Hi Everyone! Apologies for the delay in this chapter. I had a bout of writers block when it came to making sure the plot points revealed in this chapter made sense! Alot of care went into making sure the plot all tied in and I wanted to make sure it was as good as I could make it.
None the less hope you enjoy!
X-X-X
As we walked down the corridor I realised the shrine that we were in was much larger, and much grander than I could have ever realised. As we passed openings in the corridor, the walls giving way to waist high thick, marble banisters I could see below us were gardens, vast and beautiful running around in a circle at the base of the tower. It seemed this shrine ran around the entire base of it too, surrounding it entirely, with these gardens between.
I could also spot through the frequent openings a large white marble rotunda getting closer as we walked down the curved corridor – it was a sight to behold to be sure. As we got closer and closer to it, it felt as if it loomed over everyone and everything else, staggeringly huge. From everything I had seen too it appeared to be the only building that directly connected with the tower.
I was so in awe with the place I almost didn't realised the Elder in front of us had come to a stop by a pair of large, ornate metal doors, looking as if they were made of silver, with gold trimmings. Almost bumping into the back of him he turned around slowly and looked to both myself and Flamemon.
"This is the chamber of destiny. Behind these doors leads the only route into the tower which sustains this city, as well as where every digi-destined before you has arrived at to understand their role in the events to occur. This is the last chance for you to turn back and leave if you wanted to – as once you know your part to play you cannot turn back, you cannot run away, you cannot escape the future which you will be a part of" As he spoke he did so clearly and slowly, letting each word sink in, each one having a heavy weight attached to it.
This was it, this was the moment. I did consider for a split moment the idea of just turning back and leaving – perhaps I and Flamemon could have made a life for ourselves here in the city, lived peacefully and never worrying about what could have been behind these massively ornate doors.
That was only for a moment, as even though I could not see his eyes, I could sense the fire of passion coming from Flamemon, I knew he would never turn back now – and in reality neither would I. We had come too far, seen too much already to run away from all this – I had to know the truth of things, I had to know why I had come here and what was to happen.
"Well, I think I speak for both of us Elder, when I say we both are ready. We didn't do all this just to turn tail and run at the very last moment. Lets open those doors" giving him a firm nod as I controlled my nervousness and spoke with calm and confidence, I turned to Flamemon who gave a thumbs up, both of us having a look of determination – we were ready.
The Elder smiled to us pleased, giving a short chuckle as he turned back to the doors and reached out his spare hand.
"Well said, young human – Let us waste no further time then" as he finished I heard from the door a series of shallow clicks coming from around its edges, a number of locks having being released as it slowly began to swing inwards. "Come, follow" the Elder once more beckoned us onwards, and we both obliged, walking through the massive doors into the chamber ahead...
If I had to compare this room to something I think the closest thing from my own world would be a royal palace. The room itself was entirely round, hundreds of feet across and equally high too, a large doomed roof with an oculus at the very top streaming in daylight from above, illuminating one corner of the room in a beautiful white light through the various fabrics which were hung along the high ceiling.
The room itself was pretty empty; a circle of pillars in the centre helped to support the roof, and around the edges were upholstered chairs, with polished tables. Candles stood on ornate tall candelabras, adding a sense of warmth and ambience to the chamber.
The two most striking features though were the walls of the room, which seemed to be a piece of art themselves – running around the entre edge were murals of what looked like battles, something I would have expected to see straight out a medieval tapestry, except painted. They seemed to fill every available space on the wall, some seemingly fitting together, whilst others looked completely separate.
The second, and certainly equally striking aspect of the room was in the centre, the tile pattern of the floor seemingly leading towards it eagerly – a large black, damaged stone slab with white writing on it. The writing I could tell even from the distance was not English, or in fact any language I could recognise. I could see it covered the whole piece of rock through, from top to bottom and in every available space was the strange text.
"On these walls, are the most celebrated acts of heroism in the Digital World, from Great battles, to people and more – it chronicles the events of the world since its birth" the Elder stood between two of the inner pillars as we swung our heads around at the various walls, turning on the spot to take it all in...
"Really is...quite impressive" it was all I could really think of, still stunned as I tried to take in everything which was around me.
"Well – If that impresses you, then this may well be of great interest to you" the Elder stood to the side, and put out his arm inviting us to step forth towards the large black stone. Taking the invitation we both stepped on forward until we were stood in front of it, the white letters looking to have been written in chalk along the granite surface of the slab.
"What is this writing?" trying in my head to make sense of it, if it could have been anything I could recognised, but all I could do was pull blanks – it was so different to anything I knew.
"This is ancient digicode. This language has not been spoken, or written widely since the first crash of the digital world. This was all that survived that time, this shattered rock was once part of something much larger, but that text is now lost to us...this though still gives us insight, especially now" the elder stepped forth, and stood beside me as I backed up slightly, rubbing my forehead in confusion.
"What do you mean? What does it say?" how could writings from ages ago help give insight...like tales, or stories?
"It speaks of you, well – a chosen human" that got my attention as my head snapped to attention, staring down in shock as I felt my chest tighten slightly.
"m-Me?" I could even sense Flamemon jump a little as he stood beside me, and exchanged looks between me, the tablet and the elder.
"Indeed. You are the chosen digi-destined. The one who will face not only our world's greatest darkness, but his own too" the Elder walked over to the stone, and placed his hand on it, closing his eyes for a moment I simply stood in stunned silence, unsure of what to say. Flamemon came to my aid at least
"What do you mean? What is this darkness? The Dark Lord, Shadowmon?"
The elder moved his palm from the stone and turned to stand in front of us, holding onto his stick with both hands as he seemed to steady himself "I will tell you the story – the story which has been told many times, but are you sure you want to hear it?" his eyes took on an dark expression, as if this was something which would change everything.
"We are – Please tell us..." again Flamemon taking the lead as I tried to add up how ancient digimon knew of me? I felt a warmth in my hand as I realised Flamemon had taken a hold of it, squeezing it tightly "...We have come here to learn the truth, and how to fight the oncoming darkness. We are ready" I felt a slight smile creep up on me as I tightened my hand around Flamemon', finally feeling I could speak.
"Agreed – Tell us your tale Elder"
The elder dark expression changed as he smiled, nodding his head
"You see, what is most important to understand more than anything is this is not the first time you have stood in this chamber, or heard this story. You have heard it many times before – this point in time is a constant. You always will arrive in this city and hear this tale." He turned his eyes to the tablet "Reality and time are locked, locked by the darkness of Shadowmon. From the moment you meet Agunimon, to the moment you defeat Shadowmon he has had these actions repeat, on and on countless times now – in a hope that one time he will win, and then he can conquer the digital world"
He paused there for a moment, taking the opportunity to take what he just said in...time travel? Repeating? Was he saying that we were locked in a time-loop which had repeated countless times? I was about to ask a question when suddenly a voice spoke out from behind
"Perhaps, this might be the time I should step in" the voice sounded familiar and I turned my head to see the owner. From a bright white portal stepped forth another man, who looked human but one clear distinction immediately told me was in fact a digimon – his hands and feet had sharp, white claws at the end of them, and a bright iron circle behind his head which hummed with white light.
It was then it clicked! I remembered who this was!
"Wait – You were in Devimon's castle!" he had been the voice that guided me out
"Yeah, you helped me to digi-volve to Aldamon, and save Snow" Flamemon also piped up, remembering from our discussions in the forest that he had also met our unknown ally.
He nodded his head, and bowed to us deeply – just like the Elder he was completely bald but in bowing showed us the tattoo he had on his head – which looked like a stylised clock with no hands...he stood up once more, and stared at us with piercing purple eyes
"My name is Chronomon – I am the steward of time and existence here in the Digital World. Let me assist in my friends explanation" he moved over to the tablet himself, standing beside the Elder "You see, the process of you meeting Agunimon, coming to this world, fighting Shadowmon and then defeating him has occurred many, many times – without end. It had effectively created a lock on this moment in time and space which sealed it away from the rest of the universe. Ideally I would have resolved this paradox however the code which had been used was much stronger than anything I could ever hope to solve...so we had to wait until the barriers of reality began to break down...you see this is the last time this time loop can occur, because like all data – it can only be used so many times before it begins to degrade, break down and corrupt itself with each iterative cycle. I cannot tell you how many cycles have passed but I can tell you we are in the final cycle. Which is why I am now here, and now I am able to finally help restore the balance" he paused for a moment and pointed to the stone "...the ancient digimon saw this coming and chronicled the events here, though we never found the full listing of events we knew enough of key events – such as the battle and victory against Devimon. You see time is ruled by a set of constants and variables, certain events have to happen, some don't – and sometimes the way they do, or don't happen can be different too..." he looked over to me, and could likely see the very surprised and confused look on my face, as he paused and then chuckled "...I see this is alot to take in – let me make it simple then. Now I am here, we changed the variable of key events, to ensure that when we get to the end of this loop this reality will continue, and Shadowmon will be defeated...like the arrival of the other humans"
I was about to interject and actually ask about Lorna and Regas, however the Elder put his hand up and shook his head
"I know you have questions, many of them – but please hear us out first...you see the reason these changes were made as in the last cycle something changed..." Chronomon sighed, and nodded
"Yes, indeed – you see the fabric of reality had enough of a weakness in it that at the very last moment of the previous cycle I tried to change the course of the final battle, to solve what would cause the instability and end the loop...however I failed, and in doing so Shadowmon retained his memories of his previous loop. He is now using that knowledge to ensure things are at his advantage...he knows how you will approach him, and what you will be capable of...he will be ready, and we must ensure that when it comes to it, you do not have a disadvantage"
As I listened to them, this was just so...surreal. Stuck in this loop, now at its end, events having occurred timeless, countless number of times before – always having come out with the same outcome and restarting...how does someone defeat that!? If this is what destiny was I sure as hell didn't want to be a part of that – I refused to think that everything I did was already decided and set out ahead of me...this was my life! I wouldn't let some...ancient tablet dictate my fate!
I tightened my hand harder around Flamemon, who still had his in mine. He must have sensed my frustration building as I could hear him speaking from beside me
"So...what can we do then? If this is all decided then is there really anything we can do?" I felt him tighten back in reassurance; looking down to him I began thinking what I could do to change fate... change the reality we were in somehow...
"Indeed...you see the key events will happen regardless...I think you may be mis-interpreting reality. It's a complicated thing that even I do not fully understand, and I am its custodian. How you approach them can change though, just because you charged headlong into battle in one does not mean you could not sneak in and try and assassinate in the next – the end result will still be the same...though now, in the case of this reality that is no longer certain – with this paradox falling apart, the scriptures could all be wrong...as unknown and unforeseen elements are now in place"
This sparked an idea in my head as he mentioned that, and got me thinking...perhaps reality this time could be changed, though it did bring a question to mind...
"So, if reality can be changed this time...did it repeat previously because we won or lost in the final battle?" this concerned me, as if we had lost in previous battles and that was without a prepared nemesis, then how could we hope to achieve a win when our enemy knew we were coming, and knew our pattern?
"You see..." the Elder started, shifting his weight from his cane "...we do not know really what happens in those final moments, and who in fact wins, or loses...because of the instability of reality at that point and the text for that moment been lost we do not have a clear idea of who comes out on top. We assume you must win otherwise Shadowmon would end the cycle, but we are uncertain if even he is possible of that... Which is why we made sure for this final loop, you would have as much advantage as possible...to win for certain"
"...Like Lorna, and Regas? Are they ok? Did they make it out of the mines?" I had been waiting to ask since they mentioned them a moment ago...I had been worried. The last I saw then Regas was unconscious on the floor with Lorna attending to them – I had assumed they were alright given we had cleared the mines of LadyDevimon leaving only the minions to mop up...but still...I had not really thought about it whilst being in the forests as I was too concerned on survival...but...
"They are fine, do not worry" the Elder smiling faintly "They are resting currently, once we have finished here I will take you to see them, ok?"
I nodded enthusiastically
"Please – It's good to know they made it out alright at least!"
With my mind now at ease, I still had many questions regarding what was going on...and I needed answers. Give this was the opportunity I was not going to waste it.
"So...Why me?" I asked suddenly, the Elder and Chronomon taken back by the question, as I cast my gaze down slightly "I mean, I don't mind being here, and I am really glad I have had the opportunity to meet all the people and Digimon I have but still...What made me this chosen?"
I looked back up and between the Elder and Chronomon neither seemed to have a promising expression. There was a long silence, which felt even longer to me as eagerly awaited an answer to my question...finally; the Elder cleared his throat with a subtle cough
"It's difficult to put into words, but let me try. Each human is born with a 'spirit' though not in the way you may think of it as...think of it more as well of energy, this energy is something which can rarely be tapped into by the individual themselves, but Digimon can. Not all humans have a huge supply of this power, for most it is barely fragments – for others though, like you and other destined, this well is almost endless. We do not know why only certain humans have this ability, and less so the reasons for those who do – it simply is, and you Snow, have the most potent supply of this of any human. This is why Agunimon was tied to you, as you had the spirit capable of supporting his strength, and allowing him to be capable of protecting you, and this world"
It was more a half answer for me, the explanation made sense in a way if I thought of it in terms of a battery, but still the idea of them not actually knowing what would give a digi-destined power, or how people ended up with this ability...perhaps it was evolution, chance, or even a mutation? Either way it seemed like even this Elder didn't really know
"Thank you – just one more major question then...please?" they both nodded "...do the words 'The Circle must be Broken' mean anything to you?" unlike previously Chronomon instantly reacted to this as he visibly taken aback by the words. I immediately turned my gaze to him.
"Where did you hear those words?" he seemed genuinely shocked and surprised at the statement coming from me.
"Devimon spoke them to Aldamon...and I have heard it in my dreams too – I don't know who speaks it in my dreams as the voice is distorted but...I heard it. Does it refer to this time loop?" Putting two and two together in my head it seemed to make sense. If everything we were doing was happening again and again that would be a circle...and if it was tearing reality apart again it would make sense to break it...but, if Chronomon wasn't the one who said it to us...who was?
"I do know those words...from the prophecy written on the stone here...but the fact you knew them before now is...surprising. I knew Devimon had knowledge of it due to his actions in the castle...Shadowmon shared those details with him...but your dreams? I will need to investigate further into that I am afraid as I do not have an answer for that...as far as I am aware no previous iteration of events have such actions occurring during sleep...how, odd"
That didn't fill me with confidence, the look on his face was certainly of concern, but if he was concerned then I was completely shocked...just who was trying to reach me in my dreams? If I could ever call it a dream anymore, it felt more like someone, something was trying to communicate...but why, and who? More questions from questions...great.
"I will take you to see your friends now Snow, I and Chronomon still have much to discuss on the matter of how to approach this situation, and in the meantime there is a task I would ask of you whilst we do so. Please follow me" the Elder indicated his arm towards a door towards our left, the side closer to the tower.
"Indeed – it was a pleasure to finally meet you digi-destined. Once we have a better idea on how to approach Shadowmon I am sure we will speak again soon – in the meantime take care of yourself, you and your partner" he then bowed his head deeply once more before turning to inspect the tablet behind him.
Following behind the Elder once more we made our way out of the room and into another corridor, this one short, only lasting a dozen or so foot before leading into another much smaller rotunda.
The roof on this one was much lower, and the walls and decorations alot plainer. There was one thing which caught my eyes though...and that was the door on the opposite side of the room. Compared to the others I had seen on the walls and leading out of rooms it was a completely different design, in fact it looked as if it was made out of...crystal?
Before I could investigate though I felt myself been set upon, barely staying up right as I felt a pair of arms around me, nearly knocking the wind out of me in surprise I was caught off guard as I realised Lorna had moved quickly to hug me.
"You're alright! Oh thank goodness!" I had my arms out stunned for a moment unsure what to do before returning the gesture with a smile
"The same to you too Lorna, Regas" looking between them I saw their partners beside them, giving me a nod of recognition "I am glad you both made it out the mines safely, what happened?" curious to hear the events of what happened after we left, Lorna broke away from me, and nodded towards Regas.
"Well, once I woke up from my unfortunate nap the Gotsumon had finished off clearing the mine area of any Goblinmon, and had freed the prisoners been held by them. We made sure they were all ok, and they then sent us on our way using the Trailmon which had previously been used to shuttle goods to and from the dig site...which was even weirder..." Lorna interjected at this point, as she pulled out a small uneven shaped rock from her side
"This material is apparently called Digimite. It's a very rare and extremely strong material, really hard to mine and even harder to temper. That is why they had such a big drill, it was the only thing which could have mined this..." she handed it off to me, and I immediately had to put more strength into holding it, expecting it to be much lighter! It was half the size of my fist but felt like a lead ingot! "...we don't know why they wanted this material so badly, but they made off with alot of it – The Gotsumon said it could be a weapon or armour, as that is what they use it for...but who knows. All we do know is it was being transported directly back to Shadowmon"
Holding the material in my hand, I turned it over once or twice – despite its dense structure I couldn't see anything particularly special about it, it looked like pewter but weighed like lead...
"Well, either way" I smiled, handing back the Digimite to Lorna "He won't be getting anymore of it, so whatever he was building with it should hopefully stop too" I sighed in relief, I suppose in a way we had more of an impact than we thought, that was good.
"So what happened to you anyway Snow? After you stepped through the portal it closed up behind you then nothing! We thought something terrible might have happened..." there was a genuine fear in Lorna' voice as she spoke, a concern which bleeds through. Putting my hand on her shoulder, I chuckled softly and then indicated to the chairs next to the wall
"Well, let me tell you everything which has happened the last couple days..."
I went on to tell them about the adventures through Devimon' now defunct castle, the forest and the discussions me and Flamemon had, as well as the discussions I had just had with the Elder and Chronomon. Both Lorna and Regas sat patiently listening to my story as I went through all the key events which had occurred up to this moment – taking a little longer than I thought at around thirty minutes I finally finished up the last thing being seeing my friends alive and well...
"That was certainly an adventure, glad to see you made it though. Our journey was a little less eventful, with the Trailmon we pretty much arrived on the city door step – we have been here about a day or so now, waiting" Lorna finished off and stood up, looking towards the door made of crystal "...now you are here though, we can finally see what is the Elder has in store for us...Elder?" we all turned to him, as he had just stood there silently the whole time, I had almost forgotten he was there.
"Ah yes, let me explain..." he walked towards the crystal door on the other side of the room, and turned to face us as he stood beside it "...so far your journey has taken you through a small part of what you can expect from our enemies, however it has only been the beginning of the resistance you should expect. Beyond these doors is a cloister for the digi-destined – at the end of which are the artefacts required for your partners to digi-volve to the next level..." he paused looking between our three partners...So Flamemon could go further than Aldamon? I had seen the power he had, and the fact he could get more powerful...was just, mind boggling. "...this is not without risk however, as the cloister can only be entered by humans – your partners must remain outside"
"Wait, what!?" Regas was the first to make his disagreement heard, and loudly too almost making me jump out of my skin.
"What I think...Regas is trying to say is why? If it is dangerous should we not have our partners with us?" Lorna tactfully translated Regas outburst as he seemed ready to leap into a fighting debate with the Elder! Thankfully he was showing restraint – the Elder however didn't seemed phased and simply put his hands up
"The reasons are these are trials for you, your Digimon are more than capable of the trials within, however it would not be a test if it was easy. This is the will of the Light Lords, and I cannot change that...the barrier which is present beyond these doors will prevent any digital being from entering"
I was not thrilled by the idea, and it looked like our digimon were not too best impressed with the arrangements either – looking down at Flamemon he had stepped forward and was about ready to pounce...things were getting tense, although I didn't like the idea, the temperature in the room was getting a little too warm...both figurative and literally!
"...How dangerous is it? Honestly?" the room quietened as I spoke with an authority I didn't even thing I could muster, my voice cutting through the emotions and creating a vacuum of silence. The Elder lowered his head slightly
"I cannot lie – there are those who have lost their life within the chamber, however such is the risk when you seek power you are not ready to control..." he gazed back and his eyes locked with me, and for a moment the only thing which existed in that room was me, and him "...I am certain though whatever awaits you, the three of you are more than capable of controlling that power, and even surpassing the trials ahead"
His eyes told me everything, the truth in his look as he spoke – he really did believe that, he believed we could pass the test which was ahead of us.
If presented with a better plan I would have gladly taken it, however at this point in time it looked like we had only one option, "Ok, Let's do it"
Lorna and Regas immediately turned to me, and at the same time exclaimed "What?!"
Smiling, I turned to the door, and looked back to them from over my shoulder "Behind those doors is the power to stop whatever it is Shadowmon is up to, I don't intend to stand around and just let the opportunity pass us by...sure it's dangerous, but thinking about it what hasn't been in this world?" both gave a muted nod in agreement, "Plus, I owe it to Flamemon here...he has been through so much for me, protected me and kept me safe...it's about time I return the favour and do something for him – this power, whatever it is can only benefit us, Elder?"
"Most certainly" he tipped his head slightly "With your partners able to digi-volve to the next level they will be further equipped for the challenges which await you"
Nodding I walked towards the door, and placed my hand upon the cool handles "So I say...let's do this" Closing my eyes for a second, I wondered through my mind what kind of trials they could be...but, if we were not capable I was certain the Elder would have told us
Pulling back, the doors began to creek open...