Novelux The Museum of Everlasting Brilliance

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius offered Koa a gentle pat on the head. "Ah, right, y'all were like coaches, right? Must've been like family to you," he said, brushing his other tassel across his own gems as if to say, 'I am with you there.' "Well, hopin' we're not too spooky of company 'til you find your folks again. Be happy to float around if ya need someone to talk to."

The Mismagius shook his head. "Ah, no, nothin' like what's here. It's more like... a virus," His eyes moved towards the brim of his hat, tracing along its edges as though trying to read the thoughts it contained atop of his head. "Basically, there's some dungeons out there that aren't just distorting the land, but corrupting it. Charred vines that try to entangle and pull ya in, strange mist that makes ya cough somethin' fierce, visions of things you regret and hate all surrounding and taunting you... almost like a nightmare, heh."

His gaze moved towards the night sky. With the light pollution below, only a few stars managed to peek through. "Stick around too long, and you start getting scared. Get too scared, and you lash out. You get stronger at first, but then you slowly lose your marbles as you stop seein' friend from foe. Before ya know it, you're a nightmare, too. The shadow curse took hold of you."

He offered a meek smile. "Point being, those places used to be contained on paths you'd avoid, but they've been gettin' bigger lately as people have been gettin' anxious over all this change happenin' in the world. Almost like the more we become scared of it, the stronger the shadow curse becomes."

Ghaspius cleared his throat. "But that's all only stuff relevant to my world, ya know? Here, it's a bit different. Heck, we even talked to Mr. Shadow himself," he said, nicknaming Powehi. "What about you, though? You got anythin' all spooky like that back home?"

 

[Tetra]

"That sounds terrible," Koa murmured. "At least here I don't think its evil. But it sounds kind of similar to..." he trailed, off, remembering how it'd felt in Powehi's void, and how it felt when that shadow power got strong. Everything dark and horrible bubbling up all at once. The frenzy he'd nearly fallen into fighting Seth.

Shaking off the chill of the old memories, he continued. "...to like what being consumed by shadows feels like, a little."

At Ghaspius's question, he quickly shook his head. "But no," he said, relief in his tone. "Nothing like that back home. Just... people doing bad things. And legendary pokemon supposedly attacking places." He snorted in annoyance. "But it's fake, somehow. Not real legendaries attacking."

He paused for a moment. Maybe Ghaspius's world didn't even have legends... "Legendaries back home are like guardians. Protectors of places and pokemon. They'd never do the things that are happening."

 

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius was certainly an airhead, but he wasn't blind; Koa's bristling fur was enough to see his clear discomfort at the topic of shadows. Ghaspius untied his scarf and offered it to Koa. "It's a bit chilly this evenin', ain't it?" He remarked with a knowing smile, "Think you'll need this more than me."

The Mismagius hadn't realized how his cloth had tensed and wrinkled when he asked his earlier question. Upon hearing Koa's reassurance, however, it unfurled back to a resting position. "Glad to hear y'all are mostly safe, at least. But, guardians, huh? So kinda like if the Saints here were a lot less, uh..." His tassel made an 'ehhh' gesture. "Stubborn?"

He let out an awkward chuckle, uncertain if it was taboo to speak so ill of nature. "We don't got nothin' like that back home far as I know, just really strong 'mons on occasion." He let out a hum. "How does one fake a legend attacking places?"

 

[Tetra]

Koa was no stranger to the cold, but he appreciated the gesture anyway, and accepted it with a smile and a murmur of thanks. It wasn't that cold... The scarf felt surprisingly comfortable, and he wondered if he should look into buying his own for their trip north...

"So kinda like if the Saints here were a lot less, uh..." His tassel made an 'ehhh' gesture. "Stubborn?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, basically. But they're pretty... elusive too. Or mysterious I guess. I don't know what could do it. I've been trying to figure that out back home, but all I know so far is that it's definitely not just someone with a Ditto or Zoroark. Something else."

He exhaled softly, gazing at the city around him. "A world without legendary pokemon..." he supposed it wasn't impossible after everything he'd heard, but it was strange to imagine. "Its hard to imagine. None at all?" he asked curiously.

 

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius let out a chuckle of his own. "Maybe it's one legendary that wants to pretend they're a different legendary. One big spooky conspiracy!" He said, waving his tassels as he made an 'ooooo' noise. "Or maybe just some fancy shmancy tech, like those Cipher guys got. Hopin' y'all can figure that one out as soon as you can."

Koa might've spotted the billboard they had passed by during his tour of the city. Where it once proudly presented miracle cures at affordable prices, now all that remained was a basic Advertise here! template. His more sensitive nose might've also traced the scent of someone not too far off as they walked. One that never left their tail, yet was content to remain in the distance.

Ghaspius clicked his tongue in contemplation. "I mean, there's nothin' that says there couldn't be somethin' like that, but ain't anywhere I've been, at least." He tilted his head as they continued their walk, passing by a closed high fashion store and an eye-seeringly dazzling jewelry store still open for the evening.

"There's legends in the story sense, like the tales of my old tribe's Sun Guardian. Do ya think that counts?"

 

[Tetra]

Koa chuckled lightly at Ghaspius' words. Something about the ghosts carefree nature made it less annoying to discuss all the problems back home. "It's something weird, that's for sure. I saw it up close before. Whatever it is I'll figure out something, I'm sure of it," he said. For the moment, it actually felt possible.

When Ghaspius mentioned a legend, he tipped his head curiously. "'At the heart of every legend, there lies a grain of truth'," he recited the familiar words amiably. "I don't know if its true in your world, but it is in mine. Maybe the legend does have something to it. So what's the story of this Sun Guardian?" he asked, a sparkle of excitement in his eyes. No matter how different other worlds were it was hard to quell that excitement in him whenever a potential legendary or story was mentioned.

As he walked, he couldn't help but try to glance discreetly over his shoulder, sure he'd caught a whiff of a scent more than once. Coincidence, or were they being tracked?

 

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius rubbed the back of his head, offering a playful, if somewhat meek smile. "It ain't gonna be anythin' relevant to Forlas, but my world's legend goes a lil' something like this:" He stopped in place, clearing his throat. During that brief period of silence, Koa could make out a pair of footsteps also stopping not too far behind.

"Every day, the Bat Spirit, a gluttonous, deceitful being, eats a big chunk of the sun," he began, resuming the walk as he spoke. "But every night, the proud warrior, the Lion Soul, challenges the Bat Spirit to a fight! And with his tenacity, he fends off the specter in a matter of hours, his will shining so bright that it even creates a new sun!"

Even in the brief pauses Ghaspius made, the other pair of footsteps were no longer audible. And yet, Koa's felt like they were louder than they should've been, almost as though they had a slight echo.

"But the Bat Spirit's a cunning one. It uses all sorts of schemes to get one over on the Lion Soul — managing to sneak by and eat some of the sun every night. The crumbs she leaves behind eventually became called the Moon." He chuckled at that. Even he knew that was a bit silly. "So the Lion Soul regularly goes on learning trips and study sessions so he can recognize and catch her tricks. That's how we have things like winters and moon phases."

His gems shimmered as he readied to finish the tale. "But the Lion Soul always returns, able to cleave through the Bat Spirit's darkness with equal parts strength and knowledge, and bringing back the light every 'morn. And that's how he became known as the Sun Guardian, in an endless tug-of-war with the Bat Spirit — now called the Moon Witch."

The Mismagius let out a hum. "Astronomy's pretty much revealed that the tale can't be literal — or at least 'not anymore', if you wanna believe some folks on my world — but it's one my tribe's centered around. We honor the Sun Guardian with our strongest and brightest each day, or so that's what they intend. Me, I just like brightening days with a spooky smile!" He grinned, shifting his bag as he looked to Koa. "So, what'd ya think? Give ya insights?"

 

[Tetra]

For a brief moment, Koa forgot about the footsteps he could have sworn he'd heard (not just someone walking, someone matching his steps. Following them?). Bat Spirit and Lion Soul. The Sun Guardian and Moon Witch... His gaze shone with fascination as he listened with rapt attention. Even worlds away, there was something familiar. And yet, different too.

"Sick," he murmured, taking a moment to absorb the story. "Emissary of the Sun..." Or maybe devourer, but that was more old legend.

He broke into an excitable grin. "There's legendary pokemon in my world called Solgaleo and Lunala that sound like that! A lion and a bat. They called Solgaleo the emissary of the sun and Lunala the caller of the moon. Although... I don't think they're literally the sun and moon, even on my world."

His gaze grew distant for a moment as he considered what they could be like in another world. Enemies? Rivals? "It's more like.... they have some kind of power tied to that. Like how Dialga has power over time or Lugia can control water. Maybe there really was a pokemon like them in your world and their story got tied up with what people thought about the sun and moon."

"There's some tall tales about legendary pokemon on my world where people got stuff mixed up. Like stories about Yveltal being a killer but he's really a guardian of the dead." Pausing for a moment, he frowned as he remembered again the footsteps.

Between the familiar scent and now this he felt sure it was something. Best not make a scene yet. Having telepathic chatting was very convenient... [Ghaspius, did you see anyone following us?]

Careful not to look around too wildly and draw attention, he continued in his usual tone. "That's a cool story!"

 

[MintyMimix]

Ghaspius's eyes shimmered as much as his gemstones with each of Koa's comments. "Solgaleo and Lunala... huh? And emissaries and callers?" A tantalizing thought that could bring an entirely new meaning to that story! "If only I could take home info like that! Can only imagine the kinds of looks the others would give me!" He said with a boisterous laughter.

The Mismagius crossed his tassels as he warmly grinned at his companion. "Ya might be onto somethin' there. There's actually an old saying I've heard passed around in my travels — usually from old wives around the bigger towns." His cloth fluttered in the wind as he spoke. "Somnia figura re, or 'dreams figure reality'. Whatever stories get passed down shape what we see."

He let out a confused hum as Koa stopped dead in his tracks. He lifted his head, squinted his eyes, and shook his head. [Nothin'. You sure it wasn't just someone takin' an evening stroll?]

Ghaspius floated alongside Koa as they continued their walk-and-talk. Koa would notice his footsteps were quieter than earlier, and both the scent and echo were gone.

"Speakin' of stories, you ever hear the one about the Geodudes and the Froakies?"

 

[Tetra]

[...I don't think so. I'm sure I kept detecting the same scent, and I heard their footsteps. Like they were trying to be discreet.] As much as he wanted to think he'd imagined it, he felt sure that wasn't the case.

Koa glanced around as they continued forward, straining his ears. Nothing. [I think they left now... Or I don't hear them anymore.] Had their tail realized he saw them? With some difficulty, he pushed aside his unease. Freaking out wouldn't help. He'd just have to be vigilant.

"Dreams figure reality," he mused. "That makes sense. Maybe the other way around too... The things we see or don't see inspire our dreams."

As they walked, he glanced periodically over his shoulder. Finally, he turned back to Ghaspius. Swapping old legends from their worlds was much more appealing than chasing shadows. Tail or not, he would rather enjoy the rest of his evening out with pleasant company.

"I don't think I've heard that one! Tell me about it," he said with a grin, "and I'll tell you a myth about the Lonely Pokemon, and where humans supposedly came from."

 

[MintyMimix]

[Guess we'll keep an ear out, then! Wonder who it was. Too many people that could be following us these days...]

"I like that," Ghaspius said, sliding back into the conversation. "Guess for me, it was like, seein' the concoctions in those books made my dream to become an alchemist!"

The figure was gone, but a faint hint of the scent lingered in Koa's sensitive nose. It was a mixture of Scrafty sweat, metal, and an undeniable hint of cinnamon. Come to think of it, Ghaspius had a bit of those smells, too, when the two first met — though now masked by the dozens of perfumes they had tried out.

"Where humans came from? Oh, I gotta hear this," Ghaspius continued, a wide grin spreading across his lips. "So, some Geodude were playing one day at the edge of a pond in which lived a family of Froakie..."

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