The God of Nightmares, Darkrai!
Upon seeing that Pokémon, Cain immediately knew its name.
Not only because it was a legendary Pokémon, but because, in his opinion, its appearance easily ranked among the three most imposing in the Pokémon world.
Of course, that was the impression Cain had of Darkrai before arriving in the Pokémon world, back when he still lived in that place called Earth.
After arriving in the Pokémon world, in his previous life, he may still have held certain illusions about Darkrai; but after coming to understand the true nature of this world, he realized that they were not even illusions... just simple fantasies.
But he never imagined that a Pokémon like this would now appear before his eyes.
Even in his previous life, he had not been very far from the place where Darkrai was located. It was just that, with the strength he had back then, he surely would not have survived even in the first space, much less venture into a place where Ghost-type energy was as dense as it was here.
However, looking at Darkrai, Cain noticed that his condition was far from good. The most obvious sign was the four black chains bound to his arms.
Cain immediately thought of Giratina, and his heart trembled.
Was it possible that everything here was Giratina's doing?
Was his purpose to chain Darkrai in this place?
Or perhaps this was merely a means, and the true objective was directly related to Darkrai himself?
A kind of white "mane," like thick, undulating mist, almost completely covered his face, leaving only his glowing blue eyes visible.
Around his neck he wore a reddish collar, shaped like sharp edges.
From his shoulders hung two long black fragments, like tattered strips of cloth, and his hands were shaped like three-fingered claws.
That was Darkrai. Aside from the extreme exhaustion reflected in his eyes and the chains on his wrists, there did not seem to be any other abnormalities.
Darkrai silently observed Cain, floating above the surface of the lake.
Normally, Darkrai preferred to float, but if he wished, he could form two lower limbs to walk.
It was clear that the chains were sending out extremely powerful pulses of energy: vast amounts of Ghost-type energy flowed through them into Darkrai's body.
And as a Dark-type Pokémon, he naturally resisted Ghost-type energy; yet here, he was being forced to absorb it incessantly.
It was like forcing a person to continuously eat something they despised. Absolute torment.
Darkrai stared at Cain for a long while, then shifted his gaze toward Mismagius.
In his otherwise unchanging eyes, a faint hint of emotion appeared—nostalgia, affection, longing... all mixed together.
Cain noticed the change in his gaze.
Mismagius showed no fear either. In fact, her eyes expressed deep confusion.
Normally, a Ghost-type Pokémon should not feel any affinity toward a Dark-type Pokémon. At this moment, the one who should have been on alert was Gengar.
The tunnel fell into a heavy silence. Cain did not know how to break it, while Darkrai continued staring at Mismagius, as if recalling something.
"Darkrai." Finally, Cain was the first to speak. He had too many questions.
Upon hearing his name, Darkrai turned his gaze back to Cain.
"This might be a somewhat rude question... but it's what troubles me the most right now. Did Giratina imprison you here?"
"..."
Silence once again filled the place.
The question was direct, perhaps abrupt, but it was what concerned Cain the most.
Giratina! The Dragon of the Distortion World.
A legendary being capable of opposing the creator of the world himself. Some stories said Arceus created him; others claimed he was born from one of three dragon eggs in the eternal void. No one knew which was true. But if he could confront Arceus, his power was undeniably terrifying.
Cain had already witnessed his power before, though on that occasion, Ho-Oh had intervened.
Although Giratina could not enter the Pokémon world without Arceus's permission, Cain knew that sooner or later he might have to leave this world and venture into other spaces...
And if Giratina marked him as a target, what would he do then?
"We meet again, human." A weak voice echoed directly in his ear.
Although unexpected, Cain recognized it as Darkrai's voice.
He did not answer his question, but Cain did not panic.
"Have we met before?"
"You have not seen me. But I have seen you—more than once." Darkrai replied.
Cain frowned upon hearing this.
"The first time I entered here... was it you who put me to sleep without me realizing it? Or who influenced me to choose that wall? Was finding Mismagius not a coincidence, but because you didn't want me to continue staying here, and made me discover her so I would take her with me?"
Cain felt as if his entire life had been completely under someone else's control.
Perhaps Darkrai merely "activated" a choice Cain already carried within himself, but even so, it was an unpleasant feeling.
"You are intelligent, human. It's just that you were too weak back then." Darkrai did not even try to deny it.
At that time, Cain was so weak that even an imprisoned Darkrai could influence him. But this time, when Cain returned, Darkrai no longer had the strength to do anything.
He was far too exhausted.
"You still haven't answered my first question, Darkrai." Cain spoke frankly; the irritation was still there.
After a long silence...
"Yes." Darkrai replied.
Cain was not surprised. Gengar had already said that the Ghost-type energy carried Giratina's trace. And now he knew where it came from: the four black chains, saturated with Giratina's essence.
For Gengar, that aura was impossible to mistake.
"Why?" Cain frowned. His irritation completely faded.
In the end, that was not what mattered.
What truly worried him was why Giratina had decided to chain Darkrai.
(End of chapter)