For the past ten days, Kouga had gone about his life as quietly as possible—school in the morning, chores at home, keeping an eye on Kiana. But in between, he experimented.
Sometimes, he tapped into Kamen Rider W's innate ability and slipped into the Gaia Library—that ethereal archive that contained the knowledge of entire worlds. Each visit was like stepping into a boundless hall of books stretching into infinity, the faint green glow of data-words floating in the air.
He had searched keywords: mutant monsters, corruption, pink lines, corrupted energy.
The library responded with a single volume. Its spine gleamed faintly, letters etched in gold: "The Honkai."
Kouga reached for it—but the book refused to open. It was locked. Sealed.
"Well, figures," Kouga muttered under his breath. "Some sort of divine being… no wonder it can seal its secrets even here."
Irritated but undeterred, he tried again, searching for Kiana's father. Another locked book appeared before him.
Kouga clenched his teeth. This is BS.
Still, over those same days, something else gnawed at him. Whenever he walked to or from Chiba Academy, he felt it—that sharp, persistent gaze boring into him. At first, he brushed it off. Maybe he just looked suspicious, or his aura gave people bad vibes. But it hadn't stopped. Day after day, the same weight of someone watching him.
By the tenth day, Kouga had had enough.
Fine. Let's catch this bastard.
After class, he deliberately veered off his usual route, slipping into a narrow alley and then toward the forest outskirts. His enhanced vision—an inheritance from Showa-era Riders—spotted him: a figure lurking in the shadows. Hood up, posture tense. And… missing a left arm.
Kouga frowned. A disabled man? Why would someone like that stalk me?
He didn't linger on the thought. Instead, he led the stalker deeper into the woods, until they reached a clearing. There, Kouga stopped, the faint rustle of leaves telling him his "shadow" hadn't backed off.
In a single breath, Kouga transformed—his body igniting in pale flames as the mantle of Kamen Rider Ghost wrapped around him.
The stalker flinched.
"Come out now," Ghost's voice echoed, carrying an otherworldly edge. "I know you're there."
For a heartbeat, silence. Then the figure bolted, turning to retreat. But Ghost was faster. He flew, phased, and reappeared right in the man's path, blocking the way.
"Enough running," Kouga said coldly, his mask glowing. "Who are you?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he drew two pistols—strange, advanced, both glowing with a molten orange light.
Kouga narrowed his eyes. Wait… he only has one arm. Why would he draw two?
The answer came at once. The pistols clicked together, merging into a single greatsword. The blade flared bright, humming with corruptive power, while the pistols themselves became its crossguard.
The stalker swung down.
But Ghost was already moving. His spectral hand caught the man's wrist mid-swing, locking it tight. With his other hand, Ghost delivered a heavy punch that sent the hooded stalker sprawling, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
The sword clattered to the dirt, splitting back into its twin pistols. Their glow dimmed faintly, but Kouga could feel it—that same energy he'd fought in the forest. The same corruptive divinity.
He detransformed, exhaling as the Rider mantle faded. Carefully, Kouga picked up the pistols, slipping them into his bag. They'd need studying later.
Then, he pulled back the man's hood.
Kouga froze.
The face was unmistakable. The same one he'd seen buried deep in Kiana's memories.
Her father.
"…Siegfried Kaslana."
Kouga frowned as he stared down at the unconscious man. Why is Siegfried Kaslana stalking me?
Only one way to get answers.
With a thought, crimson light engulfed him, shifting his armor into MagiRed. He flexed his fingers, sparks of arcane energy dancing across his palm. If Siegfried wouldn't talk willingly, then Kouga would simply make him.
Hours later, Siegfried stirred awake, groaning. The first thing he noticed was the cold night air biting at his skin—the second was the humiliating fact that he'd been stripped down to nothing but his undergarments, bound tightly against a tree by glowing, vine-like cords of enchanted energy. His clothes lay neatly folded on the ground beside him.
Standing before him, silent and imposing, was MagiRed.
Siegfried blinked, then smirked despite his situation. "Huh. Didn't think you were that type of person."
MagiRed's only reply was a sharp glare. He summoned the MagiStick Sword, the air humming with power as he walked toward the bound man.
In a flash too fast for Siegfried's eyes to follow, Kouga's blade sliced cleanly through the upper trunk of the tree. A wooden shard tumbled down into his palm—shaped like a perfect miniature figurine of Siegfried himself. Without hesitation, Kouga crushed it into splinters before Siegfried's eyes.
"…Okay," Siegfried muttered, sweat beading at his temple. "So you're not one for jokes."
"Just to be clear," Kouga's voice was cold beneath the mask. "I've already cast a spell on you. Whenever you open your mouth, only the truth will come out."
Siegfried's grin faltered. He tested the bindings, felt them constrict tighter in response, and realized the truth of Kouga's words. His usual charm and evasions would do nothing here.
What followed was hours of grinding tension. Siegfried tried silence, but silence earned him a solid punch to the gut that forced him to speak. He tried half-truths, but the magic forced clarity, his mouth betraying him each time. Slowly, inevitably, Kouga pulled pieces of the puzzle together.
Siegfried admitted he had been working with Raiden Ryoma, head of Anti-Entropy, an organization devoted to eradicating the Honkai. He hadn't meant harm—his mission was observation. Kouga was an anomaly, someone who appeared out of nowhere without any history or record.
Kouga listened in silence, his grip on the MagiStick Sword never wavering.
Finally, he stepped closer, visor gleaming in the moonlight. His voice dropped lower, sharper.
"Final question. Why did you leave her all those years ago?"
Siegfried blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
"You heard me," Kouga pressed, unrelenting. "Why did you abandon Kiana Kaslana—forcing her to spend her life searching for you? Why?"
For once, Siegfried had no quick retort. His expression tightened, guilt flashing across his features. He exhaled slowly, and the truth spilled forth, dragged out by Kouga's spell.
He had left intentionally. Staying close to Kiana risked awakening memories she wasn't ready to face—the memories of the Herrscher, an apostle of the Honkai whose destructive power could level nations. By leaving, he hoped to shield her, to keep the Honkai's influence at bay.
Kouga's brows knit behind his visor. So that girl… she's been carrying something even more dangerous than I thought.
Almost without meaning to, another question slipped from his lips.
"What is she to you?"
And the answer that came shocked him more than anything.
Siegfried spoke, his voice low, tinged with regret. The Kiana he knew was not the original but a clone of Siegfried's true daughter, also named Kiana. Yet still undeniably his child in the ways that mattered most.
For a long moment, silence hung heavy in the clearing.
Finally, Kouga exhaled, his armor dissolving in a swirl of energy. He was just Kouga again, staring at the man who had once been a legend and was now just a broken father.
Wordlessly, he untied the vines, then tossed the pistols back toward him.
Siegfried caught one on reflex, pointing it as he staggered to his feet. His hand trembled slightly, though whether from exhaustion or hesitation, Kouga couldn't tell.
"Don't bother," Kouga said calmly, adjusting his jacket. "I can move faster than that bullet. There's nothing to gain from fighting me."
Siegfried's jaw tightened, doubt flickering in his eyes. "…Then tell me—what's your purpose here? And how do you know my daughter?"
Kouga smirked faintly, already turning his back. "I'm just passing through." He paused, glancing over his shoulder, his expression unreadable in the dim light. "As for your daughter… let's just say we're friends."
And with that, he walked away, back toward the city lights.