Once the passage had been stabilized, Dialga and Palkia were immediately driven away by Giratina.
Under Elias's watchful gaze, Giratina then swiftly slipped into the newly formed rift.
"Elias, it's inside," Gardevoir whispered gently, standing close beside him.
Elias glanced over at her.
Her delicate face was serious, attentive as always, with nothing apparently unusual about it.
But her choice of words just now… sounded somewhat odd.
"Ahem." Elias cleared his throat lightly before addressing Gardevoir and Zoroark:
"Let's go. It's time to collapse the passage, just as planned."
The instantaneous collapse of a bridge connecting two worlds would release an immense surge of energy—even Giratina wouldn't withstand such a blow unscathed.
At his order, Zoroark and Gardevoir rushed toward the rift without hesitation.
Elias followed closely, teleporting to catch up.
They stopped simultaneously, maintaining a cautious distance from the unstable passage, feeling the chaotic energies spilling out from within.
"Stay back, Elias," Zoroark warned softly, her voice filled with concern.
She worried the blast from destroying the passage might harm him.
Elias nodded in agreement, stepping back to a safer position, leaving the task entirely in their hands.
With Elias now safe, Zoroark and Gardevoir focused their attention fully.
Raising their hands, two massive attacks formed rapidly in the air—a dark, menacing orb alongside a glowing, moonlit sphere.
[Shadow Ball]
[Moonblast]
The two attacks swiftly intensified, the raw power building fiercely, crackling the air around them.
Even from afar, Elias could clearly sense their devastating force.
The air itself vibrated with intensity, and at precisely the right moment—
BOOM—!
They hurled the two attacks forward simultaneously.
Black and white streaks raced through the air, slamming directly into the edge of the space rift.
Crack!
A sharp sound like shattering glass echoed clearly throughout the area.
It worked.
Elias watched the scene with quiet satisfaction.
As expected, Zoroark and Gardevoir's combined power easily destabilized the fragile passage.
And Giratina was undoubtedly still trapped inside.
With the tunnel collapsing, massive waves of energy surged outward.
Piece by piece, the passage rapidly crumbled, disintegrating from its far end inward.
Inside, Giratina sensed danger immediately.
Desperately, it tried to speed through the tunnel, racing to reach the real world in time.
If it could just reach the other side safely, its escape would still be a success.
But Giratina's desperate movements inadvertently caught Cynthia's attention on the other side.
Noticing the fissures rapidly spreading through the passage, Cynthia quickly understood what was happening.
Her eyes narrowed sharply, and her previously fading hope reignited fiercely.
"Garchomp, stop it!" Cynthia commanded without hesitation.
She knew this attempt could be fatal, but if it meant dragging Giratina down with her, she would fulfill her original goal.
"Graaar!"
Garchomp roared defiantly, her claws glowing green with [Dragon Claw] as she charged bravely at Giratina.
Boom!
Once again, the collision played out as before—
Garchomp was pushed back, shaking her numb claws painfully.
As expected, the damage inflicted was minimal.
But this time…it was enough.
Giratina's rush forward was slowed, if only for a few precious moments.
But in those critical seconds, the passage around Giratina crumbled completely.
Violent storms of distorted space and time crashed around Giratina, tearing mercilessly at its scales, inflicting pain it hadn't felt in a long time.
This agony…
It even felt more excruciating than Arceus's [Judgment].
Damn it! Giratina cursed bitterly in its heart.
It couldn't fathom why this reckless human was willing to sacrifice herself just to stall it.
But one thing was clear—Giratina had lost this time, utterly and completely.
Not even it could withstand the force of the collapsing passage.
Before blacking out, Giratina cast a final, hateful glance at Cynthia.
Without a miracle, she'd meet the same fate soon enough.
No, given a human's frail body, she wouldn't survive this at all.
Even Garchomp likely wouldn't escape unharmed.
That thought was Giratina's sole consolation.
Its consciousness faded rapidly, swallowed by darkness as it collapsed unconscious into the collapsing tunnel.
Almost simultaneously, Cynthia felt the devastating energies surge toward her.
She managed a faint smile upon seeing Giratina's battered form.
It wasn't dead, only severely wounded; without interference, Giratina would surely recover within days.
But…
This was the best she could do.
In the end, she wasn't Elias—this was her absolute limit.
Cynthia closed her eyes in resignation, bracing herself for the impending pain.
Yet…
One second, two seconds…
Several seconds passed without the slightest pain.
Instead, she felt something unexpected—a warm hand placed gently on her shoulder.
At that moment, a strange yet familiar sensation filled Cynthia's heart.
When she had first arrived in Hisui, plunging helplessly into that icy lake, the sensation had been just like this.
That hand's warmth seemed to pass through her skin, flooding her entire body with reassurance.
Tentatively, Cynthia opened her eyes again.
Before her stood a blurry yet intimately familiar figure.