Prologue

  In the dimly lit laboratory, the air was saturated with the hum of machinery and the smell of chemicals. The room was large and wide, littered with electronic equipment, with a high ceiling and sterile white walls that glowed under the harsh fluorescent light from the center of the room.

  A group of scientists – dressed in uniforms similar to a doctor's scrubs but high-necked and foot-long – hovered around a huge crystal. Masks and protective headgear concealed their faces as they worked on it with delicate-looking instruments.

  The mineral itself was a marvel to behold: it towered over that handful of individuals and was amber-like in color with some shades of yellow, with a smooth surface shimmering with an otherworldly glow that seemed to pulsate from within. The sharp, jagged edges cast intricate shadows and plays of light that reverberated on the floor and inside the room.

  Directly above it, in a room surrounded by glass windows that gave a full view of the entire laboratory, a figure with thick brown hair and dressed in a long walnut-colored coat observed with keen interest what was taking place before his eyes. Next to him was a bipedal creature in shades of purple and blue, with a wild and voluminous mane. A sinister grin painted itself on the man’s face as his gaze darted from one scientist to another, waiting for them to reveal the arcane secrets the artifact held.

  ?Sir,? someone behind him called. The man turned to see a woman with long peach-colored hair tied back in a ponytail. A white blouse and skirt enwrapped her slender, shapely physique. She adjusted her shiny-rimmed glasses and resumed speaking. ?Agent Saber has successfully completed his assigned task and is now awaiting further instructions.? In her left hand she clutched a square-shaped object, a red leather-bound agenda.

  The creature growled as if annoyed, but a single gesture from the man was enough for it to be silenced, before he went back to staring complacently at the scene below.

  ?Excellent, my dear,? he then replied. His voice was low and intimidating. ?Saber has proven to be a valuable asset to our organization.Your suggestion to have him join our ranks turned out to be more fruitful than I expected.?

  The secretary breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for the praise. ?Thank you, sir. Do you need anything else??

  The man shook his head. ?Not for the moment, no. You have permission to take your leave.?

  ?As you wish, sir.?

  When the door closed behind her, the individual headed towards his desk. ?Everything is going according to plan, don't you agree, Norsken?? A guttural sound spread through the room, almost as if that being with a hunched posture had just responded to him. With the golden eyes typical of a ravenous predator, the creature followed its master as he sat down and clasped his hands in front of him. ?It's surprising how easy it is to manipulate events in your favor.? The man continued to address that being as if it were a real confidant. ?However, you and I know well how this alone isn't enough, that we need to triple our efforts, and yet here I am, attracted like a bug by its evanescent light, one step away from what I have fought so hard for and would guarantee the achievement of my goal. You think so too, don't you??

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

  The creature nodded slightly, maintaining an impassive expression as it listened to its master's words.

  ?You know,? the man continued, ?that cyclically our world gives birth to deviant men, mafiosi, failed despots, attention-sick entrepreneurs and sadistic murderers, and every time it happens all their plans are portrayed as deplorable and their profiles tainted with infamy. The Pokemon world crushes and forgets them by proclaiming themselves as the so-called good guys and preserving the status quo prior to them.? He pointed with his index finger at his comrade. ?This world is ruled by a corrupt society that bases everything on the struggle and supremacy of the victor, leaving the vanquished and those unable to keep up to wallow in their own failures. A land gluttonous for pain can only give birth from time to time to beings in its image and likeness, but when these too conspicuous flowers bloom.?

  The man briefly closed his hand into a fist as the creature continued to observe him. ?We must hurry to trample them down and eradicate them, or the play is likely to break down and we would realize that the deviants and madmen are nothing more than the children of a putrid world that first gives birth to them and then despises them because they represent it all too much.? He raised the tone of his voice. ?What has happened recently in Johto and Unova, as well as the disaster that struck this region not long ago, have opened my eyes, making me realize what the human race itself represents. We aren’t the good guys, heroes, or whatever other righteous and benevolent epithets we want to be given. No! We are nothing but vile and hypocritical beings, parasites who consume and destroy everything in our path purely for the sake of doing so.?

  The man rose to his feet, slamming both hands vigorously on the top of the desk. The creature stared at him intently as if fully understanding his words or the thoughts that were being exposed ?This is why I came here,? the man concluded. His lips twisted into a satisfied smile. ?Soon I will change the world so that history will be rewritten and follow the proper natural order. Soon I will grant mankind its well-deserved epilogue!?

  The creature opened its jaws, showing its sharp white fangs, emitting a sound similar to a proud roar.

  ***

  In the silence of a forest, broken only by the chirping of insects and the distant lapping of water, a solitary figure knelt before a small altar covered with moss and roots, as if it had been there since time immemorial.

  Moonlight filtered through the foliage, barely illuminating the ancient carvings on the rubble. A sharp odor of incense and dried flowers wafted through the air as the young man clutched the sleeve of his leaf-colored coat, not because of the cold, but because of the strange sensation that bit at his skin.

  From his right pocket, without uttering a sound or a word, he removed a small object—a pendant of black stone, chipped at the edges, as if it had been torn from something much larger.

  He placed it at the foot of the structure, then slowly stood up on his legs, remaining for a few moments to silently observe the object that shone with a light of its own.

  ?I won't forget what you have done, nor what I have lost? he then murmured in a firm voice. ?Wherever you hide…whatever target you have set your claws on…I will find you…And the moment I look you straight in the eyes…you will know what terror is…At that moment, you will pay for every last sin.?

  At that very moment, the wind began to blow furiously, shaking the trees like twigs and whipping the young man's jacket and his long, unkempt black hair, which made him wake up from those thoughts as if it had heard those words and was urging him to set off.

  A lightning exploded above him, tearing the sky like a sharp blade and illuminating his tall and slender figure like a daylight, as he remained motionless and impassive to that succession of events, followed by a deep rumble, more intense even than the gusts themselves.

  And as soon as he moved, the rain then began to fall heavily, almost like tears, wetting his face as he gradually moved deeper into the bush.