Soul Edge: Chronicles of the souls

w00000t.
Great chapter. I noticed a typo while I was reaidng, but I can't remember it now... I'll get back to you.

yay fic! Good chapter, I think I saw a typo, but like Nekros, I'm not sure...Wierd. anyway, keep up the good writing, and dont get impaled!

Mine's been settled. It was a capital letter where one didn't need to be.

This bump is brought to you by Pandaemonium, and exists for the dual purposes of putting this thread back on the first page and stating how awesome Astaroth is.

Bumpin very cool

Sorry about the delay people, but here it is:

Chapter 23

?The man from the black mist, bore the light of madness.?

?Keep him off my back, I?ll go after Astaroth!? Maxi yelled, fending off the golem with a few nun chuck slaps to the face. Talim nodded and went to stop Nightmare, while I held back for a moment, catching my breath, before helping out. Talim swiped Nightmare in the face, but was blocked and elbow barged out of the way. Taking the opportunity, I kicked Nightmare in the back. Nightmare took a few steps forward, unaffected by the kick and, enraged, threw me at Astaroth. Astaroth saw me coming and started to spin his axe, which caught on my tunic. Astaroth spun his axe around before launching me up in the air. I hit the ground right next to Maxi, who helped me up. ?I told you, Astaroth?s mine!? he yelled.
?Well sorry for being thrown at him.? I replied. Wearily dragging my body towards Nightmare.

Talim had recovered from the shoulder barge and was desperately trying to pierce Nightmare?s armour, but her attempts were punished by a stomp on the foot and, before she could fall down in pain, a punch in the stomach. Nightmare raised his sword to finish her off, but, feeling a sudden surge of energy flowing through me, I jumped at him and brought my right sword through the back of his head. Nightmare staggered forwards and hit the ground, only to get back up seconds later, yanking my sword out and throwing it at us. Talim dodged it, though I didn?t need to as the sword landed just at my feet. I picked it up and continued.

I charged first and did a spin slash at Nightmare. Nightmare jumped back to avoid it, but didn?t notice Talim coming from behind me, jumping off my back and slashing in the air. Nightmare was hit by her attack and staggered back, though recovered quickly and swung Soul Edge at us. Talim ducked, but I was hit in the chest, knocking me in to Astaroth. ?Hmph, pretentious little bug.? Astaroth mumbled, knocking Maxi backwards and swinging his axe down at me. I dodged and slashed him in the face. Astaroth stomped backwards, holding his face in pain. Maxi wrapped his nun chucks around Astaroth?s neck and yanked them up. A snap was heard from Astaroth?s neck, but he appeared to still be alive. Astaroth charged forward, head first, in to my chest, knocking me in to Nightmare.

?You?re really getting annoying now.? Nightmare yelled, swinging Soul Edge down at my head. I rolled out of the way, just as Talim double kicked Nightmare, knocking him near the edge. Nightmare turned around swiped along the ground, narrowly missing my side. I quickly got up and punched him in the face, knocking him off balance. Nightmare fell of the platform and in to the greenish water. Bubbles appeared for a few moments, but after that, nothing.

I collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, looking up at Talim, who stood next to me. ?We?ve done our bit, we really should take you somewhere for you to rest.? Talim explained, kneeling down next to me. I nodded, and, with her help, got to my feet. ?Guys, I think I may actually need your help here.? Maxi called out, being shunted about by Astaroth. Astaroth turned towards us and, forgetting his original opponent and swinging his axe towards us. Talim jumped at him kicking him in the face and stunning him. Astaroth recovered and grabbed her by the foot, swiftly ramming the axe in to her back. After the third ram, he let go of her, sending her flying in to me, knocking me back down to the ground. I got back up, with a little help from Talim, and dodged Astaroth?s axe. I ran forward and kicked the golem in the chest, knocking him backwards. Talim leaped forward and punched him in the face, flooring him. Maxi walked towards his adversary and brought his nun chucks down on to Astaroth?s heart hard, causing it to stop. ?Thanks guys.? Maxi said, turning to us after giving Astaroth a quick kick in the head, ?you were a big help.? I nodded, before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

?Hey, he's coming round.?
?Stephen, are you OK??
?Give him some room Talim.?
?Oh, sorry.?
I looked around and noticed that we had left the shrine. We were at some oasis in the Persian desert. Though the mountain that lead to the shrine was still in view, it was a fair distance away. ?Well, now that you?re OK, I?ll be going.? Maxi said, getting to his feet and starting to walk off.
?Where are you going to go?? I asked
?Well, I?ll probably head home. I?ve got something to attend to there.? Maxi said, not turning back to face us. He took a further few steps forward, before stopping again. ?Thank you, both of you.? Maxi walked off, leaving us in the desert.
?So?what now?? Talim asked, looking back at me.
?Well, we?ve got nothing else left. We can now go to Ostrheinsburg.? I replied, getting to my feet, feeling my energy returning to me. ?Come on, are you ready??

« Last edited by Cervantes De Leon on Oct 7th 2006 »

Whoa, Nightmare's suddenly become hardcore. nice one. Astaroth used most of my favourite attacks, so no complaints there, and Ostrichburg should make for a good finale. Keep it up.

... Ostrichburg?

Anyway, nice chapter. No real comments except that I'm looking forward to more. Nice work.

It's the place where the final boss is fought in Soul Calibur.

Good chapter, but wouldn't it hurt to punch Nightmare, and how did he kick Astaroth backwards...?

I think he knows that, he's just mocking Pan's lack of spelling, or his obsession with Ostriches.

1. He didn't know that. He told me.
2. I can't spell Ostreinsburg. (proven)
3. Ostrichburg is funnier.

1. I thought he did, I've mentioned it in quite a lot of my chapters.
2. You could copy and paste from chapters.
3. Meh.

EDIT: New chapter people.

Chapter 24

Ostrheinsburg, Germany

Upon arriving at Ostrheinsburg castle, I noticed that the area wasn?t as sinister as I imagined it would be. The place was quiet, the only sound that could be heard was that of the wind attacking my ears. The castle seemed to have taken some major damage in the past, but still managed to stand firm. The castle was surrounded by a moat, the surface of which was completely calm. From the outside, it looked as if the place was completely deserted, even by the evil energy. ?Only one way to be sure.? I thought to myself as I entered the castle.

After we decided to split up and search the place solo, I headed along the side of the castle before going down in to one of the sewers. I started to feel an incredibly strong source of energy from the castle. I started to run, following the trail throughout the castle. The energy grew thicker and more powerful as I navigated the corridors of the castle. I knew I was getting closer. I eventually came to a cathedral like area. The ground was covered in rubble as the roof of both this and the floor above had been destroyed, though the above floor still retained some ground. A section of the wall was also missing, looking out on to the surrounding area. The feeling of the energy was coming from somewhere upstairs, but the I noticed that the stairway had been demolished. Noticing a pile of rubble in the corner, I climbed up it and on to the next floor.

The energy here was completely evil. I fell to my knees, feeling the power trying to enter me, but it gave up after a few moments. I got back to my feet and looked around a bit, putting my head against the walls to feel the energy coming off of them. This definitely was the place that we were looking for. This is where I could finally destroy the sword and it?s evil influence.

?Stephen, you up there??

?Yeah. Come on up, I?ve found it.? I called down to Talim. She eventually made it up on to the cursed arena, looking down on where she just was. As she walked over to me, A roar suddenly echoed throughout the place. A green figure jumped from below and landed at the edge of the ground, power visibly flowing through him. I knew straight away who it was, my old friend from the Coliseum, Necrid. ?What are you?? Talim asked, readying her weapons and facing the freak. Necrid ignored the question and roared again, swiftly taking a few steps forward. Talim jumped back and faced him again, but lowered her weapons. ?You?re human?aren?t you??

Necrid charged at Talim, knocking her backwards in to a wall. ?Talim!? I yelled, running towards her. ?Ooph! I?m fine. Listen, I need you to keep him away from me.?
?Why?? I asked, confused.
?He?s human, I?m going to try and purify his soul.?
?Got it.? I said, helping her back up and drawing my swords.

I approached Necrid, who now seemed angrier than ever, ? err?hey there. Remember me? Your friend from that Coliseum.? I said, trying to calm him down. Necrid brought his fist forward in to my stomach, knocking me backwards in to the wall. ?Urgh! Obviously not then.? I muttered, getting back to my feet. Necrid?s spherical chest piece started to glow intensely, like it was on fire. He pushed his chest forward and jets of fire blasted out of it. I dodged the blast, looking back at the blackened wall where my head was. More fire blasts came from Necrid?s chest, each one aimed at head height. I dodged them fairly easily, but the extreme heat of these blasts was starting to burn my skin. I rolled forward to avoid further attacks and stabbed him in the leg. Necrid took a step back, though not in pain, following it up with a punch from his mutated hand in to my face. I staggered backwards before falling to the ground. ?You might want to hurry this up Talim.? I said, getting to my feet.
?I?m trying?this is the first time I?ve tried this.?
??That?s encouraging.? I replied.

Necrid roared again and started blasting rings of fire around him. ?Man, this guy is ******. What?s annoying him?? I thought while considering my options on tackling this beast. I sidestepped around him so that he was facing away from Talim and tried to jump over the fire. I landed on Necrid?s shoulders, but before I could do anything else, Necrid grabbed me by the ankle and threw me through the fire ring. I rolled along the ground quickly to extinguish the flames, which only had the chance to blacken my tunic slightly. I got up and, deciding that there wasn?t another way to get past the ring of fire, charged up slightly. I noticed that, unlike my previous tries with this technique, my swords were coated in lightning instead of fire. I attacked Necrid, my swords piercing through the fire and shattering Necrid?s guarding attempts. The green hulk staggered back a bit from the force of the attack, though he didn?t seem as badly harmed as the fire attack he felt previously. I shook off some of the excess lightning and, taking the chance, jumped up and delivered a double kick to the face. Necrid fell to the ground, but got back up quickly and knocked me aside. Necrid?s energy ball formed in to the shaped of a long sword as he walked over to me. He roared as he raised the energy in to the air.

?It?s ready!?

I turned towards Talim as she said these words. A whirlwind had surrounded her and she was glowing yellow. The whirlwind started to shrink downwards as she opened up her arms, as if she was absorbing it. When the whirlwind disappeared, she swung her arms forwards, blasting a stream of yellow energy surrounded by the whirlwind at Necrid. The blast hit him in the chest, knocking him flying backwards. Once the blast had finished, I got up and walked over to Necrid. He was, as Talim said, human again. He was unconscious, probably from the power of the blast. I turned to Talim - who didn?t seem too badly drained from the blast - and called out ?You get him out of the way, I?ll keep watch over here.? Talim nodded before coming over to Necrid and slowly taking him down the pile of rubble.

I returned my swords to their scabbards and started to search the room more thoroughly. Taking out a shard of Soul Edge - which I recognised as my original piece by the energy coming off of it - I tried to trace where the energy was strongest. Suddenly, something shot past me, taking the shard from my hands. I turned around and saw a black bird flying back to it?s master.
?I-Impossible, I killed you.?
?Do you really think you can stop me?? Nightmare scoffed, taking the shard from the bird?s mouth and absorbing it. ?This is where I almost resurrected the sword years ago, once I deal with you, I?ll make sure to finish it off this time.?
?That?s IF you can deal with me.? I said, drawing my swords yet again. ?Prepare to defend your home, freak!?
?Do not delude yourself?wretched human!? Nightmare mocked, swinging Soul Edge about threateningly ?This place shall be your grave.?

« Last edited by Cervantes De Leon on Nov 11th 2006 »

Yay, more Necrid. He was too awesome not to make a comeback, and round... 4? against Nightmare should be interesting. Can't wait to see the next chapter.

*Bump'd*

Very nice chapter. No real suggestions, I'm just looking forward to more. Keep it up.

Nice chapter, looking forward to the final battle, weather it's Nightmare or someone else. Personally, I reacon that it would be cool to have some huge uberboss. I would go on, but if i don't go now, I'll be Aaargh...

"I turned around and saw a black bird flying it?s master."

^WTF?

Apart from that, awesome chapter with no errors that I can see. Didn't expect you to make Necrid human again though. I thought he was too awesome for that :(

Chapter 25

?The delicate balance between good and evil wavers within him.?

?This is it Nightmare, you have no chance to survive, make?your?time.? I said angrily.
?I plan to, I enjoy watching you worthless humans squirm.? Nightmare retaliated. As we faced each other, I could hear church bells ringing from behind the knight, even though the place was almost deserted. We stood staring at each other for several moments, waiting for one of us to make a move and counter it. I, suddenly, make a quick movement to his left, before changing direction to the right as Nightmare prepared for a left attack. I stabbed him with my left sword in the back of the knee, causing him to fall to his knees, before driving my other sword in to his back. Nightmare, only seeming slightly discomforted by a sword in his back, knocked me aside and threw the sword at me. I hit the wall, the sword narrowly missing my face and pinning my tunic to the wall. I yanked it out of the wall and rolled out of the way just as Nightmare slashed the spot that I was a second ago.

I kicked Nightmare in his side, knocking him over before jumping on top of him and slashing at a gap in his armour in to his neck. Before the steel could touch his flesh, Nightmare knocked the sword out of the way with his armoured arm and punching me in the face with the mutated arm. I fell back, dazed, to the ground behind me as Nightmare got up. As Nightmare swung his sword down at me, I regained my senses and dodged. I got to my feet and dodged Nightmare?s now constant swipes. Nightmare followed up with a slash at my ankles, which I jumped on to. As Nightmare continued to spin, I jumped off of Soul Edge and on to his shoulders. I drove my sword through his helmet, causing him to yell in pain. I jumped off of him as he fell to the ground. He got up a few moments later, starting to look slightly weak. ?Looks like this evil power of that sword isn?t doing much for you.? I taunted.
?Urgh, just a temporary side-effect.? Nightmare grunted, ?When it?s at full power, you won?t be so cocky.
?Who says I?m letting it.? I replied bitterly.

?Not him again!? Talim?s voice yelled from behind me. She had obviously found a suitable place for Necrid.
?He doesn?t seem to take too kindly to home wreckers.? I said, glancing back at her while still making sure that Nightmare didn?t pull a fast one. I faced Nightmare again and, noticing that he was, jumping forwards and preparing to slice me in half, back flipped out of the way. ?I?d appreciate the help.? I said to Talim, landing next to her.
?I guessed that.? she replied, readying her elbow blades. I ran in towards Nightmare?s right while Talim charged at his left. Nightmare followed my movements. I dodge his first few swipes but, as he raised his sword up from the ground, I was knocked off my feet. Nightmare swung his sword downwards, but before he could destroy my face with it, he was floored by an elbow blade in the back of the head. I rolled just as Nightmare landed in my spot, then grabbed his mutated arm and rammed the hilt of my left sword in to his elbow joint, followed by a large crack. Nightmare yelled in agony, rolling on to his back. I put my right sword right next to his neck. ?It?s over Nightmare, your finished.?

?Hm, fool. You really think that dong this will bring back your father?? Nightmare grunted. I went silent as he said this, only just resisting the urge to bury the sword in his neck. ?No, I know that there is nothing I can do for him, but I can prove to my people my innocence and so I can return home.?
?Very well then. Before you kill me, let me ask you something, that night when it happened, don?t you think it would have been easier to alter the memories of just one person instead of a whole village??
?Wh-what are you saying??
?It wasn?t their minds that were altered?it was yours.?
?N-No?you lie!? I stuttered. There was no way this could be true.
?You were the one who became possessed by the sword.?
?B-But I saw it happen, it was-?
?You were the one who went on a rampage.?
?I-I killed it, I stopped it from-?
?You were the one that killed your father!?

I fell to my knees, dropping my sword, and cupped my hands around my face. Despite what I had witnessed that night, what Nightmare had said made sense, he must have gotten this information from the shard that he stole from me. ?Stephen?are you alright?? Talim said, kneeling next to me and putting her hand on my shoulder.
?It-It all makes sense. It all makes ******* sense!? I yelled, crying uncontrollably.
?Hm, a pathetic being.? Nightmare growled, gatting to his feet and placing Soul Edge on my shoulder in a position ready to decapitate, though I didn?t care. ??and yet, a strangely powerful soul. This could be of more use then devouring.? I felt Talim hand leave my side, though I couldn?t blame her. I felt the sword leave my shoulder and sudden shock surge through me as his scaly hand grabbed my shoulder tightly. Dark energy surged through me as I yelled out in pain. Suddenly, everything went black.

?Now?arise!?
?Huh? Who am I? Where am I??
?You are now my servant, you have the honour of serving me.?
?My?master.?
?Now, your first duty is to destroy this girl who opposes me.?
?Yes master.? I said, picking up the two swords that lay next to me. I got up and faced the girl, who somehow seemed familiar. ?Forget about it. Your mission is to kill her.? I heard from within my head. I dismissed the thought and moved in to a battle stance. ?I don?t know what you did to annoy my master, but you shall pay severely for it.? I said angrily.
?Stephen?it?s me Talim. I don?t want to fight you.? the girl pleaded.
?All the easier for me then.? I replied, grinning, ?Hold still, this won?t take long.?
?Please?no.? she said.
?Rrraugh!? I yelled, charging at her, both swords raised.

« Last edited by Cervantes De Leon on Nov 11th 2006 »

"you have no chance to survive, make?your?time." Cervy just won the Internet.

Stephen's been possessed by Soul Edge? Pwnage! I can tell the final chapters will be awesomeness of Ferlic proportions. Keep it up, Slick.

That was... surprising. But I think that Necrid's going to come in and save everyone, or die, or both. Great chapter, really can't wait for more!

Brilliant plot twist. Talim VS. Stephen... Hard to predict an outcome for that one, but I doubt Talim is willing to kill him, even if she is capable. Looking forward to more.