"Let's go. There's only one last thing left to do."
After withdrawing his gaze, Aven led his Pokémon toward the beast-taming grounds.
The beast-taming area was a place where magical beasts were captured and trained. Every year, countless creatures were tamed—or perished—within its walls.
Even before they approached, Froslass could already feel the air saturated with the presence of restless spirits. The Ghost-type energy was thick and pervasive, drifting everywhere like an invisible mist.
"Lass… Lass…"
Froslass let out a low, haunting whisper.
Immediately, the ghostly aura surrounding the area grew denser still—but oddly enough, she didn't feel comforted by it.
At that moment, the Odd Keystone that hung around her neck began to float on its own, emitting a faint, bluish glow.
The Odd Keystone had completely transformed—it was now an artifact capable of purifying vengeful spirits. After Spiritomb had been freed, the 108 fragmented souls that once composed it had returned to dwell within this stone once again.
As it floated, the Odd Keystone suddenly pulsed with light and pointed in a particular direction.
Following its guidance, Aven lifted his eyes and immediately saw what it indicated—a massive structure that dominated the beast-taming area.
It was a stone tower—five stories high—standing tall and out of place amidst the training grounds filled with beast-taming chambers.
"That must be the place."
Aven nodded toward Froslass and walked in the direction the Odd Keystone indicated.
But as soon as they got closer, the aura of resentment and Ghost-type energy in the air became almost overwhelming.
When they reached the base of the stone tower, Aven fixed his eyes on the sealed stone doors.
"Garchomp, break it open!"
"GARRR!"
Garchomp roared deeply and stepped forward, its expression heavy.
All along the way here, it had been uncharacteristically silent—clearly affected by the atmosphere.
It was impossible not to imagine what kind of horror it would have endured if it had been imprisoned here, forced to be "tamed."
Cold fury burned in its eyes as it glared at the stone gate before it. Gathering all its strength into its claws, it focused that rage into power.
In the next instant, its figure vanished and reappeared in front of the gate. Its claws curled into fists, glowing with draconic energy, and it struck forward with all its might!
BOOM!
The thunderous crash shattered the silence as the massive stone doors exploded into pieces.
Inside the tower, everything was pitch black and eerily still. Without hesitation or fear, Garchomp took the first step inside.
"Lass…"
Froslass floated after it, the Odd Keystone around her neck trembling more violently with every second.
Suddenly, tiny motes of blue light emerged from the stone—glimmering like a swarm of fireflies. They illuminated the interior faintly as they drifted deeper into the tower.
Seeing this, Aven and his Pokémon quickly followed.
Garchomp and Froslass stayed close to Aven's side. Eventually, they reached the central chamber of the tower, where two stairways diverged—one spiraling upward, the other descending underground.
The motes of light drifted downward.
They followed the lights down to an underground stone chamber.
At the center of the chamber stood what appeared to be an altar, surrounded by crystalline formations brimming with Ghost-type energy. Upon the altar lay a stone table.
This was clearly the very place where the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had cultivated Spiritomb. The dense vengeful resentment of the training district gathered here, condensed by the altar, and infused into the Odd Keystone to nurture Spiritomb's rebirth.
"Lass…"
When they entered, the blue lights lingered over the altar.
Froslass hesitated for a moment, then floated forward and gently settled atop it.
She froze briefly, as though sensing something, and then released her own Ghost-type energy.
Immediately, the crystals surrounding the altar burst into a dazzling glow.
The air trembled—then suddenly, in the heart of the altar, a swirling sphere of purple-black light took shape. Slowly, it unfolded into a familiar sight—
—a Ghost World Gate.
"There's a Ghost World passage here?!" Aven's expression tightened.
"Lass…"
Froslass turned toward him, her voice echoing softly.
Within the gate, she could faintly sense a soothing energy—yet she could not discern what lay beyond.
Aven fell silent for a moment before saying, "Don't go in yet. Use telepathy to probe what's inside."
This was, after all, a portal to the Ghost World. They had no way of knowing whether danger awaited beyond.
If they entered and the gate vanished behind them, they could be trapped in the Ghost World forever.
"Kir!"
Kirlia floated toward the portal and exchanged a look with Aven. Then it closed its eyes, releasing waves of psychic energy.
Over time, Aven's own mental strength had also grown remarkably strong. Through countless meditations together with Kirlia, their spiritual forces now resonated and strengthened one another.
Under Kirlia's telepathic guidance, their joint consciousness reached into the Ghost World Gate.
Images flashed in Aven's mind—
—of another stone chamber, eerily similar to this one.
The walls were covered in ancient, cryptic runes that pulsed faintly in the darkness.
At the center stood an altar identical to the one before them—complete with a stone table.
And on that table rested a jagged, yellow crystal.
The moment Aven's gaze fell upon the crystal, a jolt tore through his mind.
In the next instant, both he and Kirlia opened their eyes in unison, their faces filled with shock.
Before them, the Ghost World Gate suddenly collapsed—the dark violet glow disintegrating into motes of light that faded into nothingness.
The chamber fell silent once more.
"Lass…"
Froslass drifted over quickly, clearly asking what had happened.
"There was another altar beyond the gate," Aven explained, recounting everything he had seen. Confusion flickered across his face.
This Ghost World passage was unusual—it didn't lead directly into the Ghost World but rather into some kind of ruin within it.
He had heard that the Ghost World contained many remnants of the past—ancient battlefields, sealed temples, and lost sanctuaries. The place he'd glimpsed was undoubtedly one such ruin.
And now that he examined the altar before him more closely, he realized that this entire structure was identical to those ruins—clearly something left behind from a long-forgotten era.
He had once thought this altar was constructed for the purpose of nurturing Spiritomb, but it seemed the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had merely repurposed an ancient relic.
But that yellow crystal… what exactly was it?
If it had been enshrined upon an altar like that, it had to be something of extraordinary significance.
"Could it be… a relic from an ancient civilization?" Aven murmured.
"In the distant past, there were indeed legends—of humans who worshiped powerful Pokémon, hoping to gain unimaginable powers from them."
His brows furrowed in thought. He recalled that a Pokémon scholar in the Kanto region had once published a paper on this very topic.
There were even myths that the three legendary Pokémon of Hoenn—Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza—originated from such super-ancient times.
"Froslass, can you try to open the Ghost World Gate again?" he asked.
"Lass…"
Froslass nodded, gathering her ghostly energy once more.
The crystals surrounding the altar flared with light again—
—but the glow quickly faded away, leaving the chamber dim and silent.
The portal did not reappear.
It seemed that the previous activation had completely drained the energy from the crystals; without replenishment, the altar could no longer function.
"So, it needs Ghost-type crystals to activate, huh…" Aven frowned.
There was no way to reopen the portal anytime soon. He would have to collect more Ghost-type crystals and return later.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Aven looked toward Froslass, who was still hovering over the altar. She appeared slightly fatigued from the exertion and was now absorbing the residual ghost energy in the air to recover.
This altar, he realized, was not only a gateway—it was also capable of gathering and concentrating Ghost-type energy.
If he could reconstruct something like this back in the Pokémon Domains, it would serve as the perfect environment for training Ghost-types—especially for Froslass.
Determined, Aven called for Mismagius. He wanted it to memorize every detail of the altar's arrangement so that they could later reproduce it through illusion and craftsmanship.
"Maa~"
Upon arriving, Mismagius immediately began floating around the chamber, studying the intricate structure with fascination.
Its eyes sparkled when it noticed the glimmering crystals embedded in the floor, each radiating a dense Ghost-type aura. It couldn't help but feel tempted—
"Lass…"
Froslass gave it a sharp look, reminding it not to get greedy.
Mismagius froze for a moment—then sheepishly drifted back, though its eyes still lingered longingly on those crystals.
(End of Chapter)