Sora's consciousness was a muddled mess. The only sensation he felt was searing heat enveloping him—nothing else.
It was as if he'd melted entirely into flame itself.
His memories were chaotic, scenes from the past churning wildly in his mind.
"Mister? Excuse me, Mister?"
Only after someone called out did Sora abruptly awaken. The scorching heat faded away, replaced by a cool sensation.
He looked around. The decorations around him resembled those of an ordinary temple.
A shishi-odoshi clacked rhythmically, pouring clear water from bamboo into a basin. Protective omamori charms hung from nearby trees, evoking a comforting sense of peace.
It was as if arriving here meant stepping directly into a god's embrace.
"Where…is this?" Sora asked, confusion still clouding his mind.
"This is Daitenku Temple, Mister. You look unwell—I'll fetch the head priest to check on you."
As the voice faded, Sora saw someone glowing faintly with white light hurry past him.
Daitenku Temple? It sounds familiar… Wait, seriously?!
His awareness sharpened instantly, memories falling into place. He realized exactly where he'd found himself:
Daitenku Temple—wasn't that the famous temple from Kamen Rider Ghost?
Wait a minute. Why was he suddenly here? And that person had just said 'head priest'… Could that mean—
"I was wondering why you hadn't responded to my calls. Turns out you got caught up in some trouble."
Just as Sora's mind was racing in shock, a gentle male voice drifted toward him from ahead.
Looking up, Sora's eyes widened in recognition.
Short, light brown hair. Colorful robes adorned with intricate patterns. Standing before him was none other than Takeru Tenkuji—the very same person destined to inherit Daitenku Temple.
No, based on what he'd just heard, it seemed Takeru had already succeeded as head priest.
As Sora remained dazed, Takeru stepped closer, gently assessing him.
"Your soul's overheated, but fortunately you seem otherwise unharmed."
As he spoke, Takeru placed a gentle palm on Sora's chest, expelling the blazing, orange-golden stellar energy from within him.
Instantly, Sora's mind cleared completely, memories reordering sharply. He vividly recalled the blazing star that filled his vision before losing consciousness.
More importantly—he remembered clearly that the Starcrusher Swarm King was still undefeated!
Its immense speed and overwhelming defenses had been beyond anything he could handle.
Noticing Sora's expression shift into urgency, Takeru quickly understood the situation.
"It seems you still have unfinished business," Takeru said gently. "Then I won't waste any more of your precious time."
Golden radiance flowed gently from Takeru into Sora's body.
"This power will let you move freely in this form for a short while. Hopefully, it'll help you through whatever you're facing now."
Sora looked at his glowing form, then back at Takeru. "Takeru-senpai, this is…"
Takeru responded with a bright, reassuring smile.
"Don't worry about it. Once you've settled everything, we'll have plenty of time to talk leisurely."
Sora opened his mouth to reply but hesitated, finally deciding to simply nod in silent gratitude.
"Now, believe in yourself and burn your soul brightly to overcome every obstacle!"
With those words, Takeru gave him a gentle push, and the world around Sora immediately spun wildly.
"Remember—the possibilities of life are infinite…"
Accompanied by those final words echoing softly in his ear, Sora's consciousness returned to reality, greeted by the hum and whir of machinery.
He could also hear frantic voices arguing nearby.
"A powerful enemy appeared outside! Commander Titania's already been destroyed twice!"
Within the research facility, chaos reigned due to the fierce battle raging outside.
Robin, staying behind, received urgent transmissions from space:
"The moment Sora's Memoria extraction finishes, take his body and the extracted Memoria and evacuate immediately!"
"But…"
"Memoria-to-consciousness conversion can be performed anywhere! This location is no longer safe. You must—"
Abruptly, the transmission distorted heavily, followed by crackling static.
"Mitsutake? Mitsutake!" Robin kept calling desperately, but only static replied.
Checking quickly, Robin realized that stellar energy fluctuations had severely disrupted communications.
"And this stellar energy…is still increasing—" Robin glanced at the detector in horror, staring into the sky above. "It's approaching here?!"
The sky had already dimmed—not because of nightfall—but because an impossibly bright beam of light had obscured every other source of illumination.
That was the terrifying beam fired from the distant star—the [Stellar Ray Torrent]—an attack capable of disintegrating all living matter!
Its sheer destructive force was unstoppable. Even starships and planetary-scale defenses were nothing before such an attack.
As the beam drew nearer, the instruments on Tartaro instantly malfunctioned. Even the Memoria extraction equipment began glitching wildly.
Under that blinding glare, Tartaro itself seemed caught in the opening moments of doomsday.
The beam moved at unimaginable speeds, quickly engulfing the entire planet in its terrifying radiance.
But at that very moment, a Crystal Rampart suddenly appeared, casting a protective shadow over the area—buying Robin a precious few seconds to act.
Without hesitation, Robin activated emergency evacuation protocols, rushing to transfer Sora's body and Memoria to a secure location.
No matter what happened, Sora's survival had to be ensured!
Yet at that very instant, a flash of silver erupted in space, shattering the Crystal Rampart that blocked the destructive beam.
Robin watched clearly as an enormous insect tore Titania apart, absorbing her Memoria directly.
In the next instant, the blinding [Stellar Ray Torrent] tore through the collapsing Rampart, pierced the sky itself, and hurtled mercilessly toward the planet's surface.
Robin felt moisture rapidly evaporating from her body, her mouth painfully dry. Even as death closed in, strangely, her heart remained calm.
Is this the feeling Sora experienced before…?
Extreme heat radiated downward, cracking the ground, flattening buildings—as if everything on this planet would soon turn to ash.
So this was the sensation of directly facing a star—this was the very same heat that Sora had felt before.
In the end, she too would fall, just like Sora, defeated by the exact same attack.
The two of them really were hopeless...
Robin could only stare upward helplessly, watching as that [Stellar Ray Torrent] descended to erase everything—when suddenly, a familiar voice echoed clearly in her mind:
"Sorry to trouble you all. Let me handle things from here."
Robin even felt someone gently pat her shoulder, but when she looked around, there was no one there.
But that voice…
Her eyes snapped toward the lab, to that body still quietly lying there.
"Sora?!"
Sora's body remained motionless, his eyes closed without any sign of waking.
Yet nearby, the faint, translucent shadow was gradually solidifying, absorbing the feelings from those around him.
Within these emotions were sadness for his death, joy at the hope of resurrection, admiration for his heroics—and even one particular someone repeatedly calling him an idiot.
But above all else was the earnest longing, a hope so bright that if only he awakened, everything would surely be alright again!
All these emotions gathered, flowing into him, causing his ethereal form to radiate brilliantly.
"I've received all of your feelings."
Then, it's only fitting that I respond properly to your hopes!
As Sora's thought took form, pure white radiance surged from his body, flying toward that despair-filled temporary camp.
Facing the incoming [Stellar Ray Torrent] that had shattered the Crystal Rampart and plunged Titania into doubt, Sora calmly extended his palm!
"Saving everyone was too difficult for you after all, wasn't it?"
His radiant figure collided head-on with the immense destructive power of the beam!
Even brighter brilliance erupted, clashing directly with the [Stellar Ray Torrent], causing powerful ripples of energy to surge through space.
"Sora?!" Titania's voice was filled with disbelief.
"Who else?" Sora replied casually. "Seems even your memory got messed up, idiot."
His answer confirmed his identity beyond doubt.
His silhouette appeared small amid the blinding glare, yet Titania could clearly sense him there.
Sora revived?
Titania's heart jolted in shock, yet she instantly perceived something strange about Sora's current condition.
His body was clearly still lying unconscious in the laboratory. The Sora in front of her now seemed similar in form to herself, yet subtly different.
Just what exactly is Sora right now?
While Titania puzzled over this, the radiance from Sora's body grew brighter and brighter until it completely overwhelmed the [Stellar Ray Torrent!
This new radiance differed fundamentally from the destructive beam; rather than destruction, it carried healing and serenity.
After raging furiously for a moment longer, the [Stellar Ray Torrent finally began to fade, slowly dissipating until it vanished completely.
At the same moment, the pure white light that had flown out returned, settling gently into Sora's hand.
[Just who exactly are you?] The Starcrusher Swarm King's puzzled voice echoed across space.
[Why would you go to such lengths to protect these weaklings who have no possibility of survival?]
Sora simply smiled faintly. No possibility of survival? That remained to be seen!
What surprised him most was that the Starcrusher Swarm King hadn't recognized him yet.
"Seems your body forgot the lesson I taught you. That's my mistake."
Sora calmly placed the [Eyecon] representing himself into the [Driver] at his waist.
Dignified music resonated within countless souls.
"I'll definitely correct my mistake this time—carve this lesson deeply into your life!"
"[Henshin]!"
'[CHOKAIGAN! MUGEN!]'
'[KEEP GOING! GO, GO, GO! GO, GO, GO! GO, GO, GO! GOTTA! GHOST!]'
Pure white robes erupted from the [Driver], sweeping across space, scattering countless sacred feathers.
Finally, they settled around Sora's form, becoming his new attire.
Only now, everyone saw clearly Sora's complete appearance.
A body glowing in immaculate silver-white, radiating pure sanctity. Atop his head shone a seven-colored horn, illuminating his form with gentle brilliance.
Seven-colored halos encircled him, and his transparent armor shimmered, almost intangible.
Simply standing there, he inspired an indescribably powerful sense of peace deep within the hearts of those watching.
"So this is…Sora's new form?" Robin murmured softly as she witnessed this moment.
Earlier, she'd still been somewhat uncertain—after all, Sora's physical body was still unconscious there in the lab.
But the instant this form appeared, Robin became completely certain: the figure standing proudly in the sky was undoubtedly Sora.
Only that fool would pick such an overly flashy form. Only that idiot would hide such important things until the very last moment.
Yet Robin couldn't help but smile. Somehow, she didn't dislike this about him at all.
"Welcome back," she whispered gently.
Perhaps because it meant a certain foolish someone had truly returned, or perhaps she simply liked this particular form.
She had no doubts at all that from now on, Sora would surely sweep away every obstacle standing in their path.
Meanwhile, Titania felt something entirely different. From the moment Sora's new form emerged, she sensed another power radiating outward into the universe!
"What…is this?" she muttered in confusion, almost unable to believe what she was sensing. Under the influence of this power, even her own strength seemed magnified significantly.
Yet her power was fundamentally derived from the AEON of Propagation!
Normally, if she wanted to gain power, she'd have to adhere strictly to her Path, eventually ascending fully to godhood.
But now, without performing any propagation, she clearly felt her power steadily increasing!
She'd previously exhausted herself battling the Starcrusher Swarm King, losing substantial amounts of energy and growing dangerously weak.
Titania had felt close to collapsing into unconsciousness, but this mysterious force replenished her energy, allowing her consciousness to persist.
Such a phenomenon should never exist within this universe!
If such a thing were possible, then anyone could potentially grasp the power of an AEON.
Yet, as impossible as it seemed, Titania felt it clearly now.
The conflicting sensations filled her with an odd mixture of confusion and delight. As for the culprit behind all this, there could only be one—that brilliant figure standing resolutely in space!
"You damned guy," Titania clenched her fist tightly, yet a grin formed on her lips. "You actually managed something like this!"
Even though you're stupid, idiotic, foolish, and annoying—this time, you did pretty well.
And elsewhere, wild, maniacal laughter echoed through the star systems.
Of course! I knew it!
Even without seeing you directly, you'd still manage something incredibly amusing for me.
...
[This is too fun, way too fun! AHA wants to join in too!]
Rolling wildly with laughter, AHA sprawled dramatically across the cosmos.
Yet suddenly, AHA seemed to recall something important:
[Wait, no—I've already interfered, haven't I? I already gave my dear old friend a welcoming gift!]
Beneath that mocking mask, a broken puppet's limbs slowly faded, quietly infecting the very fundamental laws of the universe.
The Old Wooden Head, deeply embedded into those cosmic rules, hadn't even noticed.
And those ordinary fools, convinced that this meant "order" could be restored—wasn't that just too amusing?
At that very moment, Sora seemed to sense something odd, frowning slightly as he gazed out into distant space.
Malice and goodwill merging and splitting apart... What's this strange feeling?