We took the next few moments to mull over the revelation… Not only was Yuichi a Creation, but that, if Dan is to be believed, he came from an anime that ended in his death… The mere idea of an anime that could end so… tragically was unheard of. You have the rare exception here and there, but often times, it would either end on a high note, something more bittersweet, or even just a note that seemed more like code to read the manga or novel.
I comforted Hikayu as the air was filled with an awkward silence. Not even Meteora or Kikuchihara, the two commanders of our group, decided to say anything…
Then, as though he inherited all our thoughts and mashed them into one phrase, Souta slammed his hand against the desk and asked:
"Why did you let that happen to him!?" Dan kept a rather odd smile… It was the kind of smile that felt small enough that, were he to frown, you'd not tell the difference.
"Because… I thought that was the best outcome for that story." Dan said. Souta couldn't come up with a reaction… Though, Alicetaria did.
"That outcome being to kill him and everyone he cared for?" Alicetaria glared at Dan.
"There's a thing you need to know about Dan's novels. It's actually a key catchphrase among the visual novel community." Ohnishi said. Yatoji immediately spoke up.
"All routes lead to doom." We turned to Yatoji, who just blushed and looked away. "I read up on Izumi Dan when I got word that he was here…" He muttered.
"To think that I was cruel with my characters. You're on a whole other level, Dan…" Suruga chuckled.
"I'd take that as a compliment, but I didn't pen the anime's ending." Dan said.
"Then… who did?" Marine asked.
"… I think I know." Again, we turned to Yatoji. "I worked under him on a manga before he focused more on the screenplay…" As he said that, I saw Tachibana nod, then turn to Dan.
"… Shimazaki Yuusuke wrote it, correct?" Tachibana asked.
"He did… He added the ending in and by the time any person noticed, it was already too late into production. I wanted to thank him personally, but once that finale hit the airwaves, nobody knew where he went. The obvious conclusion is that he took his own life…" Tachibana began to fight back tears as Souta got out of his chair.
"You don't know that for sure, do you?" Souta didn't sound angry, but his tone was much more serious than I had anticipated.
"It's only a guess at best… When I looked at that ending… I knew that he didn't write a tragic ending to prove a point or because it was dramatic… But because he wanted to share his pain with the world… To punish a character in a world he created, just like how the world tortured him…" As Dan said that, Tachibana got up, then walked away, currently wiping his tears. Shimashima gave a sigh, then got up, checking that he had everything in his briefcase before leaving. I gave Dan a glare.
"… I think I should address that Ryuu Tachibana is his pen name… His actual name is Shimazaki Yuuto." Kikuchihara said.
"Oh… My apologies… I shouldn't have been blunt on the subject." With another pause, he spoke up. "Though… if I may request something… I wish to fulfill Yuichi's desires. With Yuusuke gone, I would be the next in line for his wrath… if my death would appease him, then I will allow it." Dan said.
"Out of the question!" I said.
"Yeah. I don't even think he'll try to kill you… He'll most likely kidnap you and force you to write the ending he wants!" Takarada said. There was a brief pause as he and Alicetaria shared glances. Alicetaria sighed and bowed her head.
"Even so… He and I are similar… Our hearts are frozen by pain and tragedy… If my fate is to meet my creation… then so be it." Dan then got up, but several people blocked the door and prevented him from leaving. Just then, Takarada's phone buzzed.
"Huh?" Takarada took it out, then looked at it, tapping a few times. "No way!" Takarada said.
"What happened?" Kikuchihara asked.
"There's been a report on a massacre! The victims are some police officers, a school student, and an idol." Takarada said.
"Why is that important?" Yuuya asked.
"Because of the way they died…" Takarada then showed us pictures of the crime scene in question… Lots of ice around the area and frozen statues of the victims he described.
No doubt about it, a Kaizo-Majin was involved.
Cinder Fall
Shimashima and Tachibana weren't too far when the news hit. While Kikuchihara insisted on going alone, I decided to accompany her alongside Shimashima and Tachibana, since the three of us had penned Kamen Rider Dante to a degree and thus, know more about the Kaizo-Majin.
Kikuchihara, Shimashima, Tachibana and I went to the scene of the crime. The bodies have already been processed, so all that was left was the frozen street and alleyway. A cop pulled up some crime scene tape and walked underneath it.
"You want us to keep this under wraps too?" He asked Kikuchihara.
"I think that will no longer be necessary with that incident the other day. Declare a report regarding the murder, but leave out the ice. Do you have an idea who did this?" Kikuchihara asked.
"Yes, actually. We had a close eye on social media like you requested and we found someone who fits the description." The officer took out a photo of a mug shot. On it was a man with messy brown hair. "His name is Ryuzaki Watari. He had been arrested a couple of months ago for causing an incident at a concert that Tsukimoto Rin. We let him go, though kept tabs on his account even before your request to closely follow the Zenmetsuna and Aid Setsuna hashtags. He had been posting tweets revealing the location of Tsukimoto's school, as well as her home, in the past 24 hours. We already got an arrest warrant before the incident, however. Eyewitness reports said that a polar bear was in the area… but fifteen minutes before that report, we got reports of Ryuzaki at the school making an attempt at murder."
"Then I think it's best for you to say that Ryuzaki is responsible for the murder. It might actually be the truth." Kikuchihara said.
"Speaking of… I think it's about time you told us what's really going on. We're getting complaints about monsters attacking them. Not to mention that incident back in Shinjuku where we had to tell people that they didn't see a giant rhinoceros and that a victim didn't die of a snake bite. They're scared, Ms. Kikuchihara. Making matters worse, our undercover cops in the Yakuza had reported that before the boss of the Hayase Syndicate was killed, he had met up with a school girl matching the description of the murderer of a store owner from a few months ago." That's when I recalled the day that I first learned of Magane's presence when Meteora called me about that exact same murder case. My eyes widened as I realized the implications of what's going on. "Whatever the case, the Yakuza most likely know more about this situation than us, and from what information we got from those undercovers, it's most likely they're taking advantage of it." The officer said.
"I understand, but we can't tell you at this exact moment. The most I can confirm is that this monster and Ryuzaki might be one in the same." Kikuchihara said.
"One in the… Madam, this isn't Kamen Rider… Are you suggesting that he has some sort of ability to transform into… whatever caused this?" He asked.
"Yes, she is." I stepped forward as Kikuchihara turned to me and sternly glared. I gave her a nod and continued to speak. "This isn't a case of us choosing not to tell you. This information is incredibly risky in the wrong ears and we don't wish for it to leak out. However, I think it's important that you tell us more about this school girl." The officer closed his eyes, gave a moment to think, then spoke up.
"Up until recently, the Yakuza had been silently working in the interests of the community. Officials bribed by them were putting that money into projects that would benefit the town. Then, December rolled around and there were reports that Lord Hayase passed away, naming a low-level grunt by the name of Mitsukura Yoshi to be the next in line over his own son. Then, in the weeks after, we lost contact with the undercovers. The last of the undercover cops told us about how a school girl in black clothes accompanied a similarly aged man in a leather jacket during Lord Hayase's final meeting. He mentioned a third person who was said to have killed Hayase, but he was silenced before we could find out anything else… We found his remains at the Arakawa River and he had the exact same snake bite that the victim of that Shinjuku incident had." As the officer said this, I remembered Mizuki…
"Then we have reason to believe that this school girl is working with the yakuza or had worked with them." Kikuchihara said.
"And that those Yakuza members were able to transform into monsters as well." I said. The officer facepalmed and sighed.
"Okay, you know what? You're right. If what this kid is saying is the truth, then this shouldn't leave this scene… I'll pretend I didn't hear the monster part, for one… Some people over in the homicide department are already figuring out Ryuzaki's M.O. and will predict the next target soon. I suggest this should be handled in the same way you told us to handle some mangaka." The officer said.
"I'll do you something better. We have ourselves some trained individuals for this. Tell us who his next victim is and we'll post them to bodyguard them." Kikuchihara said.
"Thank you. Apologies for the request, I know I shouldn't be overstepping my boundaries, but these are uncertain times." The officer said.
"No, if anything, I apologize for my subordinate's behaviour." Kikuchihara said. The officer bowed, then walked to his car. I turned to her, then bowed.
"I felt like I needed to tell him." I said to her.
"This is why I requested that I handle this myself…" Kikuchihara gave a stern look at me. "The more people know about Creations causing disturbances, the more disturbances that are going to be caused. You should know that more than anyone."
"I know, but…" I tried to speak, but that's when Shimashima stepped in.
"If I may defend him, Madam, our enemies are actively making this problem a public concern. Eventually, your cover-ups will not work." Shimashima said.
"… That something we discussed back when we inducted the first Creators and Creations into Special Disaster Case 105. However, it's hard to inform people without causing a disturbance in of itself." Kikuchihara said.
"The easy solution is to take out Re:Shocker. Their Kaizo-Majin are the major causes. That said, we don't even know where their leader is…" I said.
"And taking him out isn't going to be easy. He's the Great Leader of Re:Shocker for a reason. To take him on would be suicide." Tachibana winced a bit before he shook his head. "Sorry, just…"
"No, no, it's fine." I muttered.
"That said, our greatest advantage is the Elimination Chamber Festival. We'll be able to destroy Re:Shocker then." Shimashima said.
"But… That's still half a year away! People are dying and you're telling us to wait!?" I shouted.
"No. The Kaizo-Majin can be taken care of before they can do more damage. If we plan our battles carefully, we'll prevent huge disturbances to the world. Then, once the Festival begins, that's when we strike." Kikuchihara said.
"… Then the solution is simple." I muttered. "We need to recruit Kamen Rider Verge!"
"How are we going to do that though? Yuichi is focused primarily on attacking his Creator!" Shimashima said.
"Hmm…" Kikuchihara hummed, holding her chin with her finger and thumb. "There's an idea Suruga had in regards to pacifying her own Creation. Perhaps we can do the same for Yuichi."
"That'll work." I said.
"In the meantime, I'm leaving you to defend Dan alongside Hikayu. You seem to have a better connection to her than any of us." Kikuchihara said.
"I'll do as you ask and…" I sighed before I went on my knees and placed my head to the pavement. "I'm… sorry about the Kaizo-Majin… They're my Creations…"
"It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things…" Tachibana muttered before he picked me up. "Do you know of the Cross of Fire?" I shook my head. "A Kamen Rider has their powers derived from the monsters they fight. No monsters, no riders… Dante's powers were derived from the Essen Crystal of Fire, the very same kind of crystals that Re:Shocker used… And the same ones I wrote in the doujin. If anyone should shoulder the blame of their existence, it should be me."
"Then we're both on this road to hell…" I said to him.
"We should depart for the night… It's getting late…" Shimashima said.
"Very well." Kikuchihara said. With that, we went our separate ways. I rode back to Dr. Gilmore's, both to rest up and to see if I can get some answers.
Tachibana returned to Dragonvenience before he stood by the door. He remembered what was said earlier… about his father's work and how he disappeared afterwards. He gave a sigh… He remembered what happened…
"You care more about manga than you do your own children! Your son is about to enter high school! He should have his father by his side!" He could remember his mother's screams at his father and the screams he'd give back…
"You don't understand! I'm creating pieces that everyone will enjoy! Even my own children will love them!" Tachibana remembered the long dark nights when he and Setsuna would huddle in the same bed, trying in vain not to let the yells mentally scar them.
Ten years ago… He can't believe how long that was… Ten years since a heated argument led to a nasty divorce… Ten years since he last seen his father.
He remembered seeing the anime Yuusuke worked on back when it was airing. It didn't garner too much attention, being nothing more than a simple adaptation and a rather touching tale of Yuichi living in the snow-filled city of Yukizaka where life-threatening blizzards occur once a year, reconnecting with his estranged little sister, Yuzusa, as she was succumbing to a disease known as 'Sleeping Death', where her sleeps would be longer than the normal 6-8 hours and thus damage her overall health.
The show progressed through a twenty-six-episode season, breaking up the grim nature of Yuzusa's disease by introducing a few female characters into the story and often getting into romantic hijinks with Yuichi. A standard harem set up with a subplot about Yuzusa's relationship with Yuichi's best friend, Ryunosuke…
Though, episode 20 of Kazoku… An episode about how Yuzusa was able to go home from the hospital after seeing that the Sleeping Death seemingly went away… That's when things went horribly wrong…
"Damn it! Why now of all times?" Yuichi drove his car through the piling snow, unable to see the lights ahead, nor can he get the car any further. Any attempt to call for an ambulance failed due to the harsh weather obscuring any signal and wire.
"Yuichi, it's going to be okay! We didn't realize her condition would relapse!" A girl who was his childhood friend, Amina, tried to reassure him. Yuzusa steadily breathed, but it just worsened by the minute.
"I should have! I knew the signs and I didn't…" Yuichi began to cry as Amina patted his back.
"Have patience… Everything will be fine." She said.
"I hope so… Don't worry, Yuzusa… We'll be at the zoo soon…" Yuichi softly said to Yuzusa… Earlier, they had planned a trip to the zoo, though that was before the Sleeping Death returned with a vengeance. "… Wait… That's… the hospital! I see it!" Yuichi saw a sign pointing to where the local hospital was. The wheels began to squeal.
"Damn it… Hang on!" Ryunosuke got out of the car and took off his jacket before laying it on the ground.
"What are you doing!?" Yuichi asked.
"I'm doing what I can to save Yuzusa! Now…" He then began to push the car so that it'd go over the jacket. "Step on the gas and don't stop! I'll see you soon!" Ryunosuke said.
"NO! Are you crazy!? You'll freeze!" Amina shouted.
"… I'd rather freeze than let Yuzusa die… Now… GO!" With the last ounce of strength, Ryunosuke pushed the car forward. The momentum mixed with the increased speed moved it past the snow that got it stuck in the first place and towards the hospital. Yuichi could only watch as Ryunosuke picked up his now destroyed jacket and disappeared in the flurry of snow.
"Ryunosuke… Thank you… Please… be safe…" Yuichi said as he drove forwards. Amina clasped her hands together in a small prayer.
Ten minutes later and, all of a sudden, the engine cut out.
"NO! Not now!" Yuichi struggled to start the car. The sounds of the engine chugging only made his heart race… He opened the door and got out.
"Wait! Yuichi!" Amina shouted as Yuichi got to the back of the car and picked up his sister. In his arms, he noticed just how deathly pale she looked… There was not even a blush on her face. Yuichi had to try though…
"Come on… Come on…" Carrying his sister like a princess, he stomped through the thick centimeters of snow, using the frozen ice made from the freezing rain as a platform to glide over the snow… He was almost at the hospital… Almost…
CRASH!
His foot smashed through a weak layer of ice as his leg dove into soft snow going up to his knee. The sudden cold caused his whole body to freeze in shock as his muscles jerked, letting go of Yuzusa in the process. She crashed onto the snow in front of him. He screamed out her name and dug through the snow trying to get her. Once he felt her, he lifted her up… Only to notice…
This whole time…
He was carrying her limp body.
"Yuzusa?" Yuichi softly rocked her body in an attempt to wake her up. "We… We made it… Open your eyes… Please… We're here now…" Yuichi's rocking became more sudden, going into a desperate fit to try and wake her up. Several doctors, well dressed in snow traveling gear, traversed across.
"Sir! What's the problem!?" One of them asked.
"It's Yuzusa! She needs help! She needs…" One of the doctors pressed his fingers against her neck, only for Yuichi to shout. "SHE'S FINE! PLEASE! SAVE HER!" Yuichi cried as the doctor looked to him. Amina caught up, only to see the outcome of their vain travel… "No… Yuzusa… Please… Don't… Don't go…" Yuichi bit his lip, then, with a sharp inhale, screamed out her name so loud that the heavens could hear it…
"Shirayuki…" Yuichi felt his body softly shaken. He opened his eyes and saw Melt… He then remembered how they were by a campfire. "You were having a nightmare, weren't you?"
"… Yeah… It was the same one… Where I lost my sister…" Yuichi said.
"I… I understand your pain… Mamika was like an older sister to me. At first, her attitude annoyed me, especially when she kept getting my name wrong, but… once she managed to beat me and got me out of the Akumarin's control, we became best friends… But then… she disappeared… and told me that I have to fight the Akumarin on my own while she goes off to fight a mysterious threat on the other side of the world… But… I can't do it alone… That's why… I need to find her… and defeat her imposter." Melt said.
"You have no qualms against your god?" Yuichi asked.
"I don't care about that… I just want to find Mamika…" As Melt began to cry, Yuichi hugged her.
"Sssh… It's okay, Yuzusa…" Yuichi muttered… His eyes widened a bit.
"Yuzusa… That's… your sister's name, right?" She asked.
"Yeah… It is… She was the sweetest girl you could have ever met… too good for my world… too good for my god…" Yuichi said. Melt hugged Yuichi back.
"We'll avenge your sister together… and find Mamika…" Melt said. She snuggled against his chest. "You're very cold…" She winced.
"I know…" Yuichi shed a tear. "I know…" He recalled the day his body became so ice cold… The 'final episode' to his life that he now knew as an anime…
It had been five years since the deaths of Ryunosuke and Yuzusa… It seemed life had finally moved on. Though Yuichi's depression alienated his close friends, one stayed by and weathered through: Amina. She stuck by him through thick and thin and now, it seemed like he was finally going to have a happy ending as he saw her on the other end of a wedding altar.
As he waited for her to join him, his friends and Amina's family were there to cheer the two in their matrimony…
That is, until Amina began to stumble.
"Amina?" Yuichi tried to approach her, only for her to hold up her hand. As she looked up and glanced at him, he knew from her snow-white skin that she had the same condition as his sister. "No… You… Had Sleeping Death the whole time? Why? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her.
"I… I didn't want you to cry anymore… So… I kept it… to myself. I… I will be with you, always… Ever since the beginning… Back when we were kids…" She took her time, going one step and then the other, before she was close enough to Yuichi. "Yuichi Shirayuki… You… You were always my…" She then tripped over her feet and fell into Yuichi's arms. "Goal…" Amina closed her eyes as she drifted off into an eternal sleep.
As Yuichi held her in his arms, he cried out. He then looked to anyone for support. The priest who would have overseen the wedding approached him and gave him a solemn look. Before there was any time to grieve, the doors busted wide open as a large gust of snow poured in… Another snowstorm… With the same lethality as the storm that killed Ryunosuke.
Why? Why is this happening all over again? It's as though God himself didn't want Yuichi or anyone in Yukizaka to be happy. As he cried out for his friends and family, swept away by the blizzard forever, he held onto Amina for dear life... Eventually, the blizzard ended. The only person alive was him… Everyone else was buried in several feet of snow, frozen to death and back twice… Trembling, he picked up Amina's body and carried her through the altar, out of the church that they were in.
He explored the now ghostly city of Yukizaka. No one was there… And yet, he had to at least try to call for help. All while he remembered all the friends that he lost since he returned to Yukizaka… All while he heard a sorrowful ballad in his head…
"HELP! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HELP!" There was so much pain in his chest that… it just… stopped beating. He looked at Amina one last time, giving a smile before his arms began to relax, dropping her onto the snow. He slumped to his knees as he saw Ryunosuke and Yuzusa in the distance, dressed in white and smiling. He extended his hand to reach for them… but his vision faded and he fell on top of his fiancé… The snow would have covered his body…
Had the snowflakes not frozen in place.
"Holopsicon, Thirteenth Movement of Cosmos: Outline Origin… This reverts any plot twists back to its original point…" And suddenly, all the snow moved away from Yukizaka… As though someone turned on a vacuum cleaner and sucked up all the snow. Yuichi felt his life arise and be born again. He got up and saw his savior… a princess in a military uniform. "Hello, Yuichi Shirayuki… Your god has hurt you badly, didn't he?" Yuichi nodded, looking to Amina's body.
"I wish to help you seek to revise your story and save your friends and family… So long as you swear your loyalty to me, I will ensure your world can be saved." She said. Yuichi could see the warning signs, but he nodded anyways.
"I… I want… to avenge my friends… and… my family…" Yuichi said.
"Then… I shall give you a gift… Use this blizzard as your weapon of great destruction… Kamen Rider." Altair held out the Avalanche Belt as Yuichi grabbed it… Instantly, the belt roared to life, the white sheets folding out and revealed a glowing cyan fan that spun rapidly as Yuichi became encased in ice… The ice then shattered, revealing the form of Kamen Rider Verge.
"… Who is the god that has made my life a frozen over hell?" Yuichi asked.
"I apologize, but I won't be returning home anytime soon… I can't explain why, but just know that I'm safe…" Dan was locked up in the office. A few other people were there, Yuuya, Celesia, Meteora, and Rui volunteered to watch him for the night. The only other person there was his friend, Ohnishi. "I'll see you soon, I promise…" Dan hung up on his wife and sighed.
"Don't worry. Once we beat up that punk back to his world, you'll be fine." Yuuya sat on one of the file cabinets, leg adjusted against a table. Dan, however, kept silent.
"I'm sorry, Izumi Dan, but as long as your Creation desires to hurt you, we can't let you go…" Meteora was the closest to Dan, sitting one table away from him.
"It's me he wants, though… Not you…" Dan said.
"It'd be different if he didn't have those powers…" Rui, laying on an empty table, mused.
"It's weird that Altair picked him of all people to be a Kamen Rider… Something doesn't add up…" Meteora muttered.
"Whatever the case, we won't let you get hurt." Celesia had her back to the whiteboard, safely away from any notes that were written on there.
"Though, should we even bother? Dude seems to want to meet his Creation…" Yuuya said.
"You don't understand." For the first time since Celesia met him, she noticed just how… normal Ohnishi sounded. Before, he always had a cheery spring in his step but now? He sounded more serious. "He's looking to die."
"…" Dan was quiet as Meteora glanced at him.
"You said earlier how Yuusuke wanted to share his pain with the world… I assume from your similar attitude that you also wanted to share your pain?" Meteora asked.
"… Yes." Dan began to shed tears.
"There something you need to know about Dan…" As Ohnishi said that, Dan held up his hand.
"It's fine… I'll… I'll explain it. Back in high school, I… found out my childhood friend was diagnosed with depression. She never told me about it, but she would always leave school in the middle of our club time… Over the weekend… I came by her house and…" Dan gave a heaved sigh.
"I was heading over to his house at the time to help bake for the festival." Ohnishi said.
"You? Baking?" Yuuya raised an eyebrow before Rui elbowed him on the shin.
"It was during that time that I talked with my friend on her emotions… It turned out that…" Dan hesitated to continue. "She… liked me, but… her emotions were getting in the way of her confession and so… I… I misunderstood the situation and…" Dan winced as he remembered the mistake that he made…
"You'll always be my dearest friend." Dan said to Sayuri as they stood outside the gate to his house. Ohnishi was hiding behind some bushes, listening in on the conversation.
"… I see… So… this is what it's like… To have your heart ripped out?" She gave a light chuckle, then it became a laugh.
"Sayur-"
"It's… okay… I should have known… Ehehe… I'm… such an idiot…" She closed her eyes and ran off, giving a scream that she muffled with her hand.
"I… What?" Dan tried to figure out what he said as Sayuri retreated to her house. Ohnishi winced, then walked away.
"I… don't understand… You misinterpreted her confession. Surely, you could have…" Celesia then began to realize what upset Dan the most about that moment.
"This situation… It's sadly familiar." Meteora muttered as Dan began to recount what happened the next day…
Dan remembered rushing to Sayuri's house with a crumpled-up note in his hand that was once a poem with a vague and ominous tone in its ending… Nothing like what she wrote before. He entered her unlocked house and ran up to her room.
"Sayuri!" Dan took a moment to breathe. The door was closed… He recalled how Sayuri was a heavy sleeper. This gave him a brief moment to breathe. Once he had calmed, he knocked on the door.
No answer.
He called her name once more, but still no answer. He had to see if she was okay…
And so, he gently opened the door…
"I'm back! Sorry if I was away for a while." I announced as I entered Dr. Gilmore's place.
"Welcome back, Fujioka. How are things?" Dr. Gilmore came by and smiled.
"Eh… Terrible. More Kaizo-Majin are coming out of the woodwork and now there's another Kamen Rider who's working with Altair… Worse still, it seems that the idea that someone needs to be currently popular is no longer applicable… The new Kamen Rider is a person who came from a 2007 anime. Still popular, but… not anymore…" I said.
"… Then that just helps my theory… Altair is able to pick which Creations she can summon… The idea of 'most popular' is simply window dressing for a true purpose." Dr. Gilmore said.
"But… why would she bother to pick recent people if she can just pluck anyone from any universe?" I asked him.
"It is because they're recent… If I or Akagi were to walk in the street, they would most likely not know who we are. But if someone like, say, the deuteragonist of a currently popular light novel series, were to be walking, heads would turn." Dr. Gilmore said.
"Yeah… That's right… Her aim is to cause disturbances… But why someone from 2007? What relevance do they have?" I asked him.
"That might be for another reason… Their impact… She might have picked them specifically because she personally knew who that person was and how much of an impact they had, much like how Akagi and I were summoned." Dr. Gilmore said.
"… Yeah, I remembered Akagi saying how he was summoned by someone as an apology… Though… what about you? You said you were the first Creation, right? So… Who summoned you and why?" I asked him. He took a few moments, closing his eyes and breathing in.
"… To simply put," he opened his eyes, "I was summoned to help my Creator finish my story. He… didn't have much long to live and I was chosen to guide the story to its conclusion."
"… I'm… sorry to hear that." I said.
"Don't be… I helped to the best of my ability… then, realizing I can't be sent back to my world, retired to a life of peace and quiet." Dr. Gilmore said.
"How… long ago was this… Mind me asking." I asked.
"I believe it was 1997… Almost twenty years ago…" Dr. Gilmore said.
"… You must miss your friends, huh?" I asked. Dr. Gilmore nodded.
"I do… but I also understand that, by being here, I was able to help our story reach its conclusion long after our Creator was unable to finish it… Yet… that's the very thing that terrifies me about Altair." Dr. Gilmore said.
"… She has no Creator…" I said.
"Exactly. Not only that, but she also has no story… Someone who lacks a Creator and has no story to call her own… That gives her great potential to become a devil… a destroyer of worlds… What's worse… is that with what you've said… about her summoning a person to be her Kamen Rider… It confirms that she was summoned in that exact same manner…" Dr. Gilmore said.
"… Wait… Does that mean…" I asked him.
"Yes… Someone brought her here." Dr. Gilmore said.
Tachibana, remembering the finale to the 2007 Kazoku anime, sank to his knees and began to cry.
"Dad… That ending… Was that your final message for us?" Tachibana muttered.
"It seems you're aware of who the Icy Kamen Rider is…" Tachibana stood up and turned around to see Altair in front of him. Tachibana quickly got out his phone, only for a sword to fly out of nowhere and impale it to the door. "I'm not here to fight you."
"… Then… what are you here for?" Tachibana growled.
"Can't your niece just come by to say hello?" Altair then smiled, teeth gleaming out of her mouth.
"You're going to destroy the entire world… That isn't something I should greet a 'niece' over." Tachibana said.
"I wouldn't call it, 'destroying the world'… More like bringing punishment onto the Land of Gods for rejecting my mother. Your own sister." Altair said.
"Don't you dare bring her into this… If she knew what you were doing, she'd be afraid and dis-"
"She would be thankful. This world is filled with ungrateful parasites who relish in making others suffer. They never cared about her or what she did… All they wanted was to step all over her… But you understand that, don't you?" Altair suddenly appeared behind him. As he turned around, Altair rested her hand on his shoulder.
"… I understand that they didn't realize the pain they'd inflict…" Tachibana said.
"No… They knew. They wanted her to die. It wasn't enough for them to ignore her… They went out of their way to make her just as lonely and miserable as they are… And then made her feel even worse than that. You could almost hear their cheers upon hearing her heart stop… Such low-life, pathetic, pests." Altair closed in on his ear and uttered out the last words in a harsh whisper. She then pulled back and looked to Tachibana with a coy look in her eye. "Even your father knows how deserving for punishment those monsters are…" Tachibana's eyes opened. "Yes… Your father is alive… I should know… He was the one who brought me into this world." Tachibana backed away, then tripped and fell on his ass.
"He… He's the one who…" Tachibana muttered.
"It's not too late to join me, Yuuto… You could create so many Riders for the Great Destruction… Think about it." Altair smiled before she teleported away. Tachibana sat there and trembled…
"Father's… alive?" Tachibana muttered.