“Kir... Kir... Kir... Kirlia! (What is this place!!)”
Looking at the enormous trees before her, Shiny Kirlia was so astonished she stammered.
“How did we get here? Psychic?”
“No, I didn’t feel any Psychic fluctuations.”
Yu Feng pondered how they had arrived; it didn’t seem like Psychic powers had teleported them.
Instead, it was like… a barrier? But does the Pokémon world even have such things as barriers?
While Yu Feng was deep in thought, Shiny Kirlia noticed something amiss.
“Kirlia. (Big brother, the path we came from is gone!)”
Shiny Kirlia was horrified to discover that the path they had taken had vanished, replaced by an unknown road.
“Hmm, don’t overthink it for now. Let’s make our offering; maybe once it’s done, we can leave.”
Yu Feng glanced at the path that was there moments ago and didn’t find it strange. In fact, although they had entered a barrier, he felt its size was very peculiar.
“Kirlia. (Where do we make the offering?)”
“Are you being silly? That giant tree is obvious enough, isn’t it? And it’s glowing with colorful light.”
In truth, Shiny Kirlia regretted asking that question as soon as she did. Such a massive tree standing there, shimmering with colorful light, practically had the words “I’m here” plastered all over it.
Sure enough, Yu Feng’s gaze was very strange, as if he had seen something rare. He pointed to the ridiculously magnificent tree; it was the most conspicuous thing in this entire space.
With their direction clear, both of them set off towards it. Although it looked quite distant, the actual journey was very short.
The closer Yu Feng got, the more familiar the tree seemed, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Upon closer inspection, the shape of the tree’s branches strongly resembled a deer’s head.
Seeing this, Yu Feng seemed to have an epiphany and slapped his forehead. It was so obvious; it would be a problem if he couldn’t figure it out.
Isn’t this Xerneas in its tree form? No wonder the Clan Leader said they could receive its blessing.
He had been wondering how a shed antler could receive a blessing, but he hadn’t expected Xerneas itself to be here. Is it strange for it to shed antlers?
“Kirlia. (We’re here.)”
From a distance, Shiny Kirlia spotted the stone platform. A pair of antlers, glowing with the same radiance as the giant tree above, rested quietly on the platform.
“So, the next question is, what should we do?”
Yu Feng looked at the empty ground around the stone platform, wondering what they should do next.
The Clan Leader had only told them that making an offering here would grant a blessing, but she hadn’t given them the detailed steps.
“Kirlia. (How about we try placing that crystal on the platform?)”
Shiny Kirlia offered her suggestion; after all, that stone platform was the only place around that looked like it could be used for an offering.
“Let’s try it. Nothing bad will happen anyway.”
Yu Feng placed the crystal on the stone platform, watching the surroundings to see if anything strange would occur.
Sure enough, after he placed the crystal on the platform, a faint pink mist began to rise around them.
“I’m a little sleepy.”
After Yu Feng said this, his eyes involuntarily closed, as if he would fall into a deep sleep the next second. Of course, he didn’t last long before succumbing to sleep.
Not far away, his sister was in the same state, also falling into a deep slumber.
Yu Feng opened his eyes as if he were a drowning man. The surroundings were pitch black, reminding him of when he was inside a Pokémon Egg after first transmigrating.
“This is…?”
Just as Yu Feng felt confused, a colorful light illuminated the dark space.
‘You have arrived.’
Xerneas quietly appeared before him. Although it didn’t speak or use Psychic powers, Yu Feng could understand its meaning.
‘Do not be alarmed. This is your mental space, which can effectively prevent others from eavesdropping on our conversation.’
As if knowing what Yu Feng wanted to say, Xerneas’s gentle voice resonated throughout the space, answering his doubts.
“No, I wanted to ask if you’re female?”
Yu Feng scratched his head. Although Xerneas had spoiled the most important question he wanted to ask, he still wanted to voice his own question.
‘Heh heh, gender is meaningless to me. You may consider me female if you wish.’
Xerneas’s gentle voice answered Yu Feng’s confusion. After all, to it, gender truly had no meaning. But he truly was a bold human, daring to ask Ho-Oh for a feather.
“Then how do Shinny Pokémon appear? Oh, and where’s my sister?”
Yu Feng was still very curious about how Shinny legendary Pokémon appeared. For those with groups, it might be understandable, but how did Xerneas and Ho-Oh, who clearly don’t have groups, become Shinny?
However, suddenly remembering his sister, he also asked about her condition, although he knew she was certainly fine without asking. How many people would dare to cause trouble in Xerneas’s territory?
‘Is that truly your question? How interesting. Traveler, you should know that infinite parallel universes hold infinite possibilities. As for your sister, I believe you already have the answer.’
Xerneas did not directly answer Yu Feng’s question, as knowing its existence meant there couldn’t be too many questions.
“Then I have no more questions.”
Yu Feng spread his hands. He had no more questions now, or rather, Xerneas had already answered everything he wanted to ask.
‘Very well, then it is my turn. Traveler, I foresee multiple great catastrophes in the future.’
‘In the future, I have seen that you are the one who can quell these disasters.’
‘The awakening of the mind, the wrath of the ocean and earth, the collapse of space-time, the struggle between life and destruction, invasions from other worlds, and so on.’
Xerneas spoke to Yu Feng about the future it had seen, a future where this world would experience multiple major disasters.
Each disaster would change the world’s landscape. It had seen in the future that only this child could truly quell their wrath.
“I don’t think I can do it. I promised my mother I wouldn’t do dangerous things.”
Yu Feng shook his head. He had just promised his mother not to do dangerous things; going back on that now would be a slap in his own face.
Moreover, Ash could easily resolve these disasters, so why would they need him?
‘This is a choice of destiny. Whether you are willing or not, you will be drawn into the trajectory of fate.’
Xerneas did not favor Yu Feng’s thoughts. In the countless futures it had observed, Yu Feng had never once been able to avoid these events.