Hikari and the Soul Edge
Chapter 16: The Climatic Battle
Hikari and Mog continued to be hopelessly lost. Nobody was in sight, not even that Siegfried man that they had met up with earlier. After several hours of searching, Hikari and Mog felt discouraged.
"Just where is everyone?" Hikari asked.
She then heard the clanging of metal coming from the floor above her.
"What's that?" Hikari thought.
Hikari slowly began to walk through the Cathedral. Though she didn't know it, something above her began to swing. Out of nowhere, a cage fell down towards her.
"Look out!" a familiar voice shouted.
Hikari felt someone push her out of the way as the cage nearly fell upon her. Hikari turned around and saw the cage. She then turned to see who had saved her. Standing there was Kilik.
"Kilik!" Hikari exclaimed happily. "Where did you come from?"
"We got here earlier," Kilik said.
"We?" Hikari asked. "That means…"
Xianghua came around a corner. Standing behind her was Phoenix.
"Xianghua!" Hikari exclaimed.
"Is this drunk pirate with you?" Xianghua asked.
Hikari then noticed that Captain Phoenix was indeed drunk.
"I'm starting to wish he wasn't," Hikari said. "Anyway, did you all hear the clanging upstairs?"
"Yeah," Kilik said. "We think someone's in a battle."
"Is there anyway up?" Hikari asked.
"There's a staircase nearby," Captain Phoenix answered.
"Then let's head up," Hikari said. "Whatever that sound is, it can't be good."
Hikari, Mog, Kilik, Xianghua, and Captain Phoenix ran to find the staircase. Meanwhile, Kenji and Maria continued to travel with Maxi. They then heard a clanging noise coming from upstairs.
"It sounds like a fight," Maria commented.
"It could be Astaroth," Maxi said. "Let's move!"
"Hold on," Kenji said. "Who's Astaroth?"
"No time!" Maxi shouted. "I can't lose him!"
Maxi continued to run on ahead. Maria and Kenji did their best to keep up with him. Hikari's group was the first to reach the top of the steps. What they saw was a fight between Siegfried and Nightmare.
"It's him!" Hikari exclaimed.
Their swords clashed, as the two seemingly equal warriors were locked in combat. Siegfried tried to perform a powerful horizontal slice, but Nightmare grabbed his sword with his demonic arm. Nightmare then forced Siegfried backwards. The two then charged towards each other for one final attack. In a flash, the two swordsmen shot past each other. While it seemed to be a draw, Siegfried fell down and began to bleed profusely.
"Siegfried!" Hikari called out as Nightmare stepped forward for the kill.
Just as Nightmare slashed downwards, Hikari got in front of him and blocked his sword with her own.
"You!" Nightmare shouted.
"Guys!" Hikari called out. "Get Siegfried out of here! Find Kenji! He can heal him!"
"What about you?" Xianghua asked, concerned.
"Don't worry about me!" Hikari shouted. "Just…GO!"
As she said that word, she pushed Nightmare backwards with one powerful thrust. She then charged forward for an attack, but Nightmare blocked her with his sword. While Hikari and Nightmare exchanged blows, Xianghua, Kilik, and Captain Phoenix grabbed Siegfried and began to drag him to the staircase. Mog went with them.
"Your soul will soon be mine, girl!" Nightmare growled.
"Don't count on it," Hikari said angrily. "My father gave his all to give me this chance. I won't let him down!"
Hikari and Nightmare then jumped back from each other. They both charged forward and began to exchange blows over and over. Nightmare then let loose a charge of energy that sent Hikari flying backwards. She crashed into a wall. Nightmare then took this chance and grabbed Hikari by the neck, choking her. He lifted her high up into the air.
"Your father's not here to save you now," Nightmare said. "This game is over!"
Hikari's life began to flash before her eyes. She then remembered her training with Arceus. She had just finished her training with him.
"You have finally learned to control the power," Arceus said. "But it is still not enough."
"Why's that?" Hikari asked.
"Your true power still sleeps inside of you," Arceus said. "But it can be awakened if you face your own mortality."
As she remembered this moment, Hikari's body began to glow brightly. Nightmare began to scream with pain as his hand was being burned by the light. Once Hikari got onto her feet, she focused her power into her sword. She then charged forward and sliced Nightmare in half. An explosion of light rose from the point of contact. When the light faded, Nightmare's armor was in pieces.
"It's finally over," Hikari thought.
She then looked at her surroundings and realized she was at an opening. She looked out towards the sky and saw two swords stuck in a fountain. One of the swords was a shining blue, and the other was blood red. The sun began to set behind the sword.
"I'm impressed you made it this far," a menacing, but familiar voice said from behind her. "Not bad at all."
Hikari turned around and saw the robed, scythe-wielding man with the golden eye.
"Zasalamel!" Hikari shouted.
"My dream is about to be realized," Zasalamel said. "You however are not worthy of witnessing this glorious moment. Leave this place at once!"
"You must want to steal the swords to become immortal!" Hikari shouted. "I'm not going to let that happen."
"No," Zasalamel said. "In fact, it's quite the opposite. After countless lifetimes, I will finally get my eternal rest once I use the power of the swords."
"You want to die?" Hikari asked. "Hold on. If you release those swords' power, you'll cause the world to be overrun by darkness! Will you let others suffer to obtain your own death?!"
"I will finally achieve rest," Zasalamel said. "The fate of the rest of the world does not concern me. Leave if you don't wish to die."
Zasalamel raised his scythe high up into the air. The swords that were in the fountain disappeared. Their energy began to radiate in Zasalamel's body. He began to scream with pain as the power overwhelmed him and as he rose into the air. A large flash of light emerged from his body and filled the entire area. When the light faded, Hikari found that the area had changed. Everything was on fire and many cracks could be found in the walls and floor. A small crack was also in the sky. It slowly grew larger as time progressed.
Hikari looked towards where Zasalamel once was. Floating there was a creature of pure horror. He had a skeleton like body with a strange energy radiating in his stomach area. He had demonic wings and a dark scythe that would be fit for a king of hell. He had truly become the manifested form of the abyss that the world was slowly becoming. Hikari could only come up with one true name for this creature: Abyss. From behind him, a blue sword shot up and flew towards Hikari. It landed in the ground to her right.
Abyss threw his scythe towards Hikari. Hikari rose up her sword to block. When the scythe hit, Excalibur flew out of her hands and fell over the edge.
"No!!" Hikari cried out.
"Let the power of hellfire sink into your soul!" Abyss shouted in his dark voice.
"I cannot let the world end like this," Hikari said. "Excalibur or no Excalibur, I will defeat you!"
Hikari then pulled Soul Calibur from the ground. When she first lifted it, she found that it was a smaller sword than she was used to. But in a flash of light, it had transformed into a sword much like her own. Hikari felt the energy from the sword fill her body.
Abyss began to launch spheres of dark energy towards Hikari. Hikari swung her sword, which released a powerful energy that destroyed the spheres. Abyss then charged forward and swung his scythe. Hikari blocked his attack with her sword. She then performed a spin slash and knocked Abyss back.
Abyss then used his own energy to pull Hikari in towards him. He then grabbed Hikari and threw her to the ground. He then performed a somersault and slashed Hikari on her back. Hikari then forced herself to stand up. She then turned to face Abyss.
"I will not let you win," Hikari said. "For my father, for my family, for the whole world, I will end this now!"
Hikari began to focus her power. Her whole body began to glow with a shining white light. Abyss was blinded by the light. Hikari took her chance and charged forward for a final strike.
"TASTE THIS!!" Hikari shouted as she sliced Abyss in his stomach.
All of her power released into the point of contact. Abyss was overwhelmed with the power and rose up into the air. He began to shake and scream. He then exploded. When he was destroyed, the whole area returned to normal in a flash of light. Hikari then looked and saw that Soul Edge was stuck in the ground. Its eye began to move around until it saw Hikari.
"This is it," Hikari thought. "Now to destroy this cursed blade before it can harm anyone else!"
Hikari lifted Soul Calibur high up into the air.
"Wait!" a voice shouted in her head.
She felt that Soul Edge was talking to her.
"Think twice before destroying me," Soul Edge said.
"Why?" Hikari thought. "You have brought nothing but misery to the world! I will destroy you!"
"But I can give you your hearts desire," Soul Edge replied.
Hikari then became hesitant. Meanwhile, Kilik's group was doing their best to keep Siegfried alive. That's when Maxi's group caught up with them.
"Kilik?" Maxi asked.
"Maxi!" Kilik exclaimed. "It's you!"
"Why are you here?" Maxi asked.
"Kilik!" Kenji exclaimed, recognizing him immediately. "Xianghua!"
Kilik, Xianghua, Mog, and Captain Phoenix then saw him and Maria.
"How come nobody is happy to see me?" Captain Phoenix asked.
"Because you're a worthless drunk," Maria said.
"Have you seen Hikari?" Kenji asked.
"Last we saw her, she was fighting Nightmare," Kilik said. "Judging by the lack of sound, I'm guessing that she has won. But right now, we need you to heal this guy."
Kenji then saw Siegfried. He then focused his magical energy into his palm and pointed it towards Siegfried.
"Curaga," Kenji said.
A white light radiated from Kenji's palm and healed Siegfried's wounds. Siegfried began to groan.
"Don't talk," Kenji said. "You're badly…"
"Your friends in danger," Siegfried groaned. "The sword…it is…"
Back upstairs, Hikari was still hesitating. A battle was being waged in her mind.
"What do you mean?" Hikari thought.
"You desire for your family to be together again," Soul Edge answered. "Your whole family. Wield me. Bring me souls. Once I'm at full power, I can bring your father back."
"My…father…" Hikari whispered.
Her eyes went blank, as if her soul had been sucked from her body. She put down Soul Calibur and slowly reached her hand towards Soul Edge.
"DON'T DO IT!!" Kenji shouted.
Hikari's hand stopped. Kenji had run up the stairs at full sprint. He was breathing hard.
"Don't grab that sword!" Kenji shouted. "It's lying Hikari! Siegfried told us the truth!"
A flashback began. Siegfried had finished his sentence.
"If Hikari has beaten Nightmare, why does she need to beware Soul Edge?" Kenji asked.
"Because…it gives you false promises," Siegfried continued. "It'll search for your heart's deepest desires. It'll then control you using those very desires."
"Hikari's deepest desire…" Kenji thought.
The flashback ended. Hikari was still hesitant.
"Don't listen to the fool!" Soul Edge shouted. "He doesn't wish for you to be happy! He wants to keep you from your family forever!"
"But…Kenji…he…" Hikari began.
Hikari continued to move her hand towards Soul Edge.
"We don't know if your father is dead or not!" Kenji shouted.
This is where Hikari stopped. She turned to face Kenji.
"We weren't there when the volcano erupted," Kenji said. "He could be alive. And even if he's not. Even if you did bring him back to life with the sword, would he want to see you like this?! Would he want you to become a puppet to a sword?!"
"Grasp me, Hikari!" Soul Edge shouted. "I will bring you happiness!"
"Fight him, Hikari!" Kenji shouted. "You can beat him!"
The two voices echoed in Hikari's mind as she made her decision. She immediately grabbed the sword.
"No!" Kenji cried out.
"Yes," Soul Edge said. "Now we will…"
Hikari glared at the sword.
"You…don't…control…ME!!" Hikari shouted.
She threw the sword high up into the air. She then grabbed Soul Calibur. As Soul Edge plummeted towards the ground, Hikari sliced it, breaking it into a million pieces. Hikari then fell to the ground.
"Hikari!" Kenji cried out as he ran towards her.
He lifted her into his arms. Her eyes slowly opened.
"Thank you…Kenji…" Hikari whispered as she passed out.
"You did it, Hikari," Kenji said. "It's finally over."
The sun disappeared over the horizon as Kenji carried the unconscious Hikari towards where the others were waiting.