Northern Village Secret Realm, Part Four

He had said it after all.

If those thoughts had only existed in Su Hao's heart before, now he had chosen to lay everything out and leave the choice to Cycloze.

Before Cycloze was willing to completely open its heart, he did not mind waiting.

"I feel much better after saying it. I'm going to sleep first."

Seeing that Cycloze still had no reaction, Su Hao stretched and felt much lighter in both body and mind.

Then Su Hao added meaningfully, "Oh, right. Since you still have the energy to eavesdrop, you're on night watch, Metagross."

With that, Su Hao ignored Metagross's instantly frozen expression, crawled into his sleeping bag, and went straight to sleep.

The New Moon Feather on his chest glowed faintly, as though foretelling a pleasant dream tonight.

Under the night sky, one person slept soundly, one Pokémon felt terribly wronged, and another Pokémon had mixed emotions.

The following morning.

Su Hao, Cycloze, and Metagross had only traveled for about an hour before the Northern Village Secret Realm's core area, a force field that blocked everything, appeared before them.

"Hiss... so that's what this is?"

Su Hao inhaled sharply and looked down. Countless masks lay scattered across the ground—Hearthflame, Foundation Stone, Wellspring, and Ivy Masks were everywhere.

Su Hao finally understood why Su Qing had said he would know once he entered the Secret Realm. So that was what she meant.

Metagross and Cycloze, who had gone to scout the left and right, returned at that moment and reported that masks were scattered on both sides as well.

Su Hao picked up an Ivy Mask and examined it carefully. Its appearance was exactly the same as the Ivy Mask in his memory, but only its appearance was similar. In the end, it was merely an imitation—a