Chapter 18: The Temple of the Dead
Recap: Fang Yuan bred his Moonlight Gu and Lotus Gu to produce a Light-type egg. Now he approaches the Wu Clan's temple, where the fifth Gym Leader—a master of Ghost-type Gu—awaits.
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The black earth crunched beneath Fang Yuan's feet.
Each step sent a hollow sound across the plain, a rhythm that echoed off the temple walls like a heartbeat. The air was cold, thick with the smell of rot and something older—something that had been dead for so long it had forgotten what life felt like.
He walked for an hour. The temple did not get closer. It loomed on the horizon, black and silent, its spires scraping the gray sky. No matter how fast he walked, it remained the same distance away.
Illusions. He's already testing me.
He stopped. Closed his eyes. Reached into his pocket and touched the cracked stone.
The creature stirred. He is watching you. From the temple. He has been watching since you entered the plain.
"I know." Fang Yuan opened his eyes. The temple was still distant, still unreachable. But now he could see something else—threads, thin as spider silk, stretching from the temple to the ground beneath his feet. They pulsed with a faint, sickly light.
Ghost Gu. They've woven a web around the plain. Every step you take, they pull you back.
Fang Yuan released his Lotus Gu. The flower materialized in a burst of golden light, its petals open, its core blazing. The threads around him recoiled, shrinking back from the light.
"Petal Dance," he said quietly.
The golden light scattered across the plain, burning through the threads, severing them one by one. The temple in the distance shimmered, flickered, and snapped into focus. It was closer now. Much closer.
He recalled the Lotus Gu and walked forward.
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The temple gates were open.
Fang Yuan stood at the threshold, looking into the darkness beyond. The air inside was cold, still, heavy. Candles flickered along the walls, their flames casting long shadows that moved when nothing moved them.
He stepped inside.
The shadows twisted. They rose from the floor, from the walls, from the ceiling—hundreds of them, thousands, their forms shifting, their eyes burning. Ghost Gu. Everywhere.
They did not attack. They watched.
Fang Yuan walked through them, his footsteps echoing in the silence. The shadows parted before him, closing behind him, herding him toward the center of the temple.
He let them.
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The altar was at the heart of the temple.
It was a slab of black stone, carved with symbols that pulsed with a faint, sickly light. Candles surrounded it, their flames blue, their smoke rising in spirals. And at the altar, a figure knelt.
He was old, his skin pale, his hair white, his robes the color of bone. His eyes were closed, his hands clasped, his lips moving in a silent prayer. Around him, Ghost Gu swirled—spirits, shadows, things that should not exist.
Fang Yuan stopped ten paces away.
The figure did not move. Did not open his eyes.
"You have come far," the figure said. His voice was soft, dry, like leaves rustling in a tomb. "Farther than any in a hundred years."
Fang Yuan said nothing.
The figure opened his eyes. They were white, sightless, but Fang Yuan felt them looking through him, past him, into something deeper.
"The badges," the figure said. "You carry four. Gu Yue. Shang. Tie. Beast. Four clans. Four leaders. All defeated by a child."
His lips curved into a smile. "Or something pretending to be a child."
Fang Yuan's hand went to his Pokeballs. "I've come for the fifth."
The figure rose. His movements were slow, deliberate, each joint cracking like old wood. The Ghost Gu around him swirled faster, their forms pressing closer.
"The badge," he said. "Yes. Many have come for the badge. Many have asked. Many have begged." His sightless eyes fixed on Fang Yuan. "But you will not beg. You will fight."
He raised his hand. The Ghost Gu lunged.
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Fang Yuan released his Lotus Gu before the shadows could reach him.
Golden light exploded across the altar, burning through the first wave of Ghost Gu. They screamed—a sound like breaking glass—and dissolved into smoke.
But more came. Dozens. Hundreds. They poured from the walls, from the floor, from the ceiling, their forms shifting, their mouths open, their screams filling the temple.
"Petal Dance!" Fang Yuan shouted.
The Lotus Gu's petals spun, scattering golden light in all directions. The Ghost Gu recoiled, their forms melting, but they did not stop. They pressed forward, driven by something beyond fear.
The figure watched, his white eyes gleaming. "Light. A good weapon against the dead. But light fades. Shadows are eternal."
He raised his other hand. The Ghost Gu changed.
They stopped attacking the Lotus Gu. Instead, they began to merge—dozens of them, hundreds, their forms flowing together, twisting, shaping. When they stopped, a creature stood before Fang Yuan.
It was massive—twice the height of a man, its body made of shadow and bone, its eyes burning blue, its mouth a void. A Ghost Gu. Rank 3.
The Lotus Gu's light flickered. The creature was too large, too strong. The petals' light could not burn through its darkness.
"Petal Dance!" Fang Yuan shouted again.
The golden light struck the creature's chest. It staggered, but did not fall. Its hand rose, shadow forming around its fingers, and it struck.
The Lotus Gu's petals shredded. Its light went out. It fell to the ground, its sphere rolling across the stone.
Fang Yuan recalled it. Too weak. I need something stronger.
He released his Stone Dragon Gu.
The dragon materialized in a whirlwind of grey scales and golden fire. Its roar shook the temple walls, cracking the stone, extinguishing the blue candles. The Ghost creature recoiled, its shadow form flickering.
"Dragon Breath!" Fang Yuan shouted.
Golden fire erupted from the dragon's mouth, striking the Ghost creature's chest. The creature screamed, its body dissolving, shadow melting into smoke.
But the figure smiled.
"You think a dragon can kill the dead?" He raised his hands. "The dead are everywhere. They are in the earth. In the air. In you."
The smoke from the Ghost creature did not dissipate. It rose, swirling, forming new shapes, new creatures. Dozens of them. Hundreds. They filled the temple, pressing against the walls, blocking the light.
Fang Yuan recalled the Stone Dragon Gu. It was too large, too slow. It would be overwhelmed.
He released his Wildfire Stallion. The creature materialized in a blaze of orange and red, its mane a torrent of flame, its hooves pawing the ground.
"Flame Charge! Burn them!"
The Stallion charged, its body becoming a streak of fire. It tore through the Ghost creatures, scattering them, burning them. But more came. Always more.
The figure laughed. "Fire cannot burn what is already ash. Light cannot blind what has no eyes. You cannot kill the dead, boy. You can only join them."
He raised his hands higher. The Ghost creatures converged on the Wildfire Stallion, their shadow forms wrapping around its legs, its body, its mane. The Stallion screamed, its flames dying, its light fading.
Fang Yuan recalled it. I need something new. Something he hasn't seen.
He reached into his pocket and touched the cracked stone. The creature stirred.
Not yet, it whispered. He is waiting for you to fuse. He wants you to become something he can control.
Fang Yuan's hand tightened. "Then I won't give him what he wants."
He released his Magnemite Gu. The small electric creature hovered in the air, its magnets spinning, its body crackling with energy.
The figure laughed. "Electricity? Against the dead?"
"Thunder Shock," Fang Yuan said.
The bolt of lightning arced across the temple. It struck the Ghost creatures, but they did not react. Electricity could not touch what had no body.
The figure shook his head. "Pathetic. I expected more from one who carries a fragment."
His eyes fixed on Fang Yuan's pocket—where the black-and-gold sphere rested.
"Yes. I can see it. The thing you carry. The thing that is not Gu, not human, not anything that belongs in this world." He stepped forward, his hands reaching. "Give it to me. Give me the fragment, and I will let you leave. I will even give you the badge."
Fang Yuan stepped back. "No."
The figure's smile faded. "Then you will stay here. With the dead. Forever."
He raised his hands. The Ghost creatures surged.
And Fang Yuan released his Moonlight Gu.
It was his first capture. His weakest. Its light was faint, its wings trembling. But when it materialized, something happened.
The Ghost creatures stopped. They turned, their hollow eyes fixed on the tiny silver insect. And then, one by one, they began to bow.
The figure's white eyes widened. "What—"
"Flash," Fang Yuan said.
The Moonlight Gu pulsed. A burst of silver light, weak and flickering. But the Ghost creatures did not flinch. They absorbed the light, drank it, and when it faded, they were different.
They were no longer shadows. They were solid. Real. Their eyes were no longer hollow. They were silver—the same silver as the Moonlight Gu's light.
The figure stumbled back. "What have you done?"
Fang Yuan smiled. "I gave them something they lost."
He raised his hand. The Ghost creatures turned. Their silver eyes fixed on the figure—their master, their creator, their jailer.
"You—you cannot—" The figure's voice cracked. "They are mine!"
"They were," Fang Yuan said. "Now they're free."
The Ghost creatures lunged.
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The figure did not scream.
He dissolved, his body crumbling into dust, his robes collapsing. The Ghost creatures swirled around the empty cloth, their silver eyes gleaming, and then they too faded—dissolving into light, rising toward the temple's broken ceiling.
When the light faded, Fang Yuan stood alone in the ruins of the altar.
On the stone slab where the figure had knelt, a badge lay—a white disk, carved with the image of a ghost, its surface cold to the touch.
He picked it up. The system flared.
[Gym Badge Acquired: Wu Badge]
[5/8 Badges Obtained]
[Unlocked: Ability Capsule now available in Shop]
[Unlocked: Increased capture limit to 36 total Subjects]
[Fifth Badge Bonus: 250 Primeval Stones]
His status updated: Primeval Stones: 681.
He pocketed the badge and looked at the Moonlight Gu. It was hovering beside him, its light steady, its wings still.
My first capture. My weakest. And yet, it was the one that won.
He recalled it to its sphere and walked out of the temple.
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The plain was different now.
The black earth was cracking, grass pushing through, small flowers blooming. The gray sky was clearing, sunlight breaking through the clouds. And in the distance, the village he had passed through was already changing—the people coming out of their homes, their faces turned toward the sun.
Fang Yuan walked through it all, his steps steady, his face calm.
Five badges. Three to go. The next is in the eastern sea. A water specialist. Rank 5. The strongest yet.
He reached into his pocket and touched the cracked stone. The creature stirred.
You are getting closer. To the badges. To the door. To what lies beyond.
Fang Yuan smiled. "Good."
He kept walking.
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End of Chapter 18