In the blink of an eye, the two of them seemed to pass through space itself and appeared within a grand hall.
At the front, a pitch-black throne loomed high above. With just one glance, Yu Zhou could tell this was the exclusive seat of the King of Darkness.
Dark energy gathered from every direction, converging in midair into a massive black mass of mist.
Even the old man dissolved into the same black fog, merging himself into that dark mass.
Before long, an enormous creature with a dark-green octopus-like head emerged from the shadows—its body several times larger than when the old man had transformed before.
Fortunately, the great hall was vast enough—or perhaps it had been built specifically for such a monster—otherwise the structure would have collapsed under its sheer size.
The black mist slowly fused into the monster's body, and soon, the massive creature began to shrink. It transformed into a human-sized being and sat down upon the black throne.
"So, you've returned to your original form," Yu Zhou murmured as he looked at the being before him.
"Ah… this feels much better. This is the form I'm most comfortable in," said the octopus-headed creature, its dragon-like wings twitching slightly behind it.
"Cthulhu," Yu Zhou said flatly. "I believe my dark power should be returned to me now."
"Hehehe… hahahaha—hic."
The King of Darkness laughed eerily, his voice echoing through the hall. He was about to mock Yu Zhou's boldness when he suddenly stopped.
"How do you know my true name? I never told you that!" he demanded, his glowing eyes narrowing.
"You don't need to worry about that," Yu Zhou replied, arms crossed. "Just hand over my power."
Cthulhu's surprise was understandable. He ruled from a time far more ancient than the Ultra-Ancient Civilization. Even in that era, few dared speak his name aloud. Most called him only the King of Darkness or Lord of the Dark.
Even his own followers never uttered his true name—only honorifics.
And now, countless eons later, no human should have possibly known it.
"…It's been a long time since anyone called me by that name," Cthulhu said, his tone softening, as if lost in memory. "You are the first in millions of years."
"Well, I'll take that as an honour," Yu Zhou said with a smirk. "Now, enough of this nonsense. Give me my power."
"Tiga," Cthulhu said slowly, his twin eyes gleaming. "Why not become one of my chosen? I can grant you even greater dark power."
"You are young and full of potential. If you become my heir, together we can rule this world once more!"
He offered his tempting words like a poisoned fruit, trying to lure Yu Zhou into joining his darkness.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested," Yu Zhou replied flatly, shaking his head.
Join this tentacled old monster and call him 'father'? Not a chance.
And ruling the Earth? He couldn't care less about that.
"Though I didn't expect to learn that Cthulhu has a habit of adopting sons everywhere," Yu Zhou muttered dryly.
"That's truly unfortunate," Cthulhu sighed, his tentacles trembling slightly under his chin.
"By the way," Yu Zhou said suddenly, "I have a question. Back when darkness ruled the Earth, why did you fall into slumber within this temple?"
In that distant age, darkness covered the world, and Cthulhu reigned supreme over all.
Yet, he suddenly entered eternal sleep within the temple, relinquishing control of Earth.
If he had not fallen asleep, even the meteors that once struck Earth could have been easily dealt with.
The planet would have remained under the shroud of darkness, and any new races arriving would have been enslaved by his power.
"That question…"
Cthulhu sighed, his voice rumbling deep and old.
"It was all because of those cursed stars."
During that ancient time when darkness filled every corner of the Earth, a subtle cosmic shift occurred. The positions of certain celestial bodies changed ever so slightly—like the flap of a butterfly's wings.
But that minute change had immense consequences.
No one had expected that even the King of Darkness, Cthulhu himself, would be affected by this "stellar alignment," sealing him within the temple and forcing him into slumber.
Even so, from within his prison, he could still sense the outside world—manipulating the minds of men through dreams and madness.
Some went insane under his psychic influence, while others—artists, writers—were blessed with sudden inspiration, creating masterpieces that made them famous.
Since Yu Zhou seemed genuinely curious, and Cthulhu rather enjoyed conversation, he elaborated about the stellar misalignment and his imprisonment.
"When the stars return to their rightful positions, my seal will be broken," Cthulhu said solemnly. "By my calculations, that should occur in roughly thirty million years."
"Thirty million years later!?" Yu Zhou echoed in disbelief.
That instantly reminded him of the time when Gatanozoa appeared.
If they hadn't defeated Gatanozoa back then… would Cthulhu have awakened as well?
But that didn't make sense. Even if Gatanozoa was Cthulhu's son, the seal's trigger depended on the stars' alignment, not his offspring's actions.
Then again… maybe Cthulhu did awaken thirty million years later—and Yu Zhou simply hadn't known?
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The old monster was cunning enough to sneak away unnoticed.
Maybe when all those radiant Ultramen fought Gatanozoa, he quietly fled back to his own galaxy.
That would fit his style perfectly.
And later, even his eldest son, Ythogta, ended up chained beneath the deep sea near R'lyeh.
Why didn't this so-called father ever help him?
"Wait," Yu Zhou said suddenly. "Aren't you supposed to be sealed right now? You just sent a clone of yourself—a fake old man—to eat and drink as you pleased."
"Ah," Cthulhu explained, "the seal weakens from time to time, but only briefly. During those moments, I can move freely within the realm of darkness."
"I see," Yu Zhou nodded.
At least that made some sense.
But trust this ancient schemer completely? Not a chance.
Whether what he said was true or not—only Cthulhu knew for sure.
Yu Zhou kept his guard up all the same.