I place my curse on you. You who have the power to fix what is twisted.

Opening her eyes, Talim held a hand to her head and moaned. A sudden wave of nausea hit her and she felt extremely exhausted as she sat on her thick bedroll inside her tent. She had once again been training to absorb Ria's darkness when she felt this. Was she doing something wrong? Or was her soul unable to handle the strain anymore? Her hands throbbed dully and she slowly pulled off her gloves. When the brown glove on her right hand slid free, she let out a horrified gasp. "What...What is this?" Holding it up close, she trembled in fear.

While talking with Xianghua, Raphael felt an unusual panic coming from Talim and he glanced over at Talim's tent worriedly. "Xianghua, sorry but I need to do something. You can talk to me later alright?" And he rushed off before Xianghua could say anything.

Stopping in front of Talim's tent, he shouted, "Talim, are you alright? Can I come in?"

"No, not right now! Umm, I'm not dressed properly!" Talim quickly pulled her brown gloves back on and took deep calming breaths and tried to block her mind from Raphael. But her neck jewel glowed and she knew that if she thought about what she saw, then Raphael would know. She concentrated at staring at the ground and when she was sure that her voice was steady, she replied, "Yes, I'm fine Raphael. I just had a bad dream while I was taking a nap."

Raphael thought that something sounded wrong with her voice and he asked suspiciously, "Are you sure?"

"Ye-yes," choked Talim, holding her trembling hands close to her body. "Please don't worry about me. I'm fi-fine."

Raphael hesitated for a bit before saying, "Alright. I'll be going now. If there's something bothering you, you know that you can then tell me. Right?"

"Of... course." When she heard him walk away, she pulled her gloves off and stared at her hands in despair. What was happening to her? Was Ria's darkness warping her body? She closed her eyes and whispered, "Wind, please come." Concentrating hard, she tried to heal herself but she gasped when her hands she seared with pain and she immediately stopped. Sitting there in silence, she tried not to let her fears get the better of her. But eventually, she put her hands over her head and stifled her whimpers as she huddled on her bedroll, alone and afraid.

"Hi yah! Wachoo!" shouted Maxi as he continued training in the Hall of the Warrior God. He had been pushing himself pretty hard but Maxi knew that they would be leaving for the caves tomorrow so he wanted to be ready. And he had promised Kyam that he would train to become even stronger without using Soul Edge. But he noticed Talim and he shouted, "Hey Talim! Where are you going?"

She froze like a deer that was suddenly spotted and after a moment, she relaxed and came out from behind the vase. "Maxi?"

After a moment of hesitation, Maxi stopped and took in deep breaths. Beads of sweat clung to his skin and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Hey, did I do something wrong? You ran off the moment you saw me."

Talim quickly held up her hands and shook her head from side to side. "No no. I... I just forgot something so I was... ermm, going to go get it."

He looked at her suspiciously before crooking a finger at her to come to him. When she walked up to him, he said dryly, "You're troubled... by something. What is it?" When she denied it, he held up a hand for silence. "You've been avoiding us these past two days. Raphael was starting to get very worried when you didn't show up to dinner last night."

Talim forced a smile on her face. "Of-of course not. I just wanted to focus and train so I've been seeking some solitude lately. An-and I didn't notice the time last night so that's why I missed dinner."

Maxi crossed his arms and he tilted his head. "Really?"

"Yep," Talim chirped lightly as she backed away. "Anyway, I won't bother you with your training Maxi. I'll be going now." Before she left, Talim turned her head and whispered sadly, "I can sense your determination for vengeance. Maxi, do not dwell on the past for you cannot change it. What's past is past but you still have the power to change the future. For the sake of all those who lost their lives and dreams because of Astaroth, fight and defeat him. But not for revenge."

Maxi was slightly taken back by her words and observation. He stared at the weapon in his hands and asked quietly, "I... should not fight him with revenge in mind?"

"Yes. If you fight him for the sake of protecting other innocent lives out there, I know you'll be able to defeat him. Kyam and your crewmates... would be very proud of you for fighting for such a noble goal." Talim then turn her head and began walking away. "Think about what I've said Maxi, but take the path you wish to take. For you alone, can dictate your future."

Standing there for a few more minutes, Maxi's grip around his nunchaku in his hand loosened and he said to himself, "For the sake of protecting other innocent lives... so that no one will have to go through the same pain I did?"

"Focus Xianghua, I know you can do it," said Xianglian as she watched Xianghua train in the training area. Her soldiers were training in the second training ground under her orders so that Xianghua would not be distracted. Again Xianghua held her arm straight out and it began pulsing with blue light but alas, that only lasted a few seconds. Xianglian walked up to Xianghua and tried to encourage her. "Don't give up my friend. I sense some unusual spiritual energy in you and I know that you'll able to perfect that move given some time and dedication."

"Are you sure about this Xianglian? I mean, Kilik and Talim and the spiritual pros in our group. I really don't think that this is going to work," groaned Xianghua tiredly.

The older woman gave her a stern frown. "You will be facing many dangers in this world Xianghua. How do you expect to survive if you don't have at least one spiritual attack to defend yourself with?"

"But if the move I'm practicing is supposed to be the simplest spiritual move there is... and I can't even get that right... Oh, this is so frustrating!" Xianghua kicked the dirt to release some of her anger.

Xianglian watched her for a moment before saying, "Here, let me demonstrate it to you again. Watch." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and moved her hands in a slow circle. "You must feel the chi in your body. Do not push it, but merely let it flow in your body naturally like a river. And then, concentrate." Thrusting both hands forward, Xianglian let out a small blue bast of radiant energy.

Xianghua braced herself against the power and when the light disappeared, she looked at Xianglian. "I still don't think I can do it."

In the third training ground, Raphael was once again training Amy in the arts of the rapier while Kilik sat away from them at a distance and meditated. Buffy sat on top of Kilik's head and dozed on. Deflecting another thrust from his daughter, Raphael shook his head disapprovingly. "No Amy, you must do it like this." And he repeated her same move but alittle differently. When he finished with a sweeping blow at the sand and dirt under his feet, he motioned for her to try again. He nodded in approval as she quickly caught on and executed the quick thrust perfectly. "Parfait! Well done Amy. Now, let's try another move."

"Yes father," replied Amy. She brushed away some of the dirt on her sleeves and watched intently as her father twirled his rapier in his hand and unleashed a graceful combo on an imaginary opponent. When he finished, she followed suit and it made her happy to see the expression of pride on his face as she did it perfectly.

"Yes, you're doing an excellent job Amy," encouraged Raphael, watching his beloved daughter twirl the weapon in her hand elegantly. "Now, practice by yourself for abit while I observe from a distance. I want to judge your range and your speed from afar for now." And he walked over to Kilik while his daughter sliced and slashed at the empty air with flawless grace and beauty.

His attention was devoted wholeheartedly to Amy's weapon training but then Kilik spoke up. "You really love your daughter, don't you?"

"Of course. Why would you ask me such a silly question?" Raphael asked. "Without her, I would be a corpse rotting away somewhere. I am forever in her debt and I do not forget it."

"So you merely doing this to repay her?"

"Non. I have come to see her as my daughter and even though we don't share the same blood, my heart loves her more than my own real family, who abandoned me when I was in trouble," Raphael said bitterly as he looked away. "The world is a cruel place and with everyone cursing our existence, Amy and I only have each other to trust."

"Discrimination must have been very painful for the two of you to bear," admitted Kilik. "I'm sorry."

"Humph, you cannot imagine how painful it still is," replied Raphael curtly. "Did we want to become like this? No. Am I sometimes fearful of my very own condition? Yes. Do you know how painful the thirst can be? Or how tiring it is to always avoid the sunlight? But people don't care about how others feel. They're all so selfish. You see, people shun and fear those who aren't normal. Discrimination is based on the fact that people are afraid and they look down on those who are different from them. Everywhere I go, it is the exact same thing. The look in their eyes..." Raphael let out a harsh laugh. "They see us as monsters Kilik. I have no regret in killing those shallow and selfish people who condemned me and Amy to a life of solitude."

"Was that why you infected the people around your castle and lands?" asked Kilik. The heat from the sun shimmered around them and there was no clouds up in the blue and empty skies but Kilik felt rather cold as he saw the look in Raphael's eyes."

Raphael smirked and his eyes gleamed. "Yes. If everyone was the same, then me and Amy would finally be able to live in a world where we're no longer persecuted."

Kilik stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "So you do not wish to be cured from Soul Edge then?"

"On the contrary, I do."

Surprise flitted across Kilik's face. "You do?"

"Yes." Raphael shrugged and stood there casually as he explained. "If I'm not cured, how do you expect me to able to wield Soul Calibur. With that sword, I shall make a world that'll transform those selfish people into new perfect beings. Think of it as being the perfect human." He raised his hands up in a grand gesture and beamed. "After meeting Talim, I slowly began changing my vision of my new world. It'll be a place where me, Amy and Talim can call paradise and everyone in the world will worship my feet for creating such an Eden on this earth. Everything will be perfect. Including the wretched humans who are there as well. I shall erase all of their flaws and make them anew."

"You cannot forcibly change people Raphael," Kilik said quietly but with a firm tone of voice. "What you're doing is going against the law of nature. And Soul Calibur is not to be trusted. That sword is the same as Soul Edge. It will take advantage of you and your plan will backfire."

"I had a feeling you would say something like that." Raphael began walking away but he turned around with some final words. "Listen Kilik, I've grown to respect you but nothing will interfere with my plans. For Amy's sake, I will not hesitate to kill you if you try to stop me. Remember that."

"Raphael, Talim will never agree with what you're doing. You must know that."

Raphael paused in mid stride and quietly answered,"She'll understand... once she sees the perfect world that I'll create."

Kilik watched as Amy and Raphael departed and he felt a strange mix of pity and sadness for them. Perhaps the world was at fault for making them the way they are. Soul Edge warped their bodies but it's was the world that destroyed their compassion and took away their kindness. And Amy... at such a young age and she has lost all of her love for the world.

"Eeeppp..."

Kilik glanced up to see that Buffy was awake and was now squirming around in his hair. He reached up and held the baby batsa in his hands. "What about you Buffy? From what Xianglian told me, your parents and the rest of your race was killed by the snakeseas who were infected with Soul Edge. What do you think of this world?"

It was if Buffy understood what he was saying and it let out a small sad squeak and began crying. "I'm sorry," Kilik murmured quietly as he gave Buffy a few gentle pats on the head. "There are so many things we have no control over... The only thing we can do is put the past behind us and move on as best as we can. I hope that Raphael and Amy can move forward and forget about the past, for no one can turn back time..."

The First Ancient of Earth opened her eyes slowly and shook her head. "No... The law is absolute. We cannot interfere with the human world."

One of her earth warden dropped on to one knee imploringly. "My queen, if the vision you saw was correct, then the Earth is in grave danger and the spirit world may not be spared either. This man... Raphael Sorel is a threat to mankind and if-"

But the Queen of the Earth raise her hand as a gesture for him to stop. "I know you're concerned. But, that wind priestess is with him. I cannot harm her or else we'll be at war with the Land of the Wind."

Her earth warden looked at her with frightened dark eyes. "But if we don't do something then it may be too late. I'm sure the Queen of the Wind will understand. I shall lead the operation myself and ensure that only the man will be killed."

Again, the Queen of the Earth shook her head. "We will remain neutral in this. That is my final words."

"Ready yourselves, my fire warrior," ordered the Third Ancient of Fire. He looked down from his throne of gold and continued giving detailed instructions to the warrior of flames kneeling before him. "If my vision is correct, that man with the fiery red eyes will bring about absolute destruction for the world of the humans and he may even pose a threat to my kingdom as well."

"Understood my lord," said the fire warrior as he bowed his head even lower and his red armour reflected the light from the bright sun outside the golden palace. "But my king, what should I do if that wind priestess interferes? She is half storm maiden and the Queen of the Wind won't be very happy if something was to happen to her.

"The Queen of the Wind must know what is her duty. She must know which is more important. Her people and the world, or one insignificant little priestess. Do not bother to avoid that priestess during battle. Kill her if she gets in the way. Understood?"

"Yes my king," answered his fire warrior. "I shall head out to prepare their third trial."

"Head out and make sure that the man is destroyed, understood?" said the Fourth Ancient of Water.

His water guardian nodded and his fish tail moved back and forth. Under the water palace, the water was still and hesitant as if it feared the King of Water's wrath. "Your highness, what should we do about the priestess though? She is a follower of the Queen of the Wind and her heart is pure."

"Try not to harm her. If she fights you then try to disable her instead," said the King of the Water. "But that man cannot be allowed to live. If he's healed from Soul Edge's contamination, then he'll be able to use Soul Calibur. If he's not healed, he will be driven insane and the vile power in his blood will control him to use Soul Edge and... it'll be the end of the human world..." The king of water thought about the matter a little longer before adding, "The Queen of the Wind is in no position to bargain with me anyway. She had broken the law when she brought that priestess back from the dead. The supreme ruler of the four heavens is not pleased with her right now."

"Syi Salika, head over to the third trial and make sure that Talim and her companions stays safe," The Second Ancient of the Wind ordered tiredly.

Her right storm maiden dropped to one knee and bowed her head low. "My queen, the grand creator is already... upset at your past decisions my lady. Is it wise to interfere? After all, that man Talim is travelling with could supposedly destroy the world. Why should we help them?"

"She is your sister," answered The Queen of the Wind.

Loka Luha dropped down to one knee as well. "My Queen, she is only a half storm maiden, And the reason why she's half is because our real sister, Ria, is inside her. My apologies my queen but I do not see her as a sister."

Syi Salika noticed the expression on the Queen's face and hastily added,"She is a kind hearted girl and she does want to save the world... but why do we have to save the man?"

The Queen of the Wind got off her throne of emeralds and silver and walked toward the two. "Because she loves him..."

Syi Salika and Loka Luha looked at each other, feeling rather confused. "But my Queen, Talim doesn't love him anymore. She lost all of her memories of him. Right now, she just sees him as a friend," said Salika.

"I will restore her memories," stated the Queen of the Winds.

Luha looked up in shock. "But my Queen, you would risk angering the grand creator even more if you do that. She- she's not even supposed to be alive! And it's only because you traded her memories that she is. The balance would be gone if you gave her memories back."

"No it won't," whispered the Queen. "Because Talim will be doing something in return for me, which will restore the balance of the trade."

"What would that be my Queen?" asked the two storm maiden.

"She will save the human world and the spirit world. And she will be risking everything to accomplish that." With a swish of her long green and white robes, she turned and looked out the window. "This is the least I can do for her."

That night...

As Talim smiled politely at some passing soldiers who were patrolling the campsite, she bumped into Raphael. Her heart pounded and she quickly made an excuse to leave when he grabbed onto her left wrist. Without thinking, she quickly pulled away and stepped back.

Raphael was surprised by her sudden reaction and he inquired, "Ma petite, is something wrong?" The flames from the standing torch near them illuminated her slightly pale face and he took another step forward, "I haven't seen you very often these past days dearest. You look tired."

Talim shook her head and averted her eyes, trying to concentrate on the sand and dirt under her sandals. "I'm fine. It's just rather late and I'm tired."

When he reached for her hand worriedly, she quickly pulled back. At that, Raphael's eyes narrowed. "There's something wrong with you, Talim. What is it?"

"I told you, I'm fine," Talim insisted as she slowly stepped away from him.

"Don't lie to me! There's obviously something you're hiding from me," Raphael snapped as he swiftly grabbed her upper arms and pulled her towards him. "What is it?!"

Talim wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him everything and let him comfort her... but the fear held her back. If he saw what was happening to her, he would... be utterly repulsed and he would reject her. Or else, he would worry himself to death about it and she didn't want to be a burden to him or anyone else. She must keep this to herself. Squeezing her eyes shut, she used the dark anger from Ria's soul and said angrily, "I said I'm fine! Who are you to worry about me anyway?!"

Raphael froze. "What... did you just say, Talim?"

Talim looked up at him and said, "We are not lovers and we are nothing more then friends. I appreciate your worry but I'm fine." She closed her eyes and tried to suppress the aching in her heart as she spoke the next few words. "It's about time that I tell you the truth. I don't like it when you hold me and I don't like it when you touch me. It makes me feel uncomfortable and I was only pretending so that you wouldn't be hurt." She squeezed her eyes even tighter to prevent the tears from leaking out. "I don't love you, Raphael. Please understand that. The love and memories I used to have for you is gone and right now, you're nothing more then a friend."

Hurt and stunned at what she said, his grip slackened and he let her go. "You... you don't have any feelings for me?"

Talim turned away and she nodded as her heart felt like it was breaking into pieces. Looking down at her hands, she choked out, "I have absolutely no feelings for you. The only thing I've felt for you all this time, was pity. So please..." A tear leaked down her cheek and she said, "Forget about me and move on."

His head felt like it was spinning and he said quietly, "No... this can't... No." He slashed the air with his hand and shouted, "Once we have your memories back, you will remember the love we share!" His face lit up with hope at his statement and he said gently, "Everything will be back to the way it once was, dearest."

"No!" Talim shouted. Her hands tightened into fists and she said, "It won't work. I..." She ended her sentence as her throat constricted and she ran away.

Raphael watched her go and he stood there quietly. Something was wrong with her. He could tell from the way she acted around him, and the way she willingly leaned on him the first night they were here, that she was falling for him. But why was she pretending that she didn't?

Thoughtfully, he began thinking about her words and the way she had acted. She was trying to push him away, which probably meant that there was something wrong with her and she didn't want him to worry. But it seemed alittle extreme to say the things she just said to him. He bit his lips and vowed that he would confront her after the second trial. Once they were safely back in their world, he will wrestle the truth from her if that's what it took. But for now, he would just have to wait patiently.

When it was very late, Talim left her tent quietly and headed for the field of dirt and sand outside. The guards stopped her at the exit of the base and told her that it was dangerous to leave at night but she merely smiled and reassured them that she would be fine.

Leaving, Talim put quite a bit of distance between her and their camp. When she was sure that no one was following her, she sat down on a large rock and looked up at the stars for a bit. The sand rustled around her and the gentle moonlight and wind caress her. The memory of being here with Raphael the other night brought back another aching pain to her heart. Finally, she let out a sad sigh and removed the gloves on both of her hands and gazed at them.

The flesh on her fingers was a raw red and slightly puffy, dotted with small green scales while the veins underneath it was a vivid purple. If it wasn't her very own hands that she was looking at, she would've recoiled at the gruesome sight. "It is spreading," she thought to herself. When she first noticed the strange feelings in her hand and pulled off the gloves in her tent the second day they arrived here, it took all of her will power not to cry out. Not wanting any of her friends and especially Raphael, to know and worry about her, she had kept it a secret. This wasn't something that any of them could handle...

Talim lowered her hands sorrowfully. She had been doing her best to stay away from Raphael or keep herself from thinking about her hands since they could read each other's thoughts and feelings when they were nearby thanks to Zasalamel's magic inside their neck jewels. To be able to fully dwell on the matter, she had to escape the camp to prevent him from feeling her distress and fears.

She looked down and noticed that the infection covered all of her fingers and half of her hands and soon, her gloves would be unable to hide the terrible illness. "We're leaving for the caves tomorrow... I don't want them to carry another burden on their shoulders," she thought quietly. After they find the portal, then she might tell them. Might... She raised her head to the skies and closed her eyes wearily. "What is happening to me?"

Zaslamel stopped in front of the door to the last trial and narrowed his eyes. Something very powerful laid in wait behind that door and Zasalamel knew that a battle with that spiritual being would be extremely dangerous. It was not worth the risk but he could not turn back either. No, he would let Raphael Sorel and that priestess handle it instead... "Yun-Seong, Seong-Mina, we're going to be resting here for awhile."

"But this is the last one!" protested Yun-Seong. "After this trial, we just have to face off against some dude called the Hero King and we'll finally be facing the wielder of Soul Edge!"

Seong-Mina agreed as well. "Yea, we can catch a break after we're done, can't we?"

"You'll catch something if you go through that door you fools." Zasalamel's gold eye flashed. "Death... That's what you'll catch."

The two Koreans noticed the edge of tension in Zasalamel's words and body and they looked at each other worriedly. Zasalamel strode over to the walls of the thirtieth floor and sat down. "Sit down, and stay quiet. I shall cast a spell of invisibility over us for good measure but until I say another word, we're not going anywhere."

There was no use in arguing with him so the two sat down and after the spell was cast, they drifted off to sleep. Zasalamel glanced at the the two for a bit before letting out a small sigh. He had started to grow fond of them and in his heart, he almost regretted using them. His plan had been to use them against Talim after she had defeated the Hero King for him and if she proved to be too strong or too stubborn for Zasalamel to handle, then he would force Yun-Seong and Seong-Mina to fight her and he knew that she would fall since he believed that she would not fight a friend. To be absolutely sure, he had cursed Raphael and he would threaten the priestess by taking away Raphael's sanity if she still didn't comply with helping him obtain Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. But ever since he saw that vision where Raphael could possibly destroy the world using either Soul Calibur or Soul Edge, Zasalamel had to alter his plans alittle.

He leaned back against the stone wall and rested his hand on his knee. By cursing the priestess using her neck jewel, he had not only taken away her healing abilities to prevent her from healing Raphael, but he also bestowed a strange illness on her so that if Raphael does manage to obtain Soul Calibur, then he would turn Talim into a monster if Raphael doesn't agree to hand over the sword.

After that, he would get rid of both of them by transforming them into monsters and letting them kill each other. Because if they lived, then the vision of that glorious future that he saw would never come true... "No matter what happens, I will guide mankind to that paradise," Zasalamel thought resolutely. What he was doing was cruel... but necessary.

If my own appearance frightens me then how will this world... and you... bear to love me? Perhaps it is only right, that I should seek the cold comfort of the darkness and bear my pain alone.