Because we're not insane enough yet.
Challenging Shrine of the Old Gods (Part 2) Hard Mode, inviting Dogfish44 to challenge the Trial of Darkness quest
Bonus Chapter 5: Flung into the Past
About a day before we were to leave on our expedition to Mount Coronet, I received a message from the Custodians of Time. My mind still heavy from the defeat of Eusine, I opened the letter. In it, they wanted me to meet them in a deep room of the Snowpoint Temple. Figuring that it could not hurt, I made my way down to near the bottom of the Temple. Over there, I saw a magnificent statue, one that creeped me out from seeing it.
Regigigas.
While this one was still dormant, my mind raced back to the Shrine of the Old Gods that we narrowly escaped from. The Regigigas there was powerful enough to drain us of our very sanity, and were it not for the Regi Cores that assisted us, I wondered if we would have been lost to madness. I tried to push these thoughts out of my head, content that it was in the past now.
Cresselia greeted me upon my arrival. She grabbed the jewel that I had won from Eusine, and wordlessly laid it on a desk. Using some form of ancient ritual, she managed to imbue that power into the Dreamer Staff that I had obtained earlier. Then she telepathically spoke to me. "The Eye of Divinity you retrieved was once used by mortal seers to walk into the Dream World", Cresselia explained. "Its power is essential to unlock the full potential of the staff. However, light does not represent the sole foundation of the staff's power. Just like dreams are woven out of light and darkness alike, so is the staff's magic dependant on shadow magic, as well. For this reason, in order to fully empower the staff, I shall need an artifact to awaken its dark side."
"Where can we retrieve such an item?", I asked. "Is that something we can snatch from one of Darkrai's allies too?"
"It is not, although this will not make its retrieval any easier," it replied with an almost sad tone. "Such artifacts, in fact, were once used to summon the forgotten gods into our world, but they have been abandoned ever since. It is possible that the old god vanquished on that mysterious island by Wallace and his allies could have held such an item of power, but if so, it is probably forever lost to us."
I grimaced, we definitely weren't returning to that island anytime soon.*
"Not necessarily"
Cresselia and I turned around, only to see Latios making his appearance in his human form.
"While it is true that Regigigas is no more, we could employ the Caverns of Time to yank our heroes back to that moment in the past," he explained. "As long as we call the heroes back shortly enough, we should manage to avoid disrupting the time continuum. However, I cannot hide you the risks behind such an attempt."
"What kind of risks, destroy the time and space continuum summoning Dialga to kick my butt kind of risks?" I asked.
"Our capacity to interfere with the past events without causing a temporal catastrophe is very limited," Latios admitted. "This means that we can only travel you right before the rise of the old god himself. That is to say, you will have to face the god without any kind of help. Do you still feel up to the task?"
"..."
"You do not have to undertake this mission if you do not wish to." Latios said.
"I will, if it will give us an edge against the darkness, then I will face my fear and take him on again. Just give me a few moments to prepare with Harold." I replied.
"Very well, I'll have access to the Caverns of Time available for when you're ready. Make haste though, we cannot stay in this temple for much longer." Latios remarked.
*Editors Note: In this timeline, once the Sigil Orb was crushed, Rayquaza paid a visit to the Island of Lost Relics and blew it up with a ferocious attack.
About a day before we were to leave on our expedition to Mount Coronet, I received a message from the Custodians of Time. My mind still heavy from the defeat of Eusine, I opened the letter. In it, they wanted me to meet them in a deep room of the Snowpoint Temple. Figuring that it could not hurt, I made my way down to near the bottom of the Temple. Over there, I saw a magnificent statue, one that creeped me out from seeing it.
Regigigas.
While this one was still dormant, my mind raced back to the Shrine of the Old Gods that we narrowly escaped from. The Regigigas there was powerful enough to drain us of our very sanity, and were it not for the Regi Cores that assisted us, I wondered if we would have been lost to madness. I tried to push these thoughts out of my head, content that it was in the past now.
Cresselia greeted me upon my arrival. She grabbed the jewel that I had won from Eusine, and wordlessly laid it on a desk. Using some form of ancient ritual, she managed to imbue that power into the Dreamer Staff that I had obtained earlier. Then she telepathically spoke to me. "The Eye of Divinity you retrieved was once used by mortal seers to walk into the Dream World", Cresselia explained. "Its power is essential to unlock the full potential of the staff. However, light does not represent the sole foundation of the staff's power. Just like dreams are woven out of light and darkness alike, so is the staff's magic dependant on shadow magic, as well. For this reason, in order to fully empower the staff, I shall need an artifact to awaken its dark side."
"Where can we retrieve such an item?", I asked. "Is that something we can snatch from one of Darkrai's allies too?"
"It is not, although this will not make its retrieval any easier," it replied with an almost sad tone. "Such artifacts, in fact, were once used to summon the forgotten gods into our world, but they have been abandoned ever since. It is possible that the old god vanquished on that mysterious island by Wallace and his allies could have held such an item of power, but if so, it is probably forever lost to us."
I grimaced, we definitely weren't returning to that island anytime soon.*
"Not necessarily"
Cresselia and I turned around, only to see Latios making his appearance in his human form.
"While it is true that Regigigas is no more, we could employ the Caverns of Time to yank our heroes back to that moment in the past," he explained. "As long as we call the heroes back shortly enough, we should manage to avoid disrupting the time continuum. However, I cannot hide you the risks behind such an attempt."
"What kind of risks, destroy the time and space continuum summoning Dialga to kick my butt kind of risks?" I asked.
"Our capacity to interfere with the past events without causing a temporal catastrophe is very limited," Latios admitted. "This means that we can only travel you right before the rise of the old god himself. That is to say, you will have to face the god without any kind of help. Do you still feel up to the task?"
"..."
"You do not have to undertake this mission if you do not wish to." Latios said.
"I will, if it will give us an edge against the darkness, then I will face my fear and take him on again. Just give me a few moments to prepare with Harold." I replied.
"Very well, I'll have access to the Caverns of Time available for when you're ready. Make haste though, we cannot stay in this temple for much longer." Latios remarked.
*Editors Note: In this timeline, once the Sigil Orb was crushed, Rayquaza paid a visit to the Island of Lost Relics and blew it up with a ferocious attack.
Challenging Shrine of the Old Gods (Part 2) Hard Mode, inviting Dogfish44 to challenge the Trial of Darkness quest
