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Chapter 76 – Discoveries and Unown
🕑 Added 2025-02-01 15:05:26 +0000 UTCChapter 76 – Discoveries and Unown
Upon entering, Asahi found himself in a vast, empty hall.
One wall had been destroyed, exposing the interior to the open ocean. The remaining three walls bore abstract murals.
On the leftmost mural, a large group of small human figures were depicted along the edges. Moving toward the center, the figures appeared to represent a hierarchy, with a priest-like figure and a king standing at the heart, holding a feather together.
Asahi aimed the camera at the mural. "Professor Oak, Professor Sakuragi, can you see this clearly?"
"Shhh… Yes… this looks like an ancient… ritual… Shhh…"
Their voices were breaking up due to interference, but Asahi understood their general meaning.
Turning his attention to the second mural, the scene became much more chaotic.
The mural was filled with symbols of lightning and stormy winds. A city was depicted in the center, surrounded by towering waves. Stick-figure humans and their Pokémon were huddled in the middle, hands clasped in prayer.
Among the Pokémon, Asahi could vaguely make out Pikachu and Chansey, but the others were too abstract to recognize.
It seemed to depict a city under attack, with people and Pokémon praying for salvation.
"Shhh… Shhh…"
The communicator crackled even more violently this time, making it impossible for Asahi to hear anything clearly.
But that didn’t matter—the footage was being recorded. They could analyze it later.
Moving on to the third mural, the protagonist finally appeared.
A large, stylized Lugia dominated the top half of the painting. The symbols of lightning and storms had vanished, and the waters were calm once more. Below, the humans and Pokémon joined hands in celebration.
A single feather drifted down from the sky.
With this, Asahi realized he had been viewing the murals in the wrong order. The correct sequence should have been 2 → 3 → 1.
However…
"Isn’t this Lugia way too big…?" Asahi muttered.
Compared to the humans depicted below, the Lugia in the mural was far larger than even a Wailord compared to a Magikarp.
"Shhh… Ancient civilizations often… exaggerate… for their deities… don’t be surprised… Shhh…"
Professor Oak’s voice came through, distorted but understandable.
"I see. I’ve finished recording the murals. I’ll proceed to the next room."
With that, Asahi led Dragonair and Dragonite deeper into the ruins.
---
Unlike the damaged hall, the next room was completely intact.
Since sunlight couldn’t penetrate, the interior was dim.
More importantly, there was zero signal reception. No matter how many times Asahi tried, he couldn’t contact Professor Oak.
"Guess I’m on my own…"
Refocusing on the room, the first thing that caught Asahi’s eye was the altar in the center.
According to Green, this was where she had found the Silver Feather.
Swimming closer, Asahi examined the altar and confirmed it was made of stone.
A feather-shaped indentation sat atop it, likely meant to hold the Silver Feather. Since Green had taken it, the slot was empty.
Out of curiosity, Asahi placed the Silver Feather back into the slot and waited.
…Nothing happened.
He even tried inserting the Rainbow Feather, but still, nothing.
"Maybe the Silver Feather isn’t a key after all… or perhaps the ruins’ mechanisms have long since deteriorated, with only the feather remaining intact due to Lugia’s power."
Asahi considered the ruined structures outside and reached his own conclusion.
Turning to the walls, he saw strange symbols covering the surface—just as Green had described.
However, after a closer look, he noticed that some characters were subtly different from the others.
He took out his phone and photographed the entire wall.
Approaching it, Asahi reached out and touched one of the characters.
The moment his hand made contact—
The once motionless character suddenly opened its eyes.
"As expected, it’s Unown!"
Asahi watched as the startled Unown floated free, clearly confused by his presence.
He quickly released the power of Verdant Aura to soothe it.
Sensing the calming energy, Unown relaxed and curiously studied Asahi.
"Can you tell me what this place is?" he asked, attempting to communicate.
Unown blinked, seemingly confused by his words.
"Figures…"
Asahi wasn’t too surprised.
After all, these Unown had been dormant in the ruins for countless years. It made sense that communication would be difficult.
Setting aside the Unown that was now floating around him, Asahi continued his exploration.
After a thorough search, he discovered a chest buried beneath a pile of rocks in a corner.
If he hadn’t been so meticulous, he might never have noticed it.
The metal lock had long since rusted, crumbling at the slightest pull.
Inside, he found three items:
A fossilized Pokémon egg, a piece of unknown black metal, and an ancient crown that looked fragile enough to crumble at a touch.
Asahi examined the fossilized egg with Verdant Aura—it was a "dead" egg. The only hope of reviving it would be through fossil restoration technology.
The crown appeared to be a King’s Rock, a rare item. Ancient relics like this were far more valuable than the mass-produced versions found today.
"But this black metal… it hasn’t rusted despite being submerged for centuries?"
Asahi tried to lift it—
And failed.
"Huh? Why is this so heavy?!"
Using both hands, he finally managed to pick it up. This fist-sized metal chunk had to weigh at least several dozen kilograms.
He handed it to Dragonite to carry and stored the fossil egg and King’s Rock in his bag.
Just as he turned to leave—
He froze.
Because floating before him—
Was a massive swarm of over a hundred Unown, all staring at him.
