Shards Of Sinnoh

Volo ran a hand over a cracked marble podium- the destroyed statue of Arceus' banished child. He'd recited the stories of Giratina with increasing vigor; of a being so violent it was banished for its actions, just waiting for a chance to bare its fangs in defiance at the one who'd forsaken it.

Rei simply listened, intrigued but mildly nervous as to where Volo could be going with this.

"Then," Volo thought aloud, "if such a being were to resurface, to challenge Arceus as it has so desired, where do you think it would do so?"

Rei wasn't sure if he wanted an answer, but without thinking, he turned his eyes up to the looming peak of Mt. Coronet.

Of course... That was where the rift in the sky had opened, and besides, where else in Hisui was so close to the heavens?

Volo chuckled, a harmless, warm action that suddenly gave Rei chills. "Oh, we simply must make for the summit this instant! Be sure to bring those plates we've collected!"

The plates he was referring to, of course, were the strange slabs of earth he'd found throughout his journey. Most were given to him by the great Nobles of Hisui, but the rest he'd found travelling around with Volo.

The two of them had discovered writing on the back of the plates, sharp letters engraved with urgence. They tried to collect all the plates, as Volo had theorized there would be eighteen, but they still had only seventeen.

But with that, Volo left for the summit, leaving Rei to scramble after him, spewing out questions that would not be answered.

At the peak of Mt. Coronet, where the wind whipped around them, was the great Temple of Sinnoh, still left destroyed from previous battles with Dialga and Palkia.

Rei tugged his scarf up, grateful for the warmth provided by his Survey Corps uniform. His breath fogged out in front of him as he watched Volo walk ahead of him.

Volo's quick pace had almost turned to a jog as he came to the dais, practically stumbling over himself in excitement.

Though, if Giratina was there, the two of them certainly couldn't see it.

However, Volo's shoulders did not sink. "You know, ever since I was a young child met with nothing but misfortune, I'd ask myself why things were the way they were." Seeming to not care if he was talking to himself, or to Rei, or to the air, he continued. "And what piqued my curiosity the most? Nothing more than the mysteries found in ruin, in history, in legends. By unravelling these mysteries, I can understand how and why this world came to be. I could even forge a new world, one without suffering!"

Rei flinched. Volo's musings were spiraling into dangerous thoughts, as they so often did.

"And it all came down to Arceus. The Original One, the creator of it all. Surely it could cure this aching curiosity of mine, or so I thought." He sighed, turning to face Rei. "I came to wonder how I could meet a being such as Arceus- the Hisui Region's beloved Almighty Sinnoh. Those plates we've gathered..."

Rei's satchel suddenly felt heavy, like each plate was weighing him down.

"They're fragments of the all-ruling, all-knowing deity I've worshipped all this time!" Another light chuckle escaped his lips, the wind blustering harder around them. He reached for the collar of his coat.

With a bright flash, his blue and yellow Ginkgo Guild uniform was gone, replaced with a pristine white tunic adorned with golden trim and jewelry. He wore green trousers underneath and gold sandals that wrapped around his legs. His blonde hair, normally tied behind him in a tight bun, was left long and loose, seeming to defy gravity imitating the shape of Arceus' head.