I do not fear death. For me, it is only sleeping in peace.- Vincent Volaju

Chapter 2:Beyond death.

The ship Eclipse was a fine ship, Raphael observed. The docked ship would make for good transport. As he walked towards the dock, he felt an odd catharsis in his steps. He would be leaving France for the first time in his life. Furthermore, he would be leaving it for the uncultured land of China. He walked up to the dock, seeing a foppish looking sailor.

"It's five francs for you to board this ship." the sailor said. "And I shall need your name, if you'll be so kind."

Raphael took his satchel and pulled out ten silver coin. "What do you say to ten francs and I don't give a name. Is that all right, fine sailor?"

"Welcome aboard the eclipse, Mr. Depardieu." the sailor replied. Raphael bowed respectably and walked up the plank to the ship.

The ship was in fine order and they seemed to be transporting provisions for the army. So, at worst only a desperate person would try to steal food. Many of the other passengers (though there were not many) carried swords ranging from rapiers such as his to longswords. They were obviously not swordfighters, however. Their walks were all swaggers of foolish and unruly nobles. Raphael need not worry about those fools.

"Attention all!" a man said, at the helm of the ship. The man was obviously the captain of this ship. "I am Captain Omen of the Eclipse. Welcome to my ship. This is going to be a nonstop five week journey to China. I hope none of you are seasick. Meal times are at Eight A.M., Twelve thirty P.M, and Six P.M. Your rooms are below deck. Take your pick. They are all the same. Any other items of buisness are your own problem. Now, anchors away!"

The cry 'Anchors away!' was heard throughout the ship.

"Drop the canvas!" Captain Omen cried. "And set sail for Hong Kong!"

Raphael watched as the ship moved from the dock and as the last he saw of France slowly dissapeared.

"Au demain." Raphael said casually. There was no effect for him. He felt no sadness or regret. He had cut all ties with France and it's hypocritical nobles that plagued it. He was no longer Raphael Sorel:Nobleman of France. He was now Raphael Sorel:Master swordsman and future wielder of the soul edge. "I suppose I should get some sleep."




Raphael slept in a hammock fairly soundlessly. In the time that he had left, he had gotten used to being uncomfortable. It had given him a new respect for the knights and musketeers.

His dreams, however, were not so relaxing.

Raphael stood paralyzed as he saw what was undeniably a demon. Dressed fully in body armor, his left arm was scaly and lizard-like. In that arm was deniably what Raphael was searching.

This man had Soul edge.

"Blood! Darkness! Come unto me!" the wielder of Soul edge cried.

"Nightmare!" a voice cried. Raphael now also saw an asian man in a red coat. A scar was under his left eye and he carried a red staff. "Listen! Can you hear my soul scream?"

"A new soul to consume..." Nightmare said. "Filled with rage...how delicious!"

Raphael was amazed. The infamous Azure Nightmare! He had been the wielder of Soul edge all this time! The dread murderer had held it before.

Nightmare's huge claymore sword swung at the asian man, who took his staff and blocked the blow. The asian then twisted his rod and bashed it against the Azure Nightmare's head. Nightmare staggered back and growled.

"This rod will be your doom!" the asian declared. He charged again slamming his rod repeatedly against Nightmare. However, few did damage and not much at that.

"You fool." Nightmare said, taking off his helmet. In it was not the horrific demon face Raphael had expected, but rather as handsome blonde- haired german man. "You cannot defeat me with strength alone."

The asian ignored him and slamed the rod into Nightmare's stomach. He then jumped up and kicked him. "You can't stop me!" he cried. "This is for my sister!" He cried giving another thrust. Nightmare fell over and the asian rod-wielder continued his merciless assault.

Nightmare's grip on soul edge gave way and fell from his hands. He no longer had the power of soul edge with him. The rod-wielder then turned his attention to Soul Edge and shattered it with several strikes from his sword.

"No!" Raphael cried. "Soul edge is to be mine! Mine to create a new future for Amy! Mine to recreate France! Mine I tell you!"




Raphael awoke with a start, almost falling out of the hammock. "Only a dream." he muttered to himself. Yet, in that dream was a reality Raphael could not deny. He took his travel bag and rummaged through, finally pulling out the leather-bound journal that he had found.

Turning two pages, Raphael took a look at his shard of the soul edge sword. It was unchanged, or at least appeared to be. It seemed to be only a dream after all.

Three weeks had passed since Raphael had left France. He had accepted his role as the passive observer eventually: a role he was not used to playing. Walking on deck, Raphael noted the winds that were blowing.

"A storm's coming." Captain Omen informed him as he came. "Might wanna go back below deck."

Raphael was tired of being cramped in those small rooms and was going to have any truck with that. "I'll stay out here." he replied.

"Do what ye will." Omen replied. "We'll be hittin' some rough waters."

Raphael felt rain come down upon his face. A storm was definitely coming, but he would stay. It wasn't long before the ship was rocking and tossing in the sea. Raphael was quick to help out the sailors. He found the works difficult but knew that they obviously needed all the help they could get.

Suddenly, Raphael heard a cry. "Pirates!" Raphael turned his head towards the cry and saw the unmistakable flag of the Jolly Roger. Soon the pirate ship was so close that the pirates were throwing grappling hooks onto the eclipse's deck.

Raphael worked furiously with his rapier, cutting as many of ropes as he could. Many pirates fell into the maelstrom that was raging around the two ships and were left to drown. Despite Raphael's best efforts, however, many pirates were still boarding the ship.

"I suppose it's time to put you to good use, dear Flambert." Raphael said, going towards one of the pirates and quickly impaling him. "You're revolting." he commented before kicking that pirate overboard. Raphael kept working slashing down the poor swordsmen and dodging their poor marksmenship. Captain Omen was showing himself to be no poor warrior himself. Once his war hammer slammed down a pirate, he did not get up.

"There seems to be no end to these mangy barnacles!" Omen cried. "It's like an Octopus! When you cut off an arm, six more come up."(Writer's note:This isn't a fact, just a believed myth of sailors back then)

"Then strike the head." Raphael declared. "I'll be back." Raphael rolled between two pirates, and grabbed one of the grappling hooks that they had discarded. Using the grappling hook, he latched it to the hull of the pirate's ship. Raphael resheathed his sword, knowing he would need two hands to keep a grip in the storm. He then swung towards the ship, and twisted himself so that his side braced the crash against the ship's hull rather than his whole body.

As soon as he boarded the ship, he saw what was undeniably the captain, and undeniably inhuman. The man had blue skin, as though he been frozen, and his eyes revealed no pupils. He wore the tattered clothes of pirate along with the extravagant hat of a pirate captain.

"Who's this?" the pirate captain demanded. "Some fool dares to board my ship?"

"Your little crew has delayed my passage." Raphael informed. "And I am in a bit of a hurry. To be honest, I'm irritated."

"I'm sorry to hear that." the pirate replied. "But your ship has a passenger who has a relic we consider quite valuble."

"Indeed?" Raphael asked. "I'm sure you value your lives more than you do this item. If you do not call of your ruffians, I shall kill you."

The pirate then cocked his head and laughed. "Now I know you are a fool." he cried. "A french nobleman who has spent his life sitting on his soft rump thinks he can defeat the dread pirate Cervantes!"

"Cervantes, is it?" Raphael replied. "I've never heard of you."

"That ignorance will do you no good in hell!" Cervantes cried, taking out two swords, a longsword and a pistol sword. Raphael gaped as he saw the long sword.

"Soul edge..." he said disbelievingly.

"Not Soul edge." Cervantes corrected. "Merely shards of the legendary sword formed together. The more shards it has the more powerful it is. Since you know about Soul edge, I assume you know why we boarded your ship."

Raphael did indeed know. He wanted Raphael's piece, but damned if he would give it up. That shard was the only connection he had to that sword. He needed it more than anything on this journey.

"I'm afraid that what you search shall be inaccessible to you." Raphael replied.

"Is that a fact?" Cervantes demanded.

"Yes." Raphael replied. "You're going to die here."

"Foolish child." Cervantes said, but Raphael had already taken out flambert and was beginning to attack. Raphael moved his sword wildly, Cervantes moving his swords to block them.

Cervantes' sword might have been bigger, but Raphael's was more manueverable. After several exchanges of sword moves, Raphael had stuck flambert right into Cervantes' chest. Raphael believed he had won until he saw that no blood came from the wound.

"Impossible." Raphael said.

"SHUT UP!" Cervantes yelled, swing his Longsword and hitting Raphael in the side. Raphael tumbled and fell onto the deck floor. To Raphael's surprise, his side bore no wound either. "You cannot kill me, boy. For I am already dead!"

As Raphael rose, he realised some of the disadvantages he face. The heavyset Cervantes would be harder to be blown by the wind and waves or lose his balance than Raphael would with all his footwork.

"Wondering why there's no blood?" Cervantes asked. "Break it down. Soul edge. It attacks the soul, not the body. Anybody who falls to it becomes an empty shell. No soul left."

Raphael nodded. "Yes. That is the power I am searching for!" Raphael cried, suddenly forgetting his disadvatages. He charged, moving his sword wildly again, not allowing Cervantes to attack. He was cut as off as Cervantes batted the rapier away.

Cervantes thrusted his sword upwards against Raphael. The force of the swords sent him flying high. "You just don't get it, do you?" Cervantes made an inhuman jump and slammed his two swords against Raphael's stomach. Raphael hit deck in utter pain. "Wallow in your despair!" Cervantes cried.

"Wallow in your own despair." Raphael replied, getting to his feet. "You are not enough to stop me."

"You're able to stand after that?" Cervantes said, genuinely shocked. "You're made of tougher stuff than I thought."

"The handy work of the french." Raphael replied. This Cervantes decided to attack. Raphael blocked one blow, and heard flambert ring from the contact and felt his hand go numb. The sword was much too large to block. He would have to dodge. Raphael kicked Cervantes in the groing. Cervantes staggered back. "Apparantly, being dead doesn't change some things."

"It makes up for those things with many more advantages." Cervantes replied, swinging his sword in a circle. "You shall see them soon when you come with me to hell!" Raphael moved his body to dodge with the precision that only a fencer could. Raphael then penetrated the swords and slammed the butt of his sword against Cervantes forehead.

Cervantes acted as though he had not been hit. He charged for Raphael swords swinging again. Raphael continued to back up until he hit the hull of the ship. Seeing Cervantes spinning swords coming towards, Raphael charged forward. Dropping flambert, he grabbed Cervantes by the wrists. He then dropped down, keeping a grip on Cervantes, then did a somersault kicking Cervantes off the boat. Raphael got to his feet, breathing hard. He took flambert and sheathed it.

Raphael looked at the pounding Maelstrom around him and out to where Cervantes fell to his watery grave. He was wet, dirty, sweaty, and tired. A state he used to think impossible for himself.

"Death's too good for him." Raphael commented.




Raphael returned to the Eclipse and helped with the ensuing battle there. It seemed that with Cervantes gone, their will to fight had all but diminished. The battle ended in several minutes with Raphael and Captain Omen's crew as the victor. As though to celebrate the victory, the storm broke several minutes later revealing the bright stars of a clear night sky.

"It seems even God himself is pleased with our victory." Captain Omen said.

"May the Lord be praised." Raphael said in agreement.

"Ye were a great asset, Raphael." Omen said. "We could use a sailor with keiunes such as yours. Why don't ye join me crew. Ye'd become a lieutenant in no time."

"No thank you." Raphael responded. "I have my own mission in life to fulfill."

"Aye." Omen said. "We each must look to our own callings. I answer to sea, and you, Raphael, must answer to what calls you."

Raphael felt the call of Soul edge, and he would answer it mightily indeed.

"Indeed we should." Raphael said. "It was a pleasure to fight by your side, Captain. I hope that the end of this voyage does not mean the end of our friendship."

"Ye insult me!" Omen said. "Thinkin' I would forget a fighter such as you. Ye shall always be in me heart, dear Raphael."

"And you in mine." Raphael replied. Even as I recreate the world with that great sword, I shall not forget you. In such a tragic quest Raphael was facing, one last moment of triumph was welcome to the weary fighter.

End Chapter 2.