Previously on Across the Kaleidoscope…
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Emiya Shirou."
"If you wish to have your wish granted, fight them… Survive the battles… and win the Rider War…"
"Another Rider has fallen. However, those fighting for their wish have remained the same."
"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."
"He is aiming for you specifically, and will not stop until he gets what he wants from you."
S̵̫̎̌̀ä̸̢̱̮͓͈̬̚b̸͓̿͑̄̍͑e̶͇̺̳͓̲̔̍͝r̴̫̺̞̯͓̍'̷̢͈͖̣̈́̽̅͘̚s̷͎̰͔̹͛̓̾̌͜World…
The air remained still across the bleached landscape— only dead silence could be heard from the ruined world. Previously, trace remains of civilisation dotted the World but now, with the death of its last Rider, all that remained was the pure white ground… and one figure surveying the landscape.
"Hmm… So this is what it looks like now…." The young man hummed to himself. "I really shouldn't be surprised. With Touma dead, everything should be wiped away."
Still, he couldn't help but be surprised— he had seen this happen multiple times before. This was just the first time he actually stuck around to see the damage up close. All the previous times this happened, he was a bit too preoccupied with something else.
"But…" Fujimaru muttered, crossing his arms. "To think this would happen again…."
Removing the Textures of the World like this isn't easy, even if they were just the outermost parts— but the death of the World's Riders could easily strip them back and leave the blank white underside for all that survived to see. However, he did wonder if Wonder World and the Reverse Side of this World still remained. He could go check it out, but it didn't actually matter at the moment.
"...Will you try resetting things here again?" Fujimaru asked after a moment of silence. "I know you're watching me still— biding your time to descend… Will a new Saber be born again?"
While time normally moves differently in each World, that doesn't change the fact that he already lost two years waiting for his real self to awaken. Ritsuka still hasn't done that yet, but that'll change soon. Regardless, it shouldn't be long before he regains enough power to emerge; the question is whether they would be ready for him by that point.
Before he could ponder about it anymore, Fujimaru noticed his body slowly dissolving again— signifying that his time out in the real world was running out. 'Alright then. Back to Ryuki's World.'
He had a task to do there still— to draw his current target out and get the information he needed. He already spoke with Kanzaki and convinced him to let him join the War as the "14th" Rider. Now, all he needed to do was fight Ryuki; all other Riders in this War didn't matter.
With a wave of his hand, Fujimaru opened an Aurora Curtain and returned to the place where it all began.
Chapter 28: Swift Winds and Raging Flames
As the sun rose and light blanketed the city, birds sang their songs with it, creating a lovely melody for those who heard them— including the Executor standing on top of an office building looking down on the city. She watched as people and cars slowly started filling the street below.
'Daybreak already… I should probably head back now,' Ciel thought to herself. Her night of investigating and patrolling had turned up with nothing— she found no clues to finding out what was hiding within the city's shadows. While she was used to pulling all-nighters for her work, that didn't mean she didn't feel tired— more so nowadays than back when Roa was still alive in her World. 'Hmm… I wonder…'
A stray thought flew through her head; if they were to travel to a World where Roa was still alive, would she regain her immortal body? Would the World recognise that she has the same existence as him, or would it know that she was a different Ciel than the one that presumably exists in that World? Nothing happened in Kiva's World but that was likely because Roa was already dead there.
'...I'll just give myself a headache thinking about this.' Ciel shook her head before rubbing her temples, already feeling a migraine coming. In any case, she started to make her way to her new, temporary residence—ready to rest after a night of investigating.
It did not take her too long to reach Fujimaru's home and enter through the front door. "I'm back…." She quietly announced her return in case the others were still asleep. She went up the stairs and down the hall, past her room, to check on the bedroom at the end.
She lightly knocked on the door before quietly opening it. "Fujimaru-kun?" She called out as she peeked into the amnesiac teen's room. However, she immediately noticed that the room seemingly hadn't been touched since the night before— the bed was still made after she fixed it before they all left the house. 'Did he not come back?'
That was worrying, to say the least.
"Ciel?" She heard Tetsuya say. Backing away from the door, she looked down the hall to see Tetsuya coming out of his room— clearly having just woken up.
"Oh, Tsunogai-kun. Good morning."
"Good morning," he replied, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Did Fujimaru-kun not come back last night?" She asked, glancing at Ritsuka's bedroom door.
"Unfortunately, no," Tetsuya confirmed Ciel's suspicion. "I tried to call him but he didn't pick up."
'Damn you, Fujimaru-kun. You're just avoiding us at this point…' Ciel grumbled in frustration and worry. Outwardly, she kept a relatively calm demeanour and asked, "Did anything else happen last night while I was gone?"
"Sort of," shrugged Tetsuya. "Ryoko is staying at someone's house. They didn't want her to go out at night."
Okay, Ciel was going to ignore how dangerous it was to not only go into— let alone stay over —a stranger's home. At least they knew where Ryoko was… right? "What's the address?"
"Um… she didn't say," he nervously answered, also realising how unsafe it was for Ryoko. "I'll call her again later. Don't worry too much."
Ciel, however, just sighed before making her way down the hall and passing Tetsuya. "I'm gonna take a nap first. I'll be up in an hour or so. We'll search for Ritsuka again then."
She heard Tetsuya agree with her as she entered her bedroom and locked her door behind her. Now within the safety and privacy of her own room, Ciel let out another, more exhausted, sigh. She put a hand to her side, feeling one of the many injuries from her fight with Bacht and him acting up again. It wasn't terribly painful, just a minor sting of pain. If there was anything she missed from her time being immortal— which was saying something —it was how she healed nearly immediately.
Back to the matter at hand though, one of the burns she got during the battle was acting up. While her battlesuit protected her most during the fight, it still hurt a bit.
'Best I rest up for now….' She thought before going to change clothes. After that, she collapsed into her bed— putting her glasses on the bedside table —and let sleep overtake her, drifting off into a dream of a recent memory…
A few days ago…
Ciel's first impression of Kozaki Touma was that he was strange but in a good way. His friendly demeanour was not a facade; she could tell that for sure. The smile on his face as he said he already knew who she was was not fake. His comment about her and Ritsuka's relationship, however, was strange but Touma didn't get the chance to explain what he meant.
But then— "Do you understand, Ritsuka? I've read everything: what has happened, what is currently happening, and everything that will happen. I know everything."
Touma stepped back, and she knew immediately that it was still not over. They had one more fight in store. He said that he couldn't be allowed to live; Ciel initially thought that he'd attack them so they're forced to kill him in self-defence. However, her presumption was wrong… and something worse stepped out to confront them: the other Ritsuka, dressed similarly to hers but in a darker palette.
He said that he wished that Touma would've made it easier for both of them but wouldn't have it any other way. And then he took out the black Decadriver— "It's time I finally show it to you: Decade's true power."
Fujimaru transformed into an altered Decade, with jet black armour with gold accents, and everyone knew that it'd be a hard-fought battle to win against him. Especially with Touma knocking Ritsuka out so he wouldn't face his dark counterpart.
Ultimately, they were wrong— it wasn't a hard-fought battle but a complete curbstomp.
Even with Touma using the peak of power, as the black Decade called it, they barely scratched him. The B.O.A.R.D. Riders, except for Blade, went down first, falling to him using the powers of a pink Kamen Rider that Ciel never saw Ritsuka Use.
"I'll clear this level with no continues," he said before defeating them with ease, knocking them out without getting hit himself.
"Stay down, will you? I'm not interested in killing you all now." He was cocky and with good reason. Barely a minute passed, and they were already down to three fighters.
Despite that, Ciel didn't flatter as she continued to fight him— no, protect Kamen Rider Saber. She threw Black Keys at him to make an opening for a running stab with the Seventh Holy Scripture. However, the black Decade was just as fast as she was; he managed to knock the Keys with a swipe of his sword and blocked her follow-up attack.
"Dammit, Ciel. I don't want to fight you…." She heard him mutter as she tried to break through his sword. "Please, just stand aside."
She didn't heed his request and pulled the trigger, causing the stake to shoot out and break his defences. Ciel quickly tried to stab him in the chest, the thought of what might happen to the real Ritsuka should something happen to his mirror self not in her mind at the time.
KAMENRIDE: FOURZE
She didn't find out if there was a side-effect as the black Decade managed to scan another card in his buckle. A ring appeared around him, preventing Ciel's attack from connecting. He transformed into Fourze, but Ciel quickly noticed something off about it but couldn't put her finger on it. In fact, she felt the same with his original form, beyond the clear difference in colours.
"Now then, let's handle this man-to-man."
In any case, the black Decade used the powers of Tsukinari Gentaro against her; a large faucet of all things materialised on his right leg that he quickly used to shoot water at her. It didn't hurt her at all; it just pushed her back and got her wet.
Before Ciel could recover from it, another Module appeared on her foe's left leg— a pink one with a net. He swung his leg, summoning a massive net that caught Ciel. The net then solidified and wrapped around her— leaving her tied up, wet, and helpless for whatever he planned to do next.
However, nothing happened as Blade and Saber got into the black Decade's way. They jumped in, swinging their swords as the black Decade reverted to his default form.
"Kazuma, just stay back." In contrast to his hesitant tone with her, he sounded colder with his warning towards Blade. "Before you get traumatised for the rest of your life."
Blade ignored the warning and continued to fight. Saber, meanwhile, stepped back and scanned his Wonder RideBook on the tip of his sword.
Sōdainaru Monogatari!
Saber raised the Wonder Almighty to the sky; from it, a hoard of Wonder RideBooks flew out and lined up behind him. "Take this!" Saber cried as he thrust his sword ahead— several books behind him flipped open and summons came out; his dragon, a blue lion, and a yellow genie.
The three summons attacked the black Decade, Blade jumping out of the way. However, the Dark Rider simply swung his sword and destroyed them without breaking a sweat. Saber called forth more summons but they all proved ineffective against him.
"Touma, you're still holding back, aren't you?" The black Decade sounded upset. "Even if you're using the best card in your deck, you're still not giving me your all."
"…maybe you're right," Ciel heard Saber quietly admit. "Even though I wish to fight with everything I have, the memories of the time all of us— you, me, and the other Riders… I keep thinking about those times."
Had she not been struggling to get out of her bindings, Ciel would have wondered what that meant.
"Then that means you never stood a chance," the black Decade told him, "Unlike me, you're held back by what happened in the past."
"Ritsuka…" Saber quietly muttered before loudly saying, "What is it that you said to your real self? 'Lying to yourself? How sad.'"
Saber's calm retort made the black Decade pause— obviously not expecting that comeback. Eventually, he responded. "I'm not; the past no longer matters. All that matters now is the present… and to bring about the future I want."
"Your desired ending… right?" Saber asked.
"Yes. Now let's continue this." No more words were exchanged between the two; they continued their battle, with Blade acting more as an interloper than an actual participant.
Eventually, the black Decade got tired of Blade's interference and pulled out a type of card Ciel had only seen Ritsuka use once before— and she knew what he was going to do. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he darkly said to Blade, "This will only tickle for a second. But after that…."
FINAL FORMRIDE: B-B-BLADE
After closing his Driver, he ducked under Blade's swing— giving him the opening he needed. He got behind the swordsman and buried his hands in Blade's back. A bright light shone from the Rider as the black Decade pulled his hands back, pulling out something in the process.
Blade could barely let out a grunt as his body started floating and morphing into a larger version of his own sword— the Blay Rouzer. The black Decade dusted off his hands before grabbing the handle, effortlessly swinging the oversized sword around.
"Let's end this once and for all."
"Yes… It's time," Saber agreed and inserted Rekka into his Driver, pulled the trigger— Almighty Hissatsu Dokuha! —and unsheathed his sword in quick succession.
Rekka Zen Battou! Almighty Hissatsu Giri! Grand finale!
At the same time, the black Decade inserted his final card.
FINAL ATTACKRIDE: B-B-BLADE
Energy gathered on their respective swords simultaneously; they unleashed their finishers at the other. Lightning and fire flew through the air and met between the two Riders. The battle to overpower the other attack lasted several seconds before the lightning slash broke through the flames and continued its path towards Saber.
Saber… didn't even raise his sword in a vain attempt to block the attack. The attack went through him from right shoulder to left hip, leaving a glowing cut on his armour before he was consumed in a fiery explosion.
"Kozaki!" Ciel couldn't help but cry out for the man she just met a few minutes ago. She may not have known him at all, but she could tell he was a good man.
However, Saber was not killed by the attack outright; he was instead thrown back some distance and landed near the unconscious Ritsuka. His armour quickly vanished, revealing the large gash in his chest where the finisher hit. However, the Wonder RideBook he was using was thrown to the black Decade's feet.
He let out a satisfied '"hmph," before throwing his weapon away. As the transformed Blade flew through the air, he turned back into his normal form before crashing into the ground. Pained breaths came from him as transformation disengaged, leaving Kazuma writhing. "Saber…" he tried to crawl towards the dying Rider but quickly fell unconscious.
Meanwhile, the black Decade also cancelled his transformation. Fujimaru then bent down to pick up the Wonder Almighty Wonder RideBook in front of him before casting Kazuma and then Touma a glance.
"Sorry it had to be this way," he offhandedly apologised as he pocketed the book, a large frown on his face. "Touma… at least your suffering is over now. Goodbye…"
An Aurora Curtain appeared behind Fujimaru before he walked back into the silver wall, disappearing from this World. At the same time, the net keeping Ciel trapped disappeared and she quickly rushed to Touma's side.
She only glanced at his wound and knew there was no way to save him. "Kozaki… I'm sorry."
"It's fine…." Despite being fatally injured, Touma managed to still speak with a smile. "This was supposed to happen now… No, this is something that was supposed to happen a long time ago."
A long time ago? Before Ciel could ask what that meant, something more pressing happened— Touma's body slowly started dissolving into bubbles.
"I was supposed to die along with the others. I only managed to survive through a loophole," Touma continued. He turned his head towards the unconscious Ritsuka with a sad smile. "In a way, it was better his memories of those times were taken from him. He'd be worse off if he remembered all that was lost. Although… maybe his true self would be better than he is now."
His true self… Fujimaru. Touma doesn't seem to be angry or upset at him despite being his killer.
"Ciel, can you get my card from Ritsuka?" Touma politely asked her. Ciel couldn't deny the requests so she quickly went to Ritsuka, fished out the KamenRide: Saber card from his pocket, and returned to Touma.
The dying man weakly took the card from her and stared at it. He closed his eyes and focused on something; the card glowed brightly before dying down, revealing the now restored card. "There, he may not be able to use this yet but when the time comes, I'll be there to help him," Touma smiled as he gave the card back to Ciel. "And… this too."
It was clear to Ciel that Touma was trying to hold out as long as possible; he could barely raise his sword high enough and take the first Wonder RideBook he used out of his vest. "Here, soon… Ritsuka will need this. There will be a time when he can't use his powers and be forced to use another. Please, have him use Rekka instead of the Sword of Nothingness. Even if he synchronises better with it, he can't be allowed to use Kyomu."
"What do you mean?" Ciel questioned him maybe a bit too harshly.
"You'll understand when it happens…." Touma answered cryptically before laying back on the ground. He stared out at the blue sky, past the bubbles that were coming off his body. "And Ciel?"
"...Yes?"
"No pressure… but I'm counting on you, alright?" Touma smiled again as he closed his eyes. "Don't let Ritsuka wallow in his despair. He needs someone to pull him out of the darkness he trapped himself in. There was someone who managed to keep him afloat before he met us… but she's gone now."
Tears ran down Touma's face but he continued talking. "Ritsuka has been in this hell for a long time, longer than anyone could assume at first given how he looks… and he'll continue to be stuck until he learns the most important lesson."
"And that is…?" Ciel asked, hoping that Touma would tell her the answer.
Unfortunately, he didn't— "Sorry, but I'm sure that is as far as he's willing to let me say. Now then, it's time for me to join the others. Until we meet again… in the world where we can live in peace…."
With that final goodbye, Touma's body fully dissolved— the bubbles rising into the sky and disappearing, leaving Ciel as the only one left standing with the remaining proof of Touma's existence…
Ciel quietly opened her eyes and sat up. She glanced around her room before her eyes landed on her alarm clock. "2 hours, huh?" She muttered. 2 hours of sleep is nowhere near healthy but Ciel was used to going a few days without sleep while on the job.
As she grabbed her glasses and got out of bed, a single thought went through her mind— 'What is the most important lesson…?'
After changing into more suitable clothes, she went downstairs and into the living room. There, she saw Tetsuya, who perked up upon seeing her come in. "Oh, Ciel. You're finally awake. Something… good, I think, happened?"
He sounded unsure of himself, prompting Ciel to ask what was the matter. Tetsuya answered her, and she understood why he was not sure if it was a good thing or not. "…Give me a second. I have to get something upstairs."
Meanwhile…
"Thanks for letting me stay for the night," Ryoko told Rin as they stood outside the latter's home. While it was Rin's insistence that she stays at her house, Ryoko still felt thankful for being looked out for like that.
"It's nothing. It's better than letting you go out at night," Rin replied as she locked her door. "If you find yourself in the area again, come visit me."
"Sure." Ryoko didn't think she'd do that but it was the thought that counts.
"Anyway, good luck with finding your friend. If I run into him, I'll tell him you're looking for him."
Exchanging farewells, they split up— Rin going off to do whatever errands she had planned that day while Ryoko set her destination for home. It would be best if they discussed what to do first before doing anything.
It didn't take her too long to get back, even after the several wrong turns she made.
"I'm back!" She announced as she entered their home.
From the living room, she heard Tetsuya shout back, "Welcome back!"
Ryoko went down the hall and entered the sitting room, where she saw Tetsuya silently staring at Ciel… who had her massive pilebunker on the floor next to her seat. "…What's that for?" Ryoko asked in Tetsuya's stead.
"I just finished doing maintenance on it," Ciel answered like it was something normal. "Oh, and guess what? Fujimaru-kun will arrive soon."
"Huh?"
"He… called me earlier," Tetsuya spoke up, eyes still on Ciel's weapon. "He said he'll be back soon and that he already met this World's Rider."
"I see.." Ryoko glanced back at the pilebunker, "And can I ask why you have that right now, Ciel?"
"Just in case," the Executor answered, "If Ritsuka decides to run out on us again, I can tie him up with it."
Right… Ryoko recalled one of her weapon's forms— the giant blade that she somehow managed to wield with no issue —could do that. But isn't that a tiny bit overkill? She wasn't gonna bring it up, of course; she didn't want to annoy someone she was already walking on eggshells with.
Instead, Ryoko went to sit down next to Tetsuya and silently waited with him. Ciel, meanwhile, was humming near-silently, creating the odd— and slightly terrifying —image of the peaceful young woman with a frightening weapon by her feet.
They patiently sat in relative quiet, waiting for their friend's return.
Luckily, they didn't wait too long— only about fifteen minutes —before they heard the front door open again. Whoever it was didn't announce their arrival, but the living room door opened a few seconds later.
"Hey," Ritsuka calmly greeted them with a straight face, ignoring the slightly annoyed glare he got in return.
"Welcome back," Ciel said first. "So, ready to apologise for running out like that last night?"
"…" Ritsuka didn't reply. Instead, he changed the topic to something he saw as more important— "Did anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nothing," answered Tetsuya. "Although we did find out a couple of things about this city?"
"Such as?" Ritsuka asked as he went to sit with them. He gave the Seventh Holy Scripture a passing glance and decided to sit as far as he could from Ciel.
"Well, many people have been disappearing over the last year," Ryoko told him before Ciel continued.
"Yes, I went to talk with the Father of the local church and he told me they aren't sure whether it's supernatural or not yet."
"It's not… maybe," Ritsuka confusingly answered. "Maybe some magic is involved but the Mirror Monsters are the ones eating everyone."
"Mirror?" "Monster?"
"Yes, you guys saw them back in our… our World," Ritsuka glanced at his friends. "Those blue bug things I fought with Ryuki's powers."
"So this is Ryuki's World then?"
"Yes," he nodded.
"You said you met him, correct?" Ciel asked Ritsuka, to which he nodded again. "Where is he now?"
"Work. Unlike us, he actually has a job to do."
"Hey, speak for yourself! Out of everyone here, you're the only one who hasn't had a job yet," Ryoko called him out with a huff. "In case you already forgot, Tetsuya and I had a stable job in the last World."
"Sure, sure…" Ritsuka brushed off the jab at him and continued, "Ryuki's true name is Emiya Shirou, a journalist-in-training for some news agency."
"Emiya Shirou?" Ciel muttered, recognising the last name from somewhere. "Where have I…?"
Seeing her trying to remember, Ritsuka decided to help jog her memory. "He exists in Agito's World too. Emiya was the journalist who wrote the article on the Akatsuki incident."
"No, not that." While he was right, that was not what Ciel was talking about. A moment later, it came to her. "That's right. If I recall, the Emiyas are a Magus family too."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm not sure if Emiya Shirou is related to them or just happens to have the same family name, but the family— or rather, one of them is notorious in the world of magecraft."
Another feeling of familiarity washed over Ritsuka, but he ignored it. "Regardless, Emiya is looking to seal away the Mirror World. I'm willing to guess my role here is to help him destroy the Core Mirror and end the Rider War."
"..." "…" "…" The looks of confusion from his friends and the look of curiosity on Ciel's face pushed Ritsuka to elaborate further.
"Right, this is gonna take a while," he sighed. "Firstly, the Mirror World. From the name itself, I'm sure you can guess what it is. Though, there are some rules."
That was easy enough to explain. Still, Ciel did ask a question Ritsuka hoped they wouldn't bring up. "Is that where the other you came from?"
"Probably." The answer was undoubtedly yes, but Ritsuka didn't want to admit it. "The path to and from the Mirror World is usually sealed and rarely opens. That's where we get to the Core Mirror."
Ritsuka explained how Kanzaki Shirou made the Core Mirror and it was responsible for the Mirror Monsters' creation. It was also why the path to the Mirror World was open, although only a few can travel freely between it and the real world.
"And the Rider War?" That easily sounded like the most crucial detail so far.
"Exactly what is says on the tin," Ritsuka replied. "In this World, thirteen Kamen Riders are fighting each other to make their greatest desires come true."
"…To the death?" Ryoko slowly asked.
"Yes, to the death." Ritsuka, as always, was blunt. "Although there are apparently 14 Riders now. Kanzaki told us that someone entered the game late and is now gunning for Ryuki."
Ciel quickly figured out who Ritsuka was talking about. However, she wasn't going to bring it up now.
"Then what's our plan for now?" She asked instead.
"You guys? Nothing," Ritsuka answered, "The Core Mirror is in the Mirror World. None of you could go in there, let alone search for and destroy it."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Simple, I'm going to walk around town and look for where Kanzaki might be hiding it. Once we find it, Emiya and I are going to destroy it and seal the Mirror World."
"You already have it all figured out, huh?" Ryoko sarcastically asked. "So what? We just stand around and wait for you to be done like we used to?"
"Used t—" It hit Ritsuka in the middle of his sentence what she meant. 'Right, they spent two months in Kazuma's World.' "If that's what you guys want to do, go ahead. As I said, there's not much else you could do."
Ryoko just crossed her arms and huffed; she knew he was right but didn't want to admit it.
Luckily, Ciel was ahead of her. "In that case, you wouldn't mind if I accompanied you, right?" She asked, putting emphasis on the last word. "You did say we can do whatever we want, Fujimaru-kun."
"I…didn't say that exactly," Ritsuka slowly answered.
"But you don't mind me following you, right?" Her passive-aggressive tone made it clear she wouldn't take no (or yes in this case) for an answer.
"…" Ritsuka glanced at the pilebunker by her feet. After a second of thought, he gave her answer, "Ye—"
Fuyuki General Hospital…
The man in black, Asagami, exited the hospital room; he was now done with his near-daily visit. His shift at the café started in an hour so he took his time as he made his way to the elevator.
Pressing the button to call it, he waited for the elevator and quickly stepped in when the doors opened with a ding. It was only after they shut behind that he noticed the other occupant of the elevator.
"Oh, it's you, Tohsaka."
"Asagami, pleasure to see you here again," Rin replied slightly politely in response to his annoyed tone. "I assume you're leaving too."
Asagami glanced at the buttons and saw the one for the ground floor was lit. He didn't respond and tucked himself in the corner opposite to Rin.
However, they were only silent for a couple of seconds before Asagami spoke up. "Have you heard the news from Kanzaki?"
"I have," Rin answered. "Someone new has joined the War."
"And someone was defeated," Asagami added. "Do you know who?"
"Yes, it's Kanuka," Rin told him with any change of emotions in her voice.
"I take it then that his plan to kill Asakura failed?" He recalled that was what the former Kamen Rider Imperer was aiming to do. Asagami would've genuinely helped him had Mizukoshi not already joined Kanuka's plan. He didn't trust that man one bit.
"You'd be right," Rin confirmed his suspicion. "Relay the news to Emiya, will you? He's still aiming for the Core Mirror, correct?"
"Obviously."
"Then he's still being a fool," Rin shook her head in annoyance. "Seven of us have already died in this War now. To close the Mirror World is to make their deaths a waste."
Asagami remained silent at first before saying, "Five."
"Hmm?"
"Only five deaths would've been in vain. Ryuudou and Sakakibara were aiming to close the Mirror World too," Asagami brought up Raia and the previous Ryuki. "And more importantly, you and I both know that letting it stay open will lead to more people dying."
Rin didn't respond to that. Not directly, anyway. "Has he finally gotten to you?"
"...No."
Ding!
Asagami exited the elevator, not even saying goodbye to Rin. He went outside and got onto his bike before quickly taking off…
Meanwhile…
"Ow…"
"Come on, I didn't hurt you that much," Ciel rolled her eyes as she and Ritsuka walked through the city. Completely unlike the night before, the streets and sidewalks were bustling with activity— people passed by them in a rush to get to their destination while workers stood outside their shops, loudly inviting people to come visit them.
As usual, Ryoko and Tetsuya stayed back to let the two investigate with little worry—the two normal teens working to cover up all the reflective surfaces in the house as a precaution. Meanwhile, Ritsuka and Ciel would search for clues to the Core Mirror's hiding place.
"…Say, Fujimaru-kun?" Ciel decided to say after deliberating it for some time. "Can I ask you something?" Ritsuka gave her the gesture to go ahead. "What would you consider the most important lesson?"
"What?" Her question genuinely confused Ritsuka. "What do you mean by that?"
"Frankly, I'm not sure either," Ciel sighed. "Before… before Kozaki died, he told me that you needed to learn the most important lesson or you'd be stuck where you are forever."
"And what exactly am I stuck in?"
"…Hell, I suppose. That's what Kozaki called it," she told him, making Ritsuka frown.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" He semi-sarcastically asked. "I wouldn't exactly say that I'm in hell at the moment."
To that, Ciel simply shrugged; she didn't know the answer either.
"…What else did Kozaki say?" Ritsuka asked after a moment. "Did he say how he knew me already?"
"No, he didn't… but…"
"But?"
"He said a lot of things that didn't make sense," Ciel continued. "But it was not like he was delirious from his wounds. Quite the opposite actually."
"And what exactly did he say?" Maybe it'd make more sense to him than Ciel.
"He said that he was supposed to die with the others long ago and… it was better that you lost your memories."
That answer made Ritsuka stop in his tracks. "…What? What did he say? Tell me exactly what he said."
"He said it was better that your memories of those times were taken away; that you would've been worse off if you kept them," Ciel reiterated what Kozaki told her. "I don't know what times he meant but he also talked about your other self. How he could've been better if you did keep your memories."
"…That…"
"Fujimaru-kun?" Ciel was concerned by his lack of a response until— "…Let's just keep going." —it turned to frustration at how Ritsuka dropped the topic immediately.
"Hey, wait. Are you just gonna leave it like that?" She hid her frustration and asked in her usual demeanour.
"There are bigger problems than my missing memories," Ritsuka answered normally. "I can worry about them later."
Ciel knew that she couldn't argue about that— an entire city was trapped in fear because of the Mirror World, and Ritsuka's memories were minuscule compared to that. As such, she went along with it for now.
However, she knew Ritsuka noticed how Kozaki had worded his sentence about his amnesia; Ritsuka's memories were not simply lost but taken from him— somebody else was responsible for his amnesia…
Elsewhere…
"Emiya, are you done with proofreading my article?" "I've already sent the corrected doc to your email." "Got it, thanks."
"Emiya, where're the notes for the ULF sighting?!" "It's on your desk, chief." "Oh… Thanks."
"Emiya, do you remember where I put—" "It's under your table as always." "Thanks."
Shirou let out a short sigh as he continued tapping his keyboard and occasionally answering his colleagues' questions. It was another business day as usual and at least they thanked him.
He stared at the newest article he was tasked with reviewing. It was an anonymous tip sent to them by a reader about strange monsters sighted around the city. Shirou obviously knew what they were talking about— the mention of how the reader only sees them in windows was the only clue he needed. However, the tip ended with a question asking if those monsters from a while back returned.
The junior journalist mused about how monsters keep popping up this past few years for a bit; first, the Unidentified Lifeforms at the turn of the century, then the Unknowns a few years later. He recalled how the police tried their best to protect the innocents, even using state-of-the-art technology, but it was those two really did the actual protecting: Unidentified Lifeform #4… and the mysterious Agito.
Those two were the ones who fought to protect everyone's smiles and lives; they were the heroes everyone needed during those times. Shirou recalled how he kept newspaper clippings of them back then. He respected them—they showed him how heroes still existed in this day and age.
And now, there's the Mirror Monsters— and now it was him who had to do his best protecting Fuyuki's citizens. Of course, there were several significant differences compared to the two previous times. Namely, the Mirror Monsters were secret from the general public, and so was he. He had to protect the people alone without help from the police and usually the other Riders too. All they cared about was killing the Monsters to empower their own, even Asagami most of the time. The only one who was like him was Issei… but he was gone now.
Shirou still remembered the smile Issei had when he told him how he was able to change his fate…
Shirou hated how he not only failed to prevent another death— but also how it was someone he knew from a while back.
He sighed again, which was picked up by his senior, whose desk was right next to his in the slightly cramped office.
"What's wrong, Emiya?" She asked without looking up from her notes. "You've been sighing since just now."
"Nothing, just thinking." He technically didn't lie to her, which he knew she had realised. Before his senior could get on his case, though, his phone started ringing.
Shirou took it out and saw the caller ID: Asagami Ren. 'Must be important.' Asagami didn't usually call him unless that was the case.
"Excuse me for a second. I have to take this," Shirou said as he got up and went out the door. He accepted the call and brought his phone to his ear.
"About time, I got news."
"Hello, Asagami. You're as rude as ever. Not even a hi?"
"Hi," Asagami sarcastically greeted him, making Shirou grin slightly.
"What's the problem?"
"I'm sure you've heard already. Another Rider died and someone replaced him."
"I have," Shirou nodded. "I don't know who died though."
"I do; I ran into Tohsaka. She told me Mizukoshi killed Kanuka."
"Kanuka? And Mizukoshi?" The junior journalist mumbled. Another death…
"Yes, and their plan to kill off Asakura failed," Asagami added. "I don't know who the new Rider is yet, but I'm keeping an eye out for them."
Shirou knew he shouldn't keep Ritsuka a secret from Asagami. Despite not being a true contender in the Rider War, Ritsuka knew who the actual participant was… probably.
However, he didn't want to reveal Ritsuka's identity as another Kamen Rider yet. After all, he wasn't really fighting in this War. There was one thing he could divulge— "Asagami, Kanzaki told me something last night about the new Rider."
"Really? That doesn't sound like him." It didn't; Kanzaki only told the Riders the bare necessities.
"Yes, he told me the new Rider is after me for some reason."
"You? Why?"
"I don't know; he didn't say. Maybe for that card?" He didn't need to say which card he was talking about. Asagami already knew what it was.
"But why you? He could go after me instead." Asagami had a point. The new Rider could go after him instead of Shirou. "Maybe it's because you're after the Core Mirror?"
In all honesty, that was the most likely reason. However, how would the new Rider know he was looking for the Core Mirror? Then again, how would they know he had that card either?
"Where are you now?" Asagami asked.
"Outside the office."
"…Be careful, okay? Whoever this Rider is, they might go after you there. Just keep an eye out."
"I will," Shirou nodded.
Asagami then hung up without saying goodbye as usual. In any case, Shirou pocketed his phone and went back into the office— "Emiya! Go do this for me!" —only to be forced out to run errands for his editor-in-chief.
At the same time…
Asagami Ren put away his phone and turned towards the small front gate of the café he worked at. It was almost time for him to start his shift but he wanted to inform Emiya of what Tohsaka had told him.
As he passed through the gates and was halfway to the front door of the café, he heard something behind him before— "Asagami Ren, Kamen Rider Knight… right?"
The man in black quickly spun around, pulling out his Advent Deck.
"There's no need for that. I'm not an enemy." Asagami stared at the young man in the white jacket, unsure if he is to be trusted.
"…Are you the new Rider?" That was the only explanation Ren could come up with— the person standing by the gates was the newest Rider.
However, the young man answered, "Sort of. Yes, I'm a new Rider, but I'm not the one you're thinking of."
"Then who are you? How do you know who I am?"
"I suppose those are reasonable questions," the other man shrugged. "My name is Takaragi Yuu, and I know who you are 'cause we've met before."
'We have?' Ren didn't recall meeting him before, but he felt they have…
"Anyway, I'm here to tell you some pretty juicy intel for you," Takaragi continued. "Namely, a way to take out the new Rider without confronting him directly."
"How—"
"Trust me, you do not want to face him." The playful smile on Takaragi's face disappeared—replaced with a grim frown. "Talk to anyone who's seen him fight and they'll tell you that you're better off obtaining the Holy Grail than winning against him… Hang on, that's not as impressive as it should be. In any case, it'd be much easier going after the actual one instead of the reflection."
Ren didn't know what he was babbling about, but he understood its importance.
"Ryuki's his target and, frankly, Emiya Shirou doesn't stand a chance in the long run. If he uses that card, he may last a while, but that might push the true Fujimaru Ritsuka to use his own triumph card in response. Assuming he doesn't underestimate him in the first place."
"So?" Ren tried to sound unfettered by the warning but didn't manage to convince Takaragi that he didn't care.
"So if you want your friend to live, you have to kill the real Fujimaru Ritsuka before his true self attacks Ryuki."
"…Excuse me?" That was not an act; Ren was genuinely confused by what he said.
That made Takaragi fake a sigh before saying, "Alright, let me give you the gist of it—"
Elsewhere in the city…
As the citizens of Fuyuki went about their daily lives, atop one of the taller buildings in the modern side of the city were two otherworldly visitors— looking down on the ant-like people minding their own business.
"So this is Ryuki's World…" the priest-dressed Fangire hummed. "This is the first time I'm interacting with this World."
"For good reason," Swartz told him with a smirk as he looked down at the streets below. In his hands was a decently thick book with a simple black-and-grey cover. "This World is usually sealed away, with very few windows to enter and leave."
"Hmm… A World with literal monsters in the glass," Bishop muttered to himself. "And more importantly, a World whose heroes fight each other to death."
"Correct; this is how the World of Ryuki is. But… it's also a World of repeating tragedies."
"Hmm?"
Hearing Bishop's light confusion, Swartz asked, "Bishop, has no one told you of the true nature of Ryuki's World? Why it is near impossible for travellers like us to visit this timeline?"
"No, I've been too busy lately." His time covering for Swartz in that World prevented him from learning more about Ryuki's World.
"To put it simply, the strongest Rider of this World has an ability that many sought over the ages," Swartz answered. "It is admittedly impressive how a normal man with determination somehow managed to uncover the secret to time— even if it's not as useful as other methods we have."
Bishop gave his answer some thought before he understood what he meant. "I see… but may I ask why we even came here in the first place?"
"For two reasons; first, I want to see my newest servant's strength before I send him on his mission." The World of Ryuki was the best place to let him loose— a World where every Rider was their own enemy; it was perfect. Although, Swartz wanted to test him against that Executor first.
After all, Swartz created his Another World to fight her specifically.
The other reason is simple; Fujimaru Ritsuka is here and his true self is searching for some information I also need," the Time Jacker revealed. "While I can simply read about it—" he glanced at the book in his hand. "—I'd be risking learning more than I need."
"That book… That is from the collection you stole from Saber's World, correct?" Bishop was curious about them— especially since Swartz had locked and sealed away the collection from everybody. "May I ask what knowledge those books contain to warrant such caution?"
"To put it as simply as possible… Anybody who even looks at the title risks having their minds broken by only the implication. If one were to read further…" Swartz trailed off, leaving Bishop to fill in the blank himself. "But that's a story for another time. Come, Bishop; let's search for Kanzaki Shirou. It's best he knows we're here before he uses that card again."
Swartz turned around and opened an Aurora Curtain, stepping through it with Bishop following him.
With Ritsuka and Ciel…
After some time wandering around, the two eventually took a break at a small park by the river dividing the city. While Ciel stood by the railing, taking deep breaths of fresh air, Ritsuka was sitting nearby and staring at the map of Fuyuki that Shirou had given him earlier.
On it was various Xs, showing where he got a bust in his search for the Core Mirror.
"Say, Ciel?" Ritsuka called to her after some time.
"Yeah?"
"You have any ideas where this Mirror could be?" Ritsuka knew it was a long shot, but he'd take any help at this point.
Ciel had a thoughtful look as she sat down next to Ritsuka. "Honestly, I don't know much about this city to say anything. But if I have to say something… Looking at where the disappearances are the most frequent would help."
That made sense; the Core Mirror is also responsible for creating the Mirror Monsters while keeping the path between Worlds open. However, Shirou had already thought of that too.
Ritsuka reached into his jacket and pulled out a small notebook Shirou also lent him. He flipped to near the end, where the junior journalist had noted the most frequent spots where the missing people were last seen; it was the western side of the town, near the high school and temple.
However, Shirou had already crossed both locations out. Unless one of them had a secret chamber none of them knew about, he trusted that Shirou was correct in saying the Core Mirror wasn't there.
"…Fujimaru-kun?"
"Yes?"
"Why would Kanzaki Shirou set up this War in the first place?" Ciel asked him. That question and several others had bothered her since she learned of the Rider War. "He created the Core Mirror and the Kamen Riders of this World just to make them fight each other to the death— that's what you said, right?"
Ritsuka nodded. "The Rider War is for those that aim to have their greatest wish granted… or so I was told." It wasn't that he didn't trust Shirou's word; it was that Shirou got that from Kanzaki and Ritsuka didn't trust him for obvious reasons.
"To have their wish granted…" Ciel mumbled. "Then what is the other you wishing for?"
"Huh? I didn't—"
"Don't think I couldn't figure it out for myself, Fujimaru-kun," she interrupted him. "He's the only other person who could possibly entangle himself in this mess and would have reason to target Ryuki."
Ritsuka knew she was right; it had to be his other self who joined the War. "…I don't know what he's aiming for by joining the Rider War, alright? His motives have always been a mystery to me just as much as it is to everyone else."
"I don't doubt that. But if anyone could come close to figuring it out, it's you." Ritsuka didn't know if he should take that as a compliment or not.
"The only thing I wish for at the moment is to find the Core Mirror and be done with this World," he told Ciel. "Then move on to the next World and the next."
"You don't wish for your memories back?"
"…"
"You're very confusing, you know that?" Ciel giggled slightly. Now Ritsuka really didn't know if he should take that as a compliment.
"Come on, let's get going alrea—"
"Heyo, Ritsuka-kun!"
"…Dammit." Ritsuka was hoping he'd get to go through a World without running into Takaragi at all. Turning his head towards the river, he saw the thief leaning back against the railing with a stupid grin on his face.
Ritsuka didn't get to say anything though; instead, Ciel asked, "What do you want, Takaragi?" Her voice was neutral. While she disliked him for what he's done before, she admittedly was grateful for his help in Blade's World.
"I want what I always want, Blue. To annoy Ritsuka-kun over there," Takaragi nonchalantly answered. "And if I have to interrupt your little date to do so, I'm fine with that."
For that comment, Takaragi got annoyed glares from the two, making him snicker.
"Anyway, I'm actually here because Knight over there wanted to meet you," the thief pointed past them down the walkway.
The two turned their heads in that direction and saw a man dressed in black leaning back against a lamppost not too far away.
"Knight?" Ritsuka recognised that name; he was one of the remaining Riders in the War. "So you're manipulating other Riders to attack me?"
"Is it really manipulation when I only told him the truth?" Takaragi countered. "If you die, then the darker version of you will die with you. It's simple logic."
While Ciel knew who he was talking about, she still asked. "The black Decade?"
"Correct, Blue," the thief nodded. "You've fought him. You know how impossible it is to win. So the easier way to save Ryuki is to kill Ritsuka-kun and take down Dark Decade with him."
"Dark… Decade?" Ritsuka muttered. Something about that name made sense to him…
However, before he could question himself or Takaragi about it, the man in black raised his voice.
"That's enough talking already," he said loud enough for them to hear from that distance. He then straightened up and walked closer to them, stopping right in front of Ritsuka. "You're Decade, right? So you're helping Emiya with sealing the Mirror World." Neither Ritsuka nor Ciel answered him, letting him continue. "That just gives me more reason to fight you. I cannot let you stop the War."
"…What is your name?" Ritsuka asked.
"Asagami Ren—" he introduced himself, took his Deck out and showed it to Ritsuka. "—Kamen Rider Knight."
"…Fine then, let's do this." It was better to get this over with immediately. He stood up and was about to take out his own Driver when he felt something grab his wrist.
"Wait, Fujimaru-kun." Unsurprisingly, it was Ciel who, while having a serious look on her face, couldn't hide the worry in her eyes.
"Don't worry, I won't die," he told her, "There's too much at stake for me to do that."
Ciel stared at him for a few seconds before she finally let go.
"Alright then, let's look for a reflection," Ritsuka turned to face Ren as he took out the Decadriver.
"Follow me," Ren bluntly ordered before turning around and leading Ritsuka away.
Ciel watched as they walked away for a minute before turning back towards Takaragi. "So what is your true target, Takaragi?"
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," the thief smirked.
"If you're truly after Fujimaru, then you'd be helping Asagami fight him," Ciel pointed out.
"Honestly, nothing really. I've already got what I wanted from this World a while back." Takaragi took out a pocket watch with a red-and-silver colour scheme to prove his point. Ciel recognised them; they were like the Fourze and Hibiki watches Fujimaru took from Takaragi in Fourze's World. "I was so lucky last time. I got in and out before I got caught up in Kanzaki Shirou's— oh wait, you guys don't know about that yet, do you?"
"Know about what?" Ciel questioned him.
"Hmm… All I'm willing to say is this; once Ritsuka-kun unlocks Ryuki's power, leave this World immediately." Behind Takaragi, an Aurora Curtain opened. "If not, you might get caught and rejected by time. You'll be left wandering the Sands of Time if that happens."
"Wait—!"
Takaragi, of course, didn't listen to Ciel and stepped back— disappearing from this World. Ciel sighed in frustration before deciding to just go after Ritsuka and keep an eye on his fight as much as she could.
She turned around and followed them in their steps…
"Here."
Ren stopped in front of a trash pile with a large, broken mirror. There was no one around, so they (mostly Ren) could freely transform.
"…Before we fight, I want to ask you something," Ritsuka said. He saw Ren nod, permitting him to go ahead. "We're fighting so that Emiya would not fight the other me, right?"
"That's what I've been told."
"Then why do you care?" That was his real question. "Since Emiya is trying to close the Mirror World, why does stopping him from getting killed by the other me matter to you?"
"…" Instead of answering him, Ren brought up his Deck to the mirror. A silver belt with a slot in the buckle appeared in the mirror before it came out and fastened onto the man's waist.
Seeing that, Ritsuka sighed before stepping forth and putting on his Driver. He took out the KamenRide: Decade card as Ren posed before both uttered, "Henshin."
KAMENRIDE: DECADE
Simultaneously, they transformed— Ritsuka closing his Driver while Ren inserted his Deck into his buckle. While the former changed as normal, grey illusions converged on the latter before— with a flash of light —knight-like armour covered his body.
Kamen Rider Knight had a dark blue undersuit with black and silver armour with dark blue highlights. His armour's design was modelled after a stereotypical medieval knight with a bat motif added on top— most easily seen with his helmet that had a grilled silver mask with the edges elongated to look like a bat's wings. Holstered on the left side of his belt was a black rapier with a gold-and-black bat symbol on its hilt.
The two Rider exchanged brief glances at each other before they leaped into the broken mirror— entering the Mirror World.
In a moment's noticed, Decade landed where he was standing a second prior; the only difference was the World being flipped to match the reflective aesthetic. However, Knight didn't land next to him.
"Hmm?" Confused, he turned around and saw Knight still in the mirror itself. The other Rider was in a strange grey void and getting on the same motorcycle Decade saw the previous day after fighting with Ryuki. 'Oh, right…'
He remembered Shirou mentioned how odd it was that he didn't seem to follow the typical rules of the Mirror World. While the motorcycle could be excused due to a Monster dragging him into the World, he was able to exit the Mirror World instantly and through a different portal than he initially "used".
In any case, Decade was forced to wait for Knight to arrive, which didn't take too long. Only a few seconds before Knight rode out of the mirror and skid to a halt a short distance away; The roof of the motorcycle slid back and the Rider got off it.
"Finally…" The magenta Rider mumbled.
With both fighters now ready, the battle can finally begin, starting with them unsheathing their swords. The two Riders stared at the other with their blades raised for several long moments before finally— "Ha!" —they dashed forward and engaged each other.
At the same time…
"Thank you and goodbye. Please come again…" The cashier politely said farewell to Shirou as he left the store with a bag of drinks and snacks his boss sent him to buy.
He started retracing his steps back to the office, passing through a square that has large metal sculptures littered around. Shirou mostly ignored them as he's seen them many times already; this wasn't the first time his boss told him to go on a snack run.
However, as he passed by one of the bigger sculptures, Shirou barely got the chance to yell as hands came out and dragged him into the sculpture; the bag he was carrying dropped to the ground.
Before he knew what was going on, Shirou fell on his ass in the Mirror World. "Ow…" he lightly grumbled as he got up and looked around. "This is…?"
"Emiya Shirou. It's been a long time,hasn't it?" He heard a familiar voice ask behind him. The junior journalist turned around and saw someone step out from behind another sculpture. "Granted, you're the same version I knew— the older you or the possessed you."
Shirou didn't understand what the other person was talking about but he did recognise who he was. "Fujimaru?"
"Yes, but not quite the one you met last night," Fujimaru replied with a smirk. "To be honest, I'm surprised that you're Ryuki. Fate must think it has a sense of humour for making you him this time around. Not that it changes anything, of course."
At that point, Shirou figured out what was going on. "You're… the new Rider who's trying to kill me, right?" He reached into his jacket and gripped his Deck, ready to pull it out if he needed to.
"Keyword on try," Fujimaru continued smirking. "Whether or not I kill you now depends on how I feel."
"Why?" Shirou wanted to know that. "Why are you after me?"
"I'll put it in simple terms; buried deep inside you is knowledge I seek," answered Fujimaru as he reached into his own jacket. "And the easiest way to draw it, or him, out is to do this."
Shirou immediately ducked and rolled out of the way. Had he not, bullets would've pierced his chest and most likely killed him. Luckily, he was fast enough to avoid certain death again.
"You were always pretty fast, weren't you?" Fujimaru sighed, lowering the RideBooker. "Whatever, it's better it went this way."
The darkly-dressed Ritsuka pulled out the black Decadriver before snapping it to his waist; at the same time, Shirou took out the Ryuki Deck and raised it in front of himself to summon his belt; the silver belt materialised before snapping onto Shirou's waist.
"Henshin!" "Henshin."
KAMENRIDE: DECADE
Within the blink of an eye, their armour appeared on them; Ryuki stood up as Dark Decade dusted off his gloves in preparation for the upcoming fight. The former then pulled out a card from his buckle and scanned it in his gauntlet.
Sword Vent!
Ryuki raised his hand and his sword shot down from the sky, right into his open palm. He gripped it tightly, already anticipating it'd be a difficult battle for him.
"…You know what? I'm going to make it easier for you," Dark Decade suddenly said, sounding very confident with himself. Without looking, he opened the cover of the RideBooker, which was on the right side of his belt, and pulled out another card. "Using my real power will make things a bit too easy for my liking. So I'll be using this for our fight."
The Dark Rider opened his buckle, inserted the card— "Henshin." —and closed his Driver.
KAMENRIDE: SABER
Rekka Battou! Brave Dragon~!
Behind the jet-black Rider, the enlarged Brave Dragon Wonder RideBook dropped down before flipping open— releasing the dragon that was once Touma's familiar. It flew around Dark Decade several times as his armour changed into Kamen Rider Saber's.
Additionally, a copy of the Sword of Flames— Rekka —flew out of his Driver and into his left hand.
Rekka Issatsu! Yuki no ryuu to Kaenken Rekka ga majiwaru toki, shinku no tsurugi ga aku wo tsuranuku!
Ryuki took in his opponent's new appearance; Dark Decade's armour was split into three sections— the right black, the middle white, and the left red.
"It's been a while since I last borrowed Saber's powers," the other Rider hummed to himself as he ran his hand on Rekka's blade. "Let's see if I still got it."
With that closing remark, Dark Decade dashed towards him; Ryuki barely managed to block his first blow with his own sword. However, he couldn't block Dark Decade's follow-up and was kicked back.
Dark Decade didn't even let him off for a moment as he summoned flames with Rekka and sent a blazing slash at Ryuki. The other Rider barely managed to step back in time as the ground where he just stood blew up, sending rubble and dust into the air.
Advent!
"Ah shit." Dark Decade knew what that meant and he quickly took off running in a random direction. He was proven right when the ground he was standing on also blew up thanks to a fireball from the sky. A dragon's roar echoed through the area before Dragredder flew down and protectively encircled his master.
The Dark Rider was unfettered by the sight, however, and grinned under his mask. "Good. At least this'll be fun." He took out another card from his RideBooker and quickly scanned it in the Dark Decadriver.
FORMRIDE SABER: CRIMSON DRAGON
Kataritsuga reshi (Kataritsuga reshi!) shinjuu no (Shinjuu no!) sono na wa! (Sono na wa!) Crimson Dragon! Rekka Sansatsu! Shinku no tsurugi ga aku wo tsuranuki subete wo moyasu!
As with Saber a long time ago, the Storm Eagle and Saiyuu Journey Wonder RideBook appeared behind Dark Decade. They released their avatars that melded with the Rider's armour, turning it completely red.
Without taking a second to think about it, he ran towards Ryuki, more than ready to continue fighting.
With Decade and Knight…
While Ryuki and his black counterpart did battle halfway across the city, Decade was doing his best avoiding each of Knight's thrusts.
A minute earlier, the bat-themed Rider had used his Sword Vent card to summon not a sword, but a massive lance. He would've made a snarky remark about how unintuitive the card's name was, but was too busy avoiding getting impaled on said lance.
Back to the matter at hand, Knight tried stabbing him again but Decade dodged and rolled out of the way, managing to pull out a card in the process. The magenta Rider then inserted it into his Driver and stood up.
KAMENRIDE: KIVA
His armour turned to quicksilver and reshaped itself before shattering, revealing Kiva's armour. He then immediately took out another card and scanned it too.
FORMRIDE KIVA: GARULU
Most of his armour turned blue, with Decade dusting off his hands before the Garulu Sabre flew out of the Decadriver and into his hand.
Knight, however, was not surprised by his transformation as Takaragi had already told him of Decade's abilities. Instead, he pulled on the pommel of his sheathed rapier— causing the hilt to split open and revealing a card-shaped slot. He then pulled another card from his buckle before putting it into the slot and pushing the pommel.
Trick Vent!
After the announcement finished, Knight split into five identical copies of himself— all of whom were armed with their lance. They all immediately rushed forth, all aiming to kill the Rider before them.
Decade, however, was not going to let that happen and avoided the Knights' coordinated assault. He barely dodged and weaved through their initial attempts to hit him and managed to land his own blows in return.
Unfortunately though, Knight had a way to deal with that. One of his copies stepped back and inserted another card into his rapier.
Nasty Vent!
"Ah!" Decade cried in pain as he was forced to drop his sword to cover his ears (or where his ears would be) as an ear-splitting screech rang out in the area. The culprit of the screech soon made itself known; a large bat Mirror Monster appeared behind the Knight that used the card.
The other Knights, meanwhile, immediately took advantage of the opening and Decade found himself being thrown back rolling on the ground after they all hit him at the same time. He wasn't able to get up right away, and weakly pushed himself to his knees.
"That Takaragi guy told me that you'd be hard to beat. Looks like he was overselling you a little," the head Knight said as his copies converged onto him. "Then again, he also said underestimating you would be a mistake and you'd bounce back with full force."
In any other circumstances, Decade would appreciate the sort-of compliment. However, since it was Takaragi who said it, he just felt annoyed for some reason.
"And that's why I won't be holding back. I'll kill you, Decade. Here… and now."
"Tsk. Don't you be too sure about that," Decade managed to get out as he got to his feet, reverting to his normal form. "Unfortunately for you, I don't plan on dying yet. Until I learn why I'm on this journey, I'll live."
"No, don't you be too sure of that," Knight shot back as he planted his spear into the ground. "You'll die here. So that I can win this War and have my wish granted… and protect him."
He slowly reached down to his buckle and slid out another card. Knight then raised it with its back turned to his opponent before, finally, he flipped it between his fingers.
Gales of winds burst out of the card, forcing Decade to stumble back and raise his arms to shield himself from the strong winds. He managed to get a glimpse of the card Knight held— a picture of a golden wing over a windy background. "That's…!"
Knight calmly unsheathed his rapier, holding it in front of him, and tightened his grip on the handle. A silver wind covered the weapon before dispersing, revealing its' new form— a blue and gold shield with a sword sheathed in it. There was a slot in the shield, which Knight inserted the Survive Shippu card in before pulling the sword out, showing its silver blade.
Survive!
Knight pointed the tip of his sword at Decade as the winds protecting him were absorbed into his armour, making it evolve. His dark blue undersuit was now fully black, and his silver and dark blue armour turned light blue and gold. A black cape split down the middle now flowed down his back and, finally, his Advent Deck turned blue.
Now powered up with one of the strongest cards within the Rider War, Knight silently stared at Decade for a few tense seconds… before attacking him once again.
"Ha!"
"Nope! That won't work!" Dark Decade, still using Saber's powers, mocked Ryuki as he easily avoided his attack. He put some distance between himself and his opponent and was about to retaliate when something flashed in his mind. "That's…?"
Seeing his enemy pause, Ryuki stopped himself. He was confused as to why his carefree attacker would stop all of a sudden.
"Hmm… This changes things…" He heard the other Rider mutter before loudly saying. "Meh, that idiot could handle himself for a bit. I'll rescue him when things get too hairy."
"What?"
"Oh right, you don't know," Dark Decade said. "Your friend decided that the best way to save you from me is to kill my real self. Right now, he just used the Survive card."
"The Survive card? You mean—" Ryuki easily pieced together who he was talking about. "Why would Asagami—?"
"I just said it, didn't I? He's trying to kill the other me to save you," the Dark Rider repeated. "Too bad that won't work. Unfortunately for all of you, you won't live through this battle. You'll die here, Kamen Rider Ryuki."
"…No, that's wrong."
"Hm?"
Ryuki continued, "I won't die here. Not here, not now."
The declaration made Dark Decade smile under his mask. "Are you sure about that?"
"Yes. I'll live… and put an end to this War." The Dark Rider watched as Ryuki reached down to his buckle and pulled out another card. He raised it in front of him, unintentionally mimicking Knight's movement, and flipped the card.
Powerful flames erupted out of the card, setting the mirrored battleground ablaze. That didn't worry Dark Decade, however, who remained still and silently watched as Ryuki raised his left arm. His gauntlet turned into fire and spiralled over his hand before dispersing like with Knight.
Now in Ryuki's hand was a weapon similarly designed like his gauntlet, only thinner and larger. He then unhinged the bottom "jaw" of his weapon and slotted the Survive Rekka card inside before shutting it.
Survive!
The flames around them converged on Ryuki, making his armour evolve similarly to Knight; his undersuit and Advent Deck swapped colours, turning black and red respectively. His armour was also enhanced, becoming larger and more ornate, finishing the look of being more powerful than his base form.
"Ryuki Survive… right?" Dark Decade hummed, sounding pleased that he forced Ryuki to use the strongest card in his deck. "But… that won't change a thing. Nothing at all."
Ryuki didn't respond and simply waited for the Dark Rider to make the first move. The flames around them fizzled out, now done with their task of empowering Ryuki, leaving behind a scorched battlefield for them to fight in.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Dark Decade stepped forth.
Meanwhile…
"Ah… I knew I shouldn't have let him out of my sight…" Ciel sighed as she wandered the park alone. While interrogating Takaragi was important, that led to her losing track of where Ritsuka and Ren went.
There was (oddly) not even anyone around for her to ask directions. "Maybe I should go check out those two places in the meantime…"
While she wished she could keep an eye on him, Ciel trusted that Ritsuka would be able to get out of his battle relatively unscathed. She recalled the two locations that were already crossed out on the map— the school and temple on the west side of town. If her hunting of Roa years back taught her anything, it's to always double check the basement.
Maybe Emiya Shirou wasn't aware that there was some place underneath those places that could hide the Core Mirror.
However, before that, there was something she needed to take care of. "…How long will you be following me around?" She suddenly asked and looked back.
"Impressive, Executor." From behind his hiding spot (a large tree next to the path), Swartz stepped out with an impressed grin on his face. "I suppose your instincts are not to be underestimated."
"So you're here too, Swartz." She really shouldn't be surprised; it was clear that he'd be keeping an eye on them after their meeting in Kiva's World. "Are you here to test Fujimaru again?"
"No, not this time. His next test will be in the near future." Swartz somewhat surprisingly didn't bother hiding that he was planning something. "No, I'm here for something else entirely."
"Who? Ryuki?" Ciel questioned. She hardened her stance and was ready to start fighting at a moment's notice.
"In a way, yes. But currently, the true Fujimaru Ritsuka is working on that. I'll let him do his business and join in near the end."
Ciel remained silent, trying to figure out what he meant.
"But until then, I wish to test my newest servant's strength and yours." Alarms blared in Ciel's head and she quickly changed into her normal combat attire, pulling out Black Keys in preparation. At the same time, Swartz raised his hand and summoned an Aurora Curtain. "Come! From the depths of hell!"
A white and black blur burst out from the wall and quickly closed the distance between itself and Ciel. The Executor managed to block the first blow before leaping back to get a better look at who or what she's fighting. Whatever they was, however, didn't let her get away and stuck to her, constantly making slashes with their weapon.
The blows were strong enough to shatter the blades, forcing Ciel to pull out more Black Keys to repel further attacks. This exchange lasted for about a minute before Ciel (barely) managed to get the upper hand; she landed a swift kick and used her opponent as a springboard to jump back while simultaneously forcing them backward.
Now, Ciel finally got a good look at her attacker— just as she thought, it was another Kamen Rider. He had a nearly completely white suit and armour, with blue flame designs on his arms, and multitudes of small rectangular black slots attached all over his body. Wrapped around his neck was a cloak that covered most of his body. His helmet had a forked horn, with the outer two being much longer, and large yellow eyes. Finally, his Driver looked incomplete; it had a central unit with a bulky red slot on its right side, positioned to look like an L. Within the Driver was a white USB drive with the label E seen in a hole on the slot. Finally, in his hand was a combat knife that had a final slot in it.
The Rider, in response to the push back, just let out an amused huff and twirled his knife.
"So then, who are you? What is your name?" Ciel questioned him with a stone-cold expression. A stone-cold expression that broke the second he spoke.
"Sorry, but I don't feel like answering that yet," a smooth and cool voice came from the Rider… a voice Ciel hadn't heard in years. "Tell you what? When I kill you, I'll give you the name you can take to the Grim Reaper."
"You…" Ciel's eyes widened and she felt her entire body shaking. For the first time in a long time, she felt true fear as she realised who was beneath the mask and what he could be capable of— something that Swartz picked up on.
"Amazing, is it not?" He asked with a sadistic grin. "Standing before you is Kamen Rider Eternal of Another World. However… his true identity is one you've met long before. Well… an alternate version of him, truthfully."
'How did he—?' It took a moment for Ciel to remember Swartz had the ability to travel through time. He could've easily used it to look into her past… and find a version of him.
"Now then…" Kamen Rider Eternal said, getting Ciel's attention. "It's time for you to experience true hell."
He twirled his knife once more to intimidate Ciel… before closing the distance again.
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope…
"I shall mention this; his nature is similar to yours, Executor. Or at least, your former nature."
"It won't be long now. The Rider War's ending is imminent."
"The Core Mirror's location… is the same as where our first test of resolve took place."
"If you wish for your desires to be granted… Kill Emiya Shirou."
Chapter 29: The End of the Rider War
A/N: Annnnnd done! And much faster than I've recently been doing too.
Now then, the midpoint of the Ryuki arc. I know you guys wish for more interaction between Ritsuka and Shirou but that's for the next chapter. Now though, we get Ritsuka Alter and Shirou interactions. And of course, I made references to those two. We also get Ritsuka getting his ass kicked by Knight Survive because as good as he is, Final Forms are still Final Forms.
As for that final scene, hoho… Honestly, I planned it to be in the next chapter but decided to move it here cause I didn't want to interrupt the climax fight next time by switching between the final battle and Ciel fighting… Well, I'm sure you guys can tell who it is. Why did I go with him being Eternal? I'll explain in due time. And it is not simply because they both use knives. Certainly not that.
...I'm gonna get so much flack for making him an antagonist, aren't I?
In any case, next chapter will be the final part of the Ryuki arc. And I'm sure you guys know where it'll be going. After all, I made the inspiration for this arc incredibly clear.
Oh yeah, I also made Issei Raia because… I'm sure you know why. Also, this will probably not be brought up in the next chapter so I'm just gonna say it here: Scissors was Matou Shinji. Now that, I really don't need to explain why.
As always, please leave a review about what you think about this chapter. I really enjoy reading them and it helps me grow as a writer. See you all next time!