Dawn arrived quickly and the Light ninja stormed into the dungeon where Ryu and Rokkan were imprisoned. Ryu and Rokkan were roughly woken.
"It's time for you to face your sentence" the leader of the Light ninja said as he led them out of the dungeon.
They were dragged along the streets, in chains. The villagers came out to have a look at them out of curiosity. Ryu and Rokkan were led to an area in the Light ryu that was walled on all four sides with a high wall of mirrors. There was a gigantic cavern within the walls. From where they stood, Ryu and Rokkan could see more mirrors within the cavern.
"This is the Labyrinth Of Reflection" the leader of the ninja said.
They were met by Masters Hiruko and Hiroshi.
"Great, the guys that sentenced us to death are here" Ryu muttered angrily.
"Brave Ryu, wise Rokkan, those who seek the legendary sword, Rai must prove their worth. Survive this test and you will have the Sword Of Rai, fail…and you will…how do they put it…yes, I remember now…see the world through glass" Master Hiruko said as he pulled at his beard mischievously.
"Bring your dragon rings. You are not permitted to use them in the Labyrinth" Master Hiroshi said quite seriously.
"We'll definitely beat this test!" Ryu declared confidently.
Ryu and Rokkan began to walk into the maze of mirrors that was the Labyrinth Of Reflection.
"Beware of the Raisol. Its shell is a secret that hides your desire, the mirrors that release both lightning and fire" Master Hiroshi and Master Hiruko warned.
"What's Raisol?" Ryu asked Rokkan.
"I wish Tanya were here. She'd probably know what it is" Rokkan said.
At the entrance to the cave were massive stairs leading deeper into the cave. Ryu and Rokkan descended the stairs. As they walked on, Ryu and Rokkan noticed that the entire labyrinth was made of mirrors, from floor to ceiling. The labyrinth was well lit by a few torches that lined its passageways as well as the extra brightness caused by reflection. Ryu and Rokkan reached the first fork in the road. A path led to the left, and another to the right.
"Let's try left" Rokkan suggested.
"I think right is better" Ryu argued.
"Let's try the left path first" Rokkan insisted.
Ryu eventually agreed and they took the left path. It was a long, winding path but it eventually ended at a dead end.
"I told you we should have gone right! Let's double back and retrace our steps!" Ryu scolded Rokkan.
So they walked back to the fork in the road and this time, they chose the path they had forsaken. The right path was straight at first but soon, it began to wind haphazardly and grow narrower. It grew narrower and narrower, putting concern in the hearts of Ryu and Rokkan until it eventually ended at a crossroad.
"This time, we'll go straight" Ryu said.
Rokkan decided to follow Ryu's instincts.
"So Ryu, do you think we have to find the Sword Of Rai or do you think the Eternal Brothers will just hand it over to us?" Rokkan asked.
"I think it's in here somewhere" Ryu said. "Just look for something like a…" Ryu was saying when Rokkan interrupted.
"…a treasure chest?" Rokkan asked.
"Exactly" Ryu said.
"There! Found one!" Rokkan pointed excitedly to a small cave of reflective crystals.
A lone treasure chest lay at the centre of the cavern.
"Ryu, I've got to hand it to you. Your navigation skills really came through" Rokkan said as he ran towards the chest.
"Rokkan, I don't think it was meant to be this easy. For all you know it could be a trap" Ryu said.
"But sitting here wondering about it isn't going to help" Rokkan said as he opened the chest.
"Did you find it?!" Ryu exclaimed excitedly.
"No, this chest is empty" Rokkan said.
The chest was indeed empty.
"So what now?" Ryu asked.
No sooner had the words escaped his lips than massive iron bars fell from above, blocking every exit and trapping them in the cavern.
"I guess you were right Ryu. This was a…" Rokkan was saying when the ground beneath them suddenly split open.
They fell into a deep hole and landed on a floor of mirrors hard. Luckily for them, they had coated their body with enough chakra to protect them from the impact.
"Where are we?" Ryu asked.
The part of the labyrinth they had fallen into was completely dark.
"I don't know but I think we're on a lower level of the labyrinth" Rokkan said.
The boys stood up and brushed off fragments of glass from their clothes.
Rokkan looked around at the walls. The mirrors on this level of the labyrinth seemed brighter and more polished than the ones on the previous level. As the boys stared at the mirrors, they suddenly heard a growl, coupled with roars and hisses.
"Rokkan, you do hear that don't you?" Ryu asked.
"Uh huh, and frankly, I don't like the sound of that" Rokkan said nervously.
They heard a heavy footstep, then another and another and yet another. They looked in the direction of the sounds as fear began to grip their hearts.
"We defeated the Sun-Song Devil, what could possibly be worse than that, right Rokkan?" Ryu said with a nervous laugh.
"Uh-huh" was all Rokkan could say.
As they watched on, a horrifying creature slowly stepped into the light. It looked like a gigantic scorpion with a huge shell on its back but its body was made of glass making it quite translucent. A bright light seemed to flash erratically from within the creature and electricity seemed to circulate around its body. It drew closer to the two boys. Rokkan and Ryu stared at it in shock, awe and fear all at the same time.
"I think you spoke a little too soon Ryu" Rokkan said.
"WHAT THE HECK KIND OF CREATURE IS THIS?!" Ryu screamed in horror.
"I believe this is the creature those brothers called the Raisol" Rokkan said.
The creature roared and pointed its tail at the two companions.
"I don't like where this is going" Ryu said as he prepared to defend himself.
The creature suddenly shot a bolt of lightning from its tail! Ryu and Rokkan quickly leapt out of the path of the lightning. The lightning hit the mirrors and was reflected back to the Raisol. The Raisol absorbed the lightning.
"I guess we have to fight and take down this freakish abomination before we can escape!" Ryu said.
"But we're at a disadvantage Ryu. The mirrors here seem to have special properties. You just saw the bolt being reflected didn't you?" Rokkan said.
"Yeah, so what's your point?" Ryu asked.
"We've got to make sure the Raisol is always perpendicular to the mirrors it faces. If it shoots at any other angle other than ninety degrees, a single attack…" Rokkan was saying.
"…Could be reflected a countless number of times, is that what you're trying to say?" Ryu asked.
"And that's just one attack. Imagine five bolts or even ten, running rampant around here" Rokkan said.
Ryu gulped.
"So what do we do?" Ryu asked nervously.
"We do what we can, attack and defend, until we can come up with a plan" Rokkan said.
"I agree! Let's do this!" Ryu exclaimed as he formed seals. "FIRE ELEMENT! DRAGON FIRE JUTSU!" Ryu roared as he released hot flames at the Raisol in an attempt to fry it but the Raisol simply absorbed the attack.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Ryu shook his head in disbelief.
"EARTH ELEMENT! CRUSHING GATE JUTSU!" Rokkan roared.
Huge blocks of earth broke through the mirrors on the ground and immobilized the Raisol, then they completely imprisoned it.
"Did we do it?" Ryu asked.
Suddenly, the Raisol burst through the rocks and charged angrily at the boys. Ryu and Rokkan ran from the creature while making sure they kept it at a perpendicular angle to the mirrors. Suddenly, the Raisol stopped chasing after them. Ryu and Rokkan stopped running and watched it.
The creature turned its tail towards the mirror at an acute angle.
"Rokkan, what's it doing?" Ryu asked.
He didn't want to believe what he was seeing.
"Oh no" Rokkan muttered.
"TSEEEW!" a lightning bolt was discharged.
It hit a mirror and was reflected towards the boys. They leapt out of its path only to have the bolt reflected again.
"TSEEW! TSEEW! TSEEW!" more bolts were released.
"This creature is more intelligent than we gave it credit for!" Rokkan exclaimed as he evaded the bolts.
"At least the Sun-Song Devil wasn't intelligent! Who said there was nothing worse than the Sun-Song Devil anyway?!" Ryu complained.
"I believe that was you!" Rokkan roared as he closely avoided being hit by another lightning bolt.
"Get over here Ryu!" Rokkan ordered.
"Easy for you to say!" Ryu grumbled as he struggled to approach Rokkan.
When the two boys were close, Rokkan formed a seal.
"EARTH ELEMENT! FORTIFIED PRISON JUTSU!" Rokkan roared as blocks of earth smashed through the mirrors on the ground and protected the two boys.
The bolts hit the earth blocks and disappeared. In rage, the Raisol charged towards the earth blocks and began to ram them in an attempt to create an opening. It roared and shrieked menacingly.
"This thing is so damn annoying!" Rokkan growled angrily and placed his hand on the blocks.
"SHUT THE HELL UP! EARTH ELEMENT! RAZOR SPEAR BARRAGE!" Rokkan roared as he shot multiple spears of earth at the Raisol from the outside of the blocks.
The spears hit the Raisol and pushed it back. Ryu stared at Rokkan.
"I haven't seen Rokkan this angry before. Are we really in that much danger or is he really that desperate about finding the Sword Of Rai" Ryu thought silently.
"Ryu, I'm letting down the barrier, we're attacking the Raisol head on. We can't waste chakra on defense only!" Rokkan ordered.
"I get you Rokkan!" Ryu said.
Rokkan let the blocks of earth drop.
"FIRE ELEMENT!" Ryu called.
"EARTH ELEMENT!" Rokkan called.
"I know we've never attempted a dual combo jutsu together but let's try one!" Rokkan said.
"MOLTEN ELEMENT! GRAND BLAZING LAVA DRAGON JUTSU!" Ryu and Rokkan called in unison as a great flow of lava from the combined chakras of Rokkan and Ryu headed towards the Raisol and engulfed it.
The Raisol shrieked in pain and took in a deep breath. The lava began to shrink in size until it was all within the Raisol.
"No way!" Ryu exclaimed in horror.
"It…absorbed it" Rokkan muttered in disbelief.
The Raisol's eyes began to spark in anger.
"Careful Rokkan, it's coming!" Ryu warned.
The Raisol charged angrily towards the two boys. They ran as fast as they could away from it. Ryu recalled the caltrops he had bought and threw them behind him. Rokkan did the same. The Raisol stepped on the caltrops and shrieked in pain. It fell on the caltrops and its cries grew louder.
"Ryu, the caltrops hurt the Raisol although our elements didn't. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Rokkan asked.
The Raisol stood up. In anger, it discharged simultaneous releases of electricity from its body. Rokkan wasted no time in raising a protective barrier of earth around himself and Ryu.
"The underside of the Raisol is vulnerable. That is its weak point" Ryu said. "Now if we can just find a way to get under it".
"That's the big problem" Rokkan said as he dropped the barrier.
The Raisol took four steps towards them and stopped. It stared at them in rage and its shell began to spin wildly.
"What's it doing?" Rokkan asked.
"Its shell is a secret that hides your desire,
The mirrors that release both lightning and fire"
Ryu recalled the words of the Eternal Brothers.
"It's about to release fire!" Ryu exclaimed in realization.
Rokkan quickly raised a barrier of earth again. He was not a minute too soon for in less than a second; a huge outburst of fire charged towards them and hit the barrier of earth. The barrier began to melt.
"The wall can't hold for much longer!" Rokkan declared.
Almost immediately after he had said that, the fire faded away and a huge discharge of electricity shattered the earth barrier and knocked Ryu and Rokkkan into the mirrors behind them.
"I hate feeling so helpless!" Ryu grumbled.
"At least we know how the foes we've defeated felt" Rokkan joked.
Ryu looked into the mirror behind them and noticed something strange. The Raisol had no reflection. Instead, a powerful sword radiating lightning was in the place the Raisol's reflection was supposed to be.
"Rokkan!" Ryu called.
Rokkan hadn't noticed it yet. He was concentrating on the Raisol.
"What is it Ryu?" Rokkan asked.
"Rokkan…I think I've found the Sword Of Rai!" Ryu exclaimed.
Rokkan's eyes widened. He turned to face Ryu and saw the reflection of the Sword Of Rai within the mirrors.
"Do you think the Sword Of Rai is in the mirrors?" Ryu asked.
"No, I think it's in the Raisol!" Rokkan exclaimed.
"IN THE RAISOL?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Ryu exclaimed.
"I guess we must find a way to remove the Sword Of Rai from the Raisol" Rokkan suggested.
"Well, we've discussed the Raisol's weakness. It has a soft underside" Rokkan said.
"I don't know Rokkan. Something worries me. Somehow, I don't feel it's right to kill the Raisol" Ryu said.
"What are you saying Ryu?" Rokkan asked.
"I think the Raisol is the guardian of the Sword Of Rai. The way I see it, we're the ones invading its home and beside that, it's only performing its duty" Ryu said.
"I see your point. Since we stopped attacking, the Raisol hasn't shown any signs of aggression and I don't sense a killer intent behind its attacks. It also seems to be defending more than attacking. If it got serious, we'd be dead. I think there is something more to this" Rokkan said.
The Raisol growled but in less anger.
Ryu turned to look at it, then he looked at the Sword Of Rai within the mirrors.
"ROKKAN! I'VE GOT IT!" Ryu exclaimed.
"What?!" Rokkan asked anxiously.
"You remember me telling you about the time I met Gaiden right?" Ryu asked.
"Yeah, you said Gaiden told you that the Sword Of Rai was 'at the point where the light changes its path'. Am I right?" Rokkan asked.
"Yes! The answer to that is simple; mirrors! Or rather I should say reflection!" Ryu said.
"I see! Rays of light change their path when reflected or refracted by water, mirrors or crystals. But that's too wide a scope. There are thousands of mirrors in here" Rokkan said.
Ryu seemed to think for a while. He stared at the Sword Of Rai within the mirrors.
"What if Gaiden was just using reflection as a metaphor? What if this place is called the Labyrinth Of Reflection not just because of the mirrors?" Ryu asked.
"What are you trying to say Ryu?" Rokkan asked.
"What if…the Raisol is the Sword Of Rai?" Ryu asked.
"WHAT?! WHAT WOULD EVEN MAKE YOU THINK THAT?! LOOK AT THIS THING! EVEN AMONG FREAKS OF NATURE, IT'S IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN!" Rokkan exclaimed in shock and disbelief.
"What if that is another metaphor? The Sword Of Rai must be wielded by one pure of heart but we've been fighting for too long. Our hearts are clouded with pain, fear and hatred. The end result is that we cannot see the truth even if it was right in front of us. That would even make us see the one thing we've been searching for all this time, as a monster, don't you think?" Ryu said deeply.
"Now you're freaking me out. Seeing you think so deeply is freaky in its own sense" Rokkan joked.
"I'm serious Rokkan" Ryu said.
"And that is freaky too but I see your point. A weapon as powerful as the Sword Of Rai would be dangerous in the wrong hands so Gaiden must have wanted his successor to dispel the darkness within his heart. I get your point so let's work on that now" Rokkan said with a chuckle.
Ryu and Rokkan sat on the ground and shut their eyes. They searched their hearts, let go of their grudges and pain, focused on their loved ones and their mission. As they did this, their negative emotions seeped out of their bodies in the form of dark energy. When the dark energy left their bodies, the Raisol disappeared and in its place stood the Sword Of Rai, its blade, a powerful mass of solidified lightning. Ryu and Rokkan opened their eyes and found the Sword Of Rai standing where the Raisol once stood.
"We've finally found it!" Rokkan exclaimed in excitement.
Ryu smiled, "it's yours now" he said.
"Why won't you wield it?" Rokkan asked him.
"You have Gaiden's spirit within you for a reason. He chose you to wield the Sword Of Rai" Ryu said.
Rokkan nodded and held the Sword Of Rai by the handle. Then he shut his eyes. Within his mind's eye, he could see Gaiden.
"Well done Rokkan, I have waited to pass on my power before moving on. Now is that time. Rokkan, I hereby appoint you as my successor. It is my wish for you to finally bring peace to Shekan and the world. Your generation will decide this world's fate. Do you accept this responsibility?" Gaiden asked him.
"I accept Gaiden…but I want to know, why did you choose me?" Rokkan asked.
"You have lived your entire life bound by duty. You have begun to discover the beauty of human feelings. You are a fine blend of both duty and emotion. Besides that, you were once…a part of me" Gaiden said as Rokkan opened his eyes.
There was a great discharge of power as the sword's power flowed into Rokkan. His eyes sparkled with power and the edges of his brown hair turned silver and purple as his hair grew even longer. Rokkan's muscles also increased in mass. When the lightning eventually disappeared and the sword finally rested in Rokkan's hands, his eyes returned to normal.
"Rokkan, are you okay?" Ryu asked worriedly.
"Yeah, but I feel…different" Rokkan said.
His voice had grown quite softer than the usually cold tone Rokkan was used to speaking in.
"You look different. You even talk different" Ryu said.
"I think I'm beginning to see things more clearly as well. It's all ending with us Ryu. We're the fateful generation. The ones deciding what the future is going to be. It all ends soon" Rokkan said.
Ryu smiled and placed a hand on Rokkan's shoulder.
"No Rokkan, it all begins soon" he said.
Rokkan and Ryu followed the path the Raisol had come from till they reached a huge gate.
"LET ME" Rokkan roared as he slashed at the gate twice with the Sword Of Rai.
A moment later, the gate collapsed to the ground.
"Amazing!" Ryu exclaimed in awe.
"It's much better than I imagined!" Rokkan exclaimed in excitement.
The gate led out of the labyrinth. They met the Eternal Brothers and the ninja outside.
"I-I don't believe it! These kids actually found the Sword Of Rai!" the leader of the ninja exclaimed in shock.
"As we knew you would" Master Hiruko said.
Master Hiroshi returned their Dragon rings to them.
"Congratulations" he said.