At that moment, Old Smoker's eyes lit up when he spotted Kairos, and he immediately started forward to speak.
But Kairos raised his hand to stop him. He already knew what the old man was going to say.
"Hold on. We'll talk about the candy situation in a minute."
He quickly walked over to Elara, checking her injuries first. After confirming she wasn't in any life-threatening danger, he let out a relieved breath.
Then he turned to face all the core Watchers members who had gathered, still visibly shaken, and announced: "Everyone, I found that fragment, and I've deciphered what it says."
The statement hit like a bombshell, immediately causing a stir.
Deciphered it?
The ancient record that generations of Watchers had failed to crack had actually been decoded by this young man in such a short time?
Kairos didn't waste time with long explanations. He simply recounted the historical truth recorded in the fragment.
From Ho-Oh's sacrifice to repel the Ultra Beasts, to humanity's initial reverence, then to their later shift toward unchecked technological expansion driven by fear and ambition, ultimately leading to ecological collapse and forcing them underground...
The truth about the surface world finally laid itself bare before everyone through Kairos's account.
The base fell into dead silence. Every face showed shock.
Especially when they heard about humanity's series of self-destructive actions after Ho-Oh's sacrifice, many people's expressions turned grim.
They truly hadn't expected the surface world's destruction to have such a cause.
However, when Kairos finally shared his conclusion—that after five hundred years of natural recovery without human interference, the surface world had very likely regained much of its habitability—an unprecedented gleam ignited in everyone's eyes!
As long as they could return to the surface, break free from the Alliance's control, and escape this miserable underground existence, nothing else mattered!
After Kairos finished speaking, the room remained silent for a full minute as everyone processed this earth-shattering revelation.
But there were plenty of sharp minds present too. As the massive shock of the historical truth gradually faded, an extremely practical and heavy question settled over each Watcher's mind like a storm cloud.
Five hundred years was indeed long enough to erase and transform everything.
That surface, forgotten for centuries—what would it actually look like now?
After all, everything about the surface world's current state was still just speculation.
Meanwhile, Elara, supported by Axuan, forced herself to stand upright. Physical pain caused cold sweat to bead on her forehead, but her eyes were unusually sharp, clearly in an excited mental state.
She looked at Kairos, her voice urgent as she spoke:
"The truth you've brought... is incredible. Ho-Oh's sacrifice, the reason for the surface world's collapse."
She looked around, her gaze sweeping over the confused faces as she solemnly addressed everyone.
"So there's only one question left: can we really go back now? After five hundred years, what exactly has the surface environment become? And those monsters—where are they now?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
No one knew whether the air that humans needed to survive had recovered its purity on the surface, whether water sources and other resources had been contaminated by residual energy...
And... those monsters that destroyed the original world—would they come back? Or were they waiting on the surface right now for humanity's return?
"Not monsters. They're called Ultra Beasts."
Kairos corrected her.
"Right, Ultra Beasts. Got it."
Elara nodded.
The atmosphere grew heavy. No one made a sound as they all seemed to mull over the earlier questions.
However, at that moment, Kairos noticed something. The edge of the metal fragment in his hand seemed to flash with a glimmer of... light under the dim yellow illumination?
His curiosity stirred. He touched the bottom corner with his fingertip and indeed discovered something unusual.
Applying slight pressure with his finger, accompanied by a soft click, a thin disguise layer peeled away.
Underneath was hidden a soft, dark-gold card etched with complex patterns resembling star charts.
"What's this..." Kairos held the card up to examine it.
Old Smoker, who had been leaning against the wall smoking silently, squinted and stepped closer.
He stared at the card for a few seconds, his hand holding the cigarette trembling slightly, his raspy voice shaking: "...It's that key... I never thought the emergency passage from the old stories would actually be real..."
"What key?"
Kairos realized this thing seemed to be crucial and immediately pressed for details.
"Long story short, it's a passage not under Alliance control that leads to the surface world.
But opening it requires a key. I once tried to track down information about this key—never expected it would turn up here."
Old Smoker briefly explained the key's significance.
"I came across this secret... by accident. Good thing it's useful today."
The surrounding people's expressions shifted.
A passage to the surface world?
Didn't that mean they could go see what the surface world was actually like now?
That said, there was still one problem.
Who would risk going up? Who would be this scout?
"Simple enough. I'll go check it out." Kairos shrugged.
"The rest of you should stay here. Wait for me. I'll go alone—smaller target, easier to bail if things go south. If the situation above is bad, better to lose just me than risk everyone together."
Elara looked at Kairos, then at the somewhat hesitant companions around her, knowing this was the most rational choice.
She nodded through the pain: "Alright, we'll wait for your news. Be extremely careful."
Before departing, Old Smoker silently walked over and pressed a palm-sized black metal device with glowing blue indicator lights into Kairos's hand.
"High-performance environmental recorder," he explained. "Record what it's really like 'up there,' measure everything. We need to see it with our own eyes."
"I'll use this recorder's transmission system to guide you to the passage location. Wait for my signal."
"Alright, I'm heading out."
Kairos nodded, pocketed the recorder, patted Axuan's shoulder, and turned to leave.
Soon, following Old Smoker's directions, he found a dark entrance to an abandoned pipeline. He opened the cover and slipped inside.
The journey through the passage was long and claustrophobic. The ground beneath his feet was slippery and the air stale.
Fortunately, after walking for a while, a trace of unusual light finally appeared ahead.
And blocking his path was an iron door dozens of meters high!
Kairos stopped before that massive circular sealed gate.
Centuries of rust and humid conditions made this door, forged from special alloy, look extraordinarily ancient.
Many vines had burrowed into the metal's crevices, almost merging with the door itself.
The door had no visible keyhole or control panel, only a vague outline of a groove covered in grime at its center.
He took a deep breath and retrieved the dark-gold card from his inner pocket, then wiped away the filth from the central groove, revealing equally complex and precise engravings beneath.
"Looks like a perfect match. Should work."
As Kairos slowly brought the key close, the patterns on the card actually resonated faintly with the engravings in the groove, and the door began emitting low humming sounds!
The moment the card was fully pressed into the groove:
"Click..."
A crisp sound rang out.
Immediately after, with the key as the epicenter, streams of blue light seemed to come alive, instantly illuminating the hidden patterns inside the door and rapidly spreading outward, forming a vast stellar map.
"Hummm—"
A deep vibration came from within the door as accumulated rust and dust continuously fell.
The heavy gate didn't swing outward or inward but, accompanied by heavy and slow grinding, rotated and retracted into the wall, creating a gap large enough for passage.
Kairos walked through the opening. The metal closed behind him.
This was a continuously ascending passage with only stairs and nothing else.
He climbed step by step. After what felt like forever, an opening appeared before him.
And the moment he emerged from that opening... long-absent sunlight instantly pierced his eyes, making him instinctively squint.
An unprecedented rush of fresh air, carrying the scent of damp earth, hit his nose—so different from the stale underground air he was used to.
The scene before him left even Kairos momentarily stunned.
Towering trees formed a green canopy. Thick vines intertwined among them, completely devouring any trace of the old civilization.
Insect chirps, bird calls, and distant wild Pokémon roars wove together into a thoroughly wild symphony.
No humans. This was a world completely dominated by primitive life.
Kairos quickly hid in a giant tree's shadow and carefully observed his surroundings.
In a forest clearing, a Wyrdeer with massive bronze-colored antlers walked leisurely past.
An ancient species?
Its stride was steady, and the energy waves radiating from it far exceeded any Pokémon he'd encountered underground. Kairos estimated it was at least Gym Leader level.
Further away, a group of Great Tusks covered in rock-like shells rolled and played in a mud pit.
The largest one at the front, merely by occasionally raising its head to survey the surroundings, radiated authority and pressure.
"All ancient species. That one should be quasi-Elite level... The strength of Pokémon here..." Kairos felt a stir of surprise.
This land hadn't just recovered—it had given birth to more powerful Pokémon closer to their primitive forms, the ancient Pokémon.
If the humans from the world below came here en masse, they'd probably be treated as invaders.
He carefully took out the recorder and began documenting everything: the vast blue sky, the endless forest, these impressively powerful "natives."
These images would likely shock everyone in the underground world.
Just as he was fully focused on recording a group of Combee gathering honey, the sky's light suddenly darkened.
A terrifying presence that made his soul tremble descended without warning from above.
The surrounding air became scorching, emitting faint crackling sounds.
The forest's clamor instantly died. All Pokémon, whether the powerful Great Tusk or the group of Wyrdeer, instantly froze and dropped to the ground, not daring to make a sound.
Kairos instinctively looked up and saw a massive beast resembling a combination of saber-toothed tiger and stegosaurus, slowly appearing in a nearby clearing, its body displaying blazing flame patterns.
Visible heat waves surrounded it. Its molten-gold pupils carried an ancient, dignified aura and locked precisely onto the direction where Kairos was hiding.
Gouging Fire!
Kairos recognized this Pokémon immediately.
This was Entei's ancient form!!
His hand instantly pressed against the Rainbow Feather in his pocket, while Gengar in his shadow transmitted an extremely tense emotional response.
Facing a legendary existence like this, such caution was obviously warranted.
Kairos wasn't particularly afraid, though. After all, he had the feather as his ace in the hole.
He was just somewhat surprised to encounter another Legendary Pokémon right after arriving!
However, the anticipated attack never came.
Gouging Fire only tilted its majestic head, its gaze sweeping over Kairos, seeming to pause slightly when it sensed the Rainbow Feather's faint energy from that particular pocket.
A strange light flashed in its eyes, like curiosity, or perhaps... recognition?
It let out a deep, resonant roar that shook the ground. This sound didn't seem like the prelude to an attack but more like a warning or perhaps an inquiry.
It stared at Kairos for a few more seconds, then seemed to lose interest in investigating further.
Its massive body bounded away, quickly disappearing into the distant undergrowth.
That suffocating presence receded like a tide.
Time in this forest seemed to pause for a moment before the sounds resumed.
Kairos leaned against the tree trunk, his expression thoughtful.
This Gouging Fire was indeed a Legendary Pokémon, but its strength wasn't as overwhelming as he'd imagined.
It was probably on par with Regirock, or perhaps even slightly weaker.
The current question, though, was that it had discovered him but hadn't attacked.
Was this because the Ho-Oh feather's aura had some calming effect?
Or did it simply not have absolute hostility toward humans?
Both possibilities existed.
After all, Ho-Oh was Entei's creator, and Gouging Fire was Entei's ancient form. There had to be some connection between them.
But judging from Gouging Fire's reaction, there was no way to confirm whether it had actually sensed the feather.
However, one individual's attitude certainly didn't represent the entire ancient species population, let alone all the other powerful Pokémon on this land.
If so many humans from the underground world returned to the surface all at once, it would inevitably disrupt the ecological balance here and might even be viewed as an invasion by the ancient species.
If that were really the case, things could get messy.
Whatever.
Regardless, he'd gotten a general sense of the surface world's condition.
If Pokémon could survive here, humans should have no problem either. That was already enough to report back.
Kairos confirmed that the device on his chest was operating normally, then prepared to return the way he came.
But at that moment, a book suddenly materialized before his eyes.
The Legendary Pokémon Encyclopedia!
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