The Revelation

Midnight at the darkest chamber of the Osthreinsburg ruins,

Starkiller forced himself to rise from the rubbles;this was the first time he met a worthy opponent since arrived on this planet. Wiping blood from his lips, the Dark Jedi stared to his opponent…Zasalamel the Enigma. The Egyptian sorcerer didn't looks surprised. He commented,

"I n my lifetimes, I never see a warrior like you…you're fascinating me," The youth smirked,

"The same can be said to you; I am surprised to found out that you are completely outside of the Force," he pointed, "Yet, the Force Lightning works for you…" The dark-skinned immortal smiled,

"Yes, the unknown magic…you might be not coming from this world. Tell me what your mission is…"

Starkiller spat, "Even so, I won't tell you! You will be the first person who tastes my light saber!" The Apprentice ripped the light saber from his waist and clicked it. Instantly, a crimson beam of light came out with humming sound. Slowly, he held the weapon behind. The sorcerer noticed that and said,

"What a strange stance to hold your weapon…" He was unable to continue his sentence as the Dark Jedi sling the lightsaber toward him. The blade buzzed to its trajectory, prompting Zasalamel to order,

"Kafziel!" Within split second, the scythe materialized in front of him and blocked the light saber. He felt a violent impact from the weapon, and quickly brushed it away. As the light saber whirled back, Starkiller dashed forward and caught his weapon. He proceeded to charge Zasalamel and swung the weapon to him. The Egyptian pulled his scythe back and swung it forward. There was no sparks, but both combatants locked intensely. Trying to break the lockdown, Zasalamel sent a high kick toward his opponent. However, the Apprentice had anticipated the move by leaping backward, thus distancing himself. Zasalamel stared his young opponent with curiosity, before favoring him with a smile,

"Fascinating…your speed is incredibly fast as Mercury…the mortals can't even comprehend this…amazing!" The Dark Jedi didn't answer. He had used Force Throw and Force Dash, but the sorcerer could block them all as they were nothing. He must act fast now; this was the good time to use Sith style! He taunted,

"Fine, can you comprehend this?" He held his saber behind him and charged it with Force Lightning, and then slammed the light blade of the saber directly to the ground in front of him. Instantly, a violet wave of force shook the ground and rolled toward the Enigma. The Egyptian uttered a word of power, and instantly an arcane barrier surrounded him. The rolling attack broke away like the waves dashed the rock. At the same time, Starkiller called the Dark side of the Force, throwing boulders toward the barrier. Zasalamel merely chuckled at this act; that was childish. But his chuckle stopped as he saw the Dark Jedi unleashed a torrent of Force Lightning. As the barrier yielded to the attack, he jumped to the air, only to meet…Starkiller who performed four single slashes with Force-charged saber…

-----------------#--------------

Twelve hours before that,

Hildegard von Krone watched his army in action from her steed. The Wolfkronian forces had pushed the bandits and claimed their position inch by inch. Thanks to Baron's efforts, that accursed castle would be theirs at midnight. Tomorrow, they could come home. Then someone called,

"Your Majesty?" The Princess turned around and saw Siegfried. He wore his usual armor, not the glinting one that she saw before. For a moment, they stared each other until she asked,

"What is it, Herr Siegfried?" The German answered,

"I have fulfilled my promise of guiding your army safely here…and now it was done. You won't need me anymore, Your Majesty," Hilde remembered that, yet she was loath to let him go just like that

"Are you sure? You can join us in our victory parade at Wolfkrone…" Siegfried shook his head,

"I am terribly sorry, My Princess…I have something pressing to settle. Please let me go…" Sensing his insistence, she eventually sighed,

"Very well, Herr Siegfried…I will free you from your obligations. Honestly, I have to thank you for arriving here safely. We can't do it if not with you…" The knight bowed,

"The honor is mine, Your Majesty! I hope success for taking this castle," Hilde asked again; her tone looks hopeful,

"Could we meet again, Herr Siegfried?"

"Who knows, Your Majesty? I think this won't be our last meeting…" Suddenly, the princess reverted to her usual attitude,

"Mein Gott, once I meet you again I shall fight you to see who is better…remember that, Siegfried!" At first, Siegfried was stunned but then he chuckled. Her attitude really reminded him to Ivy; they were similar whether they like it or not. He replied,

"I will wait any time, Your Majesty…now farewell, Princess Hilde!" He walked away from her, while she continued to stare forward. She followed him with her eyes until his form disappeared beneath the canopy. She felt heartache inside her chest, but like what he says, it can heal with time. Then Baron Oder called,

"Your Majesty…" Annoyed, she turned, "What is it, Baron?"

Baron Oder reported, "Our guard had hold the Japanese warrior and his consort at the encampment…he said that he wanted to join our force as a mercenary,"

"Oh?" she quipped, "Perhaps I should see them…the castle will fall before midnight. We might need few people to push forward,"

"There isn't only that, Your Majesty! Our scouts also report that they saw…peoples coming toward this way," Hilde frowned after hearing that,

"In that case, I want you to round them all to be questioned! We must be certain that they weren't in cahoots with Frederick Schtauffen! Make sure of that, Baron!"

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Almost the sunset,

A group of man trailed the lonely road toward the Osthreinsburg ruins. Kilik and Xianghua walked before the others. Talim's appearance was radically changed. She now sported a white hair and wore an oriental dancer costume. She also wore a paw-like gloves and shoes. However, the Filipino girl didn't looks happy, as she turned to Yun-Seong with sour face,

"Kuya, itigil mo yan! Hindi ako nakaktuwa ito!" The Korean tried hard to wipe his smile, but it was too hard. He replied,

"Sorry, mahal ko! I try…but it is hard when you're like…a cat!" Almost crying, the young girl called,

"Ate Xiang! Kuya laughs on me again…Sinabi niya ako parang pusa!" The Chinese girl shook her head, before saying,

"Hong Yun-Seong, you're a bad boy!" Then she called the priestess, "Come with me, Talim! Perhaps we should leave those guys alone…" Talim sprouted her tongue in a mocking manner to Yun-Seong, who only exclaimed,

"What? Have I do something wrong?" The young master of Ling-Sheng-Su joined him,

"Don't think too much. Sometimes the girls can't take joke seriously…" The Korean merely scratched his head,

"Well, I don't want to laugh actually. Especially, when I had almost became a…vampire. I just want to cheer Talim up…" Kilik nodded, and then advised,

"But your way is not right…you can show your concern without joking…" The red-haired youth pondered,

"Perhaps you're right…I promise that I try to be gentle…" He pondered again, "Why are Maxi not joining us?" The former monk said,

"I don't know; he said he had some business to attend…so he sent us first," As those couples talked, Yoshimitsu walked silently behind them until…he stopped. This attracted the others' attention. Kilik asked,

"What is wrong, Elder?" The Manji said,

"We're watched by someone…" Instantly, everyone became wary. Yun-Seong asked,

"Since when, Elder? I don't see anyone…"

"Just because you can't see them, it doesn't mean they aren't there. They had been watched us since we walked into the forest…" Xianghua added,

"In that case, we'd flush them out…"Then she pulled her sword, while Talim prepared her Syi Syarika and Cao Ankana. Kilik and Yun-Seong prepared Kali-Yuga and White Storm. Before they managed to strike, suddenly the sounds of horse hoofs was heard nearby. They turned and saw a company of the Wolfkronian cavalry. The commander quickly stopped and inquired,

"Halt, you're not allowed here strangers! Say why you are coming here…" Kilik glanced to the Manji,

"Elder, are they the one?" Yoshimitsu shook his head,

"No, they aren't! In fact, those who followed us had disappeared after hearing these people." Impatient, the commander called again,

"I ask you one more time, what are you doing here?" Kilik answered,

"We're looking our friend, Sir. We believe he must come to this place," Unconvinced, the Wolfkrone commander said,

"I'm not buying your words! I have to take you all to Your Highness, and she'll be the one who decide your innocence! I suggest you have to give up your weapons" Without warning, the Manji pulled his trusted sword,

"We won't be taken lightly…NAMU!" Instantly, the cavalries pointed their lancers, muskets and crossbows to them. But Kilik stopped Yoshimitsu,

"Don't, Elder! They just want to inquire our coming here, don't provoke them first! We can explain to them…please!" Thinking quite hard, the Manji sheathed his katana back reluctantly. The young master turned to the commander,

"I'm sorry. Elder is quite agitated recently…we don't mean harm to you, Sir." The commander said,

"I see, therefore you can keep yours in our watch! Now please follow us…" The horsemen boxed them and they began to walk toward the encampment. Talim looks afraid, since those horsemen reminded her to the Spaniards at her homeland,

"Kuya, takot ako!" The red-haired youth held her,

"Don't worry, Talim! I will protect you…"

-----------------#--------------

At the Wolfkrone's encampment,

Mitsurugi muttered, "The last thing I expect in this world is to…meet with you all!" He glanced toward Sophitia, Cassandra and Seong Mi-na. Not wanting to lose, the Korean girl replied,

"The same thing can be said to you, Mitsurugi-san!" They were sat on the ground, while the Wolfkronian soldiers surrounded with their weapons pointed to them. Actually, the ronin and the geisha were coming first and wanted to draft. Yet, the girls' incoming made their plan gone awry, especially when Hilde ordered to round them all. Setsuka quickly hushed them,

"Shh, perhaps we shouldn't blame each other first…" Not for long, Kilik's band arrived at the encampment and Cassandra noticed Xianghua. She called,

"Xiang! Is that you?" The Chinese girl replied, "Cassie, why are you here?" Before they could greet each other, the soldiers barred their way and herded the incoming band together with other. Mi-na also said,

"Kilik! Xiang! You are here too…! How glad I am!" The young master replied,

"The same with me, Miss Mi-na!" The greeting earned him a gentle nudge on the ribs by Xianghua. In other hand, Talim was overjoyed to see Setsuka,

"Ate Setsuka! It is me, Talim!" The geisha smiled,

"Nice to see you, Talim! You too, Yun-Seong!"The Korean asked,

"Why are you here? I thought you're at Japan…and why is he coming here?" Felt mentioned, Mitsurugi harrumphed,

"Don't ask me, boy!" He glanced to the masked ninja, "You too…" Few minutes later, Rock and Amy joined their gathering. The Englishman was restless after the Wolfkronian restrained him. Once inside, they let him go. The French girl said,

"Monsieur!Mademoiselle! You are here as well…" To this, Kilik asked,

"Why are you here, Miss Amy?"

"I was looking for my papa, luckily Monsieur Rock help me along…do you see my papa?" Before managed to explain, someone had shouted aloud,

"Schweinehund! Verdamnt! This is not a family gathering! So stop chatting!" The warriors turned and saw Hildegard in her battle garbs. Yet, he already took her helmet off and she looks displeased. Baron Oder followed,

"Show your respect to Princess Hildegard von Krone! Don't act insolent before her!" Cassandra watched her and asked Mi-na,

"She is the princess? She is younger than me…" Mi-na added,

"She also sharp-tongued…" Mitsurugi commented,

"Well…the world has changed indeed…" Talim frowned,

"Yabang ito ang prinsesa…anong sa' tingin niya?" Setsuka hushed her quickly

Hilde ignored them and quickly sat on her throne before them. She spoke,

"So all of you had known each other…perhaps one of you can tell why you are coming to this God-forsaken place! If not, you can appoint a spokesman amongst you!" Everyone shocked when Mi-na stood, shouting

"Who do you think you are? You can't just take all of us by force…and then simply ask us like that!" Unfazed, the Maiden of the Silver Wolf said mockingly,

"Ah, you're quite feisty! I hope you can satisfy me not only in words, but brawn as well…"

"Why you…" Yun-Seong and Cassie immediately pulled her down; at the same time Kilik bowed respectfully,

"Forgive our friend, Your Highness. We don't mean anything evil to you here…" Curious with the young master's manner, Hilde said,

"Ah, you're quite courteous…what is your name, Sir?"

"Kilik, Your Majesty!" The princess looks satisfied; she gestured the former monk to continue,

"Herr Kilik, perhaps you can kindly explain the reason you come to the Osthreinsburg…"

"It began with a long story, Your Highness…" Then Kilik began to tell the story about the holy sword and the evil blade. Hilde seems listened, but she didn't buy it very much. After the monk finished, she asked,

"Good story, now I ask you; with whom the Soul Calibur now?"

Kilik answered humbly, "Soul Calibur now wielded by Siegfried Schtauffen, one of our friends. Your Majesty!" The mention of Siegfried's true name instantly startled the warrior princess. She repeated her question,

"Wait, what do you say? Siegfried's family name is Schtauffen? Are you sure?"

The young master nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty! He himself had told us…" This fact instantly made Hilde furious. She didn't expect this and her response is…

"VERDAMNT! The bastard had lied in front of me and I buy it like a naïve girl!" Everyone was startled to see the sudden change. The auburn-haired girl turned to Baron Oder,

"Baron, I order you to find Siegfried Schtauffen and bring him here! It is better if you caught him with his father!" Then she pointed Frischer Himmel to Kilik, making Xianghua almost jumping in response,

"As for them, arrest them all until I know the truth from the liar!" Seong Mi-na, Mitsurugi, Yoshimitsu and Rock almost fought the soldiers, had Kilik not stopped them,

"Don't!" he said sternly to the others, before turning to the princess, "Your Highness, I've heard about the bandit leader named Frederick Schtauffen. I don't know what relationship between him and Sir Siegfried, but I do know one thing; Siegfried was a honorable man…and won't do such thing…" Hilde screamed aloud,

"SHUT UP!" After everyone was silent, she said,

"I will be the one who judge that, as for now you are put in arrest…" Without much talking, the Wolfkronian soldiers herded the warriors to the open location. Baron Oder immediately went to carry his princess' order. In other hand, Hilde went inside to her tent, and threw herself to the makeshift bed, crying a lot. Brunhilde heard the commotion and asked,

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Teary-eyed, the princess said,

"I am not alright, Brunhilde, and it is because of Siegfried Schtauffen…he lies and played me around like a fool! I won't forgive him for that! I hate him!" The loyal maid went closer and wiped the tears,

"Calm down, princess. I heard the whole story…if he truly plays with your heart then he wouldn't try to tell you. Instead, he continue with his charade,"

"Why did he not tell me that Frederick was his father? Did it prove his evil intention?"

Brunhilde replied, "If he intends to do harm to you, he had done that when both of you were alone…Your Highness, just because they had the same family name it doesn't mean that they are related or agree. You see, Herr Siegfried went alone to the Osthreinsburg. He didn't come along with us, but Your Highness presses him. Do you think he do that to trap us? I don't think so…" Still sniffed, Hilde asked again,

"How do you know him so much?" The elderly maid shook her head,

"No, Your Highness! I don't know him, but I do know you well…you feel hurt because the man you like had lied to you. It is normal…you just like the normal girl who had fallen in love and suddenly hurt. But a true princess must stands above that. Perhaps it is better if you ask Siegfried by yourself…" The red-haired princess said,

"You're right, Brunhilde…I am too hasty to judge like that. In that case, I should apologize with Siegfried's friends and set free them,"

"That's my princess, but before that I want you to meet someone…" Brunhilde glanced to the tent and called,

"You can come now, Scheherazade…" The elf maiden entered lightly; she bowed respectfully to the princess,

"Greetings, Your Highness! It is my honor to meet the descendant of Wolfkrone…The Silver Wolf,"

Hilde startled to hear it, "How do you know that?"

Scheherazade continued, "I know everything about your ancestor…and their trusted will to guard the holy sword,"

-----------------#--------------

Meanwhile,

Siegfried continued to climb the treacherous cliff behind the ruins; he chose the path in order not to attract more attention. He felt the more close he come to the ruins, the stronger its evil aura. It was palpable within, sending goosebumps to him. Of course, he had been there once…as Nightmare the Azure Knight. But that horrible moment had passed. This time, he came here for redemption…

-----------------#--------------

In other hand,

Voldo and Aeon had arrived at the western part of Osthreinsburg. Seeing the ruins, the creature commented,

"Ossthreinssburg Casstle…the last place I've want to go. Who knows that I'll return here again?" Using its reptilian sense, he could smelt blood and…the foreboding evil. He didn't like this! The Hell Guardian glanced to his companion and gave a strange gesture. Aeon nodded and let loose a terrible shriek. Instantly, a pack of Lizardmen came out from the forest. At his journey, Aeon Calcos had defeated the alpha lizardmen and again, at Money Pit. It gave him control over his 'kins' and ability to summon them everywhere. He realized once unleashed they would kill everything they encounter, but if he didn't do this Voldo would suspect him. Sighing inside, Lizardman screeched again and the Lizardmen descended to the ruins…

-----------------#--------------

Around another corner,

Taki, Miser and Shura had made their journey inside the ruins, without alerting the brigands and the Wolfkronians. Everything went smoothly so far until…the kunoichi held her head. Concerned, the female bandit asked,

"Senpai, is something wrong?" Taki replied,

"My head…feels…painful…the…memories…comes…back!" She felt the rushing memories once entered the Osthreinsburg. She remembered when encounter Ivy, meeting Sophitia and so on…

Miser now worried, while the others felt nothing. The white-clothed woman pondered,

The effect of the drugs wore off once she was inside these ruins! I have to get fast! She quickly pulled off the incense and burns it. She waved the incense off before Taki and said,

"Senpai, we still have a duty to do! You must find Siegfried Schtauffen and recover the Soul Calibur…that's Ryuusei-sama's order!" Instantly, the raven-haired kunoichi woke off like nothing ever happened. She said,

"You're right…let's go!" As Taki went forward, Shura commented,

"This won't work forever…soon or later, she would find out," Miser merely shrugged,

"This will be my concern, not yours!" After the bandit left, the demon-possessed woman whispered,

"It will be…once you're finished this duty!"

-----------------#--------------

Back to the encampment,

The warriors still held at the corner of the encampment; they also had to give up their weapons. To this, Mitsurugi complained,

"Well, thanks for our spokesman…" he grumbled, "Everything went smooth until you mention the German's family name in front of the princess! Speaking about of spoiling…" Kilik simply bowed his head in regret. Seong Mi-na came for his defense,

"Knock it off, ronin! Kilik don't know that spoiled princess know Siegfried…how do we know that?"

Xianghua hushed them, "Stop, everything already happened! Nothing can change that…" She noticed that she didn't see the geisha, "Mitsurugi-san, did you see Setsuka?"

"How do I…" The ronin eventually realized that, "Darn, she's gone…and left me alone!" The Korean girl smiled mischievously,

"Speaking about the falling-off…" Yoshimitsu was silent as usual. While everyone was arguing with each other, Talim, Cassandra and Yun-Seong simply watched. Not for long, the young priestess asked,

"Ate Cassie, nasaan si Tita Sophie? Hindi ko nakita kanina," The Greek girl startled to hear the Filipino's question, even the Korean added,

"Talim is right! I saw her when we were with the princess, but here I didn't saw her anymore," Cassandra began to look around, but Sophitia was nowhere to be seen. She quickly called Mi-na and Xianghua,

"Miss Mi-na! Xiang! Sophitia is gone!" Instantly, everyone turned to her. Mi-na cursed,

"Darn, she must be slipped away when the soldier herded us here! It became her habit…how come this happen!" Xianghua responded,

"It doesn't matter; we have to get out from here!" Mitsurugi added,

"Now you are talking…how do we get out from here?" The former Imperial Guard said,

"They might take our weapons, but they will learn the Oriental hand-to-hand combat with a hard way!"

Mi-na shouted excitedly, "Let's go then!" Before they go, Kilik stopped them,

"Let me try once more…if it is not working then have your own ways!" Suddenly, the tent was opened and Hilde strode inside with Brunhilde, Scheherazade and several soldiers. Seeing her, the Korean girl shouted,

"What do you want now? Is it not enough for you?" This time, the princess' feature softened. She said slowly,

"I want to…apologize…for my outburst a while ago! Because Siegfried is your friend, I shouldn't treat you like this." She continued, "You are free to go now…" Everyone was stunned with that declaration, until Kilik asked,

"Are you sure, Your Highness?" The auburn-haired girl nodded,

"Yes…I mean it. You can take your weapons and go…" Then a frantic soldier came to them,

"Your Highness! This is important!" Irritated, Hilde asked,

"What is it? Don't make my mood sour now! Speak!"

The soldier reported, "We're…attacked by the lizard-like monsters! They had attacked Baron Oder as well!" Hearing that, Cassandra quipped,

"Lizardmen! Aeon…" Hilde quickly ordered,

"Quick, gather our remaining troops and defend our lines! Bring my steed!" Before leaving for battle, she glanced to them,

"If you want to go! Go now, this isn't your battle!"

-----------------#--------------

Far from the encampment, yet close to the ruins,

Sophitia Alexandra had slipped away before the soldiers herd the rest. She walked inside the dark forest while her mind is nowhere,

Taki has deserted me like Rothion…those whom I love had deserted me.…even my daughter's life was hanging on the thread. What shall I do? Is it worth to find Soul Calibur? What if the cycle repeats itself? Then she heard the creaking sound nearby; this prompted her to pull her Omega Sword and Elk Shield. She shouted,

"Who is it? Come and show yourself!" Not for long, someone came out. It wore a dirty cloak and its crimson eyes glowed in the dark. It spoke,

"Greetings, Sophitia Alexandra! Long time not see you!" The Greek woman shocked to see the evil knight alive,

"Nightmare!" she hissed, "I thought Zasalamel and Siegfried had destroyed you completely…"

"Ah, yes! But Siegfried only kills Night Terror, not me. Zasalamel…he didn't quite through yet…"

"Good, then I shall make it through!" Before Sophitia charged, the Azure Knight stopped,

"Wait, listen me first! This is important…"

"Nothing is important from you, abomination!" As the holy sword almost an inch from the knight, it continued,

"This is about your daughter, Pyrrha!" Instantly, Sophitia stopped her attack,

"What? How come you know that?" Nightmare didn't answer, as he glanced to the Omega Sword. The Greek woman distanced her sword from the creature. Then the knight continued,

"Few months later, I was hanging between life and death. No matter how much I kill, I cannot sustain my existence in this plane. Then I found out that I was linked to a fragile life, which is your daughter. As much as I loath it, I can't separate myself from her." Sophitia replied,

"Soul Calibur can exorcise you…also Kilik!" However, the creature bowed sadly,

"Alas, it is true! But exorcising is not a simple business…if something wrong your daughter could be died! I know my life is nothing…but do you ready to sacrifice your own daughter?" These words struck Sophitia very hard. She didn't ready to do such thing. Rothion would hate her! The Azure Knight continued,

"You had come this far to make sure your daughter…even the loved one had forsaken you as well. Do you ready to do that?" The blond-haired woman fell in kneeling position; her position was difficult. She wanted to kill this evil knight, but doing so would harm her daughter. Tears pooled in her blue eyes and fell like raindrops. She said,

"Then kill me and consume my soul…doing so would help my daughter alive a little longer…" Nightmare mused awhile before saying,

"That is acceptable, but my heart is breaks to see such sacrifice! No, keep that away from me!" The Greek woman cried aloud,

"Kill me, Nightmare and be done with it! I had served Hephaestus and this is what I got! I'd better died than see my daughter dying! I have nothing!" Again, the knight said,

"No, I won't do that…however we could work something…a compromise, perhaps?"

"What do you offer?"

-----------------#--------------

Inside the Osthreinsburg Castle,

Zasalamel was deep in his meditation until he finally said,

"Our guests are here…" he glanced to Frederick, "Your son is here as well…" The former Templar Knight asked,

"You want me to deal with him?" The Enigma nodded only; the bandit leader went out immediately. Few seconds later, he rose,

"For myself I will greet our special uninvited guest…"

-----------------#--------------

At the nearby halls,

Starkiller still mused of the situation. He had sneaked to the heavily-guarded places around the universe and galaxies, but nothing absurd like this one. The bandits made a poor comparison to the Imperial Stormtroopers. He also found the disturbance was closer and intense; somehow it was akin to the Force. He must found it and bring it to his Lord. When he passed by the staircases, someone called,

"Stop, where do you think to go?" The Dark Jedi turned around and saw a dark-skinned man with monk clothes. The man continued,

"You aren't one of those ruffians, are you?" Find it irritating, the youth made a choking gesture. But the man still asked him,

"What is it? You haven't answered my question!" Starkiller startled mildly to find the Force Choke had no effect to him. He quickly switched to the Force Throw, but no avail. This made him quite dumb-founded. Nobody could do such thing…unless this man was outside of the Force. The Egyptian went closer,

"Speak out! Cat got your tongues?" Gritting his teeth, Starkiller shouted,

"I won't answer anything but this!" Instantly, he let loose the Force Lightning toward the monk…

-----------------#--------------

Zasalamel was more stunned than startled when the torrent of lightning struck him squarely at the chest. He could felt his life almost drained from him. Had he not immortal and excelled in the reincarnation arts, he surely died. The impact forced him quite a distance and hit him to the wall. Slowly, he rose from the barrage and spoke,

"Interesting, I have expecting you, stranger. Show me what you have!" Then the Enigma whispered the arcane spells; mysterious symbols, glyphs, runes and sigils formed around them. The Z.N.Q.R.H. inscription glowed brightly with his golden right eye. When the sorcerer waved his arms, the current of magiks struck the Dark Jedi and threw him to the opposite side.

-----------------#--------------

Later, Sophitia stood facing Nightmare and asked,

"You mean that you won't kill me and let my daughter alive…" The knight nodded,

"That's right; as long as you protect me from any harm I would do the same for your daughter. You know perfectly…" The blond-haired woman pondered awhile and then answered,

"I agree, but with one condition!"

"Name it!" Sophitia said,

"You must not harm Cassandra, Seong Mi-na and…Taki. If I know that you had touched a single hair of them, our deal is off!" The Azure Knight nodded,

"I accept it! Now shall you sign our deal by touching my Soul Edge?" The woman looks apprehensive to touch the cursed sword, but the creature said,

"Don't worry; this won't control you. We make our deal fairly, therefore no tricks here!" Finally, Sophitia touched the hilt of Soul Edge, declaring,

"I, Sophitia Alexandra make a promise to protect the Azure Knight from any harm! This is done with my honor!" The single eye throbbed excitedly to its declaration. Then the abomination asked,

"You ask me to spare three people only; what about the others?" The Greek woman answered icily,

"I have nothing to do with them," Hearing that, Nightmare mused,

Excellent, now you are mine…

-----------------#--------------

Return to the Osthreinsburg Castle,

Siegfried finally had arrived at the threshold of the Castle…and found someone had waited for him.

"Father…" he said. The mustached knight nodded,

"Sieg, you had grown up…" Then the German knight knelt before him,

"I ask your forgiveness for killing you…" Frederick unsheathe his zweihander,

"Then prove it to me…with your strength…your true strength, son!" Likewise, Siegfried pulled Soul Calibur,

"I will try my best!"

-----------------#--------------

At the encampment,

The Wolfkronian struggled hard to fight the Lizardmen, though they had difficulty to drive those creatures. Hilde strode in front, shouting and giving command to her troops. With their princess in front, the soldiers were encouraged and began to drive their foes back. Slowly but sure, they went closer to the Osthreinsburg.

-----------------#--------------

At the same time,

Kilik spoke to the rest, "Everyone, listen to me! Elder Yoshimitsu and Mitsurugi-san will help the princess! Rock, Miss Amy and I would search to the east, while Xianghua, Miss Mi-na, and Cassie scour the western part. Yun-Seong and Talim would search the southern part! Is that clear?" Mi-na asked,

"What will we do once we found Sophie, Setsuka or even…Siegfried?" The young master said,

"Just wait until we come! Don't do anything!" Then they dispersed quickly.

-----------------#--------------

At Planet Dagobah,

Yoda felt something terrible beyond; it almost like when Anakin massacred the Tusken Riders at Tattooine or when his Jedi fellows fell to the Order 66. The old master clutched his chest and felt the pain. He whispered,

"Too dense…too intense…the Dark Side!" The sweat fell from his brow, "…will struck the tragedy once again…fall is one, follow the rest will,"

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Author's Note: Okay, this chapter is done! Everyone is gathering at the Osthreinsburg ruins with different goals. What Yoda means with 'the tragedy'? Who will fall among those heroes and heroines? Can Siegfried settle his unfinished business with his 'father'? What is the result between Starkiller and Zasalamel? What unholy alliance that Sophitia made with Nightmare? What is the cost? Find the shocking conclusion in the next chapter, "The Severance". Thank you and see you next time!

Glossary:

Filipino:

Kuya, itigil mo yan! Hindi ako nakaktuwa ito!= Kuya, stop it! I am not laughing!

Sinabi niya ako parang pusa= He said that I like a cat

Kuya, takot ako!= Kuya, I am afraid!

Yabang ito ang prinsesa…anong sa' tingin niya?=This princess is arrogant/snobbish.…what is she thinking?

Ate Cassie, nasaan si Tita Sophie? Hindi ko nakita kanina=Ate Cassie, where is Tita Sophie? I didn't see her awhile ago.