A spider, dangling from a single thread of web, slowly climbed its way down and landed on an old dark leather-bound book sitting on a desk. Skittering along, the spider crawled across several ancient tomes in Ancient Greek and Aramaic, finally stopping near a sword. The sword was about four or five feet in length with an exquisite pommel engraved with a green jewel. The sword's blade was the most interesting part, as it was divided into many equally sized sections held together by a single coil of iron, allowing the blade to extend and retract like a whip. Sitting in front of the blade, reclining on an old Victorian chair, was Ivy Valentine, the cursed heir to the Valentine mansion. Ivy looked out at the countryside of England, the foreboding forest illuminated by the haunting midnight moon. The rays streamed in through the window, causing Ivy's silver hair and haunting eyes to glow as if she were a phantasm.

Ivy was a recluse and stayed in the mansion she inherited from her deceased parents. No one lived for miles around, Ivy's residence guarded by several miles of dense forest. She spent the bulk of her time at work in her underground lab, translating ancient texts she would pick up on her trips to the holy land, or from books and tomes she had "borrowed" from the London archives. Her only companion was her Ivy blade, an enigmatic weapon infused with the same power that fuels the accursed Sword of Darkness, Soul Edge.

Ivy rested her head on her white gloved hand, looking out onto the landscape. She was in a very deeply depressed mood, her mind feeling sluggish and worn out. Ivy slumped back into her chair, sinking into its plushness. She turned her head, gazing at the Ivy blade resting on the table. Ivy clinged to the sword yet hated everything it symbolized. The same power that fueled the demonic Soul Edge also fueled the Ivy blade. The blade also reminded Ivy of her trip through Europe, meeting the azure knight, and the truth about her origins. Ivy's mind slowly drew her away from her study, back through the folds of time, to a place she knew all too well.

Ash grey clouds hung in the night sky, flooding the heavens with darkness. Ivy, dressed in a long black cloak draped across her body, stood in front of a long abandoned stone cathedral in Normandy. Moss and ivy grew abundantly on the stone brick surface, climbing high into the sky towards the steeple. A large, possibly two or three feet high, statue of a praying angel was situated at the steeple. The passage of time and the inclement weather had taken its toll on the church. Resting a hand onto the entrance door, Ivy slowly peeked into the cathedral. The inside of the church was simply a large room, with two rows of pews lined up on both sides. Shards of broken stained glass lined the ground near the windows. On the far end of the cathedral was an altar with a large wooden cross. Behind the cross was a large candleholder with seven slots with seven long white candles. Ivy walked forward, her expression clearly annoyed.

"What a waste of time, we were supposed to meet here…" thought Ivy.

The candles near the altar lit by themselves, one by one. A small gust of wind blew into the cathedral, as the doors behind Ivy loudly closed shut.

"What's going on here?!" thought Ivy, whirling around.

A few moments passed, and a shadow like fog seeped in through the windows, obscuring everything. Ivy gasped, running back to the door but finding it locked, much to her dismay. Looking around frantically, Ivy walked forward.

"There is no need for alarm," said a deep, raspy voice.

"Who's there?!" asked Ivy, her voice a mix of anger and fear.

"I am the one you have been seeking these past few weeks."

"Show yourself!" exclaimed Ivy.

"There is no need. My physical presence is not required. Now to attend to the matter at hand. I feel our relationship can be mutually beneficial."

Ivy straightened her posture, pulling back her cloak. Her expression was stern and determined.

"Well, what is it oh disembodied one?"

"You are to be a part of history, Ivy Valentine. In exchange for the power to destroy Soul Edge, I request that you join me to prepare for the summoning of souls."

Ivy perked up at the sound of 'Soul Edge'. It was the very reason she set out from her mansion onto the continent.

"Think of it Miss Valentine. You can stop using that little gadget of yours and wield enough power to destroy the sword that drove your father to madness."

"How do you know about that?!"

" You need this power, do you not? No, you yearn for this power, do you not?"

Ivy simply fell silent for a few moments.

"What is this summoning of souls you speak of?" asked Ivy in a low tone of voice.

"My very existence on this plane, on this world, is to usher in a new era. I will summon a great power to this earth, that will make every mortal shake. I want you to be a part of my great awakening, Miss Valentine."

Ivy did not respond immediately, and instead looked around her. Her vision was obscured by the haze of the eerie black fog. Closing her eyes, Ivy simply gave a nod.

"I am elated that you have agreed. Now if you would take out that toy of yours…"

Ivy complied, procuring the Ivy Blade from under her cloak. Taking it out of its scabbard, she held it in front of her. The sword was based on an Asian whip weapon, and Ivy had become quite skilled in using it. However deep down she knew that the sword was of mortal make, and no match for the untold power of Soul Edge.

Slowly the black fog surrounding Ivy began to move in her direction. Startled for a moment, Ivy looked around frantically not knowing what was going on. The smoke rushed upwards towards the sword, covering it in a thick smoke. Small crackles of lightning sprung forth from the smoky blackness. Frightened and a little excited, Ivy watched in wonderment as life was breathed into her sword…

"In my search for the Soul Edge I met him, Nightmare, the azure knight. I was blinded by my lust for revenge, to avenge my father who had wasted his life searching for the sword…"

Ivy choked somewhat at the word father. Water welled in her eyes, however she soon mustered the resolve to maintain her composure.

"It was all a lie. He, the azure knight, gave birth to my blade, breathing into it a demonic life force. But what could I have expected. The curse of the blade flows through my very veins," thought Ivy, her mind bringing up the image of the dreaded pirate Cervantes, her own father. The face of Cervantes, ghastly and pale with long lochs of ghostly white hair falling down the sides, haunted Ivy for days without end. Breaking her concentration, the sound of horse hooves hitting earth could be heard in the distance. Ivy looked out of the window towards the horizon, squinting her eyes. A lone figure, seemingly small from the distance, could be seen riding towards the mansion.

"He's here on time for once," thought Ivy to herself as she walked out of her study towards the entrance to her mansion. The Valentine mansion was the envy of London society, at least back when its owner, Count Valentine, still had his sanity. The mansion was several floors, with each floor divided into dozens of long and oftentimes confusing hallways. Each hallway was adorned with the best furnishings the Valentine fortune could buy. The floors were adorned with tapestries specially made in Persia. Silver candleholders were mounted on the walls at equidistant intervals, the light reflecting softly onto the oak paneled wall. Count Valentine was a connoisseur of the arts, and had acquired several rare and fantastic pieces of art from Europe and displayed them on the walls in abundance.

Ivy finally was at the entrance. She grabbed a dark gray cloak from the coat stand. Draping it around herself, she walked outside and waited at the entrance of the mansion. It was not long before a young man sporting a dark gray coat and black slacks appeared riding a brown horse. Dismounting his steed, the man reached into a sack he had secured onto the horse and strode briskly over to Ivy.

"Pardon the delay madam, here is your package as you've requested," said the young man in a Scottish accent. Ivy quickly took the package and gave the man a small sack filled with gold coins.

"I thank you for such speedy delivery," said Ivy.

"This particular item was rather difficult to acquire, m'lady, as were the last two items you requested. My boss says we will not be able to make any more runs for you at least for a few weeks," said the young man.

"That is fine. After this I do not think I will have further need of your services," said Ivy.

The young man tipped his cap towards Ivy, and quickly mounted his steed.

Ivy quickly entered the mansion and walked down a series of winding hallways towards the library. Coming up to a large bookcase, Ivy pulled on one of the books, causing the case to spin and reveal a dark staircase leading down into the vast basement of the mansion. Count Valentine had constructed a hidden laboratory within the basement in order to research Soul Edge. Now Ivy was using the same laboratory for her own aims. The laboratory was well furnished and was kept in meticulous order. There was one large circular table in the middle of the room, as well as three other smaller desks, one on each side of the room. There were several racks either fixated to the wall or free standing filled with vials of varying substances or with books. Ivy placed the package on the center table, removing her cloak and hanging it on a nearby coat rack. Swiftly moving over to the bookcase on the far side of the room, Ivy moved her finger, searching for a specific title. Upon finding the necessary book, she picked it up and swiftly moved over to the center table, resting the book on the surface.

"Even though I made a fatal miscalculation before, my efforts thus far will not be in vain," thought Ivy as she flipped through the book. The book was in written in Sanskrit, and was mostly a compilation of Sutras and religious texts.

"The Dvapharan Sutra of the Vadras monks holds the key to my new quest. As does this…" thought Ivy as she hurriedly opened her package. Inside the package, wrapped in several layers of protective packaging, was an exquisite gold amulet inset with four rubies. The engravings on the amulet were small inscriptions in Sanskrit, as well as several indiscernible patterns. Ivy raised the amulet, looking onto the surface. Holding the book in her other hand, Ivy closed her eyes for a moment. The laboratory was silent for several moments, not even the sound of Ivy's breath breaking the tranquility. Ivy opened her eyes, a look of pure resolve apparent in her gaze.

"Dva pa ra ja imnus hatet istos samnan in no vashtet…" chanted Ivy in a loud, monotonous tone of voice. After a few more moments of the intent chanting, the amulet began to give off a soft golden glow, illuminating the laboratory. The rubies along its surface lit up brilliantly. The inscriptions on the amulet shone brilliantly. Ivy continued her chanting, the volume of her voice rising with every word of her chant. The amulet floated away from her grasp and hovered in midair, slowly revolving. A focused beam of light erupted from the four rubies on the amulet, and projected a picture onto the wall. The image looked as if it were a reflection on the surface of water. A scene of cramped alleyways nestled in between cold, gray brick stone buildings was reflected from the amulet.

"What is the amulet showing me?" thought Ivy.

The scene seemed to move, rolling quickly past the alleyways and onto what seemed to be a city quarter. There were several peasants walking a along a busy street.

"Is that…that is, it's the Sourbonne, in Paris!"

Within moments, the amulet's glow faded, and the amulet fell onto the surface of the table.

"The amulet of the Vadras monks is said to be attuned to energies of both good and evil within the world. Using their Sutra, I can harness this amulet to find the shards of Soul Edge. I had thought the sword destroyed when Nightmare was defeated by Xianghua but I know it still lives. Even within fragments the sword is still dangerous. I will finish my quest and make sure there is no trace of it left…"

Ivy gathered the amulet and her book and placed them within a sack situated nearby. Gathering a few of her things, she walked back upstairs and prepared to leave immediately on her quest. Finally entering her study, Ivy gazed at the Ivy blade lying on the desk, the moonlight hitting its surface.

"It looks like you and I are heading out on another journey."