"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die—!"
Charija was stomping frantically, his voice trembling as the massive wave of lava crashed down from above.
"Hurry up, start it already!"
Just as the molten wave was about to hit them, a blinding white circle of light appeared before their eyes.
Charija shouted, grabbed Yu Zhou, and leapt straight into it.
The suitcase followed as if it had a will of its own, jumping in right after them.
WHOOSH—!
The lava came down with a deafening splash… but there was no one left to burn.
At the volcano's summit, an enormous Fire Flame Shell slowly crawled out from the crater, its body glowing like molten metal.
The inside of Charija's time tunnel was like a spiral vortex of light — a white whirlpool spinning endlessly, tearing through the fabric of time.
The only problem?
You had to spin with it.
"Ugh—rua…"
Yu Zhou couldn't stop himself from groaning as the constant rotation made his stomach churn.
Meanwhile, Charija, clutching his black umbrella cane, remained perfectly still — like a wooden statue.
"Charija, how are you not dizzy!?"
Yu Zhou struggled to keep his balance, barely holding back nausea.
"Charija… is in sleep mode," came a mechanical monotone from Charija's mouth.
After that, he went completely silent.
"Are you serious—rua…"
Yu Zhou gagged again, helpless.
Unlike their previous time jumps, this one stretched far longer — they were heading thirty million years into the past.
And this time, the tunnel had a length.
The further the destination, the longer the passage.
Meaning: Yu Zhou had to endure this dizzy, spinning nightmare until they reached the end.
"I remember last time, going five thousand years back already took forever…"
He muttered weakly to himself.
Thirty million years — how many "five thousand" was that again?
Still, the spiralling light around him seemed faster this time. Maybe that's why Charija had spent so long fine-tuning the device.
Judging by the rotation speed, Yu Zhou could tell: this was much faster than before.
Trying to steady himself, he followed Charija's example, closed his eyes, and focused on sleeping.
If Charija was doing it, there had to be a reason.
Bit by bit, the dizziness faded.
And soon, Yu Zhou drifted into dreams.
"Camearra… wait for me."
Inside his dream, there was no red-dressed girl — she couldn't reach him here.
At first, Yu Zhou thought of finding her. But then his thoughts turned to Camearra, and suddenly—she appeared.
Or rather, two Camearra.
One was the youthful maiden he'd first met.
The other, a mature and graceful woman.
"Tiga, I love you," they both said in unison, their eyes soft, voices tender.
"I love you."
"I love you…"
"Aishiteru…"
Yu Zhou froze.
"Camearra… who do you really love?" he whispered. "Tiga, or me?"
Both Camearra blinked, momentarily stunned — as if they hadn't expected the question.
Then, both smiled sweetly.
"I love you, Tiga."
Yu Zhou shut his eyes.
"I'm not Tiga," he said quietly. "I've never been. I'm Yu Zhou — not the Tiga you loved."
His voice grew louder, trembling with emotion.
"You've got the wrong person, Camearra!"
By the end, he was shouting, chest heaving with each breath.
"I'm not Tiga… I couldn't save you."
"It's okay," both Camearra said softly, each touching his face with a warm hand.
"Just being able to do something for you makes me happy."
"No!" Yu Zhou swatted their hands away, shouting, "I don't want you to die!"
"Because I promised—I'd protect you!"
"I will save you!"
The two figures smiled faintly before fading into light.
Yu Zhou closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
When he opened them again—he was surrounded by people.
His parents. His uncles and aunts. His younger siblings. The villagers.
Wei Feng. His classmates.
Friends from schools long past — people he'd once been close to but lost contact with.
Even… a Chinese girl named Li.
Then, the ground shook violently. A monstrous creature slammed a claw into the earth, roaring as skyscrapers crumbled beneath it.
"Nagano…?"
Standing before the people, shielding them, was a man identical to Daigo Nagano.
Yu Zhou didn't know how, but he could tell—it wasn't Daigo. It was Nagano.
Nagano drew out his Sparklence, transforming into Ultraman Tiga in a flash of light.
He fought the beast while everyone watched, unfazed — as if this was a normal sight.
But then—another prehistoric monster appeared, stomping down and crushing half the villagers in an instant.
"No—!"
Yu Zhou's eyes went wide in horror. He reached into his pocket for the Sparklence—only to find nothing.
No Light Stick. No Dark Stick.
Nothing.
"Damn it!"
He clenched his fists. The dream felt real — too real — and frustration twisted in his gut.
"Without Tiga… what am I!?"
He shouted, his voice echoing.
Then the monster's giant foot came crashing down on him—
"Hah—!"
Yu Zhou jolted awake, gasping.
He was still in the time tunnel, Charija hovering beside him — awake now.
"We're almost there," Charija said calmly, opening his black umbrella.
Yu Zhou blinked, disoriented. It felt like an eternity had passed.
At the tunnel's end, light burst open — and the two were thrown out of the passage.
"Huh?"
Charija looked around. His umbrella was still open, but they weren't falling — they were floating.
Because this wasn't Earth.
It was space.
Stars stretched endlessly in every direction. The silence of vacuum filled everything once more.
Yu Zhou instantly drew out the Dark Sparklence, transforming into Dark Tiga.
"Why are we in space!? Didn't you set the destination to Earth?"
His voice somehow carried in the vacuum, breaking the silence.
Charija scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"Didn't have time to finish calibrating. The coordinates… might be off."
Yu Zhou sighed.
"Forget it. At least the time should be right."
He gazed out at the vast cosmos, the faint blue sphere of a young Earth glimmering far away.
"We've made it…"
"Thirty million years ago."