Chapter 561: I Am Arceus!

The aftershocks of the Black Hole's collapse slowly subside, and the chaotic, roiling Anti-Matter region gradually returns to stillness.

Within the Black Hole, Ma Shu Mu's Shadow stands still; having endured countless depletions and silently upheld the world for ages, their Creator God's body is already on the brink of disintegration, and their breath is exhausted to the utmost.

"Arceus is the source of all Pokemon World. While it exists, myriad worlds endure; when it is in chaos, myriad worlds collapse."

His voice is hoarse yet calm, carrying endless fatigue and resignation.

"Now I can no longer hold on."

"Or rather, I no longer wish to endure. After a thousand years, I am weary; I want to rest properly once."

Ma Shu Mu lifts their gaze toward Huo La, each word heavy, revealing the final sole way out.

"If you wish to protect these Pokemon, protect all living beings and worlds, there is only one path left."

"Take its place, accept this Creator God's body, become the new Arceus, and stabilize the myriad orders of the world."

"But you must understand the price."

"From now on, you may no longer be the pure Huo La. You will become a 'God' suspended high among the heavens, a vessel of order existing solely to maintain the world's stability."

Huo La stands silently, his mind shaking profoundly.

He watches the exhausted Ma Shu Mu before him, then looks toward the Antimatter World outside the Black Hole being constantly erased by it, feeling a swirl of emotions, his expression reaching extreme complexity.

At that moment, another voice sounds, filled with resentment: "Huo La, don't listen to him. If you choose to help me, I can promise not to destroy the world you inhabit and to restore it to its original state."

"If you let me return to the divine body, I will still be the Creator God who governs all things; no need for you to sacrifice yourself, no one needs to pay any price!"

With the voice's emergence, the soul-state Arceus materializes.

Ma Shu Mu's voice sounds again, "The choice is yours."

"Either accept the divine body and shoulder the future of countless worlds; or let him return and allow him to erase everything."

Huo La lowers his eyes, then turns his head toward the weary Ma Shu Mu, speaking softly, voicing a long‑held sentiment from his heart.

"I once thought that crossing into this world was rebirth, a reward for escaping the suffering of my previous life."

"But only now do I realize that from start to finish, it has been a trial aimed at me."

Ma Shu Mu gives a faint smile, his eyes filled with Resonance and fatigue.

From the void of death in the previous life, to the ecstatic rebirth in the Pokemon World, and now to this decision, it has been a painful cultivation and a test of oneself.

"You cannot choose this path!!!"

Arceus's roar suddenly erupts, bearing extreme panic and resentment.

Huo La's eyes turn cold, his resolve fully set, each word resonant and striking the ground.

"There is nothing that cannot be chosen."

"You created the heavens and worlds, so you should be responsible for the living beings of the heavens. Yet you, for your own continuation, intend to willfully destroy all life."

"These Pokemon, these humans, are vibrant lives, not pawns for you to arbitrarily pick or manipulate."

"I am grateful you gave me a second chance at life. But I, Huo La, have never been a tool for others to manipulate."

"In my previous life I was a lifelong, dutiful beast of burden; this life, I will do what I wish, become who I wish to become."

Ma Shu Mu hears this, and a rare hint of smile flickers in his weary eyes, teasing softly.

"Hehe, a llama is still a horse; you ultimately cannot escape being a beast of burden."

Huo La hears this in silence, feeling helpless yet relieved.

A moment later, he looks at Ma Shu Mu, asking softly.

"You... truly will cease to exist?"

Ma Shu Mu's eyes are full of resignation.

"I have occupied Arceus's body for too long, and because of its ties, I can never fully merge; once I leave its body, I will inevitably return to void."

Huo La sighs lightly.

At that moment, Arceus's divine soul suddenly flares brilliantly, rushing straight toward the outside of the Black Hole, intent on reclaiming its own divine body.

At the critical instant, Ma Shu Mu's soul spirit suddenly steps forward, tightly binding the restless Arceus soul spirit, buying Huo La the final opportunity.

"I hold him back! Now, seize the divine body!"

Huo La's mind tightens, instantly clarifying the key.

He draws a deep breath and darts swiftly toward the black Creator God's body outside the Black Hole.

"No—!!!"

The tightly bound Arceus soul spirit roars wildly, exhausting all effort to break free, but ultimately it is a step too late.

The instant he pierces the Black Hole barrier, a searing pain from the Life Source sweeps Huo La's soul.

His consciousness seems torn to countless fragments by an invisible colossal force, then instantly forced to be fused, filled, and reshaped by the boundless divine origin.

The ultimate agony permeates his divine soul, yet brings a bizarre completeness of rebirth, intertwining fracture and renewal, exhausting the last mortal attachment he held.

When the divine soul fully stabilizes, the divine body before him is newly reborn.

The black, silent divine skin that originally belonged to Ma Shu Mu peels away layer by layer, and the cold, obsessive core of primordial Arceus completely melts away.

Pure, flawless white light erupts from deep within the body, permeating the whole, black and white divine radiance intertwine, shedding the old god's shackles and darkness, forging a new divine visage that blends worldly warmth with heavenly majesty.

Huo La stands quietly in the void, silently perceiving this supreme body.

No deliberate activation is needed; a mere thought's slightest shift causes the massive Black Hole behind him, which devours all and shatters dimensions, to instantly calm, withdraw, and fully collapse, leaving no trace of threat.

Two contrasting light spheres hover before him, one black, one white, starkly distinct.

Huo La's gaze rests on the pure white sphere, within which the sealed primordial Arceus soul spirit struggles wildly, roaring incessantly, full of resentment and fury.

Huo La's voice is calm yet authoritative, resonating across the entire void, without a hint of aggression, yet exuding absolute orderly fairness.

"I will not erase you."

"After all, you forged this Pokemon realm, nurtured countless beings, and upheld the foundation of all worlds; I will not deny this primordial achievement."

"But because of your selfishness, you have doomed countless lives, and that guilt must be repaid."

I will completely erase your Creator God memories, your divine authority perception and supreme arrogance, and send you into the mortal world I once lived in.

I will make you personally walk through the myriad aspects of the human world, taste the bitterness of mortal toil you have never experienced, and feel the ordinary hardships of oxen and horses.

No!!! I am the Creator God, how dare you treat me like this!

Inside the pure white light sphere, Arceus's furious roar, no matter how it struggles and bellows, is ultimately powerless.

Huo La slightly lifted his hoof, and a tranquil, gentle spatial gate quietly opened; a ripple of dim light surged, instantly devouring Arceus's soul completely, sending it into the mortal cycle.

At the same moment, Sakaki's figure simultaneously vanished.

Huo La's gaze fell on the other side's pitch‑black light sphere, within which Ma Shu Mu's soul slept quietly.

Even though Ma Shu Mu had long taken everything lightly, openly willing to return to void and be completely liberated, Huo La still did not let him dissipate.

After doing all this, Huo La again looked toward the now silent battlefield below.

There were all the companions who had walked alongside him all the way.

Those times of side‑by‑side adventure, passionate wandering, and mutual redemption are, for his mortal life, the hottest and warmest exclusive memories.

He whispered softly, gently bidding farewell to his own passionate yet ordinary first half of life.

"Farewell, my companions."

When his words ended, the new Arceus's four hooves rose into the air.

With his movement, the remaining Black Hole of the Antimatter World completely melted away, being Sheer Force‑pulled into another dimension the gathered people and deities, all safely returning to the original world.

The next moment, Huo La's figure darted through this world, rushing between every broken, collapsed Space Rift.

Hot on his heels, Regigigas, Ultimate Rider Latias, Mew, Mewtwo Y and the other Divine Beasts all set off, rushing to every corner of the world.

The Rift(s) were repaired one by one, the shattered land regained stability, the muddied heavens and earth became clear again, the withered vitality slowly revived.

The wind blew across this land anew.

The old god's curtain fell, taking arrogance and obsession back to the mortal realm.

The new god was born, bearing gentleness and sincere devotion to protect the lamps of countless households.