The Kind Darkness

Chapter 30: Regret and Resolve

A soft groan echoed through the endless space of darkness, and it came from Mikazuki who is floating in a laying position. He slowly opened his eyes and lifted himself up in a sitting position before holding his throbbing head.

"What happened..?" He uttered before he suddenly felt something missing.

He slowly moved his hands on his body and as soon as he touched his torso, he felt something hollow. He looked down and to his horror, he has two large hole that went through from his chest to his back. He panted in panic, and he began to recall what had happened.

"I died... I really died!"

His body fell, and he hugged himself for comfort but still panting frantically and shivering. He experienced death before, but this is the first time he feel horrified by it. Then, he quickly realized that he still has his consciousness and not bleeding.

"Calm down, Mika. Just calm down." He panted. "Take a deep breath and slow down your heartbeat."

He did what he was told by himself. He eventually managed to control his breathing and once he's relax, he lifted himself up to a sitting position and began to asses the situation.

"I died... I think... I saved Ellen-san before that and gave her a word of encouragement... and then I died." He recalled. "But how did I end up here?"

He placed his hands on his hips and to his shock, his Riser and Capsules are no longer there. He then checked his pockets and found nothing on his Dark Evoltruster and his Impact Shot. He lost all of his devices.

Knowing that sitting and doing nothing will get him to nowhere, he stood up and decided to scour the area. As soon as he took the first step, his surrounding suddenly changed into a forest. He gasped in startle manner and looked to his new surrounding before feeling something familiar with the atmosphere.

"This place... don't tell me."

He immediately moved his legs to a running posture and kicked the ground. He ran pass tress, stomped pile of leaves and hopped over a large roots and uneven ground. He eventually made it out from the forest and stood close to a cliff. Beyond the field before him, a large familiar temple stood firmly despite its state.

"Noa-san's temple.."

He couldn't believe his eyes. He never would've thought to see the temple again. After learning his previous identity as Zagi, he's no longer had any of these dream.

He wanted to investigate, but he feared to see Zagi appeared again and destroyed the temple. However, he felt a slight difference in the atmosphere compared with the one from his regular dream.

He built himself a courage and took a step with his eyes close. He waited and waited for explosion or roar and the moment he opened his eyes, none of that is happen fortunately. He sighed in relief and proceed to sprint toward the temple. He doesn't know why, but he felt like he'll find something in that ruins.

After running for hours, he eventually made it to the ruins' area. He stumbled upon statues and carving of Space Beasts and Ultraman Nexus. He then entered the temple and ventured further, and he found a familiar stone standing in an upside down position like an altar.

"Stone.. Fluegel..."

He approached the small spacecraft in calm manner, and he suddenly felt the need to touch it. He's about to reach it with his hand but stopped midway. He pulled his hand back and looked to his palm with doubt.