"Is this… a stone statue?"
Diancie looked at the Froakie statue not far away, her voice a little uncertain, murmuring to herself.
It was carved well, clearly of stone.
Yet the statue before her gave her a deeply unsettling feeling—just looking at it made a chill creep down her spine.
Unconsciously, Diancie tightened her small hands around the ore she was holding.
Driven by curiosity, she cautiously edged closer to the statue.
Sususu—
As the thick grass was pushed aside, the full form of the statue came into view.
It was indeed a Froakie, its posture slightly stretched, as if about to leap.
But…
What made Diancie instinctively take a step back was that this wasn't the only statue hidden in the grass.
She let her gaze sweep across the surroundings.
Further away stood the stone statue of a Litleo, and right beside it, what looked like a Pangoro.
And beyond them, scattered here and there, were more statues in different shapes.
Without exception, every single one bore the likeness of a Pokémon.
And all of them wore the same expressions—fear, terror, trembling hesitation.
It was summer, yet Diancie only felt wave after wave of cold rising in her chest.
Her courage had never been strong, and faced with this eerie scene before her, she could hardly bear it.
"Elias…"
"I–I think we should go back. Otherwise, her highness will start worrying…"
She gently let the grass fall back into place, whispering softly.
All of a sudden she regretted coming to the surface world. If she had known she would see something this terrifying, she might as well have stayed in the safety of the underground.
With this thought, Diancie turned, as if to retrace her steps back.
However…
At that moment, from deeper in the forest, there came a rustling sound.
The trees shook, as if something was about to break out.
In an instant, every nerve in Diancie's body tightened.
She half-squinted her eyes, stretched out one arm, and pointed the ore in her arms toward the bushes—still not forgetting to whisper:
"E–Elias… I'll protect you."
Though in truth, her actions lent those words no credibility at all.
And when a figure suddenly pushed out from the underbrush, Diancie felt her heart nearly leap from her chest.
Fortunately…
It wasn't some terrifying monster.
The Pokémon that appeared looked like a great sword, its center embedded with a gleaming, metallic shield.
Aegislash.
Recognizing it, Diancie couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
This kind of Pokémon usually had good relations with Carbink.
Whenever extra ore grew on their bodies, they often asked Aegislash to help cut it off.
Finally seeing a powerful and relatively familiar Pokémon, the corners of Diancie's lips lifted slightly.
She took a couple of quick steps forward, wanting to approach.
But in that very moment, Aegislash suddenly jolted, as if provoked, and leveled its shield straight ahead.
Diancie froze, puzzled.
In Shield Forme, Aegislash's defense was formidable.
But normally, it would never sheathe its blade like this.
Unless…
Unless it was facing an enemy far, far stronger than itself.
Boom!
The thought had barely surfaced when a violent roar tore through the forest.
Before Diancie's wide eyes, a dark-red beam of destructive energy shot out from the trees.
It struck directly against the shield Aegislash had raised.
But the defense that seemed unbreakable—at this moment—did nothing.
Two seconds later, the beam faded.
Aegislash had already become another stone statue, crashing lifelessly into the grass.
"Gudu—"
Diancie swallowed hard, her whole mind quivering.
Suddenly, she understood. She understood where all those stone statues had come from.
And the next moment, a Pokémon with a body drenched in dark red, streaked with black patterns, appeared in the sky.
From afar it looked like a monstrous bird, one that could only belong to myth.
...
In the forest.
"Somebody—somebody help!"
Diancie was running with all her might back the way she had come, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes with her tiny hands.
As expected, after finishing Aegislash, that Pokémon had fixed its gaze on her.
If she hadn't seized the moment, refusing to just stand frozen, and instead struck first to block its attack…
She too would already be among the stone statues.
Born of the ore veins she might be, but she had no wish to really become cold, lifeless stone.
Boom!
Another thunderous explosion—a dark-red beam swept so close it nearly seared her cheek.
The ground shook violently, trees along the path transforming one by one into stone pillars.
"Ugh!"
Diancie's steps faltered, and she fell hard to the ground.
She couldn't understand why sneaking out this time had led her to encounter such a terrifying Pokémon.
Her mind felt utterly blank. Her little hands clutched the ore in her arms, trembling.
The creature didn't move to chase her, but the glow building again in its maw made one thing clear—it wasn't letting her go.
And she could never outrun it. Not when she had already stumbled.
The strength to stand and flee again drained away. Instead, Diancie curled herself up tightly, turning her back to Yveltal.
At the same time, she hugged the ore in her arms even closer.
She thought herself so foolish—unable to learn how to create diamonds, and now, for her disobedience, about to pay with her life.
Only the thought that she might simply become stone, and nothing stranger, brought her the faintest comfort.
"Elias…"
Whispering the name she had given to the ore she'd found, Diancie shut her eyes tightly.
In her ears rang the shrill sound of energy tearing against the air—the prelude to the beam's release.
A second later, she felt herself engulfed.
Strangely, there was no pain. Only a warm, enveloping heat.
Yet she could feel it clearly: her body was growing sluggish, her consciousness fading.
I'm turning into a statue…
Just before all awareness vanished, Diancie thought she heard a helpless sigh.
As though scolding her for her foolishness.
The next moment, she was enfolded in a soft embrace.
Curiously, it held no warmth at all.
But at that instant, the creeping stiffness in her body came to a halt.
This must be an illusion, she thought. Because when she reflexively opened her eyes, what she saw before her was a human boy.
Bathed in the dark-red glow, he filled her entire vision.
Her mind went utterly blank.
Crack—
Until, from within her arms, came the sound of the ore breaking apart.