Chapter 7:
After their battle with the Lizardmen and acquiring a new member, Xianghua and her group continued their tread across Astral Chaos. It seemed as though most of the group had calmed down after the blow up between Kilik and Xianghua, except Kilik and Xianghua themselves. Xianghua had to distance herself from Kilik after the surprising turn of events. Sure, they had argued over a few things in past but never lashed out at one another. This sudden change in nature for Kilik must've came from being overwhelmed by something but what was it. It didn't matter now, she now had Yun-Seong at her side while Maxi and Rock kept Kilik company. As the group marched on to their destination, they came across a large building that resembled a cathedral as it was covered in ice and crystal.
"Wow." said Amy.
"What is this place?" Yun-Seong asked.
"Only one way to find out." Xianghua replied.
Yun-Seong looked back at Kilik, who was staring at his pendant, and it was glowing a bright green, indicating the purity of the building. Maxi also looked at the glowing pendant and called out to Xianghua.
"Hey, it seems like that building might lead us to Soul Calibur." said Maxi.
Yun-Seong nodded at Xianghua.
"Okay then, let's see where this sword is." said Xianghua.
As the group entered the building, they all looked up and saw the crystalline interior and how much the walls and ceiling glistened, how the blue stained glass shined when the light touched it. All the way at the other end of the building was an altar with two waterfalls flowing on each side as it cascaded into the pools below. In the middle of the altar was a statue of a young warrior, wearing ancient armor with an epithet engraved at the base on which it stood.
"This is beautiful." said Amy.
Talim closed her eyes with her arms stretched out to their sides. She could feel the solace and purity within this place. She could sense the number of souls entering the building, looking for deliverance from the anguish of never-ending battle in this world.
"Talim, what is it?" Yun-Seong asked.
"What is she doing?" Xianghua inquired.
As Xianghua and Yun-Seong looked at Talim, they saw a throng of souls entering in the building, chanting in unison.
"Amen ad electas, Amen sancti pugiles!" chanted the souls
"What are they saying?" Xianghua asked.
"Amen ad electas, Amen sancti pugiles!" The souls chanted.
"What does it mean?" Yun-Seong inquired.
As the souls continued chanting while they were filing in, Talim, who had been in her state of euphoria, also began chanting the same phrase as the souls.
"Amen ad electas, Amen sancti pugiles!" Talim chanted.
"Talim, Talim!" Yun-Seong called out to her.
"Yun-Seong, leave her alone." said Xianghua.
"Whatever this place is, it may have something to do with the location of Soul Calibur." Xianghua added.
As the souls all filed in the building, Kilik walked towards the altar. He looked at the epithet engraved on the base of the statue.
"A...men ad..." Kilik began.
As Kilik tried to decipher and pronunciate the phrase, he turned around, glancing at the souls, chanting in unison as they peered at the statue.
"Amen ad electas, Amen sancti pugiles!" The souls chanted some more.
Kilik carefully listened to what the souls were chanting. Hilde and Maxi joined Kilik in the altar.
"Kilik, do you have any clue what they're saying?" Maxi asked.
"I don't know but it sounds like it could be directed at the statue." Kilik replied.
Hilde looked at the the epithet and began to read it to herself.
"Hilde, do you know what it means?" Kilik asked.
"Yes." Hilde replied.
"It means blessed are the chosen and blessed are its champions." said Hilde.
"So that's what it means?" Kilik asked.
"Yes." Hilde replied.
As Kilik peered at the souls chanting in unison, he saw Xianghua walking to the far left of the building, exploring what other rooms she could find.
"Maxi, I have to go speak to Xianghua." said Kilik.
"I wouldn't want to do that." said Maxi.
"Well, I have to." said Kilik.
"I have to confess to her right now." Kilik added.
"About what?" Maxi asked.
Kilik sighed. He looked down at the floor and at Maxi.
"This one I should do on my own." Kilik replied in a eager tone.
"Okay." said Maxi.
As Kilik headed for Xianghua, he stopped and took a glance of himself in one of the reflecting pools. He saw a reflection of himself at first but that reflection started to take form, revealing to Kilik of his troubled past, and uncertain future. He saw himself as a hermit, not able to atone for his sins, not being able to express his feelings to the people he loved, and not being able to live a happy life. Kilik sighed. He looked away and saw Xianghua just looking around, puzzled as to what was going on. Kilik left the altar and continued heading his way towards her.
"Xianghua." Kilik said quietly.
"I don't wanna hear another word from you, Kilik." Xianghua said sharply.
"Xianghua, listen to me." said Kilik.
"No." said Xianghua.
Rock looked over and saw Kilik and Xianghua were arguing again. Rock walked over to where they were, wedging himself between the two. This lead to Xianghua walking away from Kilik as she headed back towards Yun-Seong, Talim, and Amy, who was trying to find her state of euphoria just as Talim was.
"Look mate, you're not doing her any favors by consistently pestering her." said Rock.
"What?" said Kilik.
"It's best you let her be." said Rock.
"But there was something I wanted to tell her." said Kilik.
"Whatever it is that you want to tell her, it's best you save it." said Rock.
Kilik now looked helpless. He looked over to see Xianghua talking with Yun-Seong as he headed back to the altar where Maxi and Hilde were waiting.
"Kilik, you okay?" Maxi asked.
Kilik sighed and groaned.
"I see..." said Maxi.
As Maxi consoled Kilik, Hilde looked into the reflecting pool. She saw herself endlessly fighting to preserve her kingdom Wolfkrone, while at the same time having to look over Siegfried as he looks to redeem himself of his sins. She saw how much pain Siegfried was suffering from within and how much she would try to change that for him. She stepped away from the reflecting pool and rejoined Kilik and Maxi.
"What's wrong with him?" Hilde asked.
"Just something he needed to get off his chest but couldn't." said Maxi.
Hilde looked at how downtrodden Kilik was. She looked over where Xianghua was and looked back at Kilik.
"Is it something you wanted to tell her?" Hilde asked.
"Yes." Kilik replied.
Xianghua then walked to the far right corner of the building as the chants began to cease.
"Come, let me take you to her." said Hilde as she extended her hand to Kilik.
Kilik joined Hilde and headed to where Xianghua was, hopefully to confess to her.
Outside the building, Astaroth and Tira were heading towards the place along with the blue Lizardman and a few of its cohorts.
"It was so nice of them to join us." said Tira in a jolly tone.
"It was either that or you cut their tails off." Tira added as she looked at Astaroth.
Once they reached the building, Tira grabbed the knobs on the door. The palms of her hands were singed as she looked at them.
"Dammit, stupid door!" snarled Tira.
It was apparent that building, being of holy in spirit, sensed her evil aura, making it incapable for her to open the door and walk in.
"Astaroth, look what that door did." said Tira in a melancholy tone, showing the golem the singed palms of her hands.
"Move aside!" Astaroth began.
"I shall use force to break down this place at once!" Astaroth added as he readied his axe.
Back inside the building, Hilde and Kilik walked towards Xianghua.
"Xianghua." Hilde called out.
"Hilde, what was it?" Xianghua asked.
"There is something that Kilik wants to confess to you, it's very important." Hilde replied.
"Whatever he has to say, I don't want to hear it." said Xianghua.
"But Xianghua, he really wants to get whatever that is on his mind out of the way." pleaded Hilde.
"Please, just do me this one favor." Hilde added.
Xianghua let out an annoyed sigh as she looked at both Hilde and Kilik.
"Fine but only this once." said Xianghua.
Hilde nodded to Xianghua, and later Kilik. She headed back to the altar, leaving Kilik and Xianghua to be.
"Xianghua..." Kilik began as he looked down, feeling his lower lip quiver and holding back tears.
"Kilik, if you're not going to face me and tell me whatever it is, then don't bother me." said Xianghua bitterly.
Kilik then looked at Xianghua. He started to muster enough courage to tell Xianghua his confession.
"Xianghua...I wanted to confess something to you." Kilik began again.
"What is it?" Xianghua asked.
"Remember when we went to Ostrheinsburg and vowed to destroy Soul Edge together?" Kilik responded
"Yes..." said Xianghua.
"I remember myself wanting to help you but you wouldn't let me. Why wouldn't you let me?" Xianghua asked.
This wasn't going to be easy for Kilik to tell Xianghua the truth but if he was going to tell her, it had to be now.
"I wanted to leave you behind because I wanted to atone for my sins by myself. I didn't want to face the burden of not telling you sooner than later." said Kilik.
Xianghua was stunned. She could not believe what she just heard from Kilik.
"All those times we've been together, through the pain, fights, heartache, and leaning on each other for support and you couldn't once have the nerve to tell me any of this?" Xianghua asked as tears were beginning to well up in her eyes.
"I...didn't want you to suffer like I had suffered." said Kilik.
"Bullshit, Kilik!" Xianghua snapped as single tear streamed down Xianghua's right cheek as she looked at him.
"I was always at your side no matter what, and even if you wanted to atone for your sins, you could've at least told me and I would've been there for you or at least waited for you until you accomplished your goal." Xianghua added as her voice started to crack.
"I didn't want you to see me go through that. I wanted to be with you but having to live with my guilt, it turned me into a dishonest person." said Kilik.
"It was not your guilt that made you a dishonest person, it was your own selfishness and the fact that you weren't able to tell me about your true motives that made you a dishonest person." said Xianghua as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Xianghua, I'm sorry." said Kilik.
"I never knew this would affect you." Kilik added.
"Well, it has." said Xianghua.
"I also never meant for all of this to happen." said Kilik.
Tears began streaming down Xianghua's face. She could not believe what she was hearing from Kilik. She certainly wasn't the cause or a contributor to Kilik's internal anguish. She was the innocent one, always willing to help Kilik in any way possible. But to hear such a startling confession, it really made Xianghua question herself and her relationship with Kilik.
"Xianghua?" Kilik asked.
"Kilik...I don't know what to say anymore." Xianghua replied in a melancholy tone.
Kilik had never seen Xianghua saddened like this. He knew this was all his fault. He had no one to blame but himself. He knew it would all come back to haunt him but now he was the one to live with the consequences, not Xianghua. All these negative connotations he had spoke were now coming back to him harder than any hit he delivered in battle. He saw Xianghua looking down at the ground, shaking her head and afterwards bursted into tears, running away from Kilik. All Kilik could do was deal with his anguish as he bit the inside of his lower lip, close his eyes, and throw a fist in a vertical direction as tears flowed down his face. Xianghua, now brokenhearted from hearing Kilik's confession, was consoled by Yun-Seong.
"Xianghua, what's wrong?" Yun-Seong asked.
"Nothing." Xianghua sobbed.
Yun-Seong embraced Xianghua in a hug, comforting her. A toll from a bell rang, interrupting Talim and Amy's meditation.
"What's going on?" Hilde asked.
Just then, a knock on the door caught the warriors' attention.
"Whoever it is, is interrupting our time here." said Maxi.
The knocks on the doors soon became damaged as an axe blade was visible.
"It can't be." said Maxi.
The axe knocked down the doors as Astaroth, Tira, and the Lizardmen made their presence felt.
"Nice place you have here." said Tira in a jolly tone.
"Too bad it'll be the venue for your funerals!" Tira added in a harsh tone.
"We'll see who's funeral is gonna be!" said Yun-Seong.
Yun-Seong pointed his dao sword at Tira as he is joined by Talim and Amy.
"Oh I see, you wanna kill us." said Tira.
"Astaroth, show them to their graves!" bellowed Tira.
The giant golem swung his axe wildly as Talim and Amy fled while Yun-Seong grabbed hold of Xianghua's hand and raced to the altar for safety. This lead to Maxi, Hilde, and Rock to engage in a battle against Astaroth and the Lizardmen.
Tira walked right towards the altar but was confronted by Talim and Yun-Seong.
"Let's see what you're made of." said Yun-Seong.
The Korean male and the wind priestess charged into battle against Tira. Tira kept the two fighters at bay, swinging her ring blade wildly as she danced around the two of them. She managed to cut Yun-Seong across his left bicep and chest, causing him to yelp in pain. Talim acrobatically flipped over Tira, looking to distract her from hitting her. Talim managed to kick Tira but was slashed in her side.
"Talim!" yelled Amy.
"Aww, did I hurt your friend?" asked Tira in a jolly tone.
Amy grasped her rapier and lunged forward at Tira. Amy bravely confronted Tira head on as she looked to poke and strike her way to defeating her foe.
"I am not afraid of you!" declared Amy.
Seeing Amy fight against Tira and how bravely she was doing, boosted a pick me up for Xianghua after hearing Kilik's jarring confession. Xianghua grasped her jian and charged into the fight against Tira as well. As Tira kicked Amy aside, Xianghua countered each of Tira's attacks, dancing around her as well.
"Ooh, someone likes to dance." said Tira.
Xianghua and Tira clashed weapons against one another, both not gaining an advantage over the other. Eventually, Xianghua used a butterfly kick and with her jian, landed a cut on Tira's stomach.
"You bitch!" Tira snarled.
Tira swung wildly at Xianghua but missing every time as she ducked and caught her with attacks of her own. Kilik looked on from afar, watching the battles taking place. He saw Xianghua battling Tira as Yun-Seong assisted her while Amy and Talim helped each other up. He also saw Maxi, Hilde, and Rock bravely battling the Lizardmen and Astaroth. Kilik hated himself for not helping but a yelp from Xianghua broke his concentration. He knew had to do something now. Xianghua feigned in pain while Tira sadistically smiled at her while Yun-Seong, also in pain held his side.
"What's the matter, Xianghua, you don't look so good?" said Tira.
"I could say the same for you." Xianghua replied
Tira looked at her right and saw that Xianghua placed her jian right at her neck while Tira placed her ring blade around the back of Xianghua's neck.
"Too bad one of us has to die, and isn't gonna be me, toots!" said Tira.
As Tira tried to turn her ring blade, Kilik ran into her direction, and using his bo staff, knocked Tira directly in the temple, sending her flying through the other side of the building. Xianghua was surprised by Kilik, who stepped in for her as she was helped up by Yun-Seong. Kilik courageously fought on against Tira, despite a few gashes on his forearms and torso. Kilik continued fighting on, regardless. Was this Kilik, now looking for redemption for himself? Was he convinced that Xianghua was encouraging him to be brave and that her yelling at him was just to light a fire underneath him? Whatever it was, he was now fighting with the same fiery passion Xianghua had. Yun-Seong, Amy, Talim, and Xianghua headed to the altar as they looked at the epithet on the statue.
"Look at this." said Talim.
Talim looked at the epithet and saw that it was the same chant that the souls and she was chanting.
"Amen ad electas, Amen sancti pugiles!" said Talim.
As Talim began chanting the phrase, Amy joined in.
"Amen ad electas, Amen sancti pugiles!" said Amy.
As Talim and Amy chanted the phrase, the statue itself levitated as it revealed a passageway. Yun-Seong and Xianghua looked as the passageway opened.
"Come on, everyone! Let's get out of here!" yelled Yun-Seong.
Yun-Seong's yelling caught the attention of the warriors as they headed to the altar. As they did, each one made their escape as the building started to shake furiously. Kilik, who was still fighting Tira, stopped and headed to where the other warriors were. As the warriors made their escape, the levitating statue dropped back to the altar, crushing two Lizardmen. After the warriors made their escape, Astaroth, Tira, and the blue Lizardman were about to leave the building when they were stopped by Algol's appearance. The three villains looked in awe of Algol. Algol looked down on the three with great disdain.
"You dare defile my temple?" Algol yelled.
"No, sir." said Tira.
"We were just going to stop a bunch of pesky warriors when-" Tira was interrupted by Algol as he headed for the statue of the young warrior.
"So you finally brought forth your champions, Arcturus?" Algol asked.
"Well, my child, your champions will be brought to their doom." Algol added.
Astaroth, Tira, and the blue Lizardman were confused but as they were about to leave, Algol called out to them.
"You three!" Algol yelled.
"You shall serve under me and make sure no one destroys Soul Edge or Soul Calibur." Algol demanded.
As Astaroth, Tira, and the blue Lizardman acknowledged their new liege, Xianghua's group, injured and short on breath now ventured through the passageway. What will they find at the end of the passageway. Will it be Soul Calibur and Siegfried? Whatever it is, there was blue and white glow at the end of the passageway as Kilik looked at his pendant as it changed from green to white.