After ordering Berrin, Aven mounted his Luxray again and charged toward the cavern entrance with his team following behind.
Though they encountered several wandering Ghost Pokémon along the way, none of them could withstand Garchomp's raw might for long — each was swiftly struck down.
As they pressed forward, Aven could feel the fog thickening, pushing against them with growing force. Even Luxray's powerful legs seemed to strain as though wading through an invisible current.
At this point, they were like a ship sailing upstream — advancing against a raging torrent, the waves of gray mist crashing endlessly against them.
"Lass!"
Froslass floated ahead, her translucent body radiating cold light.
Frost swirled around her form as she extended both hands, channeling her energy outward to absorb and purify the gray mist blocking their path.
With her clearing the way, it was as though a ship's bow was cutting through rough waters — and soon, they emerged once more into the great hall of the ruins.
Before them hung the rift — a swirling vortex of silver light, spinning endlessly in midair. From within that vortex, endless streams of gray mist gushed forth, pouring into the chamber like a broken dam.
The sight reminded Aven of floodgates being thrown open — the gray fog flooding the hall and rushing outward through the only corridor that led to the outside world, surging like an unstoppable tide.
At that very moment, a Ghost-type Pokémon emerged from the vortex — a single, trembling Sableye.
It drifted out alongside the gray mist, carried forward as if swept along by a powerful current.
"Lass~!"
Froslass immediately moved, darting forward to seize the Sableye before it could be swept away by the flood of gray mist.
This Sableye wasn't very strong, and Froslass easily absorbed the gray mist that had corrupted its body!
After capturing the Sableye with a Poké Ball, Aven's gaze once again turned toward the spatial passage ahead. They now had to enter that rift no matter what.
More time passed. Gradually, the gray mist surging out from the spatial passage became noticeably thinner.
It was like draining a great reservoir — at first, the water rushed out in torrents, but as the pool emptied, the flow weakened, slowing to a mere trickle.
"It's about time."
"Froslass, Garchomp, I'm counting on you two from now on."
Hearing Aven's calm yet commanding voice, both Pokémon nodded firmly. Froslass's body shimmered with energy as she took the lead, soaring straight toward the spatial passage.
The remaining gray mist dissipated rapidly under her power, fading away into nothingness. The scene almost resembled a celestial maiden ascending into the heavens, her figure wrapped in ethereal brilliance.
Once the gray fog was completely cleared, a mirror-like surface appeared within the swirling silver vortex. Behind that mirror, faint outlines of another world could be seen — indistinct, yet undeniably real.
"Lass~"
After a brief pause, Froslass's form glided forward and pierced the spatial passage.
Ripples spread across the mirror's surface as she entered, her silhouette quickly vanishing into the silver light.
Garchomp followed right after. With explosive speed, it stomped the ground, launching itself like a rocket — disappearing into the rift with a thunderous whoosh.
Finally, Luxray crouched low, carrying Aven upon its back. It leapt upward, its body diving into the swirling portal, spatial ripples engulfing its form as though plunging into the surface of a calm lake.
"Kir~"
Kirlia, floating behind them, was quietly attuning itself to the spatial currents.
The passage was saturated with powerful spatial energy — the purest concentration of space itself. Kirlia focused intently, sensing and memorizing every fluctuation, every subtle distortion.
The sensation of traversing the passage was similar to teleportation, yet far more disorienting. A momentary blur — then Aven's senses realigned, and he realized he was in an entirely new place.
Lifting his head, he found the sky shrouded in a faint gray haze, as though a great fog had settled over the land. Beneath his feet was soft grass, stretching into the distance until it met a vast lake.
From that lake, gray mist continued to surge upward — thick, endless streams of it. And beside the lake stood a massive Dusknoir, silent and unmoving, like a guardian watching over its domain.
"Lass…"
Froslass floated to Aven's side, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the distant lake.
She could feel it clearly, this was the Ghost World passage itself. The entire lake brimmed with ghostly energy so dense it connected directly to the Ghost World beyond.
"This whole lake… is the Ghost World passage?" Aven's pupils contracted sharply.
He stepped forward, eyes fixed upon a long crack spreading across the lake's surface — from which the gray mist continued to pour.
But the moment he approached, the guardian Dusknoir turned its single golden eye toward him. Its massive body began to float slowly into the air, oppressive energy radiating outward.
"Another king level Dusknoir?" Aven muttered grimly. "It really does seem that this entire passage was activated by the sorcerers organization."
Closing his eyes briefly, he exhaled — then when they opened again, his gaze was sharp as a blade.
"Froslass, Garchomp — take it down!"
At once, both Pokémon moved. Garchomp roared, claws igniting with dragonic energy as it lunged forward; Froslass summoned a massive Shadow Ball, firing it with deadly precision.
The two attacked in perfect coordination — their teamwork, refined through previous battles like their fight against Golurk, was now seamless.
Garchomp's close-range assault kept Dusknoir pinned down, while Froslass unleashed ranged attacks to strike from afar. The overwhelming onslaught left Dusknoir reeling.
Deafening explosions shook the air. Aven spared only a glance at the battle before turning his attention back to the Ghost World passage before him.
His goal was clear: destroy the passage — to stop the gray mist and Ghost-type Pokémon from entering the ruins again.
"I'm counting on you all next."
Reaching for his belt, Aven pulled free several Poké Balls. In brilliant flashes of white light, his Pokémon emerged one after another — Rhydon, Nidoking, Torterra, and Cherrim.
Each of them radiated fierce energy, ready for battle.
With a sweeping command from Aven, every Pokémon launched their attacks at once — Rock Slide, Energy Ball, Hyper Beam and more, all crashing violently into the Ghost World passage.
Under the relentless barrage, the entire spatial structure trembled violently. The unstable connection between worlds flickered and warped, on the verge of collapse.
"Lass!"
At that moment, Froslass ascended high above the lake, energy flaring around her.
Her ghostly aura condensed into a colossal Shadow Ball, spinning faster and faster before plunging down into the passage.
The instant it struck, the passage began to collapse inward from the center — folding upon itself, drawing the mist back into the lake below.
The contraction accelerated rapidly, until at last the vortex imploded completely, vanishing into the still waters.
The Ghost World passage was gone. Only the calm, reflective surface of the lake remained, mirroring the pale sky above.
"Phew… it's over. The Ghost World passage is closed."
Aven let out a slow breath, watching as the last trace of distortion faded.
His gaze shifted to the distant battlefield — where, bolstered by his other Pokémon, Dusknoir was being driven back relentlessly.
With one final Dragon Rush, Garchomp slammed into Dusknoir, sending it crashing to the ground. The specter trembled, trying to rise, but its strength was gone.
Then Froslass descended silently, extending a pale hand. She grasped at the air and from within Dusknoir's chest, tendrils of gray mist were drawn out, dissipating like smoke in the wind.
"Dusk…"
Dusknoir's single eye flickered weakly, awareness slowly returning to it.
It sat up, dazed, glancing around in confusion before its gaze settled upon the lake.
Instantly, fragmented memories surged within its mind — flashes of the gray mist, of losing control, of endless darkness.
Everything after that point was blank.
When its eye fell upon Froslass again, and it sensed the faint gray energy lingering on her, fear rippled through its expression.
"Dusknoir… looks like your consciousness has returned," Aven said as he walked closer.
Beside him, Petilil released a gentle aroma, letting her healing fragrance drift toward Dusknoir.
But the process was slow — the gray mist that had infested a monarch-level Pokémon was vast and deep. It took a long time for the fragrance to take effect.
Still, Dusknoir's condition gradually stabilized. Its awareness cleared, its soul and energy beginning to recover from the damage.
"Dusk… dusk…"
It nodded gratefully toward Froslass — finally understanding that it had been saved from the gray mist's corruption.
"Now then," Aven said, his tone calm but probing, "can you tell me what lies beyond that Ghost World passage? Why were you corrupted by the gray mist, and how did you end up here in the real world?"
Dusknoir hesitated, confusion flashing in its single eye. Then it shook its head slowly.
The gray mist had appeared suddenly within its territory. At first, it hadn't paid much attention — but before it could react, the corruption had already taken hold, consuming its mind completely.
After that, there was only darkness. It remembered nothing.
"I see… that's unfortunate," Aven murmured, his expression tinged with regret.
"Dusk…"
Dusknoir bowed its head, guilt flickering across its face.
Then, raising its arm, it pointed toward the lake. The antenna atop its head twitched faintly.
Though it didn't know the exact situation beyond the Ghost World, it could still feel a faint connection emanating from the lake — as though the worlds were not yet fully separated.
"This lake… is still connected to the Ghost World?" Aven's face grew tense.
Just then, a soft blue glow appeared in the sky above — faint at first, then brighter, descending slowly toward the lake.
When the light touched the surface, ripples spread outward in concentric rings — and the blue light sank beneath, vanishing into another world.
"Lass~"
Froslass floated closer, her gaze solemn.
Within that blue light, she had sensed something — a soul.
"You mean… that's a soul?" Aven's brows furrowed deeply.
He looked up again — more blue lights were appearing now, streaking downward like shooting stars, one after another plunging into the lake.
Seeing this, Froslass raised her hand, summoning her power to intercept one of them midair.
The captured light wavered, faintly revealing a vague humanoid silhouette twisting within it — blurred, distorted, but unmistakably human.
As soon as Froslass released it, the figure dissolved back into blue light and fell into the lake, disappearing from sight.
"Each of these blue lights… represents a soul," Aven whispered, his expression darkening as a dreadful realization dawned upon him.
If that was true, then each light signified a death.
The souls of the dead were being drawn here by some unknown force — pulled into this lake, only to be carried into the Ghost World beyond.
"This is bad…" Aven's expression hardened. "It must be those Ghost-types corrupted by the gray mist. They're rampaging outside right now — with such numbers, the front-\line fortress can't possibly hold them all!"
His heart sank further. He couldn't even begin to guess what might happen to those spirits and Ghost Pokémon after entering the lake.
But one thing he did know — as more civilians in Aspiration City died, Azelf's power would continue to weaken. And that… was clearly the sorcerer organization's true objective.
"No… this can't continue. I have to stop those corrupted Ghost-types!"
Taking a deep breath, Aven didn't immediately leave the ruins. Instead, he began to investigate the area carefully once more.
Yet after a thorough search, it became clear — aside from the lake itself, there was nothing else unusual about this spatial domain.
This lake seemed to be the only direct connection to the Ghost World. And it could only draw souls in — not allow anything to come out.
He wasn't sure what would happen if a living being entered it, but the risk was enormous.
"Lass…"
Froslass descended beside him, shaking her head — she hadn't found anything else either.
Then her gaze drifted toward the lake, her expression firm, as if volunteering to dive in and investigate.
Aven shook his head. "No. It's too dangerous for now. The lake shouldn't pose an immediate threat, so we'll leave it for the moment. We need to check on the situation outside."
Reaching into his coat, he gently stroked the resting Petilil nestled inside before turning toward the exit.
Finally, his gaze shifted to Dusknoir. Though freed from the gray mist's control, it was still heavily wounded — its life force and soul energy gravely damaged by both battle and corruption.
"Dusknoir, your condition is too unstable," Aven said softly. "For now, I'll have to seal you inside a Poké Ball. Once this is over, I'll make sure you're fully healed."
The ghost nodded silently, eyes closing in acceptance. It already felt far better thanks to the Aromatherapy.
Seeing this, Aven took out a Poké Ball and tossed it gently. A flash of red light enveloped Dusknoir, drawing it inside.
He caught the ball telekinetically and placed it carefully into his pocket, exhaling slowly.
Dusknoir's strength was considerable — having it as an ally would greatly aid in future exploration of the Ghost World.
(End of Chapter)