Chapter 339

The Distortion World: Number 787.

Previous Singularity certainly did not reach such a huge number.

"Stay close to me."

Although the Ruins of Abundance are surrounded by many dangerous "substances," and no one knows what the consequences of touching them will be, there is still room to pass through, but one must proceed with extreme caution.

Sometimes, even the help of Flying type Pokémon is needed.

As for the Psychic type of Teleport, it seems to have malfunctioned to some extent in this area. Teleport is a rudimentary application of spatial Rules, and in this area of broken and chaotic space, if used haphazardly, the best outcome is that it will be "ineffective," while the worst outcome is that one will be swept away by the spatial turbulence and teleported to a location one does not even know, and may even be crushed into pieces.

"These Ruins... I even came here to clean them before..."

Acerola was very familiar with every mark on the Ruins of Abundance. These Ruins were a product of the Alola Kingdom and were closely related to her family's past. However, enveloped in strange substances, they presented a very eerie scene.

Moreover, as the group ventured deeper into the area, the eeriness intensified.

Everything around seemed to have gone out of place, and began to fall apart. The huge Plate that had been standing upright suddenly appeared in the air not far away, and even took on a twisted and upside-down shape.

Not only these, but everything seems to be like this.

However, this is merely a misperception caused by one's perspective.

Under the influence of the Aura Power, Qiao Ran could still sense where these things originally were. Many of these misalignments were false illusions, but some of them seemed to have actually caused some kind of anomaly.

"Hold my hand and close your eyes."

Eye."

Qiao Ran called for the others to grab his arms, and the remaining people grabbed the hands of the others as well.

The group handed over complete command of the operation to Qiao Ran, and then followed his lead, step by step, up the steps in front of them.

Qiao Ran had spread his Aura to its maximum extent, but he still couldn't sense what was hidden at the end of the steps...

The Ruins of Abundance on Ula'ula Island are merely Altar built by the Alola Kingdom to commemorate Tapu Bulu, the Island Guardian.

There are no epic tales or earth-shattering battles like those in other regions.

However, when Qiao Ran stepped onto the steps of the Ruins, he could clearly sense that something around him seemed to be gradually changing.

Is this Alola?

No...

"Clatter."

At that moment, Qiao Ran's feet also stepped over the high threshold of the door and into the huge hall. Time was still flowing around him, but space seemed to be frozen, and something was gradually disappearing from his side.

"..."

--The tactile sensation on my hand gradually disappeared.

The weight that had been pressing on his shoulders suddenly Disappearance.

"No... that's not right!"

In a panic, Qiao Ran immediately opened her eyes.

However, what appeared before him stunned him, and the look of panic on his face froze.

The surrounding scenery was clearly no longer what one would expect in the Alola Region.

He saw the infinite distance, he saw the infinite limit.

All around, there was a dark purple hue that seemed like an endless dome, while countless fragments of "structures" Levitate and spun in the air. Judging from the strange patterns and textures of the stones, Qiao Ran felt that... those were very likely the "decorations" that should exist inside the Ruins of Abundance.

Or rather, it is the Ruins themselves.

Including the cracked "ground" that appears to be pieced together from unknown parts, everything here is part of the Ruins.

But—compared to something else, these things are clearly not that important.

After opening his eyes, Qiao Ran immediately began searching around him.

"No... no, what is this... is it an illusion?"

Qiao Ran was extremely agitated.

The girls who were originally by his side, and the Pokémon that followed him, all disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

The connection that I had built up in my heart suddenly vanished.

Qiao Ran panicked. He covered his head, and at that moment, he truly began to waver.

He tried to find the Poké Ball on his person, but he couldn't find them. Not only that, but even the backpack he was carrying had disappeared.

"..."

At this moment, he felt as if he had become the same person he was before, and in the vast space, there wasn't even a single voice responding to him.

"..."

No...

There's nothing here.

Qiao Ran stared at the swirling fragments in the sky, his consciousness seemingly fading away, gradually disappearing from his body.

Owner.

Owner?

"..."

Qiao Ran vaguely remembered that some time had passed.

It might only last a few seconds, or it might last a very, very long time.

A voice gradually began to ring in his ears.

"Who...?"

In this chaotic world, consciousness is easily "knocked down".

Just like drowning, once you fall in, it's hard to get up again. But, with the call of this voice, Qiao Ran gradually began to respond.

"..."

He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a ball of light.

A light completely different from everything around it.

Qiao Ran's eyes widened instantly, and his whole body felt as if he had been electrocuted. His spirit, which had sunk to the bottom of the sea, suddenly rose to the surface.

"What do you?"

Although she didn't know why, Qiao Ran was absolutely certain that the thing she was talking to was this thing.

The ball of light bobbed up and down for a moment, then uttered a sentence that left Qiao Ran completely baffled.

"I am Rotom."

"...?"

Qiao Ran blinked, and countless question marks instantly popped into her head.

"Rotom... m?"

"Are you Rotom???"

Wait, what about your body?

And this sound... it's different from a mechanical sound, isn't it?

Even Rotom's verbal tic is gone!!

"I am Rotom."

"Since it's Ghost Pokémon, it's quite normal for it to appear like this."

"Right now, I'm in a perfectly normal state, not possessed by any machine."

Qiao Ran: "..."

"Is this even possible?"

"Wait, you don't look like a typical Rotom either?"

Qiao Ran instantly sensed something was wrong. Were they taking advantage of him because he had never seen a normal Rotom before?

Even if it wasn't a lightning-shaped "Ghost type," it shouldn't be an Illuminate Light Orb!

"... That must be because there's something strange about this world, so..."

Something went wrong.

The "ball of light" floated in the air for a while, then continued speaking.

"To prove my identity, perhaps the only way is..."

In order to gain Qiao Ran's trust, "Orb of Light" slowly recounted what had happened before. As the "Key" to opening the Portal, Rotom actually had quite a lot of information. She even knew roughly when Qiao Ran went to the Wild Area, how many times he went to see Dianxi and the others, and when he left.

The "ball of light" recounted her story bit by bit, and surprisingly, what she said actually matched Qiao Ran's memories.

"... Besides these, there was also the afternoon before yesterday, which lasted for... no, it should be the time of departure..."

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop! I understand!"

Qiao Ran was so embarrassed that he covered his face with one hand and interrupted the other person.

"For now, I'll trust you, okay?"

Despite its strange appearance, these were things that only Rotom knew, and most importantly, this creature was the only one here who could communicate with him. Moreover, the way it spoke was so similar to that of "Rotom".

Aside from that peculiar "Rotom" verbal tic.

"So... what exactly happened here?"

Qiao Ran wanted to obtain more information from the other party, which was necessary regardless of whether the other party was friend or foe.

He was incredibly worried about the girls and the Pokémon, but—without understanding his current situation, there was really nothing Qiao Ran could do.

"Distortion World: Number 787"

"... This is part of Distortion World, Singularity formed by the Pokémon World, the Distortion World, and certain special forces; it is a deadlock of space and time."

As the "ball of light" spoke, it began to drift in a certain direction.

"Please come with me, Master."

"... To complete this world's 'mission,' you'll have to use some special methods."

This place is extremely "special".

Qiao Ran had clearly felt this during this period.

However, when the "orb of light" that called himself Rotom uttered these highly informative words, Qiao Ran was momentarily stunned.

His consciousness seemed to still be stuck in the aftermath of his previous drowning. Although he had recovered considerably, he still felt uncomfortable when he engaged in complex thinking.

Finally, he could only shake his head, trying to banish the chaotic thoughts from his mind.

"Come with me."

The ball of light flew through the air for a distance, leading the way.

Qiao Ran didn't know its purpose, but at this stage, it was safer to follow it.

However, as the two continued forward, Qiao Ran stopped a short distance ahead.

"This... it simply won't work, will it?"

What appeared beneath his feet was not a flat road, nor a ladder to climb, nor a slope to walk on, but a bottomless ravine, a complete dead end before him.

Qiao Ran looked down, and below was still endless deep space. In many corners, both near and far, Levitate broken "fragments" that defied the laws of physics.

"Wait for the right moment, wait for the item to come over, then jump over directly."

The "orb of light" offered its advice: in this space, Qiao Ran could only rely on himself, and overcoming these obstacles was just the beginning.

"Gurgle."