Soul Eater: My Way
Episode Eleven: The Sanzu Key
The Blade of the Death River and The Meister?
Sam sat on the edge of the wall. He had been sitting there since the rest of the DWMA had gone to assault Baba Yaga castle, and destroy the Kishin. He was bored, and couldn't understand why Death wanted him to stay behind. He wasn't even allowed to leave the castle to locate 'the item'.
'Why am I still calling it the item?' Sam thought to himself. 'I know its true name. I know what it does, what it is, and how powerful and potentially deadly it is. Why am I still calling it 'the item?''
He shrugged and span around and slid off the wall. He walked down the academy steps and stepped past his motorbike. He gave a smile. Well, he had always been a rule breaker hadn't he?
It didn't take much to establish a resonance link with Sarah. It wasn't long before she was beside him next to the bike.
"We going against orders are we?" Sarah asked. "Going to Baba Yaga?"
"Nope. We're going to find 'the item'."
Sarah looked at him.
"That thing Death has you running yourself into the ground to find?"
"Yep."
Sarah looked at him.
"You know where it is?"
"Uhuh."
"So when did you find out?"
"It came to me just now. I was sitting there just thinking contently when it hit me."
Sarah paused.
"What is it exactly? You always refer to it as, 'the item.'"
Sam smiled, as he sat on the bike.
"Well I guess I should tell you."
"Yes you should."
Sam gave a sigh and smiled. "The item is a weapon called the Sanzu Key. It is a blade believed to have been forged in the pits of the Fields of Punishment, from the crown of Osiris in the afterlife, and doused in the River of Sanzu. Thus combining three different forms of belief. And also combining three entities within those beliefs. The rewards for being good. The punishment for being evil. And the river you must cross to be judged."
"The River of Sanzu? Never heard of it," Sarah said.
"It's a Buddhist belief that in order to be judged in death you must cross the River of Sanzu. The worthy cross by bridge, the undetermined cross by ford, and the guilty cross by wading through deep, snake infested waters."
"So how come it isn't called the Key of Punishment, or the Osiris Key? Why the Sanzu Key?"
"Good question. I think mainly because the River is the most powerful. Land can be shaken. A person can be slain. A river is constant. It can be blocked yes, but it will find another way. Therefore a river is indestructible. Therefore it is the appropriate name for a blade of such power."
"I guess you're right. So why does Lord Death want it?"
"Oh. I'm not sure. I just think he wants it to put in the vault. You know, under his watchful gaze."
"I guess. But if it's a normal sword why bother?"
Sam smiled.
"It isn't a normal sword. Being made in three different realms of death, if the legend is true, it has the potential to do immeasurable amounts of damage in a single attack, even going as far as opening a gateway into death, sometimes a big as whole cities."
"Some blade."
"Exactly."
"So we're going to find it? Just the two of us?"
"And use it to beat the Kishin."
Sarah looked uncomfortable for a second. Sam realized what she was thinking.
"Oh no sweetie it's not like that at all. If I wanted another Weapon partner do you think I would have bothered with that deal in the first place?"
Sarah looked at him and smiled. Sam outstretched his arms and Sarah welcomed the embrace.
"Now let's get that weapon," Sam smiled.
Sarah smiled.
"So where is the Weapon?"
"It doesn't take much. It would have to be in a temple of sorts. And I think that it won't be a Buddhist temple because the name of the Weapons is already Buddhist. And I'm not sure of any proper Greek temples, so it means that it has to be an Egyptian temple with Greek writings on the inside. I believe that the Sanzu Key is in the tomb of Cleopatra."
Sarah smiled at her boyfriend's logic.
"You are a genius."
Sam started the bike.
"And don't I know it?"
He stood waist deep in the river of Sanzu. His eyes closed, his fingers trailing through the water. Occasionally the snakes from deeper down the river would flow to nibble at his toes, but instantly they rose to the surface. Dead, to be swept up by the impossibly fast current.
He was the entity of death. The cause of death. The guardian of the Sanzu River.
He was Sadar, former Medieval Arts Meister.
There was a splash of water and Sadar opened his crusted eyes. His dry lips cracked, as they curled up in a small smile.
"Good to see you Death," Sadar said, his voice clear. Death inclined his head.
"Yeah. Likewise my friend."
"I see you have not taken my advice upon our last conversation and chosen to wear that ridicules mask. Your students will not take you seriously."
"I don't wish to scare them."
"Believe me Death they won't be. I have seen the arrogance and fearlessness of some of the young today. Cocky bastards the lot of them."
Death gave a small chuckle.
"So why are you here? I know of the Kishin's release but I doubt it would warrant a visit to your dear old friend."
"Yeah, yeah. I knew that wouldn't slip your gaze. I'm here because of something a little more than that. I assume you know of our own Medieval Arts Meister?"
"The son of the Stein? You've come to ask why you felt my, ahem, particular wavelength from his soul?"
"Yes."
"Well Death I thought that might have been obvious. I wish to see if he is worthy of taking up my mantle. I-"
But Sadar stopped and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"I apologise Death but there is something that requires my attention. I must attend to this at once."
And Sadar became stone.
Sam and Sarah raced through the Egyptian sands. Sam's head was bobbing to the music from his iPod. Sarah's hands were clutched around Sam's midriff as sand billowed up around them.
"How much further!" screamed Sarah. Sam didn't reply. Sarah realized that she could hear over the roar of the engine, she could hear Sam's headphone belting out Breaking Benjamin's, I Will Not Bow.
"Oh you have so got to be kidding me," Sarah hissed. Tentatively she withdrew one arm from around Sam and tugged out one headphone.
"Sorry what were you saying?" Sam asked.
"I said, 'How much further?'" Sarah repeated.
"Oh. Not that far. About thirty seconds."
"Wait what?"
Sam braked so hard Sarah nearly flew over his head.
"Nice," she grumbled.
"I'm not allowed to have fun?" Sam asked smiling.
"Not like that you plonk," Sarah hissed.
Sam smiled and got off the bike. He pulled out his trademark sunglasses and put them on.
"Cleopatra. The greatest female pharaoh ever. She wasn't the only one of course and true her marital relations were rather disturbed but she was still one of the best pharaoh's. I think she only missed the top spot thanks to Alexander the Great."
"What do you mean her marriages were disturbed?" Sarah asked as they walked up to the tomb.
"She married members of her family. Sometimes they were multiple members all rolled into one."
Sarah stayed still for several moments.
Sam reached the door to the tomb and pressed his hand against it.
"Aren't we going in?"
"We came for the temple. Not the tomb. The deeper under the sands the better."
He was on the sand now, searching for something.
"Bloody thing. Dad took me here once. The Temple of the Sphinx."
"We're nowhere near Giza."
"No reason we should be. It's just a catchy name. Dammit! Where is that little bastard!"
Sarah heard and audible click and a hole appeared underneath Sam.
"Ah," Sam said in the millisecond before he rolled down the stairs. Backwards I might add.
Sarah approached the top of the stairs and waited for the sounds of flesh smacking stone subsided.
"I think I found it!" called Sam. Sarah giggled and walked down the stairs at a quick pace.
Sam was at the bottom, rubbing his head. Or at least that's what Sarah thought he was doing. It was too dark to see down here.
"Right. A bit too dark for me I think," Sam said. There was a flash of white and Sam's soul emanated all the illumination of twenty light bulbs.
"Let's go," Sam said. He took one step and another blast of white light shone.
A translucent figure floating in the air.
"You are the son of the Stein?" he asked.
"And what's it to you?" Sam asked.
Sarah looked from Meister to phantom. The perk of being Sam's partner was that she learnt how to see souls like Meisters, and what she saw shocked her.
"Sam, his soul…"
"I know," replied her Meister. "It's white."
"No Sam… His soul is the same as yours."
It was true. Of course there were no stitches on the spirits soul, but it still had the red symbols floating across the surface, with the crossed axe-sword symbol burning black in the centre.
Sam gave a wild look at Sarah then back at the spirit.
"Who are you?" Sam snapped.
"I am the spirit of a man once named, Sadar. You are Samuel Franken Stein, the son of Professor Franken Stein."
"Yeah?"
"I take it you have come to this temple, for the Sanzu Key?"
Sam nodded slowly. Sadar closed his eyes in recognition.
"Are you sure you want it? It is a blade of unparalleled death. It could burn your mind out of your skull."
Sam gave a dark smile.
"I think I could handle with that."
Sadar gave a wide grin.
"I once fought Asura when I was alive. Before he was a Kishin. He was easy to defeat then, and that was before I got the Sanzu Key. I'm sure you should be able to defeat him now. Go with death my friend. Go with the Sanzu River."
And the image went out like a light.
"Alright," Death said, stretching his hands out in front of him, then out behind him. "Let's get this party started shall we?"
Brew glowed strong behind him, as the space around Death crackled with his soul wavelength.
The power of the Magic Tool was being unleashed. But that was nothing to the power that Sam had just been handed.