Line #42 Main/SoulCuttingBlade


1	[[quoteright:349:[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica2013 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/soultaker.png]]]]
2	%%
3
4	->''"The Soul Reaver, Kain's ancient blade. Older than any of us, and a thousand times more deadly. The legends claimed that the blade was possessed, and thrived by devouring the souls of its victims. For all our bravado, we knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger....it meant you were dead."''
5	-->-- '''Raziel''' about the [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement Soul Reaver]], ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKainSoulReaver''
6
7	ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. It's a blade so [[AbsurdlySharpBlade sharp]] that it can harm the soul itself; alternately, it has a magical nature or supernatural quality that allows it to affect souls (and often similar kinds of incorporeal entities such as ghosts or demons). Or it may just be [[EvilWeapon evil]]. Some works also go with the soul being ''more'' "real" than physical reality; so something that affects it must also be more real than your everyday, comparatively intangible reality.
8
9	It may cause [[ImHavingSoulPains pains on the soul]] for the affected. Some particularly sinister weapons actually [[SoulEating consume]] [[HungryWeapon souls]]. It's usually noted as a OneHitKill weapon. It's often an InfinityPlusOneSword and/or ImmortalBreaker as well.
10
11	The ability to affect souls doesn't make something evil [[DarkIsNotEvil in and of itself]], however:
12
13	Most incarnations of TheGrimReaper or a {{Psychopomp}} use their scythe to separate the soul from the body (or similar bladed tools like swords), reminiscent of an executioner's weapon. Those examples almost always go with "a blade real enough to cut a soul" as the reason they can do this.
14
15	A bit of FridgeLogic says that in works where surgery on souls (such as mental trauma surgery) is possible, it'd also need something like this.
16
17	----
18	!!Examples:
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
23	** The Totsuka no Tsurugi wielded by Itachi's Susanoo. It can put the enemy impaled by it into a LotusEaterMachine [[AndIMustScream for eternity]], as [[spoiler:Orochimaru]] found out the hard way.
24	** The Death God itself wields a knife capable of harming souls, as it cutting off the arms of Orochimaru's soul during the Shiki Fuijin sealing technique managed to paralyze them.
25	* ''Manga/ShamanKing'' also has this in Yoh's second most powerful [[LivingWeapon Oversoul]] has the ability to "purifies the very soul", meaning it can cleave the soul also implying that it doesn't physically damage the opposition.
26	* The UsefulNotes/{{Lance of Longinus}} (a spear used to stab Christ during the crucifixion) is sometimes given this lore, which is why in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' it's able to pierce an AT Field, since it turns out the AT Field is in fact the barrier of one's own soul.
27	* This is essentially what the phantoms do in ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin''. One swipe, and your soul is instantly ripped out of your body, which falls dead on the spot.
28	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
29	** Zanpakuto directly translates to "Soul Cutting Sword". Its primary purpose is purifying souls that have turned into monsters, though it's perfectly capable of cutting physical and spiritual flesh as well.
30	** Seeleschneider means much the same, although as Uryu reveals, it's not actually a ''sword'' per se...
31	* ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' has Saika, a sword that possesses its wielder and can cut souls. Celty uses her shadow scythe to cut through several people, keeping bodies intact, but collapsing them.
32	* ''Manga/SoulEater'' has Masamune, who also possesses his wielder and consumes its soul. The Demon Weapons in general are this, at least for the soul-damaging part.
33	** In the anime adaptation Maka Albarn also develops a scythe technique that cuts directly through the body to get at the soul. She uses it to free someone from DemonicPossession, by cutting the soul of the offending possessor out of the possessed without hurting the latter.
34	* One issue of ''Manga/EatMan'' has Bolt consume and produce the blade of a sword created by a blacksmith who didn't create swords to harm people's bodies, but to cut their souls. He slashes at the bad guy of the week--it doesn't harm the guy physically, but he collapses with a stupefied look on his face, as if he was just delivered a slap (or ArmorPiercingQuestion).
35	* ''Manga/InuYasha'' Tenseiga is famous for being the sword that cannot cut. In truth, what it cannot cut are living bodies and physical objects. It's a sword designed to cut the very spirit. Any being not of the living world such as spirits can be killed by this sword. Any human souls cut by this soul are not destroyed but are cleansed, their souls rescued from hell and able to move on. If the Pallbearers of the Afterlife are in the process of taking a recently deceased soul away from its body, by cutting them, Tenseiga can actually restore the dead back to life [[spoiler:although it can only restore a person to life once]]. This was in fact how he and Rin got acquainted—and also the first time he showed some measure of sympathy. As a result, its major reputation is that it's a HealingShiv capable of saving a hundred lives with a single swing.
36	** Sesshomaru actually demonstrates that it can't cut the living... by hacking it through [[ButtMonkey Jakken]]. He screams out and looks like he's about to die... before Sesshomaru basically tells him to quit being a drama queen, and that he's fine.
37	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the Dragonslayer, Guts' ''[[{{BFS}} massive sword]]''. Due to being constantly used against Apostles and other evil spirits, the Dragonslayer exists simultaneously in the Astral and physical realms and can damage astral beings.
38	* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', Hakuryuu acquires a Metal Vessel with power over the mind. This can manifest as a scythe with soul-cutting properties. [[spoiler:He ends up stabbing Alibaba's head during their duel, sending his spirit into another dimension. This leaves Alibaba in a coma.]]
39	* Quite the principle behind the Rune Save form that the Ten Commandments wields in ''Manga/RaveMaster''. It doesn't cut physically; instead it affects nonphysical things, sealing them away. For example, Haru can't hurt Sieg Hart directly with it, but he can seal ''his spells'' with it, preventing them from reaching him. He also uses it to seal Elie's Atherion power when it threatened to run rampant.
40	* ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime''
41	** [[ThePaladin Hinata]] is introduced wielding the sword Dead-End Rainbow, which damages the opponent's soul every time it lands a hit and it will instantly kill them if it lands seven strikes. She chose this weapon ''specifically'' to kill [[TheHero Rimuru]], as his [[BlobMonster physiology]] and HealingFactor would have rendered normal physical attacks useless while he has no defense against attacks on his soul [[spoiler:at the time of their fight.]] He's only able to avoid getting killed by it when [[spoiler:he both makes a {{Doppelganger}} of himself to take her final hit (which doesn't have a soul to destroy), and absorb the blade so she can't use it again.]]
42	** Rimuru eventually has [[TheBlacksmith Kurobee]] forge a new [[{{BFS}} sword]] for [[TheBigGuy Shion]] that incorporates the Dead-End Rainbow's properties. While it can't guarantee a kill with seven hits like Hinata's blade did, the fact that it's a {{BFS}} being swung around by an {{Oni}} with SuperStrength means she can possibly OneHitKO something rather reliably, as shown when she destroyed a bunch of puppets [[PoweredByAForsakenChild powered by fallen souls]] and the puppet master Clayman was shocked that they didn't automatically repair themselves as they would have otherwise since she destroyed the souls. She then gave a further demonstration when she [[AnArmAndALeg de-limbed Clayman]], and despite him possessing [[HealingFactor Ultraspeed Regeneration]] he couldn't heal because the damage was on a physical ''and'' spiritual level, while his healing only covers the former, [[spoiler:and it was only by his Awakening into a True Demon Lord (which transforms and strengthens someone physically and spiritually) that he managed to heal and reattach his limbs.]]
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Comic Books]]
46	* ''ComicBook/DisneyKingdoms'': In the ''Franchise/TheHauntedMansion'' book, the ghost of pirate captain Bartholomew Gore and the ghost of black widow Constance Hatchaway both have special dark magic powers due to having died in the magic-soaked Mansion itself. This manifests in their respective weapons (Constance's axe, which she uses to behead, and the Captain's cutlass) becoming able to slice through ghosts. This does not kill them in any meaningful sense, but it is crippling, and only the more powerful ones (or those helped by more powerful ones) can reform after being sliced through. Ironically, the Captain is disposed of at the end by [[spoiler: [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Constance beheading]] ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard him]]''.]]
47	* ''ComicBook/{{The Outsiders\|DCComics}}'': ComicBook/{{Katana}} has a katana that not only removes the soul from the body of its victim, but traps the soul in the blade.
48	* ''ComicBook/XMen'': ComicBook/{{Magik}} has her Soulsword which can affect supernatural entities and originally didn't harm mundane beings. But since her various [[TookALevelInBadass power upgrades]], Magik can harm body and soul of normal enemies.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Fan Works]]
52	* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': It seems words can be used as one - but this is [[DownplayedTrope uncertain]]. Both examples shown happen onscreen and to the respective viewpoint characters; but they don't realise this is going on, and neither does the reader until later (though if you know it's quite obviously [[RewatchBonus visible]]). In any case, the ability seems extremely rare. It's unclear whether (just as in the mythology example) this has to be done by a deity (or someone who might as well be one); whether it's virtually unknown in-universe; whether it requires insane amounts of power control - or whether it's a coincidence that both characters seen doing it are certainly not short on either knowledge or skill. Messing around with someone's ''mind'', on the other hand, is quite common.
53	** In ''Ghosts of the Past'', [[spoiler: [[BadassPacifist Joshua]][[GodInHumanForm /Ye]][[DeityOfHumanOrigin ho]][[SemiDivine sh]][[ItMakesSenseInContext ua]]]] uses soul cutting words as a [[MundaneUtility tool]] for mental trauma surgery. This is done by and helping along the words of rather more conventional counseling in a case of maybe mundane, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane maybe mundane utility]]; so it's completely unnoticeable at the time. It's only deduced later by [[InUniverse someone else]] [[FridgeLogic realising]] the patient is doing way better than they ought to be, and looking to find out why.
54	** In ''Unfinished Business'', [[TheDreaded Doctor]] [[TimeMaster Strange]] rips into an opponent with a barrage of savage comments in a duel. Just like in the example above, it's ambiguous whether the effect is purely psychological or deeper - certainly, he makes them [[NightmareFuel vomit up chunks of their soul]]. [[spoiler: This later comes back to bite him when said opponent uses some of the ready-made soul fragments for [[SoulJar their own]] magic.]]
55	-->Worse even than those, though, was the whispering in her ear, a voice that was always behind her, one that poured soft, cruel words into her heart in a tongue that only they understood, one that only a handful of mortals still spoke. The inexorable whispers, impossible to deafen, impossible to ignore, carried dreadful knowledge. They spoke of crimes and failures, of past mistakes and present incompetence, each phrase as artfully constructed as any spell, and far more deadly, slicing into the listener's soul. For those whispers were in the voice of Doctor Strange, and as all the world knew - the Doctor never lied.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
59	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' includes an apparent reference to this in the scissors with which The Fates cut the "thread of life," a cord they cut to send the soul of a mortal being to the underworld. [[spoiler:It turns out to be somewhat of a ChekhovsGun, because when they try to cut the thread to send Hercules to the underworld, it turns out that Hercules is no longer mortal.]]
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
63	* The GrimReaper's scythe in ''Film/TheFrighteners'' could qualify, as it will kill a human without damaging their body (generally by causing a heart attack) and can even kill ghosts/spirits (or at least [[spoiler:force them to move on to the afterlife, no matter their desire to remain on Earth]]).
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Literature]]
67	* Death of ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'s'' scythe is one, obviously, as is the scythe of his assistant the Death of Rats. Death's sword works the same way but is only used on Royalty. No word on the Death of Rats having a sword, and Pratchett's death means that we are never going to get one.
68	* In ''Literature/TheElricSaga'', the two demonic runeblades, Stormbringer and Mournblade count as these, and may very well be the UrExample in fantasy.
69	* ''Literature/TheCosmere'' universe has a unique AnatomyOfTheSoul in the form of a "spiritweb", which a rare few forces can damage:
70	** Under other circumstances, Shardblades from ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' [[AbsurdCuttingPower slice clean through just about anything]]. But when slicing through a living being, it instead tears through their spirit: if the blade passes through the target's spinal cord they are dead, instantly, the soul severed. If it passes through a limb, that limb "dies", becoming numb and useless. They function this way because they were created to fight the demonic Voidbringers and needed to affect the Spiritual and Cognitive realms to work; unfortunately, they work all too well on humans too.
71	** In ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', the EmpathicWeapon Nightblood [[SoulEating consumes the spirit]] of anything it cuts, so the slightest cut causes instant death while the body [[NoBodyLeftBehind dissolves into smoke]]. It also starts to eat into its wielder's spirit while it's drawn.
72	** WordOfGod confirms that Nightblood essentially ''is'' a Shardblade for all intents and purposes, and adds that any heavily [[{{Mana}} Invested]] weapon would also count.
73	* In ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'':
74	** Morganti weapons consume and destroy souls with the slightest cut, making them uniquely dreaded in a world where other forms of death can be [[DeathIsCheap relatively easily reversed]]. They also exude a psychic aura of dread and hunger; the Empire reserves its nastiest punishments for people who use them; and an assassination by Morganti weapon costs at least 10 times the usual rate and a [[EvenEvilHasStandards damn convincing reason]], since NoQuestionsAsked does ''not'' apply. They were forged by a race called the Aerioli to make war so terrible that nobody would fight, which worked... among the Serioli.
75	** The Great Weapons are [[ArcNumber seventeen]] unique Morganti weapons. They can manipulate souls in various ways (devour, don't devour, temporarily store, etc.) as well as different powers that are unique to each one.
76	* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'', souls are personified in animal form as "Daemons". While daemons can be killed just like normal animals, which instantly kills the human, the Silver Guillotine is a unique device that can non-lethally sever the intangible bond between human and daemon. Non-lethally being relative, since the victim is left either an EmptyShell or [[AndIMustScream horribly aware of the unbearable absence]] until they finally give up and die.
77	* Laurell K. Hamilton's ''Nightseer'' features a cursed elven sword named Ache Silvestri which can consume souls and pass on their qualities to its wielder. It's also a TalkingWeapon and ClingyMacGuffin which latches on to the heroine, Keleios, because she is half-elven and demon-tainted and therefore a perfect match for it.
78	* Maybe a bit of a stretch, but Merry's sword in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' is actually a special blade from Westernesse, one of the few that can actually kill the dastardly Witch-King.
79	** There was also the Morgul-knife, which the Witch King uses to try to corrupt Frodo and turn him into a wraith. The wound that he bears from this knife [[AcheyScars hurts him when powerful evil is near]], and it [[WoundThatWillNotHeal never fully heals]].
80	* Angels in Kelley Armstrong's ''Literature/TheOtherworld'' use their Sword of Judgment to send souls of bad guys off to where they need to go. The Swords can only be used on evil people though.
81	* Shows up briefly in Creator/PatriciaBriggs' ''Masques''. [[spoiler:Aralorn]] is injured by a soul-eating blade. In a possibly related event, it later turns out that her own sword eats magic, although somehow she never knew this.
82	* In the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', there's [[MagicKnight Anomander Rake]]'s {{BFS}} [[BlackSwordsAreBetter Dragnipur]], which holds the souls of those it has slain within an [[AnotherDimension alternate dimension]] where they spend the remainder of their existence towing the Gate of Darkness and the large wagon it's situated in in an effort to keep it out of reach of the forces of Chaos.
83	* ''Literature/GilsAllFrightDiner'' features one of these, which can be used to kill ghosts. A ghost who gets sliced by one can actually feel part of their soul evaporating.
84	* The demon Barbatorem in ''Literature/{{Pact}}'' wields a pair of shears, with which it can inflict a WoundThatWillNotHeal, maim the soul to DePower a victim, and even [[BarredFromTheAfterlife permanently cut them off from the afterlife.]]
85	* In ''Literature/TheSpiritwalkerTrilogy'' if a cold mage uses a weapon made from cold steel, it can sever a person's soul from their body with a single cut. [[spoiler:At one point in the first book, Cat ends up in the SpiritWorld when Andevai accidentally cuts her with a cold steel sword.]]
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Music]]
89	* ''Literature/TheElricSaga'' was the creation of Creator/MichaelMoorcock, who was also a guitarist associated with several rock bands. The two demonic runeblades, Stormbringer and Mournblade (and their reflections down the ages in alternate planes of TheMultiverse) became a concept album and multimedia stage performance by Music/{{Hawkwind}}, called ''The Chronicle of the Black Sword''. Moorcock also wrote ''Black Blade'' for Hawkwind's TransAtlanticEquivalent, the Music/BlueOysterCult.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
93	* The Word of God in Literature/TheBible is described as one of these in the book of Hebrews.
94	--> For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
95	An unusual example for a soul cutting blade in that [[WordsCanBreakMyBones when]] a soul is cut, it ''only'' cuts the soul, with no damage to the body or health.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
99	* Force Weapons in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are weapons that channel the user's psychic power through them, allowing them to sever the victim's soul from their body. Eldar Direswords and Daemon's Soul Devourer ability have the same effect, although the rules are a bit different (the Force Weapon requires the user to take a psychic test to attempt to use the ability, while Diresword and Soul Devourer require the victim to take a leadership test to resist having their soul severed).
100	** Daemon Swords from the same universe. Weapons in the form of blades that act as prisons for the essences of raging daemons, as well as being powerful artifacts of Chaos. They don't really cut your soul, so much as they devour them.
101	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
102	** The Nine Lives Stealer sword can drain the life force/soul from the creature hit.
103	** Module S2 ''White Plume Mountain''. The sword Blackrazor's purpose is to suck out and devour the souls of its victims.
104	** The ''Book of Vile Darkness'' introduced the concept of vile damage, which represents such an evil violation of body and soul it can only be cured by healing magic on consecrated ground. Naturally the same book offered up a number of ways to turn your blade into a Soul-Cutting Blade--not to mention Soul-Piercing Arrows, Soul-Crushing Clubs, Soul-Cutting Spells, and so on.
105	** TabletopGame/{{Eberron}} has a type of blade enchantment called the Keeper's Fang; they don't actually have any special damage type sometimes associated with soul-cutting weapons, but they DEFINITELY qualify as soul eaters. Such blades send the soul of their victims directly to the Keeper, the setting's god of death; what happens from there is left up to the DM to decide but in no case is it a good thing.
106	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has a number of minor artifacts called ''Final Blades'', guillotine blades with an enchantment that casts [[YourSoulIsMine Trap the Soul]] on anyone executed with them. This was theoretically [[DarkIsNotEvil a beneficial effect]] at the time of their creation, when the nation of Galt was being colonized by the devil-worshipping Cheliax, and preventing souls from travelling to the afterlife meant preventing them from falling into the clutches of Hell. At least one of these blades has been repurposed into a [[{{BFS}} titan's greatsword]], with the same ultimate effect: lose your head, lose your soul.
107	* ''TabletopGame/VillainsAndVigilantes'' adventure ''Devil's Domain''. One evil spirit has a "Soul Sickle" that can suck out the target's soul and store it in the sickle.
108	* In TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}} Hell on Earth setting, Junkers can create Spirit Weapons, which target the soul directly. Notably, you can build this function into any weapon, so a sufficiently well-supplied Junker can create [[MacrossMissileMassacre anti-soul missiles]]!
109	* Plenty of artifacts in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' are capable of harming spirits, but the Solar charms Ghost-Eating Technique and Spirit-Cutting Attack can turn any weapon into a soul cutting blade, designed to kill ghosts, undead and gods. Some supernatural martial arts also target an enemy's life force or essence rather than their body.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Video Games]]
113	* The [[EvilWeapon Soul Edge]] from ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' might as well be the TropeCodifier in VideoGames.
114	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
115	** Throughout the series, there is a [[YourSoulIsMine Soul Trap]] spell which can be applied to any weapon as an enchantment. If the enemy is killed while Soul Trap is in effect, their soul will be absorbed and placed into a [[CrystalPrison Soul Gem]] in your inventory (if there is a gem powerful enough to hold it).
116	** Umbra is a recurring {{legendary\|Weapon}} (and {{evil\|Weapon}}) sword with Soul Trap as its primary enchantment. According to series' lore, Umbra also absorbs the soul of its wielder, possessing them (with them taking the name Umbra), and forcing them to become a BloodKnight. Either they kill powerful foes to give Umbra more souls, or the wielder is slain by a more powerful person, who then takes the sword and restarts the process anew. (Thankfully, the PlayerCharacter can use Umbra as much as they want [[GameplayAndStorySegregation with no ill effect]].)
117	** Mehrunes' Razor, an artifact of the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] [[DestroyerDeity Mehrunes Dagon]], is a dagger that has a small chance of severing the soul from a victim's body, killing them instantly and giving the soul to Dagon.
118	* The Soul Reaver from the ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series. In its wraith blade form, it eats souls.
119	* In ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' Youmu Konpaku's Roukanken is said to be able the kill ten spirits in a single stroke... though what it actually does is ''enlighten them'', forcibly moving them to the next stage of the afterlife. On the other hand, Tenshi Hinanawi's Hisou no Tsurugi appears to be actually capable of killing spirits, and Kasen Ibaraki can ''crush'' spirits with her [[ArtificialLimbs artificial hand]].
120	** Tenshi and Kasen killing spirits really [[BerserkButton pissed off]] [[TheSlacker usually easy-going]] {{shinigami}} Komachi Onozuka. The one thing that prevented her from killing them is the fact that Komachi's job is [[{{Psychopomp}} ferrying souls across the Sanzu River]], not [[TheGrimReaper collecting them]].
121	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' had a sequence that took place in a prison town, ruled by demons, where a group of trapped people were given only one possible option of escape: the only available weapon was a blade anyone could summon at any time, and would shatter the soul of anyone struck by it. Shatter ten souls, and you'd be free. Or at least, free to [[spoiler: spend the rest of your life fighting in a demon's arena until you died.]] The guy running the town is powerful enough to convince everyone living there that it's a bad idea (and if you do it anyway, he'll beat the life out of you). The real catch was [[spoiler: the sword in question IS the soul of the user,]] and continuous use of the weapon would be inevitably fatal to the user.
122	* Apparently, [[CoolOldGuy Yunfei's]] sabre from ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown''. His finisher move consists of him striking his target, pulling their soul out of their body and then slicing said soul in half.
123	* The hero of ''VideoGame/TheReconstruction'' uses this because of, rather than in spite of, his [[TechnicalPacifist pacifist leanings]], since damage to the body can scar or kill, but damage to the soul will always heal. (It's never explained exactly what "soul" means in this context--at first it simply seems to be the will to fight, but later events indicate that it's something tangible. In any event, he and others who damage the soul leave their targets stunned but breathing.)
124	* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'', Hades has a pair of chain-blades similar to Kratos's that have the ability to rip the soul right out of anybody, be they mortal or immortal. [[spoiler:Eventually, Kratos takes them for himself.]]
125	* In ''[[VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]'', the titular weapons allow you to fight the [[ShockAndAwe Goddess of Thunder]] [[ViolationOfCommonSense despite being metal]], harm ghosts and spirits, and [[MultipleEndings in one of the endings]], [[spoiler: cut out a soul [[DemonicPossession possessing]] someone without actually harming the victim of the possession]]. Said to be because [[AbsurdlySharpBlade they are that sharp]] and [[EvilWeapon that bloodthirsty]]. You need [[SupernaturalMartialArts to master]] [[ImplausibleFencingPowers the Oboro Style]] if you want to keep your mind and draw out their spiritual powers, though.
126	* [[TheProtagonist Hyde Kido]]'s Insulator in ''VideoGame/UnderNightInBirth''.
127	* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': Frostmourne is a semi-sentient EvilWeapon that sucks the souls of its victims. Even those that escape its grasp, such as Uther, still have wounds on their souls even in the Shadowlands. [[spoiler: When it gets shattered, the souls are released and incapacitate its wielder, the Lich King, long enough for him to be killed]].
128	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'': Near the end of the game, [[spoiler:it's revealed that BigBad Urizen and new ally V were once the same being, TheRival Vergil. Desperate for more power, he stabbed himself with the AbsurdlySharpBlade, Yamato, and carved away his humanity, which he thought was holding him back. This didn't work out: the newly born, fully demonic Urizen was indeed phenomenally powerful, but also an in-universe GenericDoomsdayVillain with none of Vergil's identity or motives, while his cast-off human side, V, was immediately horrified and regretful of what he'd done and set out to merge back together.]]
129	* ''VideoGame/MadnessProjectNexus2'' has [[spoiler:the Prime Blade, a sword crafted from a fragment of The Machine. Lore states that it was originally made to seal away the S-3LF Eater when it started to go on a rampage and is capable of severing a [[OurSoulsAreDifferent S-3LF]]'s enmeshment from its body, basically [[DeaderThanDead wiping them from existence]]. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration This carries over into gameplay]], where attacking any enemy (barring particularly beefy foes such as [[GiantMook G03LMs]] and the S-3LF Eater itself, who requires a good few hits to fully put down) with the sword will instantly kill them, reducing them to a pile of voxels.]]
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Webcomics]]
133	* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' the sword Chaz actually seems to have an easier time killing spiritual beings than physical ones; [[EmpathicWeapon might have something to do with having a soul of its own]].
134	-->'''Torg:''' You are what you eat I guess. ''[Turns to Chaz]'' You don't actually eat souls do you?\
135	'''Chaz:''' No I surgically remove them.
136	* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': The Black Tongues have been developing a knife that can cut memories from souls experimenting with efheby venom.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Web Original]]
140	* In ''Literature/AngelOfDeath'', each lich has a SinisterScythe which they use to remove human souls from their bodies so they can be eaten. Even good liches do this, as their urge becomes [[HorrorHunger irresistible]] if neglected, and the resulting rampage is liable to have them devour hundreds of people.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Web Videos]]
144	* In ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'', Craven Edge definitely qualifies. Typically it only consumes blood, [[spoiler:but when full, it consumes the wielder's soul, such as the case with Grog.]]
145	* ''WebVideo/EmpiresSMP Season 1'': The Rune Blade, which can sever a victim's soul from their body and send the victim to an [[PersonalizedAfterlife afterlife of the wielder's own choosing]]. For this reason, the Dwarves who created it believed it to be too dangerous, in the fear that souls severed with the sword would be [[AndIMustScream trapped in eternal hells]], and had plans to destroy it after it has been forged. However, it was stolen the night before it was set to be destroyed, and people had been searching for it since, either to send loved ones to a peaceful afterlife or enemies to eternal suffering.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Western Animation]]
149	* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Megatron created a scalpel of pure Energon for the purpose of removing and splitting Rampage's spark. Shoving a small energon blade into a spark would normally extinguish it, but Rampage's spark was altered by a Maximal experiment to be immortal like Starscream's mutant spark. However, Rampage's half of the spark is finally destroyed (explosively) by having Depth Charge stab it with a crystal of raw Energon. The other half of the spark, which had since been used to restore Dinobot, reacted to this event, restoring the memory of the original Dinobot and his sense of honor. Unfortunately, Depth Charge paid with his life.
150	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', [[spoiler:Qilby the Traitor's]] Wakfu scythe can cut things normally, but he is also able to slice and drain an opponent's wakfu while leaving them physically untouched. This is how he defeats [[spoiler:Adamai]]. This renders the opponent unconscious but alive. [[spoiler:Qilby choosing to do this instead of simply killing Adamai is the first big hint that deep down, he really doesn't want to kill any of his people (the Eliatropes and Dragons).]]
151	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SoulCuttingBlade