Far from the ruined city, two figures streaked across the desert sky.
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid — Muteki Gamer soared through the air, holding Kamen Rider Para-DX — Perfect Knock Out Gamer Level 99 by the hand. Their fire-colored bodies left brilliant trails of light behind them as they raced toward the location of the girl who had summoned them.
They had fought Kevin Kaslana and Durandal with overwhelming force, but that had never been their true objective.
They had been sent to save Fu Hua.
And they had failed.
Soon, they spotted a lone figure trudging through the scorching desert sands below.
Kiana Kaslana.
Muteki Gamer descended, bringing Para-DX with him. The two transparent warriors landed a short distance in front of her, their arrival kicking up a cloud of sand.
Kiana stopped.
For a moment, hope flickered in her tired eyes. She hurried toward them, looking past their shoulders as though expecting to see someone else following behind.
Kiana: "Where's Fu Hua?"
The two Riders exchanged a glance.
Then they slowly shook their heads.
Kiana's expression froze.
The hope vanished from her eyes, leaving behind a familiar emptiness.
She lowered her head, her silver hair falling over her face.
Kiana: "I see."
Silence settled over the three of them.
Kiana stood motionless for a few seconds, trying to accept the answer she had already feared. She had sent the two warriors to rescue Fu Hua, believing that their extraordinary strength might be enough to change the outcome.
But even they hadn't arrived in time.
She had lost another person who mattered to her.
Kiana took a shaky breath before raising her head again.
She looked at the two transparent warriors standing before her. Despite everything, she knew they had done their best. They had answered her call without hesitation and rushed into battle against two of the most powerful warriors in the world.
She couldn't blame them for what had happened.
Kiana: "Thanks for your hardworks."
Muteki Gamer tilted his head slightly.
Para-DX stepped closer, and the two warriors opened their arms, seemingly wanting to give Kiana a comforting hug.
For a brief moment, Kiana looked at them.
A faint, sorrowful smile appeared on her face.
Then she reached for the fire-colored crystal hanging around her neck and gently pressed it between her fingers.
The two Riders understood.
Their bodies began to dissolve into glowing fire-colored particles. The particles swirled around Kiana before flowing back into the crystal, their light gradually fading until the desert was quiet once more.
Kiana remained still for a moment, her fingers resting against the necklace.
Then she turned away.
There was no one left to save here.
With heavy steps, she continued her journey across the desert.
Kiana trudged across the scorching sands, far away from the Schicksal base.
Kiana: "Huff… huff…"
Each step demanded more effort than the last. Her legs trembled beneath her, and her breathing grew increasingly ragged. The relentless heat pressed down on her, while the sand shifted beneath her boots and made every movement more exhausting.
Her body was reaching its limit.
But the exhaustion she felt was nothing compared to the emptiness spreading inside her heart.
It began as a small, cold void.
Then it grew.
With every step, it seemed to consume more of her, threatening to swallow her whole until nothing remained but the unbearable weight of everything she had lost.
The faces of those she had encountered flickered through her mind.
Durandal.
Kevin.
Fu Hua.
And the words they had spoken to her.
Durandal: "You're not in control of your power, Herrscher of the Void."
Fu Hua: "Do what must be done. It is your duty."
Kiana: "…"
Kiana lowered her head and continued walking.
She didn't know where she was going. She had no plan, no destination, and no certainty that she would even survive the journey ahead.
But she had to keep moving.
Stopping meant allowing the pain to catch up with her.
And she wasn't sure she could bear that.
The desert stretched endlessly before her, its horizon distorted by the shimmering heat. The wind swept across the dunes, carrying fine grains of sand that stung her exposed skin.
Yet even as her body grew weaker, her thoughts remained trapped in the past.
There was one name she couldn't forget.
One person whose absence seemed to hurt more with every step she took.
She remembered the days when they had stood together, when their lives had been intertwined by circumstances neither of them could have predicted.
She remembered the warmth of familiar smiles, the moments of happiness, and the promises they had made to one another.
Now, she didn't even know where that person was.
Where would she be right now?
Where would she go?
Kiana's lips trembled.
Kiana: "Mei…"
The name escaped her in a barely audible whisper.
She didn't know whether the wetness running down her cheeks came from sweat or tears of longing.
Perhaps it was both.
Kiana closed her eyes as she continued walking, allowing the memories to wash over her.
For some unexplainable reason, she suddenly found herself longing to return to a place she had left far behind.
A place where her life had once seemed simpler.
A place where she had first met Mei.
A place where Kouga had entered her life and changed her fate forever.
The place where their paths had first intertwined, binding their destinies together in ways none of them could have imagined.
Nagazora.