Clashing Emotions & Unexpected Visitor

Cain took a second to think about the method he would use to train Ryder before finally standing up inside the soul realm.

The sound of chains rattling could be heard but both individuals ignored them completely as they focus on what is truly important.

"To start you'll first need to clear your mind. Sit down and meditate until your mind is clear of stray thoughts"

Immediately the boy dropped to the ground getting into a comfortable position before closing his eyes with 3 pups now sitting on his lap.

Unfortunately clearing one's mind is harder then he thought. When he finally relaxed he began to think more. With the thoughts of Elysia being a vampire in his head, the image of her smile overlapped with Kaylee's making his face feel a little hot.

He didn't understand why his heart had suddenly started to feel like butterflies had been running through it one moment but then a sudden bloodlust took over.

At that moment his eyes opened, however he was no longer in that cave. Instead he was in a pitch black space floating there a look of confusion on his face.

"What is going on?"

He looked around trying to find some sort of light or indicator as to where he was.

Finally after a few minutes the darkness slowly started to change. It became more like a heavy mist slowly transitioning into a blood red color before pain shot through him inside his heart.

"W-what is this! What's going on!"

The red mist slowly began to form into the face of a large hungry wolf. This beast began to eat the darkness, with each bite a sudden pain ran through his body before a sense of loss filled that gap.

He didn't understand why this was happening but he knew one thing.

'I can't let this thing continue!'

He tried to attack the mist to no avail. This didn't discourage him though, he quickly went back to slashing at the mist trying everything he could to try and beat the beast with his claws.

"Ha… Agh!? … Ha… w-why… why can't I hit it!?"

The wolf didn't stop its rampage which worried him greatly. However moments later the rest of the darkness soon changed as well.

At first it was blacker then the darkest night, now it had changed into its own mist, this one was pure white in color.

What shocked Ryder wasn't the change the darkness took instead the shape it took!

Before him stood a sword, the image looked similar to the one he carried just much bigger then him, it had matched the size of the wolf as they stand off against each other.

When he looked to both of them he noticed something different, the feeling of bloodlust, survival, and power could be felt from the wolf.

'Is this… the embodiment of my instincts?'

When he looked to the sword he felt nothing but love, compassion, calmness, and kindness. It felt like this sword had taken on all the properties of his human emotions before channeling it into a single blade that gave off an overpowering feeling that shook his soul!

The feeling of wanting to protect battled against the feeling that wanted to slaughter!

The emotions clashed creating shockwaves in the space as both fight for domination.

"So that's it… is this my inner conflict with my instincts…?"

At first he didn't know what to do, he realized he needed both his humanity and his beastial instincts to live. If he tried to kill one then it would just create an imbalance in his mind making him more distracted, at that time he wouldn't be able to clear his mind.

Most techniques in this world revolve around conscious decision. You must activate the technique to use it, if his instincts were to disappear and he had a imbalance then these techniques might cause backlashes upon using them severely weakening him.

"W-what do I do!? I can't hurt the wolf like this… I also can't live with out it!"

He was conflicted, his mind was a battle ground that the sword and wolf danced around clashing every couple moments.

At that moment he felt like he could hear a voice. Something was calling out to him in the remaining darkness.

This confused Ryder, if both his instincts and humanity were at war with each other then what could possibly call out to him?

In the darkness he saw a familiar figure walking towards him. A tall slender female with shining golden hair and piercing blue eyes walked out of the darkness.

Immediately the battle stopped, Ryder stood there stiff shaking uncontrollably at the sight of this individual.

He didn't know what to say, many questions was running through his mind as tears start to fill his eyes.

"M-mom!?"

He was confused, the sight of his mom had forced his mind to halt all thoughts. His instincts were forcibly suppressed while his humanity gave off the feeling of fear and confusion.

"H-how…?"

"I'm sorry Ryder, because of me you are going through so many hardships right now and I can't even be with you… I'm sorry my sweet boy…"

His soul shook once more, he had never blamed his parents for what was happening to him. All he felt was longing to have them back yet the first words his mother says is sorry.

"Stop it! Why are you apologizing!? Why would I ever blame you for what happened!"

His face was filled with mild rage yet all he could feel was longing. He just wanted to run up and hug his mom yet his legs wouldn't move.

"My sweet boy… I'm so happy to see that you are growing up so well… your father would be proud of your achievements so far if he was still here"

She moved closer placing one hand on his head only to be forced into an embrace by Ryder jumping into her arms!

The boys face pressed into her bosom as he cried while holding his mother tight in his arms.

"Shhhhh… it's okay Ryder, mothers here to help you tame these wild emotions…"

She kissed the top of his head as she comforted him before stepping forward towards both the wolf and sword.

'You did well Sword Saint… it is a good thing that he met such a teacher before having to go through this trial'

The women's steps made no noises but the closer she got the more the emotions reacted. One wanting to destroy her while the other cries out in joy and sadness. The sword was a reflection of Ryder's current emotions as he holds onto his mother.

Seconds later she lifted her left hand, her skin looked silky smooth and delicate as a soft glowing light enveloped her hand before launching out chaining up both beings.

"Ryder listen to me, this is very important. For now I have held back those two from killing each other. I don't have much time left but you must prepare!

In 5 years this seal will break, once that happens they will continue their fight. It is your job to figure out how to combine them, if you want to keep your humanity while also keeping your beast like instincts then you must gain complete control over your emotions in these 5 years! Do you understand"

Instead of her gentle smile it was replaced by a serious expression. She must get her point across to Ryder as soon as possible, is wheat her expression seemed to say as Ryder lifted his head looking into his mothers eyes.

"… Ok, I will try my best mom… w-will I ever see you again…?"

"Only if you gain complete control over your emotions will you get the chance to see this version of me unfortunately…

However we don't have the time for this, listen to me Ryder you must get 6 very powerful ingredients if you want to slowly unseal this lock. If you let it get to the point that they break out on their own then it will be a disaster when you try to tame them!

The herb's you'll need are called [Harmony Lotus Blossom], [Tranquil Mind Root], [Calmwind Spirit Herb], [Tranquility Dewdrop], [Tranquil Heartleaf], and lastly [Solace Elixir Droplets] the last one will be the most difficult, you must go to the Sanctus Kingdom and go into the [Veiled Sanctum] that is the only place in the world that holds these droplets"

Hearing her speak felt like a dream to him. Even though he was supposed to be focusing on her words he still enjoyed this moment with her.

Of course he tried his best to remember the important details but everything else was him just admiring her for as long as he can, this made him extremely happy. For the longest time he was struggling to remember his parents faces after so long now he had a crystal clear image of one at least which made him feel more whole once again.

"I will do my best mom…"

"Good, now go back and get stronger! You'll need it if you want to go to the secret realm!"

She gave him a kiss on the forehead before his eyes suddenly shot open back in the cave he was in.

"Huh? What was that… why do I feel… suppressed now?"

'Brat! What are you doing! We are supposed to be training but after a couple seconds you just quit like that? Where did your determination go!'

"Cain? Wait, how long have I been sitting here?"

'What? You just sat down like 5 minutes ago'

Ryder placed his hand over his heart feeling it thump in a steady pace as he recalls everything that happened.

"Looks like I'll be needing a couple items in the near future…"