Finally, Strick wakes up after a long period of white light blinding his eyes; everything is a blur to him except for the pool of red liquid he now rests in. He smells the burning of the trees and grass around him, and his vision comes back to normal as he finally understands the state of the forest around him. With his vision back to normal, he gazes back down to the red liquid beneath him and concludes.

“This looks like blood.” He moves closer and smells it. “This smells like blood.” His curiosity grows further as he tastes the liquid. “This tastes like blood, too.” He realizes what he just did, “EW!!! I just tasted blood!! Wait? Why is there blood here anyway? And why the heck is everything burning over here? Don’t tell me it was one of those demon idiots because that would be so anticlimactic.” Strick stands up and walks around the forest, noticing the blood traces and heavy smoke. He keeps looking around the area until he notices a body on the ground slowly burning away. He runs towards the body, checking what it could be. He sees that it's an elf and that they were holding a bow, so he turns them around. “Woah, what happened to you?” He begins to pat their face, hoping that they’re still alive, only to be met with a gruesome sight. After touching their face, their entire body got engulfed in flames, causing a huge blaze of fire and blood. Strick barely manages to jump back in fear and confusion. “Oh my god, what is happening around here!?” He keeps staring at the huge blaze until it starts rushing toward him, forcing Strick to run away. “Wow! Wow! Wow! Why does this have to happen to me!?” As he’s running, he spots all of the dead bodies that lie across the forest. The ones that struck out the most were the animals, such as the pigs, wolves, horses, bears, and more, all left dead across the forest's fiery backdrop. Strick barely manages to outrun the flames as he reaches his destination, his cabin, the only thing left untouched by the flames behind him. He turns back towards the flames, a decent distance away, and thinks of a plan to stop them from getting to him. “Dang, what caused this?” His question is almost immediately answered by a burst of dark, sinister laughter from within the flame-filled forest. The laughter only seems to annoy Strick more, so he asks again in a more serious tone. “What did this? Who’s there? Come out instead of being a creep. I’m already not in a good mood because of my stupid decision to taste blood today, what else am I mad at? Oh yeah, the animals that were brutally slain, I’m mad about that too. So long story short, someone is paying for the damages, and at this point, I don’t care who.” Even after his serious threat, the laughter only grows louder as it seems like the voice is coming closer. Strick notices this and gets ready for anything. Finally, the laughing stops, and a dark voice comes in alongside the sounds of flame.

“So you wish to know what caused this?”

“Yes, I do now, can you tell me? I don’t like having my time wasted, especially not by mysterious fire voices.”

“Boy, you never shut up, Hahaha. Fine, allow me to introduce myself. You’re in for a nice surprise.” Strick sees the shadow of a figure grow closer and larger, so he anticipates what they could look like. He begins to imagine that the figure could be a vampire, zombie, or werewolf. He is met with something very different, however, in fact, he is met with something so surprising for once in his life, that he is at a loss for words. The figure finally steps out of the flaming forest and shows his form. Of a sword, Strick is confused to the point where he can’t even put his words together.

“Are you serious? A sword? That's all? Ha-ha-hahahahahahah-!!” The sword shows his face and introduces himself as Throne, which stops Strick in his tracks.

“I am Thorne, given new life through your old trusted sword, by this transfer from soul to soul and body to body, I was able to change my biological makeup. In simple terms, my soul is now inhabiting this sword, so now my name will be SOULTHORNE!!!!”

“So you’re the same weirdo as before? God dang man can’t just leave me be huh? Well, I still don’t care, so can you tell me why this is happening, or will you just be another waste of time?”

“Be quiet for once, you fool, I have all the answers you require. Although I don’t know if you’ll like them. Quite frankly, I don’t care, so listen to this very carefully. YOU CAUSED THIS DAMAGE AND DESTRUCTION.” This sudden revelation causes Strick to be surprised, not believing in what “Soulthorne” told him.

“You serious? How could I be the cause of this?”

“Shut up, you are the cause of this because of one small ability I gained through the soul transfer. You see when I completed that spell, you were pulled into the circle after I had already been put into the sword. That was what enabled me to start our link, now we are bound not just by the body but through the soul. So, for you, you were just asleep after that bright white light enveloped you, but in reality, you were under MY CONTROL. So all of this you see, heh YOU CAUSED IT.” As he finishes explaining what has been happening with Strick during his time of unconsciousness, Strick concludes.

“Oh, I see, well, I do have one thing to say to you, evil bastard, if you can take control of my body and soul, doesn’t that mean that you did those things?”

“Maybe in true terms, but to those creatures and to those people you mercilessly killed, they would only see you as a ruthless killer.” Strick’s expression turns cold as he stares down at the sword below him that used to be his own before it was inhabited by Thorne, turning it into Soulthorne. He begins to slowly advance towards Soulthorne with his fists balled up.

“So lemme get this straight, you and your demon clique created a pig that you fools found a waste of creation, so it goes into the forest at the right time when I go hunting. My favorite animal to hunt is the pig, so I see that pig and I call him kingpig. I catch said pig and he breaks free before shooting a fireball at me pissing me off. I chase the pig again which leads me to your stupid ritual. So I protect the pig from you idiots and stop you from completing that ritual. Keep in mind, that I didn’t kill any of you nor use any significant force. But your last resort instead of running away or giving up like any normal person is to TAKE OVER my damn sword that fell out of my hands. And by doing that you took over my FREAKING BODY. So now I have blood not only on my hands but also on my CLOTHES!!! The funny thing is, after completing such an annoying act, your first thought was to name yourself after that stupid spell. Soulthorne? Because of how you transferred your soul into my soul? That’s so stupid, since I’m involved, shouldn’t I be called something dumb like Soulstrick? No, I shouldn’t 'cause that’s dumb and you’re STUPID.” Strick is standing right over Soulthorne, prepared to attack him at any moment.

“Are you done?”

“YES!!!” Soulthorne smiles before jumping up and striking Strick through the heart, killing him. The light in his eyes fades as he sees his vision blur once again. The sudden movement of Soulthorne was too much for him to be ready to defend against. He believes that his time is up until he wakes up again. This time in a bed with a much different area, more darkened and less fiery smelling. He looks around, paying attention to the many pictures around him. Those pictures contain a figure dressed in a purple robe in various poses and positions, as it seems like he’s praying of some sort. After seeing this figure in many different praying positions, it causes Strick begins chuckling as he sits up on the bed.

“Hah, look at that idiot. Weirdo praying to whatever foolish ideal he believes in. I’ll tell ya whoever is listening, the only creation that you should pray to is Strick.”

“Wow, you never do shut up.” Soulthorne’s sudden voice causes Strick to grow annoyed as he sees the now sword-burdened man approach his bed.

“No, I don’t, and I never will. Now, how about you explain how I’m alive right now because you hit me with a cheapshot, or should I say a cheap stab?” Soulthorne hops onto the desk next to Strick.

“I think you could consider more of an intelligent blow struck at a stupidly confident opponent. But if you want a true answer, I’d say a cheap stab would make sense. Now, to keep my explanation brief, the only reason why you’re not dead is that I can't afford to kill you. At least not right now.” This answer sparks Strick’s curiosity, so he leans in closer to the sword in front of him with no dangerous intent. Soulthorne notices and silently smiles as he knows that Strick finally isn’t squarely focused on going against him.

“So you’re saying you can’t kill me?”

“No, I’m not saying that, if I wanted to, I could kill you now and you wouldn't be able to stop me.”

“Ominous.”

“Say what you will, but my point is that I am not allowed to kill you because if I do, then I will die alongside you.” This answer leaves Strick mystified as he goes from sitting up to fully standing from the bed. He walks over and pulls up a nearby chair to sit near Soulthorne. For the first time in a while, Strick is genuinely intrigued and wishes to learn more about why that’s the case.

“So you’re telling me that if I die, then you die too?”

“Yes, that's exactly what I said.” Strick grins and stands up from the desk before looking around the room again. He begins walking around until he finds a shiny dagger on the floor with the Sanguine's insignia on it. Soulthorne doesn’t do anything but watch as he sees Strick do those things. He wants to see what Strick is intending to do with that dagger that he’s eyeing.

“That looks pretty nice, don’t you think, sword demon?”

“What’s your plan with that dagger? I know you’re not that stupid to try something dangerous, are you?” Strick quickly walks over to the dagger and picks it up. He peers at it, acknowledging the damage it could cause. This starts to scare Soulthorne, so he jumps off the desk to stop Strick before moving back as Strick holds the dagger to his neck.

“Yeah, that’s right, move back or I’ll end it all!! I don’t care for anything you just told me other than the fact that I can kill you just by killing myself. That’s just perfect, don’t you think?”

“No, y-y-you can’t do that, I won’t be able to summon Sanguine, and h-h-he won’t be able to cleanse this world of its curses. Please!! Don’t do something as drastic as that, it’ll end my plans to save the world!!” Soulthorne is on the floor, sobbing as he begs for Strick not to kill himself, unaware that Strick put down the dagger a while ago, now just staring down at the sad Thorne. Strick starts to laugh, pointing out how crazy a sight it is to see from a man like Thorne.

“Hahaha, are you serious? Did you believe I’d do something so stupid and unbeneficial?” Soulthorne gazes back up at the now laughing Strick, who’s pointing at him with amusement. He grows angry as he stands up and begins to approach Strick.

“YOU DEVIL!!”

“Devil? Hah, aren’t you a demon worshipper? Or can you not do that because of your little ‘sword’ issue?”

“SHUT UP, SO HELP ME IF I WASN’T SO NICE I’D HU-.”

“You’d what? Don’t tell me you’d try to hurt me because if you tried, that would lead to something ‘bad’ happening, wouldn’t it? Haha, if you get too close, I might just KILL myself. Hah.” Soulthorne stops in his tracks and kicks the fallen dagger away before going back onto the desk, knowing that he can’t do much to the unflinching Strick. At least not at this moment.

“Alright, I get it, very funny you fool, how about you get serious for once and understand how much our link matters.”

“Ah, don’t worry, sword-shrine, I get it, I can’t allow you to die, and you can’t allow me to die. Lucky for you, I don’t want to die, and after that embarrassment that occurred, you don't want to either. But I gotta ask what it was all about. The cleansing stuff 'cause I remember when you talked a bit about that before, but you never had the opportunity to explain it.” This question causes Soulthorne to look at Strick, who’s now sitting back down on the bed across from him. He debates whether he wants to even answer his question before Strick adds more. “Hey, be a buzzkill, you don’t have to answer that question. I only asked it because if our lives are bound to one another, we might as well try to learn about each other.” Soulthorne’s expression changes into something more like intrigue as he stares into Strick’s calm eyes. He sighs before answering Strick’s question against his judgment.

“Fine, you aren't entirely wrong anyway, we are bound for a longer than wanted time.”

“Well, to be fair, that’s your fault if it wasn’t for your shenanigans, then I’d be home right now with a nice little pig on my lap, but instead I’m in this mysterious place having a conversation with a demonized sword.”

“Shut up for once, please, you ask me a question and I intend to give you the answer unless your endless blabbering causes me to fall asleep. Now shut up, please.” Strick feels bad for talking too much, so he stops.

“Sorry, keep going, sword.”

“As I was saying, we are bound, so the fear of my death is much bigger than yours due to my ultimate goal for this world. I wish for nothing else but to be able to complete my summoning of Sanguine. I’ve read about the prophecies about him, and I learned that through his power, anything he touches turns good. He can purge this world of its curses and evil, he can bring us to a newfound peace, or maybe even bring a revolution across this planet, bringing us all to a new era of life. All my life, I have been devoting myself to completing his summoning, but I’ve never been able to; no matter how hard I tried, something or someone got in my way. Factors out of my control have stopped me from being able to save this world, one of those factors ended up becoming you, which led to me making a decision that I don’t know how to currently feel about. All I say is if I’m able to summon Sanguine, then this world will finally be cleansed of its evils. That is why I was so emotional and desperate, because of YOU, I am the last believer and survivor left who is still holding onto the path toward cleansing. So I hope you understand that I WILL not die because of anything happening to me or anything happening to YOU.” He finishes his monologue and jumps off the desk, leaving the room where he was previously with Strick. Strick watches him go with a newfound perspective on how Thorne is and what he believes in. When Soulthorne comes back into the room, he is kicking a drawing of Sanguine across the floor. As he expected, Strick picks up the picture and places it on the desk before he jumps back onto it. He gestures towards the picture, wanting Strick to look at it and appreciate Sanguine’s looks. “Look at this savior, HE WILL BE THE ONE TO SAVE US ALL.” Strick is looking down at the picture before he looks up at the ceiling, thinking about how crazy his entire situation is. How he went from hunting forest creatures to speaking to a talking sword about demons. He finally looks down to see Soulthorne looking back at him with confused eyes.

“Well, that was nice to learn. I take it you trust this Sanguine guy with your life?”

“Of course I would, if I could sacrifice myself for his ritual, I would’ve done so a while ago, but it seems he wants only the nonbelievers and the cursed ones. Which is why you would’ve been perfect for him, but enough of that, you’ve heard me talk for far too long, how about you use that mouth of yours and tell me about yourself? After all, since we’re bound together, we might as well get to know each other, right?” Strick notices how Soulthorne throws his words back onto him and meets him with a grin, only to be met with one back, but this one is darker and more sinister than his.

“Hah, alright then, might as well tell you about myself, unlike you, though it’s not really that big or eccentric. If anything, it’s quite boring for someone like me. The thing is, I don’t have goals in life or anything like that. All I do is just hunt and lounge about; otherwise, sometimes I’d get into some encounters with others, but usually, they just figure themselves out. There have been times when I’ve had to beat up some people for harming the animals, but other than that, I’m pretty boring.” Strick looks back at Soulthorne to be met with his shocked expression, which causes him to laugh a little bit. He knew that Soulthorne wouldn’t be ready for such a simple answer. “You did expect more, huh? Nah, that’s all I am, man, basic old Strick.”

“You’re kidding, so then what is all of that bravado for? Personal laughs and amusement?”

“Right on the money, now I do have something special about myself.” This causes Soulthorne to perk up in anticipation.

“What could that be?”

“Oh, nothing, I’m just playing with you.” Strick begins chuckling as Soulthorne nearly passes out from surprise. “Sorry about that, but I got nothing going for me, at least not until what happened in the forest happened.”

“So you’re telling me that the person I saddled myself with has no special qualities or goals?”

“Guess so, but I will say this.” Strick’s expression grows more serious against his judgment, but he knows it's needed. He begins to approach Soulthorne, who is too confused to do anything but is prepared for a confrontation. “If you do manage to get that Sanguine into this world, then it will be my duty to stop him. I guess it will be my way of repenting for the blood on my hands…. And clothes, because I didn’t wash any of that off yet. Funnily enough, I still have the taste of blood in my mouth. Does this place have a shower and food?” Soulthorne is too overwhelmed with all of the events happening at the same time, so he gestures to where Strick should go to clean himself and watches him walk to that destination, leaving him alone to ponder his thoughts. Upon pondering for a little while longer, the last thing Soulthorne can say is, “What did I just get myself into?”