Kamen Rider Caster

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 3 – Enemies

“BEHEMOTH - - LANDSLIDE!! HAAHH!!!â€

That was the last moment of the recording before smoke from an explosion covered the lens of the camera, ending in a buzzing screen as it was later destroyed by a trembling impact.

“This is bad,†the man said as he watched the footage till the end. “And what’s worse is this getting public attention. It’ll be impossible to foil this one.â€

“Well, we’ll just have to let the rest of the world enjoy the show, eh?†his companion said carefreely.

He clicked his tongue, making his annoyance apparent to the other.

“You know Strand, you don’t have to be so hard-headed all the time,†he said shaking his head. Strand looked at his partner without any change in impression. “Just who’s war do you think I’m fighting over here?â€

*Ring* *Ring*

Strand answered the phone next to him, “Aderil, what do you have to report?â€

“The Dreads in the area have been neutralised, no civilians were harmed. Though, it seemed that there were some further miscalculations. We failed to find the candidate again. I'm sorry, Strand,†a female voice said with disappointment.

“I see,†was all Strand had to say on the other side of the line.

“About him,†Aderil said to break the silence.

“Lucas has taken charge of that,†he said dully. “I’ll see you back at headquarters.â€

“Yes, sir!â€

Strand puts down the phone and resumes to his thinking.

“You seem to trust your men well,†the other man said.

“They trust me more that they’ll put their lives on the line,†Strand said. “Is there any way that you could at least make it easier for us?â€

“Sorry, but there are conditions I have to meet myself. The rest is up to you and the god above us.†Placing his hand on Strand’s shoulder, he finishes, “I trust you know what it is that you have to do.†This left a chilly atmosphere in the room.

“Guess I better get going. Fight hard,†he says before evaporating into thin air.

“Yes I will... Aetherâ€

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



“Hey!! Hey Clage, check it out!!â€

“..though little has been captured by the surveillance cameras around the area, the last of the video leaves much to tell.â€

Clage got out to the kitchen to see what was Jeina so enthusiastic about. Much to his shock, there was a broadcast showing footage of his fight with the Dread yesterday. The clip was short, only telling details towards the end of the fight with it ending in a buzzing screen.

“..several have been severally wounded, and though no deaths have been reported so far, no witnessed have been found to question on the incident. Much speculation have arisen as..â€

“How awesome is that?! My cousin, a superhero!!†Jeina bloated to herself. Clage could only laugh so meekly.

“W-Well, I’ll be back to the kitchen making dinner.†Though it did not seem like it, Clage was actually feeling more prideful than usually. It was like a fresh dose of confidence had been injected directly into him. He felt as if he could take over the world.

*Ding dong* the door bell went. Jeina went to get it, still feeling hyped up. She sneaked into the kitchen to get Clage.

“Hey hotshot, there’s a gorgeous woman out the door waiting for you,†she said this with a big smile on her face.

“Gimme a break!†But Clage was curious who could it be. He was about to find out.

“Hey miss, can I help you?†Clage greeted as he noticed the slender body of a young woman in front of him. Just as he was inspecting further, the woman said with a familiar voice:
“Hello, Clage.â€

He looked up and almost instantly, he felt like the gravity around him has increased by over ten times.

“Gaia?!â€

“Care for a walk?†she said. Clage turned his head and sure enough, Jeina was spying on them as she gives him the OK gesture.

“Y-yeah, why not,†he sighed.

====================

“This is new, I thought you would never get out of that deep space like room you live in,†Clage says as they stroll to a nearby park. It was late evening and no one else was around.

“Everyone needs a change of scenery once in awhile,†she laughed but got serious.

“First off Clage, congratulations on being able to summon the Behemoth Soul.â€

“Behemoth Soul? Oh, you mean this thing?†he says as he reaches out of his pocket to expose a small translucent golden orb. There was a dim image of a galloping horse inside it, as if running freely in a vast open field.

“It is the physical manifestation of the power of earth and land itself, capable of empowering the Caster with the ability to use control the very earth they step on to their advantage. Only full-fledged Casters can summon it,†Gaia explains. “Whatever happens Clage, you cannot let it be destroyed and if you have to die, make sure you die without it on you.â€

A cold shiver went down Clage’s spine to what he just heard. “Must be really important, huh?†he joked nervously.

“It is as important as being a child of mine,†her tone was rock solid as she points her finger at Clage, who started having cold sweat.

“It also has the ability to detect any Dread spawning at a ten mile radius. I won’t need to contact you regarding the Dreads from here on out,†Gaia continues.

“Ten miles? Will I even be able to make it in time?†he asks as he observes the horse’s movements, at least to look away from Gaia.

“I thought you would ask. The Behemoth Soul also provides for that,†Gaia says as she gestures. “Try focusing with the Behemoth Soul in hand and chant Rider.â€

“Rider, huh? Worth a shot,†Clage grasps the orb with his right hand and concentrates his thoughts and chants, “Rider.â€
A neighing sound was released from the orb as dark golden lights flowed out of it in front of them. It accumulated and began to take the form of a black bike.

“This is, the Behemoth Strider,†Gaia proudly points as Clage was left with eyes wide open. “It travels at 300km/h and doesn’t exhaust its energy on ground. It is from the creature of the land, after all.â€

Clage shakes himself from amazement and gets himself together, “This is so cool! Anyone would kill for something like this.â€

“This,†Gaia reminds, “should only be used as a means to defeat Dreads, not for a casual ride.â€

“Yeah yeah, I get it,†Clage sighed. But then he remembered something Gaia said:
“If you can’t make it from here, then you are unworthy.†He pondered for awhile.

“You know, Gaia. If I'm going to help to defeat the Dreads and all, it’ll help if I know that I at least have your support going through all this.†Gaia realised where Clage was getting at and reflected on it.

“I'm sorry, Clage. I know I should have been more trustful in you,†she said. “I am but the Deity of the Earth itself, and entrusting my powers to a human isn’t a simple matter without knowing what they are capable of. Call it natural selection, if you will.â€

Clage saw this in a harsh way but he understood the position Gaia was in. She continued.

“Kamen Riders are the warriors of this world, and Casters serve as a direct guardian to my existence and cause. I prefer to leave it to my previous Casters to select their replacements on my behalf, though I could choose for myself if they fail to leave a successor to their duty.â€

“So then Kallas..†Clage decided to speak.

“Kallas has served me even before the beginning of the Dread occurrences. He was probably the best one I had in my lifetime.†Hearing this, Clage began to feel a familiar mixture of negative emotions. Gaia took notice and spoke in a maternal way.

“Don’t meddle with it too much in your head, Clage. No one could have seen it coming. And I have to admit on this, I'm glad that you were actually there.†Clage raises his head, confused. “Why?â€

“Though you might be fresh, there is something about you that keeps me wondering. I know I have not seen your true potential yet, Clage, but I sense that when I do, I know I will be very proud of you.â€

“Pfft, whatever,†Clage said sarcastically, though he smiled slightly with the side of his lip.

“Well, I would like to know what it is I’m dealing with here is. You know, the Dreads,†he asked.

“Dreads are creatures from an ethereal dimension. For some reason, the barriers between our dimensions have weakened, causing them to manifest into this world. But their presence here is beyond inconvenient,†Gaia said as Clage took serious attention.

“Not only do they disturb the peace of the denizens of this world, but their manifestation,†she took a small pause before resuming. “Consumes the energy that holds the very foundations of this world in shape.†With this, Clage finally understands the seriousness of the entire matter.

“But as long as they take material form, they can be harmed by conventional means. Though I trust my Casters to take care of them for me,†she ended with a light smile to Clage, he blushed as he never realised how attractive Gaia actually was.

Soon, the sunset was taken over by moonlight and Clage realised the time.
“Damn, look at the time! I need to get back and make dinner!†he broke out. “I guess we’ll talk some more next time, Gaia.â€

“Sure, Clage,†she nodded.

“Oh, and I'm glad we talked. Takes a load off my mind.â€

“No worries, Clage. You’re doing me the favour after all,†Gaia smiled kindly.

“And, uh, one last thing.â€

“Hmm?â€

“How do I put that away?†Clage points at the Behemoth Strider. Gaia laughed and said, “The same way you summoned it.â€

====================

“Hey Romeo, welcome back. How was your date?†Jeina called to Clage who just got back. She was eating a bowl of instant noodles on the couch.

“Mind your own business. And more importantly, I thought I was gonna cook tonight?â€

“Yeah, but I got hungry,†Jeina slurps another mouthful of noodles. “The water’s still boiling hot, go make yourself some.â€

Clage sinks his head and sighs in submission.

====================

“What are you doing here?†Gaia demands from the man standing in the void world.

“Waiting for you, of course. What else would I come here for?†the man replied. Gaia ignores him and struts past him.

“So you’re gonna treat him just like the rest of them?â€

Gaia stopped as she hears this.

“I have my own way of doing things,†she said coldly. The man grabs her by the chin and looks her straight in the eyes.

“We’ll just have to see how this unfolds, then,†he said with interest and full of cunning.

Gaia filled her eyes with hatred and spoke with sinister intent.

“I won’t lose to you, Aether.â€

====================

Word has started to spread about the existence of the new hero.
Some speculate that he was actually a Dread who turned on his own race.
Some speculate that it was a secret military weapon that the government had just released.
Some even claim that it was a fake.
But whatever people were thinking, it was the Kamen Rider that got everyone talking about.

It brought hope to those who had been traumatised and suffer losses at the hands of the Dread.
At least, that was what Clage would like to think.

“Off to work now,†Jeina called out as she gets out of the house.

“Later.â€

It has been four days since the last fight and no one knew what had exactly happened in the last Dread attack. Clage made Jeina promise to not tell anyone about the incident. He had a good reason to keep his identity a secret.

If the first Dread he met was able to call upon reinforcements and even remember his identity, he had good reason to believe that other Dreads might look for him too and avenge their fallen comrades. He couldn’t risk it for the sake of those around him.

But at the same time, his mind was wondering. Is he the only one alone in this fight against the Dreads or are there other Kamen Riders that fight for the same cause.

He suddenly felt a warm sensation in his pocket. He reached out and noticed that the Behemoth Soul was glowing. There was something else that caught his attention. A tiny light was trailing around the edges of the orb in a clockwise motion before bursting brightly at a full rotation.

Clage turned it around in different angles and realised that it would project him the same image, almost like a compass. Soon he thought that this must be how the Soul would alert him on the next Dread spawning. It was directing him westwards.

“Ok then, let’s do this,†Clage said to himself as he gets up, ready for some action.

====================

The rumbling sound of the Behemoth Strider dies as it brought Clage to an abandoned construction site. The circling light in the orb was moving faster than ever.

“This must be it.â€

There wasn’t anything particular about the place and Clage couldn’t see why a Dread would even want to spawn at a place like this. But the Behemoth Soul kept telling him otherwise.

He got out of the bike and scouted the area. The site was about seven storeys half-finished. He walked in slow steps as he cautions in case of an ambush. Out of nowhere, a man’s scream was heard.

Clage was sure that it was coming from the highest floor and runs as fast as he can.

“Caster,†he chants as he was about to reach the final floor. Sure enough, there was a Dread in the scene.

It was blackish, and had tentacles for arms. It also had a long tail as it slithers towards the other side of the floor. Clage witnessed as there was a man sitting down, leaning on a metal with his head facing down, most likely unconscious.

“Hey, you!!†Clage shouts at the Dread as it turned its head slowly to Clage. The Dreads head face freakish, it almost had the head of a large squid. It seems to be unfazed by his presence.

Clage brandishes the Behemoth Soul as he places the Caster buckle across his waist, then inserting in it the Behemoth Soul. A voice rang:
“BEHEMOTHâ€

With his hand over the orb, he spins it as he calls:

“Henshin!!â€

A fierce neighing sound was heard before Clage’s body was gradually covered by dark energy. A small portal revealed itself behind him, which a black stallion came running out from. It clashes through Clage’s body, leaving webs of black energy. It absorbs itself back into his body and releases a small wave of energy as it completes the form.
Kamen Rider, Caster Behemoth.

“Caster...†the Dread muttered to itself, not showing much change in reaction.

“Now, tremble!!â€

Clage runs towards the Dread, ready to deliver a powerful elbow. The Dread reacted by swinging its right arm over Clage. He manages to duck in time to avoid the blow but lost his momentum from it. The Dread follows with swinging its tail, as it catches Clage’s and knocked him off his feet. It proceeds by raising its left arm and slams it on the fallen Caster, who manages to roll away in time.

The impact from the blow was devastating, as it could have given way to the floor that they were standing on. Clage regains himself as he chants, “Barrage!!â€

Fallen pieces of concrete and rocks around the area started to float and shot themselves towards the Dread. It swiped them off easily but met with an approaching Clage who used it as a distraction to land heavy punch across its face. He then grabs its left arm over its head to create an opening which he uses to throw a few hard kicks at the Dread’s rib area. It countered this by swinging it tail, which got Clage to jump back a few paces.

“Caster...†it continues to speak lifelessly. Suddenly from the distance, it stretches its arms at an unbelievable length and speed which caught Clage off guard, as both arms strike him hard on the torso, sending him off a few feet.

“The longer this goes on, the lesser I like it,†he says to himself. “Let’s end this quickly.â€
He presses the Behemoth Soul and holds it until it shines brightly and spins it.
“Behemoth - - - BURST†*neighing sound*

Just like before, the golden veins around the Caster armor loses its luminance as Clage taps his right foot three times. He slams his foot as the fourth time, unleashing a fearsome dark brown energy around it as the veins in his right leg were suddenly filled with gold light.

He performs a back flip which stopped with his body facing down as he launches himself to the Dread with his right foot.

A shadowy image of a large horse running was seen through his foot as the Dread attempts to knock him off by swinging its powerful arms. They were both blown away when they came into contact with the raging horse before Clage lands his kick explosively on the Dread.

“BEHEMOTH - - LANDSLIDE!!â€

The Dread explodes and dies from the fierce explosion as Clage skids past through it.



Clage silently basked in glory before he remembered the man around the scene. He drew closer to him and crouches to see if he was alright. Seeing him still breathing, Clage let a sigh of relief while still donning the Caster armor.

“Hey, you alright there?†he decided to see if he could get a reaction. The man’s head lifted a little before he let out a slight smirk on his face.

This caught Clage by surprise as he gets up from shear reflects.

“Caster Behemoth,†the man said as he helps himself up with a long metal pole beside him. “They say you’re the fast one.â€

Clage was beginning to feel unsettled by this man. He might just be another crazy lunatic. After all, no one would hang around in a place like this.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lucas,†the man greeted as he faces Clage full-faced. He clearly did not know how to react, but managed to come up with something.

“It’s dangerous around here. Good thing I managed to save you in time before the Dread got you.†There was an awkward silence after this.

“Well, if you’re alright and unwounded, I’ll be taking my leave then,†Clage says as he turns his back away from Lucas.

“I was supposed to give you a small welcoming party to our little game here,†Lucas spoke, stopping Clage from his tracks.

“I'm sorry that the other guests couldn’t arrive in time. But I am the host, and I shall entertain you,†Lucas spoke wickedly before he lifts his left arm.

“Mancer,†he whispers over his left wrist, which was suddenly covered by a silver energy. It forms a large unique gear over the back of his left hand. Clage stood there sceptical.

On Lucas’s right hand was a large coin that was detailed by strange markings. He flicks it over his head and once it got into level, he skilfully slits it into the device on his left hand ae crosses his arms over each other. An elegant female voice was heard a result of this motion, which echoed:
“NEOâ€

He smiled as Clage was standing still watching as the entire act unfolds. He places his right index finger over the coin that was locked in place by the device, and playfully says:
“Henshinâ€

He spins the coin like a disk. It lets loose a soothing ringing sound as his body was slowly enveloped by a bright white light. Clage covered his eyes with his hand as the light practically blinds the place.

Once the light faded and the ringing sound died, Clage saw something else standing at Lucas’s place. The light was still reflecting around the scene but Clage could see from the outline of the shadow that was facing him, as bright green eyes flashed in front of him.

“Kamen Rider?..â€


~ to be continued ~

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 4 – Mancer

Bright light took over the place as a ringing sound played in a harmonious rhythm. Clage covered his eyes as Lucas was slowly changing form in the blinding light. But soon all reveal itself.

Standing in Lucas’s was a figure donned by silver armor with small green details. His head had two horns, both on each side with black streaks below his flashing green eyes.

“Kamen Rider?..â€

Lucas raised his head and swings the metal rod he was holding around him with skilful technique, as he proclaims in the end:
“I am the Mancer that manipulates the very form of metal;
Kamen Rider Mancer.. Neos.â€

Raising the rod over his left arm like a pool cue, he charges towards Clage.

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



Many furious strokes of metal where practically flying in the scene. Clage desperately tries to keep his distance and blocks whatever he can. The swift movements of the metal rod reflected the blinding light from the sun, making it even more difficult to predict the strikes.

“What is with this fight? Stop this!†Clages yells. He didn’t know what to make of the situation he was currently in.

Lucas saw an opening and moves in.
“Hmph, I don’t think so!â€

He landed a hard blow across Clage’s gut, which sends him off the seven stories that they were on, crashing hard on the rocky ground below.

The pain was excruciating for Clage, not only on his stomach area but also over his back and shoulders when he landed. Never in his life has he ever experienced it at such a level.

Lucas leaps from that very edge of the seventh storey and effortlessly lands a few feet in front of Clage.

“What is this?! Why are we fighting?! Aren’t you a Kamen Rider as well?!†Clage bellows as he grits his teeth in pain.

Lucas looks at the fallen Clage for a moment before saying, “So I guess it’s true then.†He laughs out load.
“This only makes things more interesting.â€

“What are you talking about? Shouldn’t we be fighting against the Dreads together?†Clage manages to get back on one foot.

“Hmm, so at least you know that much,†Lucas teases and continues laughing.

“Quit joking around!!†Clage loses his temper. “You weren’t even able to hold yourself back then!!â€

“Ah, you mean that Dread earlier. That was obviously a step up,†he playfully explains as he continued swinging the rod over his head.

Clage has lost it by now. He screams out in frustration and fires a laser of energy at Lucas, who didn’t seem bothered by it. It caused an explosion on him as Clage was still deeply breathing from the fall.

As the smoke cleared, a large metal plank stood between them. Lucas used it as a shield.

“Wha?..â€

“I told you,†Lucas says as the metal plank dissolved and took back its original form of the metal pole. “I am the manipulator of the very form of metal.†The pole suddenly withers until it looked like a whip.

“I can transform it however I want,†he said sadistically as he lashes the metal whip on Clage who was still on one knee.

The lashes were so fast and hard that it created sparks over Clage’s armor. He rolls over as fast as he could and casted over the ground that Lucas was standing on.

“Shards!!â€

Spikes quickly rose over Lucas’s foot. He back flips in time to dodge it. Suddenly, in Clage’s eye, as the spikes grew tall enough to block Lucas from view, a silver whip bursts through them and strikes Clage on the head.

Immense pain came around as Clage was back on all fours.

“I wonder which is harder,†Lucas says from behind. “Iron or soil?â€

Clage turned his head to Lucas, he has never felt so defeated in a long time.

Lucas stabs the pole through the ground in front of him and places his right index finger over the coin on his left hand.

“Time to end your misery, Caster,†he declares as he spins the coin like a disc. The same female voice from before spoke.
“Neo - - BURSTâ€

Lucas slowly raises his left hand over his head as it started to glow in brilliant silver energy. The metal pole in front of him, along with pieces and fragments of close by metal around the construction site began to melt and slowly formed a large spiral of metallic fluid surrounding Lucas’s body.

It only took a matter of seconds for it to grow much larger in size and travel around Lucas like a hurricane in devastating speed.

Clage knew he had lost at the sight of this. He could not guess what was about to come, but whatever it was, he knew it might destroy him completely. He could only close his eyes as he braces himself.

“That’s enough, Lucas,†an unfamiliar voice spoke out of nowhere.

Clage opened his eyes as the large metal spiral dissipated around Lucas. Lucas was quick to spot where the voice came from as he turned his head and saw a man standing over a pillar about two storeys from the ground. Clage’s eyes followed.

“Yo Barett,†Lucas casually greets.

“We’ve got orders to spare him,†Barett gets to the point. “For now.â€
He was a man with simple features, but his brown hair had streaks of gold and red in it.

“Besides...†Barett did not continue as he turned to Clage, who was still lying on his back.

“Huh, well whatever,†Lucas seemed to understand what Barett was about to say. “I had my fill of fun for today anyway.â€

He ejects the coin out of the device on his left hand as his armor and the device vanished from his body. The metal pole in front of him was back in its shape as Lucas pulls it off the ground and points it at Clage.

“You won’t be so lucky next time, Caster.†He turns his back and walks away. Barett was still staring hard at Clage.

“Until next time, Caster,†he finally says before he turns around, and offers Clage a cunning grin.

As those two disappear from the scene, Clage gets himself to his feet and pulls off the buckle to reveal his normal body once again. There were plenty of bruises that were still fresh with hurt as he limbs away, not even wanting to think about the incident just now.

====================

Gaia watches from her world of void as the entire incident happened. She grits her teeth angrily and clenches her fist.

“Damn you, Aether. Stop playing with me..â€

====================

“I see, good job then,†Strand was talking on the phone. “I’ll see you back in headquarters.â€

“That was Lucas, just now,†he puts the phone down and quickly turns to the person next to him. “Are you sure about this?â€

“Of course,†Aether nods. “We got to show him what he’s up against before the main event begins.â€

“Lucas could have just finished him easily,†Strand replied lowly.

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?†Aether smiles. Strand turns his head away and clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“Let’s see how you handle this one, Gaia,†Aether laughs as he thought to himself.

====================

“I'm home,†Jeina calls out.

“Welcome back...†Clage responded weakly. His body was covered in bandages as he lays on the couch.

“Oh my god, Clage! What happened?†Jeina rushed to her cousin.

“Got into a lil fight,†he tries to get up to face her.

“Please don’t tell me it was another Dread.â€

“Well, kinda...â€

“And look at you, you can’t even bandage yourself properly,†she picks at a few loose parts around Clage’s self-bandaged wounds. “We gotta at least take you to the clinic,†she says as she tries to get Clage up by lifting his shoulders with her back.

“It’s ok, Jeina,†Clage let out weakly.

“Are you kidding me? You’re hurt, I have to at least..â€

“Jeina,†Clage spoke more forcefully this time. “It’s ok. Just let me rest for a bit.â€

Hearing this, Jeina reluctantly lets loose of Clage’s shoulders as he continues to lie on the couch. He closes his eyes tiredly as Jeina falls on a chair beside him.

She glances over Clage for awhile before cupping her mouth with her hands and let a tear drop. Her concern was unbearable.

“This is not fair...â€

====================

Lucas looks at Barett over the lunch table.

“You know, you seem a lil more determined after that fight,†Lucas spoke but got no response from his comrade. They were having a meal together and while Lucas was almost half-done with his own, Barett still did not touch his, let alone lift up his cutlery.

Stealthily, Lucas slowly approaches with his fork to try to steal some meat from Barett’s plate. Barett gets up all of a sudden, shocking Lucas as he accidentally throw his fork and bangs his knees on the table.

“I’m off to the training room,†he declares as he walks away. Lucas watches Barett make his exit and takes over his plate once he was out of sight.

====================

“Barett, you’re back again?†a man wearing a lab coat spoke as he was running through some reports.

“I would like another simulation test.â€

“But you already had gone through two yesterday,†the scientist reasons but seeing that Barett does not provide a different opinion, he continues. “Well, just give us a minute.â€

Soon, Barett enters a large empty chamber with many different odd looking machines hanging on the ceiling.

“Ok Barett, whenever you are ready,†the man speaks over the speaker.

“Mancer,†Barett calls on his right hand and produces a device similar to that of Lucas.

“Caster Behemoth, the one who rules the plane of land,†he thought to himself. “I should be the only one to take you out.â€

He inserts a bronze coin into the device and a female voice from within it spoke:
“GEOâ€

====================

Clage was floating in a wide open space. It was like a dream as the soft hand of a woman caressed his forehead. He opens his eyes and sees a familiar place.

“Gaia,†he whispers.

“We have something to talk about,†she says with her hand still on Clage’s head.

“Yes, we do,†he gets up and realises that his wounds have been healed. “You did this?â€

“We’re in your thoughts, Clage. You’re still sleeping,†Gaia explains. “Don’t worry about your body, though. Your Caster powers should quicken your body’s healing regeneration twenty times faster than a normal human in rest.â€

“Ok then, let’s get to business.â€

“Mancers,†Gaia speaks out.

“Wait, you know of them?â€

“Mancers are also Kamen Riders of this world, like you,†she points out.

“Then why did they attack me? It was like I am the enemy or something. Shouldn’t we be fighting against the Dreads together?â€

“Mancers are also a defence against the Dreads, that’s one thing. However, they serve another God, much unlike myself.â€

“Another God? Aren’t you the Goddess of the Earth?â€

“I am, Clage,†Gaia explains, “but this other God, his name is Aether.â€

â€Aether?..â€

“Aether is the God of Elements. He can control aspects of energy that make this world and humans as they are.â€

Clage stopped and thinks back.
“I am the Mancer that manipulates the very form of metal;
Kamen Rider Mancer.. Neos.â€

“The very form of metal?†he was in deep thought. “So that means he can bestow elemental powers to humans?â€

“Precisely,†Gaia nods.

“But that doesn’t make sense. If he controls the elements and you control the world itself, shouldn’t the two of you be working together?â€

Gaia twitched after hearing Clage say this.

"Remember when I told you to protect the Behemoth Soul like it was a child of mine? That's because it is. It is literally my essence that I have passed down upon you. If it dies, so does a part of me."

"But what does this have to.."

“Aether... plans to overthrow me.†Clage froze at the thought of this. “The only way he could do that is to kill the Casters and destroy the Souls. For that, he even gave up his own life force that manifest into the powers that the Mancers wield.â€

Clage stood silently and Gaia gave him time to process his thoughts before she gave him the biggest shocker.

“Aether's powers are vast to tent that it could even tear through dimensions. Dimension that should have never been crossed. The dimension of the Dreads that had poured open into our world.â€

“What?!†Clage lets out load, it was too much for him to contain. Gaia would have expected this.

“So Clage, I hope you understand the situation here.â€

Clage was emotionless, but he soon raised his head filled with determination and a new resolve.

“Don’t worry about it,†he said seriously. “If the Mancers serve Aether, then I will just have to defeat them, right?â€

Gaia smiled as Clage continues.

“Then I will defeat them.. I will defeat them all
For the sake of the Earthâ€



~ to be continued ~

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 5 - Conscience

Clage opens his eyes after what seemed like a long hard earned nap. But true enough, it was the brink of dawn.

He inspected his body and saw that he was almost fully healed from his wounds. There was also a bubbling head beside him. He smiled as he sees Jeina sleeping beside him.

Her head was on top of her folded arms on the couch while the rest of her body was in a sitting posture on the floor. He could not have imagined that it would be a comfortable position to be sleeping on.

It was a weekday and she had work, so Clage tries to shake her off her sleep.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Clage says as he gently massages the back of her neck. Jeina grunts for a bit before she sleepily raises her head.

“Clage?” she lifts her eye lids slowly and saw the warm image of her cousin in front her. Her eyes started to water as she suddenly bursts into tears and hugs Clage.

“You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried sick I was?!” she whimpers. Clage could not help but feel guilty. He was always the one spreading worry around the family.

“It’s cool. Look, I’m alright now,” he reassures her but she continues to hold her tightly. “I'm sorry,” he whispers to her ear.

Then he notices something wrong and feels Jeina’s head with the back of his hand.

“Jeina, you have a fever,” he says as she turns her head up and blinks at him with her teary eyes.

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



“Ok then, thanks for your help,” Clage ends his phone call. “I called your boss, said that you’re calling in sick.”

“Urgh,” Jeina calls back as she rolls over her bed. Their roles seemed to have switched between them now.

“Seriously, what were you thinking back then?”

“Huh, is this how you treat a woman’s tender care and worry?” Jeina puffs her face. She acts like a little kid even though she is a grown matured adult.

“Well, you just rest up. I’ll be going out for groceries.”

“Hey,” Jeina calls out weakly.

“Yea?”

“Please.. Be careful,” Jeina spoke like a worried elder sister. “It’s not easy to see you going around knowing that..” she could not finish her sentence but Clage understood clearly.

“I understand,” he said meaningfully. He leaned towards Jeina and gave her a light peck to the forehead. “Then you better get well soon,” he said closely, causing her to blush a little.

“Heh, you still get pink over this,” Clage teases her.

“Guh, shut up,” she said as she hides herself in her blanket.

Clage smiled as he gets up and closes the door behind him. He lets a little sigh. After everything he has been through, he knew that it wasn’t fair to put Jeina through such worry. She has always been there for him more than anyone could.

==

When he was young, his parents were always away from home, working to chase their materialistic dreams. Being the only child, he was often left alone, only seeing them on most weekends and holidays. Even so, they would mostly be out doing their errands.

The only time he was given any attention was during his birthday and family gatherings. The lack of parental care ruined him, but his excessive freedom spoiled him. Clage would have always gotten into bad company and gang fights in his teens. Most of the time his parents would not even notice because they hardly even see the figure of him, leaving most of his emotional grieve untended to. It was a horrible life.

Matters got worst after Clage’s high school graduation, when he was introduced to underground ring fighting by his close associates. He would always come home in the middle of the night, causing a ruckus and the sight of him was not pleasant to see. He would stink of alcohol and cigarettes, with money usually messily stuffed into his pockets. He also made no attempt to hide the bruises he gets from fighting.

It was only at this time when his parents started to consult him. But he always thought, that they have no right to speak for him anymore. One day a fight between them got so bad that he punched his father in the face. He wished he hadn’t. It was then when he was finally shunned by the entire family when the news spread. It was the last thing he wanted. Even though the fights were full of hate and anger, he was at least talking with his parents, something he had yearned for so long, no matter how unpleasant they were. Through all this, Clage was just misunderstood.

He started living independently by then, renting a cheap apartment that was never kept in order. His routine would be to fight at night, get drunk and head back home to bed. There was no one there for him. Even the people in the underground society would rather have their time to themselves. Clage was slowly losing his humanity.

Finally, it broke out when he assaulted the organisers for the little pay he was given. It was a brutal incident. About ten people attacked him at once, full of fists and kicks over every part of his body. These people were not ordinary gangsters, they were trained fighters. He almost got killed at that time but they were fed up with him and threw him in an alleyway. He knew that there was no way that he could ever come back.

Everyday would be physical and mental torture, even hell would not hurt as much as this. It was on his twenty second birthday when things were at its peak. He tried to end it by cutting himself. But there was one person who at the best of times came by.

Jeina stopped by for a surprise birthday celebration, but it ended in a worst case scenario. Clage was lying on the floor with both wrists bleeding. The next thing he remembered was Jeina by his side, nurturing him. She was an angel in the hell he was in.

If he had anyone closest to being his sister, it would be Jeina. When they were young, she would always be with him during visits. Even when they got older, she would check in once in awhile to see how he was doing. It has been about five years since they last saw each other, but she was still there by his side.

==

Clage shakes himself off from all this melancholy.

“I’ll make her favourite dinner later,” Clage thought to himself.
It was the least he could do.

====================

“Here are the new reports,” Aderil hands Strand a file containing some papers.

“Thank you, Aderil,” Strand reaches for the files. “I don’t understand why this candidate is so hard to find.”

“I guess it’s a one-in-a-million kind of thing,” Aderil suggests.

“Damn that Aether. He puts us through all this work for..”

“Strand,” Aderil stops Strand from finishing. “Please be careful with what you say.”

Strand glances at Aderil before letting out a sigh.
“I'm sorry. It’s just that.. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.”

“I know, Strand,” Aderil lowers herself and hugs Strand around the shoulders.
“I know.”

====================

It wasn’t easy for Clage to go walking around in public. No matter how distant his past was, people still seem to remember. But he could not care less any more.

“Clage, is that you?” a voice called out. It was thick but was suspiciously familiar to Clage.

He turned his head and greeted with a smile, “Hanns.”

“Man, it’s been so long. How’ve you been?”
Hanns was an acquaintance of Clage back in his fighting days. The last time they have seen each other was just a day before Clage’s exile.

“It’s been too long. We need to catch up a bit.”

====================

Vicious whips slash the air before landing on a Dread that looked like a six-legged lizard. It shot out acid at Lucas who managed to dodge it in time. He was donning the Mancer Neos armor.

Suddenly, a large boulder seemingly just flew over and squashed the Dread to death. It exploded, causing rocks to fly all over the place. Lucas had to form a shield to block those that were coming at him.

“Geez Barett, take it down a notch a little! It’s only a Dread, you know,” Lucas yelled out.

Barett was standing not far from him as brown light faded around his body. He spoke of nothing and just turned himself to walk away.

“Hey, wait up!”

Lucas observes his comrade. He always knew Barett was the serious type but this was taking it to a whole new level.

“Man, it sure is getting dull just fighting Dreads all the time. Wish we could lay our hands on the Casters again,” Lucas said while walking behind Barett.

Barett stopped on his tracks and Lucas bumps on his back.

“Behemoth,” Barett mutters without facing Lucas. “He’s mine.”

“Now, what’s this? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in..”
Barett turns his head to show Lucas his glaring eyes. It was fierce enough to stop just about anyone from talking.

“Ease up, big man. It’s just a joke.”

Barett turns his head and continues walking.

“Tsk, this is gonna be difficult,” Lucas said to himself.

====================

“So that’s how it is. Life must be pretty tough, huh?”

“Nah, not exactly.”

Clage and Hanns were out sitting on a bench talking about what had happened in life since they last met.

“How do you feel about joining back into the game?” Hanns spoke all of a sudden.

“Huh?”

“You know, going back to ring fighting.”

Clage looked at Hanns, this cannot be good.

“I dunno, Hanns,” he could only say. “I thought you stopped going at it yourself?”

“Nah, I'm just a bookie now. I prefer to be a spectator.”

Clage stared at the floor. If he had to be honest with himself, he loved ring fighting like a drug. The adrenaline he gets from it used to be the only thing that kept him doing it all over again. Hanns noticed the hesitation.

“Well, just give me a call when you finally made up your mind,” he hands Clage a card with a phone number in it. He gets up and pats Clage’s shoulders. “I’ll be seeing you around then.”

Clage merely stares at the card. Those memories were not his proudest moments of his life but it was something he could not let go.

Then his pocket started to glow, the Behemoth Soul was calling out to him.

“Just in time,” he said. Nothing could have been a better distraction from his thoughts than this.

====================

Clage was lead to a park when screams could have already been heard.

Upon the running crowd, there was a Dread that resembled a hybrid of giant mantis and a snake.

“Everyone, get out of here!” he gestures the crowd to escape through the path he came from. The panicking lot soon left the scene as Clage stood face to face with the Dread.

“What is this, human? Why did you come to spoil my fun?” the Dread hissed.

“Hmph, sorry about that. But to be honest,” Clage points at the Dread challengingly. “I need a bit of a release myself.”

“Caster,” Clage summons the Caster Buckle and places in on his waist. The Dread seems to waste no time and charges at Clage immediately.

“Henshin!”
Clage transforms before placing the Behemoth Soul on, forming the original Caster armor. This Dread was fast but Clage was quick enough to avoid its claws, only resulting in a minor scratch.
The Dread then launches itself back at furious speed but Clage manages to land a striking knee on its head as it approaches.

With this opening, Clage takes the opportunity to insert the Behemoth Soul as the buckle rings:
“BEHEMOTH”

Clage spins the Soul but the Dread takes no time to rest and goes for another dive towards Clage with its arms out forward. A black stallion just came running through a portal behind Clage as he leaps over the Dread. Caught off guard by this act, the Dread came crashing on the rampaging horse and lands on the side.

Clage lands and faces the incoming animal only to accept it openly, as it runs through Clage’s body and forms the Caster Behemoth armor.

“Now,” Clage dictates to the Dread as it was just getting back on its feet. “Tremble!”

With the huge boost in power, Clage takes the lead and attacks the Dread head on. Clage was relentless with his attacks as the Dread came to the receiving end of his powerful punches and kicks. Any effort of retaliation was a failed cause as Clage blocks all incoming attacks easily. With a hard kick across the chest, the Dread was sent tumbling on its back.

Clage catches his breath for a moment. It was an unfamiliar feeling. His body was with the fight but his mind was thinking of something else. He could only recall his time back when he was still in illegal ring fighting. This fight seemed to be similar to one of his experiences.

Something felt wrong. Rather, something felt right. Extremely right.
Something inside him made Clage felt good, as if he wanted to lose himself with this feeling. It was his adrenaline calling, something he has not felt this in such a long time. He does not know why it was only happening now but it is.

The Dread slowly gets back up but Clage puts it back to the ground with a hard knee. It was a strange merciless feeling that almost drowned him completely. He could not help but to let a laugh out loud.

He suddenly wakes up from the feeling. It was something he knew he would not wanted to visit again, but at the same time, something that he could not get off his head.

Clage stood distracted over the Dread, who took this opportunity and kicked him on his back. Clage went off balance as the Dread got up instantly and gets a shot to slash Clage over the back of his armor. Clage stumbled further but continued to leave himself open for an attack.

The Dread continues his assaults but Clage blocks them weakly and seemed to be mentally unmoved by it. He suddenly did not want to fight, he feared that the feeling might dominate him again. Finally, a hard blow to the stomach brought him back to the current situation. The effects of the blow were painful for him to only notice later.

“Tsk, what happened?” the Dread taunts Clage. “Did your fire go out?”

Clage regains himself and counters the Dread’s next strike in time.

“Not really, I'm just taking a breather.”

Clage returns with his attacks but realised they are not as strong as they were moments ago. He was holding himself back.

“This is getting troublesome,” the Dread says before he takes a giant leap to his back and retreats to the bushes. Clage chases after him but it returns shortly and held a crying child with its right hand.

“You bastard! Let him go!”

“I will, but I just thought it will be interesting to end this match with a little bit of a spectacle.

It lets go of the child and leaps upwards, cutting the branches of the tree above them.
Clage’s heart sank as the heavy branches were falling on the helpless child as the Dread escapes above them.

“Hey, look out!” He desperately called as he runs to save the child.
Not again

“LOOK OUT!!”


~ to be continued ~

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Just to put a note, I will be occupied with stuff over the next two weeks so I will only post the next episode once its done until then.
Thanks for reading =)

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 6 – Resolute

Heavy branches were falling over a small child as the serpent-like Dread vanished over them.

“Look out!!â€

Clage dashes as fast as he could and in the nick of time, manages to grab the child and slide over the falling branches. Some pieces fell over his leg but it was nothing to him.

He let himself a sigh of relief and takes a look at the child. It was a boy, probably five or six years old.
“Hey, you alright?â€

The kid was completely shaken with fear, unable to even turn to the Kamen Rider who just saved him. Tears started to swell up in his eyes before he just seemingly fainted.

“Hey.. Hey!!â€

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



“I’m sorry,†Clage bows apologetically to the child’s parents. They were in a hospital.

“It’s alright, young sir. It’s not your fault,†the father spoke as he comforts his wife. The boy’s mother showed up shortly after Clage rescued him and brought him straight to the hospital. His father arrived from work after hearing the news. There were no serious injuries though, just minor scratches and was shocked unconscious. The doctor says that he’ll come around soon.

Clage just watched as the parents were overwhelmed in grieve. He understood them perfectly. Though no apparent harm has been done, casualties from Dread attacks were usually brutal. Also, the boy may suffer from traumas from this occurance.

He thought it would be best to leave them alone.
“I guess I will take off, then.â€

“Wait,†the mother manages to muster some strength to call out Clage who just turned away from them. “I’m sorry I never took the effort to say this before, but thank you.â€

“You’re welcome,†Clage tries to speak with a straight voice.

“If you weren’t there, I would not know what might have happened,†just as she was about to think about the worst, she broke into tears and covered her face over her husband’s chest.

“He’s our only son,†the father took his turn to speak. “We cannot imagine what would happen if we lose him. We love him very much.â€

Clage listens to them attentively, the love between parents and their child is something very precious, and yet...

====================

“Just shut up already!! What I do is my business, stay out of it!!â€
Clage was in another fit with his parents.

“Don’t you care about what people say?! Where’s your dignity?!†his father bellowed at him. His mother sat beside him quietly. She could offer a few words, but it would not match the commotion that was breaking loose.

“Why should I care about what other people think?!†Clage was at his last straw.
“Why should I care about what you think?!â€

“You ungrateful son!!†by this time, his father stood up and levelled Clage head to head. “We provided for you, we fed you, we gave you a home, and this is how you are going to treat us?!â€

“Without us you would be nothing!! NOTHING!!â€

That was the moment that changed everything. Clage was at his breaking point and could not contain his aggression anymore and landed a fist over his father’s face.

“CLAGE!!†his mother yelled out as his father fell to the floor, with his hand on his right cheek.

Clage was breathing deeply from the sudden release, and it was too late before he realised what he had done. He stared at his fist as too many emotions engulf him.

“Dad, I...â€

“Get out,†his father spoke softly but firmly.

“I.. I..â€

“I said get out!!†Clage’s father yelled as loud as his voice could allow. It was probably loud enough for the neighbours to hear. Clage started to tremble. It was a heavy mixture of fear and insecurity, but mostly guilt.

“I don’t have a son.â€

That was the last thing Clage has ever heard from his father. It ran over him like a truck. His mother pled for his father to reconsider, but nothing else could have been done to change anything that day.

====================

“Sir?†the boy’s father called to Clage as he regained his thoughts. He might not have noticed that his face was filled with gloom as he recalled the incident back then.

“I’m sorry, I have to get going,†he replied and walks away.

==

On his way home, Clage’s phone rang. It was an unknown number but he could guess from whom it was coming from.

“Yo Clage, made up your mind yet?†Hanns was on the other side of the line.

“Hanns, I..†being true to himself, Clage had not exactly thought about it. Rather, he did not have time to spare the thought. “I still need awhile to think about it.â€

“Ahh,†Hanns was slightly frustrated. “Well, once you’ve figured it out, let me know. Feel free to call me any time around the usual hours if you like. There’s money to be made for you, my friend.â€

“Yeah, sure,†Clage hung up after that. Underground fighting used to be liberation for him. He could injure someone without worrying about that other person’s sake. He also made good money out of it.

He slapped himself from dwelling in those thoughts. But thinking back, it might be an escape for him from some of the hardship he had to endure.

====================

“Ah Clage, you’re back,†Jeina got up from the couch as Clage opens the door.

“Yeah,†Clage responded weakly.

“I thought you were out to buy groceries?†she noticed Clage returning empty handed.

“Stuff happened.â€

Jeina could have immediately guessed that he had to deal with another Dread. But there was a different mood surrounding Clage.

“Hey, is something bothering you?â€

“It’s nothing,†he says as he slowly creeps back to his room.

“Something’s definitely wrong, you don’t look like yourself.â€

“I said it’s nothing.â€

“Come on, you know you can tell me..â€

“I SAID IT’S NOTHI...†Clage realised what had happened when he cut short Jeina. It was only then when he got a look at Jeina since coming through the door.
She stared at Clage with eyes wide open, shocked. She was in her pyjamas and had a mug of warm water beside her. He had just remembered that she was recovering from her fever and she had to deal with this as soon as he got back.

Clage suddenly felt emotionally weak. Staring on the floor, he continues back to his room.
“I’m sorry, Jeina.â€

====================

“He’s a disgrace to the family, why would you even care?!â€

“How can you say things like that?! Look at him, he’s completely broken!!†Jeina yelled back at her parents.

This was the time when Jeina decided to break out to her parents that she has decided to look after Clage after he was released from the hospital from his near suicide experience.

No matter how hard she insisted, they would deny her with any form of approval.

“Do you want to be disowned too?!†her father yelled out. He knew he should have thought about what he was going to say.

“I don’t believe this!†Jeina glared angrily at the defiance she had to deal with. She grabbed Clage’s hand and declared, “He’s your nephew and my cousin. He’s part of our family whether you like it or not!â€

“You know what? Fine, I don’t care what you say. I'm going to look after him myself and I don’t expect any help from you!â€

Right after that, Jeina stormed out of the house, pulling Clage with her. It might have been the last time she had ever talked to her father. Clage saw her talking to her mother on the phone on several occasions but never knew in the case of her father.

“I’m sorry.â€

“Hey, don’t worry about.â€

“I’m sorry,†Clage could not stop apologising.

“Man, if you are going to keep going on like this, I might as well dump you right here,†Jeina said lightly. Clage has been staring at the road the whole time in his completely disgrace. His figure was pathetic and anyone would have felt sorry for him.

“Hey,†she lifts Clage’s face with her palms so that they were looking at each other face-to-face.
“We’re family, okay? That’s all that matters.â€

====================

===midnight===

Clage was up and he noticed Jeina sleeping on the couch. It was a habit of hers for a long time now. He got closer to feel her head and her fever is just about gone. He then began to stroke her hair caringly.

“I’m sorry. You have done so much for me and I have done so little for you,†he whispered softly.

“Urgh, don’t worry about it,†Jeina suddenly spoke, catching Clage off guard. But she still seemed asleep, as if calling out from her dreams. Clage smiled as she continues to rest undisturbed.

“Thank you.â€

He got out of the house and called Hanns. The “usual hours†he mentioned when the fights were going on, which was just before midnight and normally lasting till 4 in the morning.

The call was answered but there were too much noise from cheering and screaming going on the other side of the line.
“Ahah, Clage!! Give me a minute, let me get out of the crowd for a moment,†he spoke loudly so that Clage could hear him. He could also her Hanns shouting about something before it eventually got quieter.

“So, what’s up, pal? Ready to make your come back?â€

Clage thought deeply before giving an answer. “I’m sorry Hanns.â€

“I see..†Hanns spoke disappointed.

“That part of me is gone now. There’s no way I'm going back there.â€

“Hmm, well whatever suits you.â€

“I'm sorry..â€

“But hey, if you need me, you know I’ll be.â€

“Heh, thanks Hanns. I know you will,†Clage smiled from that before hanging up. He let out a sigh of relief, it was like a huge burden in his life has been lifted, that he does not need to look at the past anymore.
It was just at that time when he felt a familiar sensation in his pocket.

“At this time of the night?†he held the Behemoth Soul which was shining brightly.

“Well, whatever,†he grinned as he took off with the Behemoth Strider.

====================

“There you are,†Clage called to a familiar Dread as it took light steps around an open area around buildings.

“Odd time to come out and play, isn’t it?â€

The Dread turned and hissed, “Not at all. No mindless people are around at this time, so I thought it would be perfect to call you to finish you off.â€

“Call me?â€

“Do you think none of us realise the number of our brethrens you have killed?†it says as it sharpens its mantis-like claws on each other. “The last time, I underestimated you. It won’t happen again.â€

“It won’t be the same as the last time,†Clage declared as he recalled everything that has happened to him recently. “Because I am done. I'm done fighting for myself.â€

“That part of me is gone now. From now on, when I fight, I fight for others.â€
“Caster,†Clage summons the Caster buckle from his left hand and held the Behemoth Soul with his right.

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you.†Clage places the buckle around his waist and inserts the golden orb.
“BEHEMOTHâ€

“Henshin!â€
Spinning the orb, a neighing sound was heard as Clage’s body was covered in black energy before absorbing a large black stallion that was summoned behind him. Soon the energy settled within him and unveiled the Caster Behemoth armor.

“Now,†Clage points. “Tremble!â€

The Dread was the first to charge, reminding Clage of its vicious speed as it slashes its claws at Clage’s direction. Clage invaded in time but the Dread rebounded and came with a second strike. Clage jumped over it as it came to a stop to glare at Clage.

“You seem pretty fast,†Clage taunts. “But apparently, so am I.â€
He spins the Behemoth Soul as it was locked in place within the buckle and said “Celeritasâ€.

The veins on the armor’s legs began to blink dimly. As the Dread stood to watch, Clage suddenly came running at it with newfound speed. Catching it off guard, Clage lands a charging knee and sends the Dread slamming over the building wall.

“How.. Dare you..†The Dread launches itself again in a similar fashion but this time, Clage did not try avoiding it. Instead, he charges himself head on with the Dread and slides under it to land a heavy elbow on its right leg. The Dread went tumbling forward without proper balance as it squirms in pain.

By now, the veins on Clage’s legs were back to their usual glow but they felt surprisingly weak. He looked up and sees that the Dread was back on its feet.

“Not yet.. NOT YET!!†Though limping, it was ready for another attack.

“Sorry, but it seems I will wrap this up right now,†Clage presses and holds the Behemoth Soul and spins it once it reached its brightest glow.
“BEHEMOTH - - BURST†*neighing sound*

This time, Clage crosses his arms over his chest where the horse’s skull was as the veins around his body lose their golden light. The skull was shining brightly from this.

Screaming, the Dread charges at Clage relentlessly.
With his eyes on the Dread, Clage finally began.

“Behemoth - - SOUL BURST!!â€
Throwing his arms wide open, the horse’s skull from his body suddenly shot out, not as a bullet, but as a fully grown black stallion of dark wicked energy as it strides at a devastating speed towards the Dread. Doing so, Clage’s Caster armor returns to its ordinary state as it first was.

The Dread, being unable to avoid the rampaging horse, collided with it and ended with an explosion. Through the explosion, the horse still remained at it is. It gallops towards Clage as it rises with its forelegs and let out a fierce neigh.

====================

More than a few hours have passed by and it was pass dawn. Clage needed to catch up on his sleep. But as he got back..

“There you are! What are you doing sneaking out at night?â€

Clage fell on his back as Jeina shouts out like an instructor. It seems like she got back to her energetic self.

“Well, I..†Clage’s response was at the worst attempt of being defensive.

“No excuse! It’s a Wednesday, remember? That means you’re up for gardening chores.â€

“Ehh?â€

She folds her hands and looks away from Clage. But she smiled when she suddenly recalled a thought.
“Thank youâ€

“You’re welcome,†she suddenly said before she turned and headed for the toilet.

“Wha?..†Clage did not realise her intent when she said that, but it was a terrible response for the current situation in his point of view.

====================

“That’s enough for now, let’s take a break,†a voice spoke from the speaker.

Aderil went down on both knees, panting deeply and drenched in sweat. She took awhile to catch her breath before stepping out of the opened hatch.

â€Good job,†a voice greeted her warmly.

“Thank you, Strand,†she tries to smile pleasantly through her weariness as Strand hands over a towel.
Training was especially hard for her and though she was improving in condition, the strain to her body remains to be substantial.

Aderil wipes off her sweat and drinks her water greedily. She noticed that Strand was watching her with a gentle smile and began to blush.

“W-What is it?†she stutters.

“It’s nothing,†Strand said as he slowly gets up and gently held Aderil’s left hand. “Just don’t push yourself too much,†he spoke caringly.

“H-Hey, there are people watching us,†her face reddens as she tries to brush Strand’s hand off, but her body would not let her. She wanted it as much as she could not stand the embarrassment.

“I don’t care,†Strand said lazily as he gazes upon her hand as he caresses it slowly. It was a rare moment of intimacy between the two and Aderil was filled with both shyness and happiness.

“Well done, Aderil,†a man spoke and clapped as he approach them. The two jumped and immediately let go of each other.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,†Aether teased as he stepped to the front of them.

“Not at all,†Strand spoke with his usual dead serious tone.

“Well then,†Aether slowly approaches Aderil and holds her sholder. “Shall we?â€

Aderil shuddered and Strand’s eyes flared in rage. He could only turn his head away to prevent any show of emotion.

“I’ll be taking her for awhile. I’m sure you don’t mind, do you Strand,†Aether speaks with a piercing cunning in his voice.

With her pleading eyes, Aderil could only look at Strand who was helplessly troubled. He gave no response and all they could see was the fangs of his teeth as a shadow completely conceals any other expression.

Aether smirked with satisfaction and let go of Aderil’s shoulder. “Let’s go,†he commanded her as she continues to look at Strand for a good few seconds. After seeing no change in opinion, she quietly trails behind Aether as they leave the scene.

Suddenly, Strand slams his fist on the wall beside him, leaving a shocking impact for everyone in the room as they witnessed the entire incident unfold. He was burning in an unforgivable rage.

“One day, Aether.. One day..â€

~ to be continued ~

 

[Afro]

Liked this chapter. Even if gaia wasnt there Clage took a step forward in dealing with his past problems. Cant wait to read to the next!

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 7 – Contradiction


*sigh*
Like most days, boredom gets the better of Clage. The same town with the same scenery and the same people. It was just past noon but Clage was already at the point of cracking up. There was a part of town which he does not visit often so he decided to get the place out. It was in many case much better than lazing around at home.

There was nothing spectacular about the place but at least it was different from the neighbourhood he was in.

It was not long before Clage noticed a pair of children crying under a shady corner. They might be lost.

“Hey, what’s wrong?†Clage approached them in a caring manner. They were two little girls, holding each other as they wept.

“W-We went out to play – and – and,†one of the girls tried to speak straightly.

“You got lost, huh?â€
The two girls nodded at once.

“Well, let me help you,†Clage offered a caring smile and patted them gently. “Do you remember where you live?â€

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



Helping them find their way home was not easy. They could not tell an address and only pointed out for look-alikes. Clage could not blame them, they were no more than seven years old. After asking around door-to-door, they finally arrived at their home.

But Clage was feeling a little unsure, it did not look like an ordinary house, it looked more like a children’s home.

Clage caught a woman walking slowly towards them and she was looking very worried.
“Big sister!†one of them turned to call and caught her attention.

“Lacy! Sophie!†she could not contain herself and ran towards them.
“I was so worried! Where have you been?â€

“We’re sorry,†they said together and began tearing up.

“Don’t go out running around by yourselves next time, okay?†she grabbed them and hugged them tightly. It took awhile before she noticed Clage.

“Thank you so much,†she finally got up and thanked him. “I’ve been searching around for an hour and I could not find them.â€

“N-No problem at all,†Clage stuttered. A closer look at her showed a beautiful woman. She had blonde hair tied to a ponytail and had magnificent blue eyes.

“Would you like to come in for a drink? It’s the least I can offer you,†she asked politely and Clage started to act hesitantly.

“Well, I.. Sure, why not.â€

===


It was a children’s home, just as Clage suspected. There were at least eight other children playing around.

“Please, take a seat,†the woman offered Clage a chair in the dining area and turned to the two girls. “Now you two, I don’t want you causing anymore trouble, okay?â€

“Yes, big sis,†they said together obediently before running back to join the other children.

“My name is Dacia, by the way.â€

“Clage,†Clage smiled back. He had a look at the children and started to feel very sympathetic. There were nothing wrong with them, all perfectly healthy and normal. To think that their parents would give them away like that.

“Poor things, really,†Dacia spoke. “These children.. Their parents were all killed by the Dreads.â€
Clage’s heart suddenly began to race from what he just heard.

“It was back over a year ago when they started to show up. No one knew what they were and a fair bit of them were lost,†Dacia explained solemnly. Clage also began to frown.
All this time, he never truly understood the consequences of Dread occurrences, but this slammed him right in the face.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have even mentioned,†she noticed a change in Clage’s expression.

“Don’t worry about it,†he forced a smile.

“Is there anything you would like? Coffee or maybe some tea?â€

“No, it’s fine.â€

“I insist.â€

Clage took a long pause before deciding.
“Some tea would be nice.â€

====================


“Man, I'm so bored,†Lucas yawns with his mouth wide open and stretches on the table he was sitting on.

“You’re always bored,†Strand was unbothered as he was going through a stack of files that were on the very same table Lucas was sitting on.
“And that’s why you never get anything done,†he throws a stack of paper right on Lucas’ head.

“Meh, what a bore,†Lucas spoke annoyed. “When’s she coming back anyway? It’s been almost a month since she was last here.â€

“It’ll be her last day tomorrow. I doubt she misses you anyway.â€

At that very moment, Aderil steps into the room they were in. Her eyes were wide open and she was limping from exhaustion, she could barely stand with her own two feet
“Aderil?†Strand called out to her right away as Lucas straightens up.

Aderil’s eyes suddenly roll over and she collapses to the ground.

“Aderil!!â€

====================


“Talk about a meeting of chance.â€
Aether once again caught Gaia off guard in her world of void.

She faced him menacingly. She was watching Clage through an illusionary wall.
“I told you too many times not to..â€

“I hope he’s ready,†Aether stopped Gaia from finishing.

Gaia held back her emotions and turned back to the wall.
“This will be nothing to him.â€

Aether grinned cunningly from behind.
“Well, let’s have them to play, shall we?â€

====================


Dacia was out in the pantry preparing the tea for Clage. It was emotionally unsettling for Clage to grasp the reality, the burden of his responsibility and the meaning of it. But he swore to himself, no other children will have to suffer the unfortunate fate like the ones here.

It was at an unanticipated time before Clage’s pocket was building up some heat. He reached in and he knew that the Behemoth Soul was calling out to him.
At that same time, Dacia came rushing out. Clage spoke immediately before she got the chance to.

“Dacia, I'm sorry but I need to get going right away,†he said urgently.

“Eh? But..?â€

“Thanks for the courtesy,†Clage rushes out and disappears from sight almost instantly.

“No way..†she looked at the children worriedly. She could not leave them like that.
Reaching out of her own pocket, she revealed a large blue coin that had a glowing light trailing along its edges.

====================


Out in the open, the Dread was terrorizing civilians. This one was lean but its head upper torso were lacking flesh, exposing its gruesome exoskeleton. There was a lot of confusion going on the scene as people rushed to find escape its grasp. But this Dread did not even seem to be trying, as if indulging on the fear alone.

Its steady steps were interrupted as it was jump on with a hard hit. It stumbled slightly before taking a good look on the person who just attacked him.

“Man, you’re an ugly one,†Clage mocked as he made his appearance.

It took no heed to Clage’s insult and steadily approached him slowly.
“You do not fear me?†it spoke with the voice of a dying person.

“Not at all,†Clage straightens himself. “Rather, you should be fearing me.â€
“Caster.â€

The Dread stopped as the Caster Buckle took form in Clage’s left hand. “This should be interesting.â€

“Yes, it will be,†Clage snickered as he put the buckle in place with the Behemoth Soul.
“BEHEMOTHâ€

“Henshin!â€

The spinning motion from the Behemoth Soul creates a fierce neighing sound and summons a large black stallion behind Clage, which merges with his body to form the Caster Behemoth armor.

Clage raises his head and points out coolly to the Dread.
“Now... tremble.â€

He was the first to approach the Dread and let loose a few punches. The Dread dodges them easily. It was easy to read Clage’s movements as he kept aiming for the upper torso that was bare to the bone.

It then threw a punch at Clage. He blocked it with his arms in time but noticed that it was surprisingly hard. A few more came and were painfully blocked before the Dread threw a low kick to Clage’s gut, sending him back a few steps.

“Damn, that hurts!â€

“Good to know,†the Dread smirked evilly before continuing its assault.
But before it was ready to throw another punch, Clage swiftly maneuvered around it and slammed his knee on the side of the Dread’s fleshed lower torso. It twitched in pain as Clage realises its weakness.

“So, you made yourself this ugly to try to fool people, huh?†Clage said as he continues to strike on the fleshed area around the Dread’s body. This time the Dread took the insult to heart and started an aggressive attack. Clage catches his arms in time and they both were tied grappling each other.

Then the worst possible situation happened. Someone was running towards them as they both noticed.

“What are you doing?! Get out of here!†Clage desperately yelled out to that person but his heart sank further when he saw that it was someone he knew, rather recently.
Dacia came to a stop when she got a closer look at the two figures. Her eyes widen not from shock, but from a certain anger or rage.

“Hey, hurry up and run while you still can!!â€

Her eyes were fixed violently on Clage.

“Caster..†she muttered to herself.

“Wha..†Clage took the calling by surprise. She took awhile before speaking again.

“You won’t be getting out alive this time!†she points at Clage. “I’ll make sure of it.â€
She then crosses both her arms over her chest and said:
“Mancer!â€

A familiar looking device took form on her left hand as she quickly places a blue coin within it, as a pristine female voice spoke.
“AQUAâ€

Clage could already guess what might happen next and it was as he feared.

“Henshin!â€
Dacia calls out as she spins the blue coin. Jets of water were released from the device and began to envelop her entire body as blue energy glowed from it. The water splashes away after completing its process to reveal and much different figure.

The person that stood before them has a mixture of dark and light blue in design.

“Hear me, Caster,†she points at Clage fearlessly.
“I am the Mancer that manipulates the very flow of water;
Kamen Rider Mancer.. Aquasâ€

Witnessing the transformation, the Dread soon realises the situation and forces itself out of the lock from Clage.
“Two Kamen Riders..†it spoke cautiously. “I will deal with this later.â€

It ran quickly behind Clage who took immediate notice.
“Hey, get back here!â€

Just as Clage was about to chase after the Dread, a powerful shot of water went past him. He turned his head to face the new foe.

“You’re not going anywhere,†Dacia said with hostility.
Clage took a moment to glance at Mancer Aquas before deciding his next move.

“Mancer.. I was wondering when you guys would show up again.†He had to admit to himself that the revelation was beyond predictability.
“Well, what are you waiting for?†Clage challenged with a hand gesture.
“Come and get me.â€

Dacia launches herself immediately and shot another missile of water. Clage could already guess that it was bad idea to come in contact with it and rolls over, only to be at the receiving end of a turning kick. He was quick to retaliate with a rising knee to get back on his feet but Dacia jumped back in time.

More water shots were released from her hands as Clage dashes closer to reduce her firing range. Once close enough, she swings her elbow over Clage’s head. He ducks in time to counter her attack as he grabs on to her attacking arm and brings her to a choking grapple.

“Let go of me!†Dacia demanded but Clage’s grip was too strong.

“I don’t think so,†he instantly declares. “You’re just another one of Aether’s minions, aren’t you? Well, I won’t let you people have it your way.â€

âat did you say?!†Dacia suddenly flares in anger and shoots two water jets from both of her hands behind her back. Clage had no choice but to release his hold and jump backwards to avoid them.

“Won’t have it our way?â€
Her reaction was unexpected but it was followed with an even worse call as she untenses her neck and turns back to face Clage violently.

“So you’re saying that what you do is right?!
That it’s alright to go around killing people?!
That it’s alright to destroy this world?!
Is that what you think?!â€

Clage was taken aback by this. He did not know what else to do but listen.

“IS IT?!â€



~to be continued~

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 8 - Conviction


“Is that what you think?! IS IT?!”

“I.. I..”

“Answer me!!” Dacia came forward with her fist ready to throw a punch.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Clage tried to calm her but she was relentless and stroke with full force. He could only step back and brush her arms off at the best he can.

“This is a mistake! I think you’re misunderstanding something!”

“Mistake?!” Dacia forced herself to a halt after one last punch. “The only mistake is your existence.”
Those words pierced Clage deeply.

“It does not matter what who you are,” she hissed angrily. “Your crimes.. Are unforgivable.”
Saying this, she strikes once more.

But this time, it was reckless and uncalculated. Clage easily grabbed her swinging arm and brought her close to restrict her movements.

“Just calm down for a minute, will you!” Clage yelled and forcefully pulls the Caster Buckle out from his waist causing it to slowly disappear with the Caster armor, leaving only the Behemoth Soul in his hand, finally revealing his face to Dacia.

“You..Why are you..” Dacia stares blankly into his eyes as he pushes her away once she seemed to have cooled down. She too then pulled the Mancer gear from her left arm, as her armor evaporates and leaves a blue coin behind.

“Now,” Clage spoke seriously. “I would like an explanation.”

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



“Why?.. And I thought you were a good person..”

“Like I said you’re misunderstanding something,” Clage said before he recalled something important. He stared strictly at Dacia.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the one working with Aether? The very person who’s trying to destroy this world?!”

Dacia stared back at Clage, her eyes were wide in shock but then narrowed in rage.
“How cold...”

“Huh?”

“Is this how you suppress your guilt? By blaming it on someone else?!”

“Like I said..” Clage tried to get closer to Dacia but was brushed off forcefully.

“The Dreads and dying of the Earth.. Is all your doing,” she said softly but sharply.
“The reason those children lost their parents, it’s all your fault.”

Clage did not even know what to say at this point. She spoke very convincingly and made herself clear that he was the one responsible.

They stood apart with a long pause of silence.
“This is a waste of time,” Dacia started to back away slowly. “Next time Caster, you won’t be so lucky.”

She runs off but Clage could not even bring it to himself to go after her. Her words were heavy, but in all that, it made him question himself what he really is.

====================


“You look troubled,” Gaia said as Clage enters her realm. He did not know how to put his words together to even ask Gaia about what had happened.

“It’s that Mancer, isn’t it?” Gaia was right as always.

“What was that all about? She seemed certain about everything that she..”

“Listen carefully, Clage. As I said before, Aether is someone who would do anything to get what he wants. He would even go so far as telling such despicable lies to get people to work with him, making them believe that they are actually working for the good of mankind.”

“That’s just...”

“Wrong. I know the kind of person he is, Clage. He cannot be taken lightly.”

Clage stood silent pondering in his thoughts but Gaia spoke indifferently.
“Nonetheless, the Mancers are still your enemies. You must defeat them, no matter the circumstances.”

At that moment, Clage began to think about Dacia and the children’s home she was working for. There must be a way around this. For her to do something like that would be just too cruel.

“What if.. I can convince the Mancers that they are wrong and get them to join us instead?”

Gaia shook her head in disagreement.
“Never will you, Clage. Aether’s influence is beyond anything you would ever imagine. And even if you could get one Mancer to join us, he would probably use them to turn against you when you least expect.”

“But there has to be a better way than us fighting each other when we all have the Dreads to worry about. I gotta at least try, somehow.”

“It’s impossible..”

“I got to try.”

==the next day==


The sound of excited chattering is unmistakable as Clage visits the children’s home once again. Over the fence he could that about five of them were dressed up as if they were going somewhere.

He might have been just in time as Clage saw Dacia walked out dressed neatly herself.
“Okay children, are you all ready?”

They cheered brightly in response and were clearly looking forward to where they were going. Just as Dacia turned her head, she saw Clage standing right in front of the gate.

“Kids, get back in for awhile.” The children mumbled in protest. “Just go, won’t be long.”
She shoved them back inside and stormed at Clage with cold eyes.

“What do you think you are doing here?” she said very unwelcoming.

“Going somewhere?” Clage tried to ask politely but Dacia took it differently.

“The likes of you have no business here,” she said fiercely but when she turned to her back, she saw the children watching them and eagerly waiting to go out.

“I’m only here for volunteer work and today is my last day,” she manages to calm herself and explain properly. “I’m bringing them out to the mall.”

“So you will be going back to the other Mancers after this?” Clage did not choose his words carefully and got an angry eye in return.

“What is it that you want?”

“I believe you are working for the wrong side here,” Clage went straight to the point. “You say you are protecting this world, but that’s what I do. I was told that you are my enemy and I bet that you were told the same. Don’t you think there is something wrong with this picture?”

It did not get any better when Dacia let out a chuckle, mocking Clage’s logic. “You’re an amusing man, Clage. But don’t think I would give in to you just like that,” she spoke seriously, unbaffled by what he had to said.

“I don’t care who you think you are. I know what I'm doing and I have good reason to believe it,” Dacia challenged before putting up a gentle face for the children.
“Come on out, children. We’re leaving.”

Amidst their cheering, Dacia said coldly to Clage, “No matter what you think, we are enemies. And next time we meet, you won’t be so lucky.”

====================


Aderil lies on a bedroll with a wet cloth over her head. She was burning up with a fever.
Strand was by her side as Barett enters the room.

“How is she?”

Strand could only shake his head but his eyes never left her. He reached out and caressed her hand. Her fingers then twitched on the sensation as she slowly awakens from her slumber.

“Aderil!” Strand may have reacted too loudly but it did not seem to matter to her, as she slowly turned her head to him with a gentle smile. She looked very weak and frail.

Standing for a moment, Barett called out “I’ll leave you two alone,” and closes the door behind them.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better,” her voice had little strength and little effort.

“It’s Aether isn’t it? It’s all those things he..” Strand immediately presumes but got cut short with his own thoughts.
“What did he do to you after all of your trainings? I need to know,” he voice was stressed and desperate. He could not tell was emotion he was experiencing.

“It’s nothing,” she tried to reassure but her condition could not fool anyone.

“What do you mean nothing? Look at you,” Strand continued to push and vent out his anger. But he was immediately tamed down when Aderil turned her head away from him. He noticed a drop of tear falling from her cheek.

He went silent for a moment in guilt.
“I'm sorry..”

“Strand,” Aderil faced him once again with the best smile she could put up.
“Please, just stay with me for awhile.”

He nodded and held her hand tightly.

====================


Clage strutted slowly, disappointed.
There was no way he could push harder, especially in the presence of those children.

“I suspect it did not go very well,” a familiar voice spoke.
Clage looked up and saw Gaia’s standing beside him.

“It’s unthinkable. Her conviction is stronger than anything.”

“So would you start to think otherwise, now that you have seen what Aether has done to them?”

“There has to be another way. I won’t accept something like this so simply,” Clage spoke determined.

“I understand how you feel, Clage, but all I can say is this. The only way you can free them is to erase them as soon as possible before they could cause anymore harm.”

Clage was taken aback by Gaia’s resolve. He did not like it, but what Gaia is suggesting might be the only possible way.

“But I..”

====================


“Hey big sis, let’s go this way!”
“No, let’s go this way!”
The children were pulling Dacia’s clothes, determined to go where they want.

“Easy now children, we have all day,” Dacia said cheerfully. The five children would gather excitedly around her and try to get her attention. It was a troubling situation but Dacia could handle it.

Being her last day with them, she wanted it to be perfect. Nothing could ruin this day. She suddenly raised her head in anxiety. Something was very wrong and she did not like it.

“Please, not today..” she thought to herself when something in her pocket was vibrating. It was a familiar sensation and it could not be her mobile.

“Big sis?” one of the children called to her when they noticed her change in expression.
“Please, no..”

A crowd suddenly came running their way screaming in fear.

“Big sis, what’s going on?”

“We have to go, children,” she grabbed all of them in a hurry and brought them to a security guard. The crowd has not caught up to them yet, so the guard did not suspect anything.

“Please, take care of them,” she said to the guard who gave a clueless expression.

“Big sis!” they called to her but she went running against the running group of people. They ran so fast that she could already see clearly what stood in front of her.

There was a Dread in her way. It had a fleshless and upper torso.
“I’ve seen you before,” it said evilly.

“Mancer,” Dacia prepares herself and summons a device on her left hand.

Suddenly behind her was the shadow of another Dread that and large hammer-like fists. And on her sides were two other Dreads.

“Four of you?” she started to panic.

“Let’s get her!”

They all came at once. Dacia immediately inserted a blue coin in the device and spins it.
“Henshin!”

====================


A burning sensation suddenly surged as Clage took the Behemoth Soul out. It was unusual. Usually if a Dread is closer the light trailing it would speed up in its clockwise motion. But this time, the light was immensely brighter than before.
He could guess that more than one Dread would be around.

“Damn it, they just don’t quit,” he turned away from Gaia and tried to leave. “We’ll talk about this later once it’s done.”

“Hold on, Clage,” Gaia stopped him.

“What? Why? It’s obvious that the Dreads are making a move and..”

“It’s been taken care of.”

“What are you talking about?”
Gaia then waved her hand in the air to create some sort of an illusionary mirror. It took awhile before it manifested and showed an image of somewhere else. Clage’s heart pounded but Gaia smiled.

“This is convenient,” she said gleefully.

Mancer Aquas laid on the floor, seriously hurt. She could barely even crawl back as she faces the four different Dreads stalking her. They pulled her forcefully and persistently attacked her mercilessly.

“That’s.. Dacia..”

“We should let them continue for now.”

Greatly outnumbered, Dacia threw jets of water at them but they were ineffective. She was too weak and hurt to focus any energy to create a successful attack. The Dreads threw her to the ground and stomped her hard on the chest as she screamed in agony.
Clage started to tremble. It was a sight too cruel to see.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Gaia immediately spotted Clage’s attempt to run off.

“I’ve got to save her!”

“Who do you think she is?” Gaia’s voice was strained hard but Clage did not stop.

“It doesn’t matter now, does it?!”

Gaia took a short pause before she raised her voice on Clage.
“I hope you know which side you are fighting on.”

Clage stopped and looked back at Gaia. Her presence was never this fearful.

====================


Dacia crawled weakly to the edge of a wall like a dying animal. The Dreads took their time to enjoy this game of torture. She looked over at them, she did not even have the strength to push herself further.

“Now, let’s end your miserable life, shall we?” one of the Dreads declared.

Fear rushed through her head and tears began to swell under her mask. She closed her eyes and prayed.
“Please god, don’t let it end here. I can’t die like this.”

The Dread with the hammer fists raises its arms up high, ready to pulverize.
“Now, die!!”

“Please...”

“Hoooraay!!”
A battle cry was heard followed by what would have been the hard sound of a kick, as something thumped hard to the ground.

Dacia slowly opened her eyes to see the side large horse skull.
“You alright there?”

It was an unexpected surprise as Clage emerges in front of her, saving her life.
The four Dreads stopped at his presence but one of them hissed at Clage.
“Caster, have you come to die too?!”

“Why?..” Dacia mumbled in hear weak voice as Clage slowly got to his feet, observing the different Dreads in front of him.
“Why did you come to save me? Am I not your enemy?”

“And so you say,” Clage spoke, not taking his eyes off the Dreads. “Honestly, I don’t know what your side of the story is, but it doesn’t matter to me. I know for certain that I am definitely not here to destroy the world, I'm here to protect it.”

He looks back at her and said cheerfully, “As far as dealing with these guys go, we can’t possibly be enemies now, can we?”
Dacia’s heart began to race hearing Clage, and she could tell that she was beginning to blush.

A short stretch with the arms, Clage turns quickly to the Dreads and points to them intriguingly.
“Now, tremble.”

All the Dreads came at once. They were uncoordinated as Clage handles them easily. The first one came at him and was knocked off with a right hand punch and a left hand for the second that came. The third one came leaped to strike him below but he ducked to deal a sweeping kick on the fourth Dread behind him. He was at the perfect position as he grabs the jumping Dread by the neck and slams it on the ground.

The first two Dreads came together this time.
“Shards!” Clage swings his opened right hand and casted on the floor as spikes arose quickly from right under their feet, knocking them off as the groan in pain.
He turns his head and sees another Dread working to strike him from behind.
He then closes his right hand to a fist and yelled, “Barrage!”
The very same spikes that formed off the ground broke into heavy pieces and projected themselves onto this other Dread, carrying it off a few feet away.

Only one Dread stood in front of him now and it was the very same fleshless Dread he met before.
“You’re not getting away this time.”

It launches itself forward but Clage fights it off in time with a striking elbow, staggering it on its feet. It was full of openings as Clage unleashed a fury of sidekicks on all its fleshed sides, damaging it greatly before throwing a heavy fist on its lower torso, bringing it to the ground.

“Hmph, not so tough now, are you?” Clage taunted as he pressed and hold the Behemoth Soul until it shone brightly and spins it.
“BEHEMOTH - - BURST”

Clage leaps up in the air to deal the finishing blow.
“BEHEMOTH - - LANDSLIDE!!”

The thunderous kick went through the Dread as it exploded with a dying scream.
“One down, three to go.”

He got up and turned to the other three Dreads who just got themselves together.
“Krusxa!!” one of them yelled in dismay, witnessing the fall of their brethren.

“You.. killed our comrade..” another one spoke lowly.

“Heh, he got what he deserved. Now, who’s next?”

“This is.. Unforgivable!!” one of the suddenly blew off. The one with the hammer fists called out softly.
“Comrade..”

The other two nodded, seeming to have understood the command. Suddenly the three of the started to growl in rhythm as their body started to shake violently. Clage has seen this before and he did not like what was coming.

Slowly the three Dreads diluted into mercury like substance and horrifically merged into a single being. This new Dread did not grow much in height but was bulkier and spoke with three different voices at once.
“Die you bastard!!”

It swung its arm over at Clage. He tried to block it with his arm but it was so strong that it knocked him off and sends him crashing to the wall.
“No kidding.. you got some strength over there..”

The Dread was ready to punch Clage through the wall again but he evaded in time as it deepened the crater made from Clage’s body.
It let out a devastating scream and slams both its fist on the ground, causing Clage to lose his balance and fall on his back. Without wasting any time, it storms quickly at Clage and lands a hard stomp on him with its massive foot.

Clage let of a scream of pain and it continues to put pressure on the foot, crushing Clage’s body under it.
Suddenly, a powerful stream of water shot through the air and lands straight onto the Dread’s chest, as it backs off quickly in pain.

Dacia was back on her feet. Though not in full strength, she manages to create something strong enough to force it off.

“Caster, I think I may know a way to defeat this thing!”

“So you got a plan?” Clage replied as he painfully gets back up from his back.

“We just need to lead him somewhere else.”

“What? That’s it? What kinda plan is that?”

“Just trust me!” Dacia called as she slowly walked to show a path.
Clage turned his head and sees the Dread getting itself together.
“Well.. guess any plan is better than no plan right now.”

====================


Clage fought very defensively as Dacia kept a distance to lead him the way.
The Dread continued to pursue them unstopping, either being completely overwhelmed by revenge or that it became a mindless fiend after the merge.
Clage did the best he could to evade its attacks but got several hard blows along the way. He could not even tell where they were going or even pay attention to their surroundings.

“Is she gonna just let me go on like this?” Clage thought to himself after suffering another powerful blow, thinking that Dacia may be betraying him at the very end just to make him an easy kill.

Clage was starting to lose his stamina as he was receiving more hits and avoiding less. He was at the point of fading. Suddenly, Dacia yelled out to him as the Dread was ready for another swing.
“Get down, now!”

Clage went down easily from exhaustion as a powerful impact from the back launched the Dread over him and many feet away. Dacia also jumped over him and landed with what Clage could have recognised as a heavy splash.

He steadies himself and glances over the two. Dacia seems to be back on full power and the Dread gets up to face her. They were both standing on shallow edge of a large flowing river.

“This is...”

“Home ground,” Dacia grinned energetically. The contact with water seems to have given her strength back.
“You’re going to pay for what you did to me. Prepare yourself!”

As reckless as it is, the Dread came swinging its arm at Dacia. She leaped back in time and shot a powerful stream on the Dread as it falls on its back. It was an interesting sight as however Dacia moved, light flows of water would follow her as it trails along her body.
Just before the Dread could stand, she glides along the water surface and throws a fist on its face. The water streams from her hand shot along with it, increasing the heavy impact.
Even with the water current flowing from its side, the Dread found it difficult to move, as if the water itself was thickening around it.

Dacia continued to strike with heavy kicks. After being at the receiving end of a few, it managed to grab her leg and threw her in the air. With her newfound strength, she creates and shoots more powerful water shots at the Dread before landing gently on the water surface.

“Damn you.. Damn you!!” the Dread cursed as it realised how she overpowered him so easily.

“Time to put you out of your misery,” Dacia calls out as she uses her right index finger to make a full clockwise rotation on the blue coin on her left hand before spinning it forcefully. A female voice spoke from within it, in a similar fashion to Clage’s Burst attack.
“AQUA - - BURST”

The water around them quickly enveloped around Dacia’s body as she slowly rises on the top of a towering water pillar. Clage gawks in amazement, having witness such kind of power for the first time.

The pillar soon formed a giant sphere of water, with bright circlets of blue light and Dacia in it, floating about thirty feet in the air. Pulling her hands behind her, she was ready to make the kill.
“AQUAS - - WATERCANNON!!”

She threw her arms forward as the large sphere instantly launches itself on the unsuspecting Dread below. It crashes on it and explodes as it lets out a horrific scream. Heavy waves and splashes follow the scene but the Dread was effectively gone.

Dacia slowly landed on her feet and pulled off the device from her hand.

====================


“That is some amazing power you got there,” Clage said as they come to face together.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said brightly as they began to chuckle. Dacia suddenly came back to her senses and turned her head away.
“Thank you for saving me back then.” Her tone was hesitant.

“Don’t worry about it,” Clage wanted to show a good nature, hoping to appeal to her so that she would view him differently.

“T-This is the last time we would ever come so close, okay?” she commanded. “I’ll overlook it this time, but you are still my enemy after all.”

“Yeah, whatever you say,” Clage sighed.

Dacia stared quietly at Clage with the corner of her eyes. He caught her doing so and she began to blush.
“I’ll be going now,” she said and points to Clage. “Next time, you won’t be so lucky.”
She left with a smile.

“That’s the third time you’ve said the same thing already,” he smiles and steps back to watch the sunset in the evening sky.

====================


A person got of their motorbike and stood over the edge of the freeway. Taking off the helmet, long dark hair swayed along with the gentle wind.

A woman stood there with the slight feeling of loneliness.
“This is the right town, is it?” she said to herself. She spaces out while watching over the magnificent sunset.

“Honestly, where could you be?”
Then something caught her attention. She reached inside her jacket and branded a golden orb. A bright light was trailing along its edges, as if calling to her.

The woman smiled and placed it carefully on the front of the bike.
“Well, back to work.”

She puts the helmet back on and rides off.


~ to be continued ~

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 9 – Leviathan


“Dacia Ashcroft, reporting back to duty!†Dacia stands and salutes.

“Welcome back to Prism, soldier,†Aether smiles back, sitting on a chair with his legs crossed. The other four members, Strand, Aderil, Lucas and Barett were there as well.
“I hope your month of leave went well enough for you to resume your duties.â€

“Yes, sir!†she called out formally like an obedient soldier. “Ready to carry out orders at once.â€

“Heh, good to hear,†Aether narrows his eyes with a sharp stare at Dacia. “Maybe this time you’ll face the Casters more seriously.â€

She twitched nervously after hearing this. The horrifying stare from Aether alone was a strict warning as much as a severe punishment.

“For now,†Strand steps forward to draw attention away from Aether. “Get back to your post and be at ease for a bit.â€
He turns his eyes to the curious Aether who still has his glare fixed on Dacia and continues to address the others.

“We will summon you when new assignments need to be carried out. For now, meeting adjourned.â€
The other members of Prism left the room. Aether was still stoned with his gaze until the door was closed, leaving him and Strand alone.

“What was that all about?†Strand said seriously. “You were the one who us to hold on attacking the Casters until we have found our last member.â€

“It was just for the fun of it,†Aether said lightly. “It’s good to keep our soldiers’ spirits alive, once in awhile.â€

Strand clicked his tongue out of annoyance. Aether swayed his head lazily to Strand but spoke seriously.
“Besides, we should be expecting some new company soon.â€

====================


Gaia watches through an illusionary wall in her world of void, a motorist riding through the freeway.
It was an unsuspicious sight but Gaia had all her attention on it. There was worry all over her.

“You shouldn’t be here.. Not yet..â€

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====



Clage stood outside the children’s home the next day. Just like she said, Dacia was not there anymore. Another volunteer confirmed it to him.

It was a letdown because he thought he made progress into trying to get a Mancer to at least understand that he was not the enemy.

“Why the long face?â€
Gaia spoke out from the shadows. Her expression was less than content.

“What are you talking about?†Clage tried to brush her off calmly. He knew she was not happy with the outcome of yesterday’s fight.

“A Caster and a Mancer working together? I could only breathe easy from the fact that she did not actually try to kill you at that time.â€
Straight to the point as always.

“Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? She did not,†Clage tries once again to appeal to Gaia for change of heart.
“What if the Mancers are not as twisted as you think they are?â€

Gaia looked upon Clage with a sharp but serious gaze, pausing for a moment.
“I have dealt with many other Mancers in my time, Clage. Believe me when I say that none of them are trustworthy,†she spoke very bitterly.

Hearing Gaia, Clage could understand two things. She was either trying to save his life or that she was desperate to save her own.
The only thing that he is sure of is that he could not begin to comprehend what the Mancers and Aether might have done to her in the past. The subject alone leaves her horribly scarred.

“Understood,†Clage broke from his silence. Gaia’s face slowly lit up radiantly.

“So will you stop pursuing this failed cause?â€

“Yea..†Clage was not sure that he would. But for the time being, this was the best thing to do.

====================


Dacia walked through the hallway of the base. Most of the area looked like an underground bunker with paths which could hardly be distinguished but she knew her way around.

“Hey there, beautiful.â€

She stopped in her tracks from the voice that came behind her.
“What do you want, Lucas?†she said coldly, not even offering to show her face.

“Hey, come on now. It’s been over a month since we last talked to each other and now you’re gonna brush me off just like that?†Lucas put his charm on.

“I never had anything to say to you,†her tone was harsh.

“Or maybe it’s just because you found someone else to put your heart to,†he teased her insensitively. “How about that guy named Clage?â€

Dacia’s heart skipped a beat and finally turned to face Lucas.
“What does the Caster have anything to do with this?†her tone was branded with anxiety.

Lucas let himself to chuckle for awhile.
“My my, you’re turning pink,†Lucas continued to tease her but was suddenly met with a piercing pain on his stomach, right where Dacia let loose a powerful jab, bringing him to his knees and soon planted on the floor.

“This is outrageous!†Dacia was infuriated and walked away from Lucas without turning back.

With his face on the floor and his arms around his stomach, Lucas grinned through the pain.
“Just old times already...â€

====================


Something rang through Clage’s jeans. After all the Dread occurances, he grew more prepared to face them at anytime.
Gaia, still with him, looked at the glowing orb in his hand. Her face was filled with concern this time.

“Hmph, “ Clage stares at the Behemoth Soul as it called to him. “Always a bother.â€
He branded the Behemoth Soul on the road and said “Rider!â€

The Behemoth Strider soon took shape as Clage gets ready to mount it.

“Just a moment, Clage,†Gaia stopped him. “I think you should let this one go.â€

It was the most shocking thing that Clage could have ever heard Gaia say.
“Pfft, don’t worry about me. I’ve always been the one to come on top of them,†he tried to reassure her.

“That’s not it, it’s just..â€

“I’ll be back later,†he gestures to her and takes his leave.
Gaia stood and watched him disappear from a distance.

“It’s too soon...â€

====================


It was a long and precarious path as the Behemoth Soul led Clage to the very outskirts of the town, close to a small forest. It was an unusual place to sight a Dread but the Behemoth Soul has never been wrong before and Clage had no reason to doubt it now.

He trailed within it as deep as the Soul would guide him, as it took him to an open camp site. Several people laid on the ground without moving. Clage feared that they may already be dead but relieved to find that they were only unconscious.

But the Behemoth Soul rang blindly like a broken compass, pointing too many different directions in a short time. Clage could instantly recognise that something was amidst within the surroundings. Light rustling of leaves were heard from above the trees. It moved around fast like a predator stalking its prey.

Suddenly, a large figure shot itself from above and was heading right at Clage. His reflects were sharp and sidestepped in time to avoid whatever was coming at him. He turned a saw a huge bat-like Dread that has blades protruding out of its joints.

“Blood.. More fresh blood!†it hissed enthusiastically with Clage’s appearance on the scene.

“I don’t think so, pal,†Clage readies himself for the imminent battle.
“Caster.â€

With the Caster Buckle in his left hand, he inserts the Behemoth Soul with his right.
“BEHEMOTHâ€

“Henshin!â€
By spinning the Soul, it creates a neighing sound as a black stallion rushes from behind him through the woods and merges with Clage’s body to become Caster Behemoth.

The Dread dove and spun itself manically towards Clage like a small bladed twister. He jumped high and grabbed the closest branch above him as the Dread seemingly slices through the bark of the tree behind Clage. It was a dangerous position when he realised that people were still around the area. It could only try his best to lead him away from them.

As soon as the Dread stopped, Clage descended and landed a kick over its back, causing it tumble down. It did not seem to take it very lightly when it hissed angrily at Clage. It did not ease its frustration when Clage taunted it with gestures as he moved deep into the forest. Naturally, the Dread pursued him just as he planned.

However, the surroundings were not favourable to Clage as there were too many obstacles that made a clear path impossible. The Dread did not seem to be at the same predicament when it easily climbed from tree to tree and pounced at Clage at the first clearing. It hit him hard but he managed to pull the Dread with him as they went down a steep hillside. He pulls the Dread body towards the ground and uses it to cushion his fall.

They landed in a large open clearing and the Dread squirmed in pain from the gravity of Clage’s weight. It suddenly bursts in rage and threw his body away wildly but Clage was able to stand on his own two feet.

“Pain.. Hurt..†the Dread muttered to itself before getting serious with Clage. “You!! Pay!!â€

Its sudden eruption of energy and strength caught Clage off guard as it speared itself right across his chest. With Clage falling off, it immediately went on top of him and unleashed swift chops over Clage’s neck. Clage blocks with his forearm but the swelling pain from the strikes were not avoidable.

“Barrage!†he casted in desperation as several rocks behind him shot themselves at the Dread. It was so engrossed with mutilating Clage that it did not notice the heavy rocks coming at it only until it smashed hard on its shoulder.

It yelped in pain, giving Clage an opening to fight it off. As soon as he got back up, it came screaming even harder and threw its arms wildly on Clage before he could even stand steadily. The violent blow did much damage to Clage’s torso before the Dread leaped backwards and does another bladed twister right on Clage.

He could not avoid it in time as the blades from its joints came screeching on Clage’s armor, creating heavy sparks and a sharp pain on most of his chest. He falls on a tree behind him, never faced such a violent Dread before. It started to laugh maniacally and stalks Clage with slow steps, enjoying every bit of the fight.

“Hey, come on, bro. Is that all you got?†a female voice called out in a distance.
Both heads turned to the top of the hillside where a woman on a bike apparently stood.

Revving up the engine, she fearlessly rides her bike down the slope and crashes directly on the Dread before coming to a complete stop right in front of Clage. The Dread was sent flying away from them as she dashingly takes off her helmet with her long dark hair catching the wind. If nothing else, she had very stunning looks.

Clage was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the woman as he continued to lie on the tree.

“You bitch!!†the Dread cursed at the woman. She paid no attention to it but turned to Clage.
“You sit tight for awhile. I’ll show you how much different I was than before, bro,†she casually winks at Clage as if he was a close acquaintance.
“Bro?â€

The moment she steps out of her bike, it evaporates in thin air. She stretches her arms while observing the Dread, not showing any signs of fear.
“You human! I eat you too!!†the Dread barked, much angrier than before.

“Then I’ll show you,†she called back with an arrogant smirk on her face. “How real women fight.â€
“Caster!â€
She threw her left over her right shoulder, and summons a Caster Buckle, very much similar to Clage.

“Caster? It can’t be!†Clage thought to himself with surprise.

She reached out her jacket and revealed a golden orb, which was a spotting duplicate of Clage’s Behemoth Soul. She places the buckle on her waist and inserts the orb in it. It lets out a familiar ancient but forceful voice.
“LEVIATHANâ€

Her eyes fixed on the Dread, she spins the orb just like how Clage does.
“Henshin!â€

A loud screeching cry came out from the belt before a fierce slithering sound was heard from behind them. When Clage turned back, he could not expect a large dorsal fin protruding out of the ground. Even stranger than that was that whatever it belonged to, seemed to be swimming quickly through the ground as if it was a bed of water. As it got close enough to the woman’s back, it jumped off the ground and Clage got a clear vision of what that creature was.

It was just about as large as half a man, had a long black serpentine body but the head of a small whale or shark. Its face was that of a monstrous sea creature that would only be told in stories.

It went through her body and left a giant web of black energy coming out of her body, before absorbing itself back in and releasing a small wave of energy behind her.

The woman now dons a dark blue armor with black plating. Over most parts of her body were golden trimmings and the large skull of the sea monster accessorises her chest. If anything, it reminds Clage of his own Caster armor.

“Two Casters?!†the Dread did not hide its surprise.

The woman looks up and points at the Dread coolly.
“By the grace of Gaia, I am the Caster who controls the plane of sea and water;
Kamen Rider Caster.. Leviathan!!â€

She shakes her hands and fists them together. “Now, let’s roll.â€

She charges at the Dread as it follows almost instantly.
It swings its blades at her but she evades it by lightly turning herself to the Dread’s opposing direction. With an opening, she back fists straight on the Dread’s head. It growled angrily as she looks down on it.

It ruthlessly swings its arms again but she kicks its arms away even before half a swing. She resumes her assault as the Dread continues to leave openings. Just by observing, Clage could tell. Her attacks were not fast, but they were precise and very strong just by the sound it makes.

The Dread retreats desperately from her and with enough room, it spins itself with its blades outwards and swirls towards her.

She was unfazed by this. She turns sideways with her palm wide open at the Dread’s direction. Once it got close enough, she called out, “Gush.â€
A violent stream of blue energy shot out of her hand and lands on the Dread. At first, it stops the Dread’s approach and swirls within its twister motion. It suddenly erupts with warning and knocks the Dread to the ground.

“Pain!! Pain!!†It screams on both knees.

“Then get ready,†she grinned. “Here’s a big load of it.â€
She presses the orb on the buckle until it glows in a bright golden light and spins it.
“LEVITHAN - - BURST†*screeching cry*

The ground from beneath her and the Dread suddenly formed a light layer of fluid, like a giant mirage. The veins on her body lose their light and suddenly burst brightly on her right hand as it became engulfed in dark energy.

She crouches slightly at then suddenly surfs on the sea-like floor at an incredibly pace towards the Dread. A feint image of the sea monster was trailing through her right arm.
“LEVIATHAN - - TIDALWAVE!!â€

Once close enough, she leaps and does a full rotation before throwing a devastating punch at the Dread as the sea monster slides through her fist onto its body.
The Dread is knocked back many feet away, rolling a few times and explodes with a dying scream.

Clage steadies himself after watching the spectacular fight. The woman pulls the buckle off her waist, causing the armor to vanish from her body. She turns and smiles warmly at Clage, which caused his heart to skip a beat.

“Did you see that?†she said excitedly as she skipped childishly towards Clage. “Told you I’ll get better the next time.â€

At this point, Clage could not think of anything to say. She acts as if she has known him for sometime but in fact, he does not.
“Damn it, bro. You left me for so long and now you’re just gonna keep quiet?†she tugs Clage’s left arm like a pampered child.

“It was quite surprising, but though I have to admit,†Clage decided to speak. “That’s some awesome power you have there.â€
The mood suddenly changed when she heard him speak, loosening her grip on Clage’s arm and let it go.
“Wha?..â€

He pulls the buckle from his waisteals his face to her directly.
“Heya,†he greeted warmly.

Her eyes suddenly opened widely in shock as she took a few steps back. Her face became pale and she started to shake at the sight of Clage.
“Wha... What’s going on?..†she was stuttering as she continues to observe the details of Clage’s figure, who stood clueless. “Who..â€

She spotted the Behemoth Soul in his hand.
“Behemoth.. But.. How did you?.. What did you?..â€

“Hey, you alright there?†Clage reached out to her but she kept her distance from him.

“What did you?..â€

“Huh?â€


“What did you do to my brother?!â€


~ to be continued ~

 

[ClydeHowlyn]

Episode 10 – Elyz


“What did you do to my brother?!”

“Your brother?” Clage stood bewildered. “Listen lady, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You.. You..” she stepped a few paces further from Clage.
“C-C-Caster..”

With her trembling voice, she managed to summon the Caster Buckle and place in on her waist. Clage did not like where this was going.
“You.. You..”

“LEVIATHAN”

“H-Hey, just wait a sec here,” Clage tries to get her to stop.

“H-Hen s-shin..”

By spinning the golden orb in her buckle, a dark sea-like creature once again came from behind her and merge with her body. A screeching cry was heard after it engulfed around her to form an armored Caster armor.

Clage stood there as she came to him with her fists ready to be thrown at. Her balance was not steady and she was still overwhelmed by emotion.
“My… brother…”

Out of nowhere, she launched a punch right at Clage. It came horrifically close to knocking his head off.
“H-Hey!!”

“You..” she did not seem to have come back to her senses yet when another punch was aimed at his head.
Clage rolled over in time.
“Since it had come to this.. Caster!”

Clage summons his own Caster Buckle and quickly places it on his waist. Just as he was about to attach the Behemoth Soul:
“Don’t you dare use his power!!”

The woman suddenly kicks the Behemoth Soul off from his hand as it flew into the bushes.
Clage stood completely stunned by the sudden act but she assaults him regardless.

“Henshin!” he did not have a choice but to transform into the regular Caster armor, just in time to block the coming kick with his forearm.
“What’s wrong with you?!”

She did not take heed to him, all she cared about was to lay as much damage as possible with many more punches and kicks.
Just as Clage noticed from her previous fight, she did not strike fast, but her hits dreadfully hard and painful. It was only made worst that this time he was the one at the receiving end.

Finally, with a thrust kick, she sends Clage to the ground flat on his back. He coughs out of breathlessness and the searing pain he was dealt with.

“Why?..” the woman stood over him, still catching unable to control her emotions. “Why do you have Behemoth’s power?”

Before Clage could come up with an answer, she stomps on his knee hard.
“That is my brother’s power!!”

Even through her masked armor, Clage could feel that she was swelling up in tears. Right at that moment, he suddenly came to realise something important out of this.

“That’s enough, Elyz.”

Hearing a voice, the woman took her foot off Clage and turned angrily at the woman who just appeared from the woods.

“What is the meaning of this, Gaia?!”

“I don’t like hostility,” Gaia spoke very sternly. It was all it took for the woman, apparently called Elyz, to subdue her emotions down and pull off the Caster Buckle, revealing her full figure once again.
Clage was right, she was tearing up through the entire battle.

“I’m sorry for all this, Clage. Allow me to introduce to you, Elyz,” Gaia spotted Clage who layed battered on the ground.
“She is Kamen Rider Caster Leviathan.

And she is also Kallas’ sister.”

====== KAMEN RIDER CASTER =====


“Kallas’ sister?”

“Why is he using Behemoth?! Explain to me!!” Elyz yelled at Gaia, losing control of her emotions once again.

“Elyz.. Your brother has been replaced.”

“Eh?..”
She turned to Clage who just got out of his Caster amor. “Why?..”

“Because he’s dead.”
Of all situations that Gaia went spoke ever so directly, this definitely wasn’t one of the times which she should.

“Hey, Gaia!” Clage tried to warn Gaia of the situation she just pulled on them into.

“This was why I did not tell you to come after him, Elyz. You should have just stayed back at where you were.”

“No.. no way…”

Clage tried to reach out her shoulder to offer some comfort, but she turned and ran away from them before he could. She soon disappeared through the woods.

“That was uncalled for!” Clage scolded Gaia angrily.

“Then what would you have me do? She would have known sooner or later,” Gaia shook her head. “Though, this was much sooner that I would have anticipated.”

“How come you did not even tell me about this?” Clage was concerned about his new acquaintance.

“That Kallas had a sister or that there was another Caster?”

“Both!”

“Why do you think I would, Clage? Look at what just happened to you.”
It only took a moment for Clage to rediscover the excruciating pain his body was actually going through.

“I did not want you to find her nor did I want her to find you. I had always feared your meeting with each other would turn ugly the very moment you took over Kallas’ role.”

“But she..” Clage turned to the path that Elyz took, hoping that she would come right out and back to them.

“It’s painful, but she will have to deal with it.”

Clage glared at Gaia angrily. “How could you be so insentive?!”

“Humanly attachment,” she spoke as if not hearing Clage’s reproach. “Has always been a great burden to one’s being. I’ve seen too many times how it has brought down the best of us.”

Clage tried to be angry at Gaia but he just couldn’t. She spoke like an enlightened being compared to his mere self.

“Despite what you may have seen, she is really a kind and gentle girl. And I do know that she loved her brother very much.”

“I hope you can help Elyz come in terms with you, Clage. I really do.”
Just as Gaia was about to leave, Clage stops her.

“Just a minute, Gaia,” there was something that has always been going through his mind since he became Kamen Rider Caster and he figured that this was the best time to let it out.
“There’s another Caster, isn’t there? A third one...”

Gaia stood still and was all ears for everything he had to say.
“If I am the Caster of the Land and she’s the Caster of the Sea, then there has to be another Caster, right?
The Caster of the Sky, maybe?”

She offered some silence at the beginning. She knew that this issue would have to be mentioned sooner or later and spoke quietly.
“Caster Ziz…”

“Ziz..”
Clage straightened his back after hearing this. There was a long pause before Gaia said to him.

“Please do not expect him anytime soon.”

“What? Why?”
She refused an answer, it was like a taboo to speak of but Clage was persistent.

“Don’t tell me.. the Mancers already destroyed him?”

“No, that’s not it,” Gaia shook her head and replied softly.

“The Dreads?”

“That’s not it, either,” she did not take this very fondly.

“Rather..
He destroyed himself...”

====================

With her legs folded close to her chest, Elyz towers the ground below her as she sits solemnly over the edge of the freeway. In her hands was a silver necklace which had what looked like a pentagon broken in half.

“What do you want from me?”
She was quick to notice Clage who was creeping slowly behind her. Her tone was shallow and bleak.

“Oh h-hey, I was just..” she caught him by surprise. At the very least, she was not her violent self.

“I'm sorry about your brother.”
Clage lowers his head in humility. Elyz however did not move an inch from her sitting position. She just stared at the necklace as if trying to find some sort of amusement from it.
It felt like a straining silence to Clage. He did not know whether to back off or approach her. All the more certain, he did not know what else to say to her.

“The other half belongs to my brother..” Elyz finally spoke. It drew Clage’s attention to the halved pentagon in her hand.

“He gave it to me.. when I became a Caster.. just like him” her voice started to sound broken as if she was about to break down and cry.
“He said that we’d protect the world together..”

The emotional heaviness escalated a mile further. The shear sympathy and guilt that was building up in Clage cause him to realise a greater feeling of regret, especially on how Kallas gave his life to save him.

“I became a Kamen Rider so I could fight alongside my brother,” Elyz got up hastily and rubbed some tears from her eyes. She turned to Clage with angry eyes.
“So you, what’s your take on this?”

She spoke to Clage as if it was a challenge. He noticed that no matter how angry those eyes seemed, they were overshadowed by emptiness.

“Kallas..”
He did not know where to start. Mentioning how Kallas sacrificed himself would not make the situation any much better. In the end, Clage turned his head down and said nothing.

Elyz grit her teeth, annoyed by the situation.
“I maybe a Caster,” she flared at Clage. “But I fight with my brother, not with anybody else.”

“Especially someone as gutless as you,” she deliberately insulted Clage.

He turned his face to her in shock, just as she was walking past him and spat coldly on the ground beside him.

===Night===

Clage was back home and was having dinner with Jeina.

“Heeey, earth to Clage,” Jeina was calling out to him. He was just staring blankly into his dinner plate.

“You alive there, buddy?”
She moved very closely to him that her shadow was covering half of the same plate he was staring at. She snapped her finger right in front of his nose, finally waking him.

“Huh wha?”
She retreated back to her sit and continued eating.

“What’s up with you? You look like you’ve been rejected or something,” Jeina blurted out. Clage did not give an answer and she stirringly assumed.

“So it’s true?” she spoke excited with food still in her mouth.

“It’s not like that,” Clage tried to back her off with his hands.

“Hmph, you’re no fun.”

Just as she gave her attention to her food again, Clage let out a sigh and continued to space out.

====================


At Prism Headquarters, Dacia was compiling the reports on her desk and handed it to an assistant. Just as the assistant left through the door, a man stood in its way.

“What is it, Barett?”

“I was just thinking about what Aether said to you. So you did let that Caster get away,” Barett smirked.

“Why you,” she angrily got up from her chair. “You just here for a fight, aren't you?”

“Not exactly,” he closed his eyes and spoke coolly. “I’m just here to thank you for leaving him out.”

“What are you talking about..”

“Behemoth,” he flashed his eyes widely with menace. “He’s mine.”
That was all he had to say before leaving.

“Behemoth.. You mean Clage?”
The words did not catch him as he already left.
Dacia fell back to her chair and brushed her hair in frustration.
“What was that all about?”

====================


“How are things going between you and Elyz?”
Gaia called Clage out the next day. It was not something she did very often and he obliged.

“I don’t even know how to start..” Clage said dejectedly. “She said that she would only fight with Kallas..”

“She despises me for having Behemoth, there’s no doubt about it.”
Clage leans on the wall with his eyes to the floor. Gaia offers him some comfort.

“That’s very far-fetched, don’t you think?”

He did not take those words in to heart and just spaced out in his position.

“The truth about Elyz, was that she only became a Kamen Rider because of finding out that her brother was one,” Gaia explained. “Their family was killed in an accident, and it was miraculous that the two of them even survived.”

Clage listens attentively as Gaia continues.
“They were always reliant on each other, and with Kallas being the elder, you know that he would always step out to protect his sister. You could say that she wanted to do the same. Or that she did not want to be left out.”

“When the previous Caster Leviathan wanted to step down, Kallas was asked to help find a successor. Elyz did everything she could to be considered, but her brother was persistent to put her out of such a dangerous position. She even went so far as to stalking that Caster to study everything that might appeal to him to get in his favour.”

Clage couldn’t help but to let out a chuckle but Gaia continued.

“But one day a large group of Dreads spawned and ambushed him. Elyz was there, of course, and she witnessed him getting beaten to an inch of his life. He was so weak that he couldn’t maintain his Caster and Leviathan’s power together. Just as they were about destroy the Leviathan Soul, Elyz did something that surprised even myself.”

“What did she do?” Clage asked curiously.

Gaia smiled. “She ran towards them and snatched it away from right beneath their feet. She knew how important the Souls are to the Casters, which was why I assumed that she risked her life to save it. I remembered how Kallas accused her of doing it to selfishly secure Leviathan for herself.”

“What happened to the Dreads?”

“They cornered her at first,” Gaia explained. “But the Caster was too weak to fight them. It was just then when he thought of a way to save her.. by granting her his Caster powers. Being a new Caster she could not wield a Soul yet. But surprising enough, by the time Kallas arrived to the calling, his sister has already defeated them, in the Caster armor.”

Clage found it hard to believe. Even for himself, he could hardly deal with a single Dread with just the Caster armor alone.

“Kallas did not like it when she came out that way, but there would not be any other way to prove that she was worthy to become one. Rather, that she was already given it without his consult.”

“But what about that Caster?”

“He’s alive and well. Though it took him a long time to heal from those injuries since he did not have the power for a natural speedy recovery.”

Clage stood in thought. He could understand what Elyz would have gone through, having only her brother to depend on. He recalled that necklace that she had with her that time, about how they would fight together as Casters. And now that he is gone, she was left alone.

“I want..”

“Hmm?”

“I want to help her out through all this,” Clage declared. “She might hate me, and there might be nothing I can do to change that.
But at the very least, I want to make sure that she doesn’t fight alone. Not anymore.”

Gaia was taken aback as Clage spoke from his heart.

“I know you will, Clage,” she gave a maternal smile as if to a son she was proud of.
“At the mean time..”
Gaia pointed to a glowing object beneath Clage’s clothes.

It did not take time for Clage to notice it as well.
“Leave it to me,” he smiled with one side of his lips and ran out.

Gaia waited for him to be out of sight, before tilting her head towards the edge of the wall behind her.
“Aren’t you going as well?”

Elyz jumped when Gaia suddenly spoke to her. She was hiding behind the corner and heard their entire conversation.
Gaia gave a gentle look at her. Her eyes soften after hearing Clage’s speech. She held the same necklace in her hands with a tight grip.

====================


People were frantically running as a Dread was causing havoc. It looked like a giant cat and got from one place to another with a giant leap as it destroys anything that comes in its way. A man has tripped and fallen on his back. The Dread spotted him helpless and took a leap towards him.

“Shards!”

Spikes of earth rose from the ground and clashed the Dread as it gets knocked back but manages to land back on all fours. It saw that its prey was escaping but was blocked by someone wearing a solid brown armor.

“Playtime’s over, little kitty.”

The Dread looked up at the figure of Caster Behemoth in front of it. It then somehow stood with only its hind legs and moved its forelegs as arms.
“Why do you Kamen Riders always have to come and spoil they fun?!”

It manically swinged its arms at Clage almost immediately. Its sharp claws looked very uninviting and got a few slashes on Clage before he threw a kick to gain some distance.

Instead of backing off, the Dread jumped directly over him and lashed him on his open back. It was enough for Clage to lose some focus as the Dread easily delivered one slash at a time. At a rare opportunity, Clage jumped over the Dread just before it was able to launch itself at time and shot an dark laser beam from his hand. But the Dread was agile enough to evade the laser just before it hits, and leaps at Clage who was still airborne.

He fell hard on the ground with the Dread stepping lightly as it landed. Licking its lips, it bears its claws like a feral animal waiting to strike a kill.

Just as it was about to claw the fallen Caster, a giant serpent like creature slithered around it and stroke with its ferocious teeth. It gruesomely tore some flesh as it sinks into the ground as if it was a bed of water. The Dread fell in pain and Clage’s eyes trailed the creature’s movements until it stopped in front of a woman not far from them.

Elyz was slowly approaching them. On her waist the Caster Buckle with the Leviathan Soul already in place.

“Elyz..”

She instantly directed her attention to Clage. “You are weak compared to my brother.”

It surprised him then when she gave him a light smile. Clage’s reaction was clueless but he let out a slight laugh. She stood in front of him, taking over the fight.

“Who are you protecting the Kamen Rider?!” the Dread yelled while tending to its bleeding arm.

“Then let me tell you,” Elyz took front and yelled back at the Dread. “This man is not just a Kamen Rider. He is also..”

Elyz paused at that very moment, feeling very hesitant about what she was about to say. Clage leaned forward curiously.

“He is also my rival!”

“Rival?”

“There is no one here that can defeat him. No one except me.”

Clage chuckled and thought to himself.
“Well, I guess that works too.”

“Prepare yourself.. Henshin!”
After calling out, dark energy started to consume her body and the creature that was swimming around them launched itself into her body. Waves of energy appeared from the edges of her body before being absorbed back to reveal the Caster Leviathan armor.

The Dread took a leap towards her right away. With amazing reflex and timing, Elyz was able to side step just in time to dodge the incoming claws and backfisted right on its bare ribs. It was probably out of pain and desperation to end the fight quickly that the Dread’s movement suddenly increased drastically.

It stalked Elyz in circles and was quick to find openings to assault her. Though she managed to strike back a few times, they were ineffective against something moving at such speed.

“Since it’s come to this..” she spins the Leviathan Soul and casts. “Potestas.”
With this, the golden veins in her arms started to blink dimly until they faded completely. Seeing where the Dread was about to attack next, she throws her arm with a powerful fist. This time when it landed on the Dread, it sent it flying off a great distance away.
Similar to Clage’s, this ability seems to increase her strength drastically.

The Dread fell hard and was having greatly difficulty in getting back to its feet. Elyz wastes no time and dashes for the Dread. She grabs it back the next and throws another violent punch at it, sending it soaring in the sky.

She presses the Leviathan Soul until it was glowing brightly as spins it.
“LEVIATHAN - - BURST” *screeching cry*

The veins in her right hand now bursts in dark energy while the ground underneath her feet began to develop a very thin layer of water which covered a lot of ground around her. With her eyes on the Dread, she calculated for a perfect timing and launched herself towards where it was about to crash.

She surfs through the bed of water at an incredible pace and once she got below the Dread, she called.
“LEVIATHAN - - TIDALWAVE!!”

Using all of her momentum, she jumps to deliver a deadly upper cut as a faint image of a monstrous serpent slithered through from her hand and pass the Dread. The Dread cries and explodes almost instantly.

She let out a big sigh of relieve with the finished battle. Pulling off the Caster Buckle, she approaches Clage and offers a hand.
“Are you alright?”

Even he did not expect to see her show her gentle nature right at him. Returning back to form, he smiles and gladly takes it.
“Yeah, I'm fine.”

They both stood facing each other, without saying anything else. Clage could see in her eyes that she is not always violent by nature. Perhaps she is just as kind and gentle as Gaia mentioned.

“You know..” Elyz spoke to break the silence. “We’ve yet to actually properly introduce ourselves.”

Clage realised it as well and laughs. He did not know what had happened to her, but at least she was accepting him.
“Better late than never.”

“My name’s Elyz,” she greeted with a welcoming smile.

“You can call me Clage.”


~ to be continued ~