By the lakeside.
Yuzhou and the others landed on the sandy shore. Aside from Zero, everyone released their transformation and returned to human form.
Laiha and the rest soon arrived as well. The sky was already growing late—sunset had arrived, and dusk spread quietly across the horizon.
"Yuzhou-san, it really has been a long time!"
After reverting to human form, Riku spoke excitedly.
"Yes, it has been quite a while,"
Yuzhou replied with a smile, nodding at him.
"Hey, hey—Riku, haven't we also not seen each other for a long time?"
Zero's massive figure loomed in front of everyone as he voiced his dissatisfaction.
"Why do you get so excited the moment you see Yuzhou?"
"Hehe, Zero-san, I just can't help it!"
Riku laughed sheepishly.
Nearby, Leito was holding several bags of gifts—things he had prepared specifically for Zero to take back and enjoy in the Land of Light.
Seeing the food in Leito's hands, Yuzhou briefly found himself wondering whether Ultras even needed to eat.
But then he remembered Ultraman Taro, where Kotaro had once taken the Ultra Brothers out for barbecue.
At that thought, he felt rather foolish.
"I'm an Ultra too. Of course I eat."
Yuzhou patted his forehead, feeling slightly speechless at himself.
To the side, Gai Kurenai and Jugglus Juggler clinked bottles of ramune soda together and took a drink.
From the looks of it, their relationship had more or less returned to normal.
"Leito, how is my daughter, Little Mai?"
Zero waved at Leito and asked.
"She's doing great, of course—wait, Little Mai is my daughter!"
Leito replied instinctively, then immediately protested.
"Hahaha, it's all the same!"
Zero laughed.
His feelings toward Little Mai were complicated, after all. Thanks to Leito, he had experienced—however briefly—what it felt like to be a father.
"Eh? Come to think of it, why haven't Mirror Knight and the others come down?"
Zero suddenly realized something.
The rest of the Ultimate Zero Force were still outside Earth.
Previously, the virtual planet Kushia had sealed Earth off completely, preventing them from entering.
But now that the seal was gone, they should have arrived by now.
Yet not a single one of them had appeared.
"Hm? What's that?"
Zero looked up into the sky, intending to search for his teammates.
Instead, he saw something else entirely.
High above, a massive, perfectly round celestial body glowed with dazzling brilliance.
It was already dusk, yet the surroundings were far from dark.
That radiant body poured its light down upon Earth.
"That looks like… the Moon?"
Laiha squinted as she stared upward.
"Why is the Moon so bright today?"
Leito asked, still looking somewhat absent-minded as he pushed up his slipping glasses.
"No. That isn't reflected sunlight,"
Gai said, putting away his empty soda bottle as he stared at the Moon.
"That's right," Zero nodded.
"I can feel an aura on the Moon—something very similar to the Plasma Spark."
"My father is still on the Moon! And Fukuide Kei too!"
Riku suddenly realized aloud.
"Belial…"
Zero murmured, falling into thought.
Whatever was happening on the Moon was almost certainly the work of Belial and Fukuide Kei.
"This is a matter for you Warriors of Light,"
Juggler said coldly, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"I won't involve myself."
With that, he casually tossed his empty soda bottle onto the ground and turned to leave.
"Juggler!"
Gai reached out, calling after him.
"Gai, don't stop me. This kind of thing isn't for an outsider like me,"
Juggler replied without turning back.
He paused briefly, raised a hand, and waved it dismissively.
"No—I just wanted to say that littering is a very uncivilized behaviour," Gai said seriously, pointing at the bottle Juggler had thrown away.
Juggler: "..."
"Clearly, we don't see eye to eye. Farewell, everyone."
Without bothering to pick up the bottle, Juggler continued walking away.
"So he really can't stand Dyna, huh…"
Yuzhou murmured.
From Juggler's words, he could clearly hear the bitterness beneath the sarcasm.
And Yuzhou knew very well where that bitterness came from—
Asuka Shin.
After a moment's thought, Yuzhou suddenly called out:
"Juggler—chotto matte!"
"Hm?"
Juggler hadn't intended to respond to anyone.
But that voice belonged to Yuzhou.
And Juggler had always held a certain respect for Yuzhou—the "senior" of Dyna.
More importantly, among all the Giants of Light, Yuzhou seemed to be the only one who truly understood him.
Or rather—
the only one who understood what was in his heart.
"Juggler,"
Yuzhou said, looking at his back.
"Do you want to try something?"
Juggler stopped.
The identity of Ultraman Orb—or rather, the light of Orb—was something only a chosen warrior could obtain.
Back then, Juggler and Gai had taken the trial together, climbing to the summit of Planet O-50.
Yet the light of Orb chose the more handsome Gai.
Juggler was left behind.
At that time, they were both heroes.
Both warriors who had endured the same trial.
But the light chose Gai.
That injustice had left a deep scar in Juggler's heart.
If Orb's light had chosen him instead, then it would have been Juggler wandering the universe, fighting monsters as an Ultra.
"What do you mean, try what?"
Juggler turned around, confusion in his eyes.
"Try experiencing what it's like—"
Yuzhou said calmly, "—to become an Ultra Warrior."
The words hit like thunder.
Everyone present was stunned.
To become an Ultra required the recognition of light.
How could Juggler transform?
Where would that light even come from?
"I…"
Juggler hesitated.
Truthfully, failing to become Ultraman Orb had always been a thorn in his heart.
And now, Yuzhou—Ultraman Tiga himself—was telling him that he could become an Ultra.
A lifelong wish.
Juggler's heart trembled.
"I want to try."
He clenched his fists tightly, his voice tinged with barely restrained excitement.
"Yuzhou-san… how are you going to do it?"
Gai asked, equally curious.
Back on O-50, Orb's light had chosen him and not Juggler.
At the time, Gai hadn't truly understood what that meant.
Now, older and more mature, he finally did.
Juggler must have been hurting back then—and Gai had never comforted him.
That regret weighed heavily on him.
"It's simple."
As Yuzhou spoke, his body transformed into a radiant beam of light.
In an instant, Ultraman Tiga appeared before them all.