In a castle in the sky, memories unravel the truth.
There lies Yan, a woman who delves into her ghost-infested past, knowing it will give her the answers she seeks. What she doesn't know: if she stays in her past for too long, she may never wake up...
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In the end, I still don't understand why Hypno cares so deeply about me. As I greet the dawn, I hold back a smile. I need to know his motive. I need to get to the end of this journey and escape. Otherwise, everything we've done is in vain.
It's like a game of minesweeper, really, to clear all that was mine. I long to return to the blank slate before all the mouldy troubles of life invaded me. Clear the path, and you clear the game, but one wrong move, and it's kaboom. I can't afford to make any mistakes now.
Despite my resolve, I feel like a misfit. The air is suspiciously fresh and warm, the ground is baked fine, the shadows of buildings and people pining for each other as I pass them by, a separate entity pursuing no one but herself. The southwestern part of Hearthome is ghost-quiet, even though it bears no association with the landmark on the other end of the city that teems with ghosts day and night. The church must be in silent prayers today, but it doesn't concern me any longer.
Footfalls scatter about the area. Snapping my head clockwise, I spot no soul. The people and Pokémon who have been on the streets have all vanished. I could've sworn I saw them earlier, a woman and her Delcatty, a couple of businessmen, a baker... Mayhaps it is the peal and its echoes. Or it was all a mere hallucination. My eyes dodge the church. They could have all gone there, but it doesn't concern me any longer.
My lonely parade ends in front of a brown building. A peek into its sliding glass doors reveals only pitch darkness. There's no doubt about it. I, a mere woman with no Pokémon whatsoever, am here at the Hearthome Gym.
The doors part for me. I step in and enter through yet another door, a wooden one with two metal strips, only to plunge into a dark room full of Duskull sculptures, their glowing red eyes providing the only light there is. Why I chose to get through this place is beyond me. I am certain I glimpsed a yellow portal tile near the entrance that could've led me to the gym leader Fantina.
My heart wreaks havoc in my chest, but I feel otherwise. I enter a random door, rush through a similar room and reach her. The journey really isn't as harrowing as my past made it out to be, given the dead silence in contrast to the deathly moans of Old Chateau and Lost Tower, the cool compatibility of red and black rather than decrepit, sinister areas with cliché atmospheres. It just shows her lack of a tryhard attitude, which I greatly appreciate. This revamp received praise and sent less trainers panicking and sobbing out of the gym. Her math quiz had been so infuriating for the poor little ten year-olds over-reliant on their calculators they could barely count properly, with how these were unauthorised materials. Else, they entered the wrong doors and left with spirits crushed.
Her gentle gaze seems to linger on my face, asking me, "why are you simply standing by the threshold?"
What truly leaves her lips is a whole other question.
"Why don't you attempt my gym puzzle then?"
I yank a chair over and sit, focusing on the woman's forehead. If anything, that seems to be the most normal thing about her. Her uniqueness comes in four balloon-shaped pigtails and her Drifblim-like fashion, with her purple dress that's accented with white dots while marking a shiny yellow X on her hip.
