Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Caliber, Tekken or any of it's characters. They all belong to NAMCO. I don't own anybody from the Zelda Series they belong to Nintendo. I do not own Spawn or Necrid either, Todd McFarlane does. And if you want the copyright info on the Original Characters it is in my profile.
Authors Note: I have started college so updating will be a little more random than before. Sorry guys but life is a constant pest to a genius like me.
Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Forty-One: An Unworthy Death
The first day back at sea had gone relatively well as the Nightwraith and the Eternal Wind had managed to get away from the coast of England without incident and were now headed towards the mainland. Following the way that the Soul Calibur's last master had pointed out to them they found themselves heading for Germany, Siegfried's homeland and where the Soul Edge was shattered. The ships had been pretty silent and some of the group was concerned about Cassandra and Talim, both of which had altogether stopped speaking. It was understandable. With a two day trip between countries they would be scanning the coast by the next night. For the shard...and Link.
It was night and many of the group had taken their slumber after lowering the sails and anchoring the ship in the middle of the sea, ready to pick up their journey the next day. Many of them were exhausted from the emotional and physical pain they had suffered from the last battle and many found sleep easy to achieve. Cassandra possessed no such luck and sleep eluded her. It was as simple as that. Fear of her dreams kept the younger of the Alexandra sisters distracted from sleep and she felt no urge to take her slumber as an urge had burned her fatigue away. She wanted to take up and try Link's sword.
The howling wind blew over the deck of the Eternal Wind as they hung in the middle of the sea anchored to the unseen rocks below. Cassandra closed the door behind her and stood there in the wind for a few seconds a few strands of her hair falling around her eyes. Slowly the longer sword was drawn from its housing and brought to her side as she attempted to imitate Link's basic stance, lacking a shield it wasn't much. The Master Sword was indeed heavier than her own and she had to compensate for the extra foot or two on the blade as well. She gave it one swing through the air attempting to get a feel for the longer blade before she began a basic Athens Style kata.
Every swing came with excellent power, every thrust was with a punishing force and every twist was with polished grace...but every maneuver and every swipe took its tool on Cassandra's energy as she could not effectively perform the maneuvers and keep graceful without wearing on her strength. She discovered this through tension in her wrist and fatigue in her arm, both coming after her amateur attempts at wielding the sword. She murmured a curse as she replaced it in its sheath "Maybe I should let Yunsung use it." she breathed wondering if she could entrust it to another as Link had entrusted it to her.
She began to walk back inside feeling disappointed in herself when a voice spoke up from the shadows "The Athenian style revolve around speed, not strength. You cannot so easily incorporate such a weapon into the style, you need to adjust your practice first." Cassandra looked up to see Siegfried standing there in the doorway with a standard looking double edged sword at his side "Siegfried...I'm not worthy either." she said as she attempted to step by before Siegfried suddenly snatched her arm and twisted her to look at him. He didn't look very pleased.
He looked at her hard and long clearly disappointed in her short lived attempts "So your just going to give up and pass along something that was specifically entrusted to you? Are you really so weak that you don't know how to improvise? Are you sure you are Sophitia's younger sister?" he asked her oblivious that he had been aiming at a tense nerve. Cassandra growled as she pulled her arm away and slapped Siegfried hard across the face sending him lightly to the side "I am not my sister!" she shouted angrily at him before realizing that he wouldn't know what she had put up with.
Siegfried lightly rubbed his cheek before looking at her, she began to break down "I'm sorry...its just people are constantly expecting me to follow every move that she has made in life. Wanting me to be the perfect lady and such..." she gave a huff as she cut herself off. Siegfried chuckled before stepping out onto the deck "While such a role may work for your sister, but to be honest it really doesn't suit you. Your determination is a fire that has seems to have been lost in the last few days. You say your not worthy? Why is that?." he said looking at the Master Sword.
Cassandra placed her hand on the hilt looking down on it her chin being pointed toward her chest as she looked down "I shouldn't be using it. I have no experiance using a full length sword I don't have the proper training or skill to properly..." Siegfried cut her off as he raised one hand to his forehead rubbing slightly as if under stress.
"Worth is not measured by what kind of training you have, it is measured by what kind of person you are. If Link didn't think you were worthy I'm sure he would not have left you a sword that gives the Soul Edge pain. Do you want to take a wild guess on what my style is Cassandra?" he asked her. Cassandra flashed back as much as she could to the days they were heading for England, during the time that Siegfried had spared with her sister, Kilik and Xianghua with both the sword he carried now and the Requiem.
Cassandra looked up and admitted that she had no clue who taught him "Nobody taught me a thing about the blade." Cassandra looked up shocked, for one to train himself and get so far in the trade he had selected was unheard of. Siegfried stepped forward "Determination means everything in a battle, without determination you cannot even pick up a knife much less a sword. I want you to stop doubting yourself and stop blaming yourself...Link wanted you to hold this sword in his place." Cassandra looked down at the sapphire blue handle of the sword disappointed in herself.
Cassandra then looked up before speaking "Alright Siegfried you win...but it isn't like I know where to start. I'm sure you had other people to mimic when you were still training with that big blade of yours." Siegfried lightly raised a hand to his chin before speaking "Well you obviously have no intention of going back to sleep so I will teach you what I can. I suppose I owe Sophitia that much." he said before drawing his own sword. Cassandra didn't know how to feel about this but slowly drew the Master Sword again this time taking it in both hands instead of just one. Nodding her head Siegfried stepped towards her lowering his own sword slowly, Cassandra thrust the Master Sword up...
The suns first rays caught the side of Cassandra's vision as she stepped forward and took another swing with the Master Sword. Everything had been going up and down the last six hours as Siegfried volunteered his time to teach her how to use the sword which started off with sparring to see what she knew off instinct. He then taught her a few other maneuvers which she became accustomed to very quickly, she learned how to block and slowly began pulling together her own style. Now it was down to a simple goal trying to get through Siegfried's defense.
The Master Sword went through the air pushing Siegfried's sword out of the way before she attempted a strike at his chest, he moved back and attempted to push her blade down. Being fair with his right arm he kept his strength in lower amounts enough for her to recover from, Cassandra let out another shout as she pushed up and then struck Siegfried's blade up and then moved hard grabbing his wrist with one hand and placing the flat of the Master Sword against his bear chest. Cassandra breathed deeply pretty tired after nearly and hour. Siegfried nodded to her before she released his wrist.
Cassandra sat on the edge of the railing the glistening sweat dripping freshly off her forehead as the sun signaled the start of a new day "I can't believe I learned so much in one night..." she murmured. Siegfried put his sword away before speaking in his ever serious tone "You place your self doubt aside and allowed your determination to burn. Your original style was required correct?" he questioned remembering that Sophitia and Cassandra had both been taught long before she was sent on her first hunt for Soul Edge.
Cassandra nodded to the question "Yeah, but I wanted to be more like my sister back then, so it wasn't like I didn't want to learn. Siegfried I have a question if you don't mind me asking, why are you so against Yunsung using the blade?" she asked him which caused him to pace around, a sign he was trying to put his thoughts to less insulting words.
Siegfried finally spoke after a few seconds of pondering "Hong Yunsung's arrogance combined with the Master Sword's power would only end up getting him killed. I sat down with Sophitia and Kyle the other night and got everybody's stories. His is the most pathetic. He is here searching for the Soul Edge because some Korean hero doesn't recognize him. While most would train harder or do more he goes and makes it personal. He sets out after the one goal one of the worlds most seasoned warriors could not achieve. The Soul Edge. Sad isn't it?" he said looking out over the ocean.
Cassandra looked with him now able to see what Sophitia always saw in him. He was very deep and complicated as well as blunt and to the point but it wasn't like he didn't have a heart. Truly Yunsung was not worthy to wield the Master Sword not if he was going to be using it for his own personal gain, the only purpose it would serve under her would be to strike Arus'Nei down. Siegfried eventually headed back inside "The others can have the day. I'm going to sleep." he said before heading inside. Cassandra followed knowing she'd have to thank him by developing what she had learned until the blade was put into true use.
Once again the winds were there to aid the seekers as they found themselves approaching the mainland as the sun began to sink slowly into the west. Siegfried could tell without effort that it was the coastline of Germany, the country side never changed and neither did the ports which could be seen as they pulled in. It was another nameless port that Siegfried knew he had probably visited at some point during his existence as a mercenary, but the buildings and people would all be faded memories of a carefree life he couldn't just pick up on.
As the ships pulled into port and they tossed their ropes overboard to the awaiting men who worked they set their sites to the future. Once Xianghua got herself together she would be able to scan the country side for the next shard and probably whatever was left of Link. The groups all gathered outside as Xianghua and Kilik remained on the Eternal Wind, relocating the energy of the Soul Calibur required both room and patience. Other mortal energies near Xianghua would cause some interference in her meditation, so the others left save for Kilik whom stayed there in interest of her safty.
Cassandra was very nervous. She had watched Link fall from that cliff and really wasn't sure if she could just look for body his body and the shard. Everybody was silent, not a word was spoken as they waited for Xianghua's deduction on where to head. Eventually there were foot steps on the gang plank as the two of them descended onto the dock to join them, Yunsung quickly asked what everybody else was thinking. Xianghua looked at the ground before speaking "Somebody has the shard." everybody looked up at Xianghua in shock "It has been moving. The signal is well over thirty miles away from here by now." she announced.
Almost in unison everybody questioned how it could have possibly gotten so far away in such a short amount of time. Xianghua held up her hands screaming that she didn't know managing to keep the focus off of her and on their own thoughts. Mitsurugi looked back towards the town which was quite large and took notice that there were a few buildings that had been damaged somehow "This place is a fairly large town, it would be wise to take a look around and see if anybody saw anything suspicious. There is a great number of possibilities to what could have happened so lets ask around." everybody agreed.
Taki looked up over the town before speaking able to see there was a residential area nearby "I suppose we're going to have to give chase on whoever has the shard either way, Mitsurugi and I will go and secure some horses for the group. Maxi and Kilik should try and make a deal with the docks proprietor." the named few nodded in agreement. While the likes of Sophitia and Mitsurugi owned their own horses the rest of the group normally took their time to rent them in towns when they needed to get over distances.
Sophitia Alexandra spoke up next "Me, Siegfried and Raphael will go to the south end of town and gather supplies for both ourselves and the crew that will stay with the ship. Somebody should go over to the merchant's district and see if they can find anybody who knows anything about the Soul Calibur shard. With any luck one might have sold it as a washed up trinket." Cassandra instantly nodded her head saying that she'd make the trip, Mina stepped up placing her hand on Cassandra's shoulder "Me and Kyle will go with her. I don't trust the looks of this place." she pointed out. With this said they left.
Kilik leaned against a pole that came up from the floor of the dock and lightly breathed "Cassandra's mind is wandering." he murmured to himself. Xianghua looked back obviously hearing and understanding his words, he continued "Cassandra is holding on to any possibility that the man in possession of the shard is the same man that brought it here. She is balancing her mind and spirit on the line that falls between being hopeful and being delusional." Xianghua looked up as well watching the three groups wander off.
Drake and Talim sat on the sides of the Nightwraith as they had been traveling with the Four Blades once again to save room onboard the Eternal Wind. Yunsung had been sending glares at Drake ever since the mansion, he and Talim were still reflecting on their earlier days and it seemed that every time Talim laughed Talim would send him a glare of ice. It was obvious the Korean didn't trust him do to the relationship he and Talim shared. He needed to get suspicion off his back, but he knew his time was running out.
He somehow had to secure that box or at least capture a few shards of the Soul Edge. So far it was a no go as Sophitia, Taki or Siegfried constantly had control of that box when the ship was docked. He knew he couldn't possibly please them with only one shard, it wouldn't have been enough after over two months of being away. The original plan was one month for one shard, he'd have to do better or else they might catch thought he had almost betrayed them. He knew that he would have to make his move soon, before they decided to sever their bargain.
The merchant's district was absolutely nothing like Cassandra had expected, she couldn't blieve the amount of damage to several of the buildings as she walked through the small port town, trailing behind were Kyle and Mina both were also curious as to how the area was so busted up. Holes were punched into the sides of buildings, there was evidence of small fires that had burned out and everybody seemed to be working towards repairing the buildings and anything else that could be fixed in the area. The energy of the air was thick in the areas where the damage was worse and oddly enough the Master Sword seemed to pulse in its sheath in response. They soon found what they were looking for: The city's local trade station which sold and bought most anything that could be considered worthy of a price. Mina was confident that any propriater of such a place would feel no guilt in robbing a dead man on the shore line, especially if in his eyes it was just a piece of metal. The theory that a traveler had perhaps purchased it of found it himself and then moved deeper into Germany was the theory they were following. Should that be the case a little information would spare Xianghua from stretching her mind and senses to their limits to track it down.
"I saw nothing of the sort!" the shop keeper responded as he was asked such a thing. It wasn't the response they had expected for inquired about the Soul Calibur shard, but he seemed pretty irritable as he was repairing a fist sized hole on the side of the wall. As the hammer struck another nail the proprietor looked back at them "I only sell weapons, armor and traveling goods. I don't buy traveler's trinkets or jewelry, you want that you can go forty miles to west. Ostenburg is your best bet for something like that." he said before hammering in another nail.
Cassandra breathed before she thought of something else just as the man prepared another nail "Tell me sir, did you by chance see anybody wearing strange cloths. Somebody that had long, pointed ears." the man gasped and in reaction brought the hammer down on his hand. He fell back swearing in German as Mina stepped forward asking if he was alright, he only shot all three of them a piercing glare "You know that forsaken demon that did all of this to our town?! Get the Hell out of my store!!" he demanded wielding the hammer as if it was a weapon.
Kyle stepped forward holding up his hands as if to ward off the blow wanting to confirm that it wasn't either this shadow Yunsung spoke of or one of the Black Wind's two mages "Wait?! Can you tell us what he looked like. If there is a chance our friend is alive, he wouldn't have done this." the shopkeeper shrugged as he admitted that he wasn't around when all of it went down. He explained that a traveling fighter had been in the town when a demon stepped from the coast and ended up in a pretty unmatched fight with the townspeople. "The fighter chased the demon off but was wounded, he is recooperating at the Inn. Now unless you plan on buying anything please go, I have work to do." he said. They thanked him and left.
Along the way across town to the rather well financed Inn the group ran into Taki's group who all seemed to be getting the horses. They quickly made arrangements to meet outside town being that after a fight recently broke loose they were on the look out for suspicious looking people. The kind of diversity that was among the group made it clear that it wouldn't be easy to get everywhere in the world. The three agreed to Taki's terms and moved on towards the building where this warrior was apparently recovering.
"We'd like to meet the man who defended this town." Mina said as sweetly as she could to the Innkeeper who told them that he was staying in the room up the stairs and to the left. With this information they headed up and Mina knocked on the door, a voice spoke up asking what they wanted. "We want to ask you about the one that you fought." she replied. The voice gave a deep sigh as if he truly didn't have time for such nonsense and then begged them entrance. Kyle had figured that the town had wished to reward whoever had been gutsy enough to take on a demon that had done such damage. Of course when he saw the man he was anything but happy. "You?!"
The amazing shape despite the late age, the gauntlets that rested on the small table and the abnormal hair style gave him away almost at once to the Korean who went for his blade, his hawk jumping from his shoulder. The old man who had been standing next to the windows, his wounds covered by bandages raised his first despite the fact they lacked their armor prepared to fight. Mina brought up her weapon "Kyle! What are you doing?!" she half shouted at him. Kyle narrowed his eyes at the old man "This is the crooked old bastard that attacked me in India." he growled. Mina looked at the nameless old man who huffed lightly.
The old man lowered his hands before explaining himself "I apologize if you took that personally, but when you indulge yourself in the art of fighting, become my age and have achieved so much you tend to seek out worthy challenges. It was a friendly contest, I had no intention on it being such a blow to your ego." Cassandra looked at Kyle reinforcing Mina's wishes. He slammed his blade back into his sheath as Silverbolt dropped to perfect on one of the warrior's removed gauntlets. "Just who the hell are you?" Kyle murmured figuring he should know the name of this conflict hunter.
The old man sat down on the mattress before speaking "My name is Heihachi, if it is any of your business. I am what some would call a nomad. I live and thrive in the world that is combat, I seek out a worthy challenge. To estimate myself among this world and the next." he said with a great amount of pride. Kyle had never heard of him but had learned of his power first hand "By the looks of you, it seems that you lack one notch on those things. Care to tell us about it?" he said looking towards the gauntlets that Silverbolt perched on.
The old man revealed as Heihachi took a seat back on the mattress rubbing his side, another hand lightly running across the hawk's head showing he ment no harm "Yes the one that I fought with in the trader's street. Not only was he a gifted fighter but he was far beyond human limits. It is amazing how it all happened. One moment he is walking through the streets, I noticed him and payed his abnormalities no mind. The people around me however attacked him thinking he was some sort of a demon. He defended himself." he rubbed his side "If you were down there you probably noticed the damage. I managed to chase him off but amazingly not a single life was lost in his rampage." he explained.
Cassandra stepped forward her mind blown by what all had been said and she drew the Alpha Sword "Cut to it old man! What was so abnormal about him? What coaxed the villagers into attacking him?!" she demanded. Heihachi raised a hand pushing down the blade that was before him "Calm yourself child. If you must know the differences I could spot were a pair of ears, they were long and pointed outward. A strange power emanated around him, it gave a very ominous feeling, then there were those eyes. I have never seen such piercing eyes in all my life." he breathed out. Cassandra breathed as the eyes were brought up "Arus'Nei." she murmured before she just turned and left.
Kyle turned around lightly "Cass...what was that all about?" he questioned. Heihachi stood to his feet stepping back over to the window looking out over the streets "It has been a long time since I was young so I really cannot determine that. This creature was clearly not of this world. If your going to give chase he went south towards the mountain region. You might want to start there." he said raising a hand to shoo them out of the room. Mina nodded her thanks before leaving. Kyle looked back before he moved to leave but was halted by the old man's demanding voice.
Kyle Strife turned to look over his shoulder at the man "I don't have time for a rematch old timer." he said but then noticed the man approaching him. The man out stretched a hand and drew the Oblivion half way from its sheath stopping just as Kyle hand gripped his in protest. He spoke "When you draw this blade or so much as place your hand on it, I feel an updraft of energy within you. Something remains missing however, like a sword without a hilt or a horse without a saddle." Heihachi released the blade "Never mind. Please be on your way." hesitantly a confused Kyle left. Heihachi gave a light smile, the existence of such people in a world that would eventually go soft was refreshing
Around an hour later Cassandra and company found themselves just on the rocky outskirts of the town where the others had also completed their own chores. Stephan, Michael, Jack and Naoyuki would be remaining with the ships was always there to keep the dock workers from trying to pawn them off after a two weeks time. Taki had collected five extra horses for the group while Sophitia and Mitsurugi had their own at their disposal. Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi were still restocking the ship with supplies and Sophitia, Siegfried and Raphael were getting any tools they might need in their travels. Maxi had actually decided to follow them this time and was busy preparing his things as he had hardly left the ship. His only goal was Astaroth. He didn't care about the Black Wind or Soul Edge, he just wanted the creature that destroyed his crew so long ago.
While the group awaited the arrival of the two trios Cassandra and company had explained to them what they had learned and they were left attempting to figure out what it ment. "It could be that male mage from Link's mentioned, the one traveling with the Black Wind." Talim said recollecting just a fragment of the information Link had brought with him. A number of them nodded including the Four Blades who had also heard of the two sorcerers under Nightmare's control. Cassandra breathed as it kept coming back to mentioning Link's name, Taki took notice and shook her head in pity of the poor girl.
It wasn't long before another voice spoke up, surprisingly it wasn't Cassandra that had a positive message for the group "This goes against my nature but I believe it is Link himself." everybody turned to face Kyle who stood next to one of the horses brushing the dust off its fur "After all I've heard you can never make a prediction with that man." he explained. Drake took a breath "No offense to you but that isn't possible. He did take it in the stomach after all, no mortal could have survived that kind of wound. Much less falling into the...Ah!" there was a sharp snapping sound as Drake was sent slamming into the grass. Everybody looked up as Drake was silenced.
Cassandra stood over him now with the heel of her boot pushing hard into his chest "SHUT UP!" she screamed before stepping off "Stop forcing it on us!" she screamed at him. Drake reached up holding a hand over his chest which felt like it had been struck with a hammer, Cassandra breathed as she regained her composure and then stepped away from Drake as he forced himself to his feet. He spoke sour towards the emotional Athenian "Forgive me for being blunt but come back to the real world!" everybody was surprised at Drake attitude. He stood up and stepped away from the group clearly angry, they allowed him to leave. It was best to separate his negative thought from Cassandra.
Desperate to change the subject before Cassandra lashed out again, Yunsung protested "I don't think it was one of Link's kind." everybody looked at him "I mean this old guy only said pointed ears, right? It doesn't mean it isn't just another that was too weak to control the Soul Edge." everybody nodded at this figuring it possible. Talim agreed with Yunsung "Something like that poor creature we fought in the middle east. He had astonishing power beyond anything I've ever seen." she said. The Four Blades nodded remembering.
"I say that it is none other than Arus'Nei!" everybody looked up as Cassandra made her declaration. Yunsung and Talim both questioned who she spoke of, Cassandra breathed as she reached up over her shoulder gripping the gilt of the Master Sword in raw anger "Arus'Nei. Dark Link. Whatever you want to call him, he is the only one that would have stepped into this town expecting a fight. We have yet to even see either of those two mages and none of us have detected any of Soul Edge's aura around here. It couldn't have been anyone else." Cassandra said. Taki and Mitsurugi nodded. They had not seen this creature but had heard much from Drake, Talim and Yunsung.
A voice suddenly chuckled surprising all of them including Taki who whirled around in shock of not sensing anything "A well formulated analysis little girl..." they all turned and looked up the rock wall they were waiting at to spy a figure bathed in shadows sitting at the top as a child might on a fence. Everybody's hands moved to their weapons as the sunlight caught the man's face which revealed a pair of burning crimson eyes "But I'm afraid that I did no such thing." Cassandra was at first stepping back before her body tensed and she took a step forward reaching back to draw the Master Sword "Arus'Nei!" she screamed.
Taki and Mitsurugi both found themselves in a single second of awe as they examined the resemblance and various other physical attributes of the creature before him "This is the shadow of Link?" Taki questioned. Arus'Nei moved his eyes to her gazing over the short cut emerald kimono on her frame "That is probably the only title I can stand. The only one that places my brother and myself like two sides of a coin. We are one another's reflections in a mirror depicting shadow and light. Still I'm disappointed he came out so weak on this side." he said scratching his head casually.
Cassandra growled holding up the sword "You bastard!" she screamed before attempting to start up the rock. Arus'Nei shook his head before he turned and back flipped off the rock rolling over twice before striking the group on his feet before the group, they all prepared themselves. He chuckled looking back at Cassandra "You can all relax. I have no intention of fighting any of you, in fact I'd like to tell you where my dear brother is." "Your full of it!" Kyle snapped at him drawing out Oblivion. Cassandra at this point rushed at him from behind and he gave a light sigh.
Arus'Nei twisted as she brought the Master Sword down at him. His right arm gave around catching her wrist and then forcing the blade into the soil, his other blade caught her around the neck and he backed up forcing her away from the Master Sword. Arus'Nei watched as Cassandra pulled at his arms attempting to get herself free "You almost remind me of another he fell for. My poor brother always was a fool for aggressive blonds." he chuckled. Cassandra growled "Liar! You are not his brother!" she shouted.
Arus'Nei chuckled as he pulled her back against his chest, casting glares at the rest of the group demanding they stay back "If I wasn't and he is truly dead then you must all be hallucinating because according to the scholars, I should have followed him in death." he explained. Cassandra heard the words and slowed down. Suddenly Arus'Nei felt a pressure on his back as a pair of arms came around his neck and somebody pressed their knee to his back. He caught traces of blond hair blowing in the wind "Release her or I will snap you like a twig." a male voice demanded.
The shadow of Link released Cassandra who stumbled away before slamming his elbow hard into his captor forcing his grip to fall away lightly. He then grabbed his arm flipping up onto his shoulder and kicking off back up onto the rock, the other members of the White Wind had appeared apparently done with their chores. The fallen knight that resembled Nightmare quickly jumped to his feet grabbing his sword which had been stabbed into the ground. Cassandra rubbed her windpipe before looking up at him "What are you talking about?! What do you mean you'd follow Link in death?!" Cassandra shouted at Arus'Nei.
Arus'Nei stood up pacing along the top of the ten foot wall "It is rather simple. The scholars of Hyrule believe that I was split off from Link, made up of his now almost non-existent inner darkness. They believe that some poor desert dwelling mad man created me as a last ditch effort to gain vengeance on Link." Arus'Nei took a seat on the rock looking down at the group who were all on the defensive "They believe we share the same life force and strengths. So if he were to die, I would die. That is why they kept me alive so long after Link defeated me the first time. They didn't want their precious savior to bite the big one on my account." he explained.
"It is not too far removed from the truth, but that fool Gannondorf couldn't come close to the ability to create a free willed darkness as perfect as myself. The truth is simple. Link and I are brothers if you observe our origins from a certain angle. We are both struck from the same mold and thus we share one another's strengths, power and considering our origin we are also connected. His existance is connected to my power, my life is connected to his. When one dies we become nothing more than meer mortals...but I have yet to weaken." he explained. Everybody was shocked at this kind of a revelation. This gave a flicker of hope to Link still living.
Arus'Nei continued lightly pacing the rock "Link of course doesn't know the full story as he never knew he had a brother until the day I stepped into his life. Being that he has never allowed me to explain how the two of us came to be, he denies our blood up and down." Sophitia finally spoke up addressing him "Arus'Nei. If you truly are Link's brother. Why did you hunt him to the death? What kind of satisfaction were you hunting?" she demanded to know.
Arus'Nei in response dropped down from the rock again this time landing right in the elder Athenian's face, she glared right into his eyes not flinching "I know that my brother lives Sophitia. I can still feel his damned presence beating in the back of my mind, driving me on. As for why I hate him so, he stole everything from me with his simple existence. You have no idea to know that you are trash to be thrown away from the day you were born." he observed their confusion and chuckled. "I don't expect you to understand. Hyrule is very different from your world." he stepped away.
He took about twenty paces before turning around crossing his arms "I don't want to hang around here and be attacked so I will go ahead and tell you what happened here. One that resembled my kind did come through here but it was neither me or my brother. Link's life was indeed silent for a short time before it began to beat once again, during this time I fell short of breath. I headed here and watched a mysterious warrior heading over the horizon carrying with him a the shard I left with my brother." Xianghua raised an eyebrow "He headed south towards the place where Soul Edge was shattered, hunting another the holds the shards. Seems that while Link is out of action he is taking up the sword for the time being." Siegfried took a deep breath "Ostrheinsburg."
Cassandra narrowed her eyes "Why are you helping us? What do you serve to gain?" Arus'Nei looked back at the young Athenian stepping forward to her, she didn't flinch and he admired it. He reached up moving a hair from her vision "I have no fight with you or your friends, and I know that my brother would never fall so easily to an enemy such as Ivy. No great warrior will allow a death that is not worthy of them." he said this catching more of her interest. Raphael seemed to give a light growl at the mention of that name.
He took a light breath "I am confident he will not disappoint me. Link has never left a score unsettled and has never lost a battle easily. I doubt he will allow it to happen now, like all the other times he will probably come back stronger than before. He will find out how to fix it. One way or another." he said before stepping away "If I am right and he is alive...tell him that I said hello. And that I'll be waiting to settle our score." he said before vanishing. Fading away like a shadow to sunlight.
Cassandra breathed not knowing what to do at this point. Arus'Nei claimed that Link was alive and that a warrior heading on foot to Ostrheinsburg was involved in his prolonged existence, apparently after another powerful warrior that possessed shards. They all discussed this unable to determine if their unlikely contact was telling them the truth. Considering the Black Wind it could have been a trap, but then again they could understand that with Arus'Nei's obsession he would feel robbed if Ivy had truly ended Link's life. With the fact the warrior had Link's shard and without anywhere else to turn they set their next destination: Ostrheinsburg
Next Chapter: Titans and Demons
(Voice of Arus'Nei) dark chuckle Battles are not only a way of writing history, they are also a work of art and legend. Another great art work begins now as a group of adventurers seek out their lost friend in the hollowed ruins of a great city. Before them a battle starts between two inhumanly powerful warriors. An ominous titan that swings a blade of great destruction and wields powerful magic long lost to this world. The other is a demonized man on a mission from Hell possessing the perfect weapon and supernatural powers. They will clash in what just might be a prelude of things to come. Still looking forward I never would have thought he was that involved...
NOTE: The next chapter...IT is one of many things I have been building to. Looking at the words above I'm sure you can probably guess what two characters will be clashing blades in a contest of great power. Sadly though there is always a price to my work. UNLESS YOU PEOPLE REVIEW ME, YOU AIN'T GETTING JACK FOR A GOOD WHILE!!
Authors Note: I have started college so updating will be a little more random than before. Sorry guys but life is a constant pest to a genius like me.
Soul Calibur II: Of Souls And Swords
Chapter Forty-One: An Unworthy Death
The first day back at sea had gone relatively well as the Nightwraith and the Eternal Wind had managed to get away from the coast of England without incident and were now headed towards the mainland. Following the way that the Soul Calibur's last master had pointed out to them they found themselves heading for Germany, Siegfried's homeland and where the Soul Edge was shattered. The ships had been pretty silent and some of the group was concerned about Cassandra and Talim, both of which had altogether stopped speaking. It was understandable. With a two day trip between countries they would be scanning the coast by the next night. For the shard...and Link.
It was night and many of the group had taken their slumber after lowering the sails and anchoring the ship in the middle of the sea, ready to pick up their journey the next day. Many of them were exhausted from the emotional and physical pain they had suffered from the last battle and many found sleep easy to achieve. Cassandra possessed no such luck and sleep eluded her. It was as simple as that. Fear of her dreams kept the younger of the Alexandra sisters distracted from sleep and she felt no urge to take her slumber as an urge had burned her fatigue away. She wanted to take up and try Link's sword.
The howling wind blew over the deck of the Eternal Wind as they hung in the middle of the sea anchored to the unseen rocks below. Cassandra closed the door behind her and stood there in the wind for a few seconds a few strands of her hair falling around her eyes. Slowly the longer sword was drawn from its housing and brought to her side as she attempted to imitate Link's basic stance, lacking a shield it wasn't much. The Master Sword was indeed heavier than her own and she had to compensate for the extra foot or two on the blade as well. She gave it one swing through the air attempting to get a feel for the longer blade before she began a basic Athens Style kata.
Every swing came with excellent power, every thrust was with a punishing force and every twist was with polished grace...but every maneuver and every swipe took its tool on Cassandra's energy as she could not effectively perform the maneuvers and keep graceful without wearing on her strength. She discovered this through tension in her wrist and fatigue in her arm, both coming after her amateur attempts at wielding the sword. She murmured a curse as she replaced it in its sheath "Maybe I should let Yunsung use it." she breathed wondering if she could entrust it to another as Link had entrusted it to her.
She began to walk back inside feeling disappointed in herself when a voice spoke up from the shadows "The Athenian style revolve around speed, not strength. You cannot so easily incorporate such a weapon into the style, you need to adjust your practice first." Cassandra looked up to see Siegfried standing there in the doorway with a standard looking double edged sword at his side "Siegfried...I'm not worthy either." she said as she attempted to step by before Siegfried suddenly snatched her arm and twisted her to look at him. He didn't look very pleased.
He looked at her hard and long clearly disappointed in her short lived attempts "So your just going to give up and pass along something that was specifically entrusted to you? Are you really so weak that you don't know how to improvise? Are you sure you are Sophitia's younger sister?" he asked her oblivious that he had been aiming at a tense nerve. Cassandra growled as she pulled her arm away and slapped Siegfried hard across the face sending him lightly to the side "I am not my sister!" she shouted angrily at him before realizing that he wouldn't know what she had put up with.
Siegfried lightly rubbed his cheek before looking at her, she began to break down "I'm sorry...its just people are constantly expecting me to follow every move that she has made in life. Wanting me to be the perfect lady and such..." she gave a huff as she cut herself off. Siegfried chuckled before stepping out onto the deck "While such a role may work for your sister, but to be honest it really doesn't suit you. Your determination is a fire that has seems to have been lost in the last few days. You say your not worthy? Why is that?." he said looking at the Master Sword.
Cassandra placed her hand on the hilt looking down on it her chin being pointed toward her chest as she looked down "I shouldn't be using it. I have no experiance using a full length sword I don't have the proper training or skill to properly..." Siegfried cut her off as he raised one hand to his forehead rubbing slightly as if under stress.
"Worth is not measured by what kind of training you have, it is measured by what kind of person you are. If Link didn't think you were worthy I'm sure he would not have left you a sword that gives the Soul Edge pain. Do you want to take a wild guess on what my style is Cassandra?" he asked her. Cassandra flashed back as much as she could to the days they were heading for England, during the time that Siegfried had spared with her sister, Kilik and Xianghua with both the sword he carried now and the Requiem.
Cassandra looked up and admitted that she had no clue who taught him "Nobody taught me a thing about the blade." Cassandra looked up shocked, for one to train himself and get so far in the trade he had selected was unheard of. Siegfried stepped forward "Determination means everything in a battle, without determination you cannot even pick up a knife much less a sword. I want you to stop doubting yourself and stop blaming yourself...Link wanted you to hold this sword in his place." Cassandra looked down at the sapphire blue handle of the sword disappointed in herself.
Cassandra then looked up before speaking "Alright Siegfried you win...but it isn't like I know where to start. I'm sure you had other people to mimic when you were still training with that big blade of yours." Siegfried lightly raised a hand to his chin before speaking "Well you obviously have no intention of going back to sleep so I will teach you what I can. I suppose I owe Sophitia that much." he said before drawing his own sword. Cassandra didn't know how to feel about this but slowly drew the Master Sword again this time taking it in both hands instead of just one. Nodding her head Siegfried stepped towards her lowering his own sword slowly, Cassandra thrust the Master Sword up...
The suns first rays caught the side of Cassandra's vision as she stepped forward and took another swing with the Master Sword. Everything had been going up and down the last six hours as Siegfried volunteered his time to teach her how to use the sword which started off with sparring to see what she knew off instinct. He then taught her a few other maneuvers which she became accustomed to very quickly, she learned how to block and slowly began pulling together her own style. Now it was down to a simple goal trying to get through Siegfried's defense.
The Master Sword went through the air pushing Siegfried's sword out of the way before she attempted a strike at his chest, he moved back and attempted to push her blade down. Being fair with his right arm he kept his strength in lower amounts enough for her to recover from, Cassandra let out another shout as she pushed up and then struck Siegfried's blade up and then moved hard grabbing his wrist with one hand and placing the flat of the Master Sword against his bear chest. Cassandra breathed deeply pretty tired after nearly and hour. Siegfried nodded to her before she released his wrist.
Cassandra sat on the edge of the railing the glistening sweat dripping freshly off her forehead as the sun signaled the start of a new day "I can't believe I learned so much in one night..." she murmured. Siegfried put his sword away before speaking in his ever serious tone "You place your self doubt aside and allowed your determination to burn. Your original style was required correct?" he questioned remembering that Sophitia and Cassandra had both been taught long before she was sent on her first hunt for Soul Edge.
Cassandra nodded to the question "Yeah, but I wanted to be more like my sister back then, so it wasn't like I didn't want to learn. Siegfried I have a question if you don't mind me asking, why are you so against Yunsung using the blade?" she asked him which caused him to pace around, a sign he was trying to put his thoughts to less insulting words.
Siegfried finally spoke after a few seconds of pondering "Hong Yunsung's arrogance combined with the Master Sword's power would only end up getting him killed. I sat down with Sophitia and Kyle the other night and got everybody's stories. His is the most pathetic. He is here searching for the Soul Edge because some Korean hero doesn't recognize him. While most would train harder or do more he goes and makes it personal. He sets out after the one goal one of the worlds most seasoned warriors could not achieve. The Soul Edge. Sad isn't it?" he said looking out over the ocean.
Cassandra looked with him now able to see what Sophitia always saw in him. He was very deep and complicated as well as blunt and to the point but it wasn't like he didn't have a heart. Truly Yunsung was not worthy to wield the Master Sword not if he was going to be using it for his own personal gain, the only purpose it would serve under her would be to strike Arus'Nei down. Siegfried eventually headed back inside "The others can have the day. I'm going to sleep." he said before heading inside. Cassandra followed knowing she'd have to thank him by developing what she had learned until the blade was put into true use.
Once again the winds were there to aid the seekers as they found themselves approaching the mainland as the sun began to sink slowly into the west. Siegfried could tell without effort that it was the coastline of Germany, the country side never changed and neither did the ports which could be seen as they pulled in. It was another nameless port that Siegfried knew he had probably visited at some point during his existence as a mercenary, but the buildings and people would all be faded memories of a carefree life he couldn't just pick up on.
As the ships pulled into port and they tossed their ropes overboard to the awaiting men who worked they set their sites to the future. Once Xianghua got herself together she would be able to scan the country side for the next shard and probably whatever was left of Link. The groups all gathered outside as Xianghua and Kilik remained on the Eternal Wind, relocating the energy of the Soul Calibur required both room and patience. Other mortal energies near Xianghua would cause some interference in her meditation, so the others left save for Kilik whom stayed there in interest of her safty.
Cassandra was very nervous. She had watched Link fall from that cliff and really wasn't sure if she could just look for body his body and the shard. Everybody was silent, not a word was spoken as they waited for Xianghua's deduction on where to head. Eventually there were foot steps on the gang plank as the two of them descended onto the dock to join them, Yunsung quickly asked what everybody else was thinking. Xianghua looked at the ground before speaking "Somebody has the shard." everybody looked up at Xianghua in shock "It has been moving. The signal is well over thirty miles away from here by now." she announced.
Almost in unison everybody questioned how it could have possibly gotten so far away in such a short amount of time. Xianghua held up her hands screaming that she didn't know managing to keep the focus off of her and on their own thoughts. Mitsurugi looked back towards the town which was quite large and took notice that there were a few buildings that had been damaged somehow "This place is a fairly large town, it would be wise to take a look around and see if anybody saw anything suspicious. There is a great number of possibilities to what could have happened so lets ask around." everybody agreed.
Taki looked up over the town before speaking able to see there was a residential area nearby "I suppose we're going to have to give chase on whoever has the shard either way, Mitsurugi and I will go and secure some horses for the group. Maxi and Kilik should try and make a deal with the docks proprietor." the named few nodded in agreement. While the likes of Sophitia and Mitsurugi owned their own horses the rest of the group normally took their time to rent them in towns when they needed to get over distances.
Sophitia Alexandra spoke up next "Me, Siegfried and Raphael will go to the south end of town and gather supplies for both ourselves and the crew that will stay with the ship. Somebody should go over to the merchant's district and see if they can find anybody who knows anything about the Soul Calibur shard. With any luck one might have sold it as a washed up trinket." Cassandra instantly nodded her head saying that she'd make the trip, Mina stepped up placing her hand on Cassandra's shoulder "Me and Kyle will go with her. I don't trust the looks of this place." she pointed out. With this said they left.
Kilik leaned against a pole that came up from the floor of the dock and lightly breathed "Cassandra's mind is wandering." he murmured to himself. Xianghua looked back obviously hearing and understanding his words, he continued "Cassandra is holding on to any possibility that the man in possession of the shard is the same man that brought it here. She is balancing her mind and spirit on the line that falls between being hopeful and being delusional." Xianghua looked up as well watching the three groups wander off.
Drake and Talim sat on the sides of the Nightwraith as they had been traveling with the Four Blades once again to save room onboard the Eternal Wind. Yunsung had been sending glares at Drake ever since the mansion, he and Talim were still reflecting on their earlier days and it seemed that every time Talim laughed Talim would send him a glare of ice. It was obvious the Korean didn't trust him do to the relationship he and Talim shared. He needed to get suspicion off his back, but he knew his time was running out.
He somehow had to secure that box or at least capture a few shards of the Soul Edge. So far it was a no go as Sophitia, Taki or Siegfried constantly had control of that box when the ship was docked. He knew he couldn't possibly please them with only one shard, it wouldn't have been enough after over two months of being away. The original plan was one month for one shard, he'd have to do better or else they might catch thought he had almost betrayed them. He knew that he would have to make his move soon, before they decided to sever their bargain.
The merchant's district was absolutely nothing like Cassandra had expected, she couldn't blieve the amount of damage to several of the buildings as she walked through the small port town, trailing behind were Kyle and Mina both were also curious as to how the area was so busted up. Holes were punched into the sides of buildings, there was evidence of small fires that had burned out and everybody seemed to be working towards repairing the buildings and anything else that could be fixed in the area. The energy of the air was thick in the areas where the damage was worse and oddly enough the Master Sword seemed to pulse in its sheath in response. They soon found what they were looking for: The city's local trade station which sold and bought most anything that could be considered worthy of a price. Mina was confident that any propriater of such a place would feel no guilt in robbing a dead man on the shore line, especially if in his eyes it was just a piece of metal. The theory that a traveler had perhaps purchased it of found it himself and then moved deeper into Germany was the theory they were following. Should that be the case a little information would spare Xianghua from stretching her mind and senses to their limits to track it down.
"I saw nothing of the sort!" the shop keeper responded as he was asked such a thing. It wasn't the response they had expected for inquired about the Soul Calibur shard, but he seemed pretty irritable as he was repairing a fist sized hole on the side of the wall. As the hammer struck another nail the proprietor looked back at them "I only sell weapons, armor and traveling goods. I don't buy traveler's trinkets or jewelry, you want that you can go forty miles to west. Ostenburg is your best bet for something like that." he said before hammering in another nail.
Cassandra breathed before she thought of something else just as the man prepared another nail "Tell me sir, did you by chance see anybody wearing strange cloths. Somebody that had long, pointed ears." the man gasped and in reaction brought the hammer down on his hand. He fell back swearing in German as Mina stepped forward asking if he was alright, he only shot all three of them a piercing glare "You know that forsaken demon that did all of this to our town?! Get the Hell out of my store!!" he demanded wielding the hammer as if it was a weapon.
Kyle stepped forward holding up his hands as if to ward off the blow wanting to confirm that it wasn't either this shadow Yunsung spoke of or one of the Black Wind's two mages "Wait?! Can you tell us what he looked like. If there is a chance our friend is alive, he wouldn't have done this." the shopkeeper shrugged as he admitted that he wasn't around when all of it went down. He explained that a traveling fighter had been in the town when a demon stepped from the coast and ended up in a pretty unmatched fight with the townspeople. "The fighter chased the demon off but was wounded, he is recooperating at the Inn. Now unless you plan on buying anything please go, I have work to do." he said. They thanked him and left.
Along the way across town to the rather well financed Inn the group ran into Taki's group who all seemed to be getting the horses. They quickly made arrangements to meet outside town being that after a fight recently broke loose they were on the look out for suspicious looking people. The kind of diversity that was among the group made it clear that it wouldn't be easy to get everywhere in the world. The three agreed to Taki's terms and moved on towards the building where this warrior was apparently recovering.
"We'd like to meet the man who defended this town." Mina said as sweetly as she could to the Innkeeper who told them that he was staying in the room up the stairs and to the left. With this information they headed up and Mina knocked on the door, a voice spoke up asking what they wanted. "We want to ask you about the one that you fought." she replied. The voice gave a deep sigh as if he truly didn't have time for such nonsense and then begged them entrance. Kyle had figured that the town had wished to reward whoever had been gutsy enough to take on a demon that had done such damage. Of course when he saw the man he was anything but happy. "You?!"
The amazing shape despite the late age, the gauntlets that rested on the small table and the abnormal hair style gave him away almost at once to the Korean who went for his blade, his hawk jumping from his shoulder. The old man who had been standing next to the windows, his wounds covered by bandages raised his first despite the fact they lacked their armor prepared to fight. Mina brought up her weapon "Kyle! What are you doing?!" she half shouted at him. Kyle narrowed his eyes at the old man "This is the crooked old bastard that attacked me in India." he growled. Mina looked at the nameless old man who huffed lightly.
The old man lowered his hands before explaining himself "I apologize if you took that personally, but when you indulge yourself in the art of fighting, become my age and have achieved so much you tend to seek out worthy challenges. It was a friendly contest, I had no intention on it being such a blow to your ego." Cassandra looked at Kyle reinforcing Mina's wishes. He slammed his blade back into his sheath as Silverbolt dropped to perfect on one of the warrior's removed gauntlets. "Just who the hell are you?" Kyle murmured figuring he should know the name of this conflict hunter.
The old man sat down on the mattress before speaking "My name is Heihachi, if it is any of your business. I am what some would call a nomad. I live and thrive in the world that is combat, I seek out a worthy challenge. To estimate myself among this world and the next." he said with a great amount of pride. Kyle had never heard of him but had learned of his power first hand "By the looks of you, it seems that you lack one notch on those things. Care to tell us about it?" he said looking towards the gauntlets that Silverbolt perched on.
The old man revealed as Heihachi took a seat back on the mattress rubbing his side, another hand lightly running across the hawk's head showing he ment no harm "Yes the one that I fought with in the trader's street. Not only was he a gifted fighter but he was far beyond human limits. It is amazing how it all happened. One moment he is walking through the streets, I noticed him and payed his abnormalities no mind. The people around me however attacked him thinking he was some sort of a demon. He defended himself." he rubbed his side "If you were down there you probably noticed the damage. I managed to chase him off but amazingly not a single life was lost in his rampage." he explained.
Cassandra stepped forward her mind blown by what all had been said and she drew the Alpha Sword "Cut to it old man! What was so abnormal about him? What coaxed the villagers into attacking him?!" she demanded. Heihachi raised a hand pushing down the blade that was before him "Calm yourself child. If you must know the differences I could spot were a pair of ears, they were long and pointed outward. A strange power emanated around him, it gave a very ominous feeling, then there were those eyes. I have never seen such piercing eyes in all my life." he breathed out. Cassandra breathed as the eyes were brought up "Arus'Nei." she murmured before she just turned and left.
Kyle turned around lightly "Cass...what was that all about?" he questioned. Heihachi stood to his feet stepping back over to the window looking out over the streets "It has been a long time since I was young so I really cannot determine that. This creature was clearly not of this world. If your going to give chase he went south towards the mountain region. You might want to start there." he said raising a hand to shoo them out of the room. Mina nodded her thanks before leaving. Kyle looked back before he moved to leave but was halted by the old man's demanding voice.
Kyle Strife turned to look over his shoulder at the man "I don't have time for a rematch old timer." he said but then noticed the man approaching him. The man out stretched a hand and drew the Oblivion half way from its sheath stopping just as Kyle hand gripped his in protest. He spoke "When you draw this blade or so much as place your hand on it, I feel an updraft of energy within you. Something remains missing however, like a sword without a hilt or a horse without a saddle." Heihachi released the blade "Never mind. Please be on your way." hesitantly a confused Kyle left. Heihachi gave a light smile, the existence of such people in a world that would eventually go soft was refreshing
Around an hour later Cassandra and company found themselves just on the rocky outskirts of the town where the others had also completed their own chores. Stephan, Michael, Jack and Naoyuki would be remaining with the ships was always there to keep the dock workers from trying to pawn them off after a two weeks time. Taki had collected five extra horses for the group while Sophitia and Mitsurugi had their own at their disposal. Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi were still restocking the ship with supplies and Sophitia, Siegfried and Raphael were getting any tools they might need in their travels. Maxi had actually decided to follow them this time and was busy preparing his things as he had hardly left the ship. His only goal was Astaroth. He didn't care about the Black Wind or Soul Edge, he just wanted the creature that destroyed his crew so long ago.
While the group awaited the arrival of the two trios Cassandra and company had explained to them what they had learned and they were left attempting to figure out what it ment. "It could be that male mage from Link's mentioned, the one traveling with the Black Wind." Talim said recollecting just a fragment of the information Link had brought with him. A number of them nodded including the Four Blades who had also heard of the two sorcerers under Nightmare's control. Cassandra breathed as it kept coming back to mentioning Link's name, Taki took notice and shook her head in pity of the poor girl.
It wasn't long before another voice spoke up, surprisingly it wasn't Cassandra that had a positive message for the group "This goes against my nature but I believe it is Link himself." everybody turned to face Kyle who stood next to one of the horses brushing the dust off its fur "After all I've heard you can never make a prediction with that man." he explained. Drake took a breath "No offense to you but that isn't possible. He did take it in the stomach after all, no mortal could have survived that kind of wound. Much less falling into the...Ah!" there was a sharp snapping sound as Drake was sent slamming into the grass. Everybody looked up as Drake was silenced.
Cassandra stood over him now with the heel of her boot pushing hard into his chest "SHUT UP!" she screamed before stepping off "Stop forcing it on us!" she screamed at him. Drake reached up holding a hand over his chest which felt like it had been struck with a hammer, Cassandra breathed as she regained her composure and then stepped away from Drake as he forced himself to his feet. He spoke sour towards the emotional Athenian "Forgive me for being blunt but come back to the real world!" everybody was surprised at Drake attitude. He stood up and stepped away from the group clearly angry, they allowed him to leave. It was best to separate his negative thought from Cassandra.
Desperate to change the subject before Cassandra lashed out again, Yunsung protested "I don't think it was one of Link's kind." everybody looked at him "I mean this old guy only said pointed ears, right? It doesn't mean it isn't just another that was too weak to control the Soul Edge." everybody nodded at this figuring it possible. Talim agreed with Yunsung "Something like that poor creature we fought in the middle east. He had astonishing power beyond anything I've ever seen." she said. The Four Blades nodded remembering.
"I say that it is none other than Arus'Nei!" everybody looked up as Cassandra made her declaration. Yunsung and Talim both questioned who she spoke of, Cassandra breathed as she reached up over her shoulder gripping the gilt of the Master Sword in raw anger "Arus'Nei. Dark Link. Whatever you want to call him, he is the only one that would have stepped into this town expecting a fight. We have yet to even see either of those two mages and none of us have detected any of Soul Edge's aura around here. It couldn't have been anyone else." Cassandra said. Taki and Mitsurugi nodded. They had not seen this creature but had heard much from Drake, Talim and Yunsung.
A voice suddenly chuckled surprising all of them including Taki who whirled around in shock of not sensing anything "A well formulated analysis little girl..." they all turned and looked up the rock wall they were waiting at to spy a figure bathed in shadows sitting at the top as a child might on a fence. Everybody's hands moved to their weapons as the sunlight caught the man's face which revealed a pair of burning crimson eyes "But I'm afraid that I did no such thing." Cassandra was at first stepping back before her body tensed and she took a step forward reaching back to draw the Master Sword "Arus'Nei!" she screamed.
Taki and Mitsurugi both found themselves in a single second of awe as they examined the resemblance and various other physical attributes of the creature before him "This is the shadow of Link?" Taki questioned. Arus'Nei moved his eyes to her gazing over the short cut emerald kimono on her frame "That is probably the only title I can stand. The only one that places my brother and myself like two sides of a coin. We are one another's reflections in a mirror depicting shadow and light. Still I'm disappointed he came out so weak on this side." he said scratching his head casually.
Cassandra growled holding up the sword "You bastard!" she screamed before attempting to start up the rock. Arus'Nei shook his head before he turned and back flipped off the rock rolling over twice before striking the group on his feet before the group, they all prepared themselves. He chuckled looking back at Cassandra "You can all relax. I have no intention of fighting any of you, in fact I'd like to tell you where my dear brother is." "Your full of it!" Kyle snapped at him drawing out Oblivion. Cassandra at this point rushed at him from behind and he gave a light sigh.
Arus'Nei twisted as she brought the Master Sword down at him. His right arm gave around catching her wrist and then forcing the blade into the soil, his other blade caught her around the neck and he backed up forcing her away from the Master Sword. Arus'Nei watched as Cassandra pulled at his arms attempting to get herself free "You almost remind me of another he fell for. My poor brother always was a fool for aggressive blonds." he chuckled. Cassandra growled "Liar! You are not his brother!" she shouted.
Arus'Nei chuckled as he pulled her back against his chest, casting glares at the rest of the group demanding they stay back "If I wasn't and he is truly dead then you must all be hallucinating because according to the scholars, I should have followed him in death." he explained. Cassandra heard the words and slowed down. Suddenly Arus'Nei felt a pressure on his back as a pair of arms came around his neck and somebody pressed their knee to his back. He caught traces of blond hair blowing in the wind "Release her or I will snap you like a twig." a male voice demanded.
The shadow of Link released Cassandra who stumbled away before slamming his elbow hard into his captor forcing his grip to fall away lightly. He then grabbed his arm flipping up onto his shoulder and kicking off back up onto the rock, the other members of the White Wind had appeared apparently done with their chores. The fallen knight that resembled Nightmare quickly jumped to his feet grabbing his sword which had been stabbed into the ground. Cassandra rubbed her windpipe before looking up at him "What are you talking about?! What do you mean you'd follow Link in death?!" Cassandra shouted at Arus'Nei.
Arus'Nei stood up pacing along the top of the ten foot wall "It is rather simple. The scholars of Hyrule believe that I was split off from Link, made up of his now almost non-existent inner darkness. They believe that some poor desert dwelling mad man created me as a last ditch effort to gain vengeance on Link." Arus'Nei took a seat on the rock looking down at the group who were all on the defensive "They believe we share the same life force and strengths. So if he were to die, I would die. That is why they kept me alive so long after Link defeated me the first time. They didn't want their precious savior to bite the big one on my account." he explained.
"It is not too far removed from the truth, but that fool Gannondorf couldn't come close to the ability to create a free willed darkness as perfect as myself. The truth is simple. Link and I are brothers if you observe our origins from a certain angle. We are both struck from the same mold and thus we share one another's strengths, power and considering our origin we are also connected. His existance is connected to my power, my life is connected to his. When one dies we become nothing more than meer mortals...but I have yet to weaken." he explained. Everybody was shocked at this kind of a revelation. This gave a flicker of hope to Link still living.
Arus'Nei continued lightly pacing the rock "Link of course doesn't know the full story as he never knew he had a brother until the day I stepped into his life. Being that he has never allowed me to explain how the two of us came to be, he denies our blood up and down." Sophitia finally spoke up addressing him "Arus'Nei. If you truly are Link's brother. Why did you hunt him to the death? What kind of satisfaction were you hunting?" she demanded to know.
Arus'Nei in response dropped down from the rock again this time landing right in the elder Athenian's face, she glared right into his eyes not flinching "I know that my brother lives Sophitia. I can still feel his damned presence beating in the back of my mind, driving me on. As for why I hate him so, he stole everything from me with his simple existence. You have no idea to know that you are trash to be thrown away from the day you were born." he observed their confusion and chuckled. "I don't expect you to understand. Hyrule is very different from your world." he stepped away.
He took about twenty paces before turning around crossing his arms "I don't want to hang around here and be attacked so I will go ahead and tell you what happened here. One that resembled my kind did come through here but it was neither me or my brother. Link's life was indeed silent for a short time before it began to beat once again, during this time I fell short of breath. I headed here and watched a mysterious warrior heading over the horizon carrying with him a the shard I left with my brother." Xianghua raised an eyebrow "He headed south towards the place where Soul Edge was shattered, hunting another the holds the shards. Seems that while Link is out of action he is taking up the sword for the time being." Siegfried took a deep breath "Ostrheinsburg."
Cassandra narrowed her eyes "Why are you helping us? What do you serve to gain?" Arus'Nei looked back at the young Athenian stepping forward to her, she didn't flinch and he admired it. He reached up moving a hair from her vision "I have no fight with you or your friends, and I know that my brother would never fall so easily to an enemy such as Ivy. No great warrior will allow a death that is not worthy of them." he said this catching more of her interest. Raphael seemed to give a light growl at the mention of that name.
He took a light breath "I am confident he will not disappoint me. Link has never left a score unsettled and has never lost a battle easily. I doubt he will allow it to happen now, like all the other times he will probably come back stronger than before. He will find out how to fix it. One way or another." he said before stepping away "If I am right and he is alive...tell him that I said hello. And that I'll be waiting to settle our score." he said before vanishing. Fading away like a shadow to sunlight.
Cassandra breathed not knowing what to do at this point. Arus'Nei claimed that Link was alive and that a warrior heading on foot to Ostrheinsburg was involved in his prolonged existence, apparently after another powerful warrior that possessed shards. They all discussed this unable to determine if their unlikely contact was telling them the truth. Considering the Black Wind it could have been a trap, but then again they could understand that with Arus'Nei's obsession he would feel robbed if Ivy had truly ended Link's life. With the fact the warrior had Link's shard and without anywhere else to turn they set their next destination: Ostrheinsburg
Next Chapter: Titans and Demons
(Voice of Arus'Nei) dark chuckle Battles are not only a way of writing history, they are also a work of art and legend. Another great art work begins now as a group of adventurers seek out their lost friend in the hollowed ruins of a great city. Before them a battle starts between two inhumanly powerful warriors. An ominous titan that swings a blade of great destruction and wields powerful magic long lost to this world. The other is a demonized man on a mission from Hell possessing the perfect weapon and supernatural powers. They will clash in what just might be a prelude of things to come. Still looking forward I never would have thought he was that involved...
NOTE: The next chapter...IT is one of many things I have been building to. Looking at the words above I'm sure you can probably guess what two characters will be clashing blades in a contest of great power. Sadly though there is always a price to my work. UNLESS YOU PEOPLE REVIEW ME, YOU AIN'T GETTING JACK FOR A GOOD WHILE!!