The power of Soul Edge.
Prologue.
Raphael Sorel sat in the cabin of the ship he was travelling back to France in, staring at Soul Edge. It was obviously an organic weapon, created by magic, a miracle, or both. The sword, ever since coming into his position, had become shaped like his prized rapier, Flambert. Unfortunately for his fine blade, it had been shattered in the fires along with Satan himself. That vile inferno had died there along with it.
The sacrifice was worth it, though. Raphael now possessed the strongest sword in the world, Soul Edge. The entire world would bow to him now, if he wished it.
Or would. The power of Soul Edge was incredible. It was no wonder why this sword had driven so many people insane. Even ten feet away from the evil blade, Raphael could feel its power. He knew that a battle for dominance would have to occur at one time or another against this evil sword. He looked at it with the greatest of concentration, and moved toward it, feeling its power with every step, until he stood before it.
"You are mine!" he growled, and grasped the hilt of the rapier-like Soul Edge. He then felt the power of Soul Edge pulse into him.
Soul Edge had initiated its first line of defense. It tried to inspire fear into the heart of Raphael. It wanted to make him scared, and that his only defense against such horrors was to listen to it. It had used the tatic several centuries ago, to influence the mind of a foolish knight who had tried to use the blade for his own purpose. The young and foolish boy had been crushed very quickly by the images Soul Edge had inspired in him. Controlling the naive boy, Soul Edge had given the boy the reputation of a bringer of death named 'The Azure Nightmare'.
Raphael, however, was neither as young or foolish as that boy. Raphael watched as he was tortured for an eternity, hung, choked to death, suffocated, and many more horrors, each more violent and evil than the last. Raphael dismissed each image easily. As a noble of France, he had faced such threats such as these from other nobles. Those were usually more valid than Soul Edge's mental assault also. Soul Edge continued his mental barrage until he was completely convinced that Raphael could not be intimidated into being manipulated by the infernal blade.
The next assauly by Soul Edge was more passive. At the same time, it was much more difficult for Raphael to dismiss. Soul Edge showed Raphael as the king of the world. A crown on his head, a scepter in one hand, Soul Edge in the other. Soul Edge had used this tactic before as well. He had come into the hands of an evil pirate named Cervantes. Just like Raphael, the battered fighter had seen many horrors and would not be defeated by a number of fear-inspiring images. However, Cervantes possessed a lust for power that could not be satisfied.
Raphael saw himself as a king surpassing the wisdom of King Arthur and his teacher, Merlin. He saw himself destroying demons with one thrust of his mighty sword. He saw himself building an empire surpassing Rome and Babylon combined. These were dreams Raphael had when he was in his teens, toying with medicine and politics as his only friends. He later realized that these were impractical dreams, and that controlling a considerable part of France was a more attainable goal. Only, with Soul Edge in his possession now, those dreams did not seem so impractical.
Growling, Raphael used all his willpower to shake those tempting images away. He had literally gone to hell and back for Amy. Not to make a new form of tyranny, but to end the one that had hurt his little angel. He would not allow these evil ideas to taint his heart. With Amy in his mind again, ignoring such temptations was easy also.
For a moment, Raphael felt the sword's resolve weaken. No one before had been able to resist both of the sword's mental assaults! Raphael grinned. "You're running out of tricks." he taunted the sword.
Soul Edge was not finished yet. It had been on the earth since the fight between Gabriel and Lucifer, a memento of that herculean battle. It had wisdom from all the would-be warriors who wished to use it for their purposes, noble or self-serving. It didn't matter. No one had the mental fortitude to destroy Soul Edge's will.
Still, this Raphael was formidable. He only had one way to assault. Soul Edge took its knowledge of the universe, and implanted just how vast the size of the universe was, compared to him. Raphael was only a speck of dust! Less than a speck! Nothing a single human could do would prove to be significant in this great universe. Soul Edge showed how vast the sun and stars were. The only constant in the universe was Soul Edge itself, the blade said. Soul Edge was the only thing on Earth that truly mattered.
Raphael took even more willpower to ignore such an overwhelming thought. He tried to dismiss it, but the vastness was not so easily ignored. Instead, Raphael decided to find a new focus. Amy, he remembered. He remembered Amy's smiling face. He remembered her beautiful voice, her subtle genius, he warm hug. It didn't really matter how insignificant Raphael was. As long as he could make it a good place for Amy, he was content.
The moment of Soul Edge's hesistance and despair was much longer now. He didn't know how else to assault this nobleman. He had ignored every suggestion the blade had made. How else could he attack.
Raphael took the initiative to set himself against the sword. "You are MINE!" he yelled again. "You are a sword, nothing more! You are only as good as the wielder. Without my hand to thrust you, you are useless! A piece of useless magic, a piece of junk! You depend on those you manipulate, because otherwise, you cannot spread your evil! That is why I control you and you do not control me!"
Soul Edge was taken fully off guard by this. This was the first time the truth of his existence had been truly revealed to him. Without Cervantes, and without the Azure Nightmare, it would not be able to initiate its horror without those men. It saw its dependence of humans. It saw truthfulness of how idle it had been without an owner. It sat there, plotting, sceming, but useless. All these years, he may have controlled the humans who held him, but only because they were foolish enough to believe it. For the first time, Soul Edge felt true despair. Not a moment of hesitance, or the pain of failure, but true despair.
Raphael had truly dominated Soul Edge. It lay in his hand, completely obedient to his every command. Raphael let out a triumphant laugh. He had come out on top of the most powerful sword in the world! He thrusted his new blade, for now he could truly say that this blade was his possession. He tried several fencing exercises with it, Soul Edge's power giving the moves more force than a cannon.
"Lovely." he praised the blade. "You shall be the salvation of France. For once, you will be the key to what is right and just, as oppossed to more evil."
"Land ho!" a voice above deck cried. Raphael chuckled again.
"Welcome to France." he said. "Enjoy your stay."