"Traitor—stop!"
"Release Lady Camearra!"
Despite being affected by Cthulhu's refined darkness, Hudra and Darramb still retained one instinct above all others—
to protect Camearra.
Yu Zhou, however, would not allow them to interfere.
He struck twice in rapid succession.
The sheer force behind the kicks sent Hudra and Darramb flying, their bodies smashing heavily into the temple walls before collapsing to the floor.
"Stay down," Yu Zhou said coldly.
"I'll deal with you after I finish converting her."
He increased the output of light.
Camearra struggled fiercely, but under Yu Zhou's control, her resistance was meaningless.
Light flowed through Yu Zhou's body and into hers.
For a brief moment, the blackness on Camearra's body visibly receded—
Then, in the next instant, a dense surge of darkness rose up and devoured the light entirely.
"What…?!"
Yu Zhou felt the light he had transmitted vanish, swallowed whole by darkness, and his heart tightened.
In the future, Camearra had successfully transformed into a Giant of Light through the Plasma Spark.
But now—
Why was it failing?
"The Plasma Spark of the Land of Light…"
Realization struck him.
"The energy of the real Plasma Spark is far beyond what a miniature version can compare to."
He turned sharply toward Yuzare.
"Yuzare—where is the Plasma Spark you used to create the Giants of Light?"
"The Plasma Spark…?"
Yuzare froze, clearly not expecting the question.
"According to Mr. Keshiva, the Plasma Spark is already gone."
"That's why… there are no more Giants of Light."
"What?!"
Yu Zhou was stunned.
Hearing Camearra's pained cries, his expression darkened further.
There was something Yuzare had not yet said.
Even if the Plasma Spark still existed, it could not be brought to Earth.
Once removed from the crystal layer covering its world, it would cease to be the Plasma Spark at all.
To bring Camearra and the others to it—
The seal would have to be broken.
And breaking the seal required converting darkness into light.
A perfect deadlock.
"I refuse to believe this!"
Yu Zhou gritted his teeth and forcefully extracted every last bit of light from the miniature Plasma Spark, pouring it into Camearra.
The darkness within her retaliated instantly.
Light and dark clashed violently, centred on the hands linking Yu Zhou and Camearra.
Camearra cried out in pain.
Yu Zhou endured the backlash of the internal collision, his body absorbing the damage.
Then—
Boom!
A violent explosion of opposing energies tore them apart.
Yu Zhou was thrown backward.
Camearra staggered away.
The miniature Plasma Spark, pushed beyond its limits, shattered into fragments.
"This…"
Yuzare stood frozen, unable to speak.
The destruction of the miniature Plasma Spark made one thing painfully clear—
The Plasma Spark itself was the key to transforming Dark Giants into Giants of Light.
And now, that path was closed.
"Die, Tiga!"
Freed from his grip, Camearra cracked her whip, the lash striking Yu Zhou with a sharp report.
He could have dodged.
He chose not to.
"Is there really… no way?"
Yu Zhou stared at Camearra, his mind racing desperately for any solution.
"Tiga!" Yuzare shouted.
"They're too deeply affected by Cthulhu's darkness! It will take time for that darkness to fade!"
Yu Zhou already knew.
Cthulhu's corruption was not shallow.
He could absorb most of it—but not all.
If it were like Belial, possessed by a foreign will, he could rip the soul out and convert it.
But Camearra and the others were different.
They were not corrupted into darkness.
They had become darkness from the very beginning.
Crack—crack!
The whip lashed again.
Hudra and Darramb rose and joined in, fists and kicks raining down upon him.
Yu Zhou did not resist.
He allowed every blow to land.
His body was strong enough to endure it.
If suffering like this could erase their darkness, he would gladly be beaten back into stone.
"Tiga… make them calm down," Yuzare said quietly.
"Wait until the darkness is worn away—then save them."
"So… this is the only way."
Yu Zhou clenched his fists.
His mind replayed memories of the first time he had met Camearra.
Her resentment.
Her pain.
"You knew I wanted to become light with you—so why didn't you take me?"
"Why did you seal me after you turned into light?"
"Why would you do something so cruel?"
Each memory cut deep.
"Tiga, traitor!"
"Dog of the light!"
"You betrayed the darkness!"
Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb continued attacking, hurling curses alongside their blows.
Yu Zhou stood unmoving.
He knew the truth.
When he had said they would become light together and leave the temple—
Camearra had been willing.
It was Cthulhu's intervention that shattered that moment.
If the darkness within them could be worn away—
Even the miniature Plasma Spark might succeed.
"Cthulhu…" Yu Zhou growled.
"Next time we meet, I will grind you into nothing."
Cursing changed nothing.
Cthulhu would not appear.
Having successfully sabotaged the transformation, it would now hide in the dimensional abyss, satisfied.
After a long silence, Yu Zhou finally made his decision.
"Camearra… wait for me."
"Three million years from now, I will return."
"I will take you into the light."
He extended his hand.
With sheer force of will, he pulled the remaining darkness from their bodies into himself.
This darkness did not clash with his light.
It retreated into the deepest corner of his being.
As the darkness drained away, the bodies of Camearra, Hudra, and Darramb stiffened—
Then slowly turned to stone.
"Tiga…"
Camearra's voice was faint.
Then she fell silent, frozen forever.
Yu Zhou sighed.
He placed a hand upon each of their Colour Timers, injecting a final beam of light into all three.
That light would slowly erode Cthulhu's darkness.
Everything now depended on one thing alone—
Waiting for time to pass.