An Outsider's Perspective

Clutching his sword bag, Hozer quietly vanished, quickly blending into the darkness.

As the minutes and hours ticked by, even when the first light of dawn broke on the horizon, Hozer still did not get the result he had anticipated.

"It seems that although Kanzaki Shiro retained his memories, he still cannot control everything."

Through his night of waiting, Hozer realized that Kanzaki Shiro's control after reversing time was limited. Minor variations could occur, and for the most part, he still needed to guide events himself.

This meant that the course of each Rider War would not entirely follow Kanzaki Shiro's script.

Especially now that a massive variable like himself existed.

However, Hozer did not intend to enter the fray this time. He wanted to remain an outsider, as only then could he clearly observe the overall situation.

At the same time, he needed time to find a solution—a way to satisfy both sides.

Kanzaki Shiro was undoubtedly detestable, but Kanzaki Yui had been innocent from start to finish. She did not want to hurt anyone; she simply wished to live a peaceful, ordinary life.

Wanting to live was not something to be hated; any living creature would want to survive.

To hate Kanzaki Yui because of Kanzaki Shiro's malice would merely be taking out one's anger on an innocent party.

Hozer revealed his form and covered his face with his hand.

A moment later, when he lowered his hand, an ordinary, unremarkable, and common face appeared, and his bright eyes grew somewhat dim.

Then, Hozer's body trembled slightly as his height decreased by five centimeters, and his aura shifted, making him indistinguishable from an ordinary person.

At this point, let alone Kanzaki Shiro, even if Minori Godai saw him, she might not recognize him.

Using his usual methods to secure living expenses, Hozer was extremely cautious this time, not gathering too much money and stopping once he had just enough to maintain a normal life.

After finding an apartment with a reasonable rent, Hozer leased it for a full year. Once the contract was signed, he stocked up on a large amount of ingredients.

Following his memories, Hozer located Akiyama Ren, who had already become Kamen Rider Knight and could proficiently use the power of his Advent Deck.

Next was Kido Shinji obtaining his Advent Deck and contracting with Dragreder to become Ryuki.

It was the same familiar beginning: Akiyama Ren aggressively attacked Kido Shinji, only to be stopped by Kanzaki Yui, leading to Kido's debt of thirty thousand yen.

Only now did Hozer recall that before the last time loop, Kido Shinji had never fully paid off his debt to Akiyama Ren.

Hmm... was it 180,000 or 200,000 yen? In short, due to various reasons, the thirty-thousand-yen debt had multiplied several times over.

Shortly after, Masashi Sudo was devoured by his Contract Beast. Then came Kitaoka Shuichi; because of the time loop, the cure that Yura Goro had sacrificed himself to obtain no longer existed.

Then, Shibaura Jun, Tezuka Miyuki, and Takeshi Asakura made their appearances one after another.

Without Hozer's presence this time, Takeshi Asakura became the most successful Kamen Rider, with both Shibaura Jun and Tezuka Miyuki dying by his hand.

However, this time, Tezuka Miyuki seemed to have discovered Kanzaki Yui's secret anyway. Instead of using the Survive Shippu card himself, he gave it directly to Akiyama Ren.

Then came the third time loop...

Hozer didn't know why Kanzaki Shiro initiated the time loop this time, but one thing caught his attention: Kido Shinji, for some reason, briefly retained his memories from the previous timeline.

Inside the Mirror World.

Odin appeared before Akiyama Ren, Kido Shinji, Takeshi Asakura, and Kitaoka Shuichi.

With a single slap, Takeshi Asakura fell. With another, Kitaoka Shuichi fell. With a third, Akiyama Ren fell.

"Strike Vent!"

One sl— Boom!

Hozer's pupils contracted slightly. What was he seeing? As if anticipating the move, Kido Shinji had equipped his Drag Claw and punched Odin squarely in the chest.

Though this punch didn't injure Odin, its significance went far beyond that.

"How did you know where I would appear? Did your memories not fade?"

"I don't know, but I landed a punch on you."

"Hmph, I won't give you the chance to land that punch again."

With that, Odin backhanded Kido Shinji, sending him flying.

Kido Shinji crashed to the ground. Propping up his upper body, he roared in anger, "Do you want to repeat all of this all over again?"

"Just what is this for?!"

"You have no need to know. Your battle remains unchanged."

"No, there is a change—the numbers!"

"Hmm?"

"The number of vanished Kamen Riders has changed, it has doubled! The number of dead Kamen Riders isn't three, it's six!"

Kido Shinji stood up, declaring furiously, "I chose to become a Kamen Rider to protect people. Therefore, I will protect the Kamen Riders too! I won't let this number increase any further!"

"Kido..."

Watching from the shadows, Hozer smiled. *Classic Kido.*

Nevertheless, the Kamen Riders still died one by one.

Hideyuki Kagawa also reappeared, but in this loop, Kanzaki Shiro quickly eliminated them, aided by his memories of the previous timeline.

Thus, Kanzaki Shiro did not bother with family dramas or choosing between two ideals.

Only Tojo Satoru remained unchanged; Hajime Nakamura and Hideyuki Kagawa still died by his hand.

Before that, he had ambushed Takeshi Asakura, nearly killing him, but was subsequently hunted down relentlessly and died at Asakura's hands.

Meanwhile, Hozer hid himself even more carefully, as Kanzaki Shiro had never given up searching for him.

In this timeline, there was no Tsuhachi Yonemura, Kirishima Miho, or Ryuga, but an Imperer had joined instead.

He was a young man who chose to become a Kamen Rider for money. Yet, in a cruel twist of fate, just as he achieved his dream, he met his end at the hands of Takeshi Asakura.

Soon after, Kitaoka Shuichi succumbed to his illness. Yura Goro took his place to fight Takeshi Asakura, only to die as well.

Then, Takeshi Asakura died under police gunfire, and time progressed to three days before Kanzaki Yui's twentieth birthday.

A massive invasion of Sheerghosts breached the real world, and Kido Shinji died in battle while saving a little girl.

Akiyama Ren left. He had become the last remaining Kamen Rider besides Odin, and he set off to fight.

"Kido..."

Hozer revealed his form, kneeling beside Kido Shinji's body. With a wave of his hand, he cleared away the bloodstains on Kido's body.

If he acted now, he could save this foolish yet endearing man.

But if he didn't stop this endless cycle of time loops, the Rider War would never end, so he refrained from doing so.

He had already overheard the conversation between Akiyama Ren and Kido Shinji.

Daisuke Okubo was a good older brother figure. In the end, Kido Shinji had found what he believed in, and that was enough.

Inside the abandoned building, Hozer materialized, finding Kanzaki Shiro on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Compared to before, his spirit was now far more exhausted.

He had died long ago, no longer bound by any physical shackles.

"You finally showed yourself."

"Yes. It must have been hard for you to search for me for an entire year."

As soon as he spoke, Hozer's face and stature shifted, restoring his original appearance.

The two stared at each other in silence.

At this moment, Odin's figure appeared behind Kanzaki Shiro. Hozer knew that Akiyama Ren had failed.

"Still refusing to give up? After so many cycles of reincarnation, Yui..."

Kanzaki Shiro's eyes turned bloodshot as he bolted upright, his features contorting with rage.

"What do you know?!"

"What do you know?! Yui... I just want to extend her life!"

A flicker of pity flashed in Hozer's eyes. He backed up to the window, pulling out the Sasword Yaiba and the Sasword Zecter.

"Henshin."

Stepping into the Mirror World, Odin's figure indeed appeared behind him.

"Cast Off!"

"Change Scorpion!"