Love in the Time of Trepidation

Chapter 1: A Nightmare

Welcome! This is certainly the unexpected story, no? Well, maybe not that unexpected. If you know me from the rest of the Ancienverse, you may have anticipated this, in which case I hope you enjoy it.

If, however, you found this because you were searching for fics based on Legends Arceus, fear not! You've still come to the right place! As a prequel to the Ancienverse, this can be seen as almost entirely standalone. Some call-forwards will be present, but none of them are required to understand this story, and you can enjoy this as is. I hope you do! Just know it's set in the anime universe, rather than the games. That's about it.

So, that out of the way, this story is a prequel to the Ancienverse. Book 0, if you will. It's also a loose take on Legends Arceus. No isekai, for example. It's also a bit of a darker take. That said, I hope it's enjoyable. And given I've wasted enough of your time, let's just jump right into it!

Author: Epicocity

Rating: T for violence and language

Pairing: Adaman/Irida

Cover art done by XDiamondX90! Please read his work Maverick's Sinnoh Adventure and review it when you have the chance!

DISCLAIMER: Nope. Don't own.

Love in the Time of Trepidation

Book Zero of the Ancienverse

Chapter 1

A Nightmare

It was the end of the world. They just didn't know it yet.

Lightning flashed, golden, yet white-hot. It burned into the ground, scorching wood and dirt. Flames licked the houses, a plume of smoke rising towards the night sky. The moon and starlight were obscured, its very visage stained with bloodlike flecks dancing amidst the embers.

And the shadow, set against the backdrop of flames seared itself into her mind.

"Oshasha..." The doleful cry of the Pokémon, wounded from the flames, brought her gaze away from the stars, to the burning village around them. She held him in her hands, his tiny form weak.

"Look out! It's collapsing!" Every voice was muddled, as if lost in the fog and shadow. Her head hurt, and her eyes were nothing but the same fire that was burning itself into her retinae. There was another shout, but it might as well have been lost with all the rest. A form tackled her, a large bird that brought her out just before the wood collapsed into cinders and splinters.

"...okay? Are you okay?!"

She said nothing. Her eyes hurt, widening at the ravaged village before her. Houses were gone. Lightning was striking. And the faces of the dead stared up at her. From where she had been pulled, two of them had reached out for her, pushing her away. They looked like her.

She could speak nothing, and as she turned, the deep shadow lashed out with a guttural cry, as if seeping through a crack it wanted to rend.

"Akari!"

A gasp exuded from her lips, and Akari flung upwards. Her dark gray hair was propelled with the movement, every breath like one trying to come up for air. It drooped in front of her face once it settled, covering the curtain of her gray eyes, a situation made worse when a blast of water hit her face. Akari blinked.