Hovering a few inches above the ground, a little girl in a red dress appeared behind Yu Zhou.
In her arms, she held a glowing red orb.
Yu Zhou turned around, his cracked lips parting slightly as the wind brushed past him. His eyes locked onto the girl.
"You… do you have a way?"
He didn't need to explain what he meant—he was certain the girl understood exactly what he was referring to.
The little girl was silent for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
"She's already dispersed into light particles. I can't bring her back."
Yu Zhou's heart sank.
"But you don't have to be sad," the girl continued softly. "Rely on yourself. Travel to the world of Ultraman, and seek your own opportunity."
Yu Zhou ignored her words for a moment and instead asked, "Then tell me—where are you during the day?"
"During the day…" She hesitated before admitting, "I'm repairing the rifts in space-time."
"Those rifts that transport monsters from other worlds?" Yu Zhou asked.
"More or less," she nodded. "If I hadn't sealed off the other dimensional channels in time, even more beings from other worlds would have come through."
"Other worlds…" Yu Zhou muttered, realizing the truth. "So that's why I can only travel to the Ultraman world for now?"
"That's right." The red-dressed girl nodded again.
"Then why not just seal off the Ultraman world's channel as well? Wouldn't that solve everything?"
"Because of certain special reasons," she sighed, "the rift that leads to the Ultraman world is difficult to seal completely."
Even such a small girl sighing made Yu Zhou feel helpless. He decided not to press further.
Still, curiosity gnawed at him. "What do you use to repair those space-time rifts?"
"This," the girl said simply.
She extended her hands, and from the red orb floated out a slender, crystal-clear needle.
"What the—? You actually use a needle to stitch up time and space?" Yu Zhou exclaimed, genuinely surprised.
"This is the Cosmic Needle. Its power extends far beyond simple repairs," the girl explained, retrieving the needle back into the orb.
Yu Zhou froze.
"Wait—the Cosmic Needle?!"
Realization hit him like lightning. The very artifact he'd sought during his battle with Greeza… it had been with this girl all along!
The Cosmic Needle, shimmering with pure light, was not only capable of fixing the rifts between worlds—it was in the hands of the girl right before him.
But Greeza was already defeated. Yu Zhou no longer needed the Cosmic Needle for battle. Let it continue repairing the fabric of reality.
"Don't look so shocked," the girl said with a small smile. "I'm the consciousness of this world. It's only natural that the Cosmic Needle belongs to me."
Yu Zhou blinked. "Yeah, that makes sense—wait, what?!"
"You're the world's consciousness?!"
He was completely stunned.
That meant… she wasn't just some mysterious being—she was the will of the universe itself.
If that was true, then this little girl represented the entire cosmos speaking directly to him.
"But hold on," Yu Zhou frowned. "If you're basically the universe, why do you always appear on Earth? And why do all these alien monsters invade this planet in particular? Can't they go somewhere else?"
The girl answered patiently, "Our universe is… unique. This cosmos is structured around Earth as its centre."
"Earth… as the centre?" Yu Zhou repeated.
"Yes," she said. "In this universe, Earth is the very heart of everything.
So when invaders cross over, they naturally strike at the core—the centre of the universe—itself."
Yu Zhou fell silent, processing her words. Before he could ask more, the girl raised her voice slightly.
"I know what you're going to ask next," she said softly. "And no—I am not the same as the Earth's will. I can't become Ultraman Gaia."
Yu Zhou swallowed the question he'd been about to ask.
"I have one request," he said after a pause, lifting a finger.
"What kind of request?" the girl asked, tilting her head slightly.
"When I cross worlds again, I want to go to the world of Tiga and Dyna."
The girl blinked, curious.
Yu Zhou continued, "If I can return there, I might be able to borrow Charija's time machine and search for Tiga himself. He must exist thirty million years ago in that world. If I can find him… maybe Tiga can help bring Camearra back."
The girl's expression softened. "I'll try. When you travel again, I'll do my best to guide the dimensional path in that direction."
She lifted the Cosmic Needle slightly. "With this, I might be able to influence the flow of time… but success will depend on luck."
Her voice grew thoughtful, almost distant.
"What's wrong?" Yu Zhou asked, sensing her hesitation.
"Come with me," she said finally, floating toward the flattened battlefield that still bore traces of today's fight.
Yu Zhou followed closely behind.
It was the place where Camearra had vanished—where her body had scattered into light in his arms.
The girl raised the red orb, gathering light particles around it. But only a few responded.
"Failed," she said quietly. "I couldn't reassemble her light."
She turned to Yu Zhou. "But I can lock her essence to Earth, keep her light from drifting away. That way… you'll still have a chance to save her."
Releasing the gathered light, the particles scattered into the air, merging with the world around them.
To resurrect Camearra—no, even just to save her—would be harder than ascending to the heavens.
Only someone with true divine or cosmic power could help.
After all, she was once Tiga's beloved. Yu Zhou couldn't simply let her fade away.
A vortex of space began to swirl open before him. Without hesitation, Yu Zhou leaped in.
Behind him, the girl in the red dress used the Cosmic Needle to trace glowing lines across the edge of the vortex, searching for a weak point.
Moments later, a small "bubble" appeared within the portal.
Inside it—Yu Zhou saw Daigo and Rena.