"Forget it~"
"I won't tease you anymore."
"Hehehe—"
Sabrina's cold, clear laughter echoed through the pure white space.
Accompanying her laughter, the surrounding scenery—which had been shifting infinitely and dizzyingly like a kaleidoscope—began to recede like a tide. The distorted, folded outlines of the city stretched out again, and the jumbled colors rapidly separated and returned to their proper places.
In just a few breaths, that unsettling, eerie sense of spatial distortion completely vanished.
Honestly speaking, even without a battle occurring, just living in this kind of environment would be enough to make one's head explode. How many people could actually stand that kind of unstable visual environment where everything around them changes infinitely?
Ash blinked, surprised to find himself standing inside an extremely detailed miniature city landscape.
Beneath his feet was a miniature asphalt road, only wide enough for him to stand on. Beside him was a scaled-down Silph Co. building, and in the distance was a mini Pokémon Center; even the details of the windows were clearly visible.
This reminded Ash of Sabrina's toy house from the anime. Including Sabrina's mother, both Brock and Misty had been turned into dolls there. Truly a psychic power so strong it felt ridiculous.
What astonished Ash even more was that the figure hovering in the air before him was no longer the Psychic Queen with the powerful aura.
At some point, Sabrina's figure had disappeared.
Replacing her was a little girl wearing a white dress, holding a rubber ball, with exquisite features but a strangely innocent yet cunning expression—it was Little·Sabrina!
She was floating right there. Those eyes sized up Ash with curiosity, and her face wore an unconcealed smile, like a prankster who had succeeded.
"Pfft—" Little Sabrina couldn't help but laugh out loud seeing Ash standing in the miniature city with a bewildered look on his face.
"Idiot, did you just realize?"
"The one talking to you just now has been me the whole time!"
Little Sabrina said triumphantly.
Of course, the truth of this statement was highly questionable. After all, Little Sabrina had effectively been 'recalled' by Big Sabrina. Appearing at this moment... didn't it feel a bit like a last-minute scramble to find a scapegoat?
Anyway, whether you believe it or not, I believe it. It's comical.
The situation now was—although Little and Big Sabrina were the same person, there was a huge difference in their thinking patterns.
Little Sabrina was 'truer', more casual... and also more ruthless.
Big Sabrina was colder, lonelier... and more rule-abiding.
Their surface personalities were the opposite of their true natures. The Little Sabrina who seemed easy to communicate with was actually difficult. The Big Sabrina who seemed hard to communicate with was actually easier to persuade.
...Is this the mental problem of a Psychic?
Hmm.
Ash suddenly realized something; no wonder he felt Sabrina's reaction at the end was relatively lively, and that formless pressure had weakened significantly. So, from start to finish, the one engaging in that debate of wits with him wasn't the Psychic Queen herself, but her avatar?
Ash remembered that in the original anime, this Little Sabrina could indeed represent Sabrina's thoughts to a large extent.
"...I suppose I've passed this stage." Little Sabrina hugged her ball and twirled lightly in the air, her skirt fluttering.
"But the real test... might only be starting now."
"Look there~~"
Her voice carried a guiding tone. Ash followed the direction of her finger, looking up 'beyond' the boundaries of this miniature city landscape.
This single look made him sharply suck in a breath of cold air.
Right outside this detailed city model was a vast room. And in the direct center of this room, a figure was quietly hovering there.
It was Sabrina.
The real Sabrina.
She was still wearing that dark purple combat suit, and her long dark green hair floated slightly behind her as if it had a life of its own. Hovering before her was the very projection enveloping the entire miniature city landscape.
And the miniature city Ash was in was evidently a part of this giant model! He had actually been inside Sabrina's city model the entire time, talking to Little Sabrina.
Looking out at Sabrina from inside the model at this moment...
She seemed like a giant standing tall between heaven and earth, bearing a non-human, god-like majesty and sense of distance.
Big!
Too big.
Ash's size was probably only as long as one of Sabrina's fingers. It gave him the same feeling as when he saw the Giant Tentacruel and the Giant Dragonite.
But when this kind of visual impact appeared on a human, it was far more intense and shocking than seeing a giant Pokémon.
Whoa—it's a world-shaking giant!
"How about it? Scared, right?" Little Sabrina's triumphant voice rang out beside him, breaking Ash's shock. "Sabrina is very amazing! We heard everything you said just now!"
Little Sabrina and Big Sabrina were two sides of the same coin. Little Sabrina liked to brag~~
Just then, in the center of the meditation chamber, Sabrina's closed eyes slowly opened. Those eyes were as deep as a sea of stars, as if they could pierce through the soul and see through the past and future.
Immediately, Ash felt that familiar, irresistible sensation of spatial displacement strike again. The scene before his eyes instantly blurred and distorted.
The next second, the feeling of solid ground returned. He was standing on a cold metal floor.
Ash had left the miniature city model and truly stepped into the meditation chamber where Sabrina was. The instantaneous shift in perspective from the inside of the model to the outer space made him slightly uncomfortable, and at the same time, allowed him to more truly feel the emptiness and silence of this meditation room.
Sabrina was indeed very lonely. With this level of schizophrenia, playing with herself, how could she not be lonely?
Ash felt he needed to be more careful next. The air here seemed to carry weight; with every breath, he could feel that omnipresent pressure.
Ash steadied his mind, took a deep breath, and looked toward Sabrina, who was still hovering in the air.
Unlike the view of the 'giant' from inside the model, standing truly before Sabrina now, he could feel that sense of alienation—so close yet worlds apart. The spatial distance in this ghostly place was definitely not as simple as it looked.
"Miss Sabrina." Ash tried to make his voice sound calm. He nodded slightly toward the figure in the air. "Thank you... for being willing to listen."
Ash didn't know how much effect his words had actually had, but at least he was standing here intact and had been 'invited' out of that model cage. This in itself was a positive signal. It could be said that things had come to a head... he had walked 99 steps... he couldn't fail at the very end.
Sabrina's gaze fell upon Ash, still showing no expression. She simply raised her hand slowly, and a small disc shimmering with a golden luster appeared out of thin air in her hand.
It was the symbol of the Saffron Gym—the Marsh Badge.
Sabrina's finger flicked lightly, and the Marsh Badge, as if supported by an invisible hand, flew smoothly and slowly toward Ash, finally hovering precisely in front of his face.
Ash paused for a moment, then subconsciously reached out to take it. The badge felt slightly cool and heavy in his hand.
Wait... I got it just like that?
No battle, no defeating any Gym Trainers, not even passing any 'assessment' in the traditional sense, just relying on a bit of... uh, 'outsmarting'?
Ash felt it was somewhat unreal.
— System Upgrade —
[Saffron Gym · Marsh Badge]
[Effect: Trainer's Psychic-type affinity slightly increased (Energy Perception/Resistance), base physical fitness slightly enhanced.]
"—You just gave it to him?" Little Sabrina on the side seemed somewhat dissatisfied. Hugging her rubber ball, she floated over and circled Ash, who was still dazed holding the badge, her little mouth chattering non-stop.
"You're too easy to dismiss, aren't you? You gave the badge away just for those few sentences?"
"Shouldn't you make him stay and play with us forever?"
"You promised me, let me do it for you... Wu! Wuwuwu!"
Before Little Sabrina could finish her sentence, it was as if an invisible large hand had suddenly throttled her throat. All subsequent syllables turned into a string of muffled whimpers.
Little Sabrina opened her mouth in vain, unable to produce any clear sound. She could only widen her eyes and look toward the expressionless Big Sabrina in the air with an accusing gaze.
Clearly, Big Sabrina found her too noisy and directly used psychic powers to physically mute her.
Big Sabrina: Don't say things that shouldn't be said.
Little Sabrina: Where are my human rights? I want freedom of speech!
Big Sabrina: You are just a puppet doll, you have no human rights.
Little Sabrina: [Pokémon Profanity]!
Seeing Little Sabrina's comical appearance—wanting to speak but unable to, only able to stomp her feet in the air out of anger—Ash almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
The way these 'sisters' got along was truly... unique. One could only say mental patients have broad minds; mental patients have lots of fun... felt cute today, might not take meds.
Sabrina didn't even spare a glance for Little Sabrina, as if she had just casually swatted a buzzing fly. Her gaze returned to Ash, and that cold, clear voice resounded directly in Ash's mind again:
"I didn't expect that you would awaken... psychic power... at such a time..."
"Truly an unexpected change..."
"...Perhaps..."
Sabrina looked at Ash, feeling a sense of destiny.
After Ash made that invitation... he actually awakened psychic power...?
Although this psychic power was extremely weak in Sabrina's perception... the distinction between 'having it' and 'not having it' was the most qualitative difference. This undoubtedly added more points to Ash's previous words.
Sabrina felt that maybe the two sides would get along very well?
Sabrina was letting her imagination run wild.
There was no helping it; in Sabrina's view, this was too much of a coincidence. It was just a pity that the age gap between the two was a bit large.
But she could wait—
As the saying goes, height is not a problem, age is not a gap... how could she let go when she rarely met someone so compatible?
"Miss Sabrina?" Ash looked at Sabrina, feeling she was acting a bit weird.
It was just that Ash's own feelings right now were also quite marvelous. Unlike the other four badges he had obtained before, where the attribute affinities were relatively subtle, the theoretically most abstract Psychic power... after really obtaining it, the sensory changes were the most obvious.
Ash now had a feeling that all five of his senses had become extremely sensitive.
"...!!!" Little Sabrina kept opening her mouth to speak, wanting to voice the emotions and thoughts she sensed from Big Sabrina. But unfortunately, she couldn't do anything.
"...It's nothing..." Big Sabrina snapped out of it. "You must be tired. I'll treat you to a meal."
"Huh?" Ash felt Sabrina's mood was somewhat bizarre.
Even if she was persuaded by my eloquence and rhetoric, this change is too big, isn't it?
Could it be that I'm really just that awesome?
____
New Story: Danmachi: But I am a God, time to make a family!
🔥 25% off something at the funeral parlor... care to take a look? 🔥
✅ Read up to 40 chapters in advance (all stories)!
✅ Access exclusive posts and updates first!
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters on ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan