Xian and Alied finally reached the museum. They stepped into the grand building, its marble floors gleaming under the soft afternoon light filtering through enormous stained-glass windows. Paintings, sculptures, and intricate artifacts lined the halls—all of it waiting for tonight's exhibition.
"Alright," Alied said, his voice low and serious. "Time to find the Nexus Sapphire."
They approached a group of staff members organizing display cases.
"Sorry to interrupt," Xian said, flashing his badge briefly. "Do any of you know about the Nexus Sapphire?"
The staff members exchanged uncertain glances. One of them shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, we don't handle that piece. But..." She pointed toward a figure across the hall. "That man over there might know. He's in charge of the inventory."
Xian followed her gaze. The man had shoulder-length blond hair, blue eyes, and wore the same style uniform as them—but his badge bore the insignia of a Honchkrow.
Alied's eyes narrowed. "Wait. I recognize him."
He strode across the marble floor. "I knew it. It's you, Eon."
Eon looked up from his clipboard, and his expression immediately soured. "You again. Seriously? I just got back a few days ago, and I have to deal with you already? Today is definitely cursed." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you want? Make it quick."
Alied cut straight to the point. "You're the one handling the inventory list, right?"
Eon sighed. "Yes. Why are you asking? Is this important?"
"We need to know about something called the Nexus Sapphire."
Eon's face went pale. He drew a long, slow breath before answering. "That thing is in the basement. And the key is with the museum director."
Xian and Alied exchanged confused looks. "Why don't you have it? Aren't you supervising the deliveries?"
Eon stared at them like they'd just asked him to wrestle a Gyarados bare-handed. "Do you think I'm insane enough to go anywhere near that artifact?! No way. I'm not taking responsibility if something happens to it."
The two agents understood immediately. If the key went missing on his watch, there was no way he'd want to be the one holding it.
Alied changed tactics. "Then do you at least know what it does? Its main ability?"
Eon shrugged. "All I know is spatial manipulation. No idea how it works, though." He looked at them curiously. "Why are you asking? Artifact abilities are always changing anyway."
Xian grimaced. "Then we're back to waiting for Devon's information."
Alied pulled out his Pokédex and called Devon. To his relief, Devon answered almost immediately.
"Devon, are you at headquarters now?"
"I'm here now," Devon's voice came through, slightly out of breath. "Heading to the archives to get the file."
Alied glanced at his watch. "How long will this take?"
Devon sounded uncertain. "If nothing gets in the way... maybe an hour."
Xian and Alied exchanged glances. They didn't want to waste time standing around.
Xian turned back to Eon. "Where's the museum director?"
Eon pointed toward a staircase at the end of the hall. "He should be in the antique storage room on the third floor."
"Thanks. Good luck with your work," Xian said quickly, already moving.
The two agents headed for the stairs, their footsteps echoing through the grand hall.
---
**Meanwhile, at the headquarters archive room...**
Devon stood in the center of a massive chamber filled floor-to-ceiling with shelves of documents, scrolls, and bound files. He spun in a slow circle, his expression growing more desperate with each rotation.
"Okay," he muttered, his voice hollow. "I'm here. Now... how exactly do I find one artifact file when there are THIS many?!"
He turned to his Alakazam, who floated serenely beside him, watching Devon's panic with calm detachment.
"Alakazam," Devon said, gesturing wildly at the endless shelves. "Help me find that file!"
Alakazam's voice echoed in his mind, dry and unimpressed. *You know, I'm starting to wonder about your thought process sometimes.*
Devon blinked. "What do you mean? We need to find this quickly so I can get back to—"
*So you can relax?* Alakazam finished for him, its telepathic voice laced with amusement. *Maybe if you didn't stay up all night reading case files, you'd think more clearly.*
It extended a spoon-tipped hand toward the far corner of the room. *Look. There's a professor reviewing files right there. If you want information quickly, perhaps try asking the person who literally studies these things for a living.*
Devon squinted. In the corner, a figure sat at a long wooden table, surrounded by stacks of documents. The man had black hair, sharp red eyes, and wore a lab coat with a Volcarona badge pinned to the lapel.
Devon's face lit up. "Right! Of course!"
He hurried across the room, nearly tripping over a stack of scrolls in his haste.
"Excuse me," he said, slightly out of breath. "Do you know where I can find the archives for the Nexus Sapphire?"
The professor looked up, his red eyes gleaming with intelligence. "That file?" He let out a frustrated sigh. "It was just updated. The new version isn't finished yet."
Devon's shoulders slumped. All that running, all that rushing, and now this? He'd wasted his break for nothing.
"I see. Thank you anyway," he said, his voice deflated.
He turned to leave—
"But I know what's in it."
Devon froze. He spun back around.
The professor smiled thinly. "If this is for an investigation or prevention effort, I can tell you what you need to know."
Devon practically lunged back toward the table. "Tell me everything about the artifact."
He pulled out his Pokédex to take notes, then looked at Alakazam. "Alakazam. Remember everything he says."
*Obviously,* Alakazam replied, its eyes already glowing with focus.
The professor—Zero, as he would soon introduce himself—leaned back in his chair.
"I'll give you the short version," he said. "The Nexus Sapphire's primary ability is manipulation of data, information, and possibility. However, in certain documented cases, it has also demonstrated abilities related to spatial manipulation and state manipulation. As an artifact, it can grant its abilities to objects, Pokémon, or humans."
Devon's pen stopped moving. "Wait. Data and information manipulation? I thought it was spatial manipulation. That's what the old records say."
Zero nodded. "That was the old understanding. New research revealed something far more complex. That's why the archives are being revised." He pulled out an Inventory Box and held it up. "You know what this is, right?"
"Of course. It creates a pocket dimension to store items."
"Not exactly." Zero's smile widened. "Have you ever wondered about the deeper mechanics?"
Devon's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"An Inventory Box operates on a classification system," Zero explained. "That system is based on data and information. Even though it looks like spatial manipulation, the underlying mechanism is completely different."
Devon scribbled furiously in his notes. "And how is an Inventory Box made?"
"The standard explanation is that an object needs to come into contact with energy from the Nexus Sapphire. But honestly? That's an oversimplification." Zero stood and gestured for Devon to follow. "It requires a specific user to access the artifact's full capabilities. After that, creating an Inventory Box becomes possible. But to understand how it works..." He waved his hand, and the world around them shifted.
They stood in a different space entirely. White walls. Floating shelves. No ceiling, no floor—just endless organized nothing.
Devon looked around, bewildered. "This is... a pocket dimension?"
"You might call it that," Zero said. "But it's not ordinary. I created this space using the Nexus Sapphire's abilities. Can you tell what's strange about it?"
Alakazam's eyes glowed brighter as it extended its psychic senses. A moment later, its telepathic voice echoed in Devon's mind.
*This dimension is continuously generating new spaces. It's creating them based on... data. And information. Each layer builds on the previous one.*
Devon's eyes widened. "So this is how Inventory Boxes work? They don't just create one space—they create infinite layers?"
Zero nodded approvingly. "Exactly. And accessing this ability requires something very specific. You've probably already guessed who usually creates the Inventory Boxes."
"You," Devon said slowly. "You're the one who makes them."
"I am." Zero extended his hand. "I should properly introduce myself. My name is Zero."
Devon shook his hand, but his expression was skeptical. "That's obviously a code name."
Zero laughed. "Would you walk up to someone and immediately give them your full legal name? Be realistic."
Devon chose not to argue. "Fine. Just explain how the system actually works."
Zero pulled out a pen and wrote two numbers on a floating screen: **0** and **1**.
"How many possible numbers are there between 0 and 1?"
Devon considered the question. "That depends entirely on what system you're using. But if you're asking about maximum possibilities..." He paused. "It's infinite."
"Exactly right. Infinite." Zero circled the numbers. "And that's the system the artifact uses."
"The artifact uses... infinite possibility as its operating system?"
"All possibility," Zero corrected. "Every single one."
Devon stared at the numbers. "Why did you even ask me that question if you were just going to explain it anyway?!"
Zero ignored the outburst. "Think about it this way." He wrote on the screen again. "If you try to find the smallest number between 0 and 1, that number itself is infinitely small. Now imagine that concept applied to an artifact that acts as the central point for changing the entire model."
Devon's head was starting to hurt. "So does it create space based on all possibilities between 0 and 1? The infinite gaps between every fraction?"
Zero shook his head. "Not just space. It's more like... creating an entire operating system based on all possibility."
Devon rubbed his temples. "So the 0 and 1 represent... what? The full range from zero to infinity? Like a set where every part is infinite and transcends the set before it?"
"Close," Zero said. "But 'all possibility' also includes the negative side."
Devon's eyes went wide. "Negative dimensions?! How is that possible?!"
Zero's smile was calm. "All possibility means all possibility. This is experimental series. There are no limits."
Devon let out a long, frustrated breath. "So the bottom line is: this artifact can manipulate data, information, and possibility."
"Yes. But that's just my access level. I can't guarantee what someone else might unlock if they use it."
"Why do artifacts have to be so complicated?!" Devon groaned.
Zero laughed. "You already know this world makes no sense. Did you really think the system behind Relics would be simple?" His smile softened. "This world is like a story with endless mysteries. And mysteries never truly end."
Devon looked at his notes, then back at Zero. "So mysteries are the reason anything can happen. That explains everything and nothing at the same time." He straightened up. "Do you have data on other users?"
Zero nodded. "I have several records."
"Let's hear them," Devon said, his pen ready.
Zero began:
"First user: The artifact was used to create clones. The original owner created copies of themselves. Gold. Statues. Buildings. Even entire structures were duplicated."
Alakazam's eyes glowed as it recorded every word.
"Second user: Spatial manipulation. This is the data that made the artifact famous. The second owner reportedly moved an entire mountain and transformed it into a lake."
Devon's mind was racing, trying to connect the information to anything he'd seen before.
"Third user: Dimensional manipulation."
Devon's head snapped up. That sounded familiar. The camera on the train—Darian's camera—it had trapped the carriages in some kind of dimensional space. And if Zero could still create spaces like this without the artifact...
"The camera from the train," Devon said slowly. "That was dimensional manipulation. And you can still create spaces like this even without the artifact. That means the artifact's abilities don't disappear after someone uses them."
Zero's smile confirmed his suspicion. "That's correct."
Devon leaned forward. "What kind of dimensions does it create?"
Zero tapped the floating screen. "Axis-based, if I remember correctly."
"Good. That matches what I saw."
Zero held up four fingers. "And the fourth user..." His eyes gleamed. "Me."
Devon stared at him. "Of course. You're the one who's been using it."
Zero shrugged, completely unbothered. "Someone has to understand how it works."
---
**Meanwhile, at the clothing store...**
Zayn was examining a rack of jackets with intense focus, holding one up, then another, checking himself in the mirror. Xavier leaned against a wall, arms crossed, watching with barely concealed bewilderment.
"Hey Zayn," Xavier said, his voice flat. "Are you seriously changing your entire style just because Rayne happened to wear something similar to you?"
Zayn didn't even look up. "Of course! Your outfit is like your identity as a trainer! First impressions matter!"
Xavier sighed and decided to wait. Gible Redux sat beside him, watching Zayn disappear into the changing room.
Xavier blinked.
Not two seconds later, the curtain pulled back.
Zayn stood there, completely transformed. He wore a silver jacket with blue accents that matched his eyes—except his eyes weren't their usual color anymore. They were light blue now. His black hair had streaks of blue woven through it. Black shirt, black pants. The whole ensemble looked like it had been tailored specifically for him.
"How—" Xavier sputtered. "How did you change everything that fast?! And your eyes—they're completely different! There's no way you did all that in two seconds!"
Zayn struck a pose. "Well? How do I look?"
"That's not the point! Your eye color literally changed! That's not something you can just—"
Zayn grinned. "Game logic."
Xavier stared at him. Then, slowly, understanding dawned. "Oh. You're a Game Logic user." He shook his head. "No wonder you're so confident about surviving tonight."
Zayn raised an eyebrow. "What about you? What's your system?"
Xavier pushed off from the wall. "I'm a Mage."
Zayn let out a low whistle. "This story really is complicated." He glanced at his watch—a sleek new one that matched his outfit. "Anyway. Let's head back to the Pokémon Center. It's 1:45."
They left the store, Gible scampering after them, and the afternoon sun continued its slow descent toward evening.