The lingering heat from the hyper-acceleration shimmered in the air as Kamen Rider Zi-O finally came to a halt. He stood firm, a silent sentinel of silver and obsidian, watching the dust settle around the downed form of the Great Destroyer.
TIMEOUT!
The mechanical chime signaled the closure of the temporal rift. Rin Kuga reached down with his left hand, his gauntlet clicking against the cold metal of the Faiz Axel Ridewatch as he wrenched it from the Ziku-Driver. The silver afterimages faded, leaving him in his primary form once more. He adjusted his stance, his voice echoing with a cold, sovereign authority.
"It seems this round belongs to me, Destroyer."
Across the wasteland, the pink-clad Rider tilted his head, a gesture of casual defiance that defied the damage he had just sustained. "Hmph. Don't count your chickens just yet, King."
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Tsukasa Kadoya reached into the void. His hand emerged clutching a familiar, specialized device—the K-Touch 21.
Rin's eyes narrowed behind his visor. As a connoisseur of Rider history, he knew exactly what that device represented. The playtime was over. Tsukasa was no longer content with testing the waters; he was reaching for the zenith of his power, the Complete Form 21.
Rin let out a sharp, internal exhale. He had hoped a simple display of martial prowess would convince the wanderer to abandon his crusade of destruction. He had wanted to keep things simple, a clash of foundations, but the universe rarely catered to the whims of the peaceful. To face the King of All Riders, he would have to become the King of All Eras.
W! OOO! FORZE! WIZARD! GAIM! DRIVE! GHOST! EMPEROR! EX-AID! BUILD! ZI-O! ZERO-ONE!FINAL KAMEN RIDE: DECADE COMPLETE 21!
The air screamed as a localized temporal storm erupted around Tsukasa. A succession of phantom riders flickered in and out of existence, their histories overlapping and compressing until they merged into a single, overwhelming presence. When the light faded, a Rider clad in silver armor adorned with the portraits of Heisei legends stood before him.
Tsukasa drew the Ride Booker Sword, his thumb casually sliding across the flat of the blade—a habit of muscle memory that preceded every execution. He leveled the weapon at Rin, the tip of the blade steady as a mountain.
"Come on then," Tsukasa challenged, his voice dripping with an adventurer's bravado. "Show me your true face. I know your power doesn't stop at the surface. Don't bore me by holding back."
Rin Kuga sighed, the sound lost within the mechanics of his helmet. He truly hadn't wanted to escalate to this level; the weight of the Grand Zi-O power was a burden that distorted the very causality of the surrounding area. But as a King, he could not ignore a formal challenge from a peer.
"If you insist on witnessing the weight of history," Rin murmured, his left hand opening as a brilliant, golden radiance began to coalesce in his palm. The Grand Zi-O Ridewatch materialized, humming with the collective resonance of twenty eras. "Then far be it from me to disappoint a guest."
He clicked the watch.
GRAND ZI-O!
Behind him, the earth groaned as nineteen golden statues of the Heisei Riders rose from the soil, shimmering with a divine, solar luster.
ADVENT! COMPLETE! TURN UP! CHANGE BEETLE! SWORD FORM! WAKE UP! KAMEN RIDE! CYCLONE! JOKER! TAKA TORA BATTA! 3 2 1! SHABADOOBI TOUCH HENSHIN! SOIYA! DRIVE!KAIGAN! LEVEL UP! BEST MATCH!
"Henshin."
Rin slammed the watch into his driver and spun the housing.
GRAND TIME! KUUGA! AGITO! RYUKI! FAIZ! BLADE! HIBIKI! KABUTO! DEN-O! KIVA! DECADE! W! OOO! FOURZE! WIZARD! GAIM! DRIVE! GHOST! EX-AID! BUILD! IWAI! KAMEN RIDER GRAND ZI-O!
The statues shattered into pillars of liquid gold, swirling around Rin before forging themselves into an ornate, gilded armor covered in the reliefs of his predecessors. The pressure was immense; the very grass beneath his feet turned to ash from the sheer spiritual density of the transformation.
"Let's make this quick," Grand Zi-O said, his hand pointing directly at the heart of the Great Destroyer.
"My thoughts exactly," Decade replied.