One wish. Just one wish from that red sphere could have given Yuzhou anything he wanted.
He could have asked for overwhelming powers—hacks on the level of Hikari's creations—or even outright invincibility.
In the original story, the red sphere only showed the ability to summon beings and materialize illusions. But even those powers were terrifyingly strong.
Imagine if he wished for several Plasma Spark Cores… If his world ever faced an extinction crisis, he could simply release one, and the problem would solve itself without him lifting a finger. An entire race could evolve in an instant—practically rewriting creation itself.
Even if evolution caused problems, Yuzhou could still harness the infinite light stored within the Plasma Sparks. That kind of power would be unbeatable.
He had already seen how just a fragment of such energy had strengthened him before. What if he possessed it all?
"Yuzhou, do you feel like a part of your memory is missing?" Daigo asked suddenly, noticing Yuzhou deep in thought.
"…What? Who am I? Where am I?" Yuzhou clutched his head in mock confusion.
"Uh…" Masaki glanced at Daigo, whispering, "I think he hasn't lost his memory—he's just gone stupid."
"Looks like it," Daigo agreed, frowning seriously.
"Daigo, Yuzhou, Masaki!" Shinjo's voice rang out. He came running from the Artdesis. "Where on earth were you? You vanished for two hours straight!"
"Two hours?" Daigo was stunned. "But I only remember the wormhole pulling me in… after that, nothing."
"You actually lost your memories?" Captain Megumi and the rest of the Victory Team hurried over. Clearly, they hadn't left the ruins but had been searching nearby.
"Yeah," Daigo said with a nod. "And Yuzhou… well, he turned into an idiot."
"…???" Yuzhou almost swung his frying pan at Daigo's head. "I'm not stupid! I just can't remember what happened either!"
"So in the end, we have no clue where that wormhole led." Horii frowned.
"Forget it. Since we're back, let's return to headquarters," Munakata said. Before the wormhole appeared, they had already been preparing to leave the R'lyeh ruins.
"Understood." The team nodded and began heading back.
But Yuzhou stayed behind. He had promised Camearra he would remain, and so he watched as Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb faced off against monsters with surprising resolve. They were already adapting to their new role as giants of light, fighting not as shadows, but as defenders.
It warmed Yuzhou's heart. He remembered how, in the original story, Camearra's last words before death had been: "I too longed for the light."
"You three… you're growing fast," Yuzhou said with a faint smile.
"Growing?" Camearra tilted her head.
"I mean, you've started stepping in to help fight monsters on your own initiative."
"I just wanted to protect you," Camearra answered simply. "If I didn't step in, that monster would have gone after you."
Hudra and Darramb nodded firmly in agreement. To them, whether Camearra or Tiga, Yuzhou was their comrade. Even after being sealed for thirty million years, they had moved past their grudge.
"…Fair enough." Yuzhou chuckled awkwardly, unsure how to respond. At least their loyalty meant that, once he eventually left, they would continue living peacefully here.
Still, rebuilding the ruined city of R'lyeh was no small task. Even with four people, it would take years.
As Yuzhou wandered through the ruins, he couldn't help but think of the shattered giant statues scattered everywhere. "In the original story, these fragments carried the lingering light of the Ultra warriors… they gave Tiga the strength to rise again and become Glitter Tiga. But if we clear them away to rebuild the city, wouldn't that be a loss?"
He brushed his hand over a fragment of stone.
The instant his words left his mouth, the ruins lit up. Every fragment blazed with golden brilliance, beams of light rising skyward and converging above the ancient city.
"What the—?!" Yuzhou froze. This wasn't supposed to happen. There had been no desperate battle like in the original story, yet here it was—the light of the ancients!
The gathered brilliance surged down toward him, flooding into his body like a divine baptism.
"I didn't even transform, and the light still chose me?" Yuzhou's body pulsed with radiant energy, stronger than anything he'd ever felt. This was the same power that had once made Tiga a shining giant… and now it resided within him.
It didn't stay active but sank deep, lying dormant. He realized he could call it forth at any moment.
"This is basically a one-time 'Glitter Tiga' in reserve!" Yuzhou's grin widened. "If some boss-level monster shows up, I'll just go glitter and smash it flat."
Still, he couldn't help but think of the Ultra Eight Brothers world, where Daigo's sheer willpower had brought everyone into the Glitter form. That was on another level entirely.
He turned to the ruins. "But why… why give this light to me?"
No answer came. The city was silent, the statues unmoving.
"…Forget it." Yuzhou shrugged. "I was half-expecting some ancient consciousness to chat with me. Guess I was overthinking."
Just then, Camearra appeared at the tunnel entrance. "What happened just now? The entire ruins were glowing."
"It was the remnants of the Ultra warriors' light," Yuzhou explained honestly. "They passed what was left to me."
Camearra's eyes widened in shock. To her, it almost seemed as though those giants hadn't truly died. Could they still stir after thirty million years?
…
Time passed as reconstruction continued. Yuzhou didn't help much—aside from chatting with Camearra and the others, he mostly lazed in his tent, living off the snacks he had stored in his bracelet.
Sometimes the Victory Team delivered supplies. Surprisingly, TPC seemed willing to tolerate Camearra's efforts to rebuild the ruins. Though there were dissenting voices, Director Sawa suppressed them.
Learning this, Yuzhou's respect for the man grew even more. In Yuzhou's heart, Director Sawa had always been a "kind old man," someone broad-minded and truly good at heart.