"Such long, skinny legs…"
This was the first time Sato realized that Darkrai even had legs…
"Hurry up, that lunatic Cresselia is going to come crashing in again before long," Darkrai rushed over eagerly the moment it saw Sato and Ralts.
"Huh?"
Sato blinked. There was definitely a deeper meaning in what Darkrai just said.
…Lunatic?
…Crashing in?
Now that he thought about Cresselia's ethereal, goddess-like vibe… that description didn't match her at all!
"Absorbing a Legendary Domain makes quite a scene. You're not seriously planning to do it here, are you?"
Unlike Sato, Ralts had no intention of commenting. Nervous yet full of anticipation, it had already shifted its full attention to the upcoming Domain absorption.
"Follow me!" Darkrai gestured with a wave, then retracted its legs and floated into the sky, leading Sato and Ralts toward another part of the beach.
'So they weren't legs… just shadows.'
Sato suddenly realized: Darkrai seemed to be made of shadow itself, and could only stand steadily by anchoring to the ground. Otherwise, it would drift around like mist.
Darkrai led the way, and Sato followed quickly while holding Ralts in his arms. Soon, they arrived at a rocky cliff.
Darkrai, being able to fly, effortlessly drifted down beneath the cliff and slipped into a crevice.
Sato was about to call Sharpedo to follow, but Ralts acted first, using Confusion to get the two of them directly down.
'In a hurry?'
Sato glanced down at the Ralts in his arms but said nothing.
Levitating beneath the cliff, they came to a newly-dug cave entrance.
Sato landed with both feet on solid ground, catching the scent of fresh, earthy soil as he slowly walked inside.
Shhhh…
A wave of loose dirt and stone began flowing rapidly, sealing off the entire cave entrance. Inside, total darkness fell.
Sato noticed the movement behind him but didn't react much. Instead, he just quickened his pace.
The cave wasn't deep, just ten or so meters in, it suddenly opened up. Surprisingly, this hastily excavated chamber was about the size of a Standard Battlefield.
All three of them -one human and two Pokémon- had night vision, so the pitch-black space didn't bother them.
…But if someone else were to witness this, the atmosphere would be pretty terrifying.
Sato looked around. The damp cave walls were still glistening with moisture, but embedded along the surfaces were numerous black stones, arranged in some sort of patterned order.
"What's this?"
Not understanding, Sato pointed at the black stones and asked Darkrai.
"Energy-sealing stones. They prevent energy from leaking out and reduce the noise," Darkrai replied without even turning around, drifting toward the center of the chamber on its own.
"I'm… re…ady…"
"…"
'So… it's a chūnibyō Darkrai?'
Sato blinked and carried Ralts to the center as well.
"Toto, I'll need your help in a moment. Use your Dark Energy to make up for the energy I'm missing."
"No problem. I'll have Zoroark help too." Sato nodded and sent out Zoroark, who also possessed Dark Energy.
"I'm counting on you, Zozo~"
"…" Zoroark bared its teeth, turned its head, and ignored it completely.
'Do I… the great ANIKI, Zoroark, have no pride left?'
Unfortunately, in front of Ralts, even if you included its previous life's age, Sato was just a baby.
Which meant Zoroark… was basically a little baby too…
"Hurry it up already!" Darkrai growled impatiently from the side, clearly done waiting.
"Toto, step back a bit!" Ralts took a deep breath, leapt out of Sato's arms on its own, and its body began to glow with an intensely bright light of evolution.
Kirlia!
But it didn't stop there.
Another burst of evolution light flared up, and within the glow, Kirlia grew taller and slimmer.
Soon, a dark Gardevoir wearing a flowing black dress appeared before them.
Gardevoir gently closed its eyes and slowly placed its hands over the crest on its chest.
Whoosh~
Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind exploded outward from Gardevoir, making its dress billow dramatically.
A white light dot seeped from the crest. Not dazzling, but strangely captivating to Sato.
Two dots, three, four… more and more white light dots began to seep out and fuse together.
And as the light points gathered, a pure white, semi-transparent crystal in the shape of a crown -no larger than a ring- slowly took form, floating above Gardevoir's palm under its control.
That crown was the Slumber Legendary Domain!
"…My turn"
Darkrai let out a low growl, and then an even stronger gust of wind erupted from its body.
Sato raised a hand to smooth out his messy hair, thinking, 'So… unleashing a Domain has to come with dramatic wind?'
Soon, a Nightmare Domain nearly twice the size of the Slumber Domain appeared in Darkrai's hands.
Same crown shape, same pure white semi-transparency, same floating brilliance.
"Toto, when I nod, send your Dark Energy into me. Not too fast, not too slow."
Sato pursed his lips. 'You messing with me? What even counts as "not too fast, not too slow"?'
Still, he raised his right hand in agreement, ready to transfer the energy at any moment.
Zoroark followed suit, lifting its paw just like Sato.
"It's starting!"
Darkrai had barely finished speaking when it activated the Nightmare Domain, releasing a powerful suction. One that only targeted the Slumber Domain!
Gardevoir had already lowered its hands, fully presenting itself as if offering the Domain willingly!
…But the Slumber Domain seemed unwilling to part from it, trembling violently under the force.
At that moment, Gardevoir slightly tilted its head toward Sato and gave a subtle nod.
[Dark Energy: Energy Transfer]
Pure black Dark Energy burst forth from Sato and formed a flowing beam that connected directly to Gardevoir.
The moment the Dark Energy entered Gardevoir's body, the Slumber Domain began shaking even more violently and finally started reacting to the suction, slowly pulling away from Gardevoir.
"Toto, a bit more!"
"Alright," Sato responded, quickly increasing the output. Zoroark also placed its paw on Sato's shoulder, synchronizing its own Dark Energy into the flow.
With Sato handling all the output, the transmission frequency was easier to control, making it smoother for Gardevoir to receive.
Buzzzzz~[1]
The Slumber Domain shook even more violently, to the point that Sato thought it might crack ope-
CRACK!
Sato: …[2]
A visible fracture appeared on the Slumber Domain, and it grew rapidly, with more and more cracks spreading across it.
Crssp~
With a crisp sound, the Slumber Domain was torn into two pieces!
Perhaps because it had been forcefully broken, and could no longer remain whole, the two pieces of the Slumber Domain quickly began to "degrade," reverting back into white light dots.
But this time, the white light dots could no longer return to Gardevoir. Instead, they were forcefully sucked into Darkrai's Nightmare Domain.
"Toto… I need more!"
.
.
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150 PS - Chap
Patre0n/Romeloff
[1] I don’t know why… but this "Buzzz~" totally gave me Haoshoku Haki flashbacks on Gyojin episode ~558.
[2] Σ(°△°|||)?