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Tapu Koko was revered by the people of Alola as an island guardian not only because of its overwhelming power as a legendary Pokémon, but also because of the moral force bound to its nature.
Fierce and volatile like a storm, yes.
But when Pokémon or humans faced mortal danger, it was almost always the first to appear.
When the age of darkness arrived and the Nightmare Seed began spreading through the world, Tapu Koko understood the risk clearly.
If it did not enter dormancy, the corruption would eventually erode its mind.
It would lose itself.
Become nothing more than a puppet driven by malice.
Yet for the land beneath its feet, etched with centuries of memory, Tapu Koko abandoned the thought of sleep entirely.
Wrapped in blazing lightning, it stood alone as a living spear, blocking the advance of the Ultra Beasts.
It fought.
Alone.
At the cost of most of its remaining power and wounds so severe they bordered on fatal, it either drove the invaders back into Ultra Space or destroyed them outright.
And even then—
It still did not sleep.
The Ultra Beasts may have retreated under the threat of their strength, but the Ultra Wormholes scattered throughout the ruins remained.
And those—
Those were not threats that could be destroyed by force.
The only way to close a passage to Ultra Space was time itself.
Given enough years, the spatial structure would destabilize and collapse naturally as reality repaired itself.
In the era before the Nightmare Seed, this was a trivial solution.
For legendary Pokémon with near-endless lifespans, waiting centuries was insignificant.
But after infection—
Every second spent awake in the world accelerated the descent toward irreversible collapse.
Waiting for the Ultra Wormholes to fade naturally meant gambling against total corruption.
Yet Tapu Koko hesitated for not even a moment.
It chose to become what the title truly demanded.
A guardian.
Ten years.
Fifty years.
A hundred years.
The once-thriving metropolis was ground down by time into a silent graveyard of concrete and sand.
The vibrant ecosystems that once flourished became nothing but barren earth.
Only one thing remained unchanged.
Tapu Koko.
Standing alone in sandstorms and frozen winds, unmoving like a divine statue, watching over the ruins.
Wave after wave of Ultra Beasts fell beneath its lightning.
And one by one—
The Ultra Wormholes collapsed.
Until now.
By the time Kael arrived, the vast city held only a single remaining passage.
The calm, steady narration echoed through Kael's mind, as if recounting nothing more than ordinary history.
Yet as he stared at the slender, exhausted figure before him, his head lowered unconsciously.
He said nothing for a long time.
What filled his chest was not fear—
But awe.
To stand alone for centuries, clinging to a fragile hope, guarding dead land against endless disaster—
Such resolve could not be measured in words.
Kael knew himself well enough to admit the truth.
If their roles were reversed, he could not have done this.
The voice faded.
The ruined shopping complex returned to its oppressive silence.
Only the low hum of the Ultra Wormhole remained, white light spiraling endlessly in the darkened plaza.
Seeing Tapu Koko standing motionless, seemingly lost in memory, Kael hesitated before speaking.
Carefully, he asked, trying to lighten the heavy stillness.
"This last Ultra Wormhole… it should collapse soon, shouldn't it?"
"After all this time…"
Silence.
Tapu Koko did not answer immediately.
Its gaze remained fixed on the rotating vortex, murky eyes reflecting the harsh white glow.
After a long pause, a hoarse voice finally echoed in Kael's mind.
"…No."
"It will not."
Kael's head snapped up as he took an instinctive step forward.
"How is that possible?"
"You said Ultra Wormholes collapse naturally over time."
"Under normal conditions, yes," Tapu Koko replied.
It raised a blackened claw and slowly traced the edge of the spiraling light.
"But this one is different."
"Prolonged connection between two worlds has caused a stable spatial backflow to form inside this passage."
"The structure has reinforced itself."
"Time is no longer a limiting factor."
Kael's breath caught.
"Then… does that mean this Ultra Wormhole will never disappear?"
The implications were horrifying.
A permanent Ultra Wormhole was not merely dangerous.
It was apocalyptic.
The threat was not the passage itself but what it represented.
Ultra Beasts that required legendary Pokémon to barely repel here were merely common organisms in their own realm.
If such creatures discovered a permanent gateway—
The Pokémon world would not survive.
Compared to that, even the Nightmare Seed was a slower death.
At least remnants of life still endured.
A full-scale Ultra Beast invasion would leave nothing but corpses.
A world already half-dead would become truly lifeless.
As Kael's thoughts spiraled toward despair—
Tapu Koko's voice rose again.
Calm.
Measured.
And tinged with something like sorrow.
"There is… a way."
The words echoed softly through Kael's mind.
And for the first time—
Hope trembled in the darkness.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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