Inside the Misty Space—
Su Mo had only just left when a new disturbance rippled through the Mist. But unlike previous arrivals, this one didn't hesitate. They moved confidently through the white mist, clearly not a newcomer. Soon enough, the figure appeared before the group.
"A new guy?"
Neither Index World Su Mo nor Pokemon World Su Mo recognized the new arrival. It was the first time someone had joined them so quickly and without uncertainty. Yet despite seeing unfamiliar faces, the newcomer showed no sign of surprise—in fact, their gaze was strangely familiar.
What was going on? As the two stood there wondering, two others stepped forward: Fairy Tail World Su Mo and DanMachi World Su Mo.
"Long time no see!" Seeing the reactions from the earliest versions of Su Mo, the rest quickly pieced it together.
"You're from the Tiga World, aren't you?" they asked for confirmation.
Among all the Su Mo variants… The only version of himself they hadn't met yet… was the very first one who had appeared but hadn't visited the Mist Space in a long time—the one from the Ultraman Tiga world.
"That's right," the Tiga-world Su Mo nodded, confirming his identity. After syncing up and sensing the power within his body, his expression turned to one of pleasant surprise.
"Looks like you guys have made a lot of progress while I was away," he remarked. Not only had they gained several Authority-type powers, but they'd also mastered the Third Magic.
"With this, I don't have to worry about time limits when transforming anymore." He was clearly pleased with the progress his counterparts had made across the different worlds. While the power of Ultraman Tiga was undeniably formidable, its limited stamina had always been a thorn in his side. The divine energy granted by the God Slayer status had helped somewhat but hadn't fully solved the problem. Now, with the acquisition of the Third Magic, his energy sustainability had drastically improved. Even if it couldn't yet support him at full power indefinitely, it was more than enough to maintain Tiga's transformed state over long durations—an enormous leap forward.
Hearing the compliment, the Su Mo from the Danmachi world nodded. "Quite a few newcomers arrived recently, and we've picked up a wide variety of abilities. Aside from the Third Magic, there's more… a lot more." He looked at Tiga-world Su Mo with a slightly curious gaze. "You'll be able to sort through it all later, of course. But what I'm wondering is—why did you take so long to come back to the Mist Space? Don't tell me you had some kind of research breakthrough?"
"Ah, damn it… you guessed it already," Tiga-world Su Mo covered his face in mock defeat. "Did you learn some kind of precognition skill while I was gone? I was just about to brag about it, but you completely ruined the surprise!" Hearing there was a breakthrough, the other Su Mos quickly gathered around with curiosity.
"It wasn't that hard to guess," the Danmachi-world Su Mo said with a knowing smile. The Tiga world, aside from a few difficult opponents like Gatanothor and Camearra, wasn't particularly dangerous. As long as he had mastered Tiga's skills, there were very few monsters that could pose a real threat. Without constant crises, Tiga-world Su Mo had plenty of time to focus on research. So, it made sense—he hadn't returned until now because he'd been working on something big, and now he was back to show off.
"Wait… don't tell me you actually managed to finish developing that form?" the Su Mo from the Fairy Tail world suddenly seemed to recall something. He quickly checked his internal status, and his eyes lit up. "You really managed to create that?"
"Of course I did!" Tiga-world Su Mo proudly puffed out his chest. "Who do you think I am?"
"Impressive, impressive!" the Fairy Tail-world Su Mo clapped along with a grin. "As expected of me!"
The Su Mos from the Index and Pokemon worlds looked confused as the two went back and forth with what sounded like riddles. They tried checking themselves for clues but didn't notice anything unusual. So, they asked directly.
"Wait, what exactly is this power you're talking about? No riddles—explain properly!"
Clearing his throat, Tiga-world Su Mo spoke in a deliberately casual tone, "It's not that big of a deal, really. I just finished developing Tiga Ultraman's Cosmic Corona Mode, that's all." Despite his downplayed tone, the expression on his face screamed, Hurry up and praise me!
"Legend!"
"Absolute powerhouse!" The Index and Pokemon Su Mos clapped, both sincerely impressed despite the theatrics.
They understood very well what the Cosmic Corona Mode meant. It was a concept inspired by Ultraman Gaia—an evolved form of the typical Corona Mode. If Tiga could now enter Cosmic Corona Mode, his combat ability would increase exponentially—even stronger than his regular full-power form.
In other words, their ultimate trump card, the power of Ultraman Tiga, had just received another massive upgrade. As the group wrapped up their congratulatory celebration, the Fairy Tail-world Su Mo suddenly froze as if struck by a thought. "Wait a second—when you developed Cosmic Corona Mode, you hadn't yet acquired Mithra's Solar Authority, right?" He stared at his counterpart in disbelief. "That means… you created that form using only the White Horse Incarnation?"
That realization made even him break into a cold sweat. The White Horse Incarnation, while powerful, was just a partial derivative of Mithra's solar-based Authority. It wasn't a full-fledged divine power. And yet Tiga-world Su Mo had managed to develop Cosmic Corona Mode using only that? Was he trying to defy the heavens?
Hearing his shock, Tiga-world Su Mo shook his head. "No, of course not. The White Horse Incarnation alone wouldn't have been enough." Even though he'd thoroughly studied the ability during this time, he knew very well that it didn't carry enough raw output to fuel the full transformation.
"Then how did you do it?" Fairy Tail-world Su Mo asked curiously.
"It's actually pretty simple," Tiga-world Su Mo said with a completely straight face. "I just flew out to the edge of the sun and did some direct observation and research."
Silence. The entire room froze for a second before Fairy Tail-world Su Mo buried his face in his hands. "You actually did that?! You're insane!"
But thinking about it more, it made sense. If it was a Cosmic Corona form, the most suitable environment to study it would naturally be outer space. And what better research subject than the sun itself? Now that Su Mo possessed solar-based divine powers, he didn't have to worry about being burned or incinerated by the sun. As long as he didn't go too deep into the solar core, nothing dangerous would really happen. So of course he ran off to the sun for field research.
"If that still doesn't work, then all my efforts would've been in vain." Su Mo from the Tiga world didn't seem particularly concerned. "I've already shared all the research data I gathered on the sun with you guys," he said casually. "When it comes to scientific research, you have to be bold."
"These materials should help a lot with developing and utilizing the solar Authority," he added. After all, the solar Authority ultimately stems from the concept of the sun. While the mythological sun may differ from the real one, there's still considerable overlap. Mastering the relevant knowledge can unlock the full potential of solar Authority. At least for Su Mo from the Tiga world, these understandings allowed him to bring out the full might of the White Horse avatar, creating solar-scale explosions at full power. And that's just with the White Horse form. If he used something stronger, like Mitra's [Eternal Sun], the power would increase significantly. Once his mastery of the Third Magic improves and his curse energy output rises, he could probably even craft a full-sized artificial sun by hand.
"Unfortunately, Moon Goddess Mode can't be developed the same way," Su Mo from the Tiga world said with a regretful shake of his head. "The healing, purification, and defensive properties of Moon Goddess Mode can't be studied by just going to the moon." He had made a trip to the lunar surface before but hadn't found anything useful. Unlike the sun, which is inherently powerful and dynamic, the moon—especially in a sci-fi setting—was just a big lifeless rock. There was no healing or purifying aura to study, nothing to extract for developing a new transformation.
"So, Luna Mode… that one's on you guys," he concluded. "We'll need that mode in order to push toward the Eclipse Mode." After all, an eclipse occurs only when the Earth, moon, and sun align perfectly. If the goal is to develop that kind of ultimate form, both the Lunar and Solar Corona modes would need to be active and compatible for fusion. Which meant, for now, he'd have to rely on his other selves from different worlds.