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Soul Caliber II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Three: The Shards of the Forsaken Swords
The initial blow of their weapons was followed by both of them retreating a distance from one another, the first strike giving them the opportunity to size up their other. There was a tense silence as Cassandra and this boy, Link, circled one another. She took notice rather quickly that the sword he wielded seemed to emit a positive aura similar to the one that of the Kali-Yuga and Krita-Yuga. It wasn't likely that he was a servant of what remained of the Soul Edge if his soul permitted he use such a weapon, however it still left the question as to why he was there.
Cassandra stood ready before her opponent, her weapons held tightly in her hands, the wind coming from the unbarred balcony blew her short cut hair slightly. He had forced his way inside and his intentions were something that she had no time to inquire, she had to defeat him first. The strange swordsman reinforced his stance as he brought up his sword keeping his right hand at his side free while his left held his sword. He narrowed his eyes as he prepared himself, at this point he was completely absorbed in the battle and felt he was one with the area around him.
Sophitia Alexandra moved up the stairs to the gallery as softly as she could and looked out from behind one of the pillars towards the two opponents. She gave a sigh of relief at the sight of her sister's confirmed health, but felt her jaw lower in confusion as she spotted the intruder's ears. This of course brought about several thoughts which raced around her mind without regard for her inability to keep up. She had heard of beings with long ears in fairy tales and such but never suspected they were real, the only difference was that he was not an imp or anything.
She held onto the Omega Sword and Elk Shield rather tightly, prepared to jump out if the fight progressed to her sister needing any help. Maxi meanwhile stood across from her already prepared with one of his nunchaku, which he called Soryuju. Kilik had moved past Sophitia as well and grasped his staff. Both of them were just waiting for the stranger to turn his back, but Sophitia would not allow her group to perform such underhanded tactics and demanded that they allow Cassandra to fight.
Xianghua had managed to sneak around a secret passage and found herself standing behind the pillars on the other side of the room, if she stepped out the younger sister would see her. She was concerned for Cassandra's safety as much as the next person. It wasn't every day that somebody possessed the skill to plow through over a dozen armed soldiers without killing a single one, or even draw much blood. She was ready to stab him in the back if he dared to harm Sophitia's sister, but had to admit as she watched him go into stance once again that he truly was more powerful than he looked. If she was one to place her money on game, she would be dropping her coins against Cassandra.
Cassandra suddenly moved forward in a stepping leap bringing her blade down hard, she then suddenly reversed it swinging it upwards hoping to catch him off guard. The elf was quick to react pushing his sword down parallel to the ground holding his free hand against the blade. The Alpha Sword smashed hard against the flat side of the elven's sword being stopped where it was, the elf took this to his advantage and moved hard to the right moving around Cassandra to bring up his knee to be pushed into her side sending her back, he then jumped swinging the sword down hard as if performing a killer blow.
Cassandra as expected brought up her shield to protect which it did, the blade hit the middle of the circular shield but didn't recoil it just stopped. Such a signal ment that he was not playing around and she was prepared to draw blood until she noticed that it was the flat of the blade that was against her shield. Her anger flashed at the thought of being played with. The swordsman narrowed his eyes and murmured before jumping back just in time to dodge one of Cassandra's swipes.
Cassandra went back on the offensive moving forward quickly to swing in a series of strong swipes, but it all proved to be for nothing. Each and every last one of the stronger ones were blocked by the longer sword and each of the weaker swung counters were slapped away by the leather gauntlet. She then swung near his head which was blocked as well, she then moved quickly smashing her foot into the back of the elf's heel dropping him onto his back. The shield struck the ground first in an echoing metal call, the others could almost feel the pain of it.
The boy landed on his back and quickly moved right as Cassandra attempted to kick him, possibly break a few ribs and incapacitate him for questioning. The boy moved back however and threw out both his hands and was back on his feet after a quick flip, his sword was still held in his hand and he was ready for more. He smiled as he taunted Cassandra to move forward his back now to the balcony's edge.
Cassandra felt her proud nature taking over as she suddenly ran at him without regard for where he was standing. That is when he made his move. He suddenly went down and dodged moving in a quick semi-circle around Cassandra to end up at her back side. The young Athenian hardly saw this but didn't have time to defend as the edge of the sword was pushed to her back. The elf's free hand rested on her shoulder ready to pull her into the slash that could easily be put through the flesh of her back. This was a sure death situation, as with a sharp push and pull he'd cut into her spinal column.
The biting of the blade never came however as he stepped back sheathing his sword thought he never released her shoulder. "Any blows that are put towards your ego hope to achieve such a scenario, it is a cheap yet effective technique. Don't you think?" he questioned in a rather friendly tone. Kilik had to admit he was impressed, this warrior was easily in complete control of his body and very light on his feet. Cassandra however wasn't going to be bested as she suddenly moved pulling away from him, but hadn't counted on the slickness of the floor.
Cassandra's footing was lost and she tumbled towards the edge, the boy however quickly stepped forward catching her by her arm before she could fall off the edge of the balcony. It would have been a short fall as there was a circling terrace below, but it was likely that she would have still been hurt significantly if not killed. Forgetting her pride, Cassandra quickly scrambled back onto her feet falling forward to grip him close very shocked by that close brush with death. She had dropped both her weapons on the floor so the elf had no fear in holding her back as if trying to comfort her. Cassandra just breathed feeling that somehow she could trust that he was not her enemy.
Cassandra had little time to enjoy the embrace when suddenly somebody else came running from the boy's right. The elf looked as Maxi rushed him swinging hard with the nunchaku, the boy was swift to grab the buccaneer's weapon by the other end then twisted around hard pulling the weapon free. Link then grabbed him around his arm with it. Maxi grunted before he was turned loose to stumble off to the side, he looked back at the elf. At first he was annoyed, but then cracked a grin, it reminded him of when he and Kilik first met. He was confident that they didn't need to fear anything he was willing to do, otherwise he would not have helped their leader's sibling.
The young man leaned forward placing his hands on his knees looking at both the blushing Cassandra and the grinning Maxi. He slowly stood back to his feet and crossed his arms rather seriously "Have I earned your attention yet?" He snapped angrily knowing there were others in the room.
Cassandra looked at Maxi, he nodded in response "Yeah I think so. I sure hope this is worth our time though." The boy looked at Maxi with a stare that could halt death in his cursed tracks. Something was beginning to tell Maxi that this guy was not just another chariot chaser or seeker of recognition, he possessed the eyes of a warrior born.
"I know just how serious the White Wind is and how uninteresting a stranger requesting audience must be to you. You cannot walk through this city without hearing just how many have come and failed to win your approval." he explained. The swordsman allowed his arms to drop before he turned his head toward the pillars that Kilik and Sophitia were hiding behind "You can come out now. I come in peace." he stated.
Both of them were a little surprised that he could sense them, without much hesitation Sophitia, and Kilik both came out of hiding. Xianghua stepped out from her hiding spot as well upon seeing the actions of her lover and the group's leader. Link looked up and saw Sophitia and his eyes seemed to go wide in surprise for a mere second as he noticed the resemblance, but he quickly shook it off. He knew that he couldn't allow such things to get in the way of the mission and he couldn't allow them to catch wind of what was happening.
Cassandra looked at him and gave a nod of respect "Uh Thanks. But who exactly are you?" she asked him very interested. The boy nodded back "As I said before. My name is Link. I hail from the land far to the West. To be simple I have come to find the Soul Edge..." This was the part that all of White Wind always looked for. Was he after it to possess it, destroy it, lock it away, give it away, use it for patriotic reasons. The reasons for people on this quest seemed endless. Link raised as hand as he spoke before he angrily closed it into a tight fist "...Then destroy it. The chaos it brings has caused far too much pain to be ignored." He stated with narrowed eyes. This was a good thing to the White Wind, he realized it was evil.
Sophitia spoke up "It won't be an easy task. Soul Edge has somehow pulled out of death several times, even after being shattered by a sword of equal power." Link nodded as he reached back placing a hand on his sword.
"Let me worry about that. What I heard was..." he was about to speak when Maxi cut in.
"Just, where did you say you were from?." he said this crossing his arms, looking at the elven with suspicion. Kilik and the others looked as well, Maxi was like they're navigator and knew what most of the world looked like by landscapes and surroundings.
Link ran a single hand through his hair before speaking "No place that you've traveled I'm sure, otherwise you'd be able to pry your eyes from my ears. I don't believe your people really know of my home, to be honest most of the known world is a mystery to me." The boy explained as if he had stated it several times before. Being that he had been traveling the world, it was obvious that he had indeed had to explain his abnormalities.
Sophitia crossed her arms before looking hard into his eyes "Fair enough. Still I must know, what is your story? Many a strong soul have fallen under the blade's influence, what makes you think that you are worthy of hunting after the Soul Edge shards?" She questioned like the hardened warrior one would have expected her to have become considering all the stories.
The young man leaned against one of the pillars before speaking "Apparently this Evil Seed I keep hearing about was what sent three shards of the first sword, the Soul Blade our way. This caused a great deal of political unrest, but seven years ago we were preoccupied with other more pressing problems. Know what I mean?"
Xianghua nodded to Link as she flashed back on the problems in China's royalty "Yes. We know of the shards effects on the living, they bring out the darkest parts of people and the influence of the shards leads them into the hands of higher up political personal." Kilik smiled lightly, it had been a well thought answer.
Kilik spoke as he leaned against his own pillar, the Kali-Yuga resting against his shoulder "We have connections to other warriors of great skill all over the known world. Working together we have managed to gather several of the Soul Edge's shards. One of our comrades claims that according to what she witnessed there could be anywhere between twenty and fifty pieces of various size and power. We've collected about seven. The stronger ones are the hardest to find and obtain however, considering that they manipulate their way into the hands of the strongest warriors they can find."
Link looked at him and seemed to narrow his eyes rather angrily "You're only half right, Kilik." he said simply. His voice carried a tone of knowing and indignation at the comparison of the swords, as if one was worse than the other.
Kilik looked at him opening his eyes as he did so "What do you mean?"
Link looked out the window for a few brief seconds then looked back to Sophitia "How many shards of the Soul Edge did you say you hold?" he asked.
Sophitia thought for a second "When you consider everybody in the group we possess about seven." Link looked at her about to speak when Maxi cut in again.
"They seem to have been targeting the strongest of warriors the world over. When they fell they seemed to be ordinary shards of metal, but when they came in contact with us they gave off the glow of the other shards. Yet nothing happened. We can only assume we cannot be effected because of the trials and encounters we've had with the sword." Link shook his head once again.
Cassandra stepped up to Link placing a hand on his shoulder feeling the cotton of the tunic "Could you explain what you mean? What is your theory." Link nodded to the Cassandra, she looked his age from what he saw. Link crossed his arms as they all looked at him.
"It isn't a theory. It is an acquired fact. The shards of the Soul Edge don't target political targets so they can cause social or political unrest. They do it because they know that rumors will spread and somebody will find out about this treasure that somebody of power holds. Starting wars and unrest is just another way to attract those that make their living off of combat. Great warrior usually only want more. And the shards exchange whatever gifts they can for the soul." Link said with seriousness in his voice. He knew what he was talking about.
Kilik stepped away from the wall and stepped over to him "So these things take control of anybody that they come in contact with as long as their soul is weak enough to be effected by the temptations." Link looked at Kilik thinking over what occurred in his country.
"No, not just anybody. I think it will only actually try to gain control if it believes the host is suitable. Otherwise it will remain dormant until it is passed on to somebody with reasonable technique or ability. One such as that would clearly have a powerful soul." Link stepped away removing something from the pocket of his shirt, the writing on the small note pad was illegible to them "I've been taking notes of what I heard and what the three oracles in my country told me, about where I could start looking for the shards and eventually the sword itself."
They all listened intently as he began reading from the small pad of paper "I've traveled a long way to get here and have been hearing a lot about the shards of the sword and those who seek them. While many of the shards indeed slipped away to find suitable targets of their own, a number of them rejoined with the sword to keep it from slipping into nothingness." Xianghua looked up suddenly.
"Your information is wrong, I remember seeing that sword fall into the abyss of the void. The gap between our world and the next, the shards might have slipped out along with me, but the sword itself is gone for good." Xianghua explained. Nobody noticed how Link's hand clinched sharply at the mention of the void and how these people had somehow made their way inside.
Link looked at her intensely before speaking "You must trust me. I don't care what you did or what you think you did, the master of the Soul Edge that you call the Azure Nightmare is very much alive and in control of a collection of the shards. The Soul Edge is also still in existence. Many a notable warrior have been gaining hold of these shards and then vanishing from their homes, correct? Where do you think they are ending up?" he questioned.
Silence seemed to grip the group as they discussed this and were beginning to realize if the core of the Soul Edge had been truly destroyed there would be no way for the shards to continue drawing energy from it. Link then began to explain how sword of the soul or the spirit tend to share a bond of energy even after being shattered and that if the core were seperated in something as distant as the void the shards would have died off. It was soon agreed that chances were that Nightmare had been spit from the void as well. Otherwise the shards would not be able to so easily manipulate the mortals that were foolish enough to place their hands upon them.
Sophitia was beside herself as she heard that Nightmare was still alive, the possibility of gaining another chance of granting him salvation had gripped her mind almost at once. She would get another chance to free Siegfried from the control of that accursed sword and his own demons. However, this was not entirely good. She had stopped having visions long ago and considering how long the shards had been working their evil, Nightmare must have returned to the Black Wind by now. His return would have been with demands of rebuilding and he would surely come back stronger than before, not just the leader of a bunch of angered warriors in exile.
Cassandra looked at Link thoughtfully, able to see that something was chewing on the back of his mind as he closed his eyes as if looking back on something "So are you going to go with us to seek the Soul Edge?" she asked. Link nodded silently at the question "Then are you returning to your home, Link?" she asked. Link looked up about to speak, but then looked back down silencing himself, hoping to take their minds off of this he reached behind his back removing something from the pack under his shield.
They all gazed with amazement as he removed a large chunk of the Soul Edge, the shard pulsed with a red glow like a heart beat sent out by the main sword. Link sneered as he looked at the piece of ominous metal "To think such a small thing can cause my home such misery. Such a small, pathetic thing as common as a piece of metal can cause me to go to this extent." he said as he placed it on the floor before them. Cassandra took it then placed a hand on his shoulder "What did happen in your country Link?"
Next Chapter: Story of the Swordsman
(Voice of Link)
What other choice do I have but to tell the members of the White Wind exactly what happened to my home when the shards of the Soul Edge fell from the sky and began taking hold of my friends? What other choice do I have but to tell them exactly what I am doing here and what my end goals are? What other choice do I have but to tell them of my sacrifice I have made for the honor of defending my country? I haven't any other choice...I never did.