Commentary and Rant: Just a simple experimental piece of fiction here. And a part answer to the very horrible story of Soul Calibur V. Particularly, I'm pissed at the "bus boarding" of nearly half of the original cast. Goddamm. No other game has managed to piss me off THAT much. The other games didn't do any of this, yet the latest installment, which actually promised to be "the retelling of souls and swords" EPICALLY failed to deliver. Barely any extra content, no character profiles in game at ALL, and many new unexplained half-ass characters who look more like typical JRPG Final Fantasy crap than actual 1600 A.D. era characters. Fucking pathetic SCV. Just pathetic.
Welp, in response to this, I've created a story. The summary says all and I hope you do enjoy.
Summary: The defeat...was merely delayed. For the time after the Azure War and the Malfested... When the Sons of Schwarzwind would spill their own blood. But no one wanted to believe. Believe they even existed. And when the truth finally dawned. It dawns in fire. But... there is one they fear. In their tongue, it is 'Deivirkiin'. Devilborn!
Author Reinforce Vier presents...
An Elder Scrolls V Skyrim and Soul Calibur V influenced fiction...
The White Devil
Act I Part I - Those Years Ago...
"So where did it all begin?"
"Where? Well... I can't say much. But I guess it started when we were attacked by the Remnant..."
xvx
A robed figure dismounted from the war steed, patting it firmly to calm down the heavy forest atmosphere currently plaguing the last shattered remnants. The cloaked walked up to another mount, silently whispering to ask a respite. A single glance to the suffering and moans of the dying souls opted no other choice but rest.
A curt nod. The wave of a hand.
Various unscratched figures went around, handing out precious water and stemming life flow as needed. Others still walked around; hands clasped with others and in deep transic prayer. Soft joints and lithe palms swept hot tears away, whether from pain or sorrow. Voices barked at another soul to hand out an instrument as needed, to save a broken life shattered and at world's end. And just as quietly, finger tips would close the deceased's lids forever to bid them ade.
Taking the chance of respite, comrades murmured amongst themselves, some offering pity, some gossip, but many others more whispering what they had thought the impossible.
Cautious gazes fleeted at a lone figure propped against the dead forest, knees drawn up and engaged in an increasingly palpable depression. The ratty faded blanket covered most of the form, hiding the expression from any prying eyes. The weapon once proudly wielded was now simply leaned against the hunched form, it's organic mass twitching in agony whether to comfort or leave. Uncertainty and a heavy unbearing loomed over the lone figure, unable to do anything but to replay the events over and over again until breaking point.
Murmurs and whispers persisted, each one little more than gossip.
But a little angel was watching over the fallen one with intent, studying and interpreting actions with fragility. With a calmed and stilled soul, it felt the many irregularities of the surroundings, the darkening depression just over head. It felt souls depart, lids close one last time, and a prayer for each love lost. Felt a loss that pained and left gaping holes within the souls and hearts of so many. Loss that could never be recovered from. Only the faint memories and smiles would persist to hurt.
The white petals were in bloom today.
xvx
"They hated her, didn't they?"
"I have to admit, a lot of them were scared of her. Even nicknamed her "White Devil" because of her insane battle fervor. She was... just felt completely different than regular humans. But at the same time..."
"Funny how that works. There's always something strange that makes a being of power act so curious about us humans, so it adapts and becomes very human like itself."
"That is... an interesting way to put it yes, but it will do. She was very much like that."
"I see... and you?"
"Me? Heh, just a simple fool."
xvx
He didn't know a lot of things.
He did not know why he felt compelled to walk. He did not know why he glared spite and hatred to his friends. He did not fathom why his comrades whispered gossip and questions when it was a time to help each other out. He did not know why the angel was as she was, an emotional wreck and fallen purity. He did not know why the demon weapon she wielded helped her like a faithful husband in battle. He did not know why she preferred to be alone with just her weapon as her constant. He did not even know what compelled him to walk to the one so many dubbed "The White Devil".
"Ade mein leibe...Ade Edelweiss...Edelweiss..."
Glazed orbs gazed disheartenedly at the figure folded over the tattered blanket, the signature roman pink unable to be hidden. A sweet melancholic scent wafting the very air around them, it tried to mingle with the forest air, but failed to as it just simply stood out, much too wild for the milder forest to tame. Gentle sobs and hics racked the fragile frame, each one causing so much soul ripping pain from the inside. Breaking point was close and personal. He tried to open his lips to say something to the other, but another told him it was not the time. It would have to wait.
He simply sat down beside the angel, gazing cautiously to get a closer look.
It would have made anyone pained just by her tears alone.
Her expression was contorted into a fine mess, the tears streaking and having stained a good bit of her face. Previously calm and loving lips now twisted into a lost love version of themselves, quivering and trembling to wonder what happened and to search for the lost again...only to fail once again. Her bone whites were ground and gnashed up against each other, almost to a breaking point as endless sorrow forced a particularly nasty grating sound to be issued. The blush on her cheeks burned just about red hot, flushed and drained from the emotion and turmoil moments before. Shattering sobs and hopeless hics become quieter and quieter, while her body started to tremble.
He knew he had to do something.
The soldier called out her name, softly and tenderly, even if it was to catch her attention.
The angel could barely register a moan, her grip on the organic instinctively tightening as she vaguely recognized the voice by her side.
He continued to call out her name, to reach out to her and take a weakened vulnerable body into arms and a heart. Roman pink swayed for a second, azure sweeping the brown mud earth in fumble, the twisted demon hellflesh of a mutated part straining and throbbing in mixed rage and confusion, laced with a heavy dose of sorrow as she questioned her fate.
Her eyes widened as dark thoughts echoed the words screamed to her not too long ago, a heavy lidded exhausted gaze landing upon the mated body and demon grip.
Was it...-
Ah...?
She gazed from her weapon to the man by her side, seeing through her pained tears and into a worried uncertainty. Half and half wanted to rip and tear, to relieve all the pain, to make it go away.
The other half...
xvx
"A split personality?"
"No no. She was nothing like that. Just...well, she just felt very alone I guess."
"Being the only woman wielding an evil sword in a group of gold digging all male mercs can do that to you."
"Just like how being the former royalty of a fallen kingdom can do the same?"
"Touche."
xvx
"Hey..."
The crying woman only gave a weak whisper in response, her word of "Hello" barely even heard.
The man cracked a gentle smile. He knew it was fake, but if it was to cheer up the most powerful and possibly insane member of their lucky band of mercenaries, he would do it. So he smiled even wider, almost borderline hammish. It was an insane stark contrast to the death, dying, and overall bad situation of their forces right now. Combat ineffective and having lost over thirty percent in their mission to rescue a single girl.
But to the group, it was worth it.
"Ne..."
He raised an eyebrow to the girl, fully knowing that, if his own love for story cliches were correct, she would go into a full blown monologue of self pity and depressive topics of questioning her existence.
"Why... do I exist?"
In which he was proved right.
With that, he merely took a seat next to the young girl, leaning towards her ever so slightly so that she wouldn't be able to notice. Not that it actually helped, since the ever powerful demon's sword was practically right next to her like a loyal attack dog ready to go into "godless killing machine mode" at a moment's notice to anybody that ever remotely threatened it's master. Speaking said sword...
xvx
"Hmm... you said you had the accursed Soul Edge in your ranks, did you not?"
"Yeah, we actually did. Now that I look back at it, I guess it was just a defective fragment of the sword which became reliant on it's former host. Namely her."
"I'm surprised it didn't start murdering everyone in sight. As soon as it accepted the host that is."
"Yeah, I know it's supposed to be the "Sword of the Gods" and be completely evil and stuff, but for some odd reason, it wasn't outright insanely evil when she had it in her hands. Just more weird unexplainable stuff of the White Devil, I guess."
"Interesting."
"Certainly was very trollish however..."
xvx
He wasn't too fond of the "Sword of the Gods" just like everyone else, but if there was any consolence, it had finally stopped it roaring rampage of revenge and for the evulz killing. That still did not mean it wasn't violent however. And, just as they had painfully discovered, people were still after it. Which it's current master, the girl who just simply wanted adventure with a band of gold plundering mercs, was empathetically linked it. Which had lead it to somehow impossibly creating an entirely new personality which was more or less along the lines of "trolling prankster". If that made ANY sense.
But despite that, it was empathetically linked to it's host, which meant it would be able to read her emotions.
'Now look here my good ma-'
[I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough water-]
So far, it was being very uncooperative.
[. . .I FUS in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!]
What...?
'Is there something else I can try?' he mentally inquired the sword.
To which it retorted, [No! Now go away or I shall FUS you a second time.]
Well, so much for that.
Regarding their precious second in command, who had gone from nobody to nightmare, it was best for her to continue her now rage rant against the heavens.
"...if this stupid sword is the "Sword of the Gods" as so many claim, then why the fuck haven't I done anything good with this thing? How come only death and destruction and misery come to all of us in the LAH ever since I picked it up?"
He gave no response, patiently waiting for her to vent.
"Are you even listening, dammit? Just why the hell does Soul Edge even exist anymore and of all people, it chose me as it's wielder! I thought it was supposed to have been destroyed years ago!"
The White Devil then focused her rage glare to the rusty zweihander in her hands, gripping it as tightly as she could to break it. As if she could suffocate it out.
"And you!"
The girl then rounded upon the weapon itself, glaring the fires of hell itself straight into it's eye. It only glared back, an equal intense rage burning in it's colors, rivaling the sun. She opened her frowning lips to rage shout upon her weapon, but was silenced by equally angered organic tentacles filling her entire mouth...in a rather silly attempt and it's only way to silence a human being. Being a living weapon had it's disadvantages and having no hands was one of them. The master only did something which probably would have made sense if she was under imminent rape, but at the same time, it made sense in context.
The girl bit into Edge's organic tentacles and sent out gushers of blood spraying all over into her mouth and face. The sword recoiled it's only weapons to defend itself with as it's master lept upon top of the rusty weapon, sitting on it with her full weight to prevent it from floating via applied magic. The girl reared back an arm and swung with full force at her target.
A crack rang out as The White Devil broke her arm from sheer force of impact alone.
The cursed sword gave out a very unmanly cry as it's eye was punched out.
xvx
"They fought like that?"
"Yes. They often did. Arguments, bickering, even violent fights at times. But since they were bonded to each other, they had to make up. Most of the boys thought it was rather hilarious to see Soul Edge and a girl of all people, argue like two teens."
"Imagine that. An all powerful sword reduced to a girl's play toy. Oh how the mighty have fallen."
"Indeed. It was surreal at times how the sword would act so human. All the while it claimed to hate humans and be nothing like them. Hubris really."
"Hubris indeed."
. . . . . .
"I remember when she had to be hugged."
"You hugged the Devil? The White fucking Devil? Who owned Soul Edge?"
"No. But I remember it clearly."
xvx
"Wha-"
The White Devil suddenly felt herself become wrapped in a strong wall of warmth as a pair of steeled arms pulled her broken exhausted body into a hug. Her eyes widened in confusion, rage forgotten at once, an odd sensation sweeping itself into her cold body, filling it with a sudden and very unexpected sense of comfort.
"H-Huh...?" was her only reaction.
He gave a gentle smile as he held the White Devil in his arms, seeking to calm her troubled soul back to docile levels. He opened his lips to speak to her, from one comrade to another.
"Listen to me. I know this is exactly like one of those stupid fairytale cliches where the hero comforts the girl and they most likely elope right after kissing or some shit like that, but gods... this wreck isn't you."
The man gave the dumbstruck girl a tight reassuring squeeze before continuing on.
"The White Devil I know is..."
xvx
"A few words to describe her? Well it's been a while but from what I remember, she was valiant, honest, courageous, steadfast. Never gave up either, even if a mission was suicide. She followed the code as best she could and always placed her friends above her own being. Cute as a button too."
"You don't say?"
"Yeah, I'd know she'd probably kill me for this but...she had really nice breasts."
"Ahahahaha! I know I would kill you for that one, I'm a woman myself."
"Well yeah, suits me right. But I suppose you could say... she was like a daughter to all of us really. And at times, a mother."
"A mother? A young girl like her...?"
"Yes. Sometimes, she would have this "wise beyond their years" thing going on. But since she was a leader, I assume it was only natural for her. As it was for you."
"Indeed and I still am."
xvx
"Misuzu, are you alright?" a sudden warm motherly voice spoke with concern.
The young child nodded her head, grinning with a super blush upon her cheeks.
"Ahaha~. Mhm. I'm 'kay mama!"
A soft smile graced the elder's features, holding out a hand to heed her cute child.
"Okay, but please be careful when you run Misuzu."
Said running child gave a hum of approval before she felt flat on her face not two seconds later.
"Wah!"
The elder woman clutched a hand to her chest, grasp tightening around the shawl she always wore in her journeys. Her expression soured a little and froze, dumbstruck, before she realized-
"G-Gao."
Oh. Her child had fell.
Not a second later, the elder woman ran up to Misuzu and swept her against her bosom, stroking her faded blonde hair as she whispered words of encouragement to the younger.
xvx
"Ah. So she had a child?"
"No. The Devil adopted her as her own. A... guardian of sorts."
"And what of Soul Edge? What did he think of this?"
"The sword didn't think much of it at all. It just simply accepted it as another "human" thing really."
"And the White Devil?"
"She played the role of a mother perfectly. It was surreal. One of the unit members asked her once if she ever had sex or gotten pregnant out of pure curiosity. Because, you know, White Devil equal mother?"
"What was her answer?"
xvx
"No."
"H-Huh...?"
The young woman gently set the blade of Soul Edge aside for the moment, choosing to gaze at the young man who had dared to ask. She upturned her eyes to the sky in a small shallow thought, trying to recollect if her body ever had a passionate encounter. Feeling absolutely nothing within her heart or mind, she gave her words again.
"I never had sex before, Ober-schtuze. Ever."
"B-But...your body! Any man would kill for that! I'm sure you've gotten laid quite a few times before picking up that cursed sword. Hell, I'm even sure you have gotten laid by a few of our me-"
"Ober-schtuze!"
The voice was a dangerous low hiss, a sure sign that the dark evil within her was about to be unleashed. She put down the rag she was using previously to clean her weapon, sitting her body up to standing as she pushed from the table. Her head was hung low and the fire beside the encampment only served to illuminate her figure. Her feet slowly stomped the way towards the poor soldier as her own body stiffened as it shook in unstoppable rage. A booted foot stopped advancing as soon as her gaze stared dispassionately upon the now quaking soldier's face.
The White Devil was here.
xvx
"I hope she didn't kill the poor guy. Whoever he was."
"Hahaha! Nah, she didn't. Just ordered Soul Edge to wrap him up in a "sleeping bag" of sorts. Dear lords..."
"Wait... isn't Soul Edge tentacle flesh growth based?"
"Yep. You can only imagine how that turned out."
"Ick. I shudder at that very thought."
"Oh you have no id-"
"Sir! Schwarzwind is requesting that you report in!"
"Noted Private. Tell the Commander I will be there in about five minutes."
"Yes sir!"
"Ah, I'm sorry for the interruption, sire. Now... where were we?"
"Something about the White Devil and her body?"
"Ah yes. About that... I'll be blunt about it. The White Devil was strong. So strong that entire brigades would actually surrender to us out of fear. But her health... it was extremely weak."
"Oh? How weak?"
"So weak that despite her power, she could easily die from a stupid cold."
"I suspect there is more to this?"
"She... caught a bad case in the dead of winter. Most of the unit were tough guys and handled the cold fine. But the Devil..."
"Why didn't you do that then? Let a disease take her so it could take Soul Edge?"
"A lot of the unit considered it but... ultimately, a lot more cared for her than we had originally thought. She was just too valuable to lose. Also, since she seemed to be controlling Soul Edge, instead of the other way around, it was a huge plus for us. She also was the most human out of all the other victims. What I have heard from the Commander and you... Edge's victims didn't get so pretty. Mentally nor physically."
"That is correct. The Commander himself was the main host for a good number of years in fact. He is still unwilling to talk about it, but from what he told me, it was not pleasant at all."
"I know the symptoms. But the White Devil had none of them."
"Ah? Please, do tell."
"The White Devil actually stayed human through-out. Her arm never mutated into a claw, nor did any black markings appear or her clothing change color. And mentally, she was completely fine. In battle, she would become very unhinged and pretty much execute every single downed enemy she could, but to the Devil and Soul Edge, that simple blood lust for a curb stomp battle was enough. The White Devil nor Soul Edge ever even touched us in hate or anger. But that restraint came at a cost."
"Her weak health. Soul Edge was literally sucking her health away."
"Bingo."
"So why didn't you separate her from the cursed blade?"
"There were... complications."
xvx
The girl coughed violently, her lungs spasming as parts of her body lost all sense of control, losing to the high fever it was fighting against. A rusty wheeze was rattled out from her very core and she coughed out a small amount of blood onto her blanket. A pitiful moan was elicited as her pained throbbing limbs twitched as they tried to move. She only succeeded in making the pain worsen and rack her small frame under the ratty blanket which covered her body.
A warm damp towel patted her forehead free of sweat, a worn out rough hand gently parting away her matted locks of hair from her eyes. Fingers interlaced with a sickened one's and lovingly squeezed to give a small sense of reassurance.
"Meister..."
A calm sea of blue weakly gazed back into a blazing red, the light flickeringly weak. It made the burning soul worry itself sick as it could do nothing but pray to whatever gods believed in and wish for the betterment of a weak shell's health.
"...I...I..."
A gentle finger was pressed upon chaste lips, hushing a weak voice from speaking to save precious strength. The interlaced fingers squeezed once more as the free hand started to remove enclosed layers, peeling it away from the drenched overheated flesh to reveal the Devil's smooth perfect curves.
"A-Ah..."
The warm damp towel was laid flat over her stomach, rising and falling weakly with each strained breath she took. The fresh bandages wrapped around her chest and waist tightened as well, but that was a small discomfort compared to the extreme loss of fluids and exposure her body had experienced.
As if reading her body, a free hand grasped and lifted a cup to her battered lips, pouring precious life water into her parched self. The White Devil drank deeply from the cup, emptying it of it's contents in but a few seconds. She gave a small weak gasp as her back arched in pain at the spasms inside her overheated critical body.
But despite this, she maintained her calm gaze to the troubled stare of her partner. She gave a weak smile and could barely squeeze the interlocked fingers which her partner held.
They squeezed back.
xvx
"I never saw the two of them argue again after that. The Devil had almost died in that incident and it hit the group hard. We started to become a lot closer and fought more as an organized unit than a merry band of gold diggers."
"And I suppose it somehow affected Edge as well?"
"In a way it did. It's personality changed to conform to her will. They both started to fight much better and faster, making cleaner and professional kills. The White Devil was no longer as mad or psychotic as before and she even started to spare her surrendered foes. Before we knew it, she ironically had become like your commander, Seigfried Schtauffen, had become with Soul Calibur. Only difference is, from what you've told me, Calibur was just as much as an extremist as Soul Edge was, if not more, by the end. How ironic that Edge would become the sword of justice and Calibur the sword of destruction."
"Indeed. It's funny and sad in a way. But now, both swords are forever gone."
"And with it, the White Devil as well..."
"I thought she had retired or something?"
"You heard wrong, Princess. The White Devil...she-"
The crash of an explosion suddenly caught their attention. Not a moment later, panicked cries and shouts of orders had set in, screams and yells of pain, death and destruction. The two immediately forgot about the tale of the years long past and rushed outside to see what was going on.
Their answer was that of a flying thing slamming on top of one their soldiers and ripping his body apart. It gave a mighty ear piercing roar, deafening and stunning everyone within the immediate area. Before they could get a good look at it, the thing lifted off and put a burst of speed in a single swoop, leaving an after trail of a mild shock wave as a last laugh. Before they even had a chance to counter attack, most of the camp had been utterly destroyed. Fires and small craters had been left in the thing's wake and now, the orders were to help the survivors and rebuild camp.
Hildegard von Krone gave a grimace as she sprinted into action, removing burning support beams and stone mortars off pinned down soldiers as she barked out orders to hand out water to douse the fires threatening to burn down their encampment. But in reality, her mind was somewhere else...
"Leibe!"
The man known as Seigfried Schtauffen looked back to see his wife running towards him. Immediately, he knew what was on the forefront of her mind. The man opened his arms to reveal the two children to be safe and sound, albeit a little shell shocked. Almost instantly, they reached out to her. And just as they reached out, Hilde ran into her husband's arms to enclose their family in a tight embrace, relieved they were alright.
However, the other who had run out with her could only stare off into the darkened skies. This destruction. This amount of destruction in such a short time...
He whispered a name only known to him, lost to history and the legends.
"...Are you... still out there?"
xvx
Ende of Act I
Closing Notes: Well here is it. The first part of my experimental Soul Calibur fiction, formerly "Tales of the Cursed Sword" in rough. The release of Soul Calibur V inspired me to write again for my original Project and this time, since the "17 years later" part kind of invalidated everything I saw Soul Calibur IV as... Yep. I honestly felt I was watching some bad incestic love story. Seriously. Just... bleugh.
Oh and for those of you wondering why Soul Edge is more or less a "good" guy in this, it's simple. Why doesn't Maxi or Mitsurugi go batshit insane despite them (probably) having two or three shards of the evil sword in their bodies? For like what? Two decades? You'd think their minds would go insane or their bodies would turn from the inside out because of those shards...