Digimon: Ruins of Lore
~Prologue~
The digital world, after having been consumed by darkness, was born anew. The powers of light had returned life and hope to a dying, desolate world. After two years of this reforming, the digital world was now a much larger and more different place than it had been before. New lands, new waters, and even new ruins, long forgotten in a void of non-existence, had reappeared once again.
Old relics had returned to the world. Among the rarities, the long sought-after crests had been reformed and enshrined in their own temples. The crests, much like living beings, had undergone their own form of evolution, now allowing their bearers to claim unique abilities.
~Mount Fuji~
An explorer and his young assistant were walking up to a ruined shrine, hidden deep within a large valley that lay within a depression on the side of Mount Fuji. They had appeared well-prepared for the long journey up, but the snow and steep climb were nothing to pass off. The explorer was a tall man who looked to be in his early fifties, with his well-kept, white mustache and contrasting eyes of green. He was wearing a heavy jacket and thick pants that were often required for much of his research, and the exploration of the Fuji mountain range did not fall shy of meeting such a requirement. His assistant was a young boy of about fourteen years of age. The boy's thin build was simply garbed in a black sweater, a red vest, blue jeans, and a pair of heavy boots. His shoulder-length hair was a pitch black color with long bangs that nearly passed his deep, red eyes. Although young, the boy gave off a battle-worn air; his side adorned with the curved blade of a sword and his left eye crossed by an aged scar. The two men looked upon the site they had finally reached, both of them feeling a sense of accomplishment, though for different reasons.
"So, this is the Shrine of Darkness?" the boy asked as the man put down his large travel pack and fumbled around with it until he was able to take out an old book.
"Let's see..." the man replied as he opened the book and flipped through some pages. He got up while doing so and approached what appeared to be two large, granite doors.
"Well, Professor...?" the boy asked again as the man closed the book and looked up at the doors. He pushed his glasses back onto his nose with a single finger as a large smile beamed across his face.
"Ray, we have done it! We discovered one of the gateways," the man exclaimed as he clenched his fists in happiness. "And to think, my fellow researchers thought I was mad when I found this book. But, I have done it... and I will discover another world." The man was too busy looking up to the door with a feeling of triumph to see the suddenly twisted smile Ray received as he drew his blade and walked toward the explorer.
"No, Professor. I'll discover this world..." Ray replied as he raised the blade and cut into the older man's back from a vertical angle, bringing the edge down the curve of the man's spine. Ray pushed the sword deep enough to disable the man, but not deep enough to kill him. Certainly, his pain was great, even with the disability.
"Gah–" the man gasped as he realized he had been deceived. "Y-you've betrayed... me?" he asked in fear as Ray looked down to him and laughed.
"Fool... For one to betray, he must ally with another first," Ray explained as he walked up to the granite gateway, looking over them as he spoke.
"What...? All this time you helped you... you were...!"
"It's about time you've figured this out, old man," Ray smirked as he let his hand meet with the doors, brushing off some dust as he looked for any patterns. "All this time I have been helping you, only because you would lead me to this gate. The world of Darkness awaits me on the other side, where my leader has been sealed away for two years," the dark boy replied as the old researcher's eyes grew wide upon hearing Ray's words.
"World... of d-darkness?" the researcher asked as Ray took out a small, gold pendant and placed it in a small indentation on a fitting place he found engraved on the surface of the door.
"That's right, you fool... and soon, this world and the digital world will be plunged into darkness as well!" Ray explained eagerly as the doors began to open slowly. As the researcher watched in horror, he could see a melancholic landscape unfolding behind the doors. The land on the other side was gray, like the stone of Mount Fuji, but clearly soft and easily lifted, like the sands of a breezy beach. Dark water crashed upon the seaside as a lighthouse came into view, but the colors of this structure looked all but light. The entire world looked gray and twisted, as if the sun had stolen the beautiful blue of the skies and the seas and the green of the grass along with the bronze of the sand had faded away in death. To make the vision even more dreaded, the man's eyes came across the blur of a figure cloaked in a blood red cape and enclosed in the base of two large, black wings. The creature was drawing closer to the gate, gathering more fear into the heart of the older man, until its presence broke the viewing plane and the grains of gray sand fell onto the Earth along with it. The figure looked down onto the old man, peering with a wicked glare.
"Welcome back, Lord Daemon. Your return is our greatest success," Ray commented as he bowed before the taller, cloaked figure.
"Well done, Ray... and what of this human?" Daemon asked as he looked to the Professor.
"I suggest we seal him away in the dark world. After all, he did want to explore it so bad," Ray answered with a smirk as Daemon simply nodded.
"Then we shall give him what he wanted," Daemon replied as he picked up the injured man. The researcher was trying desperately to move his body in an attempt to escape, but Ray's earlier sneak attack had truly disabled all movement he once had.
"N-no... please, show mercy!" the man cried in desperation as Daemon's yellow eyes narrowed on him.
"Mercy...? Now, why should I, Daemon, show a pathetic human any mercy?" the dark lord asked as the man flailed helplessly in attempt to break free.
"I-I am a researcher... I can help gather information!" he pleaded, hoping his excuse to live would be valid in the eyes of this monster.
"Ray has done well with gathering the information I require and you know nothing of the world you have been banished to, maybe a few years in this other world will show you not to trust people so easily," Daemon replied as the Professor's eyes widened with the shock of having been tossed into the world of darkness, closed in by the doors that had been opened for Daemon to enter. Ray smiled as the gates shut before being shattered by Daemon's power as he turned to face his follower.
"Report, I want to know what I have missed in these past two years," Daemon demanded as Ray nodded obediently with a smile.
"During your absence, myself, Shuyein, Adriane, and Yami have been watching the Digital World reform after the digi-destines, who sealed you away, defeated your rival for the dark spores. The spores are gone, however it seems the crests have returned to the Digital World and are no longer claimed," Ray replied, giving Daemon the gist of the important happenings.
"What has happened to Oikawa?" Daemon asked as Ray followed with a smirk.
"You're going to love this... he was possessed by Myotismon this whole time. He gave his life to restore the digital world after the digi-destines destroyed him," Ray replied as Daemon cackled evilly.
"Now that is news that makes up for the loss of the dark spores," Daemon grinned as he opened a new gateway to the Digital World. "Ray, gather our forces and meet me in the Digital World within two hours. It's time to see our plans in motion," Daemon ordered as Ray bowed, a twisted smile making its appearance once again.
"At once, my lord..."