Chapter 105: The Pyramid's Secret
"The method to revive the giants is straightforward." Raven declared with theatrical solemnity. "One need simply turn a human named Daigo Madoka into soup."
Daigo's eyes went wide as he processed what he'd just heard. He pointed at himself in shock.
"Turn me... into soup?!" He looked at Valdor and the Emperor, seeing their stoic expressions as Raven played, and mistook it for them agreeing with the talking bird.
"Wait, you're actually going to turn me into soup? You can't be serious. How is that going to bring anyone back to life?"
"Just kidding, HA! Look at you, looking like a scared kitten," Raven replied, his corvid features somehow managing to convey smug satisfaction clearly.
Daigo felt his heart rate return to normal as he realized he had just been pranked by a talking bird. 'It's not my fault he said it like that; I actually thought they were going to cook me!'
"Come on now, follow us," Raven continued, dismissing the moment casually. "We'll show you where the pyramid is, the one with those giants' bodies."
Daigo glanced back at the time capsule that had started all this, then followed the strange visitors out of the command center.
Moments after they left the room, another GUTS team member, Horii, returned carrying two containers of hot dumplings and two bottles of cold drinks, expecting to share the meal with Daigo as planned. However, he found the operations center empty.
"Where'd that guy disappear to now?" Horii muttered, annoyed. "He said we'd eat together, but he just takes off without saying anything. This is getting really annoying."
He set the food containers down on the console, shaking his head at Daigo's inconsiderate behavior.
The monitoring systems chose that moment to flash an alert: "GUTS Wing 1 deployed."
Horii's irritation turned to concern as he quickly opened the comm channel.
"Daigo! What are you doing? First, you ditch our dinner, then you take GUTS Wing 1 without permission. Where exactly are you going?"
"I'm heading to the pyramid where the giants' bodies are hidden," came Daigo's voice through the speakers.
"What, where are you heading off to now? Forget it. If you continue to act alone like this, Captain Iruma will be furious. Do you really want to face that?" Horii warned, his tone more worried than angry.
"I'll accept whatever punishment I get when I come back," Daigo replied with determination before cutting the communication.
GUTS Wing 1 left TPC headquarters with purpose, following strange navigation signals that seemed to come from the bird's supernatural senses. They traveled through many unfamiliar places Daigo had never visited or known of before. Eventually, their sensors detected unusual readings in what appeared to be empty land.
'This is incredible,' Daigo thought as his instruments picked up something massive hidden below. 'How could something this big stay hidden for so long?'
Investigation revealed a hidden chamber of huge size, its entrance hidden by technology that made it invisible to normal observation. Daigo skillfully guided his craft through the opening, relying on pilot instincts sharpened by years of training.
Inside the hidden sanctuary, a stunning pyramid glowed with golden light, showing immense power beyond human understanding. GUTS Wing 1 landed softly on a prepared platform, as if this ancient structure had been waiting for someone for ages.
As Raven and his allies went deeper into the pyramid's sacred geometry, Daigo came across three massive stone sculptures, each in a meditative pose. These statues reached upward toward the chamber's ceiling, their proportions mixing human features with elements of something vastly beyond.
"These are the ultra-ancient giants?" Daigo asked in amazement, staring up at the massive stone figures. 'They're incredible.'
"Indeed," Raven confirmed. "They only require the touch of light to return to wakefulness."
Before Daigo could ask how exactly that worked, the ground trembled violently beneath them. The pyramid's foundations groaned under the attack of something immense approaching from the planet's depths.
Golza, the earth-shaking monster, burst forth from underground darkness and headed toward the pyramid with single-minded focus. Its enormous body moved with the unstoppable force of a natural disaster brought to life.
A sharp scream echoed from above, cutting through the air. Melba, the sky-tearing giant, swooped down from the skies with wings that blocked out the sun. Her cry produced sounds that echoed through stone and metal.
Both monsters came toward the pyramid with one single goal: the destruction of the sleeping giants before their power could be restored.
"We need to stop them!" Daigo declared, his GUTS training kicking in as he headed for GUTS Wing 1's cockpit. "Those monsters want to destroy the giants. I can't let that happen!"
Raven's wing barred his path with surprising firmness.
"GUTS Wing 1 won't be able to stop creatures like those. You need to use the giants' power directly."
"Then tell me quickly how to do that?" Daigo asked urgently, frustrated but knowing Raven was right.
"You need Emperor's mercy, Daigo," Raven said, then turned to the Emperor. "Big guy, grant him a glimpse of the future consequences of failure. Only by seeing despair can he truly ignite the light hope in his heart."
The Master of Mankind nodded his head in silent agreement. He approached Daigo, extending one finger to make contact with the young pilot's forehead.
Mental power, even weakened by this reality's constraints, proved more than enough for the task at hand.
Visions overwhelmed Daigo's mind, like breaking dams, revealing oceans of blood where cities once stood. He heard the cries of the dead as monstrous beings tore through humanity's remains. Human civilization was destroyed under claws and flames, while the last survivors hid in shadows that offered no safety.
Above it all loomed Gatanothor, the evil god whose awakening would bring the final darkness. Its form was impossible to describe, existing as pure evil given shape and purpose.
And under the deity's victory, human achievement became less than dust, and hope itself died beneath the indifference of cosmic horror.
"No, NO, this cannot happen! All those people... everyone I care about..." The images burned themselves into Daigo's mind: Lina, Horii, Captain Iruma, everyone at GUTS, his childhood friends, innocent families, all of them screaming in terror as darkness consumed everything.
"NOO!" Daigo cried out desperately. "I won't let that happen! I'll protect everyone!"
The visions sparked something within his genetic makeup, an ancient code that had been sleeping for thirty million years, and suddenly came alive.
Light burst from his mortal body like newborn stars, his consciousness expanding beyond his body of flesh to embrace something far greater.
"This... what is this? I feel like I am becoming something more, someone who can protect everyone." The transformation felt both alien and completely natural, as if he'd been waiting his whole life for this moment.
Daigo Madoka's glowing core lifted from his human body, merging with the central stone giant. Ancient systems responded to this familiar energy, triggering sleeping neural pathways to light up with renewed purpose.
Ultraman Tiga slowly stirred, waking up.
The giant's red and silver form moved with smooth, graceful movements, producing a deep, powerful call after ages of silence that showed regained strength. In a single motion, he leaped from the pyramid to face the oncoming destroyers.
"Most intriguing," the Emperor noted, his analytical mind carefully examining the giant's abilities with professional interest.
Tiga's height, around fifty to sixty meters, was similar to the Imperium's medium-class Titans, but the comparison fell short in every significant way.
While Imperial war machines moved with heavy, mechanical precision, the giant moved like lightning. Its combat abilities included both powerful energy attacks and martial skills that even the Custodian Guard would respect.
"We must acquire this technology," the Emperor declared, his tone reflecting the unwavering confidence of someone used to claiming whatever benefits humanity's progress. "Such capabilities would revolutionize our Titan Legions beyond current imagination."
Valdor looked at the giant, its light shining like a beacon of hope, "Perhaps even capable of confronting the darkness of warp, My Lord."
"Naturally," Raven replied with evident satisfaction at his friend's approval. "I brought us here exactly for this technology, but the cosmic law demands we first alter this reality's predetermined fate before claiming technological compensation."
"For now, let us secure these remaining giant forms before any complications arise."
The Emperor looked at the two statues left, each showing great potential but limited by his current power. The cosmic forces controlling this realm had reduced his abilities to only a small fraction of his original power.
"My power suffers considerable restriction in this realm," he admitted his weakness directly.
"Then let me help you with that," Raven offered, his own abilities flowing forth to supplement the Emperor's diminished strength.
With combined effort, both stone giants vanished into dimensional storage, leaving the pyramid's chamber empty except for the debris scattered from the monsters' attack.
Outside the pyramid, Tiga's fight against the ancient destroyers grew more intense with each moment. The GUTS members arrived to support him, their advanced aircraft boosting the giant's efforts against the odds.
Through skill and determination, Tiga gradually gained the upper hand over his opponents. Golza, sensing the change in momentum, used its earth-manipulation powers to burrow underground and avoid destruction. Melba, however, was less fortunate.
Tiga's aerial kick sent the sky-render crashing to the ground, where a well-aimed light beam caused it to burst into flames in a dramatic display. The giant's warning lights turned red as its energy nearly ran out. With a last powerful call that seemed to say goodbye to the world below, Tiga shot into the sky and vanished among the stars.
The whole battle lasted just 10 minutes, but its effects would influence the course of this reality for many generations.
Daigo found himself back in GUTS Wing 1's cockpit, the memories of being Tiga feeling both incredibly real and dreamlike. 'Did I really just... become a giant? It felt so natural, like that's what I must do.'
At that moment, Captain Iruma arrived, her expression showing the frustration common among command staff when handling unauthorized activities.
She asked, with a clear relief in her eyes, "Explain what you were thinking, taking off on your own like that," but her tone was firm as she added, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"
"I'm really sorry, Captain," Daigo said sincerely. "I discovered the location of the pyramid and the giants, and I felt I had to go immediately."
"You can't just go off alone like that," Captain Iruma said firmly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "GUTS operates as a team. We don't engage in reckless, lone-wolf hero stunts. Whatever we do, we do it together. Next time, Daigo, you can't put yourself in danger like that again. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am. But Captain, you should scan the pyramid; there are two more giant statues in there."
The following investigation produced results that made no sense.
"Daigo, I don't know how to tell you this," Horii's voice carried a note of confusion as he reported from within the pyramid. "But there's nothing in here. This whole place is empty, man."
"That's impossible!" Daigo shouted in disbelief. "There were three giants! I saw them myself! One woke up, but there should be two more!"
"The place is totally empty," Horii confirmed again, but added, "But you are right, there are traces here showing that some kind of large statues were here, but they are no longer here."
"Where could they have gone?" Captain Iruma wondered aloud. "Did they wake up on their own?"
"No way," Daigo replied with certainty. "Only one came back to life."
At that moment, he noticed movement at the edge of the pyramid, a pair of familiar figures and that talking bird walking away confidently.
"It's them! They must have taken them!" Just then, he realized he had forgotten about these people.
Daigo immediately took off after them. He ran toward Raven and the Emperor across the land, finally catching up to them at the end of a rocky path.
"Wait... Huff, wait. You took those giants, right? Why? Why did you take the other giants?" Daigo demanded, still catching his breath from the chase, but his voice was full of determination.
Raven looked at him with an expression as if he were observing a greedy capitalist who was never satisfied with what he had.
"You already possess the power of a giant. Isn't that enough for you, Daigo? Tch, I didn't realise you were so greedy. Oh, the betrayal Yazure will feel when she discovers the guardian of humanity was a greedy sucker who wants them all for himself."
"You know, this isn't about what I want!" Daigo protested passionately. "Those giants are supposed to protect humanity from monsters! If you take them all away, what happens when new monsters show up? Please, leave them with us. People are going to need their protection!"
"Don't worry, Daigo," Raven said with what sounded like genuine reassurance. "When dangers come that you can't handle, we'll show up to help, easy, simple as that."
"That's not the same thing!" Daigo insisted, growing more frustrated. On one hand, these people were the reason he reached the giants in the first place, but on the other hand, he had a duty to fulfill. "Those giants should be with TPC, where they can protect everyone when needed!"
Raven regarded him with something that might have been a look of pity for an ignorant child who didn't know the bigger world.
"Sorry, Daigo. But for humanity's greater good, all of humanity across every reality, we need to keep these."
"Hey, you can't just leave!" Daigo shouted, reaching for his GUTS Blaster in desperation.
But even as his fingers found the weapon, he couldn't bring himself to pull out the gun; the figures in front of him began fading away like heat mirages.
"Where did you go?" Daigo spun around frantically, searching for any sign of them. "Come back! Please, you can't just steal humanity's hope!"
"Daigo! Where are you?" Lina's voice came from the direction of the pyramid, urgent and worried.
"Damn it... they're really gone." He looked one more time at the empty landscape where those three had been, disappointment heavy in his chest. With no other choice, he turned and ran toward his teammate's call.
"Big Guy, even if weakened, is still the Big Guy," Raven's voice sounded from apparently empty air after Daigo's departure.
The three had not truly departed, merely withdrawn beyond normal perception.
The cosmic forces shaping this reality had limited the Emperor's abilities to only a fraction of their full extent; the attempt to convert the two massive statues into dimensional storage drained his entire power reserve.
Their seeming disappearance in front of Daigo's eyes was merely an optical illusion rather than actual teleportation, a simple trick by the 30k world scale, but more than enough for this world.
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