Chapter 885: I Can Never Turn Back Now
If you had stayed by my side back then, I wouldn't have turned into this.
Those words.
Were what Shadow had originally planned to tell Kazuya after defeating him.
Now.
She no longer had the standing or the right to say them.
Even everything She had done across all these years could be considered utterly devoid of meaning.
Because.
She was never Kazuya's daughter at all.
Kazuya didn't care why She had degenerated into this state, saw no connection between Her and himself, and held nothing toward Her except pure, unadulterated hatred.
No wonder...
Back when Kazuya first laid eyes upon Her true appearance.
His expression hadn't wavered in the slightest.
The moment She realized this.
Shadow abruptly halted Her pursuit of Meowscarada.
She froze in place, Her mind completely blank.
She had lost all reason to carry on.
She had even lost the very will to live.
"...?"
Seeing Her stop, Meowscarada quickly pulled up as well.
She didn't dare let this cheap knockoff out of her sight, lest the creature slip away to ambush her father.
Father was currently at the critical juncture of devouring Arceus.
No one could be allowed to interrupt him.
As long as they waited for Father to finish devouring Arceus.
This world would be delivered from ruin, and everything would finally reach its conclusion.
"I have a question for you."
Shadow spoke slowly.
At this moment, the crimson blaze in Her eyes receded entirely into dull ash-gray.
Every negative emotion had lost its color, feeling utterly hollow and devoid of purpose.
"...Ask away."
Meowscarada narrowed her eyes with guarded caution.
She didn't mind chatting with this fellow to stall for more time.
Besides.
Chatting with a clone of herself.
Quite intriguing~
The large cat's bushy tail swayed lazily back and forth, a curious glint flashing in her eyes.
"I likely inherited almost all of your memories, so I can understand what you felt..."
"The agony of losing a father, the sorrow of being cast aside, and the rage upon finding out he had reincarnated yet never came looking for you..."
"Don't you hate him?"
"Don't you want vengeance against him?"
"Shouldn't the thoughts I harbored be the very thoughts you held as well?"
Question after question spilled from Shadow's lips.
She sought validation from this other version of herself.
Perhaps that could still serve as a fragile excuse to lie to Herself and push forward.
Unfortunately...
"When Father passed away, I truly was heartbroken and devastated, but I had already promised Father that I would live happily!"
"Furthermore, this is the world Father gave his life to protect, and it is our home."
"Our family is still here, along with all the people who supported us throughout our journey."
"How could I ever bear to hurt it?"
Meowscarada shook her head.
She was a sunny, cheerful cat.
Raised atop her father's tail since infancy, basking in the brightest golden sunlight.
Even after parting from her father.
She still walked with broad strides beneath the radiant sun, exuding a gentle floral fragrance.
After all.
She had made a promise to Father.
You don't need to worry about me at all... I will live a wonderful life!!
That was the tearful promise she had sworn long ago.
And a promise made had to be honored with resounding conviction.
"Don't you think I know whether you have a generous heart?"
"From the day you were born, you were always jealous and constantly squabbling for attention."
"Could you truly accept Father abandoning you just to safeguard a bunch of complete strangers?"
"He easily could have ignored all of that, staying by my... no, by your side forever."
Shadow found it impossible to accept.
She extended Her trembling paws, a touch of frenzied disbelief welling in Her eyes.
Why?
Why couldn't even the other version of Herself agree with Her?
Shouldn't she be the one who understood Her best in the entire world?
Even if She was a counterfeit.
Hadn't She merely carried out what the authentic one had always yearned to do deep down?
What was she pretending for?
"I don't deny that I get jealous easily; Father told me that's just how Meowscarada are, completely natural."
"But that is no excuse for me to hurt everyone! When I was little, Kazuya made me stand in timeout just for picking on Eevee over that!"
"Besides, when did Kazuya ever abandon me?"
"I have had no clue what you've been babbling about since earlier. Kazuya only departed after saying a proper, heartfelt goodbye to me."
"And how do you know Kazuya never came looking for me after reincarnating? How could he possibly not look for me?"
"It was simply because by that time, I was no longer in this world."
Meowscarada looked at Shadow as though staring at an incomprehensible lunatic.
Admittedly.
Regarding Father shortening his lifespan drastically to protect the Tree of Beginning.
She had indeed harbored a trace of lingering resentment back then.
Yet that tiny wisp of grievance had melted away completely the moment they shared their proper farewell.
How could she possibly cling to that grudge all the way until now?
As for the other accusations Shadow spouted, they were pure nonsense.
She had already been whisked away by her reincarnated Father back in League Calendar Year 150; how could the Father in League Calendar Year 200 ever find her?
"..."
Shadow's jaws parted.
Listening to Meowscarada's words, a realization seemed to dawn upon Her.
Her memories were not 100% complete.
And among those few missing fragments, it happened to lack the most pivotal, defining moments.
"Kazuya didn't die during the battle against Lugia?"
"No. Father borrowed the Aura power left behind by Sir Aaron to extend his life by another year; he only passed away in League Calendar Year 50."
Meowscarada shook her head, letting out a soft sigh.
Even today.
Recalling those past days.
She still felt a pang of sorrow.
However.
Thankfully, everything had come back around.
"Before he left... he said a proper goodbye?"
"Yes. I was bawling my eyes out back then, and Father probably cried too, though I didn't see it, hehe."
Meowscarada nodded, a sneaky giggle escaping her lips.
Even though Father stubbornly refused to admit it later on.
She believed her own guess.
"..."
Watching the smile across Meowscarada's face, Shadow pressed Her lips into a thin line: "After he reincarnated into a Piplup-kun... did he come looking for... you?"
"I wouldn't know; I was already gone from this world by then. But he definitely must have. As Kazuya's daughter, don't you know him at all?"
Meowscarada shrugged.
She remained carefree and nonchalant as ever.
Children raised with tender love and fierce protection almost always turn out this way.
Thus.
Shadow knew she wasn't lying.
"That's... right..."
"With what I know of Kazuya."
"Why did I ever believe he hadn't come to find me?"
Shadow asked Herself in a hollow murmur.
She turned Her gaze in bewilderment toward the massive black sphere hovering above the distant sea.
And the answer to that question.
She understood all too quickly.
Because She was a counterfeit synthesized from dark energy.
And the fundamental nature of dark energy was raw negative emotion.
Her positive feelings received zero reinforcement, actively suppressed into silence.
The moment a negative thought took root, it was amplified infinitely, swallowing Her sanity and capacity for reason whole.
"In the end, I'm merely a magical beast after all..."
Shadow lowered Her head, staring down at Her ink-black paws.
She was merely...
A slave to negative emotions.
"Now do you understand?!"
"All of this was your own delusional, wishful thinking! You caused so much trouble for everyone!"
"Stand down! While there is still a chance to make amends!"
Meowscarada pointed a finger scoldingly at Shadow.
Her voice ignited an inexplicable spark of fury within Shadow's chest.
Shadow looked up at the vibrant, pristine Meowscarada before Her, the negative emotions within Her core blazing out of control once more.
That was the fundamental instinct written into their genetic code.
Jealousy.
The defining trait inscribed into the Meowscarada Pokédex entry.
She envied Meowscarada's lush green coat.
She envied Meowscarada holding every single precious memory tied to Father.
If She had possessed those as well...
She never would have walked down this path.
When She first opened Her eyes, She hadn't been so different from the genuine Meowscarada.
Perhaps.
She could have become Father's second daughter?
"I can..."
"Never turn back now."
Shadow drew in a deep, shuddering breath, clenching Her fists until they cracked.
She knew intimately just how unforgivable Her atrocities were.
Recalling Scizor, Skitty...
An unavoidable ache pierced Shadow's chest.
Even after discovering that none of it was real, that they held zero genuine connection to Her.
Why did it still hurt this much?
No matter who you are, and no matter your reasons, I will ensure you have no place left to bury your bones.
Kazuya's cold decree echoed in Shadow's ears.
She exhaled a long, ragged sigh.
There was.
No room left for redemption.
Had everything been spoken aloud from the very beginning, would She have had a chance to become one of them?
She definitely would have lived so happily.
What a pity.
"There are no 'what-ifs' in this world."
Shadow lifted Her head once more, locking eyes with Meowscarada.
"Are you still planning to see this through? There is no meaning left in doing so."
Meowscarada felt a chill run down her spine.
Even though this black Meowscarada shared near-identical memories with her.
She still couldn't understand Her.
A tiny deviation in memory.
How could it spawn such an unbridgeable gulf?
"Does meaning even matter anymore?"
"Even my very existence has lost all meaning."
"Do you really think I care whether this battle holds any meaning?"
"Right now, there is only one thing I wish to do."
Shadow turned around, gazing up at that abyssal black sphere, murmuring softly: "As the other me, can you guess what it is?"
Her tone was chillingly serene, devoid of any discernible emotion.
Hearing such tranquil words from the mouth of a lunatic.
Sent goosebumps rippling across Meowscarada's skin.
What was even more terrifying.
She truly couldn't guess what Shadow intended to do.
She could only faintly surmise.
It definitely had something to do with Kazuya.
"No matter what you're planning, I won't let you get anywhere near Kazuya!"
Panic flared on Meowscarada's face.
She kicked off, lunging forward to swipe at Shadow.
Bang!
Shadow whipped out a lightning-fast roundhouse kick.
Blasting Meowscarada skidding across the sea.
Lv. 100 versus Lv. 98.
Though separated by a mere 2 levels, that gap was equivalent to a 20-level chasm between Lv. 70 and Lv. 50.
With a cold, dismissive smirk, Shadow vanished from the spot.
Relying on Meowscarada's speed.
There was no way to intercept Her.
"Everyone! Don't let that monster get near Kazuya!"
"Get out here and clear a path for me, all of you!!"
The voices of the two Meowscarada.
Rang out across the battlefield in unison.
In an instant, the skies convulsed and storm clouds rolled.
The chaotic melee snapped into an orderly, colossal clash between two opposing armies arrayed for war.
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