Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope…
"Ritsuka, I want you to remember… that you can do it. You've never given up all this time and I know you never will, the books be damned."
"You really haven't changed since we met, Decade… I'm happy… that you remain as broken as I am…."
. "I'm sorry, Fujimaru-kun. We tried our best to fight the other you but… we couldn't do anything to help him."
"There's something that goes beyond all resolution."
"Hehehe… We're back to where our journey began…"
"Singularity… F?"
"And you'll forever hold onto it— until the day you reach the ending you wished for."
Even as the sun was setting, the sound of footsteps rumbled throughout the air as pedestrians walked the streets and roads of the city. Their reflections were easily seen in the street's glass, rain puddles, and other reflective surfaces. However, unbeknownst to anybody, a strange ringing also filled the air, drowning out the footsteps of the everyday folks.
More importantly, though, were the four reflections moving on their own with no counterparts in the streets. It would have been very noticeable if they had a presence in the real world since they were all Kamen Riders.
And who were they fighting?
Each other.
However, how they were fighting each other seems to make it appear that three of them were ganging up on the remaining lone Rider.
The first Rider had a swan theme to her. Her undersuit was black like the other three while her armour was primarily white with golden bits. Her visor, as well as part of her chestplate, were silver. Additionally, her visor had black slits and was shaped like a swan's wings. She also had a white cape attached to her back. Her weapon was a rapier with a matching white-and-gold hilt.
The second Rider had silver armour with navy blue stripes similar to a tiger's. Adding onto that tiger motif, his helmet had silver whisker-like parts extruding from the bottom of his visor. On his hands were large gauntlets with equally large claws.
The next Rider had brown-and-black armour and had a deer theme. He had golden horns on his shoulderpads as well as his helmet. There was a golden symbol on his chest and, more importantly, a unique greave on his right leg. Meanwhile, his weapon was a pair of drills mounted on his left arm.
The last Rider was primarily purple with silver and gold bands all over his armour, with the latter bands resembling snake scales. Meanwhile, his helmet was shaped like a king cobra's head. Lastly, his weapon strangely did not match his snake theme. It was a large silver gauntlet shaped like a rhino's head, complete with a horn at the end.
All four of them had some similarities to each other. On various parts of their bodies were silver circular pads, and their belts were identical to each other. However, their buckles were different colours that matched their armour and had golden symbols that reflected their motifs.
Guard Vent!
Advent!
The swan and deer-themed both simultaneously took out a card from their buckles before inserting them into slots in their weapon and greave respectively.
As a strange cry filled the air, something came flying down from the sky and into the white Kamen Rider's hand which turned out to be a white-and-gold shield. Her cape spread out on its own and fluttered like wings.
A storm of white feathers flew out of her cape and shield that consumed the purple Rider. It did nothing to hurt him though. However, it did blind him for the next attack was a stampeding horde of humanoid deer monsters that rammed into the Rider multiple times.
Despite being hurt and thrown back by the stampede, all he did upon getting back up was laugh in amusement at their teamwork.
"Now this is a true festival!" the purple Kamen Rider laughed like a maniac.
The three others ignored his laughing though and immediately continued laying the assault. The tiger Rider, however, was oddly quiet as he struck the purple one with his claws unlike the other two, who let out short grunts and yells upon hitting him.
Eventually, the white and brown Riders managed to pin the snake-themed Rider to the wall. While trying to break free of their hold, the latter continued to cackle.
"Now! Satoru-san!" The deer-themed Rider shouted to the last of their trio. "Finish it!"
"..." The silver-and-blue Rider still remained silent as he took out a large axe from out of nowhere. He then pressed something to make the top of the handle pop up, revealing a slot for a card. The Rider slid out his own card from his buckle and inserted it into the slot before closing it up.
Final Vent!
Upon using the card, a large humanoid tiger monster appeared and charged at the three Riders. It raised its claws and stabbed… the brown Kamen Rider.
"AH!"
"What?!" The white Kamen Rider was caught entirely off-guard by this turn of events and was frozen in place. She watched as the tiger monster threw the brown Rider to the ground and immediately dragged him against the ground towards his summoner.
She was unable to help her ally as, due to him being dragged away, the purple Rider was able to thrust his horned gauntlet at her, forcing her to stumble back.
With the brown Rider, he was desperately trying to get out of the monster's grip as he got closer and closer to the tiger Rider.
"Why?! Satoru-san?!" He shouted in anger and sorrow just before he reached the other Rider.
The latter quickly stabbed him with his own claws and raised him up above. The deer-themed Rider screamed in pain as lightning crackled over his body before, finally, he exploded. When the fire and smoke cleared, the brown Rider was nowhere to be seen and the tiger Rider stood alone.
"Kanuka!" The lone female Rider in the fight shouted as the tiger Rider seemingly killed her ally. "Mizukoshi, you traitor!"
The tiger Kamen Rider, named Mizukoshi, did not seem to have heard her as he quietly muttered to himself, "Be a hero… Be a hero… Sacrifice others…"
Meanwhile, the Rider they were teaming up against simply laughed to himself again at the sudden betrayal. "Looks like moneybags did not pay you enough," he coldly remarked before deciding to take his leave. While he would love to continue fighting, especially to kill the injured white Rider, he thought it'd be better to leave now. With a haunting laugh, he turned and left the battlefield.
"Damn it…" the white Rider cursed under her breath before also leaving the area. Since Mizukoshi was not paying attention to her, she easily ran away and into a back alley not too far away. She quickly found what she was looking for in a pile of trash in the back: a large cracked mirror. After glancing back to ensure nobody was following her, she jumped into the mirror and emerged on the other side in the real world.
At the alleyway entrance, she saw normal people going about their day (well, evening), utterly unaware that somebody had just been murdered in the area. She let out a deep sigh before her armour disappeared.
The young woman had long wavy black hair that she let down, reaching to her waist. Her attire consisted of a long-sleeved red shirt, a short black skirt, and long black socks that completely covered her legs.
"Sorry, Kanuka," she quietly apologised to her recently departed ally. She sighed again before walking out of the alley and blending in with the rest of society…
Chapter 27: The Fuyuki Rider War
Ritsuka stumbled out of the sitting room into the hallway, still exhausted from his nearly two-day sleep. His tiredness didn't go unnoticed by the others, and he felt his arm being grabbed by someone as he tried to open the front door.
Looking back, he saw Ciel with a serious look in her eyes.
"Fujimaru-kun, it's clear you're not in the right mind." She tightened her grip on his arm. "You need to take a moment to breathe. You're pushing yourself too hard."
She admittedly had a point. Ritsuka had barely ever taken the time to rest on his own volition. The few times he stopped and waited around, such as in Kiva's World the first time they were there, he was forced to due to events out of his control. However…
"What'd be the point of that? That won't help me at all," Ritsuka replied with an emotionless tone. His cold answer genuinely caught Ciel off guard, letting him easily slip out of her grasp and exit the house before she could stop him.
Just as the door loudly slammed shut, Tetsuya and Ryoko came out of the living room— the Sword of Flames in the former's arms.
"Where's—?"
"He already left," Ciel sighed/answered, facepalming at Ritsuka's stubbornness.
"Oh. So…"
"What do we do with this?" Ryoko addressed the elephant in the room (well, the hallway) while glancing at the sword her friend was carrying in his arm. "And this too?" Ryoko raised her hand, showing the KamenRide: Saber card. "Something tells me Ritsu wouldn't want to see these things."
"You're probably right." Ritsuka's reaction to the news of Touma's death, or lack thereof, either meant that he genuinely didn't care or didn't want to confront the truth yet. Ciel hoped it was the latter and Ritsuka wasn't as heartless as he was currently acting.
"Let's put that somewhere safe first," Ciel decided. While letting Ritsuka run around without a chaperone was an incredibly terrible idea, letting a sword lying around the house— a dead man's sword at that —didn't sit right with her.
At least Ritsuka could take care of himself for a bit…
Somewhere in the city…
On a certain street corner, the lights of the coffee shop slowly shut off as they closed down for the night. Inside the shop, the three workers had just finished cleaning up the tables— one of them was taking off his apron and hanging it up on a hook rack in the back of the room.
"Thanks for helping out today." the young woman behind the corner expressed her gratitude to the red-haired young man. "You already had your own job this morning."
"Don't worry about it. I didn't do much in the office today anyway," the young man waved his hand with a small smile. "If you need my help again, don't hesitate to ask."
"I'll keep that in mind. See you two tomorrow!" the woman nodded before waving goodbye to the first man and the darker-dressed and broody-looking man already on his way out the front door.
The redhead followed after his dark-haired friend, closing the door behind him. He heard a motorcycle engine revving as he walked through the front gate.
"Not going to say goodbye, Asagami?"
"No," The man answered bluntly as he pulled down his tinted visor. Without another word, he drove away.
"...See you tomorrow," the redhead sighed before he started walking in the opposite direction.
Ritsuka did not know how long he had been running, but he eventually stopped to catch his breath on a staircase within a residential district. He sat down on the stone steps and stared out at the other part of the city across the river. The large red bridge was in sight, lit up in the night, and he stared at it with a feeling of familiarity.
"That bridge is…." Ritsuka's seen it somewhere before. He knew he had. But his mind was drawing a blank as to where he'd seen it.
There was also another thing about this city… "Singularity… F."
That name was the first thing he muttered when he saw the backdrop representing this World. What did it mean? He was drawing a blank with that answer too.
"You know, out of all the Riders this city ended up having, Ryuki made the most sense."
Ritsuka immediately shot to his feet upon hearing that voice in his voice.
"Where are you?! Show yourself!" He shouted. Had anyone been around, they'd assume he was insane for suddenly screaming to no one.
"Pfft, so demanding," the voice snickered in his head, "This is pretty convenient actually. I get to look for that guy while you deal with Ryuki and whatever his issue is. And who knows? Maybe you'd finally remember something about our past in the process. This place is, after all, where our story started."
"Our story? What is this place?!"
"Stop shouting already. I'm right here," the voice smugly huffed. "I'll only tell you two things: this city's name is Fuyuki and here is where 'brave' souls are fighting to make their wishes come true."
The presence in Ritsuka's mind disappeared. "Wait! Don't go!"
Without thinking, Ritsuka took off in a sprint— basically flying down the stairs and running down the street in a vain attempt to chase after the disembodied voice. It wasn't long before he reached an artificial river channel.
"Dammit, where are you…." Ritsuka grumbled/questioned. It was getting dark and the street lights were turning on. However, there was still no one around.
With a long tired sigh, Ritsuka leaned against the railing around the concrete channel. He stared at the flowing water below and illuminated but the street lights were… nothing.
Ritsuka only saw the night sky within the river's reflection.
"...Dammit," he cursed again.
He knew what he had to do next: find Ryuki. But now that he told him that's what he should do, Ritsuka no longer wanted to. What he wanted to do now was to figure out why he knew this city.
"Where brave souls fight for a wish…." Ritsuka muttered to himself. Once again, he felt like he had heard something like that before.
However, he knew where from this time. It took a few seconds before he remembered one of the books he read in the World of Saber. Specifically, the one that made him speak up for the first time in the world— the book about Heroic Spirits.
"Saber, Rider…" Those were the first words that he recalled before the rest of the excerpt he read came back to him.
'Summoned by the Holy Grail, seven Heroic Spirits under the command of those deemed worthy by the Grail will do battle for a wish….' He only read that passage and the list following it. Now that he was thinking about it again, a feeling of sadness welled up inside Ritsuka. He subconsciously glanced at the back of his right hand.
Eventually, he snapped out of his daze and shook his head. 'No, I can't get distracted….'
Now he had two choices: do what was expected of him and look for Ryuki, whoever his true identity was, or be selfish and try to figure out the mystery surrounding his connection to this city.
"Fuyuki…" Ritsuka couldn't recall ever hearing about this city before when he lived a (relatively) normal life. It could be that this city was unique to this World, but he didn't know if that was important.
Where their story began— that was what he said. The first assumption Ritsuka made from that phrase was that this is where he was born and raised. He quickly threw that idea out because of how ridiculous it sounded… and because he felt it was false.
'Alright… think back…' Ritsuka thought back to his earliest memory, the day he woke up in that alley with amnesia. He felt his chest burning and his clothes were torn up.
Ritsuka realised now that the likely scenario that led to that moment was that he was fighting something or someone.
And he lost.
Ritsuka didn't know what to make of that. Somewhere out there, there was someone who could defeat him— assuming that he had Decade's power at the time. But that led to more questions.
Namely, if he had Decade's powers before, where did they come from and how did he get them in the first place?
'Why am I thinking about all this now?' Ritsuka questioned himself. He figured out the answer a moment later; this was the first time since his journey started that he was alone with no clear path ahead of him. There was always someone accompanying him and, if not, something that demanded his attention.
Ritsuka always kept himself busy to stave off these thoughts and questions and now that he was truly by himself, they were all coming in full force.
Still, he forced all those thoughts out and focused on what he needed to do now. 'I shouldn't be focused on the past now,' Ritsuka told himself.
"Where to start first?" It was already nighttime so searching might be useless. Really, the smartest choice was to go back and rest for the night as Ciel told him to do. But that'd mean going back and facing what happened in Blade's World…
'I'd be really convenient if something happens right about now…'. He mentally sighed. Ritsuka knew he shouldn't wish for that but anything would beat going back to his house in his mind.
"—ght…"
"Hmm?" Ritsuka perked up, stepped away from the railing, and looked around. He thought he heard someone talking but the street was still empty. "What was…?"
Riiinnggg…
"Fight…" The disembodied voice spoke again. This time, a strange ringing that made Ritsuka's head spin accompanied it.
"Who's there?!" Ritsuka once again started shouting at mysterious voices.
"Fight… Decade…" The voice ignored his question. "This is not your World. If you want to survive here… you have to fight…"
How is that any different from every other World, Ritsuka thought.
"If you wish to have your wish granted, fight them… Survive the battles… and win the Rider War…"
"My wis—"
"Gyyyyuuuu!*
Ritsuka didn't get the chance to finish what he was going to say when, from out of the river channel, something leapt out and grabbed him from behind.
"You're—?!" Ritsuka didn't need to be a genius to figure out that what grabbed him was a Mirror Monster— the inhabitants of the Mirror World. However, he couldn't tell what it was yet, only that it was blue and had suction cups like a squid's on its arms.
Meanwhile, not too far from the area, the redhead young man was walking home while humming a tune to himself.
Riiinnggg…
However, the sudden and familiar ringing made him stop in his tracks. He held his head in minor pain before he started running. Acting on instinct, he soon found himself running next to the artificial river channel near his home, following the sound he hated so much.
Within the minute, he saw what he feared— just ahead was someone in a grey overcoat being held by a Mirror Monster.
"Stop!" He shouted despite knowing it was futile. Why would the Monsters listen to him?
Before he could reach them, the Mirror Monster succeeded in dragging his captive over the railing and into the water below. However, there wasn't a splash as they fell through the water's surface.
"Dammit!" He sprinted towards the railing as fast as he could and peeked over it. Within the reflection in the water, he could see the young man in grey avoiding the Monster's attack. "Where—?" the redhead looked around for what he needed before spotting a parked car nearby.
While using something that could easily be moved and leave him in a vulnerable and deadly situation, now was not the time to worry about that. He reached into his pocket and took something out as he rushed toward the car. He eyed his reflection on the metal surface before raising the small black box with a golden emblem in its centre.
Next to him in the car's reflection, a silver belt with a large slot in its buckle appeared. The belt then came out of the reflection and snapped onto the young man's waist. He raised his right arm diagonally and shouted, "Henshin!"
With that cry, he inserted the box into his buckle— light flashed from his belt briefly as flat illusions of armour appeared and layered on him. Another brief flash of light later, familiar-looking armour appeared over his body.
The now transformed Kamen Rider took a deep breath to psyche himself before pumping his fist with a short cry. He then stepped into the car's reflection— a bright light radiating from the vehicle.
Ritsuka tried his best to avoid the heavy swings of the Mirror Monster's arms, rolling through the water and getting his new clothes thoroughly drenched. The Monster was fast enough that he had no time to take out his belt— let alone transform. It tried to bring down is fist onto his head, but he barely managed to avoid getting clobbered.
However, the feeling that he was running out of time, that he needed to transform quickly before something bad happened— but he couldn't find the opportunity to do so.
"Hold it!" A loud voice cried, getting the monster's attention before it could continue attacking him.
From above, someone dropped down and landed between Ritsuka and the Mirror Monster— someone Ritsuka recognised.
"You're…" The red suit and dragon-themed armour were enough for the dimensions-travelling teen to figure out his identity. "Ryuki?"
"Huh? How do you—?" This World's Kamen Rider, Ryuki, glanced back at him in surprise at being recognised. However, he quickly turned back towards Ritsuka's attacker, thinking that that wasn't important at the moment. "Please stay back. I'll finish this as fast as I can," Ryuki asked as he reached down to his buckle.
He slid out a card from an opening in its side before pushing down the top section of his gauntlet and revealing a slot. Ryuki inserted the card into the slot and pushed the gauntlet back up.
Sword Vent!
The monotonous announcement was accompanied by the distant roar of a dragon. From the skies, a silver sword flew down and into Ryuki's hand.
Now armed with his weapon, he engaged the Mirror Monster— opening up with a strong slash before following up with another one.
Ritsuka, meanwhile, was not focusing on how Ryuki was doing. Instead, his mind was stuck on something else: Ryuki's voice.
'I know you…' Ryuki's voice felt familiar to him. Not enough to dredge up a forgotten memory, but enough to make his head ache from trying to remember. 'We… We've met before…'
"Ah!" Ryuki's pained cry snapped him out of his thoughts, reminding him where he was at the moment.
'Later then.' Ritsuka put a pin on that thought and pulled his Driver out of his jacket. He then put it on and fastened it in place.
"Henshin."
"What?" Hearing the word he himself says a lot, Ryuki glanced back in time to see the person he was trying to protect transforming.
KAMENRIDE: DECADE
"...What?!"
Decade ignored the shocked and confused cry from Ryuki— instead, he converted the RideBooker to its sword mode and joined the battle, dashing past the stunned Ryuki to attack the Monster.
After landing a couple of slashes, the magenta Rider quickly took out a card from his weapon and scanned it.
ATTACKRIDE: SLASH
He let out a flurry of slashes, causing sparks to fly off as the Monster was sent rolling through the water.
"Hey, don't just stand there," Decade called out to Ryuki. "Fight already."
"Eh? Oh!" Ryuki nodded to himself before rejoining the fight…
Meanwhile…
"Ritsu! Where are you?!" Ryoko called out as she looked around for her missing friend. After safely storing Rekka and its accompanying WonderRide Book, she, Tetsuya, and Ciel had split up to search for Ritsuka but so far haven't found him in the last few hours of wandering.
'Dammit, I thought you'd learn from last time,' she grumbled to herself, recalling how Ritsuka was impersonated by his evil twin in Fourze's World.
'…That feels so long ago.' A sudden feeling of sadness shot through her. The events in Fourze's World were over two months ago from her and Tetsuya's perspective. Two months of working for BOARD and "helping" the seal the Undead.
During the last two months, she had a lot of time to reflect on what happened over the course of their journey. It was hard to believe everything up to the point of their separation was only in the span of about one and a half weeks…
The most frequent thought— well, second most after wondering if or when they'd reunite with Ritsuka —was the question of their journey's purpose. They still don't know why all those monsters wanted to kill Ritsuka, who gave him the Decadriver, why he needed to travel across the multiverse and meet other Kamen Riders, and a whole lot more mysteries about everything.
The time away from Ritsuka, combined with the relative safety in her job, made her reflect on everything… and how useless she felt with their situation. While she did think about it in the week and a half following him, Ryoko fully realised how little they mattered in Ritsuka's journey. The most important thing that she and Tetsuya were involved in was getting kidnapped in Agito's World, requiring Ritsuka, Ciel, and Shouichi to rescue them.
'Her too…' Ryoko's mind shifted over from Ritsuka to their new ally. To be frank, she was glad that someone else who can fight joined them— even though it was by accident. Ciel had already proven multiple times she could pull her weight and then some (literally with that giant sword she wielded). Meanwhile, she and Tetsuya were stuck watching from the sidelines. Ryoko doubted anything would change with Ritsuka if both of them left for good.
Not that they were planning on doing so anytime soon.
Back to the matter at hand, Ryoko continued walking down the lit street and keeping an eye out for any sign of her friend. The specific area she was in was the southern district of the western part of the city. The entire time she was searching, she ran into little to no people.
'Probably cause it's night.' Sure it was still relatively early but most people probably head straight home after work.
However, as she turned the corner, she noticed someone walking some distance ahead. The other person wasn't facing her but Ryoko saw that they had long wavy black hair. She then noticed that they were limping slightly and had a hand on the wall next to them to help her walk.
"Hey, are you okay?!" Not able to stand around and watch, Ryoko ran up to them.
"Huh? Why are…?" The limping person voiced her surprise at seeing someone out at night. "Are you a tourist or something?"
"What?" The odd question confused Ryoko. "Why are you asking that?"
Ryoko noted the other person's appearance; she was a woman a few years older than her and was wearing some expensive-looking clothes. For some reason, the woman's face— with her dark hair, blue eyes, and a slight frown —reminded Ryoko of Ritsuka.
"So you are one," the woman sighed before saying. "You really shouldn't be walking around alone at night. You're safe now but don't go out once the sun goes down. Actually, scratch that, it's not really safe to go out during the day either."
Her answer only served to confuse her more. Ryoko, though, decided to help now and ask questions later. "But are you okay? Do you need help?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, just got a bit banged up on my walk," she tried to laugh it off but that did nothing to ease Ryoko.
"Do you live nearby? I can help you walk back."
"I don't need…" the nameless woman trailed off as she realised something. "Actually, it'd be safer for you to stick close to me for the time being."
'Is there something going on?' While that answer was obviously yes since this was a Rider World, Ryoko noted things were going so bad that very few people were willing to go out at night.
"My house is around the corner. Let me make you some tea." Without waiting for a reply, the woman started walking again, this time, not using the wall for support.
"Ah, wait for me!"
With Decade and Ryuki…
"Haa!" Ryuki yelled as he attacked the Monster, keeping it preoccupied. A few metres behind him, Decade opened his Driver to scan another card.
"Alright, let's try this out," the Magenta Rider muttered to himself as he took out his newest card. "Move."
"What?"
KAMENRIDE: BLADE
"Ah!" The red Rider managed to get out of the way of the translucent blue field that came out of Decade's Driver. The Monster, on the other hand, was sent flying upon getting hit by the energy field.
Not wasting another second, Decade dashed through the field— his armour getting replaced with that of Kamen Rider Blade. He quickly closed the distance and slashed the Monster across the chest multiple times.
"You can transform like that?" He heard Ryuki loudly ask before the other Rider said, "Wait, that's not important now."
Ryuki soon came to his side and they began alternating blows on the Monster, leaving it with no opportunity to retaliate.
After a minute of laying it on their opponent, they wordlessly agreed it was time to end it. Ryuki pulled out another card from his buckle and inserted it into his gauntlet as Decade scanned his FinalAttackRide Card.
Strike Vent!
FINAL ATTACKRIDE: B-B-BLADE
Ryuki raised his right hand into the air before, from the sky, another weapon dropped. It was a much larger gauntlet that completely covered his hand and was shaped like a dragon's head.
Furthermore, a familiar red dragon appeared from out of nowhere and positioned itself next to its master. Red flames burned inside Dragredder's jaws as it prepared to deliver the final blow. Meanwhile, lightning coated the RideBooker's blade.
"Haa!" Simultaneously, Ryuki threw his fist while Decade slashed his sword. The metal dragon shot a large fireball at the dazed Monster as a lightning slash cut through the air and water.
Both finishers struck the Mirror Monster, who let out a cry as lightning and fire covered its body, before it finally exploded. From within the explosion, a glowing white ball slowly rose to the sky. With no prompting from its master, Dragredder roared again before flying towards the ball— eating it before disappearing into the night sky.
"Phew… that settles that then…" Ryuki let out a relieved sigh before turning his attention toward his newfound ally. "Now then… Who are you?"
"I am… hmm?" Before he could introduce himself, Decade felt something odd. Glancing down at his body, he saw that his armour was slowly dissolving into particles. "This is—?"
"That's—! You better get out of here quick!" Ryuki warned him, his worry evident in his voice. "But… how do you go through here?"
He glanced down at their feet, at the flowing water. Did this whole river count as the reflection the other Rider came through or did they need to go downstream and find the specific body of water? He only thought about this because that guy warned them not to use running water as a portal. Was it because—
"What are you talking about?"
"What? Hey, wait!" The magenta Rider ignored Ryuki's shout and jumped up to the railing. Grabbing onto it, he vaulted over it and onto solid ground, dusting his hands after the fact. He then noticed the complex-looking motorcycle that was next to a nearby car.
However, he ignored it and started walking towards a nearby car when he heard, "Hang on! Did no one tell you?!"
Decade glanced back to see Ryuki following after him, having just jumped over the railing. "Tell me what?" Despite asking, he looked forward again and stood before the car.
"You can only get out through the Mirror World using the same reflection you used to enter it," Ryuki explained. "For me, it'd be this car. For you, it'd be the river down there. But… I'm not sure if the entire river counts or—"
"Sounds complicated," Decade interrupted him before putting his hand on the car. To Ryuki's shock, a flash of light came from the car and the magenta Rider disappeared.
"Eh? How—?" Ryuki looked at the car's reflection and, sure enough, he could see him in it. "That's…"
In the real world, Ritsuka detransformed and put away his Driver. He then glanced down at his new clothes and grumbled quietly at how wet they were.
Just then, a brief flash of light came from behind him, making him turn around to see Ryuki now out of the Mirror World.
"Thanks for helping out," Ritsuka said, "You came in at the right time."
"It's nothing," Ryuki replied, waving his hand. "Ah, I better take this off."
The dragon-themed Rider reached down and removed the box from his buckle. Immediately, his armour disappeared and Ritsuka could now see his face… and another feeling of familiarity shot through him.
"You're…" Ritsuka's eyes widened at the young man's appearance. The redhead, however, took it as him asking for a name.
"It's nice to meet you." A small smile was on his face as he said that. "My name is Emiya Shirou."
Elsewhere…
While Ryoko was off exploring on her own, Tetsuya was on the opposite side of town. He was standing in front of a church, debating on whether he should go in or not. There were lights coming from the window so he assumed they were still open.
'Welp, it can't go any worse than last time.' What were the chances the priest was an evil bat monster hosting an evil spider monster?
Tetsuya knocked on the large wooden door before slowly opening it with a small, "Hello?"
There was no reply and the main hall was void of any life. He hesitantly walked in while keeping an eye out for any movement.
"Is anyone here?" Tetsuya called out. "Maybe in one of the other rooms…" In fact, he heard the mute sound of talking coming from the side rooms.
He decided to wait for someone to come out and sit down on one of the pews. Minus the whispering from the side room, it was dead quiet in the main hall— leaving Tetsuya to his thoughts.
His mind turned to the most common thought he had in the last two months: his relationship with Ritsuka.
Ritsuka… had been slowly changing over the course of their journey. Tetsuya only realised that when he was separated from him and could think back about everything in depth. While Ritsuka was still mostly the same, it was clear that something was different about him now.
It could easily be chalked up to the destruction of their world but something told Tetsuya that the invasion didn't really affect Ritsuka. He acted normally enough after that. It was only when he interacted with the other Kamen Riders that his other self truly showed. Helpful but not too much, a bit of a jerk but still nice in his own way. That part of Ritsuka doesn't appear much, especially not with strangers. Usually he'd be more aloof with everyone else.
Moments of reflection like this felt odd to Tetsuya— the one week after the destruction of their world was so chaotic and eventful that he never really got the chance to sit down and take a breath. To that end, Tetsuya felt that was what Ritsuka needed— to slow down and take a breather. While the urgency of their journey was clear, even if they didn't know the purpose of it, Ritsuka was throwing himself into everything and stretching himself too thin.
At any moment, he could come crashing down and Tetsuya was worried of what Ritsuka would do then…
Click
"Ah, so I wasn't mistaken." A deep voice following a door opening and closing brought Tetsuya back to reality. He turned his head towards the voice and saw the tall man who was (presumably) the priest of this church. "Apologies, young man. I was preoccupied with other matters."
The priest slowly came up to him, an odd smile on his face that unnerved Tetsuya. "I can see that something is bothering you, young man. Do you want to talk about it? You may use the confessional if you desire."
Tetsuya deliberated on whether he should speak his mind or not. On the one hand, getting it off his chest will make him feel better; however, he didn't know if it was his place to speak about Ritsuka's mental health to a stranger, even if they were a priest who wouldn't tell anyone about it.
Eventually, the latter thought won. "No, I don't need to, sir."
"Is that so?" The priest smiled.
"Yes, but can I ask you something? It's about a friend of mine."
"Feel free to ask."
"You see, he sort of ran off on his own earlier," said Tetsuya. "I was wondering if he came by here."
Tetsuya then proceeded to describe Ritsuka to the priest.
"Hmm… I do not think your friend was here. If he did, I didn't see him," the priest told him.
"I see…" 'Where did you go…?' Tetsuya thought in slight frustration. Ritsuka really knew how to avoid everyone.
"…Young man, it may not be my place to say this," the priest said, "But I suggest you stay indoors for the rest of the night."
"Huh?"
Seeing the confusion on his face, the priest continued talking. "It is unsafe to wander the streets alone. If you want, I can provide you with a bed for the night."
"Um… I don't think that's necessary," Tetsuya nervously declined the offer. He had nothing against priests but something about this one made him nervous. "A-Anyway, I think I should try looking elsewhere."
Tetsuya quickly stood up and said goodbye to the priest before heading for the exit. The priest, on the other hand, only gave a short farewell and remained still; he did not attempt to stop Tetsuya despite his warning.
The young man shut the large door behind him and let out a long sigh. 'Maybe it's better if we wait at home…' He thought about the strange warning as he walked away from the church. While he could easily contact Ryoko, it'd be harder with Ciel but he knew she could take care of herself.
However, as soon as he was out of sight of the church, something dropped down in front of him. "Ah!" His heart skipped a beat before he noticed who it was. "Oh… Ciel."
"So it was you who was talking with Father Kotomine," Ciel replied. She was dressed in her nun attire again but she seemed to be in her friendly persona. "That makes sense; he told me how most of the city's residents are afraid of going out. Only you or Ryoko-san would've been out."
Her comment helped him figure out that it was her who was talking with the priest earlier. "It was you who was talking with him earlier?" Tetsuya asked for confirmation
"Yup," nodded Ciel. "I came by this place and thought I should see if the Father here knew anything about what's going on. Luckily, he didn't think anything about me was off or at least he didn't show it."
"And?"
"And—" Her face turned dead serious as she continued speaking. "—this city is gripped in darkness. Over the last year, something or someone had been abducting people and leaving little trace of them behind. Several hundred have been estimated to be victims of whatever is doing this."
"You think it's related to this World's Rider?" Ryuki, was it? Tetsuya recognised the dragon on the backdrop from Ritsuka's transformation during the invasion.
"More likely than not. But we shouldn't say that every single problem is related to whatever Rider is around," Ciel lightly admonished him. "In any case, something is happening in this city's shadows."
"Hmm… You think we should head back to the house for the night?"
"It's safer if we do but…" she trailed off. It was clear that she was worried about Ritsuka still being missing.
Tetsuya, though, couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry about him, you know he can handle himself."
"O-of course, I know that!" Ciel stuttered. "But still, him running around with no supervision is bound to get him into trouble. He gets into so much trouble with supervision already!"
"Yes, yes, I know," he stifled a laugh but couldn't hide his grin.
"…You know how dangerous teasing me like that is, right?" A cold death glare sent chills through Tetsuya's body.
"A-Anyway, let's just head back to the house." A brief stutter slipped out, which made Ciel grin herself. While she was never going to do anything to him, he learned his lesson… probably.
"I'll escort you back then," she said back to her normal persona. "I want to investigate more into what's going on in this city. Related to this World's Rider or not, I should investigate if the supernatural is involved."
She couldn't in good conscience leave whatever is abducting people to go unpunished.
"Come on, let's get you home."
Meanwhile…
Ritsuka quietly looked around the living room while sitting at the large wooden table in the centre. He noted the standing mirror in the corner of the room but his eyes eventually landed on the man in the attaching kitchen, who was currently preparing some drinks for them.
After the short battle in the river and giving introductions, Shirou brought Ritsuka back to the former's home so they could talk in private.
"You are… Who are you?' Ritsuka was racking his brain trying to recall how he knew the man. He remembered where he'd seen his name before— back in Agito's World. Emiya Shirou was the journalist who covered the story of the incident at the mountain resort.
However, he recognised Shirou's name back then too. Ritsuka didn't know how or why but he did anyway.
"Do you want milk in your coffee?" Emiya's voice brought Ritsuka back to reality.
"Huh? Oh, yes. Just a bit," Ritsuka answered.
"Got it. Give me one more minute," requested Shirou before resuming what he was doing.
Heeding his request, Ritsuka resumed waiting patiently. After a minute or so, Shirou joined him at his table, carrying their drinks on a platter.
"Here you go. Careful, it's hot," Shirou warned him with a smile, putting Ritsuka's cup in front of him. He then placed his own cup and the platter down before sitting.
"Thank you…" Ritsuka thanked him and carefully touched the cup to see how hot it was— "Ow." —only to pull his hand back immediately.
"I told you it was hot," Shirou scolded him but still sounded slightly amused. "You said your name was Fujimaru Ritsuka, right?"
"Yeah. Is there something wrong?" Did he recognise his name too?
"No, I just thought you were related to someone I knew earlier. I misheard what you said."
'Oh.'
"In any case, let me introduce myself again," he said. "I am Emiya Shirou. Kamen Rider Ryuki… but you already knew that, didn't you?"
"I do." Ritsuka saw no need to hide anything. "I've heard of you before." That was technically not a lie.
"Kanzaki told you about us? That's weird," the other man voiced his thoughts. "He told us that there were other Riders, of course, but he didn't tell us anyone's Rider names."
"Kanzaki?" Something about that name also felt familiar but to a much lesser extent.
"You haven't met him yet?" Shirou asked. "Or did he not tell you his name either?"
That hint was enough for Ritsuka to figure out who Shirou was talking about. "Is Kanzaki the one who keeps saying that I need to fight?"
"Yes, that's him!" Shirou confirmed. "He appeared before all of us and gave us our Decks. Well, except me but I'm a bit of a special case."
"A special case?"
"My Deck is second-hand. I got it from someone else," he explained. "But Kanzaki still came to me and told me what's going on. What about you?"
"Kanzaki… He told me that I have to fight and nothing else." He also told Ritsuka that he didn't belong in this World but oddly did not tell him to leave.
"Is that so…" Shirou hummed before asking, "Why is your belt different from ours? It's not the same as the professor either."
"There is a very good reason for that…"
"…You don't know either, do you?" Shirou snarked.
"Yes," Ritsuka admitted.
"Hmm…" Shirou had a look of deep thought. "The most important question then. Fujimaru-san—" Ritsuka looked up at him. "—would you kill someone for a wish?"
"A wish?" Oh right, Kanzaki had mentioned that too. He gave the question some thought before answering, "I'd kill someone to survive but not for something like a wish."
"That's—"
"If I have to kill someone in self-defence and get a wish out of it, I won't care. But I won't actively go out of my way to kill someone for that same wish," Ritsuka told him. Even then, he did not know what sort of wish he'd make. Restore his memories? Maybe, but he assumed he would be getting them back by the end of this journey.
"I see…" Another look of deep thought was on Shirou's face. "I wished you'd say you wouldn't kill anyone, period. But… I don't think you're wrong in thinking that way."
"...Why did you ask me that?"
"Do… Do you really not know? Kanzaki didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Despite saying that, Ritsuka had a feeling he knew what the problem was.
"..." Shirou remained quiet for a few seconds before sighing. "Kanzaki, he wants all of the Riders he chose to fight to the death in a Rider War. And the prize for the last Kamen Rider remaining— the strongest one there is —is having their greatest desire granted."
Ritsuka didn't respond to that information, only thinking something to himself.
"And…" Shirou continued, "So far, five out of the 13 Riders in this war have already died."
"Here, have some tea," the woman Ryoko helped said semi-politely as she put a tray of cups and a pitcher on the table. She had invited Ryoko into her large western-style house and they were now resting in the lounge.
"Thank you," Ryoko expressed her gratitude and watched as the slightly older woman poured herself and Ryoko some of the hot drink.
"What is your name?" The woman asked, "You haven't told me that yet."
"Oh, I'm Jindai Ryoko. It's a pleasure to meet you," she introduced herself, prompting the woman to do the same.
"Tohsaka Rin, it's a pleasure to meet you too. Here, you put in how much sugar you want yourself." She gestured to the small glass cup of sugar on the tray. She then sat down on the seat opposite Ryoko. "You said you were looking for a friend of yours, right?"
"Yes; Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"Fuji… Fuji-what?" His family name seemed to be familiar to Rin, who looked slightly surprised.
"It's Fujimaru."
"Oh, no. Never mind." She discarded that thought, "I thought that he was related to someone I knew."
Ryoko would've asked who she was talking about but instead turned to conversation elsewhere. "Is your leg okay?"
"Hmm? Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing a good night's sleep won't fix." Rin brushed off her concern. "Back to your friend, why would he go out at night? Doesn't he know that it's getting too dangerous to be out with the Mon— disappearances?"
'What was she going to say?' Ryoko had caught Rin's little slip-up but couldn't say anything about it before the other woman continued.
"Even then, Asakura is still running around. Even if your friend doesn't put any stock in the disappearances, Asakura is very much real."
"Um… who are you talking about?" Ryoko nervously asked, hoping that she wouldn't raise too much suspicion.
Rin, thankfully, only raised a brow but answered her. "Asakura Takeshi, the madman. Haven't you heard of him? …Then again, why would anyone visit Fuyuki if they've heard that he was hanging around the area." She leaned back into her seat and sighed. "Seriously, this city has definitely seen better days…"
"Um…"
"Oh, sorry. Just thinking about something," Rin said, remembering that she still had a guest. "Are you gonna go out again?"
"Yes," nodded Ryoko. She couldn't let Ritsuka continue wandering around, especially now that she knew what was going on in the city. However, Rin didn't seem to like her answer.
"Hmm… I'm afraid I can't let you do that. You can borrow the guest room for the night."
"Uh, that's not necessary," Ryoko tried to refuse the offer. While she didn't know the area that well, she was confident that she could get back home with no problems.
However, Rin insisted. "I already told you, didn't I? It's too dangerous nowadays to go out at night. I'm not gonna take no for an answer."
"But—"
"Just pray that your friend doesn't get into trouble. And I'm sure he wouldn't want you to throw yourself into danger for him."
"…Al-alright," Ryoko relented. It was obvious she wasn't going to win this argument.
"Good. You can use some of my old clothes for the night. I'll show you where your room is later."
'…I'm gonna be used as a human sacrifice, am I?' Ryoko hoped that the complete stranger did not have a locked basement filled with weird things.
Later…
"Yeah, she's making me stay at her house for the night," Ryoko said into her phone. She was currently sitting on her borrowed bed and talking to Tetsuya, who was back at their house.
"You sure it's safe to stay there?" He voiced his concern.
"I think so. So long I don't find a locked basement, I'm fine," she joked to ease both his and her own worry. "In any case, I don't think Tohsaka-san is planning on hurting me or anything."
"Hmm… Alright…"
"Anyway, where's Ciel?" Ryoko decided to move the conversation forward.
"She's still out. She said she wants to investigate what's going on in the city."
"And Ritsu? Did he go back?"
"No," Ryoko heard him sigh. "He can take care of himself in a fight but… I'm worried about him. He ran out because he didn't want to see the sword, right?"
"Right." That was the most likely case. "The evil him killed Saber… and Ritsu is avoiding confronting that."
"Exactly. Ritsuka is just pushing himself too far now. Someone must stop him and tell him to take a moment for himself."
"Yes, but I don't think he'll listen to us."
"No, he won't," Tetsuya sighed again. "But we'll try when he comes back."
"Of course." That was a given; they couldn't let their friend spiral out of control like that. "Alright then, I think we should stop here. Good night."
"Good night to you too. See you tomorrow," Tetsuya replied before hanging up.
With their call over, Ryoko stood up and stretched her arms and legs. She exhaled loudly and went to the light switch to turn them off. However, two short knocks came from the door. before she could flip the switch
"Jindai-san? It's Tohsaka," her host's voice came from the other side. "Do you need anything else?"
"Ah, no need," Ryoko answered. "I was just about to go to bed."
"Oh, sorry for disturbing you. Good night."
Ryoko said goodnight to her too and heard her walking away. With that minor interruption out of the way, she turned off the lights and went to bed.
Meanwhile, outside the guest room, Rin walked down the hall to the bathroom and entered it. She went over to the sink and mirror.
Putting her hand on either side of the sink and leaning against the counter, Rin stared at her reflection in the mirror. Nearly a minute passed before, finally, she let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"I'm sorry, Kanuka," she quietly apologised to the fallen Rider. She was not close to him or anything, and they would have to face each other in the future, but that didn't change the fact that he was her ally at the time.
Soon though, her minor sadness turned to anger as she thought about Kanuka's murderer. "Mizukoshi… Damn it, I should've listened to them," Rin scolded herself. Those two, especially Emiya, had warned her that Mizukoshi should not be trusted. In the end, it was Kanuka who paid for her mistake.
Not only that, their whole plan failed and Asakura escaped so Kanuka died for nothing.
"...Dammit." Rin opened the tap and bent over to wash her face. She raised her head again and looked at the mirror— "Aah!" —only to shriek upon seeing the face over her shoulder.
She instinctually looked over her shoulder and didn't see anything. Turning back to the mirror, she angrily shouted, "Haven't you heard of privacy?!"
The man in the mirror looked passively at her. After a moment, he finally spoke up. "Another Rider has fallen. However, a new fighter has joined the War."
"What?" Rin was taken off guard by what he said. "Kanzaki, what do you mean?"
"Another soul is staking their life for their desires. Remember, to survive, you have to fight. Fight, and win. Fight, and be the last Rider standing."
"Hey, wait!" Rin's cry was ignored as the mirror rippled. The next moment, Kanzaki disappeared from the reflection. "What are you talking about… A new Rider…"
Meanwhile…
The man in black— Shirou's coworker at the cafe —stared out at the city from atop the hill, leaning back against his bike. Despite the unofficial curfew in place for the city, he saw no need to rush to his empty home.
He found the sight of the half-lit city beautiful, even if he wasn't sharing it with anyone else at the moment.
The man glanced down at his chest, where a pair of rings attached to a chain necklace rested. Unconsciously, he gripped them in his hand tightly. "Tell me… How much longer will I have to wait to hear your voice again?"
It's been well over a year now; he's been fighting for a long time for his wish for a year now…
The man sighed before deciding he should head back home for the night. However, as he got on his motorcycle and put on his helmet, he got a glimpse of a familiar figure within his side mirror.
"Kanzaki, what is it?" He calmly asked.
The man in the mirror just gave him a passive look through the mirror. Finally, he said, "Another Rider has fallen. However, those fighting for their wish have remained the same."
"What do you mean by that? Who died?" The latter question was more important to him. However, Kanzaki didn't answer either of his questions.
"Seven Riders remain— seven souls fighting to have their dreams granted. Remember, fight… survive… and be the last Rider standing."
With that final message, Kanzaki disappeared from the reflection, leaving the man in black frustrated but also confused.
"Another Rider…?" That would make… 14 total Riders now…
Emiya household…
Ritsuka and Shirou had been talking for the last half-hour— mainly the latter filling in the blanks for the former. Shirou had told him more of the Mirror World and its rules, the Monsters that inhabit it, and the Rider War and its overseer.
The overseer, coincidentally and confusingly enough, was named Kanzaki Shirou. From what this Shirou has told him, Kanzaki was the one who created the Advent Decks and distributed them to 13 people to fight as Riders within the Mirror World. Shirou had also told him how he was not actually one of the initial 13 and that he got the Ryuki Deck from another man.
He also told Ritsuka how that man died saving him— giving Shirou the Ryuki Deck after he was dragged into the Mirror World. The man, however, soon died from his injuries and passed on his wish of stopping the Rider War to Shirou with the Deck.
Currently, though, they were talking about the Riders themselves—specifically, those who have already died so far.
"Scissors, Gai, Verde, Raia, and Abyss," Ritsuka counted with his fingers as he listed them. He also noticed the brief flash of sadness in Shirou's eyes when he said Raia's name. "Did I get that right?"
"Yes," Shirou nodded.
"And the ones left are you, Knight, Femme, Zolda, Ouja, Tiger, and…"
"Odin," he finished the list for Ritsuka. "And now you too."
"Hmm…" Technically, Ritsuka hasn't agreed to join the Rider War yet. But since Kanzaki knows he's here, maybe he already counted. "Let's backtrack a bit. What was this about the previous Ryuki's wish?"
"He told me that there was a way to seal the Mirror World away," Shirou explained, "Doing so will stop the Mirror Monsters from eating more people and the other Riders from fighting."
"I see…" If Ritsuka had to venture a guess, helping Shirou seal the Mirror World was his task in this World. "And how are we supposed to do that?"
"Shattering the Core Mirror should do it. It's what creates the Monsters and…" Shirou trailed off upon realising what he just said. "Hang on, we?"
"Yes, we," Ritsuka nodded. "As I said, I don't care for the wish so I'm gonna help you seal the Mirror World."
"R-really?!" Shirou wasn't expecting that at all. "You'd really do that?!"
"Of course. It's not like I have anything better to do."
His response made Shirou sigh in relief. He then said, "I thought you'd be like the others and wouldn't care about the Core Mirror."
"The others? You mean Knight and the other Riders?"
"Yes, none of them like it when I bring up the Core Mirror. The ones I'm in speaking terms with, anyway," Shirou told him. He recalled the glare he got from Asagami and Tohsaka as well as the amused chuckle from Okazaki. "Anyway, I've already been investigating all the possible locations Kanzaki could be storing the Core Mirror."
"And?"
"And… I'm still looking," he sighed. "Wherever Kanzaki is hiding it, he hides it well."
"Does he know you're looking for it?"
"He does, but he doesn't care that I am."
That sounds odd. Why would the overseer of the Rider War not care that one of the combatants was working to shut him down?
"Anyway, we can talk about it more tomo—"
Riiiiinnnnngggg… Riiiiinnnnngggg…
The mind-splitting ringing echoed through the living room, stopping the conversation dead in its tracks. However, this was not telling them that a Mirror Monster was nearby— instead, it was alerting them to the presence of the very man they were just talking about.
In the standing mirror in the corner of the room, they could now see the man dressed in a light brown overcoat and a passive look on his face.
"Kanzaki?" Shirou easily recognised the man. "Why are you here?"
The man remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "Another Rider has fallen."
"Huh? Who?!" Shirou immediately shot up. "What happened?!"
Kanzaki, however, ignored his loud demands and continued talking in a distant tone. "However, the number of Riders in this war remains the same. A new Rider has joined the battle."
"We know that already," Ritsuka couldn't help but say. "Also, I didn't agree to join this Rider War yet."
"…Decade, I was not talking about you." Surprisingly, especially to Shirou, Kanzaki actually responded to Ritsuka. "The new Rider has the same existence as you. However, you are not him."
'What… Don't tell me—!"
"Ryuki," Before Ritsuka could speak up, Kanzaki turned his attention to Shirou. "I do not like to play favourites. However, I have to warn you of the new Rider. He is aiming for you specifically, and will not stop until he gets what he wants from you."
"What does that mean? Kanzaki! Don't go!" Once again, ignoring his demands, the mirror rippled before revealing that Kanzaki had disappeared. "…Dammit."
'So that was him then. Kanzaki Shirou…' Ritsuka thought. However, his mind was mostly focused on what he said. 'The new Rider in this war… It has to be him.'
It was Ritsuka, but not Ritsuka at the same time— the evil him, it has to be, and he was gunning for Ryuki's life.
And that means he has a bigger stake in this Rider War now.
'Seriously… Can't anything go simply anymore?'
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope…
"The 14th Rider… Don't think that title means anything."
"So, me, do you remember anything new yet?"
"Bishop, do you know why it is near impossible for us to visit this timeline?"
"I'll live, Until the day I understand the purpose of my journey, I'll live."
"No… you will die here. So that this War will finally end."
"Ryuki… Sorry, but I have no choice but to kill you just like the others."
"No… I won't die here. Not until I've stopped this War."
Chapter 28: Swift Winds and Raging Flames
A/N: And I am finally done with C27. That took a lot longer than I planned. Mainly cause I was procrastinating with doing smut… Oh, and also because I started my first semester at university. That's probably another reason and a better one than doing smut.
Anyway, about this chapter. After 8(!) months and 15 chapters since he was first mentioned, the next Fate Protagonist, Emiya Shirou, finally makes his appearance in AtK! And not just him, Rin and Kirei appear too! Although, I don't think the latter will have much of a presence in the next 2 chapters…
You might be wondering why I went with Ryuki for Shirou instead of Blade or OOO. Let me explain a bit; firstly, the most obvious similarity, the people fighting to the death for a wish but there's actually a secret to it that no one knows. Second, there are multiple timelines to both series/VN. Third, the strongest fighter in the wars has gold armour and has connections to divinity (either by name only or because he literally is divine). There's also the fact that a fire is a major part of the backstory for both sides. There are a couple more stuff that I can't name off the top of my head but you guys can see where I'm going, right?
And as typical of me, there was a lot of stuff that ended up being cut from the chapter. Two main things is that I planned to show the flashback to the fight between Saber and Dark Decade, and also have the fic extend to the next day. But then I already hit the 10k mark and didn't want to make it any longer and delay the chapter.
Next, I know what the next question would be: will more F/SN characters appear? I can say one thing (well, two). I plan to namedrop two more characters and two others will make physical appearances. Will that change? Probably.
Also, question to all you guys regarding this story. Slight spoilers, but once this arc finishes, there will be two Phase 1 Riders left. After that will be an arc you guys can know the purpose of already. And I'm thinking that arc could be a good midpoint to this story… or be the end of Part 1 of Across the Kaleidoscope. I'm thinking I could mark this as complete and Part 2 (which will comprise of the rest of the Phase 2 Riders and more) will be its own separate fic. I mainly want to do that because by that point, I'll be well over 300k words and going higher than that might dissuade anyone wanting to start reading. What do you guys think? Should I split the story up after that arc or continue on and continue with it here? Leave a review on what you guys prefer.
Finally, as always, leave me your thoughts of this chapter and see you all next time!
Added during editing: I nearly forgot to mention, Arcueid is now in FGO... Yeah... That means I have to make adjustments to my plans for the story