Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

The burning flames carved open a path straight to where the god resided.

An emerald-green figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from its string.

He did not glance at the army of clones barring his way—for they could not halt his stride.

He believed. Believed that his friends beside him would sweep the obstacles away, just as they believed in him.

The surging in his chest washed away every trace of exhaustion, leaving him brimming with power.

The [Idealistic Power] he had inherited from Hidari Shotaro now swelled in answer to his will, magnifying his strength.

And in that moment, Sora felt what Heart had left him.

His heartbeat in his ears thundered like an engine, redlined to the limit. His entire body blazed with heat.

This was the power Heart had entrusted him.

They had not said farewell. But at the end, Heart had still passed a piece of his strength into Sora.

The engine that evolved endlessly through joy.

That engine throbbed in his chest, firing, feeding into the black armor he now wore.

The joy of fighting with companions. The joy of opening the future with friends…

Even standing before an Aeon, Hoshigaki Sora felt no fear.

"Maybe it's just that I've faced it too many times already."

He drew his blade.

"You, a so-called god, don't give me the slightest pressure."

Though he had not yet swung, the sword already radiated a force that chilled the soul.

As if nothing in existence could stand before it.

The edge traced an arc in the air, painting a streak of emerald light.

Then, with a twist of his body, he swung downward!

Ahead stood Titanironia, resonating with her Path, ascending toward divinity.

The emerald slash became a black dragon, tearing through the space between them, plunging toward the towering cocoon.

But before it struck, it crashed against an invisible field that could not be seen by mortal eyes.

The moment an Aeon ascends, it leaves behind the domain of common life.

The divine cannot be touched. The divine cannot be profaned. Only gods may face gods.

Titanironia already bore that quality.

Sora's strike, carrying unmatched force, could not touch her at all.

The black dragon wrestled with the unseen field in midair, its light weakening.

Yet Sora acted to make his will clear.

Nothing is unbeatable. Even a fully ascended Aeon of Propagation had once been slain.

And now, you have not even fully risen—there is no reason you cannot fall.

If one strike won't work, then another!

Another emerald dragon roared forth, hammering the invisible barrier.

The edge of the blade tore at the field, tearing a gap as it had once torn through Titanironia's personal shield.

Any ordinary witness would have sworn this impossible.

Back then, Titanironia's guard had been breakable only because she had just resonated with the Stellaron—she had not yet wholly claimed Aeonhood.

But now, within the cocoon, she was no longer incomplete.

Already she was binding the planet's phenomena into herself, her power changing by the instant.

Ordinary attacks should have lost all effect. Unless struck by a being of equal rank, her shield should not yield.

And yet—the impossible came to pass. The divine field split beneath emerald light.

In part because she was not yet a perfected Aeon—yes.

But the truth was this: a mere mortal had bared his blade against the divine.

Has such a thing ever happened in this galaxy's history?

Yes.

Has it ever succeeded?

None could name even one—

No. That wasn't true. There was one.

Not long ago, a certain unknown figure had cut through the field of the Aeon of Destruction, halting the stride of ruin.

Even now, under the galaxy's watch, the Aeon of Destruction had not stirred.

But that was one case. Only one, in all the eons since this galaxy's birth.

Every other challenger lay as nothing but remains.

And yet—here, on this false star wrapped in its curtain, came the second case.

A mortal cutting through an Aeon's defense.

If word of this spread, the galaxy would ignite in uproar.

A milestone. Proof that humans could reach toward the power of Aeons.

But here, in this sealed-off world, there were few to witness.

Still—that was enough.

The Fyrefly warriors who had burned themselves to fight the tide felt their hearts reach a peak.

"As we thought—Sora will definitely do it."

Their faith was not wrong. He would reach the dreamt-of future.

And Sora wasted no time. His sword flashed again and again, emerald arcs shredding the barrier until it was left in tatters.

The more he cut, the thinner it seemed—paper walls falling before each stroke.

Cracks tore open like dawn breaking the night, spilling Titanironia's light ever brighter, ever harsher.

A light that pierced the planet's darkness.

Yet the darkness and shadow themselves had been birthed by this dawn.

Her ascension had been broken.

The tree's reflection faded from her golden eyes, like waking from a long dream.

Confusion and disbelief flashed there. She understood the disruption.

The black-armored figure with the long blade was clear before her—

her own blade-arm had been shaped in imitation of him.

[So you came again after all.]

She had expected this.

From Hotaru's memories, she had already come to know the human named Hoshigaki Sora.

So when she had seen him retreat, she had known: he would return.

Sora himself had no idea he was already caught in Titanironia's gaze.

The shattering of her field rippled outward, holy brilliance flooding the world.

Sora felt it—some strange power brushing his body.

Propagation's Path revealed itself in full, etched into the cocoon and the curtain of sky.

"Looks like I interrupted a key step."

He was glad he had arrived so quickly. Another moment later, and this opening would have closed.

Propagation had not fully merged into her yet. Her power was not complete.

"You're stronger than before—but right now, you can't attack."

Sora clicked the buckle, drew his blade anew.

"Then let me break your ascension completely."

'[BUJIN SWORD STRIKE!]'

His body became ink on paper, his blade plain, stripped of any force—

Yet the gleam of it chilled the soul, stirring instinctive dread.

The distilled essence of every swordsman who had ever wielded a sacred blade—

all poured into this one cut.

It was not a sword to guard the world.

But it was still the sword swung for an ideal.

And so its name had long been decided.

In the System Space, the [Legend Rider Book] flared with light.

Before him, he could see the cocoon's weakness.

He slid the blade into its sheath. His body sank into a crouch.

'[BUJIN SWORD IAI!]'

Inside the cocoon, Titanironia felt something like panic.

She did not understand why. But the terror from her very life forced her to strike first.

Bursts of radiant energy surged, sweeping down at him.

Sora did not raise his head. He held his stance.

Not until the attack was upon him did his eyes flare crimson—

He drew, and cut.

'[BUJIN SWORD CHOU ISSEN!]'

In an instant he pierced through the torrent, standing behind the cocoon.

Shing—shing—shing—BOOM!

The gathered energy shattered into fragments, exploding apart in the air.

Silence fell.

Save for the distant battle of the Fyrefly Squad, here there was only stillness.

But change came—the cocoon, once brilliant as a sun, began to dim.

The rain that had flowed in reversed course, rising back into the sky's curtain.

The drops brushed Sora as they passed, his black cape rippling though no wind stirred.

Crack—crack—crack—crack!

The cocoon split with deep slashes.

From within, a platinum figure emerged.

Human in form, but marked by insect traits.

Transparent cicada wings cloaked her back.

Silver hair. Golden eyes. One hand, a human palm. The other, a blade of shining white.

[With this power, I can rewrite even Nihility itself.]

She spoke to him:

[You—and Hotaru—are powers I cannot be without.]

[Become my companion.]

And with that, the silver blade swept down at him.