Alex stood completely motionless for several seconds, his arms wrapped tightly around Charmander while the enormous creature continued rising from the shattered cavern floor, and although every instinct inside him was screaming that he needed to run as quickly as possible, something about the ancient Pokémon's expression made him hesitate because there was a desperate warning in those ancient eyes that Alex couldn't ignore.
The creature wasn't telling them to run because it wanted them gone.
It was telling them to run because it knew exactly what was about to happen.
"Alex!" Damian shouted.
The enormous creature suddenly inhaled.
The entire cavern seemed to react.
Loose stones began sliding across the floor toward it.
Dust and debris lifted into the air.
Even the flames surrounding Charmander's tail bent toward the creature as though some invisible force were pulling everything into its enormous mouth.
Yellow stared in disbelief.
"What is it doing?!"
Damian grabbed her arm.
"Charging an attack!"
Alex looked toward the ancient Pokémon.
It was struggling to stand.
Blood—or something resembling it—was running down the side of its enormous body, disappearing beneath the ancient scales that covered its chest and shoulders.
It looked wounded.
Badly wounded.
Yet it still forced itself upright.
Then the creature looked directly at Alex.
"RUN!"
This time, Alex listened.
"Everyone, move!"
The three trainers sprinted toward the cavern entrance.
Their footsteps thundered across the stone floor as another enormous vibration shook the entire underground chamber, while behind them, the creature released a terrifying sound that seemed to combine the force of a roar with something far deeper and more unnatural.
Alex didn't look back.
He couldn't.
He knew that if he stopped to see what was happening, fear might convince him to freeze.
"Faster!" Damian shouted.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Yellow yelled.
Alex tightened his grip around Charmander.
"Hold on!"
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive wave of energy exploded behind them.
Alex felt the heat race across his back.
The force of the blast lifted him completely off his feet.
He crashed against the cavern wall.
Yellow slammed into the ground.
Damian rolled across the stone floor before finally stopping against a large rock.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Alex's ears rang.
His vision blurred.
He could barely hear anything except the faint crackling of electricity somewhere nearby.
Then Charmander moved.
"Char…"
Alex immediately opened his eyes.
"You're okay."
Charmander nodded weakly.
Alex pushed himself upright.
"Come on."
He looked toward the entrance.
It was still there.
Only a few dozen meters away.
They were almost out.
Then Alex heard something behind him.
A deep scraping sound.
Slow.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
He turned around.
The ancient Pokémon was standing again.
But the creature wasn't looking at them.
It was staring at Ragnarok.
And Ragnarok was staring back.
For several seconds, the two ancient beings simply watched one another.
Neither attacked.
Neither moved.
Then Ragnarok spoke.
Its voice was unlike anything Alex had ever heard.
It didn't sound like a Pokémon.
It sounded like the earth itself had learned how to speak.
"Guardian."
The ancient Pokémon's eyes narrowed.
"Destroyer."
Yellow froze.
"It can talk too?"
Damian whispered.
"Apparently."
Ragnarok slowly lifted its head.
"You have guarded this world for too long."
The ancient Pokémon took one step forward.
"And you have slept for too long."
Ragnarok's enormous mouth opened slightly.
"You mistake sleep for weakness."
The ancient Pokémon lowered its body.
"And you mistake awakening for victory."
Alex stared at the two creatures.
They knew each other.
Not merely by name.
They had history.
Ancient history.
A history that had existed long before humanity had ever recorded it.
Alex suddenly understood something.
The battle wasn't beginning.
It was continuing.
Whatever had happened thousands of years ago had never truly ended.
It had only been delayed.
Damian seemed to reach the same conclusion.
"This isn't the beginning."
Alex looked at him.
"What?"
Damian stared at the two creatures.
"This is a rematch."
Before Alex could respond, Ragnarok moved.
It was so fast that Alex barely saw it.
The enormous creature lunged forward.
The ancient Pokémon met it head-on.
The impact shook the entire cavern.
KRAAAAAAAAAAASH!
Their bodies collided with enough force to send a shockwave through the underground chamber.
The walls cracked.
The floor split.
Massive stones fell from the ceiling.
Alex grabbed Yellow and pulled her toward the entrance.
"We have to get out!"
"But they're fighting!"
"Exactly!"
They sprinted.
Behind them, the battle became increasingly violent.
Ragnarok swung one enormous claw.
The ancient Pokémon blocked it.
The impact sent both creatures crashing through several stone pillars.
Ragnarok immediately recovered.
Its enormous tail swept across the cavern.
The ancient Pokémon leaped over it.
The tail struck the wall instead.
The entire cavern shook.
Alex reached the entrance.
Cold night air rushed against his face.
He stopped for half a second.
He could see the forest outside.
Moonlight.
Trees.
Open space.
Freedom.
Then Damian grabbed him.
"Don't stop!"
Alex ran.
They burst out of the cave just as another explosion erupted behind them.
The mountain shook.
The ground beneath their feet cracked.
Yellow stumbled forward.
"What is happening?!"
Alex looked toward the sky.
The clouds were moving.
Not because of the wind.
They were spiraling.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
The moon disappeared behind a rapidly forming mass of black clouds.
Lightning flashed across the distant sky.
But the lightning wasn't white.
It was red.
Yellow stared upward.
"That's not normal."
"No," Damian replied.
"It isn't."
Alex looked toward the forest.
Bird Pokémon were fleeing in enormous groups.
Nocturnal Pokémon were emerging from their hiding places.
Even normally aggressive creatures were running in the opposite direction.
The entire forest was evacuating.
Something had changed.
The natural world knew.
Whatever had awakened beneath the earth wasn't simply another powerful Pokémon.
It was something that affected everything around it.
Alex looked down at Charmander.
The little Fire-type stared toward the cave.
Its flame was burning brighter than ever.
"Charmander?"
Charmander slowly raised one claw.
It was pointing toward the forest.
Alex followed its gaze.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then he noticed them.
Red lights.
Hundreds of them.
No.
Thousands.
Eyes.
Pokémon eyes.
They were standing between the trees, watching the mountain.
But they weren't attacking.
They were afraid.
Every creature in the forest was watching the same place.
The cave.
The mountain.
Ragnarok.
Damian slowly approached Alex.
"This is spreading."
Alex looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Damian pointed toward the horizon.
Far beyond the forest, another red flash illuminated the sky.
Then another.
Then another.
Alex's heart sank.
"Those aren't lightning strikes."
Damian shook his head.
"No."
Another explosion echoed from somewhere in the distance.
Then another.
Then another.
It was happening beyond the mountain.
Beyond the forest.
Whatever energy Ragnarok was releasing was spreading outward.
Yellow stared toward the horizon.
"How far is this going to reach?"
Damian didn't answer.
Alex looked back toward the cave.
The ancient Pokémon had told them to run.
It had warned them that Ragnarok's awakening would bring something terrible.
But now Alex understood something else.
Running away wouldn't solve the problem.
If Ragnarok continued awakening, eventually there would be nowhere left to run.
Alex slowly lowered Charmander to the ground.
The Fire-type looked up at him.
Alex crouched.
"Charmander."
"Char?"
"We're going back."
Yellow's eyes widened.
"What?!"
Damian stared at Alex.
"You heard what the creature said."
"I did."
"It told us to run."
"I know."
"And you're going back?"
Alex looked toward the mountain.
"Yes."
Yellow stared at him in disbelief.
"Alex, that thing just threw an ancient Pokémon through a wall!"
"I know."
"It could destroy us!"
"I know."
"Then why are you going back?!"
Alex stood.
"Because if that creature is the only thing keeping Ragnarok from destroying this world, then leaving it alone means we're just waiting for everything else to be destroyed."
Damian remained silent.
For several seconds, he stared at Alex.
Then he reached for one of his Poké Balls.
"Then I'm coming with you."
Yellow looked at Damian.
"You too?"
Damian nodded.
"If Alex is right, we may be the only people who understand what's happening."
Yellow looked between them.
She sighed.
"I hate both of you."
Alex smiled slightly.
"You're coming too."
Yellow stared at him.
"Unfortunately, yes."
Charmander raised its claws.
"Char!"
Alex looked toward the mountain.
The red lightning continued flashing across the sky. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Then a massive roar erupted from the cave. It was so powerful that the trees bent beneath the force of the sound.
The ancient Pokémon roared back.
The battle was still continuing.
Alex tightened his fists.
"Let's go."
The three trainers turned toward the cave.
But before they could take another step, a shadow suddenly moved between the trees behind them.
Alex stopped.
Damian immediately reached for a Poké Ball.
Yellow turned around.
"What was that?"
Nothing.
The forest had gone silent again. Alex slowly scanned the trees. Then he saw something lying on the ground. A small metallic object.
He cautiously approached it. It was another collar. But this one was different.
It wasn't ancient.
It wasn't damaged.
And it wasn't covered in dirt.
It looked brand new.
Alex picked it up.
His expression changed.
"Guys…"
Damian walked over.
"What?"
Alex turned the collar around.
There was a symbol engraved into the metal.
A symbol none of them recognized.
Yellow stared at it.
"Where did that come from?"
Alex looked toward the forest.
A horrible realization slowly settled over him.
If the collar was brand new…
Then whoever had made it hadn't disappeared centuries ago.
Someone was still here.
Someone had known Ragnarok was going to awaken.
Someone had been waiting for it.
And they had been watching Alex, Damian, and Yellow the entire time.
A distant voice suddenly echoed between the trees.
"You shouldn't have gone into that cave."
Alex spun around.
Nothing.
The voice continued.
"Now you've seen something you were never supposed to see."
Damian's Poké Ball was already in his hand.
"Show yourself!"
A quiet laugh echoed through the forest.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Don't worry."
"We'll meet soon."
The red lightning flashed across the sky.
For one brief instant, Alex saw a silhouette standing high among the trees.
A human silhouette.
Then the lightning disappeared.
And so did the figure.
Alex stared into the darkness.
The ancient Pokémon had awakened.
Ragnarok had returned.
And now…
Someone else was hunting them.
To Be Continued… 🐉🌑⚡🔥
Next Chapter: "The Mysterious Hunter"