Absolute silence was all that Ryu heard as he sat in place meditating, eyes closed and hands on his knees as he simply enjoyed...being. He did not feel any rage, he did not feel any joy: he felt nothing at all. All he was doing was enjoying the fact that he was existing, that he was alive.
The he felt two evil presences approach him from behind, causing Ryu to open his eyes before looking over his shoulder. Behind him once more were Ken and Sakura, both of them glowing with the dark powers of the Satsui no Hado. Their eyes told him what they wanted, so with a sigh Ryu rose to his feet and turned around to face them.
"You will join us, brother," Ken spat in a voice that crackled with darkness, before he took up his fighting stance and narrowed his eyes.
"Or you will die," Sakura finished with a cackle as she too brought up her fighting stance.
Ryu said nothing in reply, nor did he feel anything upon seeing both his family and his student corrupted by the power. Instead, he closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, taking in a deep breath before he slowly opened his eyes once more. Ken let out a roar as he hurled himself towards Ryu, fist crackling with fire that burned black. Ryu simply sidestepped the blow before chopping Ken in the neck as he passed by, sending the warrior tumbling across the floor.
Sakura screeched as she lunged forward and swung her leg towards Ryu's head. Ryu caught the leg with his hand, stopping her attack before he used his strength to hurl her across the floor. Both Ken and Sakura snarled, while Ryu's face remained completely unchanged.
"What's the matter, Ryu? Do you feel nothing even seeing your family like this?" Ken snarled with hatred seething in his voice, hatred that burned even brighter when Ryu showed no reaction to his words. With another roar of fury Ken hurled a black fireball towards the wandering warrior. Ryu snapped his right arm upwards and parried the fireball, before he slowly began to walk towards Ken and Sakura.
Sakura screamed as she came flying at Ryu with a tatsu kick, only to roar with pain when Ryu drove a fist into her stomach to knock her out of the air. He then drove a knee into her face to stun her before chopping her in the back of the neck with both of his hands, dropping her to the ground with both of her eyes white. Ryu then turned his gaze towards Ken, whose eyes were blazing with the dark hado.
"Nothing?! You feel nothing?!" Ken bellowed as he lunged towards Ryu, both fists blazing with dark fire as he drove himself towards Ryu. Ryu said nothing in reply as he crouched down and concentrated, focusing his destiny through his veins. His two hands then shot out and grabbed hold of the fists, the white energy that was radiating from him extinguishing the black fire that consumed Ken.
"How?" Evil Ken asked, his face changing from raged to shocked as his dark power was subdued. "How did you do this?"
"Anger, hatred, doubt, the desire to win...all of these emotions are what fuel the Satsui no Hado," Ryu replied in a voice that was as calm and smooth as the sky. "I have sealed away those emotions. I no longer doubt myself. I have accepted my path. All that I am left with now...is my raw, uncontained strength."
Ryu then slammed his forehead into the bridge of Ken's nose, snapping his brother's head back in a spray of blood. Ryu then clasped his hands together and brought them next to his side, channeling a sphere filled with the power of nothingness.
"Shinku...HADOUKEN!" Ryu roared as he fired a blast of raw power into the chest of Ken, who roared with pain as he was sent hurtling backwards. An explosion of colossal power erupted around Ken and when the explosion died down there was nothing left. Ryu then sighed and closed his eyes once more, allowing the power to flow through him before it finally wore out. He then opened his eyes once more to see Zecora, Ra-Lor and Diamond Tiara looking upon him.
"You have done it," Ra-Lor said with both praise and amazement in her voice. "In only a month you have grasped enough of my lessons to obtain the power of destiny. You no longer fight against yourself. You no longer fight against destiny. You know now where you stand on your path. All that is left to do is master this power."
"And then the Dark Hado will finally be no more," Ryu said with a smile as he glanced down at his chest, amazed that he hadn't felt the presences of the Dark Hado in nearly two weeks. "And it is all thanks to your teachings. If not for you, I would still be questioning myself and the path that I walk. I am forever in your debt," Ryu thanked the dragon before bowing to her.
"Do not think that you are out of the woods yet, my dear apprentice. You still have to master this power fully. Now then, go practice. I expect to see you have a better grasp of this power before the next week," Ra-Lor replied with a deep smile before she turned and flew off below the clouds. Ryu bowed until she was gone, before he rose up and nodded to Zecora.
"I am impressed. At this rate you may be the best," she praise him with a nod of her head. "Perhaps I was wrong about your soul. You are even closer to reaching your goal."
"And I have you to thank for pushing me in the right direction," Ryu said with another bow to her. "You helped start me on this path. All I have left to do is finish walking it."
Ryu then turned on his heels and walked off to where he sought to train. But as he reached the exit to the mountain peak, he found Diamond Tiara waiting for him at the entrance. She didn't say anything to him as he passed by, but she did join him in the teleporter that used magic to transport the both of them to the bottom of the mountain. Both Tiara and Ryu were consumed in an azure light that blinded them, but once they could see again they found themselves at the bottom of the mountain.
"Hey Ryu..." Tiara began when Ryu began to walk away from her, causing the warrior to stop and turn to face the filly. "I know that you're busy and all, but...any time you want to start, I'm ready to star my training. Y'know, we did promise each other that we would help one another."
"I am sorry Tiara, but I must train to master this power," Ryu replied with a shake of his head before he faced forward, not seeing how Tiara's face fell at his answer. "I have almost found the power that can defeat the Satsui no Hado, the power that can finally defeat the two demons that have plagued me nearly all my life. I must master it as soon as possible, before the Dark Hado breaks free once more."
"Oh...okay," Tiara replied, but Ryu was already too far away to hear her. He found a small clearing in the trees that was devoid of sound, a place that he found perfect to train. He closed his eyes and channeled the power of nothingness, feeling the power beginning to flow through his body and fuel his muscles. He then let out a sigh as he extended his arms outward, flowing his power through his arms. He then brought his arms back in before extending them downward, feeling the power flow into his legs.
Then he brought his arms close to his chest and angled one hand over his heart, before angling the other hand underneath of his heart. He then tightened his eyes and concentrated, feeling the raw power spiraling into his very heart and soul.
"Hey Ryu."
Ryu's eyes snapped open and the power faded away into the unknown. With a sigh of slight frustration Ryu turned his head to see the smiling face of Filthy Rich, who seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that he interrupted Ryu's training.
"How can I help you?" Ryu asked with as much restraint as he could, smiling as Filthy Rich approached.
"I just wanted to talk to you about something real quick," Filthy said as he sat down next to Ryu, taking in a deep breath and letting out a sigh of contentment. Ryu shook his head slightly before he sat down next to the stallion, slightly miffed.
"See...my daughter has been trying to mirror your moves as of late," Filthy began, but Ryu already knew where the conversation was heading. "She's been pushing herself hard, even going so far as to trying to copy your work out. That didn't work out too well for her."
"What do you want to say to me?" Ryu asked bluntly, wishing that he would get to the point already.
"What I'm trying to say is that...my daughter really looks up to you. She wants to be like you," Filthy muttered. "But that also means that she's pushing herself way to hard for a filly of her age. She's constantly covered in bruises and is exhausted most of the time."
"And that's a bad thing?" Ryu asked with some interest.
"It's a bad thing because she shouldn't be working this hard!" Filthy exploded in a wave of anger, one that caught Ryu completely off guard. Filthy sat in place and seethed for a moment, before he regained control of himself and sighed with some sorrow. "I am sorry to yell Ryu, but all of her life I have been trying to provide for my daughter so that she'd never have to work hard...like I did."
"I take it that there is a story behind this rage?" Ryu asked the stallion, who nodded.
"My father was a brilliant stallion. Not as in genius or anything like that, but more like business and swindling kind of brilliant. He made a lot of money, more than most would ever seen in their entire life. And he enjoyed working, almost too much, " Filthy snarled with bitter resentment. "And he gave none of it to me and my sister. Said that if we wanted anything in life, we would have to work as hard or harder than him. And then he kicked us out into the world."
"For five years we each worked whatever jobs we could find, working unreasonable hours for little pay. Eventually my sister found a decent job and settled down. Me, I wanted to get back at my old stallion. Wanted to make him pay for abandoning us," Filthy said in a tone that unnerved Ryu slightly. "So I clawed my way up, rising higher and higher in the cooperate world while lining my pockets. Even married another rich mare to add to my profit...though to be fair, Spoiled was a lot nicer back when she was young. We were in love by the way," Filthy added before Ryu could judge him.
"So I built my own empire and prepared to buy out my father. To take everything he had ever worked for...and then the bastard went and died on my three weeks before I could," Filthy said with a shake of his head. "Died proud of me, if you can believe it. How little he knew."
"So...did you buy out the company?"
"What was the point? I retired early with my millions, settled down with Spoiled and had Tiara. Ponyville asked me to be a figure of importance and I spend most of my time helping out the town," Filthy finished before sighing and glancing up at Ryu. "At my dads grave I promised that my daughter wouldn't have to live like me and my sister did. And then I found out she loves to work, just like dad. How's that?"
Ryu sat in silence for a long time, not sure what to say to Filthy. After hearing his story, he understood why he was so against his daughter having to work for anything. But Gouken had taught Ryu the value in hard work, how it strengthened a person both physically and mentally. And if those were the values that Tiara sought...he didn't believe he should stop her.
"Filthy...if she wishes to work to make herself strong, then that is the path that she has chosen," Ryu said in a calm voice, one that made Filthy sigh. "All you can do is support her. She has the will of a fighter. She will not give up. You know that."
"I do...maybe it's time I just give up trying to get her to stop. She has the drive of her grandfather and the stubbornness of her mother. She will not be stopped," Filthy admitted with a small laugh before he smiled bitterly. "Guess I won't be able to spoil my little princess for much longer, will I? She doesn't need me any more."
"That's not true. Even though she wishes to work hard and fight for herself, she will always need the guidance of her father," Ryu replied with a calming smile. "Believe me, despite me being powerful and taught to fight since I was a child, I still look to my fathers advice constantly. She will always need you."
"You think? I know I need her," Filthy said before casting a sad glance at Ryu. "And Ryu...about your father-"
A scream of absolute terror echoed across the entire forest, causing both Filthy and Ryu to jump. Filthy glanced around with terror while Ryu was already on his feet, racing towards where the cry had come from. Filthy tried to take off after Ryu, but the muscles of the warrior allowed him to outrace Filthy completely. The two of them reached the entrance of the temple...only to be stopped dead by what they saw.
The body of Ra-Lor lay motionless on the ground before the temple, blood pouring out of wounds that looked like they were caused by shattered glass. On top of the dragon stood a being in a brown cloak, one that poorly hid the mechanical body that shined beneath the cloak. But what drew both father and warrior's eye was the filly that was clutched in the beings grasp, a filly that had tears in her eyes as she weakly struggled.
"Tiara!" Filthy cried as he took a step forward, only for a blast of shattered magic to destroy the area at his hooves.
"Hermit...?" Ryu asked as he recognized the being, who turned his cloaked head to face him.
"Hello, Ryu."