1. Ash's Story (Part 0: Prologue)

Chapter 13: Legends That Watch Back

Celestic Town did not look like a place built to impress visitors. Ash noticed that before anything else.

There were no shining towers, resort lights, or castle walls. Old paths wound between quiet houses, while the shrine and cave looked older than everything around them.

Lillie walked beside him with both hands clasped near her chest. "It feels like people speak softer here."

Ash glanced toward the shrine. "Maybe it is because of all the legends."

Lillie looked at him quickly. "Do you really think so?"

Ash shrugged, though the cave still made the hairs on his arms rise. "I don't know. But this place feels really old, like people have been telling the same stories forever."

Aurora smiled from behind them. "That is not a bad way to describe Celestic Town."

Adam walked beside her with the Team Alpha documents tucked under one arm. The visit was supposed to be quiet, though Ash knew Cynthia rarely wasted a chance to teach.

Cynthia waited beside the shrine with Tobias and their daughters. Verity stood calmly at her side, while Emily was already waving.

"Ash! Lillie!" Emily called. Cynthia turned with a warm smile. "Welcome to Celestic Town."

Adam greeted Cynthia first, then Tobias. "Thank you for inviting us."

"It is good to see all of you when there is no emergency," Cynthia said. "Celestic is better when guests arrive with questions instead of injuries."

Aurora smiled. "After Purgh City, I will gladly take a day of questions."

Tobias watched Ash with such quiet attention that Ash straightened without knowing why.

"This is Verity," Cynthia said, resting a hand lightly on the older girl's shoulder. "And this is Emily."

Emily waved again. "I already said hi." Verity sighed softly beside her. "She already did."

Ash grinned. "Hi again, then." Lillie gave a small curtsy and immediately looked embarrassed. "It is nice to meet you."

Emily beamed at her. "Mom said you like legends." Lillie brightened. "I do. But I am still learning."

"Then you came to the right place," Cynthia said. "Celestic Town has a long history, and there are still things here that researchers argue about."

Ash looked toward the cave beyond the shrine. Its entrance was dark enough that he could not see far inside. After Eve's recovery in Purgh City, he was not eager to assume that darkness itself meant danger.

Tobias followed his gaze. "The cave is safe if you pay attention and do not rush."

Ash looked back at him, startled. Tobias's expression did not change. "Treat the place with respect, and you will be fine."

Cynthia did not begin the tour at the shrine.

Instead, she led them through the older streets, where several elders greeted her warmly. Emily spent most of the walk facing backward so she could talk to Ash.

"Mom says stories change when people tell them badly," Emily said.

Ash nodded. "That happens with mission reports, too. Someone leaves out the important part, and then everybody gets the wrong idea."

"Or they add extra scary parts," Emily said.

"Sometimes the scary parts actually happened," Verity called from ahead.

Emily made a face at her sister. "That is why you are terrible at bedtime stories."

Cynthia laughed. "And both of you just proved why old stories are difficult."