Of course, getting forcibly dragged onto a pirate ship of a journey wasn't what made Hoshigaki Sora sigh.
What truly weighed on him… was that Flame Swordsman's power had finally hit its limit.
After leaving behind a superhero chronicle—most of which was now a hazy grey—and waving a casual goodbye, the figure vanished from Sora's side.
During this interstellar trip, Sora had drawn a new power once.
But compared to before, it was clearly underwhelming.
After all, Touma-sensei's strength was considered top-tier among all Kamen Riders.
Though much of that power had later been sealed away by Touma himself, leaving it for Sora's physical recovery, it had brought with it a kind of emotional reassurance that no one else could give.
And the chronicle left behind… Sora still had no idea how to use it.
No driver, no Seiken. What, am I supposed to summon power with sheer will?
"So this was your grand scheme all along—leaving me a book brimming with power I can't use, just so I'll yearn for your return!?"
The sudden realization struck Sora like lightning—Touma-sensei's true plot had been to make himself indispensable!
Leave behind a story of overwhelming strength—but lock it behind a condition: only usable if Touma returned.
That way, Sora would constantly look forward to seeing him again!
Sora was pretty sure he'd cracked the code.
Probably. Just spitballing.
It wasn't like he was going to inherit Touma's omniscience and omnipotence or anything. If he did, he'd probably ascend on the spot and become a full-fledged Aeon.
And not just any Aeon—the most powerful one.
Omniscience and omnipotence meant being able to do literally anything.
Build walls. Erase immortality. Grant the wishes of every yearning soul.
So long as he could bear it, he could achieve it.
Just like how he had once bound the Day of Doomsday and rebuilt a planet that had been reduced to silent, untraceable dust.
He could even bring back the dead—fully, completely, and without compromise.
Other Aeons might wield universe-shaking power, capable of destroying systems by lifting a finger, but they still had limits.
By comparison… if Sora really did inherit that kind of power, and became a true Aeon—
Either the others would gang up to erase him, or he'd end up absorbing their destinies one by one.
And most importantly—
"Becoming an Aeon… isn't a good thing."
Because to be an Aeon meant surrendering one's self. Becoming an agent of destiny, swept along with no choice in the matter.
Even Aha, one of the most powerful Aeons, couldn't escape that fate.
That, perhaps, was the price of divinity.
So rather than becoming some godlike being shackled to a Path…
Sora figured he was better off as he was.
The next power he drew was from Kamen Rider Ixa—the secondary Rider from Kamen Rider Kiva, famously known as one of the "Ten Thousand Riders."
Like G3-X, Ixa was a man-made Rider system. But its specs far exceeded G3-X.
And because it was artificial, it had seen so many different users over time that it had earned the title "Rider of Ten Thousand."
Of course, if you thought Sora was sighing because the power was weak, you'd be wrong.
He was sighing because he couldn't use the power.
The ship he was aboard flew through the galaxy at speeds that outclassed every vehicle he'd encountered before.
It had crossed more than ten light-years in the span of a single nap.
Even so, he'd been on the ship long enough to feel time stretch thin.
And transforming into a Rider and pacing back and forth in full armor aboard a spaceship? Not exactly graceful.
Even if there was no one aboard besides him, Robin, and a handful of silent robot guards… it still felt awkward.
So outside of a few moments before bed—just to get a sense of the armor—Sora mostly passed the time in other ways.
"I wonder if I'll even get a chance to test this power before we arrive…"
He sighed again. If only this ship had a gravity chamber like the ones the Saiyans used.
Without any space to train or test the new abilities, he felt like something important was slipping away.
Just then, the soft ambient lights turned red.
The robot guards posted along the walls all raised their weapons in unison.
The ship suddenly jolted as it slammed its engines into emergency reverse—Sora's body shuddered from the abrupt deceleration, though he quickly regained his footing.
[Warning: High-risk zone detected ahead. Please choose alternate route.]
High-risk zone?
Sora frowned. Before he could react, Robin came rushing in.
"What happened?" she asked, clearly just as confused about the sudden brake.
The ship's AI wasted no time pulling up the threat ahead—projecting the image onto the cabin display.
A burning freighter. Engulfed in flame. Floating in the void like a bonfire adrift.
Its hull illuminated every asteroid nearby, casting flickering shadows across the stars.
It looked like a cargo ship—much larger than the vessel they were on now.
But its engines were dead. It drifted aimlessly, and its cargo holds had burst open in several places.
At first glance, it was just another derelict left behind in the void.
But what truly earned it the label of "high-risk"...
…was what slipped through one of the cracks in its burning hull.
Beneath the blaze, clear as day, their sensors captured it: a tiny bug.
Just a small insect. No larger than a person, even accounting for distance.
But even so, the moment it appeared—Sora and Robin's eyes went wide.
Because even if you didn't know, you knew.
You knew about them.
The galaxy-spanning locust plague.
The catastrophe that once consumed two-thirds of the Milky Way.
Had the Aeons not intervened, the entire universe might've been lost.
And now, the creature before them looked exactly like one of those horrors.
Seeing one Sting was like spotting a cockroach.
You only see one—but the swarm? The swarm is always there.
One bug was enough to designate the entire area as a Class-A danger zone.
"Why is there a True Sting this close to our route?" Robin asked, unsettled.
By the star charts, they were already nearing their destination—Zieltworth.
Known as the Cradle of Renewal, the medical star was supposed to be one of the safest, most secure places in the region.
A place people trusted with their lives.
That a threat like the True Sting could appear here at all…
…it was unthinkable.
The fact that the burning cargo freighter had already disgorged a Sting—and no Zieltworth ships had responded?
That was a massive breach in protocol.
Robin's expression darkened. She began questioning whether they should even continue the approach.
The Swarm was not something to be taken lightly.
BOOM!!
Just as Robin was deep in thought, the cargo freighter detonated in a blinding inferno, the explosion casting blazing light across the starfield.
Everyone along this flight corridor would have seen it.
It was the final flash—an ending flare.
When the light faded, only debris remained. No other signs of life.
Robin didn't relax. "Activate all weapon systems. Full alert. If any swarm units approach—eliminate them immediately."
[Command received. All weapons online.]
You couldn't blame her.
That ship had holes. Open holds.
If any Sting had made it off before the blast…
…then they were already in trouble.
Almost as if to confirm her fears, a second alarm sounded.
[Biological traces detected in the surrounding area.]
The display lit up with dozens—no, hundreds—of red markers.
Encircling them.
The Swarm had arrived.
And they were replaying the last freighter's scene… this time, around their ship.
Weapons fired in all directions.
The red markers dropped fast—but not fast enough.
Some of the bugs had already breached the outer shields.
The swarm was heading straight for the deck.
"Robin, get the ship moving—constant speed, get us out of here!"
Sora turned and ran.
"Sora! What are you—?!"
"If they land on this ship, we're done."
If even one of them got aboard, they'd suffer the same fate as that freighter.
From his belt appeared a device—he strapped it on in one motion.
A gauntlet materialized on his right hand.
"Time for a hero to take the stage."
He tapped the gauntlet.
"[Ready]!"
The ship's alarms blared louder, dramatic, almost like fanfare.
"[Hen…shin]!"
"[Fist On]!"
A white-armored warrior stepped into the light.