Saber (Fate/Crossover - Chai Xianghua)

**Saber** (セイバー, *Seibā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"All together! Justice will prevail!"* — Xianghua

## Profile

### Identity

Saber's true identity is **Chai Xianghua**, a member of the Imperial Guard and is the chosen wielder of Soul Calibur and aided Kilik in defeating Nightmare.

Xianghua would not recognize her own father if he were to pass her in the street, because her mother had never spoken of him. Xianghua’s mother was from the prestigious Chai family in Beijing, and taught Xianghua swordsmanship from a young age, treating her with a firm but loving hand. Xianghua sensed those moments held some deeper significance than her mother was letting on… Perhaps it had something to do with her father, she surmised. Two years after her mother’s death, she decided to focus on the way of the sword. With every passing day, her passion burned ever more strongly.

The Ming Empire had created an investigation unit to look for the Hero’s Sword, but the unit’s efforts proved fruitless. Frustrated, the emperor deployed a unit comprised of his own personal guards, including Xianghua, who had fought hard to earn her place. Some believed entrusting such a task to the emperor’s guard was dangerous for the country: who would protect their leader? The news caused quite a stir. Xianghua’s friend Meimei requested she look for her brother Li Long, who went missing while searching for Soul Edge as part of the investigation unit… The emperor’s guard investigated the sword’s whereabouts, splitting up as they obtained new information, until eventually Xianghua was left traveling alone. Venturing westward, she met Kilik and Maxi. But what did their encounter mean? Was it fate? Of this, she couldn’t be sure yet.

### Appearance

Chai Xianghua bears strong physical characteristics of a Chinese woman in her era, like the hair and fashion style. During her initial development, she was made reference to that of a Chinese child, which also made obvious in her facial features.

### Personality

Chai Xianghua is a cheerful young woman. She is kind and seems to sound and seems to act a little childish at times, including smacking her buttocks in a taunting manner. She never gives up and is faithful to her friends. Despite her child-like demeanor, she never gives up on her friends, and does not give up on her promise to her mother to cut her own path using the Krita-Yuga.

### Relationships

#### **Kilik**

A friend and travel companion on the way. They would defeat Nightmare and Inferno together and destroy Soul Edge.

#### **Grøh**

A situational ally of Grøh through Kilik. He appears to know that her Krita-Yuga has a Soul Calibur within.

## Abilities

Xianghua's fighting style resembles that of a Wushu practitioner, although some of her moves were derived from Hwang. She is known for being unpredictable and confusing for an opponent as she has a lot of feint attacks in her arsenal. She also has a repertoire of repeling moves to further put opponents off guard and open further options.

Xianghua can cancel most of her attacks and attack with a different one immediately to put the opponent off guard and exploit its weakness.

This fighting style makes use of quick slashes dished out by the Chinese sword. Every swing flows smoothly and elegantly like a choreographed dance as they poke and prod at weak points in enemy defenses. The Silent Xia Sheng (SXS) special stance can also be used to stage confusing, unpredictable attacks on enemies, one in particular involving Xianghua slapping her buttocks, pointing, and flicking her hand to "shoo" towards her opponent.

She is also one of the characters who does not possess supernatural abilities nor cursed blood. She is originally just a skilled swordswoman, not knowing that she turns out to be the wielder of Soul Calibur.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Krita-Yuga; "Sacred Treasure of the Spirit Sword"**

The sword she inherited from her mother is a priceless treasure to Xianghua. Whenever she holds it in her hand and practices the forms her mother taught her, she feels both an aching sadness, and a familiar warmth. She has no way of knowing this, but that sword, is one of the three sacred treasures of Ling-Sheng Su, Krita-Yuga. “Use that sword to open a way to the ever-changing future.” With her mother’s words in heart, Xianghua set out on a journey which led to her fateful meeting with Kilik.

#### **Sublimating Blade; "Torrential Sword Dance of the Lotus"**

A blindingly fast Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm with relatively short reach. It can be used in air combos or as a counter after blocking an attack. This is a guaranteed hit after an opponent attempts to block some of her break attacks.

## References

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Xianghua

https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Chai\_Xianghua

https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Xianghua