Here we go, next chapter! I gotta say, being stuck in my house and able to work on this has been so nice.
Hope y'all enjoy it! :)
"A touching sentiment."
Vamdemon appeared before the Chosen, and to their shock and abject horror he had changed once again since they had last seen him. The power emanating from him was overwhelming. The air became thick and hard to breathe; Hikari, Kouji, and Takeru were knocked back by it and struggled to keep standing.
As quickly as the shock of his sudden appearance had come on, it wore away and they sprang into action. Digivices were immediately pulled out of pockets or removed from belts and Digimon readied themselves to evolve. The Legendary Warriors each produced a ring of code around their hands and prepared to fight.
Vamdemon let out a cruel laugh. "I'm afraid your little party tricks will not be necessary this time," he said. As he spoke, the ground shook and began to break apart. The sky darkened to a deep, inky black, and colour faded to dreary grey around them.
"What's happening?" Takeru called out.
"It is as I have promised. I will cover this world and all others in Darkness and rule over it supremely. Those who do not bow down to my power will be destroyed."
He held a hand outward, clenching his fist as he did. The ground beneath them all but shattered, and the Chosen were forced to scatter to find stable ground. Vamdemon let out a vicious howl of amusement and said, "You see, this world obeys my every command. It is mine to do with as I please. I am its new God, and I will be known henceforth as OkamiVamdemon."
The ground continued to crumble, and the Chosen were forced to run. There were a number of failed attempts at evolution. Each time one of them would try, another piece of the land would fall out from beneath them. They were running out of places to go.
"Like mice from a nest." OkamiVamdemon chuckled to himself. "As enjoyable as it is to watch you flee in terror, I have much bigger plans for you." He held his hand out once more, conjuring up a sphere of pitch black energy. It spread rapidly, encasing the entire area. It was as if the world around them simply blinked out of existence; nothing could be seen or heard, not even their own voices.
As if he were on a loudspeaker inside each of their minds, OkamiVamdemon spoke, "I have decided not to obliterate you just yet. You see, taking over the world takes time, and I have some things I need to experiment with before total control is mine. You wretched little specks will be my test subjects. When I am through with you, and only then, I may grant you the mercy of death."
A terrifying silence swept over the darkness. OkamiVamdemon's words hung in the air, echoing through the minds of the Chosen Children. Fear clung to them all with an icy chill that sank into their skin and shook them to their very core.
From outside the sphere of darkness, OkamiVamdemon grinned. "The seeds of fear have been planted," he said to himself. He looked over his creation before him; it was immense. Even he was surprised at how massive it was. He glanced down at one of his clawed hands, marveling at the power he now wielded.
He reached his hand up and caressed the wall of energy before him. It thrummed with power, and he could feel every single one of the Chosen Children and their Digimon trapped inside it. He could see into their minds—he knew their names, their lives, their darkest fears and deepest desires.
A twisted smile caught the corners of his mouth and curled it upward. He reached his hand inside the sphere. With one quick motion, he ripped it apart, shattering it to pieces. Each fragment launched from him, into the air and far from sight.
What a delicious game this would be! He would hunt them down, one by one, and pull their fears from them. He'd always had a knack for nightmares—they were his specialty. But now, with all the knowledge and power he possessed, he could bring those fears to life and enact upon the Chosen Children the torture they so deserved.
Finally, after all these many years, he would be able to have his vengeance. He had underestimated the Chosen Children a few too many times for his liking. This time, though, it would be different. This time, not only did he know their strengths and weaknesses, but he had infinitely more power and a veritable fountain of new knowledge.
Apoclymon's knowledge had been a particularly interesting find. It spanned a number of different worlds and timelines, and thought the memories were vague, there were a few fleeting images of the Wall of Fire he had crossed through so long ago. There were also images of a massive void, floating between the worlds.
OkamiVamdemon searched through these memories, intrigued by what they held. Everything flitted through his mind quickly, until finally his mind fell on a familiar image. First, there was nothingness—then suddenly, Vamdemon appeared, as he was before. He watched himself reach out and take hold of the data barrier surrounding one of the worlds and puncture a hole in it. Once he stepped inside the barrier, he lost sight of himself.
However, through Apoclymon's eyes, he was able to see the barrier begin to dissolve. Something in its data changed visibly; it must have been from Cherubimon's defeat. Then, quite suddenly, a beam of golden light burst forth from the centre of this world. It reached out into the abyss, weaving through other worlds until it reached its destination.
The human world.
The beam of light had also skimmed across the barrier of one of the other worlds. It seemed to be being pulled in by this strange Digital World he had first entered, and in that process had been hit by this light. The barrier around this world began to dissolve as well, revealing the Digital World he had always known.
With the barriers no longer separating the two worlds, they gravitated toward each other until they had practically collided. They were now spliced together, their data intermingling in a number of places. This explained so many things—Lucemon, for one.
He watched as the space around these two worlds began to warp and change. It twisted around itself, pulling other worlds closer and closer to it. Their barriers remained intact, but it was easy to see that they were straining against the pull of the now-converged Digital Worlds.
This opened up a brand new door of possibilities. After he had taken care of the Chosen, he would be able to merge these other worlds into one. He would create a new world for himself, one where he was in sole command. All would bow to his power and tremble in his presence.
He would truly become a God.
