Exeggutor stood at the edge of the pit with the old ranger, looking down at the enormous empty crater, smooth as a mirror.
After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly. His voice was hoarse and low, carrying a complex, indescribable emotion.
"Those who bring disaster upon themselves cannot be saved..."
He softly recited those words, each one seeming to be forced out from the depths of his throat, laden with the sentiment of someone weathered by time.
He raised his head and looked toward the small figure still hovering in midair.
Celebi's pale blue eyes calmly watched the empty pit. There was no expression on its little face—no joy, no sorrow—only the faint calm of someone who had just completed an insignificant task.
The old ranger opened his mouth, about to say something—
But Celebi suddenly turned its head, its pale blue eyes looking into the distance.
Its gaze pierced through layer upon layer of treetops, through the pale green motes floating in the air, through the moonlight and night, and settled upon some incredibly distant place.
An exceptionally humanlike gravity flickered across its tiny face.
The change was so swift that the old ranger nearly thought he had imagined it.
But the next second, Celebi had already withdrawn its gaze.
It turned back, its pale blue eyes settling on the old ranger.
Then an ethereal voice, carrying a strange echo, rang directly in the old man's mind:
"The Nature Domain is about to close. This time, it will be completely sealed for a year."
The old ranger's pupils contracted slightly.
Completely sealed for a year—this meant that over the next year, no one would be able to enter this space, whether rangers or poachers, ordinary people or Elite level powerhouses.
Celebi's voice continued to echo through his mind,