Sougo obediently sat down, ready for class. Kiryu Sento (Battle Rabbit) shot a curious glance at Ryuga before quietly taking a seat as well.
"This world is the world of Kamen Rider Zi-O. And don't look so surprised—it's you. You are the protagonist of this world," Ryuga began his lecture, ignoring everyone's shocked expressions.
"Sougo eventually becomes the demon king of all demon kings, guarding this world alone for fifty years. That is the proper direction of this world's future."
"This world can be considered the main timeline for the King of Time. But within it, every time period and every world has what we call a key temporal node—a critical point in time. Any small event that happens during that node can shift the course of history entirely."
"These potential timelines aren't fixed from the start. They may vanish or regenerate at any moment."
"But as time progresses, some timelines will eventually solidify and become permanent. These paths will no longer disappear and will instead shape distinct futures."
"However, these futures won't alter the main timeline's core development. Every new future essentially becomes a parallel world—a possibility born from a divergence point."
"The direction of the world between these key nodes is locked. Whatever happens before the next key node won't change the determined future. It only adds more timelines to the upcoming node."
"In the end, more and more parallel worlds will branch off from the main world, each representing one of its many possible futures."
Having said that, Ryuga paused and took a sip of water from a cup that Ora had kindly handed him.
"Now that we've covered the theory, let's go through an example," he said, looking over at Gates and Tsukuyomi.
"You two should be familiar with the latest key point in time."
"Oma Day!" Tsukuyomi blurted out.
"Correct." Ryuga nodded. "From what I've observed, there are three major possibilities on that day. Three timelines may be born."
"Which three?!" Gates asked immediately.
"One—Sougo becomes the Demon King and follows the path of Oma Zi-O, as you already know." Ryuga turned his gaze to Sougo.
"Two—Sougo still becomes the Demon King, but the timeline diverges into something different..." Ryuga smirked, now looking at Tsukuyomi.
"It's... what I said last time!" Tsukuyomi responded instinctively.
"Exactly. I refer to this timeline as the 'Destruction Line'." Ryuga gave her a nod and then shifted his gaze to Gates, not giving the others a chance to probe further.
"And third—Sougo fails to become the Demon King. Before acquiring the powers of Zi-O II, he is killed by the power of the 'Resurrected.' I call this timeline the 'Savior's Line.'"
That term—Savior—came with heavy irony. Because everyone knew that the mainline future of the so-called "saviors" led to the worlds of the three Future Riders.
But if you looked at the environment of Kamen Rider Kikai, you'd know that in that future, mankind was nearly extinct.
"Don't celebrate too early," Ryuga said, glancing at Gates with a faint grin. "You'll understand better after interrogating Sougo for a while."
Ryuga recalled that Gates was a high school student. He should have understood everything explained about the theory just now. Which meant... Gates had likely dismissed it all—either because it didn't benefit him, or he simply refused to accept it.
Either way, Ryuga wasn't interested in arguing. If Gates wanted to continue down the path of denial, he could just toss him into that alternate timeline for some good old-fashioned "re-education."
Of course, those were just Ryuga's personal thoughts—he refused to be held responsible for any consequences.
"Uh... all this talk, and we haven't even gotten to the main subject yet?" Kiryu Sento suddenly raised his hand weakly.
He had a feeling that this Sougo's friend knew far more than he let on. And then he remembered the strange look Ryuga had given him earlier. A chill ran down his spine.
"Wait... does he know my secret too?"
"Ahem! My bad!" Ryuga laughed awkwardly. "Blame Sougo for not studying properly."
Sougo: [Poor, weak, and helpless.jpg]
"Alright, back to the topic!" Ryuga clapped his hands. "Now, why do I say that world you visited is a parallel world and not the real one? Because the real world also has its own knight history."
"But Super Time Jacker Tid went back to a time before Kamen Rider Kuuga was born and stole his power, causing Kuuga to vanish entirely."
The origins of Tid remain a mystery. As far as Ryuga knew, there was no official explanation.
Maybe Swartz had planted a hidden agent. After all, it was certain that the Time Jackers' powers originated from him.
Despite the film's full release, Tid's motives remained unclear, as did his true connection with the Time Jackers. Yet, strangely enough, he was the only one who understood the true nature of 'Chrono Battles'—like how rider transformations could be forcibly halted.
Compared to the trio who wandered aimlessly through the show, at least Tid was actively doing something. Even if it was evil, at least he had a goal.
Swartz: Is the ice cream not good enough? What's so fun about being evil?
Heure: I'm just trying to eat for free!
Honestly, the Time Jackers weren't lazy. It's just that the ice cream was too delicious. Ora thought as she licked the treat she had taken from Sougo's fridge.
So what was Tid's great evil plan? Shouting: "Heisei Riders don't matter! I want to erase them!"
Then—turning the Ridewatch dial and pressing the button:"Kuuga!"
Tid: Who's Wang Jingze? Never heard of him. Don't talk nonsense!
"And since Kuuga was the first Heisei Rider, his disappearance triggered a chain reaction. All Heisei Riders vanished. They became nothing more than fictional characters on TV."
"The young man you met in that world made a wish—to meet a real Kamen Rider. Unfortunately, he made it to a Demonic God—a creature from Den-O—and that being responded by connecting to our parallel world."
"It summoned a few riders, causing them to manifest in that alternate world. That's why you two ended up 'dreaming' about it."
"Now I understand!" Kiryu Sento exclaimed.
"Dream or not—I'll save them," Sougo declared with determination. "That's the kind of king I want to be!"
"But... how are we supposed to get there?" Tsukuyomi asked.
All eyes slowly turned to Ryuga.
"...Don't look at me like that." He sighed, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "Sougo—hand me what's in your pocket."
"Huh? What thing?" Sougo reached into his jacket, then gasped. "Ah! You mean this?" He pulled out a green Rider Watch. "It's the W Ridewatch I picked up back there!"
"Wait... how did a dream version of yourself bring something back into reality?!" Kiryu Sento's eyes widened.