Darkness. Then light flickers.
A hazy grayscale world, like an old photograph in motion.
Ritsuka stands in the middle of a windswept field. Everything is silent. The wind flows gently.
A woman with long silver hair stands before him. He cannot see her face...no matter how hard he tries, it remains blurred like static. Her hair sways with the breeze, and her presence feels familiar yet impossibly distant.
She smiles softly, her voice ethereal and kind.
"Rest well,#&¥€£$#@..."
She lifts a hand and gently strokes his cheek.
But then
FLASH.
Blood.
A battlefield drenched in red. Screams echo.
A leg—twisted, broken. Bones protruding.
A child's cry. A sword breaking.
A figure impaled.
[Host, wake up or should I use electricity again?]
The cold, robotic voice of Sakura echoes in his head.
Ritsuka jolts awake with a gasp.
[INT. CHALDEA INFIRMARY ROOM]
He finds himself lying on a bed in a softly lit room. The sheets are warm. A gentle humming noise comes from nearby machinery.
Gudako, sitting on a chair beside him in a casual yet adorable outfit, jumps at his sudden wakefulness.
"Oops, that scared me!"
Ritsuka quickly covers his mouth, catching his breath.
"I'm sorry… I had a bad dream."
Gudako leans in with concern.
"What kind of dream?"
Ritsuka shakes his head.
"I don't know. I can't remember."
Internally:
"Sakura, did you see my dream?"
[Host, I can't access your dreams. You're still weak.]
Gudako's expression shifts.
"Ritsuka… why are you crying?"
He touches his face and freezes. His fingers are wet.
"I… I don't know…"
Gudako reaches over and wipes his tears gently.
"Maybe it was just a nightmare. You've been through so much… You got hurt pretty bad—twice."
She avoids mentioning infront of Airi how he got stabbed 2 Times in heart.
Ritsuka glances down at the small girl curled beside him.
"Airi… how are you feeling?"
Airi blinks and yawns.
"I'm fine."
Gudako adds with a small smile,
"She missed you a lot, you know."
Ritsuka chuckles lightly and pats her head.
"Did Miss Belle Maya take good care of you?"
Airi nods enthusiastically.
"She's nice. She even sang songs!"
Ritsuka shocked to imagine that static maid face singing for kids. Ritsuka then notices his clothes have been changed. A flicker of panic.
Gudako smirks teasingly.
"I changed them. You were out cold, after all."
Ritsuka freezes.
"Wait—what?"
[Host, it was Doctor Romani. Do not worry.]
Relief.
"Don't lie to me," he mutters, narrowing his eyes.
Gudako grins in response.
"How long was I asleep?"
"Five hours."
Ritsuka carefully gets up, slipping on his slippers. He looks at Airi, now wearing a new, clean outfit.
He smiles to himself.
"She really does look adorable…"
Gudako notices and comments,
"She's so cute. But I think her hair's a little too long for a kid. Might need a trim."
Ritsuka asks,
"You know how to cut hair?"
Gudako nods.
"A bit. But let's do it later—Director Olga wants to see us. It's important."
Ritsuka sighs, stretches, and then kneels beside the bed.
"Then let's go, princess."
He offers his hand to Airi. She giggles and takes it.
Then she reaches for Gudako's hand, forming a little triangle of warmth between them.
As the trio strolled hand-in-hand through the white halls of Chaldea, warm light casting long shadows across the floor, Gudako suddenly leaned toward Ritsuka, whispering quietly enough that only he could hear.
"So… you're the one who kidnapped that Yakuza kid, Airi."
Ritsuka nearly tripped mid-step, eyes wide.
"H-How did you know?" he whispered back, stiffening.
Gudako kept her eyes forward, voice playful but low.
"I saw it on the news… right before I got kidnapped for blood donation by Chaldea. Lucky me, huh?"
Ritsuka blinked, processing her words.
"So… we both ended up here in the same way."
Gudako smirked slightly.
"Maybe we were destined to be together."
Ritsuka glanced sideways.
"It's a coincidence."
She giggled softly and lowered her voice again.
"So… playing dad at your age, huh? Tell me the details."
Ritsuka sighed and gave in. As they walked, he recounted the story quietly: how Airi had been marked by someone in the Yakuza group who wanted her to suffer and die. They also killed Airi father, Yakuza head. He had saved her, choosing to protect her with everything he had, even if it meant being hunted or becoming criminal.
When Gudako heard it all, her expression turned grave. Without warning, she knelt down and wrapped Airi in a hug.
"My father died when I was your age," she said softly. "I know what it's like to lose someone… and not trust anyone afterward." She gently stroked Airi's back.
"But I promise, like Ritsuka, I'll protect you. Most people here in Chaldea are good. We're your people now, okay?"
Airi nodded hesitantly, but her little hand gripped Gudako's shirt tightly.
Ritsuka watched silently, heart swelling with warmth at the sight of them. For a moment, the burden he carried felt just a bit lighter.
Gudako stood back up, beaming.
"Alright, come on! Let's go see the director—with mama and papa!"
Ritsuka blinked.
"Wait… mama and papa?"
[Host, she is referring to herself as Airi's mother, and you as her father.] Sakura's voice chimed flatly in his mind.
Ritsuka looked to Airi, who now smiled more openly, holding both their hands tightly. For a brief second, he wanted to protest.
But then… seeing how Airi trusted them, how safe she felt…
He sighed inwardly and nodded.
Gudako leaned closer with a mischievous grin.
"You're such a softie, dear husband."
Hand-in-hand, the trio continued walking—like a strange little family stitched together by fate and war.
Ritsuka couldn't win against her at all.
She won this time. And he lost.
---
INT. CHALDEA HALLS
They passed several staff members. Tension still lingered in the air, but efforts to restore Chaldea were underway. Repairs echoed faintly from behind walls.
Ahead, Mashu Kyrielight appeared around the corner. Her face lit up as she spotted Gudako.
"Senpai!" she said cheerfully, then paused, noticing Ritsuka.
Mashu gave him a curious glance. This boy—this other Senpai—was still unfamiliar. But she didn't comment. Instead, she smiled kindly. not for Ritsuka but for Airi.
"Good to see you again. And hello, Airi."
Airi waved shyly. Ritsuka simply nodded back with a small, respectful smile.
As they passed one corridor, Ritsuka's gaze shifted to a damaged chamber—the once-functional Rayshift Room, now scorched and barely standing.
Men and women worked quickly to assess and freeze the remaining collapsed master candidates.
"What happened here…?" Ritsuka asked, concerned.
Mashu answered softly.
"The director ordered the surviving candidates be kept in magical stasis. Clock Tower healers will be arriving later. They'll survive… eventually in ...future."
Ritsuka's eyes widened in surprise.
"She did that…? That's a hard call."
He felt a wave of respect for Olga Marie rise in him.
---
INT. COMMAND ROOM
The doors to the command room slid open with a hiss.
In the dim glow of the command room monitors, Olga Marie Animusphere stood silently with arms folded, watching her exhausted staff scramble in the ruined Rayshift chamber through the glass. Magic-powered tools flickered with light as they encased unconscious Master candidates in cryogenic suspension pods.
Behind her, Romani Archaman leaned back in a chair, yawning.
"Just like you said, Director. They're all frozen safely. Healing mages can stabilize them once the Clock Tower mages arrive in future."
Olga gave a curt nod, her voice calm but firm.
"Good. I won't allow another life to be lost under my watch anymore."
Just then, the command room doors slid open. Ritsuka, Gudako, and little Airi stepped inside.
Romani stood to greet them.
"Well, look who made it out in one piece!" he said with a cheerful grin. "Congrats on surviving—especially with all that chaos."
As he took a step forward, his eyes fell on the small girl hiding behind Ritsuka's coat. Airi peeked out nervously.
"And who's this little one?"
Before Romani could get closer, Olga pinched his arm sharply.
"Back off. Don't scare the child."
Romani winced.
**"Ow—seriously?!"
Olga's eyes narrowed, though her voice kept its usual tsundere sharpness.
"I already received a report from Belle Maya… Airi, right? She came with you, Ritsuka." She glanced at him, then at Gudako. "But let's be honest. You're barely older than a high school student. You're not her real father, are you?"
Before Ritsuka could answer, Gudako stepped forward with a proud smile.
"We're her parents."
A beat of silence.
Olga's eyes widened—then practically popped.
She clutched her chest in visible shock, while Romani stared, dumbfounded.
"Wha—wait, PARENTS?!"
Ritsuka quickly corrected with a flushed face.
"A-Adopted. We're not her real parents, but… I'm protecting her."
Right then, the command room doors hissed open again. Twenty Chaldea staff members and Belle Maya entered, fresh from the freezing chamber. The air was tense, their expressions solemn.
Everyone's attention turned to Ritsuka as he stepped forward, voice calm but laced with emotion.
He recounted Airi's story—how she was being hunted by her Yakuza family members who also Killed Airi father, targeted for reasons that would've destroyed her young life. How he took her away and brought her here, not as a fugitive, but as someone desperate to protect an innocent child.
As he finished, silence took over the room.
Then came the reactions—sharp gasps, mutters of disbelief, but most notably… anger. Anger toward the people who dared to harm a child.
Olga stepped forward, her heels clicking sharply.
"You did the right thing," she said, her voice unwavering.
"And once this mess is over… I'll reach out to contacts in the Mage's Association. The kind who still have a conscience. We'll find a way to protect both of you. You're not alone in this."
Ritsuka was stunned. He looked up into Olga's serious, determined eyes. Hesitating, he slowly reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Thank you… Director."
Olga blinked, stunned by the sudden touch. A faint red flush crept across her cheeks.
"D-Don't misunderstand! I'm just doing what a proper director should!" she barked, flustered.
Romani chuckled quietly.
"Can't believe how much our Director's grown. What happened to the ' kids don't belong in Chaldea' speech?"
CRUNCH.
Olga stomped on Romani's foot, hard.
"OW—OKAY, OKAY! I GET IT!" he howled, hopping on one leg.
Belle Maya smiled gently at the scene, while the staff behind her gave small nods of approval.
For now… a strange peace settled in the command room.
Olga serious expression quieted everyone.
"Now… we need to talk about a serious matter. The future of the world."
She raised her hand, and the massive central screen displayed casualty numbers, system failures, and global loss charts.
"Seventy percent of Chaldea's staff… are dead."
Her voice wavered slightly.
"All because of the explosion Leff Lynor—no… Mr. X—caused."
Her gaze turned bitter.
"ALL the Master candidates survived only because of emergency stasis protocols, but aside from you two…"
She glanced at Ritsuka and Gudako.
"…they're all out of commission."
A beat of silence filled the room as her words weighed down on everyone.
"You could say that Chaldea, the organization created to safeguard the future of humanity, is now on its death bed."
Gudako clenched her fist.
"The situation's even worse than I thought."
Romani nodded, stepping beside them.
"That's why we need to step up. For the ones who died protecting humanity… we must finish what they started."
Olga turned to the glass wall that overlooked the great Earth model in the central hall. The blue globe no longer radiated light. It spun silently—dead.
"Mr. X wasn't lying," Olga said. "The destruction of humanity is fixed. The light of civilization disappears beyond 2016. If we do nothing, mankind has no future."
She turned back and tapped on a screen. Seven red points lit up on the Earth hologram.
"These seven red points are Singularities—fixed anomalies in time caused by Mr. X. They're tearing the foundation of human history apart."
She crossed her arms.
"Currently, the only Rayshift candidates… are the three of us. I refuse to Rayshift myself—not out of fear, but because I want to prove to Mr. X that I can protect humanity without running away."
Ritsuka watched her, deeply moved by her determined eyes.
Gudako stepped forward.
"Then we must go. We'll take on the Singularities, one by one. Right? For real!!"
Romani added gently,
"Can I trust you both to carry this burden? To fight not just for Chaldea, but for humanity's very survival?"
Ritsuka lowered his eyes, thinking of his grandfather's peaceful home, of his friends, his town.
"I have a family waiting for me," he said quietly.
"But a man once told me—'Human lives are more important than peace or justice. Follow your heart.'"
He lifted his head, gaze burning with resolve.
"As a Kamen Rider, I'll follow my heart. My heart says I want to see my friends and grandpa again—but before that, I must protect this world. I'll carry this burden."
Gudako smiled gently beside him.
"I don't understand everything you guys said… but I understand this much: I won't let my mom's life end like this. I wanted to call and see her… but the world outside is gone."She looked directly into Ritsuka's eyes."Even if I'm not strong… I'll share this burden with you. We'll do this together."
Olga's expression softened. A small, proud smile crossed her face.
"Good." She turned to the console. "But before you can Rayshift, you'll need Servants. Let me introduce our Chaldea technical genius and first Servant—Leonardo Da Vinci, Caster-class."
"You mean the famous artist?"
"Yes"
The doors opened.
A graceful woman in elegant dress and a warm smile stepped in, her vibrant purple eyes gleaming with charm.
"Ciao, my adorable little Masters. I've been waiting~."
Ritsuka and Gudako both blinked, stunned.
"Wait… Da Vinci's a woman?!"
"I thought… Leonardo Da Vinci was a guy?!"
Da Vinci laughed melodically, twirling a strand of her hair.
"Oh, I am Leonardo. I just took this form because it's based on my most beautiful creation—my ideal vision of beauty. A genius has the right to be a bit eccentric, don't you think?"
She winked.
Ritsuka and Gudako looked at each other, completely lost.
Olga sighed.
"You'll get used to her."
And so, the journey began. Two young Masters. One genius Servant. A dead world waiting to be reborn.
"I'm very interested in Suit of Candidate 48. We can talk about it later but Frist we need to summon servants okay!!"
--
Note: guys I'm very busy with exams. I still had 2 more exams to write so no new chapters for 3 days.