Nightmare

History

Soul Edge/Soul Blade

The origin of Nightmare goes back to the 16th century in the year 1584. The legendary sword of legend, Soul Edge, was in the possession of the "The Dread Pirate", Cervantes de León. His soul devoured by the cursed sword, Cervantes began his reign of terror by killing the entire population of the Valencia Port in Spain. Cervantes stayed within the town, defeating anyone of who challenged him, until one day he was opposed by Sophitia Alexandra, a warrior chosen by the Olympian god Hephaestus, and Taki, a Kunoichi demon huntress.

With their combined efforts the two defeated Cervantes and shattered the first half of Soul Edge. After the pirate's defeat, a knight named Siegfried Schtauffen stumbled upon his corpse and noticed the remaining half of Soul Edge lying next to it. As Siegfried reached for the sword, Cervante's body was engulfed in hellish flames and reclaimed the sword, revealing itself to be the very soul of Soul Edge, the demon Inferno. It attacked Siegfried and the two engaged in battle. After a fierce fight, Inferno was defeated and Siegfried emerged victorious, although at the cost of his sword.

Siegfried then decided to claim Soul Edge for himself. Just as his hand grasped the hilt of the sword, it immediately bonded itself with the knight. The began to eat away at Siegfried's soul and control his mind, slowly binding him to its will. Then when the when last of Siegfried's humanity was sapped away, the sword emitted a large column of light known as the Evil Seed, releasing numerous forms of death and destruction throughout the world. Siegfried then emerged from the light forever changed, transformed into the Azure Knight, Nightmare.

Soul Calibur

Three years after the events of Soul Edge, Nightmare sought to restore Soul Edge's power. To aid him in his mission, he worked alongside the golem Astaroth, the lizard man Aeon Calcos, and the alchemist Ivy as his followers in order to travel the world looking for souls to devour. Once the souls were gathered, a rejuvenation ceremony was performed at his lair, Ostrheinsburg Castle. However, the ceremony was interrupted when Astaroth and Aeon were defeated by Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi, while Ivy escaped. Kilik and Xianghua confronted Nightmare who was far too strong for them, but Siegfried managed to free himself from Soul Edge's control, allowing Nightmare to be defeated and Siegfried to be freed.

Kilik and Xianghua challenged the returned Inferno in a realm created by the hellfire and evil energy of Soul Edge. With the aid of the sacred staff Kali-Yuga, sacred mirror Dvapara-Yuga, and Krita-Yuga, which was actually the only weapon that can counter Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, Inferno was defeated and he and the sword well into the collapsing void it created. However, Inferno retreated into the shards of Soul Edge that were present in Siegfried's body, ensuring his survival.

He then began to posses Siegfried in his sleep, forcing him to kill again as Nightmare and always waking up surrounded by corpses of innocent people. He eventually gave into the dark energy of Soul Edge, transforming into Nightmare during all his waking moments once again.

Soul Calibur II

Four years later, Nightmare began to pursue the lost fragments of Soul Edge in order to restore its power. With each shatter fragment recovered, the more Soul Edge was healed and its power grew. Nightmare soon returned to the remains of the Ostrheinsburg castle for the sword's restoration.

In the castle, Nightmare was encountered by a fencer named Raphael Sorel, who was in search of Soul Edge. The two fought in fierce combat, nearly ending in Raphael losing his life. As Nightmare was about to deliver the finishing blow, the will of Siegfried struggled to free itself from Soul Edge. At that moment, Raphael seized the opportunity and struck his sword through the center of Soul Edge. The attack was enough to set Siegfried free from Nightmare.

From the core of Soul Edge, the sword Soul Calibur was brought forth. Using it, Siegfried pierced the eye of Soul Edge, bonding them together in Soul Embrace, and permanently separated him from Nightmare. However, Soul Edge was not entirely destroyed. The will of the sword escaped into the remains of Nightmare and laid dormant for some time.

Soul Calibur III

Some time afterwards, the armour of the Azure Knight was approached by the immortal saint, Zasalamel. Using a secret art, the immortal revived Nightmare with a new body thanks to the souls that haunted the Ostrheinsburg caste. Then Nightmare resumed his reign terror while trying to restore Soul Edge. However, he had a new target: Siegfried.

It was around this time Nightmare was approached by the insane assassin Tira who offered herself as his servant. Tira proved herself an effective minion who was just as bloodthirsty as Nightmare and always eager to please him, Nightmare sent her on a mission to manipulate possible enemies to make them allies and assassinate any fool who would stand in their way. Nightmare himself went on to spread chaos as he destroyed entire armies on his quest to gain more quality souls and kill Siegfried.

Soul Calibur IV

The two eventually encounter each other at the Lost Cathedral There, Zasalamel used a secret art to separate Soul Calibur and Soul Edge from Soul Embrace This was a destined battle. As Nightmare was the chosen wielder of Soul Edge, Siegfried was the chosen wielder of Soul Calibur. The two fiercely duelled and the energies of their swords clashed, destroying the entire cathedral and creating a warp that lands them at the Ostrheinsburg caste.

The energy waves caused by the clash awakened the scatter shards of Soul Edge all across the world. The shards were pulled towards the blade, melding with it and restoring Soul Edge into its true form. Likewise, Siegfried gain a connection to Soul Calibur, allow it to unlock it's true form as well. With this, the two prepared for the final showdown.

After a destructive battle, Siegfried pierced through Soul Edge with Soul Calibur, shattering the sword and destroying Nightmare.

Soul Calibur V

Soul Edge was shattered once more and rendered powerless. However, the loyal minions of Soul Edge retrieved as much of the fragments as they could in order to restore to some degree. In time the sword regained its consciousness and gain a new body.

Personality

Nightmare is a cold, ruthless, and heartless being. Being the vessel of Inferno, he seeks nothing more than destruction and the restoration of Soul Edge. He has no mercy for those he considers weak and even less for those who fail to serve him although he does seem to respect his powerful evil allies such as his second in command Tira who is just as ruthless as him. Nightmare only appears to feel joy when causing chaos, destruction and corrupting souls into monsters.

Nightmare is very prideful of his powers and will boast about his power when he has the chance, he does seem to respect strong souls and enjoys the thrill of battle but he will toy with his prey if he feels they have disappointed him. He sees a majority of humanity as worthless, greedy hypocrites who spawn their own savagery through their constant bickering over meaningless things. He also hates deities and gods who act superior despite them being foolish oafs.

Fighting Style and Powers

Nightmare's fighting style relies on sheer power, unleashing strong and damaging attacks, he is also able to use numerous stances in order to confuse his opponents. Nightmare has enhanced speed and strength comparable to a god even without Soul Edge he can slaughter an entire army without much trouble, he has many magical abilities such as spawning blackholes, spewing waves of flame, shooting deadly lasers and levitating for brief periods. His most used power is his ability to absorb souls from his victims to increase his and his blade's power

With Soul Edge Nightmare can cleave a castle in half and use many more supernatural abilities which makes him incredibly unpredictable. Nightmare's presence is corrupting to anything that's not evil, if near him for long enough the being will become a malfested servant of Nightmare, these mutated monsters become a part of the Soul Edge army as violent warriors.

Weapons

• Soul Edge: Nightmare's main weapon. The weapon was once an ordinary, but after being bathed in blood and hatred for a century, it became a demonic blade and gained an evil soul known as Inferno. As the true heir of the sword, Nightmare uses it to devour souls in order to increase its strength. In addition to this, Soul Edge's power increases with each shard, allowing the sword to gain a newer, more powerful forms that can help Nightmare in his quest.

Transformation

Night Terror

Known to only a few Soul Calibur is actually a shard of Soul Edge, purified and reforged in order to combat its power. Should Nightmare ever find the last shard the energies of both the Soul Edge and Soul Calibur become one, and the Soul Edge and Nightmare merge into their ultimate form, Night Terror.

In this form, the traditional blue armour and body of Nightmare become a orange/red combination if armour and bone. Along with the drastic change, fiery wings have sprung from its back, granting it flight, its face is similar to a goblin shark. Night Terror is the personification of catastrophe so it lacks much of Nightmare's reason.

The power of Nightmare has increased to new heights, able to deliver to more powerful strikes as well as deliver devastating energy blasts. Night Terror is a Lovecraftian being which wants nothing more than to destroy anything in its path, it could crush the universe in its claws if it so wished and can destroy immortal beings like Zasalamel with a single attack. Even Gods seem to fear this unstoppable beast.