Heart of Melting Blood
The Whistling Gale
Written by: Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived by: Lone Wolf NEO

Author's note: Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.

Please see: The Whistling Gale, the third instalment of the Heart of Melting Blood saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in Legend of the Moonlight ended. This chapter is a prologue that takes place in the universe of Soul Calibur and several characters from the series are featured.

Prologue
A Promise That Could Not Be Fulfilled

Date: JUNE 21st, 1580
Time: 23:30 HOURS
Area: ALONG THE YANGTZE RIVER

It was a silent, eerie night. The bamboo forest was frighteningly still. No sign of night creatures could be spotted, and neither did nocturnal noise that brought it to life. It was simply grim, dark, quiet, and with the absence of moonlight it was quite breath-taking scenery.

Or would it?

A robed man ran through the dense vegetation. He was running away from something, and it was not the tiger that he feared. The predator he was evading was more determined, armed to teeth and was coming in numbers. Massive numbers.

On top of that, the predator was unseen.

The escapee glanced behind him. It was empty, but he knew the danger of anything unseen to untrained eyes. He increased the speed of his run and dashed down the pathless route. He went faster than before; it seemed he was desperate to elude the unseen.

His running pace abruptly halted. The robed man backed off. The unseen had him outran. He retreated, only to find himself obstructed by the unseen. He looked around in annoyance, and realized he was surrounded.

The clouds dissipated. The moon finally appeared. Under the celestial silver light, the unseen revealed itself. Bands of masked warrior monks, black-clothed to blend with the darkness of night, slowly approached the escapee in caution. It seemed even with exceptional escaping skill, the robed man would never outrun the so-called unseen for the rest of his life.

The monks paused. The robed man saw a man approaching him from the side of the circle. The newcomer was donning dark blue monastery outfit, and was not impressed at the robed man.

"You're trapped now," said the newcomer. "There's no way you can outrun us even if it take ages. Surrender to us, and we shall have your life spared."

The robed man snorted. "So, you've come as far as Ryukyu Island and chased me all the way to this land of dragon? I'm so impressed," he said, before a grim smile carved upon his face. "But your promises are nothing but a lie, and a warrior like me takes no chance to believe in promises."

"You? Warrior?" The newcomer cried out in dismay and pointed to the robed man. "Fool! You betrayed the holy temple and you killed Master Ransen in the process! You even stole the Ancient Sword of Shadow Serpent and used it to destroy the entire village! What kind of warrior is that when all you do is just genocide?"

The robed man grinned. "So, you were angry at me because of the act of atrocity I had performed. What about you? You're forgetting the fact that you were an outcast in the temple; Master Ransen was good-hearted enough to accept you as his student because he pitied you." The man in monastery clothing was appalled by the answer and demanded him to stop taunting him. He, instead, laughed, and pointed back to the newcomer. "Stop lying to me, Ai-Ris. Who are you to compare with me?"

"Silence! Your arrogance will only lead to your death!" the newcomer screamed. "Magnolia Monks! Attack and kill him! He must not be allowed to live!"

The warrior monks withdrew their weapons and immediately pounced at the robed man. One such monk aimed its metal claws at him but the attack was predictable. The robed man launched a couple of lightning-fast punches that sent the assassins flying through the bamboo forest. Several monks tossed daggers at the man; he easily deflected the projectiles with his dark red robe and counterattacked with energy palm attack that sent them toward the river. He turned around and saw a single fighter jumping at him with Chinese spear aimed at his head. He stepped slightly to the left, avoided the spear attack and landed a killing blow on the monk.

He turned back at the young man named Ai-Ris and withdrew a sword he had hung over his back for quite a while. He pointed the distinctively ancient-looking sword at him, and invited him to accept his challenge. "Come on, Ai-Ris," he taunted. "Let's finish this."

The young man was infuriated. He charged at the robed man and attacked him with multiple kung-fu punches and kicks, all of which were effortlessly evaded or repelled. Ai-Ris backed off and re-attacked the seemingly laid-back opponent while the warrior monks assisted him by sneak attacks on the robed man.

"All of you are no match against me!" The robed man lifted the sword, screamed in a deafeningly loud cry and plunged the sword into the ground. In an instant a strong blast of water ravaged from the impact point and spread throughout the bamboo forest. Most of the attackers were either knocked out or killed by crescent-shaped water blades created from the blast. Ai-Ris was forced to brace himself for the shockwave and almost got thrown off his feet. Amidst the violent liquid vortex, the young fighter could see the robed man pulling out the sword and pouncing at him.

"Your life ends tonight!" shouted the robed man. The sword glowed in sinister black aura and burst into a dark-coloured liquid blade. He screamed in bloodlust and swung the energy-infested sword at Ai-Ris. "SERPENT'S TEARS SLASH!"

The young fighter reacted. He dropped his defence, positioned his arms in a snatching position and readied himself for the inevitable. There would be no escape as the liquid blade was barely millimetres away from his head.

"NOW!"

In the blink of an eye, he snatched the sword. He held it over his head, already drenching in sweat. He grinned at the robed man, who had a look of utter shock. "Syahbakh, you must never --NEVER-- look down upon Magnolia Monks because this is why they're such a terrible adversary!"

The owner of the strange name was horrified. "You-- bastard!"

The young fighter channelled his inner force into his palms. It grew intense and rumbled with massive energy, until it eventually reached its breaking point. "Secret Art of Chronograph -- TIME HALT!"

Time came to a standstill. The world was brought into a bone-chilling pause. All living beings and non-living matters were struck in suspended animation. All, which included the robed man, whose dark energy was suspended in still frames.

Ai-Ris dropped his hands. He summoned bluish white flame from his palms, stepped backwards and suddenly hurled toward the robed man. At the time he shouted "Chrono--" the flame burst out, its heat leaping into a point where everything would melt simply by exposing it to the heat wave.

"CROSS!"

The sound of clashing metals blasted loudly. Then, nothing as everything turned pitch black, except for the faint, terrifying cries of the underworld. It seemed the universe would stand still for eternity, until a chiming sound echoed faintly in the background. Only then normality was restored, and it revealed what had happened in the split second.

"Curse it…" the robed man growled. "Time Halt… I never see it coming…" Then he fell on his knees and cried out in pain. The finishing blow had directly hit his heart, severely rupturing all nerves that connected it throughout his body. Gasping for air and coughing in blood, he was suffering. "Gah! I can't die right here!"

"Your reign will come to an end, Syahbakh," said Ai-Ris as he approached the agonized robed man. "You cannot deny the fact that you will die tonight." He ignited another bluish white flame and aimed it at the man's head. "Say your last prayer."

"Ai-Ris," Syahbakh called the young man, "I forgot to give you something." He looked up at him, and in a sudden, pierced his dark energy-infested hand into Ai-Ris' chest. Somehow, despite his losing strength, the robed man had managed to gather his last strength and used it for the last attack. The young man screamed in pain as it went through him; blood was fast gushing out of the scar and he was on verge of death. "Didn't Master Ransen tell you not to overlook your opponents even after you've defeated them?" the robed man said, even as the dark energy began to manifest. He twisted his hand, causing Ai-Ris to cry out in more pain, and he was glowering at the young fighter with no mercy.

"Say bye-bye to this world, Ai-Ris."

And it ended.

x-x-x-x-x

The palace was quiet. The emperor had long fast asleep, and so did his wives and mistresses that inhabited the palace. The soldiers were sleeping, too; their duties in and around the kingdom were taking the toll and there could not be better way to replenish all the lost energies by taking a good, relaxing sleep. Only several guards were present to patrol areas within the vicinity of the complex, and even so some of them were tired by their night shifts.

The girl was anxious. It was past midnight, and yet she was not fully asleep. She was standing next to the door, gazing at the full moon; her beauty was revealed as the silver light shone over her, yet it could not hide the angst she was facing. Something was bothering her, but what was it?

"Forget it, Yue. He won't show up tonight." The girl turned around and could only sigh at what she heard. "Go and get enough rest, okay? You've been pushing yourself too much for the last two weeks."

"No; he will show up," the girl insisted. "No matter what, he will show up."

The other girl she was talking with approached her. Slightly older than her, she sat next to her and put her hands upon her shoulders. "Yue, there's no way he will come to this palace. With the guards patrolling around, how can he pass by the security undetected? Besides, your father isn't very pleased with him."

The girl frowned. "Xianghua… just because my father doesn't like him doesn't mean I have to dislike him," she replied. "I have loved him with my heart and soul ever since we met; how can I ever throw all my feelings away?"

"Princess Yue!" The owner of the name looked at the direction of the shout and saw a couple of guards running up the pavement. "There's a message for you. We found it at the main gate."

"A message?" She quickly approached the guards and took the scroll from them. "Who sent it to me?"

"We don't know who, Princess Yue, but we believe you might recognize its writings," the guards informed.

The girl opened the scroll. She could not believe what she saw; all the characters were written in blood and poorly organized. She took courage and began reading it.

"To my beloved Yue, I'm sorry I cannot come as I have always promised," she read the message. "By the time you receive this message, I may have been gone. For how long? It's a question I dare not answering. I may live for a very long time, or I may leave this world tomorrow. Who knows what the deities have arranged for me?" She paused. Then she continued reading the message. "It has been a great, sweet and memorable time I have to spend with you. I do not know how I should repay all the deeds you have done for me. For me, every memory I share with you is more precious than anything else I have, including my lowly life. I know it's very hard to say goodbye, but how can a solitary warrior win a place in a beautiful princess' heart? For that, I must move away and discard the love castle both of us have been constructing along these three months we're together."

"It… it cannot be…!" She immediately handed it to Xianghua and shook her head in dismay. "I… I can't read it…" Xianghua was about to ask when she found an object attached to the scroll. It was a pendant carved in cherry blossom decoration, and attached to it was another message. It read: "This is only one of the twin pendants I have crafted for us. This is meant for you to keep; no matter what, I will always be with you. Thank you, and again I'm sorry for unable to fulfil the promise. Farewell, Yue, and I love you."

"NO!" The girl fell onto her knees. She covered her face, shed tears and broke out into a heart-wrenching cry. "I can't live without you, Shen! I can't! Why did you leave me? Why?" The girl continued crying, even as the guards were trying to comfort her. "Shen, you moron!"

Xianghua clenched the dull pendant and threw her sight into the cloudless sky. The moon shone onto the pendant, making it glitter in the dark. "Shen… no, Syahbakh… what had happened to you?"

To Be Continued