The Ling Sheng Su Temple rested on a quiet mountain deep in the
interior of China. The temple was considered to be the finest school for the
sword and rod arts. Many great warriors throughout history have come to the
temple and the monks there were still very strong. Up until ten years ago
the Ling Sheng Su temple had very little communication with the outside world.
One day, however, robbers raided a neighboring town and the monks opened their
doors to save the village. Since that day, the great temple has accepted
anyone regardless of age or gender, so long as the individual has a strong
fighting spirit. Since then, it has been customary for the children of
soldiers to visit the temple to hone their skills, and for farmers, merchants
and others to come to the temple to learn basic techniques to protect
themselves from robbers.
In the main hall of the temple three sacred weapons were housed: The
Kali-Yuga, the Krita-Yuga, and the Dvapara-Yuga. No one knew why they were
kept there. Their story stretches far beyond recorded history and the monks
follow a strict rule never to reveal the story to outsiders.
On a cold winter day some time ago, a baby was found deserted in front
of the Ling Sheng Su Temple. The monks searched for weeks for the child's
parents, but they were never found. Having no place to take him, the monks
named the baby "Kilik" and adopted him into the temple. Kilik
began training with the monks in the ways of the rod from a very young age. He
had a sworn elder sister named Xianglian, who had also been adopted by the
temple. Xianglian studied the art of the sword, and the two had a very
close bond.
Years passed, and Kilik grew into a strong and healthy youth. His
years of pratice made him one of the school's finest students, and he
mastered the art of the rod taught to him by Master Han. His skill and warm
personality also earned him a position as one of the school's teachers. He
was such a good instructor that everyone expected him to be nominated as
the successor of the Ling Sheng style rod at the succession ceremony held
once every twenty years. If nominated, he would be granted the Kali-Yuga,
one of the three sacred weapons of the temple. Also, his status in the temple
would raise him atop the rod school as the most skilled student in the temple.
Despite his success, something was bothering Kilik. He was having
trouble sleeping, and so he often sat on the stone wall behind the main hall
and looked up into the moon-lit sky. He had often come to this place when he
was a child to lift his spirits, and it had become his favorite spot in the
temple. One night, Xianglian visited Kilik as he sat on the wall, and the
two began to talk. She too had been elected to be one of the successors of
the treasures, the Dvapara-Yuga. This was one of the things that troubled
Kilik. His sister studied the art of the sword, which meant that she should
be the successor to the Krita-Yuga. He finally asked her about this, and
Xianglian told Kilik something that shocked him greatly. There were only
two of the three treasures currently in the temple, as the Krita-Yuga had
been lost over ten years ago. The sacred weapons had been a spiritual goal
for the students of the temple that the monks felt that the Krita-Yuga's
abduction should be kept secret, lest it cause a moral catastrophe at the
temple. Only a few high-ranking monks knew about it, and only they knew that
the thief had once been a high ranking monk that had once been nominated to
be the successor of the Kali-Yuga. The theif, in fact, was Xianglian's
true father. She had learned of this by overhearing a conversation between
the school's masters. Master Han was aware that Xianglian had heard and told
her not to let the acts of her parents govern her destiny. She had come to
terms with this, but still felt she was not worthy to succeed the
art of the sword. If the people found out about her past, then they would
not accept her. That is why she was nominated for the Dvapara-Yuga, which
required the power of a pure soul and a strong mind rather than natural
fighting talent.
Kilik was stunned at these revalations. He remained silent for many
minutes attempting to absorb all that he had learned. The two sensed an
evil presence in the air, and so they hurried into the inner hall. They
encountered the priests who were preparing the shrine for the next day's
ceremonies. The priests had felt the evil presence as well, and gave Kilik
and Xianglian the Kali-Yuga and the Dvapara-Yuga to fight the evil.
The source of the evil presence had begun several hours before in
Spain when a young mercenary named Siegfried
had carelessly touched the evil sword Soul Edge. At that moment, Soul Edge
lost it's inner balance and expelled it's evil will, scattering the Evil
Seeds of disaster all over the world.
Part of that evil energy reached all the way to China and fell upon
the temple. It forced pure evil into the people living in the temple,
driving them mad with rage as they started killing each other. Kilik too was
affected, and went berserk with the Kali-Yuga in his hands. He was so strong
that he defeated many people, only Xianglian with the Dvapara-Yuga (mirror)
escaped the evil influence. Realizing the power of the mirror, she attempted
to place it on Kilik to rid him of the evil seed, but was savagely attacked
by the people of the temple.
Time passed, and Kilik's senses returned. He discovered that all of
the people in the temple had killed each other, including the sacred masters
and the priests. He remained confused about what had caused the madness, so
he tried to escape the temple. Xianglian, consumed by the evil seed by now,
was the only one who barred his way. He desperately repelled her supernatural
attacks, and closed his eyes and began to move without thought. A moment
later, he felt something warm trailing down the Kali-Yuga and covering his
hands. He opened his eyes to find the rod piercing Xianglian's heart.
Although his only physical wound was a cut on his right cheeck, his mental
wounds were much greater. He cried out in anguish for the death of his
adopted sister.
Kilik remembered little about that night. A strange figure, the
enigmatic Edgemaster, entered the temple and
found Kilik laying alone unconscious. Edgemaster calmly set fire to the once
great temple and carried Kilik to his home. Kilik lay asleep for two days
but eventually awoke in the unfamiliar house. He found his body covered in
scars that had been treated, and the Dvapara-Yuga was draped over his
shoulder. He
turned to find Edgemaster watching over him and realized that it was he who
had tended to his wounds. Edgemaster told Kilik that he was the advisor to the Ling Sheng Su
arts of fighting and that he was in charge of teaching the secret arts of the
Ling Sheng Su style. He then told Kilik that he could never take the
Dvapara-Yuga off of his shoulder no matter what might happen. Kilik must
concentrate on healing his body and nothing more.
Time passed and Kilik recovered the ability to walk. Although his
body was healed, his mind was still scarred. As he gazed into the sky, the
memories of that fateful night returned. He could not bear the guilt of
having killed the only family he'd ever known, especially his beloved
Xianglian. For months he had fought desperately for the chance to live, and
now the pain of living was more than he could bear. Thinking that he wanted
more than anything to die, Kilik came to a sudden realization. He survived
because Xianglian had placed the Dvapara-Yuga on him, the sacred mirror that
had protected her from the evil seed. She gave up her life to save Kilik's
and to entrust him with the mirror. Why did she do this?
Edgemaster broke his long silence and provided Kilik with the answers.
He told Kilik about the true source of the tragedy, the "Evil Seed." This
evil had inhabited the people at the temple, and in fact possessed both
Kilik and the Kali-Yuga. Only the power of the Dvapara-Yuga suppressed the
evil and protected them. If Kilik removed the mirror, he and the Kali-Yuga
would go berserk and turn completely evil. Therefore, Kilik and the two
ancient treasures could never be seperated.
Edgemaster then told Kilik the legend of the sword Soul Edge. After
hearing these stories, Kilik decided to train himself under the ancient
master. He trained hard to master the secret arts of the Ling Sheng Su
style rod and three years passed quickly. He learned to control himself and
the Kali-Yuga to stop the evil possession. However, there was one final task
he had to perform before he could truly complete his training. Edgemaster
ordered him to journey to the west to purify himself. Kilik left Edgemaster's
home to begin his journey.
Kilik traveled to the West, where he heard the Soul Edge had been sighted. He
journeyed to an Indian port town to book passage on a ship headed for the West.
He approached the first mate of a pirate ship that agreed to take him on as a
passenger. Kilik was just beginning to pack his belongings onto the ship when
it was attacked by demonic forces led by Astaroth.
Kilik fought alongside the pirates to defend the ship, but one by one the crew
was massacred. The captain of the ship, Maxi, returned
from the market to join the fray, and together they drove the monsters back.
However, every single member of Maxi's crew had been killed. Honoring his
first mate's dying request, Maxi agreed to take Kilik to the west to find the
Soul Edge.
On the way, Kilik picked up another traveler, the Chinese warrior Xianghua, who was also seeking the Soul Edge. Kilik allowed
her to travel with him, not knowing that she possessed the Krita-Yuga, the
third of the Lin Sheng Su temple's sacred weapons.
The trio finally arrived at Ostrinesburg castle in Germany, where they
encountered the evil creature Nightmare. The
creature indeed possessed the Soul Edge, and at once attacked the three
warriors. It was then that Xianghua's weapon began to glow. Finally realizing
the power they possessed, the three attacked Nightmare with great tenacity
until the evil knight fell. Nightmare lost his grip on the Soul Edge, and
transformed back into Siegfried, the boy he once
was. However, the threat was not over. From Soul Edge, the monster
Inferno came, with the power of all the souls it
had accumulated over the years. The three attacked Inferno, but found it a
difficult task to beat him. Maxi was severely injured during the fight, and
later died. Kilik and Xianghua, however, were protected by the sacred weapons,
and soon emerged victorious. The Soul Edge was destroyed, and Inferno was
dispersed. Mourning the loss of their brave friend, Kilik and Xianghua
left Ostrinesburg castle and returned home.
Kilik returned to Edgemaster, who was proud that his pupil had completed his
final test. Kilik continued to train, for he knew if he ever lost his control
he would be consumed by the evil within him.
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