The concept of a New Universe Garrison had come to Yu Zhou only moments ago, a sudden spark of inspiration.
Since Belial desired that kind of honour and status, there was no reason it could not be granted.
After all, Belial was already very old by Ultra standards—of the same generation as Father of Ultra himself.
During the invasion of the Land of Light by Alien Empera, Belial had survived Empera's attacks.
More than that, in this very world, he had personally eliminated Alien Empera while still in his "Old Black" Belial form.
In terms of combat power and potential, Belial was unquestionably qualified.
His only flaws lay in temperament and desire.
His craving for power was simply too intense.
In Ultra Galaxy Fight 2, that very weakness had allowed Tartarus, the golden being, to lure Belial away, turning him into little more than a hired enforcer.
"Power," Yu Zhou said calmly, "I'll give you that first."
As he spoke, he handed Belial a Shining (Glitter) Power Storage Gem—a relic once given to him by Hikari.
Yu Zhou could now switch freely into his Shining Form, so this item was no longer necessary for him.
Inside the gem was an extremely dense concentration of light energy—still insufficient to directly trigger Shining Form, but very close.
Yu Zhou's intention was clear.
He wanted Belial to change.
To obtain light not through force or plunder, but through human hope and the light of the heart.
As long as Belial could obtain even a small amount of that light and charge the gem, he would gain a genuine chance to enter a Shining state.
"The power inside this… is indeed immense," Belial said, gripping the gem and sensing the light within.
"As long as you gain just a little more—hope from humanity, or light from their hearts—you'll be able to fully unlock it," Yu Zhou said frankly.
He was not deceiving Belial. He was giving him a clear direction.
"So just a little is enough… I understand."
Belial glanced at the gem once more before putting it away.
Only a trace of light remained to be filled.
For him, that did not seem particularly difficult.
"As for the New Universe Garrison," Yu Zhou continued, "there are no other members for now. You'll need to wait. I'll help you gather them."
He already had some candidates in mind.
"Fine," Belial nodded. "I'll wait for your word."
Commander of a universe-level garrison…
That meant bearing responsibility for the safety of this entire world.
…
Nagano had arranged for Daigo and the others to settle into the base, and he also explained the state of this world to them.
Sudden kaiju invasions.
The arrival of the apocalypse.
The spread of darkness.
Nagano told them everything.
After listening, Daigo was deeply shaken.
"Yu Zhou defeated tens of thousands of monsters… by himself?"
What shocked Daigo the most was Nagano's account of Yu Zhou creating multiple avatars to fight kaiju simultaneously.
He had never imagined Yu Zhou's strength had reached such a level.
But there was another detail that fascinated them even more.
In this world, many events from their world had been adapted into films and television series.
"So, the things that happened in our world… exist here as fictional works," Masaki said, finding it strangely surreal.
"No wonder—no wonder!" Daigo suddenly realized something.
"When I first met Yu Zhou, he said that everyone in the country knew the way to revive the Giant… by turning me into light."
"There are too many mysteries in the universe," Nagano said with a smile.
"Perhaps what happens in our world also exists as films or novels in some other reality."
Their reaction was remarkably composed.
With their way of thinking, they did not fall into existential panic.
As a physicist, Masaki in particular could easily accept the idea of parallel worlds.
Any novel, any film, any imagined worldview created by humans could very well exist in another universe.
Likewise, the world they lived in might itself be nothing more than a creation in someone else's imagination.
"Still," Masaki said after watching several episodes of Ultraman Tiga,
"what happened in our world isn't exactly the same as what's shown here."
"That's true," Darramb said, pointing at the screen displaying The Final Odyssey.
"In this version, both Hudra and I were destroyed by Daigo."
His tone carried a hint of melancholy.
"Or perhaps," Masaki said thoughtfully,
"it's because of Yu Zhou's involvement."
He had noticed something critical.
Yu Zhou did not exist at all in these dramatized versions.
"When Gatanothor appeared in the series, I was merely someone using a Light Particle Charger," Masaki continued.
"But in reality, it was Yu Zhou who encouraged me—who led me to transform into light again and fight the darkness."
There were other discrepancies as well.
In the series, Daigo fought Masaki at first using only the Multi Type, never the Power Type.
The monster beneath Kumamoto City never revived through the light of a dog.
As for Daigo himself, ever since the Gijera incident, events around him had completely diverged from the televised version.
"Heh—what are you all talking about?"
Yu Zhou suddenly walked in.
He stopped mid-step.
Everyone was sitting on the sofas in the base hall, watching a large screen.
And on that screen—
Ultraman Tiga.
"…Wait."
"…What the hell."
"You all know now?" Yu Zhou asked, scratching his head.
"Yes," Daigo nodded seriously.
"Yu Zhou-kun, we know."
"Then—"
Before Yu Zhou could finish, Masaki cut in.
"Yu Zhou-kun, you were ruthless! Originally, Daigo was supposed to fight me using Multi Type, but you instigated him into using Power Type and had him grind me into the ground!"
"Ah… that…"
"Sorry, Yu Zhou-kun," Daigo said awkwardly. "I let it slip."
"You were berserk at the time," Yu Zhou replied calmly.
"If I hadn't done that, the existence known as Cain might have disappeared altogether. Draining your energy was the only option."
Seeing that no one reacted violently, Yu Zhou finally relaxed.
At first, he had worried they might mentally collapse after learning they existed in fictional media.
Now it seemed he had overthought it.
After all, in Ultraman Gaia: Battle in Hyperspace, Gamu himself had travelled to a "real world" relative to the Ultra universe.
There, Gamu had also learned that he existed within films—yet he accepted it without psychological breakdown.
"Oh, right—Nagano," Yu Zhou said as he walked over.
"You know about the Space Garrison of the Land of Light, don't you?"
"Yes," Nagano nodded. "I do."
He did not yet understand why Yu Zhou was asking.
But he had a feeling—
This question was anything but casual.