8. Ash's Torren Story

Chapter 54: A Battle with Nyx Part 2

Ash and Lillie go past the Hall of Legends, they finally reach the Throne of Hegemon. Ash looks in front of the tower and he says, "A Tower..."

"And I have never seen this before..." Lillie says. "I think this is an original place..."

As they are at the door, they both stop their feet and Ash turns to Lillie, "Nervous?"

"Yeah..." Lillie says with a sigh. "As long as I am with you, there is no need to worry."

Ash nods as he grabs her hand, he says, "We go in together, shall we?"

"Of course..." Lillie says as they walk into the tower, they see the SHE in front of them.

"Ash, Lillie. I've been watching you. I apologize for making you trek here, but I felt it was appropriate to do our business here." She says while standing in front of them.

"You have better tell us where we are and what you want with us." Ash says coldly.

"This is where the worlds are made." She says. "They call me She because they don't know my name, but my real name...is Nyx or Golly. The first one is my actual name, and the second one is the name I gave myself ever since I got here."

"Okay...Nyx." Lillie says. "Now please tell us what is up with you and the cults? Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not your enemy. We're both just in... unfortunate situations. Please, take a seat, and make yourselves comfortable. I'm the leader of..." Nyx hesitates for a moment, then she says, "Well, we have no name. We're certainly not a cult. I have no qualms with your people. As I said, we're all bystanders. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. You've met with the... Timeless, I believe they call themselves, right? The group of trainers that guard the crystal against me? Warriors from spacetime who are bound by the orders of Arceus, or whatever silly speech they have?"

"Silly?" Ash says as Arceus and Giratina appear.

"I feel offended that you will say that word." Arceus says.

"Well...if it isn't Arceus and Giratina...if the situation is right, I would have greeted you. Where was I...oh, they're a stingy bunch. After Arceus gave them the crystal to guard, there wasn't a way to get it directly. So, I helped your brother, Zenith, create the Infernal Cult. It's not something I'm proud of, but you folk are really easy to manipulate."

"So it was you who gave Zenith the Mind Control ability?" Ash asks. "How dare you separate our family just like that..."

"There is no psychological "mind control", just a few psychological...ah, never mind. Point is, we hoped that the mayhem caused would scare the Timeless into using the crystal. It worked even better than we expected. Dozens of cults sprang up, and they leased it to Adam, the First Augur." Nyx smiles. "Zenith was supposed to take his father, the first Augur, down and fetch the crystal for me, but Jaern threw a hitch of my plans."

She shows a frustrated face, "He stole the crystal and stopped fighting the cults. His lust for power really hindered us- there was no way for us to get it back. I had to get more involved. I hired someone from your realm- some amateurish street magician. I told him to shine some lights, release some smoke, and fake a grandiose prophecy. And just as I hoped, he fell for it. He believed that he could take you out easily. ...and just like I predicted, your brother got cocky. The psychological tricks we have don't really work on everyone- least of all someone who was strong enough to be chosen by Arceus and Mew. But Zenith thought they did. And because of that, he lost."

"So you pulled some strings, and the cults destroyed themselves..." Giratina says. "I must say that was a very clever choice."

"The pieces of the crystal slowly returned to me. And now... all the pieces are in this room. I'm monologuing. I apologize. But you deserve to know the entire truth. Lillie, you seem like a smart young girl. What do you know about how the universe is created?"