area51novel Page 78
Page 78
The closer they got, the weaker the spatial distortion, originating from the outside world and powerful enough to tear their souls apart, became. The instant the Alola Ninetales' forepaws finally touched the edge of that continent, all the chaotic, violent, and distorted sensations were completely shut off in an instant.
The world fell silent.
As Lin Che flipped off the back of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the moment his feet touched the solid ground, an unprecedented sense of security surged from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
He staggered and almost fell to his knees. The Nine-Tailed Fox beside him collapsed, panting heavily, unable to move even a single tail.
Lin Che supported himself on the ground with one hand, breathing heavily and greedily inhaling the air.
An indescribable, strange fragrance, a blend of the freshness of grass and trees and the coolness of crystal, entered his nostrils and quickly soothed the throbbing pain in his mind that was on the verge of boiling.
He looked up and began to survey this haven in the midst of despair.
Beneath their feet lay a massive, flawless crystal slab, its surface as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the eternal, unchanging chaotic galaxy above.
Space is no longer distorted.
The energy is no longer raging.
This is a floating island forgotten by time, an isolated oasis adrift in a chaotic dimension.
As far as the eye could see, many strange plants grew that he had never seen before. They did not have the branches and leaves of ordinary plants, and their shapes were more like coral or fungi. They had a translucent texture and emitted a soft blue or purple light, making the whole oasis dreamlike and peaceful.
And at the very center, the very core of this oasis—
A huge, crystal-clear crystal floated silently in mid-air.
Its diameter exceeds ten meters, and its overall shape is a perfect wishing star. Every edge has been meticulously polished, reflecting the faint light emitted by the surrounding plants and radiating a diamond-like brilliance.
Lin Che's breath caught in his throat the moment he saw the crystal.
His pupils contracted uncontrollably to their maximum size.
Inside that enormous crystal core, in the center of that purest light, a petite figure was curled up, fast asleep.
Lin Che had only ever seen its appearance in the oldest books and the most ethereal legends.
Its entire body is pale yellow, and its head extends in a peculiar shape resembling the trajectory of stars. Three wishing slips covered with unknown ancient characters hang on its forehead.
It slept soundly with its eyes closed and its arms wrapped around itself.
On its flat belly, an equally tightly closed, upright "eye" is imprinted.
That's a legendary Pokémon that awakens once every thousand years and can grant any wish.
That was a member of the divine realm.
—Kirachi!
An invisible, vast, peaceful yet inviolable aura, like mercury spilling across the land, enveloped the entire oasis. Before this aura, Lin Che felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.
He didn't even dare to have any disrespectful thoughts.
But the instinct etched deep in his soul led him to make the only choice.
"【Eye of Truth】, activate."
Lin Che's vision was instantly covered by an invisible stream of data.
However, when his gaze fell upon the sleeping Jirachi, the expected data panel did not appear.
Instead, there was a garbled string of flashing gibberish and a series of glaring question marks.
【Target:???(???)】
【Race:???】
【property:???】
【grade:? ? ? 】
【characteristic:???】
【Skill:???】
The system's analysis module, the moment it comes into contact with the target information, is like a truck that has crashed into a high wall, completely collapsing and becoming ineffective.
Immediately afterwards, two lines of scarlet notes with the highest priority popped up abruptly.
[WARNING: The target's lifecycle is far beyond the system's analytical capabilities!]
[Analysis Report: The scattered 'stardust of destiny' in this area has been determined to be energy crystals formed when the 'wishing power' within the target's body unconsciously dissipated during their slumber and combined with the surrounding spatial energy.]
Fate/stay night.
These four words, like a thunderclap, exploded in Lin Che's mind!
His gaze abruptly shifted from Kirachi to the roots of those strange, glowing plants.
There, tiny, translucent crystals, like fragments of starlight, were quietly scattered, inconspicuous.
These are the "stardust of destiny" mentioned in the system report!
These are the crystallizations of the "wishing" power that Jirachi unconsciously released!
Lin Che's body began to tremble slightly.
It wasn't because of fear, nor because of exhaustion.
It was an overwhelming, irrepressible ecstasy that surged from the depths of the soul!
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, using the pain to force himself to maintain his last shred of rationality and not make a sound due to the intense emotional turmoil.
found it!
He finally found it!
That legendary item that people searched so hard for, even venturing into such a perilous dimensional rift, just to find a glimmer of hope!
That ultimate treasure that can break free from fate and unlock the perfect form of Ralts' destiny!
After confirming that the sleeping Jirachi showed no signs of waking up, Lin Che immediately began his operation.
He held his breath.
In this oasis where time seems to stand still, every step must be precisely calculated. The strange plants beneath his feet emit a faint glow, as if life has been frozen. He bent down, his fingertips carefully picking up a luminous crystal from the root of a crystal-like plant.
Fate/stay night.
It feels cool to the touch, yet it contains a strange rhythm, as if you are holding a heart with a weak pulse.
This is a mysterious power capable of interfering with fate; even a trace of it is enough to drive anyone in the outside world mad.
Lin Che's movements were extremely gentle, as if afraid that the slightest tremor would break the eternal silence here.
One grain.
Five grains.
Ten pills.
As he collected the thirteenth stardust grain into a specially made container, preparing to continue exploring the depths of the oasis, he caught a glimpse of an incongruous gray hue out of the corner of his eye.
He stopped.
On the edge of the oasis, in a corner shrouded in the shadow of giant ferns, several statues stand quietly.
No, that's not a statue.
Lin Che's pupils contracted slightly.
It was a monstrous force, its muscles bulging to the extreme. Its four arms were not in an attacking or defensive posture, but rather twisted in a futile, desperate attempt to break free from some invisible constraint. Its head was raised high, its mouth wide open, as if emitting a silent roar, every muscle fiber etched with extreme fear.
· ········Requesting flowers· ········
Beside it stood a cross-bat. Its enormous wings were stiffly spread, not in a flight posture, but forcibly pinned in mid-air by some force; the bulging veins were even visible on its thin wing membranes. Its mouths, covering its entire body, were frozen in a moment of horrified scream.
They are petrified.
It was sealed away by some incomprehensible force, along with the most primal fear of wanting to escape from this place, and became an eternal fossil.
At their feet, a Poké Ball lay quietly.
It was also made of gray stone, cold and lifeless, even the switch button in the middle had lost all its luster.
A chill crept up Lin Che's spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
He didn't touch the petrified Poké Ball with his hand.
Intuition was sending a sharp alarm to his brain.
"Zhixing".
Lin Che's voice was extremely low, almost entirely consisting of changes in lip movements.
In the group, Alakazam—Chishin, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
"Approach it with the gentlest of mental strength."
A pale purple aura of psychic energy emanated from Zhixing's body. Instead of transforming into a sharp blade, it condensed into a psychic tentacle, thinner than a hair and almost invisible, which carefully and gently reached towards the petrified Poké Ball in an almost caressing manner.
Time seemed to slow down infinitely at that moment.
... . ....
Lin Che could clearly see how the tip of that psychic tendril gently and effortlessly touched the cold, rough gray surface of the Poké Ball.
It's now!
Om-!
There was no sound, yet it resonated in my mind like thunder!
A flood of memories that did not belong to him at all, a torrent of memories filled with sadness, despair, regret and endless fear, broke through the dam of his consciousness without any buffering.
Lin Che's body stiffened abruptly, and everything before his eyes faded and peeled away in an instant!
Instead, there is a final scene belonging to another person.
……
In the memory, a man dressed in heavy exploration gear and well-equipped was stumbling into this oasis. His eyes, like Lin Che's at first, were filled with the shock and ecstasy of discovering a new continent.
He saw the plants emitting a faint glow, and he saw the traces of time left here.
He was very unlucky.
His arrival, the sound of his footsteps, the faint breath he created, disturbed the sleeping gods.