Tai held the cards the shadow had given him and watched as it slipped away without a sound. His mood grew heavy. He still knew far too little about the Digital World, and the plot was getting messier by the day.
So many figures who never appeared in the original story were showing up—like that black-robed man, that eerie dark power, and even Gennai. He'd thought Gennai sided with the Four Sovereigns, but from what he'd just seen, that clearly wasn't the case. Gennai knew Tai controlled the Steel Empire and had sealed Baihumon, yet didn't so much as bat an eye.
And Gennai was definitely more than a simple "Agent." In the second series, he had numerous avatars across the Network and the human world; obviously he wasn't just a basic proxy. As for that shadow being able to appear in Gennai's own courtyard—that alone proved they knew each other; otherwise Gennai would have shown himself at once.
There was also a familiar data signature on WereGarurumon and the others, but Tai couldn't place it, as if something were blocking his memories. On top of that, these digital cards threw yet another layer of fog over his thoughts. Still, Tai had a feeling he was getting closer and closer to the truth.
Sometimes he honestly envied the Tai from the original story—no need to worry about anything, just walk the path the Agents laid out. Not like now, living on edge every single day, weighing every decision, trying to survive between the Four Sovereigns and Piedmon's faction. One misstep and it would all come crashing down.
But that was only a thought. Without power backing him, he couldn't possibly stand against such strong enemies. If not for Kari, maybe he wouldn't be doing all of this. But Kari left him no room to retreat. She was his little sister, and her crest-mark was a symbol of Light in the Digital World. If he wanted to protect her, he had to fight those dark forces. Without overwhelming strength, that was impossible.
Thinking of Dagomon from the Dark Ocean, Tai couldn't help sighing. "I'm still not strong enough." Still, with these cards, he now had a second trump card. The first was the Data Oscillator.
The Data Oscillator was developed by Datamon. Its principle was to emit a data wave that scrambled a Digimon's native code while injecting noise into it, disrupting normal operation. Put simply: if you inserted extra base pairs into a human genome, the entire gene would change—and the organism along with it. In fact, Spiral Mountain was essentially a giant Data Oscillator, scrambling the entire Digital World before recombining it.
The cards in his hand were even more terrifying than the Oscillator. Which brought him to the Digital World itself.
The Digital World was generated from humanity's network. Myotismon's castle had originally been where the Agents cultivated DigiEggs for the Digivice and the Crests. Of the nine cards needed to open a gate to another world, the layout corresponded like this: from top to bottom—Rookie, Champion, Ultimate; from left to right—Vaccine, Data, Virus.
In the human world, computers began as tools for storing data; then came viruses to steal that data; then antiviruses—"vaccines"—developed from data to counter the viruses. So much of the Digital World was intertwined with the logic of human networks.
As for measuring data: humans used KB, MB, GB. In the Digital World, that mapped to stages of growth. A Rookie absorbed enough data to move from "KB" to "MB"—Champion. Continued accumulation to "GB"—Ultimate.
When the Digital World formed, data coalesced into DigiEggs at Primary Village—the central hub where data was converted. In-Training Digimon grew there; only from the Rookie stage onward did the Digital World truly recognize them as individuals.
That was why there were nine categories of cards. As for Cyborg-type Digimon, that was an ancient innovation of the Steel Empire—a new style of evolution that enhanced offense and defense by mounting mechanical armor and weaponry, a form of evolution in its own right. The Mega stage also emerged from the Steel Empire's continuous modifications, giving birth to machines like Machinedramon—capable of outclassing Ultimate-level Digimon. The Digital World had accepted the existence of Megas and Cyborg-types, but these weren't recorded at the world's origin. And while human data had expanded to TBs, that unit wasn't used much here.
The cards Gennai and Myotismon held were different from Tai's. Theirs primarily provided coordinates, so they kept changing. As the Digital World continued to be refined, Cyborg-types got added into that system. Tai's cards did not include that—and maybe they would someday, but that would take a long time.
With these digital cards, his Steel Empire would no longer be limited to Cyborg-type Digimon. Without a Digimon's core data, you couldn't manufacture a Digimon—hence why new Digimon were born only in Primary Village. But now, as long as he decoded the data within these cards, he could establish a Primary Village of his own. His power would increase accordingly. Most important of all, the cards contained the Digital World's primal source-power. Unlike the rule-set of the Digivice, the digital cards could be converted directly into power. The Steel Empire had left behind a great many things, yet even they ranked the digital cards as their most important asset—more important than the blueprints for Machinedramon. With only a single card, the Steel Empire had created Machinedramon. Now that Tai had so many, he was all the more confident he could restore the Steel Empire's glory—no, surpass it.
This set of cards offered him a new chance to advance—truly a lifesaver in a blizzard. Even so, a sliver of caution flashed through Tai's mind. The shadow had delivered them at the exact moment he needed them most. Clearly, it understood the development of his Steel Empire inside and out. He still wasn't quite good enough. But that was fine. One day, he would stand at the very top.
After eating the breakfast Gennai prepared, Gennai returned Izzy's laptop to him. Then the group set out for Myotismon's castle.
"It's so quiet here," Mimi squeaked, startled by the deathly stillness.
"Yeah," the other kids agreed. Tai hid a grin. The mechanized soldiers were all in hiding. They weren't living beings; of course they made no sound.
They reached the castle gates without incident. The kids traded glances; Tai sighed and stepped forward to push the door open. A cluster of heads squeezed in to peek at the interior. Off to one side, Tai watched with amusement as they crept around, poking at shadows.
Izzy frowned, propping his chin in one hand. "Weird. Why is there nothing here at all?"
"I think Myotismon has already headed for Japan. That's why none of his underlings are here," Tai said, startling everyone.
"Looks like we need to hurry," Matt said.
They quickened their pace, descended to the basement, and stared at the massive gate there. None of them had ever seen a door that big. In front of it stood a stone pedestal with nine slots, etched with intricate patterns and scattered constellations.
Tai set the nine cards on top. The pedestal lit up and cast its glow onto the gate. The door slowly opened, revealing an indescribable radiance. But what Tai saw was a dizzying lattice of data and matter intertwined—data becoming matter, matter becoming data—this was the very junction of the Data World and the Real World.
When the gate began to open, the children cheered. They'd been here a long time; homesickness had gnawed at them. Now, finally, they could go home. They bolted for the door and dove into the light. Watching them vanish one by one, Tai glanced toward a corner of the basement, then, with Agumon at his side, brought up the rear and stepped through the gate, surrendering himself to it.
"The human world—we're coming back," Tai thought, and then lost consciousness amid the conversion of data and matter.
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