Why do you complain?, The voice asked. With Soul Edge destroyed, your role on the stage of history has concluded. See how beautiful the mountains and sky are. Is it not joyous to simply be alive? My use of your battered frame lets you enjoy these wonders for just a little longer. And for that you should thank me for giving your life story an extra chapter, so to speak.

The old warrior was helpless to answer. He always was.

Oh look, the girl has arrived with the Crest. Isn't it lovely when things work out? It moved his hand to grasp the staff and bring him to his feet. It turned him to face her.

*****

The Crest of Tears was heavy. Very heavy, in fact. But Cassandra was still able to bound up the temple stairs two at a time to the huge wooden door where the old man was waiting inside. He was standing with his back to her

"I have the Crest," she announced." She unslung the bag from around her shoulder and placed it on the floor. Using her foot, she slid it across the marble floor to him. He gave no acknowledgement for several moments."

"I trust that Countess Valentine was a graceful hostess," he asked without turning." Cassandra drew in a breath.

"Unfortunately, an demon attacked the manor and slew everyone there, including Lady Valentine. I was barely able to escape the wreckage with the Crest and my life." A half-lie is better than a whole, she told herself.

"Just as well. The Crest of Tears was an old Valentine family heirloom that came into their possession when Lord Valentine himself raided the money pit to pay his debts. She would not likely have parted with it willingly." He finally turned around. His Asian straw hat was still obscuring his visage, just like before. "Very well. I with the power of the Crest, I can return Siegfried Schtauffen from the beyond. I will require several hours to prepare the ritual, but I will have him by tomorrow morning," he promised.

"Th-thank you," she stammered. Cassandra could scarcely believed it was possible to undo the mistake she had made on that ship. Was it too good to be true?

"But why are you doing this for me? Are you going to ask for a fee like a moneylender?" As she was speaking, the old man again turned to face the statue.

"Child, I'm supposed to be the cynical one with my years and all. Some things in life are just their own reward, that's all. Have we as a people become so heartless that it is impossible to assume some people just go out of their way to help others?"

"Then I've misjudged you, and for that I apologize," Cassandra said. "I'll return in the morning, then." She left the temple. The old man waited for several minutes to make sure she had truly gone, then picked up the Crest. He took it high in his hands and began to chant the required spells to activate it's power. It would only take a few moments to bring back who he needed.

*****

It was like waking up from a long dream. The youth opened his eyes and found himself staring at a stone ceiling. He tilted his head around, trying to see where he was. It had been so long she had had a physical body. Just moving felt strange.

"Where…where is this?" He was wearing…his old armor!? The same one he'd worn on…that day. He sat up and felt around his back. Yes, the hole where…she had stabbed him was there.

"Siegfried…" He whipped his head around to the sound of the voice. An old man was standing there, with a red beard and a straw hat. He knelt down and helped him to his feet. "Thank goodness you're here! A cult dedicated to the worship of Soul Edge has taken over the Greek city of Athens and plans to use black magic to reforge the sword!

"What?! That's terrible!" Siegfried was shocked. All the work he had done to destroy the Blade, and people were working to bring it back? The old man nodded.

"Aye, and what's worst, they've managed to delude the population of the city into joining their cause. I'm afraid there is no hope of saving them." He wore a grim expression. I summoned you back because I know you were experienced in combating the influence of the evil blade. Siegfried Schtauffen, we need your help again!" He handed Siegfried a sword. In the darkness of the temple, he could see little of it besides its outline. "Go forth and deliver the Athenians from their evil."

*****

Siegfried was standing there in front of her. He was dressed in the rich attire of a nobleman. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, giving a hint of his muscular physique. They were standing on a palace balcony overlooking the ocean.

"Cassandra," he began. "I know how you must feel, and before you say anything, I want you to know that I forgive you." He moved towards her.

"Siegfried…you're back…"

"Yes. I've returned…for you." He tilted her face with his hands and moved his close to hers. She closed her eyes…

"Cassandra, by the gods, WAKE UP!" Someone was shaking her. A lot. She opened her eyes. Her mother was standing above her. "A swordsman has come into the city and is attacking people at random! Go out there and stop him!" Cassandra muttered a curse and got out of bed. It was bad enough that some barbarian had started attacking her people, but in the middle of a particularly good dream…

When Cassandra had gathered her weapons, she left home and followed the sound of the screaming. It was loudest in the city marketplace. Most people had the wise sense to stay inside. A few were running across the bridge that linked the marketplace to the rest of the city. The merchants had abandoned their stands. At the opposite end of the street she could see an armoured figure dispatch a small group of people. The bloodshed of her people angered her. She tightened the grip on her short sword and marched forward.

*****

"Take that, you stupid deceived soul!" he muttered. as he dispatched another boy. After several hours of this grisly work, his steel armor was now covered in blood. His blade was also a dark red- not from gore, but the blade itself seemed to be tinted that shade. It didn't bother him.

"Siegfried?" A voice behind him asked. He turned. Who knew his name in this city!?

Cassandra Alexandra did. And she was standing before him. With the very same short sword she had killed him with. "What are you doing?" Siegfried found it difficult to speak. He finally was able to.

"You…you to have joined the cultists?" he asked. Was she evil too?

"What cultists?"

"The ones who worship Soul Edge and have taken over your city, of course!" His mind and heart were racing. If she was toying with them, did that mean she was part of them?

"Siegfried, there are no cultists. Who told you this?"

"I did." A third voice informed them. They both turned. The old man was standing there before them, holding his cane with both hands and planted firmly on the ground before them. Then he took off his familiar straw hat to reveal himself. He wore a long red beard and along his bald head were a series of stitches. Cassandra stared at him.

"Edge Master?" The figure didn't change his expression as he answered.

"I was called that once, but he is no more. While I may resemble him physically, I myself have no name, for I need none. You may consider me to be the 'guardian' of Soul Edge, so to speak." He turned his gaze to Siegfried. "Thank you Siegfried. You performed wonderfully, and your part in this is over."

"Part in what he!?" He demanded. To him, this was all seeming disturbingly familiar.

"See that sword you're holding?" Siegfried took a closer look at it. It's red color had grown brighter and…veins could be seen running through the length of the blade. Then, near the hilt a human eye opened and looked at him. Siegfried nearly dropped it out of shock. "How ironic that you were both the last holder of the old Soul Edge and the first of the new One."

The two humans gasped. "It is quite young," he continued, "so it hasn't yet gained the ensnaring power of its ancestor, but give it time." And he started to laugh. "And in case you're wondering Siegfried, yes, you were feeding it by killing those 'cultists. And now that your task is complete, you may return whence you came." Edge Master ran towards the German and with a single blow from his fist sent him flying backwards, beyond the bridge and into the river below.

"Siegfried!!!" Cassandra screamed. She was torn between running after him and-

"Pity," Edge Master said as he picked up the reborn Soul Edge where Siegfried had dropped it. "It's turn now, I believe," he said with a calm voice. "So be a good girl…" He raised his sword…

Cassandra dodged the blade as he brought in down on the ground. She backed away, trying to put space between her and Edge Master. With a dash that surprised he lunged with a stab she managed to deflect with her shield. With Edge Master off balanced, she was able to stab him right through the shoulder. He didn't scream in pain. What he did do was smack her with the flat side of the blade and send her crashing into an empty fruit stand. The broken wood scratched her as she struggled to her feet, But had she been any slower the next slice would have cleaved her in two.

"How silly you look, with your wounds and fatigue," he taunted. "How fragile." She watched him move towards hers, trying to figure how he would next swing the blade. So she was completely surprised when he kicked her square in the chest to knock her down. She barely raised her shield in time to stop his sword from driving into her stomach. He pushed and strained, trying to force the point through the steel of her antler shield. Edge Master might not have been human, but he was still capable of making mistakes. With her other hand she was able slash her sword across his neck and decapitate him. Blood geyser out of the wound, spraying her. She pushed the twitching corpse off her. Cassandra stood up, took the new Soul Edge and smashed it on the ground. It shattered and vanished.

*****

He knew he was dying. It was a familiar experience for him. He body ached. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. Maybe they were. All he could do was stare at the sky and feel life slipping away from him. Someone with a yellow halo of hair appeared in his field of his vision.

"Hello Cassie. Have you come to finish me off for the second time?"

"You're wounded," she said. He could see her eyes open wide. She sounded frightened.

"Then it should only take one stab, just like before." She knelt beside him.

"Siegfried, It was me who wanted you brought. I wanted to tell you…how sorry I was…what a mistake I had made." He didn't know how to answer, how to tell her not to worry about, that it was all water under the bridge. He was too weak to reach up and touch her face. Siegfried knew he was slipping away again. Cassandra cradled his head in her arms.

"No…don't leave me again! Don't leave me alone in this world…

…This world…

…This world…

"…again wreaking terror across the innocents of this world." He was back on Cervantes ship. He knew know. He wouldn't be brought back. He wouldn't wield the new Soul Edge. Cassandra wouldn't cry over his second death. It was only his fevered mind atrophying as he was dying. He moved his head slightly, the only movement he could manage. Cassandra was there, scowling at him. As the light faded from his eyes, it was the last thing he ever saw.