Chapter 6

Search for the Soul Edge

"My god, this is the Krazoa temple!" Kang cried out in awe, his legs shook in pure thrill and his hands shook with joy, Kang couldn't hold back his amazement at all, the temple was huge with its cold and glowing concrete, he looked over the edge of the temple grounds, his jaw dropped as his eyes had to see that they were floating over the clouds of Sauria.

"Kirin…" Kang squeeked in fear from heights.

"What?" Kirin replied, his brow raised slightly.

"This temple…" Kang squeeked again, biting his lip slowly and firmly.

"Yeah?" Kirin replied with slight impatience, his brow raised more and his foot taping the floor.

"Is floating!" Kang squeeked loudly and crawled back in fear.

"What!" Kirin yelped as he, too, was afraid of heights.

"We are floating in the air in the Krazoa temple." Kang explained and curled up, afraid to stand.

Kirin shook his head of his fear and took in a deep breath, this was something he would have to see for himself, slowly he crawled along the concrete floor and towards the edge, his muzzle slowly peeked down over the ridge and gazed down into the clouds, it was indeed true that they were floating over Sauria's skies.

"Well lets not waste time, we have to find the Soul Edge as quick as possible before those Sharp Claw do." Kirin explained as he rolled back away from the edge, his heart racing with hidden terror of heights, after a few minutes of relaxing and regaining control of their fear, the two began their search.

Kirin and Kang carefully examined their environment in hopes to find a clue or a passageway that would lead them to the mighty weapn, they tried their hardest to find the entrance to the interior of the temple, but it was odd to them, to anyone who would try to make a excavation of the temple, it puzzled them because there was no doors or gates, only ramps, stairs, and hallways, and not a clue in sight of traces to the soul edge.

"Of course we're talking about spirits here, they don't need doors to enter their temple." Kang sighed and rubbed his head with frustration.

Kirin let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the cold, wet concrete, feeling like a failure that he wouldn't fin the soul edge in time; A grumble made his ears perk up quickly and looked up towards the sound, gasping quickly and silently in amazement, he rose to his feet and stared at Garin hanging upside down from a rope tied to the underside of a balcony, his eyes widened with joy as he stared up at his past friend.

"Garin!" Kirin cried in happiness.

"Grandpa!?" Kang yelled in confusion, his brow raised as far as it could go.

"Kirin! Kang! Get me down from 're!" Garin yelped as he struggled in the binds.

Kang sighed and unsheathed his weapon, slowly he spun its shaft and threw his scythe at the ropes like a spinner, cutting them from the ceiling of the balcony and caught his spinning weapon as it returned to him like a boomerang, dropping his grandfather from the great height above them; Kirin and Kang quickly leapt and caught the old Sharp Claw engineer before he splattered all over the concrete floor like a balloon dropping from a hundred feet.

"Grandpa, what are you doing here? Kang asked as he sat his grandfather down into a sit on the floor.

"General scales came and tied me up there, I've been dangling like a worm on a hook for these past hours. He took me and his damn army inside, but I don't know if they've left 'r not." Garin replied as he rubbed his head, so full of blood that it put him in series ache of head pain as the blood ran back down and out pf his brain and into his body."

"Garin?" Kirin waved his paw in his face, trying to get his attention.

"Kirin? Why looky there, you've aged into fine young…whatever you are." Garin yelped with glee, his arms wrapped around the young vulpine with a hug.

Kirin was happy to see that his former guardian was still alive and well, but Kirin remembered from the past words of this old geezer he said a while ago: General Scales was here. Kang's attention turned towards a wall, his eyes narrowed onto it as he examined its form and design.

"Garin, do you know about the Soul Edge?" Kirin asked as he sat down on his knees.

"Of Course I do!" Garin barked and stretched, his old joints popping loudly.

"Where is it in this temple?" Kirin continued with his barrage of questions.

"I would say on the top floor, but you'll need a cloud runner or sprout wings to get up there." Garin explained as he pointed to the tip of the temple.

"Or make use of these tattoo's." Kang spoke as he examined the wall one last time.

"What do you mean Kang?" Kirin stood and looked at his friend with confusion.

"Kirin, look at the wall and look closely, look at its odd design carefully, it has the same signs as our tattoo's," Kang explained running his fingers down the craft of concrete wall. "I think these are the doors, our tattoo's must be the keys to opening them."

"Well you boys talk amongst yourselves, I'm getting me some shut eye, old men need their rest." Garin yawned as he flopped back and rested himself on the wet floor, soon asleep without care.

Kang looked disappointed at his sleeping grandfather and sighed heavily, he shook his head slowly and looked at Kirin with a blank face.

"After fifty years of working as an engineer, you'd get tired quickly too, ya know." Kang explained as he stood in front of the wall with Kirin.

"Well he said the Soul Edge was at the top, so lets go!" Kirin said as he clenched his tattood paw.

The two placed their tattooed hands on the wall with a hard slap, it started to glow a bright white and black shades, then disappeared as quick as a flash of lightning, opening a unknown hallway into the inner workings of the Krazoa temple. The two took cautious steps within the hallway, making sure that there was no traps to stop them or hinder them from advancing, with greatest of luck on their side, they made it into the center of the hallway, shaped like a huge oval, marked with all kinds of symbols and runes in saurian and ancient krazoa language, windows of thick glass for walls, they glowed and dimmed in patterns one after another, leaving the two amazed in its aura's.

"My god, this place is wonderful, like an unknown paradise unable to be contained." Kang said in awe, wiping a tear from his eyelids as the light made his eyes hurt.

"Remember Kang, we're here to obtain the Soul Edge." Kirin shook Kang's shoulder as he continued on through the halls.

"I know but look at this place Kirin, its so wonderful and peaceful, its the greatest wonder of the Krazoa." Kang exclaimed with awe, smiling at the grand sight around them.

Kirin sighed and shook his head, but slowly he looked at the environment and took time to examine its wonderous form, it was beautiful and full of tranquility, the rain seemed more of an added addition of the temple.

"I think I may have found an elevator." Kang pointed to a room that was filled with a loud roar of blowing wind, the two entered the room with excitement, only to have their jaws drop in greatet astonishment when the elevator that Kang spoke of was several wind fans blowing up to the top.

"Maybe we can float to the top...and pray we don't get cut up into meat?" Kirin shook and swallowed hard.

Kang walked forward, slowly with great caution, and leapt over the bottom fan with a great leap, letting out a scream of excitement as it started to gust him upwards with powerful winds to the next fan, Kirin soon followed his floating friend to the top, screaming with excitement as well.

"So I have to stop a great evil from destroying this land using a blade that I am destined to wield? Sounds fun!" Kirin yelled with joy in his voice as the fans continued to blow them up towards the temple's tip.

Back on Corneria

"Is that all you guys got? Your weak!" Lazlo barked in annoyance as he looked at his fallen enemies.

Lazlo spun his spear between his feathery fingers and then relaxed it on his shoulder, looking down at the defeated Sharp Claw soldiers before him, the ones still standing shook in fear and backed away from him. Then there was a sound piercing crash behind Lazlo, he swallowed hard with worry and turned around slowly: his repair shop, everything he worked on and spent his well earned money on to improve, was obliterated.

"I hope you all have enough to cover all this, now I'm seriously pissed off!" Lazlo roared over the Sharp claw and clenched his spear tightly, bolts of lighting shot off its shaft and bladed head. Lazlo bolted towards the Sharp claw that were standing and started to slaughter them with no mercy within his blows or his eyes, group after group after group, they fell to his spear in a bloody butchering.

Lazlo stopped and looked down at the Sharp claw as well as the decapitated and butchered soldiers, then he laughed slowly like he was embarrassed, trying his best to keep his cool instead of breaking out in panick.

"Oh wait, I have insurance on this place," Lazlo chuckled slowly with emberessment as he looked at the butchered piles he had created. "…err…I'll just push these into the ocean…no one will know…"

Lazlo eyed left and right slowly, pushing each corpse into the ocean with his foot and spear shaft, they sunk below to the deep bottom where they, most likely, got eaten and torn to tiny pieces by Corneria's humongous and dangerous underwater life.

"So uh...I guess i'll just be going...this way..." Lazlo stammered as he backed away from the ocean edge.

Lazlo turned slowly from the red ocean and quietly walked off, which then turned into a sprinting run, acting like nothing had happened.

Krazoa temple

The two pushed a stone slap forward and out of their path, making there way onto the ceiling of the entire temple. Kirin looked around at the top of the temple, it seemed that the fans only took them to the underside of the top, his eyes then caught the sight of a hole in the center of the ceiling, below that was stairs, leading up to the top and to another set of stairs, leading to the very tip of the temple. Kirin started up the stairs with Kang and then began into a rush up the next set, seeking the blade like a mad hunger, when he finally made it to the top, he paused with silence, the winds became eerie with silence, his heart raced faster and faster; it was there, glowing with darkness, wrapped in bloody vines, the eye whipping around then finally fixing its gaze upon him.

"Should I grab it?" Kirin's paw shook with temptation, his eyes fixed upon the blades eye.

Kirin couldn't think, this was a great moment where he could receive ultimate power for anything he wanted to do with it, but would it accept him?

"Alright…here goes." Kirin took in a deep breath and reached out to the sword.

Kirin placed one paw on the hilt of the blade, the darkness surrounding it started to fade, the vines slowly burning away, he placed his other paw of the hilt, the darkness disappeared and the vines fell into ash; He pulled with all of his strength, freeing the blade from its hold, it radiated light and darkness, cracking thunder boomed over him as he held it over him. The Soul Edge was finally in his grasp, the power that he was to take was finally within him, he quickly rushed down the stairway to meet his friend and show his glorious weapon.

"Kang I have…" Kirin started to state, slowly coming to a stop at the end of the stairs.

Kirin paused and gripped the soul edge tightly within his paws, General Scales held Kang's in his normal claws, smirking at Kirin, Kang squirmed in the air as he tried to free himself from the elder Sharp claw's grip.

"Put him down." Kirin Commanded as he swung the soul edge as a warning.

"I will when Syphon awakes from his tomb." General scales chuckled as he looked at the stairs.

A rumbling started to quake the entire temple with an uncontrollable fury, the gray clouds stopped raining and began to blacken like ash, General Scales stood firmly with a triumphent grin, not even budging from place, neither was Kirin sliding from his stance as well. Then a crash boomed over them, the stairs burst open with debris flying over the temple edges, a huge Red Eyes dinosaur emerged from the stair way, holding two humongous blades, his eyes opened instantly and his muzzle opened with a booming roar, the sharp claw we're blown back by the mighty voice of the sealed evil, none other then Syphon.

"Once again I am free from my cursed prison! Where is the Key that has freed me?" Syphon boomed down at them, his fangs struck immediate fear into the Sharp claw army as they got to their feet in total terror.

Syphon looked down at Kirin, who shaking with fear and his pupils were the size of fleas, his muzzle shuddered in terror, his legs instantly locked up and didn't dare to budge from place, his heart was racing, no, speeding like a police chase on a criminal with several pounds of cocaine.

"YOU! HAHAHAHA THIS MUST BE A JOKE!" Syphon laughed down at him, holding his chest in pain as he insulted Kirin's tiny stature.

Kirin was now even more terrified with Syphon right at his face, unable to breathe because of fear and unable to reply with a comeback because of his shut down mind, he took in a deep breath after he shook himself of his own lock up and looked up at the mighty beast.

"I am the key because I am holding the Soul Edge." Kirin calmly spoke as he held up the blade, pointing at the colossal beast.

"Yes, but seeing how small you are, and without a doubt that you are very weak without even guessing, I consider you not a threat to my conquest, I barely consider you anything to my power, however when all of Sauria is mine, you shall live for freeing me child, I would not and could not see the reason of even killing you." Syphon chuckled as he stood up and stretched, looking over the clouds of the planet that would once again be his to rule and torment.

"What are you waiting for Kirin, use the Soul Edge to kill him!" Kang cried out as he struggled as hard as he could out of the general's grip.

Kirin shook at the mere thought of fighting such a monster, Kirin's gaze then turned into a thinking expression, slowly he was receiving an odd thought, something that may help him, even save him, or fail him: "Key…Lock… parts of a Door…Kirin…Kang…Soul Edge…!"

"Kang…your blood…I need it to be placed on the Soul Edge!" Kirin yelled at Kang, turning to him quickly with the soul edge out in a point at his sharp claw friend.

"WHAT?!" Kang screamed in confusion, his jaw dropped and his brow raised to the point that wrinkles would instantly form, was Kirin mad through fear or simply crazy?

"I am the key, as everyone around has said, you're the lock that will help the key, I think the Soul Edge is the door," Kirin explained, trying his best to make his theory as understandable as possible. "What was hidden behind the door was meant to be locked behind it, in other words, Syphon!"

General Scales dropped Kang without care, dropped to his knees and bowed to the great Dinosaur, catching the beasts attention as Kang quickly ran to Kirin's side, the two quickly planning as fast as possible.

"Great and powerful Syphon!" General scales praised as he laid his arms out on the concrete.

"Who are you stranger?" Syphon asked as he knelt down to the scum of a general.

"I am the one who brought the key here." General scales slowly looked up and explained what he had done for the might beast.

Syphon looked at him with questioning eyes then towards Kirin with concerned eyes, sensing the aura upon him, a low growl erupted from the might beasts muzzle, then he turned his head back to the general, malice shown in his expression like it was written on paper in large font.

"Really now, you brought this little descendent to me so that he would dispose of me, so that you could take my power and rule Sauria with an iron fist, no pun intended," Syphon explained and snarled down at scales, his face was full of fear, knowing that his actual plan was told right in his face. "Well as a matter of fact, Scales…I sense that this boy can kill me, I can see his inner power, longing to be free and destroy whatever it touches, so I, your gracious idol, in return for bringing me my killers, should by all means repay the debt by disposing you of my temple!"

Syphon's swift arm latched and lifted the traitorous General scales from the ground, snarling in his face one more time, and, with a strong toss, threw him off the temple top and over the edge, listening to his screams of terror, then only silence, this was odd to him but at the moment, he really couldn't care, he than began to focus on his next target: Kirin.

"Alright Kang, it's time to bring Syphon down once and for all, so that no soul edge descendent will ever have to worry about this monster again, but I need your help, I can't win without you, will you help a friend one last time?" Kirin asked his friend with worried eyes, hoping that he would get the answer he desired.

Kang thought carefully for a while, what could he do that wouldn't kill him or rapidly bleed him to death, this idea of using his blood to kill Syphon actually made sense, the key is Kirin, an object that must require a lock, the Lock was him, an object that requires a key to keep a door shut, and the door was the Soul Edge, the main object the keeps everything behind it inside, and what's behind the door that will remain shut was Syphon!

"Okay, I'll give some of my blood, just do me a favor and win this for the freedom for all of us." Kang replied with a nod and smile.

Kang took his weapon and cut his arm carefully and not fatally, leaking his blood onto the Soul Edge's form, Kirin's plan was working, it was actually working, the Blade was glowing brightly with renewed and gargantuan strength.

"Alright Syphon, this time, when you are sealed away, I expect you to stay sealed away!" Kirin roared up at the beast and as ran forward to meet his fate, all of Sauria now laid on his shoulders.