The Realm of Balance shifted once again. The environment began to change, shifting into something completely different. Once, there were rolling green hills as far as the eye could see. Now, Cayde found himself standing in the middle of an arena of sorts. There was nobody else around except for Ozma. The arena, however, was teeming with energy. The energy was Balance, no doubt. Within this arena, Cayde would be trained and tested by the Wolf of Balance in order to be prepared for the trials that awaited on Cayde's upcoming journey.

"You want me to fight... you?" Cayde asked, a bit surprised at the sudden change in environment.

"Goodness, no!" Ozma shook his head, "Fighting me in my own realm would be fatal to you. Even the weakest attack I could muster would have the potential to shatter you and turn you to dust. No, I'm going to teach you how to harness your power, and how to use it effectively in all circumstances. You may think that you can use the power of Harmony at will, but you need to fortify your knowledge of the power you possess. There is no room for failure, and if you cannot harness the power of Harmony, your journey will surely meet a tragic end."

Cayde nodded, "I understand... but how can you help me? You're the Wolf of Balance, you channel the power of Balance, not Harmony." He pointed out.

"You're right, I can't channel the power of Harmony, however that doesn't mean I don't know anything about it. After all, Balance is a mixture of Harmony and Chaos in its own unique way." Ozma explained.

Cayde glanced around at the arena-like structure that surrounded him, wondering what Ozma could teach him.

"Shall we begin?" Ozma asked.

Cayde nodded.

"Good, let's begin then. First, I want you to use the power of Harmony to do whatever comes to your mind first. Whatever comes to you instinctively." Ozma requested.

He concentrated for a moment, before holding one of his front paws out and feeling Harmony channel through him. His paw glowed with a faint golden aura, and a few flowers bloomed on the ground in front of the two of them.

"Excellent! You can use the power of Harmony on command in order to bestow positive effects to the environment. It seems we won't have to cover that part very much." Ozma noted.

"Great!" Cayde replied, admittedly feeling proud of himself.

"However, in order to use your power effectively in every situation, you must know how to channel it despite the circumstances, and despite how you feel. You've shown me that you can bestow the power of Harmony upon nature with ease, and instinctively... but if you want to master your power, you'll have to be quicker, more skillful, and expand your horizons far more."

"Expand my horizons? What do you mean?" Cayde asked.

"You can't win a battle against an enemy by blooming flowers in front of them," Ozma gestured to the flowers that Cayde had bloomed, "You can use Harmony in low-stress situations, but can you react accordingly to high-stress situations?"

Ozma lifted a paw, and gestured for Cayde to look to the left. Immediately, Cayde gasped as he saw the reflection of a wolf lunging down from the sky towards him. Ozma seemingly used the power of Balance to create a reflection for Cayde to practice with. However, Ozma wasn't surprised when Cayde was unable to act quick enough to stop the reflection from slamming down onto him.

Luckily, instead of tackling Cayde to the ground, or even hurting him, the reflection shattered and vanished. Cayde opened his eyes and loosened his posture again upon realizing that nothing happened to him.

"It's understandable that, when you think of the power of Harmony, you don't often think of using it to defend yourself and to attack others. This is what I mean by expanding your horizons. I understand, at first you may think that using the power of Harmony to attack others is using that power incorrectly, but think... defending others, defending yourself, saving those you love... those are all heroic acts that can allow the power of Harmony to flow freely, and so if your heart, mind, and soul is fueled with a positive emotion such as courage or determination, you can use the power of Harmony to fight as well." Ozma told him.

"I've done that once before... I remember when I fought the Wolf of Chaos, Harmony was overflowing through my veins. I remember a sword of golden light manifesting itself in my jaws, and I remember it felt so familiar, so natural to use." Cayde recalled.

"Do you remember what caused that sword to appear? Do you remember what you felt?" Ozma asked.

"Vengeful," Cayde admitted, "But not in a selfish sense. I wanted to avenge my Master Alpha and my best friend, I wanted to protect my pack, I wanted to make sure that the Wolf of Chaos never hurt anyone again."

"But what do you think fueled you? What caused Harmony to flow through you so much?"

Cayde looked at the ground, "My pack. My friends, and my family. I wanted to protect them."

"Exactly! So I want you to think of your friends, your family, your pack... think of the memories you've made with them, and think of how far you'd go to protect them." Ozma said.

Cayde closed his eyes, thinking. In his mind, images and visions of past events flashed before his eyes. His pack, cheering for him... Vande, hugging him. Pahanin's voice, Saint's booming laughter. It all began to piece together...

"Let them aid you in your heart, let them awaken your power, let the memories flow through you and open your heart and mind to the Harmony that surges through those very memories..."

Cayde began to glow, his paws began to radiate with a golden aura and the Mark of Harmony on his head did the same.

"Think of how much you cherish those memories, those friends... think of how far you'd go to protect them..." Ozma continued.

Cayde felt the power of Harmony surging through him, and in his jaws, he held the hilt of a sword which manifested itself before them. A sword of pure golden light.

"Now... STRIKE!"

Cayde opened his eyes, and with one swift movement, he swiped the sword, which created a visible slash in the air which lingered as Cayde spun around in the dirt. The reflection that was once again diving towards Cayde had shattered, but this time it was thanks to Cayde and his attack.

The sword faded away after a few moments, and Cayde looked at himself for a moment, still a bit surprised at what had happened.

"Excellent work! You're one step closer to mastering your power. You've learned how to channel Harmony to attack, but you can be far more flexible with your attacks as well. Much like Harmony itself, let your attacks flow naturally and strike with purpose and precision. You can use far more than just a sword! You can use the environment around you as well."

Cayde took a deep breath, nodding in understanding.

"Next, I want you to defend yourself against the reflection that will try to attack you. Not only that, I want you to parry their attack with an attack of your own once you've used the power of Harmony to defend yourself," Ozma ordered, "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Good! The same concept applies to defending yourself. Let offense and defense work in tandem with one another! Let Harmony naturally flow through you, don't spend time thinking of memories or friends this time! Let them become one with your soul, and let it fuel you at all times so you're quick to be able to attack and defend. You shouldn't have to think of them every time you want to fight, it should all come naturally. Okay, get ready, here we go!" Ozma exclaimed.

A reflection of a wolf appeared once again, leaping towards Cayde. Immediately, Cayde growled, and took Ozma's words to heart. He tried to let Harmony flow through him naturally, but was too slow. The reflection collided with Cayde and shattered.

"No worries. Try again!" Ozma commanded, sending another reflection towards Cayde after a few moments.

This time, Cayde tried once more. He stamped a paw down at just the right moment. An orb of golden light surrounded Cayde, causing the reflection to bounce off of it and land on the ground. However, Cayde didn't attack fast enough, and the reflection shattered on its own as time ran out for Cayde to react.

"Almost! Again!" Ozma ordered, and sent another reflection out towards Cayde.

It lunged towards him, and once more, Cayde stamped a paw on the ground. The orb of golden light returned, and the reflection bounced off of it once again.

This time, Cayde made the barrier collapse on itself afterwards, manifesting into the sword of golden light. Clutching the hilt in his jaws once more, Cayde reared his head to the side and let out a mighty yell with the sword in his mouth. He swung the sword, spinning around in a full-circle and skidding to a stop. The reflection had shattered once again, this time thanks to Cayde's counterattack.

"Excellent work! Magnificent!" Ozma exclaimed.

"Thanks." Cayde replied once the sword turned to dust once more, blowing away in the wind.

"Now that you know how to channel Harmony in peaceful and stressful situations, I'd like to put your skills to the test with a trial of my own, if you are willing to try it."

Cayde nodded in agreement, "I'll do it!"

"I thought so. If you wish to succeed in this trial, you will need to channel Harmony naturally in masterful ways. From attacking, to defending, to using your environment to aid you. You'll have to be creative and skillful, so there is no room for mistakes, or you will fail the trial." Ozma began.

"The trial is simple. You will face off against five reflections. These reflections will be more powerful than the ones you practiced with. They will be skilled, and I will guide them to try and defeat you. They will not disappear when they hit you, however. Don't worry, their attacks won't hurt you, but they will stun you. If you are stunned enough, I will end the trial and you will have the chance to retry. Should you succeed, I'll deem you worthy enough to safely embark on your journey. Any questions?" Ozma asked.

Cayde shook his head, "I'm all set."

"Good. In that case... prepare yourself!" Ozma exclaimed, vanishing for a brief moment before reappearing on a small spire in the arena, where he could observe without getting in the way.

Cayde got in a defensive position and waited, remaining alert. Soon, a reflection appeared in front of him, a few feet away. Cayde stood, remaining still and waiting to see what they would do. There was only one reflection, it seemed like Ozma would only be pitting Cayde off against one reflection at a time--

Cayde suddenly rolled out of the way as another reflection tried to dive onto Cayde and attack him. He quickly recovered and got up. He was wrong! It seemed like he'd start by facing two out of the five reflections at once.

Immediately after, the two reflections ran towards Cayde. He narrowed his eyes and backed up, slamming both front paws on the ground and causing the ground around him to shake slightly. It was enough to make the two reflections lose their balance, and Cayde used this to his advantage. The familiar sword of golden light manifested in his jaws, and he darted forward. He moved the sword back so it was close to his side, while the hilt remained in the side of his mouth so he could still grip it tightly. Once he got close enough, he swung the sword, managing to take out one of the reflections with a mighty blow. However, his momentum was broken as his sword cut through the first reflection. By the time he hit the second one, he only damaged it slightly.

He had to react fast! And so, he slammed the sword into the ground, temporarily leaving it so he could fight without it. The reflection, piloted by Ozma's power, tried to grab the sword themselves, but it burned them and made them jump back. The amount of Harmony flowing through the sword was enough to burn someone if Cayde desired it to.

While the reflection reeled back, Cayde ran around them, circling them several times and kicking up dust in the process. The dirt began to loosen, and Cayde eventually slid out of the way. Harmony radiated through his paws, and he moved one of his front paws around in a circular motion, causing the loose dirt to lift into the air, disorienting the reflection and creating a small twister of dust and dirt, with the reflection trapped in the center of it.

Cayde stopped moving his paw, and instead pressed it close to his chest, closing his eyes and trying to command nature with the power of Harmony. Soon, several small rocks that were caught in the twister began to fly towards the reflection, hitting it over and over again until it shattered.

Cayde took a deep breath as the twister faded away. There was no time to rest, however, because the remaining three reflections formed from behind Cayde. They stood side by side, but the one in the middle was much bigger and looked far more fierce. It seemed like Ozma had amplified that particular reflection with a dash of Balance for the reflection to use on their own.

The smaller two wolves attacked first, and Cayde dodged out of the way of their lunges just in time. They immediately tried to go for a second attack, but Cayde let out a mighty bark, creating a small barrier of golden light in front of him. Both wolves slammed into it, and before they could step away, Cayde slammed his paw against the barrier, creating a shockwave that sent the two reflections flying backwards. Immediately, Cayde slammed both front paws down, causing the very ground to shake once more. This time, the ground shifted slightly, as two large boulders that shimmered with a golden aura rose up from the ground. The two reflections slammed into them and shattered. The two boulders cracked and broke afterwards. Now, all that remained was the largest and strongest reflection.

"Haha, I've been waiting for this! Show me what you're made of!" Ozma's voice echoed through the reflection as it spoke to Cayde.

Cayde got into a defensive stance, "After you."

The reflection unleashed a sound that could only be described as a mixture of a roar and a howl. It charged towards Cayde. Each pawprint they left in the dirt left green flames in their wake, as Balance flowed through the reflection.

Cayde barked again, creating the barrier of Harmony in front of him again. He knew that the barrier alone wouldn't be enough to stop the reflection. So Cayde hit the barrier with his paw once more, trying to replicate the shockwave that sent the last reflections flying. It barely affected this one though, and Cayde couldn't move out of the way in time before it headbutted him and Cayde was sent flying backwards. Indeed, it didn't hurt, but it did disorient Cayde for a few moments. Another hit or two like that, and he'd be down for the count.

Cayde looked to the side, seeing the sword he had plunged into the dirt, still lodged in the ground. He wouldn't be able to reach it in time... not without a distraction of some sort.

As the reflection prepared to charge forward again, Cayde held a paw over the ground in front of him. His paw glowed, and the ground began to glow as well. He focused all of his energy into this action, and what sprouted out of the ground was a beautiful tree, blossoming with beautiful green leaves. It was the lone tree that stood in the center of the barren arena.

The reflection snarled, but before it could do anything about the tree, Cayde sent the leaves on the tree flying all around. He lifted a paw up, which still radiated with golden light, and watched as the leaves began to crystallize all around him. The beautiful green leaves turned into magnificent golden leaves, with crystallized golden light on them to make them sharper.

Cayde moved his paw in a forward motion sending a flurry of sharp leaves towards the reflection. In this moment, it used the power of Balance to counter such a move.

The reflection lifted their paw, absorbing most of the leaves and funneling it into an orb of green light that floated in front of their paw. They put their paw down, and blew at the orb. Immediately, it exploded into a funnel of fiery green flames. Cayde darted towards the sword in the ground, reaching it just in time as he slammed a paw onto the ground to surround himself with an orb of Harmonious light. The flames of Balance were powerful, disintegrating the tree into ashes, and slowly causing the orb of golden light to fade. The orb shattered just as the flames subsided, but the last of the flames hit Cayde, once again not harming him, but stunning him and causing him to fall to the ground.

He managed to stand, but his paws were shaking, as the attack was meant to simulate Cayde getting weaker with each attack that hit him, much like a real battle would do.

He picked the sword up, holding the hilt in his jaws once more. It was time for the final stand, for both of them. Both Cayde and the wolf reflection charged towards one another, each flowing with their own respective power.

The reflection blew a fireball of green energy towards Cayde, which would surely collide with Cayde and cause him to be defeated. However, Cayde had other plans.

He slammed the sword back into the ground, leaping into the air while holding the hilt in his jaws. With the help of momentum, he spun himself around the sword while it was lodged in the ground, and at just the right moment, he channeled Harmony through his veins and slammed all four paws on the ground, vaulting himself up into the air and pulling the sword out of the ground in the process.

He leapt over the large ball of green flame, and flipped through the air, letting out a mighty yell as he channeled all the Harmony he could muster through his body. He slammed the sword down, slicing through the reflection and creating a powerful shockwave as he landed on the ground. The reflection shattered and the glass-like pieces of them blew away as a result of the shockwave before they faded away altogether.

Cayde stood there, feeling his strength return to him as the trial came to an end. The sword vanished from his jaws once again and he turned to see Ozma appear before him once more.

"Remarkable! Absolutely remarkable! You not only completed the trial, but you did it on your first try! You showed wonderful use of both offensive and defensive tactics, and even used nature to your advantage! You've done a spectacular job." Ozma complimented.

Cayde smiled, "Thank you, I did my best."

"And you'll only get better with practice. However, as much as I'd like to help you practice, I'm afraid we just don't have that time at our disposal. You've shown to me that you can handle yourself, and now that you've unlocked the key to channeling your power in peaceful and stressful situations, I believe you are ready to embark on your journey."

Cayde dipped his head respectfully.

"There's no time for doubt anymore. The only thing I can do is wish you the very best of luck on the journey ahead, and hope for your return to my realm so we can carry out the plan. Are you ready to go?"

Cayde nodded, "I am."

Ozma nodded back, and the arena surrounding them faded away, as the Realm of Balance returned once more to its usual state, with rolling green hills as far as the eye could see.

Before Ozma sent Cayde on his way, Ozma stepped forward and hugged Cayde gently, "Be careful out there."

Cayde returned the hug, "I will, don't worry."

Ozma pulled away, "Cayde... for everyone's sake... we have to try. We have to try and make things right."

Cayde smiled softly, "And try we will."

Ozma returned the smile, "I will await your safe return."

And with that, a final nod of respect was exchanged between the two wolves, as well as a genuine smile, before Cayde's vision went white and he lost consciousness as his body was sent out of the Realm of Balance and out from the heart of the mountain.

When he awoke again, his eyes fluttered open slowly, and he found himself laying only a few hundred feet up on the mountain. From here, he could see his den, and a few wolves that were awake at such an early hour.

The sun hadn't risen above the mountains yet, but the sky was beginning to light up as a new day began. Cayde had only been asleep for an hour at most after he had lost consciousness, and yet he felt well rested and ready to go.

Cayde slowly stood up, shaking his fur and taking another look at the sky. While he could have gone down the mountain and embarked on his journey right away, he wanted to pay one more visit to the Kimlascan Pack before he embarked on this journey. He wanted to say his goodbyes, and there was something he had to do, something that had been on his mind for quite a few days.

Cayde took a deep breath as he prepared himself to begin the day, and began to make his way down the mountain.

Towards home.

After all...

It could be the last time he ever went home.