"Gulp..."
Aaron stared at the ancient yellow Plate floating in the air and swallowed hard.
"So..."
His voice was careful.
"You were born from a fragment of Arceus's will?"
He looked from the glowing figure to the Plate, then back again.
"And what does the tower have to do with the Zap Plate? Why was it created in the first place? Was it built to protect you?"
The small Arceus-like figure nodded.
"That is correct. I am a fragment of Arceus's will. You may also think of me as one of her avatars."
Its luminous gaze rested on him.
"As for the Hidden Dragon Tower, it is a tool."
"A tool meant to select a human Trainer capable of saving this world."
Its clear voice echoed softly through the ninth floor.
"Countless years have passed, and you are the first person to give me even a glimmer of hope."
Aaron froze.
His brow furrowed.
"Save the world?"
He stared at it.
"What's wrong with the world?"
He had not expected the conversation to suddenly turn into some world-saving mission.
He only wanted to coast through life.
Now it wanted him to save the world?
Please.
Stop messing with me.
"Because Arceus knew the passage between the Outer World and the Inner World would open again one day."
The figure's voice grew solemn.
"When that happens, the Shadow Pokémon will invade once more."
"That is why Arceus left behind the eighteen Plates. Over countless years, they have absorbed enough energy. As long as all eighteen are gathered..."
Its eyes shone brighter.
"The Original One can be revived."
The small figure looked at Aaron with rare intensity.
"And you are the human Trainer with the greatest chance of gathering them all."
"I see hope in you."
Aaron's mouth twitched.
Inside, he was already screaming.
You've got the wrong person.
I just want to slack off.
Are you seriously asking a slacker to save the world?
Are you blind, or am I the idiot here?
Even while cursing in his head, Aaron forced a stiff smile onto his face.
"Could you maybe have misjudged me?"
He pointed at himself.
"I'm actually kind of useless. My Pokémon are the competitive ones. They've been quietly getting stronger on their own."
He spread his hands helplessly.
"It really doesn't have much to do with me. Why don't you find someone else? I'm just a slacker."
The glowing figure fell silent.
For a moment, even Arceus's fragment seemed to short-circuit.
This was not how the script was supposed to go.
Wasn't an eighteen-year-old supposed to be passionate? Ambitious? Full of fire?
After hearing about a sacred mission to save the world, shouldn't his blood be boiling with excitement?
This was a deed that would go down in history.
A path to becoming a legend remembered by future generations.
And this human had refused?
The figure stared at Aaron in disbelief, like someone whose heartfelt confession had just been rejected.
"What did you just say?"
Its voice turned serious.
"This is a mission to save the world. It is not a game."
"If Arceus does not awaken, the passage to the Inner World will open again, and the Outer World will suffer a catastrophe."
"Everything here may be plunged into disaster."
"It may even be destroyed."
Before Aaron could answer, a familiar voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Ding~ Congratulations. You have triggered a new quest: Save the Outer World."
The System's voice remained calm, but the words that followed were anything but.
"The stage is this big, Host. Are you really going to pass up the chance to make an entrance?"
"You are the greatest show-off in the world. If the world is destroyed, where are you supposed to show off?"
"How could you possibly allow that?"
"Quest objective: Collect the eighteen Plates of the Original One and revive Arceus."
"Quest rewards: The Original One will grant you one wish and open a passage to other worlds."
"The first world unlocked will be Earth."
...
For Aaron, those words were like a nuclear bomb detonating inside his mind.
He froze.
Then his eyes widened with an intensity he could not hide, and his whole body trembled.
"System..."
His voice shook even inside his own thoughts.
"Does that mean I can go back to Earth after completing this quest?"
"My original world?"
He desperately suppressed the excitement surging through him and waited for the answer.
"Restricted term detected. Beep. Auto-censor activated."
"Cough, cough..."
"You guessed correctly. It is your original world."
"Once this quest is complete, you will be able to open a passage to other worlds. The first world unlocked will be Earth."
Aaron's pupils contracted.
A deep ache rose in his chest.
His eyes began to redden.
"I finally found a way home..."
His voice was barely a murmur.
"Mom. Dad. My little brother."
"Wait for me."
"I'll definitely come back."
His eyes grew moist.
If there was one regret that had followed him since coming to this world, it was the family he had left behind on Earth.
He had not even had the chance to repay them before his soul was suddenly thrown into another world.
Then another memory surfaced.
A woman's face, blurred by time, flashed through his mind.
Aaron's gaze turned cold.
"And you..."
His voice lowered.
"I still remember every word you said to me back then."
...