Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Chapter 135

"The sn— has not yet passed. The village’s food is nearly gone. Will the Herald of Spring still [illegible] this year? Wind... thunder..."

Several parts of the ancient text were simply impossible for Mike to make out.

The book had been handwritten, and after surviving for an unknown number of centuries, much of the ink had faded until entire characters were little more than stains on the page.

Still, judging from the way the entries were written, this seemed less like a formal historical record and more like someone’s personal diary.

Mike carefully turned to the next passage.

"The thunderstorm and gale came again today. Someone from the village was caught by the storm and disappeared..."

"Why does our village suffer storms and lightning every single year? I visited another village last time, and they never experience anything like this. Even when they do get bad weather, it’s nowhere near as terrible as what happens here..."

...

Several entries later, the handwriting became slightly clearer.

"Today I met people who came from somewhere far away. They call themselves the Diamond Clan. What is the Diamond Clan?"

"They say they worship Almighty Sinnoh and believe Almighty Sinnoh created the entire world. According to them, the storms and lightning that plague our village are actually caused by two creatures called Tornadus and Thundurus fighting each other. They also told me that these two creatures cross the sea every year and come to Hisui, where they wreak havoc across the land..."

"Apparently, the Diamond Clan came here this time because they intend to capture them..."

The next portion was badly damaged.

"They [illegible]... Those were not merely creatures... that was the power of gods..."

Another section followed, though several words had been lost to time.

"Another [illegible] appeared. It calmed the [illegible] disaster and bestowed abundance upon our land. The crops we planted ripened with astonishing speed..."

...

The diary abruptly ended there.

Mike carefully turned several blank pages before handwriting finally appeared again.

"What exactly are these creatures? They can communicate with us. They can help us, yet they can also hurt us."

"Under Professor [illegible]’s guidance, we studied the shape and properties of Apricorns and created balls capable of capturing these creatures. At [illegible]’s suggestion, we officially began calling them ’Pokémon.’"

Mike’s eyebrows rose.

’Wait.’

’The earliest Poké Balls were developed by the people of Hisui?’

The information sounded familiar.

After thinking about it, Mike vaguely remembered seeing something along those lines while playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus in his previous life.

Unfortunately, he had never been the kind of player who stopped to read every piece of dialogue and background lore, so most of the details had gone in one ear and out the other.

Now, faced with what appeared to be an actual firsthand record from that era, he regretted not paying more attention.

Mike continued reading.

Melodi remained quietly beside him, watching his increasingly serious expression without interrupting.

Then Mike turned another page.

"[Unrecognizable symbols]"

He stared.

The entire page was covered in bizarre markings that looked nothing like the ancient script used elsewhere in the book.

Mike frowned and gently traced one of the symbols with his fingertip, trying to find some recognizable pattern or meaning, but even after studying it for a while, he could make nothing of it.

’What is this supposed to be?’

With no way to decipher the page, Mike reluctantly moved on.

The next page contained an illustration.

It was crude and heavily stylized, but the scene itself was unmistakable.

The sky had been torn apart.

Within the broken heavens stood two enormous shapes, though age and damage had erased much of both figures.

Mike stared at the surviving outlines, and his pupils contracted.

’Palkia and Dialga?’

’Those two were already tearing reality apart back then?’

He carefully turned several more pages before finding another stretch of readable writing.

"I saw them..."

"There is more than one Almighty Sinnoh. Neither the Diamond Clan nor the Pearl Clan was wrong. Both were worshipping a true Almighty Sinnoh, but for reasons I do not understand, the two gods began fighting."

"Both temples were completely destroyed. The statues of the Ten Nobles were destroyed as well. Jubilife Village was nearly wiped from the earth..."

Mike’s expression became increasingly grave as he read on.

"I returned to our flower village, but even here we have been affected by the battle between the two Almighty Sinnoh. Space-time distortions have begun appearing along the coast."

"Someone entered one of them and never returned."

"I watched Pokémon enter them as well, and none of those Pokémon came back either."

"What am I supposed to do? How can I stop these space-time distortions?"

"I don’t know. I can’t do anything. If... if... if [illegible]..."

The next entry changed subjects abruptly.

"The Festival of Bountiful Harvests? An offering to the God of the Fields? The God of the Fields... Who was that again?"

"Wait. I think I remember. Was it that yellow Pokémon?"

"The village chief says it always appeared after the storms and lightning, bringing abundance back to the land. If that is true... could it help us stop the space-time distortions outside the village?"

The next entry had been almost completely lost.

"[Illegible]"

Then the writing returned.

"They came again—the storms and the lightning. This time, I witnessed the God of the Fields with my own eyes. It completely subdued the two rampaging Pokémon. Thank goodness. The soil has become fertile again."

Mike already knew which Pokémon the writer meant.

Landorus.

Then he reached the next paragraph.

"There was another figure beside the God of the Fields."

"Was that... another Pokémon like the gods of storms, thunder, and bountiful land?"

"The snow throughout the village has melted. Seeds have begun to sprout, and everything suddenly feels as though it is coming back to life..."

The final line was written more shakily.

"That figure... I have seen it before."

"That is..."

"The Herald of Spring?!"

From that point onward, the handwriting became badly distorted, but enough remained for Mike to piece together the general meaning.

"It has been more than thirty years... perhaps forty. At last, I have seen the Herald of Spring again."

"There can be no mistake. Only the Herald of Spring I saw as a child possessed this power."

"She transformed Her affection into the promise of new life and scattered it across this land once more..."

"O Herald of Spring... please bless this land with Your affection once again..."

The next line had suffered far more damage.

"The Herald of Spring [illegible] the space-time distortion [illegible] She [illegible]..."

Then came the final readable entry.

"That land is now covered in flowers symbolizing gratitude."

"But Herald of Spring..."

"Where did You go?"

After that, there was nothing.

Several pages were completely blank.

Farther into the book, Mike found only meaningless markings and strange symbols, which became increasingly bizarre until, eventually, later generations had begun adding notes in modern writing.

Mike felt a painful sense of frustration.

If only nobody had scribbled across the original text or allowed parts of it to deteriorate so badly.

The answer had been right there.

He might have been able to learn exactly what Enamorus had done at the end.

’Was her disappearance connected to those space-time distortions?’

The possibility immediately lodged itself in his mind.

’This is driving me crazy!’

He had the outline of an answer, but the single most important piece was missing.

Mike slowly closed the book and exhaled.

Still, when he combined this diary with the stone records he had previously discovered in the ancient ruins, the broad shape of Enamorus’s fate was beginning to emerge.

What remained uncertain was whether her disappearance had truly been caused by the space-time distortions.

"Did you figure anything out?"

Melodi’s expectant voice pulled Mike away from his thoughts.

She leaned slightly closer.

"Can you actually read it?"

"Most of it."

Mike nodded.

"Some passages are too damaged to recover, but I understood the general story."

Melodi’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Could you tell me?"

"Of course."

Mike took a little time to organize everything he had learned, then explained the diary in simpler terms: the storms caused by Tornadus and Thundurus, the appearance of Landorus, the conflict between Dialga and Palkia, the space-time distortions that spread across Hisui, and finally the return of the mysterious Herald of Spring.

When he finished, Melodi sat quietly for a moment.

"So the Herald of Spring really existed?"

"If people recorded encounters with it this clearly, then I’d say yes."

Mike rested a hand on the ancient book.

"The legends were based on something real."

Melodi hesitated before asking the question that had obviously been on her mind.

"Then what kind of Pokémon was the Herald of Spring?"

"Enamorus."

Mike answered without hesitation.

"She’s the fourth member of the Forces of Nature, alongside Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus."

"Enamorus..."

Melodi quietly repeated the name several times before nodding.

"I understand now. Thank you, Mike."

"You don’t need to thank me."

Mike looked down at the book.

"I should be thanking you. This is an incredibly valuable historical source, and I never expected to find something like this simply because I stopped beside a flower field."

Then another thought occurred to him.

"Would you mind if I photographed the pages?"

Melodi did not answer immediately.

Instead, she asked, "You’re planning to search for the ruins near Floaroma Town, aren’t you?"

"That’s the idea."

Mike nodded.

"In that case, take the book with you."

Mike stared at her.

"You’re sure?"

Melodi gave him a slightly embarrassed smile.

"If you find anything else connected to the Herald of Spring, would you write it down in the book for me?"

She lightly touched the cover.

"I’m interested in the story too. Grandma left this to me, but neither she nor I ever knew what most of it actually said. If you can uncover more of the history behind it, I’d like that history to stay with the book."

Mike’s expression softened.

"Of course."

He accepted the responsibility seriously.

"And thank you. I’ll take good care of it."

There was a very real possibility that this book would eventually be cited as a historical source in future research on Hisuian mythology.

Even with the damaged sections, it contained information of enormous value.

Melodi smiled.

"Then I’ll leave it with you for now."