Infinite Evolution of Kamen Rider

Ryuga frowned as he surveyed the scene. These people had kindly helped him control his own power—yet here he was, destroying their home. It didn't sit right with him.

With a sharp exhale, he slammed his right leg down and launched a powerful kick at the Old Demon King. The elder stretched out a hand to block it. Though unscathed, the force of Ryuga's strike sent him soaring into the sky.

He didn't fly too high at first, but Ryuga didn't let up. Without missing a beat, he leapt after him, forcing the Old Demon King to keep rising with each blow. Eventually, the Demon King understood the intent behind the flurry of attacks—and with a faint smile, he took the initiative to fly even higher.

Their battlefield had now moved into the sky. No longer would their shockwaves cause collateral damage to the ground below.

After exhausting his full range of moves, Ryuga finally began to regain control of his power. He had been knocked back multiple times by the Old Demon King, and now, suspended in the air, he ceased his attacks and stood calmly in the void.

"Thanks for the sparring session. I've had enough of fists—how about a weapons match next?" he called out. His armor, which he had named the Galaxy Armor, pulsed with an orange light. A massive weapon formed in his hand—clearly two swords merged into one. It was none other than the Eyecon Saber, the signature weapon of Kamen Rider Ghost.

"I would've liked that match," the Old Demon King replied. "But now… it's no longer necessary."

He extended a hand, shimmering with the power of time. His fingers began to dissolve, and the effect quickly spread to the rest of his body.

"Sougo must have destroyed my belt," Ryuga realized aloud.

"Indeed. So there's no point continuing this battle. We'll speak again... another time."

The Old Demon King faded from existence. But just before vanishing completely, he unleashed one final wave of temporal power to the ground. The landscape that had been ravaged moments ago began to rapidly reverse, restoring itself to its original state.

The entire reason Ryuga had moved the fight to the sky? Pointless.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Ryuga muttered, lip twitching in frustration. "Time-based powers really are unfair. They can do whatever they want."

His own time-based ability was still far too underdeveloped—barely good for simple time pauses. Compared to this? Not even close.

With the battle over, he descended back to the ground and de-transformed. Since the Old Demon King wouldn't reappear for a few more hours, Ryuga didn't bother to wait. He opened a time-space portal and stepped through.

Year: 2018

Before Sougo returned to the modern era, he had made a crucial decision—to save the world and to save Geiz, who had been slammed down by Kasshin. He gave up his belt and allowed Geiz to destroy the Zi-O Driver.

That was the reason the Old Demon King vanished.

As soon as Sougo relinquished his belt, the massive demonic machine rampaging across the world came to a halt. It sank into the earth, dormant once more—waiting for its next activation.

Kasshin also powered down, collapsing to the ground. Gates barely escaped with his life.

But not long after Sougo and the others departed, Swartz arrived—bringing Ur with him. The two approached the fallen machine, and Swartz took immediate control, reprogramming it.

After all, it was a robot. A few code changes were all it took to reactivate it.

"What's this for?" Ur asked, puzzled.

"To cut the weed at the root," Swartz replied coldly. "We're going to eliminate the Demon King once and for all."

"No problem!" Ur grinned maliciously. Swartz smirked in return.

Of course, his true goal wasn't to kill Sougo—it was to force him to wear the belt again. Only then could Swartz have the chance to steal the power of the Demon King. Trying to take it from the Old Demon King? Impossible. Even Swartz knew better.

He was no match.

Meanwhile, Sougo was out running errands for his uncle, casually pondering his uncertain future—when Kasshin suddenly reactivated and ambushed him.

Sougo, without the Rider powers, was just an ordinary human.

An ordinary human being pounded by a weapon that could suppress Kamen Rider Geiz, no less.

"Shocked to be attacked by your own ally, King Zi-O?" Ur mocked, plucking a yellow pepper from Sougo's fallen shopping bag and taking a bite. "We're just borrowing this machine to kill you."

"Stop it! I've given up being king!" Sougo cried out.

But naïve princes always think that giving up the throne brings safety. They never realize—it's their potential, not their desire, that others fear.

"Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty," Woz suddenly appeared, holding up a spare Zi-O Driver. "But I came prepared."

"I said I'm done being a demon king!" Sougo roared, taking another brutal blow from Kasshin.

At that moment, on the Time Mazine...

Gates and Tsukuyomi were just preparing to return to the future, but Tsukuyomi had been quietly monitoring Sougo. She immediately noticed the attack and notified Gates.

"What the hell?" Gates muttered as he saw Kasshin pounding Sougo. The scene shifted from the city center to a deserted seaside pier.

"You'll die at this rate! Use the belt!" Woz urged, watching the battle with growing panic.

"I refuse!" Sougo barked—and rushed Kasshin barehanded.

"Weren't you going to help us?" Ur teased, somehow holding Woz's spare belt, which he had stolen in the chaos. "You're such a pain, you know that?"

"I was helping the true Demon King—Gates!" Woz snapped. "You're the nuisance!"

"Really? Well, King Zi-O's about to die." Ur laughed cruelly as Kasshin charged a massive energy blast.

Woz had no time to reclaim the belt. He turned urgently to Sougo, just as the energy orb surged forward.

"Move!" Gates and Tsukuyomi shouted from a distance—but Sougo didn't budge.

"Damn it!" Gates hurled a piece of nearby debris, intercepting the blast. It saved Sougo, but knocked him to the ground.

Behind Sougo, they noticed a small child sitting calmly. A mischievous grin on his face. A bystander, unmoved by the chaos.

"I won't forgive anyone who threatens my people!" Sougo stood, eyes blazing. "As long as I can make people happy, I'll fight to the end!"

Gates was visibly moved. Without a word, he stepped in front of Sougo—and charged Kasshin himself.

"Gates?! You didn't leave?" Sougo gasped.

"How can I leave with you like this? Let me finish this fight!" Gates replied proudly. Tsukuyomi quickly dragged the small child away to safety.

"I thought the story was over," said a familiar voice.

From a nearby rift in space, Tsukasa Kadoya—Kamen Rider Decade—emerged with a confident smirk.

"Looks like things are still interesting around here."

With a smooth motion, he transformed and leapt into the battlefield—standing directly in front of the still-powerful Kasshin.