blogombal Chapter 643 The Test of the Nightmare
Chapter 643 The Test of the Nightmare
Chapter 643 The Test of the Nightmare
The moonlight bathed everything, and the space seemed to shift.
When Natsume, Cynthia, Darkrai, and their Pokémon could see their surroundings again, they were already standing in the central square of Canalette City.
The scene before my eyes was even more shocking than what I saw in the video!
The entire city seemed to have descended into apocalyptic madness. Countless citizens and Pokémon stared blankly, their expressions distorted by extreme fear, running, screaming, and colliding with each other in the streets.
Some people climbed dozens of meters high signal towers with their bare hands, while others weaved between out-of-control vehicles. Pokémon's random attacks blasted charred craters into buildings, with flames and smoke filling the air.
The air was filled with desperate screams and chaotic roars, a scene straight out of hell.
These are just the people and Pokémon hiding in nightmares.
The rest... were all self-harming actions that Natsume couldn't understand.
For example, some trainers, like Don Quixote, would smash a car with their bare hands, and then suddenly kneel down and pound the ground.
"Hiss... what kind of nightmares did these guys have?"
Natsume was filled with curiosity, and his gaze shifted until it landed on Cresselia.
However, faced with this tragic scene, Cresselia, who was suspended in mid-air, did not immediately take action to quell the situation.
Its crescent-shaped body trembled slightly, and the sacred and peaceful aura around it began to flicker erratically, with wisps of ominous black energy emanating from its body.
"What is this?" Zhu Lan exclaimed in surprise.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Cresselia let out a soft moan of pain.
A phantom stone slab, entirely black and covered with twisted nightmare runes, was forced out of its body and hovered in front of it.
The center of the stone slab was not hollow, but contained a pitch-black crystal that resembled a ghostly shadow, exuding a chilling, purely nightmarish aura.
Natsume's eyes widened.
This was the first time he had ever seen a stone slab with no hollow center, perfectly supporting the divine function.
"Nightmare Authority... Divine Tablet?!" Darko exclaimed, his eyes instantly blazing with uncontrollable fervor!
Almost without thinking, he immediately released his Darkrai, which was still weak and exhausted from the previous battle.
His purpose is obvious.
What he wanted was never the God of Dreams, but rather for his Darkrai to inherit the unclaimed authority over nightmares and become the new God of Nightmares.
Meanwhile, the man with the middle parting still maintained his "gentlemanly" demeanor.
But behind the sunglasses, her large eyes were fixed on the stone slab, her little paws unconsciously clenching, revealing an undisguised longing.
Seeing Darkrai's actions, Natsume nodded in sudden realization.
"I see. So this has always been your goal. You knew about Darkrai all along?" Natsume frowned slightly.
Their divine duties have been stripped away; the original Nightmare God is probably...
No wonder the Nightmare Device has been running for so long, attracting even the God of Dreams, but we haven't seen the God of Nightmare.
Cressia's voice, weary and sorrowful, echoed in everyone's hearts: "Yes, the true Nightmare God was killed long ago. I barely bear a portion of its authority, maintaining a fragile balance."
Its gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, filled with deep dread: "The one who killed it... wore a ring engraved with the word 'Sinnoh'."
"A high-ranking member of Team Rainbow Rocket, in charge of the Sinnoh region," Natsume blurted out.
Everything is connected...
"What does it mean to be in charge of the Sinnoh region?" Upon hearing this, Cynthia tensed up and turned sharply to look at Natsume.
"We'll talk about it later," Natsume said, then looked at the Dream Goddess.
"And what about the nightmare that's now plaguing Watervein City?" he asked urgently.
Cressia shook her head, her tone grave: "I cannot solve the nightmares here."
"The nightmares caused by ordinary Darkrai are nothing but fabricated illusions."
"But the power of the Darkrai priesthood inspires nightmares that are naturally formed from the deepest and most indelible fears rooted in everyone's heart."
For some reason, upon hearing this, Natsume suddenly thought of something similar mentioned in a cultivation novel he had read in his previous life: a demon in the heart.
As it spoke, Cresselia's body flashed with light, and scene after scene appeared before everyone's eyes like a holographic projection:
A coyote's nightmare came to mind:
It was battered and huddled beside a trash can, the rainy night when it was ruthlessly abandoned by its former trainer replaying in its mind's eye.
The nightmare of that Don Quixote-like trainer charging towards the car resurfaced before everyone's eyes:
He knelt on the shattered street, holding the Growlithe dog that had been hit and mangled by an out-of-control truck while protecting him, the scene repeating itself over and over again;
...These incredibly specific nightmare scenes, stemming from real trauma, sent chills down the spines of the group, filling them with immense pity and a sense of powerlessness.
"You can't escape your nightmares unless you overcome your inner fears."
Cressia sighed.
"I can indeed make people see beauty and fall into beautiful dreams."
"But indulging in beautiful dreams is also a form of losing oneself."
"I can forcibly pull them out of their nightmares, but more likely they will immediately fall into another beautiful dream trap, twisted from pleasant memories, that is even harder to wake up from."
It paused, its gaze finally settling on the man with the middle parting: "Therefore, the only one who can truly guide people to confront and overcome their inner demons and quell this nightmare at its root is the being that controls the power of the nightmare's origin—that is, the new Nightmare God."
"In that case!" Darkrod suddenly interjected, his tone agitated and even somewhat out of control, "Why not just give the divine office directly to my Darkrai! He is the most suitable successor! We can quell this immediately!"
Cressia slowly shook her head: "Nightmare... will choose its own master. I have no right to interfere, I can only guide it."
"At least give Darkrai and me a chance! A chance to prove we're qualified!"
Darkrai practically roared, and his Darkrai struggled to straighten up, its eyes burning with a thirst for power.
Cressia remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing her options.
Finally, its gaze swept over the eager Darkrai and Darkrai, and between the seemingly calm but actually sharp-eyed Natsume and the man with the middle parting.
"Alright," Cresselia decided.
"I will temporarily unleash the power of nightmares."
"Your Pikachu, and your Darkrai, will temporarily gain some Nightmare powers."
Its words invigorated everyone: "Who among you can use this power more effectively and guide the people of this city to overcome their inner demons and emerge from their nightmares more quickly?"
'
"I think the nightmare itself will naturally make its own choice."
As soon as the words were spoken, the suspended Nightmare Slab suddenly emitted a dim light.
Two condensed streams of black energy surged from the pitch-black crystal, seemingly possessing life, and shot towards Darkrai, the man with the middle part and Darkrai, respectively.