Led by the receptionist, the four of them quickly arrived at the Hero's Bath located above the People's Bath.
Beside the pool water, which emitted a faint golden glow, a woman with short golden hair and a constant gentle smile watched the group as they approached slowly.
However, the woman's pupils were dilated, showing no movement at all.
This woman was the current leader of the Chrysos Heirs who had summoned them—Aglaea.
"Welcome, fellow Chrysos Heirs from Elysia, and..."
Aglaea turned her gaze toward Digi-Na and Little Corruption, who had Chimera on her head, and spread one hand, speaking in a soft tone:
"The outlanders who have come with a purpose."
"And then? Do you want to expel us from Okhema?"
Digi-Na crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
Just as they were about to enter Okhema, she and Little Corruption knew that a faint, lingering gaze had been monitoring them.
They also knew the owner of that gaze was the blind woman before them.
"I bear you no ill will. On the contrary, I am curious about one thing: what is that object that has appeared within our bodies?"
Aglaea's lifeless eyes looked toward Digi-Na, as if expecting her to provide an answer.
She knew deep down that this white-haired Damselette in foreign attire could give her a complete answer.
"Because this world is transforming into the Digital World. The Digicore inside you can be understood as your new heart; it maintains your form and power, and can even allow you to evolve further. It is also proof of your status as residents of the Digital World."
Digi-Na only gave a brief explanation, as explaining the digicore in detail would take a long time.
Furthermore, once the world's transformation was complete, Irminsul would naturally inform everyone of the Digital World's rules, so she didn't need to worry about it.
"You mean we are evolving into a completely new form of life...?"
Aglaea crossed her arms, pinching her chin with one hand. She paused for a moment before continuing:
"Then the eggs appearing everywhere and the creatures hatching from them—I presume you know about them as well."
Aglaea's tone was very certain.
The digicore inside her told her that this girl knew everything.
"Hmm... maybe this will be easier to explain..."
After a moment of contemplation, a torrent of data enveloped Digi-Na's body.
As the blue glow of the data dissipated, Digi-Na had vanished, and a human-sized, pure white knight, Omnimon, appeared in her place.
"This form makes it easier to explain to you."
Digi-Na extended her dramon sword and continued her explanation to Aglaea.
"Those eggs and the lives hatched from them are in the same state as you are now; they are all beings known as Digimon."
Then, under everyone's astonished gazes, Digi-Na's body was again enveloped by a data stream, her size shrinking until she finally became a Botamon.
"The form of a Digimon after hatching from an egg is the Baby stage, just like a human infant."
As she spoke, Botamon's body began to glow with white light, and she slowly grew larger, turning into Koromon.
"To grow to the next stage, one needs enough strength—that is, a sufficient amount of data—to prompt the digicore to guide the physical form toward a higher level."
Koromon slowly emerged from the white light, hopping onto Aglaea's head and patting her with her ears.
"We Digimon collectively call this process of self-transformation 'Evolution'."
Koromon leaped from Aglaea's head, her body again glowing with the white light of evolution. Her form grew once more, turning into a special Agumon with its right claw covered in Gabumon's fur.
"Evolution consists of several stages: Baby, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, Mega, and the Ultra stage that transcends Mega."
As she spoke, Agumon evolved again, becoming a Greymon whose claw bore the head of a Garurumon.
However, her evolution was not yet over; she then evolved into a special MetalGreymon, and finally into a special WarGreymon.
"The process I just demonstrated was the evolution from the Baby stage to the Mega stage. As for the form after that..."
The special WarGreymon's body glowed with white light and changed back into Omnimon.
"While this form is a Mega, it is somewhat special compared to ordinary Megas, and its strength is also greater."
Digi-Na flourished the cape behind her, and then her body changed once more.
Her body became more angular and sharp.
"The form after that, which far surpasses the Mega stage, is the Ultra stage. But don't worry, there aren't many Ultras in the Digital World."
After evolving into her X-Antibody form, Digi-Na transformed once again into a holy angel knight with pure white wings—Omegamon Merciful Mode.
Finally, she turned into white light again, degenerating back to the Baby stage of Botamon, and hopped into Little Corruption's arms.
"This is what we Digimon are, and it is also the new life being nurtured in your world—Digital Lifeforms."
"This is truly a surprising transformation."
Although Aglaea's eyes remained motionless, her slightly widened eyes expressed sufficient astonishment.
She hadn't expected that while the Sparks had not been fully returned and the Re-Genesis was yet to be completed, the world would have quietly undergone such a change.
There was no sign at all, just like when the Black Tide first invaded.
So, was this a change that brought new life to the world, or a disaster no less than the Black Tide?
Aglaea did not yet know the answer.
"The world's shift toward the Digital World is not a disaster; on the contrary, there are many benefits."
Digi-Na lay comfortably in Little Corruption's arms, her cute little eyes blinking as she looked at Aglaea.
"How so?"
Aglaea 'looked' at Digi-Na with a gentle smile.
Her purpose in restarting the Re-Genesis was to save the Order of Amphoreus, which was on the verge of collapse due to the rampaging Black Tide.
If this friendly outsider had a reasonable and more efficient method, she might just take her advice.
"The weakening influence of the Black Tide is an indisputable fact~ This is all thanks to a lovely Miss Pink Elf~♬"
Little Corruption poked Digi-Na's soft body, a glint in her eyes as she revealed a hint of craftiness.
She was currently making eye contact with the digital host, Dermuge, located within the demiurge matrix.
"Don't pinch me! Ow!"
Digi-Na bit down on Little Corruption's finger, but Little Corruption didn't feel any pain at all.
Instead, it felt a bit ticklish.
Feeling that her attack was ineffective, Digi-Na released the finger, blew countless bubbles at Little Corruption's face, and then hopped onto Cyrene's head.
"I think Nana is very cute too ♪"
Cyrene, holding Chimera, smiled as she felt the soft touch on her head.
"Thank you~"
Digi-Na narrowed her small eyes, glanced at Phainon, and then looked back at Aglaea.
"The Re-Genesis no longer needs to continue. Soon, a brand new era will arrive, and you, along with the other eleven Chrysos Heirs, will be chosen as the guardians of the new world."
Through the digicores of Phainon, Cyrene, and Aglaea, Digi-Na confirmed... they would be just like Irminsul's Royal Knights, Homer's Olympos XII, and Kunlun's Eight Martial Warriors.
They would become the guardian deities of this newborn Digital World's host—Dermuge.
And because of the immense amount of data in this world, they would be far more powerful than the guardian deities of her own Digital World.
Furthermore, this group of people in this world retained their human form data and still possessed the ability to reproduce.
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