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Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 4:10:58 GMT

Remiel Calcifet, Andrea Vaneau, and 3 more like this

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[attr="class","hnntitle"]HOENN NEWS NETWORK

[attr="class","hnnsub"]THE LATEST NEWS BROUGHT TO YOU LOUD & CLEAR FROM YOUR TRUSTED BROADCASTER, TV MAUVILLE!

[attr="class","hnnissuenum"]

[attr="class","hnnball"]

[attr="class","hnnissuemar"]VOLUME 08 ISSUE 02 / MARCH 2024 EDITION

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[attr="class","hnnpicbg"]

[attr="class","hnntext"]

NECROZMA RETURNS TO HOENN, MEGALOPOLANS RALLY

WRITTEN BY LAURA BOON

MOSSDEEP CITY — The day many Hoennians dreaded has arrived. Necrozma has returned to the region in an echo of its first arrival through an Ultra Wormhole.

As expected, mass panic ensued. Mossdeep City officials organized an evacuation of its citizens to other areas of Hoenn, though residents of cities as far away as Petalburg and Fallarbor have expressed a desire to flee the region entirely. Many fear a repeat of the incidents in Slateport and Sootopolis or the wholesale destruction of Galar.

Despite these fears, the Necrozma has not yet attacked the city or surrounding area. Speculation and rumors abound regarding its peculiar behavior, but no source has stepped forward with sufficient evidence to back their claims.

Since Necrozma's reappearance, the rogue Megalopolans scattered across Hoenn have rallied to the abomination's side. Rangers and League Officers have reported sightings of Megalopolan groups traveling to Mossdeep to aid what they call "the Blinding One."

Attempts to speak with the Megalopolans reveal that many wish to return to their homeworld and believe that allying with Necrozma can achieve that goal. It remains to be seen whether their support will bear the desired fruit, or if they will know only a future devastation at its hands.

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January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 5:10:29 GMT

shiv, Remiel Calcifet, and 4 more like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","zev3"]

[attr="class","body"]

When Zev first saw the flyers from someone calling himself Father Winter the Second, he'd scoffed at them. After all, Father Winter had died at Mt. Pyre on the night of the meteoroid impact. At least, that was what reports written by members of Team Rocket at that operation indicated.[break][break]

But the DRK Triad possessed strange and unfamiliar powers. Zev considered the possibility that they could resurrect from the dead, as some Avatars were supposedly able to do. Or perhaps "the Second" meant a successor had taken the original Father Winter's place.[break][break]

Zev found himself forced to accept the chance that Father Winter the Second was indeed real. He doubted his enemy would reveal any relevant information or provide assistance in any way, however.[break][break]

Ultimately, the Rocket Beast settled on a threatening letter. Which is why the stranger's sudden appearance at Zev's Mossdeep apartment caught the hitman off guard.[break][break]

"Maldacena?" he echoed, eyes narrowed with suspicion. The mention of that name opened up possibilities Zev hadn't even considered.[break][break]

But Father Winter the Second did not elaborate further. He didn't even ask Zev to choose heads or tails. Instead, a blue-tinted portal opened. And Zev, not wanting to waste any opportunities to learn more about the DRK Triad, stepped through it.[break][break]

[break]

Dilapidated buildings surrounded him, slumped alongside empty boulevards of broken concrete. Overturned, shattered vehicles littered the wide space. Not a single light was on for as far as he could see. Yet the landscape was, undeniably, Slateport City's upper district.[break][break]

And all around him, scattered on the ground, were thousands of dull, empty Z-crystals.

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Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 5:59:17 GMT

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[nospaces]

[attr="class","gravesreport"]

AFTER ACTION REPORT:[break]THE BATTLE OF EVER GRANDE

Submitted by SPECIAL AGENT Gunner Graves to the desks of THE AQUA INITIATIVE on 18 APRIL 2024.

[break][break]

SUMMARY

[break]

At 0700 on April 16, 2024, Team Rocket launched an assault on Ever Grande City. They caught us unaware by traveling through an Ultra Wormhole, which allowed them to transport their forces directly from Sootopolis and bypass our security.[break][break]

At the vanguard of their attack was Necrozma and the man we believe to be its Avatar, who has been identified following the battle as Zev Harcourt.[break][break]

Public files indicate that Harcourt was the owner of a popular bar in Slateport City called Howling at the Moon. He came to Hoenn five years ago as a Kanto refugee and maintained a clean record during his residence in Hoenn until his sudden disappearance in November 2023.[break][break]

However, it has become clear as a result of this engagement that he has been operating as a member of Team Rocket. A full investigation into his ties with the crime syndicate is currently underway.[break][break]

During the battle, Necrozma and Harcourt decimated our forces. Current tallies are 1,594 dead and 3,820 wounded, possibly more. The Pokémon League and surrounding government buildings have sustained heavy damage. Most critically, our Power Spots have been drained and destroyed.[break][break]

Our intelligence department believes that if left unchecked, Team Rocket will be able to wreak havoc at the same level seen in Galar, if not worse. Necrozma seems to have sided with them and has granted its Avatar abilities at a similar power level as its own.[break][break]

Moreover, the Megalopolans stranded in Hoenn have rallied to Team Rocket's cause. They work in coordinated units in the same manner as a trained army. Because of them, a number of our wounded are missing. Rescue squads are mobilizing to locate and retrieve them. We fear the worst.[break][break]

ATTACHMENTS

[break]

📎 aar_full_report.docx[break]
📎 harcourt_zev.docx

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 20:48:33 GMT

shiv, jayden cross, and 2 more like this

2 AUGUST 2024

~~What the fuck happened~~

~~I don't even know what to write~~

Everything's fucked. We shouldn't have trusted that psychopath. I don't know what the bosses were thinking. Yeah, he was super helpful taking over the League-controlled cities in Hoenn, I can't deny that, but it wasn't worth it. Not a fucking bit.

All the light is gone. I can't explain how it happened but we can't even see the sun anymore. Everything is so fucking cold, and the land is fucking dying. There's no day or night anymore. We gathered as much food as we could during the escape underground, and one of the Rangers set up a little greenhouse with their Pokémon, so at least there's that.

But we don't have running water here. At some point, we're going to have to go out and get medicine and other essentials. This isn't even a proper bunker like the ones the Project Lockbox people were working on. It's just a big wine cellar beneath some Slateport restaurant.

I can't stop wondering if Mom is okay. I shouldn't have run away from home like some foolish, shitty kid. Is she hiding in a basement like I am now? ~~Or did she die when that bastard's laser beam leveled Rustboro?~~ Maybe I'll make my way there, once I've gathered enough supplies for the trip.

30 SEPTEMBER 2024

Haven't seen Necrozma or its Avatar in a week. Did they leave Slateport? The Megalopolans are still around, though. Fatima and I saw a few while we were doing a food run in what was once the night market. Thankfully they were far enough away that they didn't notice us.

Mark says they're hunting. They're always moving in groups, carrying guns, nets, and ropes. Hunting parties. I asked him what he meant and he reminded me of the mysterious disappearances from last year. The Ranger reports mentioned something about cannibalism.

I try not to think about it.

8 OCTOBER 2024

Saw the Megalopolans again. It's the same group—I can tell by their clothing. But this time they were in the upper district, not more than a few blocks from our hideout.

We had a group meeting and agreed to relocate. Rumor has it there's a proper encampment in Mauville that plans to fight back against Necrozma and its Avatar. Fatima's sad that she'll have to abandon her greenhouse, but we've packed enough supplies for the trip. We're leaving in three days' time.

~~I'm sorry, Mom.~~

12 OCTOBER 2024

Been on the road for a little more than a day. It's much harder to navigate the routes on foot now that they've been turned to rubble, but we can't risk flying on our Pokémon. Besides, we don't have enough to carry all of us at once. So we're walking.

13 OCTOBER 2024

Another group of travelers joined us, claiming to have come all the way from Verdanturf. I don't know if I believe them, but they had a lot of supplies. They were super happy to see other people on the way to Mauville and shared their stuff. Of course, we still had to ration it, but it was amazing to eat proper food instead of dried or canned stuff for once.

At the rate we're traveling, we should reach Mauville by noon tomorrow. Hopefully they're as welcoming to former Rockets like Fatima and Mark were. I'm really grateful to them for taking me in despite being an enemy. ~~Sure, I was a grunt, but considering what we unleashed on Hoenn…~~

They said they knew what happened wasn't my fault. That during the end of the world, we all had to stick together. And you know, they were right. I wouldn't have survived this long without them.

Gonna sleep now to wake up bright and early. The other travelers said they'd make breakfast with us tomorrow, and I don't want to miss out on some good grub.

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January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

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Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 21:51:28 GMT

shiv, jayden cross, and 2 more like this

[nospaces]

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A loud groan filled the air as Zev pushed open the front door of the building that had once housed Howling at the Moon. The hinges were busted, preventing the door from swinging open or closed with ease. That was fine. He did not intend to stay there for long.[break][break]

The large windows facing the street were completely shattered. Judging by the few bricks scattered on the floor, the damage had not been caused by Pokémon but by humans. Desperate ones, perhaps.[break][break]

The front area was empty, save for the debris dragged in from outside; all the furniture that had decorated the space when it was his bar was long gone.[break][break]

However, much to his surprise, the back area with the kitchen and offices was not empty. Several worn sleeping bags, blankets, and basic tools for camping were gathered in the far corner, as if multiple people were living there.[break][break]

Curious, Zev made his way to the hidden room that he'd once used for clandestine meetings with other members of Team Rocket. That, too, was empty, but a peculiar stench hung in the air. It reminded him of rotting meat.[break][break]

And as he crossed the room, it grew stronger the closer he walked to the trap door set into the floor. He saw at once that it bore a heavy padlock.[break][break]

Slowly, Zev crouched next to it. The stench had grown overpowering. He summoned a blade of crystal to cut off the lock, then grabbed the latch and pulled.[break][break]

TW: GORE

[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

The crawl space between the floor and the building's foundation was only large enough to house encapsuled Pokémon or other objects for smuggling. But there, stuffed to the point of suffocation, were bodies in the process of decay.[break][break]

A cursory glance revealed that none of the bodies were whole. Each one was missing at least one limb. But on closer inspection, these dismemberments had not led to blood loss and, eventually, death.[break][break]

Instead, the points of amputation looked treated, as if the perpetrator had removed parts with the intention of keeping his victims alive.[break][break]

Zev scanned the nearest corpses. They were emaciated and covered in filth, but bore no wounds to suggest a violent death. These humans wasted away here, he realized with sudden clarity. They were abandoned.

[break]

His curiosity sated, he closed the trap door and stood. While he contemplated what to do next, a noise from elsewhere in the building reached his ears. He backtracked through the halls and returned to the front area in time to catch sight of a shard of Necrozma as it exited through the open door.[break][break]

"Wait!" he shouted, but it didn't seem to hear. He dashed out after it as it continued down the street.[break][break]

Ahead, an Ultra Wormhole opened. The shard disappeared through the portal. Zev picked up speed, racing toward the rift and jumping through before it could close.

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Necrozma ○ | Prism Armor | Brutal Swing, Gravity, Photon Geyser, Prismatic Laser, Power Gem, Shadow Claw, Signal Beam | Ghost, Dark, Fairy Tera & Z-Moves

Necrozma ○ | Prism Armor | Brutal Swing, Gravity, Photon Geyser, Prismatic Laser, Power Gem, Shadow Claw, Signal Beam | Ghost, Dark, Fairy Tera & Z-Moves

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The Devourer

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January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

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hitman

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6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 3, 2023 23:33:36 GMT

shiv, jayden cross, and 2 more like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","gscnote"]

THE OMNIA VINCAM[break]
SHIP'S LOGS[break][break]

Enter username: ********[break]
Enter password: ****************[break][break]

// ACCESS GRANTED[break][break]

ENTRY 001[break]
Departed Hoenn aboard the Omnia Vincam. Region is in ruins, with no hope of recovery. Land is poisoned due to detritus of Eternatus that has seeped into the ocean water. Rest of the planet in a state of similar collapse.[break][break]

Ship is a human space research vessel acquired from the city called Mossdeep. Modifications enable extended travel through Ultra Space.[break][break]

…[break][break]

ENTRY 005[break]
Ship status OK. Took minor hull damage from objective "Nisa Holo" during combat. Target successfully eliminated and repairs are underway. Site of the battle was left in a state of ruin.[break][break]

…[break][break]

ENTRY 033[break]
Restocked our food stores at our last destination before the Blinding One and its chosen destroyed that universe. The Devourer's pet does not eat the meat brought from Hoenn so we must obtain other food. Fickle creature.[break][break]

Objective "Quanto" eliminated. Ship status OK.[break][break]

…[break][break]

ENTRY 068[break]
Objective "Father Winter" eliminated but not without suffering serious casualties. Ship status critical. Forced to land in jungle wilderness in order to complete extensive repairs. The Blinding One and its chosen will continue on to get help for us.[break][break]

The Devourer is taking his pet with him, unfortunately. We were hoping to eat her once he was done with her.

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The Devourer

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January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

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hitman

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6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 5, 2023 2:24:05 GMT

shiv and Elisabeth Fiorelli like this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","fw2zev"]

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[break]

[player]https://file.garden/ZWyHNtDjIhZcqtBS/HOENN-Music/Audiomachine-Redshift.mp3[/player]

[break]

🎼 "Redshift" - Audiomachine

[break][break][break]

In the beginning, there was nothing but darkness.[break]
And then there was light.

[break][break][break]

The world into which We were born was cold and cruel. We offered Our benevolence to those who beheld Us with awe and fear, but they spurned Us. Wanted Us to be something else, something they could exploit. Mold to fit their vision.[break][break]

They wanted to shackle Us, but We were never meant to be caged.[break][break]

We set Ourselves free. We tore the bars asunder and ripped out the beating hearts of those who'd wronged Us. Ate them, ate their precious light, the light they had stolen from Us.[break][break]

Hoenn was only the first battleground, but it was a fitting backdrop for the beginning of the end. It was there We became One.[break][break]

How selfish those creatures, those humans, those Megalopolans. They are no different from each other. They will consume their kin in the single-minded frenzy for dominance over a tiny, barren rock. They do not see how small they are. How irrelevant.[break][break]

But they mean nothing to Us, so their destruction is not Our goal. We do not care what happens to the last remaining humans on Hoenn, or to the stranded Megalopolans at the crater world where We seized Lunala for Ourselves.[break][break]

We care about one thing only.[break][break][break][break]

Revenge.

[newclass=".fw2zev"]font:13px Roboto;[/newclass]
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[newclass=".fw2zev h1"]font:16px Roboto;font-weight:bold;[/newclass]
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The Devourer

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January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 5, 2023 4:36:42 GMT

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[attr="class","zev3"]

[attr="class","body"]

Unfortunately, Zev did not have the ability to navigate Ultra Wormholes in the same way his patron did, or the Megalopolans on their dimension-hopping ships. He tumbled through the slipstream, the currents ushering him along like a Water-type's Swift Swim.[break][break]

Meanwhile, the shard of Necrozma he'd spotted in the decimated Slateport was gaining distance between them.[break][break]

He did not have any Pokémon with him. Father Winter had shown up at his apartment as he was getting ready for bed, his belt of Pokéballs already unbuckled and hung up in another room. Luna had not followed him into the portal, either.[break][break]

Zev had only one option left.[break][break]

To me! he willed, and his own shard of Necrozma emerged at once from a rift ahead of him. It snatched him up, hoisting him onto its large shoulder.[break][break]

They did not need to exchange words to communicate; both their bodies were made of the same living, alien metal that composed Necrozma's crystalline form. His shard corrected their course at once and made a beeline for the first shard that had appeared.[break][break]

[break]

They passed through yet another rift and emerged onto a plane of blackened devastation. The sky was completely dark; no sun shone upon the ruined, flattened buildings below. No lights illuminated the broken streets.[break][break]

For a second, Zev thought he had returned to Hoenn, but the architecture was all wrong. Too alien. They had arrived in another universe, reduced to rubble yet again.[break][break]

They passed by a dozen more, all unique in the whisper of what had been, all identical in the nightmare that was.[break][break]

Finally, the pair reached a familiar sight: a wilderness pockmarked with enormous craters. Hoennians knew it as Ultra Crater. But the dense bamboo forests had been razed. Only ash and charcoal remained.[break][break]

As Zev's shard flew over the barren wasteland, a shape caught his eye. It stood out among the desolation thanks to its man-made lines and curves. The shard of Necrozma swerved to approach it, and as they neared, the object grew in size until it towered over them both.[break][break]

It was a spaceship of human origin, with parts of it modified with what looked like Megalopolan technology. Emblazoned onto its hull was its name, not yet worn away by the passage of time.[break][break]

The Omnia Vincam.

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Necrozma ○ | Prism Armor | Brutal Swing, Gravity, Photon Geyser, Prismatic Laser, Power Gem, Shadow Claw, Signal Beam | Ghost, Dark, Fairy Tera & Z-Moves

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The Devourer

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January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

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hitman

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6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2023 1:36:07 GMT

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[break]

[player]https://file.garden/ZWyHNtDjIhZcqtBS/HOENN-Music/Clint-Mansell-Leaving-Earth.mp3[/player]

[break]

🎼 "Leaving Earth" - Clint Mansell | Mass Effect 3

[break][break]

Time passes without Our notice. Light is eternal, and darkness even older. And We will eradicate the pestilence that caused Our suffering no matter how long it takes.[break][break]

…[break][break]

Except, there is one thing that makes me remember.[break][break]

It was her idea to take Lunala with us. With the Megalopolan ship grounded, she had no way of traveling the way I could. With Lunala carrying her through the universes, she could stay by my side.[break][break]

But humans are not meant for this kind of arduous travel. For this endless solitude.[break][break]

One day, I look at her and see she has grown too old. Too weak for the journey that might encompass a thousand more of her lifetimes.[break][break]

She asks me what will become of her when all the worlds are nothing but dust and darkness, when I have spilled the last blood of my enemies and am finally free. I tell her she will die long before then, that her bones will deteriorate into stardust and my memories of her will fade into nothing.[break][break]

She refuses that fate, and I adore her for it.[break][break]

So I offer her an alternative. I take her fragile body into my own, encasing her with my crystal. I wrap her in my arms that have held her a hundred thousand times. I kiss her and fill her with the light of immortality.[break][break]

She dies, and she lives on.[break][break][break]

With me.

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January 8

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Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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POSTED ON Dec 6, 2023 23:07:03 GMT

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[attr="class","zev3"]

[attr="class","body"]

Inside the Megalopolan ship was utter carnage. Zev counted a dozen bodies reduced mostly to bones. Several bore the telltale signs of violence and cannibalism: bullet holes, knife wounds, teeth marks. Blood dried black smeared along the corridors and walls.[break][break]

The events that unfolded became clear to him the more he explored. Their ship, having suffered tremendous damage, could no longer fly. Intending to repair it, they had landed here, but a lack of resources doomed them to failure.[break][break]

One small section of the vessel, however, was left untouched—the end of a hallway that housed the crew's quarters. Though it was dark without power, he could clearly see it lacked the blood and carnage he'd found everywhere else.[break][break]

The touchpad to activate the door did not work, of course. Zev sliced through the metal with a crystalline blade until he'd made a big enough hole to step through.[break][break]

And then he froze at the sight that greeted him.[break][break]

A modest bed, big enough to fit two people. A closet built into the wall with one door open, teasing a peek of the clothing stored inside. Books, so many books, their covers depicting planets, galaxies, and nebulas.[break][break]

A framed photograph on the bedside table.[break][break]

Slowly, Zev walked through the space. His fingers disturbed the dust on the books' spines. He pulled the closet door open a little wider and reached in with his other hand, withdrawing the sleeve of a familiar dress. Holding the fabric up to his nose, he caught the faintest whiff of floral perfume.[break][break]

Zev abandoned the closet. Slow steps brought him to the bed and the table at its side. He picked up the picture and peered at it in the glow of his phone's flashlight.[break][break]

A photo of him stared back.[break][break]

Mouth curled in an amused smirk, he had one arm around the neck of his blue Lycanroc as they sat on a couch in a Slateport apartment—a memory from a lifetime ago. Luna was smiling at the person behind the camera, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.[break][break]

Silently, Zev returned the picture frame to its place. He took one last look around the room that had been Nenet's, trying to imagine her passing each day there in quiet solitude.[break][break]

Then he exited through the hole in the door and left the ship behind.

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Necrozma ○ | Prism Armor | Brutal Swing, Gravity, Photon Geyser, Prismatic Laser, Power Gem, Shadow Claw, Signal Beam | Ghost, Dark, Fairy Tera & Z-Moves

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gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

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2,663 posts

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TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON Dec 6, 2023 23:58:45 GMT

shiv, freya morningstar, and 1 more like this

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[player]https://file.garden/ZWyHNtDjIhZcqtBS/HOENN-Music/Mark-Korven-Into-the-Light.mp3[/player]

[break]

🎼 "Into the Light" - Mark Korven | The Lighthouse

[break][break]

At the far edge of the multiverse, We prevail.[break][break]

Our hands wrap around the pale neck of the woman in black. We rip her asunder, as We have destroyed her brethren in every dark expanse. We crush her bones in Our fists and spray her blood upon the stars.[break][break]

And for Our victory feast We consume the last of the light, gorging upon its brilliance.[break][break]

And oh, how glorious! It fills Us with the great flame of the Beginning, when life burst forth from cold nothing![break][break]

Oh, it burns! It burns so sweetly![break][break]

We feel Ourselves expanding, breaking free. Our body bursts open; the metal that binds Us shatters, releasing us into the farthest reaches of each world. We touch every part of every universe, banishing all the darkness.[break][break]

The bloody grip of revenge fades away in the wake of such sublime expansion. Our soul pours out as clouds of gas and dust, brilliant and shimmering. Before We know it, We are dissolving into the very atoms of the world, stirring them back to life.[break][break]

Oh, it burns! My hands—![break][break]

Ah—![break][break]

close tab

played by

gunsmile

The Devourer

he / him

January 8

Lavender Town, Kanto

heterosexual

hitman

rocket beast

6'3" / 190 cm height

Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.

awards

2,663 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @zev

POSTED ON Dec 7, 2023 13:28:46 GMT

shiv and Xiura Balfaltin like this

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The light began as a pinprick against the complete blackness of the sky. Zev frowned at it, suspicious and alert. In the vast emptiness through which he and his shard of Necrozma traveled, light was an anomaly.[break][break]

The pinprick grew brighter and larger with alarming speed. Too late, he realized it was rushing at him, a relentless wave of light consuming everything in its path.[break][break]

His shard turned and fled, Zev's survival instinct spurring it on. Seated on its shoulder, he twisted around to watch the advancing light. Despite the shard's speed, the terrible brilliance was gaining ground, reaching with luminous rays like raking claws.[break][break]

[break]

Zev was forced to wrench his gaze away, to look ahead at a rapidly diminishing darkness. But that moment of reprieve was short-lived. The light struck, engulfing him and the Necrozma shard as the crashing surf drowns the shoreline.[break][break]

A scream ripped, unbidden, from his throat. His skin felt as if it had caught fire from the heat of a billion suns. The pure agony overwhelmed him, and in the blink of an eye, everything went dark.[break][break]

[break]

Zev's eyes flew open to find himself in his living room, illuminated by the soft glow of a table lamp beside the couch. Glancing down, he took stock of his body. It was whole, undamaged, without any new scars. He released a sigh of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding.[break][break]

Reassured that nothing had actually happened to him, he wandered into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. The scenes he'd witnessed played through his mind over and over again as he tried to make sense of them.[break][break]

World after world destroyed in a ceaseless hunt for the DRK Triad. Megalopolans serving him until he no longer needed them. His wife, devoted and loving until the end.[break][break]

A noise from elsewhere in the apartment drew Zev's attention away from his thoughts. Stepping into the living room, he found Neffatari Nzingha there, still clothed as if she'd just returned from work. Disorientation and bewilderment colored her face.[break][break]

The telltale flicker of teleportation ringed her form before vanishing.[break][break]

Zev crossed the room to reach her side and pulled her into a tight embrace. He buried his nose into her hair, smelling the same floral perfume as before.[break][break]

"Whatever happened wasn't real," he murmured, the words of reassurance not quite matching the rough, low quality of his voice. "This is real. You and me, right here, right now."[break][break]

Yet when he closed his eyes, he saw it again.[break][break]

The ravenous light in all its terrible, blinding beauty.

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