The creature's final words echoed through the cavern, rolling across the stone walls with such unnatural depth that Alex could feel the sound vibrating inside his chest long after the ancient voice had fallen silent, and for several seconds, none of them seemed capable of responding because every thought they had been carrying into this cave had suddenly been replaced by one overwhelming realization: they were standing directly in front of something that should not have existed.
Alex slowly tightened his grip around the notebook.
His eyes remained fixed on the enormous figure standing before them.
"What… do you mean, why did we awaken you?"
The creature did not answer immediately.
Instead, it lowered its massive head until its glowing red eyes were closer to Alex's level, and although the movement was slow and deliberate, there was something deeply unsettling about the way it studied him, almost as though it were looking past his face and searching through his memories for something that Alex himself didn't even know he possessed.
Charmander stepped forward.
"Char!"
Its tiny claws were raised defensively, and the flame at the end of its tail burned brighter as it positioned itself between Alex and the creature, despite the enormous difference in size between them.
Alex immediately placed a hand on Charmander's shoulder.
"Wait."
Charmander looked back.
Alex shook his head.
"Don't attack."
The ancient Pokémon's eyes narrowed.
"You possess courage."
Its voice was quieter this time, but somehow that made it even more frightening.
"Or perhaps you simply do not yet understand what stands before you."
Yellow swallowed nervously.
"Believe me, we're starting to understand."
The creature's gaze shifted toward her.
Yellow immediately froze.
"Okay… maybe I shouldn't have said that."
Damian stepped forward cautiously, keeping one hand near his Poké Balls while refusing to make any sudden movements.
"You said we awakened you."
The ancient Pokémon looked at him.
"You came searching for what was buried."
Damian's expression changed.
"What?"
"You followed the trail."
The creature's enormous claw slowly moved toward the ground, stopping beside the massive footprints that covered the cavern floor.
"You followed my tracks."
Its gaze shifted toward the melted collar lying near the wall.
"You found what remained of those who came before you."
Then it looked toward the entrance of the cavern.
"And you brought the scent of the outside world into my sanctuary."
Alex felt a chill run through him.
"Those people from the camp… Professor Hayes and the others…"
The creature became completely still.
Alex took a cautious step forward.
"What happened to them?"
For several seconds, there was no response.
Then the ancient Pokémon closed its eyes.
"They came seeking knowledge."
Its voice carried a strange sadness now.
"They believed that because your kind had named every creature you encountered, because you had recorded generations of Pokémon and divided the world into categories that made you feel as though you understood it, there could be nothing left that truly belonged to the unknown."
Damian stared at the creature.
"They were scientists."
"They were explorers."
The creature opened its eyes.
"And they were afraid."
Yellow looked down at the ground.
"What happened to Professor Hayes?"
The ancient Pokémon's gaze remained fixed upon them.
"He discovered the collars."
Alex's heart sank.
"The collars were yours?"
A deep silence followed.
Then the creature slowly shook its enormous head.
"No."
That single word carried more weight than Alex expected.
Damian immediately noticed.
"Then whose are they?"
The ancient Pokémon looked toward the melted collar.
"They were made by humans."
Alex stared at it.
"Humans made those?"
"Long before your generation."
The creature's voice became colder.
"They came here searching for power."
The cavern seemed to grow colder around them.
"They found me."
Alex felt his stomach tighten.
"What did they want?"
The ancient Pokémon's enormous claws slowly curled against the stone floor.
"They wanted to control what they could not understand."
Damian's eyes widened.
"That's why the collars were made."
The creature nodded.
"They believed that if they could bind my strength, they could command me."
Alex looked at the melted collar again.
"But it didn't work."
"No."
The creature's red eyes burned brighter.
"It never worked."
A low rumble escaped from its chest, and for a moment, Alex thought the ancient Pokémon might roar again, but instead it simply stared into the darkness beyond them.
"They came with machines."
Its voice became heavier.
"They came with weapons."
"They came with devices designed to suppress my power."
"They believed numbers would make them stronger."
The creature lowered its head.
"They were wrong."
Yellow looked horrified.
"How many people were there?"
The ancient Pokémon remained silent.
Then it answered.
"Enough."
Alex felt a cold knot form in his stomach.
He looked around the cavern at the bones scattered across the ground.
Suddenly, they seemed different.
These weren't simply the remains of Pokémon that had wandered into the wrong place.
They were evidence.
Evidence of everything that had happened here.
But there was still one question that refused to leave Alex's mind.
"If you were attacked by humans before…"
He hesitated.
"Why didn't you attack us?"
The ancient Pokémon looked directly at him.
"Because you are not them."
Alex blinked.
"What?"
"You entered my sanctuary without weapons drawn."
The creature's gaze moved toward Damian.
"You carried Poké Balls, but you did not release your Pokémon."
Then toward Yellow.
"You were afraid, but you did not flee."
Finally, its enormous eyes settled upon Alex.
"And you saw my tracks."
Its voice became quieter.
"You saw the destruction."
"You found the journal."
"And yet you continued."
Alex didn't know what to say.
The creature slowly stepped closer.
The ground trembled beneath its enormous weight.
But this time, Alex didn't step backward.
He couldn't.
Something about the creature's words had changed the situation.
It wasn't simply a monster hiding in the forest.
It was a survivor.
A survivor of something that had happened long before Alex had ever been born.
Then Damian suddenly spoke.
"You said you were awakened."
The creature's eyes shifted toward him.
"Yes."
"What woke you?"
The ancient Pokémon stared at Damian for several seconds.
Then its expression changed.
For the first time, genuine concern appeared in those ancient eyes.
"You did not awaken me."
Damian frowned.
"Then what did?"
The creature slowly turned its enormous head toward the darkness behind them.
Alex felt every muscle in his body tense.
The creature whispered a single word.
"Ragnarok."
Silence.
The name seemed to linger in the cavern.
Alex stared at Damian.
Damian stared back.
Yellow looked between them.
"What does that mean?"
Before anyone could answer, the entire cavern suddenly shook.
Not from the creature.
Not from a footstep.
Something else.
Something far deeper.
A tremendous vibration rolled through the stone beneath their feet, causing dust to fall from the ceiling and several loose rocks to crash onto the ground.
Charmander immediately grabbed Alex's leg.
"Char!"
Alex looked toward the darkness.
"What was that?"
The ancient Pokémon's expression hardened.
"It has begun."
Damian's voice became tense.
"What has begun?"
The creature looked directly at him.
"The awakening."
Another tremor shook the cavern.
This time, the walls cracked.
Yellow stumbled backward.
"Awakening of what?!"
The ancient Pokémon did not answer.
Instead, it looked toward the entrance.
And for the first time since they had entered the cavern…
Alex saw fear in its eyes.
"Something older than I am."
Alex's blood ran cold.
Then, from somewhere impossibly deep beneath the earth…
A second pair of red eyes opened.
And they were much larger than the first.