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[attr="class","textbox"]It was cancer.[break][break]

Isaac's eyes went wide with the realization. He saw Temp slam the Sygna Suit around himself, piece by piece. Each piece contained another concentrated dose of that same cancer. When fully assembled, it was such a perfect circuit that even a legendary's gifts could no longer be manifest. He clenched his fist, feeling the spark of the Keystone along his Mega Brace. This, too, brought out all of a Pokemon's Infinity Energy. Was it also killing him? Was it killing his beloved team?[break][break]

All of tools. All of these weapons. Hundreds of Mega Pokemon clashing on big, bloody battlefields. Sygna Suits being given to all the region's best, allowing them to plunge into the depths of the hazardous worlds belong. Energies that never belonged to Hoenn, protecting them from spaces Hoenn never belonged in.[break][break]

Z-Energy, so heavy in Alola's atmosphere an entire crop of fruit was forever irradiated. Dynergy, pried right out from a god's cold, dead hands. Terastal Energy, bleeding through the region in unearthly tunnels as Dream Mist leaked from its wounds. Primal Energy, such that Kygore was both terrified of and addicted to its own potential.[break][break]

None of this should have happened. Yet these energies seeped deeper and deeper into the fabric of the region every day. At one point, the League gave out Mega Stones as accessories for a fucking fashion show. Z-Moves, in all their terror and awe, lit up contest halls. Some individuals, so bold and so foolish, treated the Ultra Wilds like vacation destinations.[break][break]

The Origin Point was already here. The region would collapse under its own weight, and everyone was already too accustomed to it to care.[break][break]

The Dark Triad was right.[break][break]

What else could he do but laugh?[break][break]

It was weak, strained, a desperate attempt at convincing himself and Temp that everything was okay. At the same time, it was loud enough to echo through the forest, a monolith cast in hollow tin. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, but by his own power he ordered them to retreat before they could fall. Where Temp rode in a fighter's stance, Isaac's knees were unsteady and weak.[break][break]

"Y'know, man. I never thought I was gonna live long," he admitted. He hoped against all hope the ear to ear smile on his face would hide the fear and pain in his eyes. "But . . . shit, at least I can spend it doing something worth a damn, right?"