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Tapu Koko sensed the shift in Kael's breathing.
"…What is it?" Kael asked carefully, already aware that sothing was hidden beneath Tapu Koko's calm words.
"Myself."
Tapu Koko turned fully to face him.
Its sharp, obsidian claw lifted and pressed lightly against its own chest.
Hundreds of years ago, during the first great outbreak of Ultra Beasts, Tapu Koko had burned through an enormous portion of its fundantal life force to repel the invasion and protect its holand.
That loss should not have been permanent.
Under normal circumstances, a legendary Pokémon could recover such damage through extended hibernation.
But Tapu Koko never had that luxury.
Guarding more than a dozen Ultra Wormholes scattered across the ruined city left no opportunity for rest.
New incursions appeared without warning.
And all the while, the Nightmare Seed continued to burrow deeper into its consciousness.
Each battle, each year of wakefulness, shaved away more of its core.
Until now.
After centuries of solitary vigilance, Tapu Koko had reached the end of what even a guardian deity could endure.
The fact that it still lived—
That it still retained consciousness under constant corruption—
That it had even managed to drive Guzzlord away—
Was not the result of remaining strength.
It was willpower.
Nothing more than a single breath stubbornly held.
Compared to its pri, Tapu Koko's current strength was a shadow.
In the past, an Ultra Beast like Guzzlord would have been erased instantly by its lightning.
Now, it could only rely on accumulated authority and intimidation to keep such threats confined within the ruins.
Ultra Wormholes were not new phenona.
Even in ancient eras before human civilization, such spatial ruptures had appeared from ti to ti.
Most collapsed naturally.
A rare few stabilized.
And for those rare cases, counterasures had been passed down among legendary Pokémon through generations.
Tapu Koko had inherited that knowledge.
As a guardian not particularly gifted in spatial manipulation, the only way for it to close a stabilized Ultra Wormhole was to burn away a portion of its own origin essence.
For a healthy Tapu Koko, that cost would have been manageable.
Years of rest would restore the loss.
But for the Tapu Koko standing here now—
It was a death sentence.
In other words, to seal the final Ultra Wormhole—
It would have to give up its life.
"No… no," Kael said quickly, shaking his head in panic.
"There has to be another way. Don't—"
He couldn't finish the sentence.
They had only t today.
And yet, in that short ti, Tapu Koko's selflessness, restraint, and quiet devotion had carved a deep impression into Kael's heart.
A guardian who had endured centuries of solitude, standing watch like a monk of thunder, protecting a dead land—
And this sa guardian had saved Kael's life.
No matter how he looked at it, Tapu Koko did not deserve this end.
"Ha…"
Tapu Koko chuckled softly at Kael's distress.
There was relief in that sound.
Then it raised its head slightly, allowing Kael to see its eyes clearly.
Those eyes were no longer blue.
They were completely subrged in murky darkness.
"Do you see it?"
"The roots of the Nightmare Seed have already reached the deepest layer of my ntal domain."
"Even my origin has been tainted."
"I do not have much ti left."
Kael froze.
Tapu Koko continued, its voice steady but tired.
"Rather than losing myself one day and becoming a creature that devours fresh blood without reason…"
"It is better to end things now."
"To let my essence disperse and collapse the Ultra Wormhole completely."
"I am… very tired."
Even the strongest will erodes eventually.
Centuries of corruption.
Endless invasions.
Unbroken vigilance.
For this lone guardian, self-sacrifice was not only a duty.
It was release.
A way to preserve dignity.
A way to end its watch on its own terms.
Kael stood there, speechless.
His mouth opened, but no words ca.
Tapu Koko lowered its claw and looked at him quietly, a faint smile touching its expression.
"Are you not curious," it asked gently,
"why I have told you all of this?"
Kael hesitated.
Then nodded.
In the end, he was just a Pokémon Tapu Koko had rescued by chance.
Even if he was sowhat unusual, even if his foundation was solid—
In strength, experience, and status, he was nowhere close to a guardian deity.
So why him?
Why bring him here?
Why entrust him with this truth?
Was it simply a need to speak?
In part—
Yes.
Before the Nightmare Seed spread, this city had already been largely abandoned by humans.
Tapu Koko could only occasionally speak with environntal wardens or the few Pokémon resilient enough to survive here.
After the Nightmare Seed's arrival, even that vanished.
Humans disappeared.
Pokémon beca mindless thralls.
The ruins of City beca a true dead zone.
Kael dragged here by an accident of fate—
Was the first outsider in centuries.
Even for soone as aloof as Tapu Koko, the desire to speak to be heard was unavoidable.
But that was only part of the reason.
The deeper reason—
Why Tapu Koko trusted him.
Why it spoke as if delivering final words—
Ca from sothing far more subtle.
A premonition.
Sothing felt in the depths of its fading consciousness.
Sothing that told it—
This strange Pokémon before it mattered.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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