Kairos was escorted next to the Chairman's private lounge.
Beyond the massive floor-to-ceiling windows stretched the underground city's artificial twilight sky, frozen in an eternal dusk. Far below, traffic flowed steadily, like lines of ants in motion.
Only Kairos and Alicia remained in the room. Chandelure hovered silently in a corner, its ghostly red flames pulsing faintly.
Alicia personally poured Kairos a cup of hot water. Her icy blue eyes held a mix of emotions: relief at surviving disaster, awe at Kairos's strength, and a lingering thread of worry.
She took a slow breath, her gaze drifting toward the artificial sky beyond the glass.
"Mr. Kairos," she said, her voice tinged with exhaustion.
"Your strength and Gouging Fire's promise bought us valuable time. But the Paradox Pokémon are still a serious threat. Their attack patterns, their origin, even how they appear, we know nothing."
"Simply defending ourselves, or relying on you and Lord Gouging Fire to eliminate them one by one, doesn't solve the real problem."
She turned back to him, her expression open and direct.
"The Alliance's intelligence network is operating at full capacity, but it's barely helping. Those metal monsters don't think. They act purely on destruction. We can't even tell how they arrive so suddenly."
"Mr. Kairos, what do you think? How can we truly wipe them out, or at least uncover more clues?"
Kairos held the cup, feeling its warmth seep into his palms, and took a sip.
Her question went straight to the core.
The source of the Paradox Pokémon, that distorted world, and the mechanism behind their deployment were also the biggest unknowns for him and Gouging Fire.
What Gouging Fire had shared were abstract concepts rather than locations or concrete solutions.
So Kairos himself had no clear leads yet.
That said, it didn't stop him from moving forward with the next step of his plan.
Strength was the foundation of resisting the Paradox Pokémon.
And he already had a way to raise this world's overall power.
"Gouging Fire and I are also investigating the source of the Paradox Pokémon," Kairos said evenly, offering no extra explanation.
"That will take time. But before that, Chairman Alicia, have you noticed something? Why are the Paradox Pokémon so fixated on destroying energy nodes, even attacking the Astral Hall itself?"
Alicia hesitated.
"They seem to instinctively target areas with concentrated energy. The energy pillars in the Astral Hall fit that pattern."
"Yes, but I don't think it's that simple." Kairos set the cup down and met her eyes.
What followed was exactly the reasoning he had prepared beforehand.
"They're afraid. Afraid of anything that nurtures life and makes it stronger. If they want to turn this world into something cold and lifeless like themselves, they have to choke off all vitality."
"So they destroy energy nodes to make survival harder for you. But look at it from the other side. If everyone here, every fighter, every ordinary citizen, became stronger and more resilient, wouldn't that itself be resistance?"
A spark lit up in Alicia's eyes, only to dim again moments later.
"You're right. But getting stronger isn't easy. Training Pokémon takes talent, resources, and time. Even with our mature Trainer system, top-tier Trainers are extremely rare. In the short term, we simply…"
"In the short term, I can offer a shortcut."
Kairos cut in with a smile.
His awareness sank inward as he issued a command to the system, activating a specific module.
The next instant, a soft glow rippled outward like water spreading across the air in the center of the lounge.
A translucent screen appeared before Alicia, displaying a simple interface with a bold title:
Pokémon: Emerald Version
"What is this?"
Alicia stared at the screen in surprise. Their world possessed advanced technology, but this felt different in a way she couldn't describe.
"A game," Kairos said, smiling.
"A game that can genuinely make people stronger."
As he spoke, a gentle knock sounded at the door.
After permission was given, an Alliance staff member escorted in a young man who looked visibly nervous.
He wore fashionable streamer-style clothing, his face still flushed with excitement. Perched on his shoulder was a small Pokémon with a metallic sheen: a Klink.
The Klink looked sluggish and underdeveloped, clearly low-level and poorly nourished.
"Madam Chairman! Mr. Kairos!"
The young man's voice shook, a mix of nerves and excitement at meeting such important figures.
"I'm… I'm Ian. You asked me to bring Klink here…"
"Mm."
Kairos nodded, his gaze fixed on the lethargic Pokémon.
"That's the one. Give it the reward I just sent you through the game."
This was the first player Kairos had found in this world who had played Emerald Version.
Ian froze for a second, then hurriedly reached into his pocket.
A plain-looking blue candy appeared in his hand.
A Rare Candy.
An intermediate-grade one.
Under the intense gaze of both Alicia and the young man himself, Ian carefully held the candy out to Klink.
Klink sniffed it, eyes lighting up. It licked the candy once, then swallowed it whole.
One second passed. Two.
Just as Alicia wondered if nothing would happen, Klink's body suddenly burst into dazzling white light.
"Kliiink!"
It cried out happily as its body twisted and expanded within the glow.
When the light faded, a larger, more intricate Klang stood where Klink had been, its metal gleaming with newfound strength. Its gears rotated with a deep, powerful hum, its eyes sharp and alert.
"It evolved! It really evolved!"
Ian jumped in place, his voice cracking.
"My Klink… it actually evolved just like that!"
That candy is the reward from the game.
Alicia clapped a hand over her mouth, her pupils shrinking in shock.
She had seen it clearly. No battles. No guided training. No energy channeling.
One candy from that so-called game, and a Pokémon barely rated at one star had crossed a growth threshold and evolved instantly.
In their world, evolution required enormous investment.
Yet a single candy had done it.
Her understanding of everything she knew was shattered.
Kairos spoke calmly, right on cue.
"Allow me to introduce Rare Candy. It's a reward for clearing the game or reaching certain milestones. Its function is simple. It directly raises a Pokémon's level. One candy can push a basic-stage Pokémon past a key growth point and even trigger evolution."
Seeing Alicia at a loss for words, he continued.
"And this is only the beginning. The game includes many items that enhance individual potential, teach moves, and even provide temporary boosts."
"More importantly, the game systematically teaches battle tactics, type interactions, and training methods."
"Chairman, if every Trainer in the Alliance, every citizen, could use this game to grow stronger alongside their partners at a pace far beyond traditional methods, then when that strength comes together, would the Paradox Pokémon still be so frightening?"
"They want to make your world incapable of fighting back. We'll make everyone stronger instead. What do you think?"
"Stronger… everyone getting stronger…"
Alicia murmured. The shock in her eyes slowly transformed into radiant hope.
She looked at Kairos sharply. "Mr. Kairos, this game… can it be rolled out on a large scale? How do we start?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Kairos waved a hand.
He activated an advanced module, setting the target range to the entire Alliance core district of the underground city.
"You just need to give a speech and tell them what this game can do."
[Confirmed, Host. Command received. Module activating. Game deployed!]
Without warning or spectacle, every person within the Alliance core district, whether in council chambers, offices, streets, lounges, or homes, suddenly saw a light screen appear before their eyes.
On it, the green startup interface of Pokémon: Emerald Version was displayed clearly.
"What's going on? Alliance announcement?"
"What is this thing?"
"Emerald Pokémon? Never heard of it."
"A forced pop-up? Is this a new system?"
"Wait, the Chairman's speaking!"
At the same moment, all public displays across the Alliance switched to Alicia's image.
Her voice echoed through the underground broadcast network.
"All Alliance citizens. This is Chairman Alicia. Please remain calm. What you see before you is the Alliance's newest and most groundbreaking training support system: Pokémon: Emerald Version!"
"This is not an ordinary game. It is a key weapon for facing future threats and strengthening ourselves!"
"It teaches partner training, combat techniques, and through special rewards, can directly raise a Pokémon's strength!"
"Just moments ago, we personally witnessed a Trainer's Klink evolve instantly through a reward from this game!"
As she spoke, footage of Ian and his Pokémon played across the screens, including a replay of the evolution.
Boom.
The Alliance's core district erupted.
"One candy and it evolved?"
"Games can give out real rewards? No way."
"Quick, how do you play this thing?"
"It loaded automatically on my terminal!"
"This has to be tied to the Creation Engine. I knew the Alliance was hiding something big!"
Shock, disbelief, excitement, and frantic curiosity exploded everywhere.
On streets and in homes, voices overlapped with animated discussion.
Many people couldn't resist opening the interface and trying it themselves.
And just like that, a gaming revolution officially began in this world.
Watching the city roil beneath the artificial sky, Kairos let out a quiet breath.
He glanced to the side. Gouging Fire stood there silently, golden eyes deep and calm, seemingly indifferent to the chaos.
Kairos reached out through their Mythical Resonance.
"Well? Gouging Fire, want to try it? It's pretty interesting."
Gouging Fire's massive head tilted slightly, a flicker of disdain passing through its golden gaze.
The reply carried regal composure.
[ I am the Guardian Flame. I do not engage in mortal pastimes. ]
Translated less politely, it meant:
[ Not worth my time. ]
Kairos raised an eyebrow. Without another word, he tapped a finger toward Gouging Fire's position in the void.
[Game invitation loading.]
[Target: Gouging Fire. Loading…]
Gouging Fire froze, maintaining its lofty posture, eyes fixed ahead as if nothing had happened.
But through their connection, Kairos clearly felt a ripple of curiosity.
Somewhere deep within Gouging Fire's awareness, a game interface had appeared, visible only to it.
That's more like it.
Kairos smiled.
Who could resist something like this?
After leaving Alicia and Gouging Fire behind, Kairos exited the Alliance Center and found a quiet spot beside a massive power station fan. He leaned against the wall and sat down.
Closing his eyes, he sank his awareness deep inward.
[Major plot milestone detected!]
[Creation Engine "Purification Day" plan prevented: Complete!]
[Critical mission node achieved. Walker's conspiracy exposed. War faction dismantled. Alliance Chairman Alicia has indefinitely shelved the Creation Engine plan: Complete!]
[Current underground world structure exploration: Complete!]
[Exploration progress: 100%]
Streams of information flowed through his mind. He wasn't surprised. The progress had already been close to completion.
But as the notifications continued, his brow creased.
Wait.
He checked again.
There was no mention of Ancient or Paradox Pokémon in the completion data.
In other words, this exploration progress had nothing to do with them.
Why was that?
۞۞۞۞
~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones