After the events of restoring reality to Etheria, the ladies were in the hot springs.
"Whew… Nothing beats a trip to the hot springs after a hard day's work." Sachiko said.
"You're telling me. We really needed this after going through distorted reality. I feel bad for Adora and Glimmer, though. It came at a very big cost for them." Sheena said.
"Yes… The death of the queen is going to make the events here take a very drastic turn." Cheetah said. "Damn that Catra… To think that she would go so far just to establish her own superiority…"
"Well, if it's any consolation, Catra has pretty much always been unstable as far as we know." Yoko said. "What about you? Did you really mean what you said earlier?"
"Yes. I meant every word of it, and yet...I can't help but find myself in sync with him when it comes to strategy." Cheetah said.
"David has always had this air about him that makes him seem reliable to pretty much everyone." Kokoro said. "Plus there is this saying that rivals tend to work well together because they know each other's styles very well. It's like… You admitted it, you still want to tear out his neck, but at the same time, he has shown you kindness since day one and you wanted to repay that kindness somehow. Does that make sense?"
"Very much so. And it's not just him either. I have people that actually care about me now." Cheetah said.
"I will admit, some of us were...a little wary at first." Kabuki said.
"That's perfectly understandable. The longer we've been enemies, the harder it is to get used to seeing me as an ally." Cheetah said.
"Yes, it seems that way. Some of us know this better than anyone. Even me." Sectonia said. "Believe me, I know how it feels to feel like an outsider at first. But you just need some time to have them get used to having you around. Heck, some of us have already warmed up to you."
"Bit by bit, as they say." Cheetah said.
"Speaking of which, are you sure it's okay for you to be here in the hot springs?" Sachiko asked.
"You will not believe how long I wanted to experience something like this." Cheetah said. "Besides, it feels so good on my fur after all of that constant fighting."
"I'd bet. It's probably the fur, but seeing you like this just feels a lot more natural to you." Kokoro said.
"As you said, with all of this fur, a lack of clothing never really bothers me all that much. I guess that's one advantage I have with this curse." Cheetah said.
"There, see? You need to look at the positive side of things, no matter how weird they are." Mayumi said.
"By the way, what was it that Maximus guy wanted to talk to you about?" Kaede asked.
"He said something about Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. I thought those blades were just a myth." Leia said.
"Oh no. Those blades were very much real." Cheetah said. "Although Ishihara has a replica of Soul Calibur, despite having a high chance of wielding the real blade, he wouldn't be found worthy."
"What makes you believe that?" Sachiko asked.
"Because the two blades are sentient, correct?" Raine asked.
"Sentient? As in, they have a will of their own?" Sachiko asked.
"Yes, exactly." Cheetah said.
"How did that come to pass? It's not like the Youseiken, is it?" Francisca asked.
"No, the history behind those blades is much deeper." Cheetah said. "When I was still human, I came upon some scriptures detailing those blades."
"Long, long ago, transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords eternally retold." Barbara's human voice repeated in Cheetah's head.
"Whether you wish to believe it or not, the real blades are actually among the most dangerous weapons in all of the worlds, and a lot of people researching them have been strictly advised to stay away from either of them, if possible." Cheetah said. "I'll start with the history of Soul Edge, since it's much more prominent. A fitting end awaits all who seek the cursed sword. Some may laugh and call this an exaggeration. Should anyone who has held that sword ever come across those scriptures, however, I'm certain they'll be more inclined to agree with those warnings. The origin of Soul Edge is a mystery in and of itself. Legend says that it was once an ordinary sword, void of any power. But after fighting on countless battlefields, it gathered a great deal of negative power, until a curse fell upon it. I assure you, that much is true. All who took Soul Edge in their hands became slaves to the blade, murdering until they bled their last drop of blood. This fact alone is why so few know about it, despite its appearances throughout history since time immemorial. Until, that is, an age long past, when there appeared a man with a mind powerful enough to resist the sword's control. He was simply known as the Hero King."
"Hero King? You mean like Marth?" Mayumi asked.
"No, there was someone else with that name, although his name was not officially disclosed." Cheetah said. "In that ancient age, great change came only through war. Thus, controlling Soul Edge meant ruling the world. The Hero King, being the man he was, one could say it was inevitable that he would bring peace to his warring world. It is said the Hero King lost Soul Edge due to his jealous son. After the Hero King was forced to kill his son, the spirit sword Soul Calibur was born from the remnants of the cursed sword."
"Born from its remnants? But that would mean-" Sachiko started.
"That's right. Soul Edge and Soul Calibur were forged from the same steel." Raine said. "And because of that, the two of them tend to share the same properties as well."
"And while the name Soul Edge is known to a select few, the name Soul Calibur has been known to almost no one." Cheetah said. "There is a reason that Soul Calibur was never revealed to the worlds. Some say the Hero King created Soul Calibur, but the truth is, the Hero King risked his life and failed. Those who would carry on the dead king's wish and perfect Soul Calibur were to come some time later. They were known as the Guardians of the Spirit Sword. Like a thief in the night, they took the spirit sword and withdrew into the dark recesses of history. They told others of the Hero King's spirit sword, and that they were going into hiding to both prevent Soul Calibur from being used for evil purposes, and to prepare for the threat of Soul Edge."
"Wait, there was a cult devoted to Soul Calibur?" Kaede asked.
"I suppose you can call them a cult. However, the Guardians of the Spirit Sword only entrust it to a certain few." Cheetah said. "One major example was a king from Medieval Europe. Born in Britain, the king used the spirit sword to rule a large swath of Europe. Even after reading that particular scripture, and since I was actually born in Britain, even to this day, I am left skeptical as to whether this king actually existed. Maybe not in my dimension, but assuming the tales are true...he was somehow connected with the Guardians of the Spirit Sword, from whom he received the blade. Also, it would be reasonable to assume that the king fought the one who possessed Soul Edge and won. After the king's death, though, no one knew what happened to the Spirit Sword. Perhaps it can be assumed that it eventually found its way back to the Guardians of the Spirit Sword, but it should be noted that their power dwindled greatly by that time."
"Oh wow. I had no idea that it actually ran this deep." Sachiko said.
"There was a reason why no one read about the two swords in history class. Their powers were just seemingly otherworldly, unable to be comprehended by the average scholar." Cheetah said. "Those blades are dangerous, especially in the wrong hands. They are bound to a never-ending cycle of conflict, neither blade truly destroyed for very long. After a certain period of time, they unearth themselves time and time again and begin the cycle anew."
"And to think this all happened behind the scenes since the beginning of time. It kind of makes us wonder if we truly know our own history." Raine said.
"Since the blades are obscured from the public eye, we're safe to assume that there's a chance it wouldn't have affected history all that much." Crusadermon said.
"After slumbering in the shadows of history, Soul Edge was awakened by the pirate Cervantes de Leon." Cheetah said. "Cervantes attacked the ship of one who had won Soul Edge in an auction. He stole the sword and became its puppet. Soul Edge changes its form depending on its wielder. And since Soul Calibur was forged from shards of Soul Edge, we are safe to assume that Soul Calibur can change forms based on the wielder's preferences too. When Cervantes took up the cursed sword, it had split into two blades. And after nearly thirty years of slumber, it caused a terrible catastrophe. Cervantes and the cursed sword were defeated by a holy warrior from Greece known as Sophitia Alexandra, and one of the blades was destroyed. Shattering without coming into contact with Soul Calibur was a first for Soul Edge. Shortly afterwards, though… The Evil Seed occurred."
"The Evil Seed?" Mayumi asked.
"The evil within Soul Edge was unleashed upon the worlds." Cheetah said. "Why did the Evil Seed occur? What havoc did it wreak where it landed? Not even I have a way of discerning this. But one thing is certain: Ever since that day, the cursed sword's malfested kin have been swiftly multiplying. What does it mean to be malfested? It's extremely difficult to define, for the resulting phenomena are so varied. There are those who undergo monstrous transformations, while others look no different from ordinary humans at first glance. In addition to humans, some animals have experienced transformations as well. Common traits of the malfested include heightened fighting instincts and violent tendencies. Some become beasts hungry only for slaughter, while others use strategy to entrap powerful foes, but they all slip into towns and cities, seeking blood under the cover of darkness."
"That doesn't really sound all that different from what you've been through." Sachiko said.
"The effects may be similar, but I assure you, this was not the cause of the Evil Seed. My transformation was due to a ritual that was undergone by an ancient artifact I stumbled upon in one of my excursions. Besides, the Evil Seed occurred centuries ago, at the time in your history when Hideyoshi Toyotomi was en route to conquer all of Japan. As of now, I fail to see how the two occurrences are related." Cheetah said.
"So for now, we'll have to assume that your curse wasn't due to Soul Edge. In a way, I'm kind of relieved, based on the way you were describing it." Himiko said.
"Sometime after the Evil Seed, the Azure Knight, Nightmare, appeared." Cheetah said. "Nightmare is simply a mantle given to the one Soul Edge deems as a worthy host, and the string of indiscriminate murders seem to agree with this. At the time, the sword's host was known as Siegfried Schtauffen, whose grief over the accidental death of his father, the sword took advantage of. For you see, Soul Edge, and to an extent, Soul Calibur, have a habit of manipulating the souls of their wielders to bend to their desires. But only those who bear a will stronger than those of the blades themselves can resist their influences. That is why Ishihara would be deemed unworthy of wielding either of the original blades, for his will is too strong for either of them to sway to their sides."
"Plus, David is an operative in Emi's Paranormal Investigation agency. Between that and all the world-traveling he has done, he's already experienced enough paranormal madness to know that picking either of them up is a bad idea." Mayumi said. "But still… It still unnerves me a little bit that these swords seem eternal. Just when we believe they're gone, they only appear again some time later."
"Yes… Although, it's not really anything to be too worried about." Cheetah said. "The Soul Calibur that Ishihara wields is only a mere replica. While not as powerful as the real sword, the replica is not sentient, and therefore he wouldn't run the risk of having his mind taken over. So there's at least some relief there. These are two blades that I constantly tell myself to stay away from because with my heightened senses, I am able to tell the condition of an individual with just a smell, even brainwashing."
"That sounds very beneficial." Crusadermon said.
"Yes, it is. It helps when you can't rely on your eyes to see things." Cheetah said.
"Thank you, Barbara. This dive into history has been quite intriguing. We'll keep all of this information in mind." Sectonia said.
"See that you do. Because...the last thing I would want would be for all of you to be caught up in the affairs of the blades, should they be unearthed once again." Cheetah said.
"Oh? She's actually caring about us? Are you sure reality still isn't getting scrambled?" Mayumi asked.
"Believe me, it's not. But I guess it's only natural after traveling with us for so long." Sectonia said. "I mean, it worked for me, at least."
"Can you not say it like that? You're making it look awkward." Cheetah said.
"Right, sorry. I just know how it feels to be an outcast that's not so easily trusted." Sectonia said.
"Yeah, she had a lot of hurdles to clear, and I'm sure you do too. But you've got us now if you need anything." Leia said.
"Thank you all. That really means a lot." Cheetah said.