I want to become a Kamen Rider

A certain spacetime with unknown coordinates.

There is no crisis here that could easily end the world or destroy civilization. There are only monsters lurking in the shadows, born from human evil, that lurk and prey on humans. So at least under the sun, on the surface, there is peace and beauty.

The ragged boy sat in the shadows of a park bench, an incongruous figure in this glamorous world. His clothes were practically rags, stained with indescribable dirt and dried, dark marks, and his exposed skin was covered with tiny scars.

However, his eyes were unusually calm, even carrying a kind of weary tranquility after everything had settled down.

Facing the blinding sunlight, he slowly raised a strange stone the size of his palm. The stone itself was irregular, yet it strangely contained five colors: purple, gold, black, red, and white. These colors were not evenly distributed, but rather like intertwined energy flows, permeating, suppressing, and reflecting each other.

Sunlight shines through it, casting dappled and varied shadows on the ground.

"I'm still alive? That's really amazing."

'What difference is there between losing the past and losing the future, and being dead?'

A suspicious white alien creature appeared at his feet, still looking the same, and muttered a nonchalant remark.

'Originally, standing at the end of the long road, I was just a hair's breadth away from achieving immortality.'

"But I saved many people, and I don't regret it."

The ringed beast repeated it as if it were a truly enormous loss.

'You've forever lost your chance at immortality.'

"Immortality doesn't come from becoming an immortal or an ancestor."

The boy looked at the purple markings on the stone, symbolizing the breath of atoms, with a complex expression.

“I have helped many people, and they then go on to help others. Even if they lose everything they once had—their flesh, body, and soul—their will will still live on.”

"If someone hears the story of Kuuga and wants to become a Kamen Rider, even if they don't actually have to sacrifice themselves or fight, it would be a good thing if they could have more kindness, courage, and a little more justice in their heart."

"This is far better than one person becoming an immortal or an ancestor; it can truly be considered an immortal thing."

In most stories, the protagonist often achieves enlightenment and his entire family benefits, enjoying the riches and luxuries of the world with a harem of three thousand beauties. But he is a Kamen Rider. As long as there are still people who want to become riders and are willing to stand up for others, it is already a legacy.

Therefore, he didn't think this outcome was bad.

Although he really wanted to be more down-to-earth, he had already performed so well to the end, and it would be too embarrassing to throw a tantrum and say that he didn't want to die or accept this ending.

Doesn't he want to lose face?

'Kang Jun is probably thinking right now, "Am I trying to save face by complaining like this?"'

"Tsk."

Looking at the people coming and going on the street, Fan Kang clicked his tongue.

Then, as if remembering something, he shifted his gaze from the stone and glanced at the circular beast before him:

"But I never expected that you would be the one to stay with me until the end. Even Xiao Feng has fallen to another world. So what you said about 'companionship' back then wasn't entirely wrong."

Cupid's tail swayed slightly.

"There's nothing I can do. I've been fooled by Kang-kun for so long, I want justice even from Kyubey. I've followed you for so long, and it turns out you never actually signed a contract with Kyubey or anything. Even Kang-kun is going too far!"

"I have never lied to you, you just haven't asked."

'You dare use my own methods against me?'

"Each each other."

The two engaged in their usual verbal sparring.

Then, Fan Kang looked at the stone in his hand again.

There were exactly five colors, and he clearly understood the power and cause and effect represented by four of them.

The purple piece in the upper left corner represents Godzilla's power, symbolizing atomic breath, evolution, and the end; the gold piece represents his future, which he has generously given away to others, so it is almost entirely gone on the stone; the black piece represents everything he staked, including the possibility of "immortality" mentioned by Kyubey, which occupies most of the stone and suppresses everything, but it is dissipating at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye; the red piece represents the contract, which was devoured by the spirit stone long ago, but it was only after the spirit stone shattered and was destroyed that the contract was able to reappear because he and Kyubey were both present.

The only thing he couldn't understand was what white represented.

Just as he didn't know why he, a guy who had lost his past and future, could still exist in this world.

Although he is also unobservable, he does not exist as a spirit, because he has lost even his soul.

“Let’s exchange information, Cupid. We probably both have a lot of questions we want to ask each other.”

'Okay, but this time, Cupid will ask first.'

"can."

Fan Kang nodded.

Why hasn't the contract taken effect? ​​What exactly is the power that the Anti-King has been using to fight?

It is 'prayer'.

Recalling the words of that phantom at the end of that battle, he said calmly.

'A prayer?'

"Yes, wishes. If I'm not mistaken, many worlds have already been destroyed, whether they are worlds under the parallel universe theory or the multiverse theory, they have indeed been destroyed. Intelligent beings, facing extinction, will naturally want to survive. With just the contract signed with you, a single contractor can obtain the power to become a Kamen Rider, so what about the wishes of so many destroyed worlds that want to survive?"

'In the end, it was still destroyed.'

"There's nothing I can do. It's already good enough that it accompanied me that far. This is just part of a destroyed wish. If it weren't for the accidental encounter with the most terrifying 'evolution' at its end, the spirit stone could have repaired itself."

Is he the recipient of the best "prayer"?

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Fan Kang pointed to the pure white spot in the center of the stone.

"Now, it's my turn to ask you. Cupid, what do you think the white parts on this stone are?"

Cupid didn't answer immediately. It looked at Fan Kang, then at the stone, seemingly analyzing something. After a while, it finally spoke:

'If even the Lord of Resistance has guessed that the power covering the contract is 'wish,' why can't he figure out what this white thing is?'

"..."

"Wishes are easily shattered, though they are exaggerated in the various stories you humans have created; they are truly fragile. But for you humans, some things cannot be broken, things you do even knowing it's hopeless—just like how you've ended up in this situation, yet you still have no regrets."

"What is it?"

'It's resistance.'

Cupid stared directly at Fan Kang with his red eyes.

"I think I understand now. Could you explain in more detail?"

"A long time ago, Kyubey told Anti-kun that the way they save humanity in other universes is through magical girls, right?"

"Correct."

'Then why not turn you into magical girls?'

"..."

Cupid spoke with a complaining tone.

"There was a very powerful guy who made a very powerful wish: to save all magical girls. It was a very, very great wish. This wish caused something called the Law of Cycles to arise, which has caused Kyubey a lot of trouble. Is there any wish even more outrageous than this?"

'Of course there is, and that is the wish to save everyone.'

'Because it's an impossible wish, because it happens all the time, because it involves more than just one or two heroes, and it's not something that can be achieved by one or two people achieving immortality or transcendence; it's something that everyone—past, present, and future—is doing, and will continue to do. Therefore… it's called rebellion.'

I think I understand now.

Light, in essence, is the pure white that comes together from all colors.

Looking at the white color in the center of the stone, Fan Kang casually asked.

"...What can I gain from this, such as the ability to transform again, or the power to return to my original world and continue fighting?"

'You'll get nothing.'

"Knew it."

There is no reason for resistance in this world.

Because it's not a wish that can be fulfilled by just one or two outstanding people.

Exploited peasants rebelling against landlords, starving people rebelling against hunger, humanity facing extinction rebelling against destruction, and the lower class rebelling against the tyranny of the upper class—all of these can be considered acts of resistance.

Oppression will always exist, and so will resistance.

"So the purpose of this white color is just to embellish it?"

'This is proof, proof that you resisted to the very end. You lived it to the very end.'

"Oh, I see. Well, that's fine then."

He leaned against the wall, looking up at the blue sky cut off by the tall buildings, holding the stone in his hand that recorded his journey. He was no longer troubled, like a traveler waiting for the hourglass to run out of sand, waiting for the day when the darkness would dissipate, which would be his demise.

Then, a figure approached.

She stopped in front of him, blocking the sunlight.

She stared intently at him.

"Can you see me?"

Fan Kang looked at the woman in front of him. She was voluptuous, with a shapely figure and a slender waist.

She had long, flowing blue hair that shimmered in the sunlight, a beautiful face, and a mature and elegant demeanor, carrying a sense of detachment that came with long-held superiority. At this moment, however, she stared at his face with an incredulous astonishment, her eyes filled with an indescribable complexity—shock, confusion, nostalgia, and a hint of… a profound sadness that seemed capable of piercing through time?

What's even more absurd is that Fan Kang also felt that the woman in front of him looked very familiar, very, very familiar.

The woman seemed to realize her behavior was impolite and apologized softly. That gentle, slightly vulnerable voice acted like a key, instantly unlocking a long-forgotten corner of Fan Kang's memory, reminding him of someone—Ms. Toyokawa, his initial generous sponsor of his motorcycle!

"Sorry, I was lost in thought. It's probably because you... look a lot like my late husband."

Chapter 104 The Reason for Return (6K)

Time returns to the present.

Inside the cabin.

"And then what? And then what? You can't leave us in suspense and end it here! If you end it here, you have to apologize to me, the audience!"

Hiiragi Tina shouted anxiously.

Fan Kang looked nostalgic, a slight smile playing on his lips, but he didn't continue to recount what happened afterward.

"Later, my stone was picked up by Takamatsu Akari, a bandmate of Ms. Toyokawa's. That guy really would pick up any stone he wanted. It took a lot of effort to find it back. When I was little, I used to laugh at Ultraman for losing his transformation device every day. But when my stone was picked up by someone else, I couldn't laugh anymore..."

"No, you have to explain to me clearly what your relationship is with that woman who caught you cheating—I mean, the adult Toyokawa-san—and what happened afterward? What's with this 'deceased husband' thing?"

The tactic of changing the subject did not work. Tina Hiiragi, like a cat with its fur standing on end, rushed over and shook him back and forth. Because he was temporarily under someone else's roof, he had to bow his head, Fan Kang comforted her.

"Calm down, what's there to get so worked up about? It's just that someone who looks a lot like me, or even someone from another timeline, has gotten together with Ms. Toyokawa."

"No, even if it's a parallel universe, I can't accept it, and..."

Hiiragi Tina's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"What do you mean by 'or'? Minister, you've already experienced what happened in that world and come back, so why are you specifically bringing up two hypotheses? Are you trying to cover something up?"

This guy usually seems a bit slow, so why did he become so much smarter when I saw him again after six months?

"Shhh."

Fan Kang raised his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, and glanced at the tightly closed cabin door.

"Don't try to change the subject, Minister. You must explain yourself clearly today."

"somebody is coming."

He pointed outside.

"How is that possible...? Someone actually came?"

Hiiragi Tina instinctively retorted, but before she could finish speaking, she realized something, held her breath, and listened intently.

Da da da……

The clear, rhythmic sound of high heels tapping on the metal gangway grew louder as it approached, stopping outside the door.

Hiiragi Tina looked at Fan Kang in surprise:

"Minister, how did you hear that? I thought..."

"You probably already have a guess about my situation, but I've only temporarily weakened a bit; my skills and perception are still there."