When he opened his eyes again, he discovered that everything in front of him was completely dark.
It took some time before he could vaguely make out his surroundings. He lit a torch, and Slowking created a psychic shield around their bodies to prevent the Ghost-type energy from eroding them.
Gengar, on the other hand, felt very comfortable there, absorbing without restraint that seemingly endless Ghost-type energy, as if it would never be depleted.
And it should be known that Gengar had already reached the Quasi-Champion level, yet there still existed Ghost-type energy that he could not fully absorb.
"Ke-ke-ke!" Gengar let out a soft sound beside Cain.
"You're saying that the energy of this place feels familiar to you?" Cain asked after understanding what he wanted to express.
Gengar hesitated for a moment. He carefully sensed the energy again, then nodded.
Cain's expression became a bit serious.
That place, which in the past had made them unable to take even a single step, now posed no obstacle at all.
With the help of Slowking's psychic power, Cain advanced through the cave and once again saw the spot he had excavated before; there were holes in the walls and remnants of earth on the ground.
Everything there was saturated to the extreme with Ghost-type energy. Both the rocks and the soil inside the cave had already been completely assimilated.
"Miiis!"
Attracted by the external energy, Mismagius poked her head out from Cain's shadow, immediately recognizing the place.
Cain smiled when he saw her and called her to come out completely.
Once outside, Mismagius, like Gengar, began to absorb the energy without reserve, showing an expression of delight.
In the past, she hadn't even known that this was Ghost-type energy, nor did she consciously absorb it. It was only after following Cain for some time that she understood what it truly was.
If she had discovered it earlier, then when Cain found her, she probably would not have been merely an Initial Elite-level Pokémon.
"In a place equivalent to a Ghost-type energy source of the Pokémon world, practically any Pokémon that came here could turn into a Ghost type after some time. If their talent were good enough, they might even directly rise to the Champion level... though it would require a long time," Cain said as he observed the joyful Mismagius and Gengar.
Mismagius had returned to her old home, and inside she didn't know what to feel.
Looking back, she understood how ignorant and simple she had been. If she hadn't met Cain, she might never have discovered how vast and wonderful reality truly was.
She deeply appreciated Cain.
Although he always made her weave strange dreams, it was precisely thanks to those dreams that she learned many things and saw many wonders.
After each woven dream, Mismagius would return to Cain's shadows and relive the contents of the dream again and again; that was her way of observing the world.
That was why her dreams became more and more real, to the point that those who entered them could no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy.
It was in this way that Mismagius became so special.
"A source...?" Cain was suddenly enlightened by his own words.
With Slowking's prior assistance, they had examined the underground cave, and aside from the extremely dense Ghost-type energy, they had found no passageways.
But such concentrated energy could not be generated out of nothing.
Although this place resembled an energy source of the world, it should at least have some kind of outlet or channel... but there was nothing.
That was extremely strange.
Nothing arises from nothing, and even less so something like energy, which must always have an origin.
Cain narrowed his eyes and ordered:
"Gengar, Mismagius, absorb energy to the maximum. Follow the flow of the energy and find where it comes from!"
Both Pokémon nodded.
In an instant, they began absorbing energy like gigantic suction machines; before, they had been restrained out of courtesy, but now it was no longer necessary.
Just as he had expected, when they absorbed with full force, the Ghost-type energy in the cave began to decrease.
But even with a Quasi-Champion-level Pokémon and an Initial Elite Four–level Pokémon absorbing at full capacity, the energy of the place did not run out quickly.
Cain was even more intrigued by the source supplying that endless flow.
After a while, both Gengar and Mismagius pointed simultaneously toward the same place.
Cain frowned—it was precisely the area he had excavated in the past.
With the ambient energy now more dispersed, they could clearly sense large amounts of energy seeping through the wall, feeding the cave.
Cain led his Pokémon up to the wall.
"Honchkrow," he called softly.
Honchkrow understood instantly. His wings glowed and struck the wall with force.
Boom!
Boom!
Two impacts resounded, but the wall did not break as Cain had expected.
Only small rocks and dirt fell, but the structure remained intact.
Cain showed surprise: the hardness of that wall exceeded all his expectations. The material was also out of the ordinary.
He picked up a black stone that glowed faintly.
"It truly is a Dusk Stone... and it seems to be of Superior quality or even supreme quality. Or perhaps a mixture of both. What an incredible investment," Cain said, impressed.
He had assumed there might be ordinary Dusk Stones, perhaps one or two of superior quality if he was lucky. But no... it seemed there was something far more elaborate.
Moreover, a wall that could withstand Honchkrow's attacks had to have been specially reinforced.
Otherwise, with Honchkrow's current power, it wouldn't just be an underground wall—he could destroy an entire hill.
Yet here, he had only managed to chip off some fragments.
"Slowking, let's go together!" Cain said.
Hearing this, Slowking and Honchkrow launched a combined attack.
Boom!
The wall vibrated slightly; the hole made by Honchkrow expanded, and Slowking removed all the dirt clinging to the surface.
Then an enormous, gleaming black wall was revealed, as smooth as a giant LCD screen.
"Continue." Cain narrowed his eyes.
He was growing increasingly curious about what lay behind it. But he did not know that his actions had alarmed... an existence.
(End of chapter)