Thanks to Arceus, Kael was able today to remember everything he had done over these years, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
Those were the hands. These very hands were now soaked in blood, both of League members and of individuals who themselves had been cruel and violent.
Arceus looked once at Kael and clearly perceived the state of his heart, but said nothing. It only let out another long sigh.
With its gaze, how could it fail to understand that Kael had been influenced by Giratina? Only, Giratina, after always walking along the river's edge, had eventually ended up wetting its own shoes as well.
He who walks beside the river will sooner or later get wet. Sometimes, intelligent people are harmed precisely by their own intelligence, because they trust themselves too much and underestimate others.
That was exactly what Giratina had done. It had underestimated Kael. No matter how strong he was, he was still only a human, and how could a human possibly represent a threat to it?
The Giratina that had previously shown aggression and a willingness to challenge Arceus, when it truly saw Arceus appear, was unable to gather the courage to oppose it, nor did it have the strength to do so.
Especially when it saw that slightly reproachful look in Arceus' eyes, Giratina's heart was filled with an inexplicable unease.
In Arceus' eyes, it had personally witnessed the births of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, and to a certain extent had always regarded them as its own children.
For that reason, it had wished that Dialga and Palkia, who were natural enemies, could get along with each other, and had also hoped that Giratina, who had always harbored hostility toward it, would learn to direct its attention elsewhere.
But time and again, Giratina had done nothing but cause trouble for both Arceus and the Pokémon world.
The last time, Arceus had already punished it, sealing it within the Distortion World for a very long time, and even then it had still not repented. That made Arceus feel deeply disappointed.
In truth, Giratina also had a somewhat childish side. The more Arceus made it feel that it was still not strong enough nor capable of achieving anything, the more it wanted to do something to prove the opposite.
Arceus opened its mouth. It seemed as though it was about to release a long roar toward the sky, but none of those present, including Cain, heard any sound at all. What they saw was Giratina's body tremble slightly, and behind it a spatial rift opened that led directly to the Distortion World. Then, without saying anything more, Giratina escaped through it with a dejected expression.
Earlier, it had already suffered injuries while fighting the council elder. Then, the Aether Foundation had blocked its connection with the Distortion World, causing its power to decline significantly. Afterward, it was forcibly placed inside the Origin Ball, even damaging its own essence to a certain degree.
The loss of that precious Reverse Scale had not yet fully recovered, and now it had suffered even more damage upon damage. It would probably require a very long time before it could fully recover.
Moreover, Arceus would surely keep a very close watch on it for quite some time, so returning to the Pokémon world would not be easy.
Things do not happen four times in a row. Giratina felt that if it tried again, Arceus would not let it go so easily. The next time, it would probably be met with severe punishment. Because of that, at this moment, its heart was filled with deep defeat.
But Giratina did not notice that, as it returned to the Distortion World, a pair of eyes was fixed upon it, eyes in which hatred was being restrained with absolute madness.
Those eyes belonged to Darkrai, who floated beside Cain.
Cain once again calmed Darkrai. This time Giratina had been gravely injured, so it would not recover easily. If his own strength grew quickly enough, perhaps they could go look for trouble with it before it fully recovered.
Arceus watched Giratina return to the Distortion World, then shifted its gaze toward the people remaining below. It saw the corpses of League trainers and Sacred Church members scattered all over the summit of Mt. Silver, as well as the bodies of a large number of Pokémon, and this caused the kind-hearted Arceus to feel deep pain in its heart.
But the dead do not return to life. That was true for humans, and it was also true for Pokémon. Even it, being Arceus, was unable to alter that fate... unable to break the laws of life that it itself had established.
Even so, although it could not restore life, it could heal the Pokémon who had survived but were injured.
Its body trembled gently, and from it began to fall countless white particles of light. Those lights descended upon the injured Pokémon, and very soon their wounds began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
However, neither the people nor the Pokémon being healed seemed particularly happy, because for them this day had been little less than the end of the world.
Arceus looked upon the scene and once again sighed inwardly, but did nothing more.
Although it was Arceus itself, the god who had given origin to everything, it did not arbitrarily alter phenomena such as aging, illness, or death. Those belonged to the primordial order of the world, to the laws that it had established at the beginning of existence.
Only those who managed to establish a connection of exceptional depth with it, like the council elder, could hope to receive divine intervention.
Cain's Pokémon, Magnus' Pokémon, and even Kael's Pokémon all recovered their ability to fight.
Finally, Arceus looked toward the council elder.
The elder's eyes had turned completely white. It was evident that he was communicating with Arceus.
It lasted only a short time, but when his eyes returned to normal, the elder bowed slightly toward Arceus.
"Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking that single word, Arceus vanished in a flash into the clouds. Cain kept his gaze fixed in the direction where it had disappeared, narrowing his eyes as he sank into deep thought.
"It seems that this time Arceus has also expended a considerable amount of energy. He himself is no longer in his best condition... Sometimes being so altruistic is not exactly a good thing..."
The council elder bent down, slowly picked up the ornament that had been left on the ground, and placed it against his chest. Then he looked at Kael, who still remained motionless in the air, staring at his hands with a lost expression, no longer knowing what direction his life should take.
(End of chapter)