Chapter Text
…They were drifting.
It’s been a few cycles now. Some lifetimes have passed by. In every single one, they lived good lives with those two souls.
Sometimes they’d wake up in a new life with only one of them there for a few months or a few years, but the other would show up eventually. Sometimes they were both there right away. And a couple times, they woke up alone for a short while before one of them showed up.
But no matter what, they always came into their life. It was the one constant. The one thing they looked forward to each time they woke up.
They were glad it was also clear the two souls never held onto any memories of their previous lives. They both started with a clean slate.
…That was a very good thing.
As they drifted this time, there was a faint rumble in the distance. They looked around. Freely floating in this space as nothing but a small ball of light was always a strange feeling. No real body to feel. Nothing but stars and faint lines of colors surrounding them.
They weren’t alive. But this isn’t the afterlife either. A space in between that they occupied in between their lives. Freely floating around until it was time to wake up and start their new life.
The rumble happened again a bit louder and closer, and they looked up to see three lights floating down towards them. A bright white, red, and blue. The white light grew bigger and formed into a shape. A shape they knew very well.
“Arceus,” they mumbled.
Arceus lowered their head, very lightly touching their small soul. “My child,” they spoke, their voice a soft echo. “We have a request for you.”
“We?” They asked.
The almighty lifted their head as the other two lights floated closer, both forming into shapes to hover alongside Arceus.
The soul stared at them. The two pokemon of legend that have the power over life and death. Xerneas and Yveltal. They had only seen these pokemon in drawings before but they weren’t a legend they had encountered.
“We have been watching you for some time, and Arceus has explained some things to us,” Xerneas spoke.
“You might be the one we want.” Yveltal lowered their head a little towards them. “And if this works, this will help you in the future. Help all of us.”
The soul was confused. “What are you talking about?”
The three legendary pokemon looked at each other before looking back at them.
“You recall how you received my blessing before,” Arceus explained. “These two would like to also give you their blessing.”
“With these blessings, you will become something like an emissary for the two of us alongside Arceus’ emissary.” Xerneas nodded.
“You will gain abilities that will make you different from the rest,” Yveltal shook their head. “Though, I’m sure you’re used to that by now.”
“I’m sorry we can’t tell you much more yet, my child,” Arceus sighed. “I’m sorry to have to use you again like some tool. But you are special. That is the truth. With all of us working together and supporting you, you will succeed.”
The soul was about to ask more, but then they slowly began to lift up into the air, and all three legendary pokemon held their heads closer to them. Energy from each one began to spill out, flowing into the soul.
They shuddered at the feeling, this was different from before. From when they had climbed that mountain and were granted a wish. This was way more intense. Every particle of their soul felt this energy flowing through them.
“You will be reborn once again,” Yveltal and Xerneas spoke at the same time. “Remember; life and death are one and the same. To live means to die one day. To die means to have lived. You are very familiar with this. With life. With death. Now, we will grant you this power.”
“I trust in you, my child,” Arceus spoke up, their voice slowly fading in an echo. “You will make the right choices. You will succeed. We will be watching.”
They felt it. There was a body forming. They were being reborn into a new life. But it felt different this time, with this new energy flowing through them.
~~~~~
Their eyes slowly opened. They were in a small house, although…something was odd about it. Something felt weird, but they weren’t sure what it was.
They blinked a few times and yawned, looking over themselves. Ah, they’re a male shiny fletchling this time. It’s been a little while since they were able to fly around, so this was nice.
They looked around again, trying to get a better grip on their surroundings. There was a window nearby, and when some wind blew, they spotted a branch with some leaves moving just outside the window.
A thought began to form in their head as they stood up from the small bed they were laying on. The small bird hopped over to the window, looking outside. They were up in the air, seeing other small homes built onto and into large trees all around them.
The homes weren’t too big and it didn’t look like there were too many. This was a small village, and it was built high into some thick trees.
They knew where this was. The dense forest on the main continent. They haven’t been here in a while.
The fletchling thought back to before they woke up. Arceus spoke to them again, and this time with two more legendaries. They did something to the bird; granted them some abilities? But what were they?
…And why?
It almost sounded like this was going to be a test. And if they succeeded, then…something else might happen.
Were they preparing for something? Arceus did say something about “using” them. The almighty clearly didn’t like the idea of using them as a tool once again like they’ve done before. But honestly, it was fine. The bird felt like they would do anything Arceus told them to do.
Anything to keep the two souls safe.
A gasp behind them made the fletchling jump and they looked back to see a pidgeot stepping inside the home.
“You’re awake! And walking around.” She stepped over to them and looked over them carefully. “I didn’t see any wounds on you, but I was still worried.”
This isn’t one of them.
The fletchling looked over themselves and looked up at the larger bird, shaking their head. “No, I’m not hurt.”
The pidgeot sighed, relieved. “Good. I found you on the forest floor, I had thought maybe you had fallen out of the trees up here. Where did you come from? Where’s your family? No one around here seemed to recognize you.”
They looked down at the floor. “I don’t have any,” they mumbled.
The larger bird was quiet for a moment. “I see,” she said softly. “Some of the others around here are similar. My son is like you as well. He’s not my actual son, but I raised him since I found his egg.”
The fletchling perked up, looking up at her. “Really?”
“Yes. He should be home within the next few days, so you’ll be able to meet him if you’d like.” The pidgeot lifted a wing, revealing a bag on her side and she dug through it with her beak, pulling out a berry and placing it in front of them. “Are you hungry?”
“Ah, yes, thank you.” The shiny hopped a bit closer to the berry and began pecking at it, eating small bits of it.
“My name is Lily, by the way,” the larger bird walked over to a nearby container, putting the other berries into it.
They paused. Every time they wake up, there’s a name formed in their mind. Something about this name felt a little…odd. But they weren’t sure why exactly.
“I’m Azrael.”