Cassandra came running when she heard the screams of despair echoing down the hallways of their home. She burst into a room to find her nephew on the floor, pulling his hair and screaming wildly. She quickly constrained the shrieking teenager, holding his arms to his sides and covering his mouth with her hand. He continued to struggle in her arms, the look of sheer terror and panic remaining in his face. Eventually his thrashing arms stopped and his body fell limp. He remained there, crying into his aunt's tunic. Cassandra released her grip and gently held him.

"It's all right, Patroklos. It's all over now." She said softly. She heard the door opening and glanced over. Pyrrha, who had been woken up by the commotion, peeked gingerly into her brother's room. She walked over to her brother, her night gown making soft sweeping sounds against the cold stone floor. She knelt beside her brother and put her arms around him as well. She was protecting him.

Episodes like this were quite common in the Alexandra household. It had been 12 years since Soul Edge disappeared, yet the dark energy infused into Patroklos' body still remained. Normally it wouldn't affect him with Patroklos sometimes going for months without an incident, but recently something had happened that triggered more frequent emotional breakdowns.

Patroklos was 15 years old now. He had grown quite a bit, yet was still relatively short compared to his father, Rothion. His hair remained the platinum blonde it was when he was born and he wore it short with soft spikes. He had his mother's blue/green eyes and a porcelain face. Patroklos was a little scrawny for his age yet he was quite strong, having being trained in swordplay by his aunt and blacksmithing by his father.

His sister, Pyrrha, was 16 and she had grown a lot too. She inherited her father's brown eyes and her hair was a more golden blonde than her brother's. For some reason, the dark energy infused into her body wasn't affecting her either way, but this may have been from the horrible illness 12 years ago that saw her mother forced into the unthinkable.

On the topic of their mother, Sophitia had recently fallen ill and was confined to bed. She put on a brave face for the sake of her family, but they could sometimes hear her worrying that her old wounds were aching. Her husband, sister and brother were all taking care of her. She was very grateful for their help and often yearned to see the faces of her children.

Then it happened.

Patroklos awoke one night after a nightmare. His body was covered in cold sweat and his heart was racing. He instinctively reached over to his bedside table and grabbed the Orbis Shield. He made that shield all by himself a few years ago. His father was especially proud of him for it. It was a perfect circle with a well positioned grip on the back. Patroklos had made the 6-winged motif on the front himself. Right now, it was the only decent form of self defense available to him. He threw himself out of bed and raced to the door in his night robe. He opened the door to his sister's room. A girl with white skin and brown mangy hair was kneeling on Pyrrha's bed, her lips locked over hers. A black mark spread over Pyrrha's face. The Orbis shield flew through the air, striking the girl in the torso then flying back into Patroklos' right hand. The girl leapt out of the bed and glared at him, then laughed maliciously.

"It's too late, boy. Your sister's soul is mine!" At that, she leapt out the window, smashing it. Rothion and Cassandra arrived just in time to see the body jumping out the window. Rothion rushed to his daughter's bedside. Her lips were slightly brackish and she lay still and unmoving, her eyes black and lucid, staring through the ceiling with a piercing gaze. She remained breathing and her heart was beating, but she was cataleptic. He left to tell his wife the horrible news.

Patroklos looked over at Cassandra. Her fist was closed and her eyes had a fiery rage in them.

"Hephaestus..." She cursed under her breath. Before Patroklos could respond she had left the room. The front door opened and slammed shut soon after.

Patroklos returned to his room. He sat down on the bed, resting the Orbis shield across his knees. He felt his heart sinking. He knew what was causing all these events: His emotional volatility, his mother's illness and now this. Soul Edge. The words echoed through his mind like a thunderbolt. Soul Edge.

A sparkle of light drew Patroklos out of his hypnotic state of mind. It was the Statue of Hephaestus at the Eurydice Temple. He could see it from his window. Under the full moon, he could see one of his eyes shining at him. Hephaestus was calling him to the temple. Patroklos got up and walked over to his dresser. He slipped out of his night robe and put on a black sleeveless tunic and black shorts. Then he put on his white exomis. It was supposed to be for his 16th birthday, but it didn't really matter now. He fastened the gold badges on the shoulders and tied the black and gold belt around his waist. (For those of you who are wondering, yes I did get Patroklos' outfit from Pit)

As he walked down the hallway he heard his mother's sobbing. It filled his heart with despair and fear. This was the second time she was about to lose her daughter. Would she side with the evil sword for her sake again? As the question ran through Patroklos' mind he shuddered. He couldn't let his mother go through that again. He put on his winged sandals at the door and took his laurel leaf circlet. He adjusted it, and then stepped outside.

The full moon shone over Athens brightly, illuminating every inch of the town. Patroklos slowly closed the door and headed for the Eurydice Shrine.

The trip to the Eurydice Shrine was longer than Patroklos had experiences previously. Perhaps it was the guilt of leaving the house without permission. Or maybe it was the haunting image of his sister lying lifeless on her bed. Or maybe it was the dark energy trying to slow him down. Whatever it was, it didn't stop Patroklos' journey.

The door to the temple creaked open slowly. Patroklos stepped inside and walked up to the statue of Hephaestus. For a while, there was silence. Then…

"Hephaestus…why?"

"Because a new threat is rising in the east" Bellowed a deep voice. Patroklos was shocked. Was Hephaestus really talking to him?

"A new threat? Soul Edge?" He replied.

"No. While Soul Edge has reappeared, while in the chaos of the void, a new, more sinister weapon arose. It is called…Soul Reaper."

"Soul Reaper." Patroklos repeated. The very words chilled him to the core. A glint of light caught his attention. A small ball of light was hanging in the air above him. Patroklos held out his hands. The sphere of light fell into Patroklos' open palms. There was a brilliant flash. The Omega Sword appeared, levitating above his hands. He reached out to take it. It was perfectly weighted.

"Take your mother's sword. I have purged it from the acts of violence years past." Hephaestus said. There was a slight hint of regret in his voice.

"Please…forgive my mother. She was…"

"I cannot blame your mother for the love she feels for her family. Go, my child. Go and destroy the two evil swords."

Then there was silence…

Patroklos looked at the Omega Sword. He thought about his mother, who had used this sword years ago to fight Soul Edge. His mind then wandered to the situation after that where his mother had used the sword to defend Soul Edge. He couldn't allow the sword to become an artifact of meaningless violence.

As Patroklos left the temple, he didn't realize that the Digamma Sword was missing from its pedestal.