Homeostasis, the embodiment of the Digital World's will, the nexus of all emotions.
If Yggdrasil was the foundation of the Digital World's substance, mastering the basic code that constituted Digimon, then Homeostasis was the key to all Digimon evolution.
Only through it could intense emotions be transformed into Crests of evolution, allowing weak Infant-level Digimon to grow into Megas capable of threatening the world.
And now, it had appeared.
A virtual sphere of light of unknown true form slowly descended from the clouds. It was surrounded by a chaotic storm of multi-colored data fragments, messy and disordered.
These fragments symbolized the complex and varied emotions of the Digital World. There were positive emotions like Courage, Knowledge, and Friendship. And there were negative emotions like Envy, Greed, and Pride.
Countless emotions intertwined and collided, collectively constructing this immensely powerful consciousness… Homeostasis!
"Koshiro! Tell Hikari to stop the fusion now! Homeostasis would never stand by and watch a new world will be born!" Seeing Homeostasis appear, Taichi's pupils contracted sharply as he shouted at the screen.
The threat the Crest of Heart posed to Homeostasis was self-evident.
Ten years ago, the final enemy of their Digital adventure, the embodiment of all negative emotions, Apocalymon, was, in reality, only a tiny fraction occupying a minuscule part of Homeostasis's vast ocean of emotions.
Even so, it had coldly summoned Taichi and the others, destroying it at any cost.
Now, a true, nascent Homeostasis, containing the power of all emotions, was about to be born before its very eyes. As the will of the world, how could it possibly sit back and do nothing?
"Yes! Hikari, stop the fusion with the Crest of Heart immediately! It's enough already!" Koshiro immediately activated the All-Seeing Eye, traversing the vast distance through space, manifesting as a virtual data image to shout at Hikari within the light cocoon.
Hikari's eyes widened, a look of incomprehension in them, "What are you saying…"
Whoosh…
Hikari's loudly questioned words hung heavily in the air, as if frozen solid. Koshiro's desperately roaring form also froze at that moment.
Homeostasis had acted.
In an instant, it mobilized the emotional power of 'Stasis' from the entire world, sealing the actions of all living beings.
Unless one surpassed the Mega level, reaching the level of the Demon Lords or Royal Knights, no one could evade Homeostasis's attack.
[Analyzing target...] The virtual sphere of light of unknown true form generated an eye composed of core data, scanning Hikari. After a brief pause, it emitted an extremely chaotic mechanical sound.
Homeostasis's current state was not ideal. Internally, Demon Lords waited for opportunities to cause destruction, and externally, Apocalymon and Taichi were inciting Digital upheavals.
Endless, complex emotions had disrupted its analytical systems, causing processing disorders regarding its ultimate mission of 'achieving world balance'.
[Error in analysis... Error again...]
Just as it prepared to launch an attack, this processing disorder conveniently flared up.
'Wait.'
'Or perhaps, it wasn't a coincidence!'
In the Digital World, Taichi and Agumon watched the scene on the screen, triumphant smiles curling their lips.
"It showed up, just as planned!" Taichi and Agumon leaped up excitedly, giving each other a high-five in mid-air. A gleam of joy flashed in both their eyes.
They had deceived everyone… including Koshiro, including Hikari. They had almost deceived even themselves.
"Homeostasis's true form is indeed powerful. Once it descends into the real world, almost nothing can stop it," Taichi said, a curve on his lips as he looked at the screen.
"But, let's not forget why it never dared to manifest its true form before? Why did it always rely on the power of the Chosen Children, manipulating everything from behind the scenes whenever trouble arose?" Agumon has the same smile as Taichi. They looked at each other and spoke in unison:
"Because its true form is extremely fragile! Even slightly powerful emotional forces can directly affect its processing core, causing momentary disruption!"
To use an analogy:
Homeostasis's true form was like the source of a clear spring. Normally, no matter how much garbage (negative emotions) you dumped downstream (in the real and Digital Worlds), as long as the quantity didn't reach a terrifying level, the impact on the overall spring was minimal. The spring's powerful self-purification ability could wash away this garbage, maintaining a delicate equilibrium.
However, once the source of the spring was exposed, if someone poured even a single cup of dirty water into the source, this negative emotion would rapidly pollute the entire world's will, causing the seemingly immensely powerful Homeostasis to fall into disorder.
Although it only required a 'small amount' of negative emotion, that was relative to Homeostasis's vast true form. For a normal being, even that 'small amount' of negative emotion would require the gathered resentment of tens of thousands of Digimon at the very least.
So, how did Taichi and the others accomplish it?
"BlackWarGreymon!"
That's right!
On the screen, the chasm in BlackWarGreymon's chest had been continuously leaking his origin energy. This wasn't ordinary data power. It was the purest dark emotion, finally converged from the fusion of one hundred Dark Towers plus over a decade of brutal combat.
Just a small amount of this dark emotion could produce Dark Towers covering thousands of miles and darken hundreds of thousands of Digimon. Using it to pollute Homeostasis was more than sufficient!
Thus, all the calculations and strategies ultimately led to this almost impossible situation.
The virtual sphere of light, Homeostasis of unknown true form, emitted disordered, fluctuating static in mid-air, trapped in self-contradiction for a short time, unable to move.
And Hikari, sealed by the power of Stasis, saw her acceptance progress completely unaffected!
70%... 80%... 90%!
91%... 93%... 97%...
Time passed second by second. The light shimmering on Hikari grew increasingly dazzling. The massive light cocoon containing the power of the Heart slowly cracked with fine fissures, from which countless soft beams of light emerged.
Finally, she emerged from the cocoon!
100%!
Hikari, having perfectly fused with the Crest of Heart, was entirely enveloped in a soft, radiant white light.
Her skin, flesh, blood, and bones all became crystalline and translucent. Moreover, her originally delicate facial features began to blur, shifting towards the formless nature of Homeostasis.
[No! If my appearance changes, Onii-chan won't recognize me!] Feeling the change in her features, Hikari grew anxious and shouted.
Whoosh.
The power of the Crest of Heart obeyed the deepest will of its master's heart. Since Hikari was unwilling to change, it naturally would not force its master to change.
In the end, surrounded by countless beams of white light, a single, crystalline, snow-white foot stepped out.
The purest emotional data of the Heart manifested around her, slowly constructing a celestial staircase leading towards Homeostasis.
A confident curve touched Hikari's lips.
"Onii-chan, believe in Hikari. I will definitely live up to your expectations."
With that, she stepped onto the celestial ladder. She strode forward towards Homeostasis without looking back.
Deep within the Crest of Heart, a message from Taichi to Hikari remained. It was the earth-shattering final step of the entire grand plan.
'Hikari, this is a small expectation from your brother. Whether you do it or not depends entirely on your own heart.'
'The Crest of Heart has the ability to interpret all emotions. After you complete the fusion, strive to enter Homeostasis's interior and steal some core data.'
'If possible, under the condition of reaching a certain degree of fusion…'
Taichi's domineering, cold, and severe words, filled with the ambition to seize the very heavens, echoed in Hikari's ears.
'…attempt to assimilate it!'