"???"
Three giant question marks popped up in Yu Zhou's head.
He was sure he had imagined the little girl handing him a Sparklence, so why did it turn into a Geed Riser instead?!
Had he been thinking too much about power-ups lately?
"Well, fine—if it's a Geed Riser, then so be it!"
Resigning himself, Yu Zhou took the crimson Geed Riser from the little girl's hand and pulled out a capsule from the case.
"Hudra!"
He activated the capsule, and a projection of Hudra appeared to his left.
"Darramb!"
He activated another capsule, and Darramb's image appeared on his right.
Then, he scanned both capsules with the Riser and pressed the sublimation button.
A blinding beam of light shot into the sky. Within the strange logic of the dream, Yu Zhou transformed—just before Gatanothor's tentacles could strike.
He had become Composite Ultraman Tiga.
"So, it's Composite Tiga, huh…"
Yu Zhou glanced down at himself, half-expecting something new or different—but it was just a standard transformation.
He thought using the Sublimator might grant him something special, but all it did was turn him into Tiga again.
With one swipe of his glowing blade, Yu Zhou unleashed a slash powered by his dream's "invincible" belief. The energy wave instantly severed Gatanothor's tentacles, cutting them clean off and sending them crashing to the ground.
"I won't forgive you!"
To Yu Zhou's surprise, the Belial head attached to Gatanothor's body actually spoke.
"You can talk?!"
Yu Zhou reached out and, through his imagination, conjured a massive black great sword in his hand.
With a powerful leap, he raised the sword high and plunged it straight into Belial's head.
"No—!"
Belial's head screamed as both it and Gatanothor's body dissolved into nothingness.
"Sigh… too bad it's just a dream. If only I really had this sword."
Yu Zhou examined the black blade wistfully.
Ever since his Ultimate Bright Kettle shattered, he hadn't had a decent weapon.
The kettle might not have looked impressive—but it sure worked!
"I really miss Hikari…"
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Hikari appeared before him.
Yu Zhou: "…"
"Never mind," he muttered, waving dismissively. As soon as he did, Hikari vanished again.
Cancelling his transformation, Yu Zhou turned toward the little girl in the red dress. It was time to talk business.
Every time she appeared, it meant there was something important she needed to tell him—especially during times like these.
"The vanguard of darkness has already begun to appear," the girl said seriously. "And you've already started fighting in this world."
"That's right," Yu Zhou nodded. "But what I want to know is—what's the strongest darkness that will appear in this world?"
"I don't know," the girl replied, shaking her head. "I only know that time and space have fractured, creating rifts. That's why all this is happening."
"So, these fractured timelines… do they bring other Ultramen into this world too?" Yu Zhou asked the key question.
If other Ultramen could be drawn in, his burden would be much lighter.
"No," the girl said softly. "Because light and darkness are always in balance."
"Right now, the light in this world is too strong. So, when space-time fractures, it pulls in darkness from other worlds to offset that imbalance."
She paused, then continued calmly, "That's why the dark forces are flooding into this world."
"What are you even talking about?" Yu Zhou groaned. "How is the light in this world too strong? Just because there's one more Tiga—me?"
"That's not it," the girl said, shaking her head again. "You'll understand later."
"Ugh, this again. You never explain anything."
Yu Zhou felt exasperated. That habit of hers was impossible to fix—always "you'll understand later."
He thought, If you'd just tell me now, I'd understand immediately!
Still, he restrained himself from cursing.
After all, he prided himself on being a civilized young man.
"Whatever. I really need to pee."
The overwhelming urge to urinate returned, and Yu Zhou could barely hold it anymore.
"In that case, we'll continue later."
With a wave of her hand, the little girl transformed the battlefield into a restroom.
"Even if you turn it into a toilet, I'm not doing it."
Yu Zhou sighed helplessly. Was this girl really trying to make him relieve himself in the dream?
The girl only chuckled softly and vanished from his dream.
Strangely, once she disappeared, Yu Zhou felt that he could wake up at any time.
Following his will, he gradually opened his eyes.
His back was drenched in cold sweat—from the fear he'd felt when facing Camearra in the dream.
He turned his head and saw Camearra sleeping soundly beside him, one arm wrapped around his.
"Sleep well."
Gently, Yu Zhou slipped his arm free from her embrace, got out of bed, and tiptoed toward the bathroom.
Once he left the room, Camearra's eyes slowly opened.
"His back is soaked… was it a nightmare?" she murmured to herself, wondering what he'd been dreaming about.
If she hadn't misheard, Yu Zhou had called out her name in his sleep—that was when she'd woken up.
Then later, his back had gotten damp with sweat.
And after that… she was pretty sure she'd heard him call out Hudra and Darramb too.
"So, he's still thinking about us, after all."
She smiled faintly, her mind drifting to scenes from thirty million years ago—when she and the mightiest dark giant, Tiga, fought side by side across the cosmos.
But now… both of them had become beings of light. That was fine too.
A little while later, Yu Zhou returned from the bathroom and climbed back into bed.
Camearra pretended to be asleep. As expected, Yu Zhou wrapped his arm around her, pulled up the blanket, and soon drifted off again.
That feeling of finally relieving himself after holding it for so long—pure bliss.
Camearra quietly savoured the warmth of his embrace. Listening to his steady breathing, she too slipped peacefully back into her dreams.
…
Life in the little village was peaceful, but Yu Zhou didn't plan to stay there forever.
After talking it over with his parents, he and Camearra set out for Xia City to look for a house to buy.
The area where Golza had appeared was no longer liveable—and Yu Zhou had no plans to settle there anyway.
His parents thought it would be safer to remain in the village, given how often monsters appeared lately.
But Yu Zhou persuaded them with a few well-chosen words.
Driving their sedan, Yu Zhou and Camearra arrived at the housing district they'd chosen.
They stepped out of the car together, ready to start a new chapter of their lives.