Although no one knows when or where Inferno first appeared, it
definitely exists. It took the shape of a sword in order to devour more
souls and came to possess individuals to further it's unholy cause. In it's
sword form, Inferno came to be known as Soul Edge. Those who held the Soul
Edge were unable to escape from the curse of it's evil powers. It continued
to devour in darkness the souls of those who are led astray. Although it
burns fiercely with the anguish and regret of the souls it had devoured,
it's blade shines with an icy gleam.
The first known account of Soul Edge's existance was in the 16th
century. Governor Hancock of South Carolina obtained the sword from a
notorious privateer in exchange for a pardon. The privateer had stolen it
from a Spanish merchant, but both his and the privateer's names have been
forgotten over the centuries. A friend of Hancock's, William Adams, bought
the sword in a secret auction and prepared to take it back to London. That
is when the sword fell into evil hands. Cervantes,
a pirate in the employ of Vercci, attacked Adams'
ship and made off with the Soul Edge. He eventually learned to use it's
power, and began harvesting souls for the sword to feast on.
For two decades, Cervantes possessed the swords. Under Cervantes'
control, Soul Edge often manifested itself as a pair of swords instead of
just one. Many ventured to the small port town in Spain that Cervantes used
as his base, and Cervantes destroyed them all easily. There was one, however,
that proved to be more than a match for Soul Edge's power. This was
Sophitia, a sacred warrior who was protected by
Hephaestus, Greek god of the forge. During her battle with Soul Edge,
Sophitia managed to actually destroy one of the twin swords. Although she
was badly wounded, Soul Edge was nearly destroyed, and the loss of control
caused Cervantes to lose his next battle to Taki.
Another young warrior, Siegfried, stumbled upon
Cervantes' body. Realizing that Cervantes was now useless to him,
Soul Edge entered Cervantes' body and began a
battle with Siegfried. Half of his power was gone, though, and Soul Edge
was defeated. The victory turned out to be Soul Edge's, however, for
when Siegfried took hold of the demonic blade, the essence of Soul Edge was
able to possess the young warrior. Soul Edge used his remaining power to
shower humanity with the Evil Seed, which it had been preparing all those
years when Cervantes was dormant in Spain. The Evil Seed rained down all
over the world, causing chaos and destruction unlike any in recorded history.
Soul Edge transformed Siegfried into the foul creature Nightmare,
and used his new host to rebuild his strength. The destruction of one of the
twin swords and the release of the Evil Seed had left Soul Edge depleted.
With the help of several minions, Nightmare was able to harvest many souls to
power Soul Edge. As he grew stronger and stronger, Soul Edge noticed that
Siegfried's will was increasing as well. Unlike Cervantes, who had gladly
accepted the unholy possession, the young knight was actually attempting to
resist Soul Edge's control. As Nightmare, Siegfried used some of Soul Edge's
power in an attempt to ressurect his dead father Frederick. Although he
succeeded in creating an apparition of his father, Siegfried realized it was
not real and began to resist Soul Edge even more. He finally freed his mind
from Soul Edge's influence and was able to seperate himself from Soul Edge.
By this time, however, it did not matter whether Soul Edge had a host or not.
He had collected so many souls that his power was tremendous, and he was able
to finally manifest itself in it's true form.
A trio of warriors, Kilik,
Xianghua, and Maxi came
to challenge the newly released Inferno. Normal humans would not have been
much of a match for Inferno, but Kilik and Xianghua possessed mystical
weapons that rivalled Inferno's power. Inferno killed Maxi during the battle,
but the combined power of Kilik and Xianghua's weapons proved to be too much
for Inferno. The evil entity was destroyed along with the Soul Edge, thus
ending it's threat forever.
Is the Soul Edge really gone? There really is no way to tell. Many
would like to believe that its evil has ended, but it is possible that
Inferno could have survived. Right now, Cervantes continues to search for
the sword that was once his... |
