Damian and Lusamine kept moving through Ultra Space. Nebby wasn't with them anymore to point the way, but they didn't really need a guide—strong Ultra Beasts could tear open Ultra Wormholes on their own, and Ultra Space was jumpy by nature. Every so often, a wormhole would just… split open out of nowhere.
Whenever that happened, Damian and Lusamine used it like a shortcut, bouncing from one region to the next.
Ultra Crater. Ultra Jungle. Ultra Ruins. Ultra Deep Sea…
Damian couldn't say how many days had passed—time out here didn't feel normal—but one thing was obvious: his backpack had gotten a lot heavier. It was stuffed with Poké Balls, each one holding a new catch.
A huge haul.
"We've got two days of supplies left," Lusamine said under her breath. "Damian, we need to head back."
She'd packed plenty of food and water before they left, but Ultra Space had chewed through it faster than expected. By her count, they'd been gone more than a week.
She'd planned for two or three days.
"Yeah," Damian said, easy. "We've pushed it enough."
He picked an Ultra Ball up off the ground and glanced at the Poipole and Naganadel sprawled around them, knocked out cold.
They were in the Ultra Megalopolis.
"Alright. Let's find a wormhole and go home."
Damian scanned the horizon.
The sky here wasn't just dark—it pressed down on you. Like the world wanted you to feel small.
Ultra Megalopolis had once been bright and alive. Now it looked like something that had forgotten how to breathe. Somewhere along the line, the people who came before had made choices so shortsighted they'd poisoned their own future.
No light meant no life. Not for long, anyway.
They climbed onto their Dragonite and started searching.
The darkness kept the mounts cautious. They didn't fly too fast—partly because visibility was trash, and partly because the native Ultra Beast here could fly too. Naganadel could come out of the black like a missile if you got careless.
About half an hour later—
"Damian," Lusamine said sharply, pointing. "Look."
He followed her finger.
In the middle of that dead-black world, a single point of light burned bright—too sharp to ignore.
"That's… a city?" Lusamine said, disbelief slipping into her voice.
A city meant people. Civilization.
Damian didn't look surprised. His eyes stayed on a glowing tower that stood out even from this distance.
"Not that weird," he said. "Ultra Ruins used to have people too. They just didn't stick around."
That tower wasn't just any landmark.
That was Megalopolis Tower.
And Necrozma was sealed inside it.
They weren't far.
"Should we go?" Lusamine asked.
Damian went quiet for a beat. He wanted to see Necrozma—badly. Curiosity tugged hard.
Then reason grabbed him by the collar and yanked.
"We go around," he said flatly. "No extra trouble."
If Necrozma got loose right now, it wouldn't be a "fight." It would be a disaster. A starving, furious thing that craved light—and could slip into the real world whenever it wanted.
Nobody would be stopping that rampage.
Damian kept his voice calm, but his decision was firm. He also didn't know whether getting too close to the tower might wake something up—push the sealed Necrozma into breaking free early.
Not worth the risk.
"Alright," Lusamine agreed, trusting his call without pushing.
They steered their Dragonite wide around the dark city and kept searching for a wormhole that would take them back.
Back to Alola.
In the real world…
In front of Lusamine's mansion, Lillie stood with a backpack on her shoulders, staring at the sky like she could force it to open.
She turned to Faba, worry written all over her face.
"Faba… they still haven't come back?"
Faba wiped sweat off his forehead with a shaky hand.
"We haven't detected anything unusual yet," he said quickly, forcing steadiness into his voice. "Miss Lillie, please—try not to worry. They'll be fine."
In truth, he was just as panicked. He just couldn't show it.
"But it's been ten days," Lillie said, biting down on her lip. Then her eyes hardened with resolve. "Set the machine up again. I'm going in."
Faba went pale.
"Miss, no—absolutely not. You're not even a Trainer. Ultra Space is—"
"Dangerous," Lillie cut in, fingers whitening as she gripped the straps of her backpack. "I know."
She didn't say it out loud, but the fear had been gnawing at her nonstop.
She was worried about her mother.
And she was worried about Damian too.
Then the air snapped.
A white, webbed Ultra Wormhole tore open overhead, shimmering like a wound in the sky.
Both Lillie and Faba whipped their heads up.
Two Dragonite burst out of the opening.
"Mother!" Lillie cried, joy surging so hard it almost knocked her breath out. "Damian!"
The Dragonite dropped from the sky and landed cleanly.
Lillie ran forward and threw herself into Lusamine's arms.
"Mother!"
Lusamine wrapped her up and patted her back, slow and steady. She could feel how tight Lillie had been holding herself together—and that made something warm settle in Lusamine's chest.
"I'm fine," she murmured. "I'm here."
Damian, meanwhile, stretched like he'd just walked out of a long nap.
"Man," he said, squinting up at the sunlight. "Real air and real sun… I missed this."
Lillie pulled back, cheeks flushing as she caught his expression.
Damian's mouth curved.
"You're clingy, huh, Lillie? And we've got company."
"Damian—!" Lillie turned bright red and released Lusamine fast, suddenly self-conscious. She didn't want him thinking she was just some needy kid.
She swallowed, then forced herself to sound steady.
"Was it… successful? The trip?"
Lusamine lifted a notebook with a faint smile.
"Smooth, start to finish. With Damian watching our backs, we got everything we needed on the Ultra Beasts. Once I clean up my notes, I'll send the full report to Professor Kukui."
"That's amazing," Lillie said, eyes shining, hands clasped tight in front of her chest.
The old, withdrawn Lillie was fading a little more every day. Since she and her mother had started repairing things, she was slowly coming back to life.
"Does that mean the Alola League can finally happen?" she asked.
"There shouldn't be any problems," Lusamine replied. "If Kukui submits this data with the application, the odds go way up."
Lillie nodded quickly, relief spilling over her face.
"Good… good. Oh—wait." She suddenly remembered something and swung her backpack around to the front.
She opened it.
Inside was a Pokémon wrapped in a golden, shell-like structure—nine segments surrounding a nebula-like core. It looked like a tiny star trapped inside armor.
"Ever since the last time we opened the wormhole… Nebby turned into this," Lillie said, troubled. "It barely moves. It just sleeps."
Damian leaned in, interest sharpening his gaze.
"That's Cosmoem," he said. "Nebby evolved."
He paused, expression turning a little strange as he looked at Lillie—then at the bag again.
"The Pokédex says Cosmoem weighs 999.9 kilograms," he muttered, more to himself than anyone. "And you're holding it like it's… nothing."
Lillie blinked, startled. "I—I didn't even—"
Damian hummed, eyes still on Cosmoem.
"Maybe it can control its own weight. Wouldn't surprise me."
If Nebby was already Cosmoem, the next step was the altar—final evolution.
Which one?
Altar of the Sun… or the Moon.
Damian's gaze lingered on the sleeping Cosmoem, curiosity clearly building.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "This just got interesting."