Self-cultivation of Kamen Rider ZIO

Chapter 581 Your Past, I Did Receive It

In history, there used to be such a pair of monarchs and ministers.

Oda Nobunaga.

Mitsuhide Akechi.

them……

One is the king who has the name of the devil and has the ambition of the world;
One is an important minister who is deeply trusted by the king and has made great contributions to the king.

But such a pair of monarchs and ministers...

Such an important minister, on the eve of the king's coming to rule the world, launched the biggest rebellion in history in the Benneng Temple, killing the king he was loyal to.

prior to.

When Sogo Tokiwa invited Kakogawa Hiryu to join his career, he had a conversation with Kakogawa Hiryu about idols.

Who started that passage first?

Oh, right.

It was Kakogawa Hiryu who suddenly asked Tokiwa Sogo.

"...Do you like Nobunaga?"

"I like it."

"Well, from today onwards, my idol will be Mitsuhide Akechi."

Who is Mitsuhide Akechi?

It is the person who betrayed and killed Nobunaga in history.

However, after uttering such tit-for-tat words, Kakogawa Hiryu smiled brightly, concealed his wish euphemistically, and said full of expectations:
"So, you must choose the changed history and create a future where the 'Honnoji Change' will not happen, my... Demon Lord."

At that time, Sogo Tokiwa only thought it was a joke and didn't think deeply about it.

But now, after recovering his memory, Tokiwa Shogo recalled it again, and finally understood the true meaning of Kakogawa Hiryu's original words.

he is...

I am praying for myself to choose this world.

Choose this, the world after history has been changed by him.

He has only one wish.

As long as this wish is fulfilled, then he will be unconditionally loyal to the king, and become the wise Mitsuhide who has never betrayed Nobunaga in the regrets and hypotheses of countless historians, and will wholeheartedly help the king complete the great cause of unifying the world.

But in the end, Hiryu Kakogawa followed the same path as Mitsuhide Akechi.

Time turned a circle, returned to the original point, and moved forward along the same track.

Could it be that history really cannot be changed?

……

……

At the end of the long street, Kakogawa Hiryu, who was covered with scars, looked at Sogo Tokiwa who was walking towards him in Zi-OII armor, and couldn't help laughing miserably.

"Is this world so unworthy of your nostalgia?

"Family, friends, career, dreams...

"It clearly possesses everything you ever wished for!

"Or, what am I not doing well enough?

"But until now, neither Menyashi, Kaidong Dashu, nor even the reality has broken my trust in you. After you gave the order, I still go outside the barrier of the world without hesitation to resist the invasion of the remnants of history. , I will not regret until death...

"My trust, isn't it enough?
"Is it correct to judge the situation like Akechi Mitsuhide in history and give up continuing to trust his king and instead choose to act first?
"answer me!
"The Demon King——!!

"I trust you so wholeheartedly, is it wrong?

"What am I to you?!"

Accompanied by Kakogawa Hiryu's more and more intense questioning and roaring, booms, thunder and heavy rain poured down, submerging Kakogawa Hiryu in an instant, leaving traces of running water on his face.

Looking through the dense rain curtain, Tokiwa Shogo saw Kakogawa Hiryu wrapped in a layer of mist, unable to see the expression on his face at this time.

But, Kakogawa Feiliu's expression at this time, why use your eyes to see it?
Menyashi's bewitchment, Kaito Taiki's persuasion, and even the various intentions that Tokiwa Shogo has clearly expressed recently...

It is precisely because he understands what kind of pressure Kakogawa Hiryu has carefully maintained that trust until now, so Tokiwa Shogo understands how much pain and anger Kakogawa Hiryu has in his heart now that his trust has been let down .

"you're not wrong."

At least, in this monarch-subject relationship, Kakogawa Hiryu, as a subject, did nothing wrong.

"It was me who broke your trust."

That being said, is Sogo Tokiwa really wrong?
No, it's fine if you don't know, but after knowing everything, as a king, how could he abandon his own world because of his own selfishness.

Even thinking about it the other way around, if Tokiwa Sogo betrayed him, would he still be the king that Kakogawa Hiryu agreed with?

From this perspective, the relationship between Tokiwa Sogo and Kakogawa Hiryu is like an inextricable knot. From the moment they became monarchs and ministers and friends, they were doomed to break up. end.

Just as Monyashi once lamented, Kakogawa Hiryu chose the most difficult path.

"Fei Liu, I can tell you with certainty—you are my friend."

Tokiwa Sogo continued to answer Kakogawa Hiryu's previous questions.

"But as the king of time, I cannot allow the existence of different histories, so I will destroy this world."

Tokiwa Shogo's answer was sincere, frank, dignified, full of the responsibility and heaviness of bearing the crown, but Kakogawa Hiryu couldn't help laughing when he heard this answer.

Because, this is not the answer he wants.

"The law is ruthless... Hehe, the law is ruthless, it is true."

Kakogawa Feiliu's heart sank completely, his expression was self-deprecating, and he became more and more sad.

"You're right, I know, I know, it's right for you to do this, but... But ah! Even if I know this is right, I still can't accept it, and I don't want to accept it!
"Zhuang Wu! You are a born king, but I am not, I am just a humble thief who wants to guard his own home...

"I stole your power, but I can't be as great as you... I can't do it!!"

Kakogawa Feiliu's screams resounded amidst the noisy rain, and the rain washed his face over and over again, and fell into his mouth with a bitter taste.

"What's more, in the current world, where is my place...?"

Kakogawa Feiliu's voice gradually decreased, accompanied by his determination that gradually no longer wavered.

Affected by this, the dark power of the strange knight involuntarily began to become active little by little, and then escaped from his body like smoke, surrounding the whole body.

Under the mask, Sogo Tokiwa, who saw this scene, lowered his eyes, but opened them quickly.

"No, even in that world, there is still a place for you!"

He clenched his fist, hammered hard on his chest, and shouted sincerely.

"Not only in this world, even if I return to the original world, I will still be your friend!"

Just like last time, Tokiwa Sogo once again extended his hand to Kakogawa Hiryu, sending him a sincere invitation.

"You can come to live in my house and let me be your shelter, can't you?

"Such a reason, isn't it enough?"

Kakogawa Hiryu stared blankly at the hand that Sogo Tokiwa stretched out to him, and what he saw faintly was a beam of light extending towards him only in the darkness.

After a long silence, he smiled...

This time, it was a heartfelt, touching smile.

Until now, now that I have given up on myself, do you still want to pull me, who is stubbornly stuck in the past and unwilling to move forward, to the real future?
"It's so dazzling, my king."

But he was shaking his head over and over again.

"But it's not enough."

Kakogawa Hiryu shook his head over and over again.

"Even though this world is bad in every way, it is still a place that I swear to protect with my life, and it has everything I desire.

"My parents are here, my home is here...

"I'm living a real life in this world.

"However, what will I be like when I return to that world?

"In that world, I have nothing but you.

"And apart from the power I stole from you, I'm just an ordinary person with no talents.

"Even if I go back to that world with you, what can I do to help you?

"I can't help you with anything, I can only cling to you like a creeper, relying on you blindly.

"Even, in the end, I might resent you for it...

"Zhuang Wu, I can't accept myself like this.

"so……"

Accompanied by the deep and depressing mechanical sound effects, Kakogawa Hiryu's last words sounded slowly.

"Zhuang Wu, let me be selfish and be buried in your past with this world."

[Zi-O...Ⅱ! 】

Dressed in exotic armor.

when--!
The clock struck, and all was silent.

the rain stopped...

No, the raindrops stopped.

They floated quietly in the air, motionless.

Kakogawa Hiryu, a knight returning from the battlefield against the erosion of debris outside the world barrier, charged against the Demon King.

The strange and ferocious knight armor shattered the raindrops suspended in the air, and at the same time shattered the memories of the past in his mind.

[Hi everyone, I transferred here from today... Kakogawa Hiryu. ]
[This is an official invitation, Fei Liu, do you want to come and create our future with me? ]
[Trust me, Fei Liu. ]
[Thank you for choosing the future with my existence. ]
……

The broken fragments of the memory picture splashed and scattered along with the fragmentary water droplets.

Under the rain of shattered memories and time, the image of a clock stained with silver and white gold quietly emerged at the feet of Sogo Tokiwa, and then the energy converged.

Wearing Zi-OⅡ armor, Tokiwa Shogo swung, kicked, and spun with his right foot, and the phantom of the clock hands with energy gathering crossed with Kakogawa Hiryu who happened to rush to the front.

Kakogawa Feiliu's forward figure suddenly froze.

On his body, the ferocious knight armor is like going back in time, traces of battles are constantly emerging, disappearing, and new traces of battles appear.

Looking from the end to the initial road, I saw a series of knight lights and shadows corresponding to those battle marks lined up all the way forward, from orderly to disorderly, from small to numerous, from mature to immature...

That was Kakogawa Hiryu's life of fighting for this world.

Finally, the armor fell apart completely, revealing the original boy underneath.

A strange knight watch was separated from his body, fell to the ground, and shattered.

Snapped!
In the extremely silent rainy night, with the sound of this voice...

wow——

The boundless raindrops stagnant in the air crashed down.

The disappearing sound of rain returns.

Kakogawa Hiryu, who lost his eyesight, slowly fell forward, and was embraced by Tokiwa Sogo with both hands and supported by his shoulders.

"Fei Liu..."

Letting the rain drip down his cheeks, Tokiwa Sogo whispered Kakogawa Hiryu's last awakening.

"Your past, I did receive it."

(End of this chapter)