"How… how can there be a black hole?!"
Etelgar roared in panic as he felt the gravitational pull from the black hole forming behind him. He struggled with all his might, thrashing and trying to break free from its pull.
But a black hole was a black hole — even light itself couldn't escape it. No matter how hard Etelgar resisted, he couldn't overcome its devouring force.
In an instant, before both Arena and Yu Zhou's eyes, Etelgar vanished into the void, swallowed whole by the darkness.
"Etelgar!!"
Realizing that something was very wrong, Arena shouted, her voice trembling. Her gaze then snapped toward Yu Zhou, her expression hardening.
"You'll go in after him!"
She pulled out a small mirror from her chest and aimed it at Yu Zhou, releasing a purple-gold energy wave.
Yu Zhou wasn't foolish — he noticed her movements right away and hurled a nearby meteorite toward the oncoming energy wave.
With a deafening BOOM, the meteorite shattered under the impact, scattering fragments in all directions. The wave itself dissipated in the explosion.
"Arena, wake up," Yu Zhou said calmly, crossing his arms as he faced her. "Your memories — they were all planted by Etelgar."
Now that Etelgar was gone, Yu Zhou didn't see her as a real threat anymore. He spoke not with hostility, but with the intent to bring her true self back.
But Arena's memories weren't the only thing Etelgar had tampered with — her mind had been twisted toward darkness as well.
"Lies!" she shouted furiously. "The Ultra race is the most evil, the darkest destroyer of peace in the universe!"
In the false memories Etelgar had implanted, Arena's home world, Planet Zando, had been annihilated by the Ultras.
And when she was at her most desperate, Etelgar had appeared, "saving" her and swearing vengeance against the Ultras together.
Yu Zhou sighed quietly. "So that's how it is…"
He shook his head and shifted into Composite Type, walking slowly toward her.
If words couldn't reach her, he'd have to purify her the old-fashioned way.
"W-What are you doing?!" Arena stepped back nervously as Yu Zhou advanced.
"Heh." Yu Zhou gave a mischievous grin. "You'll find out in a second."
"Help! Etelgar, save me! Someone helps me!"
Arena screamed as Yu Zhou came closer.
Yu Zhou froze mid-step, speechless.
"…Why do I suddenly feel like the bad guy here?"
"Relax," he muttered, raising one hand. "I just want to…"
A golden light began radiating from his palm.
"…purify you."
With that, the light burst forth, wrapping Arena in shimmering golden energy.
Purification Beam!
Since her consciousness had been corrupted by Etelgar's influence, Yu Zhou hoped this beam might cleanse her.
And sure enough, his guess proved right.
As the light encircled her, a faint purple mist began seeping from her body. Then, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
Moments later, Arena slowly regained consciousness.
"Wh… where am I?" she murmured, blinking as she looked around. Then she groaned and clutched her head in pain, memories warring inside her mind.
"Arena?" Yu Zhou called cautiously, watching her reaction. She looked different — calmer, almost lucid.
"I…" She pressed her hands against her temples, grimacing through the pain. Then her gaze settled on the silver giant before her — Tiga.
Her expression softened with realization.
"I'm sorry… Tiga," she said quietly, bowing her head.
Her demeanor had changed completely — the fury and hatred from before were gone. She was like a completely different person.
Yu Zhou blinked.
"…Is she developing split personalities now?"
Before he could think further, Arena straightened and lifted her hand toward the distant Space-Time Castle floating in the void.
"I'll release the captured Ultra Warriors," she said firmly.
Having regained her true memories — along with the painful awareness of what she'd done — she knew she had to make things right.
With a wave of her hand, a rift opened in the side of the castle, revealing a chamber filled with magical mirrors, each imprisoning an Ultra within.
"Arena, stop!"
A sudden colourful vortex ripped open in space. From it, a yellow figure burst forth at incredible speed — landing right beside her.
"Etelgar?!"
Yu Zhou's eyes went wide.
The figure who emerged from the vortex was none other than Etelgar himself — the very one who'd been swallowed by the black hole moments ago!
"How… how did you escape the black hole created by the Revolium Light Stream?!"
Then it hit him — Etelgar was no ordinary being.
A Transdimensional Demon God capable of traversing different dimensions and timelines — of course he could escape a black hole if he wanted to.
Etelgar lunged to stop Arena, but he was too late.
The rift in the Space-Time Castle flared, and two mirrors shot out, shattering midair.
From within them, two streaks of light burst free.
"Ahhh!!"
Etelgar snarled, releasing a wave of purple mist that surged into Arena's mind once more.
She screamed in agony, her voice echoing through space.
Moments later, her cries ceased, and her eyes went dark again.
She had reverted to her controlled, corrupted state.
But Yu Zhou wasn't paying attention to that anymore — his eyes were on the two lights that had emerged.
"Ultraman Max. Ultraman Gaia."
The twin beams of light descended beside Yu Zhou and took form — two towering Ultra Warriors now stood with him.
One was Gaia, one of the legendary Heisei Trinity, and the other was Max, the fastest and most powerful among the modern Ultras.
"Hello, Tiga," Max greeted, turning his head toward Yu Zhou.
"Hello, Max." Yu Zhou nodded politely. "Good to see you again."
He remembered him well. The last time they'd met was during Belial's assault on the Land of Light, where Max had bravely charged in — and promptly been knocked out after taking a couple of hits.
He wasn't sure what point in time this Max had been captured, or whether he remembered that incident.
Actually, Max was just as confused.
He clearly remembered seeing Tiga sealed inside one of the mirrors — so why was there another Tiga standing here, free and fighting?
It made no sense at all.
"Wait, Tiga," Max said suddenly, a realization dawning on him. "You've fought Belial before, haven't you?"
"That's right," Yu Zhou said with a grin. "You've heard of it?"
His battle in the Land of Light had echoed across the M78 Nebula.
If Max recognized that, then this version of him must have come from after those events.
The exact timeline didn't matter — what mattered now was that Yu Zhou finally had two allies.
Turning to Gaia, Yu Zhou nodded. "Ultraman Gaia… You're Gamu, right?"
"Eh?" The human host Gamu Takayama inside Gaia blinked in surprise. "You… know me?"
Did he know this Tiga?
Back during the Ultraman Super Dimension Grand Battle, Gamu had indeed met Yu Zhou and the others — but once he'd returned to his own world, all memories of that event had vanished…
All except for Yu Zhou's.