Chapter 85:
Church of the Broken God
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The Hunter’s boots left a deep print in the tall grass, bending every twig and straw underneath it. Yet they slowly bend back in place the moment he stepped away. It wasn't something supernatural that caused this, rather it was the thick foliage that had overgrown so much it became a struggle to get through, as if nature was physically rejecting them.
"Cut!" He called out.
A flash followed, a motion too quick to follow with the naked eye cut the tall grass and vines like a laser. A path was created in front of him, wide enough for him to comfortably pass through.
Sliced leaves and straws rained down slowly and revealed a Pokémon that had been hiding in the grass. It was a Spearow. The bird shrieked a displeased cry before disappearing between the shadows of the trees.
The Shiftry in front of the group, the one who had cut up the path, gave it a wary look, watching the bird Pokémon until it was out of sight.
Everyone knew that most Spearow live in a flock and although a single Spearow was pathetically weak, a flock could spell your doom. It was not something he wouldn't be able to weather but it would draw unwanted attention.
"Are we getting close?" The Hunter grunted.
"Certainly," the bald man croaked from behind him. His face wrinkled with excitement, revealing layers of unhealthy skin that looked like he had baby fat in all the wrong places. Like a shriveled up baby.
Personally, he didn't like the old man at all. He was weird but not in a funny way but in a creepy way. With his white doctor's cloth and filthy mustache and his insistence on being called 'Doctor.'
He just kept calling him Old Man, that’s all he was after all. Well, an old man with powerful friends.
More people followed the old man like a pack of newborn Zigzagoon. They too looked incredibly stupid, wearing clothes unfit for a deep forest with the burning hot sun, dragging along equipment that was doing nothing but slowing them down and adding dead weight.
"Keep going," the old man said. Slime flung out of his throat as he spoke.
The old man kept moving forward, one sickly limb in front of the other, every step looking like it could be the last.
'This person should be in a hospital, getting help,' he thought but didn't speak up.
His Shiftry cut a way through the weeds and grass with persistence. Despite that, it felt like they were not making progress.
The old man looked down at the device in his hands. It was vaguely shaped like a Pokédex but had a lot more wires and circuit boards sticking out of it. That and it was making an annoying sound.
Tick…...tick…...tick…
A dry monotonous sound that was somehow very familiar. It reminded him of a clock yet the rhythm threw him off.
Tick…...tick…...tick…
What were they even looking for? Normally he would not care but the heat, constant struggle through the tall grass and his less than useful companions made him feel like the thing they're after better be great.
Of course, it wouldn't matter to him, he would get his end of the deal anyway.
"Right there." The old man pointed towards the West.
"Cut!"
The wall of grass was thrown up in the air as his Shiftry decimated it to little pieces. He expected to find a new layer of this foliage nightmare but to his surprise, he was met with a small clearing.
He stepped out of the grass and into the clearing. The air here felt different somehow, more free. The atmosphere was more relaxed. The Hunter’s professional mask he had grown used to wearing dropped and for a short second he felt like his 10 year old self. A young child wanting nothing but to explore the world with his Seedot. Uncover mysteries and make a name for himself.
The sight in front of him could have been taken straight out of a fairy tale. It seemed unreal, yet there it was.
In the middle of the grove of trees stood a brick building. Stone walls and pillars rose out of the ground like the teeth of a mighty dragon. Bricks weaved together to form a structure he never expected to find in the middle of this forest.
"Right where he said it would be." The old man dragged him out of his child-like fascination and reminded him he was in fact no longer that child who would marvel at this sight.
His mouth curled up in a thin line as he took in his surroundings.
A black fence surrounded the perimeter, extending in front of the main structure; forming a small garden. On the outer edge of the structure was something akin to a tower reaching for the skies. It rose above the treeline which was a miracle on its own considering the miserable state of this structure.
"Inside," the old man's voice croaked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He ordered Shiftry to be cautious as he moved along the length of the fence, hoping to find an entrance. Vines had wrapped themselves along the black metal and grew in abundance. The paint on the rails had begun to flake and unpeel themselves, they must have been baked in the sun for decades on end.
He found the entrance he was looking for in the form of a majestic looking gate. As expected, it was located in front of the entrance of this mysterious structure.
As he strode around, the silence became more noticeable. No buzzing bug Pokémon, no wind rustling through the grass. Even the sound of his own footsteps became inaudible, they simply got swallowed by this place.
His sense of tranquility was interrupted by the piercing screech when he opened the gate. The fence gate cried with every subtle movement as if the metalwork was being torn apart with force. The sound repeated itself when his companions struggled through the gate as well.
He shut his eyes as each screech seemed to distance him from that peaceful feeling.
The gate shut itself with a loud clang and he opened his eyes again.
A stone path broke through the overgrown garden and snaked towards a set of stairs. Weeds had grown between each stone, separating them like bricks in a wall.
A circle of pedestals stood in the courtyard, all of them evenly spaced away from each other. Most of the pillars broke midway and were left ruined but a few of the pedestals that were still intact had statues placed on top of them. Marble versions of strange Pokémon stood proudly, basking in the light of the sun, gleaming and basking in the awe of any would-be visitor.
One of the statues caught his eyes, it was one he recognized. A 4 legged Pokémon with a long flowing mane and twirls spinning around its body like ribbons.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"That's Suicune," he said out loud, not sure why but the silence was getting to him. "We once tried to catch it but that damn beast is faster than light."
A painful memory flashed through his mind. It had all happened so fast.
The Lady’s idea had been simple, contaminating the water to attract the beast. Pumping a high voltage shock into the river and using mechanically produced soundwaves to keep Suicune from escaping.
It was brilliant, being a water type and surrounded by water would have caused massive damage, even to a Legendary. That was until they discovered that pure water does not conduct electricity. Something about no minerals and metals being present inside the water. That quirk made their entire plan useless and they paid a hefty price for that discovery.
He shook himself free from that awful memory and stared back at the Suicune statue. It stood there, almost as if it was mocking him. Why did that memory come to him, now? This place felt strange. Almost dreamlike.
What was it doing here?
"What is this place?"
The people that had been following him cluelessly up till now had suddenly sprung to life and begun taking pictures and notes of the statues, excitedly talking among themselves.
The old man replied with an eerie smile. "This is the Holy Shrine, dedicated to the Alpha." he dropped a dramatic pause. "The Holy One."
Immediately after that, he laughed out loud. The laugh sounded like his lungs were clinging onto their last breath. He swore he saw red liquid being coughed out.
"The Holy One?" the Hunter interrupted, not amused.
The old man regained his composure. "Yes, horribly primitive if you ask me, but something of worth is here."
Tick…...tick…...tick…
He followed the old man as they followed the path towards a small staircase. In front of them were the remains of a door, scorched black at the edges and barely more than a piece of dry wood with metal strips on it.
He gazed down and noticed a rusty chain lying on the ground. It looked as if it had been exposed to rain for a long time. The silver gleam of metal had long gone and was now replaced by a thick layer of red rust.
The old man shoved the door out of its hinges and proceeded through the entrance. One of the four walls had collapsed in on itself. All the windows were smashed in and a part of the roof had fallen down. He was looking at a ruin.
"What happened to this shrine?" He absentmindedly wondered.
"A fire," the old man didn't look up from his device, "70 years ago, burned really fiercely, or so I heard."
"A fire, really?" He studied one of the walls closer and saw black scorch marks all over the walls. "What started it?"
A maniacal grin was plastered on The old man's face. "Giratina cultist, can you imagine?" If the old man was hoping for an answer then he sure didn't wait for it. He moved on regardless. "Burned it to the ground and erased it from the map. The story goes that the cult still exists."
"Do they?" he replied with a monotonous voice, not willing to play this sick man's game. Although he was mildly curious about it all.
Tick…...tick…...tick…
"Maybe these lunatics still exist, wouldn't surprise me,” he let out a dry chuckle, "but their god most certainly does not. Galactic found nothing so far that indicates its existence. Most likely just the people of yore were afraid of many things, sometimes they turn these fears into gods."
Even if their God did exist, he wouldn't be scared of it. He knew some people saw Legendary Pokémon as Gods but he knew they could bleed.
He had witnessed it himself and if it bleeds, it can be killed.
Despite his practical view on Legendaries, he had to admit there was this sense of holiness coming from this place. It was something he couldn't explain with words. It was the kind of thing you had to experience to know.
The old man moved his weird device around like it was some sort of GPS. His people from outside had entered the ruin as well and began scouring the place, making notes and photos.
"A building that appears to have collapsed…"
"Building style dates back to the pre-industrialization era..."
"Subjects inside experience a sense of tranquility, possible hallucinogens being transmitted…"
They were all muttering words and phrases that sounded like gibberish to him. He felt out of place like he was an outsider looking in, which in a sense he was. He just had to guard these people and then, hopefully, would never have to see them again.
Unless the Lady felt like punishing him again.
In an attempt to make a conversation, he approached the old man. His Shiftry shadowed him like he was trained to do.
"So," he coughed, "what is that device you have there?"
"It detects Black Aura." The old man pursed his lips as the ticking sounds didn't change.
The Hunter raised his eyebrow. "Black Aura? I have heard of Aura but what on Earth is black Aura?"
The old man smirked and looked at him, for what he realized was the first time. The look on the old man’s face was cold. "That's none of your business."
His shriveled arm folded over each other, his mouth twisted into a snarl.
Tick tick tick tick
The device began ticking at a rapid pace. Dry clicks filled the room. Wordlessly, the old man pointed the device towards the nearby wall.
The ticking noise became even louder.
His eyes snapped towards the wall. Some sort of altar was built against it, hidden from sight due to the fallen ceiling covering it.
Filled with curiosity, he ordered his Shiftry to use Strength.
His Pokémon approached the debris, looking it over before leaning against it. Its hand connected with the wall. A sudden surge of power raced through its muscles and with a loud cry all the stones, tiles and wooden planks were shoved out of the way.
"Perfect," the old man whispered in awe.
Now free from debris, they could see the wall that had been hidden from the world for far too long.
A scene was drawn onto the white marble wall. It was sketched into the smooth stone with utmost care and great skill yet the image revealed was something he expected an ancient civilization to produce because it was rather simple in design.
Some sort of front view of a Pokémon that appeared to be bipedal. It did not resemble any Pokémon he had ever seen before. It had a long neck and weird horns on top of its head. Some sort of ring surrounded the Pokémon like it was standing in front of a rising sun. Spikes protruding from the ring, showing it was actually not a Sun but something else.
He was not really into art but he had to admit the artist was rather skilled, putting some kind of majestic aura into the drawn Pokémon.
"The creator," the old man scoffed. "Bunch of lunatics, don't you think?"
He didn't think whoever had drawn this was a lunatic. The drawing, there was something about it that made it feel… too real.
Black scorch marks crept up from below, forming a black smudge that covered the lower half of the creature's legs. It was like someone tried to burn off the image, despite that, the burn marks somehow fit perfectly into the existing work, making the creature look like a monster ravaging in the destruction.
A question razed through his mind: is this the creator, or the destroyer?
Before he could ponder over it any longer his train of thought was interrupted by a loud crack. The image shattered into tiny pieces as one of the old man's people began tearing away at the wall with a crowbar.
He wanted to protest, not even sure why but the image had already disappeared. The wall started to break off into smaller pieces, revealing the wall was not as solid as it appeared to be.
With another loud crack, the ticking noise became even louder.
A hollowed out space was revealed behind the shattered image. Dust swarmed out of it in droves and he had to cough.
Ticktickticktick
The sound had dissolved into a buzz of clicking. One of The old man's followers shone light in the hole and a big red-colored stone glistened back, practically gleaming in the beam of the flashlight.
It was transparent like amber, surprisingly smooth looking and was around the size of a child.
"What is that?" he coughed. Dust was slipping into his lungs as the cloud still hadn't settled.
The old man did not reply. He switched his device off and moved a few chunks of marble out of the way, showing the stone piece in its full glory.
The plumes of dust had faded away and he could see clearly, the thing, inside but he was still not sure what it was. The object gave off a weird pulsing feeling like it was beating heart. Looking at it was strange, it felt as if this object was some sort of paradox.
Two of the old man assistants waded through the rubbish, carrying a large metal suitcase, easily the size of a coffin. It was covered in enforced metal and had extra protective seals around the corner. It looked as if it could withstand a bomb blast.
"Ready for transportation, Doctor Charon," a young man with a lab coat called out. A button on the side of the box was pressed and with a mechanical hiss, the coffin opened, revealing an empty space with protective foam on the edges.
The Doctor smiled approvingly. "Perfect."
The Hunter groaned.
On the side of the coffin was written in black-bold letters:
XX5 Facility
Subdivision of Galactic
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A/N I deadass forgot to update on this site. I am sorry!
-CaptainMoonShine-