The Ancient One's spirit tells Sage to rely on mind, skill and spirit and not just the strength of his armor to overcome evil, saying that harnessing those three things will allow him to attain an even greater strength. In order to do so, Sage returns to the caves at the Catasota Gulch Pinnacles where the Armor of Halo was created and the source of its power. At the Pinnacles, Sage saves a deer from a pack of wolves who run away when he starts glowing. The deer and its herd, also fearing Sage, run away from him. Meanwhile, Talpa summons Cale and sends him to go after Sage to try to turn him to the side of evil, believing that once the Ronin Warriors see their true power, they will switch sides. Cale approaches Sage and explains that the wolves and the deer ran from him because they sensed the evil of his armor and fear it. Cale claims that the armors purpose is to bring destruction to the world and attacks. Cale battles Sage, trying to convince him of the armors evil power and for Sage to turn to evil, telling him that the armor makes him continually fight and destroy. Fearing this might be true, Sage powers down his armor and runs, hiding in a waterfall and meditating. In order to show Sage how cold and dark the heart of a Dynasty warlord is, Cale covers everything, including all living creatures in ice and snow, freezing Sage in the waterfall and tries to convince him to help destroy the world. In an attempt to drive Sage to evil, Cale revives and controls five deer and makes them attack Sage, trying to force him to kill them and drive him further from good, but when it fails, Cale kills them again. Sage summons his armor to fight Cale again, understanding that while his strength may come from the Dynasty, he still controls it with his mind. Sage unleashes the Thunder Bolt Cut, defeating Cale, but blasting off the top of the caves. Cale tells Sage he has now become a Dynasty warrior before collapsing and not wanting to give into the evil in the armor, Sage separates it from him and cuts it in half with his sword. However, his sword channels the power of his own spirit and repairs the armor and realizing that this is not an evil power, Sage regains faith in his mind, skill and spirit to overcome evil. This causes life to be restored to the land. However, this leaves Sage vulnerable and Talpa opens a gate to the Nether Realm and captures Sage and the Armor of Halo.
