Even in Ryuga's speculation, it was possible that some of the cards in Tsukasa's card box belonged to him.
However, Ryuga was uncertain about the nature of the dragon. This was because the power it extracted originated from the core essence of the Kamen Rider itself. No matter which form a Kamen Rider took, Ryuga could still draw from the original force of Kamen Rider Decade.
As for the powers of the other Riders, Decade could only make superficial contact. Though it sounded simpler, this merely allowed him to skim power from the surface. If Ryuga had not yet become Decade's most fundamental form, then whether he could access Kamen Rider Evol's power remained a mystery.
Two days later, a violent explosion ripped through the silence, jolting Ryuga awake beneath the heavy quilt. He groaned, sat up, and drew open the curtains.
"What's going on out there?" Ora asked, half-asleep, her voice muffled in the bedding. She hadn't been disturbed by the explosion itself—only by the cool draft when Ryuga pulled off the covers.
As for why she was in Ryuga's bed? Let's just say... some things are best left unsaid. Anyone with common sense could guess what happened.
"It's fine," Ryuga said, peeking through the curtain. "Just one of the Devil King's mechanical beasts wreaking havoc again. This one's been dispatched to test Sougo Tokiwa."
He shut the curtain and turned around, gently tucking the blanket around Ora again. "There's no destruction nearby. Just rest. I'll go take a look."
"Mm..." Ora relaxed, basking in the lingering warmth. Any thought of getting up vanished instantly. It wasn't her fight, after all.
Meanwhile, Sougo Tokiwa was in the middle of one of his usual existential crises.
He stared blankly into the distance, trying to understand why he, of all people, would unleash skyscraper-sized robots to destroy the world. If the Devil King truly wanted to obliterate the planet, he wouldn't need oversized toys to do it.
These machines existed for one reason—to push Sougo further toward becoming the Demon King.
"Would the future me really destroy the world with those?" he muttered in disbelief.
"Indeed!" Woz suddenly appeared beside him, flipping open his Bible-like tome, The Advent of the Demon King. "With seven great magical machines, His Majesty folded the world into his pocket!"
The book even used that exact word—"pocket." So how could that possibly mean destroy?
"You said you saw this in a dream?" Gates asked, frowning.
This guy still didn't know what to believe after Ryuga's spoiler-filled interference. To protect his fragile beliefs, Gates simply activated a classic coping mechanism: spiritual denial. He convinced himself Ryuga had been bluffing and went right back to his love-hate rivalry with Sougo, pretending none of that ever happened.
"It's a dream I've had since childhood," Sougo replied. "In it, massive machines are destroying the world. I can only watch as people die... Then, a mysterious man appears and tells me: 'Young man, you will one day become king. Save this broken world!'"
"That dream... kept coming back. Eventually, I began to dream of becoming a king."
"Look out!" Tsukuyomi suddenly shouted.
A black portal, adorned with golden clockwork gears, tore open in front of them. From within, a golden robotic monster leapt out.
"Time Jacker?" Sougo asked cautiously.
"No," Tsukuyomi said gravely. "That's a servant of the Demon King."
"I am Kasshin, a loyal retainer of His Majesty the Demon King!" boomed the golden figure. "I have been sent to eliminate Gates and Tsukuyomi!"
Kasshin scanned the group, then skipped over Sougo and rushed Gates and Tsukuyomi with alarming speed.
"Stop!" Sougo cried, preparing to intervene.
"Please do not interfere, Your Majesty," Kasshin said without pause, catching Gates in a crushing hold.
And—just like that—Sougo actually stopped.
Seriously? This kid really had issues. Someone's trying to murder your friends, and you just freeze because they said it's your "order"?
Clearly, there was something wrong with Kasshin's programming. Talking to your future master like that? No wonder the Demon King eventually discarded him.
Never underestimate the wrath of youth. Kasshin's arrogance would eventually earn him a one-way ticket to betrayal and obsolescence.
"The time has come!" Woz reappeared dramatically, as if summoned by destiny. "The clock hands cannot be reversed! Your path is set in stone, my Demon King!"
Sougo glared at him, but said nothing. Kasshin had already chased Gates and Tsukuyomi out of sight. Sougo turned and sprinted after them.
Gates, temporarily out of danger, clenched his fists.
"Tsukuyomi, I've made up my mind!"
"Huh?" she blinked in confusion.
"I'm a soldier. If we're here in this timeline, then we must do whatever we can to prevent the worst future from coming true!"
Tsukuyomi was stunned. Gates wanted to kill Sougo again. And honestly? She believed Ryuga's earlier warnings. Plus, she liked Sougo. She had no desire to become his enemy.
Unfortunately, she lacked the power or position to stop Gates right now. So, she kept quiet.
From her perspective, Gates wasn't a match for Sougo anyway. And she was certain Sougo wouldn't kill him. All she could do was sit back and watch Gates pretend he had a chance.
"You're okay!" Sougo arrived, relieved.
"Don't come any closer!" Gates snapped. He slammed a RideWatch into his belt and transformed into a warrior of the present.
"Huh?!" Sougo stared at him, exasperated. Why was this guy always trying to kill him?
Tsukuyomi just turned away, sighing.
Gates charged, unleashing attack after attack. Sougo didn't even transform, yet still dodged every blow with ease. Whether his latent powers were awakening or Gates was just underpowered was unclear—but the result was the same.
Just as Gates prepared to launch a finishing move, he was struck down by a sudden blast.
"Your Majesty, are you unharmed?" Kasshin rushed in.
"I will eliminate your enemies at once!"
"Stop! Gates is not my enemy!" Sougo shouted.
"Apologies, Your Majesty. I cannot comply!" Kasshin said as he resumed pummeling Gates.
Sougo clenched his fists. This guy... If this is the kind of subordinate I'll have in the future, I swear I'll disassemble him into parts!
Finally, he transformed.
But just as he prepared to fight, a familiar, chaos-loving Rider made his grand entrance.
"I'll be your opponent," Tsukasa said coolly, tapping the NeoDecade Driver at his waist.
As always, when he showed up, everything got infinitely more complicated.
Pressing his Driver, Tsukasa pulled out a card.
For the first time in front of Sougo and the others, he transformed into his original form.
"Transform!"
[Kamen Ride!]
[Decade!]