"Leomon, Zheng Fan, why did you two go to Infinite Mountain? Especially you, Leomon-don't you know how dangerous it is?" Elderlymon shouted in exasperation. "Fine, you may not know exactly what makes Infinite Mountain so terrifying, but have you ignored all the legends you've heard over the years?"
Although Elderlymon was only a Champion Digimon, his standing was exceptionally high. On File Island, Elderlymon and Elecmon were the true rulers. Even Andromon would have been torn to pieces by furious Digimon if he tried to cause trouble for them. While Elecmon's age could still be estimated, some believed Elderlymon was as old as File Island itself. Andromon believed Elderlymon was an Ancient Digimon or a First-Generation Digimon.
What were Ancient Digimon? They were ordinary Digimon who pioneered entirely new ways of digivolving during their evolution. Such Digimon could be called Ancient Digimon. Ogremon, for example, was just an ordinary Champion Digimon, but Ancient Ogremon could take down SkullGreymon. First-Generation Digimon, meanwhile, were Digimon who modified their own data and gained recognition for it. Leomon had learned some swordsmanship from Zheng Fan. If he could turn it into Leomon's own swordsmanship and gain the Digimon World's recognition, every Digimon who successfully digivolved into Leomon afterward would automatically learn those techniques. That would make him the first-generation Leomon.
Leomon kept his head lowered as he listened to Elderlymon's lecture. Zheng Fan found it amusing. Leomon had claimed to be the strongest, bravest Digimon, yet in just a few days, he had repeatedly backed down and shown fear.
When Elderlymon finally finished scolding him, Leomon let out a relieved breath, and Zheng Fan at last had a chance to get acquainted with File Island's oldest Digimon.
Elderlymon gave off no powerful aura. Of course, Digimon did not suppress their auras; the strength of an aura depended on a Digimon's nature. Battle-loving Digimon like Leomon and Ogremon, for instance, gave off powerful auras, while Monzaemon showed no hint of danger despite being an Ultimate. Elderlymon was much the same as Monzaemon.
"Your name is Zheng Fan, right? Are you enjoying File Island?" Elderlymon's opening was certainly direct. Zheng Fan answered honestly, "File Island is a lot of fun. I've made plenty of friends and worked out a few things I couldn't make sense of before."
Elderlymon gave Zheng Fan a puzzled look. "Actually, I know about the Digivices, but when we explored the human world, we never found a human like you." Zheng Fan thought, If powerful Digimon could directly probe the Three Great Domains, that would be something else. But why haven't the Three Great Domains discovered the Digimon World either?
Seeing Zheng Fan's expression and thinking over what he knew, Elderlymon assumed Zheng Fan wanted to hear what Digimon thought of humans. "Some humans make excellent battle partners." Looking at Zheng Fan's smiling face, Elderlymon struggled for a long time before managing that remark. Zheng Fan did not quite understand, but took it as a compliment. He believed he would make an excellent battle partner.
"Elderlymon, I'd like to learn about Infinite Mountain," Zheng Fan said. Elderlymon's expression changed at once, but he still replied kindly, "Zheng Fan, you're too impatient. Perhaps you really are powerful, but we've all experienced the horrors of Infinite Mountain. I must tell you, no Digimon-no, no human or Digimon-should harbor any illusions about Infinite Mountain as long as I'm here."
"Elderlymon, you're overthinking this." Zheng Fan showed far too little respect for his elders. Elderlymon had imagined that if Zheng Fan said, "Elderlymon, thank you for your guidance. I won't go to Infinite Mountain," he would praise him properly, then explain the mountain's horrors. If Zheng Fan still insisted on going, he would summon some combat Digimon to show him what an imposing presence truly meant. Unfortunately, Zheng Fan refused to play along. Elderlymon could only reply, "Zheng Fan, do you have any other questions about Infinite Mountain?"
"Elderlymon, I've realized that Infinite Mountain probably wasn't a frightening place in the past. It used to carry the hopes of the Digimon, didn't it?" Surprised by his words, Elderlymon said, "Although that information was never deliberately hidden, so much time has passed that hardly any Digimon still know about it. Did Genai tell you?"
Zheng Fan did not know who Genai was. He answered, "We call that kind of hope faith. My homeland also has a place where people entrust their hopes, and Infinite Mountain feels very much like it."
After hearing Zheng Fan's explanation, Elderlymon asked, "Do humans entrust their hopes to others too?" But it was only a passing question.
"The name Infinite Mountain actually represents the Digimon's hope for limitless evolution," Elderlymon said wistfully. "You saw the Mountain Ring Road, didn't you? Back then, many of us Digimon dug it out together. It was grueling work." Zheng Fan asked, "Elderlymon, had the Metal Empire not appeared yet?" Even on Earth, once machinery was available, carving out a mountain road like that might consume considerable resources, but it could hardly be called laborious.
Elderlymon asked, "Zheng Fan, what do you think is the most remarkable place on File Island?" Zheng Fan thought every place was extraordinary: the Holy Ring in the ruins, Andromon at the Factory, Monzaemon in Toy Town, Tonkotsu's restaurant that Leomon and the others remembered so fondly, and Infinite Mountain itself. But if it had to be connected to the power of faith, it would probably be the Village of Beginnings.
After listening to Zheng Fan's analysis, Elderlymon nodded in satisfaction. "Actually, in the past, File Island had the only Village of Beginnings in the entire Digimon World." He continued, "Digi-Eggs were born in the Village of Beginnings. We sent most of the Digimon who grew to the In-Training stage to the summit of Infinite Mountain, then sent them through the Gate there to wherever they were meant to go." Elderlymon looked immensely proud. After all, that had been the most glorious period in the Village of Beginnings' history.
"What happened after that?" Zheng Fan asked. "The Darkness Invasion. I assume you know about it. During the Darkness Invasion, File Island, as the Digimon's most sacred place, saw the fiercest fighting. But in the end, we lost, and the forces of darkness seized the Gate."
Zheng Fan had never personally experienced a decisive battle on that scale. Even on a battlefield, any individual battle could be lost. But the battle on File Island had drawn in all the fighting forces of an entire world. Even Mega Digimon must have been a common sight. And it was a battle they could not afford to lose. What puzzled him, though, was why the Digimon wielding Dark Power had not destroyed the Village of Beginnings while they were at it after seizing the Gate. Unless Elderlymon and the others had still possessed some hidden strength at the time-but that seemed unlikely. Perhaps destroying the Village of Beginnings would have served no purpose, so the Digimon wielding Dark Power had only taken the Gate.
Seeing Zheng Fan lost in thought, Elderlymon paused. Zheng Fan asked, "Elderlymon, after that battle, was the Village of Beginnings' power scattered throughout the Digimon World?"
"That's right," Elderlymon said. "That's why the Village of Beginnings on File Island is now just one of countless villages."
"Then did Infinite Mountain change because of that battle?" Zheng Fan asked.
"No." Elderlymon shook his head. "Many Mega Digimon died on the summit of Infinite Mountain during that battle, so it actually became a place everyone revered even more. But Mega Digimon were simply too powerful. Zheng Fan, you've killed Champion Digimon before, haven't you?" Zheng Fan nodded.
Elderlymon said, "When Champion Digimon are killed, their bodies dissipate in an instant. But Mega Digimon can endure even after death. Back then, the lingering powers of Mega Digimon clashed on Infinite Mountain's summit every day, even affecting the seas around File Island. Later, the Metal Empire learned about it and completely transformed File Island into an enormous machine."
"A machine? I've never felt anything mechanical about File Island," Zheng Fan said.
"It was actually quite simple. Because Dark Power had seized the Gate, many Digimon couldn't leave File Island, and many others couldn't reach it. So the Metal Empire decided to turn File Island into an enormous Sea Ark. The lingering power of the fallen Mega Digimon would serve as the energy source for the ark that was File Island." Elderlymon sighed as he spoke. "The plan was wonderful at the time. Every Digimon thought it was the greatest undertaking in the Digimon World. But in the end, we failed. It was an utter disaster," he said sadly.
"Elderlymon, what happened? Did Dark Power sabotage it?" Zheng Fan guessed.
"No. We all underestimated the power of Mega Digimon. We used their remaining energy to propel File Island, but that tremendous energy tore the island apart in an instant. File Island shattered into countless fragments. Countless Digimon were caught unprepared and fell into the sea. Although Whamon and the others helped rescue them, many Digimon still died in the water." Elderlymon took a breath before continuing, "Later, although we managed to pull the different parts of File Island back together in time, no Digimon live along those fractures even now. The Factory's main purpose on File Island is to monitor them. As for Infinite Mountain, it began turning toward Dark Power after that incident. We suspected that by drawing out the Mega Digimon's lingering power, we had given Dark Power an opening. But we searched all over Infinite Mountain and never found the cause of the change. Digimon simply kept being corrupted by Dark Power and going mad. In the end, we had no choice but to seal off Infinite Mountain."
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