Midnight.
After leaving the Pokémon Center, Silas grabbed a bite to eat before slowly making his way to Maiden's Peak.
But as soon as he arrived at Maiden's Peak, a plaintive, girlish voice echoed by his ear, as if a lover was accusing him after waiting an eternity: "You finally came back. After two thousand years, we're together again."
The voice gave Silas a start. He looked up to see a girl standing right in front of him. She wore a flowing white dress, violet hair cascading over her shoulders, and gold eyes so enchanting you could lose yourself in them. Right now she was gazing at Silas as if he was her long-lost beloved!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Under her gaze, Silas's heart began to pound, as if it might burst from his chest.
Longing, restlessness, nostalgia—all these emotions welled up inside him, like he'd known this girl in another life. The feelings unsettled him deeply. He forced them down, his tone suddenly cold: "Gastly, I know this is your prank. Don't use these tricks on me, or you'll regret it!"
"Gastly?" The girl blinked in confusion, then giggled. "I'm not Gastly."
"Not, huh?" Silas gave a cold laugh and whipped out his Pokédex, aiming it at her. "It doesn't matter what you say—when this thing talks, the truth comes out!"
He pressed the button, fully expecting results—but what came out of the Pokédex left him stunned: "No Pokémon detected… No Pokémon detected… No Pokémon detected…"
Boom!
No Pokémon detected?!
That line hit Silas like a bomb.
He didn't really know this girl, but Silas remembered the ghost haunting Maiden's Peak—usually, it was Gastly putting on a show to scare people. But the Pokédex never makes mistakes… which meant, was the woman before him really a ghost?!
"What's wrong?" The girl quickly picked up on Silas's shift in mood, smiling sweetly. "So you believe now I'm not Gastly?"
"…." Silas fell silent, then asked, "So who are you?"
"Haven't you guessed it already?"
"Your name?"
"I've forgotten." The girl shook her head, eyes full of bittersweet regret. "After so many years waiting, things like names have faded away. But you can call me 'Yu' if you want."
"Yu, huh…"
A faint sadness stirred within Silas at her words, like a fishbone pricking his heart. He didn't like this feeling, so he changed topics, "Where's Gastly?"
"Gastly…" Yu's voice was soft and slow. "You're here to catch it, aren't you?"
"…Yeah."
Silas wanted to deny it, but his body was more honest than his words—he nodded right away.
"Give it up." Upon hearing his answer, Yu spoke with gentle finality. "You can't catch Gastly. Sure, you have two incredible Pokémon with you, but if Gastly wants to leave, there's not a soul alive who can stop it. So it just won't be possible."
"…Alright."
Silas found himself uttering the word, and even he was surprised. Usually, he never gave up without at least trying, yet something about Yu's words left no room for doubt. He just accepted her answer—without even questioning it.
That only made Silas more uneasy. He wanted to leave right away, but his legs wouldn't move, as if he couldn't bear to walk away from this girl. So he couldn't help but ask, "Did we… know each other before?"
"We did." Yu nodded, her amber eyes full of wistfulness. "We met two thousand years ago."
Two thousand years ago…
Hearing that for the second time, Silas nearly rolled his eyes out of his head. He'd lived maybe forty-odd years between his two lives—how could he be caught up in something from two thousand years ago? Still, he didn't dare dismiss it outright. After all, if reincarnation was possible, who knew what other strange things could happen to him?
Seeing his silence, Yu smiled gently. "Don't overthink it. I'm just a passerby in your life. Being able to see you again is enough. I won't be clinging to you. After tonight, I'll disappear from this world entirely, so there's nothing for you to worry about."
"Reincarnation?" Silas asked, puzzled.
Yu nodded. "Yes."
The two fell into a long silence—so long it was almost uncomfortable. Eventually, they both spoke up at the same time.
"Uh—"
"Uh—"
"You go first—"
"No, you go first—"
Both Silas and Yu laughed, speaking in sync, then shared a smile.
"Forget it," Silas shrugged and grinned. "Curfew's past. Even if I wanted to head back, it's too late. How about we just talk for a while? I don't know if I'm the one you've been waiting for, but I'd like to hear your story anyway."
"Sure." Yu nodded with a smile, then pointed to a stone nearby, helpfully suggesting, "Why not go sit over there?"
"Sounds good!"
That night seemed both incredibly long and impossibly short. Under the starry sky, Silas and Yu sat atop the stone, chatting and laughing now and then.
...
Maiden's Peak.
Time rushed by.
Five hours slipped away in a blink, and dawn was almost here!
That night, Silas and Yu truly enjoyed each other's company. For the first half of the night, Yu recounted the events from two thousand years ago—a tale of sweet, enduring love. In the latter half, Silas told stories of his own growth, sprinkling in a few jokes that had Yu bursting with laughter.
And finally… a single beam of sunlight appeared.
With that first ray of daylight came the change: Yu's silhouette began to fade, her form growing more and more transparent.
The sudden shift left both of them silent. Even though it was only a single night, Silas had rarely felt so content—yet seeing Yu slowly disappear left him with an ache in his chest, a pain that made it hard even to breathe. With sadness in his eyes, he asked, "Is there really no way you can stay?"
"No." Yu shook her head, smiling softly to comfort him. "Don't be sad for me—I'm just a passerby in your life, not someone you should mourn for. Besides, you should be happy for me. I've been trapped on Maiden's Peak for two thousand years; isn't reincarnation just the start of a whole new journey?"
Yu was right, but Silas just couldn't feel happy for her. He was just an ordinary person, powerless against the laws of nature, and that sense of helplessness hurt all the more.
Just then, a frustrated voice echoed past them—one sentence that sent Silas reeling:
"Reincarnation? How do you expect to reincarnate now? You forced yourself to leave Maiden's Peak on sheer willpower, then got hit by sunlight. What little soul power you had left—how can you reincarnate now? What's waiting for you is total annihilation!"
It was Gastly, hovering in front of Silas and Yu. Right now, Gastly glared at Yu, full of anger. "How could you be so reckless? Why not just leave after seeing him? Was one night really worth the price of being shredded to nothing?!"
"It was worth it." Yu's reply nearly drove Gastly mad. Yu beamed. "I waited two thousand years just for this one night. Besides, what's the difference between reincarnation and complete annihilation? If I reincarnate, I'll lose all my memories. Either way, isn't it better to vanish with those memories than to forget them all?"
"You—!" Gastly was shaking with frustration.
At that moment, Silas snapped out of it. He stared at Yu, face drained of color, and demanded, "What's going on here?!"
"What's going on?" This time, Gastly shot back, voice still full of anger: "This crazy girl was so set on talking with you for one single night, she was willing to pay with her existence! It's too late now. Her wish is fulfilled. Even with Maiden's Peak's protection, she won't make it through the day!"
Total annihilation.
Those two words left Silas dazed—and then a deep, searing pain cut through his heart. He'd read enough web novels in his old life to know what "soul destruction" meant—at the time, he always thought it was nonsense. What could possibly destroy a soul completely?
But now, it was happening right in front of him. And it was someone he truly cared about. He anxiously turned to Gastly, "Is there any way to stop this?"
"Stop it?" Gastly let out a cold laugh. "Can you stop the sun from rising?"
Stop the sun?
How was that even possible?
Silas was crushed. Sure, he had powerful Pokémon, but nothing on the level of Arceus. And even if he did have something like Arceus, could it really destroy the sun?
Just as Silas was falling into despair, the Master Ball at his waist suddenly flared with light—twice!
"Rooaarr!"
"Arrrooo!"
Dragonite and Charizard burst out, spreading their wings as soon as they materialized. Charizard soared toward the ocean, unleashing a stream of sacred, golden flames from its mouth—so hot that even Silas, a hundred meters away, felt the searing heat. The golden fire struck the ocean's surface.
Sizzle… sizzle… sizzle…
Hot flames met the sea. The water began to boil, then transformed into steam, which drifted upward into the sky!
As the steam rose, Dragonite paused in mid-air, concentrating intently. Musical notes—clear and melodious—poured from its jaws. As the song filled the air, clouds condensed above the peak. At first, just a small cluster. But as it absorbed more steam, the clouds rapidly thickened, blanketing the entire Maiden's Peak.
"Boom!"
As soon as the clouds formed, Dragonite cracked off a massive Thunderbolt into them!
Instantly… the clouds boomed and churned with lightning, and a torrential downpour began to flood Maiden's Peak!
After pulling off this whole operation, the two Pokémon flew back to Silas. Dragonite glowered at Gastly, declaring, "Maybe my Trainer can't stop the sun from rising—but blocking out its light is plenty good, right?!"
"Not enough."
Gastly, facing down the two towering Pokémon behind Silas, was a lot more polite—but its voice was still ice-cold. "There may be no sunlight now, but the damage was already done. She's too far gone—recovery's basica
Basically?
That word made Silas's ears perk up. He asked frantically, "You said 'basically.' Does that mean there's still a way?"
"There is!" Gastly nodded, not hiding anything. "The way is—"
"Enough." Before Gastly could finish, Yu softly interrupted, a sorrowful smile on her face. "This was my decision. There's no need for you to—"
"You shut up!"*2