Petyr stepped forward and shook Professor's hand.

"I am Simon, an ancient-Pokemon enthusiast," the Character told Elm. "This here is my good friend, Desmond Jones, a great, yet quite a humble explorer of the ancient ruins and histories. On his side is Priestess Shae of the Ancient Temple of White Snake.

"We have made quite a discovery on an island, hidden far away in the ocean, and have come right away to you. If it wasn't for saving Pokeball Expert Kurt's granddaughter from some evil people who had kidnapped her, we would have arrived here sooner. Quite a grateful man, Kurt. See, he even gifted Desmond a set of custom-made Pokeballs."

Professor Elm didn't give a damn if they had arrived late, Kai could tell. But the mention of saving Kurt's granddaughter did bring some change to his youthful face. Professor Elm's eyes went to the belt on Kai's waist (-the butler was already looking at them-) and exclaimed. "Oh! Are these the Pokeballs made from the Apricorns?"

Kai smiled and nodded.

"May I see the Pokemon now?" Professor Elm suddenly snapped back to the topic. It seemed nothing other than his research could occupy him for long.

Kai admired this attitude from his heart.

The smile on Petyr's face vanished. "The Pokemon's state is quite grievous, Professor," Petyr said gravely. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to take it out here in the open."

"Oh, yes," Professor Elm agreed. "Come to my lab. Burt, don't let anyone in, and shift all appointments to tomorrow."

The Butler didn't seem happy about it but bowed and left the group.

Meg let out an audible sigh in Kai's ears.

They followed Elm to his lab.

It was a large spacious hall filled with all kinds of high-tech equipment.

For the first time, after resurrecting, Kai felt a touch of home from this place. He took a deep breath and his mind wandered to the time when his mother had used to teach him to operate pieces of equipment. Though it wasn't like she had any other choice, Kai could remember. But his curiosity was so high that often she had found him wandering around her lab, gawking.

"Here," Professor Elm said, hurriedly passing some stools. "Now, can I see it?"

Kai looked at Meg, who crouched to pick up the paper insects and nodded at him.

Petyr didn't speak this time. Yet, a voice rang in all minds, nonetheless.

-/Hello Professor Elm,/- Kai said, smiling, a silver mist bursting out of him. -/Let me introduce you to the Ghost Serpent./-

Professor Elm jerked up from his seat.

A tingling sensation crawled across Kai's body as Selene materialized and slithered around his shoulders, keeping most of her body towards the group. She hissed, yawned, turned her head from left to right, and then up and down as if showcasing her figure. It was all according to the plan.

There was such a shock and awe on Professor Elm's face that Kai almost felt bad about interrupting his thoughts.

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-/Professor Elm, on that island, there was an old village whose people worshiped the White Snake,/- Kai said, and finally caught the professor's attention.

"How are you doing this?" Elm asked, more curious than afraid. "How are you speaking directly into my head? Is it some kind of telepathic ability? Are you even human?"

Kai smiled ruefully.

Petyr tapped his cane, and the heads turned towards him. "I would request you to sit down, Professor Elm," he said, smiling. "You do want to know the origins of the snake-type Pokemon, don't you?"

Elm's head snapped to the slithering snake and nodded.

He took his seat, but his eyes never left Selene's odd movements.

-/I said was because now it is destroyed,/- Kai said and gestured at Meg, lying through his teeth. -/Only Priestess Shae of the Ancient Temple of White Snake is left of those people of the old ways. You see, the temple that the villagers worshiped was a burial ground and went deeper than any untrained and poorly equipped explorer could go. When Simon told me about this place, I could hear the call of an adventure like never before. So I went there immediately.

-/It wasn't easy to convince the villagers to allow me to explore the temple, though. I stumbled upon a narrow cave system, running deep into the temple. The villagers believed that the white snake came out of those tunnels during the full moon. I had some other notions. So, going against the villagers' wishes, I descended through the tunnels.

-/Now, I won't waste our time by mentioning all the props and the traps, and the hideous hieroglyphic imprints which suggested anything but a benevolent identity's presence down there. At the bottommost chamber, I found three petrified eggs. This Ghost Serpent is the hatchling from the biggest of them./-

Petyr was just waiting for this fantastic but utter fiasco of a tale to be completed. He again tapped his cane.

"This snake-type Pokemon bonded with Desmond Jones," Petyr said, pointing at Selene using the cane. "Now, Desmond here is a mute, but the Pokemon somehow allows him to talk to others using telepathy. It seems the Pokemon hears Desmond's thoughts and then transfers them to those to whom Desmond wants to speak. Am I correct, Priestess Shae?"

Meg nodded, almost rolling her eyes.

"The moment Dr. Desmond picked up the eggs," she said sadly, "it must have triggered some kind of mechanism, secreting a fatal chemical on the island. It froze all of them to death. The only reason I survived was that I had secretly followed him into the tunnels, hoping to see the glory of the White Snake with my own eyes."

A few drops of tears trickled down her face.

Professor Elm's expression softened for a moment, and then he suddenly asked, "Doctor?"

Petyr chuckled. "Desmond here isn't an ordinary explorer, Professor," he said, leaning forward. "He is a man of science, not much unlike you. Before dwelling into the old myths, Desmond was widely known as Dr. Desmond Jones."

Professor Elm beamed upon hearing this information. "I must admit, I have never heard of your name, Dr. Desmond," he said, standing up. "May I know what field you specialize in?"

-/Men like us shouldn't dwell too much on social necessities, professor,/- Kai said, smiling. -/My expertise includes but is not limited to Evolutionary Biology and Evolutionary genetics. Viral and Bacterial evolution, Molecular and Genome evolution, Genetics of speciation, Analysis of quantitative trait variation, Host-Parasite co-evolution, Sexual selection, and sexual conflict, Natural selection in the wild, and a bit of this and a bit of that./-

With every field mentioned by Kai, Professor Elm's breathing sped up visibly.

At first, he had looked at Kai with a mere glance, as demanded by social interactions. Now, though, a fervor and admiring glow was beaming out of him. There was a smile on that youthful face that must have shocked the crowd who knew him if they were to see it.

Not only Professor Elm but even Meg was also gobsmacked, her mouth wide open. From the way Kai had mentioned his specializations, it didn't seem he was bluffing. If he wasn't, then didn't it mean he was as qualified as a multi-doctorate scientist at the mere age of 17 or 18?

This was Kai Stormborn.

He might not have the brightest cunning like that of Petyr. He might not have the greatest sanity left after the death of his mother. Yet, even if one were to rip him off of all his powers, this one thing one could never snatch off him. His knowledge. The knowledge that was given to him by his parents was like the breast milk down the throat of a toddler.

If there was an essence to him, then it was this knowledge.

The weight of an entire world's expectations and future used to lie on the shoulders of a boy when he was still in his mother's womb.

And that weight had ultimately crushed him.

The one who was destined to seek Knowledge was forced to seek Absolute Power.

The one who was fated to become the messiah became the Blood Demon to annihilate it instead.