Hello and welcome to chapter 2 of this short story. Last time, Syaoran gave up his attachment for Sakura to Yuko in exchange to help out Sakura in the upcoming battles. He then went with the Magic Knights, Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu to the legendary world of Cephiro where Syaoran would undergo a series of trials known as the Trials of the Rune Gods. Now here comes the first trial. He must enter the Spring of Eterna and obtain the legendary ore Escudo, just as the Magic Knights once did, and have his sword reforged with it by Presea.

Now for each trial, Syaoran will be tested each for one of his attributes: body, mind, heart, and soul. You've probably noticed by the title of this chapter which one of those is first.

Horyus OVA

Trials of the Rune Gods

Chapter 2:

A while later, Syaoran and the Magic Knights arrived at the Spring of Eterna and at first, all he saw was a straight blue glowing line. "This is the Spring of Eterna," Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "So far, all I see is a line, but perhaps there's something more to it."

Syaoran then decided to look at it from above and saw that his hunch was right. "I knew it…!"

"Okay, Syaoran," said Umi. "I'm sure you know what to do from here!"

"I do," said Syaoran.

"And remember, don't give into negative emotions," Hikaru reminded him

"I'll do my best." Syaoran then jumped into the spring.

Inside the spring, Syaoran found himself in a mysterious place where he saw pretty much nothing but a white void similar to the ones the Magic Knights once found themselves in. In there, he found that he could stand up, but he was about to face off against his first trial. In mere moments, he came face to face with…

"Sakura, is that you," Syaoran gasped.

"Sakura" gave no answer, but instead looked at Syaoran with hostility on her face reminiscent of the face Syaoran used to give Sakura when they first met.

"Sakura, how did you get here," Syaoran questioned. "I thought you were…"

"Don't you remember," "Sakura" answered. "You left me to be taken by Hydra…!"

"Sakura" then activated the shot card and fired several energy shots from her staff at Syaoran. Instinctively, Syaoran deflected the shots with his sword. "Sakura" then activated the Sword Card and attacked Syaoran with a sword slash. Again, Syaoran blocked the attack with his sword.

"Why are you attacking me, Sakura," Syaoran questioned.

"Isn't it obvious," "Sakura" answered. "You abandoned me when I was captured by Hydra! You didn't do much in the battle with Organization XIII! And when Lucy killed Toya, you didn't do anything to stop it! Now, I'm going to kill you for that and then kill your sisters so that you can experience what it's like to lose your siblings!"

However, Syaoran saw right through the ruse and pushed "Sakura" back. "That's enough! You're not Sakura…! She would never do such a horrible thing to anyone! And she would never show this kind of hostility to anyone she cares about!"

"You're one to criticize," the fake Sakura retorted. "You used to show this kind of hostility to her when you first met!"

Syaoran then remembered how hostile he was to Sakura on the day they met and the following days. He especially remembered how critical he was to his girlfriend at first when it came to capturing the Clow Cards. Ture they eventually got over that phase, but when looking back, he really felt ashamed of the way he treated her.

"I'll admit, I was hostile to Sakura when we first met," Syaoran sighed. "No matter how hard she tried, I always found ways to causticize and criticize her, believing that I should be the new master of the Clow Cards. I even went as far as to demand them and try to take them from her by force."

The fake Sakura smirked.

"But that is in the past," Syaoran retorted. "I've grown up since then and you're not welcome in my life anymore…!"

"Then I will destroy you," the fake Sakura then charged at Syaoran.

Fake Sakura then swung down with the Sword Card and Syaoran attempted to block it with his sword. While he was able to block it, the impact damaged his sword even more and he knew that he had to do something fast to take her down. Acting fast, Syaoran pushed Fake Sakura away and his energy through his sword and fired his Thunder Scar attack at the fake Sakura.

"THUNDER SCAR…!"

But just as the attack started, Syaoran's sword broke and the attack dissipated, much to the delight of Fake Sakura.

"My sword…!"

"What are you going to do without your sword," Fake Sakura charged at Syaoran, the Sword Card still activated.

Outside the spring, the Magic Knights were anxiously awaiting for Syaoran's return, some more than others.

"Do you think Syaoran is okay," said Umi.

"Hard to answer, Ms. Umi," Fuu replied. "Unlike us, he already could use magic before coming here while Master Clef had to help us gain magic. But on the other hand, he probably has to face a big trial of facing someone he knows and loves dearly like we did."

Hikaru reminded Umi and Fuu, "But we managed to make it out okay in the end."

"But we had Princess Emeraude to help us through that," Fuu reminded Hikaru. "I'm not sure if she'll help out Syaoran in this because… well, you know…"

"Can you guys be any more negative," said Hikaru. "We didn't know what we were doing back then, Syaoran does. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Inside the spring, Syaoran was doing his best against Fake Sakura. Using the martial arts skills he learned over the years, Syaoran managed to evade the sword swings, but not without getting scratched. In fact, he received several cuts from the blade, including one on his right cheek. "This isn't good! I have to get that sword out of her hands in order to have a chance!"

"What's the matter Syaoran," Fake Sakura taunted with a sadistic smile. "Don't have the skills to fight a sword dual without a weapon?!"

Fake Sakura then charged at Syaoran and attempted to slice him in half. But at the last minute, Syaoran caught the blade with his bare hands, much to Fake Sakura's surprise.

"What the…?"

"You forgot something," Syaoran glared as his hands began bleeding. "I've trained in martial arts throughout my life!"

Syaoran, using his strength, knocked the blade away, disarming Fake Sakura. "What are you going to do without your weapon?"

But Fake Sakura activated the Fight Card, giving herself fight skills.

"FIGHT…!"

Fake Sakura then charged once more and attempted to strike Syaoran with a karate chop, but the young swordsman easily dodged it. Fake Sakura followed with a low kick, knocking Syaoran off his feet and flattening him to the floor. Fake Sakura then raised her right leg and slammed it down on Syaoran, but again, the boy dodged it by rolling to the left. Quickly regaining his footing, Syaoran took up a fighting stance and Fake Sakura did the same. The two then charged at each other and each landed punch and kick after punch and kick, both trying to knock down the other.

"This Fake Sakura is tough," Syaoran thought while deflecting incoming punches and kicks while launching his own. "The Fight Card she used works just like the real one! I have got to bring her down somehow!"

Suddenly, Fake Sakura pulled a dirty trick and landed a solid kick right into Syaoran's crotch.

"GAAA…!"

Feeling the pain from the blow, Syaoran instinctively covered his injured crotch, giving Fake Sakura her chance to strike him down with a round kick to the face. Syaoran once again fell to the floor and Fake Sakura was ready to deliver the final blow. But at the last minute, Syaoran out of desperation grabbed onto his broken sword and used all his might to thrust it into Fake Sakura's gut. His energy recreating the sharp tip as the blade went straight through her body from one end to the other.

"GAAA…!"

Syaoran then pushed Fake Sakura away as she covered her wound. She tried to regain her composure, but Syaoran wasn't done.

Fake Sakura looked up and saw the position she was in. "You wouldn't dare!"

"You don't know me at all," Syaoran then charged up his energy through his broken sword and fired his Thunder Scar attack at the fake Sakura.

"THUNDER SCAR…!"

The attack destroyed Fake Sakura upon impact, but it also caused the Sword Card to disappear along with her.

With the fake Sakura gone, Syaoran was rewarded with the legendary ore, Escudo, only this Escudo was white while the Escudo that the Magic Knights obtained were red for Hikaru, blue for Umi, and green for Fuu. But before he could take it, an extremely beautiful and elegant young woman with very long blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a white dress and a tiara with a green orb appeared before the boy. From what Syaoran could tell, she was someone who was very important to Cephiro.

"Well done, Syaoran Li," said the woman. "You've passed your first trial."

"Thanks I guess," said Syaoran. "But who are you?"

"I am Emeraude, Princess of Cephiro," Emeraude explained. "I was once its noble pillar, but that was long ago."

Syaoran had many questions to ask Emeraude, but he decided to put them aside and focus on the task at hand. He took out his compass board and used it to store his broken sword as well as the Escudo. Moments later, he was transported outside of the spring where Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were waiting for him. Emeraude then disappeared.

Back outside, the Magic Knights were still waiting when…

"Huh…?"

Syaoran emerged from the spring, visibly injured, but nothing too serious.

"Syaoran…!"

"You made it," said Hikaru with delight. "I knew you could do it!"

"Yeah, but that wasn't easy," Syaoran panted.

Umi inspected Syaoran. "Wow, look at you, you're all banged up!"

"Yeah, I had to fight a fake version of my girlfriend," Syaoran admitted. "I gotta say she didn't let me win without a struggle. My sword was broken in the battle and… well you can see for yourself."

"Don't worry, I'll have you all fixed up," Fuu conducted her healing spell.

"WINDS OF HEALING…!"

Fuu covered Syaoran with soothing winds, healing him up. Once his wounds were healed, Syaoran took out his compass board and revealed the Escudo he obtained.

"Wow," the Magic Knights gasped.

"That Escudo is white!" said Hikaru.

"The Escudo we got was colored red, blue, or green," said Fuu. "I wonder why Syaoran's is white."

"Oh who cares," said Umi. "What matters is he got the Escudo."

"I guess you're right," said Hikaru. "Still, I wonder what this Escudo will do with his sword."

Fuu concluded. "Well, I suppose that Ms. Presea will have the answer when we return."

"Indeed." Syaoran then stored the Escudo back into his compass board and the four made their way back to Presea's house.

Later back at Presea's house, Presea was inspecting Syaoran's sword, seeing what the damage was. From what she could see, the blade was shattered into two pieces during the trial and the hilt was totally burned.

"You really did a number on your sword," Presea pointed out. "It's a wonder that the blade didn't break into who knows how many pieces. If you were to fight again with this, you would surely be killed."

"Can it be fixed," Syaoran asked.

"It can, but I'll need the Escudo you got from the Spring of Eterna," Presea told him.

Syaoran then took out the Escudo from his compass board.

"Oh, so you've obtained White Escudo," said Presea.

"Is it any different from the Red, Blue, and Green Escudo that Umi, Fuu, and I once obtained from the spring," Hikaru asked.

"White Escudo is the rarest variant along with Black Escudo," Clef explained. "It is said to be more powerful than the Escudo that the Magic Knights use. But it can only be wielded by those who are strong enough to fight armed opponents without a weapon."

"So that's how I was able to obtain it," said Syaoran. "Even when my sword was destroyed, I was still able to fight back."

"Indeed," Presea answered. "With this Syaoran, I'll re-forge your sword into what could be my best creation yet."

The group then made their way into the creation room where Presea would reforge Syaoran's sword with the Escudo he got from the spring.

"This is the creation room, the place where I make weapons," Presea explained.

"I see," Syaoran looked around. "So you don't need tools to forge weapons, do you?"

"Nope," Presea confirmed. "All I require is a strong will. Now let's take out your Escudo and your sword."

Syaoran nodded and took out his Escudo and his broken sword from his compass board once more. He also took out the sheath for good measure. Once that was done, Presea changed her outfit into what resembled a white gown with several straps. Using three of them, Presea grabbed onto the Escudo, the sword, and the sheath, one wrapped around the Escudo, one wrapped around the broken sword, and one wrapped around the sword's sheath. It took a little while, but Presea was able to fix the sword and infuse it and its sheath with Escudo, transforming it into a brand new sword and a brand new sheath.

Once she was done, Presea presented Syaoran with his new sword. "It is done."

"Thanks," Syaoran bowed.

"Remember, that new sword of yours is forged from Escudo," said Presea. "Like all weapons made from Escudo, it will evolve along with its wielder. But if the wielder doesn't evolve, then neither will the weapon. White Escudo especially has special properties."

"But you will have to learn them as you go along," Clef explained.

"Believe me, I will," Syaoran took possession of his new sword.

His new sword looked pretty much like the old one, but with some significant differences. It was a jian with a jade hanging charm resembling a tassel that hung from the handle. But where there was once only gold, there was now mostly white with gold stripes here and there, similar to Fuu's sword.

The moment he took hold of his sword, Syaoran felt a surge of energy flow throughout his body. Next thing he knew, his costume changed. His regular outfit was replaced with a new one consisting of a black sleeveless shirt, tan trousers and gloves, a green hooded cape, and black shoes.

"Wow…!"

"Look at him now," Hikaru pumped her fists.

"He looks so very dashing, I must admit," Fuu tweaked her glasses.

"It reminds me of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time where Link takes the Master Sword and turns into his adult form," Umi said to the others.

"That's just a taste of the power of White Escudo," said Clef. "Those garments you're currently wearing Syaoran are part of a new form you'll be able to take on whenever you need to."

"I see." Syaoran nodded.

"What is the name of that form," Hikaru asked. "Every transformation needs a name!"

"Huh," Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know… Maybe I can call this Buster Form or Buster Mode…"

And that was chapter 2. So Syaoran has passed his first trial and obtained Escudo from the spring, and it's White Escudo. On top of that, he was able to have his sword reforged into an evolving weapon, not unlike the weapons the Magic Knights have, and he's obtained a new form called Buster Form or Buster Mode. For those who are wondering, yes, this form makes Syaoran look like his counterpart from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. I felt it best for both Sakura and Syaoran to have alternate forms based on their counterparts from Tsubasa. Syaoran will unlock more of his hidden potential as he goes ahead with his other trials. One down, Three to go.

Author's Note: For those who are wondering about the concept of White Escudo, it's actually a reference to the 4 precious gem stones. Syaoran's White Escudo representing a diamond while Hikaru's Red Escudo represents a ruby, Umi's Blue Escudo represents a sapphire, and Fuu's Green Escudo represents an emerald. Yes, I know that diamonds are actually clear, not white, but that's beside the point. As Clef mentioned in the story, while weapons forged (or in this case reforged) from White Escudo do evolve with their users like the other three variants, it has special properties that make it stand out from the others. I'll reveal those as I go along.

Now the next chapter will have Syaoran take his second trial. Until then, stay tuned.

Chapter 3: Trial Two: The Strength of Thy Mind