"ROOOAAARRRR!!!"
A deafening roar exploded from the center of the Ink Tower.
The towering monolith shuddered violently, like a beast struck with terror. Its once-pristine form collapsed in an instant. Beside it, the massive active Originium cluster summoned by Praetoris had already vanished—devoured entirely by the aberrant Sui that had taken root within the tower.
What had once been vaguely humanoid was gone.
Now, a black ocean surged and churned, coalescing into a sphere of inky darkness suspended mid-air, pulsing with stolen Originium energy.
Within that sphere, a powerful heartbeat thudded—slow, deliberate, and deeply unsettling. Everyone below felt their hearts involuntarily sync with it, breath caught in their throats.
"That's a behemoth. A newly born one," Praetoris said with a grin, watching the black orb twist and shift in the sky.
Before anyone could stop her, she vanished from the ground and reappeared directly above it, her right hand morphing into a sharpened claw that stabbed clean into the black sphere.
A low, broken wail echoed through the sky.
Praetoris withdrew her claw. A single droplet of blood-red crystal pulsed in her palm. Her face split into a grotesque smile.
It worked.
As she suspected, by using a replica infused with fragmented memories of the real Sui, she'd successfully reconstituted a lesser version of the beast. Its strength was barely a fraction of the original—hardly even a sliver. But even that was enough.
Cradling the blood-red crystal, Praetoris dissolved into shadow, vanishing toward the horizon while Amiya and the others remained stunned by what hovered above.
The power of Sui was in her hands now. The rest was their problem.
"Praetoris!" Amiya cried out.
"Let her go," Kelsey said, her voice taut with tension. "Our priority is the thing in the sky."
Sweat beaded on her brow as she stared up at the newborn behemoth, its body beginning to crack open from within.
Yes, it was weaker than Sui—but only when compared to that ancient titan, the strongest behemoth to have ever stalked Yan, perhaps even the entirety of Terra.
Even a shadow of that power could lay waste to nations.
"Damn it! She got away again!" Talulah slammed her foot into the ground, splintering it.
"Forget her! What about that thing?!" Chen Huijie barked, pointing skyward.
The black sphere had begun to change shape, limbs slowly unfolding from the orb. A massive dragon head, tinged dark green and black, pushed through the swirling ink.
"What do we do? What can we do?" Nian whimpered, her body shaking as she clung to Ling. "This thing—it's even worse than the version of Sui inside me!"
Suddenly, monsters began crawling from the earth—Inkspawn, relic-forged puppets, woven specters... even an enormous Forgeclad heaved itself up from the black orb's expanding shadow.
"HEY! You thieving melon-head!" Nian shouted. "You can't just copy my creations without asking or paying royalties! That's copyright infringement!"
But her complaint was cut short as the Forgeclad let out a roar and charged directly at her and Ling.
"WAAAH! Sis, save me!!"
With a sigh, Ling swept Nian into her arms and teleported behind Amiya's group.
"ROOOAAARRR!!!"
The orb burst apart in a blinding eruption of black and green light. The dragon's head broke fully through, letting out a thunderous cry that rattled the very bones of the onlookers.
Kelsey stared at the emerging form and spoke softly, as if mourning.
"...In the end, we couldn't stop it."
Talulah clenched her jaw, furious as the beast unfurled its wings. Amiya gripped the dial on her Driver, thinking rapidly. What powers were still at their disposal? Could anything stop it?
Chen Huijie looked down at the small Rider Watch in her hand.
The Sui Watch.
Twice already it had rejected her.
And yet, something clicked in her mind.
What if the failure wasn't in her?
The sphere detonated.
Ink sprayed across the sky like an ocean loosed from a shattered dam. It fell like rain, forming columns of black mist that surged outward across the barren plains. Within moments, it had formed a domain—a corrupt field of power that threatened to consume everything, stretching toward Lungmen.
Everyone inside felt it: a suffocating weight, an oppressive distortion that made even moving feel unnatural.
"No... we can't let it keep spreading!"
"Froslass!"
A blast of glacial frost surged from Amiya's Driver.
"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O! Armor Time! Frozen Soul! Shimo!"
Her new armor shimmered—a snow-white suit with icy blue circuits and frost patterns glowing across her form.
With a burst of speed, she soared above the beast, its crimson eyes locking with hers as the inky domain continued expanding outward.
No... Snow Demon's power alone couldn't stop a domain this large.
You've never used the true power of the Ridewatch.
That voice—Omage—the shadow king of time.
The words echoed in Amiya's memory.
She pulled out the Tickaz Watch. Her eyes locked on the strange socket built into its left side.
"I noticed this long ago... but never had the chance."
"Tickaz!"
"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O! Armor Time! Tickaz! Kazdel!"
With one swift motion, she slammed the Snow Demon Ridewatch into the Tickaz Driver's side socket.
"Final Form Time! Ica Age!"
The armor transformed.
Ancient Sarkaz script frozen over her chest, the name of Snow Demon rippling into form as glaciers rose from her core. Frost-blue pauldrons formed jagged peaks. Cold power radiated from every inch of her body.
"Did Snow Demon... once rule as a Demon King?" Kelsey wondered aloud, watching the evolving armor in awe.
Amiya remembered the attack FrostNova had once used against the Flame Demon: an icebound locking spell.
She gathered a glowing spell in her palm and hurled it into the sky, letting it explode above the spreading domain.
"Shimo Time! Final Attack Time Break!"
"Ica Age!!"
Snow surged outward in a dome of silver and blue. The black mist hissed violently upon contact, burning and freezing at once. The powers of the behemoth and Snow Demon clashed, wrestling for dominance.
Then—boom.
A wall of snow sealed the domain, halting its spread.
Amiya exhaled hard. The sheer exertion of freezing such a massive field took its toll—her legs gave out, body plummeting.
Talulah caught her just in time.
"I'm fine," Amiya gasped. "The black mist is sealed... but we have to finish this now—"
"XIIIIIIII!!!"
Nian broke free from Ling's arms and landed hard, shouting at the sky.
The newborn behemoth froze.
Its massive head dipped slightly.
"XIIII! I know you can hear me, you overgrown melon! Snap out of it or I'm gonna get Shuu to beat your—WHOA!"
A lightning bolt tore the sky and struck the ground where she'd just stood.
"Wok!"
Nian stared at the scorched crater and then glared up, eyes wide. But before she could shout again, Amiya dragged her back into Ling's arms.
"Please, don't provoke her," Amiya said quietly. "Right now... I don't think she can hear you."
Who told you I couldn't hear?
A voice—gentle, distant, and laced with sorrow—echoed in their minds.
"That voice... Sui?!"
Nian's eyes lit up.
"Wait, you still have your own thoughts? Great! Now try taking back control of that dragon body, 'cause things are really going sideways down here—"
No.
"What?"
Nian stared at the behemoth. Its massive crimson eyes were locked on her.
Nian... you see it, don't you? I can't go back. This... this is our fate. It was always coming. I've always been afraid—afraid of this moment, of returning to the chaos, to that old man's side. Afraid of losing myself. That's why I hid in my paintings.
Her voice trembled.
Nian stood silently.
Sui had always been skittish. Among the twelve siblings, she was the most timid. Firecrackers on New Year's Eve used to make her cry.
Nian had always wanted her to face that fear—to stand up to it. But now that she had, it was too late.
And worse—she was changing in a way Nian never wanted to see.
But even hiding wasn't enough. They found me. They made me into this. I can't fight it, Nian. I'm tired... I haven't slept in a thousand years. I just want to rest.
She sounded so tired.
Nian shifted on her feet, unsure what to say.
"...Sui, are you really giving up?" Ling asked quietly.
The dragon's gaze turned to her elder sister.
Ling... I... I'm sorry. I'm not strong like you, or like big brother. I can't go back. I'm sorry, Nian. I'm sorry, Ling.
And with that, Sui's voice disappeared—sinking into darkness.
The behemoth swelled.
Scales rose like tidal waves across its back. The dragon's head twisted into something monstrous. Its body, once greenish-black, turned silver and pale.
It looked down upon the city below and shrieked.
"ROOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!"
The shockwave cracked the ice barrier.
Ling chuckled bitterly. "Strong, huh...?"
Amiya surged skyward again, ice forming beneath her feet. She hit the Driver—cold power focused in her right leg.
She kicked straight at the monster's head.
BOOM!
For a brief moment, time stood still. Fury, regret, and a spark of hope crashed together.
Amiya fell.
A hawk-winged dragon soared beneath her and caught her midair. Its eyes locked on the returning black mist—its teeth clenched.
Talulah remembered something.
The black Snake Watch.
Its inner beast had long been sealed, but the ancient power remained. It might be their only hope.
But could she control it?
Could she survive its corruption?
She hesitated.
Below, Amiya was down. Even with Rider armor, the beast's blow had hit hard.
The behemoth staggered too, its flank half-frozen. Now it was summoning Nian and Shuu's stolen power to recover.
Talulah launched into the sky—only to be intercepted mid-air.
The Forgeclad had been waiting.
CRASH!
She was sent careening into the dirt, gouging a massive trench.
"ROOAAARRR!!!"
The dragon's howl tore the clouds apart, revealing a blazing blue sky.
Its spawn charged.
But Kelsey stood before the Forgeclad.
"Xtreme! Puppeteer!"
The combined memory drives seized control of the monster. It stiffened, then turned and punched the behemoth.
The steel fist launched like a missile—only to be consumed by fire before it landed. Molten metal rained down, dissolving the Forgeclad instantly.
Kelsey readied another drive—but a massive tail dropped from the sky.
BOOM!
"Goliath!!"
The Rider armor met the tail midair. The shockwave sliced deep trenches across the land.
Still—the beast overpowered her.
Amiya was slammed to the ground.
"Amiya!!"
Kelsey blinked in and grabbed her just in time as another crater split the earth—stretching miles toward the northwest.
Everything was falling apart.
Talulah fought to stay upright, surrounded by waves of creatures. Even with Ling and Chen Huijie, they were being overwhelmed.
Where was Fangzhou?
Where was Galatron?!
Where was their salvation?!
Just then, Chen Huijie stepped forward, slicing down a wave of monsters.
She pulled out the Sui Ridewatch.
"Huijie? That thing's useless!" Talulah shouted. "You can't use it—it rejected us!"
"I have an idea."
Huijie took off her Dragon Watch.
"When it failed before, it said Zi-O denied access. That might not be the Rider name... maybe—"
Talulah's eyes widened.
"No! Huijie, that thing contains the behemoth's power. Without protection—it'll destroy your body!"
She clenched the Qie Siya Watch. She should be the one to do it, not Huijie—
"We won't know unless we try."
Huijie looked at the dragon in the sky and slotted the Watch into her Driver.
"Sui!"
The dial flared dark gold and electric blue. She hit the activation button.
The Driver spun. Time reset to zero.
Electricity surged through her body.
She gritted her teeth, endured the pain, and spun the Driver.
A sound like ancient bells rang across the plains.
Far away, on a warship approaching Lungmen, Chongyue turned toward the horizon.
In a northern farming town, Shuu paused mid-experiment and stared southwest.
In the south, a traveling merchant, a magistrate of the One Hundred Kitchens, and a sinner locked away in the palace—all felt it.
Everyone connected to Sui looked in the same direction.
BOOM.
Huijie staggered as lightning danced over her flesh and bones.
"Henshin!!!"
BOOM.
"Sui! Access granted!"
"Rider Time!"
"Kamen Rider... SUI!"
A storm exploded into the heavens.
From the swirling chaos of time, a Rider stepped forth—clad in silver and dark gold. Blood-red lenses gleamed as the figure looked up at the dragon.
Huijie's voice rang out—cold, clear, unyielding.
"By the authority of anti-terror enforcement...
Behemoth.
You are under arrest."