"Do I look pretty?"
The little girl—no, now the young woman in the red dress—walked slowly toward Yu Zhou, asking softly.
"Uh…" Yu Zhou stumbled back a few steps until his back hit the bathroom wall. "Y-Yeah… pretty. You look… pretty."
He had thought that the red-dressed girl was just a child, but after she changed her appearance, she suddenly started acting like this—
definitely not the kind of thing a seven- or eight-year-old would do!
"I see. Maybe I'll keep this form from now on," the girl said after thinking for a moment.
"No, no! You'd better change back—I'm not used to it," Yu Zhou said quickly, waving his hands.
"Hehe." The girl chuckled and returned to her original childlike form. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Let's talk business."
"Already? We just separated a short while ago, and now there's more 'business'?"
Yu Zhou sat down on a chair he conjured from his own dream, waiting quietly for what the girl had to say.
"A large group of Dark Vanguards is heading toward Earth," the girl said seriously. "I can sense a vast darkness approaching—but it's not that strong."
"I see." Yu Zhou nodded.
Even so, a "large group of darkness" didn't sound easy to handle.
Even if they weren't particularly powerful, their sheer numbers alone would be a huge problem for him.
If only he could split himself like Ultraman Max, things would be easier.
Then he remembered—the power Asuka had lent him, the Miracle-type Tiga.
If he used that form, perhaps he could split himself into several copies to fight together.
In Ultraman Dyna's TV series, Dyna had split into three or four copies at most.
Yu Zhou thought that if his energy reserves were strong enough, maybe he could create even more.
The most important thing would be to ensure each clone had enough energy to fire its finishing beam.
Fortunately, Ultraman Tiga's techniques gathered ambient light particles from the air and fused them with his own light energy to form his attacks—
unlike most other Ultras, whose beams relied solely on their internal power.
"If you already understand, then I'll go now," the girl said, her body gradually fading.
"Wait!" Yu Zhou shouted, looking at her disappearing figure.
"You came all the way here—don't you want to, uh, use the bathroom before leaving?"
He pointed around the restroom dreamscape.
The girl: "…"
Without answering, she vanished completely from the dream.
When Yu Zhou forced himself awake, the first thing he did was grab his phone and check the news.
So far, everything seemed fine—no monster hordes attacking cities yet.
Most reports were still about Ultraman Tiga and the recent monster incidents.
Some experts had even begun researching whether it was possible for humans to transform into Ultras themselves.
After all, in the shows, Ultramen often had human hosts.
So, many speculated that Tiga's "human form" might actually be living among them.
"The first time Ultraman Tiga appeared was in Xia City."
"Based on that, it's very possible Tiga's human identity is a local from Xia City."
"Even the government hopes to open communication with Ultraman Tiga—to ask about the meaning behind these recent events."
"Because whether it's monsters or Ultramen, they were once just fictional beings on TV. For them to appear in reality—no one knows if it's a conspiracy or something else entirely."
Reading all this, Yu Zhou's thoughts grew heavy.
A conversation with the authorities? Impossible.
At least for now, there was no way he could expose himself. His safety came first.
The real world was far crueller than fiction.
Who knew if some official, like a certain Lieutenant Gondo, might decide to "study" the real Tiga?
Still, if the coming darkness could be warned about in advance, many disasters could be prevented.
After thinking for a while, Yu Zhou decided—his safety came first.
Whether people were warned or not wouldn't change much.
As he scrolled through the news, Camearra suddenly grabbed his arm.
"What's wrong, Camearra?" he asked, surprised to see her awake.
"There's another woman's scent on you."
Camearra leaned closer like a curious puppy, sniffing him carefully.
"???"
Yu Zhou froze, feeling oddly guilty even though he hadn't done anything wrong!
Sure, he'd met the red-dressed girl—but that was strictly business, for the world's future!
Besides, those meetings were always in dreams.
Unless… Camearra could enter dreams too?
Wait—she actually could.
Oh no.
But she didn't seem angry—just a little suspicious.
"It can't be Yuzare; that woman can't come to this world. So, who have you been secretly meeting with?" Camearra muttered.
"No one! I've been with you this whole time," Yu Zhou replied quickly.
Camearra tilted her head, then nodded thoughtfully.
"That's true. You have been with me all along."
"Good. Now get some sleep."
Yu Zhou smiled, patting her head, and placed his phone on the nightstand.
But before he could lie down, Camearra suddenly sat up straight, staring toward the window.
"What is it, Camearra?" Yu Zhou asked, startled.
"I can sense it… Zoiger is here," she said, frowning.
"And not just one."
"It's… a whole group."
"What?!"
Yu Zhou's eyes widened. He had expected the Dark Vanguards to come eventually, but this soon?!
They had barely finished talking about them, and now the Zoiger swarm had arrived!
"Raaahhh!!!"
From outside the window came a thunderous, bird-like screech echoing through the night sky.
Yu Zhou jumped out of bed and dashed up to the rooftop.
Cold wind whipped against him as he looked up.
The entire city had been awakened by the cries.
Lights flicked on across every building as people poured out of their homes to look toward the heavens.
Up above, countless massive, bird-shaped shadows flew across the sky,
their haunting cries overlapping one another—
as if heralding the end of the world.