And finally, the epilogue! This is also for the Monthly Restrict Challenge: write in future tense
(Till I found the best revenge)
Data Fragment 26: Future
They will say that the world ended that day. Yet everyone will know that the main world was just a rotting corpse, infested by the D-Reaper. If it continued to exist, eventually that scarlet plague would have spread to the smaller, more fragile, yet more healthy offshoots. With its destruction, the many sub-worlds will be freed, and finally will have the space and data to become their own worlds.
However distant and distinct these worlds will grow, however, they will always have one thing in common: a certain boy and girl.
In a small world, a seed of life among millions set free, a boy and a girl will meet. This world will be much like our own, except for the occasional unexplainable disappearances and transformations. Here, the boy will be delivering newspapers on a bike, only to be challenged to a race by the girl on her own bike. They will remain oblivious to the creatures watching from the alleys and television sets.
In another world, a boy and a girl will meet during a shootout at a saloon. They will bump into each other almost literally while seeking cover so they can reload their weapons. Both will quickly point their guns at each other, but don't shoot. They might not trust each other, but they are the only humans in a town full of Digimon.
In another world, a boy and a girl will be rival sorcerers. Their magic and many familiars are mostly products of both illusion and access to ancient technology long forgotten in a world turned barbaric. But the ability for the boy to turn into a dragon and the girl to turn into a fire-breathing fox, that would be real.
In yet another world, a boy and a girl will meet in a world with no monsters at all. Yet they are monsters at heart, even though they will never think or hear of the concept of Digimon. They will be different from other humans, but they will never care.
In yet another world, a fox and a dragon will meet in a world with no humans at all. Yet they are human at heart, even though they will never think or hear of the concept of humanity. They will be different from their brethren creatures, but they will never care.
Some worlds they will only know each other as adults. In other worlds they will never know each other at all, either by choice or circumstance. The numbers of worlds will be uncountable, and so will be their forms and type of lives. But they will all be fragments of the same two beings that will make the survival and growth of all these worlds possible. Sometimes they will interfere directly, other times they will summon others with contagious destiny instead. They will all in some way act to protect each world they dwell in, consciously or not, because that is their core nature and purpose.
Sometimes the true beings can be seen beyond their mortal manifestations, a two-headed dragon wrapped in code and a girl in a vulpine mask and a kimono. But they won't belong to any one world, and seem as misplaced as bats among the birds whenever they appear.
But they will never care. Nothing will be more fitting for those beyond words and worlds.
IIIIII
Thank you everyone for reading this story! It's been a somewhat bumpy and overly long road, but it's been a fun challenge, and very got a very interesting little story out of it.
Cya!