Ra-Lor let out a weak groan as she shifted underneath the mechanical legs of the hermit, who glared down at Ryu and Filthy Rich. Tiara let out a whimper and tried to escapes the beings grasp, but the hermit tightened his grip and she cried out and pain.
"Release her this moment!" Ryu bellowed before kicking off of the ground and hurling himself towards the hermit, taking aim and swinging at the being's head with all of his might. Yet to Ryu's surprise his fist cracked against the skull beneath the hood, getting a grunt of pain out of Ryu as he landed in front of the hermit.
"I will not release her, Ryu. Not until you listen. Hear. Obey," the hermit informed Ryu, slightly relaxing his grip so that Tiara could begin breathing again. "You have gone dangerously close to following all of the other you's. I cannot allow such a boring outcome to happen again."
"What are you talking about?! Why are you doing this?!" Ryu roared before he lunged forward, but the hermit lifted his hand and fired a blast of shattered magic into Ryu's chest. The warrior was hurled from the back of Ra-Lor and came crashing down onto the stone steps of the temple, where he seethed with pain.
"The why does not matter. All that matters is that you do what I want," the hermit replied with a cold voice devoid of any emotion save for annoyance. "You will give into the Satsui no Hado and then you will face me for the life of this filly. If you do not do as I say, I will kill her here and now."
"What?" Ryu asked as he pushed himself up to his feet, shaking the pain from his mind as the hermit floated off of the back of Ra-Lor and landed before Ryu. The hermit then tossed Diamond Tiara to the side, but before she hit the ground she was captured by a bubble made of the shattered magic that had struck Ryu. He then raised both of his metal arms and glared at Ryu from beneath his hood, waiting for him to make his next move.
"I will not give in," Ryu replied bluntly as he took up his own fighting stance, closing his eyes before exhaling. He felt the power of nothingness beginning to course through his veins, giving him strength. His eyes then snapped open and he threw his arms to the side, a faint aura of white energy forming around him. "I have found a power greater than that of the Satsui no Hado. And I will use it to defeat you."
"You will try. But you have yet to master that power. And even if you did, it would not matter. All that will save the life of that filly is the Dark Hado," the hermit replied in a voice that knew it was right. In the blink of an eye the hermit was upon Ryu, driving his metal fist into the warriors face. Ryu roared with pain as the blow snapped his head to the side and sent him rocketing backwards. The hermit appeared behind Ryu and stuck out an arm, nearly breaking Ryu in half when the warrior slammed back first into the limb.
The hermit then thrust his arm and threw Ryu into the air, before spinning around and driving his other fist into the stomach of Ryu. The blow struck the warrior with such force that he was driven through the stone floor that lay out side the temple, sending shards of rock in every direction.
"Now succumb. If you do not, I will kill her," the hermit stated once more before moving his arm towards Diamond Tiara. The bubble began to shrink around her, causing the filly to whimper in fear.
"NO!" Ryu bellowed as he lunged back to his feet, leaping into the air and driving his foot into the side of the hermits head. Despite his foot striking a metal that was far harder than anything he had hit before, he forced himself to finish the strike. The hermits head slightly snapped to the side from the blow, even though Ryu couldn't feel his left foot anymore. Forcing himself to ignore the limp limb, he bellowed with power as he clasped his hands to his side and channeled all of his power.'
"SHINKU HADOUKEN!" Ryu screamed with power as he unleashed all of his channeled energy into a blast of energy that he aimed right for the hermit. A massive explosion of concentrated energy swallowed the hermit whole and the force of the explosion forced Ryu to cover his eyes for a moment. When he lowered his arms all he could see was dust created from the fireball...that was until a metal fist thrust itself through the dust and drove itself right into his stomach.
Ryu gagged as the blow devastated his abdomen, dropping the warrior straight to the ground. Ryu held a hand to his stomach as he started to cough up blood, feeling the power of nothingness starting to fade as pain overrided his feeling of peace. Ryu then shakily lifted his head towards the hermit, who stared down at him with no signs of injury upon his form.
"Succumb. Now."
"Why...?" Ryu managed to weakly spit out as he slowly began to force himself upwards, barely able to find the strength to stand as his newfound power left him. "Why are you doing this? You said that you brought me here so that I could find the power to destroy the Satsui no Hado!"
"I never said such a thing. I said that I brought you here so that you could find what you sought and be rid of what held you back," the hermit replied with what sounded like scorn in his voice. "What you seek is power and what holds you back is that soul of yours. For if you were to get rid of those useless morals, you would gain power beyond that of Akuma. You would be a god."
"I do not wish to be a god," Ryu replied as he brought his fists up to defend himself, narrowing his eyes at the hermit. "I will carve my own path. I will not give in."
"Then she will die."
The hermit then turned to face Tiara, clenching his fist as he did so. The bubble then began to shrink at an incredible rate, causing the filly to scream with fear as the walls closed in on her. Ryu roared as he thrust a fist forward, only for it to crack against the metal body of the hermit. Ryu followed up with a kick from his right leg, one that caught the hermit in the side of the chest. Ryu snarled as pain as hot as a fire lanced up his leg, causing him to drop to one knee. The hermit then slammed the heel of his foot into the face of Ryu, sending him rocketing backwards once more. He skidded to a stop and collapsed to the ground, struggling just to lift his head.
'She's going to die,' Ryu realized as he glared through the pain at Diamond Tiara, who was crying her eyes out as the walls closed in on her. Ryu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he tried to think of another way to defeat the hermit, but nothing came to him. 'I have to do it. The power of the Dark Hado might be the only thing that can save her.'
"No Ryu." Ryu then opened his eyes and glanced at Ra-Lor, who was staring at him with weak eyes. "Do not give in. If you succumb to the power now, when you need it the most, then it will forever have a hold on you. And even if it does not claim you today...it will claim you eventually. Think about your master. Think about your soul. You have a power in you greater than the Dark Hado...be the warrior that you are destined to be."
Ryu thought about her words, realizing that she was right. If he gave into the Dark Hado then and there, it would forever be his crux, a source of power that he would always rely upon. For if he could not resist it when it's power was the most tempting, he was already lost to it. He realized that he couldn't give in, no matter the cost. And the Tiara screamed once more.
"GGGGGRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!"
An explosion of black and red energy erupted from Ryu, shooting a pillar of darkness into the sky that summoned black clouds to blot out the sun. The earth shook beneath the force of the dark energy and any plant life next to the warrior wilted and died from the sheer presence of the evil energy. Then the explosion stopped as soon as it had began, revealing to both pony and dragon alike what had happened.
In the center of the explosion stood Ryu, whose body was covered in a black and red aura. His skin seemed burned and his clothing had turned from white to a corrupted blue. His hair had changed from black to red and now stood straight up, while his mouth was contracted into a sinister snarl. But when he lifted his head towards the hermit, the others finally saw a chance to look into his eyes. Eyes that were of the bloodiest red. Eyes that no longer held the kindness nor the strength of the warrior they belonged to. Eyes that now only sought destruction.
"Finally," the hermit whispered. Evil Ryu then bellowed with absolute hatred before he lunged towards the hermit, driving his skull into the metal head of the cloaked being. The force of the blow caused the hermit's head to snap back, though his body remained rooted in place. Evil Ryu cocked a fist back and drove it into the face of the hermit, striking with such force that the hermit was forced to take a step back to steady himself.
"This is what I have sought. Finally, we can see something new," the hermit said in a calm voice before he pressed his hand against Evil Ryu's chest. A blast of shattered energy tore into the chest of Evil Ryu, hurling him backwards once more. But this time Evil Ryu flipped in the air and landed on his feet, roaring with bloodlust before he charged back towards the hermit. "And seeing as you obeyed, I suppose that I should free the filly. Her death or life is of little consequence after all."
The bubble that had nearly crushed Tiara to death popped just as Evil Ryu reached the hermit, who turned back towards the warrior just in time to take two feet to the chest. Evil Ryu bellowed as he kicked into the hermit with all of his might, sending the metal being skidding backwards. The hermit slowly raised his head to face Evil Ryu, who resumed his attack upon the being once more. A snicker escaped the hermit before he vanished into thin air, just in time to avoid an axe kick from the demon.
Evil Ryu then threw his head back and bellowed at the sky, causing bolts of black lightning to crash across the dark clouds. He then slowly narrowed his eyes and turned his head towards where Tiara and her father had reunited, the bloodlust building within his crimson gaze.
"R-Ryu? Is that you?" Filthy asked with fear as the warrior with the red aura began to walk towards the both of them, his whole body trembling under the power of each breath. "Come on Ryu, you chased him off. You can stop with whatever that is now."
"He's given in," Tiara whispered with fear as she gazed upon the evil warrior that stalked her and her father. "Faust or Zangief help us, he's given into the Satsui no Hado. He's been consumed. We need to run, dad."
"What are you talking about? It's Ryu," Filthy reminded his daughter with a laugh, but there was no merriment in his voice. Evil Ryu reached the two and glared down at the both of them for a moment, just long enough for Filthy to smile up at him. Then with a bellow of absolute evil, Evil Ryu pulled his arm back and prepared to take off the stallion's head.
"NO RYU!" Tiara screamed as she threw herself forward and grabbed onto the chest of Evil Ryu, stopping him momentarily. "You are better than this! You can't surrender yourself to its power! Remember what your Master Gouken taught you! He taught you another way! He taught you to carve your own destiny!"
For a brief moment Evil Ryu scowled at the filly and brought his arm back even further. But then what seemed to be the faintest trace of recognition flashed in his eyes and for a brief moment his hand shook. "We're your friends! We've gone through so much together! You're my friend! One of the best friends that I've ever had! REMEMBER!"
"It seems he is. How bothersome."
Evil Ryu howled with agony as a blast of shattered magic caught him in the back, the force of the impact hurling Tiara off of Evil Ryu. He roared with fury as the magic began to lift him into the air, seeping into his body and tearing him apart from the inside out. Tiara shook her head and sat up in time to see the hermit using his magic to hold Evil Ryu in the air, who was screaming in pain.
"Leave him alone!" Tiara screamed before she hurled herself towards the hermit, who glanced down at her before extending his other hand and trapping her within a sphere of magic as well.
"So you wish to spare him of his pain? Then you can share the burden." Tiara screamed with pain as she felt her very soul being ripped apart, before she was hurled out of the sphere and sent crashing to the ground next to her father. The hermit then turned his attention back to evil Ryu, firing a second beam of shattered magic into the warrior and causing him to bellow. Then the hermit began to pull apart his hands and at the same time began to rip Evil Ryu in half.
With one last pull Evil Ryu was split, causing the dark hado wielder crashing into the ground to the right of the hermit...while a warrior in a white gi slammed into the ground on the left side of the hermit. Ryu let out a weak groan as he slowly pushed himself back to his feet, his entire body feeling like he had been burned alive.
"What...happened?" he asked as he lifted himself up and turned his head...to find himself staring at a dark reflection of himself. The two's eyes met and for a brief moment there was silence. Then Evil Ryu let out a bellow and lunged towards Ryu, with only the intent to destroy his weaker half blazing in his eyes.
"That is simple, Ryu. I wanted to draw out your dark half. And now that I have, it is time to see which of you is truly the stronger force," the hermit explained as Ryu tried to defend himself from the onslaught of Evil Ryu. "The light. Or the dark."