The Underwater Palace.
Gennai picked up a cup of hot tea and took a small sip. This time, however, he sat across from a remarkably dashing human man.
"Good tea!" Having spent much time drinking tea with Bang, Aomori's understanding of the Way of Tea was no longer amateur.
"I am glad you like it." Beneath Gennai's thick eyebrows were eyes narrowed into slits. If it weren't for Aomori's incredible sensory perception, he wouldn't even have noticed the man was looking at him.
"I truly did not expect that the 'HellKnightmon' who took the Server Continent by storm would be a human."
Aomori waved a hand, shamelessly using Homeostasis as a shield since the entity couldn't talk back. "Actually, I am a hidden piece played by Homeostasis. My purpose is to clear the obstacles for the DigiDestined. In that sense, we are colleagues."
"No wonder." Gennai sighed. "It is all because of my incompetence that I failed to meet the Great One's expectations."
"I don't blame you. The dark forces were too powerful. Preserving the Holy Devices was already a great service."
After chatting about a few sensitive topics, Gennai no longer doubted Aomori's identity.
But that wasn't enough. Aomori used his versatile Holy Light to cleanse the dark seed within Gennai, restoring him to his youth and fully winning his trust.
"I am truly indebted to you. Please, if there is anything you need, just say the word. I shall give my all until my dying breath." Gennai bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle.
"No need for such extremes. Actually, I just wanted to ask about the whereabouts of the Dark Masters." Aomori helped Gennai up. "After Piedmon attacked you, he and the other three participated in the sealing of the Four Digimon Sovereigns. Do you know where that battlefield is?"
"Well..." Gennai sat back down, looking troubled. "I was so focused on running for my life that I never tracked their location."
"Let me rephrase then. If they aren't in the Digital World, where could they be?"
"Not in the Digital World?"
"Exactly. A battle between god-like Digimon would be catastrophic for the Digital World. I suspect the Four Digimon Sovereigns lured them elsewhere."
"Hmm..." Gennai habitually tried to stroke his beard, only to feel his now-smooth chin.
With an embarrassed smile, he thought for a moment. "I have heard that there is a wall completely surrounding the Digital World. Between this wall and the world itself, there is a void, a realm where nothing exists. I suspect they are there."
That wall had to be the Firewall.
"Precisely. My thoughts exactly. So, how do I get there?" Aomori asked.
"Straight up." Gennai pointed a finger toward the sky. "The further you get from the Digital World, the more unstable space becomes. Once you reach an altitude where you can see the curvature of the Digital World, releasing an energy attack should shatter the space and allow entry into the Void."
"Understood. Thanks."
"You are most welcome. Do you intend to help the Four Digimon Sovereigns?"
"Indeed." Aomori nodded. If the Four Digimon Sovereigns still had any fight left in them, he wouldn't mind lending a hand.
"How noble! You have my deepest respect. I wish you every success!" Gennai stood up and gave another 90-degree bow.
"Thanks."
After informing Gennai of his arrangements for Tai and the others to ensure he coordinated with the "performance," Aomori bid him farewell, mounted Pidgeot, and flew straight toward the heavens.
...
After over a year of training, Pidgeot's wingspan had broadened significantly, and its speed had increased accordingly, finally reaching a standard average of Mach 2.
How things could train and gain weight in the Digital World was a mystery, but then again, everything in this world was a mystery.
Soon, Aomori broke through the atmosphere. Looking back, the Digital World appeared as a beautiful blue orb, much like Earth.
"This should be it."
Recalling Pidgeot, Aomori used his psychokinesis to maintain balance. He manifested a sphere of lightning in his hand and flicked it into the distance, detonating it.
The lightning exploded, tearing a black hole into the fabric of space. Without hesitation, he dived in.
As far as the eye could see, there was only darkness.
"So this is the Void?" Aomori let out a breath. "It feels terrible. Choosing this as a battlefield wasn't a great move by the Four Digimon Sovereigns. No wonder they got sealed."
He closed his eyes, using his Mind's Eye to probe the path. Following his intuition, he picked a direction and flew forward cautiously.
Counting his pulse, after about ten minutes, a mechanical Digimon with twin cannons mounted on its shoulders suddenly appeared before him.
"Machinedramon? Has it already defeated its opponent?"
Machinedramon's gaze fell upon Aomori. Its metal maw opened, seemingly in a grin. "Human... I have been waiting for you for a long time."
To Aomori's shock, Machinedramon's body suddenly became covered in cracks.
In the next instant, it exploded, generating a world-ending blast. A terrifying shockwave of fire rushed toward Aomori.
His pupils shrank. Without a second thought, he unleashed his ultimate move: "Ittou Shura!"
Using his hand as a blade, he channeled his surging energy into a single strike. A massive blade of energy, dozens of meters long, extended from his hand.
The lightning energy collided with the shockwave, annihilating each other.
The flames roared past Aomori's sides, taking ten full seconds to dissipate.
Aomori spat out a mouthful of blood. Though he had successfully parried the shockwave, the sheer force of the collision had left him with significant internal injuries.
"Dammit! Is Machinedramon insane? Self-destructing the moment we meet?"
He nearly cursed out loud.
Recalling its words, Aomori smelled a conspiracy. He decided to retreat immediately.
"I barely got here and this happens. Talk about bad luck."
But before he could move, a distorted vortex appeared where Machinedramon had stood. Another Digimon emerged.
It had a body like Greymon, claws like Devimon, SkullGreymon, and Kuwagamon, and the legs of Garurumon...
Wasn't this chimera Kimeramon?
Aomori gasped, flicking a light arrow as he retreated at high speed. If he wasn't mistaken, the next step would be...
Kimeramon didn't even look at the light arrow. It opened its mouth and inhaled the residual data from the self-destructed Machinedramon. Its body spasmed and distorted; two massive cannons grew from its shoulders as it transformed into an entirely new Digimon.
"It really is Millenniummon!"
This boss-tier Digimon possessed power far exceeding an ordinary Mega. Aomori had no desire to fight it. He glanced at the System; he only needed ten more seconds to exit the dungeon.
Endurance was victory!
Millenniummon glared at Aomori and let out a roar. Dark energy surged around it, and its eyes turned blood-red.
"Time Unlimited!"
The space-time in the region where Aomori stood seemed to freeze. He found himself unable to move.
With only three seconds left until he could exit combat, space twisted, and Aomori was swallowed whole.