"The King's Heart?"
Hikaru recalled the inscriptions on the first floor.
Possess the King's Heart. And then came a cascade of praise:
Courage, hope, mercy, dreams, adventurous spirit; no hatred; acceptance of all; a loving heart; the power to inspire the people; the light to shine upon the people; never to lose one's way.
Similar lines appeared on the third floor, too:
A heart of love, the strength of love; the power to converse with living beings; reading the future and averting tsunamis…
Within these were "virtues," but also "true power."
"Still, virtue is also a kind of power. If such virtues are bestowed upon a person, does that count as possessing the King's Heart?"
[Correct. Through the trial, you may choose one power from the King's Heart to take with you—and only one.]
[When you reach the final gate, you must rely on your own strength.]
[There are two of you. For the last battle, I shall use four Pokémon. I shall give them shape from 'dream' and make them my temporary arms.]
[Dreams and ideals gather like a whirlpool, twist like a spiral, and at last birthed Unova. The King's Heart is the method of wielding that spiral force.]
[Pokémon are no exception; their dreams once converged here as well.]
[There were four Pokémon who once lived alongside us, who walked with the King. They are called—]
[The Four Gods.]
The ancient crown blazed. As its light flared, four colossal "dream-forged Pokémon" gradually took form across the fourth floor—
No doubt about it!
Hikaru stared, astonished. "Thundurus, Tornadus, Landorus… Enamorus!"
"Their appearance is different," Caitlin noted. "A form change?"
"And… what is Enamorus?"
Ojō-sama's brows knit; her lovely expression turned puzzled.
The legends of the first three "clouds" are old Unovan lore—but what's this fourth? There's a fourth cloud? Why has she never heard of it?
Hikaru's gaze slid past the tablets. Behind the ancient crown, set into the central altar slab, an ancient mirror with three cloud motifs inlaid around its frame shimmered into view.
The Reveal Glass!
In the anime, this mirror lay hidden in the Abyssal Ruins and needed Meloetta as the key to find it. In the games, obtaining it in Gen V wasn't straightforward—though it sits at the Abundant Shrine, you can't just pick it up. Because it swaps the Forces of Nature between formes, and the trio you catch in-game are all in Incarnate Forme, you needed the Pokémon Dream Radar to catch Therian Landorus in the Interdream Rift and send it to the main game before the Reveal Glass would be granted. A bizarre loop, like:
"How do I get the gear?" — "Beat the dungeon."
"How do I beat the dungeon?" — "Get the gear."
"Enamorus shouldn't really appear here. She's usually held by someone—who, by now, likely hasn't died. Since ancient times, there's been almost no legend of Enamorus in the world."
"Didn't expect to see Enamorus here."
Even so, these are dream projections, not their true selves.
But even in this dream state, Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus recognized Hikaru.
The Abyssal Ruins already boast places of worship for them; they simply hadn't expected to be summoned now, in a dream.
"Dream-born Pokémon crossing into reality… intriguing. I've never had a battle like this," Caitlin said, bright with interest.
Hikaru pondered.
Dream Pokémon manifesting—nothing new; he'd experienced it. But conducting consecutive trials inside the dream, even projecting the challenge onto reality…
Yes—such a thing does exist!
Like the Dream Gauntlet!
A special trial said to be issued by Arceus in the Hisui era: after completing the main quest "The Pokémon Deemed a God" and the side quest "Daybreak", the protagonist receives Arceus's summons in a dream. Far livelier than any Battle Tower or facility—and the Four Clouds' challenge is split in two:
First, Incarnate. Second, Therian.
"Careful—Therian Forme is their true body; their usual state is the false mask of 'Incarnate'!"
"In Therian, they're stronger than before!"
In the games, their base stat totals stay the same with redistributed stats—but in anime and manga, the Therian quartet is markedly stronger than their Incarnate selves!
And the legends meant to counterbalance them are the Swords of Justice!
"Radooon!" Landorus rumbled in approval.
Heard you thrashed Tornadus and Thundurus at Celestial Tower?
Good—spirited, clean work! Not a single point dropped!
As my chosen shrine priest, you've earned the year's harvest for Unova's fields. Great credit!
Thundurus and Tornadus, meanwhile, were furious.
Last time we followed the wrong guy. Bad calls. We only wanted to nab that green orb—and got smacked for it!
Last round doesn't count!
This time the two of us flip the board!
Back then we were Incarnate—power not fully drawn, like "mature stage" at best. Therian is the perfect form!
Here in the Ruins we've got a power buff, and dream state dulls pain—time to wipe the slate clean!
Enamorus, for her part, regarded Hikaru with a subtle look. She didn't know him—but something felt familiar.
She said nothing, simply began to gather power. That odd air—Hikaru knew it well: Hisui's scent again, right?
If he had returned to Hisui, there were only three possibilities:
First, Arceus punted him there. Second, he slipped into an Ultra Wormhole. Third, to fetch Origin Ore!
Thinking it through, the only thing worth grabbing in Hisui… is the Origin Ore.
[Begin. If you do not defeat them within the allotted steps, you will be expelled all the same!]
[The King's Heart is no easy prize!]
[Because you lack the power to appease them, you must battle them.]
[A true king lives in equality with all life; thus Pokémon will not attack him, and the crown naturally belongs to him.]
Hikaru blinked—then smiled.
"Then if I can appease them, does that mean we can skip this fight?"
[Indeed. However, Tornadus and Thundurus covet your treasures, and Landorus wishes to fight you again. These four will not heed you: their bodies are forged from dream's energy. Within the Abyssal Ruins, they are free.]
The ancient crown refused as a matter of course, while Landorus's eyes shifted—and it dipped its head, just slightly.
Back in the ancient city, it had lost.
But that was under the sway of ancient mind-control. Didn't count.
Hikaru may be the one Landorus chose—but a true rematch is due, yes?
Especially now, in Therian Forme, with wild nature awakened—even placid Landorus could barely leash the feral surge!
Hikaru shook his head. "Not necessarily."
"Enamorus."
He addressed the silent Enamorus:
"If you are truly Cogita's companion—one of the divine attendants of Sinnoh's Great One…"
"Please… aid me."
Enamorus studied the "familiar stranger." She didn't actually know him; the history had yet to roll over this moment. It was only a feeling of closeness.
Yet when he spoke Cogita's name, Enamorus understood something:
The one before her was of the line of the divine attendants. Then—it must be him.
Not long ago an avatar of Arceus had been called down in a wondrous manner to the Celestica Ruins—and after one great snowfall, Celestia's history ended entirely.
Cogita had told her of it.
After a long silence, Enamorus first shook her head—then gave the lightest nod. Under the stunned stares of the other three, she switched sides and drifted to Hikaru.
She didn't know this scion of the attendants. But she knew: if she helped the one before her…
Cogita would be delighted.
Not to help him.
But simply to make her mistress smile.
After all, the divine attendants have nothing left.
The ancient crown fell silent—shaken, unable to fathom why one of the Four Gods had suddenly defected.
The remaining three didn't care. They were never truly one with Enamorus anyway.
[An unexpected turn! Even so, with one missing, the Four Gods can still upheave the heavens!]
One god's defection weighed on the crown. So—it chose to unseal the Ruins' true might.
After all, the second group—the "unworthy descendants" driven by greed and ambition—also yearned for the crown. Let the war blaze higher, then.
Not just for the King's Heart's recognition—whether for these unexpected visitors, or the unworthy brood against the rightful king, or even the three fierce auras that had already drawn near from afar…
The Abyssal Ruins shuddered. Power surged through the sea as waters parted into a four-sided wall. Without Meloetta as a power source, the ancient crown managed it alone. The fourth floor burst open; a lance of light speared into the sky!
The three cloud gods roared up into the thunderhead. Wind's power, lightning's wrath, the earth's dominion—all gathered in wild resonance!
Landorus went first, bellowing—
Intimidate!
Its very entrance made foes cower—lowering their Attack!
"Good grief," Hikaru muttered.
Commanding the Four Gods, calling invincible oceanic might—wasn't this Team Rocket's anime "Operation Tempest"?
Only now it was the ancient crown using it. As for the Giovanni of this world, he was busy challenging the Black Skyscraper to toughen himself!
Enamorus, too, rose wreathed in vast elemental force.
Hikaru linked his heart with the ancient cloud goddess!
At the same time, the Tree of Linking chimed with a mission:
[Festival Quest: The Abyssal Ruins Trial!]
[Description: You've answered the ancient city's call, reached the fourth floor, and seek the King's Heart!]
[Rewards: Release Orbs ×30, Dream Link (Part III), Spiral Force ×1!]
"As one of the oldest fairy gods, legend says her kindness makes new life sprout upon the Hisuian land—thus she is called the Goddess of Spring."
"Should anyone defile life, Therian Enamorus will rise from the sea of clouds and mete out merciless judgment."
"Enamorus—use Springtide Storm!"
(End of Chapter)[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"][Every 500 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop][Thanks for Reading!]