Chapter 217: A Perfect Ending, in a Way
At the end of League Year 49, the sky was veiled by gray clouds, and a light, drizzling snow was falling.
Will's fingertip lightly touched a Time Flower.
The bud bloomed.
The scene before his eyes changed. Liz was kneeling beside his tombstone, tidying the flowers.
Huff... It was just a few simple motions, but she was utterly exhausted.
"Haha." Will grinned. He wasn't laughing at Liz; he was in the same state himself. You really can't fight old age.
Liz shifted, leaning back against his tombstone and gazing quietly at the sky.
After a long moment, she spoke softly, "Lan, come with me somewhere." Her eyelids seemed heavy, her eyes filled with weariness and time.
Will turned to look at the phantom Liz, his pupils trembling. He realized what this meant.
"Alright. Let's go together." Will pressed his lips together, looked up at the gray sky with her, and let out a long, warm breath.
The two old figures struggled to their feet. Liz's phantom moved on first.
But Will... he planned to say one final goodbye.
He slowly shuffled out of the flower garden. Meowscarada was crouching on the grass, quietly staring at a blade of grass. In the past six months, she had become more and more silent.
Because she could feel it.
Will's life force was getting weaker and weaker.
"If I just leave you like this, you'll be heartbroken," Will murmured, shaking his head. He walked over.
Hearing his footsteps, Meowscarada stood up. "Mrow?"
"Meowscarada, I have to go." Will stepped forward and gently hugged the big cat.
"Mrow..." Meowscarada's eyes lowered. She didn't seem surprised.
"I'm sorry. This time, I can't let you follow me. And..." Will held out a Poké Ball to her. "If you meet a Trainer you like, give this to them."
It was her Friend Ball.
Hearing this, Meowscarada's eyes instantly turned red. She ducked her head, and tears fell, drop by drop. She had clearly expected this. She thought she was prepared. But when the moment actually came, she still couldn't control her emotions.
"I've already told you everything I need to say, so I won't repeat myself." Will pressed his lips together, raised his hand, and gently rubbed Meowscarada's head. "You are the proof that I lived. So, please... live on for me, too. Otherwise, I'll be very worried."
Meowscarada's shoulders trembled. She sniffled, still staring at the grass.
Will looked at the big cat before him, leaned in, and lightly kissed her forehead.
Then, he turned and walked away.
[When you say goodbye, you must leave no regrets.]
Will's words reappeared in her mind.
She looked up at Will's shrinking figure, wiped her eyes, cupped her paws around her mouth, and shouted through her tears:
"I'll sing loudly in the future, for lots and lots of people to hear!"
"I'll go to the Orange Academy, but I'll only ever call you 'Dad'!"
"I'll eat properly! I won't be picky! I'll eat everything!"
"I'll bathe every day, and I'll learn to brush my fur myself!"
"Even when things are hard, I won't give up! I'll always keep going!"
"And... and... I'm the best at making friends! I'll make friends with everyone!"
"I'll get plenty of sleep every day! And I can tell right from wrong!"
"Anyway... everything you asked, Dad, I'll work hard to do it! I'll become an even better Pokémon than you! I promise I will!"
"So..."
Meowscarada frantically wiped her eyes, choking on her sobs, but she used her last bit of strength to shout:
"You don't have to worry about me at all... I'll live a good life!!"
Will, walking slowly into the distance, did not stop.
He did not turn back.
He didn't want Meowscarada to see his expression. Crying and smiling at the same time...
It must look awful.
"I love you! Dad!"
"...I love you, too."
Will murmured, and kept walking.
Only when he was very far away did he dare to look back. Meowscarada was kneeling on the ground, wailing, her face a pitiful mess.
In Will's eyes, she was still just as she was when she was born. A tiny Sprigatito, small enough to cup in his palm. So very cute.
He reluctantly pulled his gaze away.
Will turned and headed south. With the help of the Time Flowers, he followed Liz's phantom southwest.
Their pace was slow. Both Will and Liz's phantom walked very slowly. They walked by day and slept by night. In the blink of an eye, five or six days passed.
It was the beginning of League Year 50.
Exactly one thousand years had passed since Liz's death.
Will felt he had reached his limit. He probably wouldn't last until the next sunrise. He could only silently quicken his pace.
"I know where you're going." Will looked at Liz's phantom walking ahead with a cane, a smile on his face.
That direction...
It was Mt. Silver.
It was close. He could already see it.
The sun sank lower, and the sky turned from gray-white to a dim, hazy yellow. Will and Liz slowly walked to the foot of Mt. Silver, entering its outer region.
They continued forward. They arrived at the edge of a lake.
"Lan... do you remember this place?" Liz looked at the lake, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
"Of course." Will grinned. He was definitely familiar with it.
His first life, he was born by the lake. His second life, he was born in the lake.
And most importantly... in both lives, this was where he met Liz.
This small lake, which hadn't changed much in a thousand years, held a special meaning for them.
"It's snowing here. Is it snowing where you are?"
"It's snowing here, too."
Will looked up, but all he could see were the treetops.
"There's something I never told you... It's a story about me and a Beedrill named 'Stinger'..." Liz walked to a nearby tree and slowly sat down, leaning against the trunk. Her gaze drifted to the water's surface as she quietly told the story of herself and that Beedrill.
"I have something I never told you, too. That Beedrill... was me." Will walked to her side, leaning back with her, listening to her tell a story he already knew.
"Lan?" Suddenly, Liz's phantom opened her eyes in surprise, rubbing them as she stared at the lake.
Will turned to look, but saw nothing on the water.
But he remembered something. In his last life, when he parted ways with Scyther, he had brought him to this lake. And while he was lying in the water... he had seen Liz.
"So that's when it was..." Will murmured. He didn't know why he'd been able to see her then, but he didn't want to think about it now.
In these last moments... he just wanted to rest.
"Lan... I'm so tired."
Liz's faint voice drifted over. Her head tilted gently to the side, as if she were leaning on Will's shoulder. Just like a thousand years ago, when she would rest her head on Will's soft body when she was tired.
"You've worked so hard all these years. Let me tell you a story now... about my journey with a little cat." Will pressed his lips together, drifting into his own memories.
"If you're ever unhappy, just come back. This will always be your home."
"A real man always keeps his promises!"
"Make sure you eat well."
"Don't get the wrong idea. I just made an extra Poké Ball."
"If anyone bullies you, just come find me. Even if it's the Dragonite Clan, I'll take them on for you."
"As long as we're alive, we'll meet again someday."
"Come back and visit Jubilife City anytime!"
"If you were human... I think I might have fallen for you."
"You're my first friend. I'll remember you forever."
"I owe you one. If I'm still alive, I'll repay you."
"I have no doubt that you will become a living legend."
There were so many stories to tell. He couldn't finish them all.
Not only could he not finish... Liz couldn't finish listening.
Perhaps... they could be saved for another time, to be told slowly.
"Mmm..." Liz murmured softly.
The light of the setting sun shone on the small lake, scattering golden halos of light, painting the winter forest.
On a nearby branch, a thin, cautious Weedle quietly crawled out.
On the water's surface, an innocent, cute Dratini quietly floated up.
He didn't know if they were from a thousand years ago, or from today.
Will just felt his eyelids grow heavy.
He turned to look at Liz beside him. She had already closed her eyes. Her breathing was slow and steady. Even after a hundred years, the gentleness in her expression was unchanged.
"It's strange... You've been gone for so long, but I've always felt you were right beside me."
"Mm. I am right beside you."
"In that case... I'm not afraid of dying here. I'm not lonely."
"Mm. I'm with you."
"Lan..."
"Hm?"
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
The lake glittered. The air was cold. An orange-yellow mist rose from the water, shrouding the forest. A nearby crystal from the Tree of Beginning quietly bloomed with a water-blue light. The light formed an invisible hand, gently pushing aside the treetops above them.
Specks of white snow mingled with the golden sunset, drifting down.
They fell on Liz's head, and they fell on Will's head.
The wind and snow grew faint...
Winter whitened their hair...
The lake's light shimmered...
And creased their eyes...
Some bonds, even after a thousand years, will not break.
Will and Liz finally came together in the end, leaning on each other as they passed.
In these final moments, they had each other.
To fade to ash in the mist... how could this not be considered... a perfect ending?
(End of the Third Life)
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