Chapter 3: The Unwanted Knight

The young Azure Knight stood on a large hill as the rain pounded his battered body violently. His eyes moved through the land below until he came upon a city he recognized. A city known around the word, Athens. The way it was design could only be described with one word, beautiful. On the other side of the city was that of a small army of knights. Clearly they were that of the villain he was searching for. "Dyterious." He smiled with delight, his little side quest to confront this vile lord was about to come to a close and he personally couldn't wait. Unknown to him, two warriors he faced two years ago on that fateful night live in Athens.

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Cautiously, the cloaked Siegfried pushed through the rainy night, staying by the shadows and poking his head around the corners before he moved from one street to another. He wanted to make sure anyone with the ability to sense demons would notice him. Step after step, puddle after puddle, he finally made his to a large temple. Two paladins, or knights of the church, were guarding the main entrance. Paladins were exceptionally devoted to the cause of their god and the good of the people. Some even possessed spiritual powers, something he didn't want to fight in his current condition. His wounds weren't the reason why, for they have healed enough for him to do strenuous fighting. It was his armor, or lack of.

He walked towards the door, looking at them with the shadows of his hood covering his eyes, making sure that neither of them made an advancement on him. To his delight, both greeted him as he walked by and opened the door. He was lucky churches offered shelter to many travelers, or he'd be looking down the tip of a spear. "Siegfried." A familiar voice called him from his right.

He turned his head to see an elderly man in a long white robe, "Father Prometheus."

"My child, remove thy hood." Ordered the priest. Siegfried did as he asked and turned toward the father as he opened his cloak to reveal his body underneath. "Has thy soul been freed of that tainted sword?"

"Yes and no my father." Siegfried knelt before the man and took his hand and lowered his head onto it to show respect, "I may no longer possess the sword, but my mind and soul are still connected to it. Every time I transform into the demon Nightmare, I can hear it in my mind. When I sleep at night, I have nightmares created by that sword and receive messages taunting my powerless state."

"Stand up child. Now tell me, why are you here?" The priest ordered.

"I have come to retrieve the sword I left behind seven years ago." Siegfried answered truthfully.

"The sword is still in the pedestal. I have conjured a barrier around it so only the pure may touch it yet no man, other than yourself, can pull it. You would be interested to know that your sword has became that of the legends because of this." The priest and Siegfried started to walk slowly down the marble hallway.

"Faust is a mortal sword with no powers. Even if it did possess some powers, it is a sword belonging to a demon. A demon who's heart is tainted with the sin of evil."

"Nay, your heart is not tainted with the sin of evil. You were merely controlled by a sword. You had no control over the actions your body undertook as a puppet does during a play. Your past isn't the purest, but your heart is. For even the purest of us fall into sin." The priest shook his head and let out a small sigh, "Good and evil is topic you seem confused about. You consider yourself evil, yet in my eyes or in the eyes of god, you are not."

"Father?" Siegfried was bewildered at the words spoken by the wise priest.

"There is only one truth between good and evil. Both are sinners. Do you know the difference between good and evil?" The priest looked at him as Siegfried entered a deep thought.

After a couple of minutes of thinking, he spoke up what he believed to be the correct answer, "The good are willing to protect others. The good are fair, and kind."

"Your answer is what many believe, but it is wrong. Bandits have been known to take care of one another. The darkest of knights will duel fairly if they value honor in combat. A powerful warlord may be ruthless to his enemies and captives, but he treats his army and people with the utmost care."

"Then what is good if it isn't action? Faith?"

"No child. A Christian can slay a family and still believe in god. While one who worships the devil can save a man's daughter from certain doom. Faith isn't the answer. Faith can only help guide us. Goodness involves helping others, but what separates it from evil is the ability to recognize our mistakes that bring harm to others and attempt to correct it. Many either avoid repeating the mistake, confess their sins, or by redeeming themselves through another act that leads to helping someone. A child hits another boy for talking to his sister in belief that the other boy was attempting to swoon her over. After his sister explains that he wasn't, the child is at fault for hitting the other even though he was only looking after his sister's well-being. He then goes up to the boy and apologizes and offer to play with him."

"Father, even if what you are saying is true, I am still tainted. I have committed so many crimes. Took so many lives. I can never cross back into the light, I can only push back the darkness." Siegfried looked away from the father.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. Your past isn't the most wonderful, but ensuring that it is never repeated is a great feat of goodness." The priest was amused on how the young knight was reacting. They entered a large marble room, from the looks of it, it was for praying. Down the aisle of benches, up a small flight of stairs, Faust rested in a large pedestal. The blade was cracked all over, yet it was most likely the sturdiest sword in the country. Behind the blade was a large statue, he was sure it was that of a Greek god. Though, he didn't study in Greek Mythology so he couldn't say which god it was. Ares was his best guess. Or maybe Zeus. Who knows? Who cares? He sure as hell didn't.

He noticed that there was only one person in the room. A girl. Short blond hair, white tunic and skirt with a jagged hem. Long tan stockings. White boots and long white gloves that went pass her elbows. She was praying to the statue, or at least to the god the statue represented. She stood up and turned around and walked passed the sword. Gracefully she stepped down the steps and approached the priest, "Hello Father."

"Cassandra, my dear. I thought you were going to be at your sister's today."

"I am Father. I'm on my way over there right now."

"Good child. I'll be stopping by there with a friend. Can you ask Rothion if he is willing to repair a sword for me?" The father looked at Siegfried, "And I suppose some armor as well." Siegfried mentally groaned. His armor did need to be repair, but he didn't have the time too repair it. Hell, the sword would take a whole day and it's simpler than any type of armor he could think of!

"I'm sure he'll be more than willing to help you Father. May I ask if this is the man who's armor is being repaired?" Cassandra asked a bit confused. She then looked at the man's face. Her eyes widen in surprise, for she had recognized the man from a previous battle when he wasn't wearing his helmet and wielded a most evil sword.

"I don't need my armor repaired." Siegfried answered for the priest, his tone was cold, obviously he didn't want to associate if he didn't have to, "Just my sword."

"Cassandra, can you please leave us? We have some pressing matters to attend too." Father Prometheus led her out the room with a hand.

"Yes Father. Good day." She said, her voice stuttered a bit as she glanced at Siegfried once more. She wasn't sure what his goals were, but she was going to find out. She didn't trust him at all.

Closing the door behind him, the priest, with Siegfried at his side, walked over to the sword and up the stairs. "Now claim thy sword." He instructed. Without hesitation, Siegfried stepped up to the pedestal and ripped it out in once clean motion. "Now that you have a sword forged by Borin Seshmere, are you certain you are capable of defeating Soul Edge?"

"No, I cannot defeat Soul Edge in its current state of power. I'll need Soul Calibur. Faust is the only sword I can trust to aid me in my quest to retrieve the fragments of the sword I broke two years ago. But I fear even with it, I'll still fall in battle before I manage to strike the finishing blow." Siegfried looked at his sword, cracked all over with half of the blade missing. The same as it was seven years ago when he first used it to fight Soul Edge when it possessed Cervantes.

"Even though you'll most likely die on this quest, you still choose to accept it? You are the same as you were when you stopped by here five years ago to check on your sword. How I recall myself trying to convince you to drop Soul Edge and walk away. Alas, you refused to listen to me and kept the sword. Told me that you mustn't let the sword fall into another's hands and let their life be used by the sword as yours has. I won't try to stop you, but I want to let you know child. You have made me very proud. I am honored to have met you. For so long have you taken the burden of protecting mankind from that sword, even when you were powerless against it, and never once have you looked back. I wish you hadn't came across that sword. No doubt you would've carved your name into the face of history with many heroic deeds."

The fathered walked up to the pedestal and leaned down. His wrinkled hand moved toward its base and pushed a concealed switch. The pedestal moved out of the way to reveal a storage department. Reaching inside, the priest pulled out an orange blanket. "You sword's other half I kept safe. I knew you'd return someday. Let's take these halves to Rothion. He'll be able to repair your sword. He was, after all, Borin Seshmere's apprentice."

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"You will be able to repair the sword?" Father Prometheus asked as he, Siegfried, Rothion, and Sophitia stood in Rothion's forgery.

"Hmm, its cracked, broken in half, and still has a sharp edge. Definitely made by Master Seshmere. I can have it repaired before noon tomorrow. Basic welding is easier than what most people think Your armor is a different matter though. I say in about four days it'll be repaired. Need to knock out some dents, a little welding and…"

"As tempting as it is, I don't need you to repair my armor." Siegfried cut him off, "I would like to leave as quickly as possible. The longer I stay, the worse the situation becomes."

"Well, I guess I need to get to work then." Rothion pushed them all out of his forgery.

"He doesn't like to be disturbed when he's working." Sophitia apologized for her husband. "You have no where to stay, do you sir knight?" She looked at Siegfried.

"Don't trouble yourself." He told her.

"I'll say. This man is no knight!" They all heard a woman's voice. Out of nowhere, Cassandra tackled Siegfried to the ground and pointed her Omega Sword at his throat. "Nightmare, how dare you show your face in Athens."

"Cassandra, what is the meaning of this!" Father Prometheus and Sophitia said in unison.

"This man is a demon sis. I'll never forget his face."

"If you are going to end my life, I suggest you do it quick. If not, then get off!" Siegfried growled. Next thing he knew, Sophitia ripped Cassandra off of him.

"What are you talking about?" Sophitia screamed at her sister, "He's not Nightmare! Nightmare has a deformed arm. Does his arm look deformed to you? And if he was Nightmare, he'd be going around killing everyone."

Siegfried and the priest looked at each other and then at the two ladies. "I'm afraid your sister is right." Siegfried begun. "I am Nightmare. Even so, I have no desire to harm anyone."

"You liar!" Cassandra yelled at the top of her lungs as she charged Siegfried with her sword raised to attack. Quickly he drew his broken sword and blocked Cassandra's sharp short sword. Using her agility to an advantage, she ducked, causing Siegfried to stumble forward, and rose up with her shield catching him in the jaw. He stumbled back before regaining his senses and took up a defensive stance.

"I order you two to stop!" The priest got in between the two. "Now lower your weapons!" Cassandra sheathed her sword hesitantly while the blond knight did the same. "Siegfried, you are to stay at the church tonight. Cassandra, go home and think about what you did. Attacking a man who had no desire to harm anyone. Have you no shame?"

"You're going to fall for that routine? He's waiting for us to go to sleep before killing us. That fowl beast should be driven away from our city!"

"Cassandra!" The priest shouted. "He is our guest, we shall treat him with respect."

"Respect my ass. I'm sorry Father, but this demon is deceiving you."

"I have a feeling I'm not wanted here. I'll meet you back at the church Father." Siegfried walked away as he pulled his hood over his head.