Yu Zhou didn't know how long he had been walking before finally stopping in his tracks.
The island wasn't supposed to be that large — so how could he have been walking for so long without reaching an edge?
By all logic, he should have already reached the end. Yet now, no matter where he looked, all he could see were the same towering black stone pillars, stretching endlessly in every direction.
Not even the ocean was visible anymore. The world around him had become a labyrinth of shadow and stone.
"What's going on here…"
Yu Zhou's eyes narrowed, and a faint gleam of darkness flashed across them.
"It's not an illusion?!"
To his surprise, even when he activated the Eye of Ultra, the surroundings remained exactly the same — no distortion, no trick of the mind.
"What the hell is this…"
It was the first real problem he had encountered since arriving in the Ultra-Ancient era, and he hadn't expected it to appear in such a strange way.
Just as he was about to take out his Dark Sparklence to transform, his foot stepped on a loose stone.
A click echoed.
The ground rumbled beneath him as if he had triggered some ancient mechanism.
The pillars surrounding him began retracting into the ground one by one with thunderous noise. Out of the shifting earth, a massive black stone gates slowly rose before him.
The gate was enormous — at least eighty meters high — carved with intricate patterns, and at its centre was a square-shaped recess, clearly designed to fit something specific.
"So… something needs to be placed here to open it, huh?"
Yu Zhou glanced around, but the area was completely barren now that the stone forest had sunk underground. Only the flat, black stone ground stretched out in all directions.
There was nothing else — nothing but the gate itself.
He took out his damaged hammer from his space bracelet and tossed it into the recess to test it.
No reaction.
"Refusing a toast, you'll drink a penalty cup then."
Taking a step back, Yu Zhou pulled out the Dark Sparklence and pressed the transformation button.
In a surge of dark light, a towering silver-and-black giant appeared before the stone gate — as though this gate had been made specifically for someone of his size.
"There's definitely something behind this door."
With energy gathering in his right fist, Yu Zhou struck the gate. A thunderous boom echoed through the air, and a crack appeared on its surface.
Another punch — crack! — the fracture spread like a spider web.
With a final kick infused with dark energy, the entire gate shattered to pieces, revealing what lay beyond.
It wasn't a chamber, nor a ruin — it was a tunnel.
A massive corridor matching the size of the gate.
"A tunnel? But there's nothing behind the gate from the outside… how?"
Yu Zhou circled around to check, but there was nothing — only solid stone. Yet from the front, the interior revealed a space large enough to walk through.
"It must be some kind of spatial ability."
After thinking for a moment, he found that explanation the most reasonable.
He stepped into the passageway. As he did, he felt a faint ripple in the air — and the gate behind him vanished, replaced by a smooth wall.
Yu Zhou didn't panic. He reverted to human form and continued forward down the tunnel.
He was already here. There was no turning back — so the only option was to move forward.
The passage was long; its walls and floor made entirely of the same black stone.
He walked for a long time and still saw no end in sight.
Eventually, he took out a small flight device, sat on it, and let it carry him forward.
After a while, the tunnel finally opened up.
Before him was an endless cliff — a void stretching into infinity.
Above was pitch blackness. Below was a bottomless abyss.
Yu Zhou furrowed his brow, rubbing his chin as he thought of how to proceed.
Then suddenly, a sharp, birdlike cry pierced the air.
He looked toward the sound and froze.
"Zoiger?"
A massive, bird-shaped monster flew across the darkness, vanishing into the misty distance.
"Could the dark energy I detected be coming from that Zoiger?" he wondered aloud — but immediately dismissed the idea.
No. This place was far too strange. It couldn't be just one Zoiger.
"…Or maybe it's not just one group of them either."
As he looked down, a flock of Zoigers rose from the depths of the abyss, their wings cutting through the shadows.
As the dark vanguard of chaos, their presence here confirmed Yu Zhou's suspicion — this place likely hid the very source of darkness he had been searching for.
Where exactly that "source" was, though, he still didn't know.
But with the cliff behind him and only the abyss ahead, retreat wasn't an option.
Taking a deep breath, Yu Zhou stood on his flight device and descended into the depths.
All around him was mist and darkness — only the faint blue light of his vehicle flickered beneath his feet.
He tried to move cautiously, avoiding the Zoigers' line of sight, but the area was too vast and open. Other than the fog and the flocks of Zoigers, there was nowhere to hide.
As expected, his presence was soon noticed.
"…What a pain."
Seeing the swarm of Zoigers turning toward him, Yu Zhou recalled his flight device and drew the Dark Sparklence, transforming once more into Dark Tiga.
Lightning arced across his body as he raised his arm — a beam of black energy shot forth, striking the oncoming Zoigers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions filled the abyss with blazing firelight, and the Zoigers that attacked him were instantly annihilated.
The blast drew the attention of the rest. Dozens more shrieked in fury, their eyes glowing red as they rushed toward him.
Flaming projectiles filled the air — the Zoigers were spitting volleys of fireballs at him.
Yu Zhou extended his hand, summoning the Giga Battlenizer, using it to strike and disperse each incoming fireball.
Then, as the Zoigers drew closer, he raised the weapon high — countless purple lightning arcs burst forth, crackling violently through the air and striking the flock.
One by one, the Zoigers were blasted apart — their wings ablaze as they spiraled downward into the abyss like broken kites.
"Problem solved," Yu Zhou nodded in satisfaction.
But then he froze.
"…Wait a second."
"Couldn't I have just captured one or two to guide me through this place?"
"Damn it, I forgot!"
He smacked his forehead, frustrated.
Those Zoigers had clearly been dwelling here — they probably knew this abyss well.
Too bad he'd destroyed all of them.
Now, without any "local guides," he could only find his way alone.
Gripping the Giga Battlenizer, Yu Zhou flew deeper into the Abyss of Chaos — toward whatever awaited in the darkness ahead.