Shadows coiled into a screen for memories. They twisted and squirmed, taking on various shapes and forms, working out a shadow play. They moulded the light to reflect their rough edges, to glaze themselves. But no matter how shiny they were, they could never hide the darkness of the story to be told.

Faces returned from the hollow of the Umbrage Zone. Sage preferred that name over its common namesake of a Mystery Zone. The unknown was always a fond subject anyway. Now that it became known, the world reciprocated with a dearth of joy evident in those faces. They were familiar yet tinged with a strange sourness like a Nomel Salt Candy skinny-dipping in the sea.

Yet there was something else. This place just felt like home. For the first time, Sage felt at home in this crisis. It was all he could think of to distract him from any apprehension.

"Hey, take it easy." Zayn squeezed Sage's hands. "It can't be that bad. Just say it, alright?"

"I'm near-omniscient. I know and detect everything through the shadows. It just amplifies when I'm in the Zone." Sage inhaled deeply and paused. Silence took over for a minute. He imagined a dewdrop full of corrupted souls, then let it fall onto a blood-soaked mantle.

"Sage," Zayn whispered and combed his friend's brown hair, "You were suffering all this while. This is the solution, this release."

"There is no release. Only imprisonment." Sage drew out a sigh. "After today, you'll wish to never know me. You'll come to hate me, spite me, efface me, kill me. Kill me... Nothing will be the same again."

"We won't. We promise. Right, everyone?" Zayn earned everyone's determined gazes before turning to Sage again. "You got this."

Sage lowered his gaze. "Let the mirage begin."

With dark eye pits, he submerged into the lackadaisical sands of his story, the hourglass within tilting anticlockwise.

No one could anticipate how wayward history would be.

「」

The first words Sage came to utter in his life were "Aidez-moi". It was a plea, a prudent one. It was fitting. It was unreasonable.

The streets took him in that bracing autumn, marching to winter with its crisp cloak, vermillion and vivid as poppies. The sundial's gilt hands pointed at his petite body, bare as the ill wind, light as the Murkrow feather on his forehead. Heels and boots and gowns fed on a common urge to return home, a few deviant ones seeking work still. It was the hour they knew nothing of each other, just going on and about with seemingly random cues and stage directions, the sundial a serene scene horned in by the occasional flurry.

If clothings could grow eyes, all they could ever see was the cobblestone path, the vibrant world of fashionably late feet panicking, sometimes colliding. Every turn, every bend, every route seemed the same. They saw what each other saw, did what each other did, but the bairn never shifted. He's a doom mark in a kaleidoscope.

"Aidez-moi."

The second cry pinched a pair of ears. There came a veil bending over to watch the baby. The veil was a curtain blocking him from the harsh rays of rejection, a welcome shield. And it did shield him for years.

Even when the veil was let down to reveal sombre eyes framed in a tender violet, the baby felt the cold world. When this did not suffice, a child was introduced. Not exactly human, but close enough.

"I am Marshshadow, but call me Marsh. From now on," zie mumbled and touched his head, "You are Sage Shrike."

When asked why such a name was given, there was no one answer. Marsh couldn't explain zirself. It just felt right. It was what the shadows said, so it must be right.

It had to be.

But that wasn't it. While Sage was quick to take a liking to his name, Tarocchi Gardner, the woman behind the veil, was quick to lock her brows. She turned to the cards and was reassured with the Hanged Man in the advice position. 

It was an omen she had chosen to accept. Sage Shrike was a name that spelt chaos in every conceivable way, conflicts, contradictions, contraptions. It was a name held in high regard by the shadows. A kind saviour, a relentless soldier, an omniscient sable.

Yes, an omniscient sable.

As long as shadows existed or thrived, Sage Shrike was abominable. The mark was born when he was seven, and the shadows could now dictate his life. He could become much more powerful, and he could be one with them.

They corrupted this baby, this child, made him a misanthrope at the age of four, and claimed him whole at the age of seven. They dragged him to the black car of Lethe, a forsaken basement actually, locked him up in that dingy place till he shook hands with oblivion. All these were surreal, but who could blame such misfortune on a child? He couldn't tell apart his world and the Umbrage Zone when it happened. Marsh had been unable to lord over the shadows when it happened. It was a lifelong regret after it happened.

Just like that, a most propitious contract was born. A contract to erase the world and rebuild it, to remove all sinful creatures and recover the world's purity, something like acetylene.

Years down the road, there was a girl. Sayo, a memorable plaything. Then she was betrayed. Then she was punished by the shadows, by Yvette. She shouldn't have tried to take him away from the shadows and into blue light. She needed a lesson, so she was lessened, reduced into a memory to be forgotten, locked away.

The shadows sapped his memory, like how they tracked children down and erased theirs, like how they transferred these children to an island they built out of convenience. The shadows were a menace. Sage hated them, but soon, he hated himself for loving them. It was cliché, but the shadows lived for clichés. They enjoyed tension, enjoyed suspense, but enjoyed monotony and routine more. If something was expected, then it would be part of the plan. Nothing could go wrong that way.

They had Yvette take over the job now that Sage Shrike was incapacitated, now that he was useless. She was easier to manipulate. He was their master, their host, yet she was a nice Wooloo keen on changing the world, to eradicate sins because they took her father from her.

Till his memories, till his past returned.

Ah, the memories.

The memories.

「」

Flickers in the opalescent ground signalled a return to dull reality. Sage couldn't go on, or his skull would crack. He had to stop there. He knew he had to.

Glancing around, all he could see were faces. He could hardly pin names to their visages, though he was certain he knew them. Perhaps it was just the shadows taking over. Perhaps he should never have agreed to this.

Perhaps the world should never have decayed since the beginning.

「」

Having told Ciara and those pests off for what seemed to be the forty-second time, Yvette turned to her guests and strode to Wyatt. She sniffed his neck, the nostalgic cologne, and massaged his shoulders.

"Daddy, soon, the world will be in ruins. Then, the light will infiltrate everything. Then, somewhere in the void... your body will be found. Valencia wouldn't have to suffer like this anymore. You too. You two can return to your bodies and we can all be together again."

"Finally, milady Yvette, my dear. I can't wait to reunite with Zayn. If he only knew what you were doing. If Valencia— If I could tell him all this while, instead of us performing in front of him..."

"He will, I promise. It's unfortunate that we had to erase his memories... Till now, he may only remember Valencia. Oh, Daddy, he will be thrilled to have you back. He can finally close the case of your disappearance."

"If that Chandelure's Destiny Bond between Mummy and I never happened, Daddy's body wouldn't have been trapped in the Mystery Zone. And you wouldn't have to sacrifice so much."

Yvette shook her head and smooched him.

"It's okay. You will be found."

「」

Sage hated stagnancy. It sure brought comfort, but at a price. Stagnancy was the illusion of a comfort zone, the forceful locking of the past with the present and the future that would never come.

Strangely, it was in this moment he realised that everyone at Noryuku was but willing prey of their past. No wonder they were such delightful candidates, elect ones who still clung onto history despite the memory meltdown.

The faces grew distinct. Sorrow had never been so apparent. And again, flickers in the opalescent ground awoke.

"Go ahead. Hate me. I can no longer stop Yvette," Sage said.

Truly, he hated showing vulnerability. Those who complained were meant to be pitied, but he needed none of those things.

"What do you mean you can't stop her? She is just being manipulated, like you!" Titan stepped forward. "Sage, there's no time for discord."

Mei glanced at them before whispering to Jade, "So Sayo was a good girl."

Jade said she indeed was good.

Now that everyone had their turn to speak, everyone was awaiting Zayn's response.

"What you mean is that the shadows controlled you and my sister into destroying the world?" Zayn bit his tongue. "I don't understand this. What do they gain from this?"

"Eradicating the most disgraceful race on Earth?" Yveltal glared at Sage.

"Yveltal! Every race has their own pros and cons."

"Marshadow, you're right. Humans are pros at whatever they do, and everyone are con artists."

"What?" Sage blinked and slammed a fist into Yveltal's wings. "Take that back."

"Sage, stop feeding the anger. My soul is connected to yours. I feel your pain all the time, just so you know."

"Marshadow, this conversation is getting lengthy. People like descriptions more than anything else."

"So, what about the profiles in... that app?" Titan shook his head. "What do they mean?"

"I don't know. Yvette must have added those herself. No, it has to be the shadows' doing." Sage bit his lower lip. "But thanks for accepting me, everyone. I promise, I'll heal this world."

Heads bowed simultaneously and a unified "yes" echoed through the void.

"How?" Xerneas asked.

Sage exhaled. "We'll go with the original plan. I doubt that Yvette knows she was controlled. If all is well, we can stop her."

"Noryuku, we'll meet again." Zayn's gaze darkened. "This will be our final gambit."