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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 existence 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 resurrect 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 separate 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 rivaled 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. Cervantes continues to search for the sword
that was once his...
 
 
 
 
 
 
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