Isaac's arms were burning as he let the axe fall to the ground. Woodcutting was always a part of his daily routine that he absolutely dreaded, but at least he seemed to have enough for the night. Breathing a tired sigh, the skinny youth lowered himself to the ground and lay on his back. His arms felt like they were on the verge of falling off and his chest felt like it had been pierced by a knife, but he allowed himself a small smile anyway; this was his worst chore, and aside from getting tonight's meal from the garden, he was done for the day.

"Maybe I should head down to the pond," he wondered aloud. His blue eyes stared up at the tree branches above him and at the blue sky beyond them. "It's a beautiful day. I could probably get a good nap in." He yawned loudly and scratched at his red hair. "Or… I suppose here is just as good a place as any…"

His tired eyes stayed fixed to the tree canopy. Isaac knew that there were those who would likely consider the way he lived lazy and slothful. He would fully admit that they were not wrong – he was lazy, in the sense that he did very little. Not that there was much to do in the woods that he called home, aside from his daily chores or the occasional bit of hunting and fishing. Personally he liked to consider his life simple, just like the cabin that he lived in.

It was how peaceful the woods could be that made him choose to live there, rather than one of the nearby towns. Even the smallest towns seemed to have too much hustle and bustle for him, and the closest one, Southtown, was a small trading hub that was constantly busy. There were always noisy horse-drawn carts and the market was filled with people constantly shouting about how their wares were the best this side of the capital – he had long since decided such a place was too much for him.

Now that he was thinking about it, he remembered that the month was coming to a close and that he would soon have to take a trip into Southtown to get a few essentials.

In these woods, however, cut off from the rest of civilization, he had to deal with none of that. The most noise that he had to deal with was from the occasional storm that blew through, or the cries of the beasts and birds that also called the forest their home. A peaceful and quiet life was all that he wanted and that was what he had.

Feeling a fresh wave of exhaustion bearing down on him, Isaac yawned and closed his eyes, eager to get in a quick nap.

In another world entirely, Isaac was running for his life. Driving rain was coming down around him and thunder was roaring up above. His boots slapped against the sidewalk as he desperately tried to evade his pursuers, but already he could hear the sounds of their approaching cars. Still he kept running, clutching the briefcase in his arms ever tighter against his chest.

He had never expected things to go this wrong, or to discover something so heinous. He had been part of a small animal rights group that was investigating the rumored shady practices of the new American branch of Yggdrasil, a Japanese company that was starting to expand across the globe. They had busted into the branch's main labs, expecting to find some sort of information about corrupt practices or what those Inves creatures that had become so popular were.

As far as he knew, he was the only one of his group to get out of that building alive. The sounds were still fresh in his ears: the screams of his friends, the chirps of those monsters – the sounds of gunfire that drowned everything else out.

"I have to get out of here!" he panted as he dove down a side street, hoping it might throw off his pursuers. "If I can just let someone know what they're planning – those sick bastards!"

He heard a car pass behind him then slam on its breaks. Car doors opened and people started to shout to each other. Isaac swore and doubled his pace, looking every which way for some way out of this situation.

All he saw was the entrance to an alleyway off to the side. It was either a dead-end or it lead to another street that he'd keep running down – either way, he could hear the men chasing him getting closer, and it was by virtue of how heavily the rain was coming down that they did not immediately spot him.

It was a split-second decision that made him turn into the alleyway, trying to make as little noise as possible as he ran past trashcans and refuse. Then he saw the looming brick wall ahead of him and realized his mistake. "Dammit!" he shouted, not caring if the Yggdrasil goons heard him. They would find and search the alley anyway, and that would be it. The company had its claws in the media, and they would probably spin his death as another incidence of the gang violence that plagued the West Coast.

Unless…

Remembering the briefcase that was still pressed into his chest, remembering what was inside of that briefcase, remembering the news reports of those Armored Riders in Japan – Isaac had an idea. A stupid, desperate idea that would probably get him into even more trouble with Yggdrasil, but they were already trying to kill him. He had nothing else to lose at this point.

He undid the clasps holding the case shut and threw open the lid. He stared at its contents and his hand trembled as he reached in and touched them. This was it. No turning back now. He would do it. With this he could get out of this and expose Yggdrasil for who they were-

"Open fire!"

The first round hit him between his shoulder blades. He did not have time to scream as more bullets tore into his body. He was not even sure where he had been hit – he was too shocked and numbed by what was happening. Slowly Isaac started to fall forward, scattering the contents of the case as he hit the ground. Yet his fingertips could still feel the cold metal of the belt. It was so close; he had been so close.

He felt the cold spreading through his body and knew it was over. Isaac did not fight it. He closed his eyes, oblivious to the approaching soldiers and to their sudden stop. He was unaware of the crack in reality that had opened up above him and of the green tendrils that were pouring out of it. He did not even realize that they wrapped around him and pulled him through, along with the belt and the rest of the case's contents.

Isaac woke up with a start. There had been a loud boom, like a clap of thunder, but that could not have been what woke him up. The sky was cloudy but not overcast, and there was not a single gray cloud in the sky. And there was something in the air, a strange tension that seemed suffocating to him. Slowly he rose to his feet, heart pounding and mind racing as he tried to figure out if he should make a break for his cabin or not.

Then he heard it – the silence. He had not noticed it when he first awoke, but now that he was listening, he realized he could not hear anything. No chirping birds, no rustling plants, no cries of the local wildlife. It was something he had heard before, just before a massive storm that had devastated the woods and the surrounding countryside, when the animals had left the area to escape the coming tempest.

A chill ran down his spine as he realized something bad was about to happen. Or that it was happening right now and he could be in the middle of it. Slowly Isaac began to walk towards the door to his cabin, eyes casting wary glances all about him as he made his way to his hopefully safe home.

It was quiet, but as Isaac was reaching for the front door of his home, he realized that there was one sound present in the forest. It was breathing, soft and uneven, and it was coming from somewhere nearby. No, he realized, not nearby. Here.

It was coming from around the back of his home.

Was it worth checking it out? Should he just ignore it and head into his cabin, bar the door, and pray to Naga that whatever it was he would be safe from it?

Then he heard the pained moan.

"Oh gods…" Isaac gasped. He ran back for his axe and grabbed it, just in case he was wrong and he was still in danger. Then he slowly started to head to the rear of his house, keeping close to the wall. He had the axe ready to swing and was gripping its wooden handle so tightly he was afraid it may break. Inch by inch he edged towards the corner. When he finally made it, he slowly peered his head around it, ready to jump back if something attacked.

Instead he dropped his axe in shock and disgust. There, lying in the middle of his garden, was a man – a man close to death, if the amount of blood seeping from his wounds was any indicator. He felt a touch of panic at seeing someone so far into the forest and so near his home, but he forced it aside; now was not the time for anxiety.

He rushed over to the man's side, eyes widening as he saw the severity of the man's wounds. The man was lying face-down, letting Isaac see the numerous small holes that riddled his back. They seemed to be all over his body and Isaac was at a loss at what to do. He was no stranger to getting hurt and had even managed to patch himself up at times, but something of this severity? He doubted that even the healer at Southtown would be able to fix such dire injuries.

"Gods no," Isaac muttered as the realization hit him. "I… I'm so sorry. I wish I could help you, but…"

All of a sudden the man made Isaac jump in surprise when he took a sharp breath. "The case…" the man croaked out. "Where's the case?"

Knowing that the man's words were likely his last, Isaac looked around for this case he was talking about. Sure enough there was a small briefcase made of metal lying on the ground. Its lid was already opened but it only took a moment for Isaac to see that its contents were nearby. He quickly gathered them up and went back to the man, pressing the case into his hand. "It's here. Please, just try and stay calm."

Slowly the man shook his head. "No… Yggdrasil's still-" He suddenly coughed, blood spattering onto the ground. A pierced lung and who-knows what else. He did not have long. "They're after it… After me… Trying to kill… innocent people."

The man placed his hand onto Isaac's arm, his grip surprisingly strong considering his condition. With a great deal of effort he began to roll over onto his back; Isaac quickly moved to help him, and soon they were looking at each other face-to-face. There was clear surprise on the man's face as he looked around.

"A forest? Where's… the city?"

"There's not a city for miles. And there's no one else here but me. Whoever they are, you don't have to worry about these Yggdrasil people; they aren't here."

The man sighed. "Well… that's nice to know." His breathing started to pick up and his eyes started to flutter; Isaac feared his death was coming, but the man's eyes locked onto his face. "Keep the belt safe," he rasped. "Use it if you have to. Just… keep this world… safe…"

Finally the man's eyes began to close as his wounds caught up with him. "Please," he whispered. He took one last breath and went still.

"I'm so sorry," Isaac whispered. He lowered his head and offered up a prayer to Naga; a prayer asking for the man to have a peaceful respite in the afterlife. He had no idea who the man was or what he may have done, but it was a small and simple courtesy. He felt a few tears starting to well up in his eyes and brought his forearm to wipe them away.

Too late did he realize the man's hand had left a bloody print on his arm and it smeared across Isaac's face. He retched as he felt the warm liquid clinging to his face. Isaac was no stranger to blood – he hunted for food and had discovered animal corpses in various states of decay throughout his time in the forest – but this was another human's, not an animal's.

He swallowed the rising bile in his throat and used the hem of his shirt to wipe off his face, then sat there. He had no idea what to do at this point. He should bury the corpse, but where? Did the man have family? Friends? A wife and children? Where was he even from? Who were these Yggdrasil men that were after him? Why did he think he was in a city? What was so important about that case that he wanted to make sure he had it before he died?

Well. That was one thing that could be answered.

The case was still on the ground but now had a red smear across its shiny metal surface. Aside from an emblem of a tree emblazoned on it with the word Yggdrasil written beneath it, it was entirely unremarkable aside from the material it was made of.

What held Isaac's attention were the objects lying next to the case. There were a few pieces of paper that were scattered about that he started with. They were covered in strange writing and had strange diagrams on them; nothing that Isaac could make any sense of, so he stacked them together and put them back into the case.

The next object he picked up was even more confusing to Isaac. It looked like the sort of padlock that one would use to lock their door but there was no keyhole to be seen. There was a button on the side that he supposed might unlock it, but having that would make it useless as a measure of security, as anyone would be able to unlock it. Seeing the front of it, he decided that it must have been some sort of decoration. It depicted a purple fruit – a plum, if he was not wrong – and had black writing on it: L.S.-31.

Had this man really lost his life over a novelty? Or maybe this lock had more significance that belied its appearance.

But there was still one more thing that he had to examine, and this was the oddest of all. At first glance it reminded him of a plaque that someone may hang on their wall, but the large yellow knife that hung off the left side of the object made him reconsider that idea. It was black and made of metal, with some bits of silver here-and-there. In the center of the object was an eight-sided indentation and the left side was completely featureless.

He turned it over in his hands, trying to discern whatever purpose such an oddity could have, when the man's words came back to him. "This is a belt?" he wondered aloud. He searched for the strap it would connect to but found nothing. "How am I supposed to use this when I can't even wear it? It's just a belt, isn't it?"

He shook his head in frustration and put everything back into the case before shoving it off to the side. He would figure out what to do with it later. For now he turned his attention to the body that was lying in front of him and sighed. "I suppose I should bury you now. I had to run to Southtown soon anyway; I'll get a priest from the local chapel to give you proper funeral rites, and maybe see if we can't find your family." He paused as he tried to collect his thoughts.

"I don't know who you were or why you were in my garden or what happened to you. All I know is that I'm sorry this happened to you, and that… that I couldn't do anything to help you." He paused. "Gods I'm terrible at this mourning business. I never know what to say, and now I'm just babbling. I just… I'm so frustrated and upset and sad about what's happened, and so confused about why it may have happened. I never know how to feel in these situations.

"And I don't know if or even how I can honor your last wish, but…" Isaac stopped and put a hand against his temple. "Gods, I have no idea what I'm even saying at this point. I'm just… I'm just going to bury you and figure the rest of this out as I go. That's really all I can promise." As he stood to go and grab a shovel, Isaac quietly added, "I wonder if I have any hard ale somewhere. I may need it after all of this."

It would be twilight by the time Isaac managed to bury the man and construct a small grave marker. The rest of his day was spent inside of his home, trying to make some sense of what had happened and what role that man expected him to play. He thought about it well into the night, until sleep finally claimed him by the fireplace.

This is an idea that I've had for some time now, since around the time that Kamen Rider Gaim came to an end. I'm not sure how well this story will be received, mainly because of one of its main premises: even though the Rider in this story is based off of the Riders from Gaim, he is not any of the existing Riders from Kamen Rider Gaim. I'll also warn that this story will dip into AU territory for both Gaim and Awakening. I'm following the Sailor Earth and For Want of a Nail tropes here and I have no idea how well that will be received, but why not try to make something interesting? So hopefully this prologue will serve to entertain, as will the rest of this story.