Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon

Summary: He was always there, but Kouichi made him what he is, whether he likes it or not

Written for Immortal Fallen Radiance

They like to imagine that I was a figment of Kouichi's imagination, a spectre brought to life by the latent potential for darkness that simmered beneath the thin veneer of a depressed, troubled boy. That I originated within his mind, and would remain banished so long as I was, as they saw, out of sight.

They are wrong. I came before every creation in this world. There has always been darkness, after all, just as there has always been light to chase it away.

I have always dwelt here, in the gulf that exists between your world and the digital plane, but I was indefinable, a roiling mass of inscrutable shadows until you came along, Kouichi, and gave me form, and substance.

It is no coincidence that I reacted to almost killing our brother, that I almost fell victim to the weakness that had led you to accept me into your heart to begin with, for I am you, and you are me.

Cherubimon was right, when he told you that efforts to bond with the spirits had destroyed all others who had made the attempt, that the darkness had consumed them, and driven them insane. You must tread a thin line between light and darkness to be accepted by either, because they repel and complement each other. They cannot exist without each other, and shadow is where they meet and separate.

I was a drifting, amorphous wraith, until you came along, and made me what I am.

Your presence alone gave me definition, and your humanity set me apart from the rest of my kin. We were neither human nor digimon, and strangers to each.

Your struggles became my own, and although you were soon absorbed into the recesses of the darkness, and I forgot the reasons for which I was fighting, the rage and resentment you had nursed so tenderly remained.

You ceased to be of consequence, and Duskmon emerged from the void. I came and conquered, and was finally conquered myself. Now I am adrift again, and soon you will cease to exist in this world or in the memories we share. I will return to the shadows from whence I came. I promise, you will not even notice I am gone.

As long as you do not turn around, and take a closer look at your own shadow.