Kilik observed the possessed man warily. A purifying blow was most effective at the point that the possession was strongest. Two peculiarities about the man were a wound on his face that did not appear to be fresh, but was bleeding, and that his left hand was gloved while his right hand was not. Kilik did not know what to make of a missing glove, but assumed that the man's bleeding scar held more significance. He'd aim his blow for the scar, then - but it ran through the man's eye. It would be dangerous to strike a blow there...

...And something else about the nature of the scar troubled Kilik, too. Kilik had a very vivid memory of delivering such a scar to someone at one point, but could not remember when or to whom.

Furthermore, something about the man troubled him. He felt as if he had met this man before - but he had never known a knight with long blonde hair and such a huge sword. The only opponent besides his Master whom he had seen wield such a huge weapon was Nightmare. But this man could not be...

...Wait. That scar. The only time I struck someone with a blow that grazed their eye, it was during the battle with Nightmare.

As the man approached him with a sadistic look, the shard of the Dvapara-Yuga Kilik wore around his neck glowed and hummed brighter and louder.

...This man, he is...

The man laughed. "You're trembling! Have you lost your courage already?" The evil within him was corrupting his speech and making his words come out as a raspy growl.

"...No." Kilik said, slipping into an aggressive fighting stance. "My resolve to save you is only steeled further, now that I have deduced your true identity...Nightmare."

The man laughed again, louder. "Fool! I conquered Nightmare long ago. Whom you see before you is Siegfried. My eyes have been opened. I see clearly now that I should have not shunned evil, but embraced it!"

"...So, you are not Nightmare anymore, but, once again, you are being controlled by evil. I will save you, no matter who you are."

Kilik closed his eyes, slowly slid a hand along the Kali-Yuga, and silently muttered a spell. The rod began to glow blue. Now that the rod was prepared for purification, all that was left was to properly land a purifying blow onto this man.

Kilik leapt forward towards Siegfried, and spun his rod in a circle around him. Almost faster than Kilik could see, Siegfried held up his sword and blocked the blow. He stood with a confident smirk on his face, and his body was lax, as if he needed to exert no energy at all to perform such a quick block. With just as much ease, he flicked his wrist, sending the massive sword towards Kilik. Kilik held the Kali-Yuga in front of him with both hands to block the blow, and leapt back.

The speed with which he moves, and the ease with which he swings that giant sword...I have a feeling that the evil possession has given him supernatural abilities. I will need to wear him down first, and perform at my best.

Kilik placed one hand on one end of the Kali-Yuga, and his other hand on the shaft. He used his hand on the end of the rod to twirl it in small circles, and then thrust it towards Siegfried in a piercing motion. By twirling it that way, it should have been able to slip past any attempt at a shielding movement by Siegfried's sword.

But Siegfried merely held his sword straight out in front of him, and held it so steadfast that it stopped the Kali-Yuga the moment it came into contact with it. Siegfried's enhanced strength was going to be too much for such a tactic by Kilik.

Kilik withdrew the rod and went for a more direct attack, leaping high into the air and coming down on Siegfried with the rod. But, Siegfried thrust out his sword towards Kilik, and Kilik was forced to call off his attack and use his rod as a shield. He shoved the rod against Siegfried's sword with enough strength to force himself away from it, and landed safely.

Kilik leapt into another attack immediately. He spun both his body and the rod, hoping to accelerate the rod's speed to be able to get past one of Siegfried's parries - but Siegfried blocked each blow every time the rod came close to him, and although Kilik took these opportunities to reverse the direction of his spinning and attack Siegfried's opposite side, Siegfried blocked each of these attacks, too.

Despite its lack of success, Kilik carried on this tactic, and then suddenly changed his method of attack, switching to a stabbing motion. But, Siegfried showed no surprise at all at Kilik's sudden change of tactic, and calmly blocked this blow, as well.

Kilik was becoming disheartened, and Siegfried could tell. Once he judged his opponent's morale to be low enough to succeed at a surprise attack, he attempted one.

Siegfried vanished - at least, to Kilik, it seemed that way. When he moved his head left and right as if to search for his missing opponent, he found him, on his right side. Siegfried had moved with incredible speed. His posture was still loose and relaxed - except for the arm held his sword, which was now swinging towards Kilik, and fast.

Kilik immediately brought the Kali-Yuga up to parry this blow, but as soon as he did, Siegfried disappeared again. On intuition, Kilik whirled around to face the opposite direction, and held out his Kali-Yuga to deflect a blow - and it did so.

Kilik leapt back, far more cautious now that he knew he was facing an opponent who could move around his body faster than could be seen. Although Siegfried seemed to possess the ability to kill Kilik in the blink of an eye, he didn't look as if he had any intention of doing so soon. The look on his face was not one of a warrior engaged in combat, but of amusement.

He knows he can kill me in an instant. He's just toying with me.

This was a blow to Kilik's pride, but he knew that there were more important matters at the moment. He would have to take advantage of Siegfried's overconfidence. He thinks he is dominating this battle, so I'll have to surprise him - I'll have to do the opposite of whatever he expects me to do.

Kilik leapt forward and spun the Kali-Yuga in front of him, and it functioned as a rotary shield. When he was within range to attack, instead of using the rod for an attack, he leapt forward and struck out his leg in an attempt to kick Siegfried. His foot connected with Siegfried, but not in an agreeable way - Siegfried had grabbed Kilik's foot.

Siegfried basked in the fact that his opponent felt helpless and defeated for a moment, and then flung Kilik's body away with a mere flick of his wrist.

Kilik flew through the air, fell to the ground, and skidded a few feet before coming to a stop dangerously close to the edge of the platform. He quickly leapt to his feet and assumed a battle pose once more - he was fighting a psychological battle as well as a physical one, and could not allow his opponent to think that he was any less eager to fight.

Kilik rotated the rod before him again, this continuously moving from his right side to his lift side, creating something of a whirling shield before him. Kilik rotated the rod faster and faster, and then began to quickly approach Siegfried. When he came within range, he attempted to strike Siegfried with the spinning rod, as well as leap into the air and perform kicks along with rod attacks. Eventually, he began to spin his body as well as the rod, and to achieve this, he would sometimes need to spin the rod under or around his legs when they were airborne, and was now gyrating his body as well as the rod in this frantic flurry of attacks.

Siegfried blocked each blow with inhuman speed, seemingly never to exhibit any stress or move a single limb other than the one that held his sword. Then, in the midst of one of Kilik's attacks, he held his sword perpendicular to the ground and thrust it forward, and it knocked Kilik onto his back. Kilik rolled to the side, only a moment before Siegfried's sword came crashing into the spot that he was in a moment before.

He's finally decided to actively attack? This battle is about to get a lot harder.

Siegfried began to swing his sword about with lazy flicks of his arm. As tactless as this seemed, it was still very deadly. Kilik began to use his rod as if it was a sword, gripping one part like a hilt and swinging the rest of the rod against Siegfried's sword to block his blows. Among blocking the blows, he incorporated many attacks of varying natures, but none of them connected successfully. Finally, the stress of the battle was too much for him, and he leapt away from Siegfried to catch his breath.

The end result was a relaxed Siegfried standing at one side of the platform, an arrogant smirk on his face, and an exhausted Kilik standing at the opposite side of the platform, hunched over and panting heavily. Kilik's body was at its limit - he could hide his fatigue no more.

Siegfried lowered his head, and with his body hunched forward, began to walk towards Kilik, looking somewhat reminiscent of a wolf approaching its prey. Kilik knew that this was the moment Siegfried had been waiting for - when his opponent was too exhausted to deflect a deathblow - and that it would all be over momentarily if he did not do something drastic quick.

Kilik closed his eyes. He stood up straight, and very still. He held the Kali-Yuga upright in front of him.

"...I can tell what that is." Siegfried said. "A desperate last-ditch effort. Whatever you're about to do, it won't work." He hunched down low again, and then rushed forward at Kilik.

Kilik stayed perfectly still, until the moment that Siegfried drew back his arm to swing his sword. Then, Kilik's eyes shot open, and his limbs shot out. He held the shaft of the Kali-Yuga with his left hand, and put his right hand on its base. He shoved his right hand forward as hard as possible, and at the same time, lunged his body forward, and gave a shout.

"Evil, be vanquished!"

The tip of the rod struck square in the middle of Siegfried's chest. It punctured a hole in his armor, and came into contact with his body. Siegfried was stopped dead in his tracks by the rod. With his left hand he grabbed the rod and tried to push it away, but he could not move it.

The Kali-Yuga and shard of the Dvapara-Yuga glowed purple for a brief moment, and then the glow faded. Siegfried slumped over, not in lax confidence, but like an unconscious body. Kilik retracted the rod, and Siegfried fell to the ground.

Kilik rushed to his side and turned him over so that he was lying on his back. He slapped Siegfried's cheek a few times, with just enough sharpness to rouse him from slumber.

Siegfried's eyes slowly opened. Bright sunlight flooded the cracks between his eyelids, and he instinctively shut them. He forced his eyes open again, this time slower. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the face of a man that seemed familiar somehow.

"Please be calm. Can you understand me?"

"...Yes."

"My name is Kilik. You were possessed by evil. I landed a purifying blow on you, and cured you of the evil."

Siegfried became worried. "What happened?"

"I came when I sensed evil approaching. When I arrived, you were about to face three women in battle. It appeared you roughed them up a bit before I arrived, but none of them were heavily wounded."

"...I see. Thank you for curing me."

Siegfried felt a wetness on the right side of his face, and his right hand rose to touch it. He felt liquid, and drew his hand away from his face to see blood on his fingertips. His eyes went from the blood from the found from his old wound to Kilik's face. As if this sight triggered a resurgence in his memory, he recognized the man's face.

"...You're...that man who struck me down at Ostrheinsburg when I was Nightmare."

"...Then I was correct in assuming that you are the man who was once Nightmare."

"...Yes..." Siegfried was usually quick to inform those who knew of his previous form that he was no longer possessed by Soul Edge - but, after this man just saw him being possessed by evil, he did not feel as if it was the right time to make that statement.

"If I may ask, where is Soul Edge now?" Kilik asked.

Siegfried realized that he was not wearing the satchel that held the Soul Embrace. He looked around the platform, but it was not there. The last thing he could remember was standing on a ledge with Tira, Ivy, and Sophitia, and then feeling evil rousing within him. He had opened his mouth to warn them, but could not force words out. The evil force took control of him and removed the satchel so as to be better be able to move - and then his memory was blank.

Siegfried turned his head around and located the ledge that he had been standing on. He could see the satchel still sitting there.

"Soul Edge is up there." Siegfried said, pointing.

Kilik gripped the Kali-Yuga.

"Don't worry - it is harmless at the moment."

"...Harmless? How? Has it been purified?"

"No - actually, that's what we came here to..." He paused. "I believe that it would be better to explain things from the beginning...starting with a proper introduction.

Siegfried rose to his feet. "I am Siegfried Schtauffen."

"Master! Are you okay?"

Siegfried saw Tira's head poking up from over the edge of the platform. She scrambled onto it and ran towards him.

"...This is Tira." Siegfried said, gesturing to her.

"Master! You're okay, right?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Siegfried said. "Thankfully, he was able to remove the evil without harming me."

Kilik seemed to stand up straighter at this comment. "Then, my training is complete." He said quietly and proudly to himself. He turned towards Siegfried. "She calls you 'Master'. Is she your apprentice?"

"...Apprentice? Well..." Siegfried always found it difficult to describe the nature of he and Tira's relationship to other people.

"There is one whom I call Master, as well." Kilik said.

"Really? Are you a slave, too?" Tira asked, eyes wide.

"...Slave?" Kilik asked, taken aback. "No, no. He does not own me; he merely teaches me. I call him 'Master' because he has a mastery over many different types of weaponry and combat styles. He instructs me in the ways of combat; I am his apprentice."

"...I see..." Tira said, thoroughly interested in this concept of a 'Master'.

"Are you dead, Siegfried?" A voice rang out.

"...That would be Ivy." Siegfried said with a mixture of irritation and fondness in his voice.

Ivy was the next to climb up onto the platform, and Siegfried deduced that there was a ladder positioned at that spot. She approached the three of them. "So, I see he managed to cure you without killing you."

"Yes, and it is nice to see you again, too, Ivy."

The next one up the ladder was Sophitia. "Siegfried!" She called out. "Are you all right?" She dashed to their position. Worry seemed to be etched into every inch of her face.

"Don't worry, Sophitia, I'm fine." Siegfried said.

"I'm so relieved! I was afraid that you'd never be your real self again..." There seemed to be something under Sophitia's words that Siegfried couldn't put his finger on, but he did not dwell on it long.

"Kilik, this is Sophitia. And Sophitia, this man who cured me is named Kilik."

"It's nice to meet you, Kilik."

"And it's nice to meet you, too - all of you." Kilik said. After these words, he seemed to be struggling with something. "I...hope it is not rude to bring this up so soon, but I really must inquire about Soul Edge again."

"Ah, yes. Let me retrieve that satchel up there, and then I'll explain everything."

---

Kilik's home was one of the shacks that were strewn across the proving grounds. It was small, but cozy, and offered protection from the cold air outside. Siegfried had set the satchel down in the center of the room on a small table that was surrounded by mats - an eastern dinner table. Siegfried, Kilik, and the rest took seats on the mats, and Siegfried began an explanation of what had happened to Soul Edge and Soul Calibur since Kilik had last seen them. When Siegfried came to the point in the story where Soul Edge and Soul Calibur merged, he revealed the satchel's contents.

Kilik's reaction to the sight of the Soul Embrace was unexpected. He seemed mortified and upset. When Siegfried asked him what was wrong, Kilik began a hasty and incomprehensible reply. He paused, and began again, speaking clearly.

Kilik told Siegfried and his companions about the Holy Trinity. He explained to them that he had grown up revering the Trinity, and seeing one of the treasures - the Krita-Yuga, better known as Soul Calibur - intermeshed with the grotesque and hideous monstrosity that was Soul Edge was an extremely unpleasant sight.

Kilik was distraught because he believed Soul Calibur to be trapped in Soul Edge. Siegfried consoled Kilik by telling him that Soul Calibur was not trapped; it was keeping Soul Edge at bay by negating its power, and that what Soul Calibur was doing was for the good of humanity. Kilik said little, but was apparently comforted by Siegfried's words.

"...Please continue. What has happened since then?"

"Soul Edge's power is nullified at the moment, but should it ever become separated from Soul Calibur, it will be a threat once more. Since the creation of the Soul Embrace, I have traveled far, seeking a way to destroy Soul Edge. So far, none of our attempts to do so have borne fruit, although we gain more knowledge with each of our endeavors - for example, I never would have known about the Holy Trinity, if I had not come here. There is one thing we have not yet tried - purification. And so-"

"And so you came here." Kilik said, finishing Siegfried's sentence for him. "Hoping to find a master of purification, I gather."

"That is right. Would I be correct to assume that you are one, yourself?"

"That is what I have spent these many years training to become..." Kilik said, with just a drop of uncertainty in his voice.

"...Kilik. Do you think you can do it? You have the Kali-Yuga and a shard of the Dvapara-Yuga. They should be able to help, shouldn't they?"

Kilik nodded. "They...should." Still, he seemed uncertain. He took a deep breath. "...Well, there's only one way to find out." He stood up.

"Are you going to do it right here? On a dinner table?" Ivy asked. "Shouldn't you do it on some kind of special pedestal?"

Kilik looked at her as if she had spoken another language. "...It really doesn't matter where it's done."

Ivy scoffed, looked away, and muttered something about traveling hundreds of miles to watch Soul Edge be purified on a dinner table and anticlimaxes.

Kilik prepared the Kali-Yuga for purification. The others scooted back. Kilik touched one end of the Kali-Yuga to the Soul Embrace, and closed his eyes.

Everyone waited anxiously. After a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, after half a minute, nothing happened. Then, after a full minute, still nothing happened.

Ivy leaned over towards Siegfried. "So, is he doing it?" She whispered. "I expected a bright flash of light or something."

Siegfried's eyes rolled up, and he shut his eyes tight.

"...Ivy?"

"Yes?"

"...Please be silent."

Ivy looked annoyed, and then turned her attention back to Kilik.

After two minutes, Kilik suddenly breathed out heavily. He seemed utterly exhausted. "It...it's not working." He said, in between gasps for air.

"Why not?"

"I can sense the evil energy there - and the good energy, too. But I can't do anything with either of them. The energy is trapped in the Soul Embrace, and won't leave. I can't transfer energy around, transform it, or even transfer energy into the Embrace. It's as if there is no energy at all, even though I can clearly sense it. The two swords truly are disabling one another from undergoing any sort of change whatsoever." He sat down, still seeming as if he was very fatigued.

"So, we can't change the energy of the swords in any way..." Siegfried said to himself.

Ivy did not have Siegfried's composure. "Don't be so casual about it! We wasted an extremely long trip just to learn a tiny fact! How can you sit there like nothing is wrong?"

"We are better off for making this trip, Ivy." Siegfried said. "Most importantly, Zasalamel's curse was lifted. If we had not come here, it would have consumed me. I could have, for example, wielded the Soul Embrace as a weapon, and..." There seemed no way of avoiding understatement in the conclusion to that sentence, and so Siegfried left it unfinished. "...And, we also learned about the Holy Trinity."

"Not that it did us any good..." Ivy scoffed.

A tense silence fell over the group.

"...I'm sorry." Kilik said.

"Don't feel as if it is your fault, Kilik." Siegfried said. "The Soul Embrace can't be changed."

"Do you think...that there is actually a threat?" Kilik asked. "If the Soul Embrace can't be changed..."

"There is always the unknown." Siegfried said cryptically. "We never know what kind of freak event could occur and unleash Soul Edge once more. We can't rest. We must assume that it is still a threat. I prefer to be cautious rather than regret not taking a precaution."

Kilik nodded. "I see. ...I still feel as if I have failed you, though. I feel as though I have failed my training...my Master...the people of the Ling Sheng Su temple...my redemption..."

"...Redemption?" Siegfried asked curiously.

Kilik did not seem like a very emotional person, but he bit his lip and seemed disturbed. A whisper left his lips. "...Xianglian..."

The group sat in silence, contemplating their situation. It was Siegfried who broke the silence.

"...Kilik, we will most likely be leaving this place soon. It is regrettable that our meeting was so brief. However, you did cure me of the evil that possessed me, and for that I am eternally grateful. It would be an honor if you would join us in our quest."

Once again, an unexpected reaction came from Kilik. He seemed stunned. "...What? No...No, I can't do that."

"You can't? Why not?"

"I have to find Xianghua." He said. "In her letter...In her letter, she said...'I know that we can do it, if we're together'. If her and I are together. I know that if I find her, then her and I can find a way to destroy Soul Edge. A way to separate the swords and purify the evil, or...or something else. I don't know what, but I know that we can do it. If we're together."

Siegfried had not seen Kilik speak with so much passion before. "...I see." He said. "That is where your path to redemption lies?"

"Yes. That is where my path lies."

"Then, I will not stop you."

"Wait. Wait!" Ivy blurted out suddenly. "He could be a valuable ally. Why aren't you trying to convince him to come with us?"

"I believe that this choice is more wise. He will not travel with us, but he will still be an ally. Our group is a reasonable size at the moment; it would be better for Kilik to go off and search for a way to destroy Soul Edge on his own while we do the same elsewhere, so that we have double the chance of finding a way."

"Yes, Siegfried, but there is just one problem with that - we're likely to be hundreds of miles apart. How are we going to find one another, should he discover a way?"

"The holders of the Holy Trinity are linked by fate." Kilik said, suddenly speaking up. "I hold two of the treasures, and I met Xianghua, who held the one I did not. I met Siegfried once before, and now I meet him again today - and while he is in possession of the Krita-Yuga, no less. The holders of the Holy Trinity are linked by fate; this has been proven."

Ivy scoffed. "Fate? There is no such thing as fate. One is in control of one's own destiny at all times."

"I am afraid I must disagree." Kilik said. "Some events are inevitable."

"Nothing determines the future!" Ivy retorted.

"There is a fixed natural order to the universe." Kilik countered.

"Silence, both of you." Siegfried said. "Arguing will get us nowhere. We are allies. I have faith in what Kilik says."

Ivy shook her head. "You fools are making a grand mistake. We shouldn't pass up the chance to join up, and we shouldn't split up - we'll never see each other again if we do!"

Siegfried and Kilik were silent. They'd already said all they had to say on the matter.

Ivy turned to Tira. "Do you ever feel like you're surrounded by - never mind, why am I asking you?" She turned to Sophitia. "Sophitia, you see the foolishness in this situation, don't you?"

Sophitia had mostly been silent, but she now spoke up. "...Kilik."

"Yes?"

"The woman you mentioned...Xianghua."

"...Yes?"

"Do you...love her?"

A short silence fell over the group.

"...I..." Kilik began. "...I'm not sure...what I would call my feelings for her. I do feel affection for her. We are devoted to one another. We care for one another, we...I feel for her like I did for Xianglian, but, unlike Xianglian, I do not see Xianghua as a sister."

"If Xianghua chose another to be her lover, how would you feel?"

Kilik's face flushed red. "I - I don't see any point to these questions!"

"If you love Xianghua, then I don't want you to come with us." Sophitia said. "If you're in love, then I want you to go find the one whom you love, and be with her. Always. And never betray her. If she disappoints you, work out your differences. Don't harbor bad feelings inside until they are released in a destructive way. That is what I think; I think that if you love someone, you should be with them instead of away from them."

Kilik still seemed terribly embarrassed, but was concentrating deeply on Sophitia's words, and gently nodding his head in understanding and agreement.

"If you are to leave here to find the woman you love, you must promise me something first."

Kilik looked up at Sophitia, puzzled as to what she could wish him to promise her.

"...Promise me that you'll be loyal to her, and won't ever betray her trust."

Kilik was silent for a moment, and then spoke. "...I promise."

Sophitia smiled warmly. "Good."

Ivy looked back and forth at all the faces in the room. "Since when did you people get so hung up on romantically seeking your fate or loved one?"

Siegfried ignored her, and rose to his feet. "Kilik, it has been an honor to meet you. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."

Kilik rose as well. "I am honored to have met you, as well, and I cannot wish you enough luck and safety."

"...That's it? We're going?" Ivy asked.

"And, Sophitia - I'll remember my promise."

Sophitia smiled and gave an acknowledging nod.

Siegfried gathered up the Soul Embrace, and the group left Kilik's shack. They said farewell a final time, and then embarked on their separate journeys.