ACT XI : INTRINSIC

He felt more at home, more in place, and more right altogether once he was on the field killing again.

Though this time, it was different. For one, he was not used to fighting as part of a group, and for another... He certainly wasn't used to fighting under the orders of another.

That, and Soul Edge had cut him off. It was unresponsive, and he did not receive the mental praise he was used to in return for the power he acquired for the sword. He was almost hurt by being ignored to this degree, but remembered his vow of defiance and concluded that the more separation between their minds, the better. Soul Edge wanted him to cry out for attention, for praise, for acknowledgement.

He wouldn't give it the satisfaction.

He went on taking out the humans of the opposition without stop for hours, noting that the soldiers around him didn't seem to be struggling much with their enemies, though they were vastly outnumbered.

Which proved to deepen his suspicion that Megumi had brought him here for more reason than assistance in this war.

And Soul Edge knew what her ultimate reason was. That much he could tell. But it refused to reveal that reason to him.

So for now, he would fight and collect the essences of those he killed. Exhaustion and a certain feeling of emptiness were starting to catch up to him, so he would need every bit of power he could get.

The fighting dragged on until past sunset, when the opposing side decided to fall back and regroup. Nightmare desperately wanted to give chase, but controlled the urge and followed the rest of the army back to the city.

Once back to the castle, he realized that, though he had killed a substantial amount of humans, he was still weak and feeling hollow - perhaps even more so than before. He decided perhaps he would try to rest a while; after all, his injury was still not entirely healed, and perhaps that was contributing to his general exhaustion.

He waited with the rest of the soldiers in the mess hall - again, it was odd to watch humans when they were acting normally and not panicked or attempting to attack him. Men carried plates of food and mugs of ale, joking, laughing too loud, challenging eachother to sparring or arm-wrestling matches. Most didn't even seem to take note of his presence, and when they did, they watched him suspiciously, like a wild animal that might at any moment go into a frenzy and attack everything in sight.

Which was not entirely without justification.

"You were magnificent in combat today," he heard Megumi say as she walked up to stand next to him. "The rumors of your strength do not prove false."

He nodded in acknowledgement of the statement - what was it humans said to express gratitude? "Thank you"?

Damn it all, now he was thinking like them.

"You seem a bit tired. Is your wound still troubling you?"

Back to that again. He had never imagined anyone would express such concern over his welfare. "No. It seems to be healing well enough. It just seems as though I am not receiving enough nourishment from the essences I consume." He stopped, feeling as though he had said too much.

She looked up at him. "Are you not retaining a great enough portion of the energy before it is absorbed by Soul Edge?"

Now, that made sense. Soul Edge was most likely keeping all the power to itself. Starving him, in a way. More tactics to make him give in.

But how had Megumi known enough about his connection with the sword to come to that conclusion?

"...I'm not sure," he answered after a hesitation. "But I am not receiving enough energy, of that much I am certain."

Then, yet another question that once more managed to baffle him: "Have you eaten?"

It normally would have made him laugh, but the way she seemed so genuinely concerned about him left him unsure what to think about the entire situation. "...No," he admitted, "but I do not acquire my energy from human sustenance. I... I live on souls, essences of those I kill."

"Perhaps you should try it. There's no harm in it and besides, your condition may worsen if you are not receiving some kind of nourishment."

He was reluctant to agree, but she was right - he had nothing to lose and he would eventually die if left to starve indefinitely.

He sighed, feeling pathetic for giving in. "Alright."

Seeming to brighten at his relent, she started towards the kitchens, with Nightmare following along behind her. There was something about her, the way she seemed to treat him as someone far more important than an ordinary recruit, that made her seem different, and gave him more of an inclination to listen to her.

A fact that he accepted even more now in his battle of wills with Soul Edge. If it disapproved of something, that only made him want to do it all the more.

Megumi asked a nervous looking bunch of cooks to fix her a plate of food, and they did so immediately, making it as finely prepared as was possible for them, handing it her when they were finished. She thanked them and handed it to Nightmare.

"We don't have to eat here, if you do not want to. There is an area closer to the main hall reserved mainly for smaller diplomatic meetings..."

He shifted. Admittedly, he did feel uncomfortably out of place in the company of all these humans. "...If that is what you would rather."

She nodded and led him to the room. It was decorated simply but had a sort of distinguished elegance to it, with the muted grey-blue walls and polished granite table in the center. She sat, motioning for him to do the same.

He set the plate down in front of him, but did not bother with it yet. There were other matters to discuss.

"I couldn't help but notice at this point that you seem to have brought me here for more purpose than to simply add strength to your forces."

She looked at him, smiling a bit. "That conclusion would be correct. You have already decided upon breaking your servitude to the demon blade, correct? Then I feel at this point I can explain the situation in full."

He waited for her to continue.

"I am a member of the Order of Azoth, one of the four Elementals. I reign over wind. We of the Order fight to preserve equilibrium between not only the elements, but the greater forces of light and darkness. Soul Edge - or the being whose essence is housed within it, rather - has always gone against the Order, threatening to destroy the balance, ever since the human Septimus Swain awakened it. And its counterpart, Soul Calibur - humans believe it to be a force of good rather than evil, but they are both equally threatening to the balance."

"Then as a creation of the being opposing you, I must be destroyed in order to preserve the balance right along with Soul Edge, correct?" There was no accusation in his tone, but Megumi frowned.

"No. Actually... We have been told by our lord and master, Azoth, that you are to be the one who is fated to defeat Lucifurius, the being within the sword that will be resurrected into a physical form once he gathers enough power."

Now that, he had not been expecting.

"We can discuss this more later." She motioned to the plate of food in front of him. "You should eat before it gets cold."

He realized what this would mean. He'd have to take off his helmet. He never had tried to be overly enigmatic, but he'd gone so long without exposing his face that it seemed almost wrong to now.

When she noticed he hadn't made any move to do so, she stood up. "...Aren't you going to take that helmet off?"

He didn't respond. He certainly didn't want to.

After another few moments of uncomfortable silence, "Can I?"

He nodded. "I suppose."

He didn't look up when she pulled the helmet off. He winced a bit - he felt anxious now, exposed, as she stood staring at him in silence.

He had essentially hacked away at his blood-red hair whenever pieces of it grew too long so that it now hung in jagged layers that reached down his shoulders. His expression was kept carefully phlegmatic, but his jaw was clenched, indicating unease. There was something vaguely animalistic - and yet somehow so young, childlike - in his firelight eyes that seemed out of place given how absolutely human he appeared to be.

Megumi swallowed and set his helmet on the table. "...I... I should be leaving. Tomorrow, after we have managed to drive back our enemies once more, we will discuss this further."

He said nothing as she left the room, shutting the door behind her, though the empty feeling had worsened now, leaving him feeling pitted, and somehow he felt that no amount of either human sustenance or souls would be able to fill that void.