1st Great Tree Moon, Imperial Year 1185

Wolfkrone, Sea of Ghosts Landmass

Queen Hildegarde von Krone watches out a window. The nation her father had defended for years had been turned upside-down in a matter of months. A strange light from the cursed castle Ostrheinsburg had ripped the land asunder with a glow seen as far as India. A nation that could now only be talked about, not interacted with.

For Wolfkrone, once a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, had been carved out of the land itself and tossed into the ocean of an unfamiliar land in an astonishing display of black magic not seen since the days of King Arthur.

Her people now not only included Wolfkrone's citizens, but also refugees of neighboring Dalkia and Halteese, already crushed militarily by Ostrheinsburg in the Mantis War, and now almost steamrolled over due to the influence of… Him.

Hilde strolls away from the window and rests in her throne, recalling the events of the Mantis War. Some years before the dread pirate Cervantes stole the cursed blade from a merchant, it had been in the hands of Strife Astlar of Grandall. Strife was a troubled man who had butchered his entire family with his greatsword out of fear of assassination and usurpation. He had been a madman, manipulated into joining a war with Dalkia and Halteese, neighbors that had been at war for years. With the cruel, mad king Strife at the head of the largest army seen in Europe for centuries, Grandall smashed Dalkia and Halteese, handing them over to a man who had manipulated events from the shadows for ages, King Chester of new Maletta. A man who was king for only four weeks before a rebellion in Grandall, with Dalkian support, saw him and Strife slain.

But the cursed blade had other ideas. After being thwarted by its sister blade, it had gone mysteriously quiet as the war with its cursed hoards gripped Wolfkrone's border with the fallen Grandall empire. Until recently, when it had unleashed truly biblical power and manifested all four nations to another world.

Queen Hilde doesn't know what to do. Mad king Strife had been revived and was taking the role as the new Azure Knight, a horrifying and nearly unstoppable knight of death that burned entire armies single-handedly. A monster straight out of myth that left trails of corpses so dense that they impacted river flows.

And it, for Strife could no longer be considered human, was now pillaging and massacring an absolutely astonishing amount of Halteese's population. Queen Hilde and her new Schwartzwind guard could do nothing but watch and take in the survivors.

Schwartzwind, formed by Siegfried Schtauffen, her most trusted ally, had become the new elite guard of Wolfkrone. A strike force trained and ready to face the malfested directly. In truth, Siegfried himself had been the Azure Knight previously, but his mind and soul were freed from the cursed blade's grip some months prior in a duel at Ostrheinsburg castle, the former capital of Grandall. Siegfried had gathered allies from all over the world that had fought the cursed blade at one point or another.

An orphaned girl from France who sought to end her adoptive father's enslavement at the hands of the cursed blade. A noblewoman of Spain who was the offspring of the dread pirate Cervantes. A pirate who had lost his crew to an amalgam crafted by a wicked cult. A young monk who had survived a massacre at an Indian martial arts school. A Chinese guard woman who had wielded the cursed blade's sister sword ages ago. A ninja who had lost her mentor to madness and stolen away with a cursed dagger. A samurai who once had sought the cursed blade, but now sought only strong opponents. Two Greek sisters, who had suffered great family tragedy to the cursed blade. A priestess of the winds who seeks to purify the damage wrought. And a taoist warrior investigating the ties to it all.

All now fought under the flag of Wolfkrone. All now sought to undo the damage wrought by the cursed blade… The Soul Edge.

Soul Edge, a blade as ancient as civilization. Some seek it as a champion's weapon, unparalleled in strength. Others see it as a mystical artifact and the secret to eternal life. Even others dismiss it as folktale, a legend propagated by would-be treasure hunters. But Hilde and indeed, Schwartzwind, knew the truth.

Soul Edge was a demonic blade by nature. A wicked, demonic blade that devoured the minds and souls of all those who come into contact with its wicked edge and twisted handle. How many corpses lay defiled by this demonic artifact? How much blood was spilled by those who held it, or even by wars fought over an artifact that promised all, but delivered nothing but misery, corruption and death? None were safe from the lies it whispered, almost hypnotizing those that approached the blade and knew not its effects.

And if you were struck and were lucky enough to not be slain? The taint of Soul Edge would infect your blood like a disease, driving you to madness that'd see you execute your family with a smile.

Cities were decimated, and castle walls crumbled under its might. Ancient structures impossible to demolish with siege equipment would be dashed open like they were held together with paper. The raw power of the blade and its host was obscene. The death toll, even more so.

Hilde had seen it herself when her father, the former King, was slashed by a mere fragment of the blade and went on a spree of murder that could not be quelled until his death. They tried everything to bring him back to sanity, but nothing had been able to save the King from his curse and eventual mutation and death.

Hilde is forced to wonder how many other families were destroyed by that accursed blade of flesh and steel. As she does, in enters her ally, Siegfried Schtauffen, dressed in his heavy, silver armor that gleamed in the sunlight.

Hilde smiles at this. In truth, she had fallen for the long, golden hair of Siegfried. His noble heart and unwavering will that prevented even Soul Edge from devouring him entirely. While Siegfried had his own scars that would likely never heal, he nevertheless fought for Wolfkrone as if it were his own homeland.

He looks upon the queen of Wolfkrone, her gilded armor, furred red coat and short, blazing red hair. She is almost blindingly radiant to the knight, which is why even now, he keeps his distance. He knows that Hilde lost a previous love to Soul Edge, and did not see himself as a suitable replacement as a royal consort. He has already rebuffed her offers twice, but still, he of all people knows the horrors of Soul Edge.

"Sir Siegfried," Hilde begins, "How is the investigation?"

"Groh and Hwang have yet to return, but they have sent letters of far-off lands, across the seas, and have spoken in great lengths about how the presence of Ostrheinsburg is a new development," he answers, "This is most certainly another world… But we still have no idea how or why we've been taken here."

Hilde looks away, "I see… Any signs of the sorcerer?"

Siegfried sighs and shakes his head, "No, Luna's report of him in Dalkia territory right after the transfer is the last anyone's seen of him."

Luna, a recent addition to Schwartzwind. She had fought Strife once before, and emerged victorious. She had once been Halteese nobility, but her mother had been one of Chester's rebels, and had her head on a spike as punishment. Luna had been adopted and trained as a Dalkian spy long before Grandall entered the Mantis War, and it had been her efforts that had seen Strife put down.

As for the sorcerer, none knew his name. But his white cloak and one golden eye were unmistakable, as was the silver scythe he wielded. Right now, the missing sorcerer was their best bet at putting down Soul Edge for good, for it had been him that had prevented a darker timeline from emerging in Ostrheinsburg castle the night Siegfried had been freed from Soul Edge's twisted grip.

"We need to keep looking. That man has answers we desperately need," Hilde says with renewed confidence.

Siegfried nods and leaves the room.

Hilde returns to a backroom with a grand board displaying the current war efforts. Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi, the trio of heroes that had stopped Soul Edge prior, were aiding refugees in Halteese. Hwang, Luna and Groh were abroad, gaining information about this new world and searching for the sorcerer. Mitsurugi, Taki and Talim were engaging Ostrheinsburg commanders in Dalkia.

The Azure Knight's commanders… Many flocked under the cursed banner of Ostrheinsburg. Astaroth, an amalgam creature made by a wicked cult. His creator, a madman named Kunpaetku. Aeon Calcos, a former Spartan warrior and now progenitor of a race of lizardmen. Johan Durer, a former ally of Hilde's, turned to darkness from an injury inflicted by Soul Edge. Won Gabok, a taoist pyromaniac seeking immortality. Raphael Sorel, foster father to Amy, who had been corrupted by Soul Edge after accidentally freeing Siegfried from its influence. Chester, the madman who had served Strife in the Mantis War, and had been its cause. Tira, an assassin driven mad long before she began to view Soul Edge as a god. Shura, a mass-murderer from the far East who had been possessed by a demon. Cervantes, the dread pirate who once held Soul Edge in his hands… And poor Curtis, a former member of the Aval Organization that Groh served, and the man Groh loved more than anything.

Each was pitiable in their own way, but nonetheless served as Strife's dark council of murderous generals and inhuman killers. Though Cervantes, Shura, Chester and Tira had vanished, likely seeking to sow chaos in the other nations of this world.

Other nations… Hilde began to form an idea. This world was essentially being invaded by Soul Edge. If she could send out agents to help prevent the chaos abroad, to fight the cursed hoards of Ostrheinsburg, she may unite them all to face these demonic threats, and eventually overwhelm the hoards entirely.

Immediately, she takes to drafting letters. Letters to Groh, Hwang and Luna. Each on a separate continent in this new world. It was time to stop hiding, and time to take action. It was time to stem the damned tides of blood and show the Azure Knight that this world had allies that would fight for them, if only they would fight with her and bring an end to this cursed tale of souls and swords.

The darkness may be patient, it may be powerful, and it may claim much in its cloak. But there will always be a light, a flame of rebellion that pushes the darkness back.

Hilde knew that no matter who the people of this new world were, they would not bend so easily to the abomination of blood and darkness. They would rebel, and serve as flaming emblems of resistance. The shadow's days were numbered.

Castle Ostrheinsburg, former Grandall territory

But the demonic knight knew they'd make this move. It had not been a mistake that he had answered the call of the demon king. In truth, Strife and, by extension, Soul Edge, had been considering this move for a while. Already it had made its mark on the world of its origin, already it had claimed as many souls as it could, for it had been seconds away from complete destruction once more before arriving here.

It could feel it, somewhere in this new world, its sister blade was here. In the realm of dragons and emblems of power comparable to its own, Soul Edge would at last destroy its eternal rival, and create tides of damned souls to burn forever in its hate.

Soul Edge's blade seemed to drool at the prospect, the demonic eye at its fleshy hilt twitching with the thought. Consume souls, more souls, souls of such power, souls that would feed it, burn as fuel for it.

So many souls… Such a feast to be had… And they had no idea the terror that was to come…

"Do you still thirst, my beloved sword?" Strife asks Soul Edge as if speaking to a lover.

Hungry… So hungry… Souls, must feast on more souls… Not enough… Never enough…

"Do not fret… We will feast soon… Souls, so many souls to feast…"

The demonic laughter echoes through the halls of the castle.

Soon… They will feast very soon…

To Be Continued…