The something Kiryu noticed was only recognizable by its glowing red eyes. It just blended in so well with its surroundings that there was no possible way for Kiryu to notice it. At least, not in his current condition.

He wasn't sure if it was the trauma associated with the cell (trauma that he was pretty sure he was done with) or if it was that creature. It had to be one or the other though, because he was perfectly fine while walking up the stairs. So it definitely couldn't be some random scare he had happened to pick up from his experience in the school.

But still, it unnerved him. It just made Kiryu want to curl up into a ball and hope the guards wouldn't abuse him again. Because this was once again the cell in which prisoners ready for death were held. And he was afraid that the tormenting that the guards could give him would allow him yet another chance to make Yuusei's life Hell as opposed to simply passing on. Or make the both of them suffer because he didn't die the way he was supposed to die. And suffering was just something that he didn't want to welcome to his life.

And yet...the fear was something that managed to control him. He didn't blame himself, there were just so many things that could happen in that simple cell. Things he didn't want to experience. And plus, that thing. It seemed familiar, but then again…

Footsteps. From outside. Kiryu felt a jolt, powerful enough to get him to jump up a bit, yet his feet never left the ground. The person's, on the other hand, touched it continuously, making sounds without caring, and not bothering to check in on any of the cells.

But it was just a silhouette of a person. It didn't seem like a guard to Kiryu either. It had a cape, which was something he was pretty sure guards didn't wear.

And it didn't notice anyone. It just walked right past, not caring. No stares, no looks of disgust. Just straight forward walking. Was he blind? Or was Kiryu just unnoticeable from where he was?

He looked down to the ground. He wanted to curl up, but he couldn't. The ground somehow managed to rise up, doing so effortlessly and in away that Kiryu couldn't notice. Because he assumed that he would notice the ground rising up, but he didn't. And yet with it, he was rising up with it, getting closer and closer to the ceiling. Getting closer and closer...

I'm going to die in this cell.

There was no other way to explain it. The black mass was rising constantly, and it wasn't predicable. Sooner or later, he was going to hit the ceiling and either drown or get crushed. Nothing else could've happened.

That's why the guard didn't care, or at least Kiryu assumed so. He knew everyone was going to die a death they couldn't prevent. There was no way to escape it, nor stop it. The black mass just kept on going, and nothing could stop it.

Kiryu braced himself and hoped that maybe, somehow, he could push himself into the black mass and die there. He didn't want any pain and dying in almost complete darkness would satisfy that want. It'll also be longer, allowing him to think for a bit before finally letting go of his life.

The one single good thing about being a Dark Signer was that he had already said his apologizes to Yuusei.

But as for the rest...he assumed he failed the mission and the person running it was just going to send him to Hell. And while that wasn't where he wanted to go there, it was death. The sweet death he had longed for awhile. Pain might have played a role, but he could handle if it was solely directed at him. Anyone else would and will be a problem.

So he braced himself for the ceiling, putting his two hands over his head so he could push himself down and drown in the darkness. But his hands didn't reach any flat surface and the growing pile of matter stopped.

He looked up, as looking down would serve him no good, and realized that he still had miles until he reached the ceiling.

A bit of red shone in the corner of his eye. He looked back down to see where he started at and he noticed the same creature he had seen earlier.

It didn't hurt him last time, so he assumed this time it wouldn't do anything. At least, so he thought before he was lightheaded and dizzy.

-0-0-0-

When Kiryu woke up, the first thing he noticed was his Duel Disk lying on the floor. At least, he assumed it was his. There was no one else in the area and it was directly in front of him. So he took it and strapped it onto his wrist. There were no cards anywhere on it, but that didn't matter. Surprisingly his cards had remained, and thus he put them into the slot for the deck. After that was taken care of, he pushed himself off the ground, looking towards what was in front of him.

Kiryu didn't know what he was looking at, never mind where he was. The town (though he wasn't sure he could definitely call it that) was essentially a mess, looking more like a collection of really old buildings than an actual place. Granted, he was only seeing it from the outside - it could look much better when he was actually in the place - but it still looked completely unorganized. Though, to be honest, it was a decent mess. The real mess was Satellite. And almost everything looked nicer than Satellite.

And despite learning that at the dead of the night no one lurked, he still wandered into the town. He didn't feel like staying outside, especially when he didn't know what could happen. Sure, he had his cards to protect him, but he wasn't sure of exactly how much that could do if he ran into an actual animal. They didn't know how to duel and the monsters were just holograms after all. There was no way they could actually harm a beast.

So he wandered through the down, examining the streets and looking for a place to stay. And while he was doing so, he got a bit reminiscent. The town was partly destroyed, kind of like Satellite, and he figured that maybe he could take refuge in one of those buildings. They were damaged to the point that he was pretty sure that no one was going to mind him staying in there. And besides, he was just going to rest there for the night and set out when he woke up. That shouldn't bother anyone, right?

He felt a tug on his jacket. Turning around, he noticed a humanoid form of a red frog at the edge of his trench coat. It smiled an odd smile that was one Kiryu would never expect for a person to make. It was far too curvy for that.

"You need a place to stay?" it asked. Kiryu nodded in response. If someone was going to willingly offer him a place to stay, well, he'd take it. He just hoped there happened to be no fee attached to it.

It walked in front of him, it looking very proud in what it was doing. Each step it took touched the floor hard - not in a slam, but not the silent footfalls Kiryu had mastered - giving him a confidence that Kiryu knew he couldn't emulate.

"You'll love it here! ShogunGekomon holds parties every night! And this one is no exception! Actually today, we're partying even harder than before!"

Party? "Thanks for the reassurance, but I'm not really one for parties." He actually never been to one, but he withheld the information. It didn't need to know that. And Kiryu also didn't need to know what one was like.

The frog thing stopped. It took all Kiryu had to not stumble on top of him.

"You don't like...parties?" it asked. His voice got lower and sounded more prone to crying, which was a stark contrast from what he was before. After all, it was practically booming. Here, however, it got lower and wavered.

"I just need a place to rest. That's really it."

"I think you and the Digimon Emperor could be friends," it said. Its voice got its confidence back, but it was still rather low and couldn't hold a candle to what it was like before.

But of course, what bothered Kiryu the most was the use of the term "Digimon." He had no clue what it was or what it meant, and the fact that this thing said it...it was probably something that he needed to know.

"Where can I find him?" And he was actually curious. Maybe it was that person who could actually tell him what was going on. Or at least it was a thing that knew a couple of things about this world.

"You actually want to meet him!" it asked. Kiryu nodded.

"You're not going to get any info here. We also might have to - Hey!"

Kiryu ignored him, walking forward. The person behind that name was probably something they didn't want to talk about. He didn't know why, but he just accepted it. And that meant that he couldn't really do much here other than rest.

"Thanks, but I'll get what I need on my own.