The deafening roar of explosions and screams still rang through the hall as shrapnel and crackling energy rained down from overhead.
Chandelure hovered in front of Kairos, its ghostly red flames rippling like something alive, creating an invisible shield that batted away every piece of deadly debris.
Its earlier strike had been absolutely devastating. The Iron Jugulis and Iron Hands that had been charging at the front lines went down the moment those flames touched them.
Their massive metallic bodies lay motionless on the ground, covered in scorch marks, completely out of commission.
But the crack in the dome kept spreading, and more Paradox Pokémon came flooding through.
Their objective was obvious. Ignoring the panicking crowd, they made a beeline straight for the massive energy crystal pillar at the center of the hall.
The League guards and their Pokémon fought tooth and nail. Magnezone's electric attacks and Magnemite's magnetic bombs cut through the air, but they barely put a dent in these powerful mechanical creatures.
Colonel Walker's Electivire bellowed as it fired Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt, temporarily driving back an Iron Valiant, but more Iron Bundles unleashed waves of Freeze-Dry, instantly encasing another guard and his Electrode in solid ice.
The power difference was just too extreme. The League forces couldn't hold them back.
The whole situation was pure chaos. Even though Kairos's Chandelure was overwhelmingly strong, protecting both him and Alicia while simultaneously clearing out all the invaders *and* sealing the breach? That was asking too much.
After all, Chandelure wasn't exactly built for area control and defense.
Kairos quickly sized up the situation and grabbed Alicia's wrist.
Her face had gone pale, those ice-blue eyes still wide with shock, but years of leadership had given her the composure not to fall apart completely. Instinctively, she moved closer to the strongest presence nearby—that mysterious Pokémon that had just turned the tide in an instant, and its Trainer.
"We need to get out of here."
Kairos's voice came through muffled behind his mask.
"This place is way too exposed. Your guards won't last much longer."
Alicia nodded immediately. She glanced at the guards still fighting desperately and the retreating League forces, biting her lip.
"There's an emergency safe room in the basement of this building. Independent power, defense systems—the works. We can hole up there."
"Let's move."
Kairos kept it brief.
"Chandelure, clear us a path. Keep them off us."
The flames in Chandelure's eyes flared brighter, and a more concentrated ring of ghostly red fire rippled outward from its core, forcing back several Iron Valiants trying to close in.
It floated ahead of Kairos and Alicia. Any Paradox Pokémon that got too close either got scorched by casually released flames or got hit with Confuse Ray, temporarily taking them out of the fight.
Kairos pulled Alicia along, and with Chandelure running interference, they quickly made their way across the chaotic hall toward a nondescript emergency exit.
Metagross stayed glued to Alicia's side, its powerful psychic barrier forming a secondary shield, deflecting any stray attacks that slipped past Chandelure.
Once they were both inside the passage, the heavy alloy door slammed shut behind them, temporarily cutting off the chaos and danger outside.
The corridor was dimly lit, with only emergency lights to guide their way.
The two of them and their Pokémon moved in silence for a stretch, then took an elevator that needed special clearance to operate, descending into the underground levels.
When the elevator doors opened, Kairos found himself looking at a sparsely furnished but well-equipped safe room.
The air filtration system hummed quietly. Soft lighting illuminated the compact space. Kairos spotted basic sleeping quarters, communication gear, and emergency supplies stocked inside.
Only then did Alicia seem to relax a little, her body swaying slightly as she leaned against the nearby metal wall.
She looked at Kairos, her eyes filled with gratitude, confusion, and profound shock.
"Thank you for saving me. You..."
Her voice carried the shaky relief of someone who'd just survived something traumatic.
She paused, her gaze settling on Kairos, still wearing that iron mask, then shifting to the Chandelure floating quietly beside him, flames swaying gently.
"That Pokémon, and you... who exactly *are* you?"
"I've never seen power like that before."
Alicia swallowed hard. From what she'd just witnessed, even the League's top-tier forces would look completely outmatched.
Kairos didn't answer her question directly. He reached up and removed the iron mask, revealing his actual face.
His real appearance beneath the mask made Alicia's eyes widen. She hadn't expected the Trainer of such a terrifyingly powerful Pokémon to look so young.
Even younger than her.
"Who I am doesn't really matter."
Kairos walked over to a chair in the rest area and sat down, cutting straight to the chase.
"What matters is the Genesis Engine."
Alicia straightened up immediately, pupils contracting, suddenly looking at him with clear wariness.
"You... you know about the Engine? Who told you?"
"I came from the Watchers."
Kairos answered honestly.
"I know the Friendship Faction wants to wipe out the surface, the Maintenance Faction just wants to preserve your current way of life, and you're trying to find a more stable path forward."
"But Miles should've also told you that forcing the Engine to activate has over a ninety-seven percent failure rate. Best-case scenario? Most of the Lower City collapses. Worst case? Everyone dies together. Right?"
Alicia's face went even paler. She slumped against the wall, rubbing her temples.
"I know. Of course I've read the reports."
"But..." She lifted her head, eyes full of helplessness and crushing pressure.
"But we're running out of time. Walker and the others are pushing way too hard. The threats from the surface world—like those monsters you saw today—they give the warmongers all the justification they need to take desperate risks."
"If we can't figure out how to safely use the Engine, or can't deal with the surface threats, then even if I fight it with everything I've got, the Engine's trial run on 'Purification Day' one month from now is happening no matter what. I can barely hold them back anymore on my own."
Her tone revealed deep exhaustion, with an undercurrent of utter powerlessness.
Kairos studied this nominal supreme leader of the League, understanding her predicament pretty well.
It was inevitable, really.
But where there were problems, there were solutions.
"So the real issue is still the surface world."
Kairos grabbed an unopened juice bottle from the table and gave it a shake.
"If the surface world doesn't pose a threat to humanity anymore, and people can actually return there, then there's no rush to fire up the Genesis Engine, right?"
Alicia gave a bitter laugh.
"Easy for you to say. But you saw those things. They're way too aggressive. Our forces don't stand a chance. The surface world is completely uninhabitable for us right now."
Kairos cracked open the juice and took a sip, then asked:
"So you're telling me you've investigated thoroughly. Are *all* surface-world Pokémon aggressive? Are there any friendly ones at all?"
Alicia hesitated at the question.
"Well, not exactly. Our reconnaissance ops took heavy losses and didn't gather much intel.
Most encounters were brutal. Those Pokémon... especially those metallic monsters you just saw... they only know aggression. There's absolutely no way to communicate with them."
"As for friendly ones..."
She shook her head, indicating the League had never encountered any.
Kairos fell into thought.
The appearance of Ancient Paradox species was weird enough, but now even more aggressive Future Paradox species showing up? There had to be other factors at play. It was way too abnormal.
He had a feeling the situation on the surface world might be more complicated than what the League had scouted—maybe even more than what he'd briefly glimpsed on his last visit.
He considered for a moment, then looked up at Alicia.
"Give me some time. Before I get back, no matter what happens, you need to delay the Engine's activation. Can you do that?"
Alicia frowned at his words.
"Time? Where are you going? What are you planning to do? I can't risk the League tearing itself apart just because some stranger told me to wait..."
Kairos didn't bother explaining. He simply pulled out the Seed of the World from his system inventory.
Warm, vast life energy instantly flooded the entire safe room. Soft, vibrant green light pushed back the stuffiness of the underground space.
Alicia shot to her feet, eyes practically bulging out of her head.
She stared in disbelief at the seed in Kairos's palm.
This energy. So pure, so powerful.
As League Chairman, she'd witnessed countless exotic energy sources, but she'd never felt energy fluctuations this refreshing yet this intense.
"If I can't find a solution in the end..."
As he spoke, Kairos put away the Seed of the World, and the radiant life energy vanished with it.
"Using this should completely stabilize the Genesis Engine's energy, right?"
"So just wait for me to get back."
Alicia stared blankly at Kairos, then at his now-empty hands, like she still hadn't processed what she'd just felt.
The shocks this young man kept hitting her with came one after another, completely beyond anything she could wrap her head around.
The quiet confidence in his tone and that incredible object he'd just casually shown off made her realize this might be the only hope of breaking the current stalemate.
She took a deep breath and finally made her decision, nodding firmly.
"Alright. I'll trust you. I'll do everything I can to buy you time. But please hurry..."
"If there's anything I can help with, just tell me."
***
After leaving the safe room beneath Starlight Hall, Kairos put his mask back on and, with Chandelure running cover, quietly made his way back to a relatively safe area.
He found a secluded corner and started organizing his thoughts.
The Genesis Engine's origins, the power struggles within the League... he had all the key intel now.
Time to check that progress.
With a thought, he pulled up his panel. Sure enough, the progress bar for [Current World Background Exploration] had hit ninety percent.
Clearly, only one final question remained: the reason behind the Paradox species' appearance.
Why were there Ancient *and* Future species?
Why were the Future ones so viciously hostile?
Did they have any connection to the catastrophe that forced humanity underground?
Turning this over in his mind, Kairos pulled out his communicator and contacted Dr. Lila.
The call connected quickly. Dr. Lila's face appeared on the screen, her laboratory visible in the background. She looked worried—clearly she'd heard about the banquet incident.
Kairos gave her a quick rundown of what had just happened, leaving out specific details of his conversation with Alicia, then asked about that catastrophe.
"You mean *that* disaster..."
Dr. Lila looked momentarily stunned, then gave a rueful smile.
"The higher-ups and the scientific community all know, basically. It's actually not that complicated.
It was simply the old civilization over-exploiting surface resources, which led to a total ecological collapse. Severe climate shifts and geological instability made the surface unlivable in the short term."
"After the League was established, to keep morale up, they kept parts of the truth under wraps, kept the disaster's causes vague, and played up how dangerous the surface was. Wait, why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"No particular reason, just seemed a bit off to me." Kairos didn't elaborate, thanked her, and ended the call.
Over-exploitation leading to ecological collapse?
While that explanation sounded reasonable enough, Kairos felt like it was too simple.
Especially when combined with the appearance of Paradox species. He couldn't shake the feeling there might be some connection between the two.
But Dr. Lila genuinely didn't seem to know more.
Looked like he'd need to visit the surface world again to find real answers.
Speaking of the surface world, Gouging Fire's image naturally came to mind.
Right. The Divine Pokémon Encyclopedia mentioned that Gouging Fire absolutely *hated* the sounds Future species made.
Maybe it knew something about these Future species?
The Phoenix Feather wasn't fully charged yet, though, so seeking out Gouging Fire directly still carried some risk.
But thinking back to their first meeting, Gouging Fire hadn't shown any hostility. More like scrutiny and curiosity toward him.
Plus, with the Mythical Resonance ability he'd pulled from Cynthia's side, it should be fine, right?
After brief consideration, Kairos made his decision.
Worth a shot.
That said, visiting a Legendary Pokémon empty-handed seemed pretty rude.
Even casual visits required bringing something. Basic courtesy and all that.
Kairos recalled the detailed info about Gouging Fire from the Divine Pokémon Encyclopedia.
Extremely territorial, naturally aloof, absolutely despised chaotic metallic noise and unnatural energy pollution.
Also: "Preferences: Enjoys consuming Molten Crystals and items containing pure Earth energy."
Molten Crystals... items with pure Earth energy.
Kairos started digging through his system inventory.
He had plenty of items he'd gotten from previous draws, stuff he'd set aside as game rewards.
He found several Fire-type evolution stones and type gems. Gouging Fire might appreciate those.
But after combing through his entire inventory, Kairos couldn't find anything that clearly contained Earth energy.
This was a problem.
Should he do another draw and hope for the best?
But thinking about it, he wasn't flying solo anymore.
This world's League Chairman, Research Director, underground resistance organization... they were all on his side now.
Maybe they had rare energy items like that?
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones