Yu Zhou finally understood. The reason he had been in such unbearable pain back then was because the Plasma Spark's energy was forcefully strengthening his body.
Later, on the battlefield, his past self collapsed and lost consciousness, his eyes dimming. Yet, astonishingly, the color timer on his chest reignited—turning green.
"So… this is when the strengthening was completed," Yu Zhou muttered, watching his own fallen figure.
But soon after, Belial used the Giga Battlenizer to strip away that energy, extinguishing the timer once more.
"You died," Charija commented bluntly, turning to Yu Zhou beside him. "So… are you a human or a ghost right now?"
"You're the real ghost, idiot!" Yu Zhou shot back, exasperated. "The next part is what really matters."
Sure enough, events unfolded exactly as Dyna had once described to him. Belial pressed the Giga Battlenizer against Yu Zhou's body, forcibly absorbing the light within him.
Yu Zhou stared intently at his fallen self, watching the colors drain until suddenly—his color timer flickered back to life, glowing a deep violet.
The faint shades of red, purple, and gold vanished completely, his body transforming into silver and black. His milky-white eyes burned with eerie brilliance.
"You… turned into…" Charija widened his eyes in shock.
"At that point, I'd already lost all consciousness," Yu Zhou admitted. "So even I don't know exactly what happened next."
On the battlefield, Dark Tiga rose from the ground and seized Belial in his grip.
"Charija, it's starting," Yu Zhou said with a grin. "Watch carefully—I'm about to avenge your two 'second-most-ferocious beasts in the universe.'"
"You serious?" Charija's gaze locked on the fight, anticipation burning.
Dark Tiga flung Belial into the cliffside, then punted him across the battlefield with a brutal kick.
"Incredible…" Charija gave Yu Zhou a thumbs-up. "That's pure domination."
Both of them watched the beatdown with immense satisfaction.
"Feels good, little brother?" Yu Zhou asked.
"Feels amazing!"
"Then cheers to that!"
"Hic~"
The two spectated in glee until Belial merged with the resurrected monsters to form Belyudra, which was eventually destroyed in a spectacular explosion.
"All right, Charija," Yu Zhou finally said, "tune the time machine again. Set it just a few days after this point."
"Got it."
Charija placed the suitcase on the ground, adjusted the settings, and soon a wormhole opened once more. Yu Zhou transformed, and together they leapt inside.
"Hmm?" In the Monster Graveyard, Zero suddenly looked toward the fading trail of the wormhole. "Why do I feel like… someone's been watching us this whole time?"
"I had that feeling too," Seven admitted.
"But since they didn't take action against us, I doubt they meant any harm," the First Ultraman reasoned.
Dyna, carrying the unconscious Dark Tiga on his back, approached. "Let's take the Plasma Spark and Senior Tiga back first."
"Agreed. Zero, grab the Plasma Spark," Seven instructed.
With that, the group departed the graveyard and returned to the frozen Land of Light.
Yu Zhou and Charija emerged from the wormhole again, this time heading straight for the Land of Light.
"Hold on," Charija said suddenly. "I'll wait outside. You go in alone and find me afterward."
"…Fair enough." Yu Zhou wasn't surprised. Charija clearly wasn't fond of mingling with the Ultras, especially given his apparent friction with the First.
Yu Zhou flew on alone toward the shining capital.
The Land of Light had already been restored to its former peace. As he entered, a few Ultras recognized him as Tiga and greeted him warmly. Yu Zhou returned their greetings politely before heading straight for Hikari's research lab.
But as he walked through the halls, he noticed puzzled stares.
"Eh? Tiga? Didn't you just come through here a moment ago?" A blue Ultra blinked at him in confusion.
"…Just came through?" Yu Zhou froze. Could it be that his other self in this timeline hadn't actually left yet?
He reached Hikari's lab, hesitated briefly, then pushed the door open.
"Goodbye, Tiga!"
"Farewell, Senior Yu Zhou!"
He was just in time to see Hikari and Dyna waving farewell at a vanishing space vortex.
When the vortex collapsed, both turned—only to see Yu Zhou himself standing in the doorway.
Hikari: "???"
Dyna: "???"
"Yo," Yu Zhou said casually, raising a hand. "Long time no see, Hikari, Dyna."
"Senior?!" Dyna's jaw dropped. "Didn't you just leave?!"
"Yeah, Tiga—you literally just went home," Hikari frowned. "Don't tell me this is… a clone?"
"No, no." Yu Zhou shook his head quickly, stepping inside. "What you saw leaving earlier was indeed me. And no, this isn't a clone either."
"Then what—?" Hikari asked. "Did the vortex just dump you outside the door?"
"The vortex did send me back to my own world," Yu Zhou explained. "But now, some time later, I've traveled back to this exact moment."
"…So you time-traveled back to the present we're in right now," Hikari concluded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Exactly." Yu Zhou nodded. Truly worthy of being the tech genius—Hikari grasped the situation instantly.
"This time, I'm here because I want your help finishing the weapon you forged for me." Yu Zhou raised his wrist, transforming his bracelet into the temporary black-and-red disk-like weapon Hikari had once handed him.
The metal disc, with its makeshift handle, still carried the rough look of an unfinished prototype.
"I never even had to use it. If I'd known I'd come back here again, I wouldn't have rushed to take it away."
"True enough." Hikari accepted the weapon, nodding.
"All right then—leave it to me. I'll finalize its construction."
"Thanks."
As Hikari set the weapon on his forge and began his work, Dyna spoke up curiously:
"Senior, when exactly are you from? Was it after you met me?"
Yu Zhou thought for a moment. "Do you still remember that time you were suddenly sucked into a wormhole?"
Dyna frowned. "Wormhole? …Now that you mention it, I do remember one. It dragged me in, and when I woke up, I was back in my own world. But… I can't recall what happened inside."
Yu Zhou nodded. As expected, only he retained those memories.
"In that world… we met," Yu Zhou said with a faint smile.
Dyna's eyes widened slightly. "So that's when I met Senior—inside the wormhole's world?"