Chapter 7: The Black Ball
Recap: Fang Yuan won his first badge and received a mysterious black-and-gold Pokeball from Ming—an item the system itself could not identify.
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Fang Yuan did not sleep that night.
He sat on his bed, the wooden box open before him, the black-and-gold sphere resting on a bed of dried leaves. Its surface shimmered in the candlelight, the symbols etched into its shell shifting like living things. Every few minutes, it pulsed—a slow, rhythmic heartbeat that seemed to resonate in his chest.
The system had gone quiet. No notifications, no warnings, no helpful pop-ups. For the first time since he had awakened, the system was silent.
It doesn't know what this is. It can't control it. Can't categorize it.
He reached out and touched the sphere again. Cold. Colder than the air, colder than stone, colder than anything made of metal should be. And beneath the cold, something stirred. A presence. Aware. Waiting.
He pulled his hand back.
Not yet. Not alone. Not without knowing what it wants.
He closed the box and pushed it under his bed, next to the cracked stone. The two objects rested together—one dark and cold, one warm and cracked. Both unknown. Both waiting.
He lay back and stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow, I leave. Shang Clan City. The second Gym Leader. But first, I need to understand what I've found.
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Dawn came gray and cold.
Fang Yuan rose before the sun, his movements automatic. He checked his Subjects: all six were healed, their vitals green, their food supplies full. His status read 26 primeval stones—enough for supplies, not enough for anything more.
He dressed in his grey robes, pocketed his Pokeballs, and slipped out of his quarters before the village woke.
The training grounds were empty. The platform where he had faced Gu Yue Bo stood silent, the chalk markings from yesterday's matches already fading. He walked to the center and stood where he had stood, facing the clan leader.
One badge. Six Subjects. Twenty-six stones. It's a start.
He pulled out the silver badge and studied it. The crescent moon caught the weak light, gleaming dully.
Seven more. The next is in Shang Clan City. A water specialist. Rank 4. I'll need new Subjects to counter him. Water types. Grass types. Electric, if I can find it.
He pocketed the badge and turned toward the village gates.
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The journey to Shang Clan City would take three days on foot. Fang Yuan had made it before—in his first life, as a young disciple seeking fortune and recognition. He had failed then. He would not fail now.
He walked through the forest, his steps measured, his eyes scanning the undergrowth. The morning mist clung to the trees, muffling sound, hiding movement. Perfect hunting ground.
He stopped at the edge of a small clearing. A stream ran through it, shallow and clear, and in the water, something moved.
He crouched low. Through the mist, he could see them: three Water Flea Gu, their bodies translucent, their legs paddling lazily against the current. Rank 1. Water type. Small, weak, but useful.
Water Flea Gu. Their bubble attack can trap opponents, restrict movement. Not powerful, but disruptive. And against a water specialist, any advantage is worth having.
He pulled out a Pokeball. No need for a special ball—these were Rank 1, their health full, but their will was weak. A standard Pokeball would suffice.
He threw.
The sphere struck the nearest Water Flea and opened. Red light swallowed the tiny creature, and the ball wobbled once, twice, three times—
Click.
[Capture Successful!]
Water Flea Gu added to Storage.
Reward: 5 Primeval Stones.
The other two Water Fleas scattered, their legs churning the water as they fled downstream. Fang Yuan retrieved the sphere and moved on.
One down. Two to go. But I need more than Water Fleas. I need something that can actually fight.
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By midday, he had captured two more Water Fleas and a small, unremarkable Mudskipper Gu—a Ground type that could burrow through soil and ambush unsuspecting prey. His primeval stones had grown to 41, his Subject count to seven.
He sat on a fallen log and opened his inventory. The black-and-gold sphere sat at the bottom of the list, its icon a question mark. The system still refused to acknowledge it.
What are you?
He pulled the sphere from his pocket. It was cold in his hand, colder than it should be, and the symbols on its surface were shifting faster now, almost agitated.
He turned it over. The underside was smooth, unmarked, but when his fingers brushed against it, he felt something—a pulse, a presence, a voice that was not a voice.
Open me.
He almost dropped it.
The words had not been spoken. They had not been thought. They had simply appeared in his mind, clear and cold, like a command from a master to a servant.
He stared at the sphere. Its surface was still, the symbols frozen in place.
Open me.
His hand moved. He didn't tell it to move. It just moved, his fingers finding the button on the sphere's front, pressing down—
The sphere burst open.
But not like a Pokeball. There was no red light, no capture beam, no containment. Instead, the sphere unfolded, its black-and-gold shell peeling back like a flower opening to the sun. And inside—
Inside was a creature.
It was small, no larger than his fist, its body a swirl of black and white, its eyes two points of silver light. It hovered in the air where the sphere had been, its form shifting, changing, never quite solid.
[Unknown Subject Detected]
Classification: ??
Type: ??
Rank: ??
Moves: ??
Warning: This Subject does not conform to system parameters. Proceed with extreme caution.
The creature turned its silver eyes on Fang Yuan.
And smiled.
It was not a friendly smile. It was the smile of something ancient, something patient, something that had been waiting a very long time to be found.
Hello, little demon.
Fang Yuan's hand went to his Pokeballs. The creature didn't move, didn't react. It simply hovered, watching him with those silver eyes.
You have questions. I have answers. But first—
The creature drifted closer, its form brushing against his hand. It was cold, so cold, colder than the sphere had been.
—what is your name, little demon?
Fang Yuan met its gaze. "Fang Yuan."
Fang Yuan. The creature tasted the name, rolling it over in its mind. I have waited a long time for a demon. The others who found me—they were too weak. Too afraid. Too bound by the system's rules. But you…
It circled him, its form leaving trails of silver light in the air.
You broke the rules. You used six Subjects when the system said you could only carry three. You challenged a Gym Leader with creatures half his rank. You won. And now, you hold me in your hand.
It stopped before his face, its silver eyes inches from his own.
Tell me, Fang Yuan. What do you want?
Fang Yuan did not hesitate. "Eternal life."
The creature's smile widened.
Good answer.
It pressed against his chest, and the cold spread through him, through his robes, through his skin, through his bones. The system screamed—a cascade of red warnings, error messages, corruption alerts—but Fang Yuan ignored them.
The creature was merging with him. Becoming part of him. And in that moment, he understood.
You're not a Subject. You're not a Gu. You're something else. Something the system can't control.
Very good, the creature whispered. I am the first. The oldest. The one who made the spheres before the system existed. And now, I am yours.
The cold faded. The warnings stopped. Fang Yuan stood alone in the forest, the black-and-gold sphere gone, the creature gone.
But something had changed.
He looked at his hands. They were the same—small, young, weak. But beneath his skin, he could feel it. A presence. A power. A second self, waiting to be called.
He opened his Status screen.
TRAINER: Fang Yuan
Rank: 1 (Mortal)
Badges: 1/8
Primeval Stones: 41
Active Subjects: 7/12
Total Captures: 7
Fusion Partner: ?? (Unknown)
Warning: Fusion with this Subject may have unpredictable effects.
He closed the screen and looked at the forest. The mist was burning off, the sun breaking through the canopy. Somewhere to the east, Shang Clan City waited. Somewhere in the south, the second Gym Leader trained his water Subjects.
Seven Subjects. One fusion. Forty-one stones. It's enough. It has to be enough.
He reached into his pocket and touched the cracked stone. It was warm again, pulsing with that steady, familiar rhythm. The creature—his new partner—was silent, waiting.
One step at a time. First, Shang Clan City. Then the second badge. Then the next capture. And the next. And the next.
He started walking.
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The forest gave way to farmland by evening. Rice paddies stretched to the horizon, their surfaces reflecting the setting sun. Farmers worked the fields, their movements slow, their faces blank with exhaustion. They did not look up as Fang Yuan passed.
He walked until the moon rose, then found a spot beneath a large banyan tree to rest. He released his Subjects one by one, letting them stretch, feed, recover.
The Moonlight Gu hovered near his shoulder, its silver glow steady. The Vine Gu coiled at his feet, its thorns gleaming. The Rock Skin Gu sat motionless, a grey lump in the darkness. The White Boar Gu snorted, pawing the ground. The Wind Bird Gu perched in the tree above, its feathers ruffled. The Fire Cricket Gu glowed faintly, embers trailing from its wings. And the three Water Flea Gu drifted in a small puddle he had created for them, their bodies translucent in the moonlight.
Seven Subjects. Six types. One fusion.
He sat against the tree and closed his eyes. The creature inside him stirred, a whisper at the edge of his thoughts.
You think small, little demon. Seven Subjects. One badge. These are grains of sand on a beach. But you will grow. I will make you grow.
Fang Yuan said nothing. He had heard promises of power before. Five hundred years of promises, all broken, all worthless. This one would be no different.
You don't believe me. The creature's voice was amused. Good. A demon who trusts nothing is a demon who survives.
It went quiet. Fang Yuan slept.
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He dreamed of darkness.
Not the darkness of night, but the darkness of absence—a void without light, without sound, without time. He floated in it, weightless, formless, nothing.
Then the creature appeared.
It was larger here, in the dream. Its form stretched across the void, a swirl of black and white, its silver eyes suns in the darkness. It watched him with something that might have been hunger.
This is what I am, it said. This is what you have become. A space between worlds. A place where the system cannot reach.
Fang Yuan looked at his hands. They were not his hands—they were older, scarred, the hands of the demon he had been before death. The hands that had killed, betrayed, survived.
You show me my past, he said. Why?
Because your past is your strength. Five hundred years of blood. Five hundred years of failure. Five hundred years of learning that the only rule is the one you make. That is why I chose you, Fang Yuan. Not for what you are. For what you have done.
The creature drew closer, its form enveloping him.
The system was made to control. To limit. To turn demons into dogs. But I am older than the system. I was here before it. And I will be here after it is gone.
What are you? Fang Yuan asked.
The creature smiled.
I am what you will become. If you survive.
The dream ended.
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Fang Yuan woke with the sun. His Subjects were already active, the Moonlight Gu dimming as the morning light grew, the Wind Bird Gu circling above, the White Boar Gu snorting impatiently.
He returned them to their spheres and stood. The banyan tree's leaves rustled in the morning breeze. In the distance, the towers of Shang Clan City caught the first light.
One day's walk. Then the city. Then the second Gym Leader.
He reached into his pocket and touched the cracked stone. It was warm, pulsing. The creature was silent, but he could feel it there, waiting.
You will grow. I will make you grow.
He started walking.
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End of Chapter 7