In quiet and silent meditation, casually perched atop one of the many
training poles in the vast lake, was a much older Seung Mina.
She had been spending the last four years in the peace of the Himilayas
in patient, diligent training to rid herself of the evils that she had
seen, for fear that they had seeped within her as well. Her father was
the last thing on her mind, and the only thing that occupied her
thoughts for the duration of her stay was one Chai Xianghua, who had
been writing to her often with news.
Apparently, she had been discarded from the Personal Guard for a mishap
that had led to a series of unfortunate events, culminating in the
destruction of a castle at the empire's borders. Now sent to search the
ruins for what was rumored to be the weapon itself, she wrote that she
was "sorry for everything. If I had told him the truth, this would not
have happened, and you would be in the Personal Guard at my
reccomendation."
Shock and pain mingled in Mina's eyes. How could the emperor have done
such a thing over a silly little matter? The sword had been destroyed!
Right?
She did not blame Xianghua for lying to him. Had she told the truth, who
knew what would have become of her? Surely something worse than being
expelled from the Guard! Not only that, but the emperor himself would be
devastated beyond repair. Xianghua did not want to cause such a deep
wound, so she told another tale.
But to act so rashly... surely it was the work of something sinister.
On that day, Mina approached the old man with a request... to teach her
what she had been missing. The rest of her family's Long Sword, the
Ling-Sheng Su rod arts, and most importantly, how to harness and control
the energy of life itself, as well as how to sense shifts in that
energy.
The command of spiritual energies- something that only a devoted monk to
the Ling-Sheng Su temple could do.
This would set her on a path from which there was no return...
-Chapter 4: The Fourth Divine Treasure
________________________________________________________________________
Four men armed with swords entered the tavern, bent on destruction. The
call of the sword had enticed them to the point of no return, though it
did not do so by force. They had given up their souls for power that
night; none could reverse or stop them. They entered the inn, knowing
that it was an easy kill, that the two who gave off an aura of great
power were in one of the rooms... and the sword guided them to the exact
location. As they opened the door, they saw two young women lying there
in blissful sleep. All they needed to do was reach into thier bodies,
and the Blade would do the work for them. But, as they proceeded to do
so... the young women were encased by auras of spiritual energy. One was
red, and the other was blue... Despite this warning, they would not
stop. They reached the barrier... and were thrown through the door.
Xian was the first to wake up. 'Someone's here!' she took note of the
barrier that surrounded her. 'And they aren't here for a normal
dinner...' Then, with a surprised look, she noticed Mina's shield.
'She's got one, too? But my sword's supposed to cover both of us in a
blue light... so why does she have a red one?'
There was only one reason that this may have been, but she was not ready
to accept it just yet. She had to see for herself. For the moment, she
had to wake Mina up. But as she turned, she found that the brunette was
already awake.
"It's the Sword, isn't it?" Xianghua was not surprised. "Right. Those
men are overcome by it." One of them lunged at them blade first. "Get
behind me!" Xian's soul reached out for the Krita-Yuga, and at her call,
it was yanked from its scabbard into her waiting hand. She quickly
channeled her energies through the blade, and its true form was
revealed. All this happened in an instant, and when he struck, the edge
met with the Krita-Yuga's defensive aura. "That's enough for tonight,
fellas."
Now that the frontal attack had failed, they decided to rush the women
en masse. Mina already had her weapon in hand, and calmly waited for the
attack, knowing perfectly well that these were people she knew. And she
also knew that they could not be saved now.
They paused to get ready, and... an attack from the front! Xian parries
it... from the right! The shield absorbs the blow. Another one from the
front, and Xian strikes the servant down, taking the one on the right
with him. Meanwhile, Mina had done pretty well on her end, dispatching
the villains behind Xianghua, the traces of her energy fading from the
blade. "I think we've overstayed our welcome, Xian.."
As they headed for the door, Xianghua finally asked the question. "Uh,
Mina... did you notice anything... unusual about when the men attacked?"
She had to think for a moment, then admitted that she didn't. "Why? Was
there something that was supposed to happen?" Xianghua shook her head at
this. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Her brown-haired lover did not think that it was the end of it, but
decided that it was wise not to press the matter further. Right now, all
that mattered was that they leave. Never mind the smoke that they
smelled. Never mind the eerie orange tint that came from downstairs.
Never mind the sheer, ninety-degree drop that Mina's stomach did when
she raced downstairs towards the front door, throwing it open...
________________________________________________________________________
The town was in ruins. The air was filled with smoke. The houses were
ablaze, some with people still inside them. Mina was destroyed from
within... "My... my... my home." As she fell to her knees, many emotions
crossed her features- shock, a sort of twisted grin at the irony that
such happiness could happen while this happened, fear for the people
inside the buildings, sadness as she heard the screams, smelled the
flesh burning... and finally, came the sheer, unbridled rage.
The scene before her confirmed what she had been speaking of earlier.
The Soul Edge was still in this world, and its influence had spread all
the way to here.
It meant that everyone that had the taint had to die. The entire town,
if need be. And she was more than angry now.. she was in a rage.
"NOOOOOO!!"
Her sadness... frustration... anger... pain... passion. It all went into
the Scarlet Thunder, and at once, it responded to them. She had not even
noticed it, but Xianghua had, and she was both in awe and in fear at the
same time. Her weapon had ascended, and was transforming all at once,
while it was still in her hands.
Golden strands were weaving their way across the rod, creating a pattern
that was very much like the Ling Sheng Su temple. The heft was changing
slowly, turning from its humble shape into the head of a chinese dragon,
her family's dragon. The blade was changing as well, shifting from that
of a zanbatoh into the wickedly curved blade of a kwan dao.
Yes, this was the true form of the Scarlet Thunder, and its blade shone
with a red light, emmiting heat from its divine steel, as if it were
pulled out of the forge and used for combat. In all truth, it was the
fires of Mina's anger and sadness, and her now passionate need to free
them from the madness that the shards of the weapon had induced in the
only way possible.
Death.
She rose to her feet in a haste that was surprising to even her. She
knew exactly who to look for- the ones with the crimson eyes. With a
determined stride in her step, and a ferocity in her eyes that was
unheard of until now, she approached the people fighting in the street.
Weapons flashed and the cries of battle rang in her ears as the insanity
spread to all who were outside.
However, The aura of Mina's weapon, a bright and shining red, enveloped
her in a cocoon of protection, warding off the negative energies. One
could swear that the eye of the dragon was aglow with a fierce ruby
light, as if a gem had suddenly appeared there.
But Mina did not see. All she saw was the crimson red eyes, the look of
battle and blood lust in them, and the sadness that threatened to crush
her at what she had to do.
Driven by a resolve that seemed to come from somewhere deeper than her
soul, she thrust the kwan dao through the man's chest, the heated weapon
killing him on the spot. This gathered the attention of at least five
others nearby, and they could almost smell the power coming from her.
With a set of wicked, anamalistic snarls, they slowly advanced on her.
As she pulled the weapon out- and it retreated from the chest smoothly,
the heat giving the weapon an eerie slickness to it- her eyes narrowed
dangerously, challenging them to step forward. They did not step
forward- they charged forward as one.
Moving to her left, her body turned in a circle, taking the polearm with
it and slicing the surrounding combatants in the stomach, gutting them
open. However, that was not all. She suddenly moved the other way,
turning to the right and swinging the blade in an upwards angle as she
did so, knocking everyone to the ground, each with a massive, burning
scar that was deep enough to be considered mortal.
As The tortured screams attracted many more to her, she could do nothing
but cry out in agony, letting everything be absorbed by her blade,
feeding it her emotions. The energy within the weapon had become severe,
enough to kill with one decisive blow. But the real difference was in
her own strength- her body was now light and responsive- the usual
burdens of fighting seemed like nothing.
But she cared not- she was slaying her own countrymen, most of which she
knew on a personal level. Like Hwang, she was a patriot, and every
death, whether they were familiar faces or not, killed a piece of her.
But she killed anyway, twirling and cutting expertly, the trained combat
reflexes of four years past serving her well. And she was not even
breaking a sweat.
It made the massacre at the temple that she had heard of seem like play
time.
________________________________________________________________________
Xianghua was busying herself looking for survivors- anyone who had not
been tainted by the influence of the Soul Edge. And she had not found
anyone yet. A deep-seeded sadness had been filling her every pore, and
it took all of her determination not to break down and cry- even take
her own life.
Why did this have to happen? Of all the times, why did the evil have to
resurge now? Her and Mina were about to spend their lives in sweet
bliss, not having to worry about lifting another sword or taking another
life ever again, and now this had to pop up! Well, since Mina was doing
her part, she would do hers.
But then, just as she was walking into a building that had not been in
flames, her aura died down. "What? But I was in focus.." Then, she heard
it. "S-stay back! I'll skin you alive if you come any closer, you-" It
was a man. One whose eyes were not the stained color. and he was
defending the rest of the town that had not been influenced; twenty- no,
thirty in total, including women and children.
She sighed with relief.
"Please, lower your sword." She placed her weapon on the ground slowly,
and it changed back into its inconspicuous form. Then, she walked
forward slowly, smiling at him. "I won't hurt you- I'm not like them."
The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously, looking into her eyes. He saw
brown, not red. He relaxed, but only slightly.
"They just started attacking, with no reason or purpose. It's as if they
were possesed by something." Xian nodded to him, not willing to explain
the entire situation for fear that he would become defensive again. "It
looks that way. It's a good thing that you all weren't affected by it."
It seemed that the more he looked into those pools of deep chocolate
that radiated trust and benevolence, the more he relaxed. It were as if
she had a hypnotic effect on everyone that looked into them, because the
people were beginning to come out of hiding and gathered around her,
wanting to know what was going on outside.
She would explain, were it not for the sudden pain that cut through her
head that brought her to her knees and... a voice? Mina's voice! Saying
something that was laced with pain and suffering. The pain intensified,
and the voice made iteslf known, only in Xian's head...
'Don't come anymore, please! I don't want to hurt you, can't you see
that? Just stop! Stop it!! Stop it, damn you!!!'
A tear fell from her eyes as she suddenly found out why she was feeling
this pain. "She suffers.." The people backed away, but only slightly.
Their trust in her had not wavered just because of something like this.
She seemed to want to help, and now needed help. A little girl walked up
to her, without fear or shame, and asked her "Who suffers? Who's
hurting? Can we help her?"
Another tear. "No. No one can help her. She's the only one who can beat
them all off now. She's fighting for you- all of you. It would be in
vain if we didn't leave now." The people seemed to agree, and got ready
to leave. Xianghua went outside and guarded the entrance, watching
Mina's battle against the town that she had grown up in.
'Oh, Mina... you try so hard for everyone, although it hurts to do so. I
know- I can feel it coming from you. I can hear you, Mina. But I can't
help you now. I'm sorry... but this is all I can do.'
She just hoped that it was enough.
________________________________________________________________________
The early morning. The end of the battle.
Mina had used all the strength that her anger gave her. The bodies of
people that she knew were strewn around her, slain by her own hand. It
was an act of mercy and love, though blood was now on her blade, and on
her concience. As the flames smouldered around her, she cried into her
hands.
'What's going on... why did this happen? why is death following me
wherever I go?' A voice, a mere echo in her mind, awnsered her. 'It is
the path you have chosen. The way of the warrior is stained with blood,
whether it is spilt by them or not.' This again. She had no time for
riddles.
'I've had enough of you. Leave me.' 'I cannot. We are connected, you and
I. Believe it or not, there has always been a bond between us. A bond
that you used to trust...' 'How can I trust you when you always speak in
riddles that I can't understand? You haven't even told me your name...
if you even have one!'
The stranger sighed. 'I have told you before, I have neither face nor
form, save the ones that you give me.' 'You never said that before!' 'I
did. It was hidden in your so-called "riddles". That only means that
your soul is still young.'
'What's my soul got to do with this?' 'Everything.' Mina began to get
angry again. 'And what's THAT mean?' The voice sighed again. 'Fine. I
will explain in your language. Your soul is one of six that are needed
for the safety or destruction of the world...' And so began a tale that
spanned a thousand lifetimes...
'I was created when the world began. Then, there were seven of us...'
'Seven?' 'Yes. We were the tools of the Gods... Our power could shape
the world... or destroy it. But one of us was an accident, an error in
the gods' workmanship. It was created only to destroy...' Mina was
silent, listening intently to the account.
'The mistake was thrown into the sea, where it fell asleep... and waited
for someone to stumble upon it. The other six of us were cast to
opposite ends of this continent. Three to the east, and three to the
west. The time would come when we would awaken to eradicate the
mistake... before it covered the world in shadow.'
________________________________________________________________________
From the direction of the port town, Xianghua approached. She saw the
smouldering ruins of the town and had to stop herself from crying.
'No... I won't be able to help her if I can't stop crying. And I can't
bury all these people... What am I to do?' But before all else, she had
to find Mina first... because there was something that she needed to
tell her. Something that should've been said a long time ago...
________________________________________________________________________
As the story went on, Mina had developed a clear picture of the
situation. When the world was new, seven instruments of power were
created. These tools worked two ways: creation or destruction. One,
however, was faulty, for it only sought destruction. So it was cast out
of Heaven, and the other six along with it.
These six were to await the day when those of purest heart would find
them, then seek the mistake and destroy it. 'I understand all that. But,
of course, the Kali-Yuga and Krita-Yuga are already awake, and the
Dvarpa-Yuga is gone. There are only five...' 'Yes. Five tools, but six
souls. And you must find them.'
Mina had second thoughts about this. 'Hey, why me?' 'You haven't
noticed? One is already wihin your grasp...?' Then she put two and two
together... 'The weilder of the Krita-Yuga... Xian!' 'Correct. And
there's another one nearby...' Mina finally had a direction. 'Great!
Where is it?' 'It's not that simple, now. you must find out on your
own.' 'Aw, man... fine, I'll do that.'
_________________________________________________________________________
Xian saw Mina sitting in the center of the city, staring off into the
distance, as if something else were calling to her and speaking to her.
She smiled. She had gotten that look to her whenever she heard her own
set of voices- one was from her mother. The voice that always told her
to keep going- never stop until she reached her destiny.
It was her voice that urged the former captain of the emperor's guard to
look for Mina a few months past.
The other had been a voice that she had been hearing for the past four
years- one that had been speaking to her, even though her weapon was
within the void. The Krita-Yuga still had a link with her, and a voice
that sounded like the clear ringing of a glass bell informed her of the
situation, as it kept the massive evils at bay.
And once again, it had returned to her, without a taint or a scratch on
it. Once she had found the blade agian, She was filled with a complete,
whole feeling that only the woman before her could give her. In fact,
she still did. But that was no longer the issue. She strode up to her
and gently squeezed her shoulder, smiling down at her. "Have a good
sleep?"
Mina looked up at her, her features lighting up on the sight of seeing
her alive and well. "Not really. I was up all night, really." She looked
as if the pain had not been there at all, but Xian knew differently. She
kneeled down to her and held her close. "Mina... let it out. I know it
hurts- I could feel it too. Please, just let it out."
She was shocked. She could feel her pain? Hear her voice? Her features
broke out into a grin. "It worked." Xianghua was puzzled. "What's that
again?" Mina laughed- a beautiful sound, full of life- then awnsered.
"What happened last night wasn't just a kiss. It was a bond between us."
Her friend's eyes widened, but she said nothing. She thought that the
kiss was filled with too much passion and fire and emotion.
They had both felt it. Even now, she felt Mina's reassuring presence
within her- no, not a presence. Her very soul was within her, and it was
radiating love, with a pang of sadness that Xianghua had hurt because of
her. She shed a tear, quickly wiping it away as she asked, "But aren't
you sad? These were your countrymen, whether they liked you or not!
Don't you feel bad?"
Mina shook her head and smiled. "I do. But there was no other way that
it could have gone. You know that it's the only way to free people who
are poisoned by that influence." The smile broadened. "Besides, you're
here with me- I think that helps a little. I also know that you went to
help those people in the shed, which is what I would've done if we had
traded places." Xianghua nodded, no longer able to stop the tears of
relief and joy. A broad smile spread on her face as she thanked whatever
gods were watching over them that things had turned out so well.
Mina leaned forward and put her lips to Xianghua's cheeks, kissing the
tears away, then kissing her lips gently to remove them entirely. She
broke away after a full minute, leaving the woman breathless. She smiled
and said "Now then... what were you going to say before all that?"
Xian tried hard to remember- wondering how Mina could have such sway
over her- and something finally came to her. "Who were you talking to,
and what were you talking about?"
_________________________________________________________________________
After retelling the tale that she had been told, Mina asked for Xian's
advice. "Well, what do we know... Soul Edge is looking for those souls,
right? Well, all we have to do is find these people first. And it said
that there was one nearby..." Xian considered the past events... then,
after steeling herself, came to a decision.
"Mina... I should've told you this a while ago... but I still don't
think you're ready." Mina vigorously shook her head. "No, go ahead! I'm
ready for anything!" 'Not this...' With a deep breath, she told Mina her
conclusion. "You're one of the souls. And that zanbatoh... is a Divine
Treasure.
The Scarlet Thunder."
Soul Calibur for part 5
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