Fifth.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER. It's taken some discussion on the part of the elders of the town, but it seems that a decision has been made regarding allowing the lot of you to see the Celestic Ruins; it's worthwhile, they think, even if they believe your overall mission to be dangerous to the point of recklessness - after all, those that oppose Team Galactic, as a rule, do not succeed. But every rule has its exceptions, and the evidence stands strongly in favor of the notion that you may be the exception to this one; the good you've done for the region is undeniable, and they wouldn't be capable of passing this sort of decision at all were it not for you. As such, your patience will be rewarded today; the person who leads you into the place late this morning beckons you inside with the promise of giving you the knowledge they have regarding the legends, information that may help you on your journey from here on out. The ruins are massive and cavernous, the walls of the cave reinforced with heavy stone columns surrounding large mural depictions of the various legends of Sinnoh; most are foreign to you, though there are some that are not (flowers springing up to cover a barren valley, a massive creature with bright cores pulling the landmasses of the world into place with ropes wrapped around its arms) - however, what's most pressing is the depiction in the center, three vague beings of light surrounding another, larger entity, all of it very nondescript and yet seeming to depict a very specific event despite its simplicity. This, your guide explains, is the beginning of the world. In the beginning there was the Creator, and from the Creator came all things - the rulers of Time and Space, followed by the Lake Guardians to govern over all people, humans and Pokémon alike. In their arrogance, Team Galactic believed that they could take control of those Legendary Pokémon responsible for all life, and use them for their own means. Not to change the world as they lived in it, but rather to create a new universe altogether. During this lesson, life goes on in the town just outside the ruins; people and Pokémon alike can be heard going about their day. Perhaps you'll realize it before your guide stops speaking; perhaps it won't be until there's a lull in the explanation. Either way, it will soon become noticeable that everything has suddenly become very, very quiet. A stark, staring silence has fallen over the town, and with it comes a sense that something isn't right. That something unnatural has happened, that something is present that shouldn't be; whatever it is, it seems to demand reverence. Not in the way that the Lake Guardians demanded reverence, but in a way that's glaringly and blatantly terrifying. When the man enters the cavern, he doesn't look like anyone you've seen before. Like all members of Team Galactic, he's dressed strangely, though his outfit differs greatly from those of the grunts and the commanders alike; it's difficult, honestly, to tell exactly how old he is - he moves with all the abruptness of someone rather young, though his general appearance would imply that he's seen more than enough of the world to be thoroughly tired with it. He carries himself well, straight-backed and tall, with the sort of countenance that implies that he's used to being listened to; the sort of person that receives respect not because he demands it explicitly, but because he already seems to have earned it somehow, and he expects it, and very few people argue the point. His bright blue hair is spiked up and back, away from his face; his gaze is piercing, and his expression is almost alarmingly unreadable. When he speaks, his voice isn't relaxing to listen to; it's a bit too rough in timbre for that. At the same time, he doesn't seem worked up or agitated. He isn't blank, either, not like the affected; he's just very, very calm as he stops a reasonable distance away, folding his hands behind his back as he regards the group evenly. "My name is Cyrus; I serve as the leader of Team Galactic, and the creator of the ideal world. I've found your efforts to be remarkable, the strength of your collective spirit undeniable... And yet as one who seeks a permanent end to pointless strife and hostility, and you being those who seek to restore such things to this world... I believe our meeting is long overdue."

Comments

[azumods]

[Between the sudden appeals to whatever Bucky and Rey believe they're doing, and Ignis and Rin attempting to provide an alternate solution, and...well, the generalized yelling from everyone else, it doesn't seem to be bringing Cyrus out of whatever simply shut down in his head; his gaze darts downward, though he doesn't seem to be seeing anything - rather, he's focusing rather tightly on the empty space a few inches in front of his face, and despite all his distance his hands have formed tight fists at his sides.

But that doesn't last long, and even though his breathing is heavy his movement is sharp when his right hand comes up, reaching skyward in one strong, abrupt upward sweep.

And when he speaks he only offers one word, and even if his movements are harsh, the syllables are quiet.]

Judgement.

[And with that, the world ends.

It ends in a split blast of countless beams of light raining down from on high, and even as you're in the cave and sheltered from most of the blast there's something about a world ending that you can feel, something that rattles through you and threatens to shatter you from the inside, and even as the world is dying there's suddenly something in the cave with you - something that started from the shrine and emanated its way inside, bright lights in shades of blue and yellow and pink that glow softly just above your heads and there's something there then, something that keeps you steady and in place, something that anchors you and keeps your soul at ease and even though everything is ending around and outside of this place you know for a terrible, heartwrenching fact (It doesn't surprise me, that your heart should ache for the incomplete creatures of this world) that somehow, you're going to be all right.

You're not going to die here.

You don't register much else, after those bright beams of light smash into the ground; just that you're safe, and something has rendered you that way, and something strong pulses through you to give you strength. Whichever resonates with you most.

Willpower and determination.
A drive to make things better.
Emotional fortitude to push you through.

You black out.

But something saves you, because something has decided that your journey isn't over yet, even as the rest of the world is reborn around you.]