So, I've had the idea for this story since III. I've always seen parallels between Cassandra and Yun-seong (two characters debuting in II, shadowing/replacing existing characters, kind-hearted hotheads eager to prove themselves, dirty weapon thieves) but I was never satisfied with what I'd write, and I eventually edited the story out of existence (literally, I deleted it).
Over 10 years later (I'm dating myself here), I regret deleting it, if only for the outline! (Don't delete your work, no matter how cringy you think it might be!) But that's okay, thanks to Soul Calibur VI re-igniting my love for these amazing games and the tale of the two swords, eternally retold…
Anyway. I've taken some creative liberties with the plot, and as Yun-seong is not (yet?) in VI, I gave him the same treatment Cassandra, Talim, Raphael and Tira got, putting him in the story much earlier than he was originally, aging them all up a bit. The SC timeline is confusing, so while my plot doesn't follow canon 100% (and why would it), it'll make sense in its own context. Still with me? Let's do this!
Please enjoy, and any feedback is much appreciated!
June, 1585
Sophitia Alexandra closed her eyes, breathed deeply. She'd felt like this before, but not in years. Lucius was nearby, she didn't want to worry him.
Her chest was pounding, and she knew why. The ninja woman who'd escorted (carried her, really) back to Athens had left her a note, explaining everything. The sword she'd nearly lost her life destroying had been one of a pair… and several shards of that sword were embedded inside her body. Taki hadn't understood why her wounds had healed so quickly, but there was no way to remove them. But as long as the wielder of Soul Edge was dead, she had nothing to fear…
But her old wounds had been hurting for weeks now. She didn't need another oracle from the Gods to know this wasn't good.
As long as she could breathe through the pain, she was fine. It had been her mantra for the past few weeks.
"I couldn't find any, so we'll just… Sophitia?" Lucius asked, looking concerned. Sophitia nodded, smiling at her little brother, but she could tell she wasn't reassuring him one bit.
"Let's sit down for a minute, you don't look well." Lucius shouldered his basket, put a supportive arm around Sophitia's shoulder (despite being younger, her brother was much taller than she was) and she leaned against him, grateful for the steady support. They took a seat on the fountain in the middle of the square.
Sophitia closed her eyes, as the wind picked up the gentle spray from the fountain. "Remember when we used to play in this fountain as kids?" Lucius asked. Sophitia could tell he was forcing cheer into his voice, clearly trying not to show how frightened he was. She nodded, encouraging him to keep talking.
"And Mother would pretend like she didn't see us, and then a shopkeep would come over to yell at us, and…"
A surge of pain shot through Sophitia, and she let out a cry, clutching her chest. Were it not for her brother, she probably would have toppled backwards into the fountain.
"Sophitia!"
She squeezed her eyes closed and shook her head frantically. She saw Hepheastus bestowing his Holy weapons upon her, Athena wrapping her in her protection. She saw the rainy port in Spain, where she'd fought the pirate, armed with the evil Sword. He impaled her with his short sword, and despite the pain she was in, she'd used the rest of her strength to stab the evil Sword, killing her opponent in the process…
Taki had fought bravely beside her, and when the battle was over, carried her home. She was being carried now… the same familiar sensation of being safe washed over her...
Cassandra blew a piece of hair from her eyes in annoyance, making a mental note to trim her bangs later. Sophitia and Lucius should be back by now, but swept the concern from her mind almost immediately. Luce probably met a pretty girl, and Sophie is having to drag him back…
She stared at the list of orders for the day, and sighed. As much as she loved her father, she couldn't help but wish he'd chosen a more interesting profession. While Sophitia had been gone, she'd become the new "poster girl" of sorts for the Alexandra Bakery, but her only real contributions had been suggesting placing tables in the bakery, so people could sit and enjoy their purchases.
Unfortunately, it had also resulted in a server girl position for herself, and she'd quickly realized she was not meant to serve, at any capacity. It always happened the same way, too; a customer went on about sampling her loaves , or asking if she was on the menu, some other stupid euphemism, and she'd bit her tongue and forced a smile until her self-control snapped and she'd punched them. Or in one case, chased them out of the bakery with a rolling pin.
Athens had been seeing many travelers lately. She hadn't seen this many foreign faces in over three years, when Sophitia left for the first time…
Well, might as well get to it. She turned to grab her oven mitts, and tripped over a bucket that had absolutely not been there before, and swore loudly.
Maybe that was why the Gods visited Sophitia, and not her, she thought idly, grumbling with pain as she kicked the bucket across the room with a mighty kick. She'd never been devout, and had only taken a passing interest in the divine once Sophitia had told her about it. Sophitia never lied, after all…
Her sister had been in her thoughts more than usual today. In fact, if she didn't know better...
Her heart sunk, as Lucius burst in the bakery door, followed by a tall, blond man Cassandra had seen a few times passing through town. In his arms was Sophitia, breathing heavily with her eyes squeezed shut.
"Cassandra!" Lucius cried. "Get Mother, or Father, or—"
"Sophitia!" Cassandra cried. "What happened?"
"She collapsed," the man carrying Sophitia explained, following as Lucius and Cassandra led the way to the back room, where he gently laid Sophitia on a bench. "I don't want to impose, I just wanted to help. You seem like good people, I've seen your family down at the market before—"
"Who are you?" Lucius asked, while Cassandra crouched down beside Sophitia, dabbing her forehead with a dampened towel.
"My name is Rothion," Rothion answered. "I'd say pleasure to meet you, under different circumstances…"
"Lucius, what happened?" Cassandra asked. "She's burning up."
"She seemed okay, and then she just… got so tired," Lucius said sadly. "I guess I didn't notice. We sat down, and then…"
"It's a warm day, perhaps your sister didn't drink enough water," Rothion suggested.
Cassandra frowned. She didn't want to be rude to the man who just helped Sophitia, but she was fairly certain what was wrong with her sister…
Sophitia didn't know how much Cassandra truly knew of her adventures. Her sister had gone on a journey to destroy a sword, and nearly lost her life in the process. The woman who'd brought Sophitia's body back to the bakery hadn't explained anything… but there was no way Sophitia's sudden fainting spells weren't related. Sophitia had always been strong, active… she woke up at the crack of dawn for her morning run to the Athena shrine. She carried sacks of flour on her own, could out-bake Cassandra and Lucius both, read every book in the house and constantly looked for more…
Until she'd disappeared. Sophitia left home, and the nearly two years she'd been gone had been agonizingly long for the Alexandra family, not knowing if they'd see their beloved Sophitia again.
In a way, Cassandra thought, they never did get Sophitia back. Sophitia never spoke of her adventures, but her time away had changed her. She'd seen things, done things, things she couldn't tell her brother or sister about. Cassandra could feel her sister pulling away, and it broke her heart. Sophitia never kept secrets from them before...
August 1584
" Hi, how can I help you?" Cassandra asked with a polite smile. They were close enough to the port of Athens to get travelers regularly, although most visitors weren't Asian, wearing a skin-tight jumpsuit and armor. "If you want to place an order, I can have it ready by—"
"I'm leaving something, actually. Someone, in fact," the woman answered with a smirk, her English better than Cassandra's. Cassandra's eyes grew huge as the woman revealed the contents of her strange bundle... Sophitia, unconscious.
"Sophitia! What happened!?" Cassandra cried, staring at her sister. She looked up at the woman, about to use the rolling pin to the best of its abilities to interrogate, if necessary... but the woman was gone. The wind whistled ominously outside, making the familiar street seem eerie. Cassandra shuddered, hugged herself. Sophitia's arms, legs and chest were heavily bandaged, and her sister was sleeping, her face peaceful. Cassandra glanced around the room once before carrying her sister to a bench in the back of the kitchen, settled down beside her.
Sophitia... maybe now we'll get some answers...
"Cass?" Lucius asked. "You look lost in thought."
Rothion looked between the Alexandra siblings, and bowed his head. "I had best be going. I don't want to impose," he apologized. "I hope your sister feels better soon."
"Thank you," Sophitia murmured, and her siblings both jumped. "I'm… Sophitia." Her blue eyes fluttered open, and she smiled weakly at Rothion.
Cassandra and Lucius would later swear, this was the exact moment Rothion fell in love. They exchanged glances as Rothion nodded, looking flustered, and walked into a wall, missing the doorway completely.
"Sis, are you okay? Luce, go get her some water," Cassandra ordered.
"I'm all right. Just got a little tired, that's all." Sophitia smiled. "Who was he?"
"Rothion, the blacksmith down at the square," Lucius answered. "He came to help when you fainted."
"Couldn't you just carry her on your own?" Cassandra asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Instead of letting some stranger man-handle her?" Rothion had done nothing of the sort, but it was the principle of things… people in Athens gossiped enough about Sophitia. They didn't need anything more to fuel the flames…
"It's okay," Sophitia said, smiling at Lucius, accepting his offered water. "I'm sure he was a gentleman." She sat up, drank her water, and stretched. "Are there any orders left to fill?"
"Sophie, you should take the day off," Cassandra said in alarm, but Sophitia shook her head, already re-braiding her hair.
"I told you, I feel fine. Nothing to worry about." Sophitia took an apron off the hook, looped it over her head and smiled. "Let's see who can roll out the dough the quickest!"
"We already know it'll be you," Lucius whined, following Sophitia regardless.
Cassandra felt her heart sink. Despite what Sophitia said… she felt there was quite a bit to worry about…
August 1585
Cassandra let out a sigh of frustration, staring at the hastily-scrawled orders pinned to the board. It was a swelteringly hot day in Athens, and she wiped her sweaty forehead, groaning in annoyance as the flour stuck to her forearms got caught in her blonde bangs. Her 20th birthday had come and gone, and it was back to work as usual.
"Are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to help?" she asked Lucius impatiently. "Why are you dressed like that, anyway?"
Her little brother was only two years younger than she was, but had the tranquil demeanor of a wise old man. He shrugged his shoulders, smiling through a mouthful of bread.
"Your bread is better than mine," he pointed out. "And Nya wants to see me later. I don't want to get flour all over my nice tunic."
"You're going to have more than flour on it, if you don't help me," Cassandra answered, narrowing her eyes. She tucked her hair behind her ear, sighed again. "Okay. The rye loaves are in the oven, time to get the sourdough..."
"Don't forget the sourdough for the Nike family," Lucius added. "He stopped me earlier, on the way back from Nya's house."
"What? But I don't even have a starter for that! Why am I just hearing about this now!?" Cassandra asked.
"Sorry, Sis. I left the order in my other shirt."
Cassandra opened her mouth, closed it, and smiled sweetly at her brother. "Lucius? Can you bring me the rolling pin?"
Lucius had seen his sister wield the rolling pin, with lethal accuracy, and he cringed. "No! Please! I'll help," he begged, already rushing towards the pegs on the wall, where the extra aprons hung. "See, now my tunic won't get dirty! Where would you like me to start, big sister?"
"One of these days..." Cassandra grumbled under her breath. She groaned. Maybe she should find herself a boyfriend, and not have to help in the bakery for a while. After Rothion had brought Sophitia back, the two had become inseparable, even the people in town remarking that it was about time that crazy girl stopped running off and got married. (One unfortunate townsman had been punched for this. Cassandra denied any involvement, but her mother hadn't believed her, swatting her with a breadbasket.)
"Hey, Luce," Cassandra said, and threw a lump of dough at her brother, who was preening in the mirror and not listening. Lucius yelped, turned, and scowled at his sister, even as he tried to assess the damage to his shirt.
"What's being in love like?"
"How should I know?" Lucius asked, surprised. "Is that what's got you down? Are you thinking about Sophitia, too?"
"You miss her being around?" Cassandra asked.
"Of course. She doesn't let you through doughballs at me, for one." He laughed at his own joke, then frowned. "It is odd that she hasn't been around since your birthday. I was just thinking that myself. Spending all her time with Rothion, the villagers are starting to—"
"Rothion!" Cassandra gasped, pointing. Sophitia's boyfriend was walking past the shop, peering inside—then smiling sheepishly, seeing the Alexandra siblings gawking at him. Lucius opened the door, and he entered with a smile.
"Good afternoon, Cassandra, Lucius," Rothion said, adjusting the large ore he was carrying in his arms. "Just wanted to say hello."
"Hi," Cassandra said brightly. "Um, where's Sophitia?"
Rothion's blue eyes grew wide, and he looked to Cassandra and Lucius in surprise. "She's not here?" he asked incredulously. "I thought she was home."
She hedged a glance with her younger brother, who was looking at her, his green eyes wide. "What do you mean, you don't know where Sophitia is?" she asked slowly. "We thought she was shacking up with you." They told their parents Sophitia had gone in the wilderness to pray to Artemis, which was such a Sophitia thing to do anyway, their parents didn't doubt it. But if she wasn't with Rothion….
Cassandra glared at Rothion. "You know something, don't you?"
Rothion was kind, handsome and strong, but was not a good liar. He looked uncomfortable. "I… I don't…"
"Give up the ghost, Rothion," Lucius suggested. "We know our sister."
Rothion sighed, and all the fight seemed to drain from him. "I… I promised Sophie I wouldn't tell you."
"Oh, you did?" Cassandra demanded. "So that's just a decision you make, now? Who the hell are you to make decisions for our family!?"
"Please, it was what Sophitia wanted—"
"Why the hell should we believe you?" Cassandra shouted, yanking her apron off (it always tangled whenever she needed to remove it quickly, but she would strangle Rothion with the strings if she had to) and storming up to him, poking him in the chest. "I'll say this one more time. Where. Is. Sophitia!?"
"She… she needed to tie up a few loose ends. Something needed to be done, it wasn't finished… please, I don't truly understand it myself. All I knew was she needed to leave. I wanted to go with her, but the Gods implored me to stay here, but to arm her…"
"The Gods?" Lucius asked incredulously. "Wait, arm her? Why does she need a weapon!?"
Cassandra felt her heart sink, and glanced at the calendar on the wall. It was August… nearly three years to the day when she'd discovered her older sister gone, with her bed neatly made and a note left on her pillow.
"Did she run off again and only leave a note again?" Cassandra asked with a sigh.
Rothion nodded, set the ore down on the ground and reached into his pocket. "She left this, to give you." Rothion held out a piece of parchment, folded once. Cassandra opened it, read her sister's familiar scrawl.
Cassie and Luce
I have some unfinished business to take care of. Please look after each other, and Mother and Father. I'll return soon. I love you.
Your sister, Sophitia
"That doesn't tell us anything!" Cassandra shouted, shredding the parchment in her rage. "Oh. Um."
"We were in the shrine of Athena. She wished to pray, and I didn't want to leave her. She'd been so frail as of late..."
Frail was not a word Cassandra had ever heard to describe her sister. "Let's go to the shrine, then," Cassandra decided.
Rothion nodded. "I'll lead the way," he said. "Maybe we can find out where she went."
"Wait, Sis!"
Cassandra whirled, and let out a nervous laugh at the sight of her little brother, offering her the rolling pin. "Wield it with honor, my lady," Lucius said with a grin. "Protect us from the unknown."
Cassandra swatted at him, and both siblings followed Rothion down the street.
"The shrine of Pallas Athena," Rothion said. "This is where I saw Sophitia last."
"Aren't we… not supposed to go inside?" Lucius asked worriedly. "If Sophitia is gone, perhaps Athena is angry at our family."
"Oh, come on," Cassandra began, but realizing her brother was serious, she made a face. "Fine, have it your way. You two wimps stay here. I'll take care of this." Cassandra bounced on her toes, shook her hair from her face, and advanced up the stairs, her tight grip on her rolling pin betraying her calm exterior. Athena doesn't like men anyway, so it's probably best they stay back. I can handle this.
She'd never been here before, and the stairs were quite a climb, almost as if she was climbing Mount Olympus itself. She was breathing rather heavy by the time she reached the shrine, which was… empty. Athena towered over her, silently surveying her shrine. Cassandra had the unsettling feeling she was being watched. She stared at Sophitia's weapons, propped against the statue of Athena as they always had been. True, Hepheastus had sent Sophitia on her quest and given her the Holy weapons she had used, but the weapons had wound up in Athena's shrine as a gift to the goddess of war.
Sophitia had left her Holy weapons…? Had the Gods truly asked Rothion to create new weapons for her, and were those weapons better than the ones gifted to her by Hepheastus himself?
She looked down suddenly, almost as if her head had been forced down by divine intervention, and spotted a small, red shard of metal. Hadn't she seen these before…? The woman who had brought Sophitia back had had a handful of these, but she'd taken them with her. She bent down, picked up the shard… and pain surged through her hand. She gasped, dropped the shard, and the Athena shrine shook.
"Wh-what the hell?" she gasped, stumbling. The sky had flashing red, and the wind had picked up. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "If you're out there, then come on! I'm not afraid of you!" She was, actually, very much so. But her sister had always said courage is being afraid, but stepping up anyway… trust the Gods to watch over you.
Gods or not, Cassandra was armed with her own two fists and a rolling pin, and they'd never let her down before. "Let's go!" she shouted into the sky, as the swirling pink and blue clouds began to form. The sky flashed, as if a lightning storm was rolling in.
Another red flash of light, and a swirling mass appeared, the wind picking up with it, whipping at her blonde hair. Cassandra raised her arms to block her face, keeping enough of a gap she could see, and watched through narrowed eyes as sparks shot out from the mass.
What… the hell…
With a scream, a woman burst through the tear, sparks shooting off her. She landed on her knees, skidded, and collapsed on the ground. In her hands, she held a short sword and round shield… Sophitia?
"Hello?" Cassandra whispered, the courage draining from her as the woman panted and shivered on the ground. "Are you…"
The woman let out a howl, looked up, clutched her head. Her screams echoed throughout the temple, and she was quaking with a red energy, seemingly radiating from cracks in her skin.
Her blue tunic and skirt were badly torn, she wore long thigh-high boots that had been shredded to nearly her ankle on her left foot, exposing long bloody gashes in her leg. Her eyes were red, with long, red cracks in her face, looking as though she was weeping blood. Her white hair was tangled, matted and overgrown, hung across her face and down her back in a limp ponytail.
The woman let out another shriek, and lunged. Her weapons weren't like Sophitia's, they were Sophitia's, but her shield was pink, not blue— and her swing was familiar as the sword came down.
Cassandra shrieked, as the impact of the sword cracked the rolling pin, and she stumbled backwards, landing painfully on her backside. She groaned, looked frantically for something to use—and felt that push of her head again, jerking her head in the direction of the Athena statue.
The weapons Sophitia had used, the ones she'd taken on her quest. The Omega Sword and Holy Shield, granted to her sister by the god of the forge, Hephestus—
She swung her leg out, and although her kick didn't do much, the woman was howling, swinging her sword blindly at invisible demons, and didn't seem to be focused on her at the moment. Cassandra grit her teeth and ran.
She grabbed the sword first, nearly dropped it, but as her hand wrapped around the hilt, she felt a strange power surge through her, from her fingertips to her toes. She gasped in elation, whirled to face her attacker, and as the woman swung her sword, Cassandra caught a full glimpse of her face, previously hidden behind a matted curtain of her overgrown white hair—
She screamed, and were it not for the Omega shield in her left hand, she would've been struck down. The monstrous woman, who had Cassandra's own features, let out a shriek as her blade collided with the Omega shield, and was blasted backward in by a blinding light.
Cassandra squinted, stared at the weapons in shock, before she jumped to her feet. "Come on!" she shouted, pointing her sword at this monstrous vision of herself. "Whoever you are, you won't beat me!" She charged, swinging the sword about madly. Sophitia, she thought desperately, is this what it was like for you? Her hands ached from the impact of the weapons, and she was beginning to breathe heavier, but the demonic woman was howling like she hadn't been damaged at all. Is she immortal!?
With a mighty swing of her fist, she punched the woman as hard as she could. She'd knocked people out cold with her punches before, but it only made the woman pant in furious rage, jumping to her feet again before Cassandra could catch her breath.
I'm going to die. She's going to kill me. Cassandra's eyes burned with furious tears as she grit her teeth. Over my dead body. No, her dead body. Yeah!
"Daughter of Nike and Achelous, Cassandra... can you hear me…"
Cassandra heard the voice. Great, now I'm going insane, too!
"You are not insane, Cassandra…"
Oh, well then. "What do you want!? I'm in the middle of something!"
"Cassandra, sister of Sophitia… go forth, and..."
"Can we speed this along, please!?" Cassandra shouted, barely managing to block another swing of the woman's sword, grunting with the impact. "She's killing me! If you're gonna give me power, just do it!" Something surged through her, and she gasped, staring at the golden energy gathered in her hand. It wasn't something she could touch, but she could manipulate it if she wanted. With this golden energy, she could do anything. She could generate lightning, whip up a tornado, even blast apart a mountain. She'd never felt like this even on the best day of her life.
"Thank you!" she cried, craning her neck up towards the heavens, before turning and narrowing her eyes at her opponent. "Let's go!"
The woman charged. Cassandra dodged the woman's swing, side-stepped her, and lashed out with a kick, surprising even herself as the woman let out a cry and hit the ground. She uses her shield as a blunt weapon... then I can too! With a shout, Cassandra raised her shield over her head, and brought it down on the woman's head.
The crack to the head seemed to break the woman's resolve. She fell to the ground sobbing, howling, clawing at her face and hair in her devastated rage. Cassandra slowly approached again, crouching down before her, meeting the woman's anguished gaze.
"Who… who are you?" Cassandra whispered, feeling deep down as though she already knew.
"I don't… I don't know…" the woman replied, her voice breaking. "But… you have to save her…"
"Save who?" Cassandra asked.
"Save her! Save Sophie… I... I know something... about your family... although... although you probably don't... want to hear it..." The woman was stuttering, clearly unused to speaking, and she clutched her arms, as if an icy chill was rushing through her frail body. "Seventeen years... ago... Sophitia... my sister..."
"What do you know about my sister!?" Cassandra shouted desperately. "Tell me!"
"I... it's hard to... remember… there was a castle. Great and terrifying… filled with evil energy. I followed a man… named... Siegfried… Siegfried Sch-tauffen—"
"It doesn't matter what his name is," Cassandra said impatiently.
"It... does... the man... not the Azure... he... saves her... but it's too late... for anyone. Soul Edge... Soul Calibur..." The woman slumped, her thin hands covered by ripped, filthy gloves, beating at the tile floors of the Athena shrine. "Pyrrha... Patroklos... Sophitia..."
"Nothing you're saying makes any sense!" Cassandra yelled, frustrated. "Why should I believe you are who you say you are, anyway!?"
The woman stared at Cassandra, and reached one thin hand up. Before Cassandra could jerk her arm away, the woman's hand wrapped around her wrist, instantly sending flashes of a vision through her.
A man with long blonde hair, flowing behind him like a cape, held a huge, crystal sword. A woman, blonde and beautiful, wearing a white dress, laid on the ground, writhing in pain. The woman held a small girl in her arms, the girl also blonde. Another girl lay nearby, dressed in shredded clothes, with a short sword in her chest, laying in a pool of blood. Her eyes stared sightlessly, her mouth twisted in a feral grin even in death.
Cassandra watched the scene before her, not understanding what was going on, until she saw herself— herself— fling herself between the man and the woman, holding her arms out defenselessly. She was sobbing, shaking her head, sinking to her knees before the blonde man.
"Please, no. Not Sophitia. You can't kill her," the other Cassandra sobbed. The Cassandra before her was dressed in a blue tunic, with black shorts underneath, white boots that reached her thighs, with her long hair tied back by a pink ribbon, white gloves that reached her elbows… exactly the clothes the Cassandra from the future was wearing. This is the day everything happens. She's showing me what to expect from my future.
The man was firm. "She isn't your sister anymore. She's—"
"What do you know!?" the other Cassandra howled, her face twisted in grief. "You don't know this for sure!"
The man's voice was not unkind. "I do know. Better than anyone. I... I..."
She watched in bewildered horror as the scene played out before her. Sophitia's body was contorting, and she was crying out in pain. Red energy seemed to be bursting out of her... And her own weapons laid beside her, but they were gnarled, twisted, certainly not any weapons Rothion had crafted.
Despite the immeasurable amount of pain she must have been in, Sophitia twisted around, looked past the other Cassandra at the blonde man. "Siegfried… do what… must be done." She managed a smile, closed her eyes.
"NO!" The Cassandra howled, raising her weapons, protecting her sister's fallen form from the man—Siegfried.
Siegfried looked pained. "I can't let anyone stop me. The Evil Seed—"
"But my niece. My sister!" The Cassandra's voice broke, and she wailed in anguish.
Siegfried laid his sword down. "I'm sorry. This is… all my fault."
He approached the other Cassandra like he meant to embrace her. Cassandra let him take her in his arms, but it was just a ruse. Almost immediately, Cassandra shoved him, grabbed the crystal sword, and brought the crystal sword down with a shriek onto the twisted, gnarled sword and shield laying beside Sophitia.
The red sword exploded in a swirl of blue and red light, knocking Cassandra backwards into Siegfried, who held tightly to her. "Get off of me!" Cassandra shouted, but Siegfried didn't let her go.
Sophitia's cries had subsided, and she lay still. So did the small girl in her arms. Cassandra gasped. "No…"
Siegfried looked anguished. "I'm… I'm so sorry."
He continued to hold her, and Cassandra sobbed in his chest, accepting his comfort. But then she looked up, at the crystal sword, and her eyes narrowed.
She shoved Siegfried backwards again, and approached the crystal sword, her face set. The crystal sword was speaking, emitting a blinding white light. "The decision is not yours to make... the light of humanity cannot be extinguished…"
"And it's yours?" Cassandra shouted, grabbing the sword's grip. "After everything you've done—to the world, to Siegfried, to Sophitia—you dare to call yourself the light of humanity!?"
"Cassandra, NO!" Siegfried shouted.
"Get serious!" With her own hands, the other Cassandra bent the sword at an unnatural angle, and the crystal sword shattered. The wind died down immediately, the sky turned grey.
Siegfried moved towards her, looking furious. "What have you done?" he asked.
"What—happened?" the other Cassandra whispered. "Sophitia…?" Sophitia was still, the girl beside her as well.
"Worry not about your sister, girl…"
An explosion sounded, and a portal ripped open in the ground. Cassandra cried out, reached for Siegfried, who let out a shout of horror and reached for her outstretched hand.
The portal sealed. Siegfried's arms were empty, and the other Cassandra was gone.
Then the vision ended, as the future Cassandra released her wrist. Cassandra stumbled backward, woozy as she took in the ravaged form of her future self.
"So… unless I stop everything from happening…"
The future Cassandra nodded grimly. "I'm… sorry… Sophitia… save her! It all… begun the second time…"
"Second time?" Cassandra gasped. "What second time? When does it begin? Tell me! Please, you have to tell me what to do. I don't know how to fix this!"
The future Cassandra reached out a thin hand, encased in a torn, bloody glove. "You can… I…"
She disappeared before Cassandra could grab her hand. All that remained was a torn pink ribbon, floating to the ground. It had fallen off her shoulder pauldron…
Cassandra fell to her knees, clutched the ribbon, and began to sob. What am I going to do...
She looked up at Athena, at the weapons laying on the ground. The future Cassandra had taken her weapons with her. Her shield had been pink, not blue… but she'd done serious damage to Sophitia's old weapons. None of this is real. I'm dreaming, I'm making all this up. Maybe… maybe I've gone insane. I've… her hands and legs were bloody from her fight, and the red shard burned as she seized it frantically.
Her future self's haunted visage flashed through her mind again. The shrine was spinning...
The castle was in ruins. Bandits had attacked in waves, and while Soul Edge had made quick work of them, they'd succeeded in harming the Azure Knight.
The Knight snarled in rage, dragging his injured leg as he ascended the crumbling stairs of the once mighty Ostreheinsburg Castle. One by one he'd been betrayed… but it mattered not.
Soul Edge… give me more power.
The bandits were brave, willing to sacrifice themselves. Their souls had given him power, power he had desperately needed. And now they lay in butchered chunks, a warning to any who dared oppose him.
And yet he knew there was another approaching. A true warrior who would provide the challenge he wanted… the man's soul would provide him with the rest of the energy he needed to stay alive...
"Cassandra? Cassandra!"
Cassandra opened her eyes with a moan. It felt like someone had been jumping on her head… her familiar room came into view, and she smiled at her sister, sitting beside her, looking worried.
"Oh, good, you're awake," Sophitia said, relieved. "How do you feel?"
Cassandra tried to speak, but it was like her jaw was welded shut and her mouth was stuffed with cotton. She shook her head.
"You were thrashing in your sleep," Sophitia whispered, brushing Cassandra's sweaty bangs from her face. "Are you alright? You must've been having an awful dream." She handed Cassandra some water, which Cassandra managed to get a good drink of.
Cassandra gulped, squeezed her eyes closed. "We were at the shrine. Rothion, Lucius—"
"You fell and hit your head, they brought you back here," Sophitia explained. "Cassandra, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been so vague. An old friend was in town, and wished to catch up. I didn't mean to alarm anyone."
"I..." Cassandra's throat was dry, and her mouth felt rusted shut. "I thought you were gone again..."
Her vision—dream? It had felt so real… Sophitia crying in agony, her death painful and belabored. The small blonde girl in her arms...
"I'm right here. You must be thirsty," Sophitia said, offering her another glass of water, taking the empty one. Cassandra accepted it, drained it in seconds.
She gripped the blanket in both hands, summoning her courage. It was time to ask questions, the questions she'd been afraid to ask since the ninja woman had deposited Sophitia's unconscious body on the counter at the bakery. She mourned the loss of her normal, boring life for all of a heartbeat, before levelling her sister with a serious gaze.
There was nothing else for it. She bit her lip and steeled her resolve. "Was your friend you had to catch up with a… ninja, Sis?"
"Yes," Sophitia said with an easy smile. "Strange profession, right? But I suppose whatever keeps a roof over her head…"
Sophitia wasn't going to tell her anything without being asked directly. "I had a dream where I met a man named Siegfried. Do you know him?" Cassandra asked, staring up at her sister. "Because you knew him in my dream."
Sophitia's eyes widened, and she avoided eye contact. "I... yes. A long time ago. But I don't think he's alive any longer." She frowned, sadness obvious on her face. "I've never told you much of my adventures... not because I wanted to exclude you, but because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep you safe. You and Lucius both... You've always been so much braver than me, Cassie. When I was scared, I would ask the Gods for courage and protection, but it would be your strength I'd envy the most. Since the day you were born, you feared nothing. When Mother knew she was pregnant, she asked me to promise to always keep you safe. Older sisters were born first to protect the younger ones."
"That's a lot of pressure to put on a four-year-old," Cassandra remarked.
"Seems that way, but it wasn't. Nor was it when they asked it of me again, when Lucius was born." Sophitia smiled. "You both were my strength. I was fighting to protect those I loved, to create a world where the biggest thing to worry about would be a burned loaf of bread."
Lucius entered the room, his blue eyes large with concern. "I brought you some food, Cass," he said, looking between his older sisters nervously. "What's going on, Sophie?"
Sophitia looked at her siblings and sighed. "Take a seat, Luce. I can't keep this from either of you any longer." Lucius sat at the foot of Cassandra's bed, exchanged a glance with Cassandra. Sophitia played with the end of her braid thoughtfully. "I'll tell you both, the same way it was told to me. A tale of swords and souls, eternally retold..."