Star was panting hard. She dropped to her right knee, using her right arm to support herself so she didn't collapse onto the ground. "Wow, Talim…you really train hard."

Talim laughed. "In a place like this, you need to be trained hard…Soul Edge can't be destroyed if you're weak."

"So…what IS Soul Edge?"

"Soul Edge is an evil sword, often considered to be the ultimate weapon. It changes forms with its users. People have long sought to find Soul Edge, and to take it for themselves. Some seek it for power. Power to control the world…But some even seek Soul Edge because they believe it is a 'sword of salvation'. Those people are sadly mistaken. Soul Edge is pure evil. It drains the willpower and the soul of its wielder, until nothing is left but an empty shell it can control. The last wielder of Soul Edge was the Azure Knight, otherwise known as Nightmare. It's said that the Azure Knight had fought against Soul Edge, and, in the end, shattered it using Soul Calibur…a sword of pure good, to balance Soul Edge's destructive nature. The Azure Knight's real name was Siegfred. But, I'm afraid, he's either gone back to being Nightmare…or I just don't know what's going on. It's a shame."

"Hm. Well, I think I know how to beat him," said Star.

"Oh? And just how do you plan to beat Nightmare?"

"Well, you said that the Azure Knight shattered Soul Edge with that…Soul Calibur sword, right?"

"Yes…"

Star smiled. "Then we should look for Soul Calibur. If we found it, we could probably take out Soul Edge. Although, maybe my Keyblade could help, too."

Talim laughed. "I doubt it. It was barely able to take on my Crescent Blades."

Star looked angry. "Don't underestimate me. The last time someone did that, they lost a Kraken."

Talim laughed harder. "They lost a what?"

Star sighed. "Never mind."

Suddenly, the two stopped moving. They had heard a twig snap. Turning around, Star saw a man in a white cloak holding a large scythe. She couldn't see his face under the hood.

"Do not get involved with that sword if you wish to live. I shall have to kill you if you continue."

"Who are you?" demanded Star, drawing her Keyblade.

"Hmph. Don't make me laugh, little girl."

"LITTLE GIRL?!" Star exclaimed. "Oh, you're gonna get it now!"

Star reached down to her belt and pulled off her three Pokeballs. "Heh. I wasn't gonna use these unless I really needed to…but you'll do for a test subject. Go, Arcanine, Onix, Milotic!"

The trio popped out of their Pokeballs, looking raring for some action.

The man laughed. "Do you really think your little parlor tricks will do anything but amuse me? They're barely doing that."

"Just keep laughing, freak."

Seemingly following an implied order from the tone of her voice, Arcanine appeared to vanish, reappearing directly behind the man, clawing through his cloak with great ease. The man shouted in pain as blood gushed from the wound on his back.

"You'll pay for that."

The man turned quickly and jabbed the hilt end of his scythe into Arcanine's throat, sending it jumping back, yelping in pain. He tried to swing at Arcanine again, but was blocked by Onix's huge, rocky bulk. The man jumped back, threw his scythe into his left hand, and shook his right hand, apparently in an attempt to shake off pain. He didn't even have time to move before Milotic shot an Ice Beam downward, freezing the ground around him, and he slipped and fell. His head made a sickening smack as it hit the ice.

As the ice seemingly evaporated, disappearing, Star walked slowly up to the man and put her Keyblade to his throat.

"Don't threaten me."

Angry, she kicked him in the face, sending him back into the surrounding woods. She heard a strangely triumphant laughter. "The Keyblade…so it's here."

"Who was that guy?" asked Star.

Talim drew her crescent blades. "I don't know. But I think we should follow him."

"All right. You lead."

Talim laughed. "Of course I'll lead. I'm sure you don't know how to track."

Star made a sort of sigh, as if she was implying that she was ignoring Talim's statement.

The two ran out into the woods, disappearing between the trees.

Some time later, the two had caught up to the man. He had just defeated some soldiers that had apparently gotten in his way, and he headed for an old castle. Star thought he heard the man mutter something to the effect of "I never should have brought that thing back. It's time to undo that mistake."

Star and Talim raced toward the castle. Talim spotted a closer entrance. "Here! Let's cut him off!"

At the top of the cathedral, Star and Talim burst through a doorway out to a balcony, where they saw the man with the scythe already in a heated battle with Nightmare.

Star was panting. "I guess," she said, gasping, "I need to work out more."

The sound of running water was heard, flowing from a fountain above the doorway into a surrounding pool. The balcony was apparently just a platform in the middle of a huge above-ground pool…a REALLY above-ground pool. The tranquility of the place was broken by the sound of clashing metal. Sparks flew through the air as the scythe and sword struck each other with deadly force. After a few hits, the scythe was thrown from the hands of the cloaked man and landed on the ground a few feet away. As Nightmare raised Soul Edge to kill the man, a strange sound was heard. The sword was stopped in mid-swing. When the man looked up, he saw Arcanine, its jaws clasped on Nightmare's sword hand.

Nightmare was not pleased. "Away, creature! You'll be given your death soon enough!"

Arcanine growled, and pushed backward toward Nightmare, throwing him off balance. Star saw her opportunity. She threw the Keyblade. It whizzed through the air, and struck Nightmare directly in the back. Running toward Nightmare, she brought out her other two Pokeballs and released Milotic and Onix. Arcanine released Nightmare's sword hand, and Nightmare was attempting to recover from the wound on his back. He was tougher than he looked, and there wasn't much damage done by the Keyblade, but it was enough to distract him. As Star neared Nightmare, she screamed, "MILOTIC! NOW!"

She jumped on Nightmare's back and grasped the Keyblade tightly. Ripping the blade from Nightmare's back, she managed to flip out of the way just in time as Milotic shot an Ice Beam directly at him. Nightmare was frozen in solid ice. Before Nightmare could break free or thaw, Onix brought its tail down onto his body as hard as it could. Nightmare was shattered into pieces, and Soul Edge fell to the ground.

Talim stood, watching the whole thing, flabbergasted. "She really is a hero…"

The cloaked man stood up. He pulled back his hood to reveal a black complexion and a golden eye. He smiled. "So, you are strong. Good. I have a favor to ask you."

Star scowled. "Oh yeah? And what's that? Not that I didn't just save your sorry hide."

The man laughed. "I want you to kill me."

"Huh?"

"Perhaps I should tell you my story. I won't bother you with all of the details, but I'll give you the gist of it. My name is Zasalamel. Long ago, I was a member of an ancient tribe that protected Soul Calibur, the Spirit Sword that could destroy Soul Edge. However, I committed a crime and was exiled. I found a way to become immortal through eternal rebirth—reincarnation, if you will. However, when you become reincarnated, you experience death countless times…and there's never any closure. It's like if you were watching a play, and suddenly, right before the end, another play started. You never got to see what happened at the end of the first one. Imagine, an eternity of reincarnation. There is no death. You just fall asleep, and wake up someone else. You can imagine that I got tired of a life like that."

"So why don't you just let yourself die?"

"Because it's not that simple. Powerful magic made me immortal…it would take magic just as powerful to return me to mortality. My original plan was to revive Nightmare. With Nightmare revived, Soul Edge would begin seeking souls again, and Soul Calibur would reveal itself. With the sword of evil and the Spirit Sword together, I could create the kind of magic that could break my chain of reincarnations, and grant my wish."

"But…"

"But I never found Soul Calibur. When I realized my mistake, I moved to destroy Nightmare. In my many reincarnations, I have seen war…death…desolation. I didn't want to bring Nightmare back to a world that couldn't handle him if it wouldn't help me get what I wanted. There was only one more hope for me. That sword in your hand, right there."

Star held out the Keyblade.

"Yeah, that's it. The Keyblade. It contains the sort of magic I'm looking for. I want you to strike me with the Keyblade, right here, in my heart. The magic of the Keyblade will return me to mortality. Then, I can be at peace."

Star hesitated. She'd vanquished a few Heartless, but she wasn't sure she could kill a man. "What makes you think this would work?" she asked.

The man laughed. "Trust me."

"I…don't think…"

The man's face began to look pleading. "Please, do this for me. It's all I ask. I just…want…to die."

Closing her eyes tightly, Star thrust the Keyblade into the man's chest. The man made a strange choking sound, and a small amount of blood escaped. However, the wound suddenly closed around the Keyblade.

"The magic…it's working!"

Star looked concerned, almost sad. "Zasalamel…"

The man laughed, his entire being beginning to fade. "Thank you, Keyblade Master. You've granted me the only thing I could ever want. Finally, it's over."

The man evaporated into the air. Tiny little fireflies, created by the evaporation, floated into the sky. "Eternal…rest."