time for love quarrels, Black Lightning Alchemist.", an ominous, but human-like, voice said from behind. Nikolai turned around, and there stood a cloaked figure, covered from head to toe. It was the same figure from his dream! "You must figure out a way to escape this world, you and the MagiKnight. The Gunsmith and the Blade Dancer have not been affected by the collision of the Swords, and have not been transferred to this world. My power as well, is not strong enough to send you two back. So I have taken a human form in order to aid your quest.", the figure said briefing Nikolai of the events that has taken place. "So...it wasn't a dream, was it Xero?", Nikolai asks. "So you heeded my call after all. You must go back to the Valentine Mansion. The MagiKnight is there, fighting your battle.", Xero said upon noticing. "Mira's there?! So that wasn't just a feeling...she did call out to me!", realizing that a mere allusion was in fact a reality to Nikolai. "I will accompany you. We must get her and get out, before Ivy Valentine is able to capture you again. Catastrophic events shall occur if she were to take your life for the sake of alchemy." Feeling a sense of cold shimming down his spine, Nikolai shudders, "Damn...I don't want to face her again...but we Must rescue Mira. Okay. Grab my coat Xero. We're going back." Nikolai swallowed hard, already confronting his newly formed demons. Xero put his hand on Nikolai's shoulder. He stood there for a minute hesitating, before snapping his fingers, the two of them disappearing within a black flash.
Through the night of the open sea, Calo is seen walking
around on the deck. He looks to the left and sees "BuckethEd" on the starboard side on the left of the ship casting his fishing rod's wire into the sea. A few moments have pass and not a word was said amongst the both of them. "That guy's awfully quiet.", Calo thought to himself. He then looks to the left and saw Dio standing on top of the crow's next. "Dio? What the he....?", Calo said to himself perking his right eyebrow. He watched Dio stood up in the crow's nest for nearly ten minutes and wondered what was going on.
In Dio's mind, he thought to himself. "Just like that bartender,
their intent were to massacre those around them.", he tilts his head up, "Like a pack of hyenas coming to a flock of dead wildebeests." He then closed his eyes and a voice inside his head is heard, "Dio! You are the one I've been searching for!" His vision is changed to the site of an Egyptian tomb that was crumbling around two figures. One figure was Dio and the other figure was a human child who's lower half of his body was that of some mythical beast. The child had two small bangs that parted down to his golden eyes. His eyes were set in a wavy fashion as it swooshed to left just gradually. Three scars were across his face in a diagonal manner: One across his forehead, one going from his cheek to his nose and one going from his cheek and stops underneath his cheek bone. His skin disposition was semi-tanned as the beastly portion of his body was of a red color with a whipping tail that wagged about. Dio is seen staring him down as the child returned back. His disposition was that of a 12-year-old child. The crackling sound of walls breaking apart as they fell down to the floor, crushing on impact. The child's face was derived of any type of emotion but the intent to kill the man that stood before him. He spoke in a dark mannerism, "Clover was right. You have regained your origins." He holds his arms open, "The thing I've been searching for has been lying dormant for so many years. It is true that your memories return to with each battle you've endured but your true nature returns when you're fighting to the death." Dio then spoke, "Is that the reason you've brought me here? To remember something?!" The child then folds his arms, "I see, but you never remembered who you were but you still retain everything from your original self. Being the one who've slain the 'Great Atrocity' is deemed worthy of dying at my hands." Dio thought back to the events that occurred that day: Watching the countless creatures and human beings that fought the boy and was taken down in a brutal manner and the five fights that they have gone through, this counting as the sixth. He looks at the boy, "Sett...we don't have to do this...Whatever happened to you in the past. Let it go." Sett eyes sharpen as his lip turned up, "It's not my choice. It is my destiny as a seeker of those with incredible prowess. I have nothing against you, Dio. It's our way of life." Dio looks up as a wall falls down behind him kicking a large amount of dust from behind. "Way....of...life?", he asks. Sett nods, "Correct, if you recognized who you were originally. You'd understand. You defend those you care about and willing to sacrifice your life for their right to live. And like me, you understood your law: 'To kill or be killed.' You have no choice but to follow your own code." He points to Dio, "I can see it in you. You desire to kill me in order to escape the tomb that will collapse within an hour. Knowing you keeping me alive would only invoke the wrath of me returning to kill you. Face it. You're only choice to escape alive is to kill me. What happens to me is of no concern to you." Dio's eyes widen as he felt a sudden shock through his body. He felt a conflict that surged through his body.
Dio is seen falling to his knees as he grabbed onto the wooden post of the crow's nest. Calo jumps in shock believing Dio was going to fall. He then saw Dio getting to his feet and sighs a sigh of relief. Dio opens his eyes as a tear protrude out. "Out of all I've been through. He was the only person I've truly feared.", he thought to himself. His encounter with Sett has changed Dio for the better. He thought back of all his battles with other Wolfens: Rah Zel, Alfred/Alista, Syko, Clover, Collie and more images. "Those fights seemed like mere child's play compared to him.", he thought as he looks up into the sky. He goes deeper into thought but is interrupted by Calo who called out to him. "...?", he looks down. "Hey! You alright?", Calo asks in concern his well-being. Dio quietly nods his head and then looks off into the horizon as a final voice, that belonged to Dio, said, "......Sett....."
Mira and Ivy were already going at it like wildcats. Mira dove in for a hard swing, and Ivy repelled her with her Asylum attack, twirling her sword around, spinning, in it's whip form. Ivy then immediately followed up with one of her favorite combo attacks. She spun herself around, the whip around her, forcing Mira to block. She then immediately pulled her whip back, and it began to ignite on fire. Working her Soul Charge, the bladed whip caught fire, and she thrust it forward. Mira was able to block the powerful attack, but it left her wide open. Ivy then rushed in and grabbed her in a chokehold, "Give me...STRENGTH!" Mira struggled to get free, but Ivy's grip was too powerful, her pauldron covering her entire neck and part of her chin. The sword then broke into its whip again, but seemed to fly about freely! The now naked sword was thrust powerfully against Mira's throat, choking her out. The sword shards flew into the distance, and then raced back towards the two. Each shard painfully pierced Mira's armor, sliced her face and left arm, and cut through her chain mail. Mira desperately cried in pain as they cut through her like bread. Just that instant, a black cloud appeared, and Nikolai and Xero
appeared, just in time to see Mira's suffering. "MIRA! NO!", Nikolai
shouted. The attack was complete, and Ivy let go. Mira fell to the floor, a battered and bloody mess. Ivy's sword returned to its whip form. "Alchemist! You have returned?!", Ivy questions.
Nikolai ran to Mira. Ivy backs away as a precaution. Nikolai fell to his knees and scoops Mira into his arms. Her blood instantly stained his clothes. "Ni...Nikolai? You've come back for me...?", she struggles to say. "Mira...oh God. This is my fault. She was after me, and I fled, not knowing you were here...If only I didn't run away, you wouldn't have tried to defend me.", he thought to himself gazing at her battered body. Mira said weakly, "Her fighting style...is that I have never seen before. She uses her alchemy to manipulate her blade..I...", her sentence broke into a mere cough. Nikolai placed his right index finger over her mouth in a 'sshsh', "Mira! Please, say no more. You must recover." Nikolai had lifted Mira into his arms and stood up, walking toward Xero. He hung his head low, a great shadow looming over him. Ivy then made her statement, "Alchemist! Your power will be
eradicated! I will obtain it!", in a threatening mannerism.
Nikolai safely lay Mira against a tree, and turned his attention
toward Ivy. His black sunglasses now glowed an extremely bright yellow, a tear falling from his right eye. The transmutations on his gloves glowed brightly as well. The sky had immediately grown dark with storm clouds across the entire land. "How dare you...do this to her...You want my power?! ALLOW ME TO GIVE YOU A FUCKING TASTE OF MY POWER!", Nikolai yells out. Upon his vengeful shout, the sky booms with a loud thunderclap, and rain immediately began to fall. Xero approached Nikolai. "Nikolai, we do not have time to quarrel. Our prime concern is Mira's safety, and control over your anger. We have to--"
Nikolai interrupted Xero,"BACK OFF! Ivy will pay for what she's done to
Mira!" "Looks like he's got it covered", Shura thought to herself, "Better get going while I still can. Ivy will be no more..." Shura secretly fled.
Nikolai walks closer toward Ivy, who now began to back away in fear of him. Her sword was "crying" at the demonstration of his alchemy. He had formed an electrical ball around his right palm, without even clapping for the transmutation. "It's worse than I thought! You're...you're a madman! A monster!" Ivy choked out. "I can be much worse. And I will ensure you pay for your deeds! YOU WILL FUCKING PAY!" Frozen in fear, Ivy couldn't move. Her alchemy could not resist his, her sword was in too much "pain". She backed into a tree, and Nikolai, rage continuously growing, pursued. Ivy didn't know
what to do. The storm kept getting worse and worse. Any fishermen,
sailors, or folks at sea right about now were most unfortunate. Nikolai then formed a second electrical ball around his left palm. Black lightning danced across the sky, wind whipping hard, rain pounding ferociously, thunder stealing the noise. Mira looked at
Nikolai, and tears of blood (from her lacerations and piercings to her
internal organs) fell from her eyes. This was what she was trying to prevent, and now, she's the cause of it all. She was way too weak
to call out to him to stop. "NIKOLAI! STAND DOWN!", Xero had called. But his words fell deaf upon another thunderclap. He now towered above Ivy, who sat sprawled against the tree, losing more and more control of his actions...of his power...of himself.
Rapid winds began to breeze across the sea as small waves are
seen. The sails began to lead the ship into a different direction. Dio looks into the direction to where he saw a thunderstorm and upon further inspection. He saw the lightning was of an unusual yet familiar color. "What could have possibly pissed him off this time?", he said out as Calo heard him. At that moment, he climbed onto the ladder and slid his way down to the deck. "You'd think he'd figured out to cope with things." Calo shrugs, "Well, there's nothing we can do. We're here and they're there...Only thing we can do is find the girl that took your jacket and help these guys out." Dio shrugs, “..true...", he said looking away. The images of that girl plagued his mind. Calo turns his head to Dio, "Hey, Dio....you alright?", he asks. Dio snaps his head to Calo in surprise, "Huh? Oh...yea..I'm cool." He then thought to himself, "If I confront her...would I have to re-enact my actions similar to Sett? A sword that corrupts and enslaves it's followers. That must be it....she's nothing but a slave to that sword."
"BuckethEd" was seen still in his usual spot with his fishing rod. Not phased by the wind. "..............", he sat quietly. His wire then tugged and he yanks with tremendous strength and a swordfish came flopping out of the water and onto the ship. Dio was too distracted and was slapped by the swordfish's fin. ".....!", he shook his head and looked around. Calo began to chuckle and then laughed at him. Dio returned to his earlier thoughts. "...................", Dio stood there quietly. Calo laughed but then stopped as he expected some sort of reaction from Dio, "Dio?.....Dio?.......What's bugging him?", he ponders then scratched his chin, "That girl must of did a number on him. I've hardly seen him this way." The ship began to sail off into a
direction opposite of Nikolai's location due to the winds.
Along the western province of Ostrheinsburg, a samurai is seen
crossing a river and into a town. He looks around to see many of the townspeople roaming around and he noticed a dilapidated tavern. He walks up to the tavern and saw the dead body of the manager. He then looks around. Observing the scenery, he knew that a fight took place inside. A smirk grew across his face as he looked around and saw broken weaponry. He then looked to a gardener who was across the street. He approached and called out, "You there..!" The gardener
jumps to the voice, "..!....W-What do you want?", he asks seeing the samurai before him. "What happened there in that tavern?", he asks pointing to the desecrated tavern. The gardener looked at the tavern, "Over there?...That place was attacked by the 'Watchers'.....", he said nervously. "Watchers?", asks the samurai, "The league of assassins sworn to protect Soul Edge?" The gardener nods a 'yes' to that question and then said, "But that's not all....One man stood up against them and was able to fend off all of them: With his bare hands with no disregard to the deadly weaponry that those assassins held." The samurai quickly turned his head to the gardener with full attention hearing this information. "One man took on a group? That's interesting.", he said scratching his chin. "He was also adept in weapons combat and demonstrated it very well. He drove the 'Flock' out of the village." The samurai was now interested in this 'one man'. "May I ask this question? What does this man look like?", the samurai asked. The gardener began to recall what was the man's name, "...erh....it...it started with a D....I heard his friend say it......D..di..Dio..That's right, it's Dio.", he said finally remembering. He then adds, "He's most notable by his long black cloak that has crescent moon on the back and what appears to be connected to a wolf at the end. He has light-brown skin and long dark brown hair with two scars on his face with light brown eyes. His frame is way smaller than yours but it is certain that he can hold his own against large groups." The samurai then looks to the ground and smirk grew across his face, "Very well....Do you know where he ventured off to?", he asked. "They left to find the 'Cursed Sword'. They left by ship." The samurai then said, "Thanks...", he walks off but then stops as he turns his head to the side, "Is there anything else to better identify him?" The gardener then began to think and then said, "....oh...and he's accompanied by a white-furred brown-spotted dog." The samurai then nods and began his journey to look for this man, "This man should be a challenge for me."
"Niko...please...", Mira whimpered weakly. Nikolai stood over Ivy, who coward against a tree. He was about ready to strike, when Xero had taken advantage of Nikolai's distraction and slugged him from behind in the back of his head with a thick tree branch. A sharp pain ran down Nikolai's spine, his head immediately pulsating for a second before he fell unconscious. Ivy had gotten up as he fell, and Xero pointed the club at Ivy, threatening her to keep away from him. The storm immediately disappaited, as if it were never there. "Take heed you wicked souls. I will find a way to destroy this alchemist's power. It is for the sake of this world. For a power greater than Soul Edge is one that cannot run freely as it is now. You may have won now, but you have not seen the last of me...", Ivy retreated hastily into her mansion. Xero dragged Nikolai's unconscious body over toward the tree where Mira lay. Xero knelt down and began muttering. Soon enough, a blue cylindrical light shone down from the now clear sky and onto the three. They disappeared from the area.
On the far side of the country, a strange, evil-looking knight
drabbed in blue armor looked to the sky with his glowing red eyes. He then looked down upon his sword, an oddly shaped broadsword that had an eyeball, and pulsing veins all around. "Such darkness! I felt the darkness from the sky! That darkness will be mine!", it said in a frightening voice. From behind him was the girl that Dio encountered earlier before. She was seen walking towards the figure known as the 'Azure Knight'. Her facial expression was somewhat un-entertained, bored if you may, at the events transpired so far. “..bored, bored, bored..", she was muttering and looked up as she noticed black lightning striking and then disappearing. The knight turns to the girl, "You have done excellent for insurrecting me." She bows to him, "It was a pleasure but the 'toys' I've found didn't satisfy me as much..", she said. The knight then noticed something unusual on the girl. "That cloak is different from what you usually have.", he said on observing. She looks up and smiles, grinning her teeth. "Oh this thing, I got it from this weird person. He put up one heck of a show but I managed to snag it from him.", she said showing it off. "And you did not kill him?", his next question came out. She paused for a bit and a sweat drop befell on her, "Hehe....he got away. B-b-but I bet he would come looking for me because if he's still alive. He'd want this back, right?" The knight stood there for a few moments and then spoke, "A brilliant trap....this man must have a soul of great potential if he was able to evade you. Very well, you are appointed to bring him to me so that I will take him personally." The girl's face went from a cheerful expression to a somewhat annoyed look, ".............", she then spoke, "Very well. Allow me to kill him if he steps out of line." The knight then answers, "If you may...but doing so, make sure THAT soul is preserved for me!" The girl disappears in an instant as she's off to her next objective to find Dio. The Azure Knight looked off into the distance as the skies began it's peaceful reign once again. "I can feel...the quickening of darkness.....", he said in a precognitive manner. The knight laughed wickedly, planning on hunting down the source of the black lightning storm. If he could incorporate that power within Soul Edge, the world would easily be his for the taking!
A man and a woman were walking side by side along a riverbank.
"What in the hell was that?", said a man who was dressed in red baggy pants and a green bandana with black shoes, nothing more. He carried a broad Chinese blade with him. His companion had long red hair styled in a long french braid and a bandana on her forehead. She wore a
cutoff white top with long green sleeves and a long green skirt that had a flower design on it. She carried a bladed staff with her. "I don't know Yun-Seong, but that didn't feel good" she said. "It sent a terrible chill down my spine." He then took a deep breath, "Seong Mina, I really think we should investigate this..." Seong Mina felt relieved that Yun-Seong became distracted from his original search for Soul Edge, but now this worried her much...much more. People all over the land became highly concerned about the recent lightning storm. Never before had they seen black lightning! Some took it as an ill omen. Others believed it to be Soul Edge's doing. Some others believed it a power greater than Soul Edge. Whatever it was, it caught many an eye, including some famous, and infamous, warriors. The objective was now clear. Find that power and harness it. For salvation. For world domination. For eradication. For a new hope. Whatever it was, it was now clear: Soon, Nikolai will become public enemy number one...
Daylight broke over the horizon of the mountainous region as
a ship approached the docking bay. Rufus was seen rolling up his map, slid on his glasses and made his way off the ship. Arnold was cleaning his battle axe before noticing that Rufus had left. "So..our travels begin.", he said in notation. Calo was sitting around with 'BuckethEd' but the two get up realizing they've docked. Dio was in his quarters asleep with Ookii at the foot of the bed. The group makes their way into the new town where they see the townspeople set up to what happens to be a festival in a few days. "Just like our era, these people also celebrate.", Calo said to himself. "What was that?", asks Rufus hearing Calo's murmur. He quickly looked up and saw Rufus and the others looking at him. "Huh? Oh nothing. Just thought about something.", he said looking around. "It's a shame but we'll have no time to attend the 'Festival of the Sword'.", said Rufus as he corrects his glasses, "But then again...we could relax. By the way, what is with your friend Dio?" Calo shrugs with his answer, "I don't know really. But when he's like that it's best not to bother him for a while." Arnold comes in, "And why is that, lad?" Calo explains to the best of his knowledge, "Can't really put my finger on it but if he's to himself it's best to keep your distance." Arnold thought about what Calo meant and then came to the conclusion, "I see....", he looks to his comrades, "....Master Rufus, I'll stay back and keep guard of the ship." Rufus turns to Arnold, "Very well then. But we're trying to stock up before setting sail again." Calo turns to Arnold, "Sure you don't want anything?" Arnold shook his head 'no' and boards the ship. The latter three shrugged and made their way into town.
Dio is shown sleeping in his bed. Inside his mind, he is haunted by images of Sett. "Dio.... there's nothing to fear.................",
his voice echoes through what seems to be an endless catacomb as Dio is
shown standing in one place. He turns around as soon as he felt a presence behind him. Nothing was there. A pair of red glowing eyes appear behind him and Dio retaliates with a swiping sword attack when turning around. Again, the figure was too fast. "...Dio..I have longed for the day for the one man who was able to kill me.....but sparing my life would only prove your own foolishness. I WILL return to kill you.", these words being expressed as the scenes are circling around Dio. He now saw Sett who stood before him in a flash. "......!.....", Dio readies himself. Sett speaks, "You carry that sword for what purpose: To protect those you care about? Or are you only saving your own pathetic life at the sheer convenience of those around you?" He points at him, "You've grown weak over the years. Defeating me was possibly a fluke. But then again......", a light flashed brightly as the room was illuminated. Dio looks around to see that he's surrounded by numerous figures of Setts. His eyes widen in fear at the thought of taking on that many adversaries. Either fighting them one at a time or fighting all at once would be like walking into an iron maiden. All the Setts rush towards him as he braced himself for combat. He made the first swipe and the Setts disappear. ".........?.......", he faced all his cardinal directions and saw nothing around him.
Now, he felt the room suddenly becoming that of the inside of a volcano. He felt the heat hit him in the face. Coughing a bit as he looks down to notice that he's standing on a strip of land that paved its way towards a golden pole. He traced the pole upward to its top as the canopy formed another structure that was made across as a large gold orb sat on top. He gazed to the left and to the right and saw two more obstructions that wavered over two pits of lava. The structures were cup-like in shape and held by strands of rope. He finally realized the whole structure was a scale. "What is this?", he asks himself. Sett is seen on top of the scale with his arms crossed and left leg in front of the right, "You're knowledgeable about the scale, right? But I'm sure you don't know what the scale is truly for." He opens his arms and continues, "This structure is used to judge men before their passage to the afterlife. But it serves another purpose." Dio looks up and yells, "And what purpose is that?" Sett's eyes gave a glow due to the shadows covering the front portion of his face, "I know everything about you....but what do you know about yourself? Do you know what you want?", he had asked. He points over to the right of the scale cup and it shows a shadowy figure who is unknown to Dio. He then points to the left and Dio sees a shadowy figure on the other side of the scale. "What is that suppose to mea....?", he asks but is slightly interrupted as he saw the scales lower to the lava's flow.
".....!.....What are you doing?!", he yells out. Sett tilts his head to the left, "I'm not doing anything, the fate of these people rest within your heart Dio. One of these figures will die to your foolish mistakes. And the other may live. But it's not clear to you because you don't understand who you really are, Dio." Dio eyes widen, ".....not understanding myself?..." Sett waves his hand to the left figure whose shadows began to unveil. Dio watched in shock to see that the figure who's life is on the line is the girl he encountered earlier. ".....!", he was speechless. The right scale began to sink into lava barely singed it as the scale with the girl on it began to rise. "It is this fact in your heart that you want to save this person and that you care less what's going to happen to the other’s life." Dio quickly looks over to the other figure. In his heart he doesn't want to cause any harm to anyone resulting its scale barely dropping. Sett implies, "Is it because they are young such as I? You are weak. You're willing to spare the person who would slaughter you over someone who possibly has nothing to do with the whole situation?" Dio's breathing became more rapid. "..........very well.", Sett said as both scales began to rise to equally balance each other. "Lets see who would you choose.", he said. He snaps his finger and the ropes break causing the scales to fall straight to the lava. The girl and figure fell to the lava at an extreme rate of speed. Dio ran with all his might going for both of the figures.
The scales touched the lava as it began to eat away at the metal causing them to sink in. "They probably killed more than I can imagine......", he quickly gazed between the two lines. Dio saw the girl sink deeper as he winced, "..NO!....Even if she did......", he jumps over the lava and lands on what's left of the scale to the girl. He grabs her and jumps back to safety. Then, he turns to the other figure but he is held back by the girl he rescued. He quickly turns to her and saw a menacing grin on her face.
"....!......", he felt and saw her maniacal glare. She starts to claw at him. Dio struggles but is knocked to the ground as she began to choke him. She squeezed his throat until he turned blue and she began to laugh. Dio wince one eye as he saw the other figure being dragged into the lava. "...n...n...No...", he quickly tucks his right leg underneath her stomach and kicks her off of him: Barely scratching his throat. He slowly got up but was kicked in the face by the girl. He rolls over and was kicked again. This time, he grabs her foot and swept at her other leg to trip her. Now, he began running to the other figure who's time was almost up. He heard a screeching sound from behind him and turns to see his killer chasing him. She jumps at him and he counters her by doing a monkey flip knocking her towards the edge of the strip. She stood up slowly as she was near the edge. Moving too quickly, she lost balance and slips as her foot touched the lava. Dio quickly ran towards the girl as he failed to grab her hand and watched her fall and burn to death. Dio stood in horror watching the girl’s expression went from an evil glare to an innocent expression as if crying "Save me..."
Dio fell to his knees in horror. A few seconds pass and he realized that the other figure was going to die. He quickly rose back to his feet and ran to the figure about to meet the same fate. He runs with enough speed and launched himself to what is now a small platform surrounded by lava. He grabs the figure and makes his way as a hand quickly shot out of the lava and grabs onto his leg. ".....!......", he turns around to see the girl who's skin was melting off due to the lava still trying take him with her. He winced and kicks her in the face causing her to submerge back into the lava. Now with his strength, he makes a final jump and lands on the safe area of the strip of land. He is breathing heavily at the events that just occurred. His body is covering the figures body. He rose to his feet moments later and looks up to Sett who was watching what occurred. Sett looks to the figure as Dio turns to it. He grabs the figure's shoulders and shook the figure. The shadows began unveiling itself and the figure looks up to him. Dio’s eyes widen as he steps back. The figure stood up slowly as its face began motioning up to him. It is revealed that the figure is indeed the same girl Dio thought he had killed. "In the end, the scale proves where your heart is devoted to.", Sett said as his eyes began to glow.
Dio quickly woke up out of bed and was breathing rapidly. He folds his body to his knees as he grabs his arms over his head.
"What......what did that all mean?", he asks himself. Ookii woke up and was watching Dio. Arnold knocks on his door. Dio looks to the door and answers, "I'm up."
Elsewhere, the assassin girl is seen standing on a cliff's edge as she gazed to the town that Rufus and company ventured to. She had a joyful expression this time. She sighs, "So how long are you going to keep following me?" She said as what appears to be another young girl, who was younger than her, behind her. There was a Filipino girl who approached her with a priestess garbed attire. Her hair was slightly long in two ponytails and she carried two elbow blades on her. She had a timid nature but she spoke up, "The winds have picked up a tainted scent and it led me here." The girl turns around to meet her, "You're always meddling in my fun. How about you get lost?" The girl braced herself before the assassin, "I cannot ignore the evil of the sword that you have brought." The assassin girl sighs and swung her ring blade in an upholding position, "Fine! I'll just make sure this is the last time we had this talk. Talim, was it?" The Filipino girl nods a 'yes'. "Oh goody. I'm not going to remember it anyway after this." Talim was ready for anything but noticed something. "What's with the cloak? Doesn't really fit you.", she said. "Hahaha, better on me than you.", the girl said. The wind picks up as the scene went silent.
Nikolai, Mira, and Xero had taken shelter for the night in a nearby cave. They had spent most of the night dressing Mira's wounds and discussing their plan of action towards escaping this world. Morning had come, and the two were planning on venturing out, leaving Mira in the cave to recover. Dawn cracked, and Nikolai sat outside the cave. Xero himself awoke and found him out there, and approached him.
"Xero, what is this quest you have me on? I understand that I'm supposed to be the one to destroy the universe with my own power. But I don't understand on why it has to be me. All my life, I've tried to shelter myself away from humanity, so that I wouldn't have to utilize my alchemy. Doesn't this only exacerbate the problem, with more and more interaction with people?", he asked Xero. "Black Lightning Alchemist, your course of action would not have stray you from your destiny. I have foreseen the events of the future, and you will be solely responsible for the destruction of this entire world...the universe. Everything will be undone by your hands. I have stolen you from Amestris to send you on a path of control. You must acquire control of your dark power. Not utilizing it is useless. This is why I have appointed the greatest of warriors to become your Protectors as well, to aid you in your quest.", Xero explains. Nikolai mopes about his own being, "My curse. The pride instilled within me created by my father's ambitions to turn me into a great alchemist, turned awry because of a lightning storm. What is fate, anyway? Why couldn't it have chosen someone else?"
Xero then said, "No matter who it chose, the end result would have been the same. You have been chosen for a reason. However, not even a godly Time Sage, or any of the Great Sages, can see why. But what I can see within you is that there lays a small hope behind your hands of destruction." The alchemist gazed upon Mira before looking up to Xero and said, "Xero, I had a dream last night. It seemed so real. I fear it may be a premonition. There were a bunch of warriors, with all sorts of weaponry: A legion of sorts. They all chased after me, wanting to utilize my power for their own personal means. It meant so much to them, that they fought and killed each other, just to acquire my power." Xero looks on as Nikolai spoke. Expressions could not be seen from underneath his cloak, but a great uneasiness ran through him, "There was one warrior that particularly struck fear within me. He was a rather large man, clad in azure armor, wielding the strangest of weapons. It was an oblong shaped broadsword, with a living eyeball imbued in it. He talked of spreading darkness throughout the land, and wanting to fuse my power with this 'Soul Edge' that everyone keeps talking about, to increase his power further to destroy 'Soul Calibur' and plunge the world into eternal darkness. He was standing alongside with this sinister looking woman, who held a strange weapon herself: A steel ring. Xero, could this be the moment...the day I destroy all life?"
"I cannot say. I cannot foresee events beyond your destruction, as great as my power may be. However, we must escape this world by all means so such an event will not happen.", said Xero. Nikolai sighs fearfully. He hoped his dream was simply that. He hated confrontation, and the idea of him being the cause of it all truly sent a shiver down his spine. Both of them continue to watch the sunrise, when someone had spoken to them from within the cave.
"If you boys are done bonding, I'd like to get a move on.", a voice calls out from behind. Both of them turn around to see Mira standing upright with her sword sitting across her shoulders. Bloody bandages lay strewn around her feet. Nikolai looked astounded, "Funny thing about being a master of the magical craft. Your body heals at
an accelerating rate.”, he said. Makes fighting all the more exciting!", she replies. "But are you sure you can fight...let alone walk?", he asks. Mira scoffs in an arrogant manner, "Oh, I can do that, and much more!" she had said with a wide smirk. "Besides, I have a score to settle with that alchemist woman..."
Nikolai gulps at the thought of Ivy. He didn't want to face her ever again, and he hoped he wouldn't. But Ivy was amongst the warriors in his dream, trying to capture him for his power. If his dream was indeed something more, he'd have to face a gauntlet of powerful warriors to defend his life. Mira put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. Mira approached Nikolai from behind and placed her hand onto his right shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I'll protect you, no matter what." She scratched under her nose hinting a “Leave it to me” gesture. Something possibly borrowed from Dio.
Nikolai looks up to Mira and stood up himself, "No. This time, I must fight back. I have a bunch of demons to face. It is time I faced them, and start fulfilling my destiny." Upon that, the sun had risen, and the three left the cave. Their destination was unknown. The dangers that lay ahead of them were unknown. They just knew that they had to go and follow any instinct towards getting them out of this world.
Meanwhile, the two girls stood near the edge of the cliff. They stare one another down as the wind blew by. Talim’s expression was determined to take the other down as she was gazed back with a face that saw no meaning to the fight. Talim knew what her opponent’s true nature was. “Are you ready to fight or what?”, she asks. Talim eyes twitched as she dash towards the girl striking with her left elbow blade. The girl then deflects Talim to her left. There, she stabs her ring blade into the ground and rotates her body into the center. In a swoop, she kicks Talim in the back causing her to fall forward but she rolls once contacting the ground and rolls to her feet. She looks back and saw the girl run up to her. She slid across the ground, when approaching Talim, with her blade’s edges aiming at her ankles as her body was arched back with the upper portion of her blade nearly covering her head. Talim flips over and slashed at the girl’s head but fails as the blade covers her opponent barely.
The girl saw Talim flip over her. She rose up quickly as Talim came up to her with a combination of alternating blade swipes and thrusts. The girl went into the offensive and attacks back. The two clashed their weapons with precise decision trying to hit each other but are constantly repelling their attacks. Talim then does a thrust that the girl dodges by flipping back, leaving her ring blade in place. Talim jumps over the blade and does a spinning roundhouse to the girl who dodged by arching her body back. Talim goes into a sweep with the motion but the girl managed to flip her legs over Talim’s attacking leg. She continues to attack but the assassin is constantly flipping back. Talim then attacks the upper body area when she saw a clear shot. The girl then grabs Talim’s arms. “..!...” as Talim was shocked and the girl grins. Talim quickly spun around, grabbing onto the girl’s arms, causing her to break her grip. She then slid under the girl as she bent at the waist and appeared behind her. She quickly does a drop kick to the girl’s rear and she fell face first onto the ground as Talim goes into a forward roll and sprung to her feet. She turns around to see the girl rise up, turning her head to Talim. “You’ll pay for that.”, she said. Talim’s eyes widen as she heard a darker voice from the girl she has never known before. “What is this?”, she ponders. Talim then saw the girl who fully turns to her with an evil glare upon her face. The joyful expression Talim was accustomed to vanish. “You’re not that girl. Who are you?”, she asks. “What does it matter to you? You’re going to die!”, the dark girl said. She began flipping backwards. Talim began chasing after her adversary who flips over her blade and pulls it out of the ground. She now had the blade hoisted onto her body as she held it with one hand.
Talim stops for a moment to recognize the new stance that her long-time ‘rival’ was in. “This is new. I have to be careful.”, she said and regains her stance. “You’ve been a thorn in my side for too long.”, she looks up and dash toward Talim. The two engaged in combat once again. The battle waged for a while showing off sheer acrobatics and close-combat skills. The girl thrusts her blade as it spirals around her body. Talim deflects that attack but the girl retaliates by spinning the blade around her body like a hula hoop. Talim was in the middle of an attack to counter and realized this attempt. She was struck several times by the blade’s edges. “Aaaah!”, Talim stammers back in pain. She looks up to see the girl ran at her and hits her up into the air with a boosting kick. Once Talim was knocked into the air, she follows up with a spiraling kick that carried Talim with her. Talim’s body began to arch back as the girl came up and with the blade coming over her body in one hand: She had an extreme glare on her face. Talim was too weak to move as the two approached the ground. “..ah..”, Talim tries to utter something. “Stop……SCREAMING!”, the girl said as she came down with her fatal blow.
“TALIM!?”, a voice is heard. This distracts the girl’s attack as they hit the ground. Her blade stabs into the ground near Talim’s face but her foot did press into her chest. The girl looks to the side and saw a girl in traditional Chinese temple dress. She had short, dark brown hair and carried a thin sword on her and short shorts. She takes her blade out of the ground, “Looks like today’s your luck day.”, the girl said to Talim before running off and jumps off the edge of the cliff. The arriving girl saw Talim on the ground beaten. “Talim!”, she rushed to her side. She opens her eyes and weakly she said, “It…was…Tira, Xianghua”. Xianghua became shocked as realizing that a servant of the sword was there all along. She helps Talim up, “Come on…I have to get you to a doctor. We have to let Kilik know what happened.” She carries Talim’s body to the town up on the mountains.
Tira was seen diving down the mountain side and into the forest of trees at the floor. It was shown that she was hanging on a branch via her ring blade. She flips up onto the branch and took the blade off. Then, she jumps to the floor and lands as she bends at the knees. She slowly stood up and then held her blade out in front of her. She began to bang her head against the blade. She strikes it once “DAMMIT”, she does another time “GUH!”, she strikes a third time as blood came out from that one. She fell forward a bit as she had her blade hold her up. Her face then shot up as her happy, joyous expression returns. She then began giggling and wipes the blood from her face. “Now, back to my objective.”, she said and walks towards the town where Calo and Rufus enters.
Elsewhere, "Demon...BE GONE!", a voice yells out signifying that a fight was already in the process. A woman in a skin tight red suit clad in light ninja armor, arm pads, and leg pads had jumped into the air and seemed to create an illusion of her self in many forms, before landing and slicing her opponent with her twin kodachi. The receiver appeared to be an undead skeleton wielding two blades. As soon as her opponent kneeled over with a disgusting sounding groan, she rolled behind them and sheathed one of her kodachi. A small purple light flashed, her signal to sheath the other kodachi. She quickly brought her hands to her side, and fire began to ignite. She then thrust them forward, a small wave of flame pushing the Revenant far backward. She quickly unsheathed her blades again and went back into her ninja stance. The undead skeleton screeched a shrill cry of pain as its body decomposed within the fire. The woman stood upright, watching the body burn. She brushed her hair back, fashioned in a long pony tail. She felt her kodachi tremble as she began to walk off. Her short blades had contained a small fragment of Soul Edge inside them, so they seemed to be "in pain" as it detected a stronger power, "Rekki Maru, Mekki Maru, what are you sensing? A greater power?" The blades had ceased their trembling, but now the ninja knew what to do. She had to track down this power. Perhaps she could utilize it to destroy Soul Edge once and for all, and liberate herself from its curse. The woman thought the power to be that of Soul Calibur, since her kodachi had a big disliking toward the Spirit Sword. The woman leapt high into the trees, and began to take off towards the open meadow area.
"Yun-Seong! What is this power you keep talking about?", Seong Mi-Na asks Yun-Seong as the two stroll through a small town as the
searched continued. His search for Soul Edge now completely eradicated from his mind, he combed the streets, asking street ears for any information. "Did you not see that black lightning storm take over the sky? I definitely sensed a great power coming from it! If I can harness it, I can save the village. It really feels like it's stronger than Soul Edge!", said Yun-Seong as he thought more over observing the events happening last night. "I'm glad you've stopped looking for that evil sword," Seong Mi-Na inputted and then asks, "How do you know this mysterious black lightning isn't more evil than the Cursed Sword?" Yun-Seong implies, "I don't care, I need that power. The entire village is depending on me finding it and making it my own!" Seong Mi-na sighs and said, "As long as I'm with you, I won't let you use such an evil power for our sake. I'm here to help you, you're like a brother to me, Yun-Seong!" He scoffs arrogantly, "I keep telling you Seong Mi-Na, you don't have to worry. I'll be fine!" The two continued to walk the streets, in search of information.
Nikolai, Xero, and Mira continued to walk across the open meadow. Xero had stopped and notates, "Nikolai, Mira. Prepare yourselves. I foresee a ninja woman headed towards us at a rapid pace. She wants to uncover the power of the alchemy. Her affiliation, I cannot say, but be on your guard." Both of them nodded at Xero. Mira unsheathed her sword, and Nikolai readied a piece of charcoal. Mira looked at him confusingly. He noticed her expression and answers, "I'm always prepared. The charcoal is to draw transmutations in the grass,
since my chalk cannot." Mira nods in understanding. The three trudged along, Xero hanging behind the two. The ninja woman was approaching fast, and will arrive at any moment. They remained alert.
In town, Tira is seen scurrying across the rooftops at a fast rate. She stops as she notice Rufus’ group and observes from afar. Calo, who was walking with them, had a feeling that they were being watched and looks towards the rooftops to where Tira quickly disappears from sight. He looks around still feeling unsure of himself. “Calo, is something the matter?”, Rufus asks. Calo shook his head ‘no’ and began walking with them. Tira pokes her head from over the rooftops as she is in a different location. She stuck out her tongue in a teasing manner. “The other one’s not with him.”, she said observing the situation.
On the ship, Dio was leaving the ship with Ookii. Arnold walks up to see him leaving the docking bay. “Where are you heading, lad?”, he calls out to him. Dio turns to him looking back. “..Hmm? I’m just going out for a walk, man. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”, he responds. “Alright, lad, just be careful. Ever since yesterday you’ve been uneasy.”, said Arnold. Dio said nothing but nods to him. He began to walk as Arnold began preparing the ship for another sail.
Meanwhile, back in the mountainous town, Talim is seen in medical care. Xianghua was seen walking through town and to a hotel that she had checked in earlier. Once inside, she made her way upstairs to the third floor of the hotel. “That girl…………”, she thought to herself before approaching a door that red ‘5B’. She slowly opens the door and enters. She saw a man sitting in front of a window as the sunlight hit him due to the curtains being opened. He had short, dark brown hair with a few scars on his body. He opens his eyes slowly as it was shown that he was meditating. A blue jewel hung around his neck by a piece of string as it glow. “Xianghua…………I’ve felt that energy too. Soul Edge is on the move.”, he said, “…gathering more souls in it’s wake.” Xianghua looks up to him and said, “Kilik…we’ve ran into her…” Kilik turns his head to Xianghua, “Her?”, he asks. “The leader of the ‘Watchers’ and the right-hand man of Soul Edge herself.”, she said. Kilik got up and turns his full attention to her, “She was here? We have to go. Where’s Talim?” Xianghua had a saddened look and answers, “Talim was the one who encountered her. And she’s at the hospital due to her injuries.” Kilik took in the information and closed his eyes, “I see……”, he then opens them and says, “We’ll wait until she’s fully healed before moving on. Xianghua, did you see where she went off to?” She answers, “It’s possible she left for the town down the side of the mountain where she fought Talim. But she can be long gone due to her ‘Soul Hunting’.” Kilik began to walk around the room and outside, “We’ll just have to wait.”
Tira is seen flipping around from rooftop to rooftop looking for her target, then saw a glance of a familiar figure, and trips over a structure that caused her to fall on her front side. As the dust clear, she is seen peaking over the rooftop rubbing her nose. Her eyes widen in excitement as she saw the man she’s after. “There he is.”, she said to herself watching him walk out of town and into the forest. She began to follow him while staying out of his sight.
Dio enters the forest followed by Ookii. He stood somewhere in the forest indicating that it may be the center. He made his way to a lake in the forest as he stood around and gazed into his reflection. “Hmm……What did it mean? What is it that Sett is trying to prove?”, he asks himself, “My true nature? I’ve known myself this way as much to my concern. A Wolfen experiment: supposedly a strong one in fact.” As he ponders into thought, Tira watched Dio from the shadows made by over-hanging branches. She smirks, “Although he’s a bully. He doesn’t seem too bad. Well, time to ki……” She is cut off when noticing a samurai arriving on scene. Dio and Tira’s attention was caught and centers on the samurai. He looks up to see Dio at the lake and a look is returned. A long pause is set between the two. The samurai noticed all the physically matching description of Dio but with the exception of the black cloak. “You must be him.”, he said. Dio ears perks a bit, “Must be……?”, he said. “The one called ‘Dio’.”, the samurai said.
Dio shrugs his shoulders, “Maybe…maybe not. Who wants to know?” The samurai then introduced himself, “My name is Heishiro Mitsurugi and I’ve came to challenge a man named Dio to a duel.” Dio then looks to him, “Heishiro Mitsurugi, eh? Maybe I know where you can find him.”
Mitsurugi then nods in acknowledgement, “I see. You must be challenging me to see him then.” A grin that shows his teeth emerge as he quickly turns around and with a blinding light a light-blue katana appears in his left hand as he grasps it. He said, “…………perhaps.” Mitsurugi drew his sword to the ready and implies, “Very well. But I don’t go easy on my opponents.” Dio responds, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” From afar, Tira perks her brow as she realizes Dio made a weapon appear out of nowhere. “How did he do that?”, she wonders. She only took him for a hand-to-hand fighter. Knowing this would only alter her strategy in defeating him. She gently placed her face on the palm of her right hand as she sat in a comfortable position. She smirks, “So his name’s Dio? This could be interesting.”
Back on the ship, Arnold has finished making preparations for sail. “There we go.”, he said finishing up and then turning to the side to see Calo returning on board. He greets Calo, “Hey lad! You’re back early.” Calo is walking with his hands in his pockets with a piece of straw in his mouth. “Hmm? Oh hey. We’re almost done.”, he looks around. Arnold answers Calo’s observation, “You’re friend’s not here. He went for a walk.” Calo looks back up and responds, “Oh…thanks………… You know, I can’t stop thinking about how worried he is. This is the first time I’ve seen him like this.” Calo walks to the side groping his left shoulder. “Aye……You’re friend’s mind is clouded but he’ll be fine. I just have a hunch that ‘Watcher’ girl is on his mind.”, he walks over to the planks, “I’m sorry but when you’re ensnared by Soul Edge’s grip there’s no turning back. If he thinks about turning her to good: good luck on that.” Calo then looks out at sea, “It’s not good to be apart this way. These people don’t need our help but it wouldn’t hurt though to do something to redeem myself for some of the things I’ve done.” He was lost in thought as he leans a little over the bow. He looks to the left, “I wonder what he could be doing.
Dio and Mitsurugi stare one another done in utter silence as they measured each others strengths and, if possible, weaknesses. Tira was in the tree as she cocks a brow and murmurs, “Why does everyone do that?” The wind began to pick up and gently breeze by as two leaves are picked up and carried off in the midst of the two warriors. As the leaves blew into eye proportion, both warriors front foot moved and in two strikes, the leaves are split into halves as Mitsurugi and Dio locked swords in a power struggle. Mitsurugi looks Dio into the eyes as he returns the look back to Mitsurugi. “You’re good.”, Mitsurugi said. Dio smirks as he replies, “I try my best to keep up.” Tira head jumps as she is upright from resting her head as she saw the fast movement of the two samurais. “Whoah! A second ago they were just standing there and are now locked.”, she was surprised at the sight. Her inner voice spoke, “Now this guy’s definitely interesting.”
The swords rub together as a scraping metal sound is heard. The two then push off each other and maintained a distance. “Very well……I will not take you lightly.” Dio swung his katana around and then points it at Mitsurugi, “I wasn’t taking you lightly in the first place. Shall we continue?” Mitsurugi smirks as he sheathed his katana and bends at the knees. He turns his body three fourths away from Dio exposing most his back. He then said, “Come and get me.” Dio smirks and dash towards his opponent. As he approached, Mitsurugi thought calmly at his opponent and struck at the right moment. Dio jumps, deflecting the horizontal strike, flipping over Mitsurugi as he comes in with a spinning strike from above. Mitsuguri quickly turns and attacks to deflect the sword swipe. Dio lands, bending at the knees, and saw Mitsurugi come at him with a thrust, followed up by a horizontal swipe, into another horizontal swipe that came from spinning around from the left and finishing with a uplifting vertical slash and coming down with a vertical slash. Dio blocks the first three slashes but the uppercut slash broke his guard. Dio staggers back but picks up quickly to guard the final attack that brought him down to one knee. Mitsurugi then thrusts his right knee towards him as Dio quickly took one hand of his sword and caught the knee. Dio then drove his hand that’s holding onto the sheathe of the blade in a spiraling motion that pushed Mitsurugi’s blade off his as he came around with a quicker strike that Mitsurugi deflects at the last second. Both warriors leapt back to distance themselves.
Tira smiles with delight as she saw the action that Dio could dish out. The new warrior excites the seemingly happy nature to a new degree that his soul will provide excellent nutrition for the ‘Cursed Sword’. Her inner dark voice then spoke, “Such intensity……………but why did he run from me when we first encountered?”
Dio was kneeling at the right knee as his left leg extends out. He was turned to Mitsurugi at a similar three fourth view with his back partially shown to him and his left hand touching the ground floor and his right arm suspended and stretched out in the air with his katana pointing away from him. Mitsurugi had his katana prompt at the forty- five degree angle as his left leg stood and kneeled out in front of him and right leg extending back. “At least you’re not a waste of time..”, said Mitsurugi. Dio grins as the tie that held Mitsurugi’s ponytail suddenly snaps and his hair fall to his lower back. He looks to the band that once held his hair together. He then smirks and implies, “You’re better than I thought.” Dio stood up and looks at him with this response, “Don’t worry…”, he moves his dangling hair on the right side of his face as he shows a small slash that cut his cheek, “…..you didn’t miss either.” A grin grows on Mitsurugi’s face. He closed his eyes as he remembers all the battles that he’s been through and then opens his eyes as he see the opponent before him.
“Awwwwww, I want to shed his blood too. He’s such a tease.”, Tira moans to herself as she bangs her legs with her hands. On the field, the wind blew at a slow pace as the leaves began to brush against the floor. Their hair sway with the wind as Dio continues his somewhat cocky glare as Mitsurugi shown enjoyment from this encounter. “Your sword speaks for yourself. It’s strong just like you. Do you know the saying………True opponents can read each other through contact? Whether it be fists or swords.” Dio tilts his head and replies, “Yea…I’ve dillied around in that saying.” Misturugi then readies himself and implies, “That being said…You are a potential opponent but my true battle is with a man named Dio.” Dio chuckles and readies himself, “I bet Dio would love to fight a guy like you.”
Tira is seen tilting her head as her legs sway back and forth on a branch. “Dio? Why does that sound like something you’d name a dog?”, said to herself. The two stare each other down. Mitsurugi sheathed his blade as Dio make-shift sheathed his blade. The winds pick up quickly, this time picking up gusts of sands as the two become visually impaired. Their eyes twitch as the two ran towards each other as the dust picks up. The two clashed their blades as swift movement and precise aiming lands shattering blows echoing throughout the forest. Tira jumps up with excitement as she watched the battle. They attack like two opposing lions: One to usurp the other from their den to become the new king. They move in tactical manners to ensure their next attack struck with perfection. Dio suffers up to fifteen attacks as Mitsurugi took seventeen. Minor damages ignored, the two raged their classic battle as sparks began flying from their opposing swords. Two swords are seen flying at extreme speed and clashed with one another. This impact clears the dust that surrounded them. The two interlocking blades again as they tempt to force the other back.
Tira inner voice began to speak, “Such ferocity…………I’ll have to confront him from a different approach. He’s able to dish out the equal amount he can take……Not bad.” Mitsurugi and Dio began pushing each other as the two began to move in circles. Their blades let go as fast swipes came in. Dio began deflecting some of the attacks as he staggers back but he flips his katana around to where the hilt is at the front and thrusts forward, hitting Mitsurugi in the gut slightly pushing him back. He looks up and saw Dio run at him and began attacking in alternating slash and swipes as he move his body fluently with each attack as if he was dancing. Tira’s attention was caught then and there as she witnessed his movements to be as fluent as hers. “OOOOOOOH! WHY THE GOOD ONES RUN AWAY FROM ME!”, she said in a whiny manner but low enough so that they wouldn’t hear her. She stomps the branch, “Talk about a tease.”, she finished.