"Thanks for the save. I really owe you one," Fourze said, giving a thumbs-up despite the fact that his face was completely hidden under the helmet.
Acheron tilted her head slightly, studying him from top to bottom. "What kind of species are you?"
Tsutsumi glanced over as well. "Homo sapiens?" he added casually. "Or something else entirely?"
In his memory, Kamen Rider Fourze was human. But memories didn't mean much across worlds. For all he knew, the person inside the suit could've been a space duck that learned how to punch things.
There was a brief pause. "…What's a homo sapiens?" Fourze asked. "I'm human."
"That's the same thing," Tsutsumi replied flatly.
"Oh. Huh. Didn't know that," Fourze murmured, scratching the back of his head out of habit, even though the helmet made the gesture pointless.
Acheron looked away. "You're strange," she said, sounding more bored than curious.
She couldn't sense anything unusual from him. No Aeon's influence, no strange resonance, no deeper presence. Just a person in armor makes for space travel, nothing more.
"So," Tsutsumi continued, "why are you out here anyway? Get lost while traveling through space or something?"
He already knows that throughout the different riders, Fourze was directly created for space. Still, their current galaxy isn't the Milky Way.
How the hell did this rider travel all the way from Earth to here?
Fourze nodded, a little awkwardly. "Yeah… something like that. Don't worry about me. You can just drop me off at the nearest place with civilization. I'll find my way back home."
Tsutsumi frowned, noticing something odd about his words.
"Azu," he said, not taking his eyes off Fourze, "locate Earth in the Milky Way galaxy."
Fourze stiffened. There was a brief pause before Azu's calm voice filled the cockpit.
"Sorry, Master. The Milky Way galaxy no longer has a planet designated as Earth."
"Explain." He said, and her voice rang out again.
"Ten years ago, an entity-class species known as Zodiarts landed on the planet. Within two years, global life signs dropped to zero. Shortly after, the planet was completely destroyed."
The cockpit fell quiet. Tsutsumi slowly turned his head toward Fourze, and Acheron did the same.
The helmet hid his expression, but his posture said enough. His shoulders had gone stiff, fists clenched at his sides, head slightly lowered.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tsutsumi asked.
Fourze shook his head once. "Thanks for the concern. Just… dropping me off at the nearest place with people is fine."
There was no anger in his voice. Just restraint and defeat.
"Azu, locate the nearest civilization." Tsutsumi returned to his seat and sat down.
"Yes, Master." A few seconds passed. "Please stabilize your positions. Preparing warp jump to the Xianzhou."
Fourze moved quickly, planting his back against the metal wall and bracing himself. Acheron stepped closer instead, casually sitting on the armrest of Tsutsumi's chair and leaning lightly against him as if this were routine.
The ship was enveloped in a pale, translucent blue glow.
Space stretched, folded, then snapped; the stars around them shifted. And the spaceship disappeared.
They reappeared facing a fleet of six massive, space-faring flagships, the Xianzhou, sailing steadily through the void like a migrating armada.
The pale blue glow around the ship faded as it decelerated. Tsutsumi stared forward in silence, hands resting loosely on the controls.
There wasn't much he could do for Fourze now.
If Earth still existed, he could've gone there, forced the conflict, taken the cards, and moved on like he always did.
But Fourze's world was already gone. His friends, his home, the people he fought for, everything had been erased. And yet he was still here. Still breathing. Still choosing to live instead of drifting through space until nothing mattered anymore.
Destroying him now just to obtain his card felt excessive.
So Tsutsumi said nothing, letting the ship continue its approach toward one of the flagships.
As they drew closer, Tsutsumi narrowed his eyes. The architecture and layout of the flagships felt familiar in an odd way. The structure, the banners, even the uniform designs carried a distinctly Asian influence, but not one he could immediately place.
It definitely wasn't Japan.
Before the ship could fully dock, the atmosphere shifted.
A group of soldiers rushed out onto the platform, forming a loose semicircle around the landing area. Spears, bows, crossbows, rifles, every weapon they had was leveled directly at Tsutsumi's ship.
This greeting seems a bit... off.
"Azu, is there something wrong with this place?" Tsutsumi asks, clearly seeing the hostility aimed at them.
"Not exactly," Azu replied. "The Xianzhou Alliance is typically welcoming to travelers. Their fleets serve as mobile civilization hubs, frequently passing through star systems rather than remaining stationary. Aside from routine background checks, hostile responses are statistically unlikely-"
She paused.
"-However, according to the most recent data I've acquired, the Xianzhou Alliance is currently preparing for an all-out operation against an individual designated as Decade, the Destroyer of Worlds."
Tsutsumi: "..."
Acheron: "?"
Fourze: "!!!"
The three of them clearly have three different reactions upon hearing this news.
Tsutsumi felt a headache forming. He hadn't even done anything yet, and somehow he was already a wanted catastrophe. More importantly, how did they even know that name?
Acheron glanced sideways at him, eyes narrowing slightly. She remembered the Form Ride: Decade card he carried, but she hadn't assumed it was that Decade.
Fourze, meanwhile, went completely still.
"Decade…" he murmured.
The tone wasn't confused.
It was sharp.
Tsutsumi turned his head immediately. "What?"
"Is there a problem?" Acheron asked, noticing the shift as well. "You know who this Decade is?"
Fourze slowly clenched his fists. "No, I haven't met him. I've heard of him," he said. "The pink devil. The one who destroys worlds."
Tsutsumi didn't respond.
"And once he is killed," Fourze continued, voice steady but tight, "the worlds will reset. Everything that was lost comes back. I've been looking for him ever since. If I can kill him… maybe my friends, my home… they'll return."
Tsutsumi: "..."
"Where did you hear this?" Acheron pressed, her hand drifting closer to the hilt of her blade, eyeing Tsutsumi suspiciously.
"From a man with glasses," Fourze replied. "He traveled through a strange wall. He told me that Decade would come one day, and that I had to kill him if I wanted to protect my world."
Tsutsumi's eyelid twitched.
"When my world was about to collapse," Fourze went on, "that man appeared again. He said killing Decade would reset the worlds. Giving us another chance to protect our home."
Acheron slowly turned to Tsutsumi, her posture more guarded now.
The title Destroyer of Worlds was excessive, but not impossible. It sounded less like a warrior and more like a concept. Something tied to Nihility. Or Destruction.
Or Finality.
"Azu," Tsutsumi said, exhaling slowly, "who spread this information?"
"Cross-referencing sources," Azu replied. "The primary origin traces back to the Astral Express and the Stellaron Hunters."
She paused again, likely compiling additional data.
Acheron didn't take her eyes off Tsutsumi. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
She clearly wants to hear his response first before deciding anything. She saw the Form Ride: Decade card, but was still unsure if that was the Decade everyone is talking about.
Tsutsumi didn't look away from the scene; he just answered.
"I am Decade," he said plainly. "The Destroyer of Worlds."
He tilted his head slightly, meeting Fourze's gaze through the mask. "That's all there is to it."
The air around them went still.
Then Fourze was the first to move.
Cosmic On!
Forty small devices flew toward him, snapping into place as jets of heated steam burst from his armor. White plating shifted into blue, and the rocket-like Barizun Sword locked firmly into his right hand.
"Azu," Tsutsumi said calmly, "open the door."
The hatch slid open. Fourze charged toward Tsutsumi, causing the two to fall off the ship together.
Below, the Xianzhou soldiers tensed, watching two figures plummet while clearly engaged in combat.
Mid-fall, Tsutsumi kicked Fourze away and pulled a card from his deck.
"Henshin."
Form Ride: Decade!
Decade hit the metal platform of the flagship first, boots crashing against the surface as he stood up, his magenta bandana and coat billowing lightly.
He straightened and raised his head.
Xianzhou soldiers surrounded him in seconds, weapons drawn, expressions rigid.
They had heard the announcement. So they knew exactly who he was.
"Fourze, I may or may not know who the man was that fed you all that stupid information about me," Decade said calmly.
He ignored the weapons trained on him and the tightening circle of soldiers as Fourze landed on the opposite side of the platform, boots scraping lightly against the metal as he straightened.
"I respect your determination to bring your home back," Decade continued, voice even. "And your sense of justice isn't something I'd mock."
There was a brief pause.
"But that's where my respect ends. Don't force me to destroy you."
He shifted his stance slightly, glancing around at the surrounding soldiers. "This goes for all of you. I'm just a Rider passing through. I have no interest in attacking unless I'm provoked."
The warning went unheeded.
Two figures moved at the same time, too fast for most of the soldiers to even track. One left behind a sharp trail of green wind, the other a chilling wake of frost that bit into the air itself.
From the front came Jingliu.
She was slender, her long white hair fading into pale blue at the tips, pale skin contrasting against the black blindfold over her eyes. A silver crescent moon rested at its center. Her attire was elegant rather than martial, black, dark blue, and white fabric patterned with cloud motifs and shifting moon phases.
Her sword rose, cold gathering instantly along its edge. Frost spread outward as she swung, aiming cleanly for Decade's neck.
At the same time, Feixiao struck from behind.
The tall foxian woman moved with sharp, efficient speed. Her white hair, tipped in teal, was pulled into a high ponytail, fox ears twitching slightly atop her head. Teal eyes, ringed faintly in white, locked onto her target.
Gunblades flashed in her hands, green wind wrapping around the weapons and compressing into cutting force as she brought them down, clearly intending to end the fight before it properly began.
Attack Ride: Petal Burst!
Decade's body twisted just before impact, collapsing inward into a magenta spiral. The freezing slash and roaring wind passed through empty space as he reappeared several meters away, boots skidding lightly as he landed.
He let out a slow breath.
There was no avoiding it now.
With the first strike thrown, restraint vanished. Xianzhou soldiers surged forward, weapons raised. Fourze moved with them, charging straight in.
Decade stepped into motion.
He wove through the chaos, sidestepping spears, ducking beneath arrows and energy bolts, letting elemental attacks tear past him. He deliberately held back, his strikes aimed to knock away, to disable just enough.
A heavy slash came from the side.
Decade leaned back, narrowly avoiding the blade of a purple-cloaked man. His palm hit the ground as he twisted, momentum carrying through his body. His foot snapped upward, slamming into the man's face and sending him tumbling across the platform.
He didn't pause.
Another card slid between his fingers.
Attack Ride: High Voltage!
A tall man with long silver-white hair stepped forward, spear crackling with electricity. He swung, arcs of lightning tearing through the air toward Decade.
Decade caught the spear mid-swing with one hand.
Electricity surged into his body instead of through it. He redirected the charge, energy gathering along his arm before he drove a single punch forward.
The impact sent the man flying backward, skidding across the metal floor before coming to a stop.
Jingliu and Feixiao didn't hesitate.
They closed in again from opposite sides, movements synchronized despite never exchanging a word. Ice and wind converged as their blades came down together.
Attack Ride: Fox Spirit!
With a sharp clang, both strikes stopped.
Magenta and purple energy flared as fox ears formed atop Decade's head. His left hand gripped the sheathed Nameless, shifting his stance to block both blades in place at once.
The battlefield stalled for a fraction of a second.
And then everything moved again.