Death did not feel the way Yoko Minato remembered.
There was no pain. No fading light. No warmth slipping away.
Instead, there was silence—heavy, suffocating silence—and when her eyes opened, it pressed down on her chest like gravity itself.
She was standing.
That realization came first.
The second came immediately after.
A tower.
A massive, black structure rose before her, stretching so high that its peak vanished into a sky that looked wrong—too dark, too still, as if the world itself had stopped breathing. The tower's surface was smooth, without windows or markings, yet it felt alive, watching her.
Yoko's breath caught in her throat.
"So… this is it," she murmured. "The afterlife?"
She took a step back instinctively, then turned, intending to leave—only to stop cold.
At her feet lay two familiar objects.
A Sengoku Driver.
And beside it, resting against a broken slab of stone, a Peach Lockseed.
Her hand trembled as she picked them up.
"They shouldn't be here," she whispered.
These were the tools she had used in her final battle. The tools she had lost when she died. And yet here they were, untouched, waiting for her as if placed deliberately.
Yoko clipped the Sengoku Driver around her waist, her movements slow, reverent. She held the Peach Lockseed for a moment longer, her fingers tightening around it before she attached it securely.
Whatever this place was—it wasn't a dream.
She looked around again and only now noticed something strange.
The land stretched far beyond the tower. Vast. Endless. A plane of dark stone and broken ruins extending to the horizon.
"This place…" Yoko muttered. "It's bigger
than I thought."
Bigger than any battlefield she'd known.
Elsewhere.
Far away.
In a different universe entirely.
Four Riders stood back to back as the air around them rippled with hostile movement.
"Okay," Kamen Rider Nago said, adjusting her stance. "I'm guessing this isn't a coincidence."
Monsters emerged from every direction—twisted, snarling creatures with distorted armor and glowing eyes. They circled the Riders slowly, confident in their numbers.
Kamen Rider Majade raised her weapon, eyes sharp. "Whoever sent us here wanted this fight."
Kamen Rider Jeanne clenched her fists. "Then let's end it fast."
Kamen Rider Sabela smirked beneath her helmet. "Agreed."
They moved as one.
The battle erupted instantly.
Nago's Beat Form struck with precision and speed, her movements fluid as she cut through the first wave. Majade unleashed alchemical energy, transforming the battlefield itself into a weapon. Jeanne's blows were relentless, driven by raw resolve, while Sabela danced through the chaos, her strikes elegant and deadly.
The monsters never stood a chance.
Within minutes, only one remained.
Majade stepped forward, weapon raised.
"Any last words?" she asked coolly.
The monster laughed—a wet, broken sound.
"You… Riders… are already marked," it hissed. "Our master will send a Rider to kill you all."
Nago narrowed her eyes. "Who's your master?"
The monster's grin widened.
"You'll see."
Majade struck.
The monster collapsed, dissolving into nothing.
Silence returned to the battlefield—but it felt wrong. Heavy. Expectant.
Back in the land of the black tower.
Yoko wandered between ruined pillars, her footsteps echoing unnaturally loud. The air felt thick, charged, as though something unseen was coiling around her.
Then—
A voice.
"Yoko Minato."
She froze.
The voice was familiar.
Too familiar.
"…Ryoma," she whispered.
Laughter echoed through the ruins.
"You will fight four Kamen Riders," the voice said smoothly. "And they will kill you."
Yoko's jaw tightened. "That's a lie."
"You've always been predictable," the voice replied. "You'll fight anyway."
The ground beneath her feet vanished.
The world twisted.
Light and darkness folded over each other.
And then—
Yoko crashed onto solid ground.
She rolled once, came up on one knee, and looked up.
Four armored figures stood before her.
Kamen Riders.
For a moment, none of them moved.
Yoko's heart pounded as the voice echoed again in her memory.
You will fight four Kamen Riders.
Her grip tightened around the Peach Lockseed.
"…So that's how it is," she murmured.
Nago stepped forward cautiously. "Hey—are you okay?"
Yoko didn't answer.
She snapped the Lockseed open.
"Henshin."
The Sengoku Driver activated with a familiar chime.
Kamen Rider Marika stood where Yoko had been.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
"Wait—!" Jeanne began.
Marika attacked.
Fighting one Rider was simple.
Fighting four was not.
Nago struck from the front while Sabela flanked her, forcing Marika to stay on the defensive. Majade's ranged attacks denied her space, while Jeanne pressured her relentlessly, never letting up.
Marika moved with experience, parrying blows and countering where she could, landing solid hits on each of them—but it was clear.
She was being overwhelmed.
Their attacks came simultaneously.
Too fast.
Too coordinated.
Her armor rang with impact after impact, sparks flying as she was driven back again and again.
"Stay together!" Nago called.
Marika felt it then.
Not just pressure.
Not just difficulty.
But something else.
"…So this is how it feels," she thought bitterly.
Like being hunted.
Like being cornered.
Like being bullied.
She was knocked to the ground, sliding across the stone.
She pushed herself up slowly—
And saw it.
A Lockseed.
Red.
Glossy.
Unfamiliar.
Her breath caught.
"A… Tomato Lockseed?"
No hesitation.
No questioning.
She grabbed it.
"Henshin."
The lock engaged.
Energy exploded outward as Marika's armor shifted, transforming into something sharper, more aggressive—alive with power she hadn't felt before.
She rose.
And this time—
She smiled.
The tide turned instantly.
Marika moved faster, her strikes heavier, her presence overwhelming. She broke through their formation, landing devastating blows that sent Jeanne and Sabela crashing back.
Majade activated her second form, unleashing her full power—
But even that wasn't enough.
Marika tore through it.
Nago barely had time to react before being struck down, skidding across the ground.
One by one, they fell.
Not killed.
Not destroyed.
Defeated.
The four Riders lay unmoving, their transformations fading.
Marika stood over them for a moment, breathing steady.
She looked at them.
Then turned away.
Without a word, she walked off—leaving them alive.
Confused.
And alive to wonder why.
Far away, unseen—
Something watched.
And smiled.