"Well I'm beat," Caelum sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as the adrenaline of battle subsided, the pokemon around them started to back off though their gazes still locked on the young trainers.
Kenzo fell to his knees, panting heavily along with Dewott, exhaustion catching up to them, sweat dripped down their brow.
The young king smiled at the sight of them, his gaze softening as he remembered their fight that still reigned fresh in his mind, noticing how close their bond was.
"Well I suppose I have to give you this now," He changed the topic, waving his hand dismissively as he outstretched his free hand, manifesting a piece of what seems to be a pendant, showing the leg of a strange looking pokemon.
"You, Kenzo, have successfully begun the trial of kings," He muttered, his eyes sombered as though a wave of nostalgia crashed down on his back like a tidal wave, though it wasn't necessarily welcomed. "If you chose to continue this trial, and lay your life on the line for every battle, to show the former rulers of the granite region you are fit to be the emperor of the region,"
"Emperor…?" Kenzo panted, looking up to see the young king looming over him.
Blue eventually got down, landing on his feet with a loud thud. "Hold on a second," He urged, walking up to the kid with curiosity laced on his features.
"We came here to learn about the Granite region, " he stated," getting even closer to ask, "Tell me, how could a region as magnificent sounding as this, get destroyed off the face of the earth? What was the region even like?!"
"We flew too close to the sun, and were struck down by the gods," He stated simply leaving room for thought and even confusion, before kneeling down to his opponent's level. Taking his hand and wrapping Kenzo's fingers around the pendant.
"As for what it's like, I suggest you see it with your own eyes." His statement left Blue even more confused, his brow furrowing at his cryptic message before the realization dawned on him.
"Will doing these trials…" He trials out, seeking confirmation to which the boy nods.
"Once a new king is in order, the Granite region will rise from the ground again…" The boy stood up, and the pokemon made a path for him, showing the throne he sat on once more. "You should leave, before everything collapses…"
At his words rock started to fall, Blue helped Kenzo up as quickly as he could, the young trainer rushing to help his pokemon, escorting the Dewott outside as fast as he could.
Caelum smiled as he rested on the rich slick of the royal throne once more, his eyes shutting as the area collapsed around him, dust and debris flying up and blocking the sight of the pokemon as they returned to the dirt.
"I did it," He huffed softly, his head raised to the falling sky above him, his grip tightening on the arm rests of his throne. "I finally found a successor, Yu."
"He's just as you said…though i'm not worthy enough to judge a future hero, am I." Caelum murmured, his head hung low once more.
"You have successfully begun the trial of kings," a rough voice echoed in his mind, his life flashing before his eyes as he relished in his final moments, it was almost like he can see it right before him, himself, younger than how he was now, standing before a man so much taller, so much more regal than he.
"If you chose to continue this trial, and lay your life on the line for every battle, to show the former rulers of the granite region you are fit to be the emperor of the region," The young Caelum nodded, his gaze fixed on his responsibility.
A child, once so determined, was a stark contrast to the king he was now, with no one around him, his people, gone to time, yet he's still alive.
"I don't deserve to live…" He muttered, "Not after what I've done, the people I've killed, as king, i should've been—" His words were interrupted as one of the boulders fell upon him, crushing him under it's massive weight yet his mind still lingered on for a moment longer, everything feeling numb to him.
'The first to die all those years ago…'
As his consciousness fades he hears the cheers of his people, his gaze taking one last look at what used to be his throne room, plated in gold and silver, until he had finally passed.
"The rest is up to you, fix the mistake of this foolish child…"
"What bothers you, your highness?" a soft voice spoke to Caelum; a young boy playing with his pokemon in his room half heartedly.
"It's nothing…" He lied, a woman kneeling by his side as she stared down at him with worry, she carried long flowing brown hair and kind green eyes that could comfort anyone. Her soft gentle arms caressing the young Caelum's hair.
"I don't believe that for a second, your highness," She spoke, her voice like butter to the poor child's ears.
"I don't feel ready…" He admitted, tears pricking the back of his eyes "I don't think my pokemon are ready…"
"I believe you can do it, you're so talented at battling, you're truly a gift to our nation," She murmured, holding the child closer in an attempt to comfort him.
"I don't know the first thing about being king…" The young prince said softly, his Tyrunt brushing against his side as well, "What if I mess up? What if I make the kingdom worse than it is…"
"You'll find a way, I'm sure of it," She continued, her hands lifting his face up so he can see her eyes, a gaze filled with sincerity. "The ancestors will guide you through all your problems, you're not alone Caelum, I'm here too,"
Caelum nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes and patting his pokemon companion, Tyrunt grunting softly from the affection.
"Right, I'll do my best…"