Once again, Reis found himself lost in a dark forest.
"Here I am, once more" he sighed as he sat near a tree.
"Reis Dragonhaart!" the omniscient voice called to him again.
"Who are you?" Reis asked.
"I am the Light Of Your Heart…but I'm growing weaker. The Darkness within you has grown as dark as hell and its flames of evil and malevolence seek to consume you!" the omniscient voice spoke.
"What do you mean?" Reis asked.
"You may have already noticed that the light within your heart has grown weaker…no…rather, the darkness has grown immensely stronger. It seeks to rule you…and it will until you defeat it!" the omniscient voice said.
"What must I do? How can I defeat darkness? I'm only human" Reis said.
"You are human and more…but to defeat this darkness…you must first defeat yourself. Pain and Guilt are the greatest powers of evil. To defeat the darkness you must find three weapons but finding them is extremely difficult! Can you do it?!" the omniscient voice asked.
"Tell me what those weapons are and I'll find them! With them I will defeat any evil that comes my way!" Reis declared.
"The first is love, the second is courage and the third is hope. Do you think you can find them?" the voice asked.
"HAHAHAHA! It is useless! All your efforts are useless against me!" a dark sinister voice suddenly said and in the next instant, Reis was surrounded by immense darkness.
Two huge glowing red eyes appeared above Reis. Reis looked up. The light generated from the evil glow revealed the face of a sinister black dragon.
"Who are you?!" Reis asked in fear and shock.
"I am the one that will rule your heart! I am your darkness! I…AM…YOU! And from now on you shall no longer be known as Reis Dragonhaart but as ARMAGEDDON!" the sinister dragon laughed as it transformed into dark flames and entered Reis' body.
"AAAAHH!!!" Reis screamed and in the next moment, he jolted from the bed.
Shin woke up.
"Reis, are you okay?!" Shin asked.
Reis was sweating profusely. He was breathing quickly and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
"Phew! It was only a dream, thank goodness!" Reis sighed as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Want to talk about it?" Shin asked.
"Nah, it wasn't something pleasant" Reis said.
"I see. It doesn't have anything to do with Armageddon does it?" Shin asked.
At the mention of Armageddon's name, Reis' eyes flashed momentarily. He grinned sinisterly.
"I'm dueling Darak today. I'm looking forward to it" Reis said as his grin intensified.
Shin observed Reis critically.
"Something's not right. Reis is definitely acting differently" he thought to himself.
"Shin! What are you waiting for, let's prepare for classes!" Reis called angrily.
"Sorry Reis, I was kinda lost in thought. Let's get ready" Shin said nervously as he attempted to conceal his real concerns.
Ten minutes later, Shin, Reis and Kyla had finished having breakfast though Reis didn't eat much.
"Let's go" Reis called in a commanding tone.
"But you haven't touched your food yet" Kyla said worriedly.
"It is not to my liking" Reis said rudely.
"Reis!" Shin scolded.
"I'm leaving with or without you. I've got a match I can't afford to miss" Reis said as he stared at them with cold eyes.
They seemed shocked by his sudden change in behavior.
"We're coming" Kyla said.
"Good" Reis said and he left.
Shin and Kyla struggled to catch up to him.
"Reis, are you…mad at us or something?" Kyla asked.
"Why do you ask such a question hu…I mean Kyla?" Reis asked.
Shin frowned.
"Since you returned, you've been acting weird" Kyla said.
"Well I guess I'm just tired" Reis said.
"Hmm, this is strange, Reis usually ends sentences concerning tiredness or hunger with the words 'is all' but this time he didn't" Shin thought silently.
Soon, Dragon High was in view. Reis looked around. The other students were talking cheerfully as they walked into the school building.
"Humans…disgusting!" Reis muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something Reis?" Kyla asked curiously.
"Nothing that concerns you human" Reis said coldly.
Kyla and Shin were surprised by Reis' words but remained silent.
Reis walked hurriedly towards their classroom and opened the door wildly. There was sudden silence in the class as everyone turned to look at him. He walked into the class indignantly and finally reached his desk…or what was left of it for his desk had been completely broken into pieces. He glanced at Erasa's desk, it was still intact and he suddenly became filled with fury.
"WHO DID THIS?!" he roared.
The other students ignored him.
"I ASKED…WHO DID THIS?!" he roared as wild flames suddenly covered the walls and ceiling of the classroom.
The students began to scream in fear.
"WE DID!" Evil Eghan, Cudjoe and Dossou suddenly said.
Reis looked at their faces one after the other.
Aurora seemed shocked by Reis' behavior but Darak didn't seem to care.
"Reis, please calm down" Kyla pleaded.
Reis smiled, "Oh I'm calm" he said and in the next instant a huge hole was made in the wall of the classroom.
Evil Eghan, Dossou and Cudjoe ran through the hole and into the school field. Reis walked out into the open following them with a wicked smile. Darak, Aurora, Kyla and Shin followed him.
Erasa soon arrived. She was confused by the whole incident.
"What's going on?" she asked. One of her mates explained the situation to her.
Soon enough, Reis cornered the three bullies to the wall and unsheathed his sword.
"Filthy humans! You think you are so magnificent that you can do whatever you want! You were rather unfortunate to have crossed my path!" Reis said furiously as his sword flamed. "You can repent in the netherworld!" he said as he brought his blade down but a stream of fire struck him from behind.
"Reis! What are you doing?! Get a hold of yourself!" Aurora yelled angrily.
"Darak, Aurora, I have a special place for you in my heart…however…if you are foolish enough to stand in my way, I can assure you that you will surely die!" Reis said menacingly without turning to face them.
"Reis, your only battle is with me!" Darak declared.
Reis laughed and turned to face him.
"Let me feel your strength!" Reis said as he raised his sword defensively in front of himself.
Darak unsheathed his Pyro Blade and smiled. The Pyro Blade flamed. "I guess I can afford a little distraction" Reis said.
"We'll soon see if all I am is a little distraction!" Darak said as he charged to attack Reis.
Reis charged to attack Darak and as they drew closer, Darak swung his blade horizontally. Reis however evaded his slash by ducking and timing a turning kick to Darak's head just as Darak's sword narrowly missed his head. Both combatants were caught in a deadlock till Darak stomped on Reis foot and elbowed him in the gut. Reis punched Darak in the face and the two leapt back to plan their next set of moves.
Darak smiled.
"I didn't expect you to be this strong" he complimented.
"Your battle style is so so but you cannot defeat me" Reis said.
"This is just the beginning!" Darak said as he raised his sword.
"You're right! This is the beginning…" Reis said as he held his sword tightly with both hands. "THE BEGINNING OF THE END!!!" Reis roared as he charged and swung his sword.
Darak blocked.
Then a ferocious sword fight began. Soon some masters arrived and saw the fight.
"What is going on?" one Dragon Master asked and one of Reis' mates explained the situation.
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" one Dragon Master ordered.
"Don't interfere!" Reis warned as he gave the master a look that petrified him.
Darak slashed at Reis vertically but Reis blocked with an overhead block. Darak struggled to bring Reis to his knees but Reis turned to the right and released the pressure on his sword. Naturally, Darak's sword came down. Reis found an opening and kicked Darak in the side. Darak grunted in pain and quickly raised his sword. Reis attempted to stab Darak but Darak deflected Reis' blade and elbowed Reis in the neck while performing a half turn with his pivot foot. Reis fell to the ground and the other students began to cheer Darak on.
"Now who's the distraction?" Darak said proudly.
Reis stood up and cracked his neck. Then he spat out some blood and wiped his lip.
"You are a great swordsman Darak…however, I'll end this now" Reis said as he changed his fighting stance. He put his pivot foot in front of him and raised his blade over him with its tip pointing towards Darak while holding it with a single hand and then stretched his free hand in front of him.
"Is he going for a thrust attack?" Darak wondered.
"What stance is that?!" Kyla asked in a scared tone.
"That's the fighting stance of the evil warlord who teamed up with Armageddon! The one known as the 'Demon of the Sword!' Irik the Devil!" Mistress Kira's voice sounded as she walked towards them.
"You can't be serious! How can Reis know such a diabolic fighting style!" Aurora asked anxiously.
"Reis, I don't know where you learnt such a fighting style but this match is over!" Mistress Kira ordered.
"You have no right to interfere and…don't ever call me Reis! The name is Armageddon!" Reis roared.
Mistress Kira opened her eyes in shock as sudden realization hit her.
"Everyone! Summon your dragons at once!" Mistress Kira ordered and in the next instant, a huge explosion of elements announced the appearance of an army of dragons.
"You did the wisest thing…" Reis began to say.
"DRAGONS! ATTACK THE SILVER HAIRED ONE!" Mistress Kira ordered.
"No! There must be a better way to resolve this!" Aurora exclaimed worriedly.
"Believe me Aurora, there is no other way!" Mistress Kira said.
"But as long as I have this body, dragons are powerless against me!" Reis said with an evil smile.
"What do you mean?" Aurora asked.
"Behold the power of the Darkhaӓrt! Dragons, bow before your master!" Reis commanded and in the next moment, all the dragons' eyes flared and they bowed before Reis.
"NO WAY! HE'S CONTROLLING ALL THE DRAGONS AT ONCE!" Mistress Kira exclaimed in shock.
"So Darak, as I was saying…LET'S END THIS!" Reis roared as he charged to attack Darak.
"PYRON SLASH!" Darak roared as he charged towards Reis and struck with his flaming sword.
"OBLIVION STRIKE!!!" Reis roared as their blades clashed.
The force of the clash was so great that Darak's Pyro Blade was knocked from his hands and Reis' blade pierced Darak through the shoulder and came out the back
"DARAK!" Aurora, Mistress Kira, Kyla and Erasa screamed in concern.
There was a flash in Darak's mind as the pain filled his body.
"It was just for a moment but I saw it!" Darak thought as sudden realization hit him.
"I aimed for your heart. You were able to deflect my attack by increasing the density of the flames that surround your Pyro Blade" Reis said.
"That's not it. I couldn't even block this attack. I may have imagined it but it seems as though Reis purposely missed my heart" Darak thought to himself as he struggled to release himself from the blade but Reis kept pushing it in.
Mistress Kira and Aurora ran to attack Reis. Reis withdrew his sword and leapt back to avoid their attacks. Aurora ran to Darak's side. Mistress Kira attacked Reis but he repelled her easily and blew her to the ground with a tidal slash. The power of the attack kept Mistress Kira on the ground unable to stand up.
"Darak, are you alright?" Aurora asked in concern.
"I didn't hit any vital organs…but I won't miss a second time!" Reis said as he walked slowly towards them.
"Who are you? I don't recognize you anymore, I don't know you anymore…" Aurora said in a scared tone as tears streamed down her face.
Reis raised his sword.
"Say Goodbye!" he roared.
"Stay away from us YOU MONSTER!" Aurora screamed.
Reis paused his attack.
"Who do you think you are, terrifying everybody like that! You may be powerful but you're nothing! Nothing but a monster! And…just when I just started to like you too. I guess I should have known. You don't deserve to be loved…by me or anyone!" Aurora screamed.
Reis' hand was trembling with the sword. He tried to bring it down and end Darak and Aurora's existence but his heart kept pushing the sword up. Darak noticed this. He wanted to speak but he was too sore. A tear streamed down Reis' face as he temporarily regained his senses. The evil glow in his eyes disappeared.
"Wh-What have I done?!" he said as he sheathed his sword. "Aurora, Darak I'm…" he tried to apologize.
"Just stay away from us. Leave and never come back. We never want to see you…ever again" Aurora said sadly.
Reis bowed his head sadly.
"Very well, as you wish…Aurora!" Reis said as he ran out of Dragon High and towards the Forest Of Awakening. "This way, I'll never be able to hurt anyone" he told himself as he took one last look at the Rangers' Guild and disappeared into the Forest Of Awakening.
Meanwhile Aurora tried to stop Darak's bleeding with healing techniques but Darak's wound was not closing properly.
"I need help!" Aurora called out.
Shin rushed to her side.
"What can you do Ayenhayze?" Darak said painfully.
"Would you stop sounding so condescending for once? I can teleport you to the hospital" Shin said as he turned to Kyla.
"Kyla, I'll be at the hospital. Let Master Jin know what happened. I'm counting on you!" Shin said as he teleported Aurora and Darak to the hospital.
The dragons regained their senses and disappeared. The Psychic Dragon Masters reported the incident to Headquarters. Mistress Kira finally managed to stand up and decided to go as quickly as she could to the hospital.
Kyla without knowledge of the fact that the incident had been reported to HQ decided to go and report the incident to Master Jin. Meanwhile in the Ranger's HQ, the Dragonlord was holding a meeting with the Dragon Guards and a few Dragon Masters.
"This is a most regrettable situation and there seems to be no way around it. Therefore I have come to a decision. Reis Dragonhaart is a threat to the survival of the dragons and this guild and must therefore be eliminated! Gather as many rangers as you can and hunt him down!" the Dragonlord ordered.
"You can't do that Dragonlord! Reis is a human being and more importantly, our comrade!" Master Jin spoke against the plan.
"I understand your relationship with this boy and as such I therefore exclude you from this mission, Jin Ayenhayze!" the Dragonlord said.
Master Jin saw that it was useless to protest so he remained silent. At that moment, Kyla burst in panting heavily.
"What is the meaning of this Kyla?" the Dragonlord said angrily.
"Dragonlord Sir! Reis lost control and…" Kyla was saying when the Dragonlord silenced her.
"I already know about it and we're already taking action" the Dragonlord said.
"But eliminating him isn't the answer!" Master Jin pleaded.
"Eliminate…him?! Is this your plan?!" Kyla yelled angrily.
"We have no choice" the Dragonlord said.
"But Sir! You can't! Reis is…I'm not sure but I believe that Reis is the long prophesied Dragonheart!" Kyla announced.
There were murmurs from the others.
"How do you know this?" the Dragonlord asked.
"It was by accident but Shin peeked into Reis' mind and saw a Kaignis-wolf, a legion of Dragons, a Drakengaard and…Armageddon!" Kyla informed them.
"This makes it even worse! If the Dragonheart is being influenced by Armageddon, it ceases to be the Dragonheart but instead becomes the Darkhaӓrt. That explains why Reis could control the Dragons but now more than ever, he must be eliminated!" the Dragonlord said.
"You can't do that! Think about it. Some dragons survived even after the Great Extinction. They only survived because the Dragonheart lived on. If you destroy it…I mean Reis, the remaining Dragons will die out" Kyla argued.
"Hmm, you have a point Kyla. You are far too wise for your age. I will be willing to reconsider if you can present us with a solution within the next twenty four hours" the Dragonlord said thoughtfully.
"I will find a way to end this peacefully!" Kyla said with a bow.
"Remember Kyla, the fate of this guild, the dragons and the world rest in your hands now" the Dragonlord said.
"I will not fail you!" Kyla said as she left the Dragonlord's presence.
"That's a fine student you have there Jin. She will be a great ranger in the future. Take good care of her" the Dragonlord advised.
Master Jin smiled.
"I'm proud of you Kyla" Master Jin thought silently.
Meanwhile, in the hospital, Darak was being taken care of. Aurora and Shin stood in the corridors while Darak was being healed by the elite medical doctors. Shin and Aurora remained silent. Shin was angry with Aurora for all the times she had been mean to Reis but he tried hard not to show his anger. Soon Mistress Kira arrived in the hospital.
"How is Darak doing?" she asked.
"We've still got no news" Aurora informed her.
Mistress Kira sighed, "Aurora, do you think I've not been protecting you enough these past few days?" she asked.
"Why would you say that?" Aurora stared at her in surprise.
"On our mission to rescue Team Senshiiro, I failed to protect you from the Kaignis King and Reis got hurt. Now I couldn't even protect Darak" Mistress Kira said worriedly.
"No, you try your best and trust us to live our lives and make our own decisions even if those decisions are mistakes. We've learnt to make good choices and it's all thanks to you, Mistress Kira" Aurora said with a smile.
Mistress Kira smiled.
"Thank you Aurora" she said.
The doctor walked out of Darak's ward.
"How is he?!" Mistress Kira and Aurora exclaimed together.
"You brought him in just in time. A minute later and it would have deteriorated into a much more serious problem" the doctor said.
"Thank you doctor. Thanks Shin" Aurora said gratefully.
Shin turned away.
"I did it for Reis, he cares about you very much" Shin said.
"I don't care about him" Aurora said as she wiped a tear from her face.
"You can see Darak now" the doctor informed them.
"Thank you" Aurora and Mistress Kira said as they opened the door that led to Darak's ward.
They entered the ward and found Darak awake.
"Darak, how do you feel?" Aurora asked worriedly.
"You shouldn't be worried about me. You should worry about Reis. We owe him our lives" Darak said with a grateful look on his face.
"What do you mean?" Aurora asked,
"Aurora, have you ever heard the saying 'when two swordsmen clash swords, they can feel each other's hearts through the blade?'" Darak asked.
"I've heard it from Sir Jinrai before but it never worked for me so I stopped believing in it" Aurora said.
"Well, would you believe me when I tell you that I saw Reis' heart when he stabbed me?" Darak asked.
"No, I wouldn't because in the first place I don't believe Reis has a heart and secondly, how could you feel the heart of someone that tried to kill you?" Aurora said.
"Reis saved me. I hate to admit it but it's true. I saw Armageddon torturing Reis with dark flames. Armageddon tried to kill me but Reis used every ounce of his energy to deflect the path of the sword from my heart even if by just a few inches" Darak explained.
"What do you mean Armageddon?" Aurora asked.
"The one wreaking all the havoc is Armageddon, not Reis. Reis is being held a prisoner within his very own mind" Darak explained.
"This is worse than I thought!" Shin exclaimed in shock.
"You saw it too didn't you?" Darak asked.
"When I saw into Reis' mind, he wasn't being held a prisoner by Armageddon" Shin said.
"If that was Armageddon, why didn't he kill us? He had the perfect opportunity!" Aurora said.
"It was because of you. Your words reached into Reis' heart and freed him for a moment" Darak explained.
"Wrong, Armageddon isn't that shallow. He purposely brought Reis to the surface to hear Aurora's hurtful words. That was all he needed to draw Reis into infinite darkness. Truly the saying, 'if there is a power of darkness greater than pain and guilt, it's solitude' holds true" Mistress Kira explained.
"Th-That's why Reis' hands were trembling. He was trying to stop himself…and I made his pain worse…no, no way" Aurora said as tears began to flow down her face.
At that moment, Kyla burst into the ward panting heavily.
"Kyla, what's wrong?" Shin asked.
"The Dragonlord…just gave the order…for Reis to be eliminated. He's giving us twenty four hours to find a peaceful way of resolving this problem or Reis will be eliminated!" Kyla explained.
"No! He can't do that!" Aurora yelled angrily, then she became sad again.
"There may no longer be a peaceful way of resolving this problem but there is a way, a better way" Darak said.
"Really?!" Kyla exclaimed happily.
"The only way to return Reis to normal…is to fight him ourselves!" Darak said.
"You're crazy! We can't do that! He is immensely more powerful than before!" Kyla yelled angrily.
"I know. Not just anyone can do it. Only one with a strong will and a strong bond with Reis…you understand what I mean" Darak said.
"I'll do it" Aurora volunteered.
"You can't! You'll die!" Kyla exclaimed in worry,
"You're a dragon ranger. My partner…my friend…and someone dear to me" Aurora remembered Reis' words and his smile.
"How could I have forgotten his smile so soon?" Aurora scolded herself.
"I will do it…but…all I'm good for is making things worse. All I ever do is hurt Reis. Maybe I'm the reason the darkness is taking over his heart" Aurora said downheartedly.
Kyla smiled, "I guess I want to say it for him. Aurora! Come to your senses, it doesn't matter if you only make things worse! The only thing that matters is that…Reis loves you!" Kyla said.
Aurora opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"So be there for Reis now that he needs you! Of course Armageddon will try to kill you but as long as your heart is bonded with Reis' by love, there is no future for the darkness in Reis' heart!" Kyla said.
"When did you get so wise Kyla?" Shin asked with a sly smile
"Don't start with me Shin" Kyla warned.
Aurora smiled.
"You're right! We can't give up on Reis, no now, not ever! He'll never be alone! We'll show him, we'll remind him of The Light Of His Heart!" Aurora said without knowledge of the full meaning of her words.
"Yeah yeah, nice speech but you forgot one important detail, where do we find Reis?" Darak said.
"You're right! Reis ran off after hearing Aurora's words. Where could he be?" Kyla asked.
"I don't think he could have gone far. He hasn't got a dragon partner yet after all" Aurora reasoned.
"No, you're wrong. Reis could be anywhere. For one thing, he seems capable of controlling the dragons freely and for another, with his new nature powers, he could summon any Kaiser creature" Darak reminded them.
"Yeah, you're right" Aurora said glumly.
"What do you mean by nature powers?" Kyla asked curiously.
"It's a long story. We will tell you about it when this is all over" Darak promised.
"Leave finding Reis to me!" Shin suddenly declared.
Everyone turned to stare at him in surprise.
"Can you do it?" Darak asked.
"Hey, just who do you think you're talking to?!" Shin said in an offended tone.
"I just don't think you're up to it. Pardon me if I'm being offensive" Darak mocked.
Shin frowned angrily.
"Darak, you're the most evil person in this guild, do you know that?" Shin growled angrily.
"I'll take that as a compliment" Darak said with an unpleasant smile.
Shin shut his eyes and placed his fore and middle fingers on his forehead. Soon, his mind was travelling around the guild seeking Reis' psychic energy. Everyone else's energies were displayed in Shin's mind in various colours but he couldn't seem to find Reis' peaceful green energy. Shin concentrated harder and soon, he could see traces of dark fiery energy in different places within the Ranger's Guild.
"Have you found him?" Kyla asked worriedly.
"He's trying to throw us off his trail by depositing his psychic energy in different places. I just need to go…a little deeper" Shin said as he concentrated even harder.
Soon Shin noticed something strange. There was an irregular fluctuation of one of the dark energies. One minute, it was dark and another minute it was green but never constant. Shin opened his eyes suddenly.
"FOUND HIM!" he declared.
"Really?! Where is he?!" everyone asked at once.
"He's in the Cave Of Shadows in the Forest Of Awakening" Shin informed them.
"WHAT?! That particular forest is packed with the Kaiser beasts. How are we ever going to reach him?!" Kyla exclaimed woefully.
"I'll do it" Aurora reaffirmed her conviction.
"In that case we'll help. You can't make it on your own" Kyla offered.
"Thanks but no. I must do this alone. I am partly to blame for this mess and…Kyla if what you said earlier about Reis loving me is true, then I'm probably the only one that can reach into his heart now" Aurora reasoned. "Besides, we don't need more casualties" Aurora smiled.
"B-But…" Kyla tried to argue.
"No buts Kyla. Just leave it to me. I'll bring Reis back, just the way he was" Aurora promised.
"Then you must need a sword. Here, you can borrow my Pyro Blade" Darak offered.
"Thanks Darak but I don't need it. See, I already have…the Twin Saggeesian Sabres!" Aurora declared.
"WHAAAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO EARLIER?!" Darak yelled angrily.
"I didn't think it was important" Aurora said surprised by Darak's reaction.
"That's where you're wrong. The Twin Saggeesian Sabres give us an edge against Armageddon!" Darak declared.