"Look—that's our junior."
Though the distance was far, Yu Zhou could still make out the figure rushing ahead. It was none other than Asuka, a member of the Super Victory Team.
"This isn't good!"
Daigo's gaze locked on the young man, full of worry yet also a glimmer of expectation for how this battle might unfold. But before Asuka could properly engage, a beam from the monster struck the ground in front of him, the shockwave blasting him back through the air.
Fortunately, the rookie wasn't seriously hurt. Asuka scrambled to his feet, raising his gun and firing at the beast even as he charged straight toward it.
"This junior… he's throwing his life away!" Daigo cried out in alarm.
Yu Zhou rolled his eyes at him. "Daigo, weren't you the same back then?"
"Uh…" Daigo scratched the back of his head awkwardly. True enough, he used to be reckless himself—but even then, not quite as recklessly as this junior. Then again, who wasn't headstrong in their youth?
Explosions and smoke from the monster's attacks soon swallowed Asuka's figure. Yu Zhou and Daigo both held their breath, eyes fixed on the roiling cloud.
And then—light.
A piercing brilliance erupted from within the smoke, dazzling beyond measure. Even the Super Victory Team's pilots in their fighter jets had to shield their eyes, unable to look directly at it.
Yu Zhou and Daigo, however, stared calmly, unflinching, as the glow grew stronger.
The monster was blown apart by the sudden eruption of power, its body splitting into fragments that crumbled into dust upon hitting the ground.
That beast had been nothing more than a composite of Sphere energy and rock—called Darambia, little more than a disposable pawn. Barely appearing, it had already been destroyed.
As the light faded, a giant of silver, red, and blue stood tall upon the Martian surface.
"That's… a Giant of Light!"
In the cockpit, Ryo of the Super Victory Team could hardly believe his eyes.
They were no strangers to such figures. The most familiar, of course, was Ultraman Tiga—followed by Ultraman Gaia, and even the three giants who had once appeared on R'lyeh.
"Is it Tiga?!"
Even the Martian workers who had taken refuge glanced out, stunned by the giant's appearance.
"He isn't Tiga," a firm voice declared from behind them. It was TPC's new director, Shinjoh Yuuki, who happened to be inspecting the Mars base when disaster struck. His eyes shone with awe. "But… he is still an Ultraman!"
The revelation was astonishing.
"That's our junior?" Daigo whispered, studying the figure.
"Yes," Yu Zhou replied softly. "His name… is Dyna."
Of course, the name had yet to be officially given, but that hardly stopped Yu Zhou from speaking it aloud.
"For some reason…" Daigo frowned. "He feels familiar to me, as if I've seen him before."
Yu Zhou's heart gave a stir. Indeed, Daigo had once seen Dyna—during the events after the Ultimate Final Battle, when everyone was pulled into a wormhole and drawn into the Great Decisive Battle in Hyper Space. But upon their return, only Yu Zhou's memory had remained intact. For Daigo and the others, that memory had vanished.
Meanwhile, Dyna raised his arms as a swarm of Sphere orbs descended. Twin beams of light burst forth, destroying half the group in a single instant.
The survivors retaliated, firing concentrated lasers. Dyna calmly blocked them with his palm before unleashing another searing beam that obliterated the rest.
In less than a minute, the entire swarm had been annihilated.
"Incredible…" the Super Victory Team members gasped, awestruck at the overwhelming display of power.
But the ground began to quake again. Rock and soil shifted, gathering and twisting until a new monster emerged—a rhinoceros-like creature, another Sphere composite.
The rocky beast rose onto its hind legs and charged.
Dyna stood his ground, countering with a swift roundhouse kick that sent the beast staggering before it collapsed onto its side. Without hesitation, Dyna seized the monster, spun it a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, and hurled it away.
"His power's impressive," Yu Zhou commented. "Even in this Flash Type form, without turning into the Strong Type, he can throw a monster like that with ease. No wonder he could stand his ground against Belial back in the Monster Graveyard."
"Strong Type?" Daigo blinked, surprised. "Dyna can change forms too?"
"Of course," Yu Zhou nodded. "Besides this Flash Type, he has a Strong Type—similar to Tiga's Power Type—and a Miracle Type that wields extraordinary psychic abilities."
"I see… I'd love to witness his Strong Type in action." Daigo's eyes gleamed with anticipation as he watched.
Yu Zhou: "…"
As expected, Daigo always yearned for the 'reckless powerhouse' forms.
The battle raged on. The rhino-beast roared, unleashing a yellow beam like a surge of electricity. Dyna flipped into the air, countering with a flying kick.
But a shimmering subspace shield instantly appeared around the monster, deflecting the attack and hurling Dyna back.
Caught off guard, he crashed to the ground. The beast lashed out with rock-forged tendrils that wrapped around his waist, holding him fast. Its horn glowed as it fired a barrage of beams, each strike exploding against Dyna's chest in bursts of sparks. The blasts knocked him down once more.
"Junior won't be in danger, will he?" Daigo's worry returned as he watched.
"No," Yu Zhou reassured him. "The Color Timer hasn't even started blinking yet. This thing isn't enough to trouble him."
Sure enough, Dyna rose again, energy surging. A Radiant Shining Ray struck the monster, destabilizing its body. Another beam shattered its protective subspace barrier.
Before the creature could recover, Dyna crouched low, crossing his arms into a cross-shape.
"Solgent Beam!"
The purplish-blue torrent engulfed the monster. It howled before exploding into nothingness.
With the battle won, Dyna's body dissolved into particles of light that slowly drifted away—leaving behind a bewildered Asuka standing on the ground.
"What… what just happened to me?"
Asuka stared at his hands in shock. Moments ago, he had become light—become a Giant of Light!
The fight had felt like a blur, as though his will guided the giant's body instinctively, like it was acting through pure instinct.
At his feet, something gleamed. A short, sword-like device. Asuka bent down and picked it up.
"This is… the Giant of Light."
The blade shimmered with the same patterns as the giant's face. He realized then: with this Spark Lens, he could transform into the giant.
"But why? Why me?"
The weight of it pressed on him. Why had the light chosen him? Could he truly shoulder the responsibility of being an Ultraman? Was this fate… or simply coincidence?
"That junior looks… troubled."
Daigo watched Asuka stand frozen, lost in thought, and smiled gently.
"Daigo," Yu Zhou reminded him with a grin, "didn't you once wrestle with the same doubts?"
"Yeah," Daigo admitted softly. "When I first became Tiga, I asked myself those same questions." His eyes lifted toward the crimson sky, heavy with memory and meaning.