"No… no, that's not right. That Great One's feather isn't something just anyone can hold."
Marshadow sized Kairos up from head to toe. "If you hadn't been personally acknowledged by the Great One, that feather would have turned to ash the instant a mere mortal touched it.
The fact that you're still holding it means… at the very least, the Great One doesn't reject you. You could even say he has a faint fondness for you."
Kairos looked down at the feather in his hand, surprised.
It worked like that?
Did it actually have a will of its own?
He had always assumed it was just a rare legendary item. He never imagined it would carry such an effect.
"Of course it does," Marshadow said proudly, puffing out its chest as if reading his thoughts.
"The Great One's feather is bestowed only upon those who are kind and pure of heart. If you harbored even the slightest malicious intent, it would already have crumbled into black ash. The fact that you can hold it proves your heart is clean."
Kairos nodded thoughtfully.
It seemed his character passed Ho-Oh's standards, at least.
At that moment, Will, who had been left standing awkwardly to the side for quite some time, finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Ahem…" Will cleared his throat. "Um… you know this little guy?"
He pointed at Marshadow, curiosity plain on his face. As Lord of the Ghost World, a Ghost-type Pokémon this powerful was something he'd never encountered.
Kairos turned toward him. "I didn't know it before. I just happen to possess something connected to someone it knows, so it sensed me."
As he spoke, he put Ho-Oh's feather back into his bag.
The moment the feather disappeared, Marshadow panicked.
"Hey! Hey! Don't put it away! Let me look at it again, just one more time!"
It hopped up, trying to reach Kairos's bag.
Kairos ignored it, giving it only a faint glance.
Marshadow pouted but reluctantly stopped.
"Alright, you've seen the feather," Kairos said calmly. "If you want another look later, maybe. But first, can you tell me why you're blocking our path?"
Marshadow's expression instantly turned serious.
It floated to the center of the passage and barred the way.
"I'm doing this for your own good," it said, glancing between Kairos and Will, a note of warning in its voice. "You have no idea what the core of the Ghost World looks like right now. With your current strength, going in there would be suicide. That's why I stopped you."
Will stepped forward. "What exactly is happening deeper inside? I've been there before. It was dangerous, yes, but not to the point of certain death."
Marshadow didn't even look at him, as if he were invisible. It acknowledged only Kairos, the one holding Ho-Oh's feather.
Kairos repeated the question. "What happened in the core zone?"
Marshadow turned to him, helplessness flickering in its red eyes.
"The one they sealed… has basically broken free."
The air seemed to solidify.
Will's face drained of color. "What?! Broken free from the seal?! That's impossible! That was…"
He was cut off.
"Nothing is impossible," Marshadow said coldly. "The seal has loosened to its limit. That thing's power is pouring out endlessly. The core area is practically his backyard now. Get within a hundred meters, and you'll both become his lunch."
Kairos frowned slightly. Marshadow wasn't prone to exaggeration. For a Mythical Pokémon to call something "suicide," was the situation truly that dire?
"How do you know so much?" he asked. "Have you gone inside?"
Marshadow's drifting body suddenly stiffened.
It turned, red eyes fixed on him, wearing an expression that seemed almost obvious.
"Of course I know. I was placed here by the Great One." Its voice swelled with pride. "The Great One specifically ordered me to remain here and monitor the sealed being in the core. If the seal loosened and it tried to escape, I was to strike and force it back in. That way, it could…"
It abruptly clamped its hands over its mouth, shaking its head vigorously.
"Cough! Can't say any more! That's a secret. If I keep talking, the Great One will get mad."
Kairos grew even more suspicious. There was clearly something far more important that it wasn't saying.
But before he could shift the topic, Will suddenly reacted.
The Ghost World's strongest combatant had gone terrifyingly pale. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead. He muttered under his breath:
"No… impossible… how could this be… that was… that was…"
He jerked his head up, bloodshot eyes staring at the empty corridor ahead as if trying to see through the walls.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" Will roared. "You're lying, right? That seal can't be broken! It was reinforced by generations of Lords with their lives!"
Marshadow blinked, caught off guard by his outburst.
"Hey, old man, I'm telling the truth. Why would I lie? There's nothing in it for me! He's coming out, whether you accept it or not."
But Will's emotions had already spiraled out of control. He couldn't listen. Or perhaps he was too afraid to believe.
The seal in the Ghost World's core was everything to him. It was a familiar kind of tragedy, and no less heavy for it. If the seal truly shattered, the very purpose he'd devoted his life to would shatter with it.
"I'm going in! I need to see it with my own eyes!"
His aura surged, wilder this time, edged with something close to panic.
His Champion-level Gengar materialized again. Sensing its trainer's near-madness, it shrieked sharply, purple-black energy surging around it.
"Stop it!" Will commanded.
Gengar flashed forward as a streak of darkness toward Marshadow.
"Move aside! I'm going in!"
"Shadow Ball!"
Countless purple-black orbs condensed midair and rained down on Marshadow. This attack was even stronger than the earlier probe. Each Shadow Ball carried enough force to shatter the corridor walls.
Yet Marshadow merely sighed.
"Sigh… you humans are such a hassle sometimes."
Its body blurred.
The Shadow Balls passed straight through it like smoke.
Will's pupils contracted. He recognized the ability that Ghost-types could render themselves intangible to evade attacks. But this was more than that. Like his own Gengar, it could merge with shadows.
"Get into the shadows and grab it!"
Gengar twisted and dove into the ground's shadow.
The next instant, Marshadow's shadow churned violently. A massive purple claw burst out, lunging for its ankle.
Marshadow didn't even move.
It glanced down at the shadow, expression oddly exasperated.
"Playing with shadows in front of me? Seriously?"
The moment it spoke, the claw froze.
A scream echoed from within the shadow.
The world that should have allowed Gengar free movement had become a prison. No matter how it struggled, it couldn't escape, as if glued in place.
"What… what did you do?!" Will cried.
"Nothing much. Just controlled it a little." Marshadow shrugged. "After all, shadows tend to listen to me more."
It raised a finger and flicked.
Bang!
Gengar shot out of the shadow like a cannonball, crashing onto the ground and skidding several meters. Its glow was dim, clearly gravely injured.
Kairos watched from the side, his jaw tight. He'd seen enough.
"Alright, stop. Seriously," Marshadow said helplessly. "I told you, I'm doing this for your own good. Going there now is meaningless except for dying. You can't even beat me. What use would it be?"
Will stared at his fallen Gengar as if struck by lightning.
He had seen it clearly: inside the shadow realm, his Gengar had been utterly suppressed, like an adult crushing a chick in its grip. This was the strongest combat power of the Ghost World lineage. Since becoming Lord, he had never experienced such a defeat. And in a pure Ghost-type duel, he had been crushed so effortlessly.
The gap was overwhelming.
Kairos had already formed his own conclusion: Will was Champion-tier, no question. But Marshadow clearly belonged to the realm of Legendary Pokémon. The result wasn't surprising.
Will's aura deflated. He slumped against the wall, eyes hollow.
"Can you calm down now?" Marshadow floated before him.
"Calm down?" Will's voice was hoarse, as if he had aged decades in moments. "We exist to guard that seal. That's our purpose. And now you tell me he's coming out, how am I supposed to stay calm?"
He looked at Kairos and Marshadow and sighed deeply.
"For thousands of years, our mission has been to protect that seal. Generation after generation of Lords gave their lives to strengthen it. I was ready to do the same." He took a slow breath. "It's our faith. My responsibility as Lord. And now you say it's broken, that it's about to emerge, and I'm completely powerless."
"…I don't even have the right to go see it."
Kairos hadn't expected this. He'd known Will as a laid-back, even carefree Lord. He hadn't imagined the weight the man carried beneath that surface, a life devoted to a single, unrelenting purpose.
Marshadow's mocking tone faded, replaced with something more complex.
"As a human, you've done remarkably well." It sighed. "Your strength is top-tier among humans. But this matter… it truly exceeds your limits. That's not your fault."
It turned to Kairos.
Kairos, meanwhile, was deep in thought. The secret Marshadow had almost revealed, and Ho-Oh's arrangement behind it all, he needed to speak with Marshadow alone.
"Mr. Will," Kairos said gently, stepping forward. "Could you give us a moment? I'd like to discuss something… personal with Marshadow."
Will paused, then nodded. In his current state, he didn't wish to remain anyway.
"Alright. I'll go get some air."
He stood unsteadily, recalled his Gengar, and walked toward the other end of the corridor.
Only after his figure disappeared around the corner did Kairos turn back to Marshadow.
"Now," he said quietly, "can you tell me what that secret really is?"
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones