Recently saw the trailer for Soul Calibur 4, and the idea for this popped into my head almost instantly. I love the series and these would be a good chance to try and make a real story. Just a prologue, I know, but I might build up on it later. Enjoy!
End Soul: Preloude to a final battle
The wind blew rain onto Mitsurugi's face as he stared out at the sea, his hand on the hilt of his sword, a habit he developed years ago. For many years now, he a sought a certain prize, that sword, yet had, in one way or an other, failed to achieve that which he sought so badly. As a result he a trained to become stronger, stronger than any man should be, to make up for what he called weakness. But it was this same strength that had saved his life many time's in the past. He knew his prize was also sought by many other's, some not even human, but strived on, with only his determination, though some would argue it as an obsession, and drive by his side. Yet, he had begun to develop a feeling, the easiest way to describe it, that all that would change, that it would end. So much of his life had been spent searching for the sword that he ever once considered what life could be like without it. The world was changing and the time of his kind, the time of warriors, was coming to an end. How would he fit into a peaceful world, a world where his many years of experience in battle would be unnecessary? He was then brought back to reality when a new, but familiar sound filled the night. It was the clanking, metal footsteps of a body covered in armor. At that, reinforced armor, that was not cut as easily as regular plate armor. There was no hesitation in the steps, no effort what so ever to hide their presence. Their intentions were all too clear to Mitsurugi: they wanted to fight. A slight smirk appearing on his face, prepared to attack with a single strike to end it as quickly as possible, he turned and said, "You obviously know who I am, yet your boldness impress's me. As a reward for your courage, I shall end it quickly and without pain." With that, he launched his death stroke, aiming at the heart, only to be met with the sharp sound of metal hitting metal. The mysterious opponent had not simply blocked it, but with a single hand no less and was some how able to lock Mitsurugi's sword in place. "What strength!" Mitsurugi thought. Jumping back and taking a stance, he asked "Who are you?", but the warrior simply stood there, half his face hidden behind a mask of cloth, his eyes glowing in the moon light. "Answer me!", he demanded, yet the warrior still stood silently. His patience gone, Mitsurugi let out a battle cry and ran toward his opponent, ready to slice him to bits. The contest was over in three moves, the warrior blocking his attack, slicing him in the side, and Mitsurugi falling the ground on his knees. The night was once again silent, except for the rain, which was dieing down, the dripping of his blood, and his sword falling to the ground. He simply kneeled there, gaping in shock. Defeated. He had been defeated, and so easily at that. He had taken on entire army's by himself, thousands falling to his feet, and yet a single warrior had bested him. His wound was not life threatening, he knew this, but it would forever be a scar on his swordsmen's pride. Turning to the warrior, he screamed in anger and humiliation "WHO ARE YOU!?" Yet the warrior just stood there, silently gazing at the moon. Suddenly, faster than even Mitsurugi could ever manage, the warrior turned and hit him in the neck. Mitsurugi was out before the pain could even register. As if he where a mere doll the, the warrior picked him up with a single hand and slung him over a shoulder. Gazing at the moon once more, it was blocked out by a cloud, and when it passed, they were gone, the only trace being Mitsurugi's sword, still sitting in the small puddle of his blood.
Else where, on top of a cliff in a mountain range far to the north, the legendary ninja master and demon slayer, Taki, was facing a challenging opponent of her own. It looked like a human, moved like a human, and fought like a human, but Taki was not fooled. Though she couldn't quite place it, there was something about her foe that made it clear it wasn't human. Something about it was just wrong. The only thing that made look like a demon was it's face, teal in color with a toothy, almost mocking smile, but was obviously a mask. She rushed forward with a slash to the mid-section, but instead of flesh, met the steel of her opponents own daggers, resulting in a stand still. They stood there for a moment, locked in place, when the demon jumped back a good seven feet away. It then took a stance, both arms across the body in an X shape, the blades of it's weapons pointing down. Taki knew all too well what it wanted: for them to end the fight with one final, grand attack. Taki compiled, taking a stance of her own, hand on the hilt of her cursed blade, Mekkimaru. " To think I've been pushed to using both ", she thought to herself. The air practically crackling with the power of the two, the tension was cut away with a single sound: laughing. The demon was laughing. At her. Surprised but no less determined, she ran full force at it, the demon still laughing away. When Taki was only a foot away, the demon made it's own move: turning its dagger's upright and slashing downward. Taki hit the ground before the motion was finished, blood flying from her X shaped wound that went across her belly and to her sides. The force of her run, as well as the blood caused her to slide along the ground for a moment before stopping. Barely able to turn her head, she looked at the demon, who had sheathed it's weapons and was walking causally over to her. The last thing she saw before the world turned to black was the demon bending down to pick her up.
Incidents like this were happening all around the world. Warriors who had sought one or both of the spirit swords were being hunted down, defeated and, in the case of many like Mitsurugi and Taki, abducted. The wondering monk, Kilik, was faced by a man with an eye patch and a confident sneer who used a pair of spiked gauntlets. Kilik was taken away, beaten and bloody, ten seconds into the fight from his homeland of China. The blind guardian of Money Pit, the island vault of the Italian weapons merchant, Vercci, Voldo, was challenged by a man in a raven mask and feathered cape who wielded katars much like his own. The ear splitting hiss of Voldo's defeat still rang throughout the pit as his opponent literally flew off with him. The young, full hardy swordsmen Yun-seong, while traveling through India, found himself against an even younger, blond haired girl, with curly pig-tail's and a smile only the innocence of childhood could bring, holding a rapier invited him to fight her. Yun-seong, both surprised and a little amused, turned down her challenge and walked away, due to his philosophy that children shouldn't fight. This made his defeat all the more easy and humiliating as the little girl dragged him away by the collar of his shirt.
Not all were defeated by there foes, however. Take, for example, Zasalamel, the scheming immortal. Faced against a man in all black except for a wolf mask, the fight ended with the body of the man hanging of his scythe. While shearching the body, he found a small metal object on him. It was a silver badge, shaped after the cresent moon. The object looked familir to him, but no matter how longer he thought, he couldn't remember. Surely it was something from one of his past live's. But what? Else where, in his castle in Wallachia, Romania, Raphael could be seen holding a man in black knights armor by the neck and over the steep cliff-face his home over looked. He too had found the badge and, while thinking over it's signifigance, droped the man to his death. While the man was easily defeated, he still posed a threat to the safety of Amy, the only thing that really mattered in Raphael's life. The badge ment the man belonged to some form of organization, so he set off to find and destroy it. If one of their forces had come for him, surely there would be more. But as he walked away, he felt a tug on his arm. It was Amy, obviously not wanting to be left behind this time. Though Raphael knew very well this could become dangerous, he saw the determination in her eye's. With a smile of pride, he took by her hand and they walked out into the world together.
In a wastland in a forgotten part of the world, the body of a man in a deep hooded white robe landed with a loud thud, launched away by the mere presence of the being know only as Nightmare. The man's badge in his clawed hand, the physical incaration of Souledge could only think of one thing: that there were souls to find and collect to restore the sword to its former glory. With that, it set off, it's eye's glowing with an evil aura the whole time.