Awakening

"Spare me! Please, spare me!"

The waiter, pinned against the counter, begged for his life. His legs trembled so violently he looked moments away from collapsing in pure terror. Shiro had drawn a short, gleaming blade, and the glint alone nearly made the man faint.

"Talk," Shiro said coldly. "How do I get out of here?"

"Go... go where?" the waiter stammered, still feigning confusion as he pointed shakily toward the café entrance. "The door's right there…"

Shlick!

The blade pierced clean through the man's arm, driving deep into the solid wood beneath. His face twisted in pain, turning ghostly pale as he clenched his jaw to hold back a scream.

Shiro yanked the knife free and studied the blood on the blade. Then he asked again calmly, without a trace of mercy.

"How do I get back to the real world? Are you talking or not?"

"You... you know this isn't real?" the man whispered, his voice trembling. He tried to struggle free, but quickly gave up—his attacker's strength was far beyond his own.

Shiro wiped the blade clean on the man's black vest and said flatly, "What a joke. I can't even walk out of a shadow. There's no one here but you. That so-called menu looks like a flea market handout... and that 'real leather' sofa back there, the farthest one didn't even load properly. Glitched out, didn't it?"

He leaned in, eyes narrowing. "You really thought I wouldn't notice? You take me for some baby Pokémon that follows people around just because they toss it food?"

"Gro... growwl..."

The waiter hadn't replied yet, but the little Growlithe beside him let out a soft whimper and wagged its tail, clearly feeling targeted by the remark.

Shiro glanced down at the dog, then ignored it, and pressed the knife to the man's forehead. If this guy didn't start talking soon, he'd crack his skull open to see what was really inside.

"Wait, wait!" the man cried, the cold metal against his skin finally breaking his nerves. Given how rough Shiro had already been, he had every reason to panic. If he died here, there would be no one to hear his screams.

"It's just..." The waiter hesitated, catching the deadly look in Shiro's eyes. He sighed in defeat. "There are too many people inside, and the illusions still need to be maintained. The energy from Lord Zacian and Lord Zamazenta isn't enough..."

"And?" Shiro pressed. "How do I get out?"

The man didn't answer.

Instead, his body began to shift. His skin rippled, his limbs shrank, and within seconds, he had transformed into a small, impish creature with a round head—Impidimp.

The Pokémon looked just like the mischievous gremlins from old storybooks. Its limbs were skinny, its face was pink, and its wide mouth revealed a purple tongue and two sharp fangs.

"Oh?" Shiro muttered. He started to get the picture, but more questions rose. "You've got Fairy energy on you. Where did that come from?"

Right now, with Xerneas still in slumber, most Fairy-types should still be dormant. Impidimp may be a Dark/Fairy dual-type in the future, but at this point in time, it should be Dark-type only.

"It's Lord Zacian's power..." Impidimp spoke in a cautious whisper. A strange fear twisted in its chest as it looked up at the human who seemed to know far too much.

What made it even more uneasy was that, despite being a Beginner-level Pokémon, its body couldn't match the human's strength at all. It had no power to resist him.

"Mm..." Shiro nodded slowly, tapping Impidimp's cheek with the back of his blade. Corvisquire on his shoulder kept its sharp gaze locked on the creature, ready to strike if it made a move.

"How do I leave?" Shiro demanded again. "Last chance."

Impidimp looked at him, then at the unfriendly stare from the bird on his shoulder. It let out a helpless sigh and muttered, "You passed. You made it through the trial... Is that good enough?"

The moment those words left its mouth, everything around them collapsed in an instant.

The café shattered like a puzzle smashed by a giant hammer, its fragments plunging into a dark abyss. The street outside vanished into a blur, replaced by that same blindingly white world from before.

The giant, blue-furred hound appeared once more. With an odd, almost helpless look in its eyes, it silently watched as Shiro's body slowly returned to the real world.

Originally, the illusion was supposed to erase a few memories. But Shiro had forced himself to stay conscious until all three of his teammates had collapsed, refusing to close his eyes until the very end. When Zacian tried to rewrite his memories, it realized the process would be more trouble than it was worth. Somehow, two entirely separate memory sets existed within this human's mind.

How had someone like this even been approved to exist by Arceus?

Zacian didn't understand. In the end, it gave up and simply accepted it.

Whatever the case, Arceus always had its reasons.

...

Underground crystal cave.

Surrounded by glowing blue crystal trees, Shiro slowly forced his eyes open.

His head felt like a string pulled too tight, forcing him out of the lingering sleepiness. He clenched his jaw and pushed himself up, sitting upright with effort.

"Ha... ha..."

He breathed hard, finally back to full awareness. The bandages wrapped around his arm fell away as he stood. Around him, the B5 members lay scattered in their gray uniforms, still unconscious.

A familiar voice rang out.

"Draaak!"

Drakloak appeared midair. It zipped around him twice at high speed, confirming he was okay, then stretched out its neck and cried toward the blue crystal forest.

Shiro followed its gaze. There, he spotted the Sableye that had been outside the cave earlier. Now, it lay motionless on the ground like it had also fallen into the illusion and passed out.

But behind it, a long trail of blood stretched across the floor. Its claws were soaked in red.

'It killed people!'

Shiro's eyes sharpened. He sprinted for the cave entrance, but Drakloak grabbed him mid-run and lifted him into the air, speeding through the crystal forest.

Looking down, he followed the bright red trail of blood. Along the path, every B5 member they passed had a gaping wound in their chest.

All of them were dead.

Shiro's expression grew darker. He was worried about Marvin and the others.

As Drakloak landed on a high slope at the cave entrance, Shiro rushed forward and saw that the three of them didn't have any blood on their chests. He let out a breath of relief.

He grabbed Marvin and shook him hard a few times. No response. He placed two fingers under his nose.

"Still alive," Shiro muttered, letting go and dropping Marvin back down. He moved to Nessa and checked her too. She was also breathing.

Then there was Allister. His Dusclops had collapsed as well, and the masked boy lay quietly in its arms.

"No need to check this one," Shiro said as he waved Drakloak over. They took off again toward the blue crystal forest.

He remembered what was hidden deep inside—the decayed sword and shield, legendary relics of Zacian and Zamazenta. Just holding them in their mouths could trigger their transformation into the Crowned Sword and Crowned Shield forms.

"Wooden sword and shield," Shiro mumbled as he spotted the dark bronze altar at the far end, along with familiar indentations for both relics.

He was just wondering why the sword slot was empty when Drakloak suddenly descended. Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro noticed the wooden sword lying on the ground nearby.

Hovering above, he reached for the wooden shield, but stopped himself.

He had already broken free of the illusion once. It was unlikely he'd fall into it again. Still, caution was necessary. Touching the relics might not only trigger a response from within him… it might also awaken the others.

Especially that Sableye still lying in the crystal forest.

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