Everything in his field of vision blurred and twisted into chaos.
When he opened his eyes again, he had arrived in an entirely new world. Its terrain had been modeled entirely on the Star Dou Great Forest; it could practically be called a miniature Star Dou.
The trees before him towered high, their branches thick with leaves and their trunks immensely stout. It would probably take several adults holding hands to encircle a single giant tree.
An earthy scent drifted through the air, bringing a sense of nature mingled with the fresh air produced by the trees.
At the same time, the fluctuations of Soul Power that occasionally flowed through the air carried a peculiar, heart-clenching sensation. It was a warning of the threat soul beasts posed to humans, engraved into their very bones, showing just how faithfully this terrain had been recreated.
This was also Zhou Yang's first time entering such a faithfully recreated primeval forest. In the world of Douluo III today, cities clustered together and towered into the clouds. Primeval forests were long gone, and even having people value vegetation enough to plant it and preserve the soil and water was already precious and rare.
Beside him, Na'er gazed at the forest before her with a sense of melancholy.
"It's so beautiful. If only it were like this outside, too."
Every time she came in, the scenery was like this, always evoking such nostalgia, always bringing such sorrow.
Now, soul beasts were on the brink of extinction, and were even being kept in captivity. Even Na'er found it unbearably painful. It was no wonder her other self would have a plan like that.
The homeland that belonged to them was already gone.
Noticing that Na'er seemed a little down, Zhou Yang rubbed her head and comforted her. "Don't worry. Someday, I'll change all of this."
Na'er burst into a giggle. Though she found his words a little absurd and childish, a warm current still flowed through her heart when she saw Zhou Yang's confident expression.
"Mm, I believe you can do it, Brother Zhou Yang."
Still, now that they had entered the Spirit Ascension Platform, this was no place to stand around in a daze.
Na'er summoned the Silver Dragon Spear. A point of cold light gleamed on the straight silver spear, its tip like a dragon's fang, glittering coldly and incomparably sharp. It carried an invisible pressure, and faintly, one could even hear what sounded like a silver dragon's roar.
Seeing Na'er summon her Martial Soul and turn an expectant gaze toward him, Zhou Yang stopped concealing his own.
He took the Ziku-Driver out of the fourth-dimensional pocket behind his waist.
[ZIKU-DRIVER]
A crisp mechanical voice rang out. A belt extended from the driver, wound around Zhou Yang's waist, and secured itself firmly in place, fitting snugly against his body.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yang took out a milky-white watch face with his right hand. A Rider's portrait was printed on it, and at his touch, it projected an image of a Rider.
[ZI-O (Zi-O)]
Na'er: ?
Watching the astonishing scene before her, Na'er was unable to quite process it and felt utterly surprised.
He loaded the watch face into the right side of the driver and pressed the activation button. An especially conspicuous giant clock effect appeared behind Zhou Yang, with several smaller clocks attached beside it, their hands ticking away.
Zhou Yang slowly raised his left hand high like a minute hand, holding it before his chest as he performed Zi-O's classic transformation pose.
"Henshin! (Transform!)"
As his left hand dropped, he spun the driver counterclockwise through a full turn, completing the activation.
[RIDER TIME (Rider time)]
The mechanical voice sounded, immediately followed by the clock effect behind him beginning to turn counterclockwise.
Na'er suddenly felt the world spin. Everything became blurred and chaotic, and their surroundings flowed backward with the reversing clock. Fallen leaves that had once been on the branches gradually floated up from the ground and returned to the branches, while the surrounding grasses and plants returned to their positions before the wind had blown through them.
[Kamen Rider-Zi-O]
The announcement resounded through the forest, proclaiming the king's arrival to the world.
Zhou Yang was enveloped in golden light, his figure gradually growing to two meters tall. Watch straps shrouded his entire body as layers of armor covered him. The clock effect behind him reset to twelve, and its hour and minute hands suddenly spread apart to form a 120-degree angle, settling over Zhou Yang's mask like eyebrows.
The last remaining light shot outward, becoming several purple-pink symbols imprinted on Zhou Yang's mask.
Kamen Rider Zi-O had made his entrance.
Looking at the utterly transformed figure before her, Na'er's eyes were full of stars and curiosity.
"Could this be Battle Armor?"
Na'er immediately thought of Battle Armor.
"Nope. This is my true power. It's called Kamen Rider, and the form I'm currently transformed into is called Zi-O."
Through Zhou Yang's explanation, Na'er roughly understood that this was a system called Kamen Rider, rather than an enhancement like Battle Armor.
It was not as though armor-type Martial Souls had never appeared on the Douluo Continent, but this was her first time seeing one as unusual as Zhou Yang's.
Na'er nodded thoughtfully. Faced with such a novel Martial Soul, she was also curious about just what kind of power this Rider armor possessed.
Just as the two continued discussing Martial Souls, a rustling sound came from a nearby thicket.
Na'er and Zhou Yang immediately looked over warily, only for a person to walk out of it.
The instant he saw the newcomer, Zhou Yang froze.
The man before him had fluffy short hair and wore a simple gray-green coat, with a conspicuous gray scarf wrapped around his neck. He also held a book in his hands.
"You're..."
Seeing Zhou Yang, the man showed no malice whatsoever. He broke into a smile and spoke in a clear, hearty voice that echoed through the woods. "Rejoice!"
"The king of time has arrived. He is Kamen Rider Zi-O, who gathers the power of all Riders within himself, transcends time and space, and knows the past and future."
With a snap, he closed the book in his hands and declared, as though delivering the opening of an epic:
"History shall turn to a new chapter at this very moment."
Zhou Yang stared blankly at Woz for a while before finally uttering his name.
"Woz... why are you here?"
Woz smiled back and answered sincerely, "Your Majesty, my Demon King, as your retainer, I merely wish to behold and record the magnificent figure with which you shall leave a bold and colorful mark upon history."
"I will never be your enemy, so please pay me no undue mind."
Hearing Woz's answer that did not address the question, Zhou Yang sighed helplessly. He already understood that this fellow before him was simply a riddler and would not give him a straight answer.
"All right, then. Go do whatever you need to do next."
"Very well."
Woz nodded slightly and withdrew politely, disappearing from their sight.
Na'er watched their exchange in a daze, a huge question mark hanging over her little head. She had originally been wary of the newcomer, but the moment she saw him, she recognized him as the master of the Eastsea Spirit Pagoda.
And now he actually regarded the person beside her as his king?
She knew perfectly well that Woz was someone even a Limit Douluo would not dare provoke. Someone like that was actually willing to bow his head and become a Grand Soul Master's retainer?