Clearly wounded and winded, Hiryu Kakogawa nevertheless triumphantly stood atop a rise overlooking the battlefield, the frozen tundra of the Scandinavian Lostbelt stretching out before him. The bitter cold bit at his skin, but he hardly felt it, his focus entirely on the task at hand.

All around the man known as Another Zi-O, his forces—his army of Another Agitos, fought mercilessly against the Valkyries that called this frozen wasteland home. Even though the end of everything they knew was at hand, they fought with all of their might.

"Truly idiots of the highest order."

"So the…pot calls the kettle…black."

With annoyance clear on his face, Hiryu turned around to fully look down on the beaten and broken body of the foe he just bested - Sigurd, the King of Warriors. Or at least, that's what the wicked creature who stole the body before him called himself when they fought.

And as loathed as he would admit it, this man definitely knew how to battle. Few if anything in all of time could match his might at this point, so the fact that this "Servant" managed to push him as far as he did spoke volumes about his abilities. Had no one

Didn't make the "man" any less insufferable to interact with.

"And what exactly do you mean by that? Does a loser of such as yourself even have the right to address your superior in such a tone?" Hiryu sneered, his irritation going up a notch when Sigurd had the audacity to actually laugh at him.

"The fact that you…even need to ask speaks about the depths of your ignorance." Sigurd wheezed, producing a truly ugly, unnatural sound. His once noble visage was marred by pain and contempt, his body a testament to the ferocity of their battle.

Hiryu's eyes narrowed. "Ignorance? From where I stand, it looks like you're the one who failed to understand the situation. Look around you, Sigurd. Your Valkyries are falling, your land is crumbling, and you are at my feet. Soon, the so-called goddess of this world will fall where you are and I shall be the one in control here."

Sigurd's eyes burned with a fierce, unyielding light - as if it contained the depths of hell itself. "Your control… is an illusion. Any power you think you have… is a fleeting lie. You may have won this battle, but you will fail as does all who walk the path that you do."

Hiryu scoffed, his clock-hand sword glinting ominously in the harsh light. "You speak as though you have any say in the matter. Your time is over, Sigurd. Now, it's my time to reshape history as I see fit."

"And create an eternal kingdom with you alone on top? There will always be those who'll bring them down. The only thing truly eternal is the end— nothingness is the destiny of everything, one way or another. The only thing you'll rule… is the ashes of a burned world…" Sigurd continued laughing madly before his body collapsed into golden dust as is the fate of all Servants.

Hiryu only scoffed again, thinking little of the fallen warrior's words. He would rule, and it would be better than anything that woman would ever achieve.

"My king, we've discovered where the Lostbelt King and Crypter are." His inner monologue was interrupted by his herald, Finis, who approached with a bowed head. "Unfortunately, we've sustained massive casualties. We have only 15% of our original forces remaining."

That didn't matter to Hiryu. Those beasts were always meant to be disposable, serving as distractions while he and his own servants fought the real threats. "Then we'll march there. It took longer than expected, but I'll win this 'war' no matter what it takes."

If Hiryu had bothered to look at Finis, he would have seen their grimace, though they managed to hide any audible disdain behind a professional and submissive tone. "Understood, my king. We shall follow your commands to the very end."

"Naturally. Now where exactly are Scathach-Skadi and Ophelia Phamrsolone?" The memories he obtained from taking over the body of the Grand Dutchess have proven to be far more useful than he originally thought. While certain details were out of her sphere of knowledge, she knew much about how the Crypters and their respective Lostbelts generally operated - knowledge he used along with his power over time to connect this one to the one he took over.

Finis promptly pointed northwards, showing a giant castle of ice that could be easily mistaken for marble from a distance, "That's Scathach-Skadi's stronghold - where Ophelia is also operating at right now. We should take extra care with how we approach our next steps. Not only do the strongest forces that watch over this Lostbelt reside there, but they no doubt knew of our arrival the moment we entered this timeline and are prepared for our assault. Combined with the diminishment of our army, this will not go as smoothly as our takeover of Russia."

"Then let us bolster our forces, shall we?" Hiryu's voice rang out with a chilling authority, echoing across the frozen battlefield.

With a flourish, he raised his hand high, and in one swift motion, threw a host of Another Ridewatches into the air. They glinted ominously in the harsh light, catching the attention of every soldier and warrior present.

The watches seemed to hang suspended for a heartbeat, gleaming like malevolent stars against the bleak sky. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, they shattered the stillness, transforming mid-air into a legion of monstrous warriors. Each one materialized with a burst of dark power, their forms twisting and solidifying into fearsome visages of destruction.

"Kuuga!"

"Ryuki!"

"Ryuga!"

"Faiz!"

"Blade!"

"Hibiki!"

"Kabuto!"

"Den-O!"

"Kiva!"

"W!"

"OOO!"

"Fourze!"

"Wizard!"

"Gaim!"

"Drive!"

"Ghost!"

"Ex-Aid!"

"Build!"

"Shinobi!"

"Quiz!"

"Kikai!"

The air crackled with malevolent energy as the new army took shape, their eyes glowing with an insatiable hunger for battle. The ground trembled beneath their collective weight, and the very air seemed to vibrate with their presence.

Hiryu stood at the center of this maelstrom, his clock-hand sword raised high, a triumphant sneer playing on his lips. "Now, let us crush our enemies and seize victory in the name of the true king of time!"

The newly summoned army let out a unified roar, a terrifying sound that echoed across the tundra, signaling the dawn of a new and brutal offensive for conquest over the Lostbelt.

"—an eternal paradise wrapped in snow, with a single ruler watching over everything." Woz finished his tale and closed his tome, letting his words sink in with everyone on the bridge of the Shadow Border. They had, after enough dallying, made their way into the second Lostbelt in the lands of Scandinavia. As Woz had expected, once they emerged from their Zero Sail, his book updated with the rough history of this Lostbelt which he relayed to the others.

The first to recover was Olga, who sighed from the story. "Another solitary ruler, huh?" And this one was a legitimate Divine Spirit from the Age of Gods. Assuming they manage to deal with Hiryu first, they'd have their work cut out for them.

The second, however, was the newest addition to their band of misfits— and he had some rather scathing opinions about everything. "This is just a retelling of the previous Lostbelt," Hans loudly grumbled with clear frustration in his voice. "A land basked in snow, a Lostbelt King who keeps order with a squadron of faceless soldiers, solitary villages of humans who have no choice but to bend to the wills of the world. It's as if a student copied their friend's homework and changed the bare minimum. Does this Foreign God not have any sense of creativity?'

"There he goes ranting again…" Ritsuka sighed in exasperation. Admittedly, it does feel like the Russian Lostbelt all over again but he digresses. He glanced at the monitors showing footage of the snowy landscape outside which was littered with dead bodies. It was mainly Yagas but every so often, nearly camouflaged against the snow were warriors in white cloaks. Woz's book only contained an abridged tale of what led to this world's current existence up till it appeared on the bleached Earth. As such, they could only guess what happened here. According to Da Vinci, they lost a week while on their way here and— if their calculations were correct —the convergence between the two Lostbelts had been underway for a few days.

However, Hans was not done with his complaints yet and was now addressing Woz directly. "And you, could you be any less mysterious? I may be an author but even I know when a sense of suspense and mystery is too much. Your whole mysterious herald impression is too generic."

"I simply narrate what is written; nothing more, nothing less. This is how the story goes," Woz replied as calmly as he physically could. However, there was no missing the obvious eye twitching. "And I take pride in how I present myself. Call it generic if you wish, but that doesn't change how I've been more helpful than you've been, Servant. "

"Hmph, a story penned by even the least talented of authors would cover everything we need to know. I will remind you that we at Chaldea have done more with less and—"

"Alright, that's enough, you two." Both Ritsuka and Olga stepped in, preventing things from escalating between the two.

"We have more pressing matters at the moment." It was time to take their first step into this new world. "Ready, Mash?" Ritsuka asked, turning towards his loyal kouhai who was now equipped with Da Vinci's solution to her previous issue— the Oritinax. It was a battlesuit that would be able to help her manifest some of her abilities as a Demi-Servant again; it wasn't as strong as if she could do so naturally, but it served its function as a workaround.

"Yes, I'm ready, Master. Remember to stay behind me should we encounter anything," Mash replied, putting down her visor as the group stepped out of the Shadow Border into the snowfield that reeked of death.

Olga kept a hold of her emotions as she surveyed the land, wondering just why were the Yaga here. In the brief time they spent in Russia, she was led to believe the beastfolk would not blindly follow someone however strong they may be. The strong survive, but would they follow someone like Hiryu to uncertain doom? The Yagas would not willingly throw themselves into danger if they didn't believe in it. "What do you make of this, Woz?" She glanced back as she asked her herald.

"Two armies fought till they couldn't fight anymore; it's as simple as that," Woz replied to his demon queen.

"I meant why would the Yaga fight for Hiryu? He already has his Another Riders to fight for him, why would he make the Yaga do the same?" It didn't make sense… unless…

"Grr…"

"Master, watch out!" Olga snapped to attention, looking in the direction of Mash's voice. While she had been busy wondering what transpired, Ritsuka and his Servants were checking if there were any survivors on the battlefield. Unfortunately, they ended up awakening something that was better left buried in the snow.

The green monster clothed in winter attire that attacked Ritsuka and was currently being fought off by Mash was unmistakable thanks to how much of a threat it had proven to be due to how far it was able to spread itself like a virus if not dealt with quickly enough. "Another Agito!" Olga shouted in disgust and fury, her mind already racing to try and figure out why it was left here on the battlefield… then it clicked in her mind. "Hiryu, you bastard! Woz!"

Woz was already on it, using his book to help Mash by tossing it in the air. It grew to the size of a car as it flew towards the Another Rider before closing on it, trapping it in its pages and letting Mash and the others finish it off. It had already been clearly left for dead and was not able to withstand the onslaught from the Servants— dying in a fiery explosion.

"Ritsuka, are you okay?" Olga ran up to him, her concern and worry clear in her eyes, looking all over his body, even forcibly turning him around to fully check. "It didn't bite you or anything, right?!"

"N—no, Mash managed to shield me in time," Ritsuka answered with a sigh of relief. "That's another one of those Another Riders, I'm assuming?"

Olga nodded as she finished her check-up, also sighing in relief that Ritsuka was unscathed. "That was Another Agito. It has the ability to multiply like how a zombie is able to become horde by infecting other creatures. So if it managed to bite you…" She trailed off, letting Ritsuka put the pieces together himself, which he did, given the visible shiver of fear that went through his body. She was now more concerned about the implications of its appearance here; Hiryu would have brought it along on his warpath if it was the Another Agito, which meant that…

"Hey, Master! Check this out!" Izo shouted at them to get their attention. He had gone to check the remains of the Another Rider and, sure enough…

"A Yaga," Olga sighed with downcasted eyes, seeing the corpse from where she was standing with Ritsuka. "So that's how he got all of them fighting for him, he turned them into his slaves." Just when she thought Hiryu couldn't sink any lower, he proved her wrong. Turning innocent people into Another Riders was something she knew he could do, but she thought he wouldn't do it again with his powers as Zi-O II. This was just to spite her again, Olga was sure of it. "…Ritsuka?" She glanced at him to gauge his reaction. There was fury in his eyes, she could see that plain as day, but he kept a neutral expression even as his fist clenched.

"We have to stop him as fast as possible then," Ritsuka declared. "He'd be making his way towards the Lostbelt King, right? We better get going too before he reaches them."

"No, Woz and I are going to confront him, as per the plan we informed you all about." Olga corrected, brokering now room for disagreement, "You guys need to find the true Another Agito, the first one turned by Kakogawa and spreading it to the others and take care of him. Doing so would save all the others"

"Seriously? Leaving us to play clean up?" Mordred huffed as she walked up next to Ritsuka, "How the hell are we supposed to find the original host for these monsters? Didn't you also say that only the original Rider could defeat them?"

"That was how it was when they first started appearing, but a sufficiently more powerful attack could outright destroy them too. If all of you focus your attacks on the original one, it should be able to take it down too like you just did with that one," Olga answered succinctly, "To find the original Another Agito, just look for the naked one. The ones turned by a bite would be fully clothed."

Ritsuka stayed silent for a few seconds to absorb that information before nodding. "I got it. Defeating the original would save all the others, right?"

"That was the case last time, no reason it wouldn't be now."

He was going to have to follow the order anyway seeing as Olga was the leader, but Ritsuka nodded again. "Then I'll leave Hiryu to you. We'll deal with the Another Agitos."

Olga silently thanked him for understanding and turned back towards Woz. "Alright, do your thing."

Mash blinked at that.

"His…thing?" The purple-haired Servant questioned, only to gasp when she saw Woz promptly take out and attach a futuristic-looking green and black belt onto his waist with one hand, while taking out an equally futuristic watch and clicking the button on its top with another - one from the Ridewatches she's seen thus far, "That belt…Woz, don't tell you also are?!"

"Woz!" The herald then directly attached the watch to the open green handle at the end of his belt, "Action!"

With another push of the watch's button, it opened to revealed a strange face within, resulting in green stage-like geometric lights appearing all around Woz and what appeared to be a holographic smartwatch manifesting directly behind the herald, all occupied by high-end techno music.

"Henshin."

Woz then pushed the handle down, folding it into the belt.

"Projecting! Future Time!"

The techno music stopped just as a surge of energy exploded from the device, enveloping Woz in a brilliant green and black aura. The energy coalesced around him, forming intricate patterns and symbols in the air. Light blue letters spun around him, clicking into place as the transformation took hold.

"Fantastic! Historic! Futuristic!"

His body was encased in the Rider suit as silver, black, and green armor plates snapped into place, covering him from head to toe. The helmet materialized last, its blue visor glowing with a fierce intensity after the letters placed themselves onto it, reflecting his unwavering resolve.

"Kamen Rider Woz? Woz!"

The transformation finished with a final, resounding click. Kamen Rider Woz stood tall, his presence commanding and formidable. The wind whipped around him, carrying the echoes of his transformation across the battlefield.

"REJOICE! The reader of the past and the future. The prophet who will write the proper timeline." Kamen Rider Woz declared, his voice amplified and altered by the helmet. "And his name is Kamen Rider Woz! This is the first page of a new history!"

Woz prepared himself for the compliments there were no doubt coming his way, most certainly from Ritsuka as he learned he was a fan of transforming heroes… However the first person to respond just had to be him. "What sort of suit is that supposed to be? It's unappealing; who'd wear a watch as a mask?" Hans scoffed, his disdain for Woz's appearance oozing in his voice. "I knew you had bad taste but this is taking the cake. It looks like something you'd steal off from a fashion designer."

"Funny you mention steal…" Olga couldn't help but giggle a bit at Hans dressing down of Kamen Rider Woz's suit.

"I do beleive that's our cue to go, my overlord." He interrupted a little bit too quickly for his usual standards, taking out one of the watches attached to his wrist.

"Shinobi!"

Replacing the Woz Mirridewatch on his belt with the Shinobi Mirridewatch, Woz repeated his actions from before.

"Action! Projecting! Future Time! Who's there? I'm There? Ninja! Futurering Shinobi! Shinobi!"

In multiple flashes of purple techno light, the green and black on Kamen Rider Woz and the blue on his visor had been all replaced by purple, with what seemed to be giant, purple shurikens on his shoulder pads and front - the image of a shinobi completed by a purple scarf blowing in the snowy wind of the Lostbelt. Unfortunately, it was ruined once again by the snarky little author.

"Wearing purple in the snow, very stealthy."

"That's enough, Hans, let the guy have his fun," Ritsuka snickered, finding some joy in his snappy remarks, which greatly contrasted Mash's reaction, who was rapidly clapping her hands in awe of Woz's various transformations, "Nice scarf by the way."

"Hmph, at least people have taste around here. Let's go, my overlord."

Gently wrapping an arm around Olga's waist, Kamen Rider Woz performed a hand sign - disappearing the both of them in a puff of smoke as any good ninja would. The cold breeze blew through the remaining group until— "Master, you do realize the Another Rider would most likely be close to this Kakogawa, right?"

"I know, Hans."

"And we still do not know in which direction we have to go in, right?"

"I know, Hans," Ritsuka continued smiling. "Let's just get back to the Border and—"

"There's no need for that, Fujimaru Ritsuka-kun~" The new voice made all of them turn around to see, standing with his back to the sun that obscured his face, a man who clearly didn't belong in this Lostbelt. "Normally, I'd ask for a worthwhile treasure in exchange for helping you out with your problem." The shadowy man twirled his oversized gun, a small chuckle escaping from him as he saw everyone's tensed up faces. "But given that our goals are aligned for the moment, I'm willing to make a special exception for you lot."

BOOM! Cliffhanger!

Those who know, know who has arrived to make a chaotic situation go off the rails! If you don't, you'll find out soon enough.

Gotta admit, those Woz transformations were a bitch to write out given how long and elaborate Kamen Rider transformations are. I think it was pulled off well enough here.

FB113: We're skipping a lot when it comes to LB2 but you can be assured that this will bite everyone in the ass later. After all, there'd be a certain giant lurking around waiting for his time to strike among other things too~ And trust me when I say things are about to be shaken up further in the next few chapters…