"And the good news?" the Pope asked, his voice harsh as he glared at the trembling priest.
"The good news, Lord Pope... is that our sleeper agent in Celestic Town has returned. He has brought the Dragon Orb," the priest stammered, a forced smile spreading across his face.
"What did you say?! The Dragon Orb has been recovered?!" The Pope's eyes bulged. He had practically resigned himself to never seeing the artifact again. Now, he let out a cry of pure, fanatical joy. "Why didn't you lead with that?! Bring him in! This man is a hero of the Great Temple!"
The Pope was practically dancing. His emotions had been on a violent roller coaster, plummeting to the depths of despair and soaring to the heights of triumph in mere minutes.
The priest clapped his hands, and a stout man—the mole, Furukawa—ran into the hall, carefully cradling the golden Dragon Orb.
"Excellent! Truly excellent work! Tell me, what is your name?" the Pope asked, his tone suddenly warm and benevolent.
"My name is Furukawa, Lord Pope," the man said, bowing low as he presented the treasure.
"From this day forth, you are my personal attendant priest. You shall oversee the logistics of the inner sanctum."
The Pope gestured, and the Dragon Orb floated from Furukawa's hands. It drifted into the center of the hall, joining the Ground, Sea, Electric, and Green Earth Orbs. The five legendary relics began to rotate in a perfect geometric pattern. They hummed with a resonance that shook the floor tiles, eventually dissolving into spheres of white light that merged into a single, blinding core.
"The Temple is to enter maximum lockdown. No one is to set foot within the inner palace without my express permission!"
The Pope summoned Darren, the Captain of the Temple Guard. Darren, a blond man in his forties and a fanatic loyalist, took the order and moved instantly. Soon, a cloud of Bronzong and Bronzor filled the sky above the Temple. Warships deployed their massive batteries, aiming toward the horizon.
The Final Countdown
Inside the hall, the Pope watched the glowing core with predatory satisfaction.
"In less than ten days, the Millennium Comet will grace our skies. When it does, I will achieve my life's ambition: I will become the one true God of this world."
"Celestic Town thinks they won the war, but they have already lost. The Wishing Star and the five Orbs are mine. I will now perform the secret rite to forge the Jewel of Life."
The Pope turned to the messenger. "Summon the Sun, Moon, and Star Priests back from Hoenn. Now!"
As the messenger scrambled away, another priest entered the hall. "Lord Pope, a report from our operative within Team Galactic. Cyrus has successfully detonated the Galactic Bombs and secured the Three Lake Guardians."
"Perfect timing," the Pope cackled. "Let Cyrus play with his Red Chain and the Lords of Time and Space. Once I possess the power of the Creator, Dialga and Palkia will be nothing more than pets to me."
"Celestic Town... the Garden family... enjoy your 'victory' for now. Before the absolute power of a God, I can erase you with a flick of my finger."
The Calm Before the Storm
In Celestic Town, Feng Che was busy utilizing his Viridian Power to stabilize wounded Pokémon. Beside him, Venusaur emitted Sleep Powder to help the creatures rest and recover without pain.
His communicator buzzed. It was a report from Hunter J detailing the capture of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf.
"The Three Guardians are gone," Feng Che mused. "That means Team Galactic is heading for the Spear Pillar. Well, if the sky falls, the tall people should be the ones to catch it. Cynthia is the Champion now; let her handle the Lords of Time and Space while I follow in her wake. I might even be able to scavenge a few scales—prime resources for my Dreepy and Deino."
Feng Che calculated the timeline. In ten days, the comet would arrive. Once he dealt with the Temple, he planned to officially name Yuan Na as the next head of the Garden family. She had far more backbone than her father and, as a close friend of Cynthia, she was the perfect bridge for the family's future.
Ten days passed in a blur of anticipation. Cyrus had returned to the Temple to coordinate with the Pope. Having successfully forged the Jewel of Life, the Pope had undergone a terrifying transformation—the jewel's vitality had reversed his aging, restoring him to the prime of his youth.
On the night the Millennium Comet finally appeared as a streak of silver in the heavens, the Great Temple suddenly rocked with a massive tremor.
"What's happening?!" "Is the temple collapsing?!" "Are we under attack?!"
The guards outside panicked, but the shaking wasn't an earthquake. It was the birth of something divine.