Authors Note: Well, this is my first Soul Calibur fic. I don't actually own
SCII yet, but I've rented it twice, and my birthday's coming up soon, so
that should soon be remedied. In the meantime, don't hesitate to point out
any mistakes I may have made, because I've only played the first game in
the arcade, so I may not have my facts completely straight.
If you're hoping for a LoZ/Spawn/Tekken crossover (aside from Yoshimitsu), then you've come to the wrong place. Link, Spawn, Heihachi, Assassin, Berserker, and Lizardman will not be in this fic. I simply don't feel like they have a place in the plot. Charade will be in it, but I'm still iffy about Necrid, because I have difficulties developing characters that can't speak and I don't feel that Necrid is as important as Charade.
This story will be told partly from Siegfried/Nightmare's POV, and partly from third-person perspective, when Nightmare is not involved in the scene. I will always notify you when the perspective changes. Also, the other characters will be split up into small groups, usually going solo or in pairs, instead of in one huge party. I just prefer to do it that way.
Chapter 1 (Siegfried's POV)
"There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Or maybe I'm just blind...
Maybe I'm just blind..."
~ When I'm Gone, Three Doors Down
I stood on the grassy bluff, overlooking the small, secluded town near a forest in the eastern reaches of Germany. I had awoken in a labyrinth of forgotten tunnels beneath Ostrheinsburg Castle four months ago. The Soul Edge, still clasped in my hand even after the earthquake that had split the ground asunder, had told me that I had been 'asleep' for more than three and a half years prior to my recovery. Obviously, I was cautious to accept anything the demonic blade told me, but later information I gained confirmed this. The power and sheer will of the Soul Edge had kept me alive while we both healed, hidden from prying eyes until the time was right.
But apparently keeping me alive was just about the only thing the Soul Edge could manage. The so-called Sword of Salvation (Many a night I had spent wondering which fool had given it such a name!) was merely a dwelling place for a horrific, ancient entity known as Inferno, which had emerged from the blade upon gaining enough souls to manifest itself. But Maxi, Kilik, and Xianghua, along with the Soul Edge's polar opposite Soul Calibur, sleeping inside Xianghua's family blade, had managed to defeat it, although I was blind to this, already discarded by the devil upon its release. From the surprising amount of information that Inferno was willing to bequeath to me once I had risen from my comatose state, I learned that the outer shell of the Soul Edge, formed by the centuries of souls it had reaped, was shattered into pieces. These shards were scattered by unknown winds to every corner of the earth, and while the core of the weapon still remained, Inferno's power was critically weakened.
I had been blissfully free from its grasp for the first few weeks, and embarked on a search to dig up what remained of my past. Several animals trapped and killed for food had provided the unquenchable thirst of the Soul Edge with some sustenance. I had come into a few conflicts with brigands, managing to drive them out without killing any of them, but it had still regained enough strength to take over my body once again, though only temporarily. Luckily, I was always able to wrench back control before any damage was done, but I began to believe that Inferno was actually testing the proverbial waters, waiting for its opportunity that we both knew would come sooner or later. But clearly Inferno was not recovering strength at a pace rapid enough to its liking, and its bestial cries for blood once again reverberated in my skull. But I was in control, at least for a while, and I pressed onward.
Which led me to my current position. The Soul Edge and I had agreed on a temporary stalemate to preserve our energies, and so I was dressed in the guise of the Azure Nightmare, with hulking plate armor, massive deformed claw, blazing red eyes and all. The sun was sinking behind the hills to the west, and the denizens of the small town were trudging back from their daily duties to retire into bed. I was high above the town, and the light was getting low; I hoped I would not be seen. Finally, my crimson gaze picked out the person for whom I had searched, a middle-aged woman with streaks of gray in her raven mane, currently placing bedsheets on a clothesline, the form of Margaret Schtauffen.
Inferno broke into my thoughts with an unusually neutral tone, its normal raging bloodlust absent from its voice. "But what was the point? You know you cannot go back."
"No," I agreed, looking down at my twisted shape. Of course it was not my real body, merely an image supplied by the weapon to match the identity of the Azure Nightmare. Although Inferno liked to keep the guise present as often as possible, there were certain situations where it required removal. I couldn't exactly walk into an inn for food and a bed for the night sporting a huge, malformed claw. The Soul Edge did not require a body as much as it needed a mind, one plagued enough by doubt, guilt and other 'inferior human emotions', as Inferno called them, to be malleable to its suggestions. The rest it could alter, as it wanted. "At least not like this."
The amber eye in the center of the accursed blade blinked once, and followed my own stare. In the small-knit rural community, my mother now served the position of the town's midwife, the irony of which did not escape me. The thatched-roof cottage behind her was of modest size, with a small pen with a pair of sheep for weaving wool and a few chickens. I noted everything about her tiny corner of the world, lingering slightly on the patch of dirt uncovered by grass, and the headstone at its end. Inferno and I both knew what lay there. The maleficent entity knew exactly what I was seeing, of course, and waited until my eyes found the grave before speaking again. "The body is not the reason she won't accept you."
"I know," I murmured softly. Inferno had not hesitated to harp on me countless times about my father's death, and I had debated it in my own mind over and over again, but I had always been able to shut it inside myself before. Now, the dam had finally burst, and it all came flooding from me in a rush. "But what had my father ever cared about me? I was just an unfortunate byproduct of his elated joyride after his miraculous victory."
Inferno's voice scoffed in my head. "As if you need to attempt explaining your deeds away to me. I am aware of what happened, probably better than you are. You never knew enough of your father to know how he felt for you. But that hardly obstructed your self-pity, did it?"
"He abandoned me. I hardly ever saw him, except for short visits between campaigns. I barely even remembered what he looked like when he came back."
A sort of perverse amusement began to creep into the voice in my head. "But you certainly recognized him when his head was dripping blood in your hand, didn't you?"
I said nothing. That memory was still fresh in my mind, even after all these years. My Black Wind, fighting for the biggest fortune of our lives, with me at the head of our rank, elated by adrenaline. After a heated duel, I cut down their leader with one massive stroke. Lifting his severed head by the hair with a shout of triumph, I finally saw the face on that skull as it twisted in my grip, and I recoiled in horror as I saw it...
But Inferno would not back down, now that it was beginning to enjoy itself. "Little did you know that you were your father's great hope, and he left you behind because he wanted you to grow up away from all the harshness of military life. But like any selfish child, you couldn't understand why your father would rather ride off defending your country and championing its people instead of spending time bouncing you on his knee. Your mother worked herself to the bone, barely scratching out enough to keep you alive, collapsing in tears over the letters from the front. In the meantime, you were left idle, and the brigands in town saw a bountiful opportunity knocking. Luring you away with promises of wealth and glory, they brought you into the Black Wind, where you flourished so well they eventually made you the leader. Now look where it got you."
"It was all for my mother. I wanted to use the money to buy us a nice house, and finally get her all the things that she deserved," I responded weakly. It was a flimsy excuse, and I knew it.
"At first, perhaps," Inferno conceded. "But later, that became your defense for nothing more than a typical adolescent act of rebellion. But with a sword in your hand and a legion of thieves at your back, it was certainly more dangerous than most. But now you don't have to worry about defying him anymore."
"No. Only you."
"Yes, just me. But your period of liberty is waning fast. Soon I will be back in control."
I ignored that comment, seeing as Inferno said something to that general effect many times a day. I heard a flutter of wings from behind me; a crow landed on my outstretched claw with a harsh caw. The bird looked normal at first sight, but closer inspection betrayed its true nature. The crow looked emaciated and diseased, its feathers missing in places, and its eyes lifeless. It was one of Inferno's unnatural creations, with souls chained to Inferno's will breathed into deceased bodies. The loathsome creatures served as scouts and messengers for Nightmare, and the very sight of them still sickened me, now more than ever.
The crow hopped from foot to foot, and was about to squawk again. But before it could deliver its message, I clamped my hand shut, feeling the hollow bones snap under the pressure. Blood oozed from the gaps between my fingers and dribbled down my knuckles. I dropped the mangled mass to the grass with a soft thump, then, almost as an afterthought, ground it into a downy pulp with the heel of my steel boot. The thing had no soul that had not already been taken, so killing it gave Inferno nothing it did not already have. Now, the demon's voice sounded slightly miffed at the death of its courier before the information was revealed. "Was that really necessary?"
"No," I said, satisfied at finding a constructive outlet for venting my frustration. "But it felt good anyway."
I looked back down from the bluff, watching my mother retreat into her home for the night. "I'll be back here before long."
At that moment, she turned, but I was already backing off the slope, out of sight. Whether she was looking for me or the last traces of light, I knew not. The day would come again, but I was gone. My return would be delayed, but I would conquer my own night. Or die trying.
Two days later, I once again walked into the crumbling, blasted ruins of Ostrheinsburg. My horse, a huge jet-black stallion and my sole living companion, was tied to a broken pillar, staring at me dolefully through watery brown eyes. I gave him a small pat as consolation, then headed up the stairs to the heart of the citadel. The stained glass windows, or what remained of them after the quake, caught the setting sun, throwing a chaotic myriad of colors onto the stone floor. The walls of the chapel at the top of the castle were partially demolished, the ceiling nonexistent, with a gaping void into the maze of caverns below yawning from the busted organ to the first of the smashed pews. The shambles provided almost no shield from vision, but I was sufficiently protected by the aura of mystery that surrounded the place had obtained as the lair of Nightmare and the setting of the cataclysmic explosion that had triggered the earthshaking tremor that had rocked all of Europe. Of all places, I found solitude here.
Well, almost, anyway. Inferno, possibly for no other reason than to spite me, once again refused to grant me any peace. "Do you honestly believe you can live here for the rest of your life? There are slight details you should be aware of, the requirement of food and water, primarily. Even if you were able to live off of the wild, you can't expect people to avoid this place forever."
"Shove it," I grunted shortly, ripping the horned blue helmet, with its trailing red plume that stretched to my knees, from my head and dropping it unconcernedly to the granite tile, where it bounced with a hollow clang. Our communication was for all intents and purposes telepathic, but I often dictated aloud out of sheer habit.
"Besides," the demon continued, acting as though I had not spoken at all, "you won't be able to stand isolation for the remainder of your days. You've barely managed to get through these seven years, half of which you weren't even conscious for, much less thirty, or more. You'd go insane."
"Many would make the argument that I've already earned that distinction. I'm not certain I disagree. Now, while we're on the topic of things I need to survive, you seem to have omitted sleep from the list. I'd like to get some now, if you'd be kind enough to oblige."
I was greeted with sweet, blissful silence as a response, so I took that as a tacit affirmative. I placed my back to the most stable section of wall I could find and sank into a sitting position with my left leg bent so that my foot rested on the floor and my right sprawled out flat. My right arm still clasped Soul Edge, fingers remaining tight around the hilt that had not left my hand in seven long years, even in sleep. I felt my grip on consciousness slowly slide away...
"I don't think this is such a good idea."
My eyelids shot back open, my whole body tensing into action. The voice was young, probably male. He didn't sound much older than ten. My mind raced. What could I do?
Another call floated up to my ears, this one also male, but sounding a little older. "What, are you afraid of the ghost of Nightmare?"
The younger boy's shout was predictably indignant. "No!"
"Sure you're not. Besides, everyone knows ghosts can't hurt you."
The first child didn't seem to share the same confidence. "My dad says that he thinks Nightmare's still alive, and he's an international explorer."
The other youth snorted derisively. "Yeah, and your daddy also says that a clawed mummy guards a sunken treasure vault in Italy. He's really convincing."
Inferno was very intrigued by this new development. "Well, well, well, this provides an interesting quandary. You can't allow them to see you without silencing them, and there are very few places that could conceal you here."
"No," I thought hastily. "I'll scare them. I'll look menacing, wave the sword around, and maybe chase them a little for good measure. They'll never come back, and even if they told, nobody would believe them."
"Brilliant," the Soul Edge intoned dryly.
I didn't bother to tell Inferno to shut up again, standing up and snatching the helmet up by its crimson tail and replacing it on my head. Striding over to the edge of the pit, I straightened up to my full height, planting the tip of the Soul Edge by my feet. Then I froze, with no movement except my breathing, which was invisible behind the armor. I waited, with every nerve in my body taut. I could feel the sweat rolling down my brow.
I heard some loose stones scrabbling, and a brown shape propelled itself over a rampart, landing on the balcony of the citadel with a stifled yelp. When it righted itself, it was vaguely recognizable as a boy, about twelve years old, dressed in plain jerkin and hose, with dark hair and eyes. He reached back over the embankment to help his companion. He appeared about ten, as I had guessed, with hair like straw, long enough to make his eyes difficult to see from my distance. Both of them were smudged with dirt, cut and bleeding in a few places. They had obviously snubbed the idea of simply entering the castle through the gate and climbing to the chapel, instead preferring to scale the walls. It was such a typical childhood venture that I nearly smiled despite the gravity of the situation.
The younger child spotted me almost instantly, for the wall that faced the north side of the castle where they had climbed was almost entirely demolished. He visibly shook at the sight, and I could feel an underlying pulse of satisfaction from Inferno at his fear. When the boy finally found words, they came out shrilly, yet dampened. "It's him!"
His fellow's head shot up like a frightened deer's, but he regained composure quickly. "Don't be stupid. It's just a statue."
"Who would want to make a statue of Nightmare?" I silently concurred with the younger accomplice.
"I don't know. There's a whole lot of weirdos out there. Hey, I dare you to go and touch it."
The first boy started visibly at that. "Me? No way, you touch it."
"I dared you first."
"It was your idea."
The elder partner sighed dramatically. "Fine, if you're gonna be a wimp, we'll go together. You're such a baby, you know that?"
"I am not," the first maintained, though his renunciation was subdued. Both crept hesitantly up the row, stepping delicately over the debris. When they came within a few feet of me, I could actually hear their harsh breathing. Their fingers stretched slowly for the azure breastplate.
But first it came to them as I jerked to life. Their hands drew back at the touch of the steel, and their screams blended as one. I raised Soul Edge above my head, and let loose a bestial roar, or at least my best imitation of one. It was apparently convincing enough, for they scrambled back in panic, stumbling over the benches before turning and flat-out fleeing. I loped after them in a brisk jog, not wanting to reveal I could catch them easily, but still appear as though I were giving spirited chase. I swung the sword down to the stones with a few deafening crashes, just to add to the effect. As they scurried frantically towards whence they had come, the elder tripped over a fragment of ivory, barreling over his friend in the process, where they both rolled into a column. I strode to them, bending my arm back as if to strike, just to make it all authentic.
Then my mind was suddenly sent reeling, as though a cannon had gone off in my skull. I felt my elbow snap forward, like a striking snake. I saw the cursed blade skewer the elder child. I watched it all unfold before my eyes like a grotesque hallucination, and I knew that it was my arm that held the blade, and yet I knew it was not me that had run the boy through. Inferno had seized control.
The other boy could not even manage to scream again, such was the terror that gripped him, the fear that Inferno so relished. He clambered to his feet as Nightmare shook the now limp, lifeless body from the blade. But Inferno looped the Soul Edge behind my back, swinging it in a vicious backhand stroke that cleaved the youth's torso from his waist. The marble, ivory, and granite were stained with the splattered gore, as Nightmare raised the Soul Edge overhead in triumph. Inferno's victorious laughter rang loose, but this time through my mouth.
"Ah, it's been too long since I've tasted real blood! Three and a half years in that damned tomb, and at last some true sustenance."
Despair rested on me more heavily than any armor. I had learned enough of Inferno's deceptive ways through the past, and I should not have been caught off guard. I was too engrossed on the task at hand, so focused that I forgot to remain vigilant for an attack on my mind. Two souls would not give Soul Edge enough strength to crush my will underfoot as completely as it had just prior to defeat nearly four years ago, but every mistake, every error put Inferno one step further ahead. I could not hope for isolation any longer. The disappearances would not go unnoticed, and soon word would spread. I could perhaps find another place to hide, but I could not suppress the feeling that even if I lived in seclusion, events like this one would eventually repeat themselves.
In order to be destroyed completely, would the Azure Nightmare have to rise again? Could I find a way to free myself from the Soul Edge's grasp before that hold became too strong to break? With the alternatives looking less plausible with every passing moment, I had to give it a try.
"Fine. You win this round," I uttered, though now it was my thoughts that could not be spoken aloud. "So we set off."
"Yes. The Azure Nightmare rides again."
"Not yet he doesn't. You've still got a lot more souls to reap before I'll knuckle down. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like my body back. The horse doesn't like you, and beating him into submission will just tire him out that much faster."
Inferno grudgingly complied, as well as returning my left arm to its true form. The claw, while intimidating, made certain tasks such as untying an animal a bit more difficult. I climbed down the stairwell, my footsteps echoing through the emptiness. When I reached the ground floor, the horse was there, pacing restlessly. He started slightly as I approached, smelling the fresh blood on my weapon, but I stroked his muzzle gently, and he subsided. As the sky grew dark, dappled with starlight, I rode away from Ostrheinsburg.
As I stared into the distance, lulled by the drum of hoofbeats, the events of the week came back to me in such a jumbled mess it was almost comical. My rotten luck tangled up everything, hanging over me like a curse.
Guess it had just been another one of those days.
"Wandering through this darkness
I'm alive but I'm alone
Part of me is fighting this
But part of me is gone
Maybe I'm just blind..."
Author's Note: OK, that's it for Chapter 1. Next chapter, I'll introduce some of the other characters. Siegfried may or may not appear in that chapter, depending on how many characters I decide to put in.
If you're hoping for a LoZ/Spawn/Tekken crossover (aside from Yoshimitsu), then you've come to the wrong place. Link, Spawn, Heihachi, Assassin, Berserker, and Lizardman will not be in this fic. I simply don't feel like they have a place in the plot. Charade will be in it, but I'm still iffy about Necrid, because I have difficulties developing characters that can't speak and I don't feel that Necrid is as important as Charade.
This story will be told partly from Siegfried/Nightmare's POV, and partly from third-person perspective, when Nightmare is not involved in the scene. I will always notify you when the perspective changes. Also, the other characters will be split up into small groups, usually going solo or in pairs, instead of in one huge party. I just prefer to do it that way.
Chapter 1 (Siegfried's POV)
"There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Or maybe I'm just blind...
Maybe I'm just blind..."
~ When I'm Gone, Three Doors Down
I stood on the grassy bluff, overlooking the small, secluded town near a forest in the eastern reaches of Germany. I had awoken in a labyrinth of forgotten tunnels beneath Ostrheinsburg Castle four months ago. The Soul Edge, still clasped in my hand even after the earthquake that had split the ground asunder, had told me that I had been 'asleep' for more than three and a half years prior to my recovery. Obviously, I was cautious to accept anything the demonic blade told me, but later information I gained confirmed this. The power and sheer will of the Soul Edge had kept me alive while we both healed, hidden from prying eyes until the time was right.
But apparently keeping me alive was just about the only thing the Soul Edge could manage. The so-called Sword of Salvation (Many a night I had spent wondering which fool had given it such a name!) was merely a dwelling place for a horrific, ancient entity known as Inferno, which had emerged from the blade upon gaining enough souls to manifest itself. But Maxi, Kilik, and Xianghua, along with the Soul Edge's polar opposite Soul Calibur, sleeping inside Xianghua's family blade, had managed to defeat it, although I was blind to this, already discarded by the devil upon its release. From the surprising amount of information that Inferno was willing to bequeath to me once I had risen from my comatose state, I learned that the outer shell of the Soul Edge, formed by the centuries of souls it had reaped, was shattered into pieces. These shards were scattered by unknown winds to every corner of the earth, and while the core of the weapon still remained, Inferno's power was critically weakened.
I had been blissfully free from its grasp for the first few weeks, and embarked on a search to dig up what remained of my past. Several animals trapped and killed for food had provided the unquenchable thirst of the Soul Edge with some sustenance. I had come into a few conflicts with brigands, managing to drive them out without killing any of them, but it had still regained enough strength to take over my body once again, though only temporarily. Luckily, I was always able to wrench back control before any damage was done, but I began to believe that Inferno was actually testing the proverbial waters, waiting for its opportunity that we both knew would come sooner or later. But clearly Inferno was not recovering strength at a pace rapid enough to its liking, and its bestial cries for blood once again reverberated in my skull. But I was in control, at least for a while, and I pressed onward.
Which led me to my current position. The Soul Edge and I had agreed on a temporary stalemate to preserve our energies, and so I was dressed in the guise of the Azure Nightmare, with hulking plate armor, massive deformed claw, blazing red eyes and all. The sun was sinking behind the hills to the west, and the denizens of the small town were trudging back from their daily duties to retire into bed. I was high above the town, and the light was getting low; I hoped I would not be seen. Finally, my crimson gaze picked out the person for whom I had searched, a middle-aged woman with streaks of gray in her raven mane, currently placing bedsheets on a clothesline, the form of Margaret Schtauffen.
Inferno broke into my thoughts with an unusually neutral tone, its normal raging bloodlust absent from its voice. "But what was the point? You know you cannot go back."
"No," I agreed, looking down at my twisted shape. Of course it was not my real body, merely an image supplied by the weapon to match the identity of the Azure Nightmare. Although Inferno liked to keep the guise present as often as possible, there were certain situations where it required removal. I couldn't exactly walk into an inn for food and a bed for the night sporting a huge, malformed claw. The Soul Edge did not require a body as much as it needed a mind, one plagued enough by doubt, guilt and other 'inferior human emotions', as Inferno called them, to be malleable to its suggestions. The rest it could alter, as it wanted. "At least not like this."
The amber eye in the center of the accursed blade blinked once, and followed my own stare. In the small-knit rural community, my mother now served the position of the town's midwife, the irony of which did not escape me. The thatched-roof cottage behind her was of modest size, with a small pen with a pair of sheep for weaving wool and a few chickens. I noted everything about her tiny corner of the world, lingering slightly on the patch of dirt uncovered by grass, and the headstone at its end. Inferno and I both knew what lay there. The maleficent entity knew exactly what I was seeing, of course, and waited until my eyes found the grave before speaking again. "The body is not the reason she won't accept you."
"I know," I murmured softly. Inferno had not hesitated to harp on me countless times about my father's death, and I had debated it in my own mind over and over again, but I had always been able to shut it inside myself before. Now, the dam had finally burst, and it all came flooding from me in a rush. "But what had my father ever cared about me? I was just an unfortunate byproduct of his elated joyride after his miraculous victory."
Inferno's voice scoffed in my head. "As if you need to attempt explaining your deeds away to me. I am aware of what happened, probably better than you are. You never knew enough of your father to know how he felt for you. But that hardly obstructed your self-pity, did it?"
"He abandoned me. I hardly ever saw him, except for short visits between campaigns. I barely even remembered what he looked like when he came back."
A sort of perverse amusement began to creep into the voice in my head. "But you certainly recognized him when his head was dripping blood in your hand, didn't you?"
I said nothing. That memory was still fresh in my mind, even after all these years. My Black Wind, fighting for the biggest fortune of our lives, with me at the head of our rank, elated by adrenaline. After a heated duel, I cut down their leader with one massive stroke. Lifting his severed head by the hair with a shout of triumph, I finally saw the face on that skull as it twisted in my grip, and I recoiled in horror as I saw it...
But Inferno would not back down, now that it was beginning to enjoy itself. "Little did you know that you were your father's great hope, and he left you behind because he wanted you to grow up away from all the harshness of military life. But like any selfish child, you couldn't understand why your father would rather ride off defending your country and championing its people instead of spending time bouncing you on his knee. Your mother worked herself to the bone, barely scratching out enough to keep you alive, collapsing in tears over the letters from the front. In the meantime, you were left idle, and the brigands in town saw a bountiful opportunity knocking. Luring you away with promises of wealth and glory, they brought you into the Black Wind, where you flourished so well they eventually made you the leader. Now look where it got you."
"It was all for my mother. I wanted to use the money to buy us a nice house, and finally get her all the things that she deserved," I responded weakly. It was a flimsy excuse, and I knew it.
"At first, perhaps," Inferno conceded. "But later, that became your defense for nothing more than a typical adolescent act of rebellion. But with a sword in your hand and a legion of thieves at your back, it was certainly more dangerous than most. But now you don't have to worry about defying him anymore."
"No. Only you."
"Yes, just me. But your period of liberty is waning fast. Soon I will be back in control."
I ignored that comment, seeing as Inferno said something to that general effect many times a day. I heard a flutter of wings from behind me; a crow landed on my outstretched claw with a harsh caw. The bird looked normal at first sight, but closer inspection betrayed its true nature. The crow looked emaciated and diseased, its feathers missing in places, and its eyes lifeless. It was one of Inferno's unnatural creations, with souls chained to Inferno's will breathed into deceased bodies. The loathsome creatures served as scouts and messengers for Nightmare, and the very sight of them still sickened me, now more than ever.
The crow hopped from foot to foot, and was about to squawk again. But before it could deliver its message, I clamped my hand shut, feeling the hollow bones snap under the pressure. Blood oozed from the gaps between my fingers and dribbled down my knuckles. I dropped the mangled mass to the grass with a soft thump, then, almost as an afterthought, ground it into a downy pulp with the heel of my steel boot. The thing had no soul that had not already been taken, so killing it gave Inferno nothing it did not already have. Now, the demon's voice sounded slightly miffed at the death of its courier before the information was revealed. "Was that really necessary?"
"No," I said, satisfied at finding a constructive outlet for venting my frustration. "But it felt good anyway."
I looked back down from the bluff, watching my mother retreat into her home for the night. "I'll be back here before long."
At that moment, she turned, but I was already backing off the slope, out of sight. Whether she was looking for me or the last traces of light, I knew not. The day would come again, but I was gone. My return would be delayed, but I would conquer my own night. Or die trying.
Two days later, I once again walked into the crumbling, blasted ruins of Ostrheinsburg. My horse, a huge jet-black stallion and my sole living companion, was tied to a broken pillar, staring at me dolefully through watery brown eyes. I gave him a small pat as consolation, then headed up the stairs to the heart of the citadel. The stained glass windows, or what remained of them after the quake, caught the setting sun, throwing a chaotic myriad of colors onto the stone floor. The walls of the chapel at the top of the castle were partially demolished, the ceiling nonexistent, with a gaping void into the maze of caverns below yawning from the busted organ to the first of the smashed pews. The shambles provided almost no shield from vision, but I was sufficiently protected by the aura of mystery that surrounded the place had obtained as the lair of Nightmare and the setting of the cataclysmic explosion that had triggered the earthshaking tremor that had rocked all of Europe. Of all places, I found solitude here.
Well, almost, anyway. Inferno, possibly for no other reason than to spite me, once again refused to grant me any peace. "Do you honestly believe you can live here for the rest of your life? There are slight details you should be aware of, the requirement of food and water, primarily. Even if you were able to live off of the wild, you can't expect people to avoid this place forever."
"Shove it," I grunted shortly, ripping the horned blue helmet, with its trailing red plume that stretched to my knees, from my head and dropping it unconcernedly to the granite tile, where it bounced with a hollow clang. Our communication was for all intents and purposes telepathic, but I often dictated aloud out of sheer habit.
"Besides," the demon continued, acting as though I had not spoken at all, "you won't be able to stand isolation for the remainder of your days. You've barely managed to get through these seven years, half of which you weren't even conscious for, much less thirty, or more. You'd go insane."
"Many would make the argument that I've already earned that distinction. I'm not certain I disagree. Now, while we're on the topic of things I need to survive, you seem to have omitted sleep from the list. I'd like to get some now, if you'd be kind enough to oblige."
I was greeted with sweet, blissful silence as a response, so I took that as a tacit affirmative. I placed my back to the most stable section of wall I could find and sank into a sitting position with my left leg bent so that my foot rested on the floor and my right sprawled out flat. My right arm still clasped Soul Edge, fingers remaining tight around the hilt that had not left my hand in seven long years, even in sleep. I felt my grip on consciousness slowly slide away...
"I don't think this is such a good idea."
My eyelids shot back open, my whole body tensing into action. The voice was young, probably male. He didn't sound much older than ten. My mind raced. What could I do?
Another call floated up to my ears, this one also male, but sounding a little older. "What, are you afraid of the ghost of Nightmare?"
The younger boy's shout was predictably indignant. "No!"
"Sure you're not. Besides, everyone knows ghosts can't hurt you."
The first child didn't seem to share the same confidence. "My dad says that he thinks Nightmare's still alive, and he's an international explorer."
The other youth snorted derisively. "Yeah, and your daddy also says that a clawed mummy guards a sunken treasure vault in Italy. He's really convincing."
Inferno was very intrigued by this new development. "Well, well, well, this provides an interesting quandary. You can't allow them to see you without silencing them, and there are very few places that could conceal you here."
"No," I thought hastily. "I'll scare them. I'll look menacing, wave the sword around, and maybe chase them a little for good measure. They'll never come back, and even if they told, nobody would believe them."
"Brilliant," the Soul Edge intoned dryly.
I didn't bother to tell Inferno to shut up again, standing up and snatching the helmet up by its crimson tail and replacing it on my head. Striding over to the edge of the pit, I straightened up to my full height, planting the tip of the Soul Edge by my feet. Then I froze, with no movement except my breathing, which was invisible behind the armor. I waited, with every nerve in my body taut. I could feel the sweat rolling down my brow.
I heard some loose stones scrabbling, and a brown shape propelled itself over a rampart, landing on the balcony of the citadel with a stifled yelp. When it righted itself, it was vaguely recognizable as a boy, about twelve years old, dressed in plain jerkin and hose, with dark hair and eyes. He reached back over the embankment to help his companion. He appeared about ten, as I had guessed, with hair like straw, long enough to make his eyes difficult to see from my distance. Both of them were smudged with dirt, cut and bleeding in a few places. They had obviously snubbed the idea of simply entering the castle through the gate and climbing to the chapel, instead preferring to scale the walls. It was such a typical childhood venture that I nearly smiled despite the gravity of the situation.
The younger child spotted me almost instantly, for the wall that faced the north side of the castle where they had climbed was almost entirely demolished. He visibly shook at the sight, and I could feel an underlying pulse of satisfaction from Inferno at his fear. When the boy finally found words, they came out shrilly, yet dampened. "It's him!"
His fellow's head shot up like a frightened deer's, but he regained composure quickly. "Don't be stupid. It's just a statue."
"Who would want to make a statue of Nightmare?" I silently concurred with the younger accomplice.
"I don't know. There's a whole lot of weirdos out there. Hey, I dare you to go and touch it."
The first boy started visibly at that. "Me? No way, you touch it."
"I dared you first."
"It was your idea."
The elder partner sighed dramatically. "Fine, if you're gonna be a wimp, we'll go together. You're such a baby, you know that?"
"I am not," the first maintained, though his renunciation was subdued. Both crept hesitantly up the row, stepping delicately over the debris. When they came within a few feet of me, I could actually hear their harsh breathing. Their fingers stretched slowly for the azure breastplate.
But first it came to them as I jerked to life. Their hands drew back at the touch of the steel, and their screams blended as one. I raised Soul Edge above my head, and let loose a bestial roar, or at least my best imitation of one. It was apparently convincing enough, for they scrambled back in panic, stumbling over the benches before turning and flat-out fleeing. I loped after them in a brisk jog, not wanting to reveal I could catch them easily, but still appear as though I were giving spirited chase. I swung the sword down to the stones with a few deafening crashes, just to add to the effect. As they scurried frantically towards whence they had come, the elder tripped over a fragment of ivory, barreling over his friend in the process, where they both rolled into a column. I strode to them, bending my arm back as if to strike, just to make it all authentic.
Then my mind was suddenly sent reeling, as though a cannon had gone off in my skull. I felt my elbow snap forward, like a striking snake. I saw the cursed blade skewer the elder child. I watched it all unfold before my eyes like a grotesque hallucination, and I knew that it was my arm that held the blade, and yet I knew it was not me that had run the boy through. Inferno had seized control.
The other boy could not even manage to scream again, such was the terror that gripped him, the fear that Inferno so relished. He clambered to his feet as Nightmare shook the now limp, lifeless body from the blade. But Inferno looped the Soul Edge behind my back, swinging it in a vicious backhand stroke that cleaved the youth's torso from his waist. The marble, ivory, and granite were stained with the splattered gore, as Nightmare raised the Soul Edge overhead in triumph. Inferno's victorious laughter rang loose, but this time through my mouth.
"Ah, it's been too long since I've tasted real blood! Three and a half years in that damned tomb, and at last some true sustenance."
Despair rested on me more heavily than any armor. I had learned enough of Inferno's deceptive ways through the past, and I should not have been caught off guard. I was too engrossed on the task at hand, so focused that I forgot to remain vigilant for an attack on my mind. Two souls would not give Soul Edge enough strength to crush my will underfoot as completely as it had just prior to defeat nearly four years ago, but every mistake, every error put Inferno one step further ahead. I could not hope for isolation any longer. The disappearances would not go unnoticed, and soon word would spread. I could perhaps find another place to hide, but I could not suppress the feeling that even if I lived in seclusion, events like this one would eventually repeat themselves.
In order to be destroyed completely, would the Azure Nightmare have to rise again? Could I find a way to free myself from the Soul Edge's grasp before that hold became too strong to break? With the alternatives looking less plausible with every passing moment, I had to give it a try.
"Fine. You win this round," I uttered, though now it was my thoughts that could not be spoken aloud. "So we set off."
"Yes. The Azure Nightmare rides again."
"Not yet he doesn't. You've still got a lot more souls to reap before I'll knuckle down. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like my body back. The horse doesn't like you, and beating him into submission will just tire him out that much faster."
Inferno grudgingly complied, as well as returning my left arm to its true form. The claw, while intimidating, made certain tasks such as untying an animal a bit more difficult. I climbed down the stairwell, my footsteps echoing through the emptiness. When I reached the ground floor, the horse was there, pacing restlessly. He started slightly as I approached, smelling the fresh blood on my weapon, but I stroked his muzzle gently, and he subsided. As the sky grew dark, dappled with starlight, I rode away from Ostrheinsburg.
As I stared into the distance, lulled by the drum of hoofbeats, the events of the week came back to me in such a jumbled mess it was almost comical. My rotten luck tangled up everything, hanging over me like a curse.
Guess it had just been another one of those days.
"Wandering through this darkness
I'm alive but I'm alone
Part of me is fighting this
But part of me is gone
Maybe I'm just blind..."
Author's Note: OK, that's it for Chapter 1. Next chapter, I'll introduce some of the other characters. Siegfried may or may not appear in that chapter, depending on how many characters I decide to put in.