Pokémon The Divine Truth: The Fight for What Matters

Chapter 15

*WARNING* THIS CHAPTER HAS DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE, BLOOD, AND/OR DEATH

The four ran as fast as they could down the hallway for what seemed like minutes until Kori looked back and noticed he could no longer see the light from that room. Hiro fell to the ground, trying to catch his breath while everyone else was breathing heavily as well. Kori noticed how sweaty he was and how his palms were shaking, unsure as to why.

"Will Ceres be okay? Should we go back to help her?" Kori asked.

"We can not go back; we would get in the way," Haru said bluntly.

"He's right. Whatever Haru and Ceres felt causing them to react that way. I couldn't feel it myself, but it was like my body was reacting on its own. Look, my hands are shaking," Hiro said, holding out his hands for Kori to see.

"Is that what I'm feeling right now? Leo, do you think you'd be able to help her?"

"Oh, hell no. I'd be dead if I walked back into that room. If that woman was able to throw Ceres like that, there is no point in me going back."

"Oh... Should we keep going and find the spring then?" Kori asked.

"That's probably the best bet. I don't know if there is another exit, and the one we know about is now blocked off," Hiro said, standing up and knocking the dust off his pants.

They continued to walk through the ruins, looking at all the different depictions along the walls. The further in they walked, the fewer torches seemed to be lit, allowing the darkness to creep in slowly around them. Kori thought about how Ceres might end up getting hurt with no one around to help her. He kept looking back, hoping to see the usual smile she had on her face, saying how easy the battle was in her confident voice. Remembering the look she had on her face when she was face to face with the woman in white made Kori worry even more.

The path suddenly forked in two different directions; however, from the left, they could hear footsteps quickly approaching. Haru stepped up, putting himself between the rapidly approaching footsteps and the others. He then pulled out a Pokéball and threw it, revealing Treecko. Leo stared for a few seconds in disbelief at how Haru, without hesitation, put himself in danger. Leo slowly walked up and stood next to Haru, pulling out a Pokéball and unveiling Charmeleon.

Suddenly, they heard a distorted voice coming from the direction of the footsteps saying, "Cryogonal, use Blizzard."

Leo quickly drew his sword and shield and shouted, "Hurry, get behind me now!"

Leo crouched behind his shield as the others quickly dove behind him.

"Charmeleon, synchronization at ten percent with the fire type," Leo commanded.

His shield began to radiate intense heat as the attack came hurdling towards them. A strong blast of frigid wind carrying snow blew in their direction. The walls began to get covered in a layer of ice, completely blowing out any torches that had been lit, making it difficult to see what was ahead of them. When the Blizzard finally stopped, the four of them stood up and noticed only a small area where Leo's shield had protected them wasn't completely covered in ice. Leo's sword became engulfed in flames as he held it out to see what was in front of him, and from the darkness he saw an Evangelist in the usual black cloak and mask, along with a Pokémon hovering next to them. The Pokémon's body looked like a crystalized structure made of ice. Its body was a reflective blue color in the shape of a hexagon, resembling a snowflake.

"You must be the intruders the Apostle sent a signal about. Cryogonal, use Blizzard again," the cloaked figure commanded in its distorted voice.

Cryogonal began charging up for another attack as Haru's Treecko quickly ran in for an attack.