Chapter 571. Fragments of the Past

Chapter 571: Chapter 571. Fragments of the Past

Assembly lines the size of small towns or sprawling villages first came into view, each offering a different angle of the same place. Vast rows of machinery stretched across the facility, metal arms moving with precise, repetitive motions as lights flashed and mechanical parts clicked and clanged into place.

It was a noisy, highly efficient facility that nonetheless possessed an almost ritualistic quality. Then, one facility after another was replaced by the next, making it clear that countless more of these massive assembly lines were being brought into existence. Each time, the view came from a special floor within, a ritual circle etched into the ground and designed to concentrate life force.

Yet at the center of each circle lay not a corpse, as one might expect, but some kind of mechanical sphere, its smooth surface surrounded by faintly glowing machinery.

The view shifted from this noisy place to darkness before presenting a warehouse. Rows of Future Paradox Pokémon stood surrounding the viewpoint, arranged in massive formations that stretched deep into the distance. There were thousands upon thousands of them, encompassing every known Future Paradox Pokémon and more. Their metallic bodies and glowing components remained motionless as they waited in perfect formation.

The memories became more confusing as each "view" was shipped out. Some showed places they had been assigned to guard, with the view moving back and forth along the same patrol route as familiar structures repeatedly passed by. Others showed certain people or things being constantly watched, the viewpoint lingering on them from a distance. Some showed battlefields where robots, men, women, and Pokémon fought. Smoke filled the skies while explosions flashed across the ground, and the chaos of battle made it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. It was a place where the bloodshed seemed to never end.

Then, the memories shifted to the most comforting sight yet. Families and children frolicking and living in amazing places filled with advanced technology. Gleaming buildings towered over clean streets while automated machines moved quietly through bustling communities. Children played with one another while their parents watched nearby, surrounded by the comforts of a prosperous civilization.

Finally, there was red.

The red of hatred, anger, and pain swept through everything, slowly consuming the memories that had come before.

The paths that had been constantly walked were never seen again. The people, places, and things being watched were killed or destroyed. The battlefields grew even more intense before eventually becoming eerily silent. Finally, dreadfully, the children and their families lay dead in pools of their own blood.

After some time, the red faded, leaving behind only the desire to survive. There was no longer much emotion behind the viewpoints, only the persistent need to survive and gain power. And so, the memories showed the world after the end, when almost no humans remained save for small pockets of survivors. Abandoned cities stood beneath perpetually dark, clouded skies, their streets filled only with debris and their buildings slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Alex gasped as the telepathic transfer from Knight came to an end, a wave of emotions flooding his mind. There were a dozen different viewpoints, a dozen minds that had been implanted within him, and through each one he understood more of how the Apocalypse had come to be. His initial guess with Rotom hadn’t been wrong.

Someone had invented and mass-produced the Future Paradox Pokémon, while someone else had created and spread a virus that made them go berserk. Given their power and numbers, it hadn’t taken long for them to wipe out civilization, save for a few powerful cities that had managed to hold on. Now, they were left to wander the world while humanity slowly tried to rebuild.

"Don’t allow this to change who you are, Knight," Alex warned. "Learn from it as much as you can, but don’t allow it to confuse you or disturb your path."

Knight nodded, its convictions regarding strength and survival unchanged. If anything, the memories only explained its highly logical and emotionless mindset for a Pokémon. Still, they were nothing more than fragments of a past it could barely remember, so Knight didn’t consider them particularly important or life-changing.

It did, however, explain how Knight had managed to gain its knowledge of Enhanced Spirit Break. Each Master ranked Iron Valiant had been working toward the same goal, gradually developing greater control over their energies. Their accumulated knowledge had ultimately allowed Knight to complete the requirements necessary to reach the Master rank.

Now, it could manipulate and shape its energies with effortless precision. The change was almost imperceptible compared to before, yet that tiny improvement allowed it to harness and wield far more power.

"Congratulations, Knight," Alex said again. "I hope you continue striving for greater heights from this point forward, until one day you can breach that distant horizon and reach levels of power far beyond comprehension."

Again, Knight nodded, accepting Alex’s words. Its decision to join him all those years ago felt more justified than ever.

"I don’t suppose you’re still hungry after consuming that many corpses?" Alex asked half-heartedly.

Knight tilted its head before bending down and picking up an Iron Valiant’s head. It opened its mouth, revealing the whirling gears within, and chomped down on it like a crusher. Slowly, it devoured the remains until nothing was left before patting its stomach in satisfaction.

"Hahaha, alright. Go join the others, but don’t bully Grim too much."

Knight gathered the remaining corpses with its space pocket and returned to the others, where it was met with cheers, congratulations, and plenty of questions about its newfound power. They even sparred for a while so the others could experience the difference for themselves, though nothing serious came of it.

Afterward, they simply returned to their normal routine and resumed their journey the following day as if nothing particularly significant had happened. Their destination was the industrial district to the south, a sprawling complex said to be large enough to function as an entire city, with access restricted to those who worked there.

Progress was slow. Along the way, Alex and his Pokémon regularly encountered groups of Paradox Pokémon, forcing them to stop and fight. They couldn’t simply fly over the region or travel at full speed, as doing so risked stumbling into too many groups at once and potentially triggering a flood of Master ranked Pokémon. Instead, they advanced cautiously, day after day, until a month later, they finally reached their destination.

Tall, reinforced walls surrounded the industrial district, stretching so far in either direction that they disappeared into the horizon. Weathered and cracked from years of exposure, they concealed nearly everything within, with only the tops of the tallest skyscrapers able to peek over them. Climbing the walls was too perilous, as the exposure would likely attract attention from miles away. Fortunately, they soon found a massive gate and had little trouble making their way inside.

The scale of the district became apparent the moment they passed through. Industrial buildings stretched across the landscape in every direction, connected by broad roads. Towering factories and warehouses stood alongside enormous processing facilities, many of them partially collapsed or gutted. Machine parts, twisted metal, shattered pipes, and other debris covered the roads, while weeds and vines had begun creeping through the cracks in the pavement. Despite the sheer size of the complex, there was no movement beyond the occasional meek wild Pokémon picking through the ruins. Not a single sign of human life remained.

"Based on Knight’s memories, places like these were hit the hardest," Alex muttered. "There were plenty of freshly produced units here when they went berserk, so they killed everything in sight."

They made their way forward and, as expected, soon got into a fight. They took down a dozen Paradox Pokémon, continued onward for a few miles, and then fought another dozen. Unlike before, Alex wanted to clear a swathe of land before beginning their exploration. It would be much easier for his Pokémon to search for resources without having to worry about being interrupted by another battle. These ruins were dangerous enough as it was, and a sudden fight could easily bring part of a building crashing down on them.

By the following day, they had cleared a large area and could finally begin their investigation in earnest. Their search quickly turned up a better map of the district, along with several civilian product manufacturing buildings that had been deliberately placed near the gate. More importantly, they finally found the resources they had come for. Unfortunately, the best materials were located much deeper within the ruins, in the highly restricted sector, meaning they would have to spend even more time exploring if they wanted to reach them.

Another week passed before they finally reached their target. This section of the district was dedicated to the manufacture, assembly, and shipment of military equipment, including guns, ammunition, vehicles, radars, and other highly classified technology. There was also a very high probability that they would find the assembly lines used to produce the Paradox Pokémon. It was the perfect place to search for valuable resources, and Alex hoped they would find enough to fill his space bag to the brim.

The group fought, searched, and repeated the process for an entire week until, finally, they struck the motherlode.

"Jackpot!" Alex exclaimed with a greedy smile.