Chapter 1:

Evil Sword Soul Edge

Kingdom of Spain

Outskirts of Granada

Following rumors he'd heard about the cursed sword Soul Edge, Siegfried found himself led aboard a grounded pirate ship.

Siegfried opened yet another door. There seemed to be no end to this maze. He brushed his long blonde hair out of his sea-blue eyes. Just another wasted day, searching for power he could never obtain.

Siegfried sighed. Sometimes, he thought that this search just wasn't worth it anymore. But when he looked back on his past, he knew that this search was his destiny. He would follow rumors of the cursed sword to the ends of the earth if need be. He opened another door, and took a swift look around. Nothing but another door. He shook his head, but continued walking.

The armor was starting to weigh down on him. He was having trouble walking, and stumbled from time to time. The armor was steel, with gold designs running along the breastplate and arms. There was no helmet, its having been destroyed long ago in a fight he didn't wish to remember.

He opened the door, and found himself in a room that was a little bigger than the others. The wood of the ship was moldy and rotted in places. A portion of the wall had caved in, shining light on a pile of old, wet wood.

And there it was. Almost like an ironic sign from heaven, the light from the wall shone down on this exact spot. On this exact sword, thrust into the pile of rotting wood and most likely the deck beneath it as well. All of his doubts were suddenly erased. He had found it. Soul Edge was his.

He strode quickly forward, his face neutral, but on the inside, eager to take his prize.

He stopped, and got a good look at the sword up close. It was quite fearsome, with a wickedly sharp blade, and an abnormal growth along the side. There was what appeared to be a closed eye, with brown skin, in the center of the sword. Rust had crept up the blade, and an old cloth was wound around the hilt's guard.

"So, this is Soul Edge," Siegfried said, a little disappointed.

He took a step further, so that he was on the mound and within easy grasp of Soul Edge. His hand moved up, slowly, as if someone might see and deem him unworthy, and was about to touch the hilt when he heard a voice.

"I've been waiting for you," the voice said. The speaker had a deep, gravelly voice that sounded somehow ominous.

Siegfried looked around the room, but saw no one. He looked up, into the hole in the wall, but no one is there. Then, realization dawned on him. He looked down, and saw that the eye on Soul Edge is open, alert, and looking right at him. Where the eye should be white, it was red, and there was no color in the center, just a large black slanted pupil, like that of a snake.

"This voice, is it you?" Siegfried asked cautiously. As if in answer, a red light began to emanate from the eye.

"Draw me out, and I shall grant you ultimate power," Soul Edge said.

"'Ultimate power?'" Siegfried asked the sword, somewhat disbelieving.

"Yes. Ultimate power," Soul Edge was fully active now, and swirls of red energy were revolving around it. "The power to overcome the fear of loss. If there is something you've lost, something you don't want to lose, then take me in your hands!"

Siegfried could feel the power, see the energy coursing through Soul Edge now, but he also felt a great evil. His hands moved toward the hilt, but faltered. As much as he had dreamed of this moment, he was hesitant to release the evil he could sense lived inside the sword, the evil that granted the sword power.

He looked down for a moment, as if considering something, and then nodded, new determination in his eyes. He grabbed Soul Edge's hilt with both hands and easily pulled it out of the rubble.

He swung Soul Edge around, testing its balance, and was surprised when he could easily wield it in one hand. The sword was at least 5 feet long, and at least 6 inches wide. Despite the rust, it had a sharpness to it that allowed it to slice through the air with a precision Siegfried hadn't thought possible with a sword. Satisfied, he thrust Soul Edge into the air. There was an ominous glowing, and Siegfried stopped, wondering what it was. It was probably nothing. He saw some barrels and walked over to them, slicing them perfectly in half with one sweep of the sword.

Smiling, he saw a passage out of the room, and just walked down it, happy to cause damage to the old barrels along the way. He soon found himself in a room full of skeletons.

Siegfried frowned. These were the first bodies he'd seen all day. Soul Edge glowed ominously, and red sparks danced across the floor to the bodies. The skeletons jolted. Then they stood up.

Each grabbed an old sword that had been lying nearby, and circled him. He was quickly surrounded by undead. With four expert sweeps of the sword, the skeletons collapsed.

Siegfried's frown deepened. He had fought larger creatures, but it seemed as if the skeletons had been brought to life by the jolt. Siegfried quickly dismissed that. The light and the sparks were probably to warn him of their attack. Yes, that had to be it. Soul Edge had no reason to betray him.

He walked on down the hall, and found a similar room. Corpses included. But these were already walking towards him, before he reached the room. He rushed at them, and two fell with lightening strokes of Soul Edge. He felt a hard hit from behind, and fell to his knees, turning just in time to see a skeleton ready to decapitate him. Acting purely on instinct, he thrust upward, but Soul Edge began to glow and all of the enemies fell, their bones crushed. Siegfried was now completely confused.

He walked on, and saw a staircase leading up. Perfect. He followed it up, walking slowly, and looking around as he turned the corner into the open area. The scene looked empty at first, with fog surrounding the bow of the ship, and a gangplank heading down.

Siegfried headed toward the gangplank, but a blue glow formed a wall. He touched it, and it rewarded him with an armor-jolting electric shock. Panting, he collapsed to one knee.

He turned, searching for another way out, but instead saw an old pirate's corpse, turned blue with time. In its hands were two swords, a regular rapier in the left, and a red sword resembling a flame in the other. The corpse was glowing the same blue as the wall.

Slowly, the corpse started to stand up. The light seemed to be reviving it. But, this one seemed somehow more… alive than the others. It yanked it's swords out of the ground, and staggered forward, gaining strength.

"I won't let you…" the pirate took a half-step forward, "have…" he seemed to be summoning energy, "Soul Edge!" He waved both of his swords, freeing him from the blue light, completely revived.

Soul Edge buzzed in Siegfried's hands, and Siegfried ran forward. The pirate seemed to block all of Siegfried's attacks rather easily, and hit him with the flat of his blade whenever there was an opening, which only infuriated Siegfried further. With a roar, he charged the pirate, his rage somehow summoning a hidden ability within Soul Edge. The pirate suffered a direct hit, but still stood.

There was a flash of blades, and Siegfried felt the red sword at his throat. The sword itself seemed to be burning with fire. Using lightning reflexes he never even knew he had, he knocked the sword from the pirate's hands. The pirate seemed furious at this, and rushed Siegfried with a roar. But Siegfried was ready for this. He easily countered, slicing the pirate across the back twice. The pirate grabbed his other sword and turned, only to be hit by an upward strike that sent him staggering backwards.

The pirate fell to one knee, sinking his red sword into the deck of the ghost ship.

"Do you even understand… what that evil sword is?" the pirate asked Siegfried, then chuckled. "You will soon learn what happens to those who are ensnared… by the power of Soul Edge! Errgh!" His last statement seemed to take all of his remaining energy, and he fell onto his back, his rapier in hand, his red sword thrust into the ground beside him, and was still.

Siegfried was silent, and lowered his guard. Suddenly, Soul Edge tried to leap out of Siegfried's hand, vibrating with energy. It took all of Siegfried's power to control the sword. It began to glow a dark red, and was soon shining with a kind of evil glee.

"At long last, I have found my host!" Soul Edge declared victoriously. With much effort, Siegfried tried unsuccessfully to control the power, but the electricity which was by now bouncing off of Soul Edge was too much. With a cry, he thrust Soul Edge into the air, releasing all of its energy.

The light emanating from Soul Edge grew into a large pillar that covered the world. The mysterious monsters that emerged from that light spread throughout the world in an instant. They hunted men, and destroyed kingdoms. People called those monsters "Evils" and feared the light that had birthed them, calling it "The Evil Seed". On that day, the natural laws that governed the world changed forever. Mankind was forced to battle its mortal enemy, the Evil. This is how our story begins.