T.K. rode Pegasmon through the sky, but he didn't spot anything at all, so he could only ask Cody down in the sea if he'd found something.
"What did they ask?" Submarimon asked curiously.
"They said they didn't find anything in the sky, so they're asking if the sea has anything," Cody explained.
"Then the sea doesn't have anything either," Submarimon said.
"Yeah… huh?" Cody was passing a stretch of underwater cliff when he suddenly noticed something off. This "natural" rock wall actually had obvious man-made structure to it. Looking farther down, there was a clearly metallic gate—steel—and even lower than that… parts of the structure were actually suspended in the water.
Cody quickly had Submarimon swim farther away, and then, to his shock, he realized the Digimon Emperor's base they'd been searching for… had been right beside him the entire time.
"This is the Digimon Emperor's base," Submarimon said with certainty.
"I have to tell T.K. right away," Cody said, pulling out his D-Terminal to send a message. And right then, Cody noticed something that looked like an entrance.
"Found the base. We have to infiltrate through a cave," T.K. read from Cody's message.
"Will it be okay?" Tentomon asked worriedly.
At that moment, ripples spread across the sea's surface. The water suddenly sank inward, rapidly forming a bizarre whirlpool. It was bizarre because the water wasn't actually draining downward—every bit of seawater that passed through the whirlpool simply vanished into thin air, then reappeared on the other side. It felt as if the space inside the whirlpool didn't exist… and yet you could still clearly see it.
Inside the Digimon Emperor's base, a black whirlpool appeared clearly on the monitor.
"Hmph. Hmph. Looks like it's about to show up," the Digimon Emperor said lazily, reclining in his chair.
"What is that thing, Ken?" Wormmon asked fearfully as he stared at the black whirlpool.
"That's a huge whirlpool—it's the entrance leading to dark energy. I'm sure there's data on Dark-type Digimon down there. I'm going to retrieve that data to complete the composite Digimon I invented," Ken Ichijouji bragged smugly, overflowing with pride.
"Don't, Ken!" Wormmon panicked and tried to stop him.
"What did you just say?" Ken glared at the one who dared to oppose him.
"I can feel it… but I can't describe in words what's under that whirlpool. It feels terrifying," Wormmon said, his voice trembling. Just thinking about it made him feel like his mind was being swallowed up by that black spiral of darkness.
"Hmph." Ken snorted with contempt, stood up, and walked off without looking back. "You useless thing."
Wormmon made one last desperate effort and grabbed the hem of Ken's cape. "No—don't go. Ken!"
Ken turned back, eyes vicious. "I'm warning you—don't you dare try to order me around." He kicked Wormmon away. Without sparing him another glance, he let out another cold snort and left.
Yolei and Kari were still on their way there when they received T.K.'s message about the black whirlpool. Right now, T.K. was circling it on Pegasmon.
"Why do you two look so excited since a moment ago?" T.K. asked, confused.
"Of course we're excited! It's because we can see that whirlpool!" Tentomon said as if it were obvious.
Pegasmon asked instead, "T.K., don't you feel it? Try staring into that whirlpool."
"I do feel it… what is that thing?" T.K. locked his eyes on the black whirlpool. He could only see its surface, but his mind seemed to sink deeper and deeper into it. In his vision, the black whirlpool stretched out and began pulling him in—and deep within that darkness, T.K. sensed an eerily familiar presence. Before he could place it, his mind snapped back violently.
Meanwhile, Cody and Armadillomon had already slipped deep into the Digimon Emperor's base. It was a place packed with a modern, industrial feel—steel walls lined with countless intricate circuits that blinked with light, and even the staircase beneath their feet was made of metal.
Cody ran up the stairs and stopped at a glass window. Inside, he saw a black pillar that rose beyond sight and plunged downward without an end. From it extended countless pipes and platforms—one glance was enough to tell it was something important.
"This is probably the power room," Cody guessed, staring at that intimidating piece of machinery.
"Should we just blow it up?" Armadillomon suggested. If they blew up the wrong thing, who cared? It wasn't theirs.
"Wait. Let's investigate more first," Cody said cautiously.
"Hey, Cody… don't you think it's really cold in here?" Armadillomon rubbed his arms, shivering. "It's weird—ever since I came in, I've felt freezing."
At the front of the base, a protective shutter lowered, revealing a massive glass curtain wall. Ken stood there, staring at the black seawater ahead—flat and lifeless like stagnant sludge.
"I'm begging you—please, just this once, you have to listen to me. Otherwise you'll regret it, Ken," Wormmon pleaded desperately, but Ken cut him off before he could say more.
"Begin moving." Ken ignored Wormmon completely. With his command, the entire base started moving, swimming straight toward the black whirlpool.
By now, Cody and Armadillomon had reached the prison section where the Digimon Emperor kept captive Digimon. Seeing them locked up, Cody immediately had Armadillomon open the cell doors and let them out.
Suddenly, a screen in the prison lit up, displaying the scene of that black whirlpool. The instant Armadillomon saw it, he felt that bone-deep chill again.
"Prepare to enter the center of the whirlpool." With Ken's order, the base pushed through the water curtain surrounding the black whirlpool and emerged into its center.
Water crashed loudly as the base broke through the watery veil—and that mysterious fortress finally revealed itself to T.K. and Tentomon.
Pegasmon began circling, searching for an entrance. But T.K. and Pegasmon both keenly sensed something drifting around them—mist-like presences, ghostlike, floating back and forth. You couldn't see them with your eyes at all; you could only feel that they were there.
"What are these… ghosts? This feels terrifying," T.K. said, shaken as he sensed those things.
"What's truly frightening is the pitch-black opening beneath us," Pegasmon said. His words dragged T.K.'s gaze downward—toward that heart-stopping darkness that made him feel like he was about to be swallowed whole.
"Don't look!" Pegasmon shouted, snapping T.K. back. "Be careful—or you'll get pulled in!"
T.K. hurriedly tore his eyes away and focused on the fortress in front of him instead. Pegasmon had already found an entrance; with a powerful flap, he flew inside. Tentomon followed close behind.
Ken stared at the black whirlpool for a long time without moving. Wormmon asked anxiously, "Ken… are you okay?"
Ken flinched, then muttered, "I'm fine. Retrieval begins."
The launch bay opened. Three Mechanorimon flew out, heading downward into the black whirlpool. But every single one reached a certain depth, lost contact, lost balance, and dropped—vanishing without a trace.
"What's going on?!" Ken shouted. "Answer me! What happened?!" But all he heard were Mechanorimon's screams, one after another—then silence.
At some point, the entire black whirlpool began to rotate. The sea, which had been as still as a dead pond, started to churn—and turned black as ink. Some unknown force made the whole ocean feel wrong, unnatural.
"How can this happen…?" Ken said in stunned disbelief, like the sight had struck him head-on.
"I don't think retrieval is possible. Let's give up, Ken," Wormmon urged.
But Ken turned as if he were about to leave. Wormmon asked, "Where are you going?"
"If that's the case, then I'll retrieve it myself." Ken's voice grew twisted. Right now, the only thing on his mind was that strongest composite Digimon of his—everything else had been thrown out of his head.
Over here, Digmon had already destroyed most of the prison doors, freeing the Digimon inside, and he was still spinning his drill like a maniac to smash more locks.
T.K., Patamon, and Tentomon arrived and happened to see a cell door collapse, the freed Digimon stepping out and thanking them over and over.
"Cody!"
"T.K., I was just about to free these captured Digimon."
"That's great. I'll help too," Tentomon said, flying up to a cell door and firing his special move—"Super Shocker!" Together with Digmon, he helped release more imprisoned Digimon.
But T.K.'s attention had been captured completely by the dark whirlpool displayed on the screen.
"What is the Digimon Emperor trying to do?"
Ken boarded a Mechanorimon and set out, pushing deeper into the dark whirlpool. The farther down he went, the more he could feel the darkness of it. Now, there was no light at all where the Digimon Emperor was—everything around him had been dyed black.
And then Ken saw it.
A battered, ruined Devimon stood there, as if it had been waiting for him to arrive.
And through the prison's screen, T.K. saw it too—Devimon. The Digimon who had once carved the most unforgettable, helpless memory into the kids' hearts. Even though later enemies were stronger, Devimon had struck them when they were at their weakest—and that powerless, suffocating pain never left them.
Mechanorimon extended a tube and began retrieving Devimon's data. Ken said smugly, "With this, my original Digimon will be complete."
"You think the Dark Area is a place you can come and go as you please?" A sinister voice echoed directly inside Ken's mind.
"What?! Who are you?!" Ken asked in terror, looking around frantically. But there was only that ruined Devimon in front of him.
Ken turned pale as he stared at the shattered Devimon.
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