Chapter 11: Dive Deep

At the promise of training for the first time in years, Nyx is extremely excited. But the excitement was short lived as Nyx realized she didn't have a weapon. "Uh Riku," she started, "I don't believe I have a weapon of choice."

"Oh," Riku lowers his blade while scratching his head. "Well maybe we can start with your lycan mode. Try changing now." Nyx complies and changes into her lycan form, gaining her wolf ears and bushy tail. "Okay, now I want you to dive into your heart. Close your eyes and focus on your heart."

Nyx obeys and closes her eyes. At first, all she could see was darkness, but as she focused on her heart, she started to fall backwards until she was diving headfirst into nothing. Then, two pedestals with stained glass tops intertwined together came into her vision. As Nyx came closer, her descent slowed, and she landed on her feet in the middle of the intertwined platforms. One side was a deep dark purple, to deep to make out the images on the stained glass other than a dark portrayal of herself. On the other side, was a light gold theme, decorated with a moon motif and an art nouveau halo around her figure depicted in a pure and light way. In the smaller circles depicted of places and people close to her heart, with some circles too bright to see what they were. Then Riku landed beside her and took a look around.

"You have two hearts," Riku asked.

"Because lycans are a fusion between human and beast, it is not uncommon to have to hearts," Nyx replies.

"Hn," Riku grunts, noticing some places were too light or dark to see certain images. 'She's hiding something from me,' Riku thought. " Okay, to get your weapon, first you must choose what strength you wish to focus on and which strength you wish to let go of." Suddenly, six pedestals appeared from the ground in bright lights. Three were on the light side, and three were in the dark side. On the pedestals in the light side, there was a sword, a shield, and a wand. On the other side, the pedestals glowed with a deep purple-magenta light. However, there seemed to be an invisible force blocking the way to the dark side.

Riku notes this and starts, "It seems we can't get to the dark side, so let's start with the light side. The dream sword symbolizes the power of the warrior and invincible courage. The dream wand symbolizes the power of the mystic and inner strength. Finally, the dream shield symbolizes the power of the guardian and the kindness to aid friends. Choose wisely, for the decisions made now will affect how you grow."

Nyx observes her choices before her. She takes a moment to think to herself. Then, she walks to the pedestal holding the dream shield. "I think I want the power to protect people, especially my friends." She grasps the shield and after a moment it dissipates into light.

Riku smiles inwardly at her choice, understanding why she chose the shield. "Okay," he says, " now that you've chosen what power you seek, which power are you willing to give up?"

Given this newfound information, Nyx becomes a bit hesitant. She looks at Riku. "Do I really have to give up one?" Riku simply nods with a snort and a smirk. She turns back to her remaining options and makes the decision in her head. Finally, with mind made up, she walks towards the sword and grabs the hilt. " I choose to give up the power of the warrior. Too much strength can lead to destruction and a lust for more power." With that the sword vaporized into light. Suddenly a light shines from within Nyx.

"Now call your weapon to you," Riku instructs. "Just focus on your heart and let it materialize in your hand." Nyx closes her eyes and holds her hand out in front of her. A bright purple and teal light formed inside the palm of her hand and grew into a long beam of light. Once it fully materialized, Nyx closed her hand over the new weapon. However, she refused to open her eyes.

Riku laughs a little. "You know you can look at your weapon. Or are you a scaredy-cat?"

The tease works. "Hey! I'm not a scaredy-cat…" She stops mid sentence to look at her weapon. It was a five-foot pole with beautiful teal engravings on it. On the upper part was a shimmering purple to teal sash that was about four feet long and hung down. "What's so special about a flag pole," Nyx asks after a while.

"We'll see, when you come at me."