As the Sword of the Vale came down, fresh air filled the area once more.
Steven slowly started to recover.
He looked at Damon, who lay in a pool of blood, his expression calm. He only hoped Damon could hold on long enough for the Sword of the Vale to seal away the Dragon Vein, and then endure Reshiram's blue flame afterward. If he didn't survive that long, what would be the point of the burning? It would be no different than robbing a crematorium of its work.
That Black Rayquaza's strength was beyond terrifying. By itself, it had overpowered both the Black and White Dragons. And somehow, it had even used Dragon Ascent to Mega Evolve on its own. Today truly held far too many surprises.
Rumble—
With Reshiram and Zekrom lending their strength, the Sword of the Vale drove into the chaotic core of the Dragon Vein, sealing it in place.
The disordered purple light turned green, and that green glow began spreading life back across the ruined land. The chaotic Dragon Vein had finally been suppressed by the Sword of the Vale.
"Phew..."
Steven let out a long breath, his whole body aching with sharp, nerve-jangling pain.
Damon's eyes had lost focus; he could no longer make out Steven's shape clearly.
"Go... ahead..."
"Reshiram," Steven said, looking up at the great dragon.
Reshiram gave a small nod and breathed out a ball of blue flame from its mouth. It landed directly on Damon.
The blue flame wrapped around Damon's body, leaving only a black silhouette visible within the fire. Damon bore the pain of the burning flame, holding onto one last wish in his heart — to beg the land's forgiveness.
"Vic..."
Victini watched the scene with a flicker of fear. Steven raised a hand and gently covered Victini's eyes.
Zekrom watched the fierce blue fire coldly, then simply closed its eyes.
"May the flame of truth burn away the sins he carried," Steven murmured, watching the figure slowly turn to ash within the blue flame. "Victini, use Confusion to gather his ashes."
Steven lowered his hand and spoke to Victini.
He wondered whether Damon had simply been too strong-willed to cry out in pain, or whether those final words, "Go ahead," had used up the last of his strength. Either way, the blue flame's burn was no small pain to endure.
"Vic Vic!"
Victini stretched out its small hand and used Confusion to gather the white ashes together. It wouldn't do for Damon's remains to scatter across the ground. Enduring the pain of the fire wasn't the end of his trial — for a descendant of the Land of the People, whose final resting place was meant to be the sea, the irony was almost too much to bear.
Victini used Confusion to place Damon's ashes into a jar that Steven had brought out. Steven didn't spare the jar another glance, simply tucking it away.
A red aircraft slowly descended. A girl dressed in red and an older woman leapt down together and rushed toward Steven. The mother and daughter, finding no sign of Damon, turned their eyes toward Steven instead. Even the blood Damon had left on the ground had been burned away by the blue flame, leaving behind only a scorched patch of earth.
"Champion Steven, where is my brother?" Carlita asked, worry creeping into her voice.
Steven felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he looked at the girl before him. Just as he opened his mouth to answer, his vision suddenly went dark, and he collapsed to the ground.
When Steven opened his eyes again, he found himself staring at a white ceiling, the sharp smell of disinfectant in the air. This had to be a hospital.
"Hiss..."
He shifted his left arm, and pain shot through his entire body at once.
"Champion Steven, you're awake?"
Nurse Joy walked over to his bedside, carrying a row of Poké Balls, and set them down on the table beside him.
"These are your Pokémon. They've already been treated," she explained. "Skarmory and Empoleon will need about a week of rest, so please don't push them too hard. The rest of your team should be fine after a day or two."
Listening to her, Steven realized he was in a recovery room inside a Pokémon Center. It seemed the mother and daughter had carried him here themselves.
Steven let out a soft sigh; his whole body still ached badly. His left arm throbbed with every small movement, and his right palm, covered in scrapes, had been wrapped tightly in bandages. This really had been a rough ordeal.
"Nurse Joy, how long have I been here? And who brought me in?" Steven asked, turning his head toward her.
"A full day," Nurse Joy answered gently. "A mother and her daughter brought you in."
"Thank you."
"Of course." She smiled and pointed to a small button near the bed. "Press this if you need anything, and I'll come right away."
Steven nodded. "Understood."
As he watched Nurse Joy leave the room, he stared up at the ceiling and called out softly, "Victini."
"Vic?"
Victini appeared beside him, its large eyes wide with curiosity.
Steven gave a small laugh. Of course — this little Pokémon had been by his side the entire time. He didn't even need to check his Pokédex to know his messages were likely full of missed calls and irritated texts from Cynthia. He had missed their nightly video call because he'd been unconscious, and now he'd been out of contact for a full day. Knowing her, she might already be on a flight to Unova to track him down herself. After all, he had only told her he was taking a short trip to Unova, and then vanished without a word the moment he arrived.
With Victini nearby, at least he didn't have to worry about losing his belongings. What worried him more was figuring out how to explain everything to Damon's mother and sister.
Click—
"Vic!"
At the sound of the door opening, Victini quickly turned invisible.
"Champion Steven? Nurse Joy told us you were awake."
A head of black, shoulder-length hair peeked through the half-open door, looking toward Steven.
Steven turned and looked at Carlita with a tired sigh. "Come in."
Speak of someone, and they appear.
Carlita and Jiangta stepped into the room together and sat down in the nearby chairs.
"Champion Steven, where is my brother?" Carlita asked again, anxiety clear in her voice the moment she sat.
Steven paused for a moment before finally telling her the truth. "Your brother chose to be burned by the blue flame, to cleanse the sins from his body."
It had been Steven's idea, and Damon had agreed to it.
Carlita's eyes turned red, and she began to cry quietly, burying her face against Jiangta's lap. Jiangta's eyes reddened only slightly — her reaction far more controlled. It seemed they had already guessed much of what had happened before being told.
Steven chose not to mention that Damon's ashes would eventually need to be scattered into the sea. For someone from the Land of the People, never returning to rest in the land itself, but instead finding peace in the ocean, felt like a bitter irony.
Damon had nearly killed Steven and left his Pokémon badly hurt. But he had also saved Steven's life and accepted the pain of the blue flame without complaint. Perhaps, in the end, the scales had balanced.
"Even though I didn't want to believe it, the moment I didn't see him on the Sword of the Vale, I had a feeling," Jiangta said, shaking her head with a tired sigh. "And thank you, Champion Steven, for helping the Sword of the Vale seal away the chaotic Dragon Vein."
Jiangta gently patted Carlita's back, then rose to her feet and bowed to Steven in thanks.
Steven, still lying in the hospital bed, nodded slowly as he watched the mother and daughter leave the room.
Even if the scales had balanced between them, it still struck him as strange that Damon hadn't cried out once while being consumed by the blue flame.
Could Reshiram have made the burning painless somehow?
If that were true, then Steven supposed he'd come out on the losing end of the bargain.