Marshadow gave them little time to stand and stare at the vortex. It urged them forward, drifting deeper toward the core.
The nearly translucent gray barrier still wrapped around them on all sides, holding the rampaging Soul-Devouring Fog at bay. It looked fragile, like a soap bubble on the verge of popping — yet it worked remarkably well. The instant the barrier drew close, the fog scattered like spooked fish, refusing to come within an inch of it.
As they pressed deeper, the environment grew increasingly strange.
Near the outer passage, the fog had resembled thick smoke. Now it was closer to something viscous. Almost liquid. The black mist was so dense that it seemed impossible to push through, and even with the barrier's protection, Kairos felt a suffocating weight pressing in from every direction.
There was no light here. Apart from the faint gray glow of the barrier itself, the surrounding darkness was total and absolute.
What unsettled Kairos most, though, was how unnervingly quiet it had been the entire way.
By all logic, even the legendary core of the Ghost World should have had some kind of native population. The Ghost World had a complete ecological chain. Even in its harshest environments, Ghost-types would have adapted to survive.
And yet they had been walking for quite some time. Aside from the lifeless fog churning around them, not a single spectral shape had appeared. Not a single powerful Ghost-type. Not even a stray Gastly or Drifloon.
---
Will walked behind the others, his expression darkening with every step. He kept his eyes fixed on the swirling fog, brows pulled tight.
The silence was getting to him.
He had heard stories about the Ghost World's core before. He had never come this deep himself, but every account he had ever read described this place as a zone where life itself was not welcome. Even knowing that, the sheer dead stillness around him was worse than anything those accounts had prepared him for.
It was like walking into an old-growth forest that should have been crawling with predators — and finding not even a mosquito. That kind of unnatural absence only meant one thing.
Something far worse was waiting just ahead.
---
Kairos, by contrast, seemed perfectly at ease. He strolled along with both hands in his pockets, glancing around like he was taking a walk through his own neighborhood.
He looked over at Will's grim face. "Lord Boundary Keeper, when did this fog first show up?"
Will blinked, caught off guard by the question.
He thought for a moment, then answered quietly. "A few years ago. At first it was just a faint trace of black mist at the edges of the core zone. The Ghost World lineage didn't think much of it. They figured it was some kind of natural occurrence."
"But then it started spreading faster. Getting denser. Until it became what you see now."
"A few years ago," Kairos murmured, rubbing his chin. "There's something I don't quite follow. If the Ghost World lineage has always been responsible for guarding the seal here, why wasn't there a forward base set up inside the core zone? You were positioned so far back that by the time the fog had already spread outward, you were only just noticing something was wrong."
Will let out a short, humorless laugh. "You think we didn't want to be closer? The problem is this place simply isn't somewhere we can operate in."
"Why not?"
Will sighed and gestured at the pitch-black void surrounding them. "Before this fog appeared, there was none of this extreme black mist — but the core was still the most dangerous spot in the entire Ghost World. Because it was home to an enormous number of Ghost-type Pokémon with terrifying power."
"These weren't anything like ordinary wild Pokémon from outside. Their strength was off the charts, and their temperaments were extremely volatile. It wasn't just regular trainers at risk. Even Elite Four-level fighters could lose their lives in here if they weren't careful."
Will's expression carried a trace of helplessness. "It's not like the Ghost World lineage never tried to build an outpost here. But every person we sent in never came back. Eventually, everyone accepted that this was a forbidden zone no human could set foot in."
"So for the past several thousand years, the Ghost World lineage has always held its defensive line at the outer perimeter of the core zone. Never pushing any deeper."
---
Kairos genuinely hadn't expected that.
If even Elite Four-level fighters wouldn't venture in casually, just how powerful were the Ghost-types actually living here?
In this world, finding a wild Pokémon of Elite Four caliber was extraordinarily rare. Most wild Pokémon, no matter how well-developed, were already considered remarkably strong if they hit Gym Leader level. Those who could brush the threshold of the Elite Four were essentially on a legendary tier.
How could there possibly be so many of them concentrated in one place?
Then a thought clicked.
Right. Parallel worlds.
If the Ghost World was an independent plane — or had its roots in a parallel world — then the rules here would naturally differ from the outside. Marshadow had mentioned worlds where Pokémon tended to be far stronger across the board. If the Ghost World operated under similar conditions, then a high concentration of Elite Four-level Ghost-types wasn't so hard to believe.
That settled most of the surprise. But it immediately raised another problem.
If this place had been home to so many powerful Ghost-types — where had they all gone?
Kairos stopped walking and scanned his surroundings carefully. Beyond the impossibly thick black fog, there was nothing. Not even a shadow of those powerful apex creatures. The area was clean, like someone had deliberately cleared it out.
"Will, where did they all go?"
---
Will froze. He instinctively opened his mouth to answer — then stopped cold. A blank, bewildered look spread across his face.
"Yeah... where did they go?"
He had been so focused on the fog and the stability of the seal that the question had never even crossed his mind. Now that Kairos had pointed it out, the strangeness of it hit him all at once.
Those Ghost-types couldn't have vanished without a reason. This was their territory. Even if something had frightened them, they couldn't have cleared out so completely without leaving a single trace.
Will turned to Marshadow, floating ahead of them. "Marshadow, do you know what happened? Where did the powerful natives that used to live here go?"
Marshadow stopped. It turned back, and something complicated passed through its eyes.
It let out a quiet sigh and lowered its voice. "I'm not entirely sure. I was confined to that passage the whole time and never came out once. I couldn't see what was happening inside — only pick up faint traces of energy fluctuation. But..."
It trailed off, seeming to weigh whether to continue.
"But what? Say it," Will pressed impatiently. "This isn't the time to hold back."
Marshadow shot him a look that clearly said: keep it down.
"Could you please lower your voice? This barrier can block scent, but sound is a different matter entirely. If something picks up on us, we're going to have a serious problem. And if we draw out something truly powerful, I may not be able to protect you."
Will promptly went quiet.
Only then did Marshadow continue. "Even though I didn't see any of them, I can pick up traces of lingering presence in this area. Not long ago, there were still quite a number of Ghost-types with considerable power moving around here. Those traces are very fresh."
"They were nearby recently. And they only left a short while ago."
---
Only left a short while ago?
Will's heart lurched. Cold dread crawled up through his chest.
If these powerful Ghost-types hadn't returned to their territory and hadn't attacked the front line — where had they gone? This was the deepest part of the Ghost World's core, with dangerous forbidden zones on every side. They couldn't have just wandered out for no reason.
Unless something had forced them out. Or frightened them off.
Will's face went pale. A fresh wave of cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
If those creatures had been driven away by the fog, there was really only one place they were likely headed. The front line of defenses established by the Ghost World lineage.
Under normal circumstances, these Ghost-types had never engaged with the outside world, staying deep within the core. But if they could no longer remain on their own territory — that was a completely different situation.
If they had surged toward the front line like a flood, the consequences would be catastrophic. The defenders currently stationed there had solid combat strength thanks to the League's support, but stopping a full horde of Elite Four-level Ghost-types simply wasn't possible.
Will felt disaster closing in.
If this was really happening, the Ghost World lineage might be looking at total collapse.
No. He had to confirm the situation right now.
---
Will reached into his coat and pulled out a specially designed communicator. The device had been developed by the League specifically for environments like the Ghost World. The signal wasn't particularly strong, but it was good enough for transmitting urgent information.
His fingers trembling slightly, he pressed in several buttons and connected to the front line command center's emergency channel.
A harsh burst of static came through — the kind of interference unique to the Ghost World's magnetic field. Will pressed the device tight against his ear, sweating hard, terrified of missing a single word.
"Hello? Hello! This is Will! Can you read me?"
Silence for a few seconds. Then a slightly distorted voice came through.
"Lord Will? This is the front line command center. Duty officer speaking. What's going on?"
Will let out a small breath and pushed forward immediately. "What's your situation right now? Have you picked up any abnormal energy fluctuations? Are large numbers of Ghost-types moving in your direction?"
The other end paused, clearly caught off guard by his urgency.
"Abnormal fluctuations? No, nothing like that. Lord Will, everything here is completely normal. Radar isn't showing any large groups approaching. Are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"
Will stood there, stunned.
Everything normal? Nothing approaching? How is that possible?
If those powerful Ghost-types hadn't gone back to their territory and hadn't hit the front line — where were they? Had they simply ceased to exist?
"Are you absolutely sure? Even the smallest fluctuation counts. This is extremely important. Run through everything once more."
The voice on the other end sounded even more puzzled, but answered carefully. "Lord Will, we've genuinely checked. Our radar system has been running at full capacity the entire time. We'd pick up even a single moderately powerful wild Pokémon moving in, let alone a large group of Ghost-types. There are truly no anomalies of any kind right now. Should we go to alert status? We can start preparations immediately."
Will stood there, at a loss.
The duty officer wasn't lying. That much was clear.
So where had those Ghost-types actually gone?
He instinctively turned his head, wanting to ask Kairos — hoping the young man might have some angle he hadn't thought of.
But the moment he turned, he froze completely.
It wasn't just Will. Marshadow, hovering in the air. Kairos, standing nearby. All three of them locked up at the exact same instant, as if something had hit pause on the world around them.
A crushing pressure unlike anything any of them had ever felt dropped over them without the slightest warning.