East of Route 214 – 18:35, Day of the Moonless Night

Inyssa hated absolutely everything about the seemingly normal forest sprawling out in front of her, and if Barry and Metchi's faces were any indication, they shared her concerns.

"Man," breathed Metchi. "These are some rancid vibes I'm getting."

An apt way to put it. There was nothing really wrong with the landscape in front of them. Hell, she'd lived with the entrance to Twinleaf's forest in her backyard all her life, and those tall, gloomy pine trees had been a lot scarier than the colorful, leafy ones in front of her. Still… something in the air here, in the weak wind blowing through the trees, didn't sit right with her. It felt like there was an invisible buzz, a frequency that she couldn't hear yet it made her teeth and bones wince like the sound of nails against a chalkboard.

It felt like touchless touch. Like incorporeal hands grabbing at her arms and legs and throat, and she hated it.

"I'm afraid that feeling will only get worse as we proceed."

Cynthia stood in front of them as though protecting them from that feeling, all they could see of her being the back of her outfit and her long, flowing golden hair. She didn't turn to look at them as she spoke.

"This is the path, then?" muttered Inyssa.

"Yes. Normally, if one were to traverse this forest, they'd find themselves coming out on the shore east of Veilstone."

Barry frowned. "Then how do we…?"

"Close your eyes."

All three of them blinked, then glanced at each other.

"What?" asked Metchi.

"Close your eyes," Cynthia repeated. "And keep them closed as you walk."

"I-but…" Barry looked around, concerned. "Won't we… trip? Or run into a tree?"

A smile could be heard in Cynthia's voice. "Just trust me. I promise we will get there."

One look at Metchi's face told Inyssa that she didn't trust Cynthia one bit, but it's not like they could go about splitting hairs, not with a time limit hanging over their heads. Barry was the first to close his eyes. Inyssa did the same after a moment of consideration, and Metchi was the last. She cursed under her breath as she did so.

"Good. Now… let us continue."

Inyssa noticed the change immediately. Firstly, she didn't face-plant the tree that was only a few yards away despite walking straight toward it, so there was definitely some supernatural shit going on. That wouldn't have concerned her normally. Throughout the duration of her journey she'd come to realize that the real supernatural was either stupid, nonsensical or sad. If it was creepy or upsetting, then there was probably some human intervention behind it.

Yet this feeling as she kept walking, unobstructed by the roots she should've tripped on or the trees she should've ran into… it rubbed her the wrong way. It was a very specific kind of discomfort. Like thinking about or staring at her own body, or having someone else's hands that weren't Barry's come in contact with her skin. Yet… she didn't feel any actual touch. It was the feeling alone, devoid of context. And that somehow made it worse.

"So…" she asked. "How long do we have to walk?"

"You'll know when we're there."

Sensing the discomfort in her voice, Barry immediately reached over and held her hand in his. Immediately, some of the tension dispelled. She smiled openly, glad to know that no one could see her do so.

"What was that noise?" asked Metchi.

"Oh, Niss and I are holding hands now," said Barry, oblivious. "Wanna join?"

Metchi let out a tired sigh. "You guys are fucking dorks."

Yet Inyssa heard as Metchi raised her own hand for Barry to hold.

The unseen path continued for longer than Inyssa thought would take them to actually cross to the other side of the forest, but then again it didn't feel like they were there anymore. At some point, the ground under her feet changed. It wasn't the soft soil and crinkly leaves she'd been stepping on before, but solid, natural stone. Her steps began to echo quietly as well, and that could only mean one thing.

We're in a cave… shit.

Immediately, that uncomfortable feeling in her chest intensified tenfold, pressing against it and making it harder for her to breathe. Her fingers tightened against Barry's. Luckily for her, the building panic she felt paled in comparison to just how angry and disappointed she was in herself at that moment.

Really? After everything that had happened, she still had claustrophobia? No, she didn't accept that. She'd been trying her best to accommodate for her body's failings after her talk with Uxie in Hearthome, but this was simply ridiculous. She inhaled deep, focused on the feeling of Barry's touch instead of the panic, and promptly told her claustrophobia to go fuck itself. This was not the time for this.

It worked, though mostly because they reached their destination only a few seconds after her inner declaration. She heard Cynthia stop in front of them.

"We're here."

Inyssa felt it. A weak gust of wind ruffled her hair, and though the ground under her was still rocky, she could feel the warmth of the sun's rays falling on her face. They'd made it outside the cave.

"You can open your eyes now."

Whatever Inyssa had expected, it was not what she saw as she opened her eyes. Even though she'd been told about it previously, she had to blink a few times to make sure it was real.

"W-wow," whispered Barry.

"Damn," Metchi agreed.

They'd somehow made their way from a forest to the inside of a cave to a small valley closed off on all sides by unnatural-looking cliffs, rising around them in a circle like the jagged peaks of a crown. On the inside, life and vegetation covered every inch that wasn't rock. Leafy plants and snow-covered shrubbery, summer trees and winter flowers, even wild weeds made this place their home, joining together in an impossible picture that felt completely out of this world. It was as though Eterna, Floaroma and Pastoria had been smashed together and condensed into a single spot, their contradictory wildlife somehow forming a symbiotic relationship with each other.

Yet that was only the outside, the edges around what really drew their eyes. There in the middle of the valley lay a lake of crystalline water, similar in size to the one Inyssa had seen near Snowpoint. Despite the wind its surface was perfectly still, like glass. And even though it was as clear as water could be, Inyssa couldn't quite see under the surface from where she stood, as the sun reflecting off it made it look like the water was glowing.

So this is it, thought Inyssa, gulping. Sinnoh's secret fourth lake…

Barry was the first to speak, after letting out a nervous chuckle. "Is it… weird that the first thing I thought was about how nice it'd be to have a picnic here?"

Metchi laughed despite herself, and Cynthia let out a giggle before turning to face them.

"I'm sure it would be lovely, though you might find yourself with more guests than expected," she said. "Even if they're both points of coalescence, you could consider this place the opposite of Spear Pillar."

"The opposite?" asked Barry. "What do you mean?"

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Inyssa nodded to herself. "Because their functions are different, right? You implied so back in Lily of the Valley island."

"Precisely," said Cynthia. "Both are points in which the barrier between our realm and another is weakest, but in Spear Pillar's case that other realm is the Hall of Origin, the chamber where our land's legends rest. Here…"

"Right," Mechi continued, frowning. "Here, it's that fucked up hellworld that Fantina showed us."

"The World of Distortion," muttered Inyssa, face scrunching up.

Cynthia nodded, then turned again to look at the surface of the water, her face hidden behind a lock of blonde hair.

"…Yes. This is Sendoff Spring, the place where our world and that of the recently departed meet," she said. "My family has been looking for this place for thousands of years. To think I'd be the one to find it…"

She stopped, then shook her head and laughed at herself.

"No, I suppose that honor goes to Shadi and Fantina," she whispered. "And for their sake, it might be better to keep it that way. I expect this will be the only time I set foot in this place."

"Hey," Metchi called out. "What are you muttering about?"

Cynthia said nothing for a few seconds. Then she looked over her shoulder, and smiled warmly.

"Nothing, nothing. Now, shall we proceed?"

The other three exchanged a quick look, confirming that they were all thinking the same thing. Barry was the first to air it out loud.

"Er… Where are we supposed to go?" he frowned. "The only path I see is through the cave we came in on."

"Oh, the way forward is very simple. Here, follow my lead."

Without explaining anything, Cynthia walked away from them. The three of them took a step forward to follow, but stopped as soon as they realized she wasn't heading left or right, but straight forward. Which meant…

"Wait," Inyssa blurted out. "Where are you–?"

Her question was cut short, as Cynthia stepped into the lake's surface and fell through it, sinking like a stone. Inyssa and Barry gasped. Metchi hurried forward with a panicked look on her face and they followed, stopping on the edge of the water and looking down, expecting to see the woman's golden hair there at the bottom.

But there was nothing down there. Nothing except a black, empty void.

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Metchi, Barry and Inyssa took a fearful step into the lake, and instantly they sunk into the water like stones, the gleaming light that had reflected off the surface disappearing completely as everything went black around them.

For a few seconds, Metchi felt nothing but the sensation of falling. She couldn't breathe, couldn't feel nor hear her own heartbeat, as though her body had been eaten away by the water and only what was inside remained. That familiar feeling, that warmth she'd known a few times before burst inside of her, hot and sharp and uncomfortable. What little remained of Azelf's power inside her pulsed, as though reacting to something.

She heard what almost sounded like a voice in the distance. Quiet, yet calling for her.

Then she fell through the surface again, and all her other senses returned with painful clarity, overwhelming her.

"W-wha–!"

"Fuck!"

The three of them landed on rocky ground at the same time. Metchi blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the dim lighting. She looked up, but didn't see water or anything else they could've fallen through. Actually, she couldn't see… anything. Only a black sky, devoid of stars or clouds or the light of the moon.

"Wh-where… are we?"

They looked around anxiously, feeling an unnatural pressure in the air. The place looked almost identical to the valley where the fourth lake rested, only… different. Dead. There was no lake, for starters, only a wide, rocky field surrounded on all sides by spear-like cliffs that rose up like a crown around them. There was no wind, no vegetation, no sign of life. Even the sky was dead and still and unnatural.

Metchi swallowed, unconsciously clutching at her chest. There was something wrong here. She'd felt it before when walking through that forest with her eyes closed, but here it was… heavier. As though the gravity had increased twofold. There was a tightness in her chest, and that obnoxious heat behind her eyes kept flickering on and off.

She… felt as though she were in danger. But why…?

"This… is our destination."

They all looked up toward Cynthia, as usual standing with her back to them. Following her gaze, they noticed something in the far extreme of the rocky clearing. Unlike the valley they'd just dropped from, this place did have an exit, placed on the exact opposite side as the entrance from before. A dark, narrow opening in the rocky wall of the mountain. And there in front of it–

H-hgh! Metchi took a step back, wincing. What… what is this…?

"We are in the heart of Turnback Cave," Cynthia explained. "Beyond that opening are the iron doors that separate our world from the next."

In any other circumstance, Metchi was pretty sure one of them would have replied that it was time to proceed, then. To finally finish this. But as usual, Cynthia took her sweet time before addressing the massive fucking Donphan in the room.

They were not alone. Sitting in front of the opening in the wall was a… shape. It was hard to make out as it was almost embedded into the rocky ground, every inch of it covered in dust and grime and dried-out dead vegetation. Metchi squinted, and she could almost make out what lay underneath all that. It had the shape of a person sitting, hand resting on top of their knee. But there was no skin or face she could make out, only something… black, and barely gleaming.

"What… is that?" whispered Barry.

"I… is that a suit of–?"

Inyssa didn't get to finish her sentence, because just then the ground pulsed like a heartbeat, and all three of them felt it. A pang behind their eyes. A sharp tug like icy fingers closing around their hearts.

"A-agh!" Barry shrunk into himself, teeth clenching. "W-what is this!?"

"I-it's like a…!" Inyssa had to inhale sharply, face going pale, hands shaking strongly. "S-some sort of p-pressure…"

Metchi couldn't make it as far as speaking. She immediately dropped to her knees, that horrible sensation washing upon her much more strongly than on the other two. It was sharp, overwhelming. Like the fire that Azelf had bestowed upon her, only a thousand times stronger.

As that thought crossed her mind, she gasped, eyes shooting wide open. Realization dawned on her as familiar words began running through her mind.

'In any case… I sit here now. Immortal and hidden from the world, writing all this down and hoping with all my Spirit that no one ever needs this knowledge.'

No…

'There, you will find not only the entrance to the World of Distortion, but also a trial, and the last of the pieces of the puzzle you've been trying to complete for so long.'

No way…

'The one that waits endlessly before the iron doors…'

Metchi swallowed, holding herself up with one knee, and noticed the worried looks Inyssa and Barry were giving her.

"Metchi? Are you okay?"

She didn't respond. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself to her feet again and staring straight at Cynthia.

"She's the trial… isn't she? She has it. The last plate."

A nod was all the response Cynthia gave. Barry and Inyssa still looked extremely confused behind her, but luckily that did not last long.

The shape began to stir. It shook softly, slowly, the sound of crackling and popping echoing through the dead valley as thick layers of hardened dirt broke apart and fell to the ground, only to become dust. The vines soon followed, needing only a push to disintegrate completely. Once finally free of its natural bindings, the shape leaned forward, placing a hand against the ground and pushing itself up with the difficulty of someone who'd sat still for hundreds of years. The crackling of rusty joints echoed like gunshots, like breaking glass.

As it finally rose to its feet, dirt and grime falling from its body, realization finally dawned on Barry and Inyssa.

"W…what?"

"N-no… no fucking way."

Before them stood a woman, more than seven-feet tall, clad almost entirely in a heavy-looking suit of black armor. Only her arms were bare, but it was hard to tell due to how charred and wrought with scars they were. A beautifully ornate-helmet adorned her head. It was forged in the likeness of a horned, fanged creature none of them knew. Only a pair of gleaming golden eyes could be made out through its thin slits.

"I… figured the lot of you would come by once again, although through which circumstances, I couldn't have guessed. It's been quite some time since I've last had visitors."

The weight of her voice crashed head-first against them like a powerful storm. Barry and Inyssa winced and gasped and Metchi had to put every ounce of strength into not falling to her knees again. And yet… there was no danger in the woman's voice. It was kind… amicable. They could even hear a smile under it.

Cynthia was the only one undaunted, the only one who dared take a step forward. Metchi couldn't see it, but she swore she could feel as their eyes clashed.

"Ha. I'll admit, my sense patience could not even begin to compare to yours, but…" She inhaled, almost laughing with excitement. "Although this meeting was, previously, only possible in my wildest dreams… I have waited for this moment with bated breath."

The woman before them laughed. Warmly, amusingly. Without a hint of anger or cruelty behind her voice.

"I have felt your presence through the veins of our world, but I must say, it does the real you little justice. I have longed to meet you as well, Cynthia Artemis."

Cynthia actually shuddered at those words. She looked down for a moment, hands shaking ever so slightly.

"Hearing such words… it fills my heart with a joy I never thought possible." She breathed in, overwhelmed, then looked up again. "But I can't help but feel that something is missing. Pardon my disrespect, but… before I greet you, would you do me the honor of letting me see your face?"

There was a short, tense silence. For a moment everyone feared that such a request was too much, but their fears were quelled as the woman gave a curt nod.

"Very well. It is the least I could do for such distinguished visitors."

She took the helmet off without fanfare, and at first Metchi was confused. What she thought was the woman's hair, the black that wrapped around her shoulders and flowed freely behind her, was actually a cloak built into the suit of armor. Her actual hair was lighter, the color of ash. It reached down to her shoulders, neither straight nor wavy, more sharp and rough like Inyssa's hair. And the face underneath wasn't much different. Her skin was darker than how paintings portrayed her and her jaw was more pronounced, although the slight hollowness of her cheeks and the multitude of scars knitted across their surface was accurate.

Cynthia was unable to contain the sound of awe that left her mouth, and if it weren't for the painful tightness in her chest, Metchi might have done the same. Even so, there was no doubt now. This sensation in her chest, this sense of familiarity…

She… she really is…

"…Without a doubt, you are more striking than I could have ever imagined. Even if told by the greatest of lorekeepers, no legend could have possibly done you justice." Cynthia looked up at her with a smile on her face, the grey of her eyes flashing. "I can now say with certainty that meeting you is the greatest honor I have ever received, Nyss."