Fuyuki – Matou Residence
A place so foul, so dark, it felt like a sealed corner of hell buried deep beneath the earth.
Matou Zouken — or more accurately, Makiri Zolgen — stood motionless in the rotting basement of the Matou family estate.
An ancient magus from Eastern Europe, he had long abandoned his human body, reducing himself to a mass of writhing black larvae in his pursuit of that wretched dream: eternal life.
He was one of the original founders of the Holy Grail War.
A fossilized monster who had crawled through centuries, determined to watch the world decay in his image.
And yet now…
Zouken stared wide-eyed, as if witnessing a paradox come to life.
Before him, a brilliant pillar of light struck down like lightning in the dead of night.
From a glowing red summoning circle, a lone figure stepped forward.
White and gold armor, glowing crimson joints, and a visor gleaming with dual amethyst lights.
In his right hand — a holy golden sword, sharp, refined, exuding divine authority.
Strapped to his belt, an open Wonder Ride Book, its pages slowly flipping, radiating raw magical energy on the verge of eruption.
[Kamen Rider Solomon.]
Zouken instinctively took a step back.
He had never seen a Heroic Spirit like this before.
No Grail signal. No spirit particle dispersion.
He had not been summoned — he had manifested.
A man-made curse crashing through the rules of this world.
"N-No… Impossible… No summoning ritual?! How can this thing even exist?!"
From within the swarm of crawling insects, Zoth – Kamen Rider Solomon – walked forward in silence.
The mere pressure from his armor caused the bugs underfoot to combust and dissolve.
Behind him, huddled in the corner, was a small fragile figure — Matou Sakura.
Her black hair matted with sweat. Her eyes hollow. Her skin pale and bruised, corroded by tainted mana.
A child, barely a few years old, already drowned in nightmares that no soul should ever endure.
Zoth looked at her.
Said nothing.
Then, turning to face Zouken — his gaze held no rage, no wrath.
Only… indifference.
As if looking at a roach climbing up his boot.
"A child like this… and you threw her into this pit?"
He muttered.
"Tokiomi… as worthless as I remember."
Zoth bent down, gently picking Sakura up as if she were made of glass.
His voice — low, raspy… almost kind.
"Little one, do you want to leave this place?"
Sakura trembled in his cold, armored arms.
And yet… she wasn't afraid.
She looked up — and in the reflection of his golden visor, she saw her own broken face staring back.
"…Big Brother… can you… really take Sakura away from here…?"
Zoth paused.
Then nodded. Slowly. Firmly.
"I said I would.
So I will."
At that moment, he gripped Caladbolg II tighter — the sword trembled in resonance.
One simple swing.
But it tore through the basement like a divine judgment.
A compressed storm of sword energy blasted forward, vaporizing insects into ash.
The air itself was shredded — sucked away by the sheer vacuum left in the wake of the slash.
Zouken screamed, horrified:
"That—That was swordsmanship?! No! Impossible! You're a magus! You shouldn't—!"
Zoth stood unmoving. His eyes behind the visor still calm.
Until he muttered:
"…Wait. Since when do I know how to wield a sword?"
He tilted his head, staring at Caladbolg in his hand. Then looked at his own palm — the armored gauntlet pulsing with heat.
"…I never trained in swordsmanship…
But that strike just now… was like a master knight's."
A breeze passed. His cape fluttered behind him.
Zoth closed his eyes.
And then — he felt it.
Reflexes. Instinct. Combat stances. Kill zones. Predictive motion.
All of it burned into his soul.
As if this body had fought a thousand battles, and only now had he unlocked the key.
"This is… battle data. Directly transmitted through the Wonder Ride Book…
The combat memories… of a Kamen Rider?"
In that moment, a translucent status screen flashed before his eyes — like a Servant's RPG-style stat sheet.
---
[Servant Profile]
True Name: Zoth Vari-El
Title: Kamen Rider Solomon
Class: Ruler
Alignment: Chaotic – Neutral
---
[Parameters]
Strength: B
Endurance: A
Agility: A
Mana: C ~ A++
Luck: D
Noble Phantasm: EX
Note: Mana fluctuates based on resonance with Wonder Ride Books. When fully synchronized, output may exceed standard Servant thresholds.
---
[Class Skills]
Magic Resistance – EX
→ Grants total immunity to nearly all forms of magecraft, including high-tier ritual sorceries.
True Name Revelation – A
→ Identity may be exposed when using signature Noble Phantasms or iconic abilities.
Command of the Divine – A
→ Grants the authority to impose absolute rulings in the event of serious conflict between Servants or Masters.
---
[Personal Skills]
False • Omni Vision – B
→ Short-term precognition through the "Omni Force". Enables counter-attacks, evasions, or strategic dismantling of enemy tactics.
Infinite Swordsmanship – A
→ As the final Sword Saint of the Logos Order, each sword strike is a culmination of thousands of blade styles and martial traditions.
Authority of the Saint King – A
→ Grants access to sacred swords such as Kaenken Rekka, Suiseiken Nagare, and Raimeiken Ikazuchi, all summonable for instant combat deployment.
Invocation of Miraculous Tomes – A
→ Capable of reconstructing any Wonder Ride Book previously inscribed. Each book manifests a magical phenomenon in reality.
Master Manipulator – EX
→ Divine-tier charisma and emotional manipulation. Allows for negotiation, battlefield influence, or even flipping enemies into allies.
---
[Noble Phantasms]
■ Sword of the Golden Saint King – [Gods Sword Crown-Caladbolg]
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Army
Range: 1 ~ 99
Effect:
A divine blade symbolizing the authority of the "Supreme Saint King". When fueled by multiple Wonder Ride Books, it can summon massive armored constructs or unleash reality-rending energy slashes that tear the battlefield asunder.
---
■ False • Tome of Omniscience and Omnipotence – [Omni Force]
Rank: ∅ (Unclassifiable)
Type: ∅
Effect:
A book that does not belong to this world. It contains an aggregate of all knowledge — from reality to myth to void.
Serves as the source of abilities such as foresight, summoning, Wonder Ride Book manipulation, and the control of miraculous phenomena.
Note: The Omni Force cannot be replicated, negated, or subjected to existential limits.
---
Zoth stared at the status window still hovering before him.
Its ghostly light flickered like a Servant interface… but also carried the clean, digital precision of a Rider Driver in full sync.
His eyes narrowed behind the visor.
A sharp inhale echoed from within the helmet.
"What the hell…? Since when did I get this damn cool?! (๏ᆺ๏υ)"
Disbelief melted into something purer — exhilaration.
Then, his gaze lowered.
There she was. Sakura.
Curled in his arms, trembling, caked in dirt, her tattered dress clinging to her frail form.
A child who had only known the dark — now cradled in the light by a god of steel.
His voice dropped — part playful, part simmering rage buried far too long.
"Well then… how about it? Want me to burn this sewer nest to the ground for you?"
Sakura looked up, strands of filthy hair falling to the side.
Her tear-streaked amethyst eyes stared into his, as if silently asking…
"Is this dream real?"
"C-Can you really… do that… big brother?"
A smile formed beneath the mask — no teeth, no grin, just a subtle curve.
The kind of smile that doesn't joke.
The kind of smile that doesn't need to prove anything.
"Of course I can."
Zoth tilted his head slightly, looking over his shoulder.
Behind him, Matou Zouken was clawing at the shadows, voice rasping in desperation:
"W-Wait! We can talk! I can offer you anything — money! Women! Even—!"
Zoth raised a single gloved finger to his mask.
Pressed it across where his lips would be.
"Shhh."
One syllable — soft as silk, sharp as a guillotine.
"Talk too much, and you die."
His voice was cold — not loud, not violent.
Just… final. As if the very air froze around the words.
Then, Zoth lowered his stance. One arm braced Caladbolg. The other held Sakura tightly against his chest.
The killing intent spilling from him felt ancient, distilled — as though born from millennia of repressed slaughter.
"I don't want anything."
"But if I had to choose something… I'd like to blow off some steam."
(Note: Recently got chased halfway to death by Grand Assassin. Someone's gotta die for stress relief. Sorry, Matou. Today's your lucky day.)
With that, Zoth snapped the Omni Force shut.
Red sigils pulsed outward from its cover like ripples of execution.
He tapped twice on his Driver.
The book flipped open again — and the mechanical voice rang out, cold as a death knell:
[Omnimus Loading…]
[Solomon Stlash!!]
Then — silence.
No explosion.
No flash.
No spectacle.
Just a single slash — quiet, horizontal, absolute.
Caladbolg tore through space itself.
And the Matou estate… vanished.
No smoke.
No rubble.
Not even ashes.
As if it had never existed.
Zouken… was dead.
Without so much as a final scream.
Zoth exhaled slowly, sheathing his sword.
His left hand flexed, sensing the aftershocks still pulsing from the closed book.
> "Yikes… I can see how this thing might make a man lose his damn mind."
He shut the Omni Force with a soft click, then calmly removed his Driver.
Golden light flared from the armor — and slowly dissolved into the air.
What remained was a young man:
Short black hair, neatly cut. Eyes a deep crimson-tinged brown — glowing like smoldering coals.
His outfit: a deep crimson ensemble tailored in the style of European nobility. Elegant. Cold.
Like a dream dressed in formality… yet every step he took landed with the weight of undeniable reality.
And in that moment — he wasn't a Servant.
Wasn't a Rider.
He was just… a savior.
A man who had pulled a child out of Hell.
Sakura now sat atop his shoulders, her little hands gently resting against his head as if clutching the last thread of hope.
Her cheek leaned into his hair, her breath trembling — terrified she might wake up.
And for the first time in her life… her violet eyes saw light.
Not sunlight.
But the light…
of a good person.
---
Fuyuki – Higashi Ward, Autumn 1993
The city strolled slowly into dusk, like a lazy jazz tune trailing off into the wind.
Zoth walked down the tiled sidewalk with little Sakura's hand in his. His steps were unhurried — as if time had stopped chasing him, and the world itself had nothing worth rushing toward.
A breeze whispered past, brushing through his neatly cut black hair.
His crimson cloak fluttered softly behind him — flashy enough to earn curious glances, but cool enough that no one dared to approach.
He let out a sigh.
"Ugh… I'm hungry."
One hand pressed to his stomach, muttering as if he'd just realized the greatest crisis of the day. Then, with a wry smile, he borrowed the words of a certain Ahoge King:
"Hunger… is humanity's greatest enemy."
His eyes drifted sideways —
To the little girl still holding his hand, walking with timid steps like a baby bird testing its wings.
"Nee~ Little Sakura. Know any good food spots around here?"
She blinked once. Then her violet eyes lit up —
A spark of life he hadn't seen since he pulled her from that living hell.
"Ah! There's a takoyaki shop nearby! It's super yummy!"
Her voice was clear, innocent — completely and adorably clueless.
Zoth couldn't help but grin.
"Perfect. Lead the way immediately! …But hey, Sakura, do you have any money?"
She froze.
Her excited face drooped like a steamed bun crushed under a book.
Lips quivered into a guilty pout:
"S-Sakura doesn't… but I can go beg—"
Zoth waved a hand dismissively, like he was swatting a mosquito:
"Please. Big bro's got this."
And with that, he darted after her, fast as a bored older brother playing superhero in the neighborhood.
They arrived at a small takoyaki stand that practically radiated warm, fried octopus goodness.
Zoth stopped in front, digging casually into his coat pocket.
"Huehue~ let's see what we've got here…"
The sound of a wallet being drawn — in a manner that may or may not have been legally questionable.
He produced three coins.
"300 yen — dinner is served!"
Sakura's eyes sparkled, wide with wonder, the way a fangirl sees her idol on stage:
"A-Amazing! Big brother, where'd you get money?!"
Zoth smiled with squinting eyes — that universal look of a man who acts like a saint but spends like a rogue:
"Ahhh~, heaven rewards those with a righteous heart~."
(Truth be told, he'd just "liberated" a wallet from a salaryman too busy listening to the evening news to notice. Selective kleptocracy.)
"Oi, boss! Two orders of piping hot takoyaki, if you please!"
"He~y! Coming right up!"
---
That Night – Fuyuki Park
Under the soft yellow glow of the streetlamps, two figures — one tall, one small — sat side by side on a park bench.
The autumn breeze drifted past, carrying the scent of grilled octopus and the damp fragrance of grass and trees.
Zoth leaned back, holding a box of steaming takoyaki, his eyes gazing up at the sparse stars in the night sky — a kind of peace that felt strangely foreign.
Beside him, little Sakura dangled her feet off the bench, puffing softly as she tried to cool each bite. She chewed slowly, like it was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted, eyes closed in quiet contentment.
Zoth glanced at her, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. He reached out and gently ruffled her light purple hair.
"There, there... From now on… no one's ever going to hurt you again."
Sakura looked up at him, cheeks puffed like a little squirrel still munching. But in those violet eyes — once dulled by fear — now shimmered something new.
Like starlight.
Faint. Gentle. Warm.
A breeze passed through again, carrying the soft giggles of a little girl who once lived in silence — now starting to believe that happiness might be real.
And just like that...
Zoth's first night in this world — had no bloodshed, no battle, no scent of death —
Only warm takoyaki, a quiet sky… and the fragile laughter of a child who had just been pulled back from hell.