Nightmare



Nightmare (ナイトメア, Naitomea) is the main antagonist of the Soul series. He made his debut in Soulcalibur. He is also the owner of the cursed sword, Soul Edge, the objective of most other characters in the story.

Nightmare was created as the alter ego of Siegfried, created when the he got hold of Soul Edge and was consumed by the sword's will. Nightmare has been portrayed in the games as a violent and ruthless character, always in search of souls to restore Soul Edge. He looks down on humans, considering them "pathetic", and has no reserves even to those who serve him, as shown in his Tales of Souls path where he considers killing his servant Tira. Nightmare's Tales of Souls also shows that he doesn't need to either eat or drink to survive, since when he reaches the Grand Labyrinth, he does not carry food provisions like the other characters.

Nightmare has been present in most games after Soulcalibur, appearing in Soulcalibur II, Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, and Soulcalibur IV. He also appears in Soulcalibur Legends as an unplayable character. Nightmare has returned in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny.

What lies in Nightmare's soul is Damnation.

Soul Edge
Even though Nightmare originally debuted in Soulcalibur, there was a prototype of his character in Soul Edge. In the home version, an extra character named Siegfried! was added as an unlockable character. Siegfried! was an alternate version of normal Siegfried taken from his no-input ending, where he was consumed by Soul Edge. This early version was much different from the former Nightmare, having crimson-red armor and a more flesh-like design with no Nightmare Arm, almost like if he were part of Soul Edge itself. He has no story nor ending, and only used Siegfried's Soul Edge without effects.

Soulcalibur
In Soulcalibur, the concept was expanded and turned into an official character, though with changes to the design. His red armor was changed to a blue armor, thus his nickname of "Azure Knight", and its design turned more metallic instead of flesh. He now wield his own version of Soul Edge, sporting a single eye on its center.

Nightmare was a starting character whose style resembled Siegfried's former style upgraded. Siegfried was later added to the cast as a time-release character, and inherited the same style with minor changes and speed and weight differences. Nightmare's profile on the game explained how Siegfried obtained Soul Edge after a fierce fight against its former owner, Cervantes, and the flame hellspawn that spawn within it afterward, Inferno. After that, the sword spoke to him, promising the resurrection of his dead father if he helped it gather souls. Unaware that it was a trick of the sword to restore his power, Siegfried agreed and started a killing spree, which eventually drove him to be fully possessed, taking the name Nightmare and spreading chaos on the lands.

Soulcalibur II
Nightmare's incarnation on Soulcalibur II remains mostly the same, with minimal upgrades to his fighting style, mainly on his stance game. Story-wise, as his and other characters profiles explain, he formed a group with Astaroth, Ivy, and Aeon Calcos (Lizardman), in an attempt to speed the souls gathering and restore the sword's power. But during the ritual to restore Soul Edge his castle, Osthreinsburg, was assaulted by Kilik, Maxi, and Xianghua. With his allies either defeated or missing, he confronted Kilik and Xianghua and was ultimately defeated, later falling into the collapsing void where they fought. After waking up, Siegfried regained his senses and tried to distance himself from the world to atone for the sins he committed and the death of his father. But the sword slowly regained control over the young man, and eventually Nightmare resurfaced to start another massacre on Europe. In this game Nightmare is a starting character, while Siegfried turned into a third costume option for him.

Soulcalibur III
In Soulcalibur III, Nightmare went through a big change. His original fighting style was split within him and Siegfried, now two individual characters. While Siegfried's style resembled the old Nightmare almost completely, Nightmare was given a rather different playstyle, one that was far more brutal, powerful, and barbaric than his previous Siegfried based style from Soulcalibur II. His speed also massively increased, now capable of matching characters such as Kilik and Mitsurugi. He also changed story-wise, since it was the first time he got an own body and wasn't using another character's body as a host. Nightmare, alongside Siegfried, remain starting characters and two of the main characters to which the story in Tales of Souls revolve, as every character searches for rumors and traces of either one of them, or both. They also possess their own event around the last chapters of the mode, in which both have a short fight, where the player later confronts the winner. His fighting style and weapon selection is available to use in the Character Creation mode under the name "Soul of Nightmare" to characters created under the Barbarian class.

According to the in-game profiles, Nightmare met with Raphael in the Osthreinsburg chapel and, after a battle, defeated him. As he stepped to eliminate him, Siegfried's mind started to struggle for freedom. Raphael, watching as Nightmare stood motionless as result of the mind struggle, released an attack and pierced Soul Edge's eye. This allowed Siegfried to regain his body, and also released Soul Calibur from within the sword. Siegfried then drove the holy sword into the cursed Soul Edge and sealed both, though the Inferno escaped and entered the armor Siegfried discarded after reclaiming his body. Eventually Zasalamel found the armor and created a body for Inferno out of the countless evil souls surrounding Ostrheinsburg. Nightmare restarted his reign of terror in search of Siegfried and Soul Edge, as well as a new host body since the one he has is an unstable shell.

Soulcalibur IV
Nightmare and Siegfried found each other at the Lost Cathedral. Soul Edge was freed from the Soul Embrace because of a secret art performed by Zasalamel. Nightmare took the evil sword while Siegfried took Soul Calibur. Then the two fought, and the clashing of their swords created a very powerful explosion that destroyed the cathedral.

Both Nightmare and the evil sword then fell into some sort of dimensional warp. Somehow, they both landed in Ostrheinsburg. Then Soul Edge became one with Nightmare. Waves caused by the clash of the two swords awakened the fragments of Soul Edge that were scattered all over the world. They flew to Ostrheinsburg, and the evil sword consumed all of them. As he made roots into the land, Ostrheinsburg soon became a cursed city, which Nightmare can use to devour souls. Both he and Soul Edge then waited for Soul Calibur to come so they can destroy her once and for all.

Soulcalibur
The time had come... with countless souls stolen from brave warriors, the evil sword now transformed into an apparation of his father.

Frederick: Siegfried, my dear son...

Siegfried: F...Father...!

Frederick: Pierce me with this sword.

Siegfried: What!?

Frederick: I'm nothing more than an illusion. Reflect back upon your sins and repent.

Standing before his father's grave, he whispered to himself, "Is redemption possible?" And so he embarked upon a journey with atonement as his cross to bear, embracing within his heart the last wishes of his father.

Soulcalibur II
"Resist the evil prescence!" The dormant soul within him awakened. Sanity regained, he took his sword in hand and vowed to never sleep again as he wandered the lands. Eventually, he came upon a crevasse that ran deep into the earth and cast the sword into its dark abyss. He then destroyed the path leading to the chasm and became its guardian for eternity. ..

Soulcalibur III
"It's nearby! Don't leave your post!" a general says to one of his soldiers. Nightmare can be seen on the very top of the castle, watching over everything.

Input Ending Nightmare leaps into the air and comes crashing down. As he falls, he transforms into Night Terror. Night Terror destroys a statue and then fly's away, sparing the guards' lives.

No Input Ending Nightmare jumps down and kills all of the guards.

Soulcalibur IV
Nightmare defeats Siegfried, causing Siegfried to drop Soul Calibur and fall to his knees. Nightmare then creates a ball of fire that travels from his left hand into his right hand and then into Soul Edge. "The despicable shackles that held me all these long years are now destroyed! None shall be able to stop me!" Nightmare exclaims. He then slams Soul Edge into the defeated Siegfried, causing a sea of fire to appear everywhere.

The text-only epilogue reveals this: The flames of the cursed sword furiously burn. The fires of hell will soon engulf the world in despair.

Weapons

 * Soul Edge
 * Soul Edge (Male)
 * Soul Edge (Phantom)
 * Claymore
 * Soul Edge (Nauplius)
 * Flamberge
 * Great Blade
 * Giant Buster
 * Steel Paddle
 * Glam
 * Requiem
 * Faust
 * Soul Edge (Cocoon)
 * Soul Edge (Larvae)
 * Soul Edge (Growth)
 * Soul Edge (Complete)
 * Soul Edge (Final Form)
 * Soul Calibur
 * Galley Oar
 * Giant Squid

Soul Edge (Male) Nightmare's weapon in Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur IV, and the evil sword that is the center of the game's storyline. Its Weapon Gallery profile in Soulcalibur II states that details on the sword change while rumors of its legend spread on the world. It can change forms to accommodate its wielder's fighting style and experience, and it also has the power to control its wielder's mind, guiding him to commit massacres in order to collect souls for the sword to consume. Its single eye, which was added in the design ever since Soulcalibur, is said to appear enraptured when bathed in blood.

His profile in Soulcalibur IV's official Japanese website states that Soul Edge was nothing more than a sword made by human hands in ancient times and it is unknown how many souls it has devoured or possessed, but even now, it's still growing.

Night Terror has its own version of the Soul Edge, labeled "Complete". The reason for this label is that Night Terror is the Soul Edge complete itself, every fragment and everything made with it has returned, even the Soul Calibur (originally a purified fragment of Soul Edge). This variant of Soul Edge is also the second-player version of Nightmare's Soul Edge in Soulcalibur IV. The Final Form of Soul Edge (not complete), Nightmare's legendary weapon which is also used in his Soulcalibur IV boss battle, appears the same as his 1P version and has a deep red glow.

In Soulcalibur IV, there's a version of Soul Edge labeled as "Nauplius". This version is the same one which Algol and his son are holding in the game's opening movie.

Soul Edge (Phantom) Nightmare's weapon in Soulcalibur III. It is but a materialization of Nightmare's memories of the original Soul Edge, created from his own body. It has the ability to consume souls, but other than that is just a weaker version of the true Soul Edge. It is created in a similar way to how Charade and Inferno create their own weapons (from their bodies) taking into account that this incarnation of Nightmare is Inferno itself.

Stages

 * Ostrheinsburg Castle (SC)
 * Ostrheinsburg Chapel (SC2)
 * Lost Cathedral (SC3)
 * Tower of Remembrance - Encounter (SC4)
 * Tower of Remembrance - Omen (SCBD)

Soulcalibur

 * There's no turning back now! 
 * Blood... darkness... come unto me! 
 * I shall reclaim my soul! 
 * My sword, give me strength! 
 * Souls, come unto me! 
 * You ask for more?! 
 * Waaaryah! 
 * Take this! 
 * I'm through with you! 
 * More!

Soulcalibur II

 * Offer your soul!
 * Annihilate!
 * Sword, give me strength! 
 * I will show you the greatest nightmare. 
 * Massacre! 
 * There's no turning back. 
 * Bloodbath! 
 * Souls, give me strength! 
 * Souls, come unto me! 
 * My thirst is endless! 
 * Blood, darkness, come unto me! 
 * More, need more souls! 
 * Hurry, give me the next soul! 
 * This is it! 
 * This is the end! 
 * Go away! 
 * I'll be restored soon! 
 * Fool! 
 * Not yet! 
 * How?! 
 * I've been waiting for this day for too long! 
 * You conceited, wretched human! 
 * Yes, this is it... 
 * Your pathetic... Go away! 
 * This is... 
 * ...the end! 
 * Got you! 
 * Begone! 
 * The end! 
 * Souls! 
 * Come unto me! 
 * Shatter! 
 * More! 
 * Die! 
 * Suffer! 
 * This is it! 
 * Shatter. 
 * More! 
 * Die! 
 * Suffer! 
 * This is it! 

Soulcalibur III

 * Give me... your darkness! 
 * You shall become my nourishment! 
 * It doesn't matter... how much you struggle! 
 * I want to see your madness! 
 * This place... shall be... your grave! 
 * I shall share with you... my darkness! 
 * I want to hear... your anguish! 
 * I shall show you... the end of days! 
 * Devastation... for the weak! 
 * I grant death... for the weak! 
 * Receive the punishment... of darkness! 
 * Have a taste of my darkness! 
 * Let fear sink into your soul! 
 * You shall have a taste... of my cursed sword. 
 * Offer your soul! 
 * Souls, give me strength! 
 * Time for a bloodbath! 
 * I thirst... for souls! 
 * You shall taste fear! 
 * Now... give me... give me your soul! 
 * Drown in the cesspool... of darkness. 
 * Death! I want to taste more deaths! 
 * Gather before me, darkness of the abyss! 
 * Become... a part of this nightmare. 
 * Offer your soul to darkness! 
 * There is no end to this nightmare! 
 * None of you... have any reason to live! 
 * What sweet sounds... of death. 
 * More... my thirst continues. 
 * Only devastation remains in the future. 
 * I shall cover the entire world... in darkness. 
 * Offer yourself... to the unending darkness! 
 * Let darkness take you! 
 * He he... Yes, I can see your darkness. 
 * None of you... can defeat this nightmare! 
 * I shall show you... the greatest... nightmare! 
 * Blood, darkness... come unto me! 
 * Souls, come unto me! 
 * More, I need more souls! 
 * Where... where's the next soul?! 
 * My resurrection... draws near. 
 * Outta the way! 
 * It's over! 
 * Die! 
 * Time to die! 
 * Bow before me! 
 * Nowhere to run! 
 * Take this! 
 * Struggle, fool! 
 * Worship me! 
 * Cower in fear! 
 * I'll burn you alive! 
 * Darkness.. take you! 
 * This is... the end! 
 * Disappear, you cur! 
 * Damn... this is ridiculous.

Soulcalibur IV

 * Show me the madness that lies within!
 * Can you see the darkness of the abyss?
 * Become a part of the nightmare!
 * Darkness, give me darkness!
 * The end is near.
 * Blood, Darkness, Come unto me.
 * The nightmare will never end.
 * Become part of my darkness.
 * Drown in the cesspool of darkness.
 * Burn, in darkness!
 * With this, you die!
 * Tremble!
 * Burn!
 * Begone!
 * Don't move!
 * Perish!
 * Shatter!
 * More!
 * Disappear!
 * Useless!
 * Clever!
 * Die!
 * Thanks.
 * No escape!
 * Whats wrong!
 * More souls!
 * Feel my wrath!
 * Go fall, into the abyss!
 * Give your blood, to me!
 * Burn, in darkness!
 * Tremble in fear!
 * Have a taste of my darkness!
 * Taste fear!
 * Watch this!
 * Decay!
 * More! I'm still parched!
 * Tremble in my darkness!
 * Your meager souls, do not satisfy my thirst!
 * You! I remember you!
 * Your pathetic souls are worthless!
 * Souls. Give me more souls!
 * Your souls were rather good.
 * In the end. You will give into despair!
 * At last, at last the time has come!
 * The despicable shackles that have held me all these long years are now destroyed.
 * None shall be able to stop me!
 * Burn everything in it's path. Listen! Listen to the quickening of darkness
 * Tremble! This is true darkness!

Trivia

 * In Nightmare's Story Mode in Soulcalibur IV, Nightmare is accompanied by Tira for most of the time, until he devours her soul after the fourth stage before he fights Siegfried.
 * Three illusions of Nightmare appear before Siegfried in both of his endings in Soulcalibur III.
 * In the character creation mode in Soulcalibur III, there are parts from Nightmares 2P costume from Soulcalibur. These parts are named "Slayer", like "Slayer´s Helmet" or "Slayer´s Tasset"
 * It´s not clear, but some believe that Nightmare in Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV is either Soul Edge or Inferno, due to the fact that Siegfried is no longer under the influence of Soul Edge.
 * Nightmare is nicknamed "The Azure Knight".
 * Some fans believe that Nightmare's 2P costume in Soulcalibur ll is Siegfried half-possessed by Nightmare.
 * Nightmare's 2P costume in Soulcalibur III resembles Nightmare from Soulcalibur IV, possibly being an earlier version

Critical Finish
Nightmare exclaims "Watch this!" and punches his foe with his claw, knocking his foe backwards. Then, he uppercuts his foe into the air, he then slams his sword point first into the ground, and a ball of energy erupts around his opponent while they scream. Apparently, this move drains their soul into Soul Edge.

Series' appearances

 * Soul Edge (console versions only as Siegfried's secret costume Siegfried!)
 * Soulcalibur
 * Soulcalibur II
 * Soulcalibur III
 * Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition
 * Soulcalibur Legends (non-playable boss character)
 * Soulcalibur IV
 * Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny

Relationships

 * Former alter-ego, and nemesis of Siegfried.
 * Master of Ivy and Lizardman in Soulcalibur.
 * Master of Astaroth in Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur IV.
 * Defeated by Xianghua and Kilik in Soulcalibur.
 * Fought and nearly killed Raphael in Soulcalibur II.
 * Revived by Zasalamel at the beginning of Soulcalibur III, allowing him to roam the earth without a host.
 * Alter-ego of Night Terror.
 * Master of Tira in Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV.
 * Master of Sophitia and Voldo in Soulcalibur IV.
 * Taki witnessed his battle against Siegfried in the events before Soulcalibur IV. She now seeks to stop him from colliding his sword Soul Edge with Siegfried's Soul Calibur again.
 * Mitsurugi seeks him out in Soulcalibur III and in Soulcalibur IV.