No one knew where the azure knight, with his mysterious crimson eyes,
had come from. He bore a huge sword in his malformed right hand, which he
used to devour the souls of the innocent. Only the creatures of darkness
which served it's cold blade were exempt from the destruction. The azure
knight was Nightmare.
He had once been a human named Siegfried,
who had scoured the continent for the Soul Edge. His search led him to an
abandoned port town in Spain, where he stumbled upon the body of a dead
pirate. Cervantes, the Soul Edge's former owner,
had been defeated in battle by Sophitia and
Taki. One of the twin swords had been destroyed
during the battle, and the other one lay near Cervantes' body. Siegfried
grasped the object of his search and was instantly enveloped in crimson
hellfire. He screamed in pain as his skin was seared and his will was sapped
by the evil sword. A huge shaft of light pierced the night sky as an
explosion from the sword released the Evil Seed upon the world. It was at
that moment that the creature known as Nightmare was born.
The release of the Evil Seed left the Soul Edge nearly powerless, so
Nightmare needed to devour souls in order to rebuild the blade's power. He
set about gathering an army of evil soldiers to gather the souls for him.
He selected two evil creatures, Astaroth and
Lizardman to be his right-hand men and lead
the attacks. Many brave warriors defended the villages that Nightmare's
forces attacked, but it was said that no one who gazed into the crimson eyes
of Nightmare ever lived to tell about it. The latest firearms were also
useless against Nightmare's power, as he cut a path of death and destruction
all over Europe.
Even though he was almost entirely possessed by Soul Edge, there was
still a part of Siegfried that governed Nightmare's actions. Thus,
Nightmare's destination throughout the bloody campaign was the Black Woods
near which stood Ostrheinsburg castle. Three years after the column of light
was seen over the Spanish port, a small German village was attacked by
Nightmare's forces. To the people he attacked, it seemed that Captain
Cervantes had returned but in a far more evil form.
Nightmare had almost fully regained his strength when his army
reached Ostrheinsburg castle. He set up his base there and waited for his
minions to bring him the souls he would need. Alone, deep inside the castle,
Nightmare reflected on the past. It was here that Siegfried had killed Sir
Stefan, the master of the castle, the same way he had killed his father
Frederick. Late one night, Nightmare had a dream in which his father
appeared before him. Siegfried greeted Frederick, but was shocked when the
apparition asked Siegfried to pierce him with the Soul Edge. Siegfried
refused, and he found himself standing in front of his father's grave,
wondering if redemption was possible.
Nightmare awoke to the sounds of battle. Three warriors, Kilik,
Xianghua, and Maxi had
come to the castle looking for Soul Edge. The three engaged Nightmare in
battle, and with the sacred weapons Kilik and Xianghua possessed, they were
able to defeat him. With Soul Edge's grip on him weakened, Siegfried was
finally able to break free from the evil influence, and thus Nightmare was
destroyed. Free after years of possession, Siegfried vowed to atone for his
past sins and undo the destruction Nightmare had caused. |
