Chapter 741: The Unbreakable Curse
"So, all the Pokémon in the village are dead Pokémon?!"
Volcanion's eyes widened, looking at Oranguru with a face full of shock, feeling a chill run down His spine.
If it weren't for His special physical structure.
He would probably be breaking out in a cold sweat right now.
"...Master, I'm scared."
Diancie had already pitifully hidden under Kazuya's skirt.
Kazuya didn't feel scared.
What hadn't he seen?
Having been to the spirit world, he knew these were just small scenes.
What surprised him was that the Pokémon Village turned out to be such an existence.
He could be sure.
Although this Pokémon Village shared the same name, it was definitely not the Pokémon Village from the Mystery Dungeon version!
The "NPCs" here were much scarier than those in the game.
If he guessed correctly.
Existences like Slowking and Oranguru.
Had probably maintained this appearance and strength over these seven thousand years, never having changed from beginning to end.
After all.
They had died long ago.
Their souls wouldn't undergo any changes.
Even the strength they currently possessed was at the level of their final moments before death.
"No, only us old things are dead. Those young children are alive, they are Pokémon from outside the village."
Oranguru waved the leaf fan in his hand, looking at the Pokémon outside with a hint of kindness in his eyes.
"Huh? Isn't this place intentionally hidden by you guys? Can ordinary Pokémon get in?"
Volcanion continued to ask.
"Therefore, we deliberately let them in..."
Oranguru nodded.
He explained the reason for doing so.
Only then did everyone understand the final component of the Pokémon Village.
Slowking, Oranguru...
Although the actual nature of these Pokémon was souls, their souls had materialized and could be seen and touched by other Pokémon.
This was the only difference from Nia's situation.
But.
Because of this.
Their every action on ordinary days would consume energy, and their daily behavior was not much different from truly living Pokémon.
Oranguru and the others also needed to sleep to recover their spirit and eat to recover their stamina.
However.
This energy magnetic field was only so big.
They couldn't get out at all.
Although the number of spirit Pokémon lingering around this village wasn't large, because they were all powerful spirits, their daily consumption wasn't small.
Even if they deliberately planted food, they couldn't reach the level of self-sufficiency.
Therefore.
They could only ask the outside world for help.
And those who responded to their plea for help were the Pokémon from the outside.
Actually, it wasn't accurate to put it this way.
While these Pokémon helped the Pokémon Village gather food, they were actually also receiving the village's protection.
Whenever night fell.
The outside world would become extremely dangerous.
And the Pokémon Village was the safest place; everyone living here didn't have to worry about being hunted while sleeping.
This was a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.
For thousands of years.
The Pokémon Village had survived under this system until today.
"So, now can you let me know your purpose? Don't tell me you don't have a purpose. I am not Slowking. Even if psychic powers don't work, these eyes of mine that have lived for tens of thousands of years are still quite sharp."
Oranguru's gaze landed on Volcanion.
The latter felt guilty and hurriedly averted His eyes.
This was the flaw.
Oranguru indeed couldn't see through Kazuya, nor did he dare to casually use psychic powers on him.
But Volcanion's flaw was simply too obvious.
He was completely a child who couldn't lie.
Even without using psychic powers, one could tell He had other motives.
"Ah, the thing is, I have a family member who has gone missing. I want to find her, and I can only rely on Jirachi's power..."
"Hey, Kazuya!"
"It's nothing, it's not something to feel guilty about, just say it directly."
Kazuya casually waved his hand, telling Volcanion to calm down.
"Is that so? I understand. I won't stop you, but whether Jirachi is willing to help you depends on itself. Originally, we wouldn't interfere with its decisions either, we just worried you might harm it, or wanted to make some evil wish."
Oranguru nodded.
"Oh, has something similar happened in the past?"
Hearing him say this, Kazuya became slightly interested.
"Ah, yes. One of us became obsessed and wanted to obtain a powerful physical body to resurrect. As a result, they accidentally created a terrifying guy and killed many of our companions."
"A monster?"
"Monster... this name is quite fitting. Let's call it a monster. In short, if you want to rely on Jirachi's power, you must be mentally prepared to bear all the consequences."
Oranguru blinked and gave a piece of advice.
Suddenly.
At this time.
Diancie came out from under Kazuya's skirt. She stared seriously at Oranguru in front of her, the fear of knowing the other party was an "undead" having vanished from her eyes: "Wait a minute!"
"What is it? What do you want to ask?"
Oranguru looked into Diancie's eyes.
How did this little girl suddenly become brave and resolute?
Did she think of something she had to face?
Something related to them?
"I just remembered. You said earlier that the barrier protecting this village requires Jirachi to recharge it once a millennium?"
"..."
"..."
Hearing this, Kazuya's eyelids lifted slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Volcanion, who had also sensed something amiss.
They.
Hadn't told Jirachi about the millennium slumber yet.
"That's right."
Oranguru nodded, answering this question.
"Then what happens after Jirachi finishes recharging?"
Diancie's eyes were filled with persistence.
She seemed determined to know the answer to this question.
In her heart.
Jirachi was already her good friend, an existence similar to a younger sibling, a baby that needed protection.
Kazuya remained silent after hearing this, letting Diancie continue asking.
He was also curious.
Was Jirachi's millennium slumber related to this recharging incident?
At least in Kazuya's speculation, they were related.
And the connection might be huge.
He had always felt that Jirachi's millennium slumber was forced upon it.
At least in the situations shown in the original work, Jirachi always exhausted the energy it absorbed from the comet before falling into a deep sleep.
Then what if it didn't exhaust that energy?
Would Jirachi not have to go back to sleep?
Could it live happily in this world every day like a normal Pokémon, spending a long time together with its friends?
"It will turn back into a crystal and fall asleep, waiting until a thousand years later when the Millennium Comet reappears in the sky to wake up again."
Oranguru answered this question expressionlessly.
"I'm taking Jirachi away from here."
Without another word, Diancie turned around and started to leave.
She would not allow Jirachi to do anything that harmed itself.
Kazuya and Volcanion didn't stop her.
Their thoughts were the same as Diancie's.
"Even if you take Jirachi away and stop it from recharging the magnetic field, it will still fall asleep. The only difference is... this time, we will disappear from this world."
Oranguru's tone was filled with helplessness and pain.
Living.
Was it really such a happy thing?
At least in Oranguru's eyes, living was not necessarily a good thing.
In these tens of thousands of years, he had witnessed countless births, aging, sickness, and deaths. A child born in his arms just a thousand years ago would close their eyes in front of him a thousand years later...
He had already said it.
Relying on Jirachi's power.
Required a price.
These Pokémon had already paid the price. They had fulfilled their wish from seven thousand years ago to "live," and the price was being imprisoned in this Pokémon Village, ageless and undying, repeating a dull life day after day.
If it weren't for Jirachi...
They might have just ended their lives long ago.
After all.
As long as they left this place.
They would dissipate in this world.
There were actually quite a few Pokémon who had already taken action. Over seven thousand years ago, there were hundreds of Pokémon detained in this village.
Now there were only a few dozen.
"What do you mean?"
Diancie turned around, her eyes filled with worry and terror.
"Whether Jirachi slumbers or not has nothing to do with whether it exhausts the energy in its body. It is tightly connected to that Millennium Comet in the sky."
Oranguru raised his head and looked at the sky with murky eyes. "When the Millennium Comet arrives, it also brings a 'voice' that can keep Jirachi awake. And when it leaves, Jirachi will also fall into a deep sleep because it loses this 'voice'."
"..."
"..."
Kazuya opened his mouth but didn't say a word.
He hadn't expected it either.
The secret of Jirachi's millennium slumber originated from this. It seemed he had thought wrong.
Hearing Oranguru's words.
Kazuya only then recalled those vague memories.
The original work indeed mentioned that Jirachi particularly loved listening to others sing, and was able to wake up because it heard the call of the Millennium Comet in the sky, having nothing to do with energy.
After all, when the Millennium Comet arrived, Jirachi hadn't used the True Eye to absorb the comet's energy, but it still woke up.
Jirachi only needed to use the Millennium Comet's energy when realizing a massive wish.
"If we pluck that star down, won't Jirachi not have to sleep anymore?"
Diancie hurriedly asked.
She didn't realize how difficult it would be to achieve what she just said.
She only wanted to find a way to break the curse of Jirachi's millennium slumber now.
"The moment the Millennium Comet stops moving, it means it has 'died,' and it won't emit a sound anymore, so Jirachi won't wake up again either."
Oranguru shook his head, sighed, and added, "Give up. Every question you can think of, we've already considered them all over these seven thousand years. And... we believe Jirachi is happier maintaining that kind of slumber."
~~~
Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter