Chapter 206: Blood Awakening!

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"Begin fusion!"

At Lulu's shout, the nine fragments floating in the air rapidly gathered together. The eight triangular shards precisely slotted their tips into the holes of the central circular piece. The edges of each fragment fit together seamlessly, ultimately forming a single, unified object—an octagonal disc radiating with multicolored light.

"Fusion complete! Blood Awakening!"

The moment Lulu saw the fragments fully fuse, she quickly flew to the disc, extended a finger, and tapped it lightly.

As she touched it, the disc changed again. After a sound like metal shifting, the center of the disc vanished, replaced by a ping-pong ball sized drop of glowing multicolored blood, floating silently in the air.

"This is it! Heehee! Now it truly begins!"

Lulu cupped her hands as if holding something sacred, carefully floating above Liam's head before releasing the droplet. In the next instant, it fell swiftly and merged directly into Liam's body.

"Uh..."

Liam looked on with mild surprise as everything unfolded before his eyes. He touched the top of his head but didn't feel anything sticky—it was clear that the blood had truly fused into his body.

But strangely enough… wasn't this supposed to be a big deal? Why did it feel like… that was it?

Liam glanced suspiciously up at Lulu, his expression puzzled. 

"That's it? Nothing's happened. I don't feel any different..."

Lulu grinned smugly at his words, her expression mysterious. 

"That droplet of blood was left behind by the one who helped forge your body—it can only be unlocked after completing a certain task. Now that it's merged with you, the potential in your body has been awakened. Over time, your physique will improve—but that's not the main part! The most important thing is—"

At this point, Lulu's eyes sparkled as she purposefully built suspense, making Liam wait eagerly.

Finally, she pointed at Garchomp not far away.

"Call Garchomp over first..."

Liam blinked in confusion. What did this have to do with Garchomp? Still, he complied and called out.

"Garchomp! Come here for a moment!"

"Roarr!"

To Garchomp, Liam's voice sounded like a heavenly melody. Garchomp nearly shed tears of joy. With a sudden tail swing, he flung Larvitar—who had been clinging tightly to his tail—into the air. Larvitar landed squarely on Steelix's head. 

Though a little dazed and scared at first, the moment Larvitar sat down and saw the elevated view, he instantly brightened up and began happily bouncing on Steelix's head.

Steelix: "..."

"Gaarrrr!"

Now free of his tail-hugging companion, Garchomp scurried over to Liam and nudged his large head into his arms with a fawning look.

Liam smiled warmly, reaching out as he always did to pat Garchomp's head…

But just then—

The moment Liam's hand touched Garchomp's head, both of them froze.

"This…"

Liam stared in shock at the world around him, which had completely changed.

What had once been a clearing surrounded by trees was now a vast desert stretching to the horizon. Sand as far as the eye could see—it was an endless sea of sand. Liam now stood alone in the middle of it all.

"What the heck is going on?"

"Gaarrrr.."

Just as Liam was trying to make sense of it, a familiar cry came from behind him. He turned around quickly—and there was Garchomp, somehow now behind him, also looking confused, clearly not understanding what was going on either.

"Garchomp!"

Seeing him appear with him calmed Liam's nerves instantly. The panic he'd started to feel vanished.

"Grrrr!"

Garchomp ran to Liam in a few quick steps, flung his fins around his waist, and rubbed his large head against Liam's chest, his expression clearly more at ease now.

"Heh, there, there... I'm here."

Liam gently patted Garchomp's big head, his voice soft with affection.

In this strange new world, Garchomp felt just like a child. Despite his strength, he was still deeply unsettled by this unfamiliar environment. But when he found Liam, he could feel his anxiety vanish—as if he'd found his anchor.

Oddly enough, Liam didn't feel the slightest discomfort from suddenly being transported into this unfamiliar place. Everything around him felt natural. When he calmed himself and focused, he even felt... a strange sense of closeness to it.

And another thing amazed him.

Liam had always felt a faint connection with Garchomp—almost like their minds were linked. He could vaguely sense what he was thinking, and he could often understand him even if he didn't speak.

But never—not once—had it ever been this clear.

Right now, every thought in Garchomp's mind flowed through his like vivid images. Simple, pure, and unmistakable. It was a deeply strange yet wondrous sensation.

It felt like…

He and Garchomp had become one.

And the instant that thought crossed his mind, the entire desert trembled. Massive sand whirlwinds burst into the sky, like dragons of dust roaring into the heavens, each carrying thousands of tons of sand.

Liam and Garchomp remained immersed in that feeling of unity, unaware of the chaos around them.

Beneath their feet, the sand began to surge, rising like waves until it formed a massive dragon's head. With a mighty roar, it opened its jaws wide—and swallowed Liam and Garchomp whole. Then, with a swirling storm of sand, it shot skyward, merging with the surrounding sand tornadoes.

Meanwhile, back in the clearing near Pallet Town, a sandstorm dragon appeared out of nowhere, enveloping the motionless Liam and Garchomp.

The tornado soared into the sky, its top shaping into a great dragon that roared toward the heavens.

"Heehee… it worked! Now everything's fine. I'm not needed anymore. Time for a nap~"

Lulu smiled at the sight of the sky-piercing sand dragon. Stretching lazily with her hands on her hips, she transformed into a streak of blue light and flew into the whirlwind.

...…

"…Liam, what exactly did you go out there to do!? You're a grown man, how do you come back looking like this after one outing!?"

In front of Professor Oak's house, Aunt Fumiko stood with her arms crossed, glaring at the dust-covered Liam, whose face wore an embarrassed smile.

"Uhh… hehehe… I… uh…"

Liam scratched his head awkwardly, unable to come up with a good excuse, and looked at her with a helpless expression.

"Sigh... Forget it. I won't scold you. Go take a bath. I'll bring your clean clothes over. It's already late—come out and eat after you're done. You've been running around like this for days."

Fumiko sighed softly at Liam's pitiful look, her heart softening. She tapped his forehead gently and stepped aside to let him in.

"Aunt Fumiko, you're the best! You're the kindest, most beautiful woman in the world! Thank you!"

Liam, hearing her words, practically cheered with relief and ran straight into the house toward the bathroom, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind him as Fumiko watched, shaking her head.

"Kids these days, honestly… always making trouble… I wonder how Max is doing now. Is he okay out there? Is he being treated well? It's been so long without a single call… honestly."

She smiled with motherly affection and turned to look at the full moon rising in the sky, her eyes filled with longing.

...…

Meanwhile, somewhere in Johto, in the middle of some ruins—

Cough, cough, cough!

"Ah! Max! Are you okay?! Max?!"

A pink-haired girl gathering firewood outside the ruins heard the coughing and immediately panicked. She dropped everything and dashed inside, running to the side of a boy leaning against a crumbling wall, her face full of worry.

Cough, cough… haha… cough! "I'm fine. I just felt a sneeze coming but couldn't get it out. That's why I coughed a bit… Sorry for scaring you."

The boy smiled warmly at the worried girl, his voice calm and soothing.

"Waaah! You idiot! I thought your injuries were acting up again! You big dummy! Next time something like this happens, don't worry about me, okay!? You need to protect yourself! This is all my fault… you got hurt because of me!"

Relieved that he was fine, the girl burst into tears, blaming herself as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey! Rina, don't cry! I'm fine, okay? Don't cry… You're just like my mom sometimes…"

The boy clumsily wiped the tears from her face, muttering in exasperation.

But Rina wouldn't stop—her tears flowed like a broken dam.

Finally, the boy furrowed his brows, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into his arms. One hand hugged her tightly, the other resting gently on her lower belly. His eyes glowed with deep happiness as he lowered his head and whispered:

"We haven't had our wedding yet, but that doesn't change anything. This is my choice—as a man, as a husband, and soon… as a father. I have no regrets for choosing this path, because I love you, Rina."

"...Waaah~~ I love you too, Max!!"