Riku drained the water in his cup:
"And that's why I ended up here." Some color had returned to Riku Asakura's face.
Strangely, Riku did not mention being saved by two mysterious figures. The memory was too hazy, almost like a dream.
"Thank you for everything you've done, Riku." Sakimori stepped forward and patted his shoulder.
Everyone present felt a deep, heartfelt admiration for Riku.
"You really put me to shame. You don't even look much older than Shinji and the others." Ritsuko took the empty cup from Riku.
But just then, curiosity stirred in Riku's heart:
"But how did you all get here in just a dozen hours or so, Seniors? Doesn't it take at least twenty-four hours to get here from the Land of Light's universe?"
"Senior X isn't here, either."
"And what did you use to withstand that black fog?"
The others were puzzled as well. How had the Ultra Brothers shortened a journey that should have taken at least twenty-four hours?
"Here's how."
Hayata Shin took his Beta Capsule out of his clothes.
The tip of the Beta Capsule was shining with a dazzling light.
Misato and the others squinted against the glare, while the air around them seemed to grow warmer.
Shinji looked straight into the light. The power Zero had left inside him was resonating with the energy in the Beta Capsule. Riku felt it too and reached out to sense it.
"Isn't this the energy from the Land of Light's Plasma Spark Tower?" Shinji remembered the dazzling, warm artificial sun of the Land of Light he had seen in Zero's memories.
The energy radiating from the Beta Capsule's light was exactly the same.
Hayata Shin nodded. "Yes, it's energy from the Plasma Spark Core."
Sakimori's brow relaxed, and he smiled as he said: