Looking for the Lost Village

"So, Rope, what should we do now?"

Whitley asked, looking at Rope in some distress and confusion.

Diana and Sennogi and Hoopa were all looking at Rope for an answer.

Rope stared at the lights and said nothing.

What could he say. Now the clues are broken again... I originally thought that I could find the truth of the world after getting the Azure Flute this time. But they didn't realize that the Azure Flute had been stolen by someone else.

The key is that they still don't know who took it. But from the fact that the Dragon Origin wasn't taken, it seems that this person and the one who collected the power of the Origin are two different people.

But that makes the situation even more complicated, doesn't it?

After a long moment of silence, Rope rubbed his temples, then spoke, "The most crucial thing now... is to find the person who took Azure Flute."

The others present nodded,they were still wondering about Arceus's state,so they had to find Azure Flute to determine what was going on with Arceus's state. Why on earth was he turning all of his bodies into doppelgangers and having them out there defending the world.

And what is he doing with himself?

Rope wondered, and so did Whitley.

"All we need now is the address of the village."

Rope said and rubbed his temples, the problem was that this village wasn't even connected to the other villages.

Basically, the people of the other villages don't know about the existence of this village. After all, it's in such a remote place...

None of these villages are hiding, except for this one.

"That means we still need the map."

With that, Whitley looked at Sennogi.

Sennogi looked at the other people's eyes focused on him, and said with some regret: "Unfortunately, I'm not curious about the map, so even if it's been in my house all this time. I haven't seen it...I should have known..."

"Well, don't blame yourself, there's no such thing as knowing earlier in this world."

Rope shook his head and spoke, "It's useless and stupid to blame the past for the demands of the present."

"And if you've seen it, why would I want to travel through time and space?"

Here, Rope sighed. There was no escaping it in the end.

Rope didn't need to be told how dangerous time traveling was. He knew very well that he definitely didn't want to travel through time. Though in normal circumstances...

You can never change what's already happened. You're just adding to history.

But time and space are such marvelous things that even if you don't want them. You can't avoid it. Because it's the history of the world.

"We'll go back tomorrow... it's almost New Year's, so let's have a good year and prepare for the final push." Rope pondered for a long time, and then spoke: "I have a hunch that when we really find Azure Flute, the horn of the decisive battle is basically going to sound."

Looking at Rope's serious expression. The three girls also nodded along. After all, this is Rope's decision, of course they will do their best to support.

Hoopa touched his chin, thought for a while, and then said: "Who are you going to let help you cross, Dialga or Celebi?"

It was a big question, and Rope was a little uncertain. From the original story and Rope's knowledge of the two Legendary Pokémon, Dialga's greatest advantage was its precision in timekeeping.

If it says it'll send you to a point in the past, it'll be absolutely right. Celebi, on the other hand, is far worse. He's the God of the Forest, not the God of Space and Time, so he doesn't have the same level of control over time and space.

It's certainly enough for Him. He's using his temporal abilities to avoid unnecessary dangers. In that case, just traveling through the timeline would be fine... there's no need for precision.

But the biggest advantage of letting Celebi travel with him... is that he can take Celebi with him, so once Celebi regains the ability to travel through time and space, he can travel as he pleases.

If Dialga is the host, then Rope will have to return before the time comes. It can be done earlier, but it can't be delayed.

Moreover, traveling through time and space can't be done too often, and if time and space were to collapse, it would cause a crisis far beyond imagination, and Rope herself wouldn't want to take the blame. Rope himself does not want to take the blame for such a big pot. Therefore, it is better not to get involved now.

Rope shook his head and said: "We'll think about this later. Let's go to sleep, we're all tired today. Take a good rest."

The three girls nodded, and each pulled their sleeping bags out of their backpacks. Although old man Mizuiro had found an empty house to protect them from the wind and rain. But there was no one else in the village. And not for many years.

Those who move out don't come back so easily. After all, the path is too difficult.

And with old man Mizuiro around, they don't have to worry about the silence of the Origin. They hadn't been in contact with the Origin for many years, so they were free to live in the outside world without any dependence on the Origin.

If you really want to talk about it, only Eiichi's village was so unlucky. They don't have the benefit of the Origin's power. And because of the slightest intake of Origin Power every day, they have a strong dependence on it. That's why he can't leave the village.

That's really bad luck.

Hoopa nodded to Rope and said, "I'll keep watch tonight."

Rope nodded back to show that he knew. Although he felt that old man Mizuiro was not too hostile towards them. But you can't gamble on this kind of thing.

Both Rope and Hoopa understood that sometimes, relationships between people were complicated. Friends who've known each other for decades can turn against each other for a small fortune.

Not to mention someone they haven't known for a long time and have more grudges than friendships.

So they didn't eat the old man's food today. Instead, the old man ate Rope's food. Of course, Rope didn't try to poison them. It didn't make any sense.

But Rope didn't go to sleep either. He pushed open the door to the moonlight, then turned to Hoopa and the three little girls and said, "You guys rest first, I'm going out for a walk."

With that, he closed the door and walked off into the distance.

The three girls looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

"You guys go back to sleep. Don't worry about Rope, there may be others who can defeat him, but there are no more who can keep him at bay."

Hoopa consoled the three girls, and then ran up to the roof of the house through an interdimensional hole of his own. Silence along the moon tonight.

Whitley looked at the two lines of sight coming towards her and shrugged, "Rope said to sleep easy, so sleep easy. Nothing will happen."

After saying that, she took off her clothes first, and then got into the sleeping bag, and muttered something like 'it's comfortable to sleep with your clothes off'.

Seeing Whitley like this, Sennogi and Diana, after looking at each other, also took off their clothes and got into their own sleeping bags. It was a rare chance to get a good night's sleep.

Diana was fine, but Sennogi was exhausted. Sennogi was already exhausted. She wasn't a professional trainer or researcher. She's not a professional trainer or researcher. She's more tired and sleepy than ever.

But when you close your eyes, all the things you have experienced today and before appear in your mind.

Where is the world going, where did we come from, and where are we going?

All these philosophical propositions actually appeared in my mind. Does the direction of the world have anything to do with me?

What's wrong with the world?

There were so many thoughts in his head, but Sennogi was too tired. Even though her mind was in turmoil, she soon fell asleep.

Whitley even snored a little. She was just as tired. Even more so when she took command in Rope's absence, not everyone was able or willing to take someone else's life in their own hands.

Most people can barely keep up with themselves. Not to mention others.

Diana was also very tired, but she hadn't been able to figure out why she had become an Original God.

Why did she become a carrier of the Origin?

Do Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad know about this? What are they not telling me? And Rope, what does he think of me?

A tool? A vessel? A subordinate? A friend?

Diana couldn't even think about going any further. She knew she was not bad, even good. But not as good as the others.

Diana didn't understand how Rope managed to remain unattached with so many wonderful people around her.

It's unbelievable...

Diana wonders why Rope, who knew she would have a strange relationship with Sennogi, was so attracted to Sennogi even though she was prepared for it.

Did she let herself go after traveling back in time?

As she thought about it, a feeling of tiredness came over Diana.

Not long after that, she also went into a dream, and judging from the frown on her face, she was probably still thinking about these questions in her dream.

The answers to these questions were not clear to Rope himself.

He's a very dedicated person. It's hard to fall in love with one person and then another. And even if he does. Once he's made a promise, he'll never forget it.

That's what his father and mother taught him as a child.

I think it's time for a vacation after New Year's. But I don't think that's going to happen now.

Rope sat on a big rock, looking at the moon and thinking about the things that concerned him.

The person who was searching for the origin of the divine power didn't know who he was, but he wasn't a good person to deal with. I can't afford to be soft in the face of such an opponent. So I must be careful and hurry.

So I guess I'll have to put off going home for a while.

Thinking that, Rope smiled bitterly.

He thought he'd never be like his parents, who left their child alone for some job. This happened when he was eight years old, when his father and mother went away for more than a week.

But now Rope is kind of giving up the chance to go home to his parents for the sake of his job.

Or rather, delayed.

Rope still felt like he could make things happen.

So he lay back on the rock, soaking up the moonlight, and slowly closed his eyes.

——————————

"This person you've chosen... is really something to obsess over."

The Queen who was freshening up glanced at the light screen in front of Year, and then spoke.

"It's much more humane than you people!"

Year glared and shifted his view away from Rope. The light screen flickered, and the image on it changed to a woman with a charming face.

The woman was obviously ready for a break.

Year asked curiously, "Does this woman mean anything to you? Is this the child of one of the council members?"

The Queen glanced at her again and said, "I've never seen her at all, maybe she's just a randomly chosen tool."

"The word "toolman" is a word that you learn quite quickly." Year said with a sense of helplessness. Then he looked at Rope's enemy and pondered for a moment, then spoke, "I don't believe this is a simple tool man. Would the Dark Speaker really make such a random choice?"

With that in mind, Year rubbed his chin, then pulled out his communicator and broadcast a number.

A few moments later, someone picked up the phone.

"Hey, Caitlin..."

"Year you asshole! Do you have to work or not! You're filling up your office with paperwork! What the hell are you doing? Get your ass back to work !!!!"

There was a woman's voice on the other end of the communicator, and it was, uh, manic.

Year subconsciously took her communicator to the side.

"Calm down, here's a job for you." Year took a picture and sent it to the woman there, then said, "Find out where this woman came from."

"Yes, boss!" The woman's voice returned to a competent but not gentle tone almost instantly.

But the next moment...

"Get your ass back here and take care of business!!!"

Year hung up.

The Queen looked at Year, smiling.

"Your little secretary?"

The tone of her voice had a bad connotation.

"I raised her as my daughter."

Year rolled his eyes at the queen and stopped talking.