Keys? Orbs? Ocean and Land?
Cynthia's eyes widened as she suddenly recalled that back at Mt. Chimney, Team Aqua and Team Magma had clashed over two different colored orbs.
So that blue orb... was originally meant to control Kyogre?
But why hadn't Archie succeeded?
Her intuition told her this had nothing to do with her arrival in this world.
And the land that opposes the ocean, the other orb corresponding to the Blue Orb... doesn't that mean there's another legendary Pokémon? That must be what's causing the anomaly at Mt. Chimney!
Cynthia immediately put the pieces together and nodded to Gengar.
"I understand. Thank you. I have to go!"
With that, she rushed out of the library.
Gengar watched her retreating figure, looking thoughtful.
[How rare... she's seldom like this.]
[So, what kind of world is she talking about?]
After leaving the library, Cynthia hurried back to her cottage and restarted the game.
The screen still showed the scorching yet eerily quiet base of Mt. Chimney.
With her discovery from the library, her perspective on this land had completely changed.
The heat currents churning beneath that calm surface now seemed like the tremendous force deep within the earth quietly emerging to contend with the ocean.
She examined every inch of rock more carefully. Finally, she stopped before a massive boulder near the mountain face.
It was darker than its surroundings and radiated an abnormal amount of heat.
The boulder's surface had an inconspicuous protrusion, but upon closer inspection, its shape seemed a bit too perfect.
Cynthia tried having her character face the protrusion and pressed the interact button.
Click.
A faint mechanical sound seemed to echo from within the mountain. Immediately after, the massive boulder began sliding aside with a low rumbling, revealing a pitch-black entrance leading downward!
Scorching air immediately rushed out from the opening. Even Cynthia in front of the screen felt a wave of dry heat.
Just as I thought!
Cynthia's eyes sharpened, and without hesitation, she guided her character inside.
Completely unlike Team Aqua's base with its cold dampness and intricate waterways, Team Magma's secret base was as dry as a desert inside, the air shimmering with distortion from the intense heat.
The surrounding walls were dark red, as if scorched by flames daily.
In some places, streams of slowly flowing lava emitted a crimson glow, illuminating the path forward.
The layout here was also much simpler and more brutal.
There were virtually no complex mazes, just one winding main path descending deeper, supplemented by a few caves for storing supplies and member rest areas.
However, simple didn't mean easy.
The Team Magma guards along the way were clearly far more elite than Team Aqua's grunts.
Their Pokémon were higher leveled and their moves more ferocious.
"Intruder! Don't even think about disrupting Boss Maxie's great plan!"
"Let me show you the fury of the earth!"
Battles erupted one after another.
But just as Cynthia had predicted, her team had been through countless trials and was now at level 68. Their strength far exceeded these elite members.
She basically steamrolled through with level and type advantages.
The Team Magma members' arrogant boasts quickly turned into defeated groans.
Without too much difficulty, Cynthia followed the blazing passage to the deepest part of the base.
This was an incredibly massive underground cavern, even more expansive than Team Aqua's underwater cave. At the cavern's center was a lake of churning, scorching lava. Heat waves made the screen blur.
And right at the edge of the lava lake stood a man in a red uniform with striking red hair, his back to the entrance as he gazed up at the boiling lava. In his hand, an orb radiating brilliant crimson light resonated powerfully with the lava below.
Seeing this familiar scene, Cynthia suddenly had an ominous feeling.
Wait, could it be...?
Cynthia carefully moved her character forward.
The scorching heat deep in the cavern seemed ready to seep through the screen.
The air twisted violently from the high temperature, filling her vision with blurry dark red.
The lava lake bubbled with gasses. This game even simulated environmental details so realistically.
Her gaze locked onto the red-haired man's back at the lake's edge. Team Magma's leader, Maxie!
He was holding high an orb radiating an ominous crimson glow, chanting words similar to Archie's, filled with fanatical fervor.
"Awaken! Avatar of the land! Follow the ancient covenant, show me your power, and bring eternal land to this world!"
The Crimson Orb... just as I thought!
Cynthia's heart trembled. Corresponding to the Blue Orb in Archie's hand, this orb was likely the key to controlling the legendary Pokémon that opposed Kyogre!
As soon as Maxie finished speaking, the Crimson Orb in his hand erupted with blinding light, like a miniature sun born in his palm!
The entire cavern began shaking violently, even more intensely than when Kyogre had awakened.
The ground beneath their feet began cracking continuously, and the lava lake started churning wildly!
An indescribable, heavy yet scorching pressure instantly filled every inch of space.
This aura was different from Kyogre's vast magnificence. It was heavier and more violent, carrying a destructive field that seemed ready to melt everything!
"BOOM!!!"
The center of the lava lake exploded violently. A massive orange-red figure burst through the boiling magma, slowly rising!
Its body was as massive as a mountain, its skin covered in hard armor like cooled lava.
Blazing red light flowed across its back. Just standing there, the heat radiating from its body made the air crackle continuously, and the rocks beneath its feet rapidly melted into fresh lava.
This was... "The avatar of the land?"
Cynthia held her breath.
Though she didn't know its name, the power attribute completely opposite to yet equally terrifying as Kyogre's already explained everything.
Ocean and land, creation and expansion. These two legendary Pokémon were indeed each other's opposites!
Immediately after, the game screen switched to a cutscene CG.
The camera gave an extremely impactful close-up of this newly awakened behemoth.
The protrusions on its back resembled volcanic craters, continuously spewing scorching breath and sparks.
Its eyes were bright yellow like lava, burning with rage similar to Kyogre's. It had been forcibly disturbed from its slumber.
It lifted its head and released a deep roar. The sound waves expanded outward with tangible heat, causing the cavern walls to melt and collapse over large areas!
The camera pulled back, revealing the terrifying scene caused by this legendary Pokémon's power.
A high-temperature field of distorted air surrounded it. This field alone caused the surrounding earth to crack and lava to flow.
This legendary Pokémon also paid no attention to the tiny Maxie below. Its eyes scanned the cavern that confined it, filled with rage and impatience.
Then its massive, mountain-like hind legs stomped hard!
"BOOM!!!"
The entire underground cavern experienced an unprecedented violent collapse!
The rock ceiling above shattered like paper under an irresistible force.
Sunlight poured down through the massive breach, and the orange-red behemoth had already transformed into an orange-red stream of light tearing through the earth, carrying rubble and lava as it disappeared into the distance step by step.
"Wait! God of the land!"
Maxie's reaction was much calmer than Archie's. He didn't panic or shout, only watched the broken opening with deeply furrowed brows.
He slowly lowered his hand holding the Crimson Orb. The orb's light had dimmed considerably.
He turned around, his sharp gaze locking onto Cynthia's character, his tone low: "You... I recognize you. You've been obstructing both those Team Aqua fools and our plans, but this time is different."
Maxie adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting the lava's red glow. "That disturbance just now wasn't because of you.
It was the orb's power, or rather, that Pokémon's own power exceeding control.
It resonated with the entity on the ocean side... The real climax is only just beginning."
He gave Cynthia a penetrating look and warned, "Young lady, in recognition of your tenacity, this is your last chance. This is no longer something you should interfere with.
Pursuing legends and expanding the land is Team Magma's sacred mission. If you insist on obstructing us, the next time we meet... I won't give you another chance."
Finished speaking, he ignored Cynthia and walked toward another passage in the base.
His figure quickly disappeared into the shadows, clearly going to pursue the departed legendary Pokémon.
Cynthia's character stood in place, her mind turbulent.
Maxie's composed demeanor contrasted sharply with Archie's frenzy, but this made her feel even more uneasy.
An out-of-control, crazed powerhouse might be easier to deal with, but a clear-headed enemy with defined goals was often far more dangerous.
She immediately used Fly to leave Team Magma's base in the depths of Mt. Chimney.
However, as soon as she emerged from the cave entrance, the sight before her made her freeze.
Because the game's sky... had suddenly become extremely bizarre.
It was clearly daytime, the sun hanging high and radiating scorching light, but at the same time, torrential rain was pouring down!
Dense raindrops hammered the screen with crackling sounds.
Even more unsettling, storm clouds and clear skies wove together in a bizarre pattern.
Lightning flashed between cloud layers with thunderous booms, yet sunlight still pierced through gaps in the clouds, illuminating the rain-shrouded earth.
The entire world's light and shadow were full of contradictions and discord.
The music had also changed, creating an oppressive atmosphere that made breathing difficult.
The ground in the game kept transmitting intense, continuous tremors.
This... was the abnormal change caused by two legendary Pokémon awakening simultaneously, their powers clashing?
Cynthia watched this apocalyptic scene, frowning.
If two peak legendary Pokémon truly clashed, what would happen? The answer was already before her eyes.
She knew the Hoenn region in the game was walking toward the brink of collapse.
Just then, her PokéNav rang urgently again.
Beep beep beep
Cynthia immediately answered.
The Weather Institute director's voice now carried a sob: "Strawberry Ice Cream!
We're done for!
Everything's gone haywire!
The entire Hoenn region's weather system has collapsed! All the monitoring equipment data has maxed out!
Rainstorms, scorching sun, thunderstorms, earthquakes... all extreme weather is occurring simultaneously!
And the energy sources... two massive energy sources are rapidly approaching each other near Sootopolis City!
They're... they're about to collide! Is this the end of the world?!"
Before he finished speaking, a figure descended from the sky in the game screen with a clear bird cry, landing precisely before Cynthia's character.
It was a Skarmory, and on its back was none other than Hoenn's Champion, Steven.
His normally composed face was now filled with gravity: "Strawberry Ice Cream! I knew I'd find you here!"
Steven spoke quickly, "I just got word from the Weather Institute and came immediately!"
"Groudon and Kyogre are already battling at Sootopolis City! The situation is critical. No time to explain! Quick, get on. We must go to Sootopolis City immediately!"
Groudon?
Committing the other legendary Pokémon's name to memory, Cynthia didn't hesitate and immediately had her character jump onto Skarmory's back.
Fly activated again. The screen's scenery switched rapidly. After crossing through the chaotic, lightning-filled sky, they finally landed on an island city she'd never reached before: Sootopolis City.
However, the Sootopolis City before her eyes was clearly no longer an ordinary city.
The screen went black. A game CG began once more!
The camera looked down from high above. The once-beautiful Sootopolis City now seemed to be at hell's center.
The seawater surrounding the island roared like boiling water, raising massive waves dozens of meters high that crashed madly against coastal buildings and cliffs.
Numerous houses had already collapsed, swallowed by the sea.
And at the center of this stage of destruction, two colossal beings were engaged in a battle worthy of being called a divine miracle!
On one side was the deep blue avatar of the ocean, Kyogre!
It hovered above towering waves, surrounded by endless rainstorms and thunder.
It released earth-shaking roars.
With each movement of its pectoral fins, it commanded infinite seawater, transforming it into high-pressure streams piercing heaven and earth like countless water dragons, pouring madly toward its opponent!
On the other side was the orange-red avatar of the land, Groudon!
Where it originally stood had been shallow sea, but now, through its power, it had evaporated completely into blackened rock!
With each step it took, new lava erupted beneath its feet, rapidly cooling into more black stone.
It roared, the volcanic peaks on its back glowing with dazzling red light, launching countless massive lava chunks burning with fierce flames like falling meteors!
The battle seemed to have entered white-hot intensity from the very start!
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones