The mysterious girl, or rather the Flame Reaver, or rather… Caeluslana.
She tightened her grip on the sword hilt; behind the mask her scarred face twisted in struggle, golden light flowing across the cracks.
As the one who had inherited everything—especially now that her mind was completely clear—she couldn't bring herself to kill her.
But to safeguard and launch the next cycle, and to stop the Re-Creation from completing, it was necessary. The Black Tide had long since arrived, the triumphant song of Re-Creation sounded again, and the Chrysos Heirs had already set out to seize the Flames.
And now was the crucial moment—kill Cyrene, erase the destined years, and use that power to sustain the following cycle.
Little time for hesitation remained.
Her heart was filled with pain and conflict.
"Should I… try to trust the Group Owner?"
A cold, lonely, slightly mournful hoarse voice seeped out through Caeluslana's mask.
She slowly lowered her head, gazing at the faint glimmer in her right palm—the world tree seed—and fell silent.
At last… she drew a deep breath, as though resolving herself.
She unclenched her sword hand; the jet-black blade dissolved into dark mist.
Then she raised her hand and lifted away the pitch-black mask covering her face.
Beneath the mask was the same face as the white-haired girl lying there.
Yet unlike that girl's clear, youthful eyes, Caeluslana's were filled with pain and an abyssal depth.
Caeluslana slowly knelt, placing the Digital world tree seed on the ground.
The moment it touched the earth, it soundlessly vanished.
Nameless Titan Tomb, core of the sceptre.
The world tree seed blossomed with faint light at the very centre, then faded into hiding.
Having planted the seed, Caeluslana sensed no change.
Her golden-cracked face showed puzzlement.
[Caeluslana: @Group Owner Na, seed planted—nothing happened.]
[Group Owner Na: Once Irminsul absorbs enough data and finishes growing it'll be fine; shouldn't take long.]
[Caeluslana: …]
[Caeluslana: All right, I'll wait…]
While the Kianas chatted, on the neon streets of Tokyo in some world…
A silver-haired girl in hot-pants and black stockings, sunglasses perched on her head, sipped her bubble tea.
Suddenly she froze, looked up; her sapphire eyes narrowed at the sky.
"Hm? I sense a new Digital Host World being born…?"
The girl frowned, pulled out her phone, hesitated a moment, then dialled.
Beep—beep—
After a short tone, a mature, languid female voice came through.
"Well, if it isn't Nana-chan—missing my coffee already?"
"Emergency, Kyoko—no, Alphamon."
The girl called Nana spoke calmly, expression grave.
The woman on the other end, Kyoko, fell silent for a moment, her playful tone gone.
"I felt a flicker too, but it vanished—thought it was my imagination. Seems real after all… Omegamon."
"Right. It appeared without warning; I'll investigate personally."
"Do Yggdrasil, Homer, or Kunlun know?"
"A new Host being born—they'd have sensed it."
"Need me to do anything?"
"Not yet. Investigating a newborn Digital World alone is enough."
Nana shook her head in refusal.
"Sure? This new Host might lie outside Dynamic Balance's (Homeostasis) control."
"No worries, Kyoko. After all this time you've forgotten how strong I am?"
"Heh~ Fair enough. Then good luck~ When you're back, drop by my office for coffee."
"Ahem—let's skip that! Gotta go…"
With that Nana quickly hung up; even her sweet bubble tea now tasted bland.
She tossed the cup into a bin, turned into a deserted alley.
Tap, tap.
Her slender fingers rapped twice on the sunglasses at her forehead.
In an instant countless pale-blue data rings enveloped her; a data-corroded black hole opened beside her and pulled her in.
Wrapped in data, Nana vanished on the spot.
Inside a space filled with code, the data cocooning Nana dispersed as a great sword inscribed with Digital Runes swept from within.
Once the data cleared, the human girl Nana was gone—replaced by a towering, Gundam-like, pure-white holy knight cloaked in an outer-white, inner-red cape, standing tall.
With a casual swing of the great sword gripped by the orange dragon-head in its left hand, it slashed open a channel surging with data torrents.
"Farther than any known Digital World…?"
A crisp girlish voice tinged with static murmured solemnly.
"Better go in X-form."
At those words Omegamon's body blazed white, its form evolving further within the light.
In mere moments Omegamon underwent visible changes.
Its silhouette became sharper, leaner.
The metallic texture of its armour noticeably intensified.
The left-hand Grey Sword grew longer and keener, wrapped in blue energy.
The right-hand Garuru Cannon darkened, its fangs and ears more pointed.
Transformation complete, Omegamon X turned into a blue data stream and shot into the channel.
Inside the long tunnel Omegamon X flew for what felt like ages.
Until… an orange crystal wall blocked the data path ahead.
"This is… a world barrier?"
A Royal Knight who often travelled between Digital Worlds, Omegamon X mistook the crystal wall for an inter-world wall.
Her earlier triangulation placed the newborn Host somewhere beyond this wall.
"Should I cut it open?"
Omegamon X hesitated.
She raised the Grey Sword, pondering whether to drill a small hole.
Just then a purple-rimmed circular hole appeared in the wall.
"Perfect chance!"
Omegamon X's blue eyes lit up; she streaked into it as a beam of light.
Wangshu Astral Express, Taiyin Mansion.
"A guest arriving from beyond the Tree-Sea…?"
Kiana arched a brow, a mysterious smile curving her lips.
In her eyes the purple diamond-shaped pupils glimmered faintly.
Across endless space-time she saw the holy knight standing before a crystal wall within the data space.
The sight surprised her.
She hadn't expected a Qlipoth crystal wall to exist even in the data space beyond the cosmos.
His business sure gets around?!
And… "This Omegamon X actually smells like Kiana!"
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