Glug, glug, glug...
Volcanion whipped around at the scream, splashing hot spring water all over Dian. It rolled its eyes. "Human, why are you screaming for no reason?"
Dian wiped his face with his sleeve, expressionless. He could hardly admit that he had imagined his ancestor wasn't human, only for the feather against his chest to burn him. Instead, he said flatly, "The water's too hot."
Volcanion tossed its head disdainfully, turning away with a sideways glance as though clicking its tongue. "Humans. Every last one of you is so delicate."
Dian chuckled dryly. "Can't help it. Our nerves are a little more normal."
Ever since it had occurred to him that his ancestor might not have been human, he felt as though his entire worldview had been rewritten. Perhaps, a very, very long time ago, his ancestor and Volcanion had been a pair of good... nursing buddies?
He was getting carried away. Better wipe his face.
Volcanion tilted its head in confusion. Something about that remark felt off, but it couldn't figure out what. In the end, it put the matter aside and sank back into the hot spring. "Hmph. Once we're done talking, hurry up and leave."
As it spoke, it submerged its whole body in the hot spring, leaving only its lion-like head exposed. With his worldview already in Dog Leash, Dian could barely bring himself to look.
He nodded. "What does Cycle mean?"
Naturally, Volcanion couldn't understand that, after five hundred years of human society's development, certain things had become impossible to look at innocently. Blowing bubbles, it said casually, "A Cycle is a kind of power. A crucial power."
"Only by mastering and understanding a Cycle can you achieve that all-important qualitative transformation."
The two steam arms on its back demonstrated as it spoke. One