Welcome back to Prophecy of Masks! Last time, the Arc Orphnoch's vile schemes were thwarted, Faiz was restored from his Wolf Orphnoch state, and Spyro was rescued. But as the story ended, Kamen Rider Ghost was revealed to have been watching them, on Hibiki's directions. But... why? Does it have something to do with Spyro going Dark so often? Read on to discover...

(Our story resumes not in a moment of calm, but in the heat of battle, where Spyro and Cynder are facing off against a primarily black and red being with what looks like a flower-petal neck design, and a series of small orbs surrounding a primarily white head)

Perfect Ganmaizer: You thought it would be that easy to defeat me?

Spyro: Says you and every other monster we've fought.

Perfect Ganmaizer: You will soon realize I am nothing like my fellows. (As the Mark of Malefor glows on it's neck petals) The time has come for your demise.

Cynder: Shut up and fight, flower-power!

Perfect Ganmaizer: (Summoning a large spider-looking hammer) As you wish.

(With his weapon prepared, the Perfect Ganmaizer resumes his attack, nearly knocking Spyro's block off, literally, more than a few times. But by the end of it, Cynder knocks the hammer from his hand, disappearing as it flies into the distance. In response, the Perfect Ganmaizer summons a pair of giant swords to take the place of the hammer, and the attack continues. This battle continues until Spyro is thrown to the ground by the Perfect Ganmaizer, discarding it's blades in the process before attacking Cynder with blood red tendrils. Cynder effortlessly dodges the attacks as Spyro gets back into the fight. But even then the battle does not last long, as Spyro is wrapped up by the Perfect Ganmaizer's tendrils while Cynder rushes straight at it, only to get speared through the heart by one of them)

Perfect Ganmaizer: Let this be a lesson to you. You stand no chance against me.

(With the message delivered, the Perfect Ganmaizer drops Cynder, leaving her for dead. And as Spyro sees Cynder lying dead on the ground, dark power boils up within him, and as he turns fully into Dark Spyro, he obliterates the tendrils holding him before almost ripping off the Perfect Ganmaizer's arm before the being flees in a flash of light. As he calms down, Spyro turns to Cynder, throwing her onto his back and flying off without a second thought. Within moments, we arrive at the Temple, a few minutes after Spyro did, as evidenced by him pacing the room, with Woz trying to calm him down)

Woz: Calm yourself, Lord Spyro. Lady Cynder is a survivor beyond anything we have seen. She has survived this sort of injury before at the hands of a Malefic villain.

(Spyro doesn't even respond to Woz's assurances, as he's still pacing the room in his nervous fervor. But just then, the air turns slightly hopeful, as Ignitus enters the room. Spyro is about to ask if Cynder's going to be alright, but then he sees Ignitus' face, distraught, as a tear rolls down it)

Spyro: No... Please no...

Ignitus: I'm sorry...

Spyro: No, she can't be gone! I can't... I WON'T believe it!

Ignitus: There's nothing we can do, young dragon. Cynder has joined the Ancestors...

(As tears start to roll down Spyro's face, Woz collapses to his knees in disbelief.)

Woz: It can't be... Lady Cynder...

(Cut to a few minutes later, and we see the dreaded sight. Cynder is indeed dead, her body lying lifeless on a cold stone slab, a sheet of white cloth covering all but her head. And by her side, even in death, Spyro stands, with Woz not too far away from him, both eyes reddened from their tears. Just as things appear to be at their bleakest, Spyro places a paw besides his beloved's head, and looks directly into her closed eyes as he speaks his next line)

Spyro: On the graves of all I care about, this do I swear. This heinous murder will not go unavenged. (As he starts to tear up again) Cynder, my beloved Cynder, I swear to you on my life that your killer will be hunted down and made to feel every ounce of the pain he has inflicted upon us...

Woz: (Brushing a tear from his face) A beautiful eulogy, Lord Spyro.

Spyro: (As dark energy begins to creep up his scales) This was no eulogy. Every word is truth. Even if I have to rip his heart out myself, this monster will die for what he has done.

Woz: My lord, that thing has to be the most dangerous of the Malefic villains. It has already killed Lady Cynder, I shudder thinking about the prospect that it could kill you as well!

Spyro: (With dark energy growing closer to his heart) Nothing Malefor can throw at us has even come close. This monster is no different. I will not stop until it's head is speared upon my horns!

Woz: (Begrudgingly) Very well, my lord. But I would still advise contacting allies.

Spyro: Prepare the Ridewatches then.

Woz: None of the Kamen Riders we have already allied with are equipped to defeat this monster. but I know of one who is. He is only known as Ghost in my files. But no one has seen him in years.

Spyro: Then we must find him.

Woz: Not necessarily. I happen to know two of his allies are in this realm, on the same mission.

Spyro: Send word to them. The three of us have much to discuss.

(As Spyro leaves, the dark aura that formed around has grown strong enough to leave Woz uneasy around Spyro.)

Woz: Lord Spyro, please do not let anger consume you...

(As Woz leaves the room, you would expect that this is where the tale ends, but we're not even close to being done. As the room lies empty, the torches on the walls go out, one by one. But once one is left, a glowing figure appears near Cynder's corpse, but this is no invader. It is Cynder's own soul, clinging to this mortal world. Upon seeing her own dead body, Cynder starts hyperventilating, unable to get a word out at the sheer realization that she's dead and questioning why her soul is still here. But just as her panic begins, a calming voice echoes across the room)

Ghost: Trust me, this sort of confusion is normal.

(With that, a very familiar figure materializes. Ghost has arrived)

Cynder: Who... who are you?

Ghost: My name is Takeru Tenkuji.

Cynder: Are you supposed to be my guide into the afterlife or something?

Ghost: No. I'm the one who's going to help you come back to life.

Cynder: Wait, you can do that?

Ghost: Not directly. But I know what can.

Cynder: And why should I trust you?

Ghost: Presumably you heard Woz and Spyro talking about my friends.

Cynder: You're Ghost?

Ghost: Yep. And you can trust me since this has happened to me before.

Cynder: You've died and then came back to life?

Ghost: Long story, but yes. Anyways, we've got to get you back quickly. It looks like Hibiki's concerns were justified.

Cynder: (Confused at the mention of Hibiki) What's he got to do with any of this?

Ghost: It's a really long story, I'll explain later. But let's just say you are more important to this realm than even you realized.

(Still confused, but not wanting to stay dead, Cynder relents as she and Ghost leave the room, following Spyro and Woz as our tale ends for today)

Okay, that was a lot to take in all at once. But that's the thing I personally loved with Kamen Rider Ghost as a series. It throws you in right at the deep end, since Takeru dies about 5 minutes into the first episode, and only then does he get his powers. So of course, since we're dealing with Ghost, somebody had to die. And Cynder was sadly always my intended target. More on why as the story progresses. So, who is Spyro about to meet up with? Why was Hibiki having Ghost keep an eye on Spyro? And why is Cynder so important in course of that? Well, those answers will be revealed as the Ghost Arc continues. So be sure to tune in next time to see where this goes! Same time... same channel!