After leaving Vermilion Harbor, Ash and his group traveled by boat to a port town steeped in ancient legends Maiden's Peak.
It was the time of the end-of-summer festival, and the town was bustling with life. They soon heard the famous tragic legend of the area: two thousand years ago, a young woman waited here for her lover to return from across the sea, eventually turning into a stone statue.
During the festival, an old woman calling herself a fortune teller who was actually a Gastly in disguise intercepted them. Her voice was raspy and mysterious.
"You all... you carry an unusual scent, especially you, young man." Her deep gaze locked onto Ash. "I can see that you share a strange connection with the power of souls and will the power of Aura. The road ahead may intersect with an ancient obsession..."
Ash's Aura stirred slightly. He could sense an exceptionally powerful and ancient Ghost-type energy radiating from the "old woman," but he didn't call her out, simply remaining vigilant.
Furthermore, because he knew exactly what was going to happen, he already had a plan in mind.
That night, as the festival ended, the moonlight was cold and clear.
When they passed by Maiden's Rock near the harbor once again, a strange phenomenon occurred.
Brock and James Team Rocket was also wandering nearby suddenly acted as if they were possessed. They gazed toward Maiden's Rock with infatuated eyes, murmuring, "My lady... wait for me!" They began walking toward the rock like sleepwalkers.
"Brock! What's wrong with you?" Misty cried out in shock.
"James! Wake up!" Jessie shouted anxiously.
Before Maiden's Rock, a beautiful young woman had appeared out of nowhere. She was dressed in ancient attire, her face identical to the stone statue, looking peerlessly exquisite. Her expression was mournful as she wept silently toward the sea.
This sight instantly captured the hearts of Brock and James.
"It's the maiden from the legend! She's come to life?!" Misty couldn't believe her eyes.
"No!" Ash's eyes were sharp, and his Aura surged to full power. "That is not a real living being! It's an incredibly realistic illusion! And the source of the energy... is the same as that old fortune teller!"
He spun around toward a nearby dark corner and shouted, "Gastly! This is your doing, isn't it? Show yourself!"
"Hehehe..." A sinister laugh echoed. From the shadows, a Gastly with a comical, mocking expression slowly drifted out. "Caught already? That's right! It's me! How could I let the annual festival pass without finding some fun? Isn't it entertaining to watch these fools fall head over heels for a thousand-year-old phantom? Hehehe!"
It admitted that both the fortune teller and the phantom maiden were its own transformations used to play tricks on people.
"Release your illusion at once!" Ash commanded sternly.
"Why should I? As long as I'm happy, that's all that matters!" Gastly grinned mischievously and began creating various terrifying phantoms, trying to scare off Ash and Misty.
However, Ash's Aura allowed him to stabilize his mind and see through the falsehoods.
Ash did not send out his Pokémon to fight. Having knowledge of the original story, he knew this thousand-year-old Gastly had reached a profound level of power; no matter what Pokémon he sent out, it could transform into something that countered them.
As he resisted the illusions, he carefully observed the phantom maiden and the statue beside her. As his Aura delved deeper into his perception, he suddenly understood.
"Gastly! You're not just doing this for pranks!" Ash shouted, his voice cutting through the ghost's cynical laughter. "You've lingered here for a thousand years because you can't let go either, can you? Your will and that maiden's obsession have become entangled over the long years!
You reenact this waiting year after year not just to trick travelers, but because you don't know how to end it! You are also waiting for something or rather, you're afraid of the moment this thousand-year wait finally comes to an end!"
Gastly's laughter stopped abruptly. The surrounding illusions flickered and distorted. Its mocking expression froze, and a hint of shock along with the weariness and aimlessness accumulated over a millennium flashed deep in its eyes.
"...What are you trying to say?" Gastly's voice was no longer playful, carrying a rasp of sincerity.
"I can help her move on." Ash's words were shocking as he pointed at the phantom maiden and the statue. "My Aura can penetrate the core of her remaining obsession. I can weave the most perfect dream for her, allowing her to reunite and be with the one she waits for in that dream. I can fulfill her regrets, allowing her soul to truly find peace and be freed from this thousand-year shackle."
Gastly remained silent, seemingly weighing the truth of his words.
"Not only that," Ash said, his eyes burning with resolve as he threw out an even more stunning condition. "I can also use a special power World Origin Points to reshape a temporary but real energy body for her. At the moment the 'dream' becomes reality, she will be able to truly 'touch' his return and complete a perfect farewell! She won't have to exist forever as a phantom and a stone, repeating an endless wait!"
"Reshape a physical body?!" Gastly's voice shook with disbelief.
System, confirm query, Ash thought to himself.
[Analysis of spirit strength and depth of obsession complete. To create a stable energy body lasting 24 hours, the cost is 3,000 World Origin Points. Do you confirm?]
Ash felt a surge of certainty. He looked at Gastly with absolute determination. "I can do it! But the condition is if I succeed, you must immediately release all illusions. Furthermore, you must end your thousand-year wandering and come with me! Your power shouldn't be trapped here forever; the world outside is vast and worth exploring!"
Gastly fell into a long silence. Behind a thousand years of endless pranks lay a bottomless loneliness and a hidden desire for release. Ash's words, and the seemingly impossible promise to "reshape a body," were like a ray of dawn piercing its dormant heart.
"...Fine!" Gastly's voice held a note of finality and a faint, hidden expectation. "If you can really do it... let her truly find peace... then I... no, I, Gastly, shall acknowledge you as my master!"
"It's a deal!"
The agreement reached, Ash walked to the front of Maiden's Rock. He placed his hand on the stone statue and closed his eyes to concentrate. His Aura flowed out like the gentlest of silk threads, probing into that obsession that spanned a millennium.
"In the name of Aura, weave a dream of peaceful sleep..."
At the same time, he confirmed in his mind: System, confirm payment of 3,000 World Origin Points to shape the energy body!
[Deducting 3,000 World Origin Points. Commencing construction...]
A massive yet gentle power emerged, merging with his Aura. Before Maiden's Rock, an energy body identical to the phantom maiden but incredibly solid slowly took shape!
At that exact moment, the perfect reunion dream Ash had woven was injected into the core of the obsession.
The phantom maiden stopped weeping. She looked at her solid hands in surprise and then turned her gaze toward a point in the void where, in her perception, her lover was returning. A brilliant smile, filled with a thousand years of happiness and relief, bloomed on her face.
She took a step forward and embraced the air. Then, her entire energy body, along with the lingering obsession, transformed into countless warm points of light. They rose, scattered, and dissolved into the moonlight.
The eternal wait had finally reached its conclusion.
As the maiden's obsession dissipated, Brock and James suddenly snapped out of it. They looked around blankly, having no idea what had just happened. All the other illusions set by Gastly vanished as well.
Gastly watched the spot where the maiden had disappeared in silence. It felt as if a thousand-year burden had been lifted from its own shoulders. It drifted toward Ash, its gaze complex.
"It's time to fulfill the promise," Ash said. His face was a bit pale, but his eyes were bright.
Gastly nodded, shrinking its form until it landed on Ash's shoulder. Pikachu looked at this new partner with curiosity. "Hmph... I'll be in your care from now on. But don't think I'll stop my pranks; they're my only joy! Hehehe!"
[Ding! Host has successfully laid a thousand-year obsession to rest and captured a special Gastly (with a thousand years of mastery). Reward: 2,000 World Origin Points.]
[Ding! Host has successfully combined Aura with System energy to complete a high-difficulty soul project. Affinity between Aura and souls has been greatly increased.]
[Current World Origin Points: 9,800.]
And so, the legend of Maiden's Peak found a new ending. Ash had captured the Gastly that had witnessed a millennium, and with it, he continued on toward a new adventure.
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