"It seems that producing in large quantities doesn't work, but in small amounts it shouldn't be a problem for Diancie." Cain immediately explained the situation.
That meant that the diamond in Magearna's hands wouldn't disappear either.
Did that mean that the current Diancie already had the ability to create the Heart Diamond?
A gleam of joy appeared in Cain's heart.
As long as she could create the Heart Diamond, it meant she could continuously produce more Carbink.
Tests would have to be done later.
First, he needed to deal with the matter of Magearna.
"Magearna," Cain called out.
A soft hum resonated in response.
Hearing his voice, Magearna looked at him. She no longer showed the fear she had the first time she saw him.
Diancie also turned her gaze toward Cain.
"Do you want to come with me?" he asked bluntly, making his intention clear.
Magearna immediately shook her head.
She remembered well what Nikola had told her when sealing her in the past: her existence was for the entire Azoth Kingdom, not to follow a specific person.
She could not become someone's weapon.
That was what made things most complicated for Cain.
Although... it wasn't an impossible obstacle to overcome.
He asked Mismagius to come closer, while Slowking and Gengar kept Volcanion in a state of sleep.
Compared to Volcanion's immense power, dragging Magearna into a dream was much easier.
Mismagius, taking advantage of a moment when Magearna wasn't reacting, plunged her into a deep slumber.
Then, Cain entered Magearna's dream together with Mismagius.
...
Before them stretched a sea of flames.
It was the Azoth Kingdom five hundred years ago.
The entire palace burned in the midst of the struggle over Magearna's possession.
Cain stood behind Magearna and an old man with a white beard.
That man was none other than Nikola, the genius who had created Magearna.
"Magearna, your existence is to protect the Azoth Kingdom. But because of your presence, the kingdom has been thrown into chaos. That is why I have no choice but to seal you and send you away," Nikola declared.
Hearing this, Magearna, who still retained her multicolored form, showed a look of sadness.
She loved that kingdom, but because of her, the subjects suffered.
She could feel the pain of the common people, all that suffering resonated in her Soul-Heart.
She wished to withdraw into herself to escape those emotions, but she could not, nor did she want to.
With a hum, she raised her arms and fired beams of flowers toward the burning palace.
It was the last thing she could do for the royal family and the inhabitants of the Azoth Kingdom.
She felt her own helplessness and smallness.
Cain and Mismagius remained as observers.
But soon, a flash of psychic power shone in Cain's eyes. In the instant Nikola lowered his head, his eyes also flickered in the same way.
Cain had replaced Nikola in the dream.
Magearna noticed nothing strange.
"Magearna... can you feel the people's pain?" asked the false Nikola.
If she could have cried, she would already be drenched in tears.
She nodded helplessly, not knowing what to say.
"It's not your fault. But remember: although you were born for the Azoth Kingdom, I don't want you to always carry that burden."
"When you meet someone who accepts you from the heart, someone kind, surrounded by pokémon who rely on him... don't reject him."
"You'll have the chance to start again. You'll be able to choose your own path. Don't cling to the Azoth Kingdom. Live the life you want. That is my wish as your creator, I, Nikola: that you live happily." The old man looked at her tenderly.
Magearna looked at him, stunned. She felt something strange, but couldn't define it.
The logic of his words didn't seem wrong.
"Promise me, will you, Magearna?" he pressed.
She nodded again and again. She knew Nikola would never lie to her.
After that, Nikola sealed her, and the dream dissolved.
...
When Magearna opened her eyes, confusion flickered in her gaze.
Had she been dreaming?
It all felt so real, as if she had truly been there.
Nikola's words still echoed in her mind: Live your own life.
Although she also vaguely remembered that he had once warned her not to become someone's tool... now she couldn't tell what was memory and what was dream.
The phrases she had just heard etched themselves like a constant echo in her heart and mind, while the old memories blurred.
It was the result of Cain's new method with dreams, after what he had practiced with Lysandre.
It wasn't about forcing an opposite belief, but faithfully recreating the memory and changing only a few words, reinforcing them again and again.
That way, as long as one didn't try to break the obsession at its root, it was nearly impossible to distinguish the real from the false.
Of course, to achieve this one had to know the other's most vulnerable part and perfectly reproduce the scene.
With someone unknown, it wouldn't work.
But Cain knew well what Nikola meant in Magearna's heart.
That gave him the advantage.
"So, Magearna? Don't you want to reconsider? Look at my pokémon. Since they've been with me, they've never been disappointed. Our bond is so strong that even you can feel it."
"You need to have your own choice, your own life," Cain said, emphasizing those last words.
It was a way of reinforcing what she had just experienced in her dream, so that the line between memory and fantasy blurred even further.
Magearna fell silent, reflecting.
She didn't reject him immediately.
She was weighing whether Cain was someone she could trust.
She could clearly feel the deep bond between him and his pokémon.
But she couldn't perceive Cain's inner self.
"Magearna," Diancie intervened at her side, nodding sweetly.
She liked Magearna, and the feeling was mutual.
When the image of Volcanion crossed Magearna's mind, Diancie looked at her again and gave her another nod, as if encouraging her to accept.
Should she say yes?
Magearna's kind nature made her unable to refuse. And, after all, the points Nikola had emphasized seemed to apply to Cain.
Finally, she nodded.
She agreed to go with him.
"I hope I haven't trusted the wrong person... Perhaps, maybe... he isn't..." That was the only thought that appeared in her mind after nodding.
(End of Chapter)