-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Parting Ways

"Uh, was I meant to hear something?"

My eyes were fixed on the blunette opposite me, her eyes wide with shock. I looked around, unsure if I missed something but there was nothing there. I looked over to Dawn, reassuring her that it was only the four of us in this cave, Primarina and Empoleon included.

"Yeah, must have been something else. We should keep going, the league isn't too far now."

Dawn shook her head, clearing her mind from what had happened a moment ago. I offered to take the lead considering there wasn't too much cave between the league and us. The moment I turned my head away from the blunette, I froze on the spot, something catching my ear.

A light, eerie melody drifted around the empty cave ahead of me as I stayed rooted to the spot. I looked over to Primarina, unsure if the fairy type suddenly felt like singing. But of course, she was as shocked as I was, her eyes trained on the darkness ahead of us.

"Uh, Dawn? You heard that, right?"

No response. Now scared for the blunette, I forced myself to move, turning on my heels. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw Dawn stood some way behind me but was looking the other way. She was stood near the opening, sunlight bathing her in the dark cave.

"Elaine, I think I know what's going on." The blunette turned to face me, her eyes now filled with determination. "May and Red said that something like this happened to them before."

Quickly, I picked up on what Dawn was trying to say, connecting the dots. "So, I guess this is where we part ways then."

"Yeah, I guess so. Good luck with whatever's waiting for you on the other side of this cave, though I'm sure you'll be just fine."

With that, Dawn and I said our goodbyes as we parted ways in the dark cave. The blunette turned away, her and Empoleon stepping through the opening leaving Primarina and I alone in victory road.

Fuelled by a new wave of confidence, I lead the way, pushing through the remainder of the cave. No more than a few minutes later, Primarina and I stepped through the opening at the end of the tunnel, greeted by a cloudless sky and a short cut grassy path. We turned the corner, walking along the path and sure enough, the league was stood at the top of the hill.

Well, what was left of it.

Now that we were closer, I could get a better view of the league and I was sure that it wasn't meant to look like this. One of the towers had been reduced to rubble, most of the huge mosaic windows smashed to pieces Most of the roof had been torn apart and thin wisps of smoke billowed out from the gaps around the remains of the league.

"Holy shit."

Was all I managed to sputter out, unsure how to capture my shock and surprise in any amount of words. But after a moment of deliberation, I shook my head, looking up to the pokemon league ruins. Only the huge staircase separated us from whatever was lurking in those ruins.

Primarina and I started our ascent up the daunting staircase and with each step, I was sure that the same melody was growing louder and louder. The water type by my side began humming in rhythm with the eerie music which told me that I didn't imagine it when I was in the cave.

Soon enough, we were stood at the top of the staircase, looking into the entrance to the league. Both doors had been blown off their hinges, hanging by a thread. Looking forward, all we could see was darkness. The pitch black beckoned us forward and without saying a word, Primarina and I entered the ruins.

As we stepped in and our eyes adjusted to the inside, we could see were surrounded by nothing but rubble and debris. Whatever had come through here all those years ago hadn't left anything in its wake so it wasn't surprising when Cynthia and Lucian said that they hadn't heard from any challengers recently.

"Meloooo"

The cry of a pokemon called out to us, calling us forward. Primarina and I exchanged uncertain looks but once we realised we were in this together, a confident look took over our faces. The two of us turned forward, stepping through the first set of doors.

Somehow the elevator was still functional and as we stepped onto it, the cobalt blue platform whirred to live, taking us to the next level. An empty doorway stood between us and the next room and without looking back, Primarina and I continued on through the first set of doors.

On the inside, we were greeted with an interior decorated to look like a jungle's environment. A hollowed log to the right, two large boulders to the left and the rest covered in thin shrubbery. The doors ahead of us were locked shut and it looked like no amount of budging would move them. But what caught my eye was podium at the center of the battlefield in the middle of the room.

Placed on it was an old, weathered scroll. I looked around to see if there was anything else of importance before picking it up to read. On the scroll, an old set of notes were inscribed on the papyrus, denoting an ancient melody. I didn't recognise the song but after I showed it to Primarina, the soloist pokemon cleared her throat.

There were two staves, each denoting a different pair of notes. The scales and notes were extremely different and it took a second look to realise that they complimented each other. Primarina and I exchanged reassuring nods before we began our duet.

Once we reached the end of the song, the doors at the end of the room opened, allowing us to continue. I looked over to my partner pokemon who was delighted at how the performance went even with no practice. This must have come naturally to her but to me it took some time to loosen my vocal chords before we could get the song right.

Nevertheless, the entrance beckoned us forward and so we continued.