Chapter 338
The Ruins of Moo, and to get to the Ruins, one must cross a vast desert.
"The Haina Desert is the largest desert in the Alola, and it's also a natural maze; only the most professional guides can lead people out. As for the Shrine... it's actually located in the center of the desert; we should be able to reach it in a few more hours."
Looking at the endless yellow sand before her, Alola puffed out her chest proudly. As a local and the administrator of the Ritual, she knew this place like the back of her hand.
"Desert... You can't even see Ultra Beast here."
Qiao Ran closed his eyes and sensed the surroundings. He couldn't detect even the slightest trace of an Ultra Beast. In the vast expanse of yellow sand, there was only a boundless expanse of white sand. He doubted that even those Ultra Beasts would choose to live here.
After all, this isn't one of those Ultra World where there's no other choice. There are plenty of places to live on this island, and those Ultra Beast aren't stupid; they wouldn't waste their time in this barren desert, right?
"Although Ultra Beast, there are quite a lot of Pokémon..."
Compared to other places, Pokémon in the desert obviously live much better. Qiao Ran even saw some Pokémon live here appearing in the desert. Perhaps they were forced in by Ultra Beast.
Biological invasion inevitably damages existing structures.
What Qiao Ran can do is either put these Ultra Beast into the Wild Area unified management, or find a way to put them back into their original world later. In short, it is too dangerous to keep them in the Pokémon World.
Walking in the desert is not a comfortable experience.
After all, humans are not creatures who can live comfortably in the desert, especially since it was Qiao Ran and Lillie's first time in such a hot and arid region. Qiao Ran and his group walked and stopped frequently, resting when they were tired and thirsty. Fortunately, Qiao Ran's ability allowed them to take a short break in the Real World, which greatly reduced the discomfort of the desert.
"Acerola... is this how you usually perform Ritual?"
Qiao Ran wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced at Acerola beside him, who seemed completely unaffected. He had to admit that the people of the Alola Region were indeed full of martial spirit and wildness.
"Yes, it's not just me; everyone on the island goes together during the Ritual."
Acerola nodded and then asked another question.
"Are you tired already?"
There are huge differences in physical constitution between people.
Qiao Ran never imagined that he, having been enhanced, would one day have such thoughts, but the physical contact...
Hot.
This is the only thought he can come up with right now.
"That's why I dislike summer even more..."
Qiao Ran couldn't help but make a comment, and Lillie next to him nodded in agreement.
Under the blazing Sun, she put her sun hat back on. Compared to Mei Mei, Lillie clearly paid more attention to skincare. Moreover, her skin was already very fair, and she liked to wear white dresses. If she suddenly became even a little darker, it would be very noticeable.
To avoid this, she has to do everything she can to prevent herself from getting a tan. In addition to the protection she should take, she also has to rely on some special products.
--Her mother Lusamine, has also invested a significant amount in this area, and judging from Lusamine's well-maintained appearance, these research and development efforts are indeed quite meaningful.
Stumbling and faltering along, finally, around four or five in the afternoon, Qiao Ran and the others saw the legendary "Ruins of Abundance," Altar standing in the center of the desert, surrounded by various strange Stone Blocks.
Although it is named "Harvest", it is located in the position where a harvest is least likely to occur.
Everything here exudes a primitive and desolate atmosphere, clearly not a modern creation. Over time, the patterns and textures on the boulders have long since crumbled, revealing the original colors of the Stone Blocks.
Furthermore—what attracts Qiao Ran and the others most right now is not the Altar itself, but some indescribable substance that surrounds the Altar and surges in the air and around it.
"Then... what exactly is it?"
At such close range, the unsettling feeling of palpitations was almost suffocating. It was different from the feeling of facing Ultra Beast. These things had a certain "familiarity" to them, yet they also felt completely foreign.
Qiao Ran released Yveltal and Reshiram, but they both shook their heads, indicating they didn't know anything. However, there was one thing they seemed very certain about.
"That's not normal power... it's some kind of..."
Yveltal paused for a moment, then turned his gaze toward Qiao Ran.
"If we're going to use your terminology, shouldn't it be called 'Rules'?"
"Rules?"
Qiao Ran was taken aback, somewhat not understanding Yveltal's meaning. However, sometimes this is indeed the case; when the intended meaning transcends the scope of language, even the closest words cannot fully express the entire meaning.
However, seeing how cautious Yveltal and Reshiram were, he understood what was going on.
"Be careful... approach slowly and assess the situation."
Qiao Ran gave a few words of advice to the girls around him.
These things are clearly beyond the scope of Alola's "Island deity." Normally, in a relatively small region like Alola, there wouldn't be anything that would make Yveltal and Reshiram treat them with such caution.
Moreover, this caution is not based on "power," but rather on a certain "Rules" mastered by the other party.
If it were just about strength, the problem would probably be easier to solve. No matter how strong a super minion is, it still can't break free from the established patterns of thinking. But when the opponent has the ability to change the Rules, it will be beyond expectation and cause them to do things unexpectedly.
"..."
"Um."
The group nodded, closing the distance between them and adopting a stance ready to retaliate at any moment. If things went wrong, Qiao Ran could immediately open Portal and take everyone with him.
They cautiously approached the dark purple "substance".
Take a step forward.
Two steps.
Three steps.
Nothing happened.
Qiao Ran could even hear the rustling sound of his shoes on the sand. He even imagined something might burst out of that strange thing at any moment, but none of that happened.
"..."
As they drew closer, the full form of the dark purple substance was revealed to them.
Through the interior of the material, what they saw was not a desolate wasteland—
Instead, it was—another incredible sight.
Like a shattered mirror, they could see countless fragments within those objects.
Fragments made up of a part of the world.
Upside-down trees, waterfalls, and water surfaces Levitate in the void, sometimes appearing suddenly and sometimes disappearing just like some intangible illusion.
Those strange objects were also surrounded by an eerie blackish-purple substance that would make anyone who looked at them feel dizzy and nauseous.
"Qiao... Ran... what exactly is this...?"
Lillie was so startled by this indescribable and bizarre scene that her body trembled.
The other girls didn't dare to breathe too loudly either. Even the Mei Mei couldn't help but clench their hands to ease their tension.
No one could imagine the impact this scene would have on an ordinary person. Even Qiao Ran was completely blank when he saw it.
Witnessing all of this was like witnessing another side of the world—a side that ordinary people could never possibly see.
After he came to his senses, Qiao Ran finally understood the meaning behind what Yveltal and Reshiram had said earlier.
"Distortion World... Distortion World..."
As one of the three elements that make up the Pokémon World, Arceus created "space" and "time" and also created another world to maintain balance.
However, that world is different from the balanced normal world; it is in a state of constant collapse.
What he is seeing now is very likely the legendary "world" that exists on the opposite side, used to maintain balance.
"Rotom!"
Qiao Ran immediately grabbed Rotom, who was flying towards him, and had her quickly take a few photos. Anything he couldn't be sure about could be taken back to Cynthia for her to see; she knew far more about this than he did.
As for the rest... after seeing this scene, Qiao Ran no longer intended to act rashly.
The three Deity of the Sinnoh Region who control the source are all beings beyond imagination.
At least for now, it's better to be cautious.
"..."
However, just as Qiao Ran finished taking the photos and was about to look around before retreating, a voice suddenly rang in his mind.
The voice was all too familiar to him.
--Rotom's voice.
"Singularity triggered..."
A desolate desert, with endless yellow sand.
Not far away, a towering, earthen-yellow boulder was shrouded in an unsettling, dark purple Distortion Aura, emanating only the eeriness and terror of another world.
When that familiar voice rang in Qiao Ran's mind, Qiao Ran's body froze on the spot.
His expression immediately turned serious.
"Singularity triggered..."
"Distortion World: Number 787"
Danger level:???
"Area:???"
"Warning: This Singularity is quite unusual; please be prepared."
Rotom's voice seemed to have returned to that monotone, machine-like quality, but upon hearing that strange yet familiar last sentence, Qiao Ran's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Special...?
In the past, the opening of Singularity wouldn't have included such a sentence; more often, it would just be a simple explanation, or even incomplete information. But this time, there was an additional phrase. "Extraordinary people."
Personalized reminders.
Rotom probably didn't join on his own, right?
After glancing briefly at Rotom, who didn't seem to have fully recovered, Qiao Ran immediately looked away.
It seems... the real problem lies in the Ruins before us, and in the aura emanating from them.
It is precisely because this time was so special that this result, unlike any before, has emerged.
"Qiao Ran?"
Seeing Qiao Ran suddenly stop moving and stand there stunned, not knowing what to do, the girls who were already trembling with fear were even more startled. Acerola immediately reached out and touched Qiao Ran's chest, and only felt a little relieved after confirming that he was not possessed by any strange Ghost type.
She is very knowledgeable about this kind of thing.
"It's nothing... it's just that the problem here is a bit unusual."
"Listen carefully, if I don't resolve things here, it seems I won't be able to travel to other worlds for the time being."
Qiao Ran briefly explained the current situation to them, trying to reassure them as much as possible, but in fact, they seemed even more uneasy.
After the Singularity was activated, Qiao Ran lost the ability to travel between worlds, and this time was no different. After Rotom recovered, Qiao Ran asked her to try to open a spatial gate, but as before, this ability immediately failed.
Although he could still use Poké Ball to send his Pokémon to the Wild Area, he had directly lost his greatest asset. For Qiao Ran, this was an absolute crushing blow. Unable to travel between worlds, he had nowhere to escape.
"Is... is everything alright?"
Although this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to Qiao Ran, it was clearly the first time Lillie and the others had heard of something like this. So, after hearing Qiao Ran's explanation, everyone immediately tensed up and asked several questions in quick succession.
"It's alright. If it's not feasible, I can let you rest in the Wild Area first. I'll go into the Ruins alone... Although I can't travel between worlds, it's still possible to put you in the Wild Area, but you'll need to use Poké Ball."
Qiao Ran recalled the special warning: if this place was truly special, it would be best not to let these girls accompany him into danger. Going in alone might be a better option.
Qiao Ran glanced at Rotom, indicating that she could teleport the girls to the Wild Area at any time. Their relationship no longer needed any further communication. Rotom also knew that in a mission where problems could arise at any moment, the time left for Qiao Ran to think about these things was obviously running out.
"If you want to come along, you can... but I've already said what I'll do if there's danger, right?"
Qiao Ran had already prepared them for this issue beforehand, but seeing their determined gazes, he knew he didn't need to say anything more.
"Um."
No one wanted to be a burden, and even the weakest of them all, Lillie, was trying her best to keep up with everyone else.
"Then let's go in and take a look."
"... What exactly is going on here?"
Since it's called a "Singularity," there must be something special about it. Moreover, unlike previous "Singularity," the numbering here seems to be quite different from the numbering in the previous "Pokémon World."