Preface (A formal word for author's note, lol):
Hullo, everybody! It's me, Layagg. Welcome to this fiction, SoulCalibur: An Epic Saga. It is a story of two people finding themselves as they search for Soul Edge. It is a tale full of drama, fast-paced action, humor, suspense, (some bits of romance) and the reality of being human: genuine emotions. It explores the lives of two people as they journey from nation to nation to achieve not only the destruction of the weapon of horrors, a sword of evil, but also to achieve their own dreams and to unravel the truths beneath themselves.
So, ride on and enjoy this thrilling adventure, a quest that could become an epic saga…
Disclaimer: I don't own Kilik and Xianghua and the rest of Soul Calibur.
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Prologue:
In the year fifteen hundred and ninety-one, a period of warfare and internal dissent, an era when peace is kept as easily as water on a pair of hands, when war is as common as cattle in the grazing areas and people in the earth; it is the period of reconnaissance and conquerors, of being invaded and enslaved, a period of discovery and travel. Around this time, a greater turmoil rose from among them, worsened by men's desire of violence and power; but not of men, though created by men. It was all due to a living object that existed for centuries, created by the hatred of countless people merged into one weapon—a sword that would create a name for itself, making itself known through countless nations and the search of innumerable warriors of different ethnicities.
It garnered its name from the very thing it consumed, souls of men—Soul Edge was its name. Because of it, piles of sacrifices reaching up to the heavens were consumed. Through it, men of valor rose to become heroes of world renown, preserved through ages, inscribed among history books, honored and re-honored through many decades. Warriors from different places: ninjas and samurais of Japan, xias of China, knights of Europe, and even people of common background among several others all converged towards it. Some, with the intent of taking it for power and glory, some with the hopes of it becoming the Sword of Salvation for their homeland which lay in peril, some with the promise of it becoming the truth among their internal lies, shedding light for what was their darkness.
Still, to some, enlightened as they thought, sought to destroy it, deeming it as the Sword of Evil that devoured souls and transformed men into unimaginable horrors. They journeyed with fervor in their hearts, engraved in it a calling and a vision to take it as a mission, self-imposed or not, for the good of mankind.
Among them, two warriors from a certain land of China took up their weapons and strengthened their souls for a task as grand as it could be that lay ahead of them…
"Transcending history and the world, a tale of Souls and Swords, eternally retold." –Soul Calibur–
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." –Sun Tzu, The Art of War–
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Chapter 1: A Re-union Bliss
Early autumn of 1591. Somewhere in China…
The crowd roared with excitement as a rugged looking arena master stood between two fighters standing on both ends of a rectangular sand floored arena. Surrounding it was a crowd of about a hundred and a dome cloth tent sheltering the whole place.
The uproar seeped through the tent's exterior as people were coming and going inside and out through the only entrance facing a small village. Behind it was a dense temperate forest with pine trees and other tall plants that wept colorful leaves slowly dropping onto the ground. The sun had just set while the moon and stars were rushing in as if a family of legions to gather around the center of the excitement.
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The smell of drizzle-soaked ground and human sweat reverberated through the dense amount of people passing by and a fraction waiting in line to get entry passes. People passing by chatted as they headed home within the village or headed towards the direction of the forest. As they passed by, some of them took the time to curiously look towards the direction of the tent.
The crowd hushed for a moment as the arena master introduced the two fighters. On the left side was a bulky tall, barrel-chested Caucasian man clothed in bear fur and moccasins and holding a huge axe on his hand. He had a fierce, wild look that speaks of his struggle against nature, beaten up but endured and victorious over it. He stood like a mountain goat surveying the crowd from a mountain top and was as fired up as the crowd cheering for him. He beat his chest in time with the crowd starting to chant: "kill, kill, kill, kill..."
The announcer waved his arms commanding silence. The crowd hushed momentarily as he introduced the man on the other side of the arena. An Asian—a Chinese man, two inch shorter than the Caucasian, stood bare-chested with his linen belt dangling on his waist and a pair of dark colored trousers covering his lower body. He held a bo staff on his hand, standing calmly as the crowd raved excitedly, waiting for the fight to begin. He was a huge contrast with his opponent who is now roaring emphatically with the crowd.
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A thin, young petite Asian woman sighed. "Oohhh, slow, slow, slow. What a slow line!" she muttered, her words coming out slurred, monotonous and nasal. "How inconvenient!"
The woman stood with drooped shoulders and a raised eyebrow that twitched. She stared sullenly, her excitement stolen away as she watched the line moving towards the entrance at a very sluggish pace. Transactions between the ticket man and the people were slow and to make matters worse, a customer started to argue with the ticket man.
"I don't need a ticket!"
"Sir, no one can enter without a ticket"
"Why, you rotten maggot! You don't know who I am—!"
"Well, you're right sir and I sure don't see the need to. Now, will you please step off the line since…?"
The angry customer, a big bulky man, was turning red as chili pepper and was boiling inside. Indeed, one could see steam coming from above his head and through his nostrils. He was trembling and snorting puffs of smoke.
"…there are many others with ticket waiting and bothered by your—"
Roar! The big man scooped up the irritated ticket man by the back of his neck with one hand; his free hand was already driving a smashing punch on the face.
The ticket man squeezed his eyes shut as he anticipated the blow. He waited… And waited… For something he anticipated but didn't come.
People immediately surrounded the scene while several others restrained the furious man.
"Goodness! Does this happen everyday?" the Asian woman exhaled. She watched amusedly as men, who appeared to be the security personnel, dragged the shouting man away. She knew the nature of this place but it didn't stop her from being amazed upon witnessing such commotion.
The line was thrown into chaos because of the event. With people scattered, she moved slowly towards the entrance and took advantaged of the good fortune given to her. She secretly giggled as she came ahead of the people who were once in front of her before the line was upset. All along she forced herself to keep an innocent look that didn't betray her taking advantage of the situation. She was now five persons away from the entrance.
A huge roar from the crowds erupted inside the tent causing her head to turn towards the entrance and her heart to palpitate as her blood vessels filled up with adrenalin.
"A battle is already starting," she thought, her lost excitement regaining inside her and drowning her, making her lose herself with the exhilaration. Instinctively, she grasped the handle of her sword, a slender jian sword, and felt for the engraved letters of her name: Chai Xianghua.
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The big Caucasian stood imposingly like a bear as he raised his giant axe and accelerated towards the Asian reaching full speed. His opponent, the Asian stood in a defensive position, calm and composed.
It was as if time slowed down as the white man slammed his axe downward onto the Asian and the ground shook with the impact. Dust flew and cleared; his attack only hit the ground. The Asian had stepped aside to evade his attack.
The Caucasian roared in fury and with great force, rammed his shoulder onto the chest of the Chinese man now on his side. The Asian flew backwards at its impact wincing in pain as he hit and rolled several times on the floor. Immediately, he got up right on time to block a downward smash which would have shattered his chest.
He shuddered with the impact; the white man was very strong. The Asian's arms quivered as both weapons pushed towards each other. The white man kicked him sending him staggering backwards.
The crowd gave a deafening roar. The arena master fled the scene as both opponents' weapons clashed intermittently. The sound of metal hammering each other repeatedly got drowned in the sea of voices as shouts and whoops ascended in volume.
The Asian ducked preventing his head from being chopped off, rolled on the ground and sent a sweeping kick on the ground sending the white man landing on his back. The white man rolled to his side, his eyes searching frantically for his opponent. Immediately, he spotted his enemy standing at a distance. Both of them heaved in their adrenaline surge while sweat trickled and rained down from their bodies…
The battle had just begun…
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Xianghua moved inside. Instantly, she realized that she was very conspicuous; her silk pants and blouse were rather elegant and lady-like compared to the rugged outfit that most people inside wore. She brushed the uncomfortable feeling away and searched for a place to sit.
She found a seat several rows away from the arena. From there, she could make up the size of a finger length of the combatants already fighting. Glancing around at the people sitting beside her, her eyes stopped when her gaze met someone else already staring at her.
"What do you want?" she asked irritatedly.
A thin man with a pot belly leered at her and gave her a toothy grin. Already, without his leering, he looked awful but now, it was excruciatingly horrendous making her spine shake and her face twist upon seeing him.
"What's a lady doin' here," he asked with a voice forced to be smooth, but on the contrary, it was the other way around. "You know, a flower should be planted in a garden, not in a graveyard. Your beauty should be for servicing someone—a good-looking man. I wonder… if you're dying to come with me."
"…eh? …ah, no, no, no! I… came to fight… even though I don't really look like it… Well, mister, I came with a friend—a man. He is somewhere—"
"I like you…"
A trickle of sweat came from her temple.
"Ahahaha. Ahahaha." Every 'ha' of her fake laugh dropped in pitch while her words became squeaky. "Oh, but I don't do services... I don't fit in pleasure houses. I fight—I'm a fighter… I'll be next to fight after some of them…"
She was at lost for words. The man was clearly not listening to her and continued to pierce her with his stares.
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Both men struggled as the Caucasian man trapped the Asian's torso between his thighs and pinned him onto the ground as his arms pushed to drive his giant axe onto the Asian's head. The Asian, his staff nowhere in his hands, fought to prevent his head from being split into two.
The struggle went on for minutes. It seemed that the Asian was losing his ground as the axe steadily lowered towards his face. His face was red and his sweat ran all over his face.
"…Kill, kill, kill…" the crowd chanted.
Three inches… Two inches… One inch…
"…Kill, kill, kill…" It nearly brushed his face.
Utilizing every ounce of strength he had, he twisted and turned the movement of the axe towards his side causing the axe to strike the ground, almost hitting his ear. He struggled and freed himself from the giant's hold.
The Caucasian was on his hands and knees stunned for a few moments. Wasting no time by picking his weapon, the Asian rushed towards his opponent and kicked him on the belly… again… and again until the Caucasian fell on his side, dazed and gasping for breath. The Asian turned his back from him and walked towards his staff.
The Caucasian looked as if he had given up and the fight had ended in favor of his opponent but suddenly, his face distorted into a beastly face, fierce and berserk. With renewed fervor, he pushed himself from the ground with his hands and charged towards the Asian. The Asian as he walked, sensed the sudden attack and sprinted towards his weapon and grabbed it. Spinning around, he slammed his weapon on his lunging opponent's temple.
Bam!
The Caucasian landed on the ground and slumped unconscious. Turning around, the Asian took a bow before the cheering crowd and exited the arena.
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Xianghua's eyes went wide and gasped, "He's Kilik!"
"Hey, baby, sit down. I want to enjoy you while I'm watching," she heard the voice of the man say. Suddenly, an arm slid across her lower back and a hand reached her side. She felt the disgusting warmth of the man's body pressing her other side.
She pushed him away; this man was starting to trouble her. He had pressed himself continually towards her even though she tried her best to ignore him as she watched the events of the battle. She was starting to think that the man was a maniac.
"Stop… Ugh… Cut it out, please!"
"You'll enjoy more of me when I take you home. Hehehe—"
"Somehow, I think I'll enjoy it more if you were on the other side of world."
The man held her firmly and persistently. Having felt that she had had enough, she poured all her strength into her arms and shoved the man, yelling:
"Get off me!"
At last! She was free…
Atleast, for now.
"Yo!" A voice called from the aisle on her side. "The woman there. You're next! See that fighter's box; wait there until your fight begins."
Xianghua was washed down with relief. She gladly left her harasser and briskly walked towards the direction given to her.
The fighter's box was a small and low wooden platform found next to the arena on both of its ends where the fighters prepared themselves and waited for the battle they will participate to start. It had a single chair at its center.
Xianghua sat down on the chair. The man who called her before stood in front of her and briefed her:
"Your fight will begin in a short while. Prepare yourself in the meantime. You will face the winner of the previous round."
Xianghua sighed. She was still flustered because of the perverted man she encountered earlier. These thoughts kept tapping on her. As old anxieties started to cast minute shadows on her, the tapping became louder raps that went beyond annoying her. The excitement she had earlier was now swallowed up by all these bigger beasts wanting to pounce on her. Thoughts that she had locked underneath the cellars of her consciousness were banging now and trying to escape and gobble her.
She looked across towards the other end of the arena. She studied the man who was going to be her opponent. He was sitting calmly...
Resting…
Peacefully.
"He is well. Thank goodness. There is no need to be afraid…," she thought.
The identities of her fears were well subdued in her unconscious. It was buried and unable to surface by all her pains and internal conflicts. Once, the nameless fears peaked through the door of her mind which she noticed immediately.
Bang! She mentally closed it again reinforcing it with her will knowing that even a little distraction would cause her to lose. She performed some mental exercises she learned from her last teacher to cast her anxieties and distractions aside.
"…the path of a warrior requires letting in the dark feelings, weighing them and letting them go," were her instructor's words. This was the beginning of her non-physical training: her training of her mind. Somehow, she thought it had prepared her for this day but she was wrong. She had not yet let the dark feelings go; they were still locked up inside her. She decided that this would be the time to let go and renew her inner strength—after she proved herself.
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Kilik sat on the other side of the arena where he was resting and taking a breather from the previous fight. He was a little tired but he knew he could still finish this last battle. He needed to win this to achieve what he really, really needed.
As he looked around, he was surprised to find Xianghua on the opposite side. Of all the people to come across in this place… and to think she would be his next opponent—
"What a stroke of luck!" he thought and he lit up. At once, his mind began churning as an idea sprouted inside him. He conceived a plan that would ease his way to get something that he was aiming for in this arena.
"Folks, settle down!" the announcer began in a loud voice. "The fight will almost begin. Now, I will repeat: under this tent we have three rules. First, the fight does not stop until one is not capable of fighting anymore; second, the fighter can choose any weapon of his choice; third, the brutal the better."
"Before I call the arena master, let us remind you, folks, the handsome reward for this man on the right if he wins this battle… One thousand silver coins!"
At this, the crowd went wild and the announcer could not resume his speech until the crowd had settled and the noise died down. It took some time before the cheers responded to his arms waving and gesturing for silence.
"Now, the newcomer doesn't go home empty if he wins this fight. For being victorious for the first time, he shall receive a bag of twenty silver coins. If he continues it until the third battle, he shall have a hundred silver coins. For the fifth, four hundred. And for the ultimate reward, for winning ten times in a row, once again folks: A thousand silver coins!"
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Xianghua eyes shot across the arena and settled upon Kilik on the other side. She searched him curiously from where she was. She was almost in a trance as she studied what details she could make out from her distance from him: the curved scar on his cheek, his brown hair, his sun-tanned skin and his expressions that betrayed no change from the last time she was with him. She also noted that he was more muscular and tight. Still, there was still something else that she searched for…
As if he felt her probing, his eyes met hers. She blushed and froze not knowing what to do at being caught staring at him. He smiled at her and she smiled back and gave a small wave in return. He started to mouth something to her that she could not comprehend. She frowned as she tried to guess the message being sent across to her. She wasn't able to get her answer as Kilik's eyes went back to the announcer at the center.
"So now, I present to you the arena master!" the announcer continued.
A broad-shouldered, stocky man in his mid-forties replaced the announcer inside the arena. The entrance cheers and applause surged up but died quickly when he began to speak. He asked both fighters to come inside the arena and introduced them before the crowd.
"Are you ready?" He looked at both sides. "Let's go fight!"
Xianghua breathed in and breathed out. She brushed every shadow nipping at her and steadied her grasp on her sword with her sweaty hands.
"Psst. Xianghua."
Xianghua glanced up to see Kilik in his battle stance but from the looks on his face, she sensed something else in him.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
"No. Nothing. Listen. Could you consider letting me win this round?"
Xianghua cackled. "What an absurd idea! You're not the person who holds back on me whenever we spar and now you want me to give this battle to you. Don't tell me you're scared of me?"
Kilik's face turned visibly red. "No! Just trust me."
"Jeez. I hate it when you say that."
"Come on! It's for the money."
Xianghua's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "You've been gambling?"
Kilik's temple twitched in irritation and answered with strained patience noticeable in his voice:
"No! It's in the rules here!"
"What rules?"
"About the arena."
"…Ha?"
"Have you read the poster outside?"
"No."
"The paper they gave you?"
"Didn't give me anything."
"What about the person who spoke to you in the fighter's box?"
"Didn't say anything."
"It's in what the announcer spoke a while ago!"
"Which is…?"
Kilik wanted to smack his own face very hard with his palm in annoyance. He wanted to smack it even more on Xianghua's. His patience had now shrunk to the size of a water droplet.
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"Boo!" The crowd's discontentment finally leaked out and exploded. The crowd's excitement had waned because of the length of the discourse between the two which only they understood.
"Are you gonna fight or not?"
"Hey, this ain't a talk show!"
"If this is how you fight, we want our tickets back!"
"Hey, c'mon!"
Grumbles flew, people were booing and hissing, their unrest building up rapidly endangered the whole tent in being blown off along with everything inside it. Fearing this chaos that might ensue, the arena master made haste and approached them.
"Hey, hey. Is something wrong?"
"No sir. We were just talking." Kilik answered. His steam diminished after sensing another fiery furnace around him that was higher in temperature than his.
"Well then, could you save the conversation later? The crowd's getting hotter and we don't want unnecessary commotions."
"Sure."
"Right. Let the fight begin!"
Both bowed before each other and took their own fighting stances.
"Well, then, Kilik, show me how much you've improved!"
Xianghua charged at him, slashing vertically, her sword clashing to his staff. Both of their weapons met and interlocked into a stall.
"Xianghua, listen! Trust me. I've have a plan—"
"Tch. Annoying! You're so persistent."
Xianghua jumped back and avoided Kilik's staff hacking horizontally at her. She countered by dashing forward and thrusting her sword high. Whoosh! She hit air as Kilik tilted his torso backward.
"Xianghua. This would mean a lot of money: a thousand silver coins."
"I don't care what's at stake with you're gambling." Xianghua hopped as the staff swept across the ground beneath her feet.
"You know how much I hate it." She emphasized her words with a downward slash followed by a powered upward, her leg opposite her striking arm elevated backward with the latter strike.
Kilik dodged the first and blocked the latter. He held his staff horizontally as he prevented her sword from reaching his chin. "Jeez. You're not listening."
"Well, quit yapping and concentrate on fighting me." She withdrew her blade, faked an upward slash and poked towards Kilik's shin.
Kilik knew this trick. He had familiarized most of her moves while they sparred numerous times before. He easily spun around her, dodging the poke, and swung his staff in a circular motion carried through the spin. Xianghua ducked the incoming swing and while rising up, produced a backward cartwheel kick. Kilik managed to block the kick at the last moment but staggered backwards.
"Xianghua, the rules!"
"Ack! I hate rules! I always break 'em!" With that, she leaped forward and slashed a halfway mid-horizontal arc. Kilik parried it and kicked her straight on her belly sending her flying backwards. She rolled a couple of times on the ground but immediately, got on her feet again.
"For the last time, Xianghua! Listen to me!"
"Kilik, would you shut up. If you're not really serious in defeating me, I am!" Xianghua ran towards him. She leapt high in the air as the butt of Kilik's staff jabbed towards her, avoiding its strike. Her feet landed on his staff. Balancing herself on his staff, she ran across its length, her feet closing in on Kilik's face.
Kilik tilted his head to avoid her feet as she jumped over him. She kicked the back of his shoulders with her heel in midair sending him off-balanced and falling on his hands and knees. He was dumbfounded with this move. He had never encountered it before while they were practicing and sparring on their previous journey.
As she descended on ground, she twisted her body so that she landed facing him. At once, she dashed towards him, ducking a mid-horizontal swing. Upon reaching him, she grabbed his shoulder and swung herself upwards on his back. Her feet ascended first with her head pointing to the ground as she threw herself upwards. She twisted on midair and landed on his shoulders. She leapt high and using the momentum of her jump, her feet pushed him on the ground to which he crashed chest first.
Xianghua wasted no time as he laid there prone; he was down wheezing with the impact. She locked her forearm across his neck while her other hand pushed the back of his head forward. There was a brief struggle but finally he collapsed and lost consciousness.
The crowd roared as a new champion emerged from this battle. They cheered with a deafening loudness. Many of them were wide-eyed with amazement with the acrobatic moves she displayed.
Xianghua merely smiled and took a bow with her waist before them. She had won.