In cosmic space.
Shiko quietly looked at Arceus, who had fallen before him.
There was a thin line of blood across Arceus's neck.
It was the mark left behind by the Grey Sword's slash.
Arceus's life aura weakened bit by bit.
Finally.
Within Shiko's perception, it disappeared completely.
"Is he dead?"
Shiko asked quietly in his heart.
The next second.
He saw Arceus's fallen body suddenly covered in countless fine cracks.
It was like a piece of porcelain that had already shattered, barely maintaining its shape.
With even the slightest external force, it would completely crumble apart.
Arceus's body was also on the verge of such a precarious collapse.
All of a sudden.
An invisible cosmic storm swept past.
Bang!!
After a soft sound.
Arceus's body shattered completely just like that.
Piece after piece of broken fragments scattered through the sky.
But in the next instant, they were utterly annihilated, turning into specks of light.
Gradually, they vanished between heaven and earth.
Seeing this.
Shiko knew.
At this moment, this Lord of the Universe had truly died.
Immediately afterward.
The Plates on Arceus's body also stopped rotating.
They simply floated there quietly in the air.
The light they emitted had dimmed greatly as well.
Their radiance withdrew inward, turning them into ownerless objects.
Shiko walked forward.
He examined the legacy Arceus had left behind.
The energy within these Plates had not disappeared because of Arceus's death.
On the contrary.
It had condensed within the Plates.
He sensed it again.
Hm?
Shiko received an unexpected pleasant surprise.
The power of these Plates that had once belonged to Arceus had become ownerless after his death.
And precisely because of that.
Shiko could now absorb this power!
Without the slightest hesitation.
Shiko decisively began absorbing the energy inside the Plates.
All of it was pure attribute Origin Power refined to the absolute limit.
Even for him, in his current realm, absorbing it brought tremendous benefits.
A few minutes later.
Shiko had completely absorbed the power of the dozen-plus Plates.
Feeling the brand-new changes inside his body.
He could not help but sigh.
Arceus truly was an existence favored by this universe.
This energy.
Was not as simple as pure attribute energy.
It was true Universal Origin Power.
Then.
Through Arceus's manipulation.
It had been divided into various attributes.
After that, he used the power of these attributes.
To create all kinds of powerful Pokémon.
To put it simply.
The energy inside these Plates.
Was the true fundamental reason why lifeforms like Pokémon could be created.
Previously, when Shiko had only absorbed the power of two Plates, he had not felt this.
But now.
Shiko clearly understood.
Only by mastering the power of all the Plates.
Could one obtain the so-called authority of a Creator God.
In other words, the power to create living beings out of nothing.
No wonder.
Thinking of this.
Shiko narrowed his eyes slightly.
No wonder, after he had obtained the power of two Plates.
He could take existing lifeforms.
And alter their energy nodes.
The fact that he could do this.
Happened to prove that the power of the Plates was the key to creating life.
However, at that time.
He had only been able to work from preexisting lifeforms.
He had still been far, far away from creating new creatures out of nothing.
But now.
After absorbing the power of the Plates, there was no longer any problem at all.
Shiko could sense it.
The current him.
Fully possessed that kind of power.
That was because the Origin Universal Power within these Plates.
Was the oldest energy in this universe.
Energy that had existed since the very beginning of the universe's birth.
Relying on it.
It was not impossible to derive lifeforms.
This.
Was the true key behind Arceus's ability to create the world.
Shiko inferred.
It was very possible.
That not only had Pokémon been created by the power of these Plates.
Even Arceus, this Lord of the Universe.
Might also have been born from this Origin Plate Power.
This idea sounded rather unbelievable.
However.
At the final moment, when Arceus had been driven into a desperate corner.
He had gained the recognition of this universe's energy.
From this point alone.
It could support Shiko's view that his guess was likely correct.
After sorting all these matters out.
Shiko absorbed and adapted to this power.
After that.
He began trying to see.
Whether he himself.
Could also create lifeforms like Arceus.
Without needing to perform transformations like before.
Thinking of this.
He could not hold himself back and began attempting it.
At the same time.
When this earth-shaking battle came to an end.
On the distant Earth.
Countless people were waiting for the result of this battle.
Whether it was Himeko, Shiko's former Trainer.
Or the group from the Great Axia military.
Or even.
The Trainers across the entire planet.
Everyone knew.
That proud and powerful golden-armored dragon warrior.
Would have a great battle with Arceus in the universe.
The reason was very simple.
From WarGreymon.
Arceus had sensed an immense threat.
This guy had grown far too quickly.
And he was completely unaffected by the restrictions of Arceus, the Lord of the Universe.
For an existence like this, one that had surpassed his control.
Arceus's usual method had always been annihilation.
So the battle between the two of them was unavoidable.
Unfortunately.
This battle had taken place in the depths of the vast universe.
With humanity's current level of power.
They had absolutely no way to know or see the state of the battle.
Not only that.
Right now, they were even unclear about which side they should support, or which side they should stand with.
One was the Creator God worshiped for countless ages, a being whose presence ran through the entirety of human history.
The other.
Was the heroic figure who had led them to crush the Lighthouse Alliance's conspiracy.
And saved the entire world.
Which one should they choose?
Countless people fell into conflict.
At this point.
Unable to interfere, and unable to see anything.
All they could do was quietly wait for the conclusion of this great battle.
And use it to judge the future direction of all humanity.
(End of Chapter)
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