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Sky, earth, ocean.
Humanity, Pokémon, the planet.
The light blooming across the entire Earth converged into a single point, illuminating Aiden at its center with a radiant glow.
But as Aiden called out the name of Sylveon's Z-Move, the two figures shining within the dazzling brilliance suddenly vanished, swallowed by the golden light.
For a fleeting moment, the consciousness of every human and Pokémon looking up at the sky across the world synced to the same frequency, collectively falling into a daze.
The one and only Sylveon Z in the world, personally crafted by the "Grand Craftsman" Tapu Koko, inherently possessed an exceptionally wide area of effect.
Ultra Aura, or rather "Light," itself acted as an amplifier, allowing a move of otherwise average power to suddenly erupt with terrifying force.
Now, Aiden and Sylveon had gathered the light of hope from the entire world. That brilliance completely overpowered the radiance emitted by Ultra Necrozma, swallowing it whole instead.
At this moment, Necrozma—who had gathered all its strength and was preparing to unleash a Z-Move to destroy the world—suddenly lost consciousness.
But when it opened its eyes again—
Those lights that did not belong to it, yet instinctively drew its longing, had vanished in an instant. The world reverted to a sea of darkness.
No—
No!
Noticing the all-too-familiar scene before it, the fury in Necrozma's heart instantly spiked.
This was—its prison!
"Lord Necrozma, please bestow more light upon your faithful believers!"
A human below knelt on one knee, praying to it earnestly.
"Roar—!!!"
Having already seen through the depraved nature of humanity, Necrozma didn't hesitate for a second, immediately preparing to use Prismatic Laser to obliterate the hypocritical human before it.
It had once chosen to believe in humanity, believing that the Creator's creations possessed innate kindness. Thus, it had unreservedly brought the very last trace of light from its body to this corner of the universe.
Yet, what awaited it was betrayal—
The roar did not restore Necrozma's power. Having lost all its light, it couldn't even condense a sliver of radiance; it could only vent its emotions through furious howls.
The "reverent" human below stared at it for a long while before standing up in disappointment.
"It seems the researchers were right. Necrozma can no longer condense light; it's nothing but a pitch-black lump of iron now—"
"But we still need more light, or else even this Ultra Megalopolis won't be able to sustain itself."
"Now, we can only try our luck with the legends."
"Notify the Ultra Recon Squad! Bring Solgaleo and Lunala, who are willing to help us, and attempt to merge them with Ultra Necrozma!"
The human muttered something into a device as they slowly walked away.
Everything was exactly as Necrozma had personally experienced it.
The humans at the edge of the universe had revered it as the "Blinding One." Their ancestors had thrived in the light it radiated, relying on this gift to build the original Ultra Megalopolis.
Yet, humanity had betrayed it.
To extract even more light, they imprisoned its weakened form at the very bottom of the Megalopolis, using it as the core to power the entire city, relentlessly draining the meager amount of strength left within it.
Who knows how long those days lasted.
It wasn't until the day it finally lost its very last shred of light that humanity finally remembered its existence once more.
Then, what happened?
Necrozma pondered with what little sanity it had left, and the scene before its eyes rapidly shifted along with its memories.
Finally, it stopped on the day the "disaster" struck.
The new generation of humans at the edge of the universe knew full well the relationship between Solgaleo, Lunala, and themselves. But for the survival and continuation of their species, they decided to take a gamble.
They gambled that after absorbing the two Legendary Pokémon representing the sun and the moon, a restored Necrozma could still be controlled by them.
Unfortunately for them, they gambled wrong.
"Help!!!"
"Lord Necrozma, please regain your senses! We are your faithful believers!"
"Ultra Megalopolis must not be destroyed! The future of humanity must—"
Boom—!
Having reclaimed its light, Ultra Necrozma was no longer merciful. Endless blasts of Prismatic Laser rained down, quickly reducing Ultra Megalopolis to ruins.
You humans wanted my light so badly, didn't you?
Then fine, let's see if you can handle it!
Reliving the entire process of destroying Ultra Megalopolis, Ultra Necrozma felt no regret for its actions.
Even if it happened ten thousand more times, it would make the exact same choice.
Humans were the pests of this world!
They deserved no sympathy!
Not just for itself, imprisoned underground, but for Solgaleo and Lunala, whom humans so casually sacrificed for their own selfish greed, and for the "Ultra Beasts" who mutated after their light was stripped away—it had to annihilate these disgusting humans!
Standing quietly atop the ruins of Ultra Megalopolis, Ultra Necrozma looked up at the horizon.
The stars were guiding its way.
According to the rules left behind by Arceus, wherever there is a sun, there is life.
And what it needed to do was reclaim all the light it had once scattered, returning the world to its very beginning!
If the Creator had witnessed what it went through, He would never stop it!
A distorted Ultra Wormhole immediately opened before Ultra Necrozma, and the unique aura of Ultra Aura drifted from the other side.
Locking onto its target, it was just about to head to that planet and fulfill its mission.
However, right at that moment—
"I see, so this is why you were driven to madness?"
A familiar human voice came from behind. Ultra Necrozma snapped its head around, its internal core instantly condensing a searing beam of light, firing directly toward the source of the voice.
Boom—!
At such close range, the human couldn't possibly react in time and was immediately engulfed.
The laser beam plunged straight into the ruins, triggering a violent explosion.
Yet, that floating figure did not vanish. When the laser faded, he reappeared before Necrozma's eyes.
"Don't be so hasty. I'm just here to have a proper chat with you."
Aiden smiled at it, spreading his hands to show he meant no harm.
Boom—!
But Necrozma refused to trust humanity ever again, firing countless consecutive beams of light, completely submerging him.
"You can't hurt me."
However, its attacks still failed to have any effect. As the light dissipated, Aiden remained gazing at it calmly, speaking slowly.
"I can understand your grudge against humanity, and I think I also understand why Arceus chose to remain silent this time—"
"The world He built is full of bugs, and in the end, He actually has to rely on the biggest bug of them all to solve the problem. What an incompetent Creator."
Necrozma's pupils abruptly shrank, its rainbow core within the light locking onto the insignificant human before it.
It remembered this guy.
Back on that other planet, it was him and those other detestable humans who had tried to stop it from reclaiming the power it had once bestowed upon them.
But why had it been brought back to this world afterward, forced to relive its past experiences like a fleeting montage?
Ultra Necrozma faintly realized that something was off.
For the first time, it seriously observed the human before it.
Faint specks of light were shimmering from his body. They seemed unremarkable, but the power contained within them actually made the "First Light of the Universe" feel a sliver of dread.
Clearly, this entire situation was his doing, and it seemed there was no way to stop him.
And more importantly—
This guy actually carried the Creator's aura.
Could he have been sent by the Creator to stop it?
Ultra Necrozma's gaze gradually grew complicated.
Even though it was extremely reluctant to interact with humans, at this point, it seemed it had no choice but to hear what he had to say.
[Human, you cannot convince me.]
[Your existence has tarnished the beautiful world left behind by the Creator.]
Aiden neither agreed nor disagreed with its words.
"I'm not trying to stop you."
After all, Necrozma had only interacted with the humans of Ultra Megalopolis, who had tortured it to the brink of madness. Preaching grand ideals to it now would be useless; it was dead set on initiating its human extermination plan.
But letting it go was obviously not an option.
Therefore, Aiden decided to go big. "You were once revered as the 'Blinding One,' selflessly bestowing your light upon the entire world."
"This time, it's our turn—the humans and Pokémon you have blessed—to return that light to you."
With that, Aiden extended his hands.
A gentle light manifested between his palms, drifting toward Necrozma at an excruciatingly slow pace.
Necrozma couldn't understand what he was trying to do, but it could feel it through that light.
This human was actually serious—
He truly intended to gift all the light within his body to it?
It didn't refuse, accepting the gift from the insignificant human with a hint of hesitation.
This feeling made Necrozma's emotions incredibly complicated.
But soon, as the light continuously poured into its body, merging with the light it had already reclaimed, it froze in stunned realization.
Because it was not the pure light it had once created, but rather—
A humble Light of Hope, imbued with profound emotion.
It held no hostility and put up no resistance against being absorbed, easily becoming a part of Necrozma's body.
Because of this, frames of imagery carried within that Light of Hope suddenly flashed before Necrozma's eyes.
It saw a group of humans sitting around a television, glowing with the exact same posture, channeling their willpower unreservedly toward a single point.
It also saw the Pokémon living in the wild—who should have been competing with humans for resources—sharing all the light within their hearts at that exact same moment.
Not just humans and Pokémon, but every blade of wild grass, every forest on Earth, and even the depths of the oceans and beneath the ice all bloomed with radiance in unison. They converted their strength into specks of faint light, transmitting it all toward the very same direction.
Those lights came from all across the blue planet, spreading along countless converging trajectories, until the field of view shifted to the ocean where it had just been battling humanity.
And those elite human trainers, who had been fighting for their lives against it just a moment ago, were now just like all other life, holding the same stance as they channeled their power into the golden orb of light above.
Even the creations of the Creation Deity, which it could recognize, had chosen to stand against it.
Dragons and birds flapped their wings, the soaring Kyogre sang a song of hope, and Groudon on the ocean's surface looked up at the sky—
Necrozma suddenly paused in hesitation.
Because, nearby, it even discovered its own aura.
Its physical body was still huddled up, gathering energy to unleash its Z-Move, seemingly only seconds away from successfully firing it off.
But the world seemed frozen in time. Though it could see its own body from the perspective of the light, it had no way to control it, to deliver the final strike that would end the world.
[What have you done?]
Clearly, only the human before it was capable of this.
Ultra Necrozma stared at him coldly, but the other party simply smiled back.
"To show you the potential of life."
"I know the humans of Ultra Megalopolis did terrible things, but in this world, humanity's existence is acknowledged by all other living creatures."
"Not only have the various gods chosen to trust me, but even the Creation Deity who has returned to the void feels the same."
"Perhaps some humans will make mistakes out of selfish greed, but I believe that humanity ultimately yearns for a better world. That is why they were able to birth a Light of Hope distinct from yours."
"So, please stop, Necrozma."
Aiden's voice made Necrozma's face reveal hesitation.
Precisely because he had transmitted all that light into its body, it could vividly feel that—at least on that planet—humanity was genuinely beloved by all living things.
Those creations of the Creation God, even knowing they were outmatched, stood against it for the sake of humanity and that planet.
Light of Hope—
Necrozma closed its eyes, feeling the warm radiance within its body.
The original light stemmed from the compassion of the Creation Deity.
The universe was too dark; even if life were born, it would only possess a pitch-black, chaotic world.
And so, Necrozma was born.
Inheriting the will of the Creation Deity, it scattered light across the entire universe. It was meant to bring illumination to the world, but it also quietly planted a seed named Hope.
And now, at its most unhinged moment—
This seed had actually made it feel a glimmer of hope.
Necrozma fell silent, but seeing this, Aiden smiled.
At that moment, he knew Necrozma had finally come around.
The ruins of Ultra Megalopolis around them gradually became enveloped in light. As the Light of Hope, identical to the one from before, wrapped around the entire world, a familiar sense of vertigo struck once more.
By the time Ultra Necrozma opened its eyes again, it had returned to its physical body.
This time, however, it chose to willingly spread its wings, converting the energy it had amassed into a much gentler light, showering it across every corner of the blue planet.
[I will choose to believe you this once, Messenger of the Creator.]
Necrozma looked at Aiden, who was watching it with a smile, leaving behind one final, warning remark.
[If the day comes when you lose this light that made me change my mind—]
[Please, do not stop me then.]
"Of course. I promise."
Aiden nodded, watching as Ultra Necrozma flapped its wings, instantly transforming into a ray of light that shot into the cosmos. Only then did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Immediately after, he toppled headfirst off Salamence's back.
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