Despite trying every way she could to comfort herself, Zorua still couldn't shake the crushing sadness in her chest.
Like a dam pushed past its limit, she finally let out a broken whimper—
"Wu…"
Her soft, furry body trembled in the snow, looking pitiful beyond words.
Hot tears slid from the corners of her eyes, hitting the icy ground and melting into shallow craters.
She regretted everything.
If she had known it would end like this, she would've rather starved to death alone on the tundra than ever approached Elias.
At least then, she wouldn't be feeling this kind of heartbreak now.
Just the thought of never tasting his cooking again, never feeling the warmth of his touch again, made her chest ache unbearably.
In the midst of her sobbing, an image suddenly flickered across her mind.
—A vision, ten years in the future.
Elias, now grown, one arm around a Gardevoir, the other holding a Pokémon she didn't recognize, all smiles as he fed them by hand.
Those spots beside him—her rightful place—had long been taken.
And she could only watch silently from the shadows.
The thought—no, the illusion—only made her cry harder.
Eventually, when her strength finally gave out, Zorua collapsed against the rock, panting and sniffling, trying to rest.
Her tear-swollen eyes scanned her surroundings—and that's when panic hit.
She didn't recognize this place.
A vast white wilderness stretched in every direction. The snowstorm had long since buried her tracks.
And worse… something felt off.
This wasn't just a storm.
Something else was happening.
Zorua perked her ears, eyes flicking nervously around.
Boom—!
A thunderous crack split the air.
A dome of bluish-purple light suddenly shimmered into existence over the Alabaster Wastes.
And Zorua was trapped inside it.
The sky darkened. Zorua instinctively shrank into herself, unease creeping down her spine.
She had never encountered anything like this before.
Then again… she didn't have much real survival experience to begin with.
Aside from the time she'd spent with her clan, nearly every other day of her life had been under Elias's protection.
Now, alone again in the frozen wilds, she realized she had no idea what was going on.
She struggled to her feet, exhausted but determined to get out of the strange barrier.
Her instincts screamed that staying would only bring disaster.
But—
She only managed a few steps before freezing in place.
In her field of vision, one after another, ferocious Pokémon suddenly materialized out of thin air—like they'd teleported in.
Electivire. Haxorus. Scizor.
In mere moments, the snowfield was packed with Pokémon strong enough to dominate entire territories.
Zorua rubbed her eyes, stunned.
But as a master of illusion, she was sure of one thing—this was no trick of the mind.
Her breath hitched.
She took a shaky step back, legs quivering beneath her.
Crunch—
A single sound—snow underfoot.
All eyes turned.
Every one of those Pokémon had a faint, eerie red gleam in their gaze.
And the moment they spotted Zorua… their expressions twisted into violent snarls.
"E-Elias…" she whimpered.
---
Elsewhere…
Elias was using his psychic powers to clear away the snow ahead, piece by piece.
Warm breath misted the air around him as he rubbed his throbbing temples.
Not long ago, a fresh blizzard had rolled across the Alabaster Wastes, erasing every trail. He had no choice but to dig if he wanted to follow Zorua's tracks.
It had made his already difficult search even more exhausting.
"Mrrr—"
Suddenly, the Wyrdeer beneath him let out a loud cry.
Elias looked up—and saw, high on a slope in the distance, a bluish-purple dome shimmering into existence.
"A space-time distortion?"
He recognized it immediately.
For reasons no one fully understood, the fabric of time and space in the Hisui region was notoriously unstable.
Both Cogita and Irida had warned him about this before.
These distortions were a product of that instability.
Within them, Pokémon from distant regions could suddenly appear—dragged across time and space without warning.
Some of them didn't even belong to Hisui.
The phenomenon had been happening for a long time, yet no one had ever discovered a pattern.
Elias had only ever heard about it—until now.
His brow furrowed as he stared at the shimmering veil.
That direction… it matches the one Zorua ran off in.
Could she be inside?
The thought alone made his blood run cold.
He didn't care anymore about scaring her or not.
Patting the Wyrdeer's side, he ordered, "Forget the tracks. Head straight for that dome."
"Mrrr!"
Obeying his command, the Wyrdeer surged forward through the blizzard.
By the time Elias approached, Zorua was hiding behind a rock, panting hard.
Her once-fluffy fur was matted with grime and slush.
She shifted slightly—and winced in pain.
It hurts…
The Pokémon in this space had gone completely berserk. The moment they saw her, they'd attacked without hesitation.
Even with her agility, Zorua hadn't escaped unscathed.
The wounds were manageable—for now—but out here in the tundra, any injury could become fatal.
Not to mention, the area was still crawling with these red-eyed, frenzied Pokémon.
There was no saving her.
That was the conclusion she'd come to.
Without her clan, with Elias driven off by her own hand, there was no one left.
Shff—
Just then, a Scizor shimmered into view, gleaming with a deadly metallic glint.
It zeroed in on her immediately.
Breath ragged, Zorua closed her eyes.
She could feel the universe turning against her.
If she had one last wish—
Then please… in my next life, let me be a Pokémon people like.
Even if I can't be a Gardevoir… at least don't make me a calamity beast.
Please…
She could already hear the whistling hum of an incoming Bullet Punch, the air itself slicing across her face.
Bang—!
The sound of something hard crashing against metal rang out.
Zorua winced—waiting for the pain.
But none came.
Instead… she felt herself being lifted. A firm grip had her by the scruff of her neck.
Before she could even react, she was shoved into the warmth of someone's coat.