As we stood there around the fountain, completely dazed by the revelation that we were apparently being rewarded by the literal Creator of this bizarre digital world, my mind immediately kicked into overdrive. Batman had always taught me to look for the gaps in the available intelligence. We had just been handed a massive piece of the puzzle regarding the local economy and the philosophical framing of our enemies, but there was still a glaring hole in our data. I realized this was the perfect opportunity. I had never actually gotten the chance to ask anyone about this mysterious, supreme deity pulling the strings behind the scenes. I stepped forward, squaring my shoulders. I was tired of treating everything about this entity as some unsolvable mystery that I needed to trick my way into unraveling. I locked eyes with the golden-armored Eternal hovering above the courtyard.
"Ikaris," I said, my voice steady and commanding, projecting the exact tone Batman used when demanding answers from uncooperative suspects in Gotham. "This is something I have never had the chance to ask you. Who is this Creator? What is his name?" I made it completely clear from my posture and the hard edge in my voice that I wanted real, actionable answers. No more riddles. No more vague religious platitudes. I wanted hard data on the being who had trapped us in this dimension.
Unfortunately for me, neither my intense stare nor my carefully practiced interrogation tone had the slightest effect on Ikaris. The warrior just floated there, his expression shifting from serene authority to flat disbelief. He looked at me with the distinct, exasperated gaze of someone who had just been asked a particularly dumb question by a child who thought they were vastly smarter than they actually were.
It was bad enough coming from an immortal demigod that I could ignore, but the humiliation compounded instantly when I felt the eyes of the entire courtyard turn toward me. Every single Digimon in the vicinity, including our own partners, gave me a remarkably similar look of bewildered pity. Tentomon buzzed down to my eye level, his mandibles twitching as if he was embarrassed on my behalf. I felt a sudden, hot flush of color rise to my cheeks beneath my domino mask.
"Young Robin," Ikaris said, his voice echoing with a mixture of amusement and exhaustion. "If you really wanted to know His Majesty's name and were worried I wouldn't tell you, you could have just asked any of your partners, and they would have told you. This is not some great secret. Any self-respecting Digimon can answer this question."
I swallowed hard, the red flush on my face deepening as I saw Tentomon nod in agreement with Ikaris. Here I was, treating the identity of this mysterious Creator as some deeply guarded, top-tier classified intel that I needed to cleverly extract or forcefully demand, and it turned out I literally just needed to ask our friends from the very beginning. Batman's voice echoed in my head, reminding me that the simplest solution is often the one you overlook when you are too busy looking for a conspiracy.
"No need to be embarrassed," Ikaris continued smoothly, quickly explaining to move the conversation forward and save me from my own humiliation, which I silently appreciated. "I can understand your thought process, at least. The only reason you have not heard his name from any of the Digimon, even Devimon, is simply because they feel using his name is not being respectful enough, or they are too afraid to be disrespectful. So they just collectively call him Creator."
The surrounding Digimon nodded in solemn agreement. Tentomon settled onto my shoulder, patting my cape lightly with his red claw. When it's layed out like that It made perfect sense. In a world where belief and data were intertwined, speaking the name of a supreme deity casually was probably considered a massive cultural taboo.
"Anyway, the Creator's holy name and title also answers your earlier question about Dungeons as well," Ikaris said, his entire demeanor shifting. He stood to his full height, his boots settling onto the cobblestones. The atmosphere in the village instantly changed. The air pressure dropped, and a heavy, resonant hum filled the square. Ikaris's eyes visibly glowed with a blinding golden color as he unconsciously channeled the almost limitless cosmic power gifted to him at his creation.
Every single human and Digimon present felt the physical shift in the air. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Wally tensed, ready to run, and Conner shifted his weight, his fists clenching defensively. But Ikaris was not preparing an attack. He was simply preparing an introduction.
"His Majesty, the Creator of this world and all things in it, is the great Dungeon God, Lord Amir," Ikaris announced loudly. His voice boomed across the village center, ensuring every single person could hear him. Even if this information was only new to the four humans in the crowd, Ikaris was clearly thrilled to introduce his creator. The sheer, unadulterated joy was visibly rolling off him in waves. It was a level of reverence I had only ever seen on the faces of the most elite, brainwashed cultists from the Cult of Kobra back on Earth.
Looking at Ikaris now, bathed in holy light and beaming with absolute devotion, I realized something terrifying. This was a man who would gladly die or kill for his god without a second thought. He would allow absolutely no one to tarnish that name or image. I made a firm mental note that any further questions regarding this Lord Amir had to be phrased very carefully. Otherwise, I had no doubt that a brutal, one-sided fight would immediately break out, regardless of whatever non-interference rules Ikaris was supposedly bound by. Because I somewhat understand the difference in thought processing of someone who believes his god is real vs someone who *knows* he's real. Especially when you remember said person was personally created by said god.
"Now, as you may have surmised from his title, he is the one who creates the Dungeons you asked about earlier," Ikaris continued, pacing slowly as he addressed the crowd. "These Dungeons can be found in any world created by Lord Amir, and they are just as you think they are. They are similar to the ones you see in your world's video games: little pocket dimensions he creates to test the people who enter."
Ikaris held up a hand, the golden light around him pulsing in time with his words. "Anyone can enter a Dungeon. Good or evil, Lord Amir does not discriminate. He is absolutely neutral in this regard. As the main purpose of the Dungeon is to raise the combat abilities of those who enter to better protect themselves and their world. And if you make it to the end alive—because let us be absolutely clear, you are risking your lives every single second you are inside—you will be handsomely rewarded."
Wally let out a low whistle. "So it literally is a video game. High risk, high reward."
"Precisely," Ikaris beamed, pointing at Wally. "Now, every Dungeon gives different rewards. Some give powerful weapons, some grant new abilities or powers, but they all, without fail, give Dungeon Coins. A lot of them, actually. Fun fact: Dungeon Coins are the universally accepted currency in every world created by Lord Amir. And those worlds, by their respective inhabitants, are called Dungeon Worlds. So if you still have some coins after you return home, I would keep them in case you ever get the chance to visit any of them in the future."
Ikaris kept going, seamlessly launching into a few other things about Lord Amir and his miraculous creations. Despite talking continuously for several minutes, the Eternal was not out of breath in the slightest. In fact, he looked like he was more than ready to go on all day. He looked exactly like an overzealous street preacher, deeply eager to share anything and everything they knew and loved about their god.
It was a jarring sight. That was exactly what Ikaris reminded the team of at that moment, and we were all genuinely shocked. We had never seen such a fanatical side of him in all the time we had known him. It became rapidly apparent that if we did not stop him, he would most definitely waste the entirety of our desperately needed rest day talking about various unimportant trivia regarding Lord Amir until we either submitted to be converted on the spot or he simply ran out of breath. And something in my gut told me Ikaris wasn't running out of breath within our life time.
Fortunately, Kaldur recognized the tactical trap of an endless sermon and quickly intervened. He stepped forward, raising his hands in a respectful, placating gesture. "Yes, thank you for the information, Ikaris. This is very important and will most definitely help in our upcoming adventures. We have no more questions for now."
Kaldur offered a polite bow, smoothly continuing before Ikaris could launch into another tangent. "While we would love to hear more about Lord Amir, we must visit the general store so we can finish our shopping and enjoy what remains of our rest day. We have a difficult journey across the ocean tomorrow."
Ikaris finally stopped, the golden glow fading slightly from his eyes as he processed Kaldur's words. He realized the Atlantean was right, and that he could always convince us of Lord Amir's greatness at a later, more appropriate time.
"Yes, of course," Ikaris said, smoothing the front of his golden armor tunic. "Anyway, you all do not need to worry about the age limit for the general store or any of the Dungeons you might come across in your travels. You are the chosen heroes who will save this world. None of the Dungeon guards or general store owners will stop you if you try to enter to take advantage of their benefits."
A collective sigh of relief washed over the team. To our joy and surprise, both the general store and the Dungeons sounded incredibly beneficial. Even if the latter was notoriously dangerous to use, it was good to know we could make full use of both whenever we felt ready. It opened up entirely new tactical avenues for our survival on the Server Continent.
I watched Ikaris open his mouth to say something else, but he suddenly stopped. He tilted his head to the side, his eyes unfocusing as if he were listening to a voice none of us could hear. An obvious look of surprise flashed across his immaculate features, quickly replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated joy.
"Well, if that is all, I will be on my way now," Ikaris announced, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "I am being summoned by the Creator. Call if you need me goodbye to you all." Before any of us could utter another word or express surprise at what he said, he vanished in a blinding flash of golden light, leaving nothing but the sound of the bubbling fountain behind.
I sat on my throne of white marble, resting my chin on my knuckles as I stared at the translucent blue screens floating in the center of my Divine Space. The holographic feed from Primary Village vanished as Ikaris answered my silent call. A moment later, the Eternal materialized at the base of the dais, instantly dropping to one knee and bowing his head in absolute reverence.
"You summoned me, Lord Amir," Ikaris said, his voice thick with devotion. But his face once again a mask of stoicism unwilling to show any unprofessionalism in front of his Creator less his ability to do his job be called into question.
"I did," I replied, leaning back and letting my divine aura settle around the throne room. I had to admit, watching Grayson attempt to interrogate an immortal construct of my own design had been incredibly amusing. The boy wonder possessed a brilliant tactical mind, but he was still fundamentally a mortal trying to outmaneuver a god. His realization that Ikaris was fiercely, terrifyingly loyal to me was exactly the psychological boundary I needed to establish because while I've come to genuinely like them my ability to trust them is still zero. They needed to understand that the system governing them was absolute and that there was zero chance of them ever bringing Ikaris over to their side even if the idea hasn't occurred to them yet it might that's all that matters. The best part was I didn't even plan any of this and Ikaris wasn't even acting during any of it.
The introduction of my name and the concept of the Dungeons had gone perfectly. By waiving the age restrictions, I had successfully dangled the carrot of ultimate power right in front of them. When the Server Continent inevitably pushed them to the brink of death, they would seek out those hidden depths to grow stronger in their quest to save this world. And when they did, they would generate even more divine energy for my reserves.
"You handled the boy's questions well, Ikaris," I said, my voice echoing through the vast, empty halls of the temple. "Your devotion is... noted and even if the Dungeon isn't over yet after your next task is done come to me so I may reward you. Now our work is far from finished. The Server Continent is a much harsher environment than File Island, and Etemon will not wait patiently for them to arrive."
Ikaris lifted his head, his golden eyes burning with eagerness to serve and as for his reward while honored he didn't work for such things not to say he would turn down anything Amir gives him. "What are your commands, Lord Amir? Shall I prepare the desert traps? Or perhaps better initialize the Dark Network's surveillance grids?"
"Both," I commanded, pulling up the dungeon creation interface with a wave of my hand. "Make sure the De-digivolution frequency is locked and ready the moment they step onto the sand. I want them stripped of their advantages instantly. They need to understand that my worlds are not conquered easily."