Standard disclaimer: I do not own Soul Calibur. Nor do I own a chain of fast food restaurants or any medieval torture devices. Just though you should know.

I hoped to get this posted sooner, but alas, I did not. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Everyone's favorite psycho is introduced here!

Let us begin…

Vile looked across the moat at the huge fortress's crumbling walls- Ostrheinburg Castle in Germany. His trek there cost him four long days on foot, without sleep of course. The feeling of being called was at its strongest now, and had grown stronger as he got closer to the castle. He knew the source of the evil energy was here.

Vile crossed his arms and looked up at the clear sky. He recalled the warning of the man he had met along the way.

"That castle is a terrible, evil place. Many people have died approaching its walls. I would advise against going anywhere near there."

Despite being told it was a dangerous place, Vile learned much from that man- who had fed him and told him all he knew about he castle- and decided to go there. He learned that the former wielder of Soul Edge used to reside in Ostrheinburg Castle. That would explain the energy flowing from it, and Vile needed to investigate.

Now he was prepared to enter this monstrous castle. Maybe his Sword of Salvation was here waiting for him; though he doubted it would be that simple.

The drawbridge was destroyed so Vile looked for an alternate route into the castle. He walked along the shore for a while before finding a very large raft. It was tangled in brush and seaweed, so it took a moment for him to get it ready. After he cleaned off the fifteen by twenty-foot raft, a black crow landed on the corner that was beached.

"Get outta here," Vile spoke to it like that bird could understand. It cawed at him then flew away to above the castle. It was then that Vile noticed the hundreds of black birds that had seemed to just appear, gathered above one of the four huge towers. It figured a place like this would attract scavengers.

At first he struggled pushing the wooden raft into the moat, but after most of it was in the water, Vile easily pushed it afloat. He hopped on and enjoyed the ride around the castle – which was even bigger than he had thought.

He had been riding for almost ten minutes and he had barely made it halfway around. He came to what appeared to be a long overpass that formed a tunnel over him.

On top of that overpass was a seventeen-year-old girl that had been watching him. As he exited the tunnel she became giddy as she got a good look at him.

"Oooh! He looks really strong! Very strong!" She clapped her hands in malicious delight and smiled broad. "He'll make a great host for Soul Edge!"

Vile looked up at where the voice had come from. As he turned around, a girl in green landed on the other side of the raft. Around her body was a large metal ring – a weapon. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, not knowing what to expect.

"Who are you?"

Her face lit up with a wide smile, and she looked absolutely ecstatic to see Vile. "I can't wait to see you die! It's going to look incredible!" She pulled the metal ring off her shoulder and held it to her side in a battle stance. The girl's clothes were of green cloth and apparently torn apart from battle. They barely covered what needed to be covered and revealed much of her skin. She wore long purple gloves that reached her biceps and long green boots that extended to her thighs. Over the cloth boots were short metal grieves. Her hair- which was layered and parted in the middle, lips, and make-up around her eyes were all green as well. A purple tattoo ran horizontally from her left ear to the middle of her face. Her eyes were a deep mysterious purple. Actually, she would have been very pretty if she wasn't intent on seeing Vile die.

However, Vile did not intend to die on this raft – even if it was possible. "Do not cross me, girl."

The edges of the girl's ring were razor-sharp and raised in three places to tear wounds open further. Vile had never dealt with such an unorthodox weapon.

The girl spun the ring around her arm. "Oh hurray! This is gonna be fun! I'm gonna kill you now. You ready?" Her voice had a slight English accent hidden behind pure thrill.

Vile drew his blade from its sheath on his back. "I would rather not fight… but so be it." He had noticed that the girl's body produced the same evil energy that Vile's did. Perhaps she could lead him to Soul Edge.

Vs. Tira

That's when she attacked with blinding speed. Vile barely managed to dodge as the circular blade brushed past his head. She quickly recovered from her miss by dexterously arching her back and swinging her weapon horizontally above her bent body. Vile brought his sword up to a defensive position and parried her blow, knocking her off balance. He backed up to the edge of the raft.

Keeping his Imperial Blade at ready, he addressed his attacker. "Who are you? Why are you attacking me!"

The green-haired girl was back in her battle stance as well. She was still bright-eyed and smiling. "I'm Tira! And I like your body. Can I see it for a minute? I wonder if Soul Edge would like it?"

"Soul Edge!"

Before Vile could query the girl named Tira, she attacked again, this time doing a split in the air. He was nearly knocked off the raft as the kick connected with him, and she followed up with multiple kicks from different directions. Vile doubled over as a metal grieve hit him in the stomach, but he predicted her next move and from his position bolted past her, causing her to cut the air.

Tira turned and her gaze met Vile's.

"Will you stay still so I can cut you up?"

"You're totally crazy."

The girl sighed. "Well, we're gonna hafta do this the hard way!" She swung her weapon to the side and smiled wider. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and her arms and weapon glowed blue.

Vile gasped. He knew that power. It was what his body did before he would go into a fit. Was Tira like Vile?

She attacked.

Vile brought his blade up to block her. Tira's attacks seemed like there were more force behind them with the blue energy. She pushed Vile back with each of her blows in rapid succession. He knew he could end the fight quickly by simply plunging his blade through her torso, but he couldn't repeat what he did when he was fourteen, especially if this girl was anything like him. So he adeptly absorbed and evaded the assault if her razor-sharp ring, until she pulled away for a moment.

She must have focused more energy into her weapon, because it seemed to crackle with lightning. Her hands nimbly spun the ring as it sizzled. "Hurry up…" she finished her command to Vile as she swung her weapon at him with, "and die!"

It knocked his blade out of the way and struck him hard in the chest. His shirt and skin opened up as he fell backwards- sword still in hand. Blood spilled from the wound and onto the wood of the raft as he climbed back to his feet. He pushed his hand to his chest.

He looked up at Tira, who was looking victorious. The blue glow was gone, though she was still smiling. "It's time for you to die, okay?" She lifted her ring above her head and brought it down to meet Vile's neck. He swung his sword and sparks flew as the blades slid against each other. Tira lost her footing and her attack failed. She stumbled back.

When she looked back up at the bleeding Vile, he had recovered his stance despite the wound. He felt the pain but it was distant and unimportant. Was it because of Soul Edge that he could stand the deep laceration? Or maybe he was just driven. Either way he would not let this insane girl win. But how was he to beat her if she was trying to kill him?

Then something drastic happened. The look on Tira's face changed from the look of pure joy to a look of bitter hatred. Her voice also changed to a one of stinging disgust as she spoke. "A nuisance… what a nuisance," she hissed.

Vile had to get rid of her before she could inflict any more injury to him.

Tira attacked with lighting speed. Vile blocked her blow then grabbed her by the neck before she could recover. Her eyes showed the shock as Vile tightened his grip. He lifted her off the ground, then threw her to the surface of the raft. She landed with a hard thud and bounced slightly. There was the noise of clanging metal.

Vile yelled at her, "What do you know of Soul Edge!"

She remained silent as she clambered back to her feet. She held her weapon with one hand to her side now. Her face was still filled with anger and hate and she snapped at Vile. "Hmph. I don't even feel like killing you." Tira hung her weapon back around her lithe body. She faced the shore then bounded off the raft and ran into the thick forest. She was too fast for Vile to pursue.

No! Vile didn't get any information from the girl who was like him. She must've had Soul Edge in her body, too. He had to speak with her without her trying to kill him.

"Wait a minute," Vile thought, "why did she want to kill me?" She had mentioned something about his body, not to mention Soul Edge… What connection did she have with the sword Vile sought? The girl was getting away indefinitely. If he was going to follow her, he would have to do it immediately. However, he hadn't explored the castle yet – and that was his initial destination. He looked to where Tira escaped.

Upon looking harder, he saw a massive black cloud approaching him. Disbelief swelled up inside him as he saw what was coming towards him. Out of the trees flew hundreds of black birds. Vile raised his trench coat to cover his face and sunk to one knee. The beating wings and sharp talons blew past him and flew into the sky once more.

Vile slowly stood up, complete shock in his eyes. "What the hell was that!" he yelled to no one. He collected his thoughts and decided he would chase the trail of the girl at a later point and venture into Ostrheinburg Castle.

Still drifting beside the battlement, he looked down at his chest. His clothes were covered in his own blood and the wound made from the girl in green's weapon was still bleeding. The flow had slowed and the pain was dull, but Vile didn't know if he would survive loosing so much blood.

Using the raft, he came to an entrance on the side of the fortress. There was an old black flag lying on the ground, which he tore apart and used to make a bandage that draped over his upper torso diagonally.

His wound treated, Vile looked into the castle as he re-equipped his sheath. The aura of evil inside was unmistakable, and somehow felt like home to Vile. He didn't know why, but his body was relaxed while he was here. It was strange, and somehow frightening, yet he wanted to stay in the wrecked castle – though he knew he could not.

Behind the castle curtain, there was a large ruined garden that was now nothing but rubble and dirt. It was fifty feet until the inner wall of the castle. The portcullis was blocked by wreckage and debris and hung from a twisted metal bar was the dead body of a man. His eyes were blank and his hands were twisted into a strange shape. The injuries on his body indicated that he was killed by a thin metal blade. Perhaps, it was Tira who had killed him and hung him gruesomely there.

It took over an hour for him to find an apt entrance. The front entry was impossible to get into, so he had to climb into a large hole in the wall ten feet off the ground. Cumbersome, but Vile knew he needed to get in at any cost.

Inside, the walls were thick and the corridors were wide. It would be hard to get lost here. The black birds seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of the castle, for they were inside the walls as well, and every so often, one would fly past Vile's head. Vile memorized the path he took as he wandered deeper into the bowels of the stone castle. He couldn't help but feel like all the birds were watching him – it was unsettling. As he searched for anything related to Soul Edge, he found his mind wandering back to the green-haired girl.

Had she gone into an evil fit like Vile was known to? No…he didn't think so. She still seemed conscious of what she was doing even after the glow appeared. Maybe she had learned to channel her evil. If so, could he do that too? If Vile could turn his weakness into strength, no one could stop him from obtaining Soul Edge.

Soul Edge…. Tira had some kind of affiliation with the sword. But what? It was clear that she possessed a dark aura like Vile. Was she after the Sword of Salvation too?

Vile stopped walking. He had to stop. His mind was going in circles. For now, he would put the girl behind him and focus on his own search.

Once again resuming his hunt, Vile followed the pulsating energy within which drew him directly to the center of the castle

After thirty minutes, he came to a large, open room. Painted on the floor was a huge red circle extending almost to the edges of the room. Within the circle were ritual instruments – relic weapons, incense, magic tools. He walked to the center of the room to examine the materials. He sifted through a pile of brown dust on the floor.

"Sting dust." Vile spoke aloud as he identified the powder. It was a magical ingredient made from ground scorpion – his tribe used it for its healing purposes. Next to the sting dust was an oil burner. Being a shadow caster himself, Vile was well versed in black magic like what was used here. Based on what was around him – the sting dust, an incense made from lotus, cursed blades – he recognized the ritual as some kind of resurrection spell. But for what?

Vile looked about the tools, remembering learning about this kind of thing, until a wave of evil energy swept over him. He looked around sharply. Something was calling him – something deeply evil. Vile wanted it. He wanted to find it and bask in the aura. So he searched the room, and atop a shelf on the wall was a large fragment of Soul Edge.

Vile took it and cradled it in his hands. He could use this to broaden his power. Unfortunately, he didn't know how to actually merge with it, but he could do the next best thing.

He unsheathed the Imperial Blade and laid it on the stone floor. The power flowing from the shard was great and needed to be put to use; he was going to synthesize the evil metal with the steel of his blade.

The metal forging ritual was a simple one and Vile had done it countless times – he used it to craft the Imperial Blade – so he foresaw no difficulty in doing it. But the metal of Soul Edge was like adamantine and very resistant to magic. Vile placed the fragment of the evil sword on top his own sword and focused his thoughts. He muttered a short incantation and a pool of light surrounded his weapon. Another incantation passed his lips and the light faded. In its place was an upgraded Imperial Blade. Now, at the base of the blade, were what looked like brown and red metal scales that ran down the hilt.

Vile picked up the sword and tested it in the air. He could feel the raw power coursing through the weapon. Enjoying the feeling of newfound strength, Vile sheathed his sword and prepared to leave the castle. Now that he had acquired the fragment, the evil energy no longer lingered and he was done here.

His next goal was to learn how to harness Soul Edge's power like Tira had. However, he feared what could happen if he got out of control.

Vile found his way back outside and to his raft.

He rode back around the wide moat. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed – he was lost in deep thought.

About Soul Edge…

About Tira…

About his own evil…

Where was he going next? The girl was long gone so he lost his chance to follow her, and it was probably too late to pick up her trail.

The raft docked on the shore where he had first boarded it. Vile stepped off onto the wet sand and proceeded back the way he came. A faint evil energy called to him from the direction of his homeland. He had no problem following it to somewhere that he vaguely knew.

So Vile walked back toward Romania. He was now five days out of the dungeon without sleep. And he knew nothing. All he had gotten accomplished was obtaining new clothes. But perhaps he had more than he thought. The girl could hold information he needed – eventually, he would have to find her and make her talk. Also, he was now in possession of another fragment of Soul Edge.

As he widened the distance between himself and the castle that felt familiar somehow, he stopped hearing the calls of those damn black birds. Following the attraction if the evil energy he sensed, Vile once again submerged himself in his thoughts as night began to fall.

"I must find a way to die."

The plot thickens. So is it obvious who Vile's next opponent is going to be? The next chapter is gonna be the longest yet so it may take a little longer for me to post. Anyway, thanks for reading and as always please R&R!

Until next time, readers….