Looking at the figure standing protectively in front of her, Cynthia’s expression became somewhat strange.
As the Champion of Sinnoh, she had always been the one standing at the very front, sheltering others behind her.
This was the first time in her life that someone had stepped in front of her in a protective stance.
I’ve been underestimated…
Though…
It doesn’t feel bad, either.
Suppressing the distracting thoughts in her heart, she stepped forward once more and stood shoulder to shoulder with Gray.
Without needing any commands, Garchomp had already moved in front of them.
The overwhelming aura of a Champion’s ace Pokémon exploded outward without restraint, attempting to disperse the eerie atmosphere surrounding them.
“Where exactly is this place…?” Cynthia’s voice carried a trace of seriousness.
“I’m not entirely sure.” Gray’s eyes flickered as he rapidly surveyed the distorted spatial structure around them.
Only after confirming that there was no immediate danger did he turn toward Cynthia and speak with certainty.
“But based on my judgment, this should be a stable subspace attached to the main space of the First Emperor’s Mausoleum.” Drawing upon his past experiences fighting the gods of space and time, as well as his sensitivity to temporal and spatial fluctuations, he arrived at that conclusion.
This subspace resembled the space-time distortions from Pokémon Legends: Arceus in his memories.
Both were attachments to the primary world.
The difference was that one could exist permanently, while the other could collapse at any moment.
“A subspace?” A flash of surprise appeared in Cynthia’s eyes.
She was a scholar deeply immersed in Sinnoh mythology and thoroughly familiar with the legends of the two dragons of space and time.
Yet even she had never heard such a specific concept before.
But why does he know about it?
The desire to investigate him grew stronger.
Unable to resist, Cynthia secretly observed the young man standing beside her.
Younger than me…
Taller than me…
A sharp nose bridge, those eyes…
Hmm…
He really is quite handsome.
“Let’s first see if we can return the way we came.” Gray suddenly felt a chill run down his spine for some inexplicable reason and interrupted Cynthia’s wandering thoughts.
Garchomp let out a low growl and took the lead.
The two cautiously attempted to pass through the dense, ink-like fog.
However, no matter how many times they tried, the result remained the same.
Like being trapped in a ghostly maze, they always ended up back at the magnificent palace gates.
Their retreat had been completely cut off.
Gray and Cynthia exchanged a glance.
There was no other choice.
They could only enter the palace and search for clues that might lead them out.
The interior of the palace was far larger than its exterior suggested.
Several Chandelure floated near the ceiling, serving as the sole light sources.
Their cold, flickering purple glow stretched the enormous pillars and shadows into twisted, unsettling shapes.
As they continued exploring, they discovered that nearly every chamber housed a different Ghost-type Pokémon.
Banette curled up in dark corners.
Dusknoir stood silently beside ancient stone pillars.
Mismagius floated before faded murals.
Their sleeping postures varied, but they all shared one thing in common.
An ancient and decaying aura surrounded them.
It felt as though a thousand years had settled upon their bodies.
The sheer pressure they emitted, even while asleep, was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
“These are all antiques that have lived for over a thousand years.” Gray lowered his voice and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Even in their sleep, their presence is terrifyingly powerful.” “This place isn’t somewhere we should stay for long.” “We need to find a way out as soon as possible.” “Understood.” Cynthia silently stuffed the notebook and pen she had just taken out back into her coat pocket and nodded solemnly.
Even as a Champion, she felt tremendous pressure when faced with such a vast number of ancient Ghost-types.
Holding their breath, the two carefully avoided the sleeping spirits and slowly advanced toward the palace’s deepest chamber.
The moment they stepped inside, Gray’s attention was instantly captured by the enormous coffin positioned at the center of the room.
It was crafted from dark violet jade and intricately engraved with dragon patterns.
Three meters in length.
One and a half meters in width.
Ancient and imposing.
Filled with the murderous dignity of an emperor.
However…
The massive coffin lid had already been pushed aside.
It rested at an angle against the coffin itself.
Peering inside, they found no corpse.
Only a pile of black imperial robes, their colors faded and surfaces worn by countless years of erosion.
“An empty tomb?” Gray frowned slightly.
His gaze landed on the marks along the edge of the coffin lid.
“Someone has been here.” “The lid was opened manually.” “And it couldn’t have been that long ago.” Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
The detector suddenly emitted a sharp alarm, shattering the silence of the main chamber.
Gray lowered his head and studied the screen.
After comparing the wildly fluctuating readings, he spoke in a deep voice.
“Miss Cynthia, we’ve found the source of the energy leak.” “It should be this jade coffin.” “Or, to be more precise, something that escaped after the lid was opened.” “Tsk.” “This just made my workload even heavier.” His tone carried a trace of helplessness.
Turning toward Cynthia, he added: “If there’s anything you want to record, now would be a good time.” “Hm?” Cynthia blinked in confusion before quickly understanding.
A faint blush appeared on her fair cheeks.
Was my curiosity really that obvious?
I thought I hid it pretty well…
“Um…
thank you.” She lowered her voice and expressed her gratitude.
The strange feeling in her heart resurfaced yet again.
Ever since entering the subspace, the initiative had always remained firmly in Gray’s hands.
Analyzing the environment.
Judging danger levels.
Choosing their route.
Even looking after and protecting her, a Champion.
The reversal of their roles left her feeling somewhat unsettled.
She was supposed to be the Champion.
The one who should shoulder everything.
Taking out her notebook once more, she forced herself to focus and rapidly sketched everything she saw.
Meanwhile, Gray carefully inspected the jade coffin.
While searching for clues, he remained vigilant toward his surroundings.
Whoooosh!
A cold wind suddenly erupted from nowhere.
The bronze ornaments hanging throughout the palace began clattering noisily.
The ghostly lights of the Chandelure flickered violently.
The temperature plummeted to freezing levels.
Bone-chilling cold spread through the chamber.
Dense purple mist materialized from all directions and rapidly gathered together.
In the blink of an eye, it formed an enormous, grotesque ghost face that covered the sky.
Its massive mouth split open.
A giant crimson tongue writhed inside.
Malice radiated from every inch of its being.
A wild Gastly appeared!
“Garchomp, Protect!” Cynthia reacted instantly.
The professionalism of a Champion revealed itself immediately.
Garchomp released a thunderous roar.
Its enormous body instantly positioned itself between its Trainer and the threat.
A sturdy blue barrier of energy unfolded around them.
However…
The anticipated terrifying attack never came.
The gigantic ghost face instead let out a series of mischievous cackles.
“Hehehehehe!” Its enormous body dispersed like smoke caught in the wind.
Moments later, it condensed back into the familiar, round form of a Gastly.
Then an even stranger scene unfolded.
Banette.
Dusknoir.
Mismagius.
One after another, the powerful Ghost-type Pokémon that had previously been sleeping throughout the palace emerged behind Gastly like phantoms.
They moved silently.
Gradually, they formed a loose encirclement.
The overwhelming pressure generated by their combined presence became almost tangible.
Like an invisible prison, it trapped Gray and Cynthia firmly at its center.
Those were the Pokémon sleeping outside.
They…
Had all awakened.
Cynthia’s heart shook violently.
Her hand instinctively moved toward the chain of Poké Balls hanging from her waist.
But just as she was about to throw one— Gray moved first.
(End of Chapter)