A/N: Hullo everybody. Merry Christmas! I'm sorry for the very long delay. I promised to release this in a few weeks but it turned to a few months. Schedule's still full. But here it is…

Hey! Hilde's gonna be in here atlast. She is the main character after all and she shouldn't be in this story far too later in the chapters. So, hope you enjoy this. Oh, by the way, just to clear out confusion, the setting of this story is at the start of SCIV, right after SCIII.

Again, please review. And if any errors are spotted, do mention it to me. Critiques, as long as they're constructive, are always welcome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Soulcalibur or its characters; this is just a fanfiction.

Chapter 2: The Mystery of the Purple Light

Tira uttered an animalistic yell as she charged through the undead, slashing left and right indiscriminately, blood vessels in her temples bulging out as rage and excitement… and pleasure mixed together; all three empowering her.

Leaping up, she dodged an attack towards her and in mid-air she began to spin and spin in cycles, faster and faster until she became a spinning cyclone of death. She began her descent and sliced through the flesh of the undead. At the peak of her spinning, she released her ring blade towards the zombies—towards the direction of the purple light, causing a break along the walls of the undead warriors.

She sprinted, her path cleared by her weapon, and as she neared the origin of the purple light, she leapt to claim her weapon which was flying back to her. She caught its inner side with her wrist and landed on one knee, head bent down.

As she lifted her head, she caught sight of the silhouette of a man dressed in exquisite clothes who with an extended hand cultivated an orb of purple light in front of him. At its background were two swords attached onto each other, one identical to the one held by the Nightmare but more vibrant. The other, blue in color, with a crystal orb separating the hilt and the blade, stood on top of the other. Both were caught in an embrace by a spinous trunk entangling each other; both swords were stabbed onto the ground.

As she attempted to stand, several undead came and blocked her view. She didn't fret—she had no time for it because the glow from the orb soon divided the walls of the undead in front of her like curtains pushed onto both sides.

She heard the incomprehensible chant of the man grew from whisper to a loud yell. Instantly, the orb of light blew in size. The trunk entangling the two swords disintegrated into pieces and the swords rose from the ground as if pulled by invisible hands, flying upwards and away.

Tira shielded her eyes from the intensity of the light, its hue changing from purple to white.

--

Siegfried turned his head away from the burst of light, painful and blinding to his eyes. As he recovered from his stunned state, he heard a roar like that of a lion behind him. From the door, where he had just come from the spiral stairs, emerged his nemesis.

"Ahh! I can feel the power rising in me. It feels good. It feels good! The power FEELS GOOD!" Nightmare's voice ascended in volume and changed into a growl like a bear.

He gave another roar as he raised his sword, Soul Edge. A scarlet light beamed towards it as one sword from the purple light shot towards Nightmare's direction and merged with his sword. He slammed the sword downwards producing a huge beam of light directed towards Siegfried.

Siegfried felt the heat of the beam rapidly approaching him as he ran sideways towards the rails and dived over them falling through three floors. He felt a shockwave slapping his back, breaking through his back armor as he descended and landed violently on the first level floor. He coughed out the dust as he wheezed himself upright and staggered for a few seconds. He couldn't see with the cloud of debris blinding him. His head shifted frantically from side to side as he tried to orient himself.

As the dust settled, he heard a loud thump in front of him. When he lifted his eyes, there in front of him was Nightmare, glowing with a scarlet evil aura. Siegfried backed a few steps and drew his own broadsword strapped on his back in a defensive stance. Nightmare responded by marching a few steps forward and striking horizontally. Siegfried produced his own strike in an attempt to parry his foe's attack. Alas! His weapon disintegrated into pieces with Nightmare's strike and only a last minute duck saved his head from being cleaved off his body.

His foe produced another series of strikes causing him to stagger and stumble backwards as he evaded them all. As he landed hard on his side, a bluish-white glow caught his sight from his left. There, several feet from him, standing erect, blade down, was the weapon he had used previously to defeat Nightmare. He recognized its bluish hue, its warm glow, the bluish round crystal at the top of its hilt.

Soulcalibur.

He pushed himself upright and sprinted towards the sword, his foe marching behind him. As his hand grasped the hilt of the sword and drew it from the ground, he felt his energy restored and the pains from his wound dissipated. He waved the sword in a sword dance and felt confidence rise up within him.

Then, as he felt himself ready for another fierce battle with his nemesis, he marched up towards Nightmare, increased his speed into a full charge and met his foe face to face, blade to blade, strength against strength, destructive power and might surging and forming a maelstrom surrounding them that quickly became a giant scarlet and blue tornado that sucked in every object within the cathedral and brought about destruction in its immediate surroundings.

--

Tira had scrambled away from the tornado the moment it began to form and through her acrobatics had successfully landed on the ground outside the cathedral unscathed from her dive through the cathedral window. She sprinted away and as she was about to make it through the cathedral gate, the maelstrom had broken through the cathedral and began to suck her as well. She dove and caught the gate bars with her hands, holding onto them steadily.

She panted as the sucking motion of the maelstrom violently pulled her in. The trees, bushes and grasses around her bent towards the tornado in their last attempts to resist its power. Eventually, every tree, every rock and every plant were pulled in, the hinge of the gate eventually gave out and soon, she became as one as the trees, rocks and plants drawn in by the greedy force of destruction.

As the gate which she held onto in vain scraped the ground, her face that was initially masked with indifference and had concealed out any emotion eventually cracked into the despair that she had successfully hid. She tightened her grasp on the gate bars as the gate along with her doomed self edged towards the maelstrom.

"H-help me!" she whimpered to no one. The gate to which she held onto inched continually towards its doom until its bottom was hooked onto a sturdy bush which temporarily halted its slide towards destruction.

"Help me!!!" Tira said louder when no one seemed to listen to her as she hung there suspended on their air, feet towards the sucking tornado. A whisper spoke to her.

"Come."

"Who are you?!" she snapped, staring at the blackness of the night around her.

"I am whom you seek…"

"I seek no one!"

"You seek one who fulfills what you desire."

"Come show yourself so I can kill you!"

"You desire the power of Soul Edge. You desire its completeness which will be your wholeness as well. Come drink on its power and be transformed and bathed by it. Then, will you realize."

Tira was quiet for a while.

"Come show yourself," she said, this time without her initial ferocity.

"Come and I will show you. Free your hand from which prevents you. Allow yourself to be taken by its power."

Tira's eyes were wide in wonder and slowly, a wide smile crept up on her face.

"Release your hand. Come!"

Slowly, her hand loosened her grip onto the gate and allowed herself into the invisible force pulling her in. In a fluid motion, she began her glide and slowly, she allowed herself to be drunk by it.

A hoarse laughter was heard from the maelstrom and then a hollow scream.

--

Underneath the tumultuous tornado, the battle never ended. Two swords interlocked. Though pushed apart by an invisible force, neither warrior gave up on their own thrusts against his opponent. Neither did the strong winds about them snuff out the burning desire on both pair of eyes that screamed the defeat of his foe before him.

It was do or die. No turning back. Fate had brought them and only fate can separate each other in their melee of death.

"Hrrrrrrrnnn!" Nightmare rumbled as he summoned the energies of Soul Edge and increased the red glow surrounding him. Siegfried found himself being pushed back. He dug his feet onto the crumbling cathedral floor in his attempt to fight back. His temples bulged with his blood vessels. His heart thumped like a battle drum.

"Give up Siegfried. I've become stronger than before. While you search for ways to destroy Soul Edge, I've been harvesting souls and strengthening its power. You know you are no match for me. Neither your strength nor your spirit can stand a chance against me."

He laughed tauntingly.

"I'll fight and fight to my death and bring you to hell with me," Siegfried strained. "I will never leave this land of the living with you still in it!"

Hrrrrrnnnn! Siegfried pushed with all his might. His sword seemed to sense his urgency and in time with his counter push, it glowed with its blue energy causing Siegfried to be enveloped by its radiance as well.

From where the two blades met, a purple light sprouted and slowly gained in size; steadily, from a size of a pebble to a size of a rock.

And then it burst and blew up.

Nightmare screamed in pain as his armor slowly disintegrated into dust particles and the burning heat of the light penetrated his monstrous skin.

Siegfried clenched his teeth as he took off his mind from the pain. He felt his skin bloating and ballooning from his muscles. Now, he felt death as close as someone breathing down on his nape yet he didn't fear. He saw that his mission was about to be accomplished. He saw that the very purpose of his living was about to be reached. Now, he wouldn't be guilty anymore of relinquishing his life.

He felt his eyes heavily drooping and his vision blurring as the light that blinded him grew ever dimmer and dimmer. Soon, everything about him was black and atlast, he closed his eyes.

--

Her eyes snapped open as a boisterous series of knocks sounded from her bedroom door.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

She wasn't able to get up immediately and continued to lie on her bed still as she tried to figure out whether she should pretend sleep and ignore the knocking or face whoever was causing the noise that ruined her sleep. She wondered who it was this time and hoped—

"Your highness! Please do open the door! His majesty, the king, your father—"

She didn't hear the rest of the statement but hurriedly cast aside her warm blanket and ran towards the door.

"What happened? What happened to my father?" she queried with a hint of worry in her tone.

Standing before her were several maids and behind them, walking fast, was another body guard of the king.

"His majesty is restless and ill again," one of the maids started. "He is not himself and tries to injure himself. Please—"

"Princess Hildegard, please come with us immediately," the bodyguard interrupted as soon as he arrived in front of her. "The king needs you to calm him down."

"Very well. Please lead the way," she replied with all the mustered coolness she drew from all the years of her royal training as a princess. Deep inside, her turmoil raged like boiling water. The previous time that this happened—

The lone guard led the way while she lingered behind trailed by the three maids that woke her up. She walked shoulders straight, her long brownish red hair bouncing on her back, night gown still on for the immediate need for her forbade her to change. Her hazel eyes were firm, showing a forced resolve.

They crossed a hall way, descended a flight of stairs, crossed another hallway, ascended and crossed another hallway. As she crossed from one wing of the castle to another, the change in theme of the interior setup was noticeable from light, cheery and lively to simple—much too simple that it almost crossed the point of bareness and devoid of life.

As they approached the door to his bedroom, they could see several men running out and some more rushing inwards in a state of chaos. There were several people immediately outside consisting of maids, politicians and bodyguards. From outside, they could hear several men yelling inside with one dominant voice screaming like a mad man relentlessly, several muffled thumps and noisy squeaking of the bed.

The princess rushed towards the door and was stunned upon entering. She saw a graying man, yelling and struggling, pinned down by several royal bodyguards, one fist bleeding profusely and eyes like wild fire. His was the dominant voice that was heard from outside.

"Let me go! I'm the king of Wolfkrone! How dare you touch me with those filthy hands! Ahh! My hand! My hand! It hurts! Let go of it! Save me! They're killing me! Treason! Guards! Save me! Save MEEE!"

His voice broke into falsetto with the last syllable. He was like a hare struggling to free itself from the jaws of its prey. Suddenly, his piercing eyes went towards the hazel eyes of the princess, boring inside her soul passing agony and fear in an intrusive transference.

"Father!" she called as she rushed towards his side. The moment she saw her by his side, he renewed his struggle and flapped like a fish out of the water.

"Ahhh! Save me! Save me! She's trying to kill me!"

"Father! It's me, Hilde! I'm your daughter!" she pleaded with him, calling to his sanity.

The guards tightened their holds onto him with the fierce struggle restarting. His screaming continued at full volume. Hilde stooped towards his ears and whispered soothingly.

"Everything will be fine... Shhh. Everything will be fine... Hilde is just beside you. Your daughter is just beside you. You are safe. You are safe."

As his struggling diminished, she ordered the guards to eventually loosen their grip on him and then totally let him be.

"Father, I'm right here. You are safe. Hilde is right beside you," she said as she kissed him on his wrinkled head repeatedly. As he seemed to recognize her, he gazed at her pleadingly.

"My daughter, save me," he whimpered.

"Hush. You are…"

--

The door closed behind her as the once chaotic room quieted down. She sighed a deep sigh of relief as she started to walk back to her room. Though she wanted to slump her shoulders in tiredness she knew she could not. She had to be strong. People look at her now especially with her father, the king, in his current state.

She was still in turmoil though she dared not show it. The frequency of these attacks on her father had markedly increased lately from once a month to more than once weekly. She dreaded these illness attacks because, lately, her father had been more and more violent. The last time, he nearly killed himself trying to jump down through his window. Now, he bled his hand as he smashed it multiple times on his bedroom wall of stone.

She walked briskly, shoulders straight, wanting nothing more but the comforts of her soft, warm bed and the privacy of her room. She planned on lying down and dozing for a few minutes before she proceeded to work—state matters; she acted as proxy for her father while he was ill.

As she walked, she could see all the people gathered up by the commotion dispersing onto their own businesses and affairs, some of them she knew well, some only as familiar faces which she hadn't interacted with yet. She saw one of the king's most prominent advisers among them, Huber, the chief Beirat talking to one of the king's trusted generals. She eyed them both suspiciously and passed by them quietly, hoping that he wouldn't notice her.

"Your highness." She froze, grinding her teeth in frustration.

"Let me remind her that her meeting with all the king's officials is going to start in fifteen minutes and she is still in her night gown. It may not be a setting example for one acting as the king's proxy especially at this era of the kingdom."

She bit her tongue so as to prevent herself from answering back a hostile response and turned to him gracefully.

"I am perfectly aware of it Huber. Thank you for your well-meant reminder. I will be in it just in time."

The Beirat merely smiled in response—a fake smile, she imagined.

She resumed her walk, this time even more briskly. She cursed herself in her mind for nearly forgetting about this meeting. She had always been accurate, prepared and on time. She reminded herself that she had her excuse for being late, though it didn't ease her at all.

--

The door towards her room opened wide as she entered hurriedly. Standing by her bed was a brunette maid about her height who looked at her with a softened gaze.

"Your highness, I'm sorry about your father," she started.

Hilde smiled at her and shook her head.

"Not now, Erna," she replied and pointed towards a pendulum clock hanging on her wall.

"I am going to be late for the meeting. I need to be dressed in ten minutes. Help! Hurry!" she said rapidly as she dashed onto her closet and opened it. The two made quick work of her getting dressed.

"When I come back I have so many things to tell you. Wish me well in this meeting," she said as she started for the door.

"Enjoy it," the maid answered in a half-joking manner. Hilde rolled her eyes as she answered with a smile.

"As if I would. I'm off. Goodbye!"

--

His vision was blurry the moment he opened his eyes. He tried to move but could not. His eyes shifting from left to right were the only parts of his body that he could move. He could not feel any pain though; it was as if he was washed anew and given a new body.

He felt himself floating on water, light shining from above his head. He had thought himself dead and puzzled. What had happened? Why was he still alive? Where was he? He could not remember the last event before he lost consciousness. All he had was the sense of serenity and the readiness for him to relinquish his life. He had fulfilled his destiny and accomplished his mission—

"Or so you thought."

Someone had read his mind. He searched with his eyes for the voice that interrupted his thoughts.

"I have died," he said in his mind.

"You are in the brink of it, though not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"The moment you picked it up you had committed yourself and was bound on oath."

"Soulcalibur?"

"Yes. I am."

"You?"

"Fate hasn't release you from it; not even death could separate you from it though it's still your choice. With your word you were bound and only with your word will you be released."

"I don't understand."

"Your heart and I am had been one the moment you called to me and used me. What you stated in your heart, you stated to me. I am your extension in the same way with my evil counterpart."

There was pause.

"I have eliminated the threat—"

"Unfortunately not so."

"Nightmare?!"

"Possibly but he is not immediate. The one he wields is still there as I am."

"No!"

"You have your choice. You can let go and be at peace. You have done your mission."

"I cannot be rested until I finished it. Even in my next life, the guilt would haunt me and instill in me a life of hell! I don't want to go to my grave until I have destroyed it completely!"

"Then your choice is to live? You will experience pain like never before when you live. Pleasure will be there only to increase your agony. You will re-experience hardship twice as before. Absolution is possible though not promised; it can be there but it depends on you. Think it through carefully. You are at a crossroad. Choose your path with your sound judgment."

"I do not waver from what I have decided long ago. Though I have made my vow and I could break from it, I won't. My resolve is as stone across the ages. When I go down, I'll make sure that my opponent goes first."

"Then your choice is to live?"

"Yes."

"Very well."

--

Fine

--

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. If you do, please leave a review. They're rare items nowadays. But I hope you as a reader are generous enough to give some time and some thought to leave a review. Mighty thanks and Merry Christmas!