After a moment of hesitation, Cynthia slowly opened her tightly shut eyes.
What met her gaze was a blurred figure; her vision was still unfocused, making it difficult to see clearly.
Yet somehow, Cynthia felt her heartbeat subtly quicken.
Whether it was the sensation of being rescued just now or this indistinct silhouette before her eyes, both gave her an incredibly strong sense of familiarity.
She had a feeling, perhaps… just perhaps, a miracle had occurred.
As her thoughts wandered, her vision gradually sharpened.
Instinctively, she looked directly at the one who had rescued her.
Yet...
What appeared wasn't the person she had imagined, but simply a shiny Gardevoir.
"Gar!"
Seeing Cynthia's immediate disappointment, Gardevoir crossed her arms and gave a dissatisfied huff.
This human was rather rude to react this way after being rescued!
"Th...thank you for saving me."
Realizing her mistake, Cynthia forced a faint smile, quickly expressing her gratitude.
The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment.
Discovering that her rescuer was merely a Gardevoir, it took all her strength not to burst into tears on the spot.
As Cynthia slumped to the ground in a daze, the warm hand that had saved her gently rested on her shoulder again.
This time Cynthia clearly saw the shiny Gardevoir standing a short distance away, sulking motionlessly.
"The passage is collapsing, and you're still not trying to run away?"
"Were you planning to keep Zoroark company here?"
Standing behind Cynthia, Elias spoke with mild annoyance.
If Gardevoir hadn't sensed a human presence in the passage at the last moment—and if his [Mega Key Stone] hadn't lit up simultaneously—he might not have noticed Cynthia was here at all.
It had been dangerously close. The great Champion of Sinnoh had almost lost her title in a spectacularly humiliating way.
...
The familiar voice made her mind instantly go blank.
She wasn't sure if she was hearing things, or if the earlier attack had knocked her brain into confusion.
It had been centuries since this person disappeared, so suddenly seeing him beside her…
Such a thing would be unbelievable for anyone.
But...
When gentle strands of the [Power of Viridian] flowed through her shoulder, gradually healing her injured body, Cynthia once again felt her mind spin in disbelief.
She carefully turned her head, and this time she saw not the face of the shiny Gardevoir, but clearly the face that had appeared repeatedly in her dreams, keeping her awake for countless nights.
"E-Elias?"
Cynthia tentatively whispered.
Elias nodded slightly, his lips curving into a small smile.
He rarely saw Cynthia this way.
Even during her darkest, most lost moments, she had never looked so completely dazed and overwhelmed.
"A lot has happened. I'll explain everything later, alright?"
After a brief pause, Elias extended his hand toward Cynthia.
Hearing those words, Cynthia finally felt certain.
Standing right before her was truly Elias—the one who had spent those unforgettable years by her side in Hisui.
She didn't know what had happened in the interim, or if there were secrets she was unaware of, but for now, it didn't matter.
Just having Elias back was enough.
"Elias!"
She quickly stood up, rushing straight into his arms.
Once again, when she'd done something foolish, he had been the one to save her.
Caught off guard, Elias took a step back, startled by her sudden embrace.
But seeing Cynthia clutch him so tightly, clearly afraid he would disappear again, Elias didn't resist.
Meanwhile, Zoroark's expression darkened visibly as she saw Elias had rescued Cynthia.
Why?
It had already been hundreds of years—first a random Gardevoir appeared out of nowhere, and now even Cynthia from centuries ago had reappeared here?
And she even looked as young as ever…
On the other hand, Gardevoir quickly realized she had inadvertently helped Elias rescue yet another troublesome human.
She puffed her cheeks slightly, annoyed with herself for not thinking twice earlier.
Then, pointing to Giratina lying collapsed nearby, she reminded him:
"Elias, Giratina's down."
"If you don't hurry and catch it, it might escape again, you know?"
Gardevoir's reasoning was undeniably solid.
Only upon her reminder did Elias recall his primary objective in coming here.
As expected, Giratina hadn't withstood the massive explosion from the collapsing passage.
The legendary Pokémon now lay defeated, sprawled weakly on the ground in an utterly miserable state.
Hearing Gardevoir's words, Cynthia released Elias first.
"Hurry and go," she said softly, waving him off. "When we're back in the real world, you have to tell me everything that happened over these years."
While speaking, Cynthia keenly noticed Elias's clothes had changed. Gone were the garments of ancient Hisui, replaced instead with well-tailored, modern attire.
This clearly indicated he had been living in the real world for some time before seeing her again.
Although she couldn't quite understand why…why hadn't he come to find her earlier?
"Oh, by the way, Elias," Cynthia continued, smiling softly with newfound contentment. "There should be another human in the Distortion World. Did you happen to see them?"
Though she was overjoyed, she hadn't forgotten her promise to Steven and Lance.
With the passage now destroyed, Elias was their only chance of rescuing anyone trapped inside.
Elias stared blankly for a moment before uncertainly pointing to himself.
"If you're talking about the person Lance and the others were looking for...that would probably be…me?"
He looked at Cynthia questioningly.
Cynthia: ?
---
With the explosion of the passage, everyone froze in stunned disbelief.
Mew, who had been closest to the rift, hovering in mid-air, trembled slightly.
"Mew...mew?!"
Her eyes widened, staring incredulously at the vanished passageway.
She rubbed her watery eyes repeatedly, making sure she wasn't mistaken. After confirming that she had indeed seen correctly, Mew felt faintness overtaking her.
The passage...why did the passage explode...?