Cherreads

Chapter 305 - The City of Water’s Hidden Gods

According to the League Chairman, the materials stored in this archive were far too precious—and many of them absolutely forbidden to circulate outside. As a result, no one had ever been organized to systematically catalog or sort them. Whenever rare ancient documents were obtained, they were simply tossed inside. Anyone who wanted to search for something had to rely entirely on manual effort.

Logan had already spent a full half month alone inside this archive.

Every single day—aside from eating and sleeping—he sat at the long table, flipping through documents nonstop, or wandered through the chaotic archive in search of clues.

Although the League's highest-security archive was not perfectly complete and contained gaps in certain areas, the sheer breadth of material collected by the League as an organization was astonishing. Nearly every region's myths, legends, and hidden histories were represented here.

For example, Logan found records of experiments conducted by ancient civilizations.

They were unimaginably cruel.

The methods described were no different from the experiments Team Rocket had once performed on Pokémon—and there were many such records. It made one thing painfully clear: ever since humanity came into being, humans had committed countless atrocities in the name of research, power, and control over Pokémon.

If these records were pieced together, they would form nothing less than a complete chronicle of humanity's moral decay.

No wonder the League guarded these materials so fiercely.

If even a fraction of this information leaked out, it would spark worldwide outrage.

Worse still, many of these brutal experiments were reproducible with modern technology. Truly mad scientists were rare—but they certainly existed. If such knowledge were resurrected in the present era, it would spell catastrophe for both human civilization and the Pokémon that lived within it.

Looking at these records, Logan couldn't help but feel that the repeated annihilation of ancient human civilizations by Legendary Pokémon had been, in some twisted sense, deserved.

Every ancient civilization, at the height of its power, had committed the same sin: blind arrogance—attempting to dominate the gods themselves.

Human greed was on full display.

In humanity's age of ignorance, they worshipped gods. Once civilization advanced and black technology emerged, they sought to enslave divine power.

From a certain perspective, it was the rebellion of the weak.

The sheer volume of material was overwhelming. Logan had no intention of turning against the League just yet, so he reluctantly abandoned anything unrelated to the current crisis and focused solely on what he needed.

He very much wanted to claim this archive for himself.

But doing so would provoke the League's fiercest resistance. For now, Logan knew he did not possess the power to stand alone against the entire world.

Thus, he restrained his impulse and followed the rules—recording only the absolutely necessary portion of the necessary knowledge.

By combining Cynthia's independent research—material not included in the League's records—with what he found here, Logan gradually assembled a complete theoretical model.

"In the southern seas of the Hoenn region lies a chain of islands known as the Southern Islands. These islands are connected to the Johto region, and the largest among them is called Alto Mare, the City of Water."

"Alto Mare lived in isolation from the outside world for a very long time. In ancient times, it was likely a small island nation founded by an indigenous people, separated from the mainland due to poor transportation."

"...The people sustained themselves through fishing. With a small population and limited land—just a single island—their political system was primitive. The village chief was effectively the king. Because of their small numbers and harsh living conditions, the people were said to be honest and pure-hearted."

Logan leaned over the massive wooden table—large enough to resemble a banquet table for nobility. Ancient, fragmented scrolls and cracked parchment covered its surface. Many of the drawings and inscriptions were barely legible, and some used writing systems entirely different from modern language.

If Logan hadn't completely settled his mind for the sake of pursuing Legendary Pokémon, he would never have endured such grueling work—barely eating, barely drinking—like an obsessive scholar on the edge of madness.

"One day, the village chief—also the king—encountered a pair of shipwrecked siblings on the shore…"

Logan paused.

"…This really sounds like a fairy tale. Who knows what actually happened. But according to the record, the chief saved the siblings, adopted them, and allowed them to live in Alto Mare."

"Life continued peacefully—until one day, danger descended upon the island…"

Logan rolled his eyes.

"These ancient records are ridiculous. A world-ending demon king? Give me a break."

In his view, the so-called crisis could have been many things: invasion by outsiders, a natural disaster, or a large-scale attack by wild Pokémon.

"Whatever the threat was, the people resisted and failed. At the brink of destruction, the siblings revealed their true forms—Latios and Latias."

"With the aid of these two Legendary Pokémon, Alto Mare survived."

"…They can turn into humans?"

Logan immediately pulled up Latios and Latias's data in the Pokédex. Somehow, Professor Oak had acquired remarkably detailed information on them.

"They are known as the Eon Pokémon. The word 'Eon' seems to reference the Gnostic concept of eternal existence—beings born from the divine essence itself."

"If the supreme deity is Arceus, then this interpretation makes perfect sense."

"Eon also implies conscious, mysterious energy—and anthropomorphic potential…"

Logan murmured the word anthropomorphic.

Realization struck.

No wonder sightings of Latios and Latias were so rare over the centuries. If their very nature included human forms, then they had simply been hiding in plain sight—living among humans themselves.

"After saving Alto Mare, Latios and Latias became its guardian deities. They left behind their treasure—the Soul Dew—within the city."

These details came from Cynthia's research. Logan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

"The Soul Dew is said to be the crystallization of their souls. They wouldn't casually give something like that away."

"Which means the Soul Dew is likely still in Alto Mare—and Latios and Latias never truly left. Otherwise, they would have lost their own soul fragments."

"If I can locate the Soul Dew… I can locate them."

Logan's thoughts raced.

Suddenly, he remembered something and began rummaging through the cluttered table again—finding a record Cynthia had never uncovered.

"There's another version of the story. After resolving the crisis, Latios and Latias vanished completely."

"But to allow the people of Alto Mare to summon them again—and to commemorate their alliance with humanity—they fused part of their original power with a human-made artifact."

"That artifact is known as the Eon Flute."

"The Eon Flute was originally safeguarded in Alto Mare. But humans, as always, caused trouble."

"During a civil uprising, the Eon Flute was stolen. The rebel fled the island—and was never seen again."

Logan continued searching.

In an ancient record unrelated to Alto Mare, he found a map and illustration.

"Somehow, the Eon Flute ended up on the Hoenn mainland."

"At the time, Hoenn's civilization was struggling against Groudon and Kyogre. They discovered the flute and sensed its power—but didn't understand it."

"So they worshipped it as a sacred relic."

"And if I compare the ancient map to modern geography…"

Logan's eyes narrowed.

"—That location is Sootopolis City."

Logan stood up.

He wrote the final word in his notebook, then snapped it shut and smiled—wide and victorious.

"Perfect."

"All the clues finally connect."

"Latios… Latias…"

"You won't be able to hide anymore."

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