"Latios."
Just as Latios was about to continue speaking, he suddenly saw Elias raise a hand, signaling him to stop.
There was a faint smile on Elias's lips, yet for so reason, it sent a chill down Latios's spine.
Looking into those deep, unreadable eyes, Latios realized—perhaps for the first ti—that this nephew of his was slightly different from the image he had in his mind.
"…What is it, Elias?"
Though a strange premonition stirred in his heart, Latios still chose to ask.
Elias pressed his lips together briefly.
After carefully considering his words, he t Latios's clear gaze and spoke slowly:
"Have you ever thought about this—not just you, who are gravely ill, but as well… Neither of us will be able to stay by Latias's side for her entire life."
…
The atmosphere, which had barely begun to ease under Latios's efforts, froze once again.
Compared to before, the air now felt thick, almost suffocating, swallowing all sound.
"…Is sothing wrong with your body too?"
Latios's first instinct was to assu that Elias was saying this because he, like Latios, was suffering from so kind of illness.
But the mont the words left his mouth, he realized that couldn't be the case.
As a Psychic-type Pokémon, his sensitivity to living beings was quite strong.
Until now, aside from occasionally sensing Elias's intense emotions, he had never detected anything abnormal about his health.
And as if confirming his thoughts, Elias lightly shook his head.
His body was perfectly fine.
Latios felt so of the tension in his heart ease.
But just as he was about to relax, Elias spoke again.
"Latios, there's nothing wrong with my body."
"But… have you ever considered this? I am human. Even though I have awakened psychic powers that rival those of Psychic-type Pokémon, at my core, I am still just an ordinary person."
"Compared to you Legendary Pokémon, who have long lifespans, my own life is barely a fraction of yours—not even one-fifth as long."
"The difference in our species ans that I will inevitably die before Latias. I won't be able to protect her for a lifeti."
Elias's words struck Latios like a heavy hamr, shaking him to his core.
Only now did he realize that he had completely overlooked this unavoidable, insurmountable truth.
Elias was right.
Compared to them, humans—who rarely lived beyond a hundred years—were terrifyingly short-lived.
No matter how strong Elias might be now, he could never escape the cycle of life and death.
This was a massive oversight in Latios's initial considerations.
A deep, indescribable bitterness spread through his heart.
This realization completely upended all of their past efforts.
Because even if Elias could eliminate every powerful poacher today…
Once he and Latios were gone, Latias would still face the sa threats.
A few decades would be more than enough ti for a new generation of poachers to rise.
"…Elias…"
Latios called his na softly, but he didn't know what to say next.
The most logical solution would be to have Elias do what Latios himself once did—find a new protector for Latias before his ti ran out.
But for so reason, Latios couldn't bring himself to say it.
There was sothing fundantally different about the bond between Elias and Latias compared to his own relationship with his sister.
As if sensing what Latios wanted to say, Elias spoke first.
"I know this might sound selfish, but I refuse to entrust my mother's safety to anyone else."
A simple statent—one that completely shut down any further argunts from Latios.
And truthfully, Latios had never planned to argue much in the first place.
Because aside from Elias, there was no one else he could trust to protect Latias.
"…Do you have a plan, Elias?"
Exhausted in both mind and body, Latios asked, though he had little hope for an answer.
The only thod he could think of was searching for Legendary Pokémon with the power to extend lifespans and pleading for their help.
But that was hardly a plan—
Not only were such Pokémon notoriously elusive, but even if they could be found, there was no guarantee they would agree to help.
Just as Latios was thinking this, Elias unexpectedly nodded in response to his question.
"Latios, do you trust ?" Elias asked.
Latios blinked in surprise before replying without hesitation:
"Of course."
"If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have let you stay by Latias's side in the first place."
To him, Elias's question was completely unnecessary.
And yet, it only made Latios more curious about what Elias was planning.
He knew Elias well enough to be sure—if it weren't sothing significant, he wouldn't have asked a question with such an obvious answer.
Sure enough, upon hearing Latios's response, Elias's lips curved into a slight smile.
eting Latios's gaze, he spoke slowly.
"In that case, I want you to allow to leak information to the poachers' forum—specifically, about you living on this island."
"The timing… two months from now."
Hearing this absurd request, even Latios was montarily stunned.
If not for his absolute trust in Elias, he would have thought the human was trying to get him killed.
"…I agree."
Though he had no idea what Elias was planning, Latios still chose to trust him.
He believed Elias would not let him down.
---
[With the plan smoothly set in motion, so of your earlier frustration eased.]
[But perhaps even you failed to notice—your emotions seed to be growing more and more extre.]
[By the ti you returned ho, it was already late at night. Latias was sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for you.]
[From her silent deanor, it was clear that she was very unhappy about how late you had co ho.]
[Whatever sense of control you had over the situation imdiately vanished. Unconsciously, you swallowed nervously.]
"…Why are you back so late?"
Latias's voice was serious—she was beginning to suspect that her brother was the one leading Elias astray.
"…Unc—Uncle had a fever, so I was taking care of him all day."
Caught off guard, Elias stamred slightly.
Technically, it wasn't a lie—Latios had been running a fever.
"…Brother is sick?"
The ntion of a fever softened Latias's expression slightly.
---
[Under your careful explanation, Latias grudgingly let your late return slide this ti.]
[You breathed a sigh of relief, secretly proud of your quick thinking.]
[What you didn't anticipate, however, was that in the days that followed, Latias would repeatedly feign illness—just to experience the sa level of care Latios received.]
[For the first ti, you realized… Latias could even get jealous of her own brother.]
---
...
If you're reading this, then you've wandered all the way to the end. I'm impressed. Stories are like wine—ant to be savored, not rushed. So if you took your ti? Thank you.
Of course, the real thanks goes to WiseTL—the one who turned tangled words into sothing beautiful. I just got asked to wrap things up with a ribbon. Hopefully this counts!
If you enjoyed the journey and want to support the person who made it possible, you can find them here:
👉 [patreon/WiseTL]
Go on. Be generous. They've earned it.
Until next ti—read well, rest often, and maybe co visit at the Hostess of Fertility soti.
– Syr ✨
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