Nightmare ran quickly, despite his heavy armor and labored breathing. He had to get away, now. He knew his pursuers were eager to exact their revenge on him. Fortunately for him, he had a sizable lead, but it would not last long. He had to struggle against bonds of sinew made of people he had murdered and they would not yield.

Nightmare's strength was enough to wear out the cords around his limbs, so he could escape. He eventually was able to break free and gain some distance before they would reform. The eventually fibers returned and his escape was hindered once more.

He was about to break free from his bonds when a hand grasped his ankle. Enraged, Nightmare drew his sword to strike down whoever prevented his escape, but froze in mid-swing. Sophitia emerged from the mire, holding onto his ankle with a vice-like grip. Her left eye and the skin around it were covered with the same cancerous growths that normally covered the Soul Edge. On the brink of tears, she asked quietly. "Why, Siegfried?"

Siegfried, the slave to the Soul Edge, screamed at the sight and fell away. He was unable to get far before being confronted by more shadows. All of them were asking the same question. Escape for him was impossible. Overcome with fear, he cried to the heavens. "Father! Help me!"

He felt something sharp pierce his back and craned his neck to see that he was stabbed by the girl that was with Sophitia. In her hand, the Soul Edge pulsated like a siphon, stealing the life out of him. She answered his previous plea with a cackle. "Silly boy. Your father can't save you, remember?"

To his shame, Siegfried remembered. In a very familiar forest, he had ambushed a group of knights returning from a campaign. Bodies of the soldiers were strewn everywhere after the Schwartzwind cut them down. Siegfried's sword was dirty with the blood of the caravan's captain and the cadaver stared at him from its shallow grave.

"Siegfried, why?" his father asked with confusion and disappointment.

Siefried staggered backward and looked away in shame. He never wanted to acknowledge that he murdered his father. Had he known it was Fredrick, he would have welcomed the world-weary knight with open arms instead with a group of thieves. Nevertheless, the deed was done. He was guilty.

*

Siegfried blinked the sleep out of his eyes. Drying tears gathered around his cheeks and he tried to reach up and wipe them off, but his arms were tied. Shaking the weariness off, he noticed his legs were tied with rope as well. In his younger days, Siegfried would have scoffed at the thought of him being taken prisoner.

Though he expected himself to be in a prison, his surroundings seemed to resemble a library. There was little dust visible in the room, which meant that it was well kept. He noticed a chair by one of the windows and a desk with several opened books on it. Being at the far end of the room, he couldn't see what their contents were.

He tried to break from the cords, but the exhaustion made that impossible. These knots were not going to come apart anytime soon. The more he tried to escape, the more his arms ached. Even his hideously deformed right arm could not break free. He tried to crawl to the window, but found the cords tied to the stone wall behind him.

"Don't bother." A girl's voice spoke in Greek. He was able to understand what was said from his time with the Soul Edge. He turned to see that girl that was with Sophitia walk in with a small bag in her hand.

Judging by the scowl the woman had on her face, he figured it would be best to play dumb. She wasn't the battle-hardened warrior Siegfried was, but she was more than capable of defending herself. He matched her gaze evenly when she took a seat and studied him from across the room. The intelligence he saw in her scrutiny gave him hope. Maybe, he could appeal to her reason to let him go.

"Do you understand me?" She asked in her own tongue. Siegfried cocked an eyebrow, pretending not to understand. The less he let out, the better.

"Wie heissen sie?" she asked in his language.

Blinking in surprise, he replied quickly. "Sprechen sie Deutsch?"

She shrugged a bit. "Klein sprechen. Meine Deutsch ist nicht gut."

"Where did you learn how to speak German?" he asked, reverting to her language.

The girl gestured to the book shelves around her. "It wasn't easy, but sometimes we get German traders coming through here on their way to Athens and I've been able to buy some of their language books." Her voice resumed its volatile tone as she continued. "Now that I know you're not a deaf mute, I ask again, who are you?"

Siegfried's heart beat faster in apprehension. This woman was definitely not the benevolent spirit Sophitia was. She could be hiding a weapon in the bag she brought with her. Being bound, he would be at a disadvantage. "I don't remember..." He replied softly. With any luck, she would believe the fabrication and he'd be out of wherever he was. He should have used his father's name, but a pang of guilt prevented him from shaming Fredrick's name further.

The snarl that soon developed on her face convinced him that he wasn't as good a liar as he thought. Dropping the bag on the desk, she stomped over to his location and kicked him on the side of his head quite viciously. "Don't you dare lie to me, you Rhineland whore spawn! You're Siegfried Schtuaffen. Aren't you?!"

Ignoring the throbbing in his head, he answered slowly. "Would you kill me for it if I was?"

She crossed her arms and continued. "May as well. Everyone in my village would beat the life out of you just before we have you hung, especially after what you did to my sister's wedding three days ago."

Siegfried drew a blank. The most he could remember was feeling that Sophitia was close. However, his memory was cloudy after he had claimed the Soul Edge. Life under its control had been a long and continuous ordeal, with little comprehension of his actions.

He knew his next words would determine if she were to beat him again or worse. Yet, judging by how heavy his soul felt, another beating wouldn't make much difference. "I don't know what you mean... strike me again if it makes you feel better, however I swear to you that I have no clear recollection of the past few days... or years for that matter." He finished whispering below his breath. He looked back to her, wondering if she would believe him, but couldn't discern her face. Siegfried was always used to the fear, anger, or confusion he had seen in others, but never this.

"Cassandra." He heard another voice from the outside whisper, "Is he awake?"

His captor walked to the door and whispered back. "Yes... and I think you may know who this man is."

A feeling of dread surged in Siegfried as the girl named Cassandra continued the conversation just below his hearing. He could not see who was behind the door or why they were speaking so quietly. He figured the reason why Cassandra opened the door and ushered her guest inside quickly was because not everyone knew he was still alive. Maybe Cassandra had made everyone believe that she had already done him in so maybe she could do it herself. As for the visitor, he had little doubt as to who it was.

"Siegfried!" Sophitia cried in shock, which elicited another murderous glare from Cassandra directed at him. To him, she had not changed much, save for her slightly longer hair and more angular face. Then there was the bandage over her left eye. It reminded him of the nightmare he had just awoken from. That must have been what he had done. His mouth suddenly went dry and his voice failed him as she knelt by his side. How could he even begin to try and explain himself?

"By Zeus... Siegfried, what happened?" Sophitia seemed more concerned over the state of his right arm than that of her eye, which surprised Cassandra. She touched his shoulder gently, noticing the skin was as coarse as untended leather. She was disgusted at seeing his arm transformed into a hideous mockery of its original shape, all by the power of the Soul Edge. Almost without thinking, she reached forward to untie him from the ropes. Cassandra was about to protest, but a stern look from her older sister killed the argument before it started.

He hung his head in disgrace as the ropes slowly came loose. "I... didn't listen to you when you tried to warn me about the Soul Edge. I found one of the blades still intact among the remains of the pirate. Then, sword came to life with a flaming body of its own. I defeated it and claimed the sword. However, it turned out that it was just the opposite."

Cassandra blinked, as comprehension had created an answer to an unspoken question. "So you're the Azure Nightmare the travelers always tell us to be wary about."

He turned back to Cassandra with a frown to match hers. "How perceptive of you to notice. Yes, for the past several years I've been living as a puppet of that sword, feeding off the souls of anyone to restore its power under the guise of a nightmarish folktale."

"And what was to happen after the Soul Edge was to be restored? Were you supposed to get something for serving it so well?" Cassandra interrogated.

Siegfried took a breath, wincing from the marks the ropes had left upon him, but continued nonetheless. "It... it was all for avenging my father. I believed that Soul Edge would grant me the power to find and destroy the murderer."

Cassandra sneered. "Well, apparently things didn't go according to plan, did they?"

He matched her look. "How was I supposed to know!? I admit that I have no excuse for what happened, but at the same time only the wielder of that sword can understand what it can do to a person! No one has ever been able to escape its grasp to tell the tale."

Sophitia sighed heavily. "He speaks the truth. During my journeys, I encountered two people from the Far East. Both of them believed the sword to be a weapon of salvation, hoping to save their country from invaders. However, neither one can understand since their perception is based on a lie."

With her arms folded, Cassandra spoke frankly. "That's very nice and all, but that doesn't change that my sister is now blind in her left eye and fourteen people are dead, including her fiancé. All this is because you didn't know better!"

Siegfried was about to respond when he realized what he had just heard. Sophitia was engaged to someone and he had killed the one she loved. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was, but the look of sadness of her face would have made any apology worthless. Trying to tread as carefully as he could, he asked, referring to her eye. "Did this happen while I was under Soul Edge's control?"

Sophitia shook her head. "No. I had destroyed the Soul Edge and thought it was over. However, it exploded and one of the shards pierced my eye. The doctors haven't been able to get it out."

Siegfried, having known the Soul Edge quite well, didn't know what to say. Just when he thought that he was free from the cursed weapon, it had found a way to haunt him once more. It was his nightmare coming true.

Cassandra then hovered over Siegfried and her sister and glared straight into his eyes. "Since you know so much about it, is anything going to happen to my sister?"

Ignoring her gaze, Siegfried continued. "I can only guess. But if the shard was only big enough to enter your eye, then the contamination won't affect much. However, you can never tell, seeing as only a half of the Soul Edge was able to take complete control over me."

Somehow, Siegfried knew Cassandra would react as violently as she did. Between blows, he could see the murder in her eyes. He couldn't blame her, though. If someone he cared for were in peril, he'd lash out at the one responsible as well. Though untied, his strength was insufficient to defend from the Greek's relentless assault accompanied by various curses.

In response, Sophitia restrained her sister and pulled her away with great difficulty. Cassandra's anger would not be denied so easily and she struggled against Sophitia's hold. "Cassandra! Stop it!" she screamed, trying to calm her sister down before her grip was circumvented. The younger Alexandra then gave her a look of incredulity.

"Sophie... I can't believe you! This man practically crippled you and you're willing to forgive him?!"

"I have not forgiven him and I don't know if I can!" The pronouncement shocked them into silence. "Cassandra, please go home. I want to speak with him alone." Sophitia's request and tone made it clear that the discussion was over. Normally, Cassandra would have fought tooth and nail, but seeing the change in her sister convinced her otherwise. Reluctantly, Cassandra nodded, headed for the door and departed, just as quietly as she entered.

With Cassandra gone, Siegfried watched patiently as Sophitia stared towards the window in silence. She would not turn to him and all he could see of her face was the bandages. When she began to speak, he felt venom in her voice he never thought existed.

"I want to hurt you, Siegfried. I want to make you hurt the same way that I'm hurting now. But if I did that then that would make me no better than what you were." She started to quiver as she continued. "I loved him. More than any man I ever knew, Rothion Iakobos was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I would have gladly given my life to save him and knew that he would have done the same for me." She started to sniff and tears started to roll down from her right eye. "You took his life... took him from me. How dare you, Siegfried Schtauffen. HOW DARE YOU!"

He struggled to find a way to apologize, but as he opened his mouth to speak she cut him off as viciously as Cassandra had kicked him. "I wasn't finished! I thought there was something good in that boy I met a long time ago. I wanted to believe that you would know better. I was wrong..." Caught between a tidal wave of rage and sorrow, she collapsed against the wall, sobbing. "For three days I was at the shrine of Eurydice, praying to speak with the gods again. All I was told was to distance myself from their presence because of the Soul Edge's taint. I've been forsaken."

Siegfried remembered her talking about her unusual gift to speak with the gods. He thought her perception to be slightly far fetched, but figured that if they helped her as far as they did, maybe there was a chance that they existed. It went without saying; she no longer had that gift.

"The bag on the desk has bread that can last you a few days. No one will notice if you leave after everyone's gone to bed." She turned to him at last and stared straight into his eyes with her only good one, which was now bloodshot and tear ridden. "Leave this place and never return, Siegfried Schtauffen. You've brought enough sorrow to my home." She stood up and left the room without another word to him.

Siegfried felt the heavy silence around him as time went on. He didn't want this to happen, but nothing could be done. Pushing himself to his feet, he walked to the desk slowly and opened the bag. When he inhaled the aroma of fresh bread, it made him realize just how hungry he was. This bread was to last long enough for him to leave Greece. Yet, he wasn't worried about running out of food. He was resourceful enough to survive in the wilderness, thanks to his time in the Schwartzwind.

For a second, his survival instincts warned him that there may be poison within the bread. Yet, the fact that this bread came in secret from Sophitia made the idea absurd. Besides, if he had been unconscious for the past three days, then they would have done so already. Putting a small piece in his mouth, he savored the taste of the first real food he had for the longest time. As satisfying as the bread was, the taste was marred by the harsh words Sophitia had said earlier.

Siegfried had always considered her as a friend. Now, he felt like he was given an undeserved stay of execution. What mercy she had for him was now spent and if he tarried, she would probably not hesitate to kill him.

Taking a seat by the desk, he leaned backward and watched the sun set slowly in the west. All he could see was the clouds and the ocean around it. Everything else was blocked by the sun's light. Normally, he would have welcomed the sun's warmth, but it seemed colder now. He turned away and sighed heavily at a truth he didn't want to accept. He was alone, again.

*

As Siegfried crept between houses, he shivered at the slight chill that hung in the air. Much to his relief, the heavy tunic he wore would keep him warm and was still in one piece despite his deformed arm. He took a last look at the hamlet that seemed as peaceful as any dream until he came.

Passing the town's exit, he made a mad dash across the path and into the woods nearby. With any luck, the people were already having dinner and ignoring anything going on outside. A part of him wanted to stop, but knew that there was nothing for him here.

Between the shadows of the houses, a robed figure stood silently, watching him leave. Siegfried had moved sooner than the watcher expected. The figure raised an arm to allow a small bird to perch on a finger. Quietly, the figure whispered to it. "The bearer of the Soul Edge has fled. He seems freed from it, yet at the same time, he is still bound to it. Inform the others of this. I shall remain here for a few more days to see what the wounded girl will do." The figure raised its hand and allowed the bird to fly into the night before the figure itself vanished into the darkness.

Back at the Alexandra house, Sophitia leaned against the wall by her bed, listening to the silence. She heard Siegfried's flight out of Cassandra's study and into the night. It was better this way. She could feel vindicated and at the same time, spare him, though Cassandra would argue otherwise. She looked up at the sound of someone knocking on her door. Her younger sister walked in slowly, took a seat across the room, and asked. "Are you sure it was a good idea to let him go?"

She turned away from Cassandra and to the open window. "Yes. I'm sure. We won't see him again." She could almost feel the scowl on Cassandra's face, but ignored it as she watched the shadows define the evening.

"What do you suppose will happen to him, Sophie?"

"I don't know. Either way, it's out of our hands now."

"And what about you? We still have that shard of the Soul Edge to deal with."

Sophitia held a hand to the bandage. Her eye still stung, though the pain was starting to subside. However, what would not subside was the malignant influence the shard held. Siegfried was correct. The shard was starting to affect her. Though she could keep it suppressed, she wondered how long it would be possible. The chances of her becoming another Nightmare were minute, but becoming enslaved to its madness was more likely. Her former acquaintance, Aeon Calcos, was proof enough of that. She had to find help, and a small voice in the back of her head sardonically informed her that she had just banished it. No, there had to be someone else who had knowledge of the Soul Edge.

The Japanese woman, Taki Fuuma, was a possibility. Yet, their companion ship had ended rather sourly. Despite her assistance in defeating Cervantes and removing the shattered Soul Edge pieces from her body the first time, their opinions as to how the sword should be taken care of divided them. So, asking for her help would not be wise. For all she knew, Taki would try and kill her if she figured that Sophitia was a threat.

Going through her experiences with others searching for the Soul Edge, she considered the giant from the New World, Rock. She remembered him telling her about the spirit walkers and the shamans of his people. However, it would take her far too long to gain passage to where the New World colonies were. By then, the Soul Edge would have claimed her.

Finally, she remembered a particular duo from the Far East. One of them, a Chinese woman by the name of Chai Xianghua, if Sophitia remembered correctly, was searching for a weapon that was in theory the anti-thesis of the Soul Edge. If possible, she would have gained some insight to the weapon's corruptive influence by now.

The other was her companion, a young man a few years younger than Sophitia. He wielded a powerful staff and a spiritual artifact that rested over his shoulder. If she had understood Xianghua correctly, he too was tainted by the Soul Edge and was searching for a cure. With any luck, she could learn from him how to remove or even seal the evil for good. Still, she had to find him first and who knows how long that would take.

Coming to a decision, Sophitia spoke calmly. "Cassandra, I'm going to leave within the week. I don't know how long it will take me, but I am going to find a cure for this."

"You realize mother won't like the sound of that. Besides, she never really believed you when you spoke about the Soul Edge. Most of the time you were gone, she thought you were just chasing some silly man to bring home to marry." Cassandra grumbled with a smirk.

Sophitia retorted, holding none of the sarcasm Cassandra did. "And you realize that if I stay here, you may be the first ones to suffer. I don't know how, but the Soul Edge is trying to take control. If it succeeds, then who knows what will happen." She took a small metal charm off her desk and clenched it tightly. She had received it as a present from Rothion before she left the second time. "Too many people have died already. I have to find a way to stop it."

"You know... it could be like poison from a snake. The more you resist the more it spreads. Why not let me go as well? Our chances of survival would be much better."

"I appreciate the offer, Cassandra, but no. Had I not failed the first time, none of this would have happened. I have to do this, for the Gods and all of you."

The younger sister visibly twitched at the mention of Hephaestus, yet restrained herself as she answered. "I don't like it, but I still wish you the best of luck, Sophie." She got up and headed for the door. Sophitia nodded, grateful for the vote of confidence as her sister went through the doorway.

With the door closed behind her, Cassandra reached into her pocket and fingered the triangular piece of metal she had found from the remains of the Soul Edge. It was still hot, yet it wouldn't burn through the cloth of her dress. It was an anomaly to Cassandra. Her sister was alluding that she would again try to destroy the weapon the sword. However, the younger of the two sisters couldn't help but be fascinated by the excitement surrounding it.

In fact, a small voice in Cassandra's mind hoped that the sword would remain intact... for a little while, at least.

End of chapter 2

This chapter was originally going to be the continuation of the ending of chapter one. However, a friend of mine noted that it would be wiser to give an extra chapter to what's going on here rather than go to a completely, and at present, unrelated point of view. At least I got some pages done in the third chapter so it may not take as long to write it.

There was also going to be a short scene from Siegfried's past, around the time period that Soul Edge took place in, but it seemed far too out of place for this chapter. But I do have an idea where I can put it.

The hardest part of this chapter was going through it several times to make sure that I got all the grammatical mistakes, continuity errors, and so on. In fact, I think I may have to go through this again in case I need to fix it up some more. After all, my skill as a writer is mediocre at best.

Well, you've wasted a good five minutes reading my story and I'm sad to say that we don't give out refunds. All I can say is that I hoped you've enjoyed it and with any luck, the next chapter will be out soon.