-Blessed by Divinity: Eternity-

Battle at the Depths

Silence. So far, the boat ride was quiet. The distant island loomed ominously shrouded by the thick ash clouds. The summit of Mount Stark could be seen disappearing into the heavy smog, but it hadn't erupted since we laid eyes on it.

The three of us were in a constant state of uncertainty. On the one hand, we had been told that the volcano is known to erupt randomly. We didn't know if there was a warning sign, or anything that preceded the seemingly random eruptions.

As the ship's captain nervously sailed along the calm tides, I couldn't keep my eyes away from the distant volcano. Elaine had been in deep thought for most of the ride and I couldn't help but think if she had any idea about what she could be getting involved in. Dawn had been trying to keep our spirits up but after a while, she gave up, focusing on the mission ahead.

Then it happened.

The volcano erupted into the skies, columns of bright, glowing lava bursting from the ash clouds. It took the three of us a moment to process what had just happened but this made it clear why Candice was so hesitant to allow us passage to the Battle Resort.

I stood up from where I was sitting at the rear end of the boat, moving into the space on the deck. As I retrieved two pokeballs, I turned to the captain who was shaking at the wheel.

"Captain, you don't have to go any further. We'll take it from here, tell Candice we got there safely."

At first he was hesitant but when he saw that I was serious, he spun the wheel, turning the boat to face the direction we came from. Dawn and Elaine were now stood up too, ready to leave for the island.

The first pokemon I called out was Dragapult. As the stealth pokemon emerged, a serious look on his face told me he already knew what to do. He quickly nodded to me before heading to the island at near supersonic speeds. When he reached his highest speed, a sonic boom echoed over the calm water, stirring up waves near the boat.

Dragonite emerged from his pokeball, allowing Dawn to climb on her back. Elaine released Altaria, the cloud pokemon ready to leave at any time. I took my seat behind the blunette as the two dragon pokemon took off for the island in pursuit of Dragapult.

The further we rose into the sky, the smaller the boat became as it slowly disappeared over the horizon. Soon enough, the island was within landing distance but the two dragon pokemon pushed on, closing in on the volcano, landing before the ash clouds became a problem.

We regrouped with Dragapult on the ground, our pokemon now resting in their pokeballs as we continued on foot. As we made our way up the mountain, the entrance was visible. From where we were stood, a few meters below, the entrance appeared unguarded.

As we moved closer, we could see that the opening in the mountain was completely untouched. So even if the volcano erupted again, this entrance would still be open to us as a potential exit.

With Arcanine by my side, the two of us pushed on, moving into the mountain. Just as I turned to check on Dawn and Elaine, I saw that two people were now stood between us. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I recognised the pair.

The Team Galactic Commanders were guarding the entrance, but they didn't seem to notice Arcanine or I. Mars and Jupiter approached the two girls, turning to me every so often. I didn't seem to be their target, but that meant that our group would be split up.

"Aaron, go ahead, We'll deal with them."

"Yeah, you can't be held up here."

Both Dawn and Elaine were confident in their words. I knew that they would prevail, the two commanders were only here to split us up.