After Saiki fought the winners, Ash attacks him from behind and absorbs his energy. This backfires as Saiki's influence takes over during the process and as a result the two fuse into a single entity. Evil Ash battles the tournament winners but Ash manages to take control of his body sometime after. Ignoring the pleas from his ancestor to allow him passage and warnings of the consequences, Ash decides to erase his own history and calmly waits for the portal to close. The portal closes, which creates a time paradox: as Saiki is now trapped in the present, it is impossible for Ash to have ever been born. Thus, Ash ceases to exist, taking Saiki with him.