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Before Kael evolved into Machoke, his soul had already possessed qualities foreign to this world.
But back then, his strength had simply been too limited.
There was nothing about him that truly warranted the attention of a planetary-scale consciousness.
That changed the moment he received Tapu Koko's final gift.
As a legendary Pokémon that had protected its region's natural balance for centuries, Tapu Koko had never truly left Gaia's awareness.
Yet under the spread of the Nightmare Seed, Gaia could no longer intervene directly or offer meaningful support.
When Tapu Koko sacrificed itself to seal the Ultra Wormhole, the one who inherited its unfinished will was Kael.
And that inheritance did not go unnoticed.
From Gaia's perspective, Kael's promise was not an impulsive declaration made in desperation.
It was a deliberate choice.
One made after reflection and acceptance.
At the same time, Gaia perceived something else.
Kael's soul did not belong to this world.
It was untouched by the Nightmare Seed, resistant to corruption, and shaped by circumstances far beyond normal probability.
Potential layered upon potential.
In a world already collapsing under ecological failure, Gaia realized something unsettling.
This outsider soul, suspended between reality and something beyond it, might be the last viable variable left.
And so, at the moment when the fate of the planet began to tilt irreversibly toward collapse, Kael became the key variable.
Not through power.
Not through authority.
But through possibility.
Gaia formed a connection.
Not something physical.
Not something measurable.
A bond rooted in probability, causality, and outcome.
In Kael's previous world, beings touched by such influence had many names.
Chosen One.
World Axis.
Fate Bearer.
Different terms across countless stories, all describing the same phenomenon.
An individual whose luck defied death.
Whose presence distorted the flow of events.
Whose actions, intentionally or not, bent the trajectory of the world around them.
Now, because of the uniqueness of his soul and the severity of this world's collapse, Kael had become exactly that.
The sole focus of Gaia's attention.
The true convergence point of this broken world.
Or, put simply—
Its protagonist.
From this point forward, as long as Kael remained in this world, any event capable of influencing its fate would inevitably intersect with him.
Disasters or miracles.
Hope or catastrophe.
He would be pulled into them all.
Given the reins, whether he wanted them or not.
For Kael, this meant danger would only increase.
But at the same time, opportunities capable of accelerating his growth would emerge just as relentlessly.
Of course, Kael knew none of this.
All he sensed was that the abnormal experience gained from defeating Guzzlord likely involved Gaia's interference.
"...Great."
Kael sighed softly and rubbed his temple.
A quiet frustration crept into his expression.
He had the distinct feeling that the days of quietly hiding in safe zones like Ignis City were over.
Under Gaia's gaze, inaction was no longer an option.
If he failed to meaningfully slow the world's destruction, consequences would follow.
Severe ones.
"But where do I even start?"
Kael let himself fall backward onto the cold concrete, arms spreading out unconsciously.
The rough texture of gravel and dust pressed against his skin, but he barely noticed.
His empty gaze drifted upward.
Above him, yellow-brown sandstorms churned violently beneath heavy, polluted clouds.
From Kael's perspective, the collapse of this world stemmed from two primary causes.
The first was obvious.
Nightmare Pokémon.
The Nightmare Seed had stripped countless Pokémon of reason, turning them into creatures driven only by hunger and destruction.
Ironically, humanity's fall had removed nature's original greatest threat.
But the ecosystem that once balanced itself through adaptation was now irreparably broken.
For Kael, the only realistic response was to eliminate Nightmare Pokémon wherever he encountered them.
Yet compared to their overwhelming numbers, his efforts were insignificant.
A drop in the ocean.
Unless he possessed power on the level of legendary beings capable of rewriting space and time, this alone could never save the world.
And that level of strength was far beyond what his current body could ever reach in this life.
Which left the second cause.
Ultra Beasts.
From Kael's understanding, Ultra Beasts were an even more immediate threat to planetary survival than Nightmare Pokémon.
Guzzlord alone was proof enough.
Left unchecked, it could reduce an entire city to a lifeless wasteland in a matter of days.
Its endless hunger and corrosive fluids devastated soil, infrastructure, and biosystems alike.
And Guzzlord was not the worst of its kind.
Ultra Wormholes, the gateways that brought these creatures into the world, were not anomalies caused by the Nightmare Seed.
They were natural phenomena.
Which meant they were not going away.
Even if clusters like Aether City were rare, isolated wormholes were still likely appearing elsewhere.
In the past, human organizations had pushed Ultra Beasts back.
Now, with humanity barely surviving, those restraints were gone.
Ultra Beasts could invade freely, draining what little life remained on the planet.
And not every legendary Pokémon would choose sacrifice the way Tapu Koko had.
Worse still, powerful legendaries that succumbed fully to the Nightmare Seed would become catastrophes far exceeding even Ultra Beasts.
Kael pushed himself to his feet, dusting debris from his body.
Without choosing a specific direction, he began walking out of the ruins.
Compared to Nightmare Pokémon, Ultra Beasts were fewer.
But far deadlier.
Eliminating them might actually change something.
"…That counts as saving the world, right?"
As for where to go next, Kael wasn't worried.
He had the distinct feeling that he wouldn't need to choose.
Gaia would guide him.
Whether gently.
Or by force.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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