The tunnel was even darker than they had expected.
This was not the ordinary darkness of night, but a profound blackness in which they could not see their hands in front of their faces, as though even sound had been swallowed up.
It made the entire tunnel look like a gaping maw that devoured everything.
Dawn stood at the entrance, her steps visibly faltering.
"Um... do we really have to go this way?" she asked quietly, peering into the deep darkness of the tunnel. "We can't see anything..."
"You were the first one to agree earlier," Xia You said with a chuckle.
"I-I thought there would at least be lights..."
Not just Dawn-even Cheryl was visibly hesitant.
Makomo, on the other hand, was bold enough to have already taken a few steps inside. She turned and beckoned to them. "It's fine! It's only this part that's so dark. It should get better after we walk a little farther, right? Besides, don't we have our Pokémon?"
"Don't worry," Xia You said with a smile as well. "Whatever happens, I'll protect you."
Hearing this, Dawn hesitated for a moment before finally gritting her teeth and following him. Seeing that, Cheryl also hurried to Xia You's side and clutched his arm tightly.
Switching on the flashlight they had brought along, they entered the unfinished undersea tunnel under Gardevoir's protection.
Their footsteps rang through the empty passage with a slightly eerie echo.
The walls on either side were still bare cement, and the pipes and cables overhead were exposed. Here and there, tools and materials left over from construction lay piled in corners, but the work was largely finished.
"This feels like an adventure," Makomo said, looking around excitedly.
Indeed, compared with their usual experiences, this felt all the more novel.
After walking for