Chapter 571: The Fifth Life Aftermath (Part 1)
The space-time rift disappeared.
Dialga and Palkia's abilities could be used again.
Having calmed down, they stared blankly at the place where the space-time rift disappeared, both inevitably falling silent.
This was the mistake they committed.
But in the end, it had to be remedied by others.
The space-time gods turned their heads, looking at Alamos Town, which was full of devastation because of them, complex emotions revealing in their eyes.
Actually, they didn't care much about the lives of these people and Pokémon.
But undeniably.
The will of a considerable portion of them was worthy of their respect.
Not to mention.
The Aura Guardian who leaped in just now sacrificed himself to protect these lives.
Dialga gathered all the power in its body.
The deep blue power of time permeated the entire spatial rift.
The erased land was redrawn with color like a faded painting scroll. Every brick and tile, every blade of grass and tree, slowly restored in the reverse flow of time.
Even those lives that had passed away returned in the river of time.
With the exception of Giratina.
Even Darkrai and Cyrus were no exception.
However.
Only their physical bodies flowed backward.
Their souls and memories did not flow backward; the feeling of death was deeply engraved in their minds.
This was also normal.
If the power of time could make souls flow backward.
Then eternal lifespan wouldn't be something even gods couldn't obtain.
On the other side.
Palkia waved its hands.
The pink power of space wrapped the entire isolated island where Alamos Town was located.
Under the migration of this power.
Alamos Town broke away from the spatial rift, returned to that original lake, and bathed in the sunlight once again.
After finishing all this.
Dialga and Palkia turned around simultaneously, drilling into a time wormhole and a space wormhole respectively.
Even Dialga itself didn't notice.
A grayish-white bow slowly fluttered down from the sky.
Following behind it, drilled into the time wormhole.
Heading towards another mysterious point in time.
The miraculous return of Alamos Town.
This was something that made the whole of Sinnoh rejoice.
But after the residents of Alamos Town recounted the entire story from beginning to end...
A heavy, suffocating silence spread from Sinnoh to the whole world.
The crowds in the squares stopped celebrating, people in front of their TVs covered their mouths, and trainers tightly gripped the Poké Balls in their hands.
That young Champion and the incredible Lucario...
Were they forever left there?
Regarding this.
The answer given by the Sinnoh League was...
[Temporarily Missing]
This seemed like a prayer they couldn't bear to puncture.
A bubble left for others to long for.
The new Sinnoh Champion was inherited by Cynthia's younger brother—N.
While Cynthia and Will became the 'Active Elders' of the Sinnoh League; the investiture ceremony would be held after their return.
No matter which day.
How long they have to wait.
This investiture ceremony will always be held.
At worst.
Postponed indefinitely.
This waiting itself might also be a silent monument.
Deep within Mt. Coronet.
Inside Team Galactic's hidden base.
"Boss, was Giratina really finished off?"
Saturn looked at Cyrus in disbelief.
One of the legendary Creation Trio, the overlord of the Distortion World.
Was it actually finished off just like that by that Lucario?
"Mm."
Cyrus nodded flatly.
As if stating an inconsequential fact.
He handed the three Poké Balls in his hand to Jupiter beside him.
Those were the containers holding the Lake Guardians.
Jupiter looked at Cyrus somewhat blankly.
"Release them."
"Ah?! But... Boss, aren't we going to create the heartless world anymore?"
Jupiter's voice suddenly rose, full of shock and incomprehension.
The heartless world.
Isn't that the boss's ultimate goal?
The boss fought for this for decades.
Why give it up now?
Even without Giratina, there are still Dialga and Palkia.
"We won't create it for now."
Cyrus shook his head calmly, turned around and swept a glance at everyone below, then looked up at the thick walls of Team Galactic's base,
"This world, perhaps isn't that hopelessly incurable. I want to try first, see if I can cure it."
His gaze seemed to be cast towards a broader world.
And no longer confined to a small Sinnoh.
"Yes!" xN
The people of Team Galactic actually didn't care about some heartless world at all.
They worked for Cyrus.
Because Cyrus had been kind to them.
As for what Team Galactic was going to do.
That depended on what Cyrus was going to do.
Cyrus's will is Team Galactic's direction.
If he wants to save the world.
Then they, Team Galactic, will be the cornerstone of saving the world.
On the distant Sevii Islands.
The thirty-four-year-old, still single older leftover woman Lorelei held her head and woke up.
A short half-hour afternoon nap.
She felt like she had a dream that lasted decades.
In the dream.
Lorelei met a particularly, particularly lazy little penguin (Piplup).
That feeling was so real, so warm.
And carried a kind of heart-aching familiarity, as if a fragment lost deep within her memories.
"Strange..."
Lorelei muttered, raising her hand and patting her head.
That little penguin gave her a feeling of déjà vu, as if she had met it somewhere in reality.
But she didn't think too much about it, tidied up a bit, and got up, walking towards the outside of the house.
Arriving in the living room.
Turning on the TV.
What was playing on the TV was still the matter regarding Cynthia and Will.
Nowadays, their story had spread throughout the whole world; they were great heroes destined to be recorded in human history.
It was said that the Pokémon League was already preparing to rewrite textbooks.
They planned to write some of the things about Will and Cynthia into the books, letting every child who wants to become a trainer know their story and take them as role models.
Just then.
A photo of Will flashed across the screen.
Lorelei, who was drinking tea, felt a sudden sharp pain in her heart, as if her heart was viciously gripped by a cold hand.
A clear tear fell from her eye socket.
The teacup in her hand plummeted to the floor, shattering into pieces. The scalding hot tea spilled on the floor, even flowing to her feet.
Yet Lorelei was completely oblivious.
"? What's wrong with me?"
She dazedly raised her hand to wipe the tear from her face, her eyes full of confusion and helplessness.
Looking down at the tear on her fingertip.
Reflected in the tearful gleam was the figure of a Piplup.
Clear.
But distant.
Time flies.
A month's time slipped away quietly amidst the busyness of reconstruction and silent mourning.
The Space-Time Tower was restored again by everyone in Alamos Town.
The name of the Space-Time Tower.
Is determined by its creator; others have no right to change it.
That is the glory bestowed by the creator.
But what the Space-Time Tower symbolizes has a different answer in everyone's heart.
In the hearts of every survivor from Alamos Town today.
The symbol of these twin towers.
Has already sublimated.
At the top of the Space Tower on the left, a statue of Cynthia was erected.
At the top of the Time Tower on the right, a statue of Will was erected.
Their gazes crossed space and time, casting towards the figure on the top of the opposite tower, freezing into eternity.
And they.
Also became the new faith and patron saints of Alamos Town.
The story of them taking back Alamos Town from the hands of the Creation Trio was engraved on a huge stone monument beneath the Space-Time Tower, becoming a hero's anthem destined to be passed down through the ages.
Even the story of them embracing each other until the very end, crashing into the space-time rift together, became a fairy tale among countless trainers and Pokémon about courage, bonds, and being faithful unto death.
Of course.
That 'Nightmare God' who silently guarded in the dark and stepped forward in despair was not forgotten by everyone either.
It's just that everyone placed Darkrai's statue under the shade of a tree in the courtyard.
At this moment.
The real Darkrai stood quietly on the spire of the Space-Time Tower.
Looking up at the location where the space-time rift was back then.
There.
Now only a clear blue sky remained, so clean it made one feel flustered.
He always clearly distinguished between gratitude and grudges.
Will and Cynthia guarded Alamos Town, which was more important than life to him, on his behalf.
But how should he repay the two of them?
He reached up and grabbed at the sun above his head; that was the hope Will brought to Alamos Town.
The sunlight penetrated his semi-ethereal body.
Leaving not the slightest warmth, only a deeper emptiness.
A genial breeze brushed past his face.
A hint of gold at the corner of his eye attracted Darkrai's attention.
He turned his head to look at a corner of the city.
There was a woman with pale yellow hair slowly walking over.
Beside her followed a large Mightyena (Mother Wolf).
Darkrai's heart moved slightly, and he had an idea.
He turned into a shadow and followed behind them, even merging into their shadows.
He decided to incarnate as a loyal shadow guardian.
Before they returned.
He would guard their two mothers well on their behalf.
"Mightyena, where do you think those two children are now?"
Kaoru raised her hand and stroked Mother Wolf's neck beside her, smiling slightly.
"Awoo."
Mother Wolf shook her head.
She didn't know either.
It was just that.
That bond connected in her soul told her Will was not dead.
And the same went for Kaoru on the other side.
Perhaps there is a special connection between mother and daughter; she just knew Cynthia wasn't dead.
This certainty was like an anchor in the darkness, making the severe pain of loss bearable, and giving the long years of waiting a glimmer of light.
They believed the two children would definitely return safely.
Until then.
They just had to quietly wait at home.
Just like in the past.
When the children held hands and went out to explore the world.
They would definitely hold hands again, laughing and returning home, throwing themselves forcefully into their arms to act spoiled.
Kaoru and Mother Wolf walked all the way to the top of the Space-Time Tower, overlooking this town guarded by their children below.
The streets were bustling with traffic, shops had reopened, and children's laughter echoed in the square.
The peace of a stable life once again overflowed on people's faces.
The happiness of surviving a disaster, like a warm current, flowed quietly in the veins of the city.
It was just that.
In the deepest part of pride and gratification.
That humblest yet most devout prayer of a mother, like a candle flame that never extinguishes, flickered in the wind.
Hoping that when the two children returned.
They would still have the chance to say the most ordinary phrase:
"Welcome home."
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