"Hmm. I'll have Gladion and the others send people to look for her. If they can find Rei, that would be very interesting."
Damian thought it over and settled on that idea. He had overlooked this before.
He had subconsciously assumed that Platinum was the only "protagonist" of the Sinnoh region. But he could not rule out the possibility that Rei also existed.
After all, in Unova, didn't Rosa and Hilda exist in the same era?
About an hour later, Damian and the other three were chatting while flipping through the old poems. It had to be said, this was a lot of fun.
Damian was also very interested in Cogita, the one who had recorded those ancient poems. That was because Cogita was an extremely important figure in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Her background was very mysterious. She knew a great deal about Legendary Pokémon. Even Enamorus was her partner and willingly carried her around.
According to Cogita herself, the stories and knowledge she had were passed down through her ancestors. She was only passing them on to Rei.
But the key point was that she knew far too much.
And she herself was far too mysterious. At one point, it even made people wonder whether she might be a Legendary Pokémon in human form.
If he ever got the chance to return to Hisui, Damian felt he absolutely had to find that woman and have a proper talk with her.
Well, to be honest, there was another important reason too. Damian was very interested in Cogita physically.
After all, Cogita was one of the few white-haired women in the Pokémon series. On top of that, she was beautiful, elegant, and had an excellent figure.
But in the end, Cogita was a woman from the Hisui era. He would wait until he had a chance to go to Hisui in the future before thinking about that.
"Miss Sheena, I have a rude request. I wonder if it would be possible?"
After thinking for a moment, Damian spoke to Sheena.
"Please, go ahead, Mr. Damian."
Sheena smiled as she answered.
Her impression of Damian was still very good. He seemed bright and easygoing, he spoke politely, and he knew a lot. It was easy for people to like him.
"Then I'll be direct. I was wondering if you could let us see that sacred relic, the Jewel of Life."
Damian was not being polite here. He was genuinely very curious about the Jewel of Life.
Especially since this was a treasure formed by five Plates fused together.
Hearing that, Sheena froze. Her small face tightened right away. Other things were easy to discuss, but the Jewel of Life...
"Damian?!"
Cynthia's heart jumped, and her expression changed at once.
This was exactly what she had been worried about. Damian could not be called completely evil, but he definitely was not a good person either.
For a treasure like the Jewel of Life, it was not strange at all that Damian might want to take it.
But Cynthia truly did not want that to happen. Sheena had welcomed them warmly and had shared the history of Michina and those precious old poems without holding anything back.
And now he wanted to take the treasure that Sheena's family had protected for generations, the one that also carried her ancestors' wishes. That was simply too much.
"Don't worry. I don't mean any harm. I only want to take a look at this treasure."
Damian shook his head and laughed. It would be a lie to say he had no thoughts about the Jewel of Life at all, but he was not stupid enough to lose his head over it.
What was the point of stealing the Jewel of Life?
If Arceus here were like the one in the movie, Damian would have taken it without a second thought. But the problem was that the Arceus of this world was completely fine, and it might even have the Legend Plate.
It had not appeared in the world for a very long time, but if he stole the Jewel of Life from Sheena and Arceus woke up one day and found out, who knew what it would do?
After all, Damos, Sheena's ancestor, had been very close to Arceus. It was entirely possible that Arceus would look after his descendant and reclaim the Jewel of Life.
So yes, Damian was very interested in the Jewel of Life, but not to the point of stealing it.
Hearing that, Cynthia quietly felt relieved. Since Damian had said so, he probably would not do anything reckless.
"Normally, that would not be allowed. But I do feel like I was meant to meet you three. So how about this? I want the three of you to promise that you will not tell anyone what you see today. Is that alright?"
After hesitating for a long time, Sheena bit her lip and agreed.
"I can swear it in Arceus's name," Damian said with a smile.
"We'll definitely keep it secret," Cynthia replied seriously.
"Then please follow me."
Sheena took a deep breath, then led Damian and the others to the space-time instrument.
The space-time instrument could measure the stability of time and space. It was also a very special device.
Sheena pressed a button on the control panel in front of it. A mechanism opened, and a flower-shaped machine slowly rose up.
"Please look. This is the Jewel of Life."
The flower-shaped device slowly opened, revealing what was inside.
A jewel glowing with a faint green light appeared before the four of them. At its center, a brilliant light shimmered.
This sacred relic, made from the five Plates of Ground, Water, Grass, Electric, and Dragon, not only contained the power of those five Plates, but the way those powers worked together gave the Jewel of Life an incredibly strong life force.
If the Jewel of Life was used, even a dead land could become full of life again in an instant, covering the ground in green and vitality.
"It's so beautiful..."
Damian could not help sighing. The Jewel of Life really was stunning.
Just judging by appearance, it was much prettier than the Blue Orb or the Red Orb.
However...
Damian looked at the Jewel of Life with a thoughtful expression.
"Right? We have protected it all this time, just waiting for the day Arceus descends again."
A hopeful smile appeared on Sheena's face. She truly hoped Arceus would appear in her lifetime.
But unfortunately, the space-time instrument still showed no signs of any fluctuation. That also meant there was still no movement in the Hall of Origin.
She wondered whether she would ever get to see Arceus before she died.
Caitlin and Cynthia were also carefully admiring the Jewel of Life.
"Something's wrong."
Suddenly, Damian spoke.
"Mr. Damian, what's wrong?" Sheena asked in confusion.
"There's something wrong with this jewel."
Damian narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What?" Sheena froze.
"Miss Sheena, you have special powers too, right?"
"Ah? Yes. I inherited the Power of Overcoming from my ancestors."
Sheena still looked lost.
"I have a special power as well. It is an ability given to me by the Viridian Forest, where I was born."
Damian raised his right hand, and a green glow appeared.
"Miss Sheena, your Power of Overcoming isn't especially suited for sensing things, so you may never have noticed. But this Jewel of Life... has no energy inside it."
Damian spoke while thinking it through.
Sheena still did not fully understand.
"What Damian means is that this Jewel of Life is fake. It's just a pretty crystal. There's no real power inside it."
Caitlin explained it for her. After Damian pointed it out, she had noticed it too.
Caitlin had powerful psychic abilities, so she could sense it as well.
"What?! That's impossible!"
This time, Sheena understood, and her face changed completely.
The Jewel of Life had been passed down through her family for generations. How could it possibly be fake?
"Could there be some mistake?" Cynthia's brows were tightly drawn together.
"There's no mistake. This jewel really is empty. It's just a beautiful piece of crystal. If you don't believe me, Sheena, pick it up and throw it on the ground."
Damian shook his head.
Sheena's face had gone completely pale, and her body trembled slightly.
She still could not believe it, but at the same time, she was afraid.
"If this were truly the Jewel of Life made from Arceus's Plates, then it would absolutely be indestructible. Even a Pokémon attack should not be able to break it."
"And if it shatters, then it can only mean one thing."
Damian looked at Sheena, and Sheena instantly understood what he meant.
At some point over all these years, the Jewel of Life had been switched.
"I..."
Sheena reached toward the Jewel of Life with a trembling hand. Damian's words made sense, and she needed to confirm it herself.
But perhaps because of the pressure she was under, her movements were painfully slow.
At last, she touched the Jewel of Life. It was not heavy. Sheena lifted it up, then took a deep breath.
"Relax. If it's the real one, it won't break."
Hearing Damian's voice beside her, Sheena gritted her teeth and let go.
The Jewel of Life fell.
Clatter.
The moment it hit the hard ground, the beautiful "Jewel of Life" made a sharp sound. The next second, it shattered into pieces.
It really was just a crystal imitation.
Sheena instantly felt dizzy. Her vision went black, and all the strength seemed to leave her body, making it impossible for her to stand.
"Sheena!"
Cynthia rushed to support her. But even though she grabbed her arm, Sheena still collapsed to the ground. Her lifeless eyes stared at the shattered Jewel of Life.
"How can this be... how can this be happening..."
Sheena stared blankly at the broken pieces. It really had been a fake.
Then what had been the meaning of protecting it all this time?
She had always been full of hope, waiting for the day Arceus would appear so she could return the Jewel of Life with her own hands and thank it for the gift it had given a thousand years ago.
Sheena could not even imagine what Arceus would think of her if she handed over this fake Jewel of Life.
"Sheena, get a hold of yourself. Did anyone ever sneak into the ruins before?"
Cynthia tried to help Sheena up, but she could not manage it. All she could do was comfort her and ask questions.
"No. No one ever did."
Sheena's eyes slowly turned red, and she kept shaking her head.
"The Jewel of Life... I treated the Jewel of Life as more important than my own life. Other than Kevin, no one knew where it was."
"And Kevin is the guardian of the ruins. He grew up with me. It's impossible that he would steal the Jewel of Life."
Her voice was already trembling with tears.
"Then what we can confirm is that, by the time it reached your family, this jewel was already fake."
Damian had not expected that, even though things had developed differently, the Jewel of Life had still been switched.
In the movie, it was Damos's subordinate, Marcus, who betrayed him, stole the real Jewel of Life, and replaced it with a fake.
Then Sheena's family protected that fake and passed it down for generations, until the awakened Arceus stepped on it and crushed it. Only then did they realize it was false.
As for the real Jewel of Life, it was actually still hidden in these ruins.
Marcus had never had the chance to take the real jewel away. He died alongside Damos at the hands of Arceus after the ambush drove Arceus into a rage.
"Uuuu..."
The young guardian's mental state began to collapse. She covered her face and cried.
At that moment, she had no idea what to do. If she at least knew who had stolen it, that would be one thing. But the problem now was that she did not even know who the thief was.
It might not even have been someone from this generation. How was she supposed to find them? There was no way to know where to start.
"Pull yourself together. If you have people, send them to search the ruins and the area around Michina first."
"Or have Pokémon search for it. Pokémon are more sensitive to treasures filled with energy. Maybe they can find it."
Damian was no longer hinting. He was saying it outright.
"Pokémon... Right! Pokémon!"
Sheena finally remembered. Even if she did not know where to look, the Pokémon might be able to find it.
She quickly wiped away her tears and stood up. Then she ran toward the outside of the ruins. Her hurried steps showed just how desperate she was.
"Sheena?"
Damian and the other two followed her out. Cynthia looked at Sheena in confusion.
Sheena was now standing right in front of the ancient temple. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest, and her eyes were tightly shut. A mysterious energy flowed out from her body.
"Please help me, Dialga!"
-------------------------
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