[Author's Note: I decided to merge the prelude chapter with the first actual chapter since it made no sense for there to be a prologue chapter.]


"Through the darkness of futures past,
the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds...
fire, walk with me."


SMASH!

Rock Spider, Re:Shocker's newest cyborg creation, crashed through the wall of a warehouse. He stumbled to get up, having taken quite a beating from the attack. He looked to see his opponent, Re:Shocker's sworn enemy and ally to justice:

A man in black padded leather with what seemed to be a hard plastic-looking crimson shell, segmented into four sections. He had matching crimson gloves and boots as well as a green scarf that bellowed in the wind. Rock Spider could see the green compound eyes on top of the blood red helmet. Its silver mouthpiece was comprised of a jagged top lip that hung over its curved bottom lip. The costumed man gripped his hands. Along the shoulders, arms, and the center of the chest, there were five metallic pieces, beveled out to look like an exhaust vent. To Rock Spider and the people who fight for Re:Shocker, his name was clear:

"Kamen Rider… DANTE!" He held out his arms in a fighting pose. Rock Spider merely growled.

"Today will be the day you fall, Kamen Rider! That belt will belong to its rightful owner!" It rasped as rocky tendrils that acted as spider legs came out of his back.

"No. I may fall, but it like this. It won't be by your hand! The blood of the woman I loved, Yuna, is stained by your organization's hands! Her cries for justice will not be silenced until I destroy you all!" As Dante gripped his fists, Rock Spider could see fire erupt from the vents. Rock Spider recognized this. When Dante's hot blooded quest for justice fuels the Volcano Belt as much as regular fire could. When the belt gets overfueled by his burning passion, it vents out the fire, powering him up. To many followers of Re:Shocker, this is the last thing they'll ever see before being finished off by Dante, but to Dante, the name he gave to this burst of power was appropriate to his drive to complete the goal of destroying Re:Shocker: Endeavor.

His body was consumed by the flames as they found any hole, any sort of place to escape from… The eyes, the mouth, the vents, until he was nothing more than a person on fire. "SHOTO!" He shouted as he leaped into the air. First, by doing the signature attack that has haunted Re:Shocker and all its past incarnations… "RIDER KICK!" His right leg hit Rock Spider as his flaming boot left an imprint on his rocky shell. As he is propelled into the air, Dante readied his fist. "RIDER PUNCH!" This was his signature finisher, the Rider Punch, using the vents on his arm to engulf his fist into a blazing fist to deliver a powerful blow to the monsterish cyborg.

SMASH!

Fist hit rock… But to Dante's surprise, it didn't faze Rock Spider. That's when he noticed the armor of Rock Spider's was notably blacker than when he had used the Rider Kick on him. It wasn't until Rock Spider unfurled the armor that he realized what had happened.

"HAH! You thought your Rider Punch can affect me? I went through a modification build to withstand that attack!" Rock Spider began to flap his newly unveiled bat-like wings seemingly made of a thin obsidian. "Now you will die, Kamen Rider!" Rock Spider laughed and cackled as he took off into the air…

Only for a sword to fly forward and impale him.

"W-what the!?" Rock Spider fell to the ground. He got up to investigate the sword that pierced him, only for two more to stab him. As he got onto one knee, three more dealt the final blow. "H-how!? How am I beaten?" Rock Spider grunted. "No matter… Re:Shocker will grow stronger by the day and soon, even the Seven Legendary Riders won't hope to beat us!" He cackled and spread out his arms. "VIVA LAS VEGAS!" Those were the final words most cyborg soldiers say before they explode, a side effect of when their implants are far too damaged. As the smoke cleared, Dante turned behind him and saw a woman in a black and gold military uniform with long white hair. The bird symbol on her coat caused Dante to grip his fist.

"YOU! You're a general for Re:Shocker, aren't you?" He pointed at the woman. She merely smiled and shook her head.

"No. Re:Shocker does not exist in this world." She said.

"What?" He then looked around. It seemed weird that he and Rock Spider managed to go from the rock quarry to a warehouse, though it happened so often that he didn't seem to mind it.

"And this is not your world, Dairou Hotaro." Dante glared at her. The flames died down as his armor turned to ash. It then crumbled away, revealing a man with short black hair, a brown suede jacket over a white button shirt, and black leather pants.

"How do you know my name?" He asked.

"I know many things, like the world you have been brought to." She then extended her arms outwards. "Welcome to the Land of the Gods!"

"Gods?" Hotaro lowered his guard and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I assume you've brought me here?" The woman merely clapped her hands.

"Yes, yes, you've got that right."

"And I'll also assume you've called me here to help you." Hotaro merely flexed his arms.

"Right again. Like you, I too lost someone I loved and now I'm on my own warpath." She looked to the hole made by Rock Spider, a hole that expanded out to a pleasant park view as the moon shown down onto a river. "The Gods who live in this world have rejected her and caused her to die. In a way, these Gods have killed Yuna as well." Hotaro gritted his teeth. That wasn't true. Yuna died at the hands of Re:Shocker's leader, tricking her into believing that robotization would cure her illness. "Which is why my mission is to bring punishment to this horrible land of the gods. And you, Hotaro, will join me in exacting revenge." She said.

"Revenge? Do you assume I only fight to get revenge? Yuna may be the reason I began this fight as a Kamen Rider, but it's my burning passion to protect the world and fight for justice that helps me continue the fight. Even on the day Yuna can rest in peace, I will not. I'll continue living life as a Kamen Rider to make sure no one else has to suffer like I have." He said.

"And if you help me, no one will have to. Every day, people suffer for the entertainment and pleasure of others." She said.

"That may be true, but even if I am a Kamen Rider, I cannot save everyone. However, I will save as many as I can." He said.

"It seems we are thinking on two different tracks of mind. You seem to believe that I mean problems that affect this world. No... This affects many worlds. Many people across many worlds suffer and it's all the Creators' faults. They gave these people great pain and only we can save them from their wrath." She said.

"… Every part of me wants to help you with this. I too feel the pain of loss. But… There is one thing I will not do." Hotaro stepped forward. "Bringing punishment is not what I do. I do not punish Re:Shocker for their crimes but merely stop them. Someone who describes their fight for justice as 'punishing others'… It is an indicator that their heart is corrupted with the desire for revenge. I almost walked that same path as you when Yuna died, but I refused to." Hotaro held his hand over his waist, summoning the Volcano Belt. "This power… It is not meant to be used for selfish desires like revenge or greed. That is what Re:Shocker would have wanted to use this for. Instead, I use it for justice. I will help you in your quest to save those people… but I will not bring punishment to the Land of the Gods."

"… So I take it you will not ally with me, even though we share the same pains?"

"My pain for Yuna is a deep wound, yes, but I use it to fight for justice. You're using your pain as an excuse to destroy!" With that yell, the woman silenced herself.

"… Seems I'm wrong…" Several swords began to appear and floated by her side. "You really don't know my pain! You have no idea!" She screamed as she flung several swords at him.

"RIDER HENSHIN!" Hotaro shouted as flames erupted. Fire began to burst from the hole in the warehouse as the sound of crackling flames and clashing swords rang out from the building.


A Rider wreathed in flames, having just siphoned some of them into his belt, waked towards his sister who begged to be free from her torment.

He readied his fist, preparing to grant his sister eternal peace. With a scream that could be defined as hot-blooded rage towards the system that turned her into a monster in the first place, he gave her a burning Rider Punch.

Looking back, this was definitely the inspiration to the Rider I wrote. A rider who embodied this entire scene. One who always is wreathed in flames, sparing all from the torment that evil would give to them. Though had I known the torment he'd give onto others, I might not have written the story. At the same time, I did not regret it, especially when I looked at the art she drew of him…

I am not a hero. I am not a villain. I'm not even the main character who is the center of every event. I'm just an ordinary person who happened to become a Kamen Rider. Remember that, as I will be the narrator for this story…


Cinder Road


However, you would probably like to know just how I became a Kamen Rider. Well, before we get to that, let me introduce myself.

My name is Hoshi Fujioka. Most people see me as Hoshikigami, the Piclive user who wrote a series of fanfics that served as a throwback to the classic Showa era Kamen Rider shows. The story followed a hero by the name of Hotaro Dairou as he uses the Volcano Belt to fight the evil forces of Re:Shocker, yet another restructuring of Shocker that ended up killing his girlfriend Yuna.

I had just finished rereading the thirteenth chapter of the story, which depicted the first monster to give Hotaro a hard time, Rock Spider. I had left it on a cliff-hanger in which Rock Spider revealed a secret modification to his body: obsidian wings that blocked Hotaro's signature move, the Rider Punch. Most Riders were known for the Rider Kick, leaving its fist-related counterpart without much love.

My joy upon reading the shocking twist faded as I had went into my word processor. My eyes narrowed a blank white page. Of course, I would have a scene where Hotaro would retreat and recoup, but I had no idea where to go from there. There were many options to go from. A commonly recurring idea was to have Tobei Tachibana, the sort of mentor figure to the other Kamen Riders, come to Hotaro's aid and give him an upgrade to his bike, the Trail Blazer, thus giving him the ability to ram the bike into Rock Spider, or a Rider Break as some fans call it.

I opened up a horrid sketch drawing of another idea. The Rider was covered in a thick smudge that, at the time, I decided would be his armor. While I did want to make it more akin to Showa-era riders where they relied on their strength and skill rather than power ups, I had an idea of a charged up form for Hotaro to use, much like what Stronger had. I never gave it much thought outside of the belt being so overloaded with fire and hot blood that it starts spewing lava instead, making it true to the belt's name: The Volcano Belt.

It's actually how I came up with the name for Kamen Rider Dante. Most people say that I based the name of Dante's Inferno but I instead based the name off an old American movie my sister's boyfriend watched with me: Dante's Peak. Speaking of, my phone rang as I closed the picture. I picked up the phone and put it close to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Heeeeey~!" The cheery voice of my sister always put a smile on my face.

"Hey, sis, how's it hanging?" I lived alone in my apartment while my sister remained in our old home in Akihabara.

"Pretty good, nyan!" As soon as she said that, I chuckled.

"So I guess this week's cat themed again?" I asked. My sister works as a maid in a café. The motif changes every week. Some weeks it's a tsundere café, other weeks it's cat themed, and even some end up being combinations. I grinned as I recalled the time they did a catgirl yandere theme. It was weird.

"Yep yep yep! People really love the cat ears! People pay good money for us to meow at them, nyan!" She said. "O-oh! That's right! I'll send you some money later this week." I shook my head.

"No need. I've landed that job I told you about."

"Wooow~! You're growing up, little bro! So you're a delivery guy, right?"

"Yeah. We're trying that thing people are doing in the USA where they order food online and couriers are assigned to deliver it to them. Can't really pronounce the name of the original program… Um… Ooble Eats?" I could hear my sister laugh.

"Ah, nyeah. Oooh, I should tell Akagi that! He'd totally call it Obular Eats!" I gave a sigh. I wasn't sure what was more lame, the old reference that no kid will get or the fact that it was a pun. I soon felt my phone buzz.

"Ah! I think that's them right now!" I took the phone off my ear and looked at the screen. Sure enough! It was the company I worked for, Uchuu Eats. "Yeah! Gotta go, sis."

"Alright, love nya, my little stary!" With that, she hung up as I opened up the app. My eyes widened at the amount of food that was ordered. Pizza, sandwiches, sushi, all kinds of drinks and deserts… What kind of madman would eat all this!? What makes it worse is that it's ordered across so many restaurants. I'd literally have to bust my ass to get across town and give whoever wanted this supposed all you can eat buffet their food in under thirty minutes!

… I'm gonna hate this job.


I gave out a sigh of relief as I placed the last paper bag onto the back of my bike in a way where it wouldn't topple over. I counted just how many bags there were.

Seven.

Seven bags.

Not even a hikikomori would order this much food. Either there was some massive party or this is one person with a serious eating disorder. I checked my phone.

It had been ten minutes since I left the house, not counting all the times I had to stop and give myself a breather. I was thankful for the fact that the recipient's apartment was not too far from the pizza store I just left from. But still, if I was just one minute too late, my pay would be at risk. I got on the bike and began to pedal.

I didn't have a license to drive a car, mostly because I was raised in a community that relied more on public transit than using their own. Perhaps it was better that way. I only would want the license just to learn how to ride a motorcycle, much like a Kamen Rider. But, as it currently stands with money and time, I don't exactly have either to learn. So I just resigned to riding what was the hand me down bicycle. Surprisingly, I managed to maintain the bike perfectly for the past five years.

A few minutes later, as I pedaled down to the apartment, I heard a rustling from the nearby bushes. I looked over and checked my phone. Five minutes. I then looked ahead. The apartment was right in front of my face. I didn't want to risk being late, but before I could even continue, I heard a grunt.

"Forgive me… Yuna…"

As if that wasn't enough, I smelled something that reeked. Took me a while to realize what the smell was:

Blood.

I got off my bike and ran over to the bushes. Someone was definitely hurt. As I pulled away the brambles, I saw the injured person. As he looked at me, my heart raced.

It… was me. H-how was this possible? Did I have some weird doppelganger? He had my black hair, my blue eyes, even my face. The only difference was that he was wearing a brown suede jacket, almost akin to a biker's jacket. He coughed out some blood before grunting.

"You… You're me?" My heart froze. This man was just as confused as I was… What made this worse was that his voice was not mine. His voice was more akin to a superhero's voice. The kind that boast about everlasting justice. In contrast, my sister often joked about me sounding like the protagonist of a harem anime. I remained silent as he smirked. "I see… So that's what she meant by the Land of the Gods…" He then groaned as he clutched his stomach.

"H-hang on! Let me call an ambulance!" I took out my phone, but before I could call someone, he just grabbed my hand.

"There's no… time…" He struggled to reach for something. "This world's in danger... And you're the only one who can stop her…" I heard a belt unbuckle as his arm trembled. "The fate of all the Gods rest in your hands…" He then shoved the belt onto my chest. I looked down as my heart did its third mini-cardiac arrest in a row. The belt was black, textured to look like cooled down magma. In the center was a red eye that glowed profusely. Almost like the center of a…

Volcano.

This was the Volcano Belt. The belt I had designed when I was writing Kamen Rider Dante… Which must mean…

This dying doppelganger was none other than Hotaro Dairou, AKA Kamen Rider Dante, the Rider I wrote about.

"Please… Take my Belt… Stop the Military Uniform Princess… And… save this Land of Gods…" Those were the final words he said before he went limp. Before long, his body began to dissolve into a series of blue cubes that began to float upwards. I just stood there, wondering what had just happened. I gripped onto the Volcano Belt. That was real. My own creation dying in my arms? Not exactly sure if that was real.

"Found you…" Unfortunately, it seemed my night was just getting started. I looked up and saw a woman in a black army uniform floating up above me… Uniform… Is this the Military Uniform Princess Hotaro talked about? "Seems you're still breathing… Allow me to fix that." She flung her hand as a series of swords began to swirl around her. Almost instantly, I ran to my bike and rode off to what I would probably consider my only safety now.

As I pedaled, I could feel the swords slam into the ground. I could feel each tremor getting closer and closer. I went faster and faster, just as my heart did. By the time I went to the apartment, I just bolted into the room and quickly punched in the code at the lobby. After waiting for, by contrast to the pedalling, what seemed to be hours as I heard a long, monotonous ringtone, I heard someone's voice.

"Hel-"

"I GOT YOUR ORDER! LET ME IN! CRAZY PSYCHO BITCH IS GONNA KILL ME!" I screamed. It was the middle of the night, so no one was in the immediate area could hear me. I looked outside and saw the woman loom in closer.

"Eeeeh? What's he yelling about?" I could hear what I presumed to be her friend on the other end of the line. Great. They're gonna pass me off as a crazy person, I know it.

"He's screaming about someone chasing him…" The recipient responded.

"Hmm… Perhaps we should look into matters, just in case-" I heard another voice. She seemed cold, distant, a sort of analytical type from her tone of voice. It was the kind of voice that invites hesitance. And right now, I don't want hesitance.

"PLEASE LET ME IN! SOME BITCH IN A MILITARY UNIFORM IS GONNA STAB ME!" I was on the verge of tears, praying for a response. Fortunately, it seemed I got more than that.

"WHAT!?"

"It's her. She's right outside."

"I'm going!" Almost instantly, all three girls reacted. It took a moment to see the results. I looked outside as the Military Uniform Princess closed in on me.

"HURRY!" I screamed. Just as she approached the doors, I saw another figure rush in and block her. I saw that she was wearing a set of stylistic, albeit weather inappropriate wear. The detail was pretty intrinsic, almost like this woman was a cosplayer… Though if that was the case, she wouldn't be flying at the same height as the Princess. What set her apart from a regular cosplayer was her hair. It just seemed out of place. Two shades of red and orange, with the red being the majority of the color. As I looked at her navy blue and burgundy colored jacket and matching uniform, I began to realize that this woman was familiar.

"Don't worry! Help's on the way! Hurry! Get inside!" The recipient said as I heard the most wonderful sound: the buzzing of the apartment door. I yanked the handle and ran into the apartment, quickly scanning the number of the floor and unit. I didn't bother to wait for an elevator and just ran up the stairs. By the time I reached the unit, I dropped onto the door like a corpse. The door opened as I slumped onto someone's arms.

"I got you!" The recipient said as she carried me over to a couch. Finally, I took time to recover. "You alright?" Perhaps it was my heart trying to calm down, but time stopped as I looked at the woman who helped me.

She was a little unkempt with her chocolate brown hair, had bushy eyebrows, amber eyes behind thick purple rimmed glasses, and was somewhat chubby, with her plain gray shirt showing off the curves. I took this time to exhale.

"Y-yeah… T-th-thank you…" My body trembled. I had been running for so long that my body just gave up and fell onto the armrest of the couch. My head relaxed onto it as I had a strong feeling to sleep. My feet began to hurt as my heart ached. I breathed so heavily I worried I'd just die right there.

"Hang in there! I'm going to get you some water!" She went to the kitchen while my body took its time to relax. I began to think about the past few moments; Hotaro's death, the Military Uniform Princess' appearance, that girl coming out of nowhere... All of that happened in the same hour. My mind began to unravel of who that redhead was… But for some reason, my mind kept going back to the Military Uniform Princess… Something about her was… familiar.

My body calmed itself down for me to get off the couch and sit upright as the woman returned with a cup of water.

"I know this may be a bit confusing, but…" She took the time to find the right words. As she did, my mind began to fire off all the places I could have seen the Princess. As I took a sip, the water began to lodge in my esophagus as I began to think of a video I saw a while ago. I coughed. "T-take it easy!" She patted me on the back as I breathed.

"World Etude…" I said.

"What?" The woman asked. Of course, World Etude as a term would be a confusing term to a – and I hate myself for saying this – normie. However, for me and people who are net savvy, World Etude was a brief music video starring a woman who looked exactly like the Military Uniform Princess. It gave rise to a memetic character by the name of Altair, one who was constantly featured in short, animated videos, almost akin to skits. I merely got up and looked to the window where the two girls, now joined by what was obviously a gray-haired mage wearing a green cape and dark blue robes, were fighting. The window looked to be open. I stepped forward and looked at the fray.

"C-careful!" She warned me. I merely looked to the belt in my hands. I never once let go of the Volcano Belt. Maybe I took Hotaro's last words to heart. I felt the cold breeze touch my sweating face. I stepped forward, looked into the battle and shouted:

"ALTAIR!" With that, the Military Uniform Princess stopped in her tracks as the redhead managed to strike her with her sword. She winced and glared at me with her signature red and blue eyes, further confirmation that this was indeed her.

"Why did you say that name!?" She growled.

"Because that's your name." I smirked.

"How… How do you know that name!?" She just glared at me. I never really saw Altair as an angry person, though that's mostly because all the videos I've seen of her were her doing cutesy dancing moves. I placed the belt onto my waist. For a moment, I felt calm. And I know exactly why:

This was obviously a dream. I must have napped by accident and that I'm currently living out a power fantasy. I cleared my throat and spoke out:

"Justice will always find a way, Altair! The knowledge of your name is well known to the underground. In my time of recovering from our fight, I have learned it." I had assumed that Hotaro died fighting her and that she was chasing him, mistaking him for me in the process. I decided to play along with the story I was given. "Your evil stops here and now! I swear by Yuna's grave!" I felt some strange burning sensation in my heart. Chest pains most likely.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT NAME!" She yelled as she flew towards me. I did a running start and leaped into the air. Suddenly, my body set itself on fire. I didn't panic. This was exactly how I wrote Hotaro's transformation. His body would burn, eventually changing into armor.

"RIDER PUNCH!" I shouted as I landed a red gloved fist right onto her face. I hovered in the air as the flames died down, showing off my Rider Form to the group.

"What the?" The redhead commented.

"Could it be…" The mage replied. I smirked and struck a classic pose in the style of Ichigo.

"KAMEN RIDER… DANTE!" I roughened my voice to sound like Hotaro.

"Jeez, you've gotta be kidding me." And it seemed the redhead is the peanut gallery. Altair took some time to recover from the punch before she grunted and flung her swords at me. I dodged each one before I took a sword myself. Instantly, the sword ignited and burnt up, turning into a crisped version of the sword. I recalled this being a feature I wrote in for Kamen Rider Dante, sort of as a nod to how Ichigo was the first rider to use a weapon, that of his enemy's.

I flew towards her and slashed with the sword. As she used her sword to stop it, I could feel the heat seep from my sword onto hers, causing the steel on hers to melt and making the blade bend backwards. While I could continue to see her glare at me, I saw from the way her lips creased that there was also a mixture of confusion as well, as if she was asking me how this was possible. I smirked and began to be a smug, cocky hero.

"Do you see this, Altair? This is the flame of great justice! Passed down from Professor Minos to deliver judgement onto those who would threaten the earth! Even if I die, this flame will be passed down to others, and thus it shall be eternal!" As I spoke, I began to feel even hotter. I saw air vents on my gloves as they began to blow and shoot out fire.

"W-what is this?!" Altair shielded her eyes. I merely glared at her.

"This is the divine inferno of hell! Like how Prometheus stole fire to give onto man, so did Professor Minos as he stole it from Re:Shocker to give onto me! This is my Endeavor against those who would commit injustice!" I let the flames erupt from the vents as I shot upwards into the air. "SHOOOOOOOOOTO!" I somersaulted and went into a diving kick.

"RIIIIIIIIIDER KIIIIIIIIIICK!" I shouted. Altair defended herself with a pile of swords, all revolving in a circle, but my foot impacted right into the shield, causing a huge explosion that did not affect Altair. I back flipped onto the air and just hovered as Altair began to pant. She tried to move, but she jerked back in pain.

"This ends now!" The redhead shouted as she flew to her. Altair, however, blocked her sword with her bare hand.

"No… This is just the beginning…" She glared before pushing the redhead away. She then stared daggers into my eyes. "We'll meet again, Hotaro Dairou, and when we do, you will die." With that, Altair turned into what appeared to be a blue hologram and faded away. With the fight over, I began to breathe. I felt dizzy… I felt this way after staying outside in the long hot summer days back at my aunt's house…

Heat stroke.

I felt my body give up as my vision began to black out.


"Hey! Little bro! Guess what?" My sister called me as I laid down in my bed.

"Yeah?" I droned a bit. While my sister's cheery voice would make me smile any other day, I felt too drained to smile.

"Guess what they're making! You know those light novels I liked? Vogelchevalier?" I tried to remember, but so many things clouded my mind. "They're making an anime of it! I wonder how they're gonna do the Vogelchevalier. My boyfriend's pretty hype for it as well. Hey, just got an idea! We should get together in Akihabara and watch the premiere! It'll be like the good ol' days!" She said.

"… Thanks, but I think I'll pass." I said.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh? Why?" She sounded so cute and concerned that I decided to muster up the energy to explain what happened…


My eyes opened up. Vogelchevalier. That's where I remembered that girl from… Was my dream some sort of guilty conscience telling me to get myself caught up on the anime? I guess so. Well, I decided to give my sister a call as I reached for my phone…

As I did, I touched literally nothing… Nothing but someone's lap.

"Huh?" I blinked as I saw the bespectacled woman from the dream.

"You're awake!" She smiled. My body froze. No… It's still a dream. I looked around…

No. It wasn't. I saw the redhead and the mage sitting by my bed… No… This wasn't even my bed. Green sheets… a drab brown wall… an unfamiliar ceiling… I was in the hospital…

Which meant that the dream was real.

"W-what's going on?" My heart raced as the woman grasped my hand and clenched it.

"Calm down. We'll explain everything." She told me.

"No! This is still a dream!" With my free hand, I pinched my stomach… only to find the Volcano Belt on my waist. "WHAAAAAT?!" I winced. The doors opened as I saw more people step in. A group of people with glasses on, two of which were men, one old and another young, and another, a woman, in a business suit. There was one more person, a kid around my age with blue hair wearing what appeared to be some sort of odd futuristic jumpsuit. Needless to say, this just made me panic even more.

"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE!?" I shouted. "AM I BEING PRANKED OR SOMETHING!? THIS ISN'T FUNNY, HONOKA!" I shouted out for my sister.

"This is probably the worst reaction I've ever seen." The lady in the suit just fixed her glasses. I could see the boy in a school uniform look at me with a bit of concern, like I was gonna attack him or something. The older man just stroked his stubble.

"Eeeeh, it was probably bound to happen." Were… Were they making fun of this? I just realized that yesterday's events were real and that not only have I became Kamen Rider Dante, but that people are now looking at me funny and some internet meme was out to kill me. I began to hyperventilate. My body went cold, as though my spirit had left my body. I wanted to go home.

That's when the chubby woman held me. I began to tremble before letting out some tears.

"Shhhh… It's okay… We'll explain everything soon…" She soothed me and stroked my back. I could feel her neck move a bit and I heard some people leave. When she let go of me, we were the only two in the room. "What's your name?" She asked me.

"…Fujioka … Fujioka Hoshi …" I said. She smiled and held my hand.

"I'm Marine. This might sound overwhelming, but..." She bit her lip. "How do I put this?" The door opened as I saw the mage walk in.

"If I may, I can explain everything to him." She said in a calming tone. Her whispered voice made me feel a little calmer. I nodded, as if giving her approval as she sat down next to me.

"Recently, there have been a chain of events that have caused people from various stories to come to this world. These people are called Creations. It seems that the Military Uniform Princess, who we can now confirm is named Altair, mistook you for one such Creation." She said.

"K-Kamen Rider Dante." I said.

"Which is weird. I was unable to find any information about this Kamen Rider Dante. If anything, the Rider we would be seeing would be Ex-Aid or one of his allies or enemies." She said. I simply shook my head.

"That's because Kamen Rider Dante… It's… It's a fanfic. A story on the internet that I wrote." As I said that, I could see the two girls move back their heads, even if the mage's was more subtle about it.

"So… You're his Creator?" She asked.

"… I… guess? Look, I don't know what's going on… I just found Hotaro in the bushes and got his belt, then Altair found me and I ran…" I said.

"Altair… She's the reason why this Hotaro appeared. She must have tried to recruit him." She said.

"R-recruit?"

"She's done so with some other Creations. Their aim is to eventually cause the Great Destruction." I merely gripped the sheets as I saw Marine look at the mage with a bit of concern. The mage cleared her throat. "Sorry. I understand this is a lot to take in." As she did, I saw the door open and saw the businesswoman walk in. "This is Kikuchihara Aki. She's in charge of a response group dealing with this phenomenon."

"As you might realize, this is a very dangerous situation we're in. We've formed a task force to handle the locating and protecting of Creators and their Creations, and in your situation, Fujioka, you qualify as both." She said. I realized that the suit she had was not for any business, but rather for the government. I felt a little sick, but I kept focus.

"W-what will happen to me?" I asked.

"You'll have your normal life as usual… but as far as we are concerned, you're involved in this situation, as are the rest of us. Ergo, you will be given access to our phone numbers and we'll keep you informed of the situation." She said.

"Information goes both ways though. If there's something happening that has to do with this situation, I expect you to inform us." The mage said. I wasn't exactly sure who was in charge now. On one hand, Kikuchihara looks the part, but on the other hand, it felt as though the mage is the one in chage, since she's giving me commands. I looked down to my Volcano Belt.

"… Will I have to fight?" I asked.

"If you wish." The mage responded. "I advise you restrain yourself, though. We're trying to minimize our impact on this world as possible. A flaming bug that can blow up into a burning man is obviously blatant." She closed her eyes. "However, there is one thing I wish to know." She then opened her eyes and glanced at me. "You know who Altair is. How?" She asked. I took a moment to think of that.

"She's from a series of videos on the internet. Um… How do I put this… You know what a meme is, right?" I asked.

"A commonly shared joke among a group of people, remixed over and over with different themes and meanings." She said.

"Erm… Yeah. Altair is sort of like that. She's from a music video and people just liked her designs enough to draw inspiration." I said.

"You mentioned something… World Etude? Is that the name of the video?" Marine asked me. I looked at her, hesitated, and nodded.

"Yeah. That's the name." I said. The mage smiled.

"Well, that's one mystery solved. Now we just have to find her Creator." I froze. My body shook as I recalled the conversation with my sister.


"What?" Honoka responded.

"Yeah… I… I don't know what to do…" I said.

"How long ago did it happen?" She asked me.

"I… I heard about it yesterday." I responded.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"… I haven't gotten up from this bed since I got the call." With that, I began to shudder and weep a bit.

"Hold on! Akagi and I will be on our way! Don't worry! We'll help you!" She said.

"Okay…" I smiled… While I was sad, I was glad to have Honoka help me out…


Yes, the memory I had to recall was painful, but if I didn't tell them this now, I'd feel more awful.

"… Don't bother trying to find her." I said. The mage stopped and looked at me. I could already tell in Marine's face that she's piecing together what I was going to say.

"What exactly do you mean, Fujioka?" The mage asked me. I sat up and looked at her. Ever since that day I found out, I had buried that pain deep inside myself, only bringing out to flesh Hotaro's goals out. In a way, my pain became his pain. It took me a while to realize that Hotaro suffered, just as I have, if not worse than me. I realized that I wasn't just doing this to help them. I was doing this to hopefully atone for unintentionally ruining Hotaro's life. This gave me even more of a drive to give them this piece of information.

"Altair's Creator…" That said, it was difficult to say. I could see in the mage's eyes that she's starting to understand. "She's…" I couldn't bring myself to say it. But I had to continue. I had to help. I had to atone. I had to get out of this pain. In the heat of the moment, I shouted out what had happened to Altair's creator:

"My friend killed herself!"


[Author's Note: If you're wondering about the voices, my headcanon voices are that Hotaro is voiced by Tetsu Inada and that Hoshi is voiced by Natsuki Hanae]