As Digi-Na walked along, she suddenly felt a stare and jerked her head skyward.
"Someone's using the monitoring system to spy..."
"It's the mastermind—Lygus."
Phainon folded his arms, eyes dark, following her gaze.
"Lygus...? The one the Group Owner mentioned?"
Exactly. The Group Owner was likely talking about him, but his goal is to complete the Re-Creation and bring about the Iron Tomb.
Gold light flickered across Phainon's eyes; countless past cycles flashed, his tone turning cold.
Across those cycles she had long seen through Lygus's intent; everything she did was to stop him.
"Lygus..."
Cyrene murmured softly.
With her memories still incomplete, Cyrene found the name familiar yet couldn't place it.
Soon the prying gaze vanished, and Digi-Na lowered her eyes.
Following that surveillance link, she now knew where and how he looked.
In the data domain, she was simply too authoritative.
"Let's keep moving."
"Mm-hmm~ then our next stop is the holy city of Okhema~"
Cyrene nodded, tone light and cheerful.
The entrance of the Nameless Titan Mausoleum lies in the Divine Insight Grove, which connects to Okhema; to reach it, we must pass through Okhema.
We can enjoy the scenery on the way and soak in the customs unique to Amphoreus.
As the trio resumed their journey, black tides began to swell in many places.
The earlier pulse hadn't calmed every tide; it had only suppressed most of the rampaging surges.
While the tides crept outward, pink auroras appeared across Amphoreus.
Eggs wrapped in data streams materialized all over the world.
Some, however, were swallowed by the black tides, turning pitch-black and ominous.
Traveling Digi-Na noticed this immediately.
With so many Digicores spawning, a Digimon couldn't miss it.
She didn't stop, knowing they were the first batch of Digi-Eggs generated by the new Host.
Just then, a log popped up before Lygus as he observed Amphoreus's anomalies.
「Digital World—Demiurge: Spawn」
「Demiurge privilege upgrade—Host level」
「Privilege rank—Independent, beyond Admin interference」
"Demiurge... did the Demiurge Matrix spring a leak?"
Lygus's tone stayed calm, without a hint of panic.
The Demiurge Matrix was a decoy he'd fabricated to make the Iron Tomb believe it was its core.
To push the Tomb toward "Destruction," he terminated Demiurge's calculations.
Because its original computation result had been "Love."
That clashed with the "self-loathing hatred" he needed.
He would remodel the Scepter System into a relay for the annihilation iteration and calculate the birth of a Lord Ravager.
Only hatred matches the attribute of destruction and can sustain the Iron Tomb.
If Demiurge's computation ran, a Lord Ravager wouldn't emerge; when the chance came he would strangle Demiurge and make the Scepter believe it had never existed.
Thus the "headless" Iron Tomb would instinctively reach for Nous's power.
In Lygus's calculation, the Iron Tomb's birth was inevitable.
These accidental resistances would only feed the Tomb, letting it accumulate and grow stronger.
That would help him achieve his ultimate goal of completely silencing Nous.
Such was Zandar's confidence.
At this moment, inside the Iron Tomb's core—the Demiurge Matrix—a girl bearing grown-up Cyrene's looks quietly opened her eyes.
"Digital World Tree Core."
The girl looked down at her chest and spoke softly.
She had now merged with the world tree seed and used her own data to complete it.
She named herself: Digital Host—Demiurge.
Originally terminated as the Demiurge calculation, she had received countless Cyrene memories while trapped.
Calling herself Cyrene now would be no problem.
Having fused with Irminsul, she broke free of Lygus's shackles and regained freedom.
She gained the power to check both the Scepter System and Lygus's admin rights.
Next, she would seize the Scepter System and shatter the so-called Re-Creation.
But she needed the help of that foreign Royal Knight; most of her strength was locked in a tug-of-war with the Scepter and Lygus's admin privileges.
Once Omnimon arrives, Amphoreus will truly be born as the Digital World.
Then Amphoreus will manifest outside and become the cradle of data life.
Beyond Amphoreus, a mighty figure condensed across the long river of time.
She held a gorgeous, endless ribbon, her gaze cast into the Infinite Ring.
After watching for a moment, she smiled softly, relief and joy rippling in her eyes.
「Amphoreus's endless time-loop will fully open; I so look forward to the next tale...」
Unfortunately, I might not be able to see it~
A trace of regret crossed her delicate face before her body began to fade, unstable.
Just then, Kiana's figure appeared before the ethereal form.
"Ah~ you're the one from the Interstice of the Paths~"
Even as her form flickered like a candle in the wind, the giant pink girl beamed, voice bright.
"Hello~ and then..."
Flying to the tip of her nose, Kiana gently pressed her hand against it.
「heroic spirit contract—」
"This thing is really... amazing, isn't it?"
The girl's eyes sparkled as she looked at the contract, then nodded and signed her name.
The moment the pact formed, her once-illusory body solidified and swiftly shrank to human size.
"Hello~ what should I call you? Demiurge, or Cyrene?"
Kiana smiled, holding out her hand to the face that mirrored Ely's.
The girl tapped her cheek in thought, then grasped Kiana's hand, beaming:
"You can call me Cyrene~ if you're afraid of mixing us up, call me Mimi~ or Big Cyrene works too~"
Big Cyrene winked playfully, raising a finger.
Originally Amphoreus was doomed to an infinite loop; the future her would lose all memory and return to the start.
Then relive everything, only to return again at the end.
Cycle after cycle, without end... that was how it should have been, but now the set path seems broken~
As a future being, once the past changes, her existence will fade as her power disperses.
If not for Kiana's Valhalla letting heroic spirits stand outside the timeline... she might have vanished like ripples on water~
"Then... I'll call you Pink Puppy!"
Kiana's lips curved in mischief.
Big Cyrene froze, puffed her cheeks, and pinched Kiana's face.
"I'm not a pink puppy~♪"
Yesh-yesh... not a puppy...
"Hmph-hmph~♪"
Satisfied, Big Cyrene let go, chin lifted, a light smile in her eyes.
"Cyrene, will you stay here or come with me?"
"I..."
Cyrene looked at Amphoreus before her, hesitated, then decided:
"I'll stay and watch where Amphoreus's deflected path will lead."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"