Honkai: Star Rail — Kamen Rider!

The Aeon of Destruction—Nanook—was infamous across the entire galaxy.

Reckless, furious, and ruinous, Nanook embodied Destruction in its rawest form.

Regarded by the Antimatter Legion and the Annihilationists as the god of obliteration, Nanook was the last of the known Aeons to emerge—yet its name had risen to the very top of the "most hated beings in the galaxy" list in record time.

Compared to the Aeon of Abundance, Yaoshi—whose "healing" brought mutation and ruin—Nanook's chaos was far more direct and devastating.

Wherever Nanook and its followers marched, the result was always the same: civilized planets, reduced to dust; advanced species, erased from existence.

"Only a few thousand years to top the cosmic complaint charts? Why not give it a try yourself?"

And now, through the burning golden fire, the phantom of Nanook had appeared—not far from where Sora stood.

It didn't speak. Its gaze held no emotion.

It merely looked at the one who had slain its former general.

Though its figure flickered like it might dissolve at any moment, its presence was unmistakable.

Golden fire flowed from its hands, seeding itself into the very core of the planet.

Fang—Sora's feral Gaia Memory—tapped into primal instinct. The moment the projection appeared, a deep, ancient terror welled up inside.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Sora could feel his own heartbeat crashing in his ears.

His blood screamed. His senses roared. Even his breath grew shallow.

Why is Nanook here?

That was all his mind could manage.

The Aeon's gaze lingered on him—just a few seconds—then turned away.

And in that moment, Sora suddenly understood.

Nanook was... impressed.

It recognized Sora's destruction of the planet and, in its own twisted logic, saw it as a worthy act.

Even the resurrected generals of Destruction were not meant to live again. That, in itself, was an affront to entropy.

And worse—civilization had taken root above. Nanook's most hated thing.

But Nanook's gaze soon withdrew. Not because it disapproved—but because it had seen why Sora destroyed the planet.

He did it for salvation. For others.

Destruction for preservation. Ruin for hope.

Such intentions ran directly counter to Nanook's nature.

Nanook sought to annihilate all civilization—to bring the galaxy back to silence.

And Sora? His path was the opposite.

So, though their actions were similar—their results could not be more different.

The Annihilationists, too, often cloaked their desires in destruction. But that made their ruin impure.

Impure destruction… was no destruction at all.

So Nanook made a decision:

It would destroy everything itself.

The planet. The Rangers. All that remained.

It raised its hand.

The golden flames twisted, spiraling inward, condensing into a brilliant shard of crystallized light.

Without a word, Nanook planted it.

A seed of annihilation—buried in the planetary core.

Then it vanished. Its form dissolved, its essence pouring into the crystal.

And from that seed, the core and all its blood-red tendrils began to crystallize.

Crack... crack... crack...

The spreading amber crystal devoured the core in seconds, glowing brighter with every breath it stole.

A heat began to rise.

"What... is this?"

Sora's throat was dry. Every instinct screamed wrong.

This wasn't just destruction. This was divine-level eradication.

An echo of Fang within him stirred, explaining the mechanism.

It had a name:

Day of Destruction.

And its function?

"To expand seven times in total... swallowing every civilization within thousands of light-years."

It was like a dying star. A supernova.

First it gave life. Then, in death, it devoured everything in its reach.

This was the same.

After seven pulses, it would collapse—dragging all nearby systems into nothingness.

Its one goal: erase all signs of civilization. Return the galaxy to its empty beginning.

Already, the crystal began to shift. Its core shimmered as if a new star was about to be born from inside.

The ground trembled.

"First expansion... incoming."

Fang's warning echoed in Sora's head.

BOOOOOM—!

The first pulse struck.

A low, gut-wrenching hum filled the air. Even Sora's ears went numb.

Waves of energy rippled from the crystal, far too fast for the eye.

From the core outward, the shockwave tore through the planet.

Nearby terrain disintegrated instantly.

Above, the Rangers and their ships felt it. They staggered, shielding themselves from the sudden jolt.

Magnetic fields destabilized. Starships shook violently.

"W-Whoa! What the hell was that?!"

Boothill barely managed to steady himself inside the vessel, grabbing a rail to stay upright.

At the command deck, Bu Yi stared at the readings in disbelief.

The internal energy signature was skyrocketing.

The sensors lit up with warning after warning.

Boothill, confused, glanced at the data. "Is... Zulo coming back or something?"

"No. No, no, no!"

Bu Yi didn't even stop to explain. He slammed a fist on the console and opened the fleetwide comms.

"All Galaxy Rangers—this is an emergency evacuation order! Fall back immediately!"

"Repeat: retreat at maximum speed! We don't have much time!"

Boothill blinked. "Wait, what?! You serious?!"

But Bu Yi didn't turn. He simply stared at the swelling heat signature on his screen.

This wasn't Zulo.

This was something else.

A memory flashed in his mind—one drawn from classified Xianzhou archives.

A single event, witnessed from thousands of light-years away.

An entire star system erased. No trace of civilization left. Not even wreckage.

They'd only known it happened because the culprit was one of their enemies.

Nanook.

"Aw, hell no... this ain't funny, partner," Boothill muttered.

Bu Yi's voice was low.

"This phenomenon is recorded in our archives. It's called the Day of Destruction."

"And the wave it emits... is known as a Doctrinal Flashburst."

Boothill paled. "You gotta be kidding me..."

But he knew it was true.

"I know it sounds impossible," Bu Yi said. "But it's real. This... is Nanook's will."

Boothill hesitated, then looked around.

"...So why ain't you leaving?"

The fleet was already executing evacuation orders—ships disengaging, pulling out.

Bu Yi's ship was prepped, thrusters hot.

But he stood firm.

"Because someone hasn't come back yet."

He pulled up a screen—Sora's life signals.

Aside from an elevated heart rate, everything was stable.

"My ship can endure three Flashbursts. If Sora can escape in that time, he'll make it."

He clenched his fists.

Come on, Sora.

---

Back at the core—

Sora was still alive.

But just barely.

The tunnel he'd come in through was sealed.

The Flashburst had irradiated the entire channel. Not even the Doomsday armor could survive a return trip.

He was trapped.

Heat pressed in. Sweat poured down his neck.

"Hah... Hah..."

His breath was ragged. Skin scorched from radiant energy.

The Day of Destruction pulsed just meters away. The next wave would end him.

So this is it... huh?

Guess I won't get to try that 'galactic delicacy' Ouja was talking about...

Then—movement.

Xtreme leapt from the Driver.

Fang burst forth, reshaping into a spectral Doomsday form.

"What the—?!"

Before he could react, two massive hands grabbed him—shielded him.

And then charged headfirst into the golden firestorm.

[Power Refresh Cooldown: 00:04:38]