With one day left before the fruit flashed, Shen Qi had best return to the spot where he had landed after crossing over. When he returned, it would surely be to the exact instant he had left; otherwise, Shen Qi's "existence" would inexplicably vanish from the Normal World Line for a while.
'Kind and upright young man, I'm going back to recover from my injuries. May fate bring us together again.'
"See you at the next explosion."
Celebi glared fiercely at Shen Qi, flew high into the sky, and opened a tiny space-time passage there before leaving.
With the problem of getting home resolved, Shen Qi truly heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Although both the Mega Evolution World Line and the Normal World Line were Pokémon worlds, Shen Qi had experienced all sorts of firsts in the Normal World Line.
The Normal World Line was also their true home in the hearts of Lilligant, Florges, and the others. Being unable to return would have been far too painful.
Without Celebi, Shen Qi would still have set out with his Pokémon on a journey to find a way home. Only if he failed to find one in his entire lifetime would he have had no choice but to give up.
That thought reminded Shen Qi of Meng Ai.
She still had the remaining Lustrous Orb, but Meng Ai had vanished too.
When they returned from space, not only had Zinnia... oh, he should say Zinnia, disappeared from the top of Sky Pillar, but Meng Ai's whereabouts were also unknown.
Fortunately, the space-time passage had remained open. Otherwise, Shen Qi and Rayquaza might have been dropped into some random location together, or crossed over into another world again.
Meng Ai... surely she couldn't have been a spirit like Zinnia, vanishing completely