As Lilligant, relying on her state of Natural Reversion, defeated the Lucario leader, the battle came to a complete end.
At this moment, the Lucario leader lay sprawled in the snow, its figure collapsed against the frozen ground. Its gaze was unfocused as it stared up at the sky, the sunlight shining down upon its body, warm and comforting—a sensation it truly had not felt for a very long time.
"Lucario, my coming here was indeed only to obtain the blue crystal in order to save Darkrai. I hope you can hand the blue crystal over to me." Aven slowly walked up to Lucario.
By his side, apart from Lilligant, who looked completely uninjured, were Froslass, Gardevoir, Garchomp, and Naganadel. Their powerful auras pressed down heavily upon the Lucario leader before them.
Supporting itself with one hand, the Lucario leader sat up. Its eyes shifted toward its companions lying fallen in the distance, and a hint of dimness appeared in its gaze.
It had guarded this place for an extremely long time. During that period, countless humans had come to the castle, seeking to obtain the treasures of the Almia Kingdom.
At this moment, the words its master had spoken when he left resurfaced in its mind. Now that it had been defeated, the mission it had upheld for so long had finally come to an end.
Summoning its remaining strength, it stood up, nodded toward the human before it, then turned and began walking toward the castle. The entire castle, too, was locked in deep ice.
Through the frozen surface, the castle's original appearance could still be seen. Everything seemed as though it had been sealed within the long river of history, preserved in its most pristine state.
All of a sudden, Aven stopped in front of a painting. In the portrait, a king wearing a crown held a crystal radiating golden light in his hand, while four Lucario stood guard before the crystal.
"This is… the Almia Kingdom and four Lucario?" Aven looked at the painting in astonishment.
Vaguely, he could sense that the four Lucario depicted in the painting were very likely the same four guarding the castle now. He simply did not know what that golden, radiant crystal was.
Could it be that, besides the black crystal, the blue crystal, the red crystal, and the yellow crystal, there was also a golden crystal?
With questions filling his mind, he continued following behind Lucario.
After passing through a long corridor and climbing several staircases, they finally arrived at a study. At this moment, atop the desk, a blue crystal could be seen emitting a faint, gentle glow.
"Found it—the final blue crystal." Aven let out a long breath.
Lucario lightly nodded, picked up the blue crystal, and handed it to Aven before turning and walking out of the study.
Aven glanced around and discovered that aside from the blue crystal, everything else in the room was likewise frozen solid.
Just then, a stone tablet encased in ice within the room caught his attention. On it were the following words:
The red crystal, the yellow crystal, and the blue crystal can expel the energy within the shadow crystal, restoring it into the Crystal of Light.
The Crystal of Light will bring new hope to Almia. The one who obtains the Crystal of Light shall become the new king of Almia!
"The Crystal of Light?" Aven's eyes flickered slightly.
After hesitating for a moment, he took the remaining three crystals out of his backpack and placed them together.
Upon sensing the aura of the black crystal, the red crystal, yellow crystal, and blue crystal all burst forth with dazzling energy. The three-colored lights gathered together in midair, and in the end, they slammed straight into the black crystal all at once!
In an instant, the darkness within the black crystal was purified at a speed visible to the naked eye. Black mist continuously spilled into the air, and when every trace of blackness finally faded away, brilliant light filled the entire crystal!
Gradually, the black crystal transformed into a crystal that radiated light endlessly—the Crystal of Light. From it emanated a soothing energy fluctuation that made people feel at ease, as though it could purify all darkness in the world.
"Lucario!"
The moment the Crystal of Light appeared, the Lucario standing nearby suddenly narrowed its eyes.
Then, to Aven's astonishment, Lucario directly dropped to one knee, deeply bowing its head toward the Crystal of Light.
This Crystal of Light was precisely the proof of kingship of the Almia Kingdom. Whoever obtained the proof of the Crystal of Light could become the new king of Almia, and Lucario would swear its loyalty to the new king!
"Lucario…" Aven's gaze wavered as he recalled the words engraved on the stone tablet.
Now that he had successfully transformed the black crystal into the Crystal of Light, did that mean he had become the new king of Almia?
Before he could fully sort out his thoughts, light flashed once more within the room, and then the figure of Cresselia appeared.
Clearly, Cresselia had also sensed the aura of the Crystal of Light and had rushed over.
"Cresselia!"
Cresselia's figure floated quietly in midair.
"Cresselia, I've successfully purified the power within the black crystal." Aven raised the Crystal of Light in his hand.
The radiance of the Crystal of Light shone upon Cresselia's body, causing a familiar aura to continuously spread from her and completely envelop the area.
At that very moment, the Poké Ball of Darkrai on Aven's body suddenly floated up.
The Poké Ball opened, and Darkrai's figure silently hovered in midair, bathed in the power of the Crystal of Light.
As the powers of the Lunar Pokémon and the Crystal of Light intertwined and continuously flowed into Darkrai's body, the black aura surrounding it began to dissipate without end.
All of a sudden, Darkrai opened its eyes. Its gaze was clear and lucid, no longer carrying the previous madness and confusion.
Relying on the power of the Crystal of Light, the darkness was completely dispelled, and the being that had fallen into chaos regained its consciousness—just as recorded in the legends, where the power of the Three Princes awakened the Almia King who had sunk into darkness!
"Dark!"
Darkrai's gaze fell upon Aven, who was holding the Crystal of Light. Placing its right hand over its chest, it lowered its head and bowed slowly.
It knew that it was the human before it who had pulled it back from endless darkness, and that Aven had now fulfilled his promise.
"Darkrai, welcome back." Aven stepped forward and helped Darkrai up.
After such a long period of effort, Darkrai had finally recovered. None of his efforts had been in vain!
"Darkrai!"
Darkrai nodded, its eyes gentle as it looked at Aven.
Afterward, its figure slowly floated to Aven's side, like the most loyal bodyguard.
Just as it had promised long ago, from this day forward, it would stand guard by this human's side!
Seeing this, Cresselia in the air nodded lightly.
Then her figure swiftly rose into the sky. Now that Darkrai had awakened, she, too, intended to leave this place.
"Cresselia, thank you for your help. If you encounter any trouble in the future, you can come find me in the Sinnoh region."
In the sky, Cresselia nodded, and then a feather shimmering with light drifted down from above—it was the Lunar Feather, imbued with Cresselia's power.
(End of Chapter)