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In a golden, sun-drenched castle, sunlight poured through rainbow-colored stained glass onto the floor. Dan sat peacefully on the throne, fast asleep.
Suddenly, a soft violin melody echoed through the castle, smooth and flowing like a gentle stream.
Dan slowly opened his eyes, a strange glow flickering in them.
Following the sound, he looked over and saw a young man in a tuxedo standing on a balcony, playing the violin with deep emotion. The sun lit up his short, wine-red hair like it was made of jewels.
Sensing Dan's gaze, the young man lowered his bow and turned with a smile.
"You're awake. Did I wake you?"
Dan shook his head.
"Nope. Waking up to your music feels like a blessing, Wataru."
After countless dreams where they'd met, Dan finally remembered who this was—Kurenai Wataru, Kamen Rider Kiva.
Wataru smiled at him, and the sweet violin music started up again.
"I don't get it—why do you keep showing up in my dreams?"
Listening to the melody, Dan couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah… why do I keep showing up in your dreams? Shouldn't you be the one answering that?"
Wataru played on, casually flipping the question back at him.
"Me?"
Dan frowned, head starting to ache. If he knew the answer, he wouldn't be asking.
Seeing his troubled face, Wataru shook his head.
"Guess it's still not time yet."
"Time? You said the same thing before—what are you even talking about?"
Dan asked in frustration.
But Wataru didn't answer. Instead, he walked over and handed him the violin.
"Wanna give it a shot?"
Dan took the violin, now visibly irritated.
"Can't you just say what you mean? Why do you always have to speak in riddles? Is that supposed to be fun?"
Wataru responded coolly, "Play it. If you do well, maybe I'll tell you."
Dan gritted his teeth, looked down at the violin, and raised it with a huff.
But the moment the bow touched the strings… his heart calmed.
He began to play. The notes flowed naturally, his body swaying to the music like he'd done it a thousand times before.
Wataru closed his eyes, listening to the tune, tapping the rhythm gently.
Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and let out a silent sigh.
"That's enough. Time to go back—your friends are waiting."
And just like that, everything around him began to fade. Dan reached out, trying to grab hold of Wataru.
"Hey! What the hell do you mean?! Tell me what this is all about!"
Back at the base, Eric and Krim sat beside Dan, who lay unconscious in bed, hooked up to machines monitoring his vitals.
Krim stared silently at Dan's face, expression calm—but inside, his mind was swirling with questions.
Dan… who are you, really?
How did you use Heavy Acceleration in this universe, where the energy systems don't even allow that level of power without Drive?
Why did Eric, in a berserker state, suddenly calm down the second he touched you?
Dan… are you really just a normal teenager?
As the dream faded, Dan's memory of it vanished as well. He let out a deep sigh. Every time he woke up from those dreams, he'd forget everything. Only once he returned could he remember again. It was seriously annoying.
Still, feeling that familiar sense of weakness and disappointment, Dan slowly opened his eyes.
"Eric… Belt-san… How long was I out?"
Waking up to see your friends watching over you—it was a warm feeling. But underneath that warmth, it still made him feel a little uneasy.
"Dan! You're finally awake. You've been out for two whole days since we escaped the military base. How're you feeling?"
Eric asked.
"Not bad, just kinda… hungry."
"Hungry? Got it. I'll go get you something to eat."
Eric stood up and headed off.
Krim stared at Dan. He wanted to just blurt out all his questions, but seeing how pale Dan looked, the words caught in his throat.
Dan looked back at him.
"Belt-san? You look like you've got something to say."
Krim paused, then as if coming to a decision, finally spoke.
"Yeah. Dan, that was way out of line. You think you can just casually use Heavy Acceleration like that?"
"Heavy Acceleration?"
Dan blinked, totally confused.
"Here—look."
Krim used the robotic arm on his cart to open a projection screen, showing the footage of Dan activating Heavy Acceleration to save Eric.
Seeing the slow-motion scene, Dan was shocked. So that's what saved us…? This really was a cheat code kind of power.
"Dan, the energy dynamics in this universe are totally different from where I come from. And you're not Shinnosuke—your body isn't built to handle that kind of strain. The side effects from using Heavy Acceleration on your own are huge. You were lucky you even woke up."
Dan scratched his head, looking sheepish.
"Haha… sorry, Belt-san. It was an emergency, y'know? I promise I won't do it again."
Seeing his face, Krim secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Even though he had no clue how Dan was able to use Heavy Acceleration on his own, Krim figured it wasn't the right time to dig deeper. Until he figured out who Dan really was, he decided to keep quiet about that mysterious ability—for now.
He looked at Dan, switched off the projection, and said,
"Alright, at least now you've had some experience with the acceleration field. You'll get used to it gradually. Once you're fully recovered, we can run a few tests and see what your limits are. That way, when we're up against enemies, we've got another card up our sleeve."
Hearing Kurim's words, Dan immediately got excited. From what Kurim was saying, it sounded like he'd be able to use Hyper Acceleration in actual combat from now on—which was amazing.
"No problem, Belt-san! I feel like my body's already healed. How about we start testing right now?"
He was just about to get up, but the moment he put pressure on his right hand, it gave out and he collapsed back onto the bed.
Kurim chuckled. "Better stay lying down. If you're really in such a rush to start testing, I can call over Crazy Doctor to help you recover faster."
Just hearing those two words—Crazy Doctor—sent a chill down Dan's spine.
"Haha, y'know what? Never mind. Lying in bed's actually pretty comfortable."
He had very vivid memories of that Shift Car. In the show, Shinnosuke had been seriously injured and even poisoned in the brain, and in a desperate situation, they used Crazy Doctor to treat him. Sure, the poison was cured and the injuries healed—but that process… yikes.
They never showed the treatment scenes clearly, but just listening to Shinnosuke's screams gave you an idea of how painful it was. After all, the little car's name is Crazy Doctor, not Gentle Nurse.
"....."