Looking out to the sea, Zasalamel crossed his arms and frowned. He had been here for almost two months... the rest of his tribe would surely wonder why he was taking so long. No matter, as long as his mission was complete, then that was all that mattered. He hated to admit it, but it had been rather difficult in swallowing his pride and admitting to them that he had been wrong all those years. Having his arms broken, and being banished from the tribe at the same time weren't very pleasant memories. The fact that it took him ages to find them once more was just another bump in the road. But now, it seemed like fate had carved out all of these events just so that he could learn from his mistakes and move on. Then again... the tribe was a mess right now. What they were currently doing... was it the right thing to do?

"Hmhp... I'm just a temporary ally anyway. It's not guaranteed that I'll remain by their side." Breathing in the salty air of the ocean, he turned away from those thoughts and watched idly as a few of the villagers brought in nets for fishing. They were all hard at work and he could see that they were going to have quite a good catch today.

"Zasalamel, it is good to see you."

He turned around and nodded at Talim. "It's good to see you as well priestess. How are your legs?" Her injuries were serious. Even with his magic, he had to let her heal naturally or else the bones wouldn't be in the right place.

"Well enough, I'm almost fully recovered. Soon, I'll be ready to head out with you."

After that day, Talim had been training with her father, grandmother and the rest of the elders every day to prepare herself. Her mother supported her and practiced the wind dance with her as well and soon enough, Talim was almost as graceful as she was before. He would quietly watch from afar and he noticed that even when she was in pain, she would continue to push herself. She was indeed a very strong girl and he admired that quality in her.

"Zasalamel? Did you hear me?"

Shaking his head, he returned back to their conversation. "Sorry, what did you just say?"

Talim replied, "I was just apologizing for keeping you here so long. And... I still didn't thank you for coming here for me." She dipped her head and bowed. "I am very grateful to you."

"There is no need to thank me. I only helped you because I needed you."

She smiled at that clipped response. "You haven't changed... but it doesn't matter that you helped me for your own purposes. In the end, all I know is that I owe you one."

He shrugged off that response. "I don't know whether I should call you foolish... or just too pure hearted for your own good. Anyway, it seems that you've mostly recovered. Are we going to head out soon?"

"My grandmother wishes to speak to us first before we leave." Talim walked over to a large rock and sat down gently. "In truth, I also wish to find out more about Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. I know that they... have not been completely destroyed. They will come back." Her voice trailed off sorrowfully and she looked out to the ocean. "I fear for those who are out there. They are in terrible danger."

"You're correct about that." Zasalamel sat down on the rock beside her and rested his scythe against it. "Many people out there have become malfested. They have no home, no friends and no family. All rejects them and they're condemned because of who they are. What's strange is that some eventually succumb to evil but some are still able to control themselves and their inner demons."

Talim nodded and stared down at her hands. "Not all who are born from the darkness are evil. Soul Edge is at fault for those who have been consumed by madness and hatred. I... I want to help them. For Raphael's sake." Seeing Zasalamel's questioning look, she answered softly, "He was the same... When he became infected, everyone cursed him and Amy. They chased them away and saw them as monsters. I don't want to see anyone go through that anymore."

"You miss him, don't you?"

Talim closed her eyes and held a hand to her heart. "I love him," she answered, simply.

The two sat in quiet silence for awhile until Zasalamel spoke up. "I met Tira about a year ago. What she said to me was greatly... unsettling."

One year ago...

Stepping around some corpses, Tira swung her bloody ring blade around her arm in a bored fashion. "Aww... that was no fun. They all died so quickly!" All around her were bodies of the dead and the very ground oozed with blood wherever she stepped. The rest of her minions smiled with pleasure as they wiped out every living thing in town and finally, they found what they were looking for.

"Mistress Tira! I've found the shard!" cried a young teenager with sandy brown hair. Everything about him looked normal until one saw the black eyes and the ugly mark on his face.

Handing the shard over eagerly, he watched as Tira nodded and gave him a pat on the head. "Good! Very good! Oh, this had made me very very happy! I don't know what those idiot parents of yours were thinking when they tried to drown you in that river. You're so useful!"

"Re-really?" He blushed with pride as she said that. No one else had ever cared about him. Not even his loathsome parents, but finally, he found people who were just like him... who accepted him.

Tira watched as the kid ran off to join the rest of the minions as they search for survivors. The sky was a dark grey and lightning cackled across the sky every so often as Tira held the red shard up. "Master... oh how I've miss you. Soon, you'll be whole once more."

"How absurd."

Tira turned around and she grinned as she saw who it was. "Zassy! Long time no see! Where have you been? I've sent my watchers to look for you but they couldn't find you!" She giggled and held up the shard. "Do you want to help my revive Nighty again? But the armor thing won't work, he needs a real body. Luckily, I've found the perfect one! Actually, I have two but I'm not sure which one would work better... Wanna come with me and see?"

His gold eye watched her warily as the rest of the malfested gathered around her. "What makes you think I'll help you?"

Tira immediately pouted. "Don't say such mean things Zassy. It breaks my heart and mind you, I'm already heartbroken enough. Even killing people hasn't been very enjoying without Nighty by my side." She stomped down on one of the corpse and kicked it. "These guys are no fun... no fun at all."

"The rumors are true then." Zasalamel held his scythe tightly in his hand and said, "You've been gathering the shards and using the souls of the dead to feed Soul Edge... correct?"

Tira burst out laughing and nodded." Such yummy souls! Delicious! Hey you, you found a live one!" Tira pointed to one of her minion who held a frightened man tightly by his arms. Dancing over, she bent down and gazed at him with a critical eye. "This will do for today."

Zasalamel watched with disgust as she kissed the man and drained his soul. When the dying screams finally subsided, he muttered, "You're nothing but a lowly pawn of Soul Edge. I shall kill you here and now and stop this."

Straightening up, Tira's eyes flashed as she shifted into her gloomy mood. "You're really starting to irritate me Zasalamel. Now tell me, are you going to help me or not?"

"I'm sure my answer must be quite clear by now." And Zasalamel raised up his scythe threateningly.

Tira was about to reply when suddenly, one of her watchers flapped over to her and cawed. When the bird finished and took off once more, Tira turned her deep red eyes on him. "It has been two years, and I still can't find that priestess. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, do you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her words. "What do you want with her?"

"Just wanted to let her know alittle something," stated Tira sadistically. "Tell her that a new Nightmare will soon awaken...and give her this for me."

She chucked something at him and he deftly caught it. Before he could look, she laughed and ran away with the rest of the malfested as the dark night arrived." Tira's mad cackle echoed through the dead town and Zasalamel down at the object in his hand with a grim expression, knowing it would break the wind priestess's heart.

As Talim heard the story, her heart pounded in her chest. "What... did Tira give you?" Despite the warm sunshine, she felt cold all over as she waited for a response.

Slowly, Zasalamel reached into his sleeve and pulled out something. Holding out her hands, she watched as Raphael's silver bat pendant fell into her hands. The sparkling red gem glittered from the sunlight and she traced it with trembling fingers. Specks of dried blood fell off as she examined it and and she closed her eyes, thinking of all the pain he must have suffered through.

"We need to find Tira... I know that the possibility of Raphael..." Talim took in a deep breath and held the pendent tightly. "All I can do now is search for him and hope that he's still alive. The wind has become rather distorted. Even my grandmother is starting to have difficulty in reading it. Something is happening to this world Zasalamel. And it'll only grow worse with the passing of time." Raising her head up to the sky, she breathed in deeply. "Death beckons to us. I can feel it... Many lives are at stake in this twisted game that Soul Edge and Soul Calibur have created. I cannot forgive them, for forcing such a fate on humanity."

Zasalamel sighed as a cool breeze blew past them. "A very cruel fate awaits humanity. I am sure of that." He winced briefly as his gold eye throbbed, seeing a sudden vision of engulfing flames and hills of corpses.

Two weeks later...

Sitting on one of the windmill, Talim looked out at the glimmering sunset and colorful skies. The wind lazily spun the windmill and she dangled her legs over the platform as she sat there. "I wish you could see this, Raphael, Amy," she said sadly. Her home truly was beautiful. It was peaceful, quiet and had the best of everything nature had to offer. Her village was surrounded by regal mountains, opening to a bountiful blue ocean and lovingly embraced by fields of green plains. Not only that, it was isolated. If they wanted, they literally had their very own world here.

Talim couldn't help but think about how ironic it was. Raphael had always wished for his own world, away from everyone. Before she left, she was living his goal. Here, she was apart from the rest of the world and with her tribe. Only the wind connected them to the rest of the world they had hidden themselves from. Yet she had rejected it, wishing instead for freedom and contact with others and the rest of the world. From the very beginning, they were opposites of each other. It wasn't just their personality, lifestyle, personality, nationality of even star sign, it was their very being. Yet they had been attracted to each other and fell for each other. How strange fate is sometimes...

Touching her necklace, she lifted her head up and let the wind brush its fingers across her skin. She knew in her heart, it was fate. The dreams she had and the images she saw while trapped in Soul Calibur's illusion were her own that surfaced from time to time. When she was seven years old and fell into a coma, she had already seen him. The dark wind that had surged through her body and made her lose consciousness showed the horrible things that happened during the rain of the Evil Seed. She had seen him, killing someone in self-defense and running away. At the age of twenty-four, he was a devastatingly handsome man. His features were still unhardened by burdens and time though his blue eyes had already grown cold. At the age of seven, she couldn't remember much. She only knew that something big had happened and when she woke up, all she could do was cling to her mom's skirt and be happy about being protected in the village, away from all those horrible things she had seen.

As she grew older however, she stopped thinking that way. Instead, she wondered if the people out there was alright. Whatever happened to them? Would something like this happen again? When a traveler brought a shard of Soul Edge to her village, she knew the time had come. This was something she had been waiting for and something that she wanted to do. Not out of duty but from her very own heart. At the age of fifteen, she no longer remembered clearly who he was and how he looked like. There were too many that she had seen.

That was until she received another vision. After curing that young boy at the watermill village, she had seen a beautiful blue sword in a distant western land and for some reason, her heart had grown hot at the sight. Why? It was just a sword, even if it was beautiful. But she hadn't realized that it had beckoned her in its direction, at the same time Raphael decided to switch from seeking Soul Edge to Soul Calibur. But it wasn't just an image, though that was clearest. The vision and wind carried to her something that words couldn't describe. It was a feeling, a premonition and a whisper of words that she couldn't understand. All she knew was that something was waiting in the West and her heart fluttered at the knowledge.

She had known about him before they had even met. This realization had shaken her to the core. It was only from being trapped in that illusion for three years by Soul Calibur, did she somehow managed to connect and remember that. Her hand tightened over her medallion and she opened her eyes. Reaching out to the air, she whispered a few quiet words to the wind, hoping it would carry them to wherever Raphael was. No matter how much time passes, she would let him and the wind know, that she was always thinking about him.

"Talim," said Kalana as she stepped up onto the platform.

"Grandma?" Talim had never seen her grandmother look so tired before. "Are you alright?"

"It's time I tell you something. The sword you know as Soul Edge, contains an Ancient. The spirit sealed inside, is known as Inferno."

A long time ago, when all lived in the spiritual realm... The grand creator and his six children were known as The Ancients of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light and Darkness. All was well until the Second Ancients became jealous of their superiors powers. Chronos; Ancient of Time, Hecuala; Ancient of Ice, Ivima; Ancient of Lightning and many others that were ranked lower then the six ancients craved power. They banded together and a great war shook the spiritual realm. But they knew that they could not succeed unless they found a way combat the Heaven Sword that belonged to the Grand Creator. As well, it was known that gods cannot be slain and all that live in the spiritual realm are immortal.

After recruiting and persuading many to their side, the great war raged on for a long time. The Second Ancients took a long time in figuring out a way to create the weapon they needed for victory and after many attempts, they each sacrificed a portion of their soul. All the pieces were merged into one and they called this new being, Inferno; The Ancient of Destruction. His thirst for souls were insatiable and where he walked, the flowers and land of the spirit realm withered and everyone he cut down, died and their souls were completely obliterated.

In the end, the Ancient of Light and Darkness decided to sacrifice their own lives so that the battle may end. They created a pendent and named it the Pendent of Sun and Moon. It did not have any combat abilities but it possessed two great magics. The sun offered healing while the side of the moon was capable of strong sealing magic.

The Ancient of Wind final weapon was the Song of Ancient Time that could tame any beasts, monsters or inhuman beings and control them. The Ancient of Water made a Holy Mirror that purified all negative energy while The Ancient of Earth made a staff that was capable of absorbing all types of energy since all will eventually return to ashes in her domain. As for the Ancient of Fire, he made another weapon called The Ancient. However, the traitorous ancients ambushed and stole the weapon's powers. So it was not used in the battle and instead, its remaining powers were sealed away somewhere for another purpose. Far into the future...

The final battle finally came and many souls were lost. Finally, the Grand Creator struck down the monstrous creation his lesser children had created. Sealing the monster deep into the core of the tainted land that had been poisoned by Inferno's blood, the place was now called Astral Chaos. Separating the place away from the rest of the spiritual realm, that land laid hidden and far away. The battlefields in other places of the spiritual realm was less tainted but it had lost alot of life. Bringing these pieces together, the Grand Creator created the Earth from these pieces and with the Pendent of Sun and Moon, he healed the land enough for it to be inhabitable for the fallen souls who have betrayed him. They were now known as 'humans'. Sealing their powers, grace, and immortality inside vessels that aged and crumbled, that was their punishment. The rest of fallen ancients were sealed away in this world as well. Forgotten over time, they raged in bitter silence over millennium of years.

"But as we both know, that is not the end of the story. It seems that another war took place upon this very earth and somehow, Inferno took the form of a sword and walked upon the battlefields instead. However, that tale has long been lost and records of it has ceased to exist. Tragic... since that tale will be more vital than the one I've told you Talim. It holds the key to Soul Edge and Soul Calibur's return and unless you find someone who knows the legend... no, the true story... then this world may never be free from their powers.

"Why didn't you tell me before, when I set out with the shard at fifteen years old?" Talim asked.

Her grandmother settled herself beside her, crossing her legs together. "I never thought you would manage to even reach it, to be honest. The closer you get, the more monsters you would face and the more terrible the obstacles. You know that I didn't want to let the last wind priestess leave, but you wouldn't budge on the idea. I thought that once you saw how the world was truly like, how frightening and hard it can be, you would return and never mention the idea anymore."

Talim laughed softly, turning her eyes back the dying sun. "You never imagined that instead, I fell for a malfested and am more determined than ever, to leave."

"I underestimated your heart," Kalana said, with a grim smile. "Never has there been a wind priestess as loving and kind as you are. Nor, has there ever been someone so compassionate and selfless. I am proud of you..."

"You're crying, grandma," Talim said as her eyes grew wet from seeing her beloved grandmother shedding tears over her.

"It is your admirable qualities, that is tearing you from me and putting you in danger," Kalana replied as she put an arm around her successor and hugged her. "Your parents and I, are proud of you. No matter what happens, we love you."

Talim burst into tears and returned the hug. "I love you too."

The sun sets and the moon rises with their destined fate

The wind sings and it cries

The stars gleam and dies

The seasons passes

On opposite side of the world we continue to wait