Chapter 15 – Beginning of the End

Into the darkness that surrounds everything, nothing is visible. Cassandra stands in front of who is the one she loves. He is standing in front of her, holding the cursed Soul Edge. This person is no longer who he is, but the evil that spreads from Soul Edge.

"Give him back, you son of a bitch!"

Dark Leonsritt laughed at what Cassandra said.

"You want him back?"

He looked at Cassandra, as she glared at him. He picked up Soul Edge and pointed at her.

"How far will you go to save him...?"

She kept glaring at him, Dark Leonsritt dashed at Cassandra and struck with his blade. Cassandra blocked the strike, and she pushed against him. He pushed even more, trying to take her down.

"Will you go as far as killing me ALONG with him?"

Cassandra had been pushed to the ground. She felt a knee to her jaw, launching her a few feet from him and she landed harshly on the ground. She spat out the blood from her mouth as Dark Leonsritt walked to her.

"Don't you see? This... ALL OF THIS... is my ideal world... darkness spread around..."

Dark Leonsritt picked her up from her neck and threw her farther. She landed hard again and coughed up more blood. She got up, with her strength fading away. She looked at Dark Leonsritt walking to her.

"After all, humanity is nothing more than dirt... no... LESS than dirt."

Cassandra got up and raised her blade. Dark Leonsritt held the blade with his own hand, blood running down his arm.

"Humans are so pathetic..."

Cassandra quickly pushed Dark Leonsritt away with her shield. She struggled to get up but managed to keep her balance.

"So, you manage to barely stand, do you?"

"Sh... shut up!"

"What's the matter? Too weak to even attack me? Look at yourself..."

Cassandra glared at him.

"You're so weak that you can't even KILL me!"

Cassandra dashed at Dark Leonsritt with all of her remaining strength. She jumped and struck her blade against his. A sudden spark of bright light had shone when the two blades connected.

Leonsritt woke up in the void once again. He looked around and found nothing but a stone path leading somewhere, though it was too dark to see.

"Where am I?"

He looked around once again. Nothing was found. He began to walk down the stone path left for him.

"Is this me, giving up on what I have?"

He questioned himself.

"Why?"

He walked until he heard a faint, but familiar voice. He walked more as he heard more familiar voices. He walked until he started falling. He didn't mind the fact that he fell, but he started seeing memories of himself. Memories of everything that had happened. He kept on falling, until he stopped. He suddenly started walking again. He walked and kept hearing everything he heard before. He suddenly saw the silhouette of a certain person.

"Cassandra?"

He ran to the silhouette, only to disappear.

"What the-?"

He looked around and saw another silhouette.

"Hilde!"

He ran to that silhouette, but disappeared as well.

"What's going on?"

"You're losing to the darkness..."

Loud steps were heard as Leonsritt turned to see who it was...

"It's been a while..."

"You!"

Cassandra forced her blade against Dark Leonsritt's blade. The light had caused him to back away from Cassandra.

"What is this?"

Cassandra looked at her blade. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but she felt that striking her blade against the steel paddle would work. But there was something else odd about this.

"That's impossible! How'd you make it in here?"

Leonsritt looked at a young woman, whom he had met before.

"Your heart is what led me here."

"What do you mean...?"

"Because your heart is the same as mine...?"

"Then, why are you helping me..."

He looked at the woman carefully.

"Amy...?"

"Because you are originally meant to die, and I want to help you by avoiding your death."

"We can't do that, Amy."

"There is one way that we can do to force Soul Edge out of your body..."

Leonsritt looked at Amy with a skeptical look.

"And that is how...?"

Cassandra was still pretty weak to stand. Dark Leonsritt looked at Cassandra with a sickening grin. He walked slowly to her.

"Well. It seems you finally reached your limit, have you?"

"SHUT UP!"

Cassandra coughed, with the exhaustion ready to make her go unconscious.

"How about I put you out of your misery, you trash!"

He lifted Soul Edge, ready to strike, but was stopped when he noticed a crystal sword rip through the darkness. Siegfried, Hilde, and Tira jumped into the void.

"Oh, no! Cassandra!"

Hilde ran to her and Siegfried took her place.

"Alright, Soul Edge. It's time we end this..."

Dark Leonsritt laughed in a sinister manner.

"Do YOU even THINK you have a CHANCE IN HELL that you can kill me?"

Dark Leonsritt dashed and attacked Siegfried with multiple strikes, blindingly fast.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Back off!"

Siegfried pushed back and with a single spin, he managed to send Dark Leonsritt flying a few feet from everyone.

"Guh... pretty good, Siegfried... but..."

Dark Leonsritt disappeared from sight. Siegfried looked around to see where he would come from. Dark Leonsritt appeared behind Siegfried.

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"

Siegfried felt the force of Soul Edge hit him on his back, knocking him down. He walked towards Siegfried.

"Well, looks like the so called hero of light is down. And as for Soul Calibur..."

Siegfried looked at the blade as Dark Leonsritt kicked it out of reach. He walked to the blade. Dark Leonsritt looked at Soul Edge, as the eye looked down at the crystal blade. A sickening grin grew on his face, as he aimed the tip of Soul Edge at the crystal blade's "eye".

Amy had led Leonsritt to a gray "room".

"Amy, where are we exactly...?"

"This is your heart... I'm helping you get your body back."

Amy pointed at certain areas.

"As you can see, the aura that seeps in to your heart is Soul Edge's evil."

"So, what do we do exactly here...?"

"I can't do anything at all. YOU on the other hand, have to do something."

"Which is?"

"Call out your light..."

Leonsritt seemed confused about the situation.

"Close your eyes..."

Leonsritt closed his eyes, yet he thinks that Amy maybe up to something.

"Now, think deeply. Who or what is your light?"

Leonsritt thought about it really hard. Cassandra had come into his thoughts.

"Now open your eyes..."

Leonsritt opened them, and saw Cassandra right in front of him, her body glowing with a bright aura. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. She closed her eyes and curled up, forming herself into a ball of light. Leonsritt closed his eyes. The ball of light floated straight to him, going into his heart. His body began glowing. Amy stood in front of Leonsritt.

"Leonsritt. I have to go. But before I do, close your eyes once more."

"Um, okay."

He did what he was told. He closed his eyes.

"Leonsritt, even though I am what was left of the Amy that helped you before, I have hope for you that you will end this battle, once and for all."

Amy had turned into another ball of light and floated into Leonsritt's heart. His body glowed once again. He curled up.

"Everyone, hold on. And thanks again, Amy."

He felt a sudden urge of energy from within. He stretched himself out letting a shockwave of light that had turned the gray "room" into white. Shards of darkness had vanished from sight and a blinding light had taken over the place...

"SAY GOODBYE!"

He lifted Soul Edge high in the air, but stopped at that instant. Dark Leonsritt's body began to glow with a bright aura.

"AUGH! WHAT'S... GOING... ON?"

Everyone looked at Dark Leonsritt cringing in pain. He collapsed on his knees, gripping his chest. Cassandra looked at what was going on. Siegfried got up and looked at Dark Leonsritt. Cassandra had gotten up and grabbed her sword and shield. Hilde stood up as well, grabbing her lance and short sword. Tira stood there watching as she gripped her ring blade tightly. Dark Leonsritt let out an agonizing scream. His body started floating in the air.

"What... what is this?"

Dark Leonsritt had let out more screams of agony as his dark aura had started seeping out of his body. His chest had started giving off a ray of light. Cassandra and the others looked at the dark entity in pain. Cassandra smiled and started yelling.

"YOU CAN DO IT LEO!"

Hilde, Tira, and Siegfried looked at her in confusion. Dark Leonsritt had spoken, only to have words come out distorted.

"Get... get out of my heart!"

Everyone heard Leonsritt as the being who inhabited Leonsritt's body was forcing himself to say something.

"You... can t do t s t e. T is ca ot be!*"

A shockwave of light had bursted out of Leonsritt's body, shattering the darkness that spread everywhere. Everyone was blinded by the light, but a few minutes passed. The dust had cleared and everyone saw a collapsed being in front of them. Whatever it was, it wasn't Leonsritt. It was a mere copy of him, a black being with red eyes. The shadow looked up at them. He laughed at them with an eerie laughter coming out of him.

"What did you do to Leonsritt?"

Cassandra angered, she lifted her blade.

"It looks like your dear Leonsritt didn't survive the process."

Everyone looked in shock as he spoke those words. He cynically laughed at the expression on their faces.

"Guess again, you rotten piece of shit!"

Everyone looked at the person behind the shadow. A young man, with a steel paddle, a white unbuttoned shirt and a black undershirt, and red pants, had appeared.

"What?"

"Leo!"

Cassandra was especially happy when she saw him. She smiled and he smiled back.

"Leonsritt! You're alive!"

The black being had looked at Leonsritt. He got up and picked up Soul Edge.

"Well well well... So you're alive..."

The being smirked and lifted up Soul Edge.

"Looks like I have no choice!"

Everyone backed away from the being as it let out a shockwave of black aura. It grew in size, as the others backed away and were swallowed by the darkness once again. Everyone had appeared in the void once again, only to be standing on nothing. Cassandra had ran to Leonsritt and hugged him tightly. Cassandra had looked at him.

"Cassandra, this isn't the time to be doing this right now."

She looked at him with happiness, but it was soon interrupted with a roar from something nearby. They looked around with everyone having their backs facing each other.

"Soon you will know the meaning of true darkness..."

The being had appeared in front of them. He disappeared into the darkness. Leonsritt had looked at Cassandra. She looked at him with determination to stop the darkness from consuming the entire worlds.

"You ready for this?"

"Yeah..."

"Hilde?"

"Yes..."

"Tira?"

"Let's do this!"

"Siegfried?"

"I'm more than ready!"

Everyone grasped their weapons firmly as they prepared for the final showdown between them, and Soul Edge's darkness. They looked in to a direction where there was a pair of glowing eyes, but then, another three pairs of glowing eyes appeared. A final eye appeared below the four pairs of eyes. The beast had appeared, and the final battle to determine the fate of two worlds begins.

Author's Notes: Well, the FINAL chapter begins on the next one, though I'm not even sure how many chapters it will take to pull of the final battle, so hang on for the next chapter in this fan fiction. On that note, I do not own anything that has to do with SOULCALIBUR, except my OCC.

* "You... cannot do this to me. This cannot be!" (Yeah, somewhat like Arakune's kind of speech from BlazBlue)