As the symbols transformed into beams of light shooting skyward, the screen before Cynthia plunged into darkness.
The next moment, a brand-new CG sequence appeared.
In the dark cavern, a beam of light shone down from a crack in the ceiling above.
Within that radiance, the flickering brown symbols seemed to come alive, swirling through the air and dancing gracefully.
Soon, they arranged themselves into two rows, revealing several empty spaces.
A few other symbols floated separately to the side, like satellites knocked out of orbit. These had no luminous glow, appearing instead as dull gray.
At that moment, the CG sequence ended, and the game interface changed.
It now resembled a word puzzle board, clearly displaying the two rows of symbols, with several gray symbols floating and spinning below, waiting for the player's selection.
Seeing this, Cynthia suddenly understood.
So… the player was meant to fill in the correct positions with these characters?
In a sense, it was like a decryption challenge.
If the creator could design such a puzzle, did that mean he actually understood the meaning of these ancient characters?
At the thought, Cynthia's heart raced.
She had already found it impressive that this person knew so much about ancient Pokémon and even understood legendary dragons like Rayquaza.
But she had never imagined the game's creator would also know ancient scripts—possibly to an extent that far surpassed her own.
After a brief silence, Cynthia shook her head.
No… that couldn't be right.
The civilization that had used these characters had been extinct for ages, leaving behind only a handful of damaged texts with blurred, indecipherable content—treasured and stored in the League's classified museums.
Countless experts had tried to decode them, but progress was painfully slow. Despite years of effort, only a small portion of the symbols had been understood. Cynthia had once been part of that work.
So she suspected the game creator had simply stumbled upon knowledge of this script through some obscure channel and included it for show.
And this word-filling puzzle? The content was probably wrong, and the symbols were scrambled. With enough guesses, anyone could pass.
That had to be it… right?
Right?
Yet, given the game's track record, Cynthia found herself uncertain.
Her gaze fell on the two rows of ancient text.
The brown-yellow symbols glowed faintly, swaying as if urging her forward.
From her translation experience, she noted some symbols she had never seen before, some she vaguely remembered but had never translated, and a few she actually recognized.
For example, in the second row, just before the third blank space, one symbol resembled mountains with three peaks, and the next was a triangle.
Together, they meant "of the earth."
Looking at the floating symbols below, she suddenly froze.
Wait!
Among them were two connected shapes resembling a butterfly—meaning "blessing"!
The meaning fits perfectly in that blank space!
Could it be…?
She held her breath and first tried placing two unfamiliar symbols into the blank.
A sharp screech rang out, the symbols were ejected, and one of the three golden lights at the top of the interface went out.
Viewers in the livestream reacted instantly.
[So this is a puzzle challenge? You have to put the right symbols in the blanks, and you only get three chances.]
[Too bad, looks like the first guess was wrong.]
[Isn't Cynthia an expert in ancient writing? How could she get it wrong? Are these symbols made up by the creator?]
[What happens if you use all three chances? I've got a bad feeling…]
Cynthia ignored the chat.
Taking a deep breath, she dragged the butterfly-shaped symbols into the blank space.
Brown light swirled as a clear chime rang out, and energy rippled through the space.
The symbols settled into place, glowing as if they had come to life.
It was a perfect fit.
This proved one thing—
The creator truly understood the meaning of these ancient characters.
But how could that be? These came from a lost civilization!
In her shock, Cynthia realized something.
If that was the case… she could use this puzzle to help decipher the other symbols.
Her eyes lit up as she studied them carefully.
As a mythological archaeologist, she knew that decoding ancient scripts was hardest at the beginning, when almost nothing was understood. Normally, scholars could only make slow progress through repeated guesses.
But here, she could get instant, accurate feedback.
After a minute of thinking, she placed two more symbols into a blank.
A chime rang out.
Correct again.
Her pace quickened.
"Star…"
"Moon…"
"Darkness…"
"Rock…"
Blank after blank lit up, sending the livestream into a frenzy.
[As expected of a mythologist—truly professional!]
[No idea how she's doing this. Anyone care to explain?]
Time passed. Sweat beaded on Cynthia's forehead.
When the last blank was filled, all the characters froze.
RUMBLE!!
The cavern shook violently.
A massive shadow burst from the ground.
The screen went black—another CG sequence.
Urgent drumbeats pounded. The cavern shook, rocks and dust raining down.
A colossal, temple-like structure rose from the earth, covered in glowing brown symbols.
Sacred orchestral music swelled.
Inside the temple was an enormous Pokémon, over ten meters tall, its body made of perfectly fitted brown and gray rocks.
Seven faint gray lights, arranged like an "H," marked its head.
The sight left viewers speechless.
The temple fully emerged, its pillars covered in flickering ancient characters. The massive Pokémon leaned motionless against it, radiating a raw, primitive power.
The camera panned upward, revealing its full scale before fading to black.
When the interface returned, Cynthia's tiny character stood before the temple, barely reaching the Pokémon's legs.
The chat exploded.
[Holy crap! What is that?? Is that still a Pokémon??]
[It's gotta be a legendary!]
[This is insane! The quality's amazing even with livestream compression!]
Most viewers had never encountered such beings. Even professional trainers rarely saw them.
But all had the same thought:
"Legendary Giant."
Cynthia sat frozen.
She recognized it instantly—
Regirock is one of the legendary titans of the Hoenn region.
She had studied them extensively, though they hadn't been seen in a thousand years.
Once, she had joined an expedition to a ruin near Petalburg Woods, where they had found murals of Regirock and Regice, though Registeel's mural had been destroyed.
Now, seeing Regirock in such vivid detail sent a thrill through her.
It matched the ancient murals exactly—but far more lifelike.
That meant one thing—
The creator's knowledge of Regirock far exceeded that of ordinary people.
He might have even seen it in person.
And if he knew this much about Regirock… did he also know about Rayquaza and other legendary giants?
Just who was he?
Cynthia's eyes hardened.
She had to complete this run and contact the creator.
۞۞۞۞
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