What Rin Kuga pulled from the ether was a pristine, bone-white Ziku-Driver.
Under normal circumstances, such an artifact should have been lost forever after his "System" had unceremoniously abandoned him. But the King of Time did not rely on the whims of a fickle interface. Beneath the terrifying shadow of Ohma Zi-O's mantle, the boundary between the imaginary and the tangible simply ceased to exist. To a being who commanded the causality of the universe, there was nothing that could not be forged anew.
I suppose I can't blame the System for running away, Rin thought, a dry amusement coloring his inner monologue. When you possess the belt of the Demon King, the concept of "limitations" becomes an obsolete joke.
With a practiced, deliberate motion, Rin pressed the device against his waist.
ZIKU-DRIVER!
The mechanical voice announced its presence with a sharp, electronic chime. Silver bands whipped around Rin's midsection, clicking into place with a heavy, metallic finality that echoed down the hallway.
"Well then," Rin said, tilting his head slightly as he locked eyes with the monster. "Let's see if you can survive being a test subject for my new power."
The Bat Gurongi merely clicked its fangs, a wet, rattling sound of contempt. It responded in a fractured, guttural slur of Linto—human speech—that felt like nails on a chalkboard.
"Hmph! I care not for your toys, human. I am no tool for your games!"
The creature's wings—massive, leathery expanses of midnight black—unfurled with a sound like a heavy sail snapping in a gale. With a violent downward stroke, it conjured a localized windstorm that sent loose papers and shattered glass tumbling through the hall. Rin stood rooted to the spot, his blazer barely fluttering as the air pressure spiked.
With a second, more powerful beat of its wings, the Gurongi took flight. It hung suspended in the amber air for a fraction of a second before plunging toward Rin, a living missile of obsidian claws and murderous intent.
In the face of the oncoming blur, Rin remained tranquil. He raised his right hand, and for a heartbeat, a sphere of pure, blinding white light condensed within his palm. When the radiance faded, he held a circular, white-and-silver device: the Zi-O Ridewatch.
He pressed the activation button.
ZI-O!
The sound effect pulsed through the corridor, a rhythmic heartbeat of chronal energy. Just as the Gurongi's talons were inches from his throat, Rin slotted the watch into the right side of the Driver and struck the release. He gripped the center of the belt and gave it a full, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree spin.
"Henshin."
The word was a quiet execution.
Twin silver clock hands erupted from the center of the belt, rotating wildly as giant, spectral watchbands manifested in the air, orbiting Rin like the rings of a violent planet.
RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!!
BOOM!
The surge of energy released during the transformation's "Invincibility Frame" acted like a physical shockwave. The Bat Gurongi, caught in the epicenter of the chronal eruption, didn't just stop—it was blasted backward with the force of a detonating shell. Its body smashed through the reinforced concrete wall of the corridor, tumbling into the open air before crashing onto the school's athletic field several stories below.
Pink katakana characters flashed into existence, flying through the air before snapping onto the suit's faceplate to form the word "Rider."
The transformation was complete. Rin stood clad in the sleek, charcoal and silver armor of Zi-O's Base Form.
Rin rolled his shoulders, the mechanical joints of the armor emitting a series of satisfying, metallic clicks. He looked down at his gauntlets, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Hmm. Compared to the suffocating, infinite dread of the Ohma power, this feels almost... light. But it'll do for now.
He didn't wait. He turned toward the jagged hole in the wall and stepped into the void, descending through the twilight air with the weight of a falling star.
He landed in the center of the track field with a bone-jarring thud, one knee down and his right fist cratering the dirt in a classic three-point landing. Dust spiraled around him as he slowly rose to his full height, dusting off his palms with a casual air.
Across from him, the Bat Gurongi was dragging itself out of a shallow furrow in the grass, its wings tattered and its pride shattered.
"Now," Rin's voice filtered through the helmet's vocoder, metallic and cold. "The real battle begins."
The monster staggered to its feet, its yellow eyes wide with a mix of fury and dawning horror as it stared at the armored figure. It let out a desperate, echoing shriek.
"Who... what the hell are you!?"
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