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Sōyō-Ryū is a Templar dual-wielding sword style built around an asymmetrical pair: a katana for punishing heavy strikes and a straight sword for fluid maneuvering. Its fighters appear to dance through combat—flowing, graceful, and acrobatic, but capable of hitting with brutal force.
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Sōyō-Ryū balances two contrasting weapons as parts of one continuous motion. The katana supplies the style’s weight: committed cuts, heavy impacts, and decisive finishing blows. The straight sword supplies its flow, allowing the wielder to redirect momentum, maneuver around an opponent, and link attacks together without breaking rhythm.
The result is often described as “sword dancing”. A skilled practitioner moves with elegance and apparent effortlessness, weaving evasions, turns, leaps, and crossing strikes into a single performance. Beneath that beauty, however, is an extremely aggressive combat art designed to hit hard and deny an opponent time to recover.
Sun Jin Kaisara with Himmel and Hölle
Sōyō-Ryū does not require weapons forged from Varunium Steel; any suitable katana-and-straight-sword pairing can be used to practice the style. Sun Jin Kaisara demonstrates this after founding the Sun Jin Empire: even after temporarily donating Himmel and Hölle to RD10-003, she is still seen fighting in the Sōyō-Ryū style using ordinary blades. Its other prominent appearances use paired Varunium swords, maintaining a strong practical and visual association between the fighting art and the material.
The only named Sōyō-Ryū weapon pair is Himmel and Hölle:
Forged from Varunium Steel, both swords emit a gentle, fuzzy orange glow. They were presented to Sun Jin Kaisara as a gift marking her rise to the rank of Redken. Kaisara later entrusted the pair to RD10-003 for weapons research. During Forza’s forced field testing, the program equipped him with the swords; when Forza Ninetails escaped, he stole Himmel and Hölle, and they became his signature weapons.
Amos possesses another katana-and-straight-sword pair suited to Sōyō-Ryū, although neither blade currently has a known name. The swords were presented to him in recognition not only of his great fighting ability, but also of his unwavering loyalty to the Neverborn Templar—a devotion central to his standing within the order. Rio Narro later sees them displayed in his living area on Eveny. Like Himmel and Hölle, Amos’s blades have the soft internal fuzz characteristic of Varunium Steel. Their glow is markedly different, however: a dark purple rather than gentle orange.