The heavy, emotionally charged silence in the wooden sanctuary finally began to recede, replaced by the familiar, rigid discipline of a team preparing for a seemingly impossible war. We had just made the conscious choice to throw our guaranteed ticket home into our back pockets and commit to a conflict that was rapidly scaling beyond our weight class. With the emotional anchor of our decision set, Kaldur seamlessly transitioned back into the role of our field commander. He straightened his posture, his Atlantean tattoos catching the dim light filtering through the stained glass windows, and fixed his gaze squarely on the towering, armored form of Ophanimon.
"Okay, Lady Ophanimon," Kaldur said, his voice carrying a calm, authoritative resonance that instantly centered the rest of us. "If we are going to fight this war, we need to optimize our tactical position immediately. Do you know where the rest of our crests are located? With the other side already having found the Crest of Light, time is not on our side. If we already know their locations in advance, we could head straight there once we enter the Server Continent."
I nodded emphatically, my mind already calculating the combat variables. It was an extremely important question. Etemon was an Ultimate-level threat controlling an entire continent through a sophisticated Dark Network. Even if we managed to hit the beaches with four Ultimate-level partners, fighting a supreme commander on a time limit was a losing equation if he brought enough backup. But if we could locate the remaining crests quickly, we might at least pose a serious problem with seven Ultimates on the field. If we were lucky enough, and our coordination was flawless, we might just kill him without needing the Light crest at all.
But that entire thought process died in its crib the moment we saw Ophanimon shaking her head. The Great Angel lowered her gaze, the emerald glow behind her golden visor dimming with unmistakable sorrow.
"I am sorry, young heroes, but I do not know the location of your crests," Ophanimon replied, her melodic voice heavy with regret. "To be entirely honest with you, it truly was pure luck that Myotismon managed to find the Crest of Light. They are completely hidden from all supernatural senses."
I exchanged a sharp look with Wally, who was already frowning. "Hidden how? You're an archangel. Shouldn't you be able to track holy artifacts?"
"It was the Eternals, acting on the direct orders of the Creator," Ophanimon explained, leaning slightly on her massive javelin. "They hid them deeply after the catastrophe of the second age, when the original heroes—the ones who were summoned long before you—used them to save us. But back to your current predicament, because of the specific, divine method the Eternals used to hide them, it prevents any of us angels from being of any real help in looking for them. Otherwise, I would immediately send out as many angelic troops as we could spare to go out and bring them directly to you."
She gave us a look that radiated such profound, agonizing regret about not being more helpful that it made me feel guilty for even asking. Kaldur immediately raised his hands in a placating gesture, while Conner offered a firm, understanding nod.
"It is alright, Lady Ophanimon," Kaldur assured her smoothly. "We understand. It is not that you do not want to help us. But, as you said, for the crests, we have no choice but to seek them by hand since none of the angels can bypass the Eternals' safeguards to locate them. We will find them ourselves."
* * *
From the cold, immaculate marble of my throne in the Divine Space, I leaned forward and allowed a slow, deeply satisfied smirk to spread across my face. The massive holographic screens hovering before me displayed the tense scene inside the sanctuary in perfect high definition. I swiped a finger through the air, dismissing a series of system notifications detailing the steady if small trickle of divine energy I was harvesting from their focused determination.
The catastrophe of the second age. The original heroes. It was all a complete, meticulously crafted fabrication, but it sounded so incredibly authentic coming from the mouth of a Great Angel. I had specifically ordered Phastos and Sprite to weave that lore into the Digital World's history for this exact moment.
If Ophanimon or the other angelic forces could simply scan the continent and hand the Young Justice team their crests, the entire structure of the dungeon would collapse. There would be no struggle, no despair, and no organic emotional growth. I needed them wandering the treacherous sands of the Server Desert. I needed them to face the absolute terror of Etemon's De-digivolution network stripping away their powers, forcing them to rely on their wits and their bonds rather than just overwhelming force.
By making the Eternals the architects of the crests' concealment, I had created an airtight lore reason why the immensely powerful non-player characters couldn't break my game balance. The angels were blind to the artifacts, and the heroes accepted this handicap without a second thought, entirely convinced it was a tragic consequence of ancient history rather than the controlling hand of their Dungeon God. I settled back into my throne, crossing my arms over my bare chest, eager to hear how they would handle the next revelation.
* * *
Kaldur absorbed the setback with his usual stoicism. "Okay, we understand. That was our last question concerning the war, as we appear to be caught up on everything we need to know to survive the immediate future. If anything changes, we trust you will let us know. For our next question... can you tell us what exactly a Star Gate is? Is it like the gate we came here in?"
It was a smart pivot. Now that we knew the tactical landscape of the war, it was time to understand the extraction mechanics. But before Ophanimon could answer, a voice piped up from the back of the group.
"Actually, I too would like to know what this Star Gate is, Lady Ophanimon," Piximon said, hovering forward on his staff. The tiny, brutal trainer looked genuinely perplexed, scratching the side of his fuzzy pink head. "I have never seen or heard of such a thing that can let you travel between worlds."
That made my blood run cold for a fraction of a second. The entire team turned to look at Piximon in confusion. From everything we had gathered, Piximon was several millennia old. He was an ancient, Ultimate-level veteran who knew the deepest secrets of this world's martial history. Could there really be something as monumentally important as a dimensional gateway that he didn't know about?
Ophanimon did not seem surprised by his ignorance. "I would be very surprised if you did know of it, Piximon, since there are only two of them in the entire world, and they were both made during the first age, before even the first great catastrophe."
Our curiosity instantly doubled. "What are they, exactly?" I asked, pulling up a fresh holographic file on my wrist-computer to record every syllable.
"The Star Gate is a special device created by the Eternal known as Phastos, the father of all technology," Ophanimon explained, her voice echoing softly in the wooden rafters. "Its only function is to bridge all the Dungeon Worlds created by the Creator one day. Unfortunately, we are not yet ready to meet our sister worlds, so it has gone unused since its creation. Oh, to be clear, as long as you have the proper coordinates, the Star Gate can take you anywhere in the Omniverse, not just the other Dungeon Worlds."
The sanctuary fell dead silent. I could practically hear the gears grinding to a halt in Wally's head.
Omniverse. Not just another dimension. Not just a pocket reality. She was casually confirming that they possessed technology capable of interdimensional travel to anywhere in existence at any given time. The multiverse theory wasn't just real; it was a local neighborhood compared to what she was describing. Our universe wasn't the only one out there, and this Dungeon God was apparently constructing entire sister worlds across the void.
I rubbed my temples, already feeling a migraine forming. I could only imagine the sheer, unadulterated aneurysm Batman was going to have when I delivered this report. I mentally filed *Omniversal Travel Network* under the list of things to let Bruce deal with when we finally got back home.
"And where are the Star Gates exactly?" I asked, needing to pin down hard tactical locations. If we were going to use one eventually, I wanted the exfiltration routes mapped out yesterday.
"The first one is located on File Island, near the foot of Infinity Mountain, inside the original temple the Digimon ever built for the Creator," Ophanimon revealed, gesturing vaguely toward the south. "And the second one is, of course, on the Server Continent. Actually, Myotismon built his castle directly over the second one. We are still not sure why. He is not smart enough to figure out how it works, and even if he were, one of the primary safeguards is that you need a holy-type Digimon to power it up."
A collective wave of relief washed over the team. For a terrifying second, I had pictured Myotismon—a vampire warlord currently holding the Crest of Light—figuring out the Omniversal coordinates to Gotham City and launching an invasion of Earth. But knowing that the gate required a holy-type Digimon to function meant his dark forces were completely locked out of the network. It was a brilliant piece of divine engineering by Phastos.
"Okay, I am afraid I have been gone long enough from the Kernel, if you plan to stay until the end," Ophanimon said, her form beginning to shimmer with a faint, golden luminescence as she prepared to teleport. "But before I depart, I have another piece of information for you regarding your partners. Particularly Patamon and Gatomon."
Conner and everyone looked down at his partners. Gatomon perked her ears forward, while Patamon fluttered his bat-like wings in anticipation.
"Now, most do not know this, but your species line is special," Ophanimon continued, a warm, maternal affection bleeding into her tone. "When most Digimon go through the Digivolution process, it is somewhat random, highly dependent on environmental data and emotional resonance. But that is not the case for you two. As a holy-type Digimon line, as long as you stay true to your virtues of Hope and Light, your next forms will always be Angel Digimon. Of course, it is completely your choice. If you wish, you can take a random evolution path instead."
Patamon let out a high-pitched cry of pure joy, doing a mid-air loop, while Gatomon offered a sharp, deeply satisfied purr. They were clearly more than happy with being able to continue their angelic path. Ophanimon laughed softly, a beautiful, chiming sound that seemed to chase the remaining shadows out of the church.
"Oh yes, Gatomon, let me tell you about your next form so you can prepare yourself mentally," Ophanimon said, raising a gauntleted hand. "Your Ultimate-level form is called Angewomon. You will be a Vaccine type, in the Mobility class. Your Species Skill is called *Giver of Affection*. It raises the power of all recovery-type skills by sixty percent and makes you completely immune to the Sealed abnormality."
A massive grin broke out across Wally's face, and Kaldur let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. We were going to have another dedicated healer. The tactical value of that could not be overstated. With Angewomon in the backline acting as a super-charged field medic, MagnaAngemon could focus entirely on fighting up front. It was never a good long-term strategy for our only healer to also be our strongest front-line brawler. This completely revolutionized our combat formations.
Ophanimon reached into a pouch at her waist and withdrew four glowing, crystalline spheres that pulsed with intense holy energy. She knelt and placed them gently on the floorboards before us.
"I leave these four Ability Gems for Patamon and Gatomon," Ophanimon said solemnly. "Before anyone says anything about fairness, these four Gems are special in the fact that they were made to be used by holy-type Digimon only. But they are completely useless until you reach the Ultimate level, as only archangels possess the necessary divine core to channel them."
She pointed to the two gems radiating a warm, golden light. "For Patamon, his Gems are *Holy Light*—it deals wide-range Light damage and absorbs health equal to the damage done to the opponent. The second one is the *Vexing Aegis Crystal*—it raises your physical and special defense by one hundred and twenty percent."
She then pointed to the two gems shimmering with a brilliant, pearlescent white glow. "For Gatomon, your Gems are called *Saint Knuckles*—it deals devastating Light damage and absorbs health equal to the damage dealt. The second one is *Aura Light*—it restores the health of all allies in the surrounding area and temporarily raises their stats by thirty percent."
We stared at the gems, completely awestruck. The sheer power represented by those four crystals was staggering. They weren't just stat boosters; they were game-changers that could keep us alive against the Dark Masters and their servants.
"Take them, grow strong, and stay true to your virtues," Ophanimon whispered, her golden armor beginning to dissolve into ascending particles of holy light. "The fate of our world rests in your hands, young heroes. May the Creator watch over your path."
With a final, blinding flash of emerald and gold, the Great Angel vanished, leaving us alone in the quiet church. We had our answers, we had our exfiltration route, and we had our upgrades. There were no more excuses left. Tomorrow we march into the Server Desert and rip this world back from the darkness, one brutal fight at a time.