Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope
'One day, the Destroyer of Worlds will appear in your world. His name is Fujimaru Ritsuka, Kamen Rider Decade,'
"...Yes, because it's my fate. And for me to be free from it, I have to see this through to the end. No matter how much destruction I leave in my wake."
"Kyomu… The Sword of the Void…"
"Soon, we'll be fighting together again… Ritsuka."
'When he appears, destruction will follow. His arrival will signal that the end of the world is coming…'
Strong. He was just too strong. Stronger than before.
As the world around them continued deteriorating, the maniacal laugh of Kamen Rider Falchion echoed in their heads. Even with 5 of them working together, none of them could deal a finishing blow to at least slow him down.
"It's useless!" Falchion taunted them as they found themselves brought to their knees. "This World will meet its end soon. It's useless to continue struggling."
'Maybe…' The blue Rider quietly admitted in his head. 'But… we still can't give up!'
Despite how much pain he was already in, Blades pushed himself to his feet and inserted Nagare into his Driver. He was vaguely aware that behind him, the others were following suit.
Seeing this, Falchion scoffed before saying, "Very well, I'll gladly return all of you to the void!"
Kyomu's blade was coated in flames before its wielder let out a cry as he sent a burning arc at the five Riders.
King Lion Daisenki!
"Ha!"
Just before the flaming slash hit the group, Blades replaced the books in his Driver with a larger one and unsheathed his sword.
Nagare Battou!
King Lion~ Dai~! Sen~! Ki~!
A blast of water protected the group from getting hit directly by the attack. The attack instead exploded a few meters in front of them.
'Until Touma arrives, we'll have to do our best to slow him down,' Blades thought as he and the others tried to rush Falchion again. 'I know you're coming, Touma… We'll protect this world until you do!'
Chapter 25: In the Reverse Side of the World, the Swordsman of Flames Awaits
Touma hummed to himself as he frolicked through the vast green plains outside his house. While it was the same sight as always, he still found himself calming down among the bubbles.
'Never thought I'd ever say something like that five years ago,' he mused to himself before feeling an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. "Has it really been five years already…"
It was coming to 5 years at any rate. Five years since he drew Rekka for the first time; slightly over four and a half years since he met Ritsuka for the first time; more than four years since he defeated Storius and saved his World…
…And nearly three years since that fateful battle that left him sealed in Wonder World again.
"Fate really can be cruel…." He wryly laughed to himself as he glanced up at the giant sword in the landscape. As his eyes travelled down the glittering blade, he slapped himself to snap out of it. "No, don't think like that. He'll need your help to save the future; you can't be wallowing in the past again."
Still, the ache in his heart as he thought of his friends remained. Touma couldn't help but reminisce about the first time he met and fought Ritsuka and soon became lost in thoughts again…
Their battle continued raging in the barren landscape. Despite using his strongest form that he used to defeat Calibur, Saber still found it difficult to push his opponent back successfully.
While he was trying his best to think positively, he knew that it was a matter of time before the magenta Rider found an opening and completely turned the tides of the battle against him.
"Is this really all you can do?" Decade dismissively mocked(?) him. "You've defeated Calibur and Falchion at this point, right? You should be stronger than this."
"What…" Was he upset that Saber wasn't as strong as he thought he was? That made sense to an extent, but him being weaker should give the magenta Rider some relief.
"You're fighting to protect your World and that's as much strength as you can muster? How disappointing."
"You… What are you after?" Saber gasped a bit, slightly winded from the short bout they had moments prior.
"I told you already. I want Saber's powers," Decade repeated himself with a slightly annoyed tone in his voice. He was getting tired of saying it over and over again. "And don't bother asking me for what. I already told you my answer."
"Fine, then answer me this instead." While no one could see it, Saber was glaring at his opponent. "Why are you using your powers for this? Trying to steal my powers and end the World?"
"..." That question seemingly caught Decade off-guard as he became quiet again. However, he soon gave his answer. "Because I want to save everyone. That's all."
Now that response… It just plain confused Saber. Saving everyone by killing everyone in his World?
And it seemed his opponent was reading his mind. "Yes, I'm aware of the contradiction but I assure you, it'll make sense in time. But for now—"
"Ah!" Cling!
"—all that matters is what's happening at this moment!"
And he was right; Touma now understood why Ritsuka tried to go to the lengths he did. The author had seen with his own eyes why Ritsuka thought sacrificing his World was acceptable.
Of course, Touma still disagreed with him over, you know, killing off an entire world. But he won't judge Ritsuka for thinking that any price was too high. Not after that battle. And certainly not after Touma read the books in his collection.
'Speaking of books….' He thought as he tried to recall what happened next in the book. 'Right now, he should be….'
Mugen Ittotsu!
"Disappear!"
Two flaming slashes travelled through the air at the two Riders, who barely managed to raise their weapons to block the finisher. However, the resulting explosion was too strong, and Decade and Blade were thrown back by it.
"Damn it… Who is this guy?" Blade grunted as he pushed himself up, using his sword as support.
This new Kamen Rider, the one behind the giant vortex that was slowly sucking up the city, was a beast. He was both fast and powerful, with none of their attacks being very effective against him.
What was not helping was the hoards of footmen with silver-plated heads and torn brown cloaks that appeared shortly after the battle started. They weren't tough, but there were way too many of them and they kept getting in the way of the fight. The foot soldiers worked in tandem, distracting the two Riders while Falchion swoops in and deals a mighty blow. While his attacks usually destroyed swathes of the grunts, it wasn't long before another group replaced them.
It's barely been ten minutes but Blade already found himself at his limits.
"It's useless to keep struggling." The eerily calm yet undeniably crazed voice of the Dark Rider reached their ears. "Decade! You should understand why stopping me won't matter."
"Me…" The Rider in question winced in pain as he made a wide arc with his sword to dispatch a few of the footmen. They died a fiery death but the magenta Rider had already moved on, turning towards Falchion. "You're from Saber's world, aren't you? Why did Swartz bring you here?"
The Time Jacker said it was a trial to save the world; however, why would he even try testing them in the first place?
"I do not know," Falchion surprisingly answered him honestly. "All I care about is that I have the chance to return another World to the void."
Kaboom!
"Another World?" Blade focused on his words after dealing with a group of grunts, glancing up at the looming threat above them. "You've used that thing to destroy another World already?"
"Yes…. and no," Falchion answered. "In what you'd call Proper History, I finally died and that person saved the world. However, I'm not from what you consider Proper History."
"So that's it…." A phrase appeared in Decade's head as he heard the cryptic explanation. A lost memory. "You're from an Another World."
Despite the dire situation they were in, Blade couldn't help but mutter that he said that first.
"That was what that man called it," Falchion nodded as he inserted Kyomu into his Driver. "I was successful in bringing about the end of my history. And now—"
Hisatsu Mokudoku! Battou!
"—perish!"
While Decade and Blade were busy fighting Falchion by themselves, at the edge of the park fighting the other end the hoard of summoned foot soldiers were the remaining forward team plus Chalice… and Ciel. Since it was obviously a world-ending threat, she couldn't sit by and twiddle her thumbs like the other two.
…Okay, that was unfair; those two don't have any special abilities or can transform. And they were also doing an important job while they were fighting too; helping evacuate the area around the park.
Regardless, she could focus on the battle with little worry about someone getting caught in the crossfire.
Ciel quietly counted her thrown Black Keys that ripped holes in the footmen's bodies with little effort. While the following clean-up will be tiresome, that's a problem for future Ciel; present Ciel has her own priorities, reaching Ritsuka and presumably Kazuma who was in the centre of the hoard, directly beneath the vortex.
Seeing her taking down one bug after another with ease while one of his (semi) usual allies was struggling a bit, Chalice couldn't help but comment on it. "Koyama, keep up! We need to reach Tsururgi!"
"I know, I know!" Leangle shouted back as he swiped a card through his staff.
STAB!
The clover-shaped end of his staff glowed with power before Leangle stabbed several of the grunts, making them explode. However, more simply took their fallen allies' place.
"There's too many of them!" The green Rider cried as he found himself surrounded again. That only lasted a few seconds as Garren came to the rescue, shooting several and letting Leangle escape through the small gap and going to his senior's side.
"Stay calm, Koyama," Garren chided him as he continued shooting those that got close to them. "Panicking now could mean death."
While he did mean what he said, Garren understood why his junior was panicking. Seeing the endless waves of foot soldiers standing in their way was daunting, to say the least.
Moreover, they had to conserve as many of their cards as possible for the true boss of this battle. The very same boss that Kazuma was no doubt facing at the moment.
They have to break through the army standing before them and— "Coming through!"
The sound of wheels screeching was all the warning they had before a motorcycle came barreling through a small group of grunts. Riding it was a black-and-red Kamen Rider who quickly hopped off and began shooting more grunts with energy bolts from her crossbow
"The Larc System?" Garren recognised the armour instantly. "So the President decided to roll them out…."
He wasn't going to disagree with his boss though; they definitely needed all the help they could get. But where was—
"Don't rush ahead, Natsumi!" Another Kamen Rider that looked similar to Larc interrupted Garren's thought process. The difference between the two Riders was that Lance was green instead of red, and he was wielding a spear and not a crossbow.
"You two!" Garren called out as he shot at some nearby mooks. "Where's Shirahara?"
"We don't know!" Lance shouted back as he stabbed more grunts. "He's been missing since earlier!"
'Shirahara disappeared?' While it was odd that the backup squad's leader went missing before everything started to go down, Garren couldn't overthink that since there were more pressing matters.
While Garren (and Leangle) were preoccupied with the arrival of the backup team, the remaining two fighters were quickly getting through the army of monsters.
Chalice couldn't help but feel slightly impressed at how Ciel was quickly dispatching one mook after another. It said something when a (seemingly) average human could keep up with him, an Undead.
Her weapons were also something that intrigued Chalice. They looked simple but were obviously not since they could easily break through the footsoldiers' armour. Her garbs, he realised, were those usually worn by nuns.
However, it was not the time to ask about it and Chalice refocused on the battle— he heard the distant sound of another explosion as he shot more of the grunts.
FORMRIDE FAIZ: AXEL
Start Up!
Decade took off into a dash and became a blur. Lines of the mooks were thrown into the air before they exploded; Falchion, on the other hand, simply and effortlessly brought up his sword to stop the incoming attack and the speeding Rider in his tracks.
"It's useless!" The orange Rider shouted again before causing a cyclone of fire with a swing of Kyomu, forcing Decade and Blade to retreat slightly to avoid being caught by it.
"If you have any sort of super card up your sleeve, now's a pretty great time to use it!" Blade yelled over the raging winds at his ally.
'Wish I do but…'
Falchion was truly a force to be reckoned with. Getting an attack through was nigh impossible, let alone one with enough power to defeat him. 'Maybe a ranged attack would work better.'
Quickly opening the RideBooker and taking out two cards, he inserted them into his Driver one after another.
KAMENRIDE: KUUGA
FORMRIDE KUUGA: PEGASUS
Changing into Kuuga's green form and equipping himself with the Pegasus Bowgun, Decade ordered Blade. "I'll distract him. You go around!"
"Got it!" The swordsman nodded before taking off in a sprint, hacking away at any that got in his way as he went to the other side.
With him going off to play his part, Decade quickly started shooting everything around him to eliminate any distractions. Tuning out every other interference— auditory or visual —he aimed his weapon at the flaming tornado and waited.
'Breath in… Breath out…' He had to wait for the perfect shot, an opening in the flames. His ears picked up on the crazy laughter within the tornado belonging to Falchion. 'That laugh, I know that laugh.'
He heard it before but from where?
'No, don't get distracted.'
Forgetting about the laugh, he focused on the sounds of quick slashes on the other side of the tornado. Decade heard Blade pulling the tab on the Blay Rouzer out and taking the cards out from their slots.
'Not yet… Not yet…'
Any second now… Until then, he was at the mercy of a surprise attack from the Shimi…
'Shimi?' Right, it was coming to him now. Like Falchion, the Shimi were from the World of Saber and were the underlings of the Megido. However, he threw that thought away too. For now, anyway.
'An opening…' One which he could shoot Falchion through. It was coming; he knew it. The flames extinguished just as new ones were lit on the winds. All he needed was one such instance happening in his line of sight.
'Just a bit more….'
The flames flickered.
'Just a bit more….'
The dirt behind him kicked up.
'Just a bit more….'
Something behind him leapt and cried as it tried to stab him; he heard something cutting through the air.
And he saw the opening he was looking for.
'Now!'
He pulled the trigger and let his arrow fly true. However, he couldn't see if it hit as he had to turn around to repel the lone Shimi's attack quickly.
Luckily, he didn't need to as the Shimi was taken out in mid-air by a single Black Key. A second later, Ciel dropped down next to him.
They didn't say anything to each other as there was still a lot that needed to do, one of which was the Dark Rider behind all this.
As for that—
LIGHTNING SONIC!
SPINNING DANCE!
—Blade and Chalice were dealing with that issue.
Decade turned back around in time to see those two Riders kicking Falchion, who was trying to block their finishers with his sword. That lasted all of three seconds before, with synchronised cries, Blade and Chalice broke through.
Falchion could only let out a short yell before he blew up from the combined finisher. All that was left behind was his sword, which now lay on the scorched ground.
"That… was surprisingly easy…." Blade slowly huffed. He was honestly surprised that that was all it took to take the Dark Rider down. At any rate, he turned to Chalice and thanked him for the last-second help.
The heart-themed Rider just gave a short huff before walking away towards Decade, who was back in his original form.
"Hey, wait for me!"
"Decade!" Chalice shouted, "How do we close that thing?!"
The archer Rider was referring to the still-open vortex above them. It was still sucking things up, mainly debris and the upper levels of tall buildings but it was clear that it was still growing.
However, despite the looming threat still present, Decade felt like it was still far, far from over. His eyes fell on the lying Kyomu surrounded by flames.
"Fujimaru, what's wrong?" Ciel's collected yet worried voice was barely a whisper in his ears.
What was drowning everything else was a distant memory appearing in his head again; that maniacal laugh, the many black holes slowly returning the world to nothing, a warrior with three virtues.
An orange feather slowly falling on Kyomu's emblem.
In real life, he saw that same feather falling on the black-and-orange sword.
"It's useless… Everything will end in ruin, no matter what." His own voice echoed in his head as the feather touched the seal.
The sword burst into flames, turning into the shape of the recently fallen Rider.
Mumeiken Kyomu!
The flames dissipated and standing there was Kamen Rider Falchion, completely unharmed with Kyomu in his hand.
"I told you," he arrogantly laughed at them, "It's useless to stop me, no matter how hard you try."
"I am the immortal Swordsman of Nothingness, Bacht. No matter how hard you try to kill me, I'll always return!" Falchion's voice cried in Decade's head.
"How…" Underneath his mask, Kazuma's eyes widened at the sudden revival of their foe.
"Since you managed to kill me, I'll tell you my name." Falchion pointed the tip of his sword at them. "I am the immortal Swordsman of Nothingness, Bacht. No matter how hard you try to kill me, I'll always return."
'That is…' "Don't get nostalgic now!" His own voice shouted, jarring him out from his daze. 'Right…'
"Bacht," Decade slowly said, "Why are you trying to end this World?"
"Huh?" Falchion sounded incredulous, taken aback by his question. "Out of everyone, you should understand why I'm doing this, Decade. After all, you share the same beliefs as I do."
'The same beliefs….'
"Then answer me then!" Blade shouted. "This is my world you're trying to destroy! If there's anybody who deserves to know, it's me!"
"…Very well." With a sharp move, Falchion implanted his sword in the ground before he started speaking. "Do you know? No matter what, the fate of everything is to disappear. No matter how prosperous and beautiful something is, it'll disappear. No matter how terrible and ugly something is, it'll disappear."
"Disappear… In the end, everything disappears… and there would be no one left to remember."
"Even something mundane will disappear. In time, people will eventually forget those that disappear. The future becomes the past and all those that exist will wither away, forgotten by everything and everyone. In the end, everything will disappear."
As Falchion continued his impassioned speech, something struck Ritsuka in the heart. A sense of understanding hit him, and whatever little anger he had towards the Dark Rider disappeared.
"If the fate of everything is to disappear and be forgotten, if the World itself will be erased, what is the point of existing?" Falchion questioned them. "The answer is nothing. Even all your stories reach that one ending— the one where everything will fall into ruin and disappear!"
With that final declaration, he pulled his sword out of the ground and scanned the Eternal Phoenix Wonder RideBook at the base of its blade.
Towa no Fushichō!
Mugen Ittotsu!
"Move!" Decade warned Ciel before the four of them moved out of the finisher's path, the flaming slash blowing up the ground where they stood instead.
"That's why I'll do everyone a favour and hasten the end. So that nobody has to struggle anymore!" Falchion declared before flying— yes, flying —after them.
Touma sighed as he sat on his porch. He still needed to wait a bit before Ritsuka would retreat and try to figure out a way to stop Bacht some other way.
In other words, he might've jumped the gun and began preparing a bit too early. Still, it allowed him to stretch his legs a bit instead of waiting around and reading another book.
While he still held his love for books, the ones Touma had in his collection… he couldn't bring himself to re-read them. Their endings were just too…
"I have to stop thinking so negatively," Touma sighed as he stood up. Maybe he could swing his sword around to pass the time. That'll help clear his mind.
That was what he hoped for anyway; a few minutes later, Touma was thinking about the past again as he trained.
Habanero! Reading! Dragonic Knight! Dragonic Hot Spicy!
Scanning the silver Wonder RideBook in his dragon head-shaped gauntlet, Saber shot a giant fireball at his opponent.
However, it proved futile as Decade simply cut through it; the twin explosions harmlessly exploded behind him… somehow.
'How is he so strong? No, not just strong. Determined.'
In any other situation, Saber would've admired that sort of determination, especially since it came from a promise he made. However, since that determination was towards killing him and destroying his World, he justifiably did not.
ATTACKRIDE: ILLUSION
"What?!" Saber couldn't help but shout in surprise as Decade split into three identical copies; one with his weapon in its sword mode, another with it in its gun mode, and the last unarmed.
The one with the gun immediately opened up with a barrage of bullets as the other two closed the distance between them.
Saber quickly raised his sword and tried to use it to block the bullets and was mostly successful. He had no time to collect himself though as the other two clones attacked in sync.
Despite being outnumbered 3-to-1, Saber still stood firm and fought back to the best of his abilities; the silver Rider parried and weaved through the sword slashes while avoiding the bullets and kicks.
However, in spite of his best efforts, the Swordsman of Flames simply couldn't compete with the three Decades. It wasn't long before he was overwhelmed by them and sent rolling again.
Saber used Rekka to help himself get to his feet as Decade's two copies disappeared.
"I'm not done yet…." Saber grunted as he raised his sword again, still unwilling to give up.
Decade simply sighed at the display of defiance and inserted another card into his Driver.
ATTACKRIDE: SLASH
Multiple illusionary copies of the RideBooker appeared around the sword as Decade swung his weapon. Saber tried to block the attack but the other Rider deflected his blade away, leaving him open to a strong downward slash.
A second flurry knocked Saber and sent him stumbling back with a pained cry.
"Now then…" Decade muttered as he took out one more card. "The finisher…"
FINAL ATTACKRIDE: DE-DE-DECADE
The magenta Rider turned his sword into its gun mode and aimed it at Saber— multiple holographic cards appearing between them. Before Saber could react, Decade pulled the trigger and sent a large blast hurtling towards him.
Kaboom!
The attack sent Saber flying and landed a good distance away. It hurt even to move his fingers, let alone the rest of his body. That left him unable to do anything as Decade slowly walked over to him— "Gah!" —and stepped on his chest.
"You know…" Saber heard Decade mutter as he tried to push his foot off. "I was hoping you were much stronger than that, that you'd be able to stop me."
Decade raised his sword, preparing to plunge it into Saber's chest— "Sorry, Touma. If we had another path ahead of us, I would have chosen that future instead." —and brought it down.
In the few seconds before the sword impaled him, despair filled Saber as he realised he had broken his promise. 'I'm sorry, everyone… Kento, I couldn't find her in your place….'
He didn't want to give up, but how could he stay hopeful at that moment? When the blade was about to pierce his armour and flesh?
He readied himself for the sharp pain, closing his eyes and mostly accepting that he had lost.
"Stop."
However, it never came. Instead, he heard a voice ring in his head.
Saber slowly opened his eyes to see the sword, while shaking, was only inches away from his chest.
"How…" Decade stuttered, his hands shaking.
"Stop," Saber heard the voice again, "Do you think you could live with yourself if you killed him?"
"Shut up." Decade slowly stepped back, both of their armour disappearing at the same time. "You don't know anything. You couldn't possibly have been watching me!"
"To be honest, I have no idea what's going on—" To Touma's surprise, a man in a long white hooded cloak appeared between himself and Ritsuka. "But what I do know is that you were about to do something you'd regret for the rest of your life."
"You are…" Touma felt entranced by the man's appearance; something familiar about his aura. It felt like that time he was in Ava—
"Oh, that's right." The man turned around and pulled down his hood, revealing his grinning— and admittedly pretty —face. "Here, that'll make you feel better."
The man raised his staff and Touma felt the pain disappear. After slowly getting to his feet, the author hesitantly patted his clothes in case he accidentally made the pain return.
With that issue taken care of, the man turned towards Ritsuka, who averted his gaze and looked away. "Now then, can you explain to me why there are two of you in this World?"
"Merlin… go away," Ritsuka said quietly. "This doesn't concern you."
"Ah, but it does. That fact that you know who I am means you've been through the same journey as the you I'm currently watching," replied Merlin. "So what is your answer? Is this time-travel or universe-hopping? Personally, I hope it's the former. It'd be more interesting if that is the case."
"Hang on… Merlin?" It took Touma several moments for the name to click in his head. "As in, King Arthur's Merlin?"
"One and the same," the Magus of Flowers smiled at Touma. "And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance too."
Meeting Merlin was a stroke of fate that Touma would never have dreamt of in a million years… Alright, he had thought of meeting Merlin or King Arthur when he ventured into Avalon.
However, according to Yuri, he shouldn't expect too much since Merlin was, in the former guardian's words, "a massive pain in the foot."
When Touma asked him if he didn't mean Merlin was a pain in the ass, Yuri said the magus was both and refused to elaborate.
Regardless, thanks to Merlin's intervention, Touma was still alive. For that, he was grateful to him, even now when the author was stuck in Wonder World.
Another thing Touma was grateful for, especially in hindsight, was the effect Merlin had on Ritsuka. It was clear that Ritsuka came extremely close to going down another dark path that they all barely managed to pull him off of.
And by "they", Touma was referring to himself, Merlin, and the other Riders.
SPINNING DANCE!
Having used his Shuffle Centipede card beforehand, Chalice reused his finisher and managed to land it mostly thanks to the others distracting Falchion.
Falchion died a fiery death for the second time, and the Sword of Nothingness now laid on the burning earth.
Mumeiken Kyomu!
However, just as quickly as he died, it was just as soon that he returned; a feather fell on Kyomu and Falchion revived without a scratch on his armour.
"I told you, it's useless," Falchion laughed at their futile attempts to stop him. "All you can do now is watch as this World returns to the void."
"Shut up already."
ATTACKRIDE: BLAST
A hailstorm of bullets promptly silenced Falchion and the attack was quickly followed up by Blade and Chalice engaging him in melee.
'Alright, how do we deal with instant resurrection?' Decade pondered as it was clear that this was now a battle of attrition, one that Falchion had a huge and unfair advantage going for him. It was only a matter of time before they ran out of steam while the Dark Rider remained in tip-top shape.
"Ciel, you wouldn't happen to have something that could kill an immortal, would you?" It was a long shot and he didn't expect an answer but—
"Actually, as a matter of fact, I do."
'…Huh, that's convenient.' Instead of the snarky remark he was expecting, he instead got a confident affirmation from Ciel. Not that he was complaining, mind you.
"Just give me a moment to get it ready," she told him with a determined nod.
With a plan set, Decade turned to face Falchion once again, who had thrown Blade and Chalice away. Normally, the best counter for a swordsman with fire abilities should be a ranged form with water abilities.
And isn't it just his luck that he lost Kiva's abilities during his last adventure? He really should've stuck around a bit longer to get Hakuno's powers again—
"Oh right. Here!" …She can't read his mind, can she?
Ciel had thrown the KamenRide: Kiva card at him, which he easily caught. Had they not been in a dire situation, he would've asked her where she got it. For now though, he'd just let it slide.
KAMENRIDE: KIVA
The familiar hypnotic tune played as his armour morphed into Kiva's. However, he still wasn't done and quickly inserted another card in the Decadriver.
FORMRIDE KIVA: BASSHAA
Chains wrapped around Decade's right arm and chest before they shattered; at the same time, his yellow bat-shaped visor turned green. Finally, the Basshaa Magnum materialised in his right hand.
Decade took off in a sprint and aimed the gun at Falchion before pulling the trigger. A short burst of three water bullets sailed through the air at the Dark Rider, who swiftly reacted by sending a burning slash at him. Their attacks collided in midair and turned to steam.
That didn't deter Decade though and he continued shooting him. It wasn't long before Blade and Chalice got back to their feet; the latter helped shoot from a distance while the former once again fought at close range.
"Annoying pests!"
Hissatsu Mudoduko! Battou!
Falchion used his finisher again and sent another burning slash at Decade in particular. Thinking quickly, he used his (or rather, Kiva's) finisher in return.
FINAL ATTACKRIDE: KI-KI-KIVA
The ground around his feet turned to water before Decade shot a large blast of water at Falchion's attack. Like before, their attacks collided but this time exploded.
Before either of them could make a follow-up attack, Decade felt something land on him and quickly jumped off. A moment later, he realised that it was Ciel and that she had changed into the attire she wore when they fought Noel.
…She also was now wielding the giant pile bunker too. That probably deserves mention.
It didn't stay as a pile bunker for long; as she threw more Black Keys as a distraction, her primary weapon morphed into its absurdly large and segmented sword mode.
With a hefty swing, the sword separated and managed to wrap around Falchion's leg. The Dark Rider barely had time before he was yanked off his feet towards her. Ciel followed up with a downward chop that sent Falchion crashing into the dirt.
She didn't let up on her assault and already threw her sword— and Falchion —up into the air.
"Mmm…" Decade reverted back into his true form and wondered if he needed to help. Honestly, from the look of things— Ciel followed up her previous attack by changing her weapon into its rifle mode and was spraying and praying —she could do things by herself.
REFRESH
"Fujimaru-san!" "Decade!"
He turned to his left to see Blade and Chalice approaching him, the former Rider looking healed up. Somehow remembering that the Refresh Camel card was part of the Heart deck, Decade assumed that Chalice had let Blade use that card.
"She's with you, right?" Blade asked him while glancing at her fighting. It was obvious that he was impressed with how she was easily handling Falchion. "Why didn't she use that from the start?"
"No clue."
They heard Ciel shout something as she followed up with a combo, not letting Falchion get a single hit in.
"…Hey, is she—"
"Don't finish that question." "Shut up, Tsururgi." Decade and Chalice said at the same time, already knowing what he was going to ask.
"It's a genuine question! Ow!" His attempt to defend himself earned him a synchronised slap to the back of the helmet.
While the three were off watching to the side, Ciel was basically man-handling Falchion. All the Dark Rider could do was try his best to defend himself against her onslaught.
However, it wasn't long before Ciel decided to finish him off once and for all.
"We may be enemies now but I pray that you'll find peace in the afterlife." With that final wish, Ciel prepared to deal the final blow. Returning her weapon into its pile bunker form, she dashed towards him and impaled Falchion on its end. "Disperse!"
A large stake shot out from the barrel, piercing through the Dark Rider's armour before the full force sent him catapulting through the air. Falchion crashed to the ground with a thud with Kyomu landing in front of his unmoving body.
A few moments later, Falchion's body dissolved into orange particles before Kyomu followed suit, disappearing into the wind like they were never there.
"That should be the end of him," Ciel emotionlessly stated before letting out a small sigh of relief and walking back toward the others.
He wasn't going to lie; that was very impressive. If they weren't still in the middle of a battle, he would've taken the time to compliment her a bit.
Blade, however, had no such reservations. "That was cool!" He excitedly shouted. "What's that thing anyway? How did you manage to do that?"
"All I did was make his soul disperse. That should prevent him from reincarnating again," Ciel answered before making her weapon disappear in a small flash of light.
Well, Kyomu did disappear along with Falchion. That most likely meant that the Dark Rider couldn't come back to life. It could also mean that Kyomu left to find a new wielder but Decade hoped not.
"Idiot, aren't you forgetting something?" His voice insulted him for thinking it was over. "What she did was cool and all but that's not enough to stop him."
'What are you talking about?'
"That Falchion was from an Another World. I'm sure that your forgetful little head can remember why not even we can stop those types of Riders."
Before he could ask what his inner voice meant by any of that, the sound of slow and loud clapping echoed through the air, louder than the winds.
Then time stood still. Everything stopped in their tracks with the four being unable to move their bodies.
'This again?!' That meant one thing.
Sure enough, the familiar man in purple and black reappeared before them. "I suppose some congratulations are in order," Swartz told them, looking at Ciel with amusement and some respect. "For you to have a weapon that could kill immortals was not something I expected. However, that matters little for me."
Swartz raised his hand and summoned an Aurora Curtain next to himself. A silhouette appeared within the silver wall before out stepped Bacht, dragging Kyomu with him.
"So that's how it felt like; dying for real." Bacht had a grin on his face at seeing their frozen figures. "Unfortunately for you, not even death could stop me from fulfilling my mission."
"Decade! Don't think you could take another path to victory," Swartz shouted at him. "If you want to save this World, you'd have to do it the correct way."
Eternal Phoenix!
"I shall leave it to you then," the Time Jacker gave Bacht a curt nod before he disappeared; time resumed as the Dark Rider transformed again.
…Battou!
"Aheheheh…. Henshin!"
Eternal Phoenix! Kyomu! Shikkoku no tsurugi ga mu ni kisu.
Transforming into Kamen Rider Falchion once again, the Dark Rider let out a short laugh before he dashed at the four. He made several quick thrusts and slashes that they only barely blocked.
Towa no Fushichō!
Hisatsu Mukoduko!
"Now! Return to the void!"
"Merlin, stop being so annoying." Ritsuka tried to glare at the mage to force him to leave. "This has nothing to do with you or anyone at—" He stopped himself from finishing his own sentence, instead ending with a short cough. "Just leave already."
"And let you murder this dashing young man? I don't think so," Merlin countered with a grin. He turned to Touma and asked, "May I ask for your name?"
"Touma. Umm… it's Kozaki Touma," the author answered the magician, slightly embarrassed that he was meeting the legendary wizard from the legend of King Arthur.
"Charmed." With introductions done and over with, Merlin went straight to the issue at hand. "Master, or former Master as it were—" Ritsuka followed Merlin's gaze towards his right hand. He quickly tried to cover up the back of his hand but it was already too late. "I see that losing us was what drove you to do this."
"..." His lack of response told Merlin all he needed to know about the situation.
"Um… Excuse me," Touma politely interrupted them, slightly raising his hand. He stayed behind Merlin since it was apparent Ritsuka wouldn't attack him with the mage in the way. "Since I was the one he was trying to kill, can I get an explanation as to why first?"
"..."
"Just a reminder, if you don't answer him, I know a couple of spells that would make you answer." It was hard to tell whether Merlin was bluffing or not.
"...Saber's powers, once it reaches the end of its evolution, are capable of great miracles," Ritsuka slowly answered. "Without a doubt, Saber can become one of the strongest Riders that exists."
"My powers?" Touma dumbfoundedly pointed at himself while Merlin cast him a glance.
"Hmm… You're absolutely right, Master."
"Eh?!"
"I have absolutely no idea what's going on," Merlin added with a cheeky smile at Touma's reaction. "From what I can tell, he's neither a Saber nor a Rider… nor is he a Servant for that matter."
"That's why I told you to go away."
"No thank you, I'd rather watch this up close."
"You're just as irritating as I remember, Merlin." Despite his exasperated tone, Touma noticed the small sad smile on the face of his would-be murderer.
"So that's why you're after my powers? Because of how powerful it could become?" The author asked.
"That's one part of it, but I need your powers because… because…". Ritsuka trailed off, a distant look appearing in his eyes. It only lasted a couple of seconds before he continued, "If I don't get Saber's powers, then nothing else matters. All our stories will just be pointless with no end in sight."
"Our…stories?" Now that piqued both of their interests.
"They'll just be never-ending and repeating stories if we let things stay as they are," Ritsuka continued. "They'll just keep going and going until the end, then they'll begin again and the cycle repeats… and be left forgotten."
"What—"
"Touma!" The former Master of Chaldea suddenly shouted, causing the author to flinch behind Merlin. "Don't you agree? The reason stories— and life itself —are beautiful is because you know that one day they'll end? That's how someone could appreciate what they have now, realising that one day they'll disappear."
"You…"
"Do you think people will appreciate something that will always exist? Something that would never end? A never-ending story… and living forever… isn't that just a terrible existence?" Ritsuka asked with a sad smile. "To be able to smile and cry at the end of a journey… is better than not experiencing an ending at all."
To be able to smile and cry… Touma finally understood what that meant. If there was anything he wished for now, it was to be able to smile and cry with his friends. Ritsuka's inability to do that anymore was what pushed him to try and murder him, Touma believed.
He glanced back towards his house and recalled a specific collection gathering dust on one of his bookshelves.
'His stories… truly were amazing.' Well… most of them anyway. There were a couple of weird parts but there were still plenty of enjoyable moments. 'But… he never got to see the end of it…'.
Even now, Ritsuka was still fighting to reach that ending, whether he knew it or not. And all Touma could do was sit around and wait to do his part in Ritsuka's journey.
And his role… Touma was okay with what he had to do. He has long since accepted it for it was in the name of a better future for everyone. For the sake of a better ending— nay, an ending, he'll do what needs to be done.
Decade grunted as he deflected Falchion's blow. However, the magenta Rider's attempt to retaliate was foiled by the Dark Rider flying backwards and putting distance between them.
They had managed to kill Falchion two more times but that was, of course, for nought as he simply revived himself immediately.
'There has to be something we could do…' They were on a time limit too. Even now, he could feel the winds getting stronger and faster. It wouldn't be long before they couldn't fight in the park anymore.
"In situations like this, the best action would be a tactical retreat, right?"
'Quiet. The last thing I need now is to listen to you.'
He couldn't deny that it was a smart plan though. As it was, they stood no chance of stopping Falchion, not when he had two ways of reviving himself.
"Just say the word and I'll whisk us off to somewhere safe."
…Dammit, he really didn't have any other choice, did he? Fine, he just needed to rendezvous with—
ATTACKRIDE: BLAST
Before he could even take a step, a shower of energy bullets came from above and peppered Falchion. While it did little to hurt him, it did keep the Dark Rider distracted while his foes moved to regroup.
Decade felt a sudden presence behind him before hearing a cheerful "Yo! Did you miss me?"
Turning around, he saw DiEnd drop down from… somewhere… as the other three reached him.
"Okay, another new guy," Blade huffed, slightly out of breath. "But you're an ally, right?"
"For now," DiEnd answered. "I'm pretty sure you guys can tell by now but there's no way you can beat that guy. Not at the moment anyway."
"Yes, we have to retreat and come up with a new plan," Chalice nodded.
"And that's why I'm here." DiEnd reached for his side and pulled out two more cards.
KAMENRIDE: DELTA
KAMENRIDE: AMAZON ALPHA
"Would you please step aside?" Despite his polite request, the cyan Kamen Rider didn't wait for them to move before raising his gun and pulling the trigger. Decade barely managed to duck and avoid getting shot in the face.
The multi-coloured orb sailed over him before splitting into silhouettes. They converged and solidified into two more Riders, one familiar while the other new.
In addition to the white and black Kamen Rider Delta from the World of Faiz, the new Rider was mostly red with green scar-like accents all over his body. His helmet was moulded similar to a lizard's head with large green eyes and a single short horn with a gem on the end. Around his waist was a black belt with a silver plate shaped like his mask while two red handles jutted out from it.
"Keep him busy as long as you can," DiEnd ordered his summons with a snap of his fingers. The two Riders quickly followed it, Delta beginning to shoot at Falchion while Amazon Alpha leaped towards him.
While it was doubtful that they'd be able to slow Falchion down for long, it was better than nothing at all.
"Come on then, let's get away." The thief then opened an Aurora Curtain and stepped through it. As the others quickly followed after him, Decade gave Falchion one last glance before going through the portal.
On the other side, as it turned out, was a small hilltop park at the edge of town. At the moment, everyone sans Takaragi were catching their breath while watching as the city slowly got engulfed by the black hole-like cloud.
"That guy was…" Kazuma slowly huffed, "Super tough, huh?"
"The Swordsman of Nothingness…" muttered Hajime.
"Y'know what, Ritsuka-kun? Out of all the trouble I thought you'd get into here, an immortal Rider with the ability to end the World… was actually one of my top picks. I was just surprised it was Falchion and not someone like him." Takaragi gave Hajime, who ignored his comment, a short look.
"Enough chit-chat, Takaragi. Now's not the time," Ciel admonished him; the thief just shrugged as she asked, "How exactly does Swartz revive him?"
If they could prevent Swartz from doing so, then Ciel by herself can stop Falchion for good.
"Well, why don't you ask our resident expert here?" The thief pointed at Ritsuka with his thumb. The amnesiac teen had been standing by the rails and watching the destruction with a blank stare.
He didn't realise that they were calling out to him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" Ciel's concerned question snapped him out of his indecipherable thoughts.
"Yes… just…" He glanced at the storm again before muttering, "I feel like I've seen that before…"
"Fujimaru, I know you might not remember but—"
"How do we kill him for good?" Hajime interrupted her. "You know how, right?"
"I… do." Ritsuka didn't know how but he did. "Bacht is an Another World Rider. So long as the Another World they're born from is still standing, Swartz can endlessly revive them with no cost."
"So what you're saying is… for our World to survive, we'd have to destroy another World?" Kazuma asked, putting the pieces together.
"Yes but Another Worlds are Worlds that went down a wrong path in history," Ritsuka said. "You heard what he said; Bacht had already destroyed his own World."
"Alright, in that case, how do we destroy this Another World?" asked Hajime.
"That's impossible." Only Ritsuka heard what he was saying. "The only person who can open the path to the Another World is their creator. Something tells me that Swartz won't be kind enough to do that for us."
"I don't know," Ritsuka answered Hajime, basically surmising what his inner voice said.
"Then what use are you?" Hajime quietly grumbled.
"The only clue we have is that Swartz wants us to stop Bacht 'the proper way'." Whatever that means…
"...Takaragi." As much as she also disliked the thief, Ciel knew that there were no other options. "Do you have any idea what we have to do?"
"Hmm…" Takaragi had a thoughtful expression for a few seconds, even stroking his chin. "If I have to venture a guess… I think Saber would have something to do with whatever proper way Swartz is planning."
"Saber?"
"Kamen Rider Saber, the second Reiwa Rider," elaborated Takaragi. "In proper history— if you could call it that —he was the one who stopped Falchion when he was unsealed. Saber even managed to stop Falchion from reviving too."
"So we need to find Saber then?" Kazuma assumed that was what they needed to do. "How do we do that?"
"Unfortunately, that's also impossible."
'What are you talking about?' Despite his disdain towards acknowledging his existence, Ritsuka couldn't help but ask that.
"The World of Saber— well, let's just say that I already did some scouting and found that Saber's World is a dead end in more ways than one."
However, before Ritsuka could bring it up, Takaragi was already talking again. "Finding Saber isn't going to be an easy task, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I already made a short pitstop to the World of Saber before coming here and learned something quite interesting." Ritsuka could've sworn that Takaragi was grinning at him. "Saber now lives in a different plane of existence from the normal World. If I recall correctly, it's part of the Reverse Side of the World."
"The Reverse Side? What's that?" Kazuma felt way out of his depth now. When he woke up that morning, the last thing he expected to deal with was an immortal Rider from another World.
Luckily for him, Ciel was there to explain it. "I've heard of it before. It's a bit of a long and confusing topic but I'll explain it as best as I can." Clearing her throat, she put on her (fake) glasses.
'Are putting those on really necessary?' Ritsuka quietly called out but didn't complain out loud. He actually didn't mind that much.
"The Reverse Side of the World, also known as the inner sea of the planet, is one of the planes covering our planet. Our plane, where the laws of reality govern, is right on top of the Reverse Side, which is the same state as the world during the past."
"Millenniums ago, Mystery ruled the Earth," Hajime added. "During the first Battle Fight, before humans started to truly populate the World, mythical species freely wandered the planet. In the era, though, they've moved to the Reverse Side away from humans because Mystery was dying out."
"I… still don't get it," Kazuma admitted.
"The TLDR is that Saber no longer is in our reality where everything is hunky dory and lives in the same world as dragons and chimaeras and all those dangerous stuff," Takaragi helpfully explained it to him, "So trying to find him will be just as if not more difficult than that."
Takaragi offhandedly pointed at the raging storm destroying the surface of Blade's World.
"Luckily though, the specific part he lives in is one of the safer parts of the Reverse Side, called Wonder World. It's just getting there that's the issue."
"Is there even a way to the Reverse Side of the World?" Ciel wondered. From what knowledge she inherited from Roa, it was far from an easy task. That wasn't to say that it was impossible, just highly improbable.
"..."
"What's wrong, Ritsuka-kun? Cat got your tongue?" Takaragi teased him.
"Shut up."
"Aw… don't be like that."
"...Saber's World is the lead we have. We might as well go there and try something," Ritsuka said with a downcasted look. They really had no other choice but to go there…
"Not surprised you said that," Takaragi nodded before saying, "However, I'm sure you know that going there might just make things worse here."
"Why?"
"Well, Kazu-kun—" Takaragi officially nicknamed him, "—the movement of time tends to differ between Worlds. You could spend a few hours in Saber's World and an entire year could have passed here. Of course, you could luck out and spend months there while only a few minutes pass here."
"In other words, the World could be long destroyed when we return from the World of Saber," Ritsuka simplified it.
"I'm more than willing to send you guys there but getting back would be up to you."
"You're not coming?" Kazuma asked.
"Nah, there's nothing in Saber's World that interests me anymore. Maybe there could be something in the Reverse Side but that's too dangerous for my taste," answered Takaragi. "However, I'll be staying here and helping out for a bit."
"Trying to play the hero now?"
"Hey, I might be a thief but that doesn't mean I'd let some guy destroy an entire world," Takaragi defended himself. "There's still some treasure lying around that I haven't found yet."
"Typical…" Ritsuka sighed. He really shouldn't expect much from him. "So it'll be the four of us then?"
"Three," Hajime spoke up. "As an Undead, I can keep fighting against that Rider longer than most. It's better that I stay here and buy you more time."
"In that case, I better stay behind too," Ciel said with a determined look. "As much as I dislike the idea of letting you run around without my supervision, slowing Bacht down is more important. Since the Seventh Holy Scripture could do that and I'm the only one who could use it, I'll remain here."
"Then it'll just be me and Kazuma," Ritsuka muttered, agreeing with their line of thinking. "Are you okay with that?"
"Yes," nodded Kazuma. "While I'd prefer having more help with us, I appreciate you two staying here too."
"Alright then." With their plan set, Takaragi raised his hand and opened another Aurora Curtain. "Here you go; a one-way trip to the World of Saber."
Ritsuka glanced at the portal to another World for a few seconds before he heard Ciel step next to him. "Good luck with your mission and… be careful okay? I'd hate to tell those two that you left them behind again."
"I'll try to get back as soon as possible," he replied before quietly adding, "And you be careful too."
Despite it barely being above a whisper, Ciel still heard him and smiled, "Of course. What do you take me for?"
"Decade." Whatever moment they were having was interrupted by Hajime. With a small frown, he told Ritsuka, "I'll make myself clear, I don't trust you at all."
"Really, I didn't notice," Ritsuka couldn't help but snarkily remark but was ignored.
"However, Tsururgi trusts you so that means I have to trust you," Hajime continued. "But don't you dare return to this World without him. If you do, you'd wish that that Rider had killed you earlier."
Ritsuka just rolled his eyes at Hajime's threat and moved towards the Aurora Curtain where Kazuma was standing.
"Ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Kazuma took a deep breath to prepare himself for the journey.
"Good luck you two! Oh, take this, Kazu-kun." Takaragi tossed something at Kazuma, who easily caught it.
"This is…" It was a black case with an arm strap. On it was a glass pane with a tab on its side.
"That'll help you out in Saber's World. Just return it to me later," Takaragi grinned. "And there's also something you guys should know about the World of Saber."
Why did Ritsuka suddenly get a bad feeling about this? "And that is?"
"...You know what? It's better that you see for yourself. See ya!" With a swipe of his hand, the Aurora Curtain washed over Ritsuka and Kazuma, taking them to the World of Saber…
Touma wanted to know what he meant by that. Even a bad ending was better than not experiencing one at all? What did Ritsuka mean by that?
"This talk about endings is thought-provoking, isn't it?" Merlin mused to himself before he said, "Master, what have you been through that led you to believing that?"
"…It'll take too long to tell you, Merlin. As much as I like talking to you, I don't have the time for that and neither does he."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Honestly, half the thing that was coming out of Ritsuka's mouth only confused Touma to hell and back.
"Have you forgotten already? Where were you going before I dragged you here?" Ritsuka asked in return.
"Before I was here, I was…" Oh… oh no… "Ah! Those clouds! They were—!"
"Yes, Bacht was unsealed in your World," Ritsuka confirmed his concerns. "Right now, your allies should be fighting him… Assuming that Bacht hasn't killed them yet."
"How?! The guild has the Book of Ruin kept under lock and key!" Unless Master Logos himself unsealed Bacht, there was no way he could've escaped. "How did he get out again?!"
"...Because I gave the Megido another Book of Ruin."
"Eh?"
"It was insurance… Right, insurance." Ritsuka sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince Touma. "It was a backup plan… in case you continued to be uncooperative. One way or another, your World would've been destroyed anyway."
"You—!" Touma couldn't find the right words to express his emotions. All he could do was stare at Ritsuka with a mix of several emotions.
"I see…" Merlin hummed, his eyes focused on Ritsuka's slightly shaking body. "You really do surprise me. I'd never thought that you of all people would be so used to destroying Worlds that you have several different plans to do so."
'Used? Don't make me laugh, Merlin…' Ritsuka couldn't bring himself to say that aloud. 'I may be past the point of no return but… I'll never be used to it…'
But after all the Worlds that were left in ruin because of him, what was one more to the list?
'Forgive me, everyone… I have to do everything that I need to do to reach that ending…'
Saber's World was a necessary sacrifice… but did he truly believe that?
"What…" Kazuma stared out at the horizon with wide eyes. "What happened here…"
Ritsuka didn't say anything and similarly stared at what Kazuma was looking at.
Takaragi's portal had dropped them at the same location as where they were in Blade's World. The only difference was that the dark cloud summoned by Bacht was gone… and in its place was a ruined and deteriorating city.
'That's right… I remember now…'
When his World was being invaded, only 19 Worlds were involved according to the King. Ritsuka had questioned why that was when there were 21 Riders but didn't get an answer from the hooded man.
But now he knew why; the World of Saber wasn't involved for a simple reason.
It was because the World of Saber had been destroyed years ago…
Next Time on Across the Kaleidoscope
"What I want… deep down…"
"Avalon is a part of the Reverse Side of the World. Then that means we can use this to get there."
"With everyone's hope and dreams, I will create the present!"
"You bastard! Who do you think you are?!"
"I am…"
Chapter 26: Going Beyond All Resolution, the Masked Promise
A/N: And done! Honestly, I was planning on doing the next chapter of my GudaCas shorts first and maybe TSoSS too but I ended up doing this instead. I don't think any of you are complaining though.
Okay, so first thing that's important in this chapter: Merlin. If you guys saw my tweets, you'd know that I wasn't planning for him to appear at all. Not in this chapter anyway. I'm still trying to figure out what his impact is gonna be now that he's appeared in the story earlier than expected. At any rate, the first true appearance of a Servant and not a reference or a dream.
Next thing is the flashback. Yes, those scenes in Saber's World in the past few chapters, excluding the stuff in Wonder World, are flashbacks. What it means for whatever timeline of events will for the future but for now, know that there's much more at play than just "Ritsuka wakes up with no memories and cause mayhem wherever he goes."
Also, if my description of the Reverse Side of the World is wrong, I'm sorry but I'm not ashamed that I checked the wiki for information. And if turns out that the Seventh Holy Scripture couldn't actually kill Bacht like the way I wrote it… meh, it still gets the point across.
As always, please leave a review about what you think and see you all next time!