Volume One Chapter Five: Shattered Hopes, Gathered Longings

On the cracked earth, Taro sat blankly, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. His pupils shrank silently, his soul shuddered violently, and his mouth ceaselessly repeated the same words.

“Impossible... impossible...”

After a long time, Taro staggered to his feet. In his eyes, the sky seemed to have lost its color, the world all its luster, just as his heart had sunk into silence.

Toregia had not been tainted by darkness, nor had he been controlled… Everything was of his own will.

But why?

Taro returned to the Land of Light. Faced with the worried voices of his father and brothers, he responded to none. He simply locked himself in his room, murmuring those three words over and over.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock came at the door.

“Taro, are you alright?”

At the sound of this voice, a tremor finally flickered in Taro’s vacant eyes. He opened the door and looked at his mother. Tears burst forth, breaking the dam of his composure.

“Mother, what… what should I do…”

The Mother of Ultra entered his room, glancing around before speaking gently. “Taro, do you know… If a person’s heart turns toward darkness, even without the allure of power, they will still throw themselves in without hesitation.”

Taro clenched his teeth, saying nothing.

Indeed, even when he had exhausted all his light, Toregia remained unmoved. From that moment, Taro had understood.

“But…” The Mother of Ultra took his hand, her voice especially tender. “You mustn’t give up.”

“The bond between you two—I saw it with my own eyes as it was forged.”

“Think carefully—do you really believe Toregia is as you see him now?”

“I…” Taro looked up, confusion filling his gaze.

He and Toregia had grown up together, sharing everything—habits, interests, even secrets. There was no one he knew better.

Yet, since that day, Toregia seemed to have changed.

He’d become a stranger, cold, even cruel.

Any change takes a process.

But Toregia’s transformation showed no warning.

It was as if… he had truly become someone else.

Someone unfamiliar, unknown.

“Taro, do not, under any circumstances, give up.” The Mother of Ultra’s voice sounded again. “If you give up, then you truly lose him.”

“I understand, Mother,” Taro nodded, but his tone was utterly dispirited.

Sensing his lack of confidence, the Mother of Ultra paced the room as she spoke. “Do you remember the story I told you about Belial?”

“Yes.” Taro nodded, gritting his teeth. “He was the strongest, most evil Dark Ultra Warrior in the history of our Land of Light, imprisoned in the cells of the Galactic Prison.”

“That’s right, he was a Dark Ultra Warrior.” The Mother of Ultra murmured, then suddenly shifted her tone. “But did you know that he was once… your father’s closest friend?”

“What!”

Taro’s head snapped up, disbelief written across his face.

The Dark Ultra Warrior Belial was his father’s friend?

And his best friend, at that?

“I wouldn’t lie to you.” The Mother of Ultra shook her head with a fond smile as she recalled, “Once, Belial and Ken were both the finest Ultra Warriors of our Land of Light.”

“Their relationship was as close as yours and Toregia’s—inseparable.”

“But later, Belial’s thoughts turned elsewhere.”

“He trespassed into the Plasma Spark Tower, seeking its immense power, but was wounded by it.”

“In the end, he was banished from the Land of Light.”

She left the rest unsaid; it was all written in the textbooks of the Land of Light.

“Mother, why… why are you telling me this?” Taro asked, puzzled.

It was Toregia who had defected, what did Belial have to do with it?

The Mother of Ultra sighed softly, half laughing, half crying. “Oh, you silly child. I want you to be resolute, not to wait until Toregia truly falls into the abyss, beyond all hope of return, before you regret it.”

With this reminder, Taro’s eyes suddenly brightened.

“Don’t worry, Mother!” he nodded, his tone resolute. “Toregia is my best friend. So long as there’s even a glimmer of hope, I will never give up.”

With that, he prepared to continue searching for Toregia.

But the Mother of Ultra stopped him, shaking her head. “If you act too forcefully, you’ll only achieve the opposite.”

Taro halted. “But Toregia… he…”

He didn’t finish, nor did he dare.

Toregia had slaughtered innocent lives. Even if he returned to the Land of Light, he would surely be punished.

“I know.” The Mother of Ultra smiled. “But you’ve only just parted, and you’re already so lost and broken. Surely, his heart is heavy too, isn’t it?”

“But…”

“Give him some time. Wait until his emotions settle, then go to him. The result will be much better than if you go now.”

“…Alright, I understand.” Taro took a deep breath, finally relenting.

“But Mother,” he looked up, smiling sheepishly, “when the time comes, you’ll have to help me. Otherwise, Father certainly won’t let me go out on my own.”

“You’re quite the schemer, aren’t you?” The Mother of Ultra teased, giving his hand a gentle pat. “Don’t worry, when the time comes, your mother will be on your side.”

“Good!”

With his mother’s promise, Taro’s spirits were instantly revived.

Meanwhile, Toregia had arrived on Mokujin Star.

He stood silently in the grand hall, unmoved by the provocative stares of the Mokujin Star people.

On the high dais, the king of the Mokujin Star people was also sizing him up.

“An Ultra Warrior… heh heh.”

“How interesting. Truly, how interesting.”

“Bata, take him to the laboratory. Let’s see what he’s capable of.”

“If he’s suitable, arrange for him to join the development of the Hyperdimensional Device.”

At the mention of the “Hyperdimensional Device,” Toregia’s eyes sharpened.

As a scientist, he was extremely sensitive to such things.

The Hyperdimensional Device, as its name suggested, was an apparatus capable of manipulating the power of space-time, allowing one to freely travel between universes.

In Toregia’s memory, such devices only became widespread after Belial conquered another universe.

It was also known as—Transdimensional Capability.

But harnessing the power of space through technology brought equal danger.

If… the device exploded, wouldn’t Mokujin Star be torn to shreds by space rifts?

Such a perilous thing—if not properly taken advantage of, it would be a waste of his title as “Sir.” Heh heh.

“Toregia, what are you dawdling for? Come with me!” Bata’s voice rang out.

“Yes!” Toregia answered respectfully, quickly following.