Night has a talent for hiding ugly truths.
Sin. Desire. Schemes. Things that crawl just beyond the edge of common sense.
Out in the abandoned countryside, shadows pooled unnaturally, flowing like thick oil across the ground. They gathered, twisted, and swelled into shifting black masses. Enough to make ordinary people scream themselves hoarse.
Leon stood at the center of it all.
Unbothered.
Not a single shiver ran down his spine. In fact, he looked… entertained.
A grin crept across his face as he licked the corner of his lips, eyes glinting with anticipation rather than fear.
The shadows reacted.
They surged forward, rolling like a tide about to break, eager to swallow him whole.
Just before they could erupt—
A soft white glow bloomed in the darkness.
Pure. Clean. Almost sacred.
Where the light touched, corruption evaporated.
The shadows recoiled, peeling away from the radiance as if burned, leaving behind a widening circle of untouched ground around Leon.
Leon turned toward the source of the light, his expression immediately gentler.
"Thanks, Kirlia."
"Chiru~"
A small figure emerged from the glow.
She wore a flowing white dress, her body slender and delicate, shaped in a way no human could naturally possess. Emerald-green hair framed her face, accented by red horn-like fins, with crimson eyes that shimmered with quiet intelligence.
Kirlia floated gracefully, spinning once before circling Leon like a dancer completing her routine.
Though she made only soft cries, Leon understood her perfectly.
When she drifted close, he reached out and patted her head.
"Don't hold back anymore. I know I've been keeping you like this for a long time." He smiled. "Let's do it today."
"Chiru~"
Kirlia nodded.
Her body slowly lifted higher, and the white light around her warped into rippling waves of rainbow color.
Unlike before, this energy didn't push outward.
It pulled.
The surrounding shadows didn't even get a chance to flee before being dragged into the iridescent storm, crushed into fine grains of black dust.
A cool night breeze swept past.
The dust scattered.
Nothing remained.
Leon opened his arms.
"Good work."
Kirlia drifted down and jumped into his embrace, letting out a pleased little cry.
Leon lifted her up, then pressed his forehead gently against hers.
"This'll be the last time I call you Kirlia," he said quietly. "Next time… I'll use your new name."
His eyes closed.
A familiar translucent interface appeared before him.
LEVEL: 29 → 30
Leon's grin widened.
"Finally. Let's see the real you."
"Chirrut!"
Kirlia leapt from his arms, spun elegantly, lifted her skirt with both hands, and performed a small curtsy.
Light swallowed her.
When it faded—
She was taller.
No longer childlike.
Her height had doubled. Her limbs were longer, more refined. The same color scheme remained, but the presence was entirely different.
If Kirlia had been a girl…
Then this was a woman.
She finished her curtsy and spoke in a smoother, deeper voice.
"Gar~"
Leon's face lit up.
Eight years.
Eight years of waiting.
Gardevoir.
The living embodiment of elegance, power, and unfair popularity.
Leon forcibly shoved a few intrusive thoughts into a locked mental vault.
Gardevoir species were notoriously sensitive to emotional fluctuations. He wasn't about to ruin her mood with stray nonsense.
"Congratulations, Gardevoir."
"Gar~"
She immediately stepped forward and hugged him.
Unlike before, she no longer had to look up.
She rose onto her toes and gently pressed her forehead against his.
After a few seconds, she grabbed him—then lifted him off the ground.
"Hey, hey—this still feels weird," Leon laughed.
He considered resisting.
Then gave up.
"As long as you're happy. I carried you for years. Fair's fair."
Gardevoir beamed.
Clearly, she intended to repay every bit of affection Leon had ever given her.
She cradled him princess-style.
Then tried sitting him on her shoulders.
Then switched back to carrying him.
Telekinesis made all of it effortless.
For a Pokémon nicknamed the Psychic Queen, lifting one teenage boy was nothing.
Eventually, she let both of them float gently a few feet above the ground.
"Gar~"
"Yeah," Leon said. "Let's go home."
Their house wasn't special.
A small single-story building.
Gravel path.
A few flowers out front.
Nothing flashy.
But it was theirs.
Instead of using the front door, they drifted through Leon's bedroom window. A gentle pulse of telekinesis slid the latch open without a sound.
Leon landed and poked Gardevoir's forehead.
"It's late. Go rest. Tomorrow we'll show off to my mom."
Before she could answer, a calm voice came from the doorway.
"No need to wait until tomorrow."
The door creaked open.
A woman stood there.
Black hair.
Gentle eyes.
A faint smile.
Kamo Mayumi.
Leon froze.
"…Mom?"