Chapter warning: May cause discomfort

Thirty-three minutes and forty-one seconds were wasted in the process of gathering everyone, excluding Yvette and Valencia. Titan had to be convinced to drop the revenge mindset "for the greater good" as Jade suggested. Sage was tended to, and Blade gave him a pep talk. The boy had to be convinced that Tapu Lele was an in-game enemy and that his Gengar, possibly Shrike, was a part of the game too. Eventually, they were all set and ready to leave.

The air was cool and crisp when Blade opened a portal beneath their feet and pictured their destination—Anistar City. A zap echoed through the air, and all of them dropped into the purple portal, only to spring up from the earth of Anistar City, right in front of the church.

The landmark looked the same, still white and pristine as it blocked the sun's rays. Its shadow towered over the group, wavering and prancing about in an act of intimidation. Sage shielded his eyes with a hand and gazed the church from top to bottom.

His eyes landed on a book with a leather jacket sitting on the steps. The cover had a rose sprouting from the bottom, and above the buds, red petals fell onto a black text that read "Roses Have Thorns Too". Sure enough, the text had thorns growing out of them.

Bending over, he picked it up, and a note fell out from in between the pages.

19•8•4 40•12•8 3•7•4

"A note from Tarocchi?" Sage blinked twice. "Wait. Jade, this is your novel."

Shrugging, Jade leaned closer and puts a finger on the small, white rectangular slip of paper. "Page, line, word."

"I know what that means, alright?" Sage grunted and flipped the pages, scanning for the three words he had to find. His shoulders were a little hunched as he scratched his chin. "Go to... gym."

"There's probably some kind of clue in the gym. But Olympia is quite strong. How is Tarocchi confident you will win?" Zayn frowned. "You only have one Pokémon and he's a Gallade."

Blade, who had been silent and observing the group of humans, let out a low growl. "You have a problem with me being a Gallade? What? Are you jealous because I'm human-like, and I spend more time with Sage than you do?"

"Um, Blade." The Pokémon's head jerked a little as he turned to face his companion. "I think he's just concerned because you haven't battled for a long time."

Blade crossed his arms and raised his head. "Really? Then let's wreck that gym. I bet they're going to pee in their pants when I punch them."

"It's a Psychic-type gym," Sage mumbled, blushing a little. "Next time you want to say something embarrassing, telepathy."

Blade put on a mask of frustration.

Zayn, sensing the deafening silence lingering in the group, shook his head and said, "All of you stay in the church and rest. Sage and I will go to the gym. It's probably not a good idea for too many people to move around, or we'll attract unnecessary attention."

They nodded and dispersed, entering the church and slamming the doors behind them. Zayn glanced at his friend and smiled. Seeing that Sage returned a smile, he nodded and led the way to the gym.

It had been a good five-minute walk with silence hanging in the air between them. They strode to the sundial and stepped over its shadow, taking in the majestic, kaleidoscopic lights reflected in the crystals. From the northern part of Anistar, they made their way down the curved route and turned left twice to reach the eastern part of the city where the gym was located. It looked nothing out of the ordinary, just a building with a purple roof and yellow walls.

They entered the gym, only to be greeted by a woman with curved purple hair in a satin dress. Her star-shaped earrings shone under the lights, and she threw her cloak backward, revealing cosmos. The bracelets in her wrists seemed too big, but Sage paid the most attention to her enchanting periwinkle eyes.

"Welcome to my gym. I am Olympia. Who's the challenger?" She nodded and cast a glance between the both of them.

"Sage," Zayn pushed him forward.

"Oh, Sage?" Olympia's brows furrowed as she looked the brown-haired boy from head to toe. "I'll give you something as per Tarocchi's request, but only if you defeat me. Well?"

"Okay," Sage muttered as he got to his place of the battlefield. This was it, his first gym battle. He nudged Blade, and the Gallade groaned as he stepped into the rectangle.

"A ritual to decide your fate and future. The battle begins! Sigilyph, out you go!" Engulfed in a soft blue light, Olympia released the Avianoid Pokémon, and she fluttered into battle, the blue eye on the black appendage on top of her head fixed on the Gallade, glad about the type advantage.

"I'll start first. Blade, charge forth with Night Slash!" Sage pointed at Olympia's Sigilyph. He watched as the Gallade sprinted toward his opponent with a grim smirk as shadows emerged from the extendable blades on his elbows. He leapt and angled those red blades at the Pokémon which blinked.

"Now, Air Slash!" Olympia grinned as her Pokémon raised her wings, and they cut into Blade before retracting with jolts of electricity wrapping her feathers.

"Good one, Blade!" Sage grinned. Blade could be counted on for his quick thinking, and if he could easily predict Sage's next move whenever they sparred, he could do the same for his opponent in battle. Placing a leg forward, he shouted, "Ice Punch!"

"No, you don't!" Olympia cried upon watching the Gallade in action. "Reflect!"

A wondrous wall of light came up between the Pokémon, and Blade's fist crashed into it, leaving spiderweb cracks that allowed mist to seep through. Without waiting for Sage's commands, he glared the Avianoid Pokémon down, and his arm swooped with a swift chop. Sigilyph winced and retreated a couple spaces, squinting at her opponent. Gallade simply landed and slid back to his side of the battlefield.

"While he's smug, Air Slash once more!" Olympia's eyes became slits.

Sigilyph obeyed and prepared her attack, her three eyes all on the Gallade. Blade grunted, retaliating with a punch filled with electricity, and both Pokémon engaged in a conversation of fists and feathers, with crackles and cries fulminating within the battlefield. Sage growled and flicked his gaze at the woman smiling smugly at him.

"Gly!"

The cry penetrated the enlarging yellow sphere, and black feathers hit the floor along with their owner. In a flash, Gallade returned to his side of the battlefield, panting and wiping his eyes with his arms.

"You alright?" Sage said, and Blade nodded grimly.

"Return! Sigilyph, you did well. Let's go on with Slowking! May the cosmos be with us!" Olympia tossed a Poké Ball, and a pink Pokémon with what seemed to be a strange-looking shell with a red orb encrusted in it on his head. "Start it off with Calm Mind."

The Slowking sat cross-legged on the floor and placed his palms together before shutting his eyes.

"Thunder Punch, Blade," Sage whispered and watched the Gallade strike.

He inched lightning fast to the Royal Pokémon whose eyes snapped open, gaping at the Gallade as it struck.

"Now, while he's close, Power Gem!"

Splintered stones sparkled and stormed across the arena, shielding the trainers' vision from the ongoing battle. All Sage could rely on was the constant rumbling as he dodged a stone shard and awaited for a twitch, a stomp, anything that could mean something. When nothing came through the rocks, he frowned.

The rocks lost momentum and fell, scraping Sage whilst Olympia sidestepped gracefully.

"What fate beholds us?" Olympia cracked her neck and eyed the rubble expectantly.

"Come on, do something... Blade!" Sage gritted his teeth.

Green swipes, light as feather, lethal as the Toxic Orb, flashed past their eyes and a collapse grew audible. The rocks surrounding the Pokémon erupted to reveal Slowking snared with poisoned grass as if a skewed kebab.

"May Orion free him!" Olympia said.

"May Artemis and Gaea's Gliscor strike! Thunderbolt, Blade!"

Sizzles and sparks resounded, and the Slowking kebab was charred till crisp.

"Return, Slow— Huh?"

The Poké Ball penetrated the Pokémon before it disappeared. Then, a guttural growl echoed.

A mucky fluid hit Sage's head. He glanced up.

No way, Double Team? He gasped. "Leaf Blade above you!"

"Nay, Trick Room."

Slowking shifted way faster than Blade and slashed him with a Dragon Tail. Blade repulsed and doubled back, the Leaf Blade cutting the Slowking's tail.

"Gross!" Zayn shouted from the sidelines as he watched the tail wriggle helplessly, blood smearing the ground.

"No, Slowking!" Olympia shook her head as her hands instinctively reached her ajar mouth. "Sage, you merciless imbecile! May the stars doom you! Slowking, Psyche Crown!"

"Counter with Night Slash!" Sage pointed at the Slowking crashing down onto Blade, shiny crown sharpening and aimed at Blade's head.

The Gallade flinched at the voice, but obeyed nonetheless, raking his extendable blades at the crown. He watched as his foe tumbled across the arena, seeming confused.

"The interim is ours! Fury Cutter, Fury Cutter, Fury Cutter!"

What's going on? That's... not me! Sage bit his lips. He felt his surroundings warp, and he was no more than an audience of the battle, looking through the eyes of a boy who seemed to be him. It felt like a soul swap, like a trigger switching personas.

Before Olympia could command her Slowking, she stiffened. She clutched her Poké Ball.

"R-Regenerator ability! Enough, Sage, enough!"

"Stop, Blade." Sage felt his lips curl into a malicious grin. "Now, was it Roman Atwood, move creator residing in Shabboneau Castle?"

"Return, Slowking. You suffered a lot," Olympia whispered as she picked up her final Poké Ball and released her Meowstic. Glaring at Sage, she said, "How did you know? Tarocchi said you didn't seem to remember anything. You couldn't have—"

"We'll see about that, Pelion Girl."

Zayn shifted. This was unlike Sage. It wasn't just the voice; it was that hostility, that overhaul of his mind and self. Who was this Sage?

"Shrike, what are you doing? Aren't you just a voice in my head?" Sage recoiled when stringlike nerves caught him in an intricate snare.

"I'm helping you." Shrike's ferocious whisper to Sage only made him fear this strange entity more. Just what happened? Could he even get out of this and return to power?

"Meowstic, while the Gallade's weakened, Fake Out." Olympia frowned. "The great cosmos shall see you to your grave!"

The Pokémon purred and charged towards Blade who flinched.

"Good," Olympia said as she watched the shell-shock Gallade. "Shadow Ball."

"Blade, Divine Chivalry!"

"And what now?" Both Zayn and Sage exclaimed simultaneously but neither could hear each other.

Blade huffed, suppressed his doubts, and raised his arms to form an X. This would definitely take a toll on him, but he still had to do it. For Sage. For himself. For Shrike.

The Meowstic's tenebrous sphere collided with Blade's arms and bounced back at her. She winced before releasing another Shadow Ball.

"Just a little more... Press on, Blade!" Blade gritted his teeth. The recharge up to the ultimate power surge took time, and right now, with the interim shrinking, he wasn't sure if he could unleash it all in time. He felt nothing from the Meowstic's attack and watched as she suffered another blow.

"What's going on?" Olympia's eyes bulged. "Meowstic, stop it!"

The feline halted before showing a bemused expression to her trainer.

"And now!" Gallade growled.

The pulsating energy within burst forth, blanketing the gym with a strange aura, heavenly yet foreboding. He let out an outcry before a silvered blade emerged from in between the red crests on his body, and he clutched the gilded hilt that had seven tiny rubies encrusted near the blade—three layers of two, three, two rubies each. The edges of the blade glowed brown, and his eyes turned purple.

"May the wielder of Justice guard thy aegis!"  Blade snarled as the blade slashed across in a semicircle, creating silver crescent-shaped waves that hit the Meowstic.

"Counter with Shadow Ball!" Olympia said.

"Trust me, that's probably the worst decision ever!" Shrike narrowed his gaze. Just one more strike, the final one, and it'll all be over with his win.

"Calm Mind then!"

"Too late!"

Blade charged with his extendable blades stuck out, sword-like feathers blooming out of his back to form a pair of sturdy, strangely light wings. Making a leap for the Meowstic, he sliced the Shadow Ball, causing it to dissipate, and aimed for her throat.

"No!" Olympia winced.

"Stop this, Blade! Stop!" Sage tugged at the coiling, blackening nerves with his arms but their grip only tightened. Through Shrike's eyes, all he could do was observe.

"Almost there! Just a bit more!"

Shadows shot up from the ground and tickled Blade. He attacked them, but they split each time they were sliced, swarming him.

"But I didn't use Shadow Scar!" Sage blinked, shaking his body.

"What—"

Steel clanged onto the floor with a drop of black. More drops thundered at the floor. The parade of darkness reigned.

"Blade!" Sage's throat itched with each call, his voice sounding hoarser with each passing second.

The blade stopped glowing and fell into its shadow. The swords in the wings crashed onto the tiles.

"Seems like I lost." Shrike slapped his forehead and laughed. It was light-hearted, almost merry, before Shrike descended into the shadows as well.

Sage felt the nerves loosen around him, wriggling like burnt Serperior pursuing Rawst Berries in the heart of darkness, frantic, sleek, and they were gone. He saw it for a while, a figure with a wild flicker in his eyes, staring at him with a cutlass, like the captain of Zoroark's Deceit, an infamous pirate ship from Sage's bedtime stories, relentless and vengeful.

Then, with a throbbing pain in his head, his knees hit a black puddle. Sage had returned. The shadows crawled over him, around him, into him through that half-agape mouth, the holes in his ears, his nostrils. He bled.

A lighter shadow loomed ahead, and he raised his head to see Blade fine, back to normal.

"What just happened?" Olympia returned Meowstic.

"What is happening?" Zayn went toward Sage and placed a hand on his shoulder before recoiling instantly. Flipping his hand, he felt black pores searing his palm and winced. He slid it into his pocket when Olympia neared them. The pores vanished almost immediately when light wrapped around his hand, and he stuck it out once more.

Olympia shook her head. "Is he alright? This looks like—"

"D-Demon possession." Sage hissed his 's's. His veins protruded and darkened, rising like ivies up his neck. "Shrike isss a d-demon."

The shadows roared and entered his soul as if he were a sponge.

"I'm offended. You call me a demon? But we're besties, Sage. Doesn't that make you... a monster?" Shrike's voice drowned out Sage's thoughts, made his emotions cower in the corners of his heart.

"I'm not a monster. I'm not a monster!" Sage clutched his head. A black energy spiralled around his forehead, then inched upwards till it was a dark halo.

"Not all shadows are satisfied in the mire, Sage. Some rise up against the celestial, the gods to regain power."

"No."

"Humanity began by falling, and can only end..."

"No! Stop!" Sage clawed his flesh as the shadows surged in his veins. Was this the aftermath of Shadow Scar? How did Shrike even come about? Why was he... so weak?

"Sage, I'm here. It's going to be fine. Calm down!" Zayn squatted down.

"... by falling deeper."

Sage hissed once more and struggled again. Gloom invaded his being as the hellfire of terror spread across the gym.

With a slight tug, his shadows tore him from reality.