Kamen Rider Spirits Chapter 5: Pride of the Hot Sand Part 2

**Pride of the Hot Sand (Part Two)** (熱砂のプライド・後編, *Nessa no Puraido Kōhen*) is the fifth chapter and the conclusion of the Pride of the Hot Sand story arc in the manga Kamen Rider Spirits. It is also the final story of the first tankobon. It introduces readers to Kamen Rider V3.

## Synopsis

Shiro Kazami somehow finds himself in the "Land of the Dead", reunited with his family. Once he awakens, he then is offered a place as a pharaoh by a mechanical Egyptian woman who is holding the rest of the archeological expedition team hostage. With only 30 minutes remaining on his time limit to transform again, can Shiro resist what he deeply desires the most from death?

## Plot

The next chapter opens up with a flashback to the first episode of V3's series, showing the Kazami family being murdered by Scissors Jaguar and then later Shiro pleading to the Double Riders to make him a cyborg like them. Back in the "Land of the Dead", Shiro's sister Yukiko reaches out to him, wanting him to come with her and Shiro's mother and father to the other side so they can be a family again. Shiro cries tears of joy, tempted by the offer, only for a shadow of his Rider form to appear behind him waking him from the dream.

He sees the Anubis woman and asks where he is only to realize he is still in the pyramid. She asks why he has forgotten the face of his queen, referring to him as "Pharaoh". She says that she's waited 3,000 years from him, kissing him affectionately. Shiro realizes her body is cold and hard and upon gazing into her eyes, realizes that she is a machine. Shiro questions why she calls him "pharaoh", only for her to respond that his immortal body is fit to be a pharaoh's as she looked into his mind and saw his memories. She says it is time for the ceremony, showing the archaeologists who had been missing tied up and held captive by her minions. She says that the ceremony is the ceremony of immortality and they will be converted into loyal servants as the archaeologists sink into the sand. Shiro tries to save them, but is restrained and still does not have enough energy to transform as the time limit is now at 30 minutes. Vega arrives and helps rescue the archaeologists despite Shiro at first berating him for not running away and going back home. The android woman summons her handmaidens pursue Vega. She tells Shiro that 3,000 years ago, her pharaoh passed away and she fell in great despair only for a being called "the perfect one" to appear. It proposed that if she became the god Anubis and waited for the time of resurrection, a man with a body fit to be a pharaoh's would come. Those that were unfit would be turned into soldiers.

As Vega and the archaeologists go deeper into the pyramid, they find a chamber full of mummies and the handmadiens cornering them. Vega grins and then sprouts wings, much to the shock of the archaeologists.

The Android woman tells Shiro how lonely she has been waiting for him, actually crying tears like like a human. Shiro pushes her aside, with the android asking why. Shiro asked how many people as she has tempted with the name "Pharaoh" before turning them into monsters. He tells her that in his world, there is no need for kings or soldiers.
She uses her mummy forces to attach a burial mask to Shiro's head, trying forcefully for him to accept the memories of a king and to destroy his human soul by driving it into the underworld.

Shiro once again sees the image of his family with Yukiko pulling him towards the light. Shiro lets go and apologizes to his sister, saying that he cannot go yet, doing his transformation pose as she cries a single tear before fading away with Shiro crying as well. Shiro transforms into V3 and breaks the burial mask using a surge of his transformation energy to break free and destroy the Mummy Makers. A voice calls out saying that it is a pity he couldn't brainwash Shiro as he would've made a good partner for him, revealing Vega to be a monster. He then kills the android and says that the only person who shall be a Pharaoh is him. Vega states that while it may not have been 3,000 years, he is happy to accept the 30,000 soldiers that she has manufactured for him. V3 is shocked realizing that and Vega tells him that the black pyramid is a cyborg conversion factory and the queen is a production program which will activate the soldiers.

The mummies moved towards the archaeologists as they beg V3 to help them, with the black pyramid lifting upwards into the air and floating. Vega offers the V3 to join him, telling him that he will be one of the "chosen people". V3 laments the death of the android, as despite being a program she had feelings of sorrow from being forced to do evil's bidding for 3,000 years, using the dead and hurting their loved ones along the way and all the while shedding her tears of sadness.  V3 refuses the offer and prepares to attack Vega, leaping to do a V3 Kick only for the bird do swiftly dodge it. Vega mocks V3 for being unable to fly and hits him with exploding feather projectiles, then telling him everyone will die if he destroys the black pyramid. The android somehow reactivates and stops her forces from moving, then silently orders 3 of her soldiers to destroy the pyramid's main power core hidden in the eye of a giant Anubis hieroglyph. This destroys the mummies, vaporizing them to dust. Enraged, Vega uses his feathers and destroys the android who begs her "Pharaoh" to run before shutting down for good.

Vega files out as he sees the pyramid crumble and fall back into the desert sand, annoyed he did not get his army but happy that V3 is seemingly trapped and will die in there. His thoughts are interrupted however by a light in the sand; the Hurricane rushing towards him and V3 behind him on the floating ship. V3 jumps off the boat as the Hurricane leaps into the air towards its owner. As the motorcycle begins to descend out of its jump, V3 then rebounds off the Hurricane's rear wheel with his foot which puts his body into a high speed spin. Vega mocks his efforts as he once again dodges the attack but V3 turns then himself around in midair back towards him. Vega panics and tries to outpace him by flying at top speed, but it is no use as V3 executes his fastest attack: The V3 Mach Kick. The attack bisects Vega across his torso and he tells Shiro that he has lost and that he became a cyborg to help his family as far as he can remember so that much about him was true. He says he couldn't go back to them the way he is now, asking Shiro before he dies if he feels the same way. Shiro says that may be the case, but for now, his body is his pride.

## Characters

### Enemies

* Vega
* Scissors Jaguar (flashback)

## Notes

* One minor error is that Vega said V3 cannot fly, when in reality V3 possibly can if he used one of his 26 Secrets: The Gliding Muffler.
* If this story was in continuity, it would take place long after the events of the final episode of V3.
* The final image of Shiro's shadow taking the shape of his V3 Rider form rather than his human form is reminiscent of certain Batman comics, where Bruce Wayne's shadow would be in the silhouette of Batman.