The Ling Sheng Su Temple was, for hundreds of years, considered to be the finest school for the sword and rod arts. Many heroes of history have come from this great temple, and, to this day, those who once trained at the temple are still strong. The temple rested on a quiet mountain deep in the interior of China, and usually had very little communication with the outside world. However, one day, robbers raided the town that neighbored the temple, and the monks were forced to leap into action to save the village. After the raid, the monks became concerned for those who were not able to protect themselves and needed others to protect them. So, the monks decided to open their doors and accept anyone into the great temple for training, regardless of age or gender, so long as they had a strong fighting spirit. Since then, it was customary for soldiers to visit the temple to brush up their skills, and many people from children to farmers to merchants came to the temple to learn basic techniques to protect themselves from robbers.
In the main hall of the Ling Sheng Su Temple, three sacred weapons known as the 'Holy Trinity' were stored. These three weapons were called the Kali-Yuga, the Krita-Yuga, and the Dvapara-Yuga. The reasons for why these weapons were kept there stretch far beyond recorded history, but the monks of the temple had always strictly enforced the rules, and knew that the weapons of the Holy Trinity were indeed sacred, so the weapons were kept well-protected there for hundreds of years.
The first weapon of the Holy Trinity was the Krita-Yuga - a sword. This sword was forged from a shard of an unholy weapon. The sword would revert to its unholy form through the absorption of negative energy and hatred, so extra caution was required. The first task of those entrusted with guarding the Krita-Yuga was to prevent it from reverting to its unholy form, so a special staff was created that absorbed various forms of energy to prevent the sword from absorbing negative energy, as well as channel positive energy into it to make it stronger. This staff was known as the Kali-Yuga. The second task of those entrusted with guarding the Krita-Yuga was to strengthen the newly born sword, so a special mirror was created that had the ability to maintain the purity of the sword by cleansing evil energy from it. This mirror was known as the Dvapara-Yuga, and could be worn on one's shoulder. These three items were what composed the Holy Trinity.
One day in winter, a baby was found abandoned in front of the Ling Sheng Su Temple. The monks of the temple took the child in, and began a search for its parents. Despite weeks of searching, the child's parents could not be found, and thus the temple adopted the baby.
The monks decided to name the baby "Kilik."
Kilik grew up healthily, and trained himself with the monks and pupils of the temple in the ways of the rod from a very young age. He also had a sworn elder sister named Xianglian. She, too, was one that had been adopted by the temple, and there she studied the art of the sword. She felt close to Kilik, since they were both orphans at one time, and she loved him as an older sister loves a younger brother.
The years continued to pass, and Kilik grew into a strong and healthy youth. Either because of natural talent, or because of the environment that he was raised in, Kilik mastered art of the rod, taught to him by a teacher known as Master Han, and became one of the school's finest students. His impressive skill and warm personality eventually led him to become a teacher himself. Soon afterwards, he was nominated to be the successor of the Kali-Yuga rod at the succession ceremony held once every 20 years. At the ceremony, he would be granted the Kali-Yuga itself. As its successor, his status in the temple would be raised as high as possible.
The night before the ceremony when the successor would be named, Kilik couldn't sleep, and sat on the stone wall behind the main hall, looking up into the moonlit sky, the cool wind of the night gently blowing against him. This was Kilik's favorite place within the temple. When he was a child, he used to come here and look into the stars each time his heart was sad. He sensed a presence behind him, turned around, and beheld Xianglian. As it turned out, she, too, had been elected to be a successor of a Holy Trinity treasure - in her case, it was the Dvapara-Yuga. She sat down beside Kilik, and the two of them began to talk about how far they'd both come, reminiscing about their pasts and remembering many old memories. They had spent many nights like this at this spot on the stone wall.
However, a question was troubling Kilik's mind - why was Xianglian, a master of swordplay, elected to receive the Dvapara-Yuga, a mirror, and not the Krita-Yuga, a sword?
Kilik finally asked her the question that had been troubling his mind. Xianglian fell silent, but eventually spoke. In a hushed voice, she quietly whispered to Kilik the Ling Sheng Su Temple's greatest secret - the Krita-Yuga had been lost ten years ago.
The scared weapons had been not only icons of the temple, but also a spiritual goal for the students. The thought of losing one of the treasures would have been a great moral damage to the temple. Thus, the fact that the Krita-Yuga was missing was strictly taboo, and only a few of the highest-ranking monks knew about it. They knew they had to hide the fact that the Krita-Yuga was missing, and instead of presenting the successor of the weapon with the actual sword, they would instead merely teach them the art of using that weapon. More over, the one whom had stolen the Krita-Yuga was none other than a high-ranking monk of temple, once nominated to be the successor of the Kali-Yuga!
Kilik was surprised to hear that one of the three treasures had been lost, but it was Xianglian's next statement that truly shocked him. "...I do not feel that I am worthy to succeed the Krita-Yuga, or even to study the art of the sword. The thief who stole the Krita-Yuga is no other than...my father."
Xianglian learned of this when she overheard a conversation between the school's masters. Master Han was aware that Xianglian had heard, and had tried to console her. He said to her gently, "These facts are true, but your life does not need to be ruled by the acts of your parents. You must cut your own path in life."
At the time, Xianglian was too young to understand, but as she grew, she understood the words of the master. However, she still felt that she had no right to be the successor of the sword or the art of it. If she did succeed, and people discovered the truth, they would not accept her. Besides this, Xianglian herself did not wish to be the successor. This was not a hasty decision; she had spent much long and deep thought on the matter. Master Han understood her choice, and nominated her to be the successor of the mirror instead of the sword. The skills needed to be the successor of the mirror were not natural fighting talent, but merely the power of a pure soul and a strong mind. In those areas, she was more than strong enough.
Silence fell on Kilik and Xianglian as their thoughts reflected on understanding the other's situation. The cool night breeze grew cold, and they began to stand to leave for a good night's rest. However, as they stood up, they suddenly felt the moonlight grow stronger. They looked into the sky, and saw a beautiful display of lights covering the stars. However, although the lights were beautiful, there was a mysterious evil within them. Kilik and Xianglian sensed the evil within the lights, and ran to a nearby hall. Deep in the hall laid the shrine for the sacred treasures. Some priests in the hall were preparing for tomorrow's ceremonies. They sensed the evil presence of the lights approaching, and handed Kilik and Xianglian the Kali-Yuga and the Dvapara-Yuga to fight the evil that they knew was approaching.
Somewhere in Spain, a young, misguided man had just carelessly touched the forbidden evil sword Soul Edge.
At that moment, Soul Edge lost its inner balance, and expelled its evil will all over the world, like seeds of disaster that were scattered all over Earth. This was the event that would later be known as the rain of the 'Evil Seed'.
The evil energy reached across the continent to the mountain village, and fell upon the temple. It forced pure evil into the people of the temple, and they were driven insane and filled with an intense rage. The monks were unable to hold on to their sanity, and in their blind, animalistic fury, began to attack and kill one another.
Kilik was poisoned by the Evil Seed, as well. He flew into a berserk rage, just like the others, and with one of the three treasures in his hands at the time, he caused more destruction than anyone else. He was so strong that he killed dozens of people. Only one person at the temple was able to escape the evil influence - Xianglian, for she wore the Dvapara-Yuga on her shoulder. Realizing the power of the mirror, she tried to get close to Kilik to place the mirror on him, but it was an extremely difficult task, as the people of the temple seized by the Evil Seed savagely attacked her.
Despite the odds against her, Xianglian managed to place the Dvapara-Yuga on Kilik. Kilik now had control of himself once more, but had no memory of what he had done, and was confused and bewildered by the people killing each other around him. He was forced to fight his attackers in order to survive.
Kilik was forced to kill the friends he had trained with. He was forced to kill his own students. He was even forced to kill his master, who had found and raised him. Kilik watched with horror as his and friends students ruthlessly killed each other and attacked him with the ferocity of wild beasts. Kilik tried to talk to them, but his words could not reach them. Exhausted and confused by the madness, Kilik tried to escape from the temple. But, just then, Kilik sensed a bloodthirsty presence behind him. He raised the Kali-Yuga in defense, turned around, and saw a sight he had hoped that he would not have to behold.
Xianglian had turned into a puppet of evil as well, and now lunged at him with the same feral desire for death as the others. Kilik desperately repelled her attacks that held strength clearly beyond any normal mortal's. By this point, he was exhausted beyond the human threshold, and his consciousness was beginning to fade. He closed his eyes, and moved without thought. A moment later, he felt a pain on his left cheek. A warm liquid trailed down the rod, and covered his hands. He opened his eyes, and in horror, gazed upon Xianglian, the Kali-Yuga piecing her body straight through her heart.
Kilik screamed, and his sad cry echoed through the darkness of the night.
He does not remember what happened after that.
---
As the sky began to turn gray in the east, an old man stood in the now silent Ling Sheng Su Temple. He remained calm, despite the mountains of death and rivers of blood that fell upon his eyes. He looked down upon Kilik, who was unconscious before him. The old man very still stood for a long time, and then slightly nodded his head, as if he had made a very important decision.
In the next few minutes, the once great Ling Sheng Su Temple was aflame, and Kilik was slung over the shoulder of an old man who was carrying him to a place very far away.
---
Kilik had been asleep for two days, and now awoke to find that he was lying in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar dwelling. He realized that his body was covered in wounds and scars, and found signs that his injuries had been cared for, but he couldn't summon the strength to move. With labor, he was able to move his head enough to see an old man sitting nearby and looking at him.
The man told Kilik that he was the adviser to the Ling Sheng Su arts of fighting, and that he was in charge of teaching the secret arts of the Holy Trinity style to the successors of the weapons. He then warned Kilik that he could never remove the Dvapara-Yuga from his shoulder, no matter what might happen. Kilik had many questions, but old man told him that he should concentrate on resting his body and nothing more. From then on, the old man would not speak a word to Kilik.
Time passed, and Kilik recovered the ability to walk, but he had trouble remembering the events that had occurred that terrible night at the Ling Sheng Su Temple. One night, as he looked up into the southern sky, the nightmare of that night returned to his mind.
After remembering the atrocities that he had committed with his own hands, Kilik was overwhelmed with intense guilt, and could not bear the remorse he felt. He had killed the people that adopted him, raised him, and trained him. He had killed the friends he had shared joy and sorrow with. And he had even killed the one who had been like a sister to him - Xianglian.
Kilik wanted to die. He did not feel like he deserved to live anymore. He felt cheated because he had fought desperately to recover his health, but now the pain of living was more than he could bear. "Why did Xianglian place the Dvapara-Yuga on me?" An agonized Kilik spoke aloud to himself. "I only survived because Xianglian gave her own life to entrust me with the mirror. Why would she do this? Why did she want me to live, and possess the rod and mirror? Xianglian, Why? Why must I live?"
"Time will give you the answer."
Kilik was shocked to realize that the old man had been standing behind him, and that he had spoken again for the first time since Kilik first met him - and he had much more to say.
From that night onwards, the old man broke his silence, and began to tell Kilik a great many things. He began by telling Kilik what he knew about the Evil Seed, and explained the tragedy at the temple as well as he could. He explained to Kilik that, even as they spoke, evil spirits possessed both Kilik and the Kali-Yuga, and only the power of the Dvapara-Yuga suppressed the evil and protected them. If the mirror was removed from Kilik, he would be seized with evil, and fly into a berserk rage just as the people of the temple had. If the Dvapara-Yuga was removed from Kilik's body, Kilik would turn completely evil. If the Kali-Yuga was separated from Kilik, then it too would cause disasters. Kilik and the two ancient treasures could never be separated. The old man could sense that the Evil Seed had been a result of Soul Edge, and told Kilik the legend of the evil sword.
"You must live as I once did." The old man said. What he meant by these words were that Kilik would have to master the secret arts of the Ling Sheng Su style, learn to control himself, and learn to suppress his demonic possession.
Kilik listened closely to the old man's words, and with consideration, determined that his words were wise and true. Kilik decided to train under the old man. For three years, Kilik trained with every ounce of strength in his body. The years went by very quickly, and when his training had been completed, Kilik had successfully mastered the Ling Sheng Su style, self-control, and even the dark power of the Evil Seed that was inside of him.
It was then that Kilik's Master ordered Kilik to one final trial. Kilik's final trial was to be a journey to purify himself in the west. Kilik agreed to the trial, seeing that it could also be an opportunity to find and destroy Soul Edge to avenge his fallen comrades and redeem himself for his sins that night. After words of farewell, Kilik left his Master's hermitage, and began his quest.
---
At this point, the story of Kilik becomes intertwined with the story of another soul. The name of this soul is Maxi.
Maxi was a pirate from Ryukyu Kingdom, whose philosophy was to live as freely as the wind. Maxi had anchored his ship at an Indian port when Kilik arrived searching for a ship to the west. Kyam, Maxi's sworn brother, was taking care of the ship while Maxi was away. Kyam liked Kilik because he had chosen their ship among many. "You have a good eye!" Kyam said, laughing. "We would be honored to have you as our guest."
As Kilik was awaiting Maxi's return, the weather grew hostile. A strong wind began to blow, and a thick fog rolled in. Slowly, a mysterious ship crept out of the fog, heading straight for Maxi's ship. The ship moored along Maxi's, and suddenly a large crowd of ferocious monsters boarded Maxi's ship and began to attack. Kilik did not know the monsters' reasons for attacking this shup, but defended himself from the monsters. Although Maxi's crew fought valiantly, the monsters were very powerful, and were slaughtering them.
The battle was raging when Maxi returned, and he joined the battle to defend his ship. It was only with the combined efforts of Maxi and Kilik that they were able to drive the monsters back, but, as they did so, a greater threat approached. A giant golem bearing a huge ax who seemed to be leading the attack leapt into the battle, and mortally wounded Kyam. With one of his mighty hands, the golem pulled the Dvapara-Yuga off of Kilik! Without the Dvapara-Yuga, Kilik lost control, and flew into killing frenzy, attacking everyone in sight, even Maxi. Upon seeing this, the golem laughed, decided that his work here was done, and left.
Maxi knew nothing of the Dvapara-Yuga, but could only conclude that removing it from Kilik was what caused his rampage, and that placing it on him once more could stop him. Acting on this guess, he placed the Dvapara-Yuga upon Kilik. The instant he did so, Kilik lost consciousness.
Maxi was left facing a ship full of human and monster corpses. He dashed to the side of the dying Kyam, and listened to his final words. "Brother...there is nothing you can do for us now...but, on behalf of us, avenge what has been done here today..." Kyam begged Maxi with his last breaths.
Maxi had lost everything he owned in a single instant. The only thing he could do now was to find the golem that had attacked his ship, and take revenge. He decided to join Kilik on his journey, as he felt certain that if he did so, he would eventually find the one that had massacred his crew.
---
Kilik's story intertwines with one more soul, as well, but the story of the next soul begins decades before she was even born...
In the Ming Empire, there is a family named the Chai family that has long followed a special tradition: Once the eldest son of the family succeeds his father's estate, the remaining sons leave the house to search for their purpose in life. The second son of the family must also follow a tradition; he is to settle down in the town were the Ling Sheng Su temple is located. The traditions of the Chai family state that, regardless of gender, all members of the family must become skilled martial-artists to protect themselves, their family members, and serve their nation well.
The daughter of a Chai family member, Xiangfei, was born in the town, and attended the Ling Sheng Su Temple to learn the art of swordplay. Whether it was because of her bloodline or not, her diligent training over the years brought her a level of skill that surpassed even the monks of the great school. If only she had been born a man, then she surely would have been nominated to be the successor of the Krita-Yuga.
Xiangfei fell in love with one of the monks of the Ling Sheng Su temple. His name was Kong Xiuqiang, the probable candidate to be the successor of another one of the one of the three treasures of the temple; the Kali-Yuga. Sadly, love between students of the temple was forbidden. The two lovers managed to keep their love secret for many years, and not until Xiangfei became pregnant with her daughter, Xianglian, did the monks know of their relationship.
A candidate could never sway from the path of purity, and thus the school decided to separate Xiangfei and Kong by driving Xiangfei away. The school did not allow Xiangfei to bring her daughter with her. Now separated from both her daughter and her lover, Xiangfei could not bear her sorrow, and decided to leave town and never return.
Kong's sworn brother, a fellow student named Han Dongxiu, heard she was leaving, and gave his friend advice "You should not just sit here and mope. You still have time to see her again! Shape your future with your own two hands; you must cut your own path in life!"
Kong believed that Han was right, and decided to spend one last night with Xiangfei. With Han's help, Kong was able to sneak away from the temple, and travel down to the town under the vale of darkness. He found Xiangfei and gave her a gift - a sword - as proof of their love, and as a reminder of the hope they would meet again. They shared a final night of passion, and then bid farewell to one another. It was all they could do.
Xiangfei left the town, and told none her final destination. She left pregnant with her second child, but she hoped that Kong would soon forget about her and focus on his candidacy for the Kali-Yuga. She returned to her noble family. With the Chai family's long lineage of soldiers in the Ming Empire capitol, she was able to join the ranks of the soldiers. There, she bore her second daughter - Xianghua. Xianghua was never told about her mother's past. Meanwhile, the Ling Sheng Su temple was facing a great crisis. The Krita-Yuga was missing. Investigations traced the theft to Kong, and he was immediately excommunicated and driven from the temple. Xianglian was left alone in the temple without a father or mother. The temple decided to raise her, told her that she had been an orphan, and she did not learn the story of her parents for several years.
Kong followed traces of Xianglian, and discovered her link to the Chai family. However, the Chai family would not allow Kong to see Xianglian. They told him that Xianglian was happy believing that Kong was in the temple training hard, and reasoned that Xianglian would certainly be sad if she learned that Kong had been excommunicated.
Kong desperately wanted to see Xianglian, but trusted her family's decision. As persuaded, Kong left the house - without ever knowing that a second daughter had been born. He had absolutely nowhere to go. From that point on, he disappeared completely.
Meanwhile, the temple's search for the Krita-Yuga continued, and the first suspect of the current owner of the sword was Xiangfei. The search party found her, but the sword they could not. All they found was Xiangfei looking after her daughter, Xianghua. At the time, Xianghua was playing with a battered old sword, but it was obviously not the Krita-Yuga. The search party returned to the temple in failure, and after many years, the temple gave up the large-scale search.
No one knew, not the search party, the Chai family, Xiangfei, or even little Xianghua herself knew that the old sword she played with was none other than the Krita-Yuga, after all! To prevent its true power from being abused, and in case it was ever separated from the other three treasures, the Krita-Yuga had the ability to change its shape and sleep in silence. Only Kong, who separated it from the other treasures, had ever witnessed this, and was the only person in existence who knew the sword's secret.
Xianghua grew up never knowing she had an elder sister. By her tenth year, she had acquired the basic arts of swordplay. Her mother eventually fell ill and died, and her mother's death drove her to train as hard as her dear mother once had. By her sixteenth year, her skill was so renowned that she decided to apply for a position in as one of the royal guards of the Ming Emperor.
The Emperor of the Ming Empire had long been searching for Soul Edge. He was one of many who had been misinformed about the sword, and knew it by the title of "The Hero's Sword". He was irritated by the lack of progress his subordinates had with their search, and decided to send his royal guards as the third searching party. Xianghua was made part of the search party, and thus inducted into the Emperor's royal guards. Xianghua agreed to the task.
Xianghua had been training herself in martial arts under her mother since she was a child. As her mother lay on her deathbed, she gave to her daughter the same advice that her old friend Han had once given her. "You were born to complete an important task. This may be your destiny, but how you face it is up to you. Xianghua, you must cut your own path in life." Xianghua saw the search for Soul Edge as the 'important task' that her mother had spoken of. She left for the quest, having her keepsake sword in hand. Gradually, members of the search party began to break off from the rest of the group to chase after various bits of information and rumors about Soul Edge. Xianghua left the party as well, chasing a hint of information, when she met someone - Kilik.
When Kilik learned that Xianghua was searching for Soul Edge, he suddenly became very emotional, and warned her that the sword was evil. The more Xianghua listened to him, the more she began to believe him. She now saw the information she had gathered so far in a different light, and the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place. She realized that Kilik was right. Xianghua agreed to join Kilik and Maxi, and aid Kilik in his journey to destroy the sword.
Kilik sometimes considered telling Xianghua that she reminded him very much of someone he had once known - Xianglian. But he never told her, and Xianghua never learned that she had a sister, or that she had met her death at the hands of Kilik himself.
Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi eventually followed the trail of Soul Edge to Ostrheinsburg Castle, where Siegfried, at this point in time consumed by the influence of Soul Edge and feared as Nightmare, was about to perform the ceremony to resurrect his father. The trio stormed the Castle. Maxi sighted the golem who had massacred his crew there - Astaroth. He separated from Kilik and Xianghua to do battle with the giant. Kilik found Nightmare, and the two of them began to do battle.
Nightmare's attacks were of incredible force, and with one blow, he shattered the Dvapara-Yuga on Kilik's shoulder. Kilik feared that the Evil Seed would take over his mind, but after bracing himself for the worst, realized that nothing had happened. Through his years of self-discipline, Kilik had obtained complete control over the evil contamination within him. Although the Dvapara-Yuga had been destroyed, Kilik was still in control of himself.
Siegfried believed that he had succeeded in resurrecting his father, but it was merely an illusion that his desperate mind had formed. When he realized this, he became too distracted and weary to defend himself, and Kilik struck Nightmare down. Xianghua moved forward to plunge the Krita-Yuga into Soul Edge to destroy the sword, but as she did so, the form of the Krita-Yuga changed. This was the moment when the Krita-Yuga revealed its true form.
The Krita-Yuga was Soul Calibur.
Xianghua was forced to do battle with an incarnation of the evil power of Soul Edge. It was an intense battle fought in an inferno created by Soul Edge's evil, but Xianghua succeeded. When she finally plunged Soul Calibur into Soul Edge, Soul Edge was banished into a void - and Soul Calibur along with it. Nightmare was defeated, and the two swords appeared to be gone forever. The crisis seemed to be over.
Kilik and Xianghua searched for Maxi, but could not find a trace of him anywhere in the Castle. They could only assume that their comrade had fallen in battle, said a prayer for his-well being, and left.
Kilik and Xianghua eventually went their separate ways. Kilik returned to his Master in order to perfect the technique of neutralizing and purifying the evil energy over time. Kilik spent all of four years training under his Master after the fateful battle.
One day, Kilik sensed a malevolent aura. It had the same energy as the wicked, demonic blade, and a realization came to Kilik - Soul Edge still existed! Merely shattering the weapon had not destroyed it. "It appears that brute strength is not enough to destroy Soul Edge. Would it be possible to absorb all of its powers into Kali-Yuga?" Kilik wondered. The "Kali-Yuga can absorb any form of energy, so it should be possible to keep all of the blade's evil power under the rod's control. Then, I can try to purify it over time, and Soul Edge will truly be destroyed forever..."
Kilik then realized a flaw in his plan. Four years had passed since he'd begun his training again, yet he had been unable to completely purify the evil inside his body. It would take a long time to purge the colossal amount of demonic energy possessed by Soul Edge.
But, it did not matter - his mind was made up. Kilik was willing to make the sacrifice as a means to atone for the deaths he caused, even if it took an entire lifetime.
With this great ambition in mind, Kilik set out for the west. Along the way, he encountered Xianghua once again. Just as when they first met, the two had differences in their opinions, but they wound up traveling together to search for Soul Edge.
One day, the two of them arrived at a city that was enveloped in an evil energy that was not Soul Edge. Kilik did not know its source, but, using a fragment of the Dvapara-Yuga and his powers of purification, he was able to heal citizens of the city.
Soon after he had done this, he was approached by a strange man with a scythe. The man spoke to him.
"You who are close to the spirit sword - leave this place. A great evil is poised to sweep over this land. Without your mirror, you cannot infuse your weapon with that power." The man possessed an extraordinarily forceful presence, and Kilik was puzzled as to how the man knew that Kilik once possessed the Dvapara-Yuga, but he would not back down. Their weapons clashed. Kilik lost. He was horribly wounded, and held onto consciousness by a thread. The man spoke once more.
"I see that you possess arts for purifying evil, but do not underestimate the evil sword. If you challenge it unprepared, you will surely find yourself trapped within its dark abyss."
That was the last thing Kilik heard before he lost consciousness.
---
Kilik awoke in a familiar bed, in a familiar dwelling. It was the residence of his Master. He learned from his Master what had happened. After the fight, Xianghua had carried him here. Sensing a terrible energy radiating from Kilik's wounds, his Master had performed a secret ritual to treat them. An entire month had passed since the battle.
Kilik realized his lack of skill. It would not be possible for him to seal the cursed sword at his current strength. The words spoken by the man with the scythe flashed through the back of his mind. Merely training in the arts of purification was not enough. If he himself was not strong, he would be unable to face off against great evil. As he thought to himself, he casually placed his hand on his chest, and realized something.
The fragment of Dvapara-Yuga that he had always kept on himself was gone.
"Xianglian..." The face of his sworn sister appeared in his mind. For the sake of the woman who sacrificed herself to the evil sword by entrusting the Dvapara-Yuga to him, and for the sake of the people of Ling-Sheng Su, he could not give up. But, what could he do? The cursed energy that he had felt from the west had not abated. In fact, it felt as if it were still spreading. There was no time to waste.
Reading Kilik's thoughts, his Master ordered him to begin rigorous training. His teacher intentionally surrounded himself with dark energy, becoming like someone affected by the Evil Seed. Kilik would have to face off against this opponent with nothing more than his staff. It was the most difficult challenge he had ever faced, but he had to overcome it in order to get stronger.
The power of his Master, now enveloped in dark aura, was greater than Kilik had imagined possible. As fast as lightning, as powerful as a wild beast, with the spirit of a raging hurricane - Kilik's Master was no like a demonic god. Kilik could not hope to win by attacking directly. He realized that he would have to focus on exorcising the evil energy now dwelling in his Master's body.
Kilik finally succeeded in striking his Master with a purifying attack. This blow, unleashed with an unclouded heart and unwavering mind, was sufficient to restore his Master's mind, but it wounded him deeply at the same time.
"You still lack skill." His Master said to him. "True purity of spirit strikes only at evil, and harms not the body...but you have done well for such a short time." After tending to his wound, Master handed something to Kilik - it was the fragment of Dvapara-Yuga that he thought he had lost! He then gave to Kilik a letter that Xianghua had entrusted to him. Kilik understood why his Master had kept these things from him. Kilik read Xianghua's letter.
"I am sorry that I couldn't do anything to help you, Kilik. I will work on my skills, grow stronger, and regain my courage. For now, please go on ahead without me. I am sure that we will meet again. And, next time, let's put an end to all of this. I believe in us. I know that we can do it, if we're together."
With her words in his heart, Kilik was prepared to set out west once more in pursuit of the evil that dwelt there. But, then, he realized that the evil had changed somehow. It still existed, and was as potent as ever, but it seemed as if there was something else alongside the evil - another kind of energy, that was suppressing or countering the evil. He wondered what this could mean.
"Master, do you sense that?"
His Master nodded his head. "I sense it. Evil energy, masked somehow. And...I sense something else. Someone who is contaminated by evil energy. The evil is lying dormant within them, but it will grow until it consumes them. My apprentice, this does not bode well. This strange energy should be reaching us soon - within a day's time. When it comes, you should purify it. If you can do so successfully, you will be ready to embark on your journey."
Kilik agreed, and understood. He would postpone his journey for one day to purify this energy.