Chapter 872: A New Little Life
New Magical Beast Year 250.
World progression: League Calendar Year 50.
The world was steadily moving toward that era Kazuya knew so well.
One year remained.
Until the point in time when he met his demise in his third life.
Hoenn region, Sootopolis City.
Kazuya sat cross-legged upon the elevated terrace at the center of Sootopolis City, a small green egg cradled gently in his embrace.
This egg had been retrieved from the cold storage vaults of Naranja Academy fifty years ago.
When it was first discovered, a faint wisp of lifeforce still lingered within it.
Incredibly feeble.
Bordering on non-existent.
Like a lone candle in a howling blizzard, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
Kazuya considered it nothing short of a miracle that this egg had survived at all. He brought it back to Samiya, channeling the Power of Creation day after day to sustain its vitality.
Yet.
Fifty years had slipped by.
The egg had shown zero signs of hatching.
Presumably due to the disruption within the Spirit World.
Even so.
Kazuya never gave up on this fragile little egg, continuing to infuse it daily with vital life energy to maintain its spark.
It was fighting so tenaciously just to cling to life.
How could he possibly abandon it?
"Come to think of it, I've lived for two whole centuries in this life."
Kazuya exhaled a long breath toward the somber, gray skies.
This life.
Stood as the longest he had ever lived.
Prior to this.
His longest run had been during his sixth life as a Charizard.
Lasting an entire century.
This time, he had lived through two and a half centuries.
"A full 100 Kun years, haha."
Kazuya joked to entertain himself, speaking down to the little egg in his lap.
After chuckling softly to himself.
The amusement on his face gradually smoothed away.
Days like these.
Just how much longer would they continue?
Instinct told him.
That day.
Was drawing near.
Very, very soon.
So close that Kazuya's psychic powers had frequently flared into violent turbulence lately.
That, too, served as a form of precognition.
Foretelling an impending catastrophe.
Kazuya did not fear it.
On the contrary.
He was eagerly anticipating its arrival.
Kazuya and Mewtwo.
Had waited for this day for far, far too long.
A century had elapsed since Scizor and Lucario passed away.
Their levels were no longer what they used to be back then.
Both Kazuya and Mewtwo had advanced by 4 levels over the past hundred years.
The former had reached Lv. 99.
The latter had reached Lv. 96.
Such heights already surpassed the vast majority of supreme gods.
In this world, they could roughly be ranked third and fourth.
As for the top two...
Presumably Arceus and Shadow.
As for who stood above whom.
That was difficult to say.
After all, Kazuya had yet to witness Arceus take the field in person.
Buzz~
"Hmm?"
Kazuya paused.
Right in the middle of his contemplation, he noticed the egg in his lap flicker with a brief pulse of light.
Kazuya stared down at it for two seconds.
No reaction followed.
"An illusion, then."
He looked away once more.
"It seems I'm truly getting old."
Kazuya couldn't help shaking his head with a self-deprecating sigh.
Buzz~
"Huh?!"
Kazuya practically sprang upright from the ground.
He scooped the green egg up before his face, pressing his eyes right up against the shell to inspect it.
Not a tremor.
Frowning, he pulled the egg slightly back.
The second his gaze shifted away.
Buzz!
"..."
Kazuya's expression turned exceedingly subtle.
This time, he deliberately kept his eyes averted from the egg in his hands.
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
The little egg seemed to grow anxious, even giving a slight wobble in his grip.
"...Hey now."
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Kazuya's temple.
He lifted the egg directly in front of his eyes.
This time, the egg didn't play any tricks, pulsing with an orderly, steady rhythm of light.
A brilliant glint flared within Kazuya's eyes.
This child.
Was about to be born!
Kazuya understood all too well what this signified.
It meant the Spirit World had found a new master!
Incredible.
There shouldn't have been any living souls left in the Spirit World.
How in the world had a new Ruler of the Spirit World emerged?
What kind of entity.
Had the Spirit World chosen to be its master?
The birth of a Ruler of the Spirit World.
Did not necessarily herald good news.
Though new life would once again grace this world.
The Gates of the Spirit World might swing wide open once more as well.
Which meant.
The Ghost-type magical beasts dwelling within the Spirit World could come pouring out.
Of course.
It was entirely possible those magical beasts within the Spirit World had already torn each other apart to extinction long ago.
In short.
A monumental transformation had occurred across the fabric of the world.
Whether this shift was a blessing or a curse.
Even Kazuya himself could not tell.
He could only take it one step at a time.
For now.
Kazuya's focus rested entirely on this tiny life about to descend into the world.
He glanced up at the suffocating gray sky.
Unable to hold back a heavy sigh.
Kazuya truly wished this child didn't have to be born into such a desolate era, yet there was nothing to be done about it.
Without hesitation.
He immediately reached out with his Aura, projecting a telepathic broadcast to everyone across Sootopolis City.
Before long.
Mewtwo, Chloe, and a sparse gathering of roughly a hundred surviving Pokémon converged upon the center of Sootopolis City.
"Kazuya? What happened?"
Mewtwo was the first to ask.
His expression was stern and vigilant.
He had assumed Shadow had finally led Her army of Demon Gods to lay siege to them.
"Look!"
Kazuya raised the little egg high above his head.
Displaying it before everyone's eyes.
Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, the Pokémon egg was remarkably cooperative, bursting with a dazzling, radiant white glow.
Every living soul present, including Mewtwo and Chloe, froze where they stood.
They stared blankly at that solitary little egg.
Beneath the veil of white light.
The tiny egg began to morph and shift.
"So fast?!"
Kazuya's eyes widened in genuine astonishment.
This little egg.
Had only just started glowing moments ago.
Under normal circumstances, the process should have taken an entire day before finally hatching.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Countless sharp cracks of displaced wind echoed out.
One Pokémon after another bounded over from all directions, gathering closely around Kazuya, staring with bated breath at the egg in his hands.
Every Pokémon capable of surviving to this day.
Which among them wasn't an apex powerhouse?
Even the weakest among them held the strength of an upper Gym-tier combatant.
In the League era, they would easily qualify as mid-to-high-tier forces.
Yet right now, these battle-hardened veterans huddled quietly together.
Not daring to breathe too loudly.
The white radiance dispersed.
Before anyone could clearly distinguish what species it was.
A tender, clear, and resonant cry echoed through the air.
"Meow!"
A fragrant, soft, sunlit kitten.
Was born!
"Sprigatito?!"
Kazuya almost lost his voice entirely.
Staring at the little green kitten resting in his hands, barely larger than a palm, the light in his eyes vanished in an instant.
Kazuya never could have dreamed that this would be a Sprigatito.
In that single moment.
He looked around in a daze.
Almost believing he had tumbled back in time to that very reef long ago.
"Meow~"
Sprigatito's tender mewling sounded.
The little one was gently gnawing on Kazuya's finger with her tiny milk teeth.
She didn't use any force.
She simply wanted to draw Kazuya's attention.
He stared down at the kitten in a stupor, thinking his grip might be uncomfortable for the little one, and loosened his hold slightly.
"Meow!"
Sprigatito gave a soft chirp, then pounced with all her tiny might toward Kazuya's face.
He caught her with his hands, providing a secure foothold for the kitten.
Then he felt the little creature rubbing affectionately against his cheek: "Meow~"
"Hello, Sprigatito."
Welcome to this world.
Whoosh~
In an instant.
Everyone crowded closer in excitement.
Welcoming this brand-new little life.
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