"This is Earth—but from another dimension," Yuzhou explained calmly to Taiga Nozomu.
"So I really was dragged somewhere strange by that black disc…"
Taiga scratched his head, still looking completely disoriented.
"Huh? When did this appear? What is this thing?"
After lowering his hand, Taiga suddenly noticed that a bracelet had appeared on his left wrist.
"This is the proof that you and I have become one," a voice spoke directly into Taiga's ear.
"Huh? Who's talking?"
Still confused, Taiga took the bottle of water the child handed him, drank a sip, and then asked both the child and Yuzhou whether they had heard any strange voice.
The child shook his head.
Yuzhou, however, nodded.
Zero's voice—he could hear it perfectly clearly.
"Oh… so it's just my imagination—wait, why are you nodding?!"
Taiga sprayed the water straight out of his mouth and stared at Yuzhou in disbelief.
At that moment, the voice sounded again.
"It's me speaking. I'm Ultraman Zero!"
"Ul… Ultraman?!"
Taiga glanced at Yuzhou, then at the bracelet on his wrist.
The bracelet began to glow repeatedly, and the voice continued:
"The courage you showed when you saved that child moved me. From now on, we are one body!"
"Get out."
The reaction Zero had expected never came.
Instead, Taiga spoke coldly, expressionless.
"Y-yeah, get out—wait, what?!"
Zero froze.
He had been ready for a dramatic moment of mutual understanding—only to realize what Taiga had just said.
"Who gave you permission to enter my body without asking?!"
For a brief moment, Yuzhou's thoughts nearly went in the wrong direction—but seeing Taiga stand up angrily, he held back his laughter.
"I don't need Ultraman's power!"
"Get out of my body. Right now. Immediately!"
Taiga shouted furiously at the bracelet.
"That's not how this works!" Zero protested indignantly.
"You were fatally injured! Without me, you'd already be dead!"
He had saved this guy, merged with him—and now he was being yelled at?
This was truly ingratitude at its finest.
"On that point, he's right," Yuzhou added calmly.
"If it weren't for Zero, you'd be dead."
That single sentence warmed Zero's heart.
If only he had merged with this human instead.
Still, the fact that Yuzhou could hear their internal conversation made Zero increasingly wary. This man was clearly no ordinary human.
"Thanks very much—but you still have to get out!"
"Get out!!"
Taiga ignored everything else and continued shouting at the bracelet, even trying to forcibly remove it.
He failed.
At that moment—
A giant land shark burst out of the ground in front of Yuzhou, Taiga, and the child.
Its body was patterned in black and white, its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and its nose resembled a massive steel drill.
Gubila.
Though known as a deep-sea monster, this creature was actually amphibious, capable of moving through both land and underground terrain.
"Taiga!"
Zero's voice rang out urgently.
The bracelet emitted a bright glow, and a sleek pair of transformation glasses floated above Taiga's wrist.
"Put these on! Transform into me!"
"Fight with me!"
Taiga stared at the glasses, shock flashing through his eyes—followed by a moment of hesitation.
Then, slowly, he raised his other hand.
Smack.
In a flash of light, the Zero Slugger glasses were slapped straight back into the bracelet.
"…What the hell?!"
Zero was utterly dumbfounded.
He simply could not believe it.
After smacking the transformation device away, Taiga grabbed the child's hand and ran, leaving Yuzhou standing there in silence.
So if he were just an ordinary human, he'd be abandoned, huh?
Facing Gubila, Yuzhou had no intention of transforming.
Because if things followed the Galaxy Fight 2 timeline, Tartarus would soon appear—revive Alien Bat, and then leave.
If Yuzhou exposed his identity now, Tartarus might immediately retreat.
After a brief consideration, Yuzhou followed behind Taiga and the child.
Primarily—to prevent the butterfly effect from getting Taiga killed for real.
"Transform already!"
Zero shouted inside Taiga as they ran.
"I absolutely refuse to become an Ultraman!"
No matter how Zero tried to persuade him, Taiga stubbornly refused, dragging the child along as he fled.
Ahead lay a suspension bridge.
For reasons unknown, Taiga charged straight toward it.
Gubila smashed through buildings, leapt into the river, then resurfaced directly in their path—drill-first.
BOOM!!!
The suspension bridge began collapsing under the impact.
"Huh? He came early."
Just as Yuzhou considered revealing his identity, a beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping Taiga and the child, transporting them to safety.
The light took form before the monster—
A silver-and-blue giant appeared.
The gentle warrior.
Ultraman Cosmos.
"…Unbelievable."
Standing on the collapsing bridge, Yuzhou could not help muttering under his breath.
Why was he always the one getting ignored?
He was supposed to be a normal human right now.
"Ultraman! Help! There's still someone here!"
Waving his arms wildly, Yuzhou shouted toward Cosmos.
"Hmm?"
Cosmos finally noticed the collapsing bridge and realized someone was still on it.
He reached out—
But the bridge collapsed faster, crashing into the river below.
Instead of falling, a flash of purple light surrounded Yuzhou.
In the next instant, he appeared beside Taiga and the child.
"This…"
Cosmos froze mid-motion.
That man—wasn't he human?
Then how did he perform such an impossible escape?