#edge master

Written for the Jan-Feb. 2026 SoulCaliblr prompt, for which I chose Edge Master and Kilik in my grand tradition of being a little overachieving despite life not giving me a break.

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When the Edge Master descended from the mountain to the temple gates, a silence had fallen over the grounds. Ordinarily, a messenger from Ling-Sheng Su would have told him that the bearers of the three sacred weapons had been chosen, and thus would begin his duty to teach them. But this time, the messenger had told him that there was a matter of grave importance, one that must be discussed with the abbot alone.

He arrived not to the reverent hush that came with the return of its oldest teacher, but something brimming with dread. He could sense it from every lowered head and averted gaze. Edge Master stood out easily among the saffron-robed monks, with his long white hair and beard and sky blue eyes alone. For propriety’s sake, he wore a brown cloak that hid the indigo markings on his limbs, leaving only the one on his forehead—a ring between two meandering lines. After greeting the abbot with folded hands and a deep bow, only the abbot met his gaze.

“Terrible news, Edge Master,” the abbot said, wringing his worn hands. “Follow me to the sanctuary at once.”

Edge Master needed no further prompting. As they traversed the grounds, the abbot’s hurried walk was brisk for his age. He kept pace with him without complaint.

When they entered the hall dedicated to the thousand-armed form of Guanyin, and the temple’s three treasures, he began to feel uneasy. On the side walls were large murals of monks practicing martial arts in the temple courtyard. Three youths stood in the center, one wielding a vermilion rod, another wearing the jade mirror, and the third holding a gleaming blue-white sword. Only a senior monk stood by, bowing his head before the sculpture of Guanyin with her arms fanned out. He opened his mouth to speak, but the abbot dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“With all due respect, Făshī,” Edge Master said, “I was told that the sacred bearers were about to be chosen. Is that correct?”

The abbot frowned and shook his head. “They would’ve been.” He then spoke in almost a whisper, “If one of them hadn’t stolen one of the sacred treasures.”

Edge Master stared, incredulous for a moment. “How?”

“I shall explain.” The abbot led him to a door barely perceptible. He pressed the center of one of the lotuses painted onto it and the door creaked open. Edge Master followed and quietly shut the door behind him.

He knew this hidden passage as well as the abbot did, as well as many others who witnessed the ceremony of succession. The thief would almost certainly have been one of the monks, or perhaps a student. As light filtered into the dim chamber, he could make out the shapes of the sacred staff Kali-Yuga and the mirror Dvapara-Yuga. The mirror glinted faintly and the staff lay shrouded in shadow.

“Krita-Yuga is missing,” Edge Master said. “How did this happen?”

“I believe I know,” the abbot answered. “It is a great shame to us, but this is what happened before the sword was stolen. Two years ago, we thought one of our best students, Kong Xiuqiang, proved himself worthy of wielding Kali-Yuga. What we didn’t know was that he had broken his vows with another student named Chai Xiangfei. They’d kept their relationship hidden until they had a daughter.”

“Chai? If memory serves, one of your senior monks is of the Chai family, right?”

“Yes. He’s Xiangfei’s great-uncle. None of us were more disappointed than him. In the end, Xiangfei agreed to leave the child in the care of the temple. She left on the very night the sword went missing.”

“Is Kong Xiuqiang no longer here as well?”

The abbot paused, clasping his fingers together. “He was to disrobe immediately, and then we had him confined. The night Xiangfei left, someone had broken him out. That had to be when he sneaked in here and took the sword. He came back to the temple empty-handed. By the time he confessed, it was too late to find Xiangfei. We had no choice but to banish him from the temple.”

Edge Master’s white brows knit. “Why would he take the sword? Xiangfei was the one learning swordsmanship, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, but she was supposed to return to her family in Beijing when she finished her training. The Chai family has borne swordswomen since the days of Emperor Hongwu. Their daughters have trained here for generations. Now I fear we will see the end of that tradition.”

“Do you think Kong stole Krita-Yuga out of spite?”

“I’ve heard of the lengths young lovers go to prove themselves, but this…? Outrageous!”

“So, was Xiangfei chosen to wield Krita-Yuga?”

The abbot’s brow furrowed. “That’s out of the question now.” A resigned sigh escaped him. “But she was our best student of the sword.”

A long silence fell. The regret on the abbot’s face was unmistakable, even in the darkness of the chamber.

“It seems to me, Făshī,” Edge Master said, stroking his beard, “that Kong Xiuqiang also considered her worthy of Krita-Yuga.”

“All the same, it must be returned to its rightful place. Come on.”

The abbot led him out of the chamber and back into the hall. Edge Master blinked as it now seemed brighter.

“Perhaps I could be of help,” Edge Master said. “Krita-Yuga always—”

The abbot quickly raised his hand, but then lowered it. “We’ll organize a search party before long.”

“Făshī, I don’t know how to put this delicately, but suppose Xiangfei can’t be found. If her family—”

“That is out of our hands.”

“Then why wasn’t Kong expelled before? Why confine him?”

Suddenly, the abbot glowered, jaw set. His fist clenched then unclenched as quickly as it had appeared. “Even I didn’t want to believe that a sacred bearer could give in to his base desires. But, given the choice between keeping the child here or leaving her to the mercy of her mother’s family, this was for the best.” He turned to the sculpture of Guanyin, softly chanted, and prostrated.

It sent a chill through Edge Master to think of the poor young woman left to her family’s wrath, if she dared to go home. Kong Xiuqiang could have been wandering anywhere by now. The only certainty was that a search party would be going nowhere fast.

When the abbot stood and turned to him, his expression was contrite. “You may stay for as long as you wish.”

“Very well, Făshī.”

With an exchange of bows, Edge Master stepped out of the hall.

The temple complex was quiet, save for the summer breeze through the trees and chirping sparrows. The few students that passed by did so silently, avoiding his gaze if he faced them. He headed toward the training grounds as he typically did before the night of the ceremony. Last time, long ago, he caught glimpses of the chosen bearers with their combat skills already well-honed. Now he could not shake the disappointment in knowing only one may have been left, perhaps just as ashamed as the rest.

He tried to imagine himself in Kong’s place. He could not put a face to his name, but when he thought of Ling-Sheng Su staff techniques, youth felt like a less distant memory to him. The highest honor had been within his grasp, and yet Kong did not steal the Kali-Yuga when the temptation was before him. Did the idea of it even cross his mind?

If Krita-Yuga is in Xiangfei’s possession, it may have changed shape by now. It may even look enough like an ordinary sword to escape notice. But if anything becomes of her…

Then two excited little voices ahead reached his ears. Their words were unclear until they came closer. A small, brown-haired boy ran toward him. Not far behind him was a young monk with a small girl following at his heels.

“Come back here!” the monk called to the boy.

But the boy stopped and stared up at Edge Master. The monk soon caught up, looking ready to scold him, then he quickly bowed. There was a very faint shading of hair on his head. His face was youthful, though his eyes betrayed a little tiredness. The girl imitated his bow, then the boy followed suit.

“My apologies if we’re in your way,” the young monk said. “You are Edge Master?”

The old man nodded. “I am he. You are…?”

“I’m Han Dongxiu. The girl is Xianglian and the boy is Kilik.”

Edge Master squatted to meet the children’s eyes. Xianglian hid beside Han, then shyly peered back. Kilik stared wide-eyed. “White hair!” he said, reaching for his beard.

“Kilik, that’s not how we talk to a teacher,” Han chided.

Edge Master turned to the abashed boy and calmly said, “White hair like this comes from a very old age. And with old age comes a lot to teach.”

Kilik stared at him again, this time at the marking on his forehead.

Edge Master suppressed a chuckle. “Curious name, Kilik,” he mused as he stood up. He stretched his legs to rid himself of an ache in his knee.

“He was a foundling,” Han said. “We took him in two years ago.”

“And Xianglian…?”

Han lowered his gaze. “She was left in our care. I’ve been tasked with looking after her as well.”

“I see. By any chance, did you know Kong Xiuqiang?”

With a start, Han said, “He was my sworn brother, and Chai Xiangfei was my sworn sister.”

Xianglian hid her face against Han’s robe. Han gently patted her back.

“I’m not frightening her, am I?” Edge Master asked.

“She’s been like this since her mother left,” Han said.

Kilik went to Xianglian’s side and softly said, “Jiĕjiĕ, Jiĕjiĕ.”

Xianglian sniffled and calmed down. She turned her face just enough to meet the old man’s gaze with her big brown eyes.

“My, my,” Edge Master said.

“They’ve hardly been apart from each other since they learned to walk, and they already consider themselves brother and sister,” Han said. “Oh, but who am I to delay you, Edge Master?”

“Not at all. If these children take up the martial arts, teach them well. Until they can carve their own fates.”

Han bowed reverently. “Yes, Edge Master.”

Both: "Velociraptor!"

Olcadan: "...Favorite non-pornographic magazine to masturbate to?"

Both: "Good Housekeeping!"

Edge Master: "If you were a girl, who's the one guy you'd sleep with?"

Both: "John Stamos!"

Edge Master: *stomp* "WHAT!?

Olcadan: "Did we just become best friends!?"

Edge Master: "YUP!"

Olcadan: "Wanna go do karate in the garage!?"

Soul Calibur 5 - Edge Master:

"The original Mokujin wannabe from Soul Calibur is back, for some reason. He hasn't been in a main roster since Soul Calibur 1, so this is feels like a very random and pointless character to be added on the list...specially when you have 3 of em, in total. I wish Edge Master was just a tutorial type of character, where he teaches you how to play the game. That's it."