Dying by Eternatus wasn’t the last thing Gloria remembered. Oddly, it was swift--painful, yes, but it wasn’t long before the light inside her faded and her body had gone completely limp. However, when she opened her eyes next, she was...someplace else. She didn’t know where, for a moment, until she saw her friends below, but separated by some sort of barrier. Gloria could see them, hear them, but as much as she shouted and screamed, they never responded.
Then, almost immediately, something tried to suppress her. It didn’t take long to figure out it was Eternatus itself, if only because its overwhelming presence was working to snuff her out entirely. Perhaps not the first time it had done something like this, using another creature’s stolen spirit to feed itself.
All the while, however, she could hear what it intended, what it was about to do. It was going to kill them all--Leon, Hop, Victor, Bede. Her team, all desperately trying to wake her still body. This forced the unexpected to happen, in which Gloria’s spirit glowed just a bit brighter, just enough to resist in a way Eternatus hadn’t experienced before.
“No!” she cried, at first desperate. But the next sound came out angry and fierce, her strength coming back in slow, steady phases, “No! You’re not...going to hurt them!”
For a split second, Eternatus was forced to hesitate, offering just enough of an opening for Leon to weaken the beast and capture it.
Then searing, white-hot pain. Pain unlike any Gloria had ever experienced before, consuming her and making her scream. The creature’s anger taking over and intending to punish--no, squash out the insolent little light of that young trainer, who dared to speak against it when so many others had fallen before the beast. It was going to destroy everything she loved, bring them pain and agony, and she was going to die like she was supposed to.
And Gloria only yelled back, pushing against the pain. It wasn’t long before she understood that she was now the shield standing between Eternatus and all of Galar--that whatever made up her spirit, it was not only enough to piss it off, but to keep it from breaking out and wreaking whatever havoc it wanted. Gloria didn’t even question it. After all, hadn’t becoming a trainer taught her that mysteries were abound in this world? Who was she to ask why something was the way it was, when she could embrace it and protect those she loved?
It was better than just being a corpse, at least.
So that’s how it started. A constant, tireless battle between Gloria and Eternatus, each trying to overpower the other in order to maintain control. Even without a body, the pain she felt was immense, something beyond that of mortal flesh and bone, and even still, Gloria fought and held on. Some days she did weaken, crying for her brother and friends, but she would always latch back on.
One day the pain became...different. Initially, Gloria just assumed Eternatus was trying some new tactic on her. But soon enough, that became illogical--its voice had quieted to nothing more than a mumble, in her mind, yet the pain remained. Then, for the first time in what had felt like eons, Gloria sucked in a breath.
Air. She was breathing. Oh, but it was agony. She cried out, only to find Eternatus’ bubbling poison spilling from her lips and onto the...ground? It looked like ground. No, wait, floor--the lab? That meant...
“H...Hop...” Her voice came out hoarse and raspy, unfamiliar limbs trembling as they tried to lift Gloria up. But she had to move, had to go--Hop’s house wasn’t far, she remembered. Just down the road, if she could make it there, he and Leon would know what to do. How to make this pain end, how to...
Where was she...? Gloria couldn’t remember. Find Hop...find him...