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Soul Edge
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Soul Calibur V
How long had he been dreaming? How long had he climbed that endless spiral staircase? Somehow, he knew her room was at the top...
France had been devastated by war, and Raphael, head of the once-proud Sorel legacy, was devastated by a betrayal that cost him everything. But then he met someone, someone who took him in and sheltered him in his hour of need, and suddenly none of it mattered. Her name was -
"AMY!"
He awoke with a start to find himself in a dark dungeon cell, thick with grime and the stench of death. He had no memory of how he got there, but that wasn't important - he had to find Amy.
When Raphael burst out of the prison, everything outside looked different than he remembered... but no matter. This world was but a fleeting dream, destined to be transformed into a new and better place - a world twisted to the needs of he and his beloved.
"Don't worry, Amy... I'll be with you soon."
A force of madness was loose upon the world, a man who would stop at nothing to find his beloved...
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Soul Calibur 2
A vice begins by choice. But through things such as heredity,
intelligence, and mental exhaustion, this choice becomes
something inexplicable, or is refined into something criminal.
-Jean Cocteau, Opium: Journal D'une Desintoxication
During the 16th century, France was amidst religious strife. Raphael, the young master of the Sorel Family, grew up with the tumultuous age as his cradle, the scheming of noble families as his lullaby, and the rapier and medicine as his playmates. His cool, unemotional demeanor created many enemies, but his quick and precise decision-making and execution skills solidified the foundation of his family amongst the nobles.
Unfortunately, Raphael made a critical mistake during the year of the notorious Evil Seed catastrophe. He discovered too late that one member of nobility supported by the Sorel clan became insane from the effects of the Evil Seed. Consequently, Raphael gave his enemies the justification to come after him. To make matters worse, treacherous members of his family who were thrust into the conflict surrendered quickly and offered to hand over Raphael in order to protect themselves.
Raphael hid himself in an impoverished town to escape from his pursuers, which included his family members. But accustomed to a life of privilege without want, Raphael could not bear the cold and hunger he suffered in the slums. He most certainly would have died if it were not for a little girl named Amy, who hid the weakened Raphael from his enemies.
For the little girl, helping Raphael was only a simple deed motivated out of spite for the soldiers. For Raphael, a man who until then lived by his own means, it marked the first time he owed his life to someone else. He felt emotions that he had never experienced before, and Amy became an irreplaceable presence in Raphael's life.
Raphael's exposure to life in the slums made him see the world in a whole new light, and realize the meaninglessness of everything. Nobles quarreled constantly and only thought of their petty interests and self-preservation. And the commoners, tired of constant warring, had given up hope. The world was filled with people whose soulless, meaningless lives made them no better than the dead.
Convinced that the chaos of war was no place to live a meaningful life, Raphael took Amy and left the poverty-stricken town. Avoiding war-torn lands, they moved to a town in the countryside. But even with the new surroundings, he could not get Amy to open her heart to the world. Even though her life in the slums strengthened the 10-year old girl's wariness of life and gave her a tenacious will to live, it erased any sense of hope she had for the future.
Assuming a false name, Raphael befriended a rich noble to obtain the means to take care of the young girl. He employed his cunning to gain the trust of the lord and those around him. And when the opportunity arose, Raphael poisoned the noble and spread word that the "lord had left on a long journey."
One day, Raphael found a letter with references to the Evil Seed- the turning point in his life - in the mansion library. He was fascinated by the information, and it wasn't long before he made the connection between the Evil Seed and Soul Edge.
Soul Edge- a demonic blade that promises power in exchange for one's sanity.
What if such a sword were thrust into the hands of the pathetic nobles? They would undoubtedly fight feverishly for the weapon, and ultimately destroy themselves. Commoners would be unfortunate victims of the war, but their existence mattered little, for they were no better off then the dead. It would all be worth it if the petty, war-mongering nobles could be eliminated to secure a meaningful future for Amy.
But in order to accomplish his goal, Raphael needed Soul Edge; he was determined to obtain the sword by any means necessary.
A grand, insane plan was brewing in his mind- all for the sake of a young girl.
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Soul Calibur 3
That surface that tells the heavens it hath an end cannot persuade me I have any.
-"Religio Medici," Sir Thomas Browne
In his quest for Soul Edge, Raphael faced off against Nightmare in the land of Ostrheinsburg.
Unfortunately, he lost the fight.
His body weakened, his breath haggard, and his consciousness fading, he looked up to see the giant, ghastly sword wielded by the embodiment of a nightmare.
"A...Amy..."
For an instant, an emotion that was neither anger nor pride flared up inside him, and he overcame his pain and forced his body to move. The desperate strike he unleashed hit its mark, piercing the center of Soul Edge.
That was all he remembered. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the sight of his opponent writhing in pain.
He should have been dead. Yet, for some reason, the azure knight had left without delivering the final blow. Raphael dragged his grievously wounded body back to his mansion. He spent several days on the brink of death, but he eventually recovered.
At this time, however, did not notice the evil energy radiating from the wounds he had received from Soul Edge--energy that was now eating into his body. The phenomenon of maglinity transformation--he had come across this terminology during his research into the cursed sword. By the time those words flashed through the back of his mind, it was already too late.
The symptoms even spread to Amy, who had nursed him back to health. Likely she had been infected when she came into contact with his blood...
No symptoms appeared to indicate that their minds had been infected, but evil blood pulsed through their bodies nevertheless. Their skin lost its color, and their eyes shone with a wicked light. During the day, they felt weak and sluggish, and when night fell, they felt a powerful thirst. The two of them were no longer human...
Before long, the people living nearby had learned of their strange behavior. They must have thought it was some sort of a plague, for they attempted to drive away their lord. Furious, Raphael contemplated taking revenge on the peasants for their impudence, but his priority was protecting Amy. He put aside thoughts of retribution and, together with Amy, left southern France.
It was a frustrating fate. This was the second time that the evil sword had forced him to endure this kind of humiliation.
"I shall make use of my fate, even this!" Raphael swore to himself. Raphael arrived in Eastern Europe. Taking advantage of the war that had spread throughout the land, he purchased a castle ruin in the mountains and began a life apart from the outside world.
Raphael had no intention of living life on the run forever, however. Amy had been transformed into a being that could not interact with the normal world. So, what he needed to do was to change the world! His plan, woven from threads of madness, proceeded in secret. The evil plague spread, starting with the area around the castle, soon moving on to nearby villages and the neighboring city. Eventually, this country, then this continent, then the entire world would change...
His plan appeared to be proceeding smoothly. But one day, an incident occurred in which some people who had been transformed to evil returned to normal. It seemed that something called a "Holy Stone," which a visitor had brought to this land, was the cause....
Raphael tried to touch the faintly glowing stone, but quickly drew back his hand in pain. His palm was blistered as if it had been burned. He destroyed the stone in a fit of rage. After calming down, he wondered whether other Holy Stones or objects with similar powers existed. He felt threatened by this prospect. He could not allow anything that threatened Amy or her world to exist.
Raphael decided to go on a journey to discover the true nature of the "Holy Stone" and obliterate it from this world.
Just as he made his decision, an army appeared at the base of the castle. They had noticed the abnormality of the area and come to attack its source. He would need to drive off these fools first.
"Amy, I won't be back for a while. Be a good girl while I'm gone." Raphael bid farewell to his beloved Amy and descended to the world that refused to accept them. The expression on the face of the reticent girl who watched him leave betrayed no hint of what lay hidden in her heart.
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Soul Calibur IV
To Raphael, Amy was everything. He had even schemed once to turn the whole world evil, to "manifest" it, for the sole purpose of creating a world Amy could call home. But the Holy Stone had caused his plans to unravel by bringing some of the townspeople he had transformed back to their senses. That meant a power even greater than the evil sword must exist. He needed another way to acomplish his goals, and so he vanised into the darkness to find it.
After extracting some useful information from the creaturs of the dark, ha arrived at an answer; he must find a tribe that called themselves the "guardians of the spirit sword." Though themselves lost in the darkness of history, they had continued to pass down their lore; the story of Soul Calibur, the one weapon that could stand against the cursed sword Soul Edge. This was the answer he had been seeking!
Raphael looked heavenward, up at the night sky. Countless lights darted across his vision, and he followed them until they vanished over Ostrheinsburg, where he had once contfronted Soul Edge. The series of lights were proof that the cursed sword was reviving. If Soul Calibur was once again fated to stop it, then it would inevitably appear there at the castle.
Draped in moonlight, Raphael began to cackle. He would give Amy her perfect world, and none of the fools who flocked toward the sword would be able to stop him. Any star with the insolence to try to outshine the moon was fated to be extinguished!
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