Ivy

Isabella "Ivy" Valentine (イザベラ・バレンタイン - アイヴィー, Izabera Barentain - Aibī) is a character in the Soul series of fighting games. She appears in Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur Legends, Soulcalibur IV, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, Soulcalibur V, and Soulcalibur: Lost Swords. Since her first appearance, she has become one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the franchise, mainly due to her large breasts, revealing clothing, unique fighting style and silver hair.

Early Life
The House of Valentine was once one of the most wealthy families in London. Isabella 'Ivy' Valentine had been raised with love by her parents. However, her father, Earl Valentine, was driven insane by his pursuit for what was called the "Key to Eternal Youth." By the time of his death, his efforts to search for immortality had drained his family's fortunes and left one of London's most distinguished families in ruins. As if to pursue her husband into death, the Countess fell ill and passed away soon after Earl Valentine's death. This left Ivy as the sole surviving member of the Valentine family. In reality, Ivy was not a true Valentine by birth. The Earl and Countess found her abandoned in front of their mansion when she was an infant, and she was taken into the family as an adopted child. Ivy discovered this secret only after reading a will left behind by the Countess in her death. But this did not matter to her, for the Valentines were the only parents she knew. Searching through her parents' possessions, Ivy found her father's diary. In it, she discovered that the "Key to Eternal Youth" her father had been pursuing was a sword called Soul Edge. He had also been obsessed with the art of alchemy. To honor her father, Ivy chose to become an alchemist and investigate Soul Edge. During this investigation, she uncovered the true nature of the sword–it was an evil blade that feasted on souls. Vercci, Adams, Captain Cervantes; the more she read of the fates of those who had come into contact with Soul Edge, the more she became convinced of her suspicions. "My father was driven mad by such a loathsome thing...this evil sword!" Filled with rage and despair, Ivy vowed to avenge the death of her father by using all of her knowledge to destroy Soul Edge. Ivy realized she needed to create a weapon powerful enough to destroy Soul Edge. Her knowledge led her to successfully create a weapon capable of shifting back and forth from a whip to a sword. This weapon was merely mechanical though, and Ivy believed the only thing which could stand against a living weapon is another living weapon. She attempted to use alchemy and her own blood to give the sword life, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Finding her alchemic skills useless, she turned to studying ancient sorcery. Every midnight, she would attempt summoning rituals, hoping to call upon a being who would grant her sword life. With every failed attempt, Ivy became more desperate and angry. At last, one night, a large malformed arm emerged from her summoning circle. The arm, sensing her attachment to her weapon, proceeded to touch the whip sword. Ivy heard a soundless voice seemingly coming from the arm. "I, Cross of the Pledge, shall confer upon thee the Point in the Escutcheon of Destruction - Dexter Purpure." The ceremony came to an end and the mysterious being vanished. Under the moonlight, Ivy's sanity began to crack. She finally had the weapon she had sought to create; a living sword which would obey her every command. Calling her weapon the 'Ivy Blade', she set out on her journey to find and destroy Soul Edge.

Soulcalibur
The sword, which had a will of its own, accompanied and protected Ivy on her journey to vanquish Soul Edge. When she crossed paths with Nightmare, the one who breathed life into her sword, she agreed to assist him in the "summoning of souls." Little did she know that it was all part of the evil sword's plans. Ivy realized it was Nightmare who possessed Soul Edge. She came to this revelation only after he was defeated and the evil blade was shattered. That meant that the beloved blade she had forged to destroy Soul Edge had life thanks to the power of the evil blade. She also learned the secrets of her true lineage. Ivy's birth father once wielded Soul Edge and was manipulated by its wicked powers!

Soulcalibur II
Shaken by the horrifying truth that she had been collecting souls for the wielder of Soul Edge and of her own cursed lineage, Ivy returned home and locked herself away in a dark laboratory. She tried countless times to destroy Ivy Blade, which was now a symbol of her self-hatred and regret. She could not, however, bring herself to actually break the sword.

"I am the same as this sword... Yes, the blood of the evil blade flows through me. The same blood..."

Ivy Blade waited for its master's orders silently.

After months of soul searching, Ivy emerged with renewed resolve. Her goal was no longer to destroy the evil sword, but to completely wipe it out of existence. As a vow to her commitment, she renamed her sword "Valentine", a symbol of her will to continue onward as a human despite her own cursed blood. Once she acquired information about fragments of Soul Edge being scattered throughout the world, she immediately departed on her new journey.

Ivy's mission was to destroy not just the fragments of Soul Edge, but all of those who had been infected with the cursed blade's influence. All of them, even the innocent, would be granted no mercy. Ivy was determined to eliminate all traces of Soul Edge. Of course, she too would eventually have to be killed, and she believed this fate to be the ultimate end of her journey.

"...Call me a monster, a demon if you must. I'll be happy to be called those names if it is the price I must pay to eliminate the existence of the evil blade!"