time to fight the wrong gods. We can deal with them and their unjust actions later. But we need to fight Dark Matter now. Do you remember?"
"They're all Dark Matter," Fury hissed.
"…It's not that complicated," Milotic said. "Please, just work with us here, and—"
"You're with them," she suddenly said.
"What?"
"You're…" She coiled up. "You're just another god now. You're with them!"
Milotic was losing her patience. This ball of resentment wasn't learning.
"Fine," she said. "Wallow here. I have things to do. Come, Zena."
"O-okay." The Feebas nervously pushed her water bubble with Milotic.
Fury stared icy daggers at them. "I won't… I won't let that happen," Fury whispered. Her body glowed, a pulse of light rippling up to her neck. Mist formed in her mouth, coalescing into a glowing ball of water.
Fury unleashed her Hydro Pump square at Zena's back. Zena squeaked in surprise and closed her eyes.
A wall of water erupted from the ground behind Milotic, deflecting the Hydro Pump effortlessly. Once the wall dissipated, the water rained down in a heavy storm.
Fury yelled something at her; Milotic couldn't hear it over the downpour. Water flowed down Fury's cheeks and ribbons, but it wasn't enough to wash away her anger.
Milotic waved her tail in the sky and conjured her training techniques while in Alola, where water was abundant. Three spirals appeared above Fury, each glowing with a similar watery sphere. Without any thunder, three columns of water shook the earth and drowned out Fury's scream.
The downpour was brief. The sun returned as the rain lightened. The wind, though, was still too shy to return.
All that remained was a small crater filled with water. Mist obscured most of it, but a little ball of cyan energy floated just above the water's rippling surface. It was the last remnant of Fury, the fragment of her spirit filled with the pain inflicted upon her by the gods.
Reluctantly, she cupped the orb in her ribbons and searched for where her bag might have gone. The downpour had loosened it from her body; she found it on her midsection and awkwardly pulled it back up.
"Rest for now," Milotic said, unsure if Fury would hear her. She placed the little spirit orb in the bag and slithered on.
"Milotic?" Zena asked, her ball of water larger from the rain. "Am… I going to be like that one day?"
Milotic sighed. Being someone's future… What a strange burden.
"It will get better," Milotic said. "Come. I think there are still more tests to do."
"Okay…"
They left the waterlogged corridors behind and passed through another distortion.
"Now," Charizard said slowly, "will you behave?"
A crazed Charizard was trapped inside a golden Protect bubble, pressing his face against the edge of the barrier to get as close to Charizard as possible.
"Your neck is expossssed," he hissed back.
The feral one—whose name occurred to Charizard as Wrath—clawed uselessly at the shield. Owen hid behind Charizard's left leg.
"It's because we aren't enemies," Charizard said. "Calm down! You don't even have Perceive—look at your horns!"
"I can smell it," Wrath hissed. "I see how weak you've become!"
Just capturing him had been an ordeal. Talking to him…
"Is that what I used to be?" Owen squeaked. "I r-remember… I used to evolve and go crazy… Was I like that?!"
"No," Charizard said. "Not exactly like that. I… I know what he is. But… you realize you can't win against me, right? I'll always be on my guard if this is how you behave."
"You're afraid to kill," Wrath said. "What is your answer… when you face someone who will not answer to peace?"
Wrath's eyes darted to Charizard's chest, then his neck, then his belly, randomly. All weak points he could strike. Wrath was hungry for any blood and battle.
It was his Battleheart at its worst, corrupted and twisted by Nevren's experiments. His 'kill mode' given conscience. That small piece of him that tempted him every time his Perceive wandered to the weak points of his friends around him.
Charizard's concentration lapsed. Wrath smashed through the Protect and beat his wings, flying back.
"Hey!" Charizard shouted.
Wrath flew down the hall.
"Wait! Get back here!" He flew after him and followed, kicking up dirt and sand from the Spiral's coast that had gotten caught in the distortion's twisted dimensions.
Just around it was a ripple into the next segment. Owen had gone too fast to halt his momentum—once he passed through, he put up a shield on reflex.
Nothing attacked. Wrath must have gone to a different segment.
He forgot Owen.
Charizard gasped and spun around—but the ripple was gone. He'd already entered the next section.
"No…" Charizard sighed. "He… he'll catch up. We'll meet at the end. I gave him a pep talk, right?"
Nobody answered him.
"Oh… I'm talking to myself again…"
Sighing, Charizard spun on his heel and crossed his arms. He swayed with the momentum of his tail.
On one hand, he could wait and listen for people passing through the same section. On the other, they could have already passed by or—worse yet—be in a parallel path of the Dungeon's twisted space.
Staying was too risky. He had to advance. There was no time for setbacks.
Most of this section was a forward movement with only a few short corners to turn. Mentally, Charizard tried to keep a map of the section and marked a few spots on the wall in case he passed by them a second time.
But, to his surprise, he never had to. It was a straight, albeit winding, shot.
It was starting to unnerve him.
For about a minute, he continued his advance. Then, suddenly, he swung his head back. He shouted, "Hey, there you are!" and ran to someone who wasn't there.
And panic set in. Charizard did not mean to do any of that. He was no longer in control of his body.
"Yes," Charizard said. "I thought you'd gone ahead. I waited a while for you. Are you alright?"
Nobody answered. Charizard tried to move any part of his body. Nothing worked. His muscles didn't respond in the slightest. It wasn't like trying to push against a wall. His arms, his body, refused to acknowledge his mind's wishes. His body was not his own.
"Right," Charizard said. "No, sorry. He's probably still ahead. Stay on my shoulder again, alright? Keep close."
He reached down for something. He balanced nothing on his shoulder. He turned around and slowly walked onward.
This was a nightmare. He couldn't control anything. He was a helpless passenger as someone else moved his body and talked to people who didn't exist.
"He's… someone I don't ever want to be again," Charizard said. "But I need to keep that power in mind. It's… useful."
He turned his head away and clenched his jaw.
"Sorry. I know," he said. "It's not your fault."
Charizard tried to puzzle out what part of the test this was, what cruel joke Aramé played for him. When he couldn't move his body, what could he do? Use his mind?
Up ahead, the hallway led into a cave lit by glowing crystals, just as bright as a full moon. A great expanse of brown rocks and patches of sand and grass dotted a chamber about fifty feet across. On his right, there was a tall mirror from the cave's floor to ceiling, making the whole room look twice its size.
"Whoa," Charizard said. "I've never seen a mirror this big before. Have you?"
"No," Charizard heard another voice—muffled, on the other side of the mirror.
He saw himself and his eyes widened. He wasn't sure if that was his motion this time—he'd have done the same. His reflection had Owen on his shoulder, even though he did not.
Owen pressed against his reflection's cheek. "Why am I not there?" he squeaked. "Am… am I not real after all?!"
Charizard approached the mirror at the same time as his reflection.
"No, that can't be it," Charizard said. "It must be some kind of… trick mirror, or something. Or an illusion. Without my Perceive, there's no way to tell…"
Both Charizard tapped a claw on the mirror.
"Solid," they both said. "Huh, a bit of an echo, too."
"Well, it's a cave." Owen reached for the wall but his little arms were too short.
They both smiled and leaned closer to the wall.
Owen rapped his knuckle against the mirror.
It sounded different. To Charizard, it sounded like it was coming from the other side. Because it was.
This wasn't a mirror. It was a glass wall. And he…
He was the test.
"Hmm," both Charizard said. "That didn't sound right."
"I thought so, too," Owen said, tapping again. "Doesn't it sound like there's nothing behind the wall?"
Charizard tapped the wall again.
"It's different when I do it."
Charizard already knew the answer. Or… No. Was he Charizard? Or was he Reflection?
He was… Reflection.
"Hmm," Reflection said in tandem with Charizard. "I don't know for sure, but…"
Owen suddenly punched Charizard in the face. Reflection felt nothing, but flinched with him.
"Ow! What was that for?" They rubbed their faces. "Good arm… Didn't know I had that as a Charmander…"
"His cheek didn't move!" Owen declared.
"What?"
Owen pulled at Charizard's cheek, stretching his lips.
"Hey!" Charizard slurred. "What are… you…"
Reflection's face hadn't distorted at all. Owen let go.
"It's… not a reflection," Charizard said, pressing the mirror. "Okay, you can stop now. We solved the puzzle! Why don't you… I don't know, be your own person, now?"
Reflection wasn't freed. He could cry, but his eyes wouldn't respond.
"Maybe we have to break the mirror," Owen said. "Um, wall. It's just glass, right?"
"Felt like it," Charizard confirmed. "I don't think it's reinforced, either. I don't sense any aura in it. Mundane glass."
"I wonder if it's made of the sand in the area," Owen mused absently.
"Well, let's test it out!" Charizard said. "Er… wait. If we both smash into it at the same time, what happens? Would it… not break? Or collapse?"
"Umm…" Owen tilted his head.
They paced around, puzzling about the answer. Reflection could only do so uselessly. He didn't know what an answer was. Even if he did, how would he convey that to them? He was at their mercy. He was the test to solve.
"Oh!" Owen perked up. "Throw me at it!"
"Oh!" Charizard nodded as hope welled in Reflection's heart. "Great idea!"
They took a few steps back. Owen crossed his arms, readying a Protect. He shaped it like a cone, trying to give it a sharp point at the end. Then, with the winds and a strong wingbeat, Charizard threw Owen as hard as he could at the glass. Reflection mirrored the motion, feeling no weight behind it, and somehow didn't stagger as he followed Charizard's exact movements.
CRASH!
Deafening cracks echoed across the crystal walls. Shards of glass bounced off the ground in a cacophony of skull-rattling noise. Owen kept his Protect up until the last of the glass fell around him. He winced at the sudden obstacle around him before getting an idea. He recast Protect, this time on his feet, and stepped back to Charizard.
Reflection still couldn't move without Charizard.
"Hmm… Well, he's real…" Charizard crossed his arms and blew some glass shards away, creating a cyclone. Reflection managed the same until the glass was a thick line that split the room in half.
"Okay… Parallel work…" Charizard and Reflection then worked together to push most of it left and right, creating a proper path between them with the winds. The remainder wasn't much against their scaly feet, though Owen hopped on Charizard's shoulder for safety.
Face to face, Charizard and Reflection held their hands up and reached forward.
"I think even the glass wasn't perfectly symmetrical," Charizard said. "So maybe this isn't a perfect reflection, either. I'm right-handed. That means…"
Charizard held up his right hand. Reflection, therefore, held up his left.
Their palms slammed into each other. They pressed as hard as they could… at equal strength.
"Ugh!" Charizard stepped back. "Okay. So, he's left-handed."
"Well, he's a reflection… I guess that makes sense." Owen tittered. "Um… So, that wasn't a true mirror, so that wasn't bad luck, right?"
"That's a human-origin superstition," Charizard said. "Besides, Star said luck doesn't exist."
Owen circled around Reflection thoughtfully. "Still," he said, "there has to be some way to free him. Maybe once you get him out of this area, he'll be free from its curse or something?"
"Maybe," Charizard said. "But if that's the case… we'd need a way to get him to move with us into the next hall."
Owen looked down at Reflection's side of the room. "There's another hall right there, though. Can't we go through normally?"
He ran to the other exit where the cave opened again, but suddenly skidded to the spot when the crystals on Reflection's side—and only Reflection's side—lit up. They spontaneously burst, scorching the ground with dragon energy.
"Gah!"
Anything that stood in the burning path would be obliterated… There were even little craters where the crystals had exploded.
Meanwhile, on Charizard's side, a message made of light appeared on the ground.
Owen shakily distanced himself from that side and approached the message. "Light the crystals to match the pattern."
A pause.
"I think we were supposed to read this first."
Charizard rolled his eyes. "Well, we found another solution. We need to get our reflection on this side. I think I know how. You could move me but not him, right? But you can move him, too?"
"Oh, yeah." Owen ran to Reflection and pulled on his wing. It, of course, moved, while Charizard's did not. When Owen let go, the wing organically returned to Charizard's position again.
"…Owen, can you make a Protect barrier so he'll back into it?"
"Sure."
After quickly erecting a barrier, Charizard stepped back. Reflection's back pressed against the barrier painfully, but he couldn't move more. His legs continued the motions to walk, pushing dirt and leaving marks on the ground.
"Okay, drop the barrier!" Charizard called.
When he did… nothing changed.
"Yes!" Charizard's eyes lit up. He triumphantly walked forward again. Reflection mirrored the motion—and, for the first time, he was on the 'other side' of the room, their new center displaced far enough into the other room. "Now we have a straight shot into the next section!"
"Perfect!" Owen said, hopping onto Charizard's neck. "Let's hope he's free once we're out of this section…"
Reflection hoped so, too. His heart was hammering in his chest…
Wait. But that didn't happen before. Was Charizard also anxious?
"Yeah. It'll be just fine," Charizard said. "Let's go!"
They left the crystal "mirror" room behind. One step at a time, until the rippling distortion was a step in front of them.
After one moment's hesitation, they walked through.
And Reflection screamed, crumpling to the ground, flailing his arms and legs in complete hysteria.
"Whoa!" Charizard yelped, rushing to his side. "Hey, hey! Are you hurt? Do you need to go back—"
"NO!" Reflection cried. He scrambled away from where the distortion had been.
"O-okay! Okay, okay, breathe, calm!" Charizard said. "It's not like you go backward in a Dungeon like this anyway…"
Owen hid behind Charizard. Reflection moved his wings, pressed them against his back, and then unfurled them. All his. All his own. He could move. He was free.
"You can move," Charizard whispered. "It's okay, buddy. Wow… Uh… Owen? Let's rest here a while, okay? We—"
Reflection lunged for Charizard, squeezing him in a tight hug. "Thank you," he shakily repeated, over and over.
"Come on," Owen said gently. "We can rest here. Yeah?" He looked at Charizard with pleading eyes.
"Yeah. We… can rest for now. But let's listen for Wrath, too."
Reflection continued to sniffle. The worst of it was over, but he was still shaking. There was a lot still on his mind, but… at least he was free.
He wondered what horrible test awaited them next.
Milotic was getting deep into the Spiral. With Fury in her bag, Zena nervously taking up the rear, and her impatient Mirror next to her, it was beginning to feel crowded.
"That puzzle took way too long," Zena complained. "I know it was to trade time for care, but… how does that apply to real life?"
"Well, I'm thankful I was worth more than your time," Mirror scoffed. "…It did take a while, though."
"I'm sure it would have gone faster if we realized the crystals lit up in a set order sooner," Milotic said.
"Or that there were hints on the walls for what the colors should have been," Mirror added.
"Or that they said different things on her side…" Zena glanced at Mirror.
The two Milotic sighed at once.
"It's behind us now," Milotic said.
"Such a cruel test," Mirror muttered. "I have a thing or two to say to Aramé once we're across the way… Am I real? Some construct? Or a fragment of you?"
"Oh, believe me," Milotic said, "whatever you are, I'll be mad for you."
Zena nervously shrank back.
"Oh, Zena, it's fine," Milotic said. "We aren't always upset. Not anymore." She unconsciously held her bag with both ribbons. Fury's mote was warm through the bag.
"…The turns the Spiral's been giving us have been much sharper," Mirror said. "I think we're getting close to the center."
"I've noticed that, too," Milotic said.
"Ah!" Zena rolled her bubble forward. "Look!"
Finally, the spiral led to another enclosed space. The darker rocks and dried coral made it seem like this was an undersea cavern that had been pulled to the surface long ago. It was too dark to see what was inside.
On guard, the trio passed through and waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim glow their bodies naturally gave off.
Ancient stalactites and stalagmites lined the edges of the cave. Mystic, glowing water flowed down the middle, both marking their path and providing a little light as they went through. A light at the other end of the cave was their goal. The sound of flowing water on a shallow river calmed their spirits. It smelled fresh—not like the ocean's spray, but of a forest's river mouth.
Something shifted to their right.
Milotic and Mirror immediately went on guard. There, towering over them, was…
"E-Emily?"
Both readied attacks as Lugia stood to her full height, wings outstretched.
"Wait," Lugia said slowly. "I'm not here… to fight."
Her voice was about as deep as Emily's, but the cadence was much more formal and slower. In fact…
"You're… you're me?" Milotic said. "A Lugia? What… what 'version' of me are you?"
Lugia smiled. "You catch on fast," she said.
The blue columns along her spine glowed. At the same time, certain rocks peppering the floor and ceiling lit up the same way, providing ample light to see Lugia fully, along with the gentle glow her eyes always gave off.
"I am your last self in this Dungeon before reaching your culminating test," Lugia explained. "Unlike all of you… I was informed of everything in this Dungeon. And it seems… you were able to bring most of you here."
"…I had to defeat one," Milotic said. "She was too… unstable. Not someone I would want to bring with me."
Lugia nodded solemnly. "Admittedly, I predicted that would happen. I am you, after all. But… I am who you could have been. I am your ideal. I am… the answer to what would have happened, had you made choices to avert your regrets. And in a way, your future, for something you could become next."
Milotic scoffed at first, finding the assertion laughable. But after that reflexive response, she thought about it a little longer.
"But I never had the opportunity to become Lugia," Milotic said. "Only… to work alongside Emily, yes. We were friends. But…"
Lugia tilted her head. "You were friends with Lugia. You became the Water Guardian. But… for some reason, it seems that you wish you could have been a guardian of the seas just as Emily was." She shook her head. "Sometimes, regrets and desires are not logical. I am simply what you want to be."
"Fury would be mad to meet you," Zena remarked. "She hated all the gods."
Lugia nodded. "It might have been a hard conversation."
Mirror and Milotic admitted the cave ceiling. Between the stalactites glistening against the light and the speckled rocks embedded all over, it reminded them of a nighttime sky.
"I could see some ways this could happen," Milotic said. "I could have taken up the mantle if I'd sensed something was wrong with Emily. Maybe as a Legend, I would have had more power to… contend with so many of the other powers at play. And I'm… so… normal."
She thought of Owen and his seemingly endless pasts. Of his peers, all Legends, former Legends, humans… Such long histories of power.
And her? She was just a mortal who was lucky, or unlucky, enough to stumble upon the Water Orb. She had no special, lost past. She had no grand talent or secret tie to Kilo's formation. She was just Zena, a Milotic who didn't like to socialize and wandered into the pit where the Orb had been resting.
Was Lugia, then… her envy?
"Are you ready to continue?" Lugia asked. "The final part of this long trial is up ahead."
"Yes. It's… not a fight, is it?"
"No, no." Lugia smiled. "You could have gone through this whole Dungeon without fighting, with some luck."
"Hard to believe that one," Zena said. "That one Milotic was too angry to cooperate."
"Ah… maybe not possible for us. But others who pass through. Those with less conflict in their hearts." Lugia gestured for them to follow. "Come. It's just ahead."
As they slithered to the cave's exit, the section's distortion right at the passageway outside became visible. With some conflict in her heart, Zena passed through to the final trial.
Unlike every other chamber before, this one looked more like the inner sanctum of some kind of ancient temple. Pillars divided a central chamber into twelve segments, each one with inscriptions that seemed to be tales from the Book of Arceus. Above each pillar was a statue depicting a set of Legendary Pokémon, or a singular one. In the back, the Creation Trio made of marble stood on the left side of Arceus made of gold. On the right side was the Divine Trio, with Zekrom of Ideals, Reshiram of Truth, and Kyurem of Decision.
Milotic remembered reading these tales. Where the Creation Trio were meant to be the emissaries of the great laws of the land, of the fabric of reality, the Divine Trio were representatives of what mortals would make of those laws. Universal laws, and societal laws. Kyurem was meant to lean one way or the other based on the nature of mortals…
What was this trying to tell them? Milotic figured this was part of the test, even as Lugia led them to the back of the chamber, facing Arceus.
A message in bright platinum lettering greeted them.
"Please go here," Lugia instructed Milotic. "Read it aloud for everyone."
Up close, Arceus' statue was very detailed, yet she also saw signs of it being handmade. And of solid gold, too… or maybe merely coated in gold. Or a Dungeon conjuration. Anything could happen in here, as far as Milotic could tell.
The message read: "In this chamber, you must come to terms with yourself and consolidate your spirit. Only one, with the aspects of the remainder, may pass through the final gateway. Choose two aspects to discard into the forgotten back of your mind. They shall stand before Zekrom to be removed. Choose two to keep in the forefront of your thoughts. They shall stand before Reshiram to be remembered. The one who remains shall march onward as the ideal self. They shall stand before Kyurem to confirm your choice."
Milotic read it over a few times, trying to fully understand what it meant. "Two to discard, two to remember, and…"
Lugia nodded. "One who remains. To pass this trial, you must bring all of us within you in a certain way and become the ideal self. Or…"
For a moment, Milotic had a realization of what Lugia was going to imply. Her body felt colder.
"You choose someone else," Lugia said, "of these personalities conjured from the Dungeon, from within your mind, to take your place."
