Kamen Rider Saber: Tale of Two Worlds
仮面ライダーセイバー：二つの世界の物語
Kamen Raidā Seibā: Futatsu no Sekai no Monogatari
First Book: Beacon of Hope
初の書籍：希望の烽火
Hatsu no Shoseki: Kibō no Hōka
Chapter Three: The Duties of a Swordsman, to Fight.
第三章：剣士の義務、戦う。
Dai Sanshō: Kenshi no Gimu, Tatakau.
The swordsman of flame, who fights with a red dragon.
赤いドラゴンと戦う炎の剣士。
Akai doragon to tatakau honō no kenshi.
As the four girls went to sleep, Kuen decided to walk back out onto the balcony, considering that it was still half past eleven, or something like that, and was too early to sleep for a person who's already managed to fuck up their sleep schedule like no other individual has ever done.
Grabbing the red book out of his pocket, he idly held it in his hand, fidgeting around the small device as he tried to even wonder what it could do.
"Not only can I use it with the sword... but it summoned the red dragon thing..."
Having flashbacks to the moment he first used the book, summoning a red dragon to help protect him against that... thing he had fought in the middle of the city square...
His train of thought was suddenly interrupted, by the book suddenly glowing, much to his own shock as he had not estimated such a thing potentially happening.
"Wh- what the hell?!" Kuen wondered in shock, as the giant manifestation of a book suddenly opened a few meters beside him, from which an individual emerged, much to his own surprise, causing him to almost fall down from said surprise and shock.
And said individual was doing more than just standing on foot... he was somehow on a blue lion about his size, much to his own further shock. As he almost fell over, the individual, clad in blue robes, smiled almost too awkwardly.
"Kuen Akegata. Mind handing over your Wonder Ride Book and the Kaenken Rekka?" He asked politely, but Kuen was only able to respond with an almost panicked, "A blue... lion?!"
It roared, almost as if it knew it was being called out by name, as its rider dismounted, introducing himself, as he opened a blue book not too dissimilar to the Brave Dragon book Kuen had, causing the lion to disappear into a flurry of translucent and fading pages.
"My apologies, I'm still not fully versed in this world yet." He chuckled, as Kuen then asked, "And you are...?"
"I am Rintaro Shindo of the Sword of Logos. But do not worry; you shouldn't feel suspicious of me whatsoever."
And that caused him to actually fall this time, before he got up.
"You're telling me that you came here in a blue lion from a giant book, and you come from an organization I've never even heard of, and you want me to not be sus of you? You're the literal definition of suspicious!"
The awkward smile he kept up did not help things any more.
Rintaro then almost instinctively explained to Kuen, as Blake took notice of the conversation going on outside, seeing as the gate was open enough for the purple light to have leaked in, "The Sword of Logos is a secret guild that has maintained the balance of the world for eons. The Wonder Ride Book you hold possesses great power... which makes it very dangerous."
Kuen held the red book in his hand, the title almost echoing its name back to him, as he gazed at it, before clutching it even tighter than he already was.
"What exactly is this... Wonder Ride Book?!"
"I'm afraid I can't say any more than I already have. You might still be in danger, so would you mind handing it over?" Rintaro stated almost firmly, like his conviction was a ten-ton weight chained to the floor.
And he was almost doubtful, as Kuen clutched the Ride Book in his hand, making his own convictions, stating with a determined, yet frightened resolve, "I can't do that."
"Maybe I did not make myself clear enough?"
"This feels like it's something very important to me, Rintaro-san. It's appeared in my dreams before I found it, and when I did, the first thing I knew, I had to fight one of those monstrous creatures with this and the sword... it's saved my life, and the people I had to protect."
Kuen then continued, "So as much as I want to, I know what I'm getting into... with this sword, the Kaenken Rekka as you call it, and this book... I'm sorry, but I can't hand it over."
Rintaro stared at him, unsure of what Kuen meant, before they were suddenly interrupted with a ringtone popping up from Rintaro's pocket, the jingle going, 'Gatring! Gatring! Gatring! Gatring!'
The latter then pulled out what appeared to be a phone of some kind, though the screen was bigger than Kuen expected, and there were two halves to the screen.
Rintaro answered to the call, as Kuen listened to the former's conversation. "Yes? I understand."
And as he ended the call, he gestured to the fire escape door located at the side of the gate to the balcony, as he pulled out a brown book very similar to the one that Kuen owned, before opening it, revealing the illustration of a black portal, with mysterious runic-like text lining the top of it, as the door would suddenly glow a bright purple, the apparition of a portal similar to the one in the book forming.
BOOK GATE! OPEN GATE!
ブックゲート！オープンゲート！
Bukku Gēto! Ōpun Gēto!
And as the door converted into an almost-regular door, its design much different than the ornate design it had going for it earlier, the door opened, revealing a vortex of some kind, the walls of the tunnel lined with rows upon rows of bookshelves, much to Kuen's own shock.
"Kuen Akegata-kun, I've linked this door to our headquarters. Would you mind coming with me?" Rintaro asked.
Kuen was almost confused on how to exactly respond with what the hell was going on, he nodded. Sorta.
And so the two entered the portal that lied between this balcony and the Sword of Logos' headquarters. At this point, there were tons of things that were going through Kuen's head, but as he held the picture of him and his younger brother in his hand, he knew he had to take the leap of faith.
Because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to find his family.
And Blake continued peeking, taking the chance to see Kuen step into the portal, the door closing behind the two sword-wielders.
And the tunnel experience was not a fun one. At all. Rintaro was clearly much more in control, casually walking through the void like it was nothing. And Kuen was spinning around, screaming and trying to gain his bearings, though travelling in the same direction somehow.
Stepping out of the door, Rintaro gently stepped into the building, as Kuen was only left exhausted, and shocked at what unfolded in front of him.
A small base of some kind, with windows of sunlight outside of its walls, as rows upon rows of bookshelves filled to the brim with books lined part of the walls, with giant books on the side of the two pairs of stairs leading to small balcony above.
And as the books were decorated with the same foreign runes, a small platform made itself known, an individual tinkering with the display in the middle.
"Woah... this is... what the hell..."
Kuen was at a loss for words, as he looked around him, as the one working in the middle of the room turned to him, bluntly asking, "So, you are the one wielding that Wonder Ride Book, am I correct?"
Determined, yet still very frightened, possibly even more than he already was, he nodded hesitantly, the red book still clutched in his hand.
"Where is this?" Kuen asked, as he took a moment to get a hold of his bearings.
And suddenly, the row of bookshelves on the balcony suddenly opened, a golden light seeping through, as individual walked through the entrance, stepping onto the balcony. Her attire was nothing like he had ever anticipated; clad in white and golden robes, and a golden headpiece, she seemed like the ideal MIL- Kuen, now is not the time to think that sort of stuff!
The female figure spoke, "I am Sophia, a protector serving the Sword of Logos. This northern base is located in the North Pole."
That caused Kuen to freeze in surprise, as he exclaimed, "The North Pole?! You mean that North Pole?! R-right, the North Pole..."
Sophia continued, "We have been operating from here alongside the swordsmen chosen by the Sacred Swords to protect the book of great power that created this world. This is how we've been maintaining its balance."
Kuen paused for a moment, clearly remembering something. "Wait, I thought the world was brought to life by the Dust crystals that are so commonplace nowadays?"
Sophia looked almost confused, before Rintaro explained, "The world you stepped from seems to be a different world from this. This is Earth, and that is Remnant."
Kuen was almost excited, until his heart dropped upon realizing something... considering that the Sword of Logos was operational here, and that it seemed almost fictional... it couldn't be helped but Kuen had the feeling that this world was not his own either...
"Is it okay if I explain to him?" Rintaro asked, looking at Sophia for an answer, something which she simply nodded to, as Kuen was still in disbelief, pulling out the Kaenken Rekka, holding it in his hand alongside the Wonder Ride Book.
Sophia then spoke up, stating, "That Sacred Sword has deemed you worthy of being its user from the looks of it..."
However, the other figure then added, "Yet it has not given you the Driver..."
And yet, the sword in his hand whirred to life once more, almost out of anger, the runes on the blade flashing red and white for a brief moment and the golden emblem on the crossguard emanating a soft golden aura.
KAENKEN REKKA!
火炎剣烈火！
Kaenken Rekka!
"Huh. It woke up again..." Kuen commented bluntly.
Rintaro then added, "Normally, swordsmen chosen by the Sacred Swords take on the name of Kamen Rider..."
Kuen almost froze, the name bringing back tons upon tons of childhood memories to him. "Kamen Rider... the heroes of justice that fought to protect people..."
He was at a loss of words. That's why this belt felt sort of familiar. Kamen Riders...
Thinking for a minute, Kuen turned to Sophia, bluntly asking politely, "What should I do...? With this sword that has trusted me..."
"This is a battle that started long ago and will continue into the future without end... what you choose to do from here on is something that you will decide for yourself, dictated by your heart..."
"For... myself..."
And as Sophia left, the bookshelves closing behind her once more, Kuen then asked, "What was that monstrous creature I fought...? The one that could use books similar to mine..."
Rintaro then explained some more, "The traitorous swordsman Calibur, and the Megido, monsters of the manuscripts. 15 years ago, they stole countless Wonder Ride Books... and many swordsmen fell to their treachery."
As Rintaro held what appeared to be a blue sword similar to his in his hands, Kuen only stared on, sorrow in both of their eyes, the latter then suddenly having a brief moment of realization.
'Could it be... my dreams...?' He thought to himself, before Rintaro continued, after snapping himself back.
"But I will say this. We fight with our lives on the line. It's our destiny to protect the books and maintain the balance of the world..."
Kuen gulped, staring at his sword, before he decided, "I need some time to think. I'd rather get back, since I'm pretty sure it's almost midnight now."
Rintaro nodded, but not before the individual standing in the middle took out a brown book like the one Rintaro had, tossing it to Kuen.
And as he caught it out of surprise, he noticed that it was the Book Gate Wonder Ride Book, before the other spoke, "Here. If you want to come back, which I'm pretty sure you have to at some point."
Kuen gulped some more. "Right..."
He nodded, before opening the main door that led into the Sword of Logos' Northern Base, as he would leave the other world behind him, stepping back into the darkness of the night, as he noticed that it was still night.
As Sophia waited on the balcony, seeing him off in a metaphorical sense, she then stated to the other individual, "You should stop being so oddly creepy, Daishinji. Pretty sure it scared him..."
Daishinji would simply reply, "Why does he have the Kaenken Rekka anyways?", as he headed back to whatever he was working on, using a piece of technology to scan what appeared to be a particular pink sword.
The swordsman of water, who fights with a blue lion.
青い獅子と戦う水の剣士。
Aoi shishi to tatakau mizu no kenshi.