"Interesting... Everywhere I look is a white void with nothing but just the two of us." Kanzaki commented on the morphed world.
The young man shrugged. "This way, no one's going to listen in our conversation."
"True." He said. "Now, let's continue where we left off."
Tsukasa nodded. "I already know parts of different worlds since that's what I do every day." He sighed. "But still, never went through a world called Remnant before... That's gonna be a pain."
Kanzaki nodded. "After looking into it, when a pool of darkness was formed in the Mirror World. There was actually a connection formed temporarily. Now, we would have trouble finding it."
"But?"
"But, before she cut off the connection. I was able to track the trails Salem must've left when she transferred dark power during the process." Kanzaki stated. "In the end I found her world. Even though it didn't locate her exact location, we still have the coordination to Remnant."
"It's a good thing you managed to find it. Otherwise, it would've taken more time." The destroyer of worlds crossed his arms. "Maybe this dark power she transferred could explain how Ryuga's deck is still in contact."
"That would make sense..." Kanzaki sighed.
Tsukasa hummed. "But that brings up Odin. Got any idea?"
"Nothing I can think of, at the moment." He answered as he clenched the deck tightly. "What I do know, is that my job isn't done yet."
With a nod, the destroyer of worlds continued walking. "So, what are you going to do with Ryuga's deck?"
"Simple, I will keep it safe here," Kanzaki said placing the exact item on the table. "No one must have this, it could be dangerous for all we know."
Tsukasa grimaced. "You're right- wait, where is it?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" Kanzaki raised a brow. "It's right there-"
That's where the man felt his heart stopped beating for a second, the same very advent deck is gone. Kanzaki threw the table over and saw nothing from above, he looked at Tsukasa who shook his head.
The magenta-camera wearing man noticed a dark presence from behind, yet when he turned around there was no one there. "Oi, oi! Didn't you place it on the table?!"
"I did! Now it's floating!" Kanzaki yelled.
Another presence came again, almost like it's trying to leave. Tsukasa ran his pace to find the location inside this world, not long before Kanzaki caught up.
"What's wrong?!" He asked. "What are you running for!?"
"It's there!" Tsukasa pointed at Ryuga's advent deck floating. "How is it doing that?"
"Nevermind that, we need to retrieve it!" Kanzaki reached for the item, only for it to backtrack. "You're not going anywhere."
The dark deck's aura pushed the two away with the force of power, shocking Kanzaki. "I don't remember the advent decks doing that before!"
It remains still for a minute until the object suddenly ripped out a hole inside the empty void, becoming a portal that was sucking it in.
Tsukasa glared. "Hey! You can't just do that here!" He said.
"Now's not the time for that!" Kanzaki said. "It's getting away!"
Right he is after the deck flew through the portal immediately, Kanzaki and Tsukasa ran inside as well, leaving nothing behind.
Once the two riders entered inside, they found themselves traveling through somewhere in a flash, Tsukasa knew the worlds they were crossing are the original riders he knew.
However, Kanzaki kept looking for Ryuga's deck as a top priority. That's where he noticed a place they're in slowly dimmed, the blank exit was behind the very object he's searching for. Yet the man couldn't even get a finger on it once the brightness temporarily blinded him.
After the light died down, one of the two noticed this familiar place. None of the letters were the same as Japan, it's all in English.
The streets are quiet, no big road, people speaking in different languages.
"Where...are we?" Kanzaki asked.
"...America." Tsukasa answered. "But, I don't know which state. I'll ask someone in that store." He pointed at a nearby sandwich store and stepped inside.
Leaving Kanzaki alone, the man sighed. "First we go inside that white void, then the deck somehow moved on its own and opening a portal." He mumbled. "Bringing us into a different country, and a state at that. Have to act fast, who knows how far it's gone."
"Texas," Tsukasa came back with a sandwich on his mouth, giving Kanzaki a water bottle. "Said that we're in Houston specifically," He said before noticing the same presence before but far.
"Oi, I can sense it over there!" He pointed at the item floating towards a house, it was a 1-mile walk.
"Why did it do all this? Shinichi's gone, it should've been... No..." Kanzaki's eyes widened. "It's trying to find a new user!"
"How!?"
"I don't know!" He yelled, running after the damn thing.
"You gotta be kidding me...!" Tsukasa grimaced. "We can't let that happen again!"
They kept running, avoiding cars that could've run them over. That wouldn't have stopped Kanzaki though, he just stopped a monster from total destruction. He couldn't afford to let another rise again.
...Except he was too late.
Ryuga's deck slowly went up until the second floor of the house and went inside one of the opened windows.
"NO!" Kanzaki shouted.
From there, the darkroom lit up. A shadowy figure can be seen scratching their hair while doing a little stretch, Kanzaki clenched his fist.
Haaaah...
Today was a good day, made absolutely no damn progress on classwork. As usual, however, I did go through a... I checked the time on my phone, looking to be 11 at night.
Oh, well fuck me then. That power nap might've been the worst decision, but meh, it's sleep.
And I love sleepin'!
Couldn't get much though because, for some reason, the damn road between my house was getting a lot louder than usual. Last I remember was that today didn't have any special holiday, or, at least from what I can say.
Eh, probably. I mean, there's national food day for every month. It's not that bad if we're being real here. Great, sleep ruined, and I'm fucking hungry all because I mentioned food.
Good job me, whatever.
"NO!"
What?
I stood up from my girlfriend, aka, my bed. And noticed something weird entering inside my room, since it was dark, I couldn't figure it out. So I turned on the lights and scratched my hair. Then cracking my back with a little stretch to start the night...
Until I noticed a random metal case floating in front of my face.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
I jumped, like a bitch.
Sigh.
"HEY! SHUT YOUR ASS UP I'M TRYIN'A SLEEP!"
"Sorry!" I said nervously.
Okay, so a case is right here, in my room. I'm pretty sure that I didn't leave my windows open-oh, well what do you know. I actually left one up, fuck me I guess!
Cursing isn't helping at all in this situation... Huh, I have this sudden urge to touch it.
And I did, once a finger of mine poked the deck. It stopped hovering and dropped onto my right hand. "That went well." I deadpanned. "I dunno who decided to throw some random case on my room. But I'll take it."
Wait...
No...
COULD IT HAVE SOME YU-GI-OH CARDS?!
"OH HELL YEAH! THERE BETTER BE SOME ULTRA RARE EDITIONS!" I said excitedly. "This is gonna be a huge score for me! Bet that I'm selling 'em for a high price!"
Now, I wonder what we have 'ol here eh mates?
Opening the deck from the open panel, I saw some cards inside, none of them had a cover you'd see for Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon TCG.
Hold on...
This case looks familiar, it was from a tokusatsu show I binge-watched for first-time sakes...
"Woah..." I pulled out a card slowly, it made a strange sound that I couldn't tell what it was. But I kept pulling until the deck is empty. "No way! It's from Kamen Rider Ryuki!"
Ohohohoho! That show, in particular, is something I tell ya that. It brings me back to when I decided to watch the American version called Dragon Knight. I thought it was cool since it aired in 4kids, but when I heard about it being in Japan...
It brought me a new perspective on it, like yeah KRDN brought the whole rider war somewhat. However, there wasn't exactly the wish concept. Xaviax was the antagonist who wanted to abduct and enslave humanity to rebuild his homeworld. So he tricked Adam and almost took all the decks with him, he also took advantage he can in Earth.
Oh yeah, in Ryuki, Shinji showed the kid who wanted to be like one how it was being one. That's the reality, while Dragon Knight had a good ending, the other ended with a total mindwipe.
...Or that's what I thought but nooooo! ZI-O's bringing 'em back, which is wild. So I'm just gonna remain neutral and wait until I see it happen.
Whoops, I might've recalled a bit too many things. Can't help it, Kamen Rider is the shit!
Right, the cards. Let's have a looksie!
Happily humming, I turned the metal case hoping to see the same logo. Instead... I saw a dark fiery dragon head.
This isn't Ryuki's deck... That's Ryuga's logo. No wonder it's dark grey!
Nice.
I normally would've liked to take Ryuki's gold emblem and black case, but Ryuga has that nice feeling, I can't put a finger on it though...
Laying the cards pulled, I made a note on what each vent was.
Huh, this deck has; Advent, Sword, Guard, Strike, Final, and a dark card that had the words Survive. It didn't look normal, none of the texts below or picture were viewable since all of them were empty.
Which is not something I see, it could be a misprint. And I'll be damned, it could be quite a collectible for others!
Ah... My stomach's already aching for some good food. But I'm too lazy to cook, maybe I should order some pizza instead.
Definitely.
However! I must get myself a COLD GLASS OF WATER! Gotta stay hydrated boys and girls! Things, pants, I dunno.
Onwards! To the kitchen! Taking the case with me, I put on some slippers and went down the first floor.
I heard faint voices, but I shrugged it off. I turned on the lights and smiled at the fuck ton of water bottles we have, some are mostly fiji and aquafina.
Hey don't judge me! They were from a good ass deal so I bought it!
Quickly grabbing three bottles. I closed the fridge gently, taking the time to also steal a few snacks.
"Yabe!"
I turned around, only to find nobody except a cracked pot. The small plant that grew, a mess that's already going to be a pain in the ass to clean.
"Who's there!?" I asked. "I'll have you know that I have a black belt of Chancla whoopin' in my blood!"
Silence...
"It's alright, I understand," I said with an impressed look, noticing the reflection near the closet that of a person wearing magenta camera was the only thing I noticed. "You don't wanna get your ass beat, I getcha."
I used the force of the Spanish heritage and took a brown chancla a loud whack at the table. "I know you're listening, so... We can do this the easy way or the hard way." I said. "You get out of that closet in the kitchen and catch these hands, or I head there myself and give you the 7 Stages Of Hell taught from the Chancla clan. It's your choice."
Nothing, no muffled noises or anything I'd probably didn't wanna know anyway. "THE HARD WAY IT IS!"
Then I ran until I kicked open the door, without giving a look at their faces I swung the chancla rapidly. The brute strength made them groan in pain, I was finally able to hear their voices.
It sounded...foreign. Like they're from a different country or so.
"OI! YAMETE! YAMERO!"
"ITAI ITAI!"
So I stopped because I knew what those words meant. I raised a brow. "Wait, you guys from Japan?"
"Yes, we are."
Letting them stand up, the mature-looking man's wearing a brown coat, he has black wavy hair. Who also groaned in pain. The other was the same dude who's carrying a magenta- or was it pink? Whatever, a camera, wearing a suit.
He looked pissed. "Oi! Is that the way you treat your elders?!" He yelled.
"Hey, in my defense... You guys broke into my home, so I had to fight back with this." I whistled innocently, fiddling with the brown chancla. "So, that was your fault doing so."
"We can't help it when you have something important from us!" The pink-camera holding man said.
"What?" I crossed my arms. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm being framed here! I have nothing!"
"You have Ryuga's deck with you."
I glanced at the brown coat wearing dude. "You two fans of Kamen Rider?" I said.
The man glared. "Yes, we are." He said. "Now give it back."
I shrugged. "Okay, sure." I tossed the deck back to his hands, only for it to come back from out of nowhere. "Okay... Since when could it do that?"
Trying to hand the weird dude the deck casually, it didn't move one bit. The advent deck kept still, something I have never seen before. "Hey, I'm dropping it but it's stuck on me... Why's that?"
Once I finished that sentence, the man in the brown coat dropped to his knees.
"We're too late..." He said. "It found its new user!"
"You gotta be kidding me..."
"New user?" I raised a brow. "Are you guys roleplaying or something?"
The two dudes shook their heads, one covering his face while the other looks down. "So, what do we do now Tsukasa?" The black wavy-haired man asked his companion. "Now that Ryuga's deck bonded with him, we cannot separate it anymore."
"Wait, Tsukasa?"
"Hard to say Kanzaki," The man named Tsukasa said. "We're gonna have to get him involved then since he doesn't know what's going on himself."
"K-Kanzaki...?" I repeated.
"But couldn't we just!" Kanzaki's look in disbelief honestly scared me.
"No, that's not what we should do," Tsukasa said. "Instead, we'll teach him how to become someone better, not a monster like Shinichi was in the past."
"What are you guys talking about...?" I asked nervously. "Did I do something wrong?"
Then, I saw the look of Kanzaki giving a nod to the apparent Tsukasa. "Sorry kid, but fate has something in store for you." He said.
"Huh?"
"Trust me, you'll understand once you see this." Tsukasa brought his palm mid-center, an aurora formed behind me.
"...Shiro Kanzaki..." I nervously pointed at the brown coat wearing the man, and then... "Tsukasa Kadoya?!"
Holy shit...
HOLY SHIT!
My jaw dropped, pointing at the two nervously. "Kamen Rider Decade?! And, Odin?!"
Tsukasa nodded. "That's us," He said. "Let's go, I have a lot of things to tell you."
"Wait," I raised a hand. "I need to change my clothes. Don't wanna look like a clown than I already am."
He looks down on me then back up, he nodded. "Better hurry then,"
With that, I went back up and immediately wore my casual clothes. The dark grey hoodie along with a black fur coat, some good ole black pants, and sneakers. Going back down the stairs, they signaled me to follow.
I looked back at the kitchen, then remembered the moments with my family. It felt all too real for this to happen, yet, I want to stay here...
Everything I've loved in this place will forever be cherished in my heart, goodbye Mom. "I'm gonna miss you guys..." I muttered.
Tsukasa didn't look back. "Once this is over, you can go back home." He said. "Come on."
From there, we went inside the portal. It actually felt nice, albeit uncomfortable since there are two guys I might've acted like an ass to... One's that I didn't even know exist in the first place!
Man, they're gonna get me involved with whatever's going on. And it's definitely not good.
"Woah..." I awed at the entire world we're in. "This is a great place to talk here. Nothing but a thrown table and two chairs. How the hell am I gonna-"
My question was interrupted by Tsukasa pulling out a chair from out of nowhere. "There, happy?" He rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, I'm just like this when I feel nervous to the point of breaking down," I said, taking a seat. "Thank you."
"So!" Tsukasa clapped his hands together. "Let's summarize the whole thing, how did we get to your world, and what's going on."
"'Kay,"
"Kanzaki? You wanna do the honors?"
"I will," Kanzaki sat down, taking a deep breath. "During the events of the Rider War happening in mine, it was going as I planned... Until Ryuga got into contact with a being who called herself Salem."
"Salem?" I raised a brow. "Who are they?"
"That we don't know yet," Tsukasa sighed. "Well, for one thing, she's strong enough to give Ryuga power and created a pool of darkness she was able to commune with. So it won't be an easy battle after we find her."
"Like Decade here mentioned, Ryuga agreed to a contract. He mentioned that once he kills all the other riders, he would come to serve her against a fight we're suspecting is a war." Kanzaki stated. "However, Tsukasa heard this too. But he kept his position because of the rules preventing him from interference. Finally, the tragedy occurring in the mirror world."
Woah, now that's something I didn't hear in the S.I.C story, or well, in Episode: Final.
If I were to guess... That must've meant that Mirror Shinji fused with the original to gain power at first. Then MS got separated from him, in turn, got his deck as he wanted for himself now. He can now henshin into Ryuga without Shinji's body, however, he was losing the battle.
Meaning that it happened almost exactly like Episode: Final.
Wait, there's one thing I don't get though...
"Instead, we'll teach him how to become someone better, not a monster like Shinichi was in the past."
Shinichi... From what I googled, he was Shinji's twin brother. However, he died from a fatal stab wound in order to protect his brother. Sadly, he got mistaken as the other one.
I wanted to ask Tsukasa why did he mention Shinichi, but they're probably focusing on the goal then the past. I'm okay with it though, so long as I get my answers soon.
"I can only guess that Ryuga almost completed his goal there," I hummed. "From what I know, Ryuga was stronger than Ryuki at first. But, if he's gotten some type of power boost from this Salem women... He must've been unstoppable."
"Yeah," Tsukasa sighed. "He was a pain to beat."
"There on, we defeated him," Kanzaki gave the world-destroyer a nod. "Decade and I gave it our all to stop him. But before he could disappear from existence, he told us everything."
"Eh, the way he worded it sounded like Salem's this powerful entity," Tsukasa said. "I faced stronger enemies back then."
"After that incident, we were going to continue discussing what to do with the information and our next move possible," Kanzaki frowned. "But the advent deck floated away. Making a portal inside here, and proceeded to enter in your world."
Tsukasa nodded. "That sandwich was nice, I'll give 'em that."
"Once we went in, it was already near your home. So we had to chase it." He said. "Now we're here..."
"Wow... I-" I looked down at the deck. "I didn't know... I'm sorry."
I-I feel like a dumbass right now. All this time they were looking for the deck so that no one would become like Ryuga, the very same one who had incredible power overflowing him. Just to meet some 17-year-old kid like me holding it, and now bound to me...
I grimaced, not letting out a single tear from my eye. "Dammit..."
"Don't feel bad kid," He said. "We're not going to do anything to you if that's what you're worried about."
"Y-You're not?"
"No," Tsukasa stood up from his chair and snapped his fingers. "We're gonna help you."
The white void changed into space itself, we were standing on top of different worlds one by one. It was an amazing sight to look at, all the worlds that each rider was in. It felt surreal to me.
"Now that you have Ryuga's advent deck, it's scary to think what could happen. But, if we show you the right path... Then you'll be a different rider, not a dark rider who stays evil. Instead, you'll become a dark rider who pursues the good." He said.
"Dark rider..." I held the case tightly.
Kanzaki looked down. "However, if things go wrong..."
I nodded solemnly. "You'll have to kill me... If that were to happen, please, stop me from becoming like him."
Kanzaki's eyes widened. "You're okay with that?"
I smiled weakly. "Honestly? I hope you don't. But, if it's meant to protect innocent lives... Then it's okay." I placed the deck in my pocket. "Ryuga's deck drove Shinji mad with power. So until then, I'll do my best in preventing that feeling."
"I hope your will is strong enough for that," Kanzaki let out a sigh.
Tsukasa smirked. "Well kid, you're already one step into being a Kamen Rider. But don't let it get to ya though, I don't hand out compliments like that."
I grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I could tell from the way you usually act with others," I said. "Still though, I'm surprised you knew that I knew Kamen Riders was just a T.V. show. Well, Tokusatsu that is."
The magenta-camera wearing man shrugged. "When you're busy saving worlds, you travel to a world where Kamen Riders are just a kids show." He said. "Although, the older ages actually like it too."
"Yep, that's how we all are," I said. "Alright Tsukasa, what's the mission?"
"We were planning on going inside the world she lives before Ryuga's deck decided to rip a portal here and make us waste time." He grumbled. "But it's hard to find out where exactly Salem could be. We'd have to settle in this world somewhere secret and safe."
"So...?"
"In the meantime, it would be better if you went there, try to find any information as you can while blending in." Kanzaki said. "You'll eventually have to find some higher-ups to get most of them though."
"Right, it's gonna be a pain the ass just to get some whereabouts," I sighed. "What about you two?"
"Me? I'm going to try and round up every rider as much as I can," Tsukasa said. "This isn't going to be easy, so we're gonna need a lot of people with us in this battle."
"And you, Kanzaki?"
"I will aid you in this world, but only when the time is right." Kanzaki said.
I took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, when do we start?"
"Right now," Tsukasa said. "Time's not on our side kid, so don't let that get into your head. Oh, and make sure you don't get detected in the meanwhile."
"Roger," I pulled my hoodie up, doing so shadowed my face except for the mouth. "Let's do it."
With a nod from Kanzaki, the traveling rider opened up a portal. "Here, this will lead you to a city." He said. "It's all I can do for you."
I shrugged. "Better than getting transported into a forest full of deadly animals." Before taking steps close to the portal, a hand stopped me.
"Before you go, I need to know your name," Kanzaki asked. "Since we're all working together, we'll need to call you in events."
"Oh yeah," I laughed nervously. "Got caught up in all the seriousness, so I didn't properly introduce myself. Sorry 'bout that." I pull down my hoodie revealing midnight blue hair and light brown eyes, giving him a smirk.
"Name's Christopher Rodriguez, but call me Chris for short," I said. "Anyway, off I go!"
Pulling the hood back up after stepping inside the portal, I saw nothing but the exit.
"WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!"
And that, was when my life changed, all because of an advent deck choosing me as its user. I even got to meet Kamen Rider Decade, plus Shiro Kanzaki... Can't say that's good or bad.
Right now though, I'm on a mission to help gather info for those two. I'm probably gonna end up facing enemies stronger than me, it's a guarantee that's for sure.
I just hope that Ryuga's deck won't affect me in the future
AN: Remember how I wanted to do a rewrite for the stories I did? Ya know, the beginning of each chapter had like a little intro? I decided that I'll be keeping most of the things I've written, and change only a few things that would happen next chapter or the like.
I think the term used for this is... Editing? Not really a re-write...? Whatever.
Now, originally, Chris was gonna appear in a random Village. Now, I decided to instead let him go to the city as I ended up not knowing what to do for the next chapter of his travels in the village.
Officially, next chapter, he will be in the city.
What will happen? Find out next time, on Dark Realization!