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Nightmare is the main antagonist of the Soul series. He made his first appearance in Soul Edge, with his proper debut being in Soul Calibur. He is the host, wielder and living incarnation of the cursed sword, Soul Edge, the objective of most other characters in the story.
Nightmare has been portrayed in the games as a violent and ruthless creature, constantly in search of souls to restore Soul Edge. He looks down on humans, considering them "pathetic" and "foolish", having no mercy for others, even to those who fail to serve him, as shown to the members of his Schwarzstrom team who he treated as pawns. The only one who he treats with some respect is Tira for being just as violent as him, however he has still thought about taking her soul on occasion. His incarnation in V wants to take over the world rather than destroy it.
His dark, azure armor invokes the night; his helmet covers all but his red, glowing eyes; his trunk-like right arm holds a great sword with a cursed eye glaring from its center... Could such a monstrous being really exist? Appearing from out of shadows like the advent of nightfall, this barbaric knight reaps the souls of the living as if they were mere stalks of corn. His name came to represent fear and desperation to all who heard it. Those who found out that the rumors were true, that he was no fairy tale villain, would be struck down in a single blow before they could even open their mouths to scream.
Nightmare's true form belonged to Siegfried, a young man entranced by the cursed sword, Soul Edge. He killed people and claimed their souls in the hope of bringing his father Frederick back from the dead. However, despite charming Siegfried with sweet words, Soul Edge was not as powerful as it had been while in the hands of Cervantes. Even so, Siegfried refused to acknowledge he had killed his own father, seeking revenge instead against his imaginary assassin... With his damaged past, it could perhaps be said there was no one better suited to the sword than Siegfried himself. Soul Edge's thirst for souls was unquenchable, as was Siegfried's in his quest to revive his father. In time, Nightmare was beginning to represent a threat surpassing even that of the pirate Cervantes.
At some point in 1583, Nightmare fought Grøh and Malfested him. As Nightmare's reputation increased, a feudal lord attempted to hire him as a mercenary to help overthrow the tyrannical ruler, but Nightmare killed him. Nightmare eventually claimed the city of Ostrheinsburg as his dominion and began attacking surrounding kingdoms such as Wolfkrone. Accruing an army of Malfested - beings mutated by Soul Edge's evil energy - and other monsters, by 1585 Nightmare had assembled a team of lieutenants called the "Covenant Shield" - Ivy Valentine, Astaroth, and the Lizardman Chief - and bestowed titles upon them. In 1586, Ostrheinsburg was attacked by the Aval Organization, but this played into Nightmare's hands as he killed them all and claimed their souls.
As Nightmare's power reached its zenith, Ostrheinsburg was attacked by a trio of warriors - Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi. While Maxi faced Astaroth, Nightmare was confronted by Kilik - who had been Malfested by the Evil Seed but resisted Soul Edge's control; and Xianghua, who was unknowingly the wielder of Soul Calibur - Soul Edge's opposite. Nightmare attempted to force Kilik to succumb to his Malfestation, but Kilik managed to defeat Nightmare and shatter his armor. Inferno emerged and dragged Kilik and Xianghua into the Astral Chaos, but was defeated using Soul Calibur; freeing Siegfried from the cursed sword's control.
As Siegfried wandered across Europe, the badly-damaged Soul Edge sought to corrupt and take him over again, eroding his will as he slept, inflicting him with nightmares, and eventually growing powerful enough to take over him for brief periods. In early 1589, Siegfried grasped Soul Edge's hilt to enter the Astral Chaos and rescue Soul Calibur from being consumed by Inferno, the demon initially assuming the form of Nightmare to mock him for the sins he committed under its control. While Siegfried managed to temporarily prevent Inferno from consuming Soul Calibur, his consciousness was eventually trapped in the Astral Chaos once again alongside Soul Calibur, causing Siegfried's soul to be completely sealed away in the Astral Chaos.
Inferno, now in complete control of Siegfried's body, took on the guise of Nightmare and returned to Ostrheinsburg Castle and gathered his armies of Malfested once more, but was unable to unleash Soul Edge's full power without his host body's cooperation. Gathering a new cabal of powerful Malfested with blade-themed codenames - including the "Greatblade", the "Sword of Cursed Flames", and the "Sword of the Inquisitor" - Nightmare partnered his lieutenants with offshoots of Inferno such as Iska Acht. Sending his agents abroad to sow chaos and reclaim the fragments of Soul Edge that had been scattered around the world, Nightmare began expanding his influence globally. While Siegfried was able to wrest back control of his body for increasingly brief periods of time and sought to undermine his plans, Nightmare began focusing his will on corrupting Soul Calibur and assimilating it into Soul Edge, and corrupting Siegfried back into Soul Edge's willing puppet once more.
In the Legacy of Chris Thorndyke,
And he is reprised by Kirk Thornton in the English dub and Nobuyuki Hiyama in the Japanese dub.