Clang! Clang! Clang!
Loud hammering sounds echoed from a blacksmith's shop, and after several hours, only the final quenching remained.
"life devouring syndrome…"
But just as Gui Ling was deep in thought about Kirlia, he accidentally hit his finger with the hammer, and a scream once again came from the blacksmith's shop.
"Ow, my god! Ahhh!!!"
After receiving treatment, Gui Ling hurried back to quench the metal, and soon, a brand new tang katana was forged by Gui Ling.
However, Gui Ling couldn't bring himself to be happy looking at the new tang katana; his mind was still occupied with Kirlia's illness.
When Gui Ling came out, Anne and Gengar were already waiting outside for a long time.
"Little Gui, what was that scream?"
"Sigh… I accidentally hit my finger. It's nothing, it's fine now."
"Oh dear, be careful."
The two then slowly walked towards the nearby woods while talking, and once they reached a secluded spot, Gui Ling directly released Yveltal.
"Goodness, is this the Death God, Yveltal?!"
"… … … … (Yes, hello.)"
"It can talk?!"
Anne stood still, gazing up at Yveltal, her heart unable to calm down for a long time. After a while, she finally let out a sigh of relief and turned to Gui Ling, saying,
"You've far exceeded my expectations. You can even capture a Legendary Pokémon."
"Just lucky, just lucky."
Gui Ling could only nod and force a smile, but this made Anne a bit uncomfortable.
"I even said I wanted to surpass you. It seems that's impossible in this lifetime."
"No! I believe Sister Anne and your Glalie will definitely stand at the world's peak."
"Oh, please. You already have a Legendary Pokémon. If I want to surpass you and reach the world's peak, I'd at least have to defeat you."
Just then, Yveltal, who was nearby, spoke to Anne telepathically.
"… … … … (Don't give up. This is something I learned from a book. Such discouragement is not a sign of strength.)"
"No, why do you sound like a scholar? That makes me feel so awkward!"
"Is that so? Thank you, Yveltal."
"… … … … (I'll leave the Banette's Mega Evolution ite to you. I express my gratitude.)"
After saying that, Yveltal slowly bowed its head, which startled Anne greatly.
"No, no, no! I can't accept that! You don't need to bow to me."
"… … … … (You are also Gui Ling's sister. If he ever needs anything in the future, I hope you can take good care of him.)"
"Mhm!"
Yveltal nodded at Gui Ling, and then Gui Ling and Anne said their goodbyes. Everyone embarked on the journey to find Yveltal's Mega Evolution ite.
"Why did you suddenly become so humble? Where's your previous pride?"
"… … … … (The book says…)"
"Oh my god… Is this 'book' thing really that amazing?"
"… … … … (My pride before was what caused you to be so severely injured.)"
"Are you still blaming yourself for that? We're family, it's okay. What's past is past; we should always look to the journey ahead."
"… … … … (Mhm.)"
After walking for some time, the sky gradually darkened. Having no other choice, everyone set up a campfire by the river again. Noivern still took on the responsibility of catching fish, and this time, Gui Ling successfully started a fire using the tang katana, without hitting his head.
"Wow! He didn't hit his head today?"
"Dang dang?"
"Don't get used to it! Are you trying to get a bump on my head every single day?"
"Sound Wave!"
"Alright, thank you, Noivern."
"Frubbit."
"Oh, please. If the river rises, I'll just dive straight in!"
"Gengar…"
"Ah, what's wrong?"
"… … … … (It's going to rain.)"
"What are you talking about?"
The next second, a light rain began to fall, which completely flustered Gui Ling.
"Is it too late to take back what I just said?"
"Frubbit ~"
"Alright, alright! I owe you one. Now, quickly find a new place to set up the tent!"
"… … … … (Is the fish grilled yet?)"
"It's grilled, it's grilled. Eat quickly so we can find a new place. Noivern, please find a spot."
"Sound Wave!"
The river water was exceptionally clear. Frogadier enjoyed swimming in it for a while and brought back many beautiful stones. Among them, Frogadier's favorite was a colorful stone, which it insisted on keeping as a souvenir.
After a long time of tidying up, everyone finally got the tent set up. Yveltal transformed back into the cocoon of destruction and floated in the air, sleeping.
Gengar, Banette, Kirlia, Frogadier, and Gui Ling slept inside the tent. Noivern, being too large, found a tree nearby and slept upside down like a bat, with the leaves blocking the rain.
The others in the tent also began to sleep. Gengar hugged Gui Ling, Gui Ling hugged Banette and Kirlia, while Frogadier absolutely refused to cuddle with everyone and instead lay down at the very edge and fell asleep by itself.
Looking at the sleeping Frogadier, everyone chuckled. Seeing that the usually cool Frogadier also had shy moments, no one forced it, and they all fell asleep.
… … … … … …
In this silent night, only one tent in the dark forest emitted a faint light. But after a while, a Kirlia quietly emerged from the tent, trying not to make too much noise.
As Kirlia moved away from the tent, it slowly exhaled and walked towards the river.
During this time, Kirlia coughed continuously. When it reached the river, it looked into the water using the bright moonlight. In the reflection, Kirlia saw that its mouth was stained with blood, and it had coughed up a lot of blood.
"Kirlia…"
Kirlia looked at its reflection in the water with some sadness. It had had this condition since it was young; every night, it would cough violently, and spitting blood was a common occurrence.
Before, it had always hidden from Gardevoir and the others, and fortunately, it had never been discovered. But Kirlia didn't know what its condition truly was… or how much longer it could last?
The light rain was still falling. Kirlia tilted its head, letting the cool, pleasant rain hit its face, which also eased its fear.
But just then, a black bamboo hat blocked the rain for it. Kirlia was very surprised and turned around sharply, becoming even more flustered when it saw it was Gui Ling.
"You've always known about your condition?"
"Kirlia… Kirlia!"
"Alright, stop pretending."
Gui Ling handed Kirlia today's medical report. Kirlia took it and read it carefully.
"You might not understand this disease: life devouring syndrome."
"Kirlia?"
"This disease is like having a monster living inside you. It will awaken, and when it awakens… you might…"
Kirlia was very smart and immediately understood Gui Ling's meaning. However, this also made Kirlia sigh in relief; Kirlia finally knew what its illness was.
"Kirlia…"
"Kirlia ~"
Hearing Kirlia's reply, Gui Ling immediately became serious, squatting down and holding Kirlia's hands with both of his.
"The word 'give up' doesn't exist in my dictionary. As long as there's hope, I will definitely pursue it! I can't abandon my family! Do you understand?"
"Kirlia…"
"Don't say you're a burden. Since I chose you, I will be responsible for you to the very end!"
"Kirlia."
Gui Ling spoke, poured out a pill from the medicine bottle he bought today, and then personally fed it to Kirlia.
"Here, it can alleviate your illness. Open your mouth, ah—"
"Ah—"
After taking the pill, Kirlia clearly felt its condition improve a bit, and its throat no longer hurt.
"Although this medicine can only alleviate it, I don't believe this disease is incurable. There must be a way."
"Kirlia."
"We two will find a way! Don't forget, everyone is by your side."
"Kirlia!"
"Good, now go to sleep."
Looking at the bright-eyed Kirlia, Gui Ling ran to the tent, took out a guitar, and sat by the river with Kirlia again.
Gui Ling held Kirlia in his arms, and the two of them relied on a bamboo hat to shield themselves from the rain. In this rainy night, a happy mood was revealed.
"Kirlia?"
"You didn't think I had no other hobbies besides forging swords, did you?"
"Kirlia ~"
"Let me think. If I want you to sleep, let's play something gentle."
Gui Ling looked at the guitar in his hands and Kirlia in his arms, thought for a moment, then looked at the light rain of the night. After a while, he slowly strummed the guitar.
"The rain lingers in the sky ~ like tears swirling in eyes ~ this might be the last time we meet ~"
Listening to the beautiful melody and the sound of the light rain, Kirlia's drowsiness immediately set in. It quietly lay in Gui Ling's arms and closed its eyes.
"The past we passed along the way ~ too late to re-enact ~ the embrace has already quietly cooled ~ the sound of the tide drowned out the dusk of parting ~ leaving only the lingering warmth ~ embracing the fading tenderness under the starry sky ~ love can only be complete in memories ~"
The singing passed through the river, through the jungle, as if the entire jungle had quietly fallen asleep, leaving only Gui Ling alone to soothe everything.
"I want to hold you inside me ~ dare not let you see ~ the unshed tear at the corner of my mouth ~ if this is the last page ~ before you leave ~ can you let me rewrite the story ~"