Kamen Rider Zi-O, Dimensional Descent

"I'm not trying to scare you, it's the truth. Once you become the one-in-a-million ultimate king, it means that the path you ultimately walk will inevitably be one where no one will accompany you."

"This is a path that will inevitably lead to destruction. All the people you know, whether they are people you love or people who love you, as long as they are related to you, will be dragged into it and then all of them will be destroyed."

"The only one who can stand at the end is you, just like Tokiwa Sougo in the past. In his future as Oma Zi-O, there will definitely be no one left by his side."

Yan Ming understood what Woz meant by those words.

"I hope you are prepared, my Demon King... I hope you are prepared to face the possibility of being alone in the future."

The atmosphere changed instantly.

The atmosphere, which had been somewhat warm, suddenly turned incredibly cold.

“…I have a question for you, Woz.”

Yan Ming raised his head and looked at the other person.

"You said that everyone around me will eventually face destruction. Is that inevitable?"

"This is an immutable law, an inevitable principle of ecology."

"Among these people, does Gates...and you, standing in front of me, come into play?"

Then, even Wozniak was completely speechless.

He stood there, and Yan Ming looked at him calmly.

I don't know how much time passed like this.

Knock knock—the balcony door was being gently knocked on.

Yan Ming then opened the door and saw Akemi Homura standing in the doorway, looking at him.

Yan Ming was all alone.

"...Are you alright? Why have you been standing outside alone for so long?"

"Oh, I just chatted with someone for a little while."

He waved his phone, then walked into the room with Homura Akemi.

"It's nothing to worry about...we just talked about some trivial things."

Close the balcony door, and then…

The somber atmosphere lingered for a long time.

Volume 6, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Chapter 256 The Definition of So-Called Humanity

"Ugh, this is so slow! Why did it take you so long to make a phone call?"

Yan Ming himself probably didn't realize that he had been talking to Woz for almost fifteen minutes.

He and Homura Akemi returned to their room, but at this moment...

goo~

A strange yet somewhat familiar sound rang out from inside the room.

"...Why are you looking at me like that? I've been eating snacks the whole time. I'm a little hungry, but not that hungry!"

Sakura Kyoko quickly waved her hand, and at this moment Yan Ming also turned his gaze toward Akemi Homura.

Yan Ming was definitely not hungry. He could usually last for one or two days on just one meal, so…

Noticing that the other two were looking at her, even Homura Akemi couldn't help but turn her head away.

“…Magical girls don’t need to eat.”

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but when she said that, her face seemed a little... flushed?

"Is that so? But I feel uncomfortable when I'm hungry, so you don't need to eat?"

"That's because you don't know. After becoming magical girls, we are very different from normal humans. Although we will experience hunger soon if we don't eat, actually—"

Before Homura Akemi could finish speaking, Yan Ming headed straight for the other rooms.

The other two looked at him with some surprise, looking around from room to room.

What are you doing?

"Find the kitchen."

After finding the kitchen, Yan Ming opened the door and went inside.

Judging from this, I definitely need to go cook for them...

Not only was Sakura Kyoko surprised, but even Akemi Homura looked adorably dumbfounded.

"Hey, hey, you over there with long, straight black hair, you're the owner of this house, aren't you? How can you be so heartless as to let your guests cook for you?"

"...What do you want me to do now?"

"Go help out. You usually live alone, don't tell me you really only eat takeout every day?"

In fact, after Homura Akemi became a magical girl and realized that she wouldn't die even if she didn't eat, she rarely thought about food anymore.

If you get hungry, eat some energy bars to tide you over. Sometimes, if you really forget to eat, just use the Soul Gem to block out the feeling of hunger.

However… before becoming a magical girl, she actually did learn some cooking skills.

After hearing what Sakura Kyoko said, the cooking knowledge that had been forgotten for a long time was slowly awakened.

After glancing briefly at Sakura Kyoko, she ultimately had no choice but to walk towards the kitchen with her.

"Hehehe, I have a feeling this is going to be really interesting. Let's watch the show!"

After Sakura Kyoko came up with her wicked plan, she sat down on the sofa next to her, eating snacks while waiting for the two people to come out.

The scene then shifts to the kitchen.

After opening the refrigerator door, Yan Ming found that there was nothing inside at all. However, he still managed to find frozen eggs and a lot of unopened self-heating rice at the bottom. It seems that the previous owner of the house that Akemi Homura rented had left a lot of things behind.

Although it was just a few simple ingredients, it was no problem for Yan Ming, who had a strong culinary ability.

Not long after, he heard footsteps behind him, and without turning around, he knew that it was Homura Akemi who had come in.

"Come and help?"

"Ah."

The two exchanged a brief greeting, and then Homura Akemi took out a bowl and chopsticks, and prepared some seasonings.

Yan Ming was slightly surprised to see her somewhat clumsy but very professional movements.

Although he had seen some of Homura Akemi's past memories, he hadn't looked into them very deeply, so he didn't know that she could actually cook.

And judging from this posture... it seems quite formidable.

"What are you doing?"

"Tang, what about you?"

"You don't have enough food in your fridge, so you can only make some fried rice with eggs to make do."

Although it was supposed to be just something to make do, Homura Akemi was already getting restless just from the aroma wafting from the pot.

Although she kept glancing at the pot, she felt too embarrassed and quickly focused all her attention on the soup-making process.

"Why...do you have to cook for me?"

"I really don't want to talk about this kind of nonsense about getting hungry if you don't eat."

“As a magical girl, I can easily adjust my senses, and I won’t die even if I’m starving. You don’t need to do such a pointless thing.”

Is it something meaningless...?

Homura Akemi's words immediately stirred up many memories for Yan Ming.

Wasn't he doing the same thing every day at Mitakihara High School? If it weren't for Suwa Aoi urging him every day, he probably would have been just going through the motions all along, and would probably have become like Homura Akemi, living on energy bars every day.

So from this perspective alone, Homura Akemi is actually quite similar to myself, no... it seems like their personalities are quite similar too.

Both of them have this kind of unconventional personality, are rather taciturn, and have always been perfunctory when it comes to eating.

…Moreover, they are all people who possess the ability to control "time".

While cooking, Yan Ming also recalled what Akemi Homura had said to him on the street earlier.

"After so many reincarnations, have you finally reached your limit?"

"...Please don't talk about that kind of thing."

At this moment, Homura Akemi seemed to have her face very low, her black hair blocking Yan Ming's view from both sides, preventing him from seeing her expression.

Do you feel ashamed?

"I told you not to say it again..."

“I don’t think this is shameful. Honestly, I would have done the same if I were in that situation.”

Yan Ming took a deep breath and continued to prepare the fried rice in his hands.

"I'm not good at saying comforting words, but in my opinion, it's normal to vent all your inner emotions."

"Although you have physically become a magical girl who has transcended the ordinary, it does not mean that your mind has also deviated from the realm of humanity."

"The fact that you want to vent your emotions and talk to someone about this kind of thing proves that you are a living, breathing human being."

With a sizzling sound of hot oil being poured, the golden-brown fried rice was ready, and Yan Ming perfectly divided it into three portions.

Before leaving the kitchen with the plate on, she said something to Homura Akemi without turning her head.

"Don't always see yourself as a monster. Identity is not important. What's important is your heart. That's what determines whether you are human or not."

To date, Yan Ming has met many Kamen Riders.

Among them are knights who still retain their human identity, knights who have transcended the realm of ordinary people, and knights who do not belong to any human race at all.

But regardless of their identities, their hearts are ultimately the same.

It is precisely because of these sentiments that they are able to fight as Kamen Riders who retain their human hearts, rather than as so-called monsters who wreak havoc on lives...

If you don't even consider yourself a human being, then no one else will see you as human either.

This is the meaning Yan Ming has come to understand after witnessing so many Kamen Riders, so he also hopes that Homura Akemi can maintain her true self, just like these Kamen Riders…

Now, only Homura Akemi remained in the kitchen. She stared at the bubbling soup, lost in thought once again.

The girl recalled Yan Ming's words and gazed at her reflection in the soup... She seemed to see herself again, a timid girl wearing glasses and with her hair in braids.

"Can someone like me still be considered human...?"

Volume 6, Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Chapter 257 The Battle That Unfolds in Antarctica!

After working for a while, the two of them finally finished cooking.

"Wow! It looks delicious! Then I won't be polite!"

Sakura Kyoko quickly picked up a spoon and scooped up a few mouthfuls of rice. Yan Ming and Akemi Homura sat down together and started eating as well.

"This tastes amazing!! And the soup is good too! But compared to the rice, it definitely tastes better... Wait, who made the soup and who made the rice?"

Sakura Kyoko subconsciously blurted out the words before realizing that they might offend someone, so she quickly looked at the two of them.

Neither Yan Ming nor Akemi Homura answered, but…

After taking a quick bite of food, Homura Akemi's face lit up with joy, but she quickly suppressed it.

'This is so delicious... How can a man cook so well...?'

With this slightly resentful feeling, she silently began to eat without saying a word.

Yan Ming noticed all of this.

Before long, the group finished their simple meal.

"Ah~ It would be even better if we could have some dessert after the meal!"

"...Don't push your luck, Sakura Kyoko."

"What's with all that long, straight black hair? You looked so happy while you were eating just now—wait!"

No sooner had Kyoko finished speaking than Homura Akemi threw a book from the table at her.

"Hey, what are you doing—!"

"...My hand slipped."