DISCLAIMER: The characters, story, universe, etc. of Soul Calibur belongs to Namco. They're not mine, and I make no claim to them.
Truth by YF-21
"" denotes speech
denotes emphasis
There is fighting atop the tower and the winds howl with the clash of steel. The spectre strikes, hoping to overwhelm the maiden´s defense, but her Lord´s craft is unmatched and his vicious assaults fall short time and time again.
In the end she prevails, and the phantom is beaten back into the tower´s fumes. Even though she is mostly unscathed, her body aches with fatigue. There is a pain in her chest, her breathing ragged and labored.
A prayer leaves her lips, and she turns towards the monsters left embedded in the cold stone floor.
One is distant and silent, but the other is seething and inviting. She finds herself staring at the baleful eye, and a shiver runs down her spine when it stares back.
It is the devourer, and she knows it by heart.
A particular memory runs through her mind for the hundredth time. She returns home from an errand and finds her children locked in a vicious grip. This is no brotherly spat. They are biting, clawing and punching each other. There is blood on their faces and murder in their eyes.
And thrown across the wooden floor, the little piece of scrap metal that turned them into beasts.
It is defenseless. Its last wielder -a crude amalgamation of flesh and steel- is gone, defeated at the lower levels of the tower. With its power depleted, it can no longer move on its own, nor summon the hellfire to blast her away.
Unable to flee or protect itself, it waits.
She knows it knows. Her shield may be battered, but her sword still holds. She can kill it, and it can finally die.
It is an abomination, and its hunger endless and unforgiving. It is a demon, whispering words of revenge and restitution, filling men´s heads with lies and deceit, promising power beyond the wildest dreams.
It is pure evil, and her blood reeks with its taint. The very taint her daughter cannot live without.
No matter how loathsome it is, no matter how much pain and anguish it causes, she cannot bring herself to destroy it. For she loves her daughter way more than she abhors it. And it knows.
It knows she knows.
And then it speaks.
Have you come to claim me?
The voice did not come through her ears, but seemed to resonate out of the air and throughout her bones and brains. It is measured, almost somber, but its simple force almost shook her to her knees. It doesn´t thunder like the voice of her Lord, nor it is demanding or severe. It is the same voice in every one of her nightmares, and she can feel her chest burn.
Have you?
The whisper escapes her lips. "My daughter... She..."
Your daughter´s life is still in danger. The voice acknowledges. Will you claim me to protect her?
It insinuates itself like it is the most logical course of action, but she won´t fall for its lies. To take the infernal artifact´s hilt is to become its first victim, for she has already witnessed the march of the armored nightmare and the wake of his harvest of souls.
"I won´t kill for you." She says.
I´m not asking you to kill for me. At any rate, I would be asking you to kill for her.
"No. Nobody dies anymore." She states. Her voice becomes stern, and her grip in her weapons hardens. "This ends here."
Oh, is that so?
"You cannot have my daughter. Not here, not now, not ever. Do you understand this?"
Of course I do.
She grits her teeth. "I hate you."
You have made that clear, yes.
"What do you want from me?"
That thing must die. Do this and you can keep your child´s life.
She looked over to the other monster stuck on the floor. It emitted a thin aura around it. Light and still, cold and dead.
Shatter her with your blade, and you will just scatter her around. The voice in her head explains. No, it will take more than that to deal with her permanently. I will have to do.
"If you think that I'm going to-"
I am as tired of these petty games like you, Sentinel. It replies. I just need you to cooperate with me for a bit longer, that´s all.
"I don´t trust you."
That´s completely understandable. You will also agree that this is entirely necessary.
She doesn´t like it, but she knows the voice in her mind is right. There is no way she can just leave the artifacts behind like that and put her daughter at the mercy of whoever might come across them. She has to deal with them here and now.
With great reluctance, she puts her set of weapons on the floor. Her shield is battered beyond repair, and her blade is covered in cracks and splinters. Her husband had crafted them with love, and she misses him so very dearly. She briefly wonders if he would approve that she was about to do.
A part of her fears to cross her Lord. The Olympians are amongst the pettiest of creatures, and such an insult will not stand. Another part screams that the monster is trying to trick her, and that it will turn against her the moment she complies.
And an even bigger part is just very afraid of losing her child.
Without a moment for doubt, she places her hands in the bony hilt, and lifts the devourer off the floor.
The massive blade is weightless in her hands, and she can feel her body bathing in its seething aura. There is no longer pain nor fatigue, but a warm numbness covering it all. The treasure buried in her chest burns even harder, and pumps more delicious venom into her veins.
Back then, she hadn´t been herself for awhile. The woman in red had treated her wounds and delivered her home, but recovery was grievous nonetheless. The maiden would spend months bedridden, her family hiding her in her room. Little Cassandra looked after her all that time, and had seen the worst of it - from fevered dreams and delusions to hysterical fits.
There is not a single day where she doesn't give thanks for her deliverance. Even then, she knows it was necessary for her to suffer in order to meet her husband and have her beloved children in turn. The same way it was necessary for the heroes and villains in the tower to die so she could have her chance at saving them.
An angry thought bites her, and she is filled with shame. She knows she has to get rid of the demon in her hands, and fast.
She turns toward the crystal sword. It is stuck in the floor, as defenseless as the devourer was but a moment ago.
"If I shatter this, will my daughter be safe?"
Indeed.
For a moment she stands still in front of the glimmering blade. It is difficult to think, sweat running through her brow. There is a good pain in her chest, and the monster in her hands thrums with voices and whispers.
She had witnessed firsthand the azure nightmare´s march through Europe and the horrors of his demented quest for restitution. The infernal artifact had all but consumed him by the end, entire villages razed in the night, hundreds butchered by his hand. Now she was supposed to destroy the only thing that could hurt it for real. Could she really unleash a terrible evil upon Europe just to keep her daughter alive? Could she not? Was there really no other way?
Why do you hesitate? The voice in her head asks.
"Thesmophoros." She suddenly blurts, as her face lightens up as it were the best idea she´s ever had. "I´m taking you to Thesmophoros myself. I will throw you down the deepest chasm and no-one will ever have to suffer you again."
There is a moment of silence, but then she is fully met with wild laughter - an uproarious cackling, full of mockery and malice. Startled, the maiden inadvertently takes a step back and her face winces, waiting for the cretin noise to subside.
If you do that my power will wither and your daughter´s life will wane, silly woman. It is fine if you don´t want to wield me, but I still have to feed. There is no way around that.
"I-I´m not letting you-"
It is heavy. It is heavy now. The monster in her hands is heavy and it seethes and burns. Your soul is in pain. I can set it free.
"…"
What are you so afraid of? I promise to take care of myself. I promise to let you go, even.
"N-no!"
She is so very tired. She can feel her arms buckling and the baleful eye is ever so close to her face. You are confused. If you would only let me share clarity with you.
"…"
"I have seen enough."
The heavy weight is lifted from her, and she opens her eyes again. She turns around, and emerald meets grey.
"What? You-"
"All through the ages, a parent's love for their child surpasses any weapon." His voice is soothing, and gives her the respite she needs. "But remember - if you are misguided in your beliefs, you will only bring harm to those you wish to protect."
"You have a child as well?"
He had a child once, yes.
"Time is cruel-"
He fed me with him long ago. Don´t let him take yours.
It dawns on her then, something that she knew all along. There is no way around. She will stand by her child, no matter who, no matter what. There is no choice. There never was.
"I´m sorry for your loss," Her voice hardens once again. "but I´m not losing Pyrrha. I´m not."
"I see."
With a swing, Sophitia Alexandra removes the infernal artifact from the spectre´s grip. She sees it vanish into thin air, before she lifts Soul Edge over her head. Her mind made up, she strikes the other monster down with all her might. She wonders something for a moment, as it all comes apart.
As if the heavens answered her, she is met by the purest light.
Words of death and destruction afar reach her ears, but she pays them no heed. She has long drawn the line between those she care for, and those she cannot afford to.
Fin
Author´s note: I loved Sophitia´s ending in SC4. Algol suddenly turns into a Walt Disney character and explains Sophitia how motherly love is stronger than everything, and she looks at him with sad puppy eyes and is all "oh, alright" while he removes the problem altogether.
I hope you have enjoyed this little ode to sentence fragments. Believe it or not, it took me three years to finish this piece.
See you around.