"You came all this way with an army of wolves under the guise of doing the "right thing", Wolf of Harmony. But ask yourself, is it truly the right thing? Or are you lying to them to do your dirty work?" Uldrich asked with a smirk.

"We all came on our own accord. We didn't force anyone, we all came together. Willingly. I'm not making the mistake of deciding the choices of others anymore." Cayde responded.

"How noble," The Wolf of Chaos taunted, "Leading them to certain doom. When they see you dead, they will scatter. They'll be divided again, only this time I won't let them escape. I showed them mercy once, letting your pack escape before. I wanted survivors to go and tell the story of what happened to their precious home. I wanted them to FEAR me! But all of you came crawling back, and you will be shown no mercy."

"Why are you doing this? What does this achieve? Taking innocent lives, destroying precious homes, wiping hope from the face of the earth... why do you do it?" Cayde asked.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand. You and your pack have lived in peace for so long, you forgot what fear felt like. So I reacquainted you. I killed your friends, ravaged your home, and even killed your leader. Don't you understand anything other than happiness? Life is not infinite. Life is an endless cycle of pain, the only escape is when our lives come to an end. The mere definition of existence is the struggle to exist." Uldrich smirked.

"That's not right, all life should have the chance to live. Our lives aren't just measured by what we do in our own lives, but also the impact we leave on the lives of others! Look around you, look at this world, look at all the good things that come from this world! Aren't you grateful for that? For a chance to live?" Cayde asked.

"I am grateful, but not everyone deserves this chance. The weak die, the strong live. The world is better off devoid of life, that way there is NO suffering, no pain, no Harmony OR Chaos! But it isn't that easy. It's impossible for me alone to make this world devoid of life... but killing you might just set me on a path to making that dream a reality."

"There's more to life than suffering! There's happiness too, and love, and hope-"

"And what good is hope? Hope gets you killed all the same. Just because you think you're doing the right thing doesn't mean you won't be lead to the same pitiful demise. Grow up, look around you, and realize that in your heart, there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"So that's it then. You do all these things because you want the weak to die, the strong to live, and life to be nothing more than a struggle for survival. That, or no life at all." Cayde growled.

"Well, there is one more thing too..."

Cayde narrowed his eyes as he waited for Uldrich to finish.

"I find satisfaction in making the world suffer." Uldrich laughed softly.

"You're delusional." Cayde snarled.

"You're clueless."

Knowing that there was no changing his ways, Cayde darted forward, lunging towards Uldrich. He merely phased through the Wolf of Chaos as the form of Uldrich vanished into smoke, reappearing moments later from a cloud of smoke as his true physical form again. Uldrich kicked Cayde with a back paw and sent the Wolf of Harmony flying to the side, slamming into the wall of the den.

Shaking his head a bit, Cayde stood up to quickly recover, before closing the gap between him and Uldrich again.

"Show me what you're made of, Cayde. Show me that you really have what it takes to channel Harmony. Let me see you use all your power, let me kill you at your strongest... let me prove to the world that you are WEAK."

Cayde charged forward again, and Uldrich began to radiate with a purple aura, charging right back at Cayde. When they collided, a powerful shockwave was released from the force of their collision, but Cayde was sent sliding backwards. He managed to remain standing, but he was disoriented.

"Are you kidding? You don't even know how to channel the power you alone are gifted with? No wonder so many wolves fight by your side. You can talk, you can convince, but you can't fight ANYONE alone. You get everyone else killed, just to convince more creatures to die for you. Is that what you were talking about when you mentioned the impact you left on the lives of others?" Uldrich laughed, his laughter booming all around Cayde.

"That's not true! Everyone made their own decision!" Cayde yelled.

"Then I have decided that I want your death to be... trivial." Uldrich grinned wickedly. He slammed a paw onto the ground, causing all the loose rocks around him to glow with that same purple aura, floating up to surround Uldrich. Another slam of his paw sent the sharp rocks flying like bullets towards Cayde.

Cayde's eyes glowed with a golden light.

"NO!"

Just as the rocks were mere inches away from Cayde, they disintegrated into golden dust as a protective aura surrounded the front of Cayde for a brief moment.

It was true, Cayde wasn't very experienced with channeling the power of Harmony, but in this matter of life and death, suddenly this power seemed to flow naturally through him. The adrenaline fueling this flow of energy was the source of it, no doubt.

But Cayde needed to learn to channel Harmony on his own, right now, or he would be dead. But Cayde understood one thing: channeling Harmony had to be natural. Forcing himself to try and use this energy was misusing the power itself. Harmony was the culmination of all things positive, and Cayde could turn this energy into a physical aura... but much like positivity itself: true positivity cannot be forced, it must be natural, flowing through the soul of every individual naturally, like a river.

And it was this mindset that helped Cayde reach a clear state of mind, where he felt the power flow through him. Now it was time to channel this power.

Uldrich, however, was already a step ahead. He snarled and got into an attacking position. The ground shook around Uldrich and Cayde, and a nearly-ear-piercing howl emitted from the Wolf of Chaos. In return, he began to glow with an even stronger aura of purple. His eyes radiated with a deep red glow.

Right before Cayde's eyes, he witnessed Uldrich channel the power of Chaos, manifesting the physical energy to create a sword made from hatred and suffering itself. The sword was as black as his fur, but it too, radiated with a purple aura. He held the hilt of the sword in his jaws and prepared to strike down Cayde.

Uldrich leapt into the air, using Chaos to rise higher than usual, before he flipped gracefully in the air, using Chaos again to catapult himself down towards Cayde with shocking speed.

In this moment, Cayde felt the power of Harmony flow through him, and he manifested this energy into a physical form too. He created another barrier of pure golden light, and when Uldrich slammed his sword down upon it, another powerful shockwave blasted across the area. The barrier shattered, but Cayde had moved out of the way in time.

Cayde knew that he couldn't win this fight by fighting defensively the whole time. He knew that Harmony, in most cases, could not be used as a weapon, but rather a force to purify and show beauty in the world. Uldrich, however, was no ordinary wolf. He was the Wolf of Chaos, a being of pure evil. And because of this, Harmony could be used as a weapon to strike him down.

As Uldrich recovered, Cayde lifted his head into the air and howled powerfully. Compared to Uldrich, his howl sounded much more majestic and graceful. Feeling Harmony flow through him even more, Cayde turned Harmony into a physical force as well. A white sword manifested before Cayde, glowing with a golden aura. The embodiment of Harmony: having turned into a tool to purify the Chaos that plagued the land.

Cayde held the hilt of the sword in his jaws too, but stumbled backwards, having never done such a thing before. This was all new to him, but Cayde intended to fight with all his might.

Even with a sword in his jaws, Uldrich spoke clearly, "Show me what you've got! Let me see you TRY!"

The two wolves charged toward one another. Uldrich leapt into the air, and Cayde dove towards him from below, lifting his head as he did so. Their swords collided, and yet another shockwave blasted across the landscape, far more powerful than previous ones. In fact, even the entire mountain shook, which was strange.

Uldrich fell from the air, quickly recovering and attempting to swipe at Cayde with his sword, but Cayde dodged out of the way and spun himself around, slashing at Uldrich.

"AGH! Grr..!!" Uldrich gritted his teeth in pain as a searing pain swept over his side. On his midnight black fur, a cut that glowed with white light visibly showed that he had been struck.

"That's IT!" Uldrich screamed, his yell causing a pulse of purple energy to shoot out in all directions within a short radius. Cayde was sent flying backwards, but was able to maintain stability and not fall over.

Uldrich lifted his head to the sky, and in doing so, lifted his sword to the sky as well. Black smoke seeped into the sword and caused the sword, and Uldrich himself, to glow with an even deeper purple aura.

The cut that was on his side vanished, healing shortly after, but at the cost of some of his energy. Not nearly enough to stop him though. This place belonged to the Wolf of Chaos right now, as an army of shadows fought below, and as fires and darkness plagued the peaceful land. The condition of this land alone was enough to give Uldrich a boost in power, being in a place overrun with Chaos...

For now.
Cayde planned on putting an end to this Chaos.
He could do this.

Uldrich roared with pure fury and hatred, and charged towards Cayde. Cayde charged right back towards him.

When the two collided, one last shockwave blasted across the land, shaking the trees, the ground, and even the mountain yet again.

But Uldrich, in that moment, channeled far too much energy to compete with. The fury he felt had given him a significant boost in energy, and coupled with the adrenaline and hatred, as well as the simple fact that he channeled more energy in the moment to begin with, to heal his wound, had proven to be far too strong. Using so much energy would have costed him, but Cayde didn't know that, and struck Uldrich when he was at his strongest.

Cayde's sword shattered into golden dust, and he felt himself collide with Uldrich. Cayde felt pure pain, which traveled through his whole body in a mere moment, and immediately after, the shockwave sent Cayde flying backwards. He skidded and rolled across the ground, weakened and disoriented.

Cayde realized where he was laying. He was laying right at the edge of the outlook, the very same place where he had watched Vande die at, and the very same place where he had fallen into the flames below. Now, greatly weakened, he laid at that very same place, knowing that the Wolf of Chaos would not let him escape with his life this time.

Had he lost?
Was this the end?

"You didn't stand a chance against me, Wolf of Harmony. You are weak! Undisciplined, clueless, narrow minded... and pathetic! Your ancestors would be ashamed of you." Uldrich cackled wickedly.

"But take comfort in knowing that I will take good care of this world, now that it will be without a Wolf of Harmony for years." Uldrich advanced towards Cayde, the sword still in his jaws.

"Oh, yes, I can see it now... disastrous wars... terrible natural disasters... famine... sickness... death... extinction. I'll take good care of this world indeed."

Uldrich grew closer and closer.

"Every story has an end, Cayde. This is yours."

Coughing, Cayde weakly lifted his head to look at the Wolf of Chaos.

He saw a figure running behind Uldrich, and heard the sound of paws running closer and closer.

"Stop it!" A voice yelled, leaping onto the back of Uldrich. Cayde's eyes widened. He recognized that voice.

It was Pahanin.

"Get off!" Uldrich yelled, sending Pahanin flying forward, a few yards away from Cayde. With the Wolf of Chaos focusing on Pahanin, Cayde tried his best to get up and help, but he couldn't.

Pahanin stood up, running towards Uldrich, only to be hit with a single paw which sent her flying backwards, right back to where she was before.

Trembling, Pahanin stood up in defiance.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Pahanin yelled.

"No... please..!" Cayde whimpered.

She howled in defiance and charged towards Uldrich, and he charged right back at her.

The sound of a slashing sword was heard, followed by a loud thud as Uldrich grabbed Pahanin with a single paw, and sent out a pulse of energy from his paw that sent her flying.

She flew right past Cayde, and he turned around to look at her as she flew.

There was a gash along her body. There was no blood, just a gash that glowed with a purple and black aura that ran across her body. She had no powers of her own, she was just a normal wolf, and so Uldrich had taken her down with ease.

And for the last time, Cayde locked eyes with Pahanin. Time seemed to slow, it felt that way at least. With the last bit of energy she had as she flew through the air, she whispered one thing:

"I love you."

And then her eyes went blank, flying through the air in what felt like slow motion.

Cayde's eyes filled with tears as he saw the last ounce of life vanish from the once happy-go-lucky wolf.

The force of the attack from Uldrich only sent her flying so far, and her body was bound to fall. Her body soared over the edge of the overlook.

Moments ago, she was alive.

Now, she was dead.

The energetic wolf, now lifeless.

And then she fell.