If this world doesn't continue to advance, it's going to be in serious trouble sooner or later.
Forget about the incoming Sphere Black Hole for a moment — even within Earth itself, there are still countless slumbering evil gods buried deep beneath its surface.
Gatanothor has been destroyed. His brother too.
But what if, next time, all of the evil gods awaken together?
Relying on just a few Ultramen wouldn't be nearly enough to fight them off.
When that happens, humanity will become nothing more than fish on a chopping board — completely helpless before their blades.
And as if that weren't enough, the stones that Commander Gondou used to craft the Giants of Light weren't even genuine relics.
He had swapped the real fragments of the ancient statues with ordinary stones.
In other words, the so-called "stone of the Giant of Light" that successfully revived was, in fact, just a normal piece of rock.
Perhaps it was because of Asuka's light, or the mysterious light within the pyramid, that the statue had managed to awaken at all.
"Masaki, how's your artificial sun project going?"
Since Yu Zhou was already in the City of Time, he decided to drop by and chat with Masaki before leaving.
"Huh? The artificial sun?"
Having just seen Gamu off, Masaki was still buzzing with excitement from their success.
When Yu Zhou mentioned it, he paused for a moment — then his eyes lit up again.
"Using some of the data and materials left behind by the City of Time, I've successfully created an advanced plasma spark."
"What? A Plasma Spark?!"
Yu Zhou was stunned.
The legendary device that had transformed the people of the Land of Light into Ultramen — that Plasma Spark? Masaki had really made one?!
"Calm down, calm down," Masaki said quickly, pressing his hands down as if to settle Yu Zhou's rising excitement.
"What I've made is only a basic version of the Plasma Spark. Nowhere near the level of the one in the Land of Light."
"It's literally a plasma-based generator that produces light energy — that's all."
Masaki explained calmly.
"Oh, I see…" Yu Zhou exhaled, still reeling a bit.
For a second there, he thought Masaki had built a second Land of Light right here on Earth.
"By the way, this little Plasma Spark is pretty useful. You can even carry one with you — it helps recharge your energy when needed."
Masaki walked to the corner of the lab and picked up a small crystal-made torch.
When he pressed a switch, a beam of brilliant, blinding light erupted from its tip, filling the room with pure energy.
"So, this is the Plasma Spark?"
Yu Zhou stared at the glowing torch. He could feel the light energy radiating outward, its particles flowing into his body and replenishing his strength.
"That's right," Masaki said with a proud smile. "I've made several of them. Here — this one's yours."
"Thanks. It feels… really good."
Yu Zhou nodded and accepted the torch.
It might not be as powerful as the original Plasma Spark, but it was still an incredible tool — a portable energy charger for an Ultraman.
Run out of energy? Recharge.
Colour timer flashing red? Recharge again.
Oh, how convenient.
Following Masaki's instructions, Yu Zhou learned how to operate the small crystal torch and then switched it off, storing it inside his dimensional bracelet.
"By the way, Masaki — have you heard about Commander Gondou?" Yu Zhou asked casually.
"Yeah, I've heard," Masaki replied with a nod. "It's really the consequence of my own reckless youth, you could say."
The F-Project that Gondou had been using was originally designed by Masaki himself.
It was later confiscated by the TPC and somehow ended up in Gondou's hands.
"But Gondou actually succeeded with the F-Project, didn't he?"
Yu Zhou said, half serious, half amused — referring to the artificial Giant of Light that Gondou had created.
"Well, if he used fragments of the ancient statues, it's no surprise it worked."
Masaki laughed lightly and shook his head.
He had once dreamed of creating a Giant of Light himself… but the events that followed had made him abandon that idea long ago.
"What if I told you that Gondou's stones weren't real statue fragments?" Yu Zhou said, grinning slyly.
"What?" Masaki froze, staring at him. "You're joking, right, Yu Zhou?"
"Nope," Yu Zhou said with a mischievous smile. "The real Giant statues are safe and sound — inside my dimensional ring."
"The two broken ones from the pyramid? I replaced them with replicas when I travelled back to the ancient past."
"...!!!"
Masaki was completely dumbfounded.
The amount of information was overwhelming — he had to take a moment just to process it all.
So, Yu Zhou had gone back to the Ultra-Ancient Era and swapped out two of the three statues.
That explained why those statues had crumbled so easily — they were fakes from the beginning!
But the most shocking part was that Gondou had managed to create a Giant of Light using those fake stones.
"So, you're saying… even ordinary stones can be turned into Giant statues?!"
Masaki asked, excitement lighting up his face as though he'd just uncovered some great scientific truth.
"Not exactly."
Yu Zhou quickly poured a bucket of cold water over his enthusiasm.
"Those stones had been in the pyramid for thousands of years. Their composition had changed because of the constant exposure to its energy."
"Ah…"
Masaki deflated instantly, his excitement fading.
Still, it didn't matter much to him anymore.
He'd long since let go of his obsession with creating Giants of Light.
His curiosity now was nothing more than nostalgia — a look back at the dreams and regrets of his younger years.
If the day ever came when the evil gods truly awakened and humanity was powerless to resist…
then, and only then, would he consider building such a weapon again — not for glory, but for survival.
"I wish I could pull off a cheat like that too," Yu Zhou said with a sigh.
Honestly, he really did.
If he could just make a few new Giant statues out of ordinary stones and bring them to life, things would be so much easier.
Because in his own world, a great catastrophe was fast approaching.
And though he'd grown powerful, even he wasn't sure if he could withstand what was coming.
If he could just strengthen his forces a little more — gain even one or two more allies — perhaps the coming disaster wouldn't be so hard to face.
"Yu Zhou, you seem troubled," Masaki observed, watching him sink into thought.
"It's nothing," Yu Zhou said with a faint smile, shaking his head. "Just thinking about a few things."
After that, Yu Zhou bid Masaki farewell and left the City of Time.
Yet the sense of unease in his heart refused to fade.
As the day of the Sphere Black Hole's arrival drew closer, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread building inside him.
Not because of the Sphere itself — but because he wasn't sure if he would be strong enough to overcome the disaster that was coming to his own world.
…
In the vastness of space, the enormous black hole of the Spheres continued to devour everything in its path — star after star, system after system — as it slowly, inevitably drifted toward the solar system.