Soul Edge
From the Soulcalibur Wiki
- For the video game, see Soul Edge (game).
| Soul Edge | |
|---|---|
 Soul Edge, as it appears in Soulcalibur IV and Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. | |
| Age | Everlasting |
| Place of creation | Unknown |
| Powers | Can take various forms based on the wielder |
| Weapon type | Various |
| Hosts | Algol Arcturus Zasalamel Cervantes de Leon (Soul Edge) Siegfried Schtauffen (Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II as Nightmare) Nightmare (Soulcalibur III to present) |
Soul Edge is the de facto antagonist in the Soul series of fighting games and namesake to the first installment. Originally forged by human hands, at first Soul Edge was just an ordinary sword, but after being bathed in blood and hatred countless times, the sword turned into a demonic weapon and gained a wicked soul called Inferno. Those who grasp its hilt are unable to escape its curse, as its spirit invades the mind like a parasite and drives its wielder insane. As its blade is soaked in blood it grows in power, yet it manages to shine a polished red. Soul Edge is distinguished by the animate eye representing its core.
Consistently referred to as the "evil sword" throughout the series, Soul Edge has a reputation for devouring souls. The weapon is also known to be a shape-shifter – which form it takes depends on its current owner. Only those with great mental discipline can retain their will while wielding this weapon. In the games, a common trait of selecting Soul Edge as a combative weapon is that it depletes the health of the player whilst giving increased attack power or even draining an opponent's health upon contact. Either way, it is not unusual for the player to lose the battle as a result of wielding the weapon, regardless of the opponent landing the finishing blow, and thereby living up to its in-game legend of "consuming" its wielder.
When Siegfried took the sword, he created "the Evil Seed", a manifestation of the sword's evil energy that caused disastrous negative effects.
Soul Edge's curse is called malfestation, and is inflicted upon those who wield not only the sword itself, but those who come into contact with its shards. Normally, the Evil Seed transforms the person infected into a monster, as it does to Zasalamel when he wielded it, Siegfried-Nightmare, Lizardman, Necrid, and Cervantes de Leon, from the main series, and Geki and Maki from Soulcalibur Legends, as well as other people mentioned in characters' backstories. The curse's newest victims are Amy, Voldo, Raphael, and Sophitia and its newest allies are Tira, Solnhofen and Johan Dürer. Many people have fragments of the cursed sword inside their body, such as Astaroth and Maxi, or others keep a fragment or fragments of it, or in order to test their own powers, such as Mitsurugi or Rock.
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[edit] History
The first known bearer of Soul Edge was a king, whose strong will conquered the malign intelligence of the blade. However, his son was not so strong, and quickly fell under the dark influence of the sword. Jealous of his father's power, he stole Soul Edge and instantly came under the possession of the evil sword. In a desperate battle against the deranged prince, the mighty king defeated Soul Edge, but at the cost of his son's life. Swearing vengeance against the cursed blade, which disappeared after the encounter, he forged from purified fragments of Soul Edge the holy blade Soul Calibur.
The second known bearer of Soul Edge was Zasalamel, during one of his many lifetimes. Trying to break the curse of his eternal reincarnations, Zasalamel obtained the cursed blade, but instead, his soul was possessed by the evil will of the sword, and he turned into the host of the blade until the end of that life. After that, records cease until several hundred years later.
[edit] Soul Edge
During the 16th century, Soul Edge mysteriously reappeared in a secret antique auction, though it is unknown why it now existed as two blades instead of one. The swords were obtained by an English curio dealer, whose ship was attacked by the dreaded pirate Cervantes de Leon. Possessed by the will of the wicked swords, Cervantes slew the crew of the ship and then slaughtered the population of a Spanish port-town, where he stayed the next twenty-five years, waiting of the birth of the "Child of the Cursed Sword". But then a holy warrior sent by Hephaestus, Sophitia Alexandra, confronted him and was able to destroy the smaller of the two blades. About to kill her, Cervantes was stopped and killed by a demon huntress named Taki.
[edit] Soulcalibur
It was at that point when Siegfried Schtauffen found the object he had been seeking. When he tried to take the blade lying beside the dead Cervantes, Inferno (called "Soul Edge" in Soul Blade), in an attempt to restore himself, flowed into the corpse and fought Siegfried for the possession of the evil sword. Siegfried won the battle, and when he grasped the hilt of Soul Edge, he was unable to control its power, and released the Evil Seed on the world. Siegfried was further corrupted until he no longer had control over his own body, assuming the role of Nightmare. In the penultimate events of Soulcalibur, he was defeated by Kilik and Xianghua after her treasured Krita-Yuga weapon revealed itself to be Soul Calibur. Xianghua then used Soul Calibur to shatter Soul Edge. However, traces of Soul Edge were still present in Siegfried's body, and he eventually donned the azure armor again.
[edit] Soulcalibur II
After succeeding in restoring much of the weakened sword's power, Nightmare was challenged by a swordsman searching for the legendary blade, Raphael Sorel. Nightmare stood victorious, but with his last breath, Raphael made a desperate attack and managed to strike his sword into the very center of the cursed blade. Screaming in agony, Nightmare fell back, and within his mind, Siegfried reawoke. After a fierce mental struggle, Siegfried regained his sanity. Shining from the core of Soul Edge, the holy sword Soul Calibur appeared to him, released from its entrapment within the evil blade. Taking Soul Calibur, Siegfried drove it into the cursed blade, piercing its eye and silencing the power of Soul Edge. However, it was not enough to destroy the cursed sword.
[edit] Soulcalibur III
Inferno, thrust out of Soul Edge by Soul Calibur, transferred himself into the remnants of Nightmare's armor, but could not manipulate the bodiless husk. It was then when Zasalamel appeared and agreed to help Inferno if he assisted him in finding the two swords of legends, before using his ancient powers to bind Inferno to the armor. At this moment, the evil spirit of Soul Edge became the new Azure Knight. Born from the memory of his old shape, the Phantom Soul Edge is dwarfed by the real cursed sword, but as Nightmare once again began his quest to search for his missing form, this weapon began to grow stronger. The real Soul Edge, silent with its counterpart Soul Calibur, was in the possession of Siegfried Schtauffen, who sought a way to seal the evil sword forever.
Though Soul Edge's power was vastly diminished, there were still many of its fragments scattered throughout the world, expanding Soul Edge's influence far beyond the sword itself. Cervantes de Leon carried another version of the cursed sword, born from fusing several fragments together, as did Taki with one of her blades. Even though the sword was sealed, its fragments still emitted the evil energies of the cursed blade.
[edit] Soulcalibur IV
| Soul Edge | |
|---|---|
| Wielder | Nightmare |
| Price | Free |
| Attack | 100 |
| Defense | 50 |
| HP | 30 |
| Power | 40 |
| Impact | 40 |
| Boost | 0 |
| Gauge | 0 |
| Special | 20 |
| Native skill | None |
Nightmare and Siegfried eventually meet in Lost Cathedral, and Soul Embrace is finally broken. The two knights clash, sending a shockwave that rips both their bodies apart, and levels the Cathedral. Soul Edge and Nightmare fell into a warped dimension, but even then, Soul Edge sought power. Because Nightmare had been given a body by the hatred and evil that dwelled there, the sword and body ended up at Ostrheinsburg when they fell out of the void. Soul Edge stretched its evil roots into the azure armor. The shockwave emitted at the cathedral had spread an evil energy that had made all of the sword's shards active, now Soul Edge called out to them and they returned, both small and great. These included the being Charade and Soul Edge's female half that was being wielded by Cervantes. These pieces had been scattered by Evil Seed, but now they were being called home. The sword drank it all in, and, for the first time in decades, was mostly whole again. But it was not satisfied, and the sword continued to stretch into Nightmare. Now, the azure knight's body, which had been formed from the lingering hatred and tormented ghost, truly became Inferno.
Finally, drawn to the sword like it was a pulsating beacon, the sword's servants began to gather at Ostrheinsburg. The evil armor was no longer enough to contain the evil power, and so the power and mind of Soul Edge sank its roots into Earth itself, and Ostrheinsburg became a cursed city, a vessel that would consume souls to further strengthen the sword. Now the sword sits and waits for the final moment when it can clash with Soul Calibur again.
[edit] Variants
- Soul Edge (Cocoon) / Soul Edge α
[edit] Gallery
 Soul Edge, as he appears in Soulcalibur |
 Soul Edge, as he appears in Soulcalibur II |
[edit] Trivia
- Soul Edge was once a lifeless weapon, but being bathed in blood and hatred many times turned it into an evil sword.
- Certain characters like Tira, Amy, Sophitia, and Maxi are able to use it as their ultimate weapon in Soulcalibur IV.
- In SCII, All of the characters, even guest characters like Necrid or Spawn, wield it as Soul Edge (Complete).
- A few of the characters such as Raphael, Rock, Taki, and Yun-Seong try to use Soul Edge for good intentions, but inevitably the immense evil of the weapon makes using its power for good impossible.
- Soul Edge was the very first weapon to have life force before Soul Calibur.
- Algol is the only character in the Soul series to have a strong enough will to totally resist its corruption, and thus the only one to use Soul Edge for a truly good intention.
