Kola was only seven years old.
It was a hot afternoon in the small dusty neighborhood he called home. The roads were rough and cracked, and even the trees looked tired under the weight of the heat. With bare feet and a hopeful heart, Kola walked toward the small shop around the corner, clutching a scrap of paper his mother had scribbled on — a list, and maybe a little bit of courage.
He pushed open the wooden door.
Inside, Ms. Tuti stood behind the counter, arms crossed, eyes sharp as always.
"Ms. Tuti… I want to buy one Masako," Kola said quietly.
She didn't even blink.
"On credit again, huh?"
Kola nodded. "Mama said she'll pay next week…"
Her expression shifted. Something about her face hardened, her lips pulling thin like they were tired of saying the same thing again and again.
"You haven't even paid last week's," she muttered.
Kola stared at the floor. The shop always felt colder when she said things like that. He didn't know what else to do. It wasn't like he had any money.
Then the door creaked open again.
A boy entered — same age as Kola, short black hair, big grin, and a light in his eyes that didn't match the dusty world around them. His skin was pale and smooth, and his eyes were thin and sharp, almost fox-like. People in the village often called kids like him "Chinese," even if they weren't. Most of them came from families with money — the kind that wore clean clothes, had bright shoes, and always brought lunch in proper containers.
He was licking a strawberry ice cream, looking like he'd just stepped out of a cartoon.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Tuti! Got any more strawberry? Please say yes!"
Ms. Tuti's face instantly changed. She smiled — not just politely, but genuinely.
"Well, look who it is! Of course I do, sweetheart. You always come at the right time."
"Awesome! I knew today was my lucky day."
The boy slapped a crumpled bill on the counter and did a little spin while waiting. "You ever notice how strawberry ice cream just makes everything better? Like, if I were president, I'd make a rule — one scoop a day for everyone."
Kola turned slightly, staring at him.
Ms. Tuti laughed — actually laughed — and handed over the ice cream.
The boy took a lick, turned to leave… and stopped.
His eyes landed on Kola. The way he stood. The way Ms. Tuti looked at him like a broken vending machine. He didn't like it.
He pretended to admire a dusty row of crackers near the door but kept one ear open.
Ms. Tuti sighed again.
"No, Kola. Not today. Tell your mom to pay first."
Kola didn't move.
Then the boy jumped back toward the counter.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he said dramatically. "Hey, I think I saw this guy drop something outside. Yeah — like, a big bill. Super big."
He dug into his pocket and pulled out a folded 100,000 rupiah note.
"Yup! Pretty sure it's his. Kola, right? This fell from your shorts."
Kola looked up, stunned. "That's… not mine…"
"Shhh!" the boy whispered. "Just roll with it, man. You dropped it. I saw it with my own super serious detective eyes."
He pushed the bill toward Ms. Tuti.
She snatched it instantly.
"Well, thank you, dear. Now we're square."
She handed Kola the Masako and the change.
Kola held the coins awkwardly. He still didn't understand what just happened.
The boy walked with him outside.
"I really didn't drop that money," Kola said.
He grinned. "I know."
"Then… why?"
He shrugged. "'Cause I hate it when people make that kind of face at others — you know, like you're trash or something. That's not cool."
Kola blinked.
The boy looked up at the sky, licking his melting ice cream.
"My mom says some people forget how to smile unless there's money on the table. But I don't want to be like that. I wanna be… different."
Then he turned to Kola with a big grin. "Anyway! I'm Michael. What's your name?"
"…Kola."
"Nice to meet you, Kola! Want to walk home together? I'm bored and my ice cream's almost gone."
Kola just nodded. It was one of the most confusing things he'd ever heard.
But for some reason… it made him feel warm.
And from that day on, Michael wasn't just the kid who bought strawberry ice cream.
He became Kola's first real friend.
As they reached the corner of the street, Michael whispered to himself, almost like he forgot Kola was walking beside him.
"I really, really hate faces like that."
His voice was cold.
The smile disappeared.
It was… strange.
Back to the present.
Thinking back now, Kola realized something—Michael had always been strange. He didn't know why that memory was surfacing now, of all times, but it lingered in his thoughts like an unfinished sentence. Maybe it was Omegamon. Maybe it was everything.
The walk from his boarding house to Haluoleo University wasn't far—only around twenty minutes. His room was nestled deep in a narrow alley, just across the main road from the campus. It was a small maze of homes and student rooms, the kind of place where the walls were close, the rooftops uneven, and the only light came from flickering streetlamps and the glow of TVs behind thin curtains.
It was almost half past midnight now. Normally, Kendari would still be lively at this hour. People would be out—eating grilled fish on the roadside, chatting under umbrellas, riding motorbikes with careless laughter. But the rain had changed that. The streets were quiet, only a few motorbikes hummed past, their headlights streaking through puddles.
Kola's shoes splashed against the wet pavement, his clothes still a little damp from earlier. Omegamon floated silently beside him, in his smaller form—just slightly larger than a basketball, hovering gently with a soft, unreal glow.
But Kola's mind wasn't on the road. It was on everything.
This is weird.
Everything was weird.
He glanced sideways at Omegamon, who seemed completely at ease, calmly scanning the night around them.
Kola frowned. "This is insane… I'm actually listening to you. We're walking to find some weird twin trees in the middle of campus. At night."
Omegamon tilted his head, his glowing eyes blinking once. "You're questioning reality again?"
Kola stopped walking. "No. I'm questioning you."
"…Me?"
"Are you a ghost?" Kola asked, narrowing his eyes.
Omegamon blinked again. "A ghost?"
"You're floating. You came from a flash of light. You know stuff I don't. And I'm following your advice. Maybe I've gone crazy."
Omegamon's voice carried a soft chuckle. "I am not a ghost."
Kola squinted. "But do you even know what a ghost is?"
"I do. Ghosts are an established concept in online archives. Often described as disembodied spirits lingering due to unresolved events in life. I've reviewed multiple documentaries on YouTube. So far, you are the only unresolved thing I've found."
Kola didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He kept walking.
It was still strange. All of it. How could this happen to him?
He wasn't special. Not even a little.
He wasn't chosen. He wasn't gifted. He was just... Kola. Someone who tried to live right, keep his grades up, follow the rules. That was it. That was the whole story.
As they crossed the main road and entered the edge of the Haluoleo University grounds, the scent of wet grass and concrete filled the air. The campus was huge—almost like a small village. Buildings were spaced far apart, many of them old with aging paint and moss-covered steps, others newly built and shining with glass walls. Trees lined the wide streets, tall and still in the rain.
Even this late, lights glowed in some of the faculty buildings. A few students were still around, some hunched over laptops through the windows, others gathered in corners talking, smoking, even laughing.
"This place is bigger than I thought," Omegamon said softly.
"Yeah," Kola muttered. "It never really sleeps."
They passed one of the older faculty blocks. A group of students lounged near the steps, surrounded by cigarette smoke and the clinking of empty coffee cans. A girl walked by, far too dressed up for campus, glancing at the boys who barely looked up.
Kola didn't stare. He didn't even slow down.
There were rumors, always rumors. About students who paid for grades. About others who sold themselves, one way or another, just to survive. But Kola never got involved. He didn't have time for it. As long as he did what he needed, passed his classes, kept going forward, that was all that mattered.
Still… the darkness of campus life had its own weight. Not just the night—but what happened in the corners people didn't talk about.
And now here he was. Following a glowing, floating being. Looking for a pair of trees that might be a gate to something else.
Something that might actually change his life.
If it was real.
If he wasn't already broken.
They walked farther, deeper into the farthest corner of the university grounds, beyond the glow of the scattered building lights. The shadows grew thicker, and only the soft pattering of the rain on their jackets and the distant buzz of campus life remained behind them.
Kola glanced sideways at the figure walking quietly beside him.
He couldn't hold it in anymore.
"So... what are you, really?" Kola asked, squinting ahead into the darkness.
"I'm a Digimon," the figure replied without looking at him, eyes fixed on the path ahead. Calm. Certain.
Kola stared at him for a moment, expression flat. "Yeah... I know you're a Digimon," he muttered, his tone dry. "That's not what I meant."
He scratched his head, lips tightening slightly. The night was cold and damp, and his mind ached from too many thoughts. Questions that refused to make sense.
Instead of pushing the same topic, he shifted.
"Then... how did you know about the twin trees?"
Omegamon slowed slightly. "I just knew," he said after a pause. "It's... inside me. Somehow."
"Is it something you read online?" Kola asked.
"No," Omegamon answered with certainty. "It has nothing to do with the digital world. It's different. Strange, even to me. But I know it's real."
There was silence for a while as they continued through the foggy open spaces of the university.
And then—they saw it.
Two trees.
It wasn't in a dark forest. It wasn't hidden in some mythical grove like a scene from a fantasy novel. It was right there—tucked in the corner beside an old basketball court. Ordinary. Unassuming. But unmistakably… identical.
Two mango trees, standing side by side. So similar they could've been mirrored.
Kola stopped in his tracks. "These are the ones?" he asked slowly, eyes scanning them from root to tip.
Omegamon nodded once. Quietly.
Kola's throat dried. "What's behind them?"
For a second, Omegamon didn't speak. Then his voice came low.
"A world that once vanished. A world no one remembers."
Kola turned to him, brows raised.
"There's danger," Omegamon continued. "I don't know exactly what. But I can feel it. There are also... resources. Gold. Gems. Lost treasures—remnants of a past that's been forgotten. All waiting there."
Kola took a step back.
That sounded... insane.
He clenched his fists, biting his lip, suddenly filled with uncertainty. What if this was all a trick? What if he was being lured into something that couldn't be undone?
He looked down. Then took a long, shaky breath.
"…Let's go," he said, pulling off his raincoat, eyes set with determination.
Omegamon gave a small nod of approval.
Together, they walked between the trees.
And in a heartbeat, the world around them vanished.
Everything changed.
A cold gust slammed into Kola's body like a wall. His breath caught in his throat.
Wind screamed through the air. Icy, sharp, unrelenting. White fragments danced in the air—soft and frozen.
Snow.
Kola's mouth dropped open. Words escaped him.
The air stung his cheeks. The sky was a silver haze. All around him stretched a frozen world: pale mountains in the distance, a vast snowy plain beneath his feet, and silence... so thick it felt sacred.
A large shadow moved beside him.
Then, a giant hand extended gently toward him. The same hand he'd seen before—but now massive, armored, glowing faintly with light.
"Come," said a deeper, echoing voice.
Omegamon had transformed.
His true form towered above the snow, regal and ancient, like a sentinel from another age.
Kola didn't hesitate. He jumped onto the open palm, and the Digimon lifted him carefully, placing him on his shoulder.
The wind howled around them, flurries sweeping past. Kola looked out across the landscape from this new height, stunned, breathless.
It was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Unreal. Sacred. Terrifying and beautiful at once.
He could feel something in the air—something ancient.
He didn't know what came next. But for the first time, he felt like he was stepping into something far larger than himself.
Something that mattered.