I want to become a Kamen Rider

Upon hearing this, Fan Kang could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.

His shoulders heaved violently, and he laughed until tears streamed down his face—not out of mockery, but simply because he was trembling.

Across time and space, spanning countless years and countless worlds, he laughed and retorted that what lay before him was at most an echo of the past:

"So, you're going to save me?!"

“‘Are you going to save me?’ You would ask me with a smile.”

It was predicted once again.

She must truly know him perfectly, but these two consecutive predictions seem more like she can see the past and the future.

But he has lost the past and the future. Not only can time not be stopped, but even the things he might do are absolutely unpredictable. So, in the end, it can only be attributed to understanding.

Can anyone really understand him like that? How much time must one spend with someone to truly know them in the end?

Countless questions swirled in his mind, just as the beautiful figure before him had twice predicted his thoughts. He was quite certain she had also guessed these questions, but she didn't answer them for him; she simply continued the previous topic, smiling foolishly.

“I have thought about it over and over again: how can I free the man I love from his bondage? What methods can I use to keep you alive? And what can I do to save you?”

"But soon, I gave up. You have saved too many lives and challenged countless destinies. Those destinies piled up together and were already insurmountable. No matter how hard I try, even if I wear that crown, I will not have the power to save you."

"The little girl you've searched for in over a hundred worlds, tried over three thousand times, a full three thousand times, you've exhausted every possible method but still couldn't stop me from meeting you here and starting an even greater tragedy."

She seemed to be asking herself, or perhaps it was a question posed to her:

"What am I thinking? Am I thinking about how to save this man? How presumptuous of me! How can I control the path you have chosen and the fate you have already rebelled against? Trying to save or change someone like you is an impossible task."

Then, the dust settled, and the results were obtained.

"If there's anything I can do, it's to give."

“Give me everything I have that can benefit you. Just returning to where you started is enough to exhaust my present life. But it doesn’t matter. I’ve already seen it. I’ve already seen it. I’ll give you my next life too, you greedy fellow.”

"I dedicate this life and the next to you."

"For the one I love most."

So, in the boy's eyes, the world collapsed, the grass flew, and the girl slowly stood up.

She began to dance.

There was no music, only the mournful cries of a collapsing world as background. Her dance was not intense, but carried an ancient, ritualistic solemnity and gentleness. Every raised hand, every turn, seemed to trace the trajectory of time, to outline the contours of destiny. Her arms were like flowing streams, gently gliding through the air; her waist was like willow branches in the wind, swaying gracefully; her toes touched the grass, as if lightly treading on the long river of time.

She prayed, dedicating everything to her loved ones.

Light began to emanate from her body.

At first, it was a faint glow, like fireflies on a summer night, gently surrounding her. As her dance unfolded, the light grew stronger and brighter, like a galaxy surging within her. She seemed to have transformed into the source of light, a spirit of light walking on the edge of destruction.

The dance steps gradually became more rapid, with spinning and leaping movements, and streams of light swirling around her. The light flowed and gathered on her body, then dissipated with her dance, like a burning flame of life.

This dance is not for pleasing others, nor for performance. It is a sacrifice, a farewell, a gift to give everything.

In the end, the wildly dancing grass obscured the view, and the collapsing sky swallowed the light.

She didn't turn around, leaving him only with her back to him.

"So don't be afraid, it's okay to forget everything, just do what you want to do, just do what you think is right, I will always, always be your support."

Chapter 117 Shocker, the Great Resurrection!

The next day, morning.

The cool morning light slanted through the broken windows of the Hiiragi family's house, casting a cold glow inside. Fan Kang, wrapped in a thick blanket, huddled on a makeshift bed on the floor, occasionally letting out a loud sneeze.

"Ah!"

He rubbed his red nose, his voice thick with nasal tone, but his eyes were unfocused.

The purple-haired girl sat cross-legged opposite him, an extremely ordinary notebook open on her lap. The cover was cheap plastic, the paper rough—the kind you could buy for 500 yen at a convenience store. It was a stark contrast to the notebook he had used before, forged from the Philosopher's Stone and containing countless fragmented memories of the past.

He was unaware of what he had experienced in the past, choosing to conceal and embellish it, but Fan Kang, standing here now, would no longer deceive himself.

He recounted the final scene of that dream to Tina Hiiragi:

Finally, she told me, 'So don't be afraid, it's okay to forget everything, just do what you want to do, just do what you think is right, and I will always, always be your support.'

"On the grassland, only the howling wind, the collapsing sky, and a vast emptiness remained. Then, the light faded and went out. The world was plunged into complete darkness. Only a slender and gentle figure remained, its back to me, gradually dissipating into the void. Like a painting that can never be completed, it is imprinted at the end of time."

The pen scratched on the cheap paper. The purple-haired girl lowered her head, but her shoulders began to tremble slightly.

Finally, she stopped writing. One drop, two drops… glistening tears fell onto the words she had just written, quickly spreading into a small patch of ink. Then, suppressed sobs began, and her shoulders trembled more and more violently. She raised the back of her hand and wiped her eyes haphazardly, but she couldn't wipe away the torrent of tears. Soon she was sobbing uncontrollably, her small body convulsing.

"Waaah...it's so...so touching...that girl...she...she gave everything she had...waaaah..."

She choked up, her voice breaking intermittently.

The scribes responsible for copying the records were all crying, while the person in question, who was curled up in bed with a cold, remained expressionless.

Naturally, upon seeing the expression on his face, Tina Hiiragi questioned him:

"Minister, aren't you moved by this? Do you even have a heart?"

"She said there's an afterlife, so we'll probably meet again. There's nothing to be sad about."

Memory is the carrier of emotion. He has completely lost that memory, so even if you tell him that there was once a girl who liked him so hard, he won't be very moved.

"Finally, Minister, you should have seen her dance moves and her back clearly. Did you find any clues?"

"Um……"

Fan Kang appeared to be deep in thought, then tapped his hand:

"Her legs are really beautiful. I can understand that guard a little better now."

"..."

Hiiragi Maitina is petrified.

She glanced at her short legs, angrily put down the second diary, and came over to punch him with her small fists.

"Perverted! Vulgar! Shameful!"

The protest was more of a demonstration than a punishment. The purple-haired girl clearly controlled her strength, and her pink fists didn't hurt much. Instead, the threat of catching a cold was much greater.

Fan Kang sneezed again.

"Ah!"

"Minister, are you alright? Your health has actually gotten worse since you came back?"

"I've just turned back into a human. If it were the old me, I could walk through the extreme points or lava without transforming. Now, I'm probably only slightly better than an average high school student."

He looked at his somewhat pale hands.

Even a well-trained body can be lost; this is something I never expected. And as the past crumbles, the accumulated experience, skills, and consciousness will also leave. In the end, what will he have left?

courage?

Can someone who can't even remember who they are really still courageous?

He counted them one by one, only to find that most of what he had now would not last until the end. But he didn’t want to admit that nothing would be left in the end. Instead, he stubbornly felt that there should be something, something that could be left behind.

Forget it, I'm not going to overthink it.

It's good that it turned back. At least even if it dies, it will die as a human. No matter how hard it tried to call itself human before, in the end, that form was only like a human in appearance. It might still be reproductively isolated from other ordinary humans.

"Minister, here, hot water, and medicine."

"I want a drink, not medicine."

"No, if you have a cold, you should drink more hot water and take your medicine properly so you can get better faster."

The purple-haired girl reached out and carefully tucked the corner of the blanket that had slipped off him, while urging him to prepare to take his medicine.

……

……

Lindsay, a high-ranking royal guard of the Time Robbers, awoke amidst a cacophony of noise.

Consciousness felt like it was submerged in viscous swamp, struggling to surface with great difficulty. The ears were the first to pick up the surrounding conversation:

"After finally managing to switch them, how come that big, burly man turned out to be a woman?"

"They probably used some kind of method. It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman, as long as they can contact resistance organizations in other worlds and work together on a big plan."

"But he looks pretty good, look at that face, that mouth, that waist, boss, how about we... hehehehe..."

A voice with a sinister laugh rang out, only to be met with a stern rebuke.

"You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting? We're here to overthrow the dark organization that rules the world, not some low-life thieves and robbers!"

The voice known as "Boss" continued to reprimand his subordinates, its tone forceful and clear.

"If you want to satisfy your desires, then take the menstrual allowance issued to you by the organization and legally and legitimately go to the red-light district to solve your problems!"

Although I don't know what menstrual allowance is, it sounds pretty impressive.

"But I put my menstrual allowance and other savings in the bank to earn interest."

"Then you deserve to keep it to yourself."

Lindsay finally woke up.

She looked at her meager chest and petite body, sighed, and the transformation spell was undone.

She strained to lift her head and gaze up at the enormous palace... wait, this seems to be some kind of special building?

To use a term the princess once used to describe it, this place is somewhat like that thing called "the company".

On the wall hung the "Monthly Performance Ranking" and "Safety Production Standards." The cubicles were neatly arranged, and most people within sight were dressed in standard business attire: white shirts, black trousers, suits, ties, and name tags. Some sat at their computers typing furiously, while others hurried past with documents. The air was filled with the scents of coffee, printer toner, and… a strange, hardworking atmosphere?

Lindsay's gaze eventually settled on the center of the crowd.

There, a figure shrouded in a heavy, crimson cloak that seemed to flow with lava patterns was facing away from her, looking at a huge electronic screen with colorful... curves that looked like some kind of chart.

"You're their leader?"

She stood up, and despite her petite stature, she tried her best to appear calm and composed.

No matter what she encountered, even if she was rescued by the other party, she was still standing here as a high-ranking royal guard, representing the face of the country.

The wording was neither humble nor arrogant, and even carried a hint of questioning.

Soon, someone interrupted.

"How dare you speak to this sir like that!"

"he is……"

The man straightened his chest and, in a tone of reverence befitting a great hero, proclaimed in a loud voice:

"This lord is none other than the leader of our Volcano Shocker, the Lava Lord, who once again turned the tide after Deep Sea Shocker and restored the glory of us monsters. He is truly the light of Shocker!"

I understand, I understand. Usually, after someone announces their name, you have to follow up on their impressive battle record. As a high-ranking guard, she has seen all kinds of storms. Even feats like slaying dragons and demons are just so-so for her.

The man's voice suddenly rose, filled with excitement:

"Lord Lava is a financial guru who made a 20% profit in the liquor stock sector and saved the day when the entire dark organization was suffering heavy losses due to inexplicable investments!"

Lindsay: "...?"

There is no language barrier between the Time Jackers and most humans in the world. They can communicate as long as they speak common Earth languages. She can understand the other person’s language, but she can’t quite understand the combination of languages.

Who are the experts in the field of investment and wealth management?

Shouldn't they use names like "Soul Eater" or "Lord of the Abyss" that fit the style of a dark organization? If it's Volcano Shocker, titles like "Fire Demon God" or "Incinerator" wouldn't be bad either.

She stared blankly at the group of people in front of her: "weirdos" busily typing on their keyboards at their workstations, "This Month's KPI Sprint Targets" posted on the wall, and some employees shouting slogans and getting all fired up in the distance. This seemed to be a company that was doing quite well...

But according to the Kingdom's prior investigation, shouldn't Shocker be a vicious and dark organization in this world that is trying to threaten the world and rule humanity?

That lowly henchman, with a "Volcano Corporation - Deputy Manager" badge around his neck, was still bragging.

"Currently, Lord Lava holds 60% of the investment and financial management projects of the entire Shocker organization! In the recent global economic downturn, when the entire dark organization suffered heavy losses in its investments for unknown reasons, Lord Lava, with his unparalleled financial acumen and trading skills, led our 'Volcano Shocker' to achieve growth against the trend, with investment returns remaining stable and improving. He is the mainstay and stabilizing force of the entire dark organization during the financial winter!"

Lindsay couldn't help but ask:

"But... if you're a dark organization, shouldn't you be causing more trouble, kidnapping scientists, threatening human governments, and things like that?"

"A skilled craftsman must first have the right tools."

At that moment, the "Lord Lava," who had been facing away from her and shrouded in a crimson cloak, finally turned around slowly. He wore a mask that only covered the upper half of his face and was made of a dark red metallic material. He stared directly at the leader, and Lindsay was surprised to find that the cloaked man in front of her did not seem to be very strong.