The city of Nocturne had not known peace in years. Even after Ignis' fiery battle against Dravok, Feraloids continued to crawl from the shadows, feeding on fear and despair.
Ignis knew the truth.
He could not protect this city alone.
---
The Weight of Fire
Night hung heavy over the rooftops. Ignis—armor cracked, his body weary—stood looking down at the marketplace, where families rebuilt stalls shattered in the last attack. The glow of torches and lanterns painted their tired faces.
Ignis whispered to himself, voice low behind the mask.
"Nyara… Eternal… hurry back. I can't keep this city safe on my own."
But the fire within him would not let him falter. If the shadows could be guarded by a lone cat, then the flames could too. Still, one truth haunted him: Riders always carried their burdens alone. And he knew too well what "alone" could do.
That was when fate brought him to them.
---
The First Spark: Aya, the Survivor
Aya Morimoto was just a girl of nineteen, living with her younger brother in the outer slums of Nocturne. The Feraloids had killed her parents years ago, yet she survived by sheer defiance—scrapping, fighting, clawing to protect her family.
Ignis found her that night in a back alley, cornered by a Hyena Feraloid. She had nothing but a broken pipe, yet her eyes blazed with a defiance that reminded him of himself.
Before the beast could strike, fire split the night. Ignis appeared, shoving the monster back with a searing kick. Aya shielded her brother, staring wide-eyed as the Rider stood before her.
"Go," Ignis ordered, pointing toward the boy. "Run."
But Aya didn't run. She stood.
"If you're going to fight for us… then teach me to fight too."
Ignis studied her—her trembling hands, her fierce eyes, her refusal to yield. He saw the ember waiting to be stoked into fire.
"…Aya," he said slowly. "If you truly mean it, your life will no longer be your own. You'll carry the weight of fire."
She lifted the broken pipe like a sword. "Then I'll burn."
Ignis reached into the flames at his belt. A second Blaze Driver materialized, forged from the same energy that sustained his fire. He placed it in her hands.
Aya hesitated, then fastened it to her waist.
"Blaze Driver—Ignition!"
Crimson fire exploded around her, forging armor sleek and sharp, lined with streaks of orange and black. Her helmet shaped into a fox-like visage, eyes glowing like embers.
Kamen Rider Vulvera.
Aya gasped inside the armor, her body alive with fire. "This power…"
Ignis smirked. "It's yours now. Burn with it."
Together, they struck down the Hyena Feraloid, their flames crossing in a blazing finish. Aya stood victorious, trembling but alive.
The first spark had awakened.
---
The Second Flame: Sera, the Healer
But Ignis knew fire needed balance. Rage without control was wildfire—destructive, consuming. He needed another.
That someone was Sera Ishikawa, a medical student who had stayed behind in Nocturne when others fled. She worked in the underground clinic, tending to wounded civilians even as Feraloids prowled outside. Unlike Aya, her strength was not forged in battle, but in kindness that refused to die.
Ignis approached her after a long night of tending to victims. Her hands were bloodied, her body exhausted, but her spirit unbroken.
"You know what you're doing is dangerous," Ignis told her.
Sera looked up, her face pale but her eyes calm. "If I don't do it, who will?"
That answer silenced him.
Moments later, Feraloids crashed into the clinic—Carrion Vultures, tearing through windows. Ignis fought to push them back, but their sheer numbers overwhelmed him. Before he could be struck from behind, Sera hurled herself forward, shielding a child with nothing but her own body.
Ignis' fire flared, blasting the monsters away. He stared at her, realizing her flame was quiet, but stronger than most.
He handed her a Blaze Driver. "If you want to protect them, take it. But once you ignite this fire, you can never go back."
Sera hesitated only a heartbeat, then strapped it to her waist.
"Blaze Driver—Ignition!"
Golden flames wrapped around her, softer, radiant like a sunrise. Her armor gleamed with white and gold, her helmet shaped with phoenix-like crests.
Kamen Rider Solara.
She gasped, the warmth of the fire filling her veins. Unlike Aya's fierce blaze, hers was controlled, balanced, radiant.
Ignis nodded. "You'll be the light that heals what the fire destroys."
Together, the three Riders fought. Ignis' raw inferno, Vulvera's wild strikes, and Solara's radiant flames drove back the Feraloids. For the first time, Ignis didn't stand alone.
---
The Riders of Fire
When the dust cleared, the civilians gathered outside the ruined clinic. They stared at the three armored warriors who now stood where only one Rider had been before.
"More Riders…" someone whispered.
"Nocturne has three now."
Ignis looked at Aya and Sera, their armor flickering in the dim light. Both women still trembled, their breaths heavy—but their eyes burned with resolve.
"From this night forward," Ignis declared, voice steady, "the shadows are no longer alone. We are the fire that guards Nocturne."
Aya grinned behind her visor. "Let's burn them all."
Sera smiled faintly. "And make sure something's left standing after."
Ignis felt a strange warmth stir within his chest—a feeling he hadn't known in years. Not just fire. Not just duty.
Hope.
And so, the three Riders of fire—Ignis, Vulvera, and Solara—took their stand as Nocturne's defenders, until Nyara and Eternal could return.
But in the shadows, Cobraxis watched with venomous eyes, hissing.
"More Riders… the balance has shattered. Veyra must know of this."
The war for Nocturne had only just begun.