Frontiers Unexplored

46) Purity and Peace

To put it nicely, Koji was in a bad mood. 

That felt like the understatement of a lifetime though. His back was hurting more than he had ever thought possible, and the ground below him was rocky and rough. Koji wasn't sure of where he was or how rough his landing had been after the battle with Alphamon, but he absolutely hated it what was taking place. He had to persuade himself for nearly three minutes before he was actually able to rise to his feet and look around at the strange space that he suddenly called his surroundings. 

The first notable observation was that the ground was glowing. The overhead sky was dark, and nothing could be seen across the net of obsidian that covered the horizon. It made the light of the blue rock underfoot notable, and Koji couldn't help but love the strange warmth that flooded his body with the presence of the illumination. He closed his eyes briefly, simply enjoying the moment of peace despite the pounding of his body.

The second thing that Koji noticed was that the area was completely blank. There wasn't even any grass to be seen. Instead, the ground was completely covered with blue rock, and the surface of the area was littered with craters. No matter how many steps Koji took, he was never able to touch down evenly, instead winding up with a strange sensation of uneven uncertainty. This was far from being like the Digital World that he had come to know, to say the least. 

Before Koji had a chance to fully register what was happening, a rock was flying at his head. Koji heard the whistling sound, and he ducked down to keep from getting hit. Adrenaline began to course through his exhausted form immediately, and he rose to his full height before glancing around furiously to try and figure out what the source of the attack could have been. His hands clenched into fists, and he reached for his D-Tector. He wasn't sure of who would want to hurt him so randomly, but he was positive that he wasn't above shifting into Beowolfmon to take them out. 

"State your intentions!"

Koji turned to see that the one who had attacked him was a small Digimon who came up to his waist or there about. He was made completely of gray rocks, and he had one hand pressed in front of his torso aimed in Koji's direction. The Digimon had bright yellow eyes that shone from darkened sockets. He was ready to attack again at a moment's notice if Koji showed himself to be a threat, and the Warrior of Light knew that he would have to tread carefully. 

Slowly but surely, Koji raised his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. He didn't move towards the rocky Digimon, instead choosing to simply watch his foe from afar. "I'm not here to hurt you," Koji explained cautiously. "I don't even know why I'm here. What is this place?"

The rock Digimon let out a scoff and rolled his eyes. "You can't just wind up in a place like this! We're on one of the moons of the Digital World, and it isn't easy to get here!" he cried out, taking a step towards Koji. "Tell me how you really got here or I won't hold back!"

Koji felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He was on a moon? That certainly explained the glow of the blue ground below, but he was beyond unsettled regarding the fact that he was there at all. Had Alphamon's attack truly done enough damage to split the group up in such a way? He didn't see anyone else in the area. Perhaps he was truly alone. 

"Hold on for a moment!"

Koji gasped as he saw a familiar figure fly into view from behind the rock Digimon. Patamon appeared, his wings flapping madly to keep him afloat. He landed in front of Koji's assailant, and he glanced back and forth between the two parties carefully. "I promise that he isn't going to hurt you," Patamon told the rocky Digimon. "We didn't mean to come here. We were attacked by the Royal Knights, and then we wound up here."

Koji's immense relief to see Patamon again was cut short when the rocky Digimon shook his head. "You have no idea what you're talking about. The Royal Knights haven't been around since the times of the Legendary Warriors. You had better stop lying to me," he threatened. The rocks beneath his feet began to stir once again, and Koji could tell that he was raring to go for another attack.