The Golden Throne

Chapter 49: There can be only one

A cold breeze pricked Hilbert's skin, ushering him to wake up. Slowly, he opened his eyes. His vision was still blurry, but he could tell it was dark. He sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. He got up, stretched and yawned.

"Hilda?" he called out. There was no reply.

He opened his eyes and they began adjusting to the darkness of the room. The only source of light was coming from a streetlamp outside the room's window. Something was amiss. He looked at the wooden floorboards, then at the desk, and the television by the wall. He glanced back and saw the bed with his crumpled blanket.

He knew this place.

He walked over to the wall where a picture of him and his father was hung. His room was just as he left it. He heard the sound of someone talking outside. He rushed to the window to have a look. His hometown of Nuvema looked terrible. Overgrown weeds were sprouting everywhere, and the signboard that presented his town's name was rusted. It was night, and the streets were dimly lit by flickering streetlamps. He glanced at Cheren and Bianca's houses- their lights were on, but the paint of both houses were faded, with cracked walls where creepers had begun to grow.

Hilbert descended the steps of his house. "Mom?" he called out.

No one replied. The living room of his home was a mess. Books and papers were strewn about on the floor, along with upturned chairs and tables.

"Mom?" Hilbert said again, worriedly this time. He burst out the front door. "Mom!"

At the corner of his eye, he could see the figure of an old man, watching him. Hilbert turned towards it- but there was no one there. He blinked his eyes a few times, thinking it was his eyes playing tricks on him.

He heard a woman's scream. He knew that voice- it was Professor Juniper's! He glanced to the source: her laboratory. Its lights were on, but the building too was in a sorry state.

"I'm coming, Professor!" he yelled. He reached for a Pokeball and charged at the door. It opened, and he fell face first to the floor. Hilbert groaned and pushed himself back up. But instead of seeing the interior of Professor Juniper's laboratory, he was looking at a street in a town. He looked over his shoulder and saw an open door behind him. He seemed to have fallen out from the front door of a house.

He turned his attention back to the street. It was still dark, and people were going about their daily business. A noticeable number of beggars filled the street. Young ones- children- desperately ran up to any passerby for alms, while the older, experienced beggars seemed to have lost their vigour and lay hopelessly on the side of the road or by the entrance of alleys. As for the common folk, they watched everyone around them with suspicious eyes. Hilbert noticed a man walking down the street who looked over his shoulder a few times, and he saw a mother ushering her children to enter their home. She looked behind her with wide eyes and her brow in a furrow- to make sure she wasn't followed. Then, she slammed the door shut, followed by the sounds of several locks sliding in place.

"Excuse me." Hilbert approached a passerby. The passerby didn't seem to notice him. Hilbert saw another person coming his way. "Hey, which city am I..." and the person passed him before he could even finish his sentence.

Deeper into the city, beyond the street, Hilbert could see the towering figures of buildings, churning out a black smog into the air. Deeper still, and, Hilbert could see the shape of a tall palace. He turned around and saw a signboard with the words:

Welcome to Riplienn City, the jewel of the Kaiserin.

A child's high pitched cry caught Hilbert's attention. He turned to the source of the commotion and saw a young girl whose wrist was caught in the vice-like grip of an armoured guard. There were three guards, and beside them was a thin man who had his arms crossed. The girl was crying out in pain as the guard twisted her wrist, chuckling gleefully as he did.