When even the red "immunity" energy could no longer distinguish between the virus and the Tree of Beginning's own biological essence, how could this colossal tree remain beyond Lucius's control?
Viruses, now homogenized with the tree's structure, replicated and spread at terrifying speed, like cancer cells, flooding and overtaking every inch of the tree's ancient form.
Today, Rota, a city that had safeguarded the Tree of Beginning for millennia, was far from calm. From the direction of the sacred tree came booming, unrelenting noise, as if a grand-scale war was unfolding beneath its canopy.
Atop the castle walls, Grand Duchess Rin stood silently, her eyes fixed on the towering, sky-piercing divine tree.
For countless centuries, Rota had remained an autonomous city-state, independent of the Pokémon League. The royal family's rule had endured since antiquity, and the monarchy had long been cherished by its citizens.
But recently, that thousand-year tradition had come to an end.
The emergence of the Holy Leviathan Empire had upended the global political order and irrevocably altered the fate of this once-sovereign kingdom.
With the virus having permeated every citizen, the Holy Leviathan Empire's dominion over Rota was inevitable. Queen Rin voluntarily abdicated, relinquishing the city's rule to the new regime.
Following deliberation by the Imperial Council of Elders, Rota was officially restructured from a kingdom to a duchy under Leviathan rule. Rin was granted the title of duchess.
In effect, her authority over Rota remained intact, only her royal rank had been reduced by a single tier.
And yet, facing the imminent upheaval of the Tree of Beginning, the Grand Duchess did something rare: she gave no order to investigate. She had already received a clear directive from the source.
Still, as the inheritor of a legacy that had protected the sacred tree for generations, Rin could not remain indifferent. All she could do was pray silently.
Then, the Tree of Beginning began to change.
The transformation was so stark that it drew the gaze of every Rota citizen.
Once verdant and ancient, vast beyond imagination, the tree began to dim visibly.
Its canopy, once piercing the clouds in radiant green, darkened, slowly turning a somber black.
Like a massive, obsidian nail driven into the earth, its presence now induced an inescapable sense of dread, a crushing pressure that suffocated the heart.
At the same time, Rota's citizens noticed a strange shift in the air.
The breeze no longer carried its usual clarity and serenity. Instead, it bore an exhilarating, euphoric scent; foreign, yet strangely intoxicating.
Moments ago, the virus had completed its corruption of the world's first tree.
Though it still fulfilled its role of releasing purifying energy to foster life, the "life" it now nourished had changed in essence.
Originally, the tree's energy had been pure and life-giving, but suited only for the planet's native biological forms.
Now, with over 90% of surface life already infected, most lifeforms, though maintaining familiar shapes and habits, had been fundamentally altered by the virus.
And the Tree of Beginning, now transformed by the virus as well, had become attuned to the needs of the infected. It naturally began to generate energy optimized for their new physiology.
For the infected, be they human or Pokémon, this energy was a powerful boon.
But for the uninfected, it was poison.
Much like when Lucius detonated a virus meteor in the stratosphere, the tree's canopy, situated at the same atmospheric altitude, allowed its corrupted energy to disseminate globally via jet streams.
And Rota, being closest to the tree, was the first to feel the shift.
But it would not be long before the entire world was bathed in this "life-bringing," euphoric miasma.
...
Unova Region.
Crackling currents of electricity, freezing winds, and searing flames surged outward in a vortex, forcing back the encroaching enemy. Kyurem stood at the eye of the storm, panting heavily as it surveyed its surroundings.
It had just exhausted nearly all its power in the fight.
But despite its efforts, Kyurem was being besieged by more than ten Mythical Pokémon, each enhanced by the virus, and by an unknown threat lurking in the shadows: the virus itself, whose presence it could feel but not locate.
After Arceus left to absorb Giratina in the Reverse World, Lucius had offered Kyurem a choice. But it had remained silent, choosing, through inaction, to continue supporting Arceus.
It believed Arceus would return victorious from the Reverse World.
Reality, however, proved cruel.
Almost immediately, Kyurem was surrounded and attacked by the returning Mythical Pokémon.
With Arceus drawn into the alien dimensions of a black hole and an Ultra Wormhole, the Mythical Pokémon, left without a target, had returned to Unova.
And their first directive was simple: eliminate Kyurem.
To its credit, Kyurem had become vastly more powerful after merging with Reshiram and Zekrom. Even against more than ten virus-enhanced Mythical Pokémon, it had managed to hold its ground.
Though its foes fought with the casual cruelty of those assured of victory, the fact that Kyurem had survived this long without being critically wounded was nothing short of miraculous.
But the land beneath their battle bore the cost.
Once the most technologically advanced region in the world, Unova was now a shattered wasteland.
Spanning millions of square kilometers, the continent was crisscrossed with cracks and fissures, some vast enough to divide entire regions, others forming dense spiderwebs of devastation.
Every city that once showcased humanity's architectural and industrial prowess now lay in ruins, nothing but shattered concrete and rebar.
The Pokémon League, once Unova's great protector, had suffered catastrophic losses. Most of its members had been vaporized by the first shockwaves of the battle.
Only a handful survived: League President Goodshow, Champion N, a few Elite Four members, and the Frontier Brains. They now struggled desperately to reach the continent's outer edges.
Lucius, determined to prevent Kyurem's escape, had sealed off the entire region.
Teleportation was disabled. No human or Pokémon inside could leave.
Even the Champions and Elites had been forced to retreat to the outskirts, barely holding out.
Such was the power gap. The aftershocks of the battle between Kyurem and the Mythical Pokémon were so intense that even the strongest King-tier Pokémon could barely endure them.
At this moment, the human closest to the battlefield was Goodshow.
Though shielded by Cresselia and Darkrai, the white-bearded elder trembled. The glistening in his eyes, the quivering of his beard, both betrayed the agony he could no longer suppress.
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