Welcome back to Prophecy of Masks! Last time, Gold Drive was defeated, and the Drive Ridewatch was recovered. But not before Spyro and Cynder's battle caught the eye of a very curious figure, one Takumi Inui, Kamen Rider Faiz. So, what does the slayer of Orphnochs have in store for our favorite pair of dragons? Read on to discover...

(Our story resumes in Warfang, at some kind of restaurant, where Spyro and Cynder have just paid their bill and are walking out the door)

Spyro: That really hit the spot.

Cynder: So glad we took that recommendation from your taiko instructor

Spyro: She was so right. That was the best roast hen I've had in ages!

(Just as Spyro and Cynder are walking out of the restaurant, the familiar fluid gray walls that Decade travels through emerge, and from it Decade emerges, unsurprisingly)

Decade: Spyro, Cynder, we need to talk.

Cynder: Tsukasa? What are you doing here?

Decade: Let's just say you two have attracted attention. One of the Kamen Riders I know is looking for you.

Spyro: Well that's a first. Usually we have to find them. So, who wants to see us?

Decade: (Pulling out a Rider Card) Here's your contact.

(Spyro takes the card, revealing a similar card to the last two, but with the Greek letter Phi tilted at a 45 degree angle in the background and the Rider's head resembling the letter Phi as well, primarily colored silver and black, outlined in red with two huge yellow eyes)

Cynder: (Reading the card) Kamen Rider... How do you even say that?

Decade: Faiz.

Cynder: Faiz. So where are we supposed to meet him?

Decade: Last I heard he was hiding out in a warehouse on the other side of town.

Spyro: "Hiding out"?

Decade: He'll tell you the whole story.

Cynder: Alright, let's see what we can learn from this guy.

(With that, Spyro and Cynder take off, and after a few minutes of flying, they arrive at the warehouse in question, presumably easy to find since it's the only one that's open at the moment. And immediately upon flying in, they find nobody is there)

Spyro: Are we sure Tsukasa's not just leading us on a wild goose chase?

Cynder: Not really, but we don't have many other choices right now I wouldn't think.

Spyro: Good point. He hasn't lead us wrong yet.

(As soon as Spyro says that the door to the warehouse is slammed shut and what looks like three orange lights appear, pointed straight at Spyro and Cynder.)

Cynder: You just had to say it, didn't you?

?: Whoever you are, you better have a good reason for being here.

Spyro: You might not believe this, but we were sent here by a friend.

?: I've heard that one before.

(At this point, a torch in the warehouse is lit, revealing Faiz sitting on a crate nearby the whole scene, as well as partially illuminating the person behind the orange lights, which are revealed to be the barrel of a gun, showing the person is clad in a red shirt and denim jacket with gray pants)

Faiz: Shuji, what the heck are you doing?

Delta: I told you leaving the door open was a bad idea, Takumi.

Faiz: I told you, we were expecting guests.

Delta: And we got intruders instead!

Faiz: (Seeing Spyro and Cynder in the torchlight) Those are the guests we were expecting.

Delta: (Looking to them then back to Faiz) You sure?

Faiz: Has Tsukasa steered us wrong yet?

Delta: Yes.

Faiz: You know what I meant. Now quit pointing your gun at them!

(With that, Delta begrudgingly puts his weapon down as Faiz lights a few more torches to better light up the scene)

Faiz: Much better.

Cynder: (Taking out Decade's card, showing it has activated in Faiz's presence) I take it you're Faiz.

Faiz: Please, my friends call me Takumi.

Spyro: (Pointing out Delta) And who's your friend here?

Faiz: Shuji Mihara. Better known as Kamen Rider Delta.

Cynder: Well, glad to meet you.

Spyro: So, why'd you call us here?

Faiz: It has to do with your little battle in the sky the other day.

Cynder: And what exactly does Gold Drive's defeat have to do with anything?

Faiz: I recognized the energy signature from it.

Spyro: You can just read energy?

Faiz: Not really, save when I know it. Or one similar to it. Either way.

Cynder: Okay, you're confusing everyone in the room Faiz. What's going on here?

Faiz: Let me show you what I've been working on. Maybe then things will make sense.

(With that, Faiz lights the last of the torches in the room, revealing a series of files and photographs of local residents)

Spyro: What the heck is this?

Faiz: A collection of individuals that have gone missing around the city.

Cynder: We've already got a police force looking for missing citizens, and I've never seen any of these people in the case files.

Faiz: They wouldn't be in them.

Spyro: Not reported missing?

Faiz: They're dead. And their corpses were stolen.

Cynder: Stealing corpses? (Realizes something) This may be a bad sign.

Spyro: Necromancy? Hasn't that been banned for thousands of years? Where would you even find information on that?!

Delta: Trust us, we've seen something worse.

Cynder: Meaning?

Faiz: It's our hypothesis that someone is stealing these corpses to create Orphnochs.

Spyro: Orph-whats?

Faiz: Orphnochs. The next stage of our evolution. Yet instead of waiting thousands or millions of years, our adversaries tried to force it. We managed to put a stop to that though. Well, we thought we did.

Delta: (Placing down a new photo, one of the Arc Orphnoch) Until this guy came back.

Faiz: The Arc Orphnoch. The one being that can complete an Orphnoch's evolution.

Cynder: Complete it? What's that supposed to mean?

Faiz: Given the forced nature of Orphnoch evolution, it comes with serious genetic defects, namely complete deterioration after a few years. The Arc Orphnoch is a being that can undo those defects.

Spyro: Wait a second, I recognize that thing!

Cynder: So do I, that's one of the monsters Malefor revived!

Faiz: Malefor?

Spyro: An arch enemy of our own.

Cynder He's revived 19 of your world's worst villains, and this Arc Orphnoch was one of them.

Delta: If he's back, then this world is in for some real trouble.

Faiz: Considering all of us nearly died fighting this thing the first time, that's an understatement.

Spyro: I hate to tell you this, but those Malefor has revived were supercharged in some way. I'm willing to bet he was too.

Faiz: Then we haven't a moment to lose. I don't know what the plan is, but we have to put a stop to it.

Delta: (Grabbing a briefcase marked with the logo for Smart Brain off a nearby crate) Then let's get moving!

Faiz: (Grabbing a second similar briefcase) Agreed.

(And with their gear gathered, the team heads out as our tale ends for today)

Alright, the Faiz Arc is ready to begin. Now you may be wondering, since we already have Faiz and Delta here, if Kaixa will show up as well. Worry not, I have plans for that one. But I won't reveal them now, they'll be involved in the latter parts of this story. So, what is the Arc Orphnoch up to? Tune in next time to find out! Same time... same channel!