"What!?"
Hearing Chen Shi's words, Steven immediately hurried over and stared at the horn fragment in his hand with fascination.
"Old Chen, you've got quite a collection of treasures."
"The God of Life, Xerneas? What kind of Legendary Pokémon is that? Why have I never heard of it before?"
Then Steven asked expectantly,
"Do you have anything valuable for Steel-types? I'll pay a high price for it!"
Chen Shi's face darkened.
"None. Go play somewhere else."
"If you don't have any, then fine. Why are you pushing me?"
Steven pouted and took a step back.
At that moment, Diantha stared at the fragment emitting rainbow-colored light and suddenly spoke.
"Could it be the God of Life from the ancient legends of Kalos?"
In Kalos' ancient myths, Xerneas had always been regarded as a sacred and magnificent existence.
It was the guardian of life, protecting the vitality and prosperity of all living things.
According to legend, when the magnificent antlers atop Xerneas's head shone with rainbow-colored light, it would share eternal life.
Diantha had heard these stories from her elders when she was young.
At the time, she had never paid much attention to them, assuming they were merely fairy tales.
Yet now, Chen Shi had actually produced a fragment of Xerneas's horn.
"That's right. This is the God of Life of the Kalos region."
Chen Shi nodded.
"It really is the God of Life!?"
Diantha cried out in surprise.
Could it be that the ancient legends of Kalos weren't fictional at all?
Today alone, she had witnessed Zygarde and now a fragment of Xerneas's horn.
Everything pointed toward one conclusion.
The stories she had grown up hearing were all real.
Suddenly, Diantha's expression stiffened.
She seemed to think of something.
"Th-Then... the God of Death from the legends... that's real too, isn't it?"
Unlike Xerneas, that being was far from benevolent in Kalos folklore.
Her elders had told her that whenever the God of Death, Yveltal, descended upon the world, the shadow of death would spread across the land.
Wherever it passed, life would instantly be drained away.
Flowers would wither.
Trees would decay.
Everything would become silent and petrified.
A playful smile appeared on Chen Shi's face.
Wanting to tease Diantha a little, he said with a mischievous grin,
"Of course it's real."
"They're the Kalos Legendary trio, after all."
"And judging by the timeline, they should be waking up soon."
"How does that sound?"
"Feeling a bit of déjà vu?"
"Life and Death are natural opposites. At the same time, Kalos also has an incredibly powerful God of Order."
His teasing tone only made Diantha more nervous.
"W-What exactly do you mean?"
Suddenly, Steven slapped his thigh.
"I get it!"
"Isn't this basically the same as Hoenn's Legendary trio?"
"Land and sea are natural opposites. Groudon and Kyogre start fighting the moment they see each other."
"And then Hoenn has Rayquaza, who's powerful enough to suppress both of them..."
At first, Steven looked delighted that he had figured it out.
Then his expression gradually changed.
The more he talked, the quieter his voice became.
If Chen Shi's comparison was accurate...
Life and Death were opposing forces.
And they were about to awaken.
"..."
Steven swallowed.
"Old Chen."
"Please stop talking."
"This is getting way too exciting."
Chen Shi: ????
"Get lost."
After cursing him out, Chen Shi tossed the horn fragment to Elder Diamond.
"Take it."
"I want to witness the birth of Princess Diancie myself."
Back in his previous life, Chen Shi had once seen a forum discussion about the most beautiful Pokémon.
Among all the candidates, three Pokémon consistently received the most votes.
Milotic.
Diancie.
And Primarina.
Since arriving in this world, he had already seen Milotic and Primarina.
But he had never had the chance to see Diancie.
Now that he could witness Diancie's birth with his own eyes, there was no way he would miss it.
"This... this is far too precious."
Elder Diamond stared at the fragment with trembling hands.
"We possess nothing worthy enough to repay such a gift."
Chen Shi raised an eyebrow.
"Then give it back."
"Uh..."
Elder Diamond immediately choked on its words.
That wasn't how this conversation was supposed to go.
Now that the fragment was already in its hands, how could it possibly return it?
After all, it was relying on this fragment to help the princess complete her mutation and become a new Diancie capable of saving the Diamond Kingdom.
Just as Elder Diamond was struggling to answer, the mutating Carbink stepped forward and bowed deeply to Chen Shi.
"Naa-naa~"
(Thank you, Lord Chen Shi. This fragment is unimaginably important to us. We will shamelessly accept your kindness.)
"Take it."
"It was meant for you from the start."
Chen Shi waved casually.
After all, he was only delivering it on Mew's behalf.
The fragment wasn't originally his.
The mutating Carbink said nothing more.
It bowed once again before accepting the fragment from Elder Diamond.
Then it pressed the horn fragment against its forehead.
In an instant—
Countless colors erupted from the fragment and flowed into the Carbink's body.
According to the system scan before Chen Shi's eyes, the mutation progress suddenly began rising at an incredible speed.
96%.
97%.
98%.
99%.
The moment it reached 100%—
The most dazzling and miraculous light in the Pokémon world burst forth.
"Is... is it evolving?"
Steven stared wide-eyed at the Carbink wrapped within the light of evolution.
"You could say its mutation is finally complete."
Chen Shi smiled and shook his head.
Even he hadn't expected the transformation to happen immediately after Carbink obtained the Xerneas fragment.
It seemed Mew had been right.
The only thing Carbink had lacked was suitable high-level Fairy-type energy.
As he watched Carbink finally become Diancie, tears glimmered in Elder Diamond's eyes.
Excitement.
Relief.
Gratitude.
Emotion.
All of it was contained within that gaze.
The surrounding Carbink erupted into cheers.
They welcomed the birth of their new Princess—
And future Queen—
With the highest reverence they could offer.
Soon, the brilliant light faded.
Diancie's figure appeared before everyone.
A round pink diamond rested atop her head, crowned by four octahedral diamonds and two elongated crystal diamonds.
Around her neck hung a golden collar adorned with another octahedral gemstone.
The upper half of her body resembled an elegant white gown, while the lower half retained traces of Carbink's crystalline ore body.
Slowly, Diancie opened her eyes.
She first examined herself.
Then she looked around at Elder Diamond and the cheering Carbink.
A clear and beautiful voice rang out.
"The Diamond Kingdom... has been saved."
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