Chapter 271 – I'll Show You a Treasure
"No, not that—I'll show you something. Two great treasures."
Seeing how Daigo's mind was still filled with worry about his son, Yu Zhou shook his head, then motioned for Daigo to follow him into the Crystal Palace.
"Two treasures?" Daigo repeated, puzzled. He had no idea what Yu Zhou was planning to reveal, but still followed him inside.
Before long, Yu Zhou led Daigo into his private chamber. Once Daigo stepped inside, Yu Zhou shut the door behind them.
"What is it that's so mysterious?" Daigo asked, watching Yu Zhou's secretive expression.
"This," Yu Zhou said.
With a sweep of his hand, two human-sized stone statues appeared in the room.
They were none other than Achilles and Herau.
"These statues?!" As Ultraman Tiga, Daigo recognized them instantly. "Aren't these the two that Golza and Melba destroyed back then?"
"I brought them back," Yu Zhou explained calmly.
"But… won't this cause a temporal disturbance?"
Daigo frowned. The size of the statues had clearly changed, but what worried him more was the effect of bringing them here from the past.
"It won't." Yu Zhou waved a finger dismissively. "I already made the necessary preparations."
"Preparations?"
"That's right. I created two fake statues and left them behind in the pyramid."
Yu Zhou stored the two statues back into his ring as he spoke.
"...Huh??" Daigo was stunned. He hadn't expected Yu Zhou to go to such lengths.
"No wonder… no wonder!" Daigo suddenly realized something.
"No wonder what?" Yu Zhou blinked, unsure of what Daigo had pieced together.
"No wonder when Golza and Melba attacked, those two statues shattered so easily," Daigo recalled. "But Tiga's stone body crashed to the ground and didn't break. It was because you had already swapped them out with fakes!"
Now that it made sense, Daigo felt a strange mix of relief and unease.
Yu Zhou's original intention had been to protect the statues from destruction, so he had replaced them.
But if he hadn't swapped them, perhaps the two monsters wouldn't have been able to crush them so easily. Maybe there could have been two other successors of light—two more Ultramen revived from those statues.
"Eh?" Yu Zhou froze for a moment. "Daigo, when you put it like that… it actually sounds pretty reasonable."
Thinking back, it was true: when Tiga's stone body had fallen, it hadn't broken apart. Compared to the other two, Tiga's statue was clearly sturdier.
Who would've thought that his own intervention had made the other two seem fragile?
"Still, history has already happened. No point worrying about it now," Daigo said, then asked, "So, Yu Zhou-kun, what do you plan to do with these statues?"
"As for that…" Yu Zhou rubbed his chin in thought. After a moment, he shook his head. "Without transformation devices, there's no way to awaken them."
"Don't forget—the Photon Particle Converter," Daigo reminded him.
"That might work," Yu Zhou admitted. "But even then, it would require the right successors—people with hearts like yours, Daigo. People who can bear the light for the sake of the world."
"Hearts like mine?" Daigo chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm just a human who did what needed to be done."
"Yes…" Yu Zhou smiled faintly at that, letting out a sigh. "And I just want to grow stronger—so I can protect the ones I want to protect."
Every time he thought of returning to his own world, the uncertainty that awaited him there filled Yu Zhou with urgency.
Even though he still carried within him one stored power of Radiance and one of Darkness, he never allowed himself to relax.
The unknown was always the most terrifying.
For now, Yu Zhou decided not to search out new successors. He simply kept Achilles and Herau's statues safe in his ring.
Daigo left soon after—almost gleefully.
Yu Zhou could guess why. Most likely, Daigo was eager to tell Rena that they would one day have a son, and… start making that future happen.
Lying quietly on his bed, Yu Zhou stared up at the crystal ceiling, lost in thoughts of his own return.
He had considered a way to delay it—by using Charija's time machine. Perhaps through that loophole, he could slip away from this timeline.
Normally, the spatial vortex only appeared at the end of the story.
If he could leave beforehand, it might buy him more time to prepare.
"…Better not," Yu Zhou finally muttered to himself.
If he stayed too long in another time and the vortex pulled him back suddenly, it could throw everything into chaos. The risk wasn't worth it.
So, the days passed one by one.
Yu Zhou often trained with Hudra and Darramb, and sometimes invited Daigo and Masaki to spar, honing their strength together.
Daigo, at first, had only wanted to visit R'lyeh as a guest. But before long, he discovered the island was a perfect place to live.
Its population was diverse, people from all over the world. Some had even gained permanent residence. Schools and other institutions had been established as well.
Though small, R'lyeh had everything needed for a thriving community.
After discussing it with Rena, Daigo decided: they would settle there.
And thanks to Camearra, he was even given a villa.
"A villa, huh… this is comfortable," Daigo admitted.
Yu Zhou couldn't help but smile. Back in his old world, he wouldn't even have dared dream of such a luxury. Now, in both this world and his own, he had more than enough wealth to afford it.
"What is it, Yu Zhou? Do you want one too?" Camearra teased, standing at his side with a sly smile. "We could share a place."
"…No thanks!" Yu Zhou quickly waved his hands, refusing her "offer."
Leaving the palace, Yu Zhou headed to Masaki's laboratory.
Recently, Masaki had told him about his newest project—the artificial sun.
TPC had already given the test unit its name: NSP Campanella. The trial run would take place on Jupiter.
If it succeeded, it would mark a giant leap forward into the New Frontier Era.
A man-made sun could mean not just Jupiter, but also Mars, Uranus, Neptune, and even more distant planets, would have their own light and warmth.
The advancement of space development would surge dramatically.