The morning breeze was cool and brisk. A short reprieve before the summer heat would begin to bake the landscape. The short, brown grasses had been chomped away by some Pokémon, and the stone-lined dirt road leading north cut a course through the growth.

  They had been sleeping off to the side of the road for several days now; letting Lucien hunt them food that they cooked over an open flame. Corina’s Corviknight had also acquired some game for them, and they ate very well the roasted, succulent, fatty meat.

  Zarius came to as Lucien nudged his foot. “Hey. Wake up.”

  He rolled over in the slight hollow beneath a tree they had slept in. Neither had bed rolls, but that didn’t matter much. Zarius had been sleeping on a stone slab bed most of his life, and Corina seemed used to rough living as well. He let his gaze linger on her nude form, tracing a finger along her chest and eliciting a shiver from her. “Herald, wake.”

  Her eyes immediately snapped open and locked onto his. The deep, steel-grey irises had the faintest hue of crimson to them – a mark of their power. “Lord Zarius, is it morning already?”

  Zarius smirked gripped her chest firmly, eliciting a small gasp from her. “It is.” He got up and began dressing.

  She frowned, “So cruel, getting me worked up and expecting like that.” There was a mock hurt to her voice, in a playful way.

  Zarius shrugged, “Let the anticipation build so the release is all the sweeter later. Just how a rich, full life is capped off with the final culmination of demise. Pleasure, death, entwined.”

  “Lord Zarius, I never took you for a poet.”

  “I’m not one. Come, we travel.” He looked over to Lucien who was soaked in blood. “Been out hunting all night?”

  He nodded and grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. “Yes. Good hunting. Lots of small game. Including a Turtwig that was very upset at seeing me for some reason. But, it is a pup for its kind, so I just slaughtered its parents and let it be.”

  “A righteous culling,” they replied. The wildlife had been abundant, and Yveltal had explained as they traveled that it was a side effect of Xerneas’ current dominance in the cycle.

  “Creatures can still die,” he had said, “But life has a stronger pull on the cycle right now.”

  Corina got dressed and both Trainers made their way to the road, Zarius casually tossing Lucien’s Apricorn at the Pokémon as he vanished in a shimmer of black, the object flying back to Zarius’ hand to be socketed into his bandolier.

  The day grew hotter and Zarius’ mood grew ever more miserable. He felt on-edge, and the desire to get out of the heat was ever present. Corina was using her wings to shield the both from the sun’s rays, but the ground radiated the warmth back to the duo. This is why I liked the mountains, he thought. Nice and cold up there. All the time.

  “Perhaps we should swap Types.”

  Come again?

  “Just as we can swap out Moves with eight hours of meditation, we can change between our Types with the same amount of time spent in focus. Four hours, if the appropriate Pokémon is present. Dark will always be active, as one cannot change their first Type – and ours is bound by divinity. But Ghost can be swapped for Fire, given Evelyn’s types.”

  By meditate, as long as I remain calm and relatively empty-minded.

  “Yes. We could do it during this walk.”

  Zarius grabbed Evelyn’s Apricorn, but did not throw it. Does her being in here and on my person count as being nearby.

  “Yes.” Yveltal sounded quite smug, “A loophole from ancient times when the first Trainer Pacts were forged and Arceus was not quite too specific with his wording.”

  Zarius focused on the road ahead and tried to clear his mind. Listening to the rustling of the hot wind through the baking grass, the heat waves rising off of the dirt road. The small eddies of chaff and pollen escaping its confines. The environment was peaceful, and he was acutely aware of Corina’s presence – her scent a constant, comforting balm to his mind. The sound of her slight sighs and huffs in the heat reminding him of their passions.

  Clear your mind, he thought as he tried to refocus on the road ahead. Pushing all other thoughts out of his mind except for being present, and facing forward.

  The hours passed onward, and the duo headed to the tree line to get out of the sun and eat their remaining smoked meat in the shadowy boughs. As Zarius began to open his pack, still in a calm, state of Zen-focus, he saw the language of the gods appear before him.

  -----

  [Do you wish to change Moves?]

  -----

  “No,” Zarius whispered.

  -----

  [Do you wish to change Types?”]

  -----

  “Yes,” he replied.

  -----

  [Current Types: Divine Dark, Divine Death, Ghost]

  [Available Types: Fire]

  [Designate which Available Type you wish to swap with Ghost.]

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  -----

  “Fire,” he stated.

  -----

  [Confirmed.]

  [Current Types: Divine Dark, Divine Death, Fire.]

  -----

  Zarius saw the flickering, purple flames along his elbows and knees turn to a deep crimson flecked with red sparks. They did not exude heat, and he saw his cloak billow ever-so-slightly as they carried some level of substance. The summer heat near instantly faded and he felt quite cool.

  Corina ran her hand along his forearm, “You’re a lot warmer now.” She reached down below his belt and wriggled her hand into his pants, “Down here, too. That’ll feel amazing.”

  Zarius chuckled as he pulled out the smoked meat and fed Corina strip of the meal, before locking lips with her around the morsel and sharing it. This quickly devolved to them ripping each other’s clothes off and going at each other like animals rutting in heat.

  The next few days passed smoothly. Aside from a small detour to the river to bathe and clean off their clothes so they would be somewhat presentable to other travelers – which did happen a few times. A handful of people walking the opposite direction with Pokémon hauling carts – mostly full of crops and other trade goods.

  And those carts gave a wide berth to the two trainers. When Zarius asked Corina about it, she was a fount of information and sounded quite enthused to give her new god the knowledge he sought. “I’ve mentioned before that Trainers get more wild and untamed the longer we’re away from non-Trainers. It’s worse when its just us and our Pokémon. If we’re out here with another Trainer, then the effect is staved off for longer. I’d imagine they gave us a wide berth because Trainers can be dangerous.”

  “Not untrue,” they replied. “We are quite dangerous.”

  Corina gripped his arm and squeezed tightly, “That we are.”

  Zarius turned his attention inward and asked Yveltal, We have multiple Types. More than two. And two of them are divine. Explain.

  “Death is a Type that used to exist more broadly, but it does not anymore. Those Pokémon Types have been culled as they were too harmful to the environment and life in general. The same with Life as a Type. Some powers were not meant to be in the hands of non-legendaries.”

  And Divine?

  “Divine is just a classification. It sets the gods apart from the non-legendary Pokémon. For example, Ho-oh has the Divine Fire Type.”

  We have three active types though. Death, Dark, and either Fire or Ghost – all active at the same time. How does that work?

  Yveltal chuckled, “Death and Dark are as intrinsic to us as blood to a mortal. Technically, as a Trainer, you are three types at once – Death, Dark, and either Fire or Ghost. If you were, say, the chosen of Celebi, you would be Time, Psychic, and Grass – even though Time is no longer a Type that exists among non-legendary Pokémon.”

  That makes sense. Will we ever get Death Type moves?

  “Eventually. Level 20 and onward.”

  Zarius grinned as the idea of a Move that brought death in a more immediate and hopefully gory fashion filled him with a sense of motivation to gain power all the quicker. He looked over to Corina, “Let’s make haste.”

  A few hours later the duo spotted a small collection of buildings off to the side of the road, up against a tall hill. The top of the hill had a single, solitary tower that had a burning, blue light atop it. A single set of stone stairs wound their way up to the tower, and down into the small cluster of buildings. An inn, with an adjoining stable, a barn, a small herb garden, and a shop.

  Corina pointed to the tower, “That looks interesting. And it’s night. Let’s sleep in a bed.”

  “Agreed,” Zarius replied. They made course for the well-lit tavern made of large, wood planks and with a delightful series of scents wafting out. Spices, sweet perfume, and the scent of flowers which were a fragrance that Zarius had not smelled much of. He made his way to the door and pushed it open.

  Inside the atmosphere was cheery. A group of four people was sitting at a table to the left; people who looked like road-weary travelers. They glanced at Zarius and Corina but did not lower their conversation’s volume or give any more notice than the initial look.

  The barkeep waved them over. A large man with broad shoulders and a bit of a gut. “Ah, Trainers! Here to stay the night?”

  “Yes,” Zarius replied as he walked up to the counter. “What’s the tower on the hill?”

  “Ah. Figured that’s why you were here,” he was cheery and he pulled out two steins before filling them from a tap and setting them on the counter. Corina sat next to Zarius and took a cautious sip before greedily sucking down the liquid.

  Zarius sipped his and tasted the bitter bite which was sense-clearing given his long duration on the road. “Is it the Mystery Dungeon?”

  “Aye, it is,” the man replied as he pulled out a rag, and began wiping down the top of the small shelf behind the bar. “Many Trainers come from all around. Only one of two in the whole kingdom! Makes me a nice little penny here. That, and the general good store my son runs. It’ll be open in the morning.”

  “What can you tell us about it?” Corina asked. “I only know from passer-by and secondhand knowledge.”

  The man leaned forward on the counter and twisted his small mustache slightly, “Ah? Want the long version, or the short version? If it’s a story you want, well, you’ll need to buy dinner!”

  Zarius reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a gold coin. “What’ll this get us?”

  “Night’s rest, food, drink, and hot baths.” The man swiped the coin and gave them a wink. “Back in a jiffy with some food. Meat okay?”

  “Yes,” Corina replied as Zarius licked his teeth.

  The man left through a back door and returned a minute later with two plates, heaped with fresh bread, butter with honey mixed throughout, a roast Bird Type Pokémon that Zarius didn’t know nor care to know about – as the spices and herbs crusting the meal were far more luxurious than their simple roasted meat meals. Zarius washed down the first bite with the ale, and that gave him a newfound appreciation for the liquid as it paired together wonderfully, the flavors and scents dancing on his senses.

  “Well now,” the barkeep said as he lit up a pipe and blew the sweet-smelling smoke up to the rafters. “Let’s do it the way my pops told it. Once, a long time ago…”

  Back in the first age of the world, after it was fully created, formed, the landmasses and oceans split, and the legendaries rose to their position under Arceus’ watchful gaze; they began to create.

  Palkia, the god of space, and Mew, the god of life, chose to create monuments to the spirit of competition. The Mystery Dungeons. Victini had a hand in arranging the collaborative creation.

  Infinitely respawning, constantly changing each time one entered; a unique instance that a single person could challenge. It would create obstacles; puzzles, traps, combat encounters with phantasmal-yet-real Pokémon and people. A means for a regular human to show their worth and gain items of power. Or, a means for them to gain the attention or notice of a deity.

  For Trainers, however, the lure was endless Experience, as the Mystery Dungeon would scale to their level and provide adequate challenge. However, once a Trainer had cleared the Mystery Dungeon, they had to wait a month before doing it again. They could leave mid-attempt, which would reset the entire run. Injury and death would and had occurred in the Dungeons before; there was no safety system in place, no guard rails.

  There were two such dungeons in each region that were known of, with rumors of more scattered across the world in wayward locations. The more remote, the greater the danger and the reward.

  “…Anyways, I’ve never been in there myself. My family has run this small place for generations. Nice business for travelers, sellswords, and Trainers trying to beat the Dungeon.” He pointed to a very well concealed, but once pointed out, visible, chalk board with names and times listed. “We also keep a leaderboard of sorts. See who can clear the Dungeon the fastest for bragging rights.”

  Zarius had finished his meal during the man’s tale, and Corina was nibbling the last few bones. “I think we’ll attempt it tomorrow,” he said feeling the battle-lust rise up. “Rooms?” he asked.

  The man reached under the counter and set a key down, “Third door on the left. Nice big bed for the two of you youngins. Just try not to scream too much,” he gave them a wink and then walked from behind the bar to deliver more cups to the other patrons.

  Zarius glanced at Corina who set the bone down, and taking her hand went upstairs to their room. Once inside, he threw her onto the mattress, closing the door behind him.