Fanglongmon thrashed in agony, terror flooding its heart. The tiny Ultimate Warblade King Dragon Sword pressed down on it like a mountain; no matter how it struggled, it couldn't shake off the sword's suppression. All it could do was helplessly watch its own energy ceaselessly drain away as its body gradually shrank. The golden radiance wrapped around it tightened like cords, shrinking in step with Fanglongmon's body, clinging to it like maggots on the bone and wrenching out even greater pain.
Tai stood atop the Thunder, coldly watching Fanglongmon's doomed struggle. As the Thunder kept siphoning off Fanglongmon's energy, its once colossal body shrank bit by bit until it was reduced to a single, tiny cluster of light. Even that last speck of radiance was absorbed by the Ultimate Warblade King Dragon Sword. When the light finally vanished, what appeared in its place were four gems shining red, yellow, white, and blue—these were the true Digi-Cores of the Four Holy Beasts. Unlike the Digi-Cores that had orbited their bodies, these were the Digi-Cores they had possessed from the moment they were born.
Tai stretched out his hand, and the four gems slowly rose into the air and drifted into his palm. He lowered his head, gave the last proof of the Four Holy Beasts' existence in this world a brief glance, then stored the gems away. After that, he looked up at the six towering spires on the Thunder, where Fanglongmon's fully drained energy had gathered into six masses of light.
Once Fanglongmon's energy had been completely absorbed, those six clusters of light slowly began to solidify, transforming into six round stones, each set with a circular ring carved with patterns in its center, the shapes of the rings all different. The round stones flickered with light, and intricate patterns kept flashing in and out upon their surfaces.
Watching the six stones form, Tai revealed a faint smile. WarGreymon tilted his head and curiously pointed at the six shining stones.
"Tai, what's that?"
Tai turned to look at WarGreymon.
"These will be the new rules that maintain the Digital World—the Holy Stones. They'll be used to stabilize the Digital World."
As he spoke, he tossed out the four Digi-Cores in his hand. The four Digi-Cores merged into a sphere of light, then split into six streams and shot into the six Holy Stones.
"The Four Holy Beasts will be sealed within the Holy Stones forever, endlessly using the order contained in their own Digi-Cores to maintain the stability of the Holy Stones and the operation of the Digital World," Tai said softly.
When he finished, he gave a wave of his hand. The six Holy Stones detached from the Thunder's energy pillars and turned into six streaks of light that shot off toward six different directions, cutting across the sky and disappearing beyond the horizon.
A long while later, six sky-piercing pillars of light appeared in six directions across the Digital World. After those six pillars rose, the originally clear sky of the Digital World grew dim.
Meanwhile, in the human world, people walking along the streets noticed the once sunny sky suddenly darken. Startled, they raised their heads and saw that the sky that should have been blue with white clouds had become a faintly visible continent. Six colossal pillars of light in different colors reached up within that land.
Sora had been playing soccer on the field. She had just stolen the ball and was about to pass it when the sky suddenly dimmed. Puzzled, Sora looked up and discovered that the sky above her had changed.
"That's…"
Sora stared in shock as she realized the sky above her was actually the Digital World. The most direct proof was that familiar tall mountain—the place where their adventure had begun: Infinity Mountain.
"This is…" Sora's jaw dropped in disbelief. "How is this possible? How could the Digital World turn into something like that… could it be that a new enemy has appeared again?"
Back in the Digital World, the six sky-piercing pillars of light flickered for a while, then started to stretch out toward one another until they met at a single point, forming a six-colored halo. After that, the six pillars of light gradually faded away, leaving only a six-colored ring suspended where they had intersected.
A hand reached out and caught the six-colored ring as it fell freely from the sky. Resting in Tai's palm, the six-colored ring slowly drew back its shifting lights. The radiance condensed into the shape of a golden ring engraved with intricate patterns and symbols.
He slipped the golden ring into his pocket, then turned around. His cloak fluttered in the wind as he walked between WarGreymon and Chaos Megidramon, crossing the Thunder's silver deck. The automatic door slid open to let Tai enter, then closed again, his figure gradually vanishing behind it. WarGreymon and Chaos Megidramon exchanged a glance, then turned around and followed him into the Thunder.
The enormous Thunder began shifting the form of its hull, slowly transforming back into its original spaceship shape. It hovered in place for a moment, then abruptly accelerated and vanished into the clouds and mists of the Digital World.
After the Thunder's departure, only a battlefield full of craters remained, proof that a world-shaking war had just taken place here.
After the six colossal pillars of light had streaked across the Digital World's sky, they faded away. Many Digimon had seen them, but very few truly cared. Compared to the upheavals of the Digital World itself, their own safety was far more important—that was the most basic rule that allowed weak Digimon living in the Digital World to survive. Any Digimon that failed to follow this rule would be destroyed before they had time to grow and would already be on their way back to the Primary Village to be reborn.
Right now, a Liollmon that had only just entered the Rookie stage was staring so intently at the changes in the sky that he forgot everything around him. Behind him, a Gazimon was quietly sneaking closer. By the time Liollmon came back to his senses and pulled his attention away from the sky, the feeling that something was wrong hit him—but it was already too late.
"Paralyzing Gas!"
Gazimon unleashed his special attack. Caught completely off guard, Liollmon was struck and collapsed, paralyzed on the ground. He stared in despair as Gazimon walked up in front of him, raised its sharp claws high, and brought them slashing down. Liollmon's body broke apart into data and scattered into the air.
Gazimon had closed its eyes, savoring the feeling of absorbing data, when it suddenly snapped them open, its face full of disbelief. It had just realized that the amount of data within its own body had barely increased at all. Compared to the data it used to gain by killing a Digimon, this was nothing. The increase was so tiny it could only be described as a mere drop in the ocean.
Gazimon stared at its own claws in astonishment.
"I clearly just wiped out a Digimon… how could this happen?"
Then, its shocked and dejected expression suddenly turned into wild delight, because it realized that if Digimon could no longer evolve by killing each other to absorb data, then weak Digimon like it would become thousands of times safer than before.
This phenomenon kept repeating itself in every corner of the Digital World, and the news that Digimon could no longer evolve by absorbing other Digimon's data quickly spread throughout the entire Digital World.
Upon hearing this news, some Digimon became very happy, because they no longer had to worry that one day a powerful Digimon would kill them just to absorb their data and evolve. But those Digimon who wished to keep growing stronger were furious, because they had lost a shortcut to rapid growth.
No matter what, however, the new rules of the Digital World had already been laid down. Digimon could no longer achieve evolution by slaughtering each other.
On the other hand, after Project Ark reorganized the Digital World, the Digital World had been restored to how it looked before it was destroyed by the Dark Masters. But that restoration applied only to the Digital World itself.
The destruction Dark Tornado Mountain had inflicted on the Digital World was not limited to the world proper; it also extended to the subspaces attached around the Digital World.
Although the reorganized Digital World had regained its vitality, it could not erase the effects Dark Tornado Mountain had left on the surrounding subspaces. The collisions and vibrations between these subspaces caused spatial shocks that began to feed back into the Digital World, riddling the Digital World's Firewall with holes. One after another, channels connecting to other worlds bypassed the Digital World's battered Firewall and opened. And since the human world was the world most closely linked to the Digital World, the number of portals opening to it was simply countless.
Right now, however, repairing the Firewall was impossible. Fixing the Digital World's Firewall was neither simple nor easy; it would consume an enormous amount of time and effort. On top of that, the various subspaces attached to the Digital World were still constantly influencing one another, and the collisions between these spaces were far from over. Even if the Firewall were repaired, it would be damaged again very quickly. Furthermore, the Digital World had only just established its new rules, which meant that all of the previous data was no longer valid, and the Digital World itself was continually developing toward a more material form. Because of this, the old Firewall was already outdated. They could only wait until the subspaces calmed down before attempting major repairs on the Firewall. For now, they could rely only on a simple layer of data protection to shield the Digital World as much as possible from interference coming from other spaces.
On top of that, at the moment all of Tai's Steel Empire's resources were being poured into the research, testing, and production of the newest armors.
The enormous central hall was brightly lit, with countless circuits running through every part of it. Numerous Hagurumon and mechanical Digimon were hurrying back and forth. On the central computer, which stood several dozen meters tall, uncountable indicator lights blinked constantly as vast amounts of data were transmitted to it through countless data cables, then processed within it.
Tai sat in his seat, watching the huge display split into multiple screens, streams of data of various colors flowing over them nonstop. Several Hagurumon beside him were helping Datamon process the data being sent over from the central computer.
"The Armor Project will definitely succeed," Tai thought silently, unconsciously clenching his fist.
Meanwhile, in the real world, when Myotismon had invaded the human world, he had brought many Digimon with him. Afterward, no one had done anything about them. Add to that the countless gates that had opened all over the world between the Digital World and the real world, and every now and then a Digimon would tumble out into reality.
Because of the disappearance of Dark Tornado Mountain and the changes to the Digital World's rules, these Digimon had degenerated. Most Digimon had reverted to the Rookie stage, and some had even regressed all the way back to the Baby stage. Unable to return to the Digital World, they could only wander through the human world. Some Digimon encountered human children and formed close partnerships with them, living together. But today was destined to be a day they would never forget.
At the highest point of Tai City stood a gigantic tower, golden energy gathering around its peak, golden sparks leaping from it from time to time.
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