Watching Edward about to be crushed into pulp by the power of the Lake Trio, Cyrus was in an excellent mood.
Edward had tormented him for eighteen years.
Eighteen years ago, Cyrus was still meticulously planning the future of Team Galactic—laying the groundwork to achieve his ultimate goal. That day, as he rested in a luxurious villa, a strange disc and a cobalt-blue gemstone suddenly dropped onto his stomach out of nowhere.
Cyrus was puzzled. He investigated, but could find no clues. These objects seemed to have appeared from thin air.
Originally, he planned to throw the cobalt-blue gem away. But the moment he held it in his hand, he saw the future.
After verifying its authenticity, Cyrus was overjoyed. He even believed the gemstone was a gift from a legendary being, a reward for his beliefs.
But that night, his nightmare began.
"…Every night, I've been tortured by the same dream, over and over again,"
Cyrus looked at Edward, eyes tinged with a sense of liberation.
He wasn't one to talk much, but now, he couldn't help but let it out. Only by venting this long-standing pain could his soul find release.
Like a player about to win a long, grueling match, typing a question mark in global chat before the final blow.
"In my dream, I'm in a chaotic place, fighting against a blurry figure. I only know he's a man. He has two Pokémon— a Mimikyu and a Gholdengo but he has allies too."
Cyrus was in increasingly high spirits as he spoke.
Every night, he had that same dream. He didn't know why he had to fight the man, but the moment he fell asleep, the dream would begin without fail.
Sleeping pills didn't help. Nor did Hypnosis from his Pokémon. As long as he slept, the nightmare came.
He tried to escape, resist, and break free—but nothing worked.
As long as he wore the cobalt-blue gemstone ring, the dream would come. But he couldn't give it up.
Because with the ring, he could occasionally see into the future, catch glimpses of it, and grow stronger faster—to lead Team Galactic to a better future.
He even tried removing the ring while sleeping. Still didn't work. Placing it far away also didn't help. The dream clung to him like a demonic curse.
All these years, he kept searching for the identity of the shadowy figure in the dream—where they fought, who he was. And through this endless probing, he discovered that his opponent had a powerful trump card:
A legendary Pokémon not from this world.
For 6,500 nights across eighteen years, Cyrus fought that shadow. He died repeatedly, and relived the same cycle, over and over.
He came to know that mysterious enemy better than his own most loyal subordinates.
Eventually, he even discovered the identity of the woman standing next to the shadowy man in the dream and learned what led to her betrayal.
Finally, he traced the origin of the disc to Twinleaf Town, and there he saw the rising fame of Edward, who gained notoriety from filming Dead Silence.
In that moment, the shadow in his dream took a tangible form.
Still, he wasn't entirely sure—it was only Mimikyu at Edward's side back then. But then came Gholdengo, and later, he watched Edward enter Eterna City, wearing clothes exactly like the man in his dream.
So Cyrus came to Twinleaf Town, found Edward, and from that point on—everything mirrored the dream exactly.
"Six thousand five hundred nights… finally, it all ends here."
Cyrus raised his hand with satisfaction. He would have the Lake Trio tear Edward to pieces, ending this long-running nightmare once and for all!
Edward looked at Cyrus. He hadn't said much, but it was enough for Edward to piece things together.
Cyrus had gained limited foresight from Dialga's gemstone.
"But there's one thing you absolutely, absolutely can't foresee,"
Edward said as he opened his long-unused system interface.
…
["A Wicked Ghost" — 123,144 Fear Points]
Just as Edward had expected. He hadn't spent any fear points in a while, and now the total had exceeded 100,000—enough to claim a reward!
[You may redeem one reward]
[Redeem now?]
Edward immediately chose to redeem.
This was his golden cheat, something Cyrus could never know about—not even Dialga.
"A chance to change fate," Edward muttered.
[You obtained: "Unweaving Fate!"]
[Unweaving Fate!: The threads of fate have woven into a dense, unbreakable web. When a cunning spider slashes through fate with a blade that doesn't belong to it, Arceus bestows his blessing upon you.]
"What… does that mean?"
Edward was stunned.
And at that exact moment—
the battle in the sky escalated even further.
Palkia used Spacial Rend, slicing open the space behind Giratina.
The turbulent spatial ripples triggered a subtle disturbance, and the Red Orb from Mt. Stark was swept away by the current.
Dialga's Roar of Time vibrated the already unstable space, causing the rift to ripple. The Red Orb flew directly toward Edward, slamming hard into his forehead.
"The Red Orb?"
Edward stared in disbelief at the gem floating before him.
Cyrus's pupils shrank. This was outside his predictions!
"I command you—!"
Cyrus roared desperately.
But Groudon turned its gaze toward Edward.
It saw the Red Orb floating in front of him—and without hesitation, charged forward.
Before the Lake Trio could even activate their powers, Groudon struck them with Precipice Blades, sending them flying into the distance.
"ROARRR!"
Groudon let out a thunderous roar. And in that instant, Edward's bindings were lifted.
He instinctively reached out to touch the Red Orb.
A strange power surged in his heart. His pulse accelerated wildly, hammering in his chest to the point that he felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Is this… mega evolution?"
The thought flashed through his mind.
He'd heard that Mega Evolution required the trainer and Pokémon to be of one mind, and it also took a physical toll on the trainer. Most trainers could only mega evolve one Pokémon at a time, and had to rest afterward.
Back then, he didn't understand why.
But now, feeling his heart pounding uncontrollably, Edward understood.
A blinding light burst forth—
Groudon! Primal Reversion!
(End of Chapter)