Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Mark of Utmost Darkness

A cataclysmic explosion shattered the silence! In an instant, the darkness of this realm was torn apart by a blinding radiance, revealing the hues of the starry sky beyond. Even space itself seemed to tremble, as the violent shockwaves hurled the approaching Ultra Warriors backward.

It was an Ultra Explosion, much like Taro’s Ultra Bomb, except that while Taro’s body brimmed with the power of fire, Xie Jing’s was suffused with the energy of light.

Auttapes’s anguished screams echoed through the cosmos. When the blast subsided and the dust settled, a massive, gaping wound yawned across its abdomen—so deep that the world on the far side was visible through its body. Several of its claws had been severed, and viscous green blood oozed everywhere.

Xie Jing’s form appeared not far from Auttapes, his entire body’s glow dimmed to gray. The timer on his chest blinked urgently, each beep more frantic than the last. He was completely spent, unable to move a muscle.

Driven to madness by Xie Jing’s relentless assault, Auttapes seized him in its claws, its multitude of eyes bloodshot and unblinking, fastening a deathly glare upon him. This unknown Ultraman had thwarted its plans time and again, even making it taste the fear of death once more.

Hatred twisted into mania. Clutching Xie Jing, Auttapes uttered a piercing curse: “Embodiment of Darkness, heed the call of your most loyal servant! Bestow upon the homeland of this Ultra Warrior the embrace of endless night! I beseech you—let no living soul remain upon his homeworld! May his planet be shrouded in death! O primordial god of darkness, let your arms be their final resting place!”

One curse after another surged toward Xie Jing. A beam of black light burst from the crown of Auttapes, piercing the heavens.

A whisper drifted through the universe, indistinct and chaotic, filling every corner of space.

Xie Jing felt as though something foreign had entered his body, slippery as a water snake, sliding over his head, burrowing into his chest, and settling above his heart.

“The gods have answered my plea. Heh heh… Your home will be devoured by darkness! Remember, it’s all your fault! Remember it well!”

Auttapes laughed maniacally, blood gushing from its wounds.

All this transpired in a blink. As Auttapes, heedless of the backlash from its prayer, tightened its claws to crush Xie Jing, an Ultra Boomerang flashed by and severed its grip.

Father of Ultra seized the moment. As Auttapes howled in agony, he darted over, scooped up Xie Jing, and gently placed him atop a large asteroid.

His voice was gentle and full of warmth. “Rest well, Rehe Ultraman. You’ve done your best.”

Xie Jing’s consciousness was already fading, but he managed a weak nod at Father’s words.

“It’s useless! Useless!” Auttapes shrieked, each word stabbing at Xie Jing’s heart like a knife.

Through the haze, Xie Jing saw Auttapes’s body swiftly mending—the bleeding stopped, the gaping wound in its belly closed, and the torn-off claws regrew.

“It’s useless! Ultra Warrior, the darkest god will destroy all creatures bearing the mark of darkness. No one can escape!”

He watched as Father of Ultra and the remaining warriors struggled desperately to contain Auttapes. Thanks to Xie Jing’s earlier attack, they had recovered just enough strength to continue the fight.

His awareness sank deeper. The timer on his chest sounded ever more urgently.

“So tired…”

As darkness overwhelmed him, he glimpsed a golden light slicing through the cosmos, a glimmer of a silver cloak fluttering.

Who was it that had arrived?

Could it be the King of Ultra?

Darkness engulfed Xie Jing.

…

Cries, screams, pleas for help…

Infernos raged—burned-out houses and collapsed buildings everywhere. Familiar neon signs, emblazoned with Chinese characters, tumbled from the sky, crushing fleeing pedestrians beneath them.

The sun he knew was gone from the sky, replaced by heavy, oppressive clouds that plunged the world into shadow.

“Where am I…?”

“Xie Jing, run! Don’t worry about me, just go!” A familiar, pain-tinged voice rang in his ears.

Turning, Xie Jing saw his childhood friend, Huang Ling. Her once-fair face was smeared with blood, her body pinned by a massive stone. The blue dress she loved was soaked in crimson.

“Huang Ling…”

He ran to save her, but a sharp pain seized his chest. Glancing down, he found himself dressed in hospital garb.

Boom…

The earth quaked. Step by step, a monster as colossal as Godzilla loomed behind Huang Ling.

“A monster…”

Its massive foot lifted, and without so much as a glance, it stomped down toward her.

“No… no!!!”

Something within him broke free. A shaft of light pierced the darkened sky.

“Wake up!”

Thunderous as a storm, the command jolted Xie Jing awake. The world spun and twisted, darkness banished by radiant light—no more monsters, no more nightmares.

His mind instantly cleared, and his surroundings transformed. He was in a crystalline chamber, dazzling light shimmering everywhere.

Testing his limbs, Xie Jing was relieved—no missing or broken parts.

Father of Ultra, crowned with his iconic horns, appeared before him, surrounded by many Ultra Warriors who had once fought at his side.

“I… Where am I…?” Xie Jing’s thoughts were muddled. He remembered falling in battle—how had he awoken in the Land of Light?

“You have slept for a month,” said Father of Ultra, stepping forward to rest a hand on his shoulder. “You exhausted all your energy, even the very core of your light was damaged. It was Ultra King who shared his own light to save you.”

Xie Jing examined the energy within himself. Indeed, the light was utterly different—a mysterious power beyond words.

He would have to take time to truly understand it.

“Is the Ultra King still in the Land of Light? I wish to thank him in person.”

Father of Ultra shook his head, admiration in his tone. “He appeared after you fell, vanquished Auttapes, restored your lost life with his light, and then vanished once more.”

“How unfortunate…” Xie Jing was disappointed. He truly wished to meet the guardian deity of the Ultramen, one of the legendary Four Mystics—the Ultra King.

He checked himself again. But when his awareness reached his heart, he saw a dark sigil etched upon it.

“What is this…” Frowning, Xie Jing pressed his hand to his chest, trying to erase the mark with light.

But it was futile.

“It’s useless—that is the unbreakable curse Auttapes carved into you: the Mark of Absolute Darkness,” Father of Ultra said, stepping forward to stop him.

“Mark of Absolute Darkness? What is that?” Xie Jing asked, confused.

“Auttapes sacrificed ninety percent of its life to offer as tribute to the primordial god of darkness, cursing you and all life on your planet to be consumed by shadow. Your Earth will become a land of darkness.”

“The moment this mark appeared on your heart, it appeared on the hearts of every living creature on Earth. When the time comes, the god of darkness will descend and claim the life of every being bearing the mark.”