Prologue
It's been six years since the defeat of Lucemon...
...for the Digidestined at least. But the fabrics of time between the two worlds have changed drastically since that fateful day. So where only six years have gone by for those five humans, 8,640 years have passed in the Digital World. Empires and cities have risen and fallen, legends, religions, and even evil groups have come and gone, wars were waged, peace was made, some Digimon have become extinct from the planet, and new species have risen in their absence. But in that time, nothing as severe as the events 8,640 years ago has occurred again, or at least nothing has ever effected the human world since then.
But that was all about to change.
A solitary figure hovered across the barren wasteland, an aura of despair surrounding wherever it moved. It was near impossible to identify who this was; pitch-black robes surrounded its body, obscuring its features. A light armor of the same color protruded from its chest and shoulders, coming round to join and form some sort of black helm. When it finally stopped moving, it looked around, hoping to see another approach it. A few seconds later, an ironclad figure began to walk down the abandoned road that stretched across the wasteland. It's armor formed all around its body, and held a large shield on its back; the build of a Knightmon. This Knightmon had two distinct differences from other ones though: where an orange crest in the shape of an eagle usually lay, a steel breastplate was worn, with the symbol of steel printed on the front. The second odd quality about him was two pieces of red armor on each of his shoulders, which ejected many sharp, small spikes.
When the Knightmon finally reached the black figure, the robed being looked up at the new arrival. "It's good to see that your people decided to cooperate," it said in a raspy, yet very dark voice.
"Well," the Knightmon began, "from what that messenger of yours said, you can provide the requirements for what we need..."
"Of course, but we'll need something in return," the figure replied, "and I'm relieved that your leader sent you out of all his followers to meet me here today."
"And why is that?" Knightmon asked curiously.
"From what I hear," the robed being continued, "you're a knight of the kingdom of Latriya, am I correct?"
"Yes, but why does it matter?" the knight asked.
"Why? Because you were the only one of your people who could...you do have it, don't you? And your group's one as well?" the figure asked.
"Have...what?" Knightmon asked, beginning to worry.
"You...don't have it?" the being asked, an ominous aura emitting from the folds of his robes. "You don't have the two keys with you?"
"Wh-what keys?" Knightmon stuttered.
"Those keys were what me and my comrades expected to receive in return for supplying for your cult!" the figure said, its voice as dark as ever.
"I was not told to bring any 'keys'," the knight said, trying to regain his disciplined stature. Fear is not an option for knights. "But I assure you, the next time we reconcile, I will have what you and your companions are searching for."
"See that you do," the dark figure replied, "or else, along with the denial of what your people want..." The being then pulled out a small clear orb, where a small mammal-like Digimon seemed to be contained in. After it touched the orb, the Terriermon inside re-materialized in front of them. It began to gasp at the sight of the two oppressive figures, but barely released any breath before being struck with a golden scythe, and dematerializing into thousands of bits of data.
"I understand," Knightmon said in response to this foreboding threat. Turning from the robed figure, Knightmon walked back down the road in which he came from, not trying to think about what plans his contact had in store. The figure waited until Knightmon completely disappeared from his sight before removing his helm, causing it to dissolve similarly to Terriermon, and revealing a blood red hood where its head should be.
"Hopefully they manage this without gaining attraction to our plans," Phantomon said to himself, "the last thing we need is more interference."