Cassandra Alexandra was in a foul mood.
Everywhere she looked, her home village was being decorated with the many colorful effects that would help celebrate the upcoming wedding of her sister, Sophitia. Most girls in the village would have been beside themselves with excitement at the news. However, to the younger of the Alexandra sisters, it was yet another reminder of the fact she was still unwed.
On her way home from the market, the same prattle about the wedding she had heard from the people on the street a hundred times before made her heart heavier. Cassandra had been dreading this event for the longest time. She'd gone over the scene in her mind a hundred times. Her sister and Rothion would be happily wed, there would be much feasting and making merry, and then her mother would place her in yet another awkward moment asking her why she was still single.
Was it really so bad that she preferred to study rather than dote on a man? Apparently her mother thought so. Cassandra planned to get married eventually; the only question that remained was when. She had no intention of being wed to some half-wit whose idea of intelligence was how many swigs a man could take from a flask of wine before it emptied.
There were times she was envious of Sophie for being able to travel the world with her parents' blessing. The times Sophitia was received as an Oracle of Hephaestus, she had left for five years on two separate journeys. Though had she returned with her sword and shield broken, she was relatively unhurt, much to Cassandra's relief. She had seemed triumphant in her endeavor, though some of the things she witnessed, as she had often said, were not meant for mortal eyes. She made it clear that her days of traveling around the world were over. Now, she wanted to be with the man she loved more than anything.
She looked to the heavens, noticing that clouds were beginning to get dangerously dark. By the looks of it, a storm was beginning to brew. For a second, Cassandra hoped that a possible storm would somehow delay the wedding; but she squashed that thought as soon as it formed. Her sister deserved to be happy and now the best she could do for her was endure. Besides, it was her mother who was so insistent on the wedding. Sophie didn't need any more grief than she already had to experience. Hoping that it would be postponed wouldn't help things either. In the end, Cassandra thought bitterly, Nike would have her way and someday, somehow, she would be going through this before she wanted to. Beneath her breath, she mumbled dejectedly, "It's not fair."
*
Through the storm's fury, a figure covered in azure colored armor staggered through the fields. Step by step he continued, not noticing or caring. He had traveled far and had lost his way in the haze of a blood-induced frenzy. Only an insatiable hunger continued to drive him forward and there would be no peace unless it was sated. The hunger itself was not his, but it was strong enough to force him to advance. The weapon he held in his hideously deformed right hand continually haunted him and drove him insane with promises of vengeance and restitution. Many a brave soul had fallen before this wicked blade and very soon more would be offered. With it, he could sense many people nearby. There would be more souls for his sword to devour.
All he had to do was wait. Yes, there would be many people that would gather here. He could sense the excitement of the unwitting victims in the air. Regardless of whether they could fight or not, each one would be a tasty morsel for his sword to consume.
Heeding an unspoken command from his weapon, the knight retreated to the nearby woods. There he would wait as he always did. He wanted to receive his reward and be done with it; however, the sword's will overrode his own. Some would consider it strange that a sword had a mind of its own and had the capacity to control those who dared thought they could wield it. Only those with insight into the monstrosity in his hand knew of its dreaded capability. They would choose to sever their hands than allow the sword to possess them.
*
Sophitia could hear the sounds of laughter and general conversation throughout the small town of Nea Koutali. For so long this day had to be postponed because of her duties to the gods. She hated leaving her family, but the threat of the Soul Edge was far too great to ignore. Thankfully, those days of chasing the evil sword, traveling to foreign lands, and fighting were long past. She was still pleased to know that the hamlet she grew up in was still the same, though it had grown slightly with several more children.
As she imagined what it would be like to have children of her own, one of the koumbaros had to swerve around her on his way to greet more of the guests. The procession was now gathered at her family's house, ready to head towards the town square where the ceremony would take place. Nike, Sophitia's mother, had given the wine to Rothion and the group was ready to proceed. There, the friar would complete the ceremony, after which Sophitia would throw a piece of iron upon the roof of their new house to symbolize the strength of their union.
Were it not for the excitement of the moment, the bride never would have noticed that someone was missing. Sophitia's younger sister, Cassandra, was not there. Sophitia had been waiting so long for this wedding to happen and now her sister, who always believed her when no one else did, was missing.
Separating from Rothion, her fiancé, for a moment, she moved through the crowd, hoping to at least catch a glance of her younger sister. Instead, she found her younger brother, Lucius speaking with a few of his friends. "Lucius! Thank heaven I found you, where's Cassandra? I haven't seen her all day."
The bride's younger brother snorted. "Try looking at the boulder by the stream. I think I saw her there earlier reading one of her books again."
"But why now? Doesn't she know what's going on?"
"I think she knows," Lucius said with a mischievous grin. "I'll give you one guess as to why."
The reminder made Sophitia sigh in irritation. Now was not the time for Nike and Cassandra to be at odds... again. Sophitia could stand to let a few things go wrong today, but this would not be one of them.
Dashing back to her house, she found her father conversing with a friend.
"Father! Can I speak with you for a minute?"
"Of course, Sophitia, what's wrong?"
"Cassandra's not here, but I think I know where she is."
"Do you want me to send someone to get her?"
"No, I'll take care of it. Besides, I have a feeling she'll listen to me."
"Very well, but hurry. We don't have much time."
Sophitia gave her father an appreciative embrace and then ran towards the river.
*
Tracing each word with her finger she read aloud, Cassandra allowed herself a small smile as she went through one of her favorite passages in the book she carried.
"True, Phaedrus. But nobler far is the serious pursuit of the dialectician, who, finding a congenial soul, by the help of science sows and plants therein words which are able to help themselves and him who planted them, and are not unfruitful, but have in them a seed which others brought up in different soils render immortal, making the possessors of it happy to the utmost extent of human happiness."
Cassandra was glad that she was able to read the words Socrates said to Phaedrus. Though she figured it would take her forever to be as knowledgeable as the ancient philosophers, it wouldn't hurt to learn as much as she could. She sighed and silently thanked her father for loving her so much and her father's friend for teaching her Latin and acquiring the old texts. Were it not for this she probably would have gone mad.
"Cassandra! There you are!" cried a familiar voice. The younger Alexandra turned to see her sister approaching a bit awkwardly in her wedding gown. Though Cassandra could appreciate how beautiful the dress was, she was certain that Sophitia would get grass stains on it if she fell.
"Sophie, do you know how silly you look running in that thing?" Cassandra said on the verge of a chuckle.
Taking the comment in stride, Sophitia only smiled in return. "Why, of course. I plan to run the marathon just after the exchange of vows."
Closing her book, Cassandra stepped off of the rock she sat on and stood in front of her sibling. "As amusing as the pleasantries are, sister dear, I doubt you came all the way here just to tell me that."
Sophitia frowned. "Cassandra, the ceremony's about to start and everyone's starting to wonder where you are."
Fearing she would bring this up, Cassandra sighed. "I'm sorry, Sophie. I just don't want to get into another fight with mother again." It seemed trite, but Cassandra did feel there was more to life than being a girl in her village usually entailed. However, she was the minority in this case. All of her friends that were of her age were already married. Now, their own families took precedence over their friendship with Cassandra. Though she couldn't blame them, Cassandra found herself with fewer and fewer people to talk with. Now, at her sister's wedding, the younger Alexandra sister would have no choice but to endure another ceremony. Nevertheless, most of the pressure was on Sophitia, and so Cassandra figured she had little if any room to complain.
"Alright, but only if you promise to rescue me if mother brings it up again."
Sophitia smiled and embraced her sister, "Of course."
*
Taking deep breaths, Nightmare slowly crept out of the darkest reaches of the forest by the town. The trees were large and thick enough to keep even a monstrosity as large as him hidden, so no one would notice his approach. Besides, the people seemed too preoccupied with some sort of ceremony taking place to notice him.
With each step, his pace grew more coordinated and balanced, despite the massive sword Nightmare held in his deformed hand. Stepping through the tall grass, he noticed that the sword carried felt a familiar presence among the people here. Though the memory of who it was wasn't clear to Nightmare, he did remember that because of this individual, the sword was no longer complete.
Within the deeper recesses of Nightmare's mind, a spark of recognition identified the presence. The woman, he remembered her from a long time ago. However, all he could remember was that she pleaded with him to turn back from his mad quest. To move forward instead of remain in the present, as he had done.
There was another feeling that emerged from the memory. He would have called it 'regret', if he remembered what it was like to feel that way. It was when they parted and he left on his mad quest... he had hurt her. The resurgence of memory caused his heart to beat much faster and weaken his stride. Through labored breathing, Nightmare leaned against a tree trunk and whispered, "I... I can't do it... I won't do it!"
The sword in his hand had other ideas. The eye upon the hilt opened and with a powerful grip on its wielder's body, moved him forward. The Soul Edge was hungry and nothing would prevent it from the feast.
*
The flag bearer held up the sigil of the family with pride as he led the procession from the Alexandra house to the town square. The family and friends marched behind him, making sure not to crowd the other guests as they passed through the streets. The crowd for the wedding watched happily as Sophitia and Rothion finally took their places in front of the friar. With a happy glance between then, they both returned their attention to the friar as he began the speech.
Though Sophitia was never one to daydream, she could not help but wonder of the family they would become. The blacksmith she had fallen for was a good and honest working man and quite considerate. From his own shop, he had created the sword and shield that she wielded for the past three years. However, there was still the concern in the back of mind that she would never again hear the voices of the gods after she was married and had children. The gods were quite fickle about such things. Though she was given her choice, she could not help but feel the gods wanted her to choose them instead of Rothion.
Then there was Cassandra. Though she had said she believed Sophitia, she did not harbor the same amount of faith. In fact, whenever she brought up the God of the Forge's name, Cassandra seemed wanted to change the subject as soon as she could. Through her travels and communion with Hephaestus, Sophitia had learned that she was not the only one with the gift to speak to the heavens. Whether she knew it or not, Cassandra possessed the same gift Sophitia did. However, with her cynicism, hearing the voice of the Gods would be quite difficult.
She was about to turn back to the friar when she noticed someone approaching that did not seem to fit with the rest of the guests. Her eyes widened when she felt the malignant aura emanating from the armored man. A scream from one of the guests nearby brought everyone else's attention to see Nightmare sending several men and women flying through the air with the blunt edge of his massive sword. The eye on the intruder's sword was all the proof Sophitia needed to know that Soul Edge had returned. Fearing for the safety of her family and friends, she screamed, "Everyone! Get out of here, now!"
She sent her parents, the friar, and her younger siblings away from Nightmare, hoping that the other guests were following suit.
"Sophitia, who's that!?" Rothion asked as they began to flee.
"I don't know, but that's Soul Edge he's carrying!"
"What?! I thought you said it was destroyed!" Cassandra growled as she was shoved a few more guests away from the commotion.
"Evidently it wasn't."
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Cassandra screamed as she began to tug her sister and Rothion away from the intruder. By then most of the guests had already scattered out of Nightmare's path. The knight was heading towards them trampling anyone foolish enough to stand in his way.
With a glance back to the intruder, Sophitia argued. "I can't just leave, someone's got to stop him!"
"With what? The closest soldiers are in Athens and we've got a half a day's journey before we can get back!" Cassandra replied lividly.
Regardless, Sohphitia continued. "Rothion, where are the weapons you gave me?"
"They're still in my shop, why do... you can't be serious!"
"Of course I am!" Sophitia said before she dashed away, leaving her sister and groom to follow her trail as the knight relentlessly followed.
*
What few precious minutes they had in front of Nightmare were not wasted as Sophitia, Cassandra, and Rothion barged through the doors of his storage shed and rifled through the boxes and cases filled with weapons that the blacksmith made in the past. The weapons she sought should still have been battle ready.
"Here they are!" Sophitia exclaimed as she yanked the Omega Sword and the Elk Shield from a wooden case near the back of the shed. She then dashed past her sister and fiancée to meet the challenge of the sword that sought her life. The streets were barren as Sophitia felt the oppressive influence of the sword draw closer.
She ignored the pleas from her companions to retreat as she saw the knight tossing the lifeless corpse of a man in front of her. Her anger grew as she recognized the corpse as that of a friend from her childhood. Throwing a hateful glare at the knight, she raised her sword to address him.
"You beast! How dare you feed on the lives of the innocent! Weren't the people you killed with the pirate enough?"
Nightmare's breathing was slow and the sword's control made him growl at the Grecian woman in front of him. "Foolish woman, because of you I desire to consume the souls of men. And soon, you'll be one of them!"
Nightmare brought his massive sword to bear and, had Sophitia not leapt to the side, she would have been cut in two. Using the momentum to her advantage, the oracle swung her shielded arm into her foe's faceplate, sending him staggering backward. Pressing her advantage, Sophitia twirled around and aimed a slash towards the disfigured arm that held the evil weapon, but hit only air as her foe leapt backward with surprising agility.
The knight was ready to swing his weapon upward and cleave her in two when a steel bolt imbedded itself into his shoulder. Taking a glance behind his foe, he noticed she was not alone. The man who accompanied her by had armed himself with a cross bow and was reloading for another shot, while another woman readied her own short sword and shield to attack.
Seeing her chance, Sophitia charged forward and sent the point of her blade into the plates of armor covering his stomach. Though the blade did not penetrate into the skin as deep as she had hoped, it did elicit a loud scream from him. However, her advantage was short-lived, as Nightmare used his free arm to backhand her away and into the side of the nearest house.
He yanked the Omega sword out in time just to see Cassandra with her sword over her head, ready to strike him down. Yet, in a quick change of hands, he sent his deformed fist straight into Cassandra's unprotected midsection, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could recover, a swift kick from Nightmare's armored boot sent her flying in another direction.
Turning his attention to Rothion, he had enough time to raise his blade to deflect the next bolt, which flew upward and harmlessly landed a few yards in front of him. Allowing Rothion no time for escape or reloading, Nightmare charged. With a seemingly impossible flying leap, he put all his weight and momentum into his lower body and smashed them against the Greek man's chest and stomach. With little to protect him, Rothion was literally tossed off his feet and hit the stone wall of a nearby house with such force that it left a bloody stain where his back had collided.
"Rothion!" Sophitia screamed as she witnessed him being attacked. She stood up, gathered her sword and charged again.
Nightmare turned, expecting another attack from Sophitia, only to feel the thin edge of Cassandra's shield bearing down on his head. Even with his helmet, the force of the blow destroyed his equilibrium and he fell over, losing his grip on the sword. Regardless of his condition, Nightmare had the sense of mind to backhand her viciously.
With Cassandra disposed, he reached for his sword; however, he saw the shadow of Sophitia bearing down above him. With a quick roll, he dodged the Omega Sword's blade as it dug itself into the ground. With his deformed hand, he grasped the massive hilt of his sword as Sophitia leaped over him. By the time he realized what she was about to do, it was too late. As she landed, Sophitia thrust the point of her weapon straight into the grotesque eye of the Soul Edge.
All at once, he felt all the strength and the madness given to him by the Soul Edge rip from his person as the sword he once sought so desperately began to break apart and explode. Light burst from the eye as it shattered, sending fragments of it everywhere. However, not all the fragments had escaped the vicinity. With a cry of agony, Sophitia held her face as a small shard pierced her eye. Unlike in the previous encounter with the cursed sword, she did not have the distance to dodge the shard that violated her eye. Falling to her knees, Sophitia kept as much as the pain inside as she could, yet the anger and the hatred from the sword's shard made the pain worse.
Cassandra, battered and bruised as she was, still mustered the strength to help her sister. Holding her sister close, Cassandra tried her best to console Sophitia. "Someone get the doctor!" she screamed to the emerging townspeople.
As the survivors began to gather the wounded, the pain in Sophitia's eye subsided long enough to allow her coherent thought. "Cassandra... Rothion... is he...?"
The younger Alexandra looked to his inert form and shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Sophie."
When the realization hit her, Sophitia did not want to hold in the pain anymore and began to weep.
*
And suddenly he sat up, breathing heavily. It seemed so real: the beastman with the gigantic sword, the blonde woman and her wound... Who was she, wondered the young man as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. And the beastman? What did it mean?
End of Chapter
Notes: Took a while to finally finish this and I'm pretty pleased with the result... until I look over it a week or two from now and discover that I loathe it. Oh well, what can you do?
Anyway, here's the source of the quote: http://plato.evansville.edu/intro.htm
The quote, itself belongs to Aristotle and the folks who own the copyright. So remember folks, I'm just quoting the great philosopher, all the credit goes to him when the chips are down.
I found this page with information on Greek Weddings. It was helpful to use when I wrote the wedding scene. So, I thank the good folks who made the page and the Greeks for having such a neat culture.
http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/1824/greek.html
Next to last, credit belongs to a friend of mine who helped me come up with the name of this story and the final paragraph of the chapter. So, if you're out there, Enlil, you rock. Also, thank goes out to Nidoking for being so patient to help me make this chapter as well as it could get. If it weren't for him, there'd be a heck of a lot more mistakes.
Lastly; all characters, weapons, and so forth are property of Namco. Always has been, always will be.
Everywhere she looked, her home village was being decorated with the many colorful effects that would help celebrate the upcoming wedding of her sister, Sophitia. Most girls in the village would have been beside themselves with excitement at the news. However, to the younger of the Alexandra sisters, it was yet another reminder of the fact she was still unwed.
On her way home from the market, the same prattle about the wedding she had heard from the people on the street a hundred times before made her heart heavier. Cassandra had been dreading this event for the longest time. She'd gone over the scene in her mind a hundred times. Her sister and Rothion would be happily wed, there would be much feasting and making merry, and then her mother would place her in yet another awkward moment asking her why she was still single.
Was it really so bad that she preferred to study rather than dote on a man? Apparently her mother thought so. Cassandra planned to get married eventually; the only question that remained was when. She had no intention of being wed to some half-wit whose idea of intelligence was how many swigs a man could take from a flask of wine before it emptied.
There were times she was envious of Sophie for being able to travel the world with her parents' blessing. The times Sophitia was received as an Oracle of Hephaestus, she had left for five years on two separate journeys. Though had she returned with her sword and shield broken, she was relatively unhurt, much to Cassandra's relief. She had seemed triumphant in her endeavor, though some of the things she witnessed, as she had often said, were not meant for mortal eyes. She made it clear that her days of traveling around the world were over. Now, she wanted to be with the man she loved more than anything.
She looked to the heavens, noticing that clouds were beginning to get dangerously dark. By the looks of it, a storm was beginning to brew. For a second, Cassandra hoped that a possible storm would somehow delay the wedding; but she squashed that thought as soon as it formed. Her sister deserved to be happy and now the best she could do for her was endure. Besides, it was her mother who was so insistent on the wedding. Sophie didn't need any more grief than she already had to experience. Hoping that it would be postponed wouldn't help things either. In the end, Cassandra thought bitterly, Nike would have her way and someday, somehow, she would be going through this before she wanted to. Beneath her breath, she mumbled dejectedly, "It's not fair."
*
Through the storm's fury, a figure covered in azure colored armor staggered through the fields. Step by step he continued, not noticing or caring. He had traveled far and had lost his way in the haze of a blood-induced frenzy. Only an insatiable hunger continued to drive him forward and there would be no peace unless it was sated. The hunger itself was not his, but it was strong enough to force him to advance. The weapon he held in his hideously deformed right hand continually haunted him and drove him insane with promises of vengeance and restitution. Many a brave soul had fallen before this wicked blade and very soon more would be offered. With it, he could sense many people nearby. There would be more souls for his sword to devour.
All he had to do was wait. Yes, there would be many people that would gather here. He could sense the excitement of the unwitting victims in the air. Regardless of whether they could fight or not, each one would be a tasty morsel for his sword to consume.
Heeding an unspoken command from his weapon, the knight retreated to the nearby woods. There he would wait as he always did. He wanted to receive his reward and be done with it; however, the sword's will overrode his own. Some would consider it strange that a sword had a mind of its own and had the capacity to control those who dared thought they could wield it. Only those with insight into the monstrosity in his hand knew of its dreaded capability. They would choose to sever their hands than allow the sword to possess them.
*
Sophitia could hear the sounds of laughter and general conversation throughout the small town of Nea Koutali. For so long this day had to be postponed because of her duties to the gods. She hated leaving her family, but the threat of the Soul Edge was far too great to ignore. Thankfully, those days of chasing the evil sword, traveling to foreign lands, and fighting were long past. She was still pleased to know that the hamlet she grew up in was still the same, though it had grown slightly with several more children.
As she imagined what it would be like to have children of her own, one of the koumbaros had to swerve around her on his way to greet more of the guests. The procession was now gathered at her family's house, ready to head towards the town square where the ceremony would take place. Nike, Sophitia's mother, had given the wine to Rothion and the group was ready to proceed. There, the friar would complete the ceremony, after which Sophitia would throw a piece of iron upon the roof of their new house to symbolize the strength of their union.
Were it not for the excitement of the moment, the bride never would have noticed that someone was missing. Sophitia's younger sister, Cassandra, was not there. Sophitia had been waiting so long for this wedding to happen and now her sister, who always believed her when no one else did, was missing.
Separating from Rothion, her fiancé, for a moment, she moved through the crowd, hoping to at least catch a glance of her younger sister. Instead, she found her younger brother, Lucius speaking with a few of his friends. "Lucius! Thank heaven I found you, where's Cassandra? I haven't seen her all day."
The bride's younger brother snorted. "Try looking at the boulder by the stream. I think I saw her there earlier reading one of her books again."
"But why now? Doesn't she know what's going on?"
"I think she knows," Lucius said with a mischievous grin. "I'll give you one guess as to why."
The reminder made Sophitia sigh in irritation. Now was not the time for Nike and Cassandra to be at odds... again. Sophitia could stand to let a few things go wrong today, but this would not be one of them.
Dashing back to her house, she found her father conversing with a friend.
"Father! Can I speak with you for a minute?"
"Of course, Sophitia, what's wrong?"
"Cassandra's not here, but I think I know where she is."
"Do you want me to send someone to get her?"
"No, I'll take care of it. Besides, I have a feeling she'll listen to me."
"Very well, but hurry. We don't have much time."
Sophitia gave her father an appreciative embrace and then ran towards the river.
*
Tracing each word with her finger she read aloud, Cassandra allowed herself a small smile as she went through one of her favorite passages in the book she carried.
"True, Phaedrus. But nobler far is the serious pursuit of the dialectician, who, finding a congenial soul, by the help of science sows and plants therein words which are able to help themselves and him who planted them, and are not unfruitful, but have in them a seed which others brought up in different soils render immortal, making the possessors of it happy to the utmost extent of human happiness."
Cassandra was glad that she was able to read the words Socrates said to Phaedrus. Though she figured it would take her forever to be as knowledgeable as the ancient philosophers, it wouldn't hurt to learn as much as she could. She sighed and silently thanked her father for loving her so much and her father's friend for teaching her Latin and acquiring the old texts. Were it not for this she probably would have gone mad.
"Cassandra! There you are!" cried a familiar voice. The younger Alexandra turned to see her sister approaching a bit awkwardly in her wedding gown. Though Cassandra could appreciate how beautiful the dress was, she was certain that Sophitia would get grass stains on it if she fell.
"Sophie, do you know how silly you look running in that thing?" Cassandra said on the verge of a chuckle.
Taking the comment in stride, Sophitia only smiled in return. "Why, of course. I plan to run the marathon just after the exchange of vows."
Closing her book, Cassandra stepped off of the rock she sat on and stood in front of her sibling. "As amusing as the pleasantries are, sister dear, I doubt you came all the way here just to tell me that."
Sophitia frowned. "Cassandra, the ceremony's about to start and everyone's starting to wonder where you are."
Fearing she would bring this up, Cassandra sighed. "I'm sorry, Sophie. I just don't want to get into another fight with mother again." It seemed trite, but Cassandra did feel there was more to life than being a girl in her village usually entailed. However, she was the minority in this case. All of her friends that were of her age were already married. Now, their own families took precedence over their friendship with Cassandra. Though she couldn't blame them, Cassandra found herself with fewer and fewer people to talk with. Now, at her sister's wedding, the younger Alexandra sister would have no choice but to endure another ceremony. Nevertheless, most of the pressure was on Sophitia, and so Cassandra figured she had little if any room to complain.
"Alright, but only if you promise to rescue me if mother brings it up again."
Sophitia smiled and embraced her sister, "Of course."
*
Taking deep breaths, Nightmare slowly crept out of the darkest reaches of the forest by the town. The trees were large and thick enough to keep even a monstrosity as large as him hidden, so no one would notice his approach. Besides, the people seemed too preoccupied with some sort of ceremony taking place to notice him.
With each step, his pace grew more coordinated and balanced, despite the massive sword Nightmare held in his deformed hand. Stepping through the tall grass, he noticed that the sword carried felt a familiar presence among the people here. Though the memory of who it was wasn't clear to Nightmare, he did remember that because of this individual, the sword was no longer complete.
Within the deeper recesses of Nightmare's mind, a spark of recognition identified the presence. The woman, he remembered her from a long time ago. However, all he could remember was that she pleaded with him to turn back from his mad quest. To move forward instead of remain in the present, as he had done.
There was another feeling that emerged from the memory. He would have called it 'regret', if he remembered what it was like to feel that way. It was when they parted and he left on his mad quest... he had hurt her. The resurgence of memory caused his heart to beat much faster and weaken his stride. Through labored breathing, Nightmare leaned against a tree trunk and whispered, "I... I can't do it... I won't do it!"
The sword in his hand had other ideas. The eye upon the hilt opened and with a powerful grip on its wielder's body, moved him forward. The Soul Edge was hungry and nothing would prevent it from the feast.
*
The flag bearer held up the sigil of the family with pride as he led the procession from the Alexandra house to the town square. The family and friends marched behind him, making sure not to crowd the other guests as they passed through the streets. The crowd for the wedding watched happily as Sophitia and Rothion finally took their places in front of the friar. With a happy glance between then, they both returned their attention to the friar as he began the speech.
Though Sophitia was never one to daydream, she could not help but wonder of the family they would become. The blacksmith she had fallen for was a good and honest working man and quite considerate. From his own shop, he had created the sword and shield that she wielded for the past three years. However, there was still the concern in the back of mind that she would never again hear the voices of the gods after she was married and had children. The gods were quite fickle about such things. Though she was given her choice, she could not help but feel the gods wanted her to choose them instead of Rothion.
Then there was Cassandra. Though she had said she believed Sophitia, she did not harbor the same amount of faith. In fact, whenever she brought up the God of the Forge's name, Cassandra seemed wanted to change the subject as soon as she could. Through her travels and communion with Hephaestus, Sophitia had learned that she was not the only one with the gift to speak to the heavens. Whether she knew it or not, Cassandra possessed the same gift Sophitia did. However, with her cynicism, hearing the voice of the Gods would be quite difficult.
She was about to turn back to the friar when she noticed someone approaching that did not seem to fit with the rest of the guests. Her eyes widened when she felt the malignant aura emanating from the armored man. A scream from one of the guests nearby brought everyone else's attention to see Nightmare sending several men and women flying through the air with the blunt edge of his massive sword. The eye on the intruder's sword was all the proof Sophitia needed to know that Soul Edge had returned. Fearing for the safety of her family and friends, she screamed, "Everyone! Get out of here, now!"
She sent her parents, the friar, and her younger siblings away from Nightmare, hoping that the other guests were following suit.
"Sophitia, who's that!?" Rothion asked as they began to flee.
"I don't know, but that's Soul Edge he's carrying!"
"What?! I thought you said it was destroyed!" Cassandra growled as she was shoved a few more guests away from the commotion.
"Evidently it wasn't."
"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Cassandra screamed as she began to tug her sister and Rothion away from the intruder. By then most of the guests had already scattered out of Nightmare's path. The knight was heading towards them trampling anyone foolish enough to stand in his way.
With a glance back to the intruder, Sophitia argued. "I can't just leave, someone's got to stop him!"
"With what? The closest soldiers are in Athens and we've got a half a day's journey before we can get back!" Cassandra replied lividly.
Regardless, Sohphitia continued. "Rothion, where are the weapons you gave me?"
"They're still in my shop, why do... you can't be serious!"
"Of course I am!" Sophitia said before she dashed away, leaving her sister and groom to follow her trail as the knight relentlessly followed.
*
What few precious minutes they had in front of Nightmare were not wasted as Sophitia, Cassandra, and Rothion barged through the doors of his storage shed and rifled through the boxes and cases filled with weapons that the blacksmith made in the past. The weapons she sought should still have been battle ready.
"Here they are!" Sophitia exclaimed as she yanked the Omega Sword and the Elk Shield from a wooden case near the back of the shed. She then dashed past her sister and fiancée to meet the challenge of the sword that sought her life. The streets were barren as Sophitia felt the oppressive influence of the sword draw closer.
She ignored the pleas from her companions to retreat as she saw the knight tossing the lifeless corpse of a man in front of her. Her anger grew as she recognized the corpse as that of a friend from her childhood. Throwing a hateful glare at the knight, she raised her sword to address him.
"You beast! How dare you feed on the lives of the innocent! Weren't the people you killed with the pirate enough?"
Nightmare's breathing was slow and the sword's control made him growl at the Grecian woman in front of him. "Foolish woman, because of you I desire to consume the souls of men. And soon, you'll be one of them!"
Nightmare brought his massive sword to bear and, had Sophitia not leapt to the side, she would have been cut in two. Using the momentum to her advantage, the oracle swung her shielded arm into her foe's faceplate, sending him staggering backward. Pressing her advantage, Sophitia twirled around and aimed a slash towards the disfigured arm that held the evil weapon, but hit only air as her foe leapt backward with surprising agility.
The knight was ready to swing his weapon upward and cleave her in two when a steel bolt imbedded itself into his shoulder. Taking a glance behind his foe, he noticed she was not alone. The man who accompanied her by had armed himself with a cross bow and was reloading for another shot, while another woman readied her own short sword and shield to attack.
Seeing her chance, Sophitia charged forward and sent the point of her blade into the plates of armor covering his stomach. Though the blade did not penetrate into the skin as deep as she had hoped, it did elicit a loud scream from him. However, her advantage was short-lived, as Nightmare used his free arm to backhand her away and into the side of the nearest house.
He yanked the Omega sword out in time just to see Cassandra with her sword over her head, ready to strike him down. Yet, in a quick change of hands, he sent his deformed fist straight into Cassandra's unprotected midsection, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could recover, a swift kick from Nightmare's armored boot sent her flying in another direction.
Turning his attention to Rothion, he had enough time to raise his blade to deflect the next bolt, which flew upward and harmlessly landed a few yards in front of him. Allowing Rothion no time for escape or reloading, Nightmare charged. With a seemingly impossible flying leap, he put all his weight and momentum into his lower body and smashed them against the Greek man's chest and stomach. With little to protect him, Rothion was literally tossed off his feet and hit the stone wall of a nearby house with such force that it left a bloody stain where his back had collided.
"Rothion!" Sophitia screamed as she witnessed him being attacked. She stood up, gathered her sword and charged again.
Nightmare turned, expecting another attack from Sophitia, only to feel the thin edge of Cassandra's shield bearing down on his head. Even with his helmet, the force of the blow destroyed his equilibrium and he fell over, losing his grip on the sword. Regardless of his condition, Nightmare had the sense of mind to backhand her viciously.
With Cassandra disposed, he reached for his sword; however, he saw the shadow of Sophitia bearing down above him. With a quick roll, he dodged the Omega Sword's blade as it dug itself into the ground. With his deformed hand, he grasped the massive hilt of his sword as Sophitia leaped over him. By the time he realized what she was about to do, it was too late. As she landed, Sophitia thrust the point of her weapon straight into the grotesque eye of the Soul Edge.
All at once, he felt all the strength and the madness given to him by the Soul Edge rip from his person as the sword he once sought so desperately began to break apart and explode. Light burst from the eye as it shattered, sending fragments of it everywhere. However, not all the fragments had escaped the vicinity. With a cry of agony, Sophitia held her face as a small shard pierced her eye. Unlike in the previous encounter with the cursed sword, she did not have the distance to dodge the shard that violated her eye. Falling to her knees, Sophitia kept as much as the pain inside as she could, yet the anger and the hatred from the sword's shard made the pain worse.
Cassandra, battered and bruised as she was, still mustered the strength to help her sister. Holding her sister close, Cassandra tried her best to console Sophitia. "Someone get the doctor!" she screamed to the emerging townspeople.
As the survivors began to gather the wounded, the pain in Sophitia's eye subsided long enough to allow her coherent thought. "Cassandra... Rothion... is he...?"
The younger Alexandra looked to his inert form and shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry, Sophie."
When the realization hit her, Sophitia did not want to hold in the pain anymore and began to weep.
*
And suddenly he sat up, breathing heavily. It seemed so real: the beastman with the gigantic sword, the blonde woman and her wound... Who was she, wondered the young man as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. And the beastman? What did it mean?
End of Chapter
Notes: Took a while to finally finish this and I'm pretty pleased with the result... until I look over it a week or two from now and discover that I loathe it. Oh well, what can you do?
Anyway, here's the source of the quote: http://plato.evansville.edu/intro.htm
The quote, itself belongs to Aristotle and the folks who own the copyright. So remember folks, I'm just quoting the great philosopher, all the credit goes to him when the chips are down.
I found this page with information on Greek Weddings. It was helpful to use when I wrote the wedding scene. So, I thank the good folks who made the page and the Greeks for having such a neat culture.
http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/1824/greek.html
Next to last, credit belongs to a friend of mine who helped me come up with the name of this story and the final paragraph of the chapter. So, if you're out there, Enlil, you rock. Also, thank goes out to Nidoking for being so patient to help me make this chapter as well as it could get. If it weren't for him, there'd be a heck of a lot more mistakes.
Lastly; all characters, weapons, and so forth are property of Namco. Always has been, always will be.
