Eri had seen images of Tiga's original human appearance before. It was clearly nothing like Yu Zhou's current face. Because of this, Eri had been convinced that Yu Zhou was deceiving him.
"You mean… this appearance?" Yu Zhou asked.
As he spoke, his facial features subtly shifted. In the blink of an eye, his face transformed into the handsome visage he had used during the Ultra-Ancient era.
"T–This…!"
Eri was stunned—completely stunned.
Watching Yu Zhou switch back and forth between the two faces, Eri found himself utterly speechless.
Excitement. Joy. Shock.
All these emotions surged into his heart at once.
Tiga himself was standing right in front of him.
Masaki was also slightly taken aback. He had not expected Yu Zhou to be capable of altering his facial form so freely.
"This is incredible… truly incredible… No—this is beyond fortune; this is a miracle!"
Eri muttered incoherently, overwhelmed by emotion.
Yu Zhou twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. This man was clearly too excited to think straight.
"Alright, Eri, calm down," Yu Zhou said. "I have a few questions for you."
"Yes! Ask anything! As long as I know, I'll answer everything!"
Eri nodded frantically.
"First," Yu Zhou said, "Cain and Yuzare—they should still be alive, correct?"
Aside from acquiring advanced technology, Yu Zhou had also come to Earth-like Star to see whether his old acquaintances from the Ultra-Ancient era were still here.
"Yes! Of course!" Eri answered immediately.
"The people who left Earth thirty million years ago are all still alive and well!"
Then his expression darkened slightly, tinged with regret.
"In truth, we departed in two Ark fleets in search of a new world. One of them was unfortunately swallowed by darkness… and was never found again."
"But Prince Cain and Commander Yuzare—they are both alive."
"I see…" Yu Zhou nodded thoughtfully.
He had not expected that half of the Ultra-Ancient migrants had been lost.
Still, as long as Yuzare and Cain remained, that was enough.
"Tiga… Senior," Eri hesitated, then addressed Yu Zhou that way.
"I was originally going to bring you to meet Prince Cain and Commander Yuzare anyway."
After all, thirty million years ago, although Tiga had once invaded the continent as a Dark Giant, he had ultimately defeated the external darkness and saved Earth.
Back then, Eri had been nothing more than a clueless junior assistant.
"In that case," Yu Zhou said calmly, "I'll follow your arrangements."
Before long, the hover vehicle arrived in front of a magnificent white palace.
Yu Zhou was momentarily surprised.
The palace was identical in design to the royal city of the Central Capital from thirty million years ago.
It was as though it had been reconstructed from the same blueprint.
"When Tiga appeared on Earth last time," Eri explained as they walked,
"Commander Yuzare immediately dispatched people to investigate."
Guardie followed closely behind Masaki's heels.
"Prince Cain was extremely excited back then," Eri continued.
"He wanted desperately to find Tiga's transformer—but failed."
"After all, it's been thirty million years," Yu Zhou sighed.
"They must have continued observing Earth all this time."
Yu Zhou recalled that the version of Yuzare within the Time Capsule was merely a fragment of her consciousness, left behind to warn future humanity.
Her true body was still here, on Earth-like Star.
He also remembered asking Eri about the Plasma Spark during his previous visit—only to be told that Eri knew nothing.
Now, it was clear that the truth had simply been concealed.
In the Ultra-Ancient era, humanity had already developed technology capable of inducing evolution—the Plasma Spark itself.
There was no way Eri had truly been unaware.
Most likely, Yuzare and Cain had deliberately sealed that knowledge.
The moment they entered the palace's grand hall, Guardie suddenly barked loudly and sprinted forward.
With an astonishing leap, it bounded straight toward the throne—and pounced onto the man seated upon it.
"That is…" Masaki stared at the man on the throne, a strange sensation rising within him.
"He looks exactly like me."
Seated there was none other than Prince Cain, the ruler of the Ultra-Ancient civilization from thirty million years ago.
"Master!!! Guardie!!!"
Cain sprang to his feet. He first shouted excitedly toward Yu Zhou, then tightly embraced the dog in his arms.
"Master?" Masaki echoed, stunned.
He turned to Yu Zhou. "Yu Zhou… you're Cain's master?"
"Yes," Yu Zhou nodded. "You could say that."
As Cain strode quickly toward him, Yu Zhou felt a deep sense of emotion rise within his chest.
For Yu Zhou, it had only been a short time since they last met.
For Cain, it had been thirty million years.
"Master! Thirty million years… I never thought I'd see you again!"
With Guardie in one arm, Cain wrapped the other around Yu Zhou, his emotions overflowing.
"Cain," Yu Zhou said with a smile as they separated,
"you've grown up."
Back when Yu Zhou had lived in the Ultra-Ancient era, Cain had only been a few years younger than him.
Now, Cain had matured into a dignified, powerful man—while Yu Zhou remained as handsome as ever.
"By the way," Yu Zhou asked, slightly curious,
"how did you recognize me immediately?"
He had not used his Ultra-Ancient appearance, yet Cain had identified him at once.
"Master," Cain said earnestly, "the light within me was passed down by you. How could I fail to recognize my own master?"
As he spoke, a strand of light appeared in his hand.
Yu Zhou could clearly sense that this light shared the same origin as his own.
"And you," Cain continued, turning his gaze toward Masaki, "you must be the inheritor of my combat body."
Though his combat body had been forcibly petrified after defeat, Cain had long accepted that fate.
Seeing someone inherit it now brought him not resentment—but joy.
More importantly, the resemblance was uncanny.
"Hello, Prince Cain," Masaki said quickly.
"My name is Masaki. It's an honour to wield your combat body."
"Masaki… so you're Masaki," Cain murmured.
A look of recollection crossed his face. After a moment, he found the name buried within his long memories.
"You know me?" Masaki asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Cain replied.
"Thirty million years ago, Master mentioned your name to me."