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"Hmm, let Gladion and the others send people to search. It would be interesting if they could find Akari," Mammon mused, settling on the idea. He had overlooked this point before.
He had subconsciously assumed Platinum was the 'protagonist' of the Sinnoh region, but the existence of Akari couldn't be ruled out.
After all, in Unova, Hilda and Rosa, two generations of female protagonists, were present at the same time.
About an hour later, Mammon and the three others were conversing while perusing ancient poetry. It was, undeniably, quite enjoyable.
Moreover, Mammon was quite interested in Cogita, who recorded these ancient poems, because Cogita is an extremely important and key figure in "Pokémon Legends: Arceus."
Her identity and background are very mysterious. She knows a lot about legendary Pokémon, and even Enamorus is her partner, willing to travel around with her.
According to Cogita herself, the legendary stories and information she knows are inherited from her ancestors; she merely relays them to Akari.
But the key is, she knows too much.
Furthermore, she herself is too mysterious, even leading some to suspect whether she is a legendary Pokémon in disguise.
If he ever had the chance to return to Hisui, he definitely had to have a good talk with this woman.
Well, actually, there was another, more important reason: Mammon was quite taken with Cogita's appearance.
After all, Cogita is one of the rare white-haired characters in the Pokémon series! And she's a white-haired beauty with great looks, temperament, and figure.
But in the end, Cogita is a woman from the Hisui era. He'd think about it if he had a chance to go to Hisui later.
"Miss Sheena, I have an impolite request, I wonder if it's convenient?" Mammon pondered for a moment, then spoke to Sheena.
"Mr. Mammon, please speak," Sheena replied with a smile.
She had a very good impression of Mammon. He was cheerful, elegant in speech, and knowledgeable, easily giving people a good impression.
"Then I'll be direct. I wonder if we could see that divine artifact, the life jewel?"
Mammon didn't stand on ceremony. He was indeed very curious about the life jewel.
Especially since it was a treasure formed by the fusion of five plates!
Sheena was startled by his words, her small face immediately wrinkling. Other things were easy to discuss, but the life jewel...
"Mammon?!"
Cynthia's heart skipped a beat, and her delicate face also changed slightly.
She was afraid of something like this happening. After all, Mammon wasn't a great villain, but he was certainly not a good person either.
It wasn't surprising that Mammon would want to seize a treasure like the life jewel.
But Cynthia really didn't want this to happen. Sheena had so warmly entertained them and generously shared the history of Michina Town and precious ancient poetry with them.
And now they were to seize a treasure that had been guarded by her family for generations, imbued with the wishes of her ancestors—this was truly... too terrible.
"Don't worry, I have no ill intentions. I just want to simply look at this treasure."
Mammon laughed and shook his head, saying it would be absolutely false to claim he had no thoughts about the life jewel, but he wasn't so foolish as to lose his mind.
What was the point of seizing the life jewel?
If this Arceus was the one from the movie, Mammon would seize it without a second thought, but the key was that the Arceus in this world was perfectly intact, and might even possess the legend plate!
Although it hadn't appeared for a long time, if he snatched the life jewel from Sheena, and Arceus woke up one day and learned of it, who knew what Arceus would do?
After all, Sheena's ancestor Damos had a very good relationship with Arceus, and it wasn't impossible for Arceus to look after his descendants and then reclaim the life jewel.
So, Mammon was very tempted by the life jewel, but not to the extent of seizing it.
Cynthia also breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Since Mammon said so, he probably wouldn't act recklessly.
"Logically, it's not allowed, but I do feel a strong connection with the three of you. How about this: I hope the three of you can promise not to reveal what you see today, can you?"
After hesitating for a long while, Sheena pursed her lips and agreed.
"I can swear on Arceus," Mammon said with a smile.
"We will definitely keep it a secret!" Cynthia replied earnestly.
"Then please follow me."
Sheena exhaled deeply, then led Mammon and the two others to the Space-Time Orb.
The Space-Time Orb can detect the stability of space-time and is also a very magical tool.
Sheena pressed a button on the control panel in front of the Space-Time Orb, and a mechanism opened, revealing a mechanical flower-shaped device that gradually rose.
"Please see, this is the life jewel."
The flower device slowly bloomed, revealing its interior.
A jewel, shimmering with a faint green light of life, appeared before the four of them. The center of the jewel sparkled with dazzling and mesmerizing brilliance.
A divine object formed by the fusion of the Earth, Water, Grass, Electric, and Dragon plates, it not only contained the power of the five plates but, complementing each other, the life jewel possessed extremely powerful life force.
By using the life jewel, withered land could instantly burst with vibrant life, turning the earth green and full of vitality.
"How beautiful~"
Mammon couldn't help but exclaim. The life jewel was indeed breathtakingly beautiful.
Purely in terms of appearance, it was far more beautiful than the indigo jewel and the great white jewel.
However...
Mammon looked at the life jewel thoughtfully.
"Isn't it? We have been guarding it all this time, waiting for the day Arceus descends again."
Sheena's face couldn't help but blossom with an expectant smile. She deeply hoped Arceus would appear in her generation.
However, unfortunately, the Space-Time Orb currently showed no signs of fluctuation, which also indicated that the Hall of Origin remained undisturbed.
She wondered if she would be able to see Arceus before she died.
Caitlin and Cynthia also carefully admired the life jewel.
"Something's not right," Mammon suddenly said.
"Mr. Mammon, what's wrong?" Sheena asked, puzzled.
"This jewel isn't right," Mammon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"?" Sheena was startled.
"Miss Sheena, you also possess special abilities, don't you?"
"Ah? Yes, I have Aura Heart inherited from my ancestors."
Sheena was a little bewildered.
"I also have a special ability, a power granted to me by Viridian Forest, where I was born." Mammon raised his right hand, and a green glow lit up.
"Miss Sheena, your Aura Heart doesn't have an advantage in perception, so you may not have noticed this all along, but this life jewel... it has no energy inside."
Mammon said thoughtfully.
"?" Sheena still didn't seem to fully understand.
"Mr. Mammon means that this life jewel is fake, because it's just a pretty bead, with no divine power inside."
Caitlin explained. After Mammon's reminder, she also noticed this.
Caitlin possessed powerful Psychic abilities, so she was able to detect this.
"What?! That's impossible!!"
Sheena understood this time, her face changing dramatically.
This was the life jewel that had been passed down through their bloodline for generations. How could it be fake?!
"Could there be a mistake?" Cynthia's brows furrowed.
"No mistake. This jewel is indeed 'empty.' It's just a beautiful crystal product. If you don't believe me, Sheena, pick it up and try throwing it on the ground." Mammon shook his head.
Sheena's face was now drained of color, and her body trembled slightly.
She still couldn't believe it, but without a doubt, she was scared.
"If it truly were the life jewel formed by the fusion of Arceus's plates, then it would be indestructible. Not even a Pokémon's attack could destroy it."
"And if it shatters, that can only mean one thing."
Mammon looked at Sheena, and Sheena instantly understood what Mammon meant.
Over these long years, this life jewel had been swapped out!
"I..."
Sheena's hand tremblingly reached for the life jewel. She felt Mammon made sense, and she needed to verify it herself.
But perhaps due to psychological pressure, Sheena's movements were very slow.
Finally, she touched the life jewel. The life jewel was not heavy. Sheena lifted it, then took a deep breath.
"Relax, if it's real, it won't break."
Hearing Mammon's voice by her ear, Sheena gritted her teeth and released her grip.
The life jewel fell.
Bang~
Upon hitting the hard ground, the beautiful 'life jewel' immediately produced a crisp sound, and the next moment, it shattered.
This truly was just a crystal product.
Sheena instantly felt dizzy, her vision blurred, and her entire body felt as if it had collapsed, making her unable to stand steadily.
"Sheena!"
Cynthia rushed to help, but even holding Sheena's arm, Sheena still slumped to the ground, her lifeless gaze fixed on the life jewel.
"How could this be... how could it be like this..."
Sheena stared blankly at the shattered life jewel, broken into pieces. It really was just a fake.
Then what was the meaning of her constant guardianship?
She had always been full of anticipation, looking forward to Arceus's appearance, to return this life jewel with both hands, grateful for Arceus's millennium-old blessing.
But Sheena couldn't even imagine how Arceus would view her if she truly handed over this fake life jewel to him.
"Sheena, pull yourself together. Has anyone ever snuck into the ruins before?"
Cynthia tried to pull Sheena up, but couldn't. She could only comfort Sheena and ask.
"No, no one." Sheena's eyes gradually reddened, shaking her head repeatedly: "The life jewel, I value the life jewel more than my own life. Besides Kevin, no one else knows the location of the life jewel."
"And Kevin is a guardian of the ruins who grew up with me since childhood. He absolutely couldn't have stolen the life jewel."
Sheena's voice was already laced with a sob.
"So, it can be confirmed that this jewel has been fake since your ancestors' time."
Mammon also didn't expect that, even though the development was completely different, the life jewel was still swapped out.
In the movie, it was Marcus, Damos's subordinate who betrayed him, who stole the life jewel and made a fake one.
He made Sheena's lineage guard and pass it down for generations, until the awakened Arceus crushed it with a foot, revealing it was fake.
As for the real life jewel, it was actually in this ruin.
Because Marcus didn't have time to send the real jewel out. He died with Damos at the hands of Arceus, who had gone berserk after being ambushed.
"Wuwu..."
The guardian girl's mental state had begun to collapse, and she buried her face in her hands, weeping.
She had no idea what to do now. It would be better if she knew who stole it, but the problem now was that she didn't even know who stole the jewel.
It wasn't even certain if it was someone from their generation. How could she search? She had no idea how to search.
"Be strong. If you have manpower, send people to search the ruins and the surrounding area of Michina Town first."
"Or let Pokémon search. Pokémon are more sensitive to energy-rich treasures, so they might be able to find it."
Mammon was no longer hinting; he was outright stating it.
"Pokémon... right! Pokémon!"
Sheena finally remembered. Although she didn't know where to look, they should know!
Sheena quickly wiped away her tears and stood up, running towards the outside of the ruins, her hurried footsteps showing her urgent mood.
"Sheena?"
Mammon and the two others followed her out. Cynthia looked at Sheena, puzzled.
Sheena was now standing directly in front of the ancient temple, her hands clasped tightly in front of her chest, her eyes closed, and an unknown energy overflowing from her body.
"Help me! Dialga!!"