Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names, characters, places or weapons from Soul Calibur.

The sun beat down upon the dusty cobbles of Daelven, the heat of midday creating a shimmer in the air and forcing all that occupied the town to take shelter within the cool shade of their cosy houses. All but five. Tethis wiped his sweating brow and gazed at his "companions". Link seemed to be having as much trouble with the heat as he was and Cassandra didn't look too happy either. Siegfried however, was ignoring the heat completely. He wasn't even sweating! As he stared the voice of Dauthyl formed in his head.

"I've been speaking to him you know. He's got quite an interesting past".

Tethis replied in a hushed tone, although he knew no one could hear him think,

"I've not seen you speaking to Siegfried".

The voice in his head laughed. "No not Siegfried, the one inside him. You felt him earlier. That terrible feeling of corruption and unfeeling malice, remember".

Tethis definitely did remember. He would never forget.

"What is it"?

"A demon of vast power. He said that he once ruled a part of the Void but was banished to this realm in the form of the ultimate sword".

Tethis' conversation with Dauthyl was cut short by Cassandra shaking him.

"Hello, is anybody there"?

Tethis snapped out a reply, his voice like the crack of a whip. "Yes I'm listening".

"Alright don't have a fit" said Cassandra, "Feast your eyes upon the Pearl wing".

Tethis gasped. The ship before them was a magnificent creation. It seemed to be held together by bands of pure pearl, its sails shaped like outstretched white wings. It's sleek hull smooth and almost reflecting the sun. At its front was a figurehead designed to look like a pair of white wings cradling a pearl. And striding down the gangplank protruding from its side was a man wearing the dandiest clothes Tethis had ever seen. In fact, the man seemed to radiate pure dandy, especially his hair. As the man got closer it became noticeable that he was wearing a huge grin. Striding up to them, he gave Siegfried a playful punch in the shoulder; kissed Tikal and Cassandra's hands and shook Links hand almost in one movement. He then turned to Tethis and said, "Do I know you"?

Tethis held out his hand and replied; "no, I don't think so".

"If that is so, Maxi is pleased to meet you Mr..."?

"Tethis".

After the quick exchange of names, Maxi turned to look Siegfried in the eye. Siegfried nodded, and Maxi sent his fist speeding towards Tethis, who's hand moved so fast that it appeared to not need to cross the intervening air between his and Maxi's arms. Pushing Maxi backwards with the palm of his hand, Tethis unleashed a whirlwind of vicious unarmed attacks, each expertly blocked by Maxi's unique fighting style. Seeing that his furious assault had proved ineffective, Tethis gathered an aura of shadow energy around his right hand, although in the bright sunlight its power was weakened by a sizable amount. Striking out with the shadow-infused hand, Tethis knocked Maxi off his feet, who sprang back, throwing a barrage of spinning kicks at Tethis. Driven back by the speed of the attack, Tethis stood at the edge of the cobbles, his back to the sea. Maxi came in for another fast attack, this time using his fists. Tethis weaved around the punches, ducking and sidestepping the oncoming attacks. Then, as Tethis began to become more enraged, Siegfried and Link dragged the two of them apart.

"Why?"; said Tethis his voice dripping with confusion.

"To see if you can hold your own in a fistfight" replied Link "we don't use our weapons on innocent people who have been misguided or are under the command of their superior"...

Telra'Dath closed his crimson eyes, awaiting a powerful surge of magic to flow through him. The day was becoming late, and he had put this off for far to long already. He was sitting inside a triangular rune, in front of a much larger circular rune of binding. Feeling the soft hum of the magic, he let it flow through him freely, becoming a conduit for dark energies of the void. Summoning his courage he whispered the words; "Nezereshee". Instantly a hovering ball of flame appeared in the circular rune. Again he muttered the cursed word; "Nezereshee", this time louder and with a commanding tone of voice. Not feeling any change in the flame, he opened his mouth to utter the dire word a third time. This time the flame began to take shape, twisting and writhing it eventually became a four-armed creature, seemingly made of darkness. It stood at eleven feet, its head bestial, almost like a hellish wolf with no hair, its eyes redder than Telra'Dath's and burning with a powerful hunger and hatred for all that lives, its four powerful arms ending in long talons that almost glowed with malevolence. Nezereshee fixed his soul-piercing gaze upon the foolish mortal who had the ignorance to speak his name. His voice full of the malice of hell, he spoke.

"Why have I been called to this puny plane by you, mortal?"

Although faced with an eleven-foot tall embodiment of evil, Telra'Dath spoke with a voice full of cocky confidence. "I have a use for your powers", he said, reaching for his staff, which glowed in anticipation of what was to come. Nezereshee sneered and spoke once more; "you will send me back", the tone of his voice stating that this was not just a demand, but also a threat. "

"Don't be so sure, demon", came the reply.

Hearing such defiance from the mortal mage, Nezereshee held out his hand, calling a ball of searing soulfire into existence. When his show of power went completely unnoticed he snarled with contempt and sent the hellish blast flying through the air towards the seemingly oblivious mage. Nezereshee howled in pain and rage as the protective field around the summoning circle absorbed the attack, doubling its power before smashing it back into Nezereshee. The chuckling of the insignificant mage made him forget the pain and unleash a series of furious strikes of his claws upon the barrier, to no affect.

Telra'Dath held his staff aloft, radiating void energy so powerful that the raging demon was momentarily taken aback. "Enough", he said aiming a stream of red lightening at Nezereshee. The lightening passed through the barrier, instantly engulfing the trapped demon. Nezereshee writhed in pain as the lightening covered him, tearing at him with magical claws and teeth, entering his mouth and eyes to shock his interior, igniting the raw mana that was a part of him. After a minute or two Telra'Dath called the lightening back. Smiling cruelly, he addressed the panting demon. "Do you agree to do my will until my task is over?"

Nezereshee, covered in wounds, snarled in defiance. Again the deadly lightening covered the demon, and once more the void mage asked him for his service. This time Nezereshee uttered a foul word to the mage and roared with anger. For the third time, the terrible lightening was unleashed upon Nezereshee's helpless form. When the torturous spell was called back to its owner, Nezereshee finally gave in. "Fine, I agree to do your bidding, but know this, you have made a powerful enemy beyond the veil. I look forward to seeing you again in the next life". The demon grinned, his pain eased by the thought of meeting Telra'Dath in the Abyss. Hearing the words of the demon, Telra'Dath covered the demon in the vile lightening once again, deciding to keep it upon him for almost an hour. Despite the creatures' defiance, Telra'Dath was in a fine mood. He had captured and won the service of an Archdemon. His master will be pleased. However, the demon's final words had disturbed him. In fact, when he left the summoning room, he realized that he was terrified.