Kouga walked toward Welt with a completely unamused expression on his face.
Meanwhile, March, Dan Heng, and Himeko watched cautiously from the side, still protecting the unconscious Caelus while trying to process everything that had just happened.
The man in front of them had arrived inside a gigantic mecha, casually destroyed three Doomsday Beasts, and apparently knew Welt personally.
Kouga stopped in front of him and crossed his arms.
Kouga : "Do you have any idea what I had to go through just to find you? First, I had to search across the entire universe for any trace of you. Then along the way, I kept running into armies of monsters worshipping some cosmic entity that literally embodies destruction."
Flashback :
Kouga had merely intended to take a short break.
After drifting through space for who-knew-how-long, he finally arrived on a civilized planet inhabited by people who looked surprisingly human.
Even stranger—
They spoke the same language as people on Earth.
Kouga had been confused by that fact for a while, but eventually decided not to question it too much.
At least it meant he could finally rest.
Unfortunately—
That rest lasted less than ten minutes.
Distortions tore open the sky as the Antimatter Legion descended upon the planet.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Explosions consumed cities while monsters rampaged through the streets.
Kouga sighed in annoyance before raising his hand.
"Summon."
Light exploded into the sky.
Kyukyoku Gattai Ultimate Daizyuzin descended upon the battlefield.
The Legion army never stood a chance.
Back to the present
Kouga continued ranting while Welt simply smiled quietly, clearly amused by his old friend's frustration.
Kouga : "And that wasn't even the worst part. Then I had to deal with some intergalactic mega corporation. Half of them wanted to arrest me because of the mechas, and the other half kept trying to recruit me or make deals with me. Obviously I said no."
Flashback :
Kouga was peacefully piloting GalaxyMega through space.
For once, absolutely nothing was happening.
Then alarms suddenly started blaring.
Several IPC ships appeared behind him.
And just like that—
A high-speed chase across space began.
Kouga still had no idea why they thought chasing a giant Super Sentai mecha was a good idea.
Back to the present
March blinked several times while listening to this increasingly unbelievable story.
Dan Heng remained silent, though even he looked mildly stunned.
Himeko simply sipped her coffee calmly as if this somehow made perfect sense.
Kouga pointed directly at his own face.
Kouga : "I even got hit in the face by an actual star."
The Astral Express crew froze.
March stared at him.
March 7th : "...Excuse me?"
Flashback :
Kouga had been flying through space once again in search of Welt.
Then suddenly—
Something slammed directly into his face.
Hard.
Kouga barely had time to realize what it was before instinct kicked in and he instantly transform into Kamen rider Gaim Kiwami arms
White energy erupted around him as the armor of the Man of the Beginning formed instantly.
The star-like projectile was stopped and nullified before it could explode.
Silence followed.
Then Kouga slowly looked upward.
And saw THEM.
A massive conceptual being with light blue skin and long flowing sky-blue hair drifted through space. THEIR face was hidden behind a black mask marked with a white star.
Below the waist, THEY resembled a centaur-like entity, except THEIR hind legs had been replaced by blazing blue chariot wheels.
And THEY were chasing another conceptual entity—
A pale six-armed figure covered in crimson eyes with antler-like branches growing from THEIR head.
Kouga stared at the scene for several seconds.
Then looked down at the literal star he had just been hit with.
Then back at THEM.
Kouga was not amused.
Using the power of Gaim Kiwami Arms, he expanded to match THEIR scale.
The centaur-like being prepared another star-arrow—
Only for Kouga to grab the bow before it could fire.
The conceptual entity slowly turned around.
And found itself face-to-face with a very irritated armored warrior.
Back to the present
Kouga rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
Kouga : "And after all that, I even had to enter some weird void creature that erased literally everything on a conceptual level just to keep looking for you."
Flashback
Space itself twisted unnaturally.
A gigantic purple mass drifted through the cosmos, its body resembling a swirling nebula surrounded by countless asteroids and planets being pulled into it.
Two glowing white eyes stared endlessly from within the void.
Its mere existence threatened to erase everything.
Matter.
Energy.
Even concepts themselves.
Then suddenly—
A figure burst out from inside the entity at incredible speed.
Kamen Rider Geats Mark IX.
Kouga floated there silently for a moment before glancing back at the cosmic horror behind him.
Kouga : "Nope. Welt's not here."
Then he immediately flew away.
Back to the present
Silence filled the platform for several seconds.
March, Dan Heng, and even Himeko were staring at Kouga with expressions somewhere between disbelief and concern.
Meanwhile, Welt simply adjusted his glasses while smiling faintly.
Kouga opened his mouth to continue his rant.
Kouga : "And—"
Then he stopped.
Only now noticing that Himeko, Dan Heng, and March 7th had been staring at him in complete disbelief this entire time.
The silence was honestly a little awkward.
Kouga glanced between them before turning toward Welt.
Kouga : "So… who are your friends here, Welt? And why does one of them look like Himeko?"
Welt chuckled softly at the question.
Welt : "Everyone, let me introduce you to an old friend from my home world. This is Kouga Hayata. He is one of—if not the strongest person I have ever known. And by most standards… he would probably qualify as a god."
The Astral Express crew froze.
Himeko blinked.
March's jaw slowly dropped.
Even Dan Heng looked genuinely caught off guard for once.
All three of them could only mumble out a stunned—
"Wha…?"
Welt adjusted his glasses before continuing calmly.
Welt : "This is Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express. She's the one responsible for keeping the train—and us—moving forward."
Himeko gave Kouga a polite nod, though she was still clearly trying to process the "god" part.
Welt then gestured toward the pink-haired girl.
Welt : "This is March 7th. We found her drifting through space inside eternal ice, without any memories of her past. Since then, she has become one of the core members of the Astral Express."
March awkwardly waved.
March 7th : "Hi…"
Welt then motioned toward Dan Heng.
Welt : "And this is Dan Heng, the Astral Express's archivist. Calm, reliable, and usually the one keeping everyone else grounded."
Dan Heng nodded slightly toward Kouga.
Dan Heng : "Nice to meet you."
After the introductions, Welt returned to Kouga's earlier question.
Welt : "As for why Himeko resembles someone from our world… she appears to be a counterpart."
Kouga nodded in understanding almost immediately.
Honestly, after everything he had seen while traveling the universe, alternate counterparts were far from the strangest thing anymore.
Without another word, Kouga suddenly pulled a phone-like device from his pocket and tossed it toward Welt.
Welt caught it instinctively.
Kouga : "By the way, you should probably call Tesla. You know how she gets."
The moment he heard that name—
Welt visibly paled.
Welt : "...Thank you, Kouga."
March tilted her head in confusion while Himeko hid a faint smile behind her coffee cup.
Welt quickly turned away before anyone could question him further.
Welt : "Well everyone, I need to make a call. In the meantime, feel free to ask Kouga any questions you want."
And with that, Welt walked off to the side.
Kouga watched him leave for a moment before turning back toward the group.
Then his gaze shifted toward the unconscious Caelus.
Kouga : "Soo... who's your unconscious friend here?"
The group finally snapped out of staring at Kouga.
March carefully adjusted Caelus in her arms before answering.
March : "Oh, this is Caelus, and um… he seems to have amnesia. He doesn't really remember much about himself."
Kouga looked quietly at the gray-haired boy for a moment.
Especially at the faint traces of destructive energy still lingering around him.
Kouga : "I see. We should probably get him proper medical attention first."
March suddenly widened her eyes.
March : "Oh right! I completely forgot about that!"
She immediately tried lifting Caelus over her shoulder—
Only for Kouga to effortlessly pick him up first before she could.
March blinked in surprise.
Kouga adjusted Caelus carefully so he wouldn't fall.
Kouga : "Just tell me where the medical room is. I'll carry him there."