"But if we open the Ultra Wormhole, Mother… will Nebby be in danger?"
Even with a top-tier trainer backing them up, Lillie couldn't fully relax. Somewhere along the way, Nebby had stopped being "a Pokémon she was protecting" and turned into someone she cared about—someone she'd gotten attached to.
"No," Lusamine said, calm and certain. "Opening it only draws on the energy already inside Cosmog. Nebby just can't steer it properly yet, so we give it a little push. It won't hurt the little one."
"I… okay." Lillie finally let her breath out. Hearing that loosened the knot in her chest.
Making up with her mother had lifted her mood like nothing else could. For Lillie, this was the best outcome she'd dared to hope for. After spending the night at Aether Paradise, she woke before sunrise.
Today was the day they'd head for the Ultra Wormhole—and Lusamine was practically buzzing with impatience. She'd waited far too long for this moment.
By ten in the morning, Lillie was already ready, bag clutched tight.
"Mother… the trainer you mentioned—where are they?"
"He'll be here any second." Lusamine glanced at her phone. "Ah. There."
"Moo! Moo!"
Nebby suddenly popped out of Lillie's bag and drifted toward the door like it couldn't wait.
"Eh—Nebby?" Lillie started after it… and then froze.
A young man in a crisp white shirt and black trousers pushed the door open—nearly bumping straight into the floating Nebby.
It was… Damian.
Lillie blinked hard, like her eyes were lying to her. The trainer her mother hired… was him?
"Oh—hey, little dude." Damian steadied Nebby in his hands, then looked up.
Nebby puffed up, offended that Damian's attention had wandered.
"Moo!"
"Alright, alright—don't start." Damian chuckled and scratched under Nebby's chin. Nebby's eyes slid shut, and it hummed, instantly soothed.
Damian walked over with Nebby cradled like it was the most normal thing in the world, wearing that easy, harmless smile of his.
"President Lusamine. Miss Lillie. Funny running into you again."
"Damian…" Lillie's face brightened before she could stop it—warm, soft, and unmistakably happy to see him.
Lusamine's expression tightened.
"Damian," she said, voice controlled, "you know Lillie?"
She'd wanted her children nowhere near this man. Now he'd met Lillie behind her back—and judging by Lillie's reaction, he'd left an impression.
Too much of an impression.
That look—wide-eyed, glowing—was the look of a girl staring at her first crush.
Absolutely not.
Damian shrugged like the whole thing was casual.
"Yeah, we crossed paths a couple times. Didn't realize she was your daughter, President. Small world, huh?" He tilted his head, as if noticing the resemblance for the first time. "Now that I'm seeing it, though… yeah. Same vibe. Guess I wasn't paying attention."
Liar.
Lusamine kept her face neutral, but her thoughts snapped like a whip. He'd been having sex with her every day—there wasn't a detail about her life he hadn't pried into. And he was telling her he didn't know?
She didn't buy a syllable.
Right then, Lusamine decided: Lillie would stay away from Damian, one way or another. Lillie could not be allowed to get tangled up in him.
Because the moment Lusamine pictured a future where both she and her daughter—
No. That future didn't exist. It wasn't allowed to exist.
For Lillie's sake, Lusamine steeled herself like she was heading into a war. If Damian was going to drain someone's time and attention, it would be her—until he had nothing left to spare for anyone else.
Lillie, meanwhile, looked up at Damian like the room had narrowed to just him.
"Thank you, Damian. If it weren't for you… I think I'd still be stuck, still scared to choose anything."
Damian's smile softened, but his tone stayed light—easy, relaxed.
"Hey—don't give me all the credit." He waved it off. "You made the call. You did the hard part." Then he added, like it slipped out naturally, "And, I mean… you're kind of adorable, Miss Lillie. Anyone'd want to help."
Lillie's face lit up red all at once. Compliments were bad enough. Compliments in front of her mother were fatal.
"Alright," Lusamine cut in sharply, watching the conversation slide exactly where she didn't want it going. "We're not wasting time. Since you're here, Damian, we start now."
In her head, Lusamine was already snarling.
Really? Flirting with my daughter while I'm standing right here?
Damian glanced at Lusamine's stone-cold face and arched an eyebrow, like he found her reaction entertaining.
"Sure," he said, simple as that.
They headed to a nearby lab where Faba was waiting.
"Nebby can open an Ultra Wormhole by instinct," Faba explained, setting Nebby onto a machine and bringing it online. "But it can't guide the power properly yet. So we give it a controlled jolt—just enough to wake the ability up."
Lights flickered. A current crackled through the system and poured into Nebby.
Nebby flinched. Its body shuddered, and it let out a strained little cry.
"Moo—!"
"Nebby!" Lillie lunged forward, panic flashing across her face.
Damian didn't look away from the machine, but his voice came steady.
"Hey. Easy. It's not gonna hurt him."
He narrowed his eyes, actually watching—really watching. The energy wasn't tearing Nebby apart. Nebby was taking it in, drawing it down like it needed every bit of it.
Cosmog evolved on energy. Lots of it. And if it ever reached its final legendary form… it would need even more.
Hearing Damian's calm, Lillie forced herself to breathe and stay back.
Then Nebby released what it couldn't hold anymore.
The air above them twisted, buckled, and pulled thin—like space itself was being stretched from the inside. A pale, webbed tear opened, widening into a bright Ultra Wormhole.
Lusamine stared.
Her pupils looked flat, almost empty—but inside, her excitement shook her to the bone.
Ultra Space.
Her dream.
Damian tapped his foot.
A Shiny Gengar rose from his shadow, grinning like it belonged there.
With a smooth, invisible shove, Gengar lifted Damian and Lusamine off the ground and carried them toward the glowing rift.
One second—there.
Next second—gone.
"Please… come back safe," Lillie whispered, like a prayer she didn't trust herself to say out loud.
Ultra Space was unknown. But if Damian was there… they should be okay.
She rushed to Nebby. It looked wrung out—drained—but something else caught her eye.
Nebby's body flickered.
Not like a reflection.
Like light was trapped under its skin.
On the other side…
They landed in a massive desert—open and endless. Stone pillars jutted up like ancient monuments. Caves punched holes through the rock, and blue crystals glimmered in the formations like frozen flame.
It wasn't just beautiful.
It was unreal.
One of the many Ultra Spaces—
The Ultra Desert.
And somewhere out here, one of the Ultra Beasts was waiting.
Pheromosa.