Darkrai stopped holding back.
The air around it collapsed.
Mega energy detonated outward in a violent pulse, not exploding so much as crushing, a pressure wave that warped light, bent sound, and forced the sky itself to bow inward. Shadows thickened until they were no longer absence, but substance.
The moon dimmed.
Cresselia's glow faltered, just for a heartbeat.
Darkrai seized that moment.
It lunged.
Nightmare energy condensed into massive, clawed constructs that tore through the sky like siege weapons. Each strike ripped into Cresselia's defensive light, shattering arcs of moonfire and sending radiant fragments spiraling downward like dying stars.
Cresselia cried out, not in pain, but in strain, her rings flaring erratically as she was driven backward, forced higher and higher into thinning cloud.
The city below groaned as the balance shifted.
Lights flickered.
Dream-wells shattered.
People collapsed clutching their heads as nightmares flooded waking minds.
Cyrus felt it like ice sliding down his spine.
"This is bad," he whispered.
Gengar pressed closer, eyes wide and glowing faintly."…Gen."
Darkrai advanced.
Its mega form expanded, nightmare veins blazing crimson as it raised both arms and pulled the shadows of the city upward. Streets darkened. Alleyways stretched impossibly long. Even the neutral plaza twisted, geometry bending under the weight of fear.
A single, focused beam of nightmare erupted from Darkrai's core, not wild, not chaotic.
Precise.
It struck Cresselia square in the chest.
Her glow flared blinding white...
Then cracked.
A sound like breaking glass echoed across the sky as her rings shattered formation, scattering wildly. Cresselia spiraled, barely stabilizing herself as her light dimmed to a pale, flickering silver.
She was losing.
Below, panic finally broke loose.
Sirens wailed.
Evacuation orders screamed from speakers.
Pokémon cried out as instinct warred with terror.
Ceruledge's flames flared violently, reacting to the imbalance.
Ursaluna snarled, massive claws gouging the pavement as it braced against an unseen force.
Cyrus clenched his fists.
"Hoopa," he said, voice tight.
Hoopa floated beside him, rings humming softly, expression far more serious than his usual playful grin.
"Mmm~?" he chimed, sing-song softened.
"This isn't a game anymore."
Hoopa tilted his head, considering the sky like a child watching a puzzle rearrange itself.
"Never said it was~" he replied lightly. "But it is interesting."
Darkrai raised its arms again.
Nightmare energy gathered, heavier, denser than before, coiling like a collapsing star. The shadows beneath Cresselia reached upward, grasping at her fading light, pulling her down toward the city.
Cresselia fought back.
She forced her wings wide and unleashed everything she had left, a brilliant wave of lunar radiance that flooded the sky, washing nightmare from cloud and air alike. For a moment, the city breathed again.
For a moment.
Darkrai pushed through it.
The nightmare beam tore through the light and slammed into Cresselia's core.
Her cry echoed across the night.
She fell.
Not plummeting, descending, struggling to remain aloft as her glow sputtered violently. Moonlight dimmed to a sickly gray.
The sky darkened further.
Cyrus's heart pounded.
If she fell any farther…
He didn't finish the thought.
Hoopa's rings spun faster now, energy humming like a held breath.
"Ooooh~" Hoopa murmured. "He's serious now."
Cyrus turned sharply. "You can stop this."
Hoopa's smile returned, small, unreadable.
"Could~."
Cyrus looked back at the sky.
Cresselia steadied herself, barely holding position, rings trembling as she faced Darkrai one last time, not with fury, but with stubborn resolve.
She would not abandon the city.
Even if it broke her.
Cyrus stepped forward.
The ground vibrated beneath his boots as Darkrai gathered energy for another, final strike — one that would end the struggle.
"No," Cyrus said.
His voice didn't shake.
Gengar turned toward him sharply.
Ceruledge straightened, flames roaring.
Ditto shifted at his shoulder, forming a firm, determined thumbs-up.
Ursaluna rumbled, planting itself like a living wall.
Cyrus reached for his Pokéballs.
"I'm not letting this be decided without us."
Above, Darkrai's red eye locked onto him.
For the first time since its awakening…
The nightmare noticed the human.
Cyrus met its gaze.
And prepared to step into the war between dream and nightmare.