Was it always this bright?

Arthur thought, for a moment, if vision fatigue was a thing in deep dives like UNOVR, but he felt like he had played the game for longer before and not experiencing such a thing. He knew that his eyesight was not perfect, but it wasn't a matter of blurrines–it was like someone had increased the brightness of a TV screen, color becoming shrouded in white.

The sunlight glared at him. Admonished him. He pressed on, undettered, ignorant, in denial.

So he agreed with few words when Ruby mentioned the intensity. He was staring at it right now. He had no idea what she saw in the pile, but it was a look of recognition, of incredulousness. He knew that her stake in the world ran deeper than his, so he dutifully followed, watching her along with her Pokemon as she climbed up the pile. He saw items fall, dislodged from her feet. Trinkets and baubles that had elicited no response from him other than passing interest. When she got down, she had already kept her prize. He wondered what it was for.

He didn't need to be told twice about this place. The thought of this just being a game had run away from him somewhere along the way, and he needed to remind himself of it as a way to get his bearings. He didn't know what Ruby had in mind, but it was certainly not falling asleep in front of him, floating as if she had become a balloon. The Pokemon reassured him that this was perfectly normal, but was it? And more importantly, was it the correct thing to do? They seemed to know more than him, so…

❝I suppose all of us need rest after this is over.❞

Were they even close to getting what they needed? This was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, though it certainly did not feel like it. They pushed deep into this dungeon as if they wanted more than answers, plowing ahead, knocking on death's door to get an audience with the master himself. He had thought, maybe he could stay ahead of everyone still. Maybe if he gambled, maybe if he bargained–

His thoughts are pierced by a whistle, constant and moving. ❝Gou–❞

The Monferno reacted, but he only had a second before the sunlight dimmed, covered by a descent of what looked like paper stars, spinning like wheels. They consume the pile before hurtling towards Arthur and his Pokemon, and even if they were small and thin, there were so many of them that they were pushed out, out, tumbling, stopping before the coil pit, scattered. The trainer groaned, pushing himself up, before suddenly he found that to see was to feel pain, and the cat, the cat–

Light. The world faded from view. It burns, it burns, it BURNS–

He curled his body inward, doubling over, the skin on his right melts; liquid flesh joining the ground and absorbed into the soil, returning to something unknown. In his ears he heard an echo of a heart that was not his, but why did everything feel so real? Where did the echo go? He managed to look up, tried to see through the blinding lights. A familiar figure was in front of him, moving, moving, pulling–(he felt nothing on his hand, but the arm that remained followed, along with the rest of his body)–to flee, it looked like, until, until he was

He was away, at a distance; his vision cleared to a storm of white descending on his Pokemon, his partner, into a shred of a memory that was once there.

He was only half sure that he was screamed.

Fire soon consumed his sight; another Pokemon in place, another person, a voice. And then there was a hand, and he found himself moving without thought, without feeling. He was running. There were voices, but he could not hear. The light fading away, their descent back into the tunnels, meant that he had no excuse to hide behind blindness.

Gou was not there.

He made a deal with the devil and paid the price.

<< Party >>

          

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Progression Bar: 100%

[tangent=-3 (Sarah, Braixen, Pidgeot) -3 (Josh, Rapidash, Charizard) -1 (Kyukon) -4 (Ruby, Indeedee F, Munna, Litten) -5 from Retrieve Crucifix +50 from Fall Back (Sarah Lee) -50 from Run Away]7[/tangent] Resources Remaining

Litten: 390/700 HP

What did you do?

What Sarah Lee chooses near the Nexus Entrance sends shudders through Hibernaculum. The echo-chambers of corridors groan with the weight of her sacrifice as the unstable G.A.Y energies within her body explode outwards in a miracle of ice and fire. It's her last gift as the torch is passed: to Josh Devlin, who screams her name as his Pokemon bear him away, to Kyukon, who thought to bargain with bottomless hunger, and to Ruby, mere Observer no more, but Queen in this world or the next.

Go to War!

So they go, and they go fast.

The tunnels are clear of invasive species, who have either been summoned to Hearteater's Feast or drawn away by the spectacular combat still happening up above. Breath is hot in your lungs, red mist sticky in the air. Hearts beat quickly, unless you traded yours away. Ruby's Munna courses ahead, picking up speed, seeking one last directive: find where the Ultra Beasts took the Corruption.

"⍙⏃⟟⏁! ⊬⍜⎍'⍀⟒ ⋏⍜⏁ ⍀⟒⏃⎅⊬ ⊬⟒⏁!"

Litten slips from Darling's arms, hitting the ground with a clang. He scrambles to his feet and gives chase after the Munna. Its strides seem to lengthen along with its legs, eyes blazing a clear, sky-blue. "☊⍜⋔⟒ ⏚⏃☊☍!"

Munna does not return.

Murmur comes out of an entrance just above a circular dais. The feeling of theater is ambient, as if you are taking a box seat in the upper balconies. Rather than a stage, however, a pool of scarlet mist takes up the entirety of the floor, thick as cotton.

Ultra Beasts swarm through the air, climb the walls, circle blindly like bees in a nest. Most if not all of them bear a catch: a Pokemon, a rare item, or a source of corruption.

Some, unfortunately, seem empty-handed: as they pass, the fog shudders. Tendrils of it spool towards the unfortunate Ultra Beast, ensnaring it, entrapping it— then pulling it struggling down into the vermilion pool. It does not emerge again, though Munna can perhaps still see it struggling faintly beneath the surface.

After several of these, the atmosphere seems ready. The swirling Ultra Beasts slow, taking their places around the dais. A breath is held as the strange fog begins to coalesce into a blood-red form, a monster that swells and bulges and ripples as it takes shape from the mist.

Munna feels teeth in the back of its neck as it is hauled roughly backwards. [tangent="Stay quiet."]"⌇⏁⏃⊬ ⍾⎍⟟⟒⏁,"[/tangent] growls Litten, though it is not-quite-Litten anymore. His breath is cool, and smells of stardust. [tangent="Don't move. I've brought the others."]"⎅⍜⋏'⏁ ⋔⍜⎐⟒. ⟟'⎐⟒ ⏚⍀⍜⎍☌⊑⏁ ⏁⊑⟒ ⍜⏁⊑⟒⍀⌇."[/tangent]

Josh Devlin, Kyukon and Ruby are right behind the lion Pokemon, who sheds the last of his pale Litten shape as he speaks. His body is scarlet as a red star, paws black as the vacuum of space. He is beautiful: but he is not enough.

Not enough for this.

[tangent="Look, if you must."]"⌰⍜⍜☍, ⟟⎎ ⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⎍⌇⏁,"[/tangent] Solgaleo says, tail swishing ever-so slightly. He crouches down. [tangent="It may be our last."]"⟟⏁ ⋔⏃⊬ ⏚⟒ ⍜⎍⍀ ⌰⏃⌇⏁."[/tangent]

HEARTEATER PT.1

7. THE BELLY OF THE BEAST

It lays in a waste of its own sloth.

It does not fly, for all its food is carried to it. Limp, tattered sails of wings droop like rags atop a mass of fat and flesh.

Bloated in indolence, fat on the fruit of its minions' labor. Its eyes are blind and white, bulging from bony sockets. The beast is old. It grays.

As a Pokemon is carried to it, Hearteater stirs. Blindly, it senses its meal. A scrawny neck bends, dipping, creaking, barely reaching past the arc of its bloated body.

Teeth are buried in the living prey, and color floods up and out of the Pokemon. It filters and fissures, like a drop of food coloring in a glass of water, diffusing. Settling.

The Pokemon becomes white and pale. The Ultra Beasts take it away, replacing it with another. This one is clearly Corrupted, its body lithe with tentacles and soot. It makes no difference. The creature drains it, just as before, and reaches for more.

More.

More.

At last, Hearteater is satisfied. Red blossoms across its body, starting from the center of its chest, like a blood clot. It dissolves into scarlet mist, filling the cavern with bloodred smoke.

[tangent="We must go now."]"⍙⟒ ⋔⎍⌇⏁ ☌⍜ ⋏⍜⍙,"[/tangent] says Solgaleo, then more urgently. [tangent="Do you understand? Go! Run!"]"⎅⍜ ⊬⍜⎍ ⎍⋏⎅⟒⍀⌇⏁⏃⋏⎅? ☌⍜! ⍀⎍⋏!"[/tangent]

It seeps towards you. Around you. You sense a PRESENCE, a hungry awareness.

⍙⊑⏃⏁ ⏃ ⏁⟟⋔⟒⌰⊬ ⎅⟒⌰⟟⎐⟒⍀⊬

The unmistakable touch of a Psychic Pokemon.

⌇⍜ ⌇⋔⏃⌰⌰. ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⍙⍜⋏'⏁ ⏁⏃☍⟒ ⌰⍜⋏☌.

A deep pressure, closing in around you. In you. Hearteater's mist, Hearteater's form, it fills your lungs, your nostrils, your mouth. You recognize the presence of something truly alien, something not of this world at all.

Light is building in the cavern. Solgaleo is doing something, charging up an attack. Your vision brightens until it is almost white, stars exploding behind your eyes. The brightness seems to still the process, to shock the mist just for a moment. Not long. But long enough.

<You are about to white out.
COMPOSE MESSAGE? _
@_globalchat>

250 characters remaining

You came here to learn the truth. If you've learned anything at all, this is your chance to pass it on.

When you finish typing, time resumes. The red creeps back in, bleeding from the edges of your vision. SOLGALEO is standing over Ruby, facing her and her Pokemon.

[tangent="I could not have made it this far on my own."]"⟟ ☊⍜⎍⌰⎅ ⋏⍜⏁ ⊑⏃⎐⟒ ⋔⏃⎅⟒ ⟟⏁ ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⎎⏃⍀ ⍜⋏ ⋔⊬ ⍜⍙⋏."[/tangent]

Light collects in the galaxy of his brow: not a Solar Beam, not an attack, but a Teleport. [tangent="Thank you, Dreamer. I will wait, again."]"⏁⊑⏃⋏☍ ⊬⍜⎍, ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔⟒⍀. ⟟ ⍙⟟⌰⌰ ⍙⏃⟟⏁, ⏃☌⏃⟟⋏."[/tangent]

Ruby, Darling, and Murmur feel their bodies stretch and thin, cradled by a second, psychic force that was watching over them all this time. They will not die in this dungeon: they will find themselves back at the Broken Sundial, the Gate to Hibernaculum, with their lives intact.

The great lion stands with color bleaching from his body, wreathed in red miasma. He speaks for the Ultra Beasts, for the colorless Pokemon stolen from Ostellia, and for Sarah Lee.

[tangent="We will wait."]"⍙⟒ ⍙⟟⌰⌰ ⍙⏃⟟⏁."[/tangent]

DUNGEON COMPLETE

Sarah Lee, the Commander, has been trapped in the dungeon

Josh Devlin, the Specialist, has whited out (everworld optional)

Kyukon, the Inheritor, has whited out (everworld optional)

Ruby, the Observer, has been teleported out by Solgaleo

UNLOCKED: NEW ADVANCED SUBCLASS!

THERIAN PLAYER TRANSFORMATION

Some players take on Pokemon in battle. Therians take this more literally. These talented shape-shifters are masters of transformation, either partial (a hand, a claw, a wing) or complete (their entire body). Any Pokemon in their possession is a potential candidate, and a player with this subclass instinctively knows how to read that biological blueprint. Powerful as they are, Therian abilities are fragile: as they take damage, they begin to revert to their true shape again. In alignment with their animalistic natures, Therian's bipedal Pokemon may become quadrupedal upon equipping this class. While transformed, a Therian still uses their Player stats (rarity, class, player tomes) but gains their new form's learnset and Pokemon Type. The Pokemon you can transform into are dictated by your current Tier, and are based on Egg Group. You must have acquired this Pokemon to accurately learn its form. Tier 1 - human-like and monster groups Tier 2 - field, flying, and fairy groups Tier 3 - water 1-2-3 and bug groups Tier 4 - mineral, grass, and amorphous Tier 5 - dragon, genderless, and legendary

Hearteater's blood-red smoke expanded toward Josh like an explosion, sending him flying off his mount. The psychic miasma forced its way into his body, inflicting four figures worth of damage upon the scout and his entire team.

Ulysses suffers 294 points of wound damage, reducing his maximum HP to zero.

Ulysses has been transported to the EVERWORLD.

As his UI faded, Josh caught a glimpse of his team status. Not one, but two of his Pokémon were in Seta's clutches. Ares was with Kyukon . Did he perish protecting the Inheritor? He had to have; there would be no other reason one of his strongest Pokémon just keeled over. Ulysses was understandable; ever since visiting deep Mistra, even for a split second, the Dewgong had been a ticking time bomb, Corruption poisoning reducing his maximum HP. Such a powerful blow, dealing more damage than Ares was capable of inflicting even with a Z-Move, would have sent the ice-type straight to the Everworld even from full HP.

Was this what Josh was going to have to deal with when he went back there to rematch with the Lord of the Flies?

All of a sudden, time stopped as a single text box appeared in the center of Josh's UI, as well as an information prompt and a ticking timer:

Information> You are about to WHITE OUT. You have 45 seconds to compose a 250-character message for your rescuers.
Time> 0'45"00

He only had time to send a single message, and a short one at that:

GlobalChat> Attacking Pokémon with move types that match their colors will free our lost friends. Bring Pokémon with as many attack types as possible. Players: Buy as many tomes as you can.

As he clicked send, the text box slowly faded away, Josh at his pain settings' limit. He was too weak to even say a word. His body disintegrated, dissolved from the inside out by the red miasma.

With extreme dizziness, he opened his eyes to see Thunder and Storm chirping and pecking at him at the THUNDERFALL SHRINE. "Unnnnghhhhhh..." the sick-looking child groaned, waking up to two red UI messages that left him in the heaviest tears he had ever shed since starting the game:

Alert> Ulysses the Dewgong has been sent to the EVERWORLD.
Alert> Ares the Charizard has been sent to the EVERWORLD.

In an emotional melting pot of rage, frustration, and exhaustion, Josh cruelly swatted the two Zapdos chicks away and closed his eyes again, rumbles of thunder preventing him from doing the one thing he wanted to do:

Sleep.