Dragon City.
The sudden transformation of the Scorpion King, Solita, left Kino and Devin hesitant to make another move.
"Don't be so hasty. The Scorpion King's Hetero-Energy is plummeting," Thales's voice rang in their ears.
"You Fatty, you're finally back!" Kino greeted him reflexively. "What's wrong with this woman?"
Thales remained silent for a moment before explaining, "Her past has been tampered with."
"Her past? What did you do while traveling through time?" Kino asked, puzzled.
"Originally, Devin's master would have slaughtered Rowan and the White Dragon tribe. But Uncle and I changed that. Without that trauma, Solita has lost her motivation for revenge. Her memories of it are likely vanishing right now."
As Thales spoke, Solita's Hetero-Energy finally hit rock bottom. It leveled out at a point nearly equal to Kino's current strength, a massive drop for her. This meant that, excluding her conviction, her base Hetero-Energy had been roughly at this level all along.
Kino clenched his fists, maintaining his defensive stance. But as Solita looked up, her eyes were filled with confusion. Her past had been rewritten. Her mind was a void, until a daunting, familiar figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
In an instant, she realized where Rowan had gone. The Rowan of one hundred thousand years ago had been spirited away to the Dark Side of the Moon. But actions always have consequences; the timeline had corrected itself. The current Rowan should have returned to his rightful place. However, the massacre of his kin had truly occurred in the original timeline, there was no way to wash that away. Although her memories were fading, the deeds were done. It was precisely because of this that Rowan had calmly accepted his fate. It was, in its own way, a final period on one hundred thousand years of regret.
Thump. Solita fell to her knees.
Countless fragments of memory flashed through her mind, only to vanish. Along with the draining of her power came the erasure of many cruel truths she had once held dear. It was as if a colossal hand had wiped them clean in an instant. She didn't want this, but the force behind it was impossible to resist.
After a long while, Solita rose, dazed and wooden, and began walking toward the great hall of Dragon City.
"Where is she going?" Kino asked.
"I don't know, let her be. Besides, she's not our enemy anymore," Thales said, sounding remarkably relaxed. Even if she were, there was a wielder of a Nebula Body by their side. Was 0.7 black holes of energy really that impressive? If you multiplied it by ten, maybe she could stand a chance against this Uncle. After all, this was the man who had faced Hades himself one hundred thousand years ago and emerged victorious.
"You two, come back now," Master Wyatt called out to Kino and Devin. He cast a glance at Zoran. While he didn't know how the man had achieved it, the blockade in the Second Parallel Universe had truly been cleared. One of the four guardians, the Scorpion King, had completely lost her will to fight. As for whether the strong of this world would continue to fall into the cycle of reincarnation, he could not yet be sure. Only time would tell. But he chose to trust Zoran, this outsider who, at a single glance, seemed utterly reliable.
The Second Parallel Universe suddenly descended into an uncanny peace. For Solita, this was perhaps the best outcome. Otherwise, she would have surely died with regrets, falling by the hand of the very man who had once been her savior, Devin.
Inside the Black Tortoise, Kino stretched, sighing, "That was really nice and easy."
"And who was the one getting beaten until they could barely crawl back up?" Devin mercilessly punctured his ego.
Devin had already decided to join the Ultra Beast Force. Or perhaps, this was simply his destiny; he had been a member of this team one hundred thousand years ago. Even now, when he grabbed his Energy Locker and transformed, Master Wyatt on the Black Tortoise could communicate with him and issue orders directly. After one hundred thousand years, their private communication channel was still active.
As for Solita, this place had been her home, though it was now empty and hollow. In the face of such overwhelming power, everything else seemed trivial. Individual thoughts and desires were like dust motes against a mountain; in the face of waves capable of changing eras, even Ultra Beast warriors were nothing more than droplets of water caught in the current.
With everything settled, everyone instinctively turned their eyes to Zoran. Unconsciously, they had all come to view him as the leader. Master Wyatt was contemplating the cycle of reincarnation, Thales was deep in thought, and Kino and his companions were simply showing the respect due to a powerhouse.
"Why is everyone looking at me?" Zoran chuckled.
"We're just waiting for your instructions, Uncle, heh heh," Thales said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Am I the captain or are you?" Zoran narrowed his eyes. "I don't have the time to go on adventures with you."
As he finished speaking, Zoran murmured, "The time should be about right."
"What's about right?" Thales asked reflexively.
Zoran shook his head and flickered, appearing outside the Black Tortoise, his voice still echoing within the cabin. "I have some business to attend to."
Thales scratched his head in confusion, but eventually gave the order: "Set course! Third Parallel Universe!"
The Black Tortoise vibrated, and a halo of light swirled around it.
"Sister Lisa, you can't slack off this time," Thales said with a grin.
No sooner had he spoken than a wide wormhole entrance opened silently overhead. Zoran's figure flashed, instantly piercing into the wormhole. Even after he was gone, the wormhole remained.
"Little Fatty, opening a wormhole is hardly any trouble for a Nebula Body," Lisa mocked him.
The Black Tortoise surged forward, vanishing from its current position and plunging into the wormhole leading to the Third Parallel Universe.
…
Third Parallel Universe.
This world was a vast, desolate wasteland. Stationed here to obstruct the Ultra Beast warriors was another of Hades's four guardians, a rather intriguing fellow. The Whale Shark King.
The movements of the Black Tortoise could not be hidden from prying eyes.
…
Fifth Parallel Universe, inside the grand hall of Hades.
Three figures with distinct auras sat in deep contemplation.
"That powerhouse has finally made his move," murmured the Lion King, one of the four guardians, who was on the verge of bringing back the Netherworld Key.
"You said he is an entity as powerful as Hades himself. What, then, is the motive of such a being?" asked Bradley, another of the four, clad in purple armor, his voice thick with hesitation.
"I did not see him truly strike, yet the Scorpion King seems to have lost all will to fight."
"A Nebula Body..." someone sighed.
Those three words were too heavy. Even just thinking about them made it hard to breathe.
"He said he would not stop the resurrection of Hades," the Lion King's expression hardened. "We only need to do what we must."
The Lion King's implication was simple: they would block the travelers if they could, for that was their duty. But that existence had no reason to lie; otherwise, he never would have let him take the Netherworld Key in the first place.
As for what happens after Hades is resurrected?
That must be left to Hades himself.
Imagine opening your eyes to find an unexpected wielder of a Nebula Body waiting for you. It was hard to say if that would be a pleasant surprise or a nightmare. Just considering it from Hades's perspective made the Lion King sigh.
Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that there would be more than just Snow Emperor and Zoran waiting for Hades's resurrection. There was someone else… far, far away in another world, awaiting a signal from an elder.
"Shendu..."
An ethereal voice pierced the veil of worlds, calling out.
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