Constantly invaded by Japanese Pirates, the great Ming Empire of the East was one of the countries that expended great effort to search for Soul Edge - mistakenly believing it to be a sword of salvation rather than an evil and cursed sword - to protect its people and regain its dignity. In recent times, where had been three great quests to obtain Soul Edge, and three great failures. The first two search parties never returned, and the third group, was also unsuccessful in finding Soul Edge, which they knew by the name of the "Hero's Sword". The failure of the third quest devastated the Emperor, given that the group consisted of warriors hand-picked from his royal guards.
Xianghua was one of the members of the third group that had been assigned the prestigious honor of the search for Soul Edge. However, the failure of her mission had caused her to falling into disfavor with the Emperor, and in his anger, he stripped Xianghua of her rank of royal guard, and reassigned to a menial position that she had no desire to do. Her family lamented her fall from grace, but Xianghua had reason to be content.
In truth, she actually found Soul Edge four years ago. But, the weapon said to be a Hero's Sword turned out to be an evil sword that had an infinite appetite for human souls. "Nothing good will come of this if I bring such a sword back to my country." Xianghua decided. "I must destroy this evil thing."
She battled Soul Edge with the help of her companion, Kilik, inside of a fiery vortex created by the weapon. She managed to shatter the evil sword, but, regrettably, Soul Calibur was lost in the void of the vortex when they escaped from it. "You must cut your own path in life..." Xianghua may have lost her mother's keepsake sword, but her mother's last words remained clear in her mind. She firmly believed that she had made the right decision.
However, one day, an incident occurred which devastated Xianghua. The Emperor attacked a castle near the border of her homeland. The Empire justified its attack by publicly stating that the castle was plotting to rise in revolt. But Xianghua found out the truth from Ming spies.
A man from the second search team apparently had found the Hero's Sword, but refused to return and holed himself up in the castle. He did not respond to any of the messengers sent to summon him, and the lord of the castle refused to turn him over. The Emperor was convinced that the lord of the castle refused to turn over the weapon in order to keep it for himself. As a result, soldiers were dispatched to retrieve the sword. Although the castle fell, the sword could not be found.
The Emperor ordered Xianghua to investigate the remains of the castle. He reasoned that she was the only person who came within reach of Soul Edge, and that her experience and knowledge of the sword would be valuable in locating it amongst the rubble of the castle.
Xianghua had destroyed the evil sword, so the castle could not have housed Soul Edge. Had she reported the truth, the tragic incident may never have happened. Dispatched to the battlegrounds of the castle, she left with a heavy heart. Gathering information from the few remaining survivors and tattered records, Xianghua discovered that an object referred to as a Soul Edge fragment had existed there.
If it was truly a piece of Soul Edge, there had to be those who sensed its evil energy. That would explain why the individual who found the fragment hesitated to surrender it to the Emperor. From what she gathered about the shard, it was hard to believe that the lord of the castle would desire such an insignificant little object for himself. Could it be that the fragment was really from the accursed Soul Edge?
The weapon that Xianghua believed she had destroyed may still be wreaking havoc unto the world!
If this proved to be the truth, someone had to find every single fragment and crush them down until nothing remained. Xianghua convinced herself that this was a burden she had to bear, since she failed to destroy Soul Edge completely the first time.
Xianghua moved quickly once her mind was settled on the matter - she resigned her Emperor's assigned duty that very night, and began a new quest.
During her quest, she was reunited with Kilik. One day, the two of them arrived at a city that was enveloped in an evil energy that was not Soul Edge. Soon, they were approached by a strange man with a scythe. The man threatened Kilik, and their weapons clashed. Kilik lost. He was horribly wounded. The man showed no interest in Xianghua. After defeating Kilik, he left without even a glance toward her.
A feeling of helplessness gripped her heart. "I couldn't do anything..." In the end, she hadn't been able to help at all. She, who had said that she would destroy the cursed sword, hadn't been able to stand up against a threat in her path...The only thing she had been able to do was fight back her tears and run away, carrying Kilik.
She had tended his wounds, and although his life was no longer in danger, Kilik did not open his eyes. Frantically wondering what to do, Xianghua remembered Kilik's teacher, a man who lived in a hermitage. Since Kilik had no family, she couldn't think of anyone to whom she could turn besides that old man - Edgemaster.
When she arrived at the sword master's hermitage, the old man welcomed her warmly. He informed her that if he dedicated himself to tending him, Kilik would recover. Relieved by the old man's words, Xianghua entrusted him with a letter to Kilik and left the hermitage that same day.
After returning to her country, she followed the Edgemaster's suggestion, and placed herself in the care of a retired general. Having run away from the military, Xianghua would normally have been arrested, but upon reading the letter sent by Edgemaster, the general said that he would shelter her. He had spent his younger days in training at the Ling-Sheng Su temple, and Edgemaster had taught him. The general allowed Xianghua to stay at his mansion if she worked there as a guard.
"I must become stronger; please, train me to be a better fighter!" Xianghua pleaded with the general. He was surprised to hear this. He had thought that her skills, though self-taught, were nevertheless more than sufficient. Regardless, he did his best to aid her. Even though he had retired, skilled warriors still gathered under him. Amongst them was an exceptionally skilled man whom he had employed as an instructor. Noticing the swordsmanship of the Ling-Sheng Su temple in Xianghua's style, he became interested in her, and approached her himself about becoming her training partner. Devoting herself wholeheartedly to her training, Xianghua increased her skills considerably in a short time.
Ever faster, ever sharper...Each time she swung, her power grew stronger, and her aim surer. Despite knowing this, she was unable to wipe away the uneasiness that had fallen over her heart.
"Even if I increase my power, if I can't use it when I need it, it's useless. When I fought against the cursed sword, Kilik was with me. But, if I'm alone..." Xianghua tried her best to force these doubts aside. "No. I mustn't fear. I have to keep my spirits up!"
"Your blade is keen. However, it appears that you are forcing yourself." Her instructor said. He cautioned her that she was focusing too exclusively on her strength. Xianghua told him of what troubled her. After hearing her concerns, he began to speak softly. "In combat, it is inevitable that one's heart will waver. But it is not wise to try only to reject and refuse these feelings. Sometimes, the path of the warrior requires letting in dark feelings, weighing them, then letting them go."
From that day forward, Xianghua began to train not her swordsmanship, but her soul. Her heart would be as water. A hard, solid heart will shatter upon the sharp point of fear, but when water is pierced or cut, it does not resist - by permitting everything to pass through, it does not break. This was the philosophy she had decided upon. She no longer feared the swaying of her heart.
It had been several months since she had come to visit the general's mansion. Xianghua's blade now possessed both its past elegance and a newfound strength. She had grown strong. She now felt comfortable believing that. Xianghua turned her thoughts to that which awaited her in the west. Inside her heart, she had made a small promise to herself. When she met Kilik, she would proudly announce, "Sorry to keep you waiting! My skills have finally caught up with yours!"
Feeling that the time had come to set out on her journey once more, she decided that she would leave as soon as she had proved to herself that she could handle a threat thrown against the ones she cared for. She would serve as a guard a short while longer.
---
Shortly after Astaroth had been defeated, the group had begun to sense an evil energy coming from the West. Siegfried in particular felt this energy the strongest. For reasons he could not explain, he began to feel uneasy and worried, as if danger was nearby and he was being threatened. The others felt the same way, to a lesser degree. They might have decided to investigate the energy - but the energy instilled them with an ominous, foreboding feeling, and the thought of investigating it would not even enter their minds. Like a shepherd guiding a flock of sheep, the evil energy drew them away from the West, and into the East.
They considered the possibility that their quests had yielded little fruit because they had been searching in the West, and that the answer was not to be found there. Instead, they decided to travel to the East, which was known for its powerful purification arts. They would surely have much better chances in that land than they would while in the West.
The group headed east along the Silk Road, and eventually entered Ming. It was said that this country had sent spies throughout the land in search of Soul Edge. In Ming's capital, there was supposedly a mansion which contained the information those spies had presumably brought back.
Thinking that the information would probably be useful to them, Siegfried and the others headed to the mansion. It was on the outskirts of Ming's capital city. When they reached the mansion's front gates and requested to see the information regarding Soul Edge, they were denied. Only the general could permit people to view that information, and the general himself was away on a short trip to see an old friend. He was expected to return within a few days, and Siegfried and the others would have to wait until then. Reluctantly, they turned around, headed back to the city, and found an inn to stay at for the night. But one soul was too restless to sleep.
---
Tira was a bird trapped in a cage. Then, she was a stray dog. Finally, it seemed she'd found her place. She thought that she'd be happy as long as someone was holding her leash. But lately, she was beginning to wonder if she was wrong. A man held her leash - but that was all that he did. He did not love her anymore - or, at least, that's what she thought.
In the beginning, it was just the two of them. She'd still get chills and blush when she thought about those early times, when they would spend hours experimenting with sex, as infatuated with one another as a teenage couple. It was probably the happiest time of her life. Back then, just the sight of her Master would even calm her blood lust.
But it only lasted until the trip from Ostrheinsburg to the British Empire. That's when the white-haired devil joined them. Her Master changed his behavior after she joined them. He was more serious from then on. Tira realized that he was normally a very serious man, and that he'd let her see a side of him he'd never let anyone else see. In a way, she felt honored, but she also felt as if the man she'd been so infatuated with had been replaced - killed. Not only that, but that white-haired devil...that bitch seduced him and slept with him! She'd even known that Tira was watching, and had smiled at her afterwards. Tira pretended that she'd forgiven and forgotten, but she would never forgive Ivy for what she did that night. Never.
Tira always wondered if her Master had slept with Ivy again after that. She thought she sometimes smelled Ivy's scent on her Master - or maybe she was just imagining it. She offered herself to her Master more often than ever during those times, but more and more, he started to decline her offers. Was it Ivy that was satisfying him? Had she grown stale to him? Or was it the quest that was stealing him from her?
The blonde woman joined. She was amiable. But Tira knew that something had gone on between them, and suspected that they were closer than they appeared.
She and her Master once held one another so close, but now she was only holding onto him by a loose grip, and she feared that it wouldn't be long before he slipped from her fingers. He'd fall into another woman's embrace, or simply be lost to him forever.
Tira felt daggers twisting into her heart, and sometimes it took every ounce of strength she had to hold back the tears. She was once so proud to have him as her Master, but now he hardly paid her any mind at all. What good is a servant if she is never called upon to serve? What purpose did she have?
To Tira, there was only one course of action to take. She would have to win back her Master's affection. She would have to wrest him from the grasp of the other women by re-affirming her worth. It was time for her to take action on her own.
Her Master was unhappy. He wanted the information inside the mansion, but wasn't allowed in. So, she'd just sneak inside, steal the information, and bring it to him. It'd be as simple as that, and then her Master would see her value once more. She'd infiltrated the most well-guarded strongholds in the land and pulled off assassinations without a single soul knowing she was there - sneaking into a mansion was nothing that a former member of the Bird of Passage could not do.
It was easy enough for Tira to sneak out of the inn without the group knowing - hardly anyone ever paid attention to her anymore. But that'd change soon. Wearing the darkness of night as a cloak, she slinked through alleys and slipped through shadows, keeping herself hidden from view as she headed for the mansion. She felt like she was on a mission once more, and the instincts she'd been suppressing for months rose powerfully within her. It took almost all of her willpower not to quickly behead that man walking home, or slice through that young couple sharing affection underneath a tree. No, instead of making the 'detours' she would have made months ago, she remembered to keep herself under control - her Master would hate her if he ever found out what she often dreamed of doing to people.
Finally, it was within sight - the mansion. The title of the 'mansion' was quite misleading. It was the former residence of the royal family, and from its size and beauty, the term 'palace' would have fit it more. Its intimidating appearance encouraged the feeling of being on a mission, and Tira acted accordingly. First, she had to observe the area. A nearby tree would serve as an acceptable "crow's nest". She climbed the tree with ease, and took up a perch on the upper branches. She counted the guards, and observed the landscape. Most of the area was made up of water, and a combination of bridges and peninsulas created a deep, complex landscape. Tira had never had the job of infiltrating such a landscape, and took pleasure in mentally mapping out a route from her position to the mansion. She pretended this was a mission in which no casualties were allowed, and planned a path that would not take her into any of the guards' views.
The air became misty. The area was known for the morning mist that added an extra coat of beauty to its appearance. Tonight, it would simply provide Tira with extra stealth. She was almost disappointed by how easy her mission would be, but did not let that stop her.
Now that her route was planned out, it was time to move. She slipped out of the tree, and began scurrying towards the mansion, keeping her body lowered close to the ground. She moved without making a sound, and would sometimes slip right behind guards who would never know she was there. The guard who came closest to spotting her was the one who felt a chill as she rushed passed him. One might say he felt Tira mentally caress his throat with her blade as she entertained the thought of cutting him for a brief moment.
Tira's dash to the mansion was as flawless as it was swift. Once she reached the outer walls of the mansion itself, she began skulking around the perimeter, looking for a way in. Hello, what's this? A small, walled-off area attached to the back of the mansion. The walls weren't too high for Tira to jump on top of, and she did just that. She looked down at a small, private garden, most likely maintained by the retired general. There was a door leading into the small garden area. Tira had found her way in. She leapt down into the garden, careful not to land on any of the flowers - more out of habit of leaving no traces of her presence than respecting the general's hobby. She slipped over to the door. A guard was painted on the door in the Chinese art style. Tira dismissed it as simply being art, but wondered if perhaps there was a real guard stationed on the other side of the door. Tira flattened herself up against the wall next to the door, and knocked her knuckles on the wall once. Nothing. Then, the door opened.
Although Tira had been taught first and foremost how to kill people most efficiently, and had subsequently taught herself how to kill people most enjoyably, she had also been taught how to incapacitate enemies for jobs where casualties would compromise the purpose of the mission. Although the current level of science in her time would never allow her to fully understand the human nervous system, she had been taught exactly where to strike a person's body in order to debilitate them. She knew over a dozen ways to render a person unconscious. Her only problem was deciding which techinque to use on the guard opening the door.
The human nervous system is so intertwined that damage to a nerve in one part of the body can cause dramatic results elsewhere. This is why, when Tira's fist shot out and jabbed the guard's jaw sharply, striking his mandible nerve and setting off a chain reaction that reduced oxygen and blood flow to his brain, his unconsciousness occurred immediately. The guard's body fell to the ground, but by the time it did, the door was shut, and Tira was inside.
Despite the heavy ringblade that Tira was wearing on her back, she might have been a housecat, as quiet as she slipped through the mansion. But, unlike a housecat, she was liquid stealth. She poured through halls, seeped through doors, and dripped through rooms, systematically exploring every inch of the mansion for anything that looked useful. She could tell the location of every guard in the vicinity merely by standing perfectly still and listening. A slight sound here - a vibration there - she knew which rooms to leak into quietly, and which rooms to surge into quickly before knocking out a guard. She hid the bodies, of course. The Chinese had different architecture than she was used to, but there were always makeshift hiding places.
Finally, after she had explored about half of the mansion, she found a room guarded by two men. Tira convinced them to leave their posts by tossing a coin down the hall. The moment they stepped away from the door to investigate, Tira snuck over and slipped inside.
It was similar to how she had imagined it. A chair, a desk. A table in the middle of the room with a large map of the world with markings on it. A shelf with dusty old books on it. Some more tables and shelves with objects she couldn't quite identify. Almost everything in this room was old and dusty, but each item gave off its own energy. Some objects gave her a feeling similar to fear. Other objects seemed to emanate hope. Tira knew she'd found the right room. The room practically smelled of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur.
A wave of joy came crashing down upon Tira. She'd reached her goal. She'd found the information. Now her Master would value her again...love her again. She would be useful, worthy, valuable, her Master would be happy to have her around, he'd reward her, praise her, call upon her to tend to the desires of the night, and once again she'd lay in his -
How am I going to get all of this back to Master?
Tira hesitated. Her euphoria hovered in place for a moment. She tried to find an answer that would soothe her worry. But she could not find one. He jubilation slowly began to decline, and then collapsed to the floor.
How am I going to get all of this back to Master?
She slowly realized that her plan was flawed. She hadn't given any thought to what form the "information" might take. The thought of 'information' subconsciously conjured up an image of words on paper, and she hadn't thought that the 'information' might be too heavy for her to carry back. There were too many objects in this room to move all at once. The books alone had to weigh at least as much as her ringblade. She could drag grown men a few feet into hiding places, but toting a dozen heavy tomes around was out of the question.
She began to panic. Was her chance for redemption lost? Had her mission ended in failure? Had all her effort been for naught?
No. No, she could still take at least a few items back to her Master. But which? Everything looked so valuable. She frantically scanned the items in the room, trying to find a justification for all her trouble so far. ...There! A book next to the others on the shelf, except it was open, and sitting on a pedestal. It had to be the most important object in the room. She'd take that, and it'd be enough proof for her Master that she was still helpful.
Tira approached the book, closed it, grabbed it, turned around, and started walking away.
She took one step before being yanked violently backwards.
She dropped the book, drew her ringblade, and whirled around to face her opponent.
But there was none.
She did, however, see that the book she had dropped was hovering in midair. No, there was no magic incantation preventing it from leaving the pedestal - it was being suspended by a chain. Tira had noticed the chain before, but didn't think that it was actually attached to the book. That book wasn't going anywhere. Becoming exasperated, Tira reached for the bookshelf, grabbed another book, and yanked it out. She could only pull it a few feet.
That book was chained, as well.
"What...?" A frightened gasp escaped Tira's lips as the realization slowly came over her. Frantically, fearfully, she yanked every book from its spot in the shelf to find that they were all chained down and couldn't be moved more than a few feet. In anger, she drew her ringblade once again, and sliced at the chains. She couldn't make a dent in them.
She turned towards the map. It was nailed to the table in several spots - trying to remove it would result in the entire thing being torn.
She turned towards the various objects laying on tables. The objects related to Soul Edge gave her a feeling of such disgust that she could not bring herself to touch them. The objects related to Soul Calibur gave her a feeling of such reverence that she could not bring herself to touch them, either.
Tira realized that she did not have the power to remove anything from this room. The books, the map, anything else, any form of information at all. Could she memorize the map? Read the books? No, it would take hours, and the sun would be rising soon. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Things weren't going to change. She would fall back into the shadows. She'd still be forgotten again. Ignored again.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was a woman. She was Chinese, and long blue ribbons adorned her medium-length brown hair. She was wearing a pink top and bluish-green pants that might have made her look comical were she not holding a long Chinese sword and holding it in a way that proved she knew how to use it well. She had a youthful appearance and cute face, but when she beheld Tira, her eyes flashed with anger, and her face became serious.
"...Intruder." She whispered.
"...Impossible. How could anyone know I was here?" Tira wondered aloud, too shocked from being discovered to even realize that the woman was a threat to her. "I was perfect. I was flawless. I did nothing that gave me away. I - "
"The alarm went off 13 times." The Chinese woman said.
"...What?"
"Once for every time you yanked on a chain."
Tira's shock turned to anger. Anger at herself for making so foolish a mistake. Then anger at herself for failing her mission so completely. Then anger at her situation - her dreams of redeeming herself for her Master were crushed. Then anger at the present - she was caught, being stared down by a guard. If Master found out, he'd be furious. He might even disown her!
"You've trespassed onto this property without permission of the owner, obviously with the intent of stealing valuable information. These are criminal acts. You'll be arrested for this." The Chinese woman said, obviously taking Tira's offenses very seriously. However, her words dripped with amateurism - she seemed more like a little girl than a tough guard, and came off as a kid trying to act like an adult. Her high-pitched voice and clownish outfit made her difficult to take seriously. "Hey! Are you listening to me? You're in really big trouble, you know!"
Tira began shaking. The woman - the girl was infinitely annoying. Tira was full of anger at herself, her situation, her life, everything, and now this annoying girl was squeaking at her. All of Tira's anger began to channel towards one person.
"Did you hear me?" The Chinese woman asked. "Put down your weapon now, and - "
"SHUT UP!"
The Chinese woman was very surprised.
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Tira screamed.
"...Uh..." The woman squeaked, taken back, but then regained her composure. "...Hey! YOU shut up! You're the criminal here!"
"You have NO idea...NO idea what I'm going through! My life has been AWFUL! I have NO happiness! My Master doesn't even LOVE me any more! Everyone just IGNORES me! And my chance to fix everything was ruined by DAMN CHAINS AND NAILS!"
"J-just put your weapon down! Put it down now!" The woman said, obviously very flustered by Tira's outburst.
"Do you think I CARE? Do you have any idea who I AM? I could kill everyone in this mansion in minutes! I don't care if I'm trespassing! I can't get information to my Master!"
The Chinese woman was obviously unsure of what to say. "Uh...D-Don't make me have to use force!"
"UGH! SHUT UP! God, you're annoying! I should kill you!" Tira said through clenched teeth, gripping her ringblade tightly.
The woman's response to Tira's words seemed more natural this time; she raised her sword in a defensive stance. "Are you threatening me?"
This pink little girl thinks she stands a chance against ME? The audacity! I should...should...!
At that moment, the repressed bloodlust that Tira had been attempting to hold at bay for months was let loose. Like an angry lion bursting out of its cage, Tira's thirst for death erupted, and she screamed the feral roar of an animal about to kill, and lunged towards the woman.
