Well, time for another installment of my little diddy here. It seems like it's been a long time since I've updated, but I know it surely can't be more than a month, if even that. My wife and I have spent the past two weeks moving, and that can really take it outta ya. Now, though, updates should come more regularly, since I've just had cable internet installed. Woot! No more dial up or going to my mom's house for net now!

This chapter is the longest one so far if I remember correctly. I had a lot of ground I wanted to get through with it, and just couldn't find a good breakpoint for splitting it into 2 chapters. Hope I don't give anyone eye strain.

If the 'M' rating isn't enough, let me warn you again, this chapter deals with some adult situations.

Next chapter will catch us up with Nightmare as he chases the mysterious man (yeah, enough of that, we all know its Voldo heh). They will have a showdown on Voldo's home turf. Will a new master grip Soul Edge? Or will Nightmare cut down the creepy old man? Tune in next time, same channel!

The Ultimate Sword

The coast was a beautiful shade of sandy white, with rolling green plains beyond. Talim sighed as she watched the land grow closer and closer, feeling the burden of her quest weighing deeply on her soul. She could not be shaken from her determination to rid the world of the evil sword, but she had to admit to herself that she was scared to death.

She turned her mind to her companion, and to the distressing situation that happened the night before.

Talim had been lying on the cold, hard deck in the cargo hold of the ship. The ship had no beds to spare for the women, instead the captain offered them a few blankets and an open spot on the floor.

The cargo hold was dark and damp, and filled with various crates of different sizes and shapes. A few large openings littered the floor, allowing the girls to pick a clearing in the center of the room for them to sleep.

Mina spread her blankets out a few feet away from Talim's and after a few minutes, the small kerosene lamps were blown out, and the pair settled down to get a bit of rest.

Talim heard a great deal of rustling in the inky darkness of the cargo hold, and she could not figure out just what Mina was doing. She sat up a little bit, and could barely make out the shadow of Mina standing and reaching around as if she was taking something off.

Well, I guess this is the first time in a long time where we're safe enough to get comfortable Talim thought to herself. She chose to sleep in her clothes like always, not wanting to risk being caught off guard, but surely understood why Mina felt safe enough to let her guard down.

Mina was apparently satisfied with whatever adjustments she was making in the dark, and her shadow dipped down out of sight as she lowered herself to the floor, and her makeshift bed.

The cargo hold was silent except for the lapping of the sea against the hull of the ship, and the occasional creak of the night crew quietly going about the business of sailing the ship. Talim listened to the sounds, allowing them to gently lead her to sleep.

Right as Talim was about to fall into slumber, a new sound fell on her ears. She heard a sliding, scraping like noise. It was enough to keep her from sleep, but not enough to rip her awake. She realized it was the sound of Mina's blankets sliding across the deck towards her.

The sound stopped, and Talim sensed that Mina was no more than a foot or two from her. She did not find it alarming, having put out of her mind the incident in the tent weeks ago. Her travels with Mina had shown her that the woman had a good heart, and Talim once again trusted her.

A few more moments passed in the darkness, and Talim once again tried to turn her mind to sleep.

"Talim" Mina whispered, drawing the young warrior once again away from the embrace of sleep.

"What?" Talim answered.

"I need to show you something. Let me see your hand" Mina said, groping in the darkness and finding Talim's hand.

Mina brought her hand up, and pulled it towards her. Talim did not resist, interested in what Mina could possibly want to show her.

Talim's hand made contact with something soft and supple. She felt around it a bit, trying to think of what it could be. Whatever it was, it was soft around the outside, and quite round.

Towards the middle was a ring that felt different, rougher in a way, but still gently soft. In the center of this new area sat a bump that felt almost like knotted cloth. The knot grew stiffer with each second Talim's hand was on it. Like a flash of lightning, Talim realized she was feeling Mina's breast, and was instantly embarrassed at her naivety.

She opened her mouth, a gasp escaping her throat. Before she could draw her hand away, Mina nearly pounced on her, pushing her shoulders down flat and leaned over her. Mina leaned over and planted her lips on Talim's and sent her tongue snaking into the young warrior's mouth.

Mina's lips were soft and gentle, but they worked at Talim with a fiery passion. Her tongue prodded around, twisting and turning. She tried desperately to stimulate Talim's tongue into dancing with hers, but was not met with any success.

Talim was still for a brief instant, shocked by what was happening, by the taste of Mina's kiss, and the pressure of Mina's bare breasts pressing against her. She regained her senses quickly, however, and with no small amount of force, threw the woman off her.

Talim quickly scrambled to her feet, grabbing her tonfas from under the ratty, dirty pillow that she had hid them under without thought. She backed up until her retreat was halted by several wooden barrels.

"What are you doing Mina?" she exclaimed, shocked to her core.

There was no immediate answer, instead after a few seconds a lamp winked on, bathing the cargo hold with a soft gentle light. Mina stood holding the lamp, completely nude, making no attempt to cover herself. The light caressed her curves, and danced across her ample chest. She stood in a seductive pose, her right leg slightly in front of her left, allowing nothing more than a small patch of curly brown hair peek out from where her legs met.

"Talim, there's no reason to fight our feelings. We should be together."

The young priestess found Mina's proposition to be a bit confusing. Though she was only fifteen, she was well aware of the differences between a man and a woman. She had never seen a male organ, except for accidentally walking in on her father while he was using the bathroom, but she did know exactly how it all worked. She knew how a couple made love.

Knowing that, knowing how the man must enter the woman, she could not see how two women could have anything to do with each other in that way, yet Mina seemed intently interested in showing her.

As these thoughts flashed through her mind, Talim shook her head violently.

"I have no such feelings. You are my friend, nothing more." Talim protested.

"Aw, is it your first time? I promise I'll be gentle."

Mina ran her right hand over her right breast, massaging it gently, and stepping forward with as much sexiness as she could muster.

Talim reached down to her hips, retrieving her tonfas and holding them up in front of her chest, the right one slightly higher than the left, in her normal fighting stance. The cold metal of the tonfas ran down her arms, nearly to her elbows, and the soft candlelight reflected off their smooth, polished surfaces.

"One more step, and I won't be gentle with you" Talim growled in warning.

Mina stopped dead in her tracks, a look of surprise spreading across her features. An instant later, the surprise was replaced with a look of pain, and dejection. Her right hand stopped between her breasts, as though she was clutching at her breaking heart. Tears began to well in her big brown eyes, and her lips quivered.

"Are you… rejecting me?" she asked in a whimper.

"I'm sorry, Mina. This is not my way. I cannot be with you in that way." Talim replied, slowly lowering her weapons.

Mina did not answer, but instead gave into her emotions, and burst into tears. She covered her face with her hands, and wailed deeply into them.

"Mina…" Talim said with a great deal of sympathy coloring her voice.

Mina continued her wailing, but dropped her hands from her face, and quickly gathered up her clothing. She struggled with it for a moment, building her frustration. She threw her arms down, still clinging to her halter top, which had become twisted up with her long flowing loincloth like dress. She screamed down at the garments, a tortured sound.

That bit of release allowed her to hold back her sobbing enough to get the clothing untangled, and she donned it without hesitation. She looked up at Talim one last time, tears streaming down her face, her eyes a deep well of pain. She did not say anything, but instead allowed her lingering glance to tell Talim everything she wanted to express.

Finally breaking the stare, Mina turned to the door and stormed out of the cargo hold, muffled crying following in her wake.

Talim stood stunned at what had just happened. She did not know how to handle the situation, or even what to do next. With a little thought, she decided it was best that she leave Mina be for the night.

The young priestess hoped that what had happened hadn't ruined her friendship with the woman, for Talim enjoyed Mina's company a great deal. Not only that, but Talim wanted Mina with her, since she was a considerable warrior. In their travels together, Mina had gotten Talim out of a tight spot more than once. Talim did not even want to think of how things might have turned out if Mina's halberd hadn't intervened at crucial moments.

Talim turned back to the room, and knew she could not sleep where she had intended. She did not think Mina would bother her anymore, and knew Mina had no malice in her heart, but Talim was nevertheless uncomfortable. She gathered her blankets and scanned the room for a new place to bed down.

Far in the upper right corner of the room was a stack of crates and boxes. Against the far wall was a small opening. The crates had been stacked away from the wall, or maybe the crates that were against it had made port sooner than the rest of the cargo. In front of the hole was a line of barrels, obscuring the interior of the alcove.

Talim knew this would be a perfect place for her. By being out of sight, she would feel much more secure. She nimbly made her way around the room, dodging crates left and right, and made her way back to the small area she had decided to claim. Hopping over the barrels with ease, she settled down, opting to sleep leaning up against the inner wall. She wrapped her blankets around her and allowed her mind to drift.

As she drifted off to sleep, she came to understand why Mina had thought what she did. All the time they had been traveling together, there were little things that the pair shared in that meant nothing to Talim, but apparently meant everything to Mina.

There had been hugs, jokes, and giggles. They had sat very close to each other many times. They had shared meals, even on occasion bathed in a stream simultaneously.

None of these things were out of place to Talim, for she did many of the same things with her best friend back home. Though she had serious duties, she was allowed to be a teenager, and act like teenager girls acted when not training.

Though Talim knew Mina was a good deal older than her, the woman's youthful beauty made it seem as though there were only a couple of years between them. This had made Talim think of Mina as though she was Talim's age.

The priestess now understood that all those things she had chalked up to just being a young woman were in fact for Mina flirtations. And Talim's behavior had been interpreted as a return of affection. Talim realized that, in a way, she had been leading Mina on.

Talim felt horrible about it, and decided that she should apologize to the woman in the morning, and try to explain everything. Maybe she could salvage their friendship and everything would work out. With this new goal in mind, sleep finally overtook the young warrior.

Talim's mind was snapped back to the present, with its view of the coast growing ever larger from the railing by which she stood. She turned slowly to her right, and saw Mina was approaching.

Mina walked slowly, her head cowered down in embarrassment and maybe even shame. Talim turned towards her, watching the warrior's slow approach with a measure of embarrassment and pity in her features.

"Talim, I just want to…" Mina started.

"No, let me let me go first." Talim interrupted.

Mina stopped and held her silence, indicating she would hear what Talim wished to say.

"Mina, I was thinking last night, and I realized that maybe I had given you the wrong idea. Everything that we have shared, well, none of it meant anything more than friendship to me. On this journey, you have become my best friend, and I was just being myself with you. Now I realize how you could have gotten the wrong idea.

"However, you should have shown more respect to me. Even if I was interested, stripping naked and forcing a kiss still would have been wrong."

Mina stared hard at the deck, like a small child being scolded. "Does this mean you don't want me to travel with you anymore?" she asked meekly.

"Of course I want you with me! You are my friend, Mina. As long as you respect my space and don't try anything like last night again, I don't see why we can't just continue on" Talim answered, injecting warmth into her voice.

Mina's face brightened considerably, and she clapped her hands in front of her chest in exuberation. "Thank you! Thank you! I promise that there won't be anymore things like last night."

Talim nodded. "And I want to say I'm sorry for giving you the wrong idea and everything."

"I'm sorry too, for… well, you know" Mina said, a touch of embarrassment resurfacing in her voice. "Are we good?"

"We're good" Talim answered, relieved that the situation looked to be over.

Mina threw open her arms and approached Talim slowly. Talim allowed herself a smile, and bit back her wariness. The pair embraced, though Talim made sure to keep her body as far away from Mina as possible.

The boat made dock late in the afternoon. The area was void of life, save for two large buildings set close to the actual piers themselves. One was obviously a storehouse for the goods being delivered, and men scurried back and forth from the ship to the building, unloading the crates and barrels from the lower decks. The second building was a tavern, a resting spot for the crew.

Because of the hour, Talim and Mina decided to stay at the tavern for the night and resume their travels in the morning. The tavern had fair enough accommodations, including a great deal of rooms, a full service kitchen, and of course a vast supply of liquor.

The room the duo stayed in was nicer than anything Talim had seen on the trip so far. It was a small room, with a single bed on each side, and no decorations of any kind to cover the natural wood grain. There was no furniture in the room, except for one small table, no more than a foot wide or deep, which held aloft a tin tub filled with water.

Talim settled down on the bed closest to the door, and closed her eyes, grateful that where they were staying was far enough away from the main hall of the tavern to muffle the boisterous noise the crew of her ship was making to celebrate another successful delivery.

With only the exchange of goodnights between the pair, Talim allowed herself to trust Mina again and eagerly set her mind to making up for the rest she had missed the night before.

The next morning, Talim learned from the barkeep that a knight had been terrorizing the land to the north, killing entire villages, and destroying everything in his path. Talim knew that this was the one she sought, and quickly roused Mina. Not even an hour later, the pair was once again on the hunt, and Talim knew her quest would soon come to an end.

The coastal plains gave way to a thick forest, which the pair streaked through, heading for a town with a name neither could pronounce. They made good time, walking briskly all day, and settling down at night only when they could no longer see where they were going. They rose in the morning at first light and pushed ahead.

As the duo continued, the forest thinned out, revealing larger and larger gaps between the clumps of trees. They were not far from the town, which was said to sit no more than a day's walk from the forest's edge. Talim drove herself ever onward, with each step more eager to end the quest than the last.

When the pair entered a meadow-like clearing, they were brought to a halt by the sound of rustling in the trees to the west. Talim listened to the wind, and it told her that there was someone nearby. Since they had not seen or heard a single soul the whole time they had been traveling through the forest, the likelihood of meeting another friendly traveler was quite low.

"What was that?" Mina asked warily.

"Someone's there" Talim answered, slowly reaching down and drawing her tonfas from their leather loops on her belt.

Mina noticed the action, and reached behind her head, drawing her halberd as well. Both warriors stood at the ready, straining their senses to discover the source of the rustling.

Suddenly an explosion of sound erupted from behind the pair, and as they turned, they were treated to the sight of a man flying down towards Mina, his sky blue staff streaking in an overhead chop.

Talim instinctively jumped back a few feet. Mina turned to meet her attacker, swinging her halberd in an upwards and to the side motion, blocking the blue staff, and causing it to strike the ground to her left instead of her head. The man wielding it appeared to be fairly old, and lingered just a brief moment in a hunched over pose, his staff still held firmly by the ground, crossing Mina's halberd.

Mina saw her opening, and took it. She pulled the halberd back to the right, freeing it from the man's weapon. She intended to connect the hilt of the polearm with his chin, but somehow the man anticipated her move.

As soon as Mina began her movement, the man dropped down and lunged at her feet. She did not expect this, and was too committed to her attack to counter. The man's sweep connected, and Mina tumbled to the ground unceremoniously.

The man instantly bounded to his feet, standing to Mina's left. He drew back his staff and shoved it hard at her, with a crosswise motion, aiming for Mina's right side. Mina swung her halberd longwise, parallel with her body, and from left to right, to deflect the blow.

Her movement served its purpose, and the man's staff slammed harmlessly into the ground by her side. The man was not fazed however, and instead leapt into the air, using his staff to carry him over Mina. As he landed, he twisted his body, and brought his knee off to the side, and under the staff. He pushed the staff forward a little as he completed his jump, lining it up between Mina's halberd and her body.

Mina instinctively pulled the halberd's shaft down towards her, exactly as the man wanted. Using the motion of his jump as energy, and his knee as a fulcrum, he pushed hard on the end of the staff. The shaft jerked hard up against Mina's halberd, and the weapon was torn from her hands, and sent spinning off behind the man. Shocked, Mina looked back to her left to call for Talim's help, only to see the young priestess launch herself in an attack of her own. Mina quickly tucked herself and flipped backwards in a roll, out of the way of her oncoming companion.

As soon as Mina had been knocked down, Talim began her charge. She threw herself forward, her right tonfa jutted out in front of her. The man had made his flip and disarmed Mina right as Talim approached. The man continued his motion as Mina's halberd flew away. He brought the staff around in a large loop from behind and under him, and readjusted his grip to its new facing. As the end of the staff came up in the circle he was making, he thrust it forward at Talim, catching her squarely in the stomach, and halting her advance instantly.

Talim fell backwards, the wind knocked from her. She landed on the ground on her back. Using the momentum of her fall, she continued rolling; flipping backwards heels over head, and erecting herself at the end of the maneuver.

The man did not hesitate, but instead lunged towards Talim, his blue staff held straight in front of him like a spear. Talim easily sidestepped the attack, spinning her body while she did so. She rolled along the staff, pivoting around with amazing speed. As soon as she was in range, she positioned herself so that she could bring her tonfas around with the force of her spin. Using all her might, she smashed her weapons into the knuckles that held the staff, causing the man to recoil in pain. As soon as his grip faltered, Talim continued the spin, and brought her foot up in a high kick.

Her shoe impacted with the man's chin hard, sending blood flying from his mouth. He crashed down to the ground, with the force of Talim's kick leading him. His staff dropped from his grip and bounced on the ground.

Talim only paused an instant to gauge just how quickly the man was going to return to his feet. When he did not bound up immediately, she reached down and grabbed the staff from the ground. With one hard heave, she sent the weapon flying away and behind her. She then jumped back a few feet, and watched the man closely, praying he did not pursue the fight any further.

Mina had retrieved her weapon, and had moved towards Talim as soon as she saw the man go down. The man was an incredible warrior, and Mina did not want to be far from her partner should the fighting resume.

Before moving to Talim's side, Mina shot to the man's weapon, and with two quick stabs, chopped the weapon into pieces. The staff was strangely blue all the way through, though it seemed to be made of wood. Mina did not dare take time to ponder the strange weapon, believing the man could put up quite a fight even unarmed.

As Mina reached Talim's side, the man struggled to his feet, blood still issuing from his mouth from Talim's kick. The pair finally got a good look at the man attacking him. He was barefooted, and dirty all over. Shredded dark brown pants covered his legs, held up by nothing more than a simple twist of rope. A white tunic draped his torso, so stained and soiled that it was barely recognizable as white.

His skin was brown and leathery, as though he had baked in the sun his entire life. His face was accented by a scraggly beard of dirty white hair that extended up all the way to his head. Grey tufts of unruly locks peaked out from under his large, traditional Chinese hat.

"Please, why are you attacking us? How have we wronged you?" Talim pleaded.

The man did not answer, but instead reached behind his head, and drew forth a blue katana. Somehow he had hidden a sword in the back of his shirt. Talim tried to wrap her mind around how he was able to move without the weapon being visible.

The man charged Talim, his sole attention appearing to be on her. As he approached, Mina thrust her halberd forward, trying to block his path. The man quickly stepped on the blade itself and leapt over, his forward advance unaffected.

Talim paused for a moment, allowing the man to reach her. Right as his blade was about to pierce her smooth, brown skin, she sidestepped and spun once again. The man was ready for this however, and swung his blade hard to the left, smashing the side of the blade into Talim's chest.

Though Talim stumbled backwards, the man did not have time to press his attack. Mina shot her weapon forward, aiming at the man's back. The man did a spin of his own, nimbly avoiding the attack.

Talim had enough time to recover from the sword's blow, though her chest still stung. She immediately closed in on the man, swinging her tonfas in an uppercut motion, one after the other. The man brought his sword around, and deflected her strikes. She continued to swing, keeping herself as close as possible to the warrior to capitalize on her short range advantage.

Strike and parry, back and forth the pair exchanged swings. Talim made sure to keep her rhythm up, hoping to allow Mina enough time to execute her long range, but very slow, attacks.

Mina thrust and swung, and each time, the man was able to fend off Talim, and remove himself from the targeted area. Frustration washed over Mina, causing her attacks to become more and more reckless.

One hard horizontal swing from the halberd sent Talim ducking for cover. When the man saw Talim cower down, he swung hard for her legs, forcing the priestess to flip backwards and away from the man, effectively disengaging her from the fight for the moment.

The man started towards Mina, and she decided to go all out, and see if the old man could handle her best moves. She gripped her halberd in the center, and begun spinning it about her body as hard as she could. The bladed staff whirled from the left side of her to the right, nothing more than a flurry of flashing steel and blood red staff.

"Try dodging this!" Mina exclaimed, advancing slowly with her spinning halberd.

The man did not dodge at all, but instead watched Mina closely. After a moment of observation, he lunged forward and stuck his blade into the whirling spin of Mina's weapon. Mina suddenly found her twirl stopped, and a blue blade rested between her hands, jutting towards her body.

Before she could react, the man pulled his blade upwards, slamming the top dull side of the blade into her fingers. Pain screeched through her hand and arm, forcing her to release her grip.

The man hopped, kicking up with his foot. The kick pushed the halberd up out of Mina's other hand, and into the air several feet. As soon as the man's foot landed, he jumped straight up again, and kicked Mina hard right in the chest.

Mina landed on the ground once again with a thud, and looked up just in time to see the man grab her falling halberd, and toss it to the side, away from her.

"Stay down, or I will kill you" the man grumbled, glaring down at her.

Seeing Mina fall again reinforced in Talim's mind just how much they were outclassed by this menacing old man. She decided that she would just do the best she could, and allow the Wind Goddess to decide her fate beyond that.

"Believe in yourself…Okay" Talim whispered to herself, clearing her mind for the task at hand.

She walked back towards the man, and once again engaged him in combat. Swings and parries, back and forth the pair fought. None of the man's blows landed on Talim, though several of hers found their marks. The man was not stopped by her attacks, but it was obvious he was taking a beating.

The fight was strangely not difficult for the young priestess. Her mind seemed to guide her body without thought. No matter how ferocious the attack, Talim either blocked or dodged them with ease.

Talim noticed that Mina just sat on the ground, watching the pair in amazement. Talim was glad, for she did not need the help, and the man had already gotten the best of Mina twice.

The man countered a blow from Talim, and inadvertently left himself wide open. Talim jumped high in the air, and kicked the man hard, one foot after another. The man stumbled backwards several steps before falling to the ground, obviously winded.

A moment passed and Talim did not approach, but instead just stood at the ready, not wanting to press the fight any further than the man wanted.

The man panted for a moment before raising himself up enough to address his opponent.

"You fight with such purity of heart, with no darkness or malice."

Talim did not respond, but instead kept vigilant in her watch over the man.

"I know who you are, Priestess Talim. I have been searching for you."

"Searching for me? Why? And if so, why did you attack us?" Talim asked, confused.

"I had to see if you were pure of heart. That is all" the man replied, slowly rising to his feet.

"I am the keeper of the blade of Eternity. A blade you need to complete the task you are attempting."

"You have Soul Edge?" Talim gasped, raising her tonfas to the ready once again.

The man chuckled. "No, no, dear no. Evil warriors seek that blade. This blade, it seeks a pure heart and steady hand to guide it. No, it is not Soul Edge, but instead it's polar opposite, Soul Calibur."

"I've never heard of such a sword before" Talim thought aloud.

"Come, my home is nearby. I will explain everything to you." The man began walking back towards the forest, with a very distinct hobble.

Talim shrugged at Mina, and followed the man.

The only name the man would offer was Edgemaster, the keeper of Soul Calibur. He explained that Soul Calibur was the true sword of salvation, and existed only to battle the evil Soul Edge.

Edgemaster explained that without Soul Calibur, Soul Edge could not be truly destroyed. He also explained that the sword had spoken to him in his dreams, telling him of Talim, and how to find her. The sword had chosen its master, should she have the will to bear the burden.

The pair spent the night at Edgemaster's small hut, taking solace in the deep darkness of the forest around them. In the morning, the man explained that it was time for Talim to either accept the burden of Soul Calibur, and the danger it presented in its quest, or reject it to the peril of the world.

"Edgemaster, I don't get it. You say a warrior with a pure heart must wield the sword, right?" Talim inquired.

"That's right."

"Well, the wind around you is pure and fresh, and you have superb martial skills. Why don't you take up Soul Calibur against the evil sword?"

Edgemaster sighed. "I wish I could Talim, I really do. But, Soul Calibur chooses its master, not the other way around. I have…a taint on my soul. I hide it deep down, but it is still there. No, only you can wield the sword."

Talim nodded in understanding, as Edgemaster ducked behind his small hut. He returned with a sword wrapped in a white cloth. He kneeled before Talim, offering the weapon to her.

A dancing blue hilt stuck out from the cloth, with incredible detail etched into the metal. The color was like that of the sea, deep and clean. Talim unwrapped the blade of the weapon, and was greeted with an amazing sight.

The weapon itself was blue as well, and the blade was not a single piece, but instead was two long and wickedly sharp fangs. An inch wide gap separated the two prongs.

Talim's eyes followed the blade down to its hilt. The meeting of the blade and handle was flourished with a dual pair of wings emitting from the centerpiece which seemed to resemble an eye.

Soul Calibur radiated strength, purity, and kindness, backed by a silent, strong determination. Talim started to reach for the sword, but stopped short when she remembered that she was not trained to use such a weapon.

"I don't know how to use a sword" Talim said sheepishly.

"Just hold it, and everything will become clear" Edgemaster encouraged.

Talim did as he said, holding the blade tightly, and allowing its calming energy to wash over her. As she gazed at the sword, it began to glow white. The glowing continued to grow, and soon engulfed the entire weapon.

Panic washed over Talim, and she tried to drop the weapon, only to find that she was not able to. The light encased her hand as well, though there was no pain. A second later, the light faded and died, and the sword was no longer a sword. Instead it had become a pair of tonfas.

Talim grabbed the top tonfa before it could fall, and gripped the new weapons in her hands. She spun them around gingerly, astonished by their perfect balance. They were as light as air, and yet as substantial as pure steel. They were the perfect weapons.

Light and power seeped into Talim from the tonfas, pouring into her soul. She suddenly became aware of the Soul Calibur's true nature, along with the nature of Soul Edge. Then she became acutely aware of where Soul Edge dwelled.

The darkness of Soul Edge bit at her, though Soul Calibur gave her the strength to resist. She suddenly looked towards the east, eyes burning with determination to destroy the evil blade.

Edgemaster looked at her proudly. "I believe in you Talim. Go now, before it is too late."

"Thank you, Edgemaster. Mina, let's go." Talim said, starting towards the east at a dead run.

Soon it will all be over Talim thought to herself as each step carried her closer to Soul Edge and her destiny.