Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.

Instead of words, the first thing that comes across is a deep breath. It’s nearly indistinguishable from the high winds in the background, but if one were to listen carefully, they would find it. Somewhere very nearby, something whistles faintly in a number of varied tones.

“I tried playing the flute when I arrived here,” The caller says, “Seems all that practice was for nothing; when I approached the dais, something guided me through the song I was meant to perform. It was… a very strange sensation, but I recognized it. It was the same thing I felt when that Pokemon spoke to me years ago. Arceus.”

A gust of wind picks up and the whistling grows louder. There’s a shuffling sound-- a satchel being opened and fastened shut again-- and, by the end of it, the warbling stops.

“There’s a path, now-- a staircase. It’s not exactly to code, but that’s to be expected given the nature of it; I would be more surprised if the platforms leading into open air were OSHA compliant.” He says, distantly entertained at the idea, only to sober and lead into, “The message is quite clear: I’m meant to follow it wherever it takes me… but I couldn’t help but hesitate.”

The next audible breath trembles, just a touch, and he follows it with a slow deliberateness, forcing the pattern and stabilizing himself. His voice is an odd mix of resolute and wondering when he speaks up again, set in his decision, but...

“It’s not that I’ve suddenly given up; it’s more the uncertainty of this new course. I can’t see where the track leads, and as I looked at it, stretching into the sky, I was struck with the knowledge that if I walk up those steps, I’m unable to guarantee where-- or when-- I’ll come back down. Hopefully this is what I’ve worked toward all this time, and I’m about to start the final leg of the commute home… but if my suspicions prove incorrect, if Arceus really is as cruel as Volo seemed to think, I could just be walking into another blizzard. Even so, it may be a risk, but… what other choice do I have?”

He pauses for a moment, fabric rustling. It’s a distinctive sound, a coat being pulled around oneself, and is followed by a handful of muted footsteps against stonework. The beat of silence hangs, calm, pensive-- broken as the speaker sighs.

It’s more than that, though. He breathes out.

“I’ve spent some time observing the Coronet Highlands from this end of the temple. At one point, I saw Sneasler below, headed toward Heart’s Home Arena. She did me the honor of escorting me up, but departed before I attempted to play the Azure Flute. I would be worried, but I think it’s because she’s not the type to let a goodbye linger; if she had any inkling that I was walking into peril, I know she would put me on a different track-- by force if necessary.”

The wind falls silent. That seems strange, knowing he’s standing at the very peak of Mount Coronet, but if he notices, he doesn’t have anything to say about it. He draws another breath.

“A part of me will miss this place, and certainly the people I’ve met here. At first glance, they were harsh, but it’s simply the way a person has to survive when the land itself is always two steps away from killing you. They were there when it counted, and even those who couldn’t afford to reach out carried an ideal in their hearts-- the hopes of a better way to live. To me, that says that they wanted to be kind, even if they couldn’t today.”

The thought is broken up by a small, apprehensive slip of a laugh: a glimpse of the too-human vulnerability that lies beneath, unguarded in this moment.

“If I can be honest with you, I am afraid of what lies ahead. There’s something yet to come, a higher sta--” He stops abruptly and laughs again-- properly this time, echoing across the temple, clear down the mountainside-- and redirects himself, “Something bigger than I can adequately describe. I have a good guess at what it is; I just don’t know what else I can do to appease it.”

As the reverberations fade, so does the fleeting amusement. His tone shifts, and in the moment, it would be nigh on impossible to name everything the inflection carries. There’s sorrow, certainly, unwavering determination… and below both, below everything else it encompasses, there’s an aching tenderness reaching out.

“I hope you’re well. The recent years must have been difficult in ways I can’t even begin to imagine, and I can’t apologize enough for all the trouble my absence must have caused you. Hisui and Unova are two very different beasts, but both are dangerous in their own ways, and I can only trust that you’ve found a way to endure. Whatever may have happened, and wherever you find yourself now, I hope you’ve never doubted how much I love you, Emmet.”

His voice cracks on it-- on his brother’s name-- and Ingo has to take a moment to recover.

“Even if it’s not soon… I will see you again. I promise.”

And, finally, the line closes.

---

The Deified Pokemon. COMPLETE.