Nightmare

**Nightmare** (ナイトメア, *Naitomea*) is the main antagonist of the *Soul* series. He made his first appearance in Soul Edge, with his proper debut being in Soulcalibur. 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 serve him, as shown in his Tales of Souls path where he considers killing his loyal servant Tira. Though his incarnation in V wants to take over the world rather than destroy it.

## Hosts

Nightmare has been present in one form or another due to him being an animated armor, his possessing of bodies or the power of Soul Edge keeping him alive in most games after.

The Nightmare seen in *Soul Edge*, *Soulcalibur*, Soulcalibur II, and Soulcalibur VI is Siegfried Schtauffen, possessed by the cursed sword at the end of *Soul Edge*.

The Nightmare appearing in Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur III: Arcade Edition, Soulcalibur Legends, and Soulcalibur IV is Inferno possessing Siegfried's discarded armor.

The Nightmare appearing in Soulcalibur V, Soulcalibur: Lost Swords, and Soulcalibur: Unbreakable Soul is a new being, Soul Edge possessing the body of a swordsman (according to the art book Raphael Sorel) and plotting behind the scenes under the alias "Graf Dumas" as he plans to resurrect the full power of Soul Edge.

## Appearance

True to his nickname, Nightmare appears as a dark figure covered in dark blue armor that covers most of his body. His prominent feature is his right arm, which has been twisted and transformed into a large three-digit claw whose flesh overlaps his entire right arm and shoulder. He is depicted with Soul Edge in his left hand, symbolizing his polarity with Siegfried. Over the years, his appearance has progressively grown more and more demonic, as influenced by the state of Soul Edge himself. During the events of *Soulcalibur*, he was simply a suit of armor with a giant arm and horned helmet. In *Soulcalibur II*, Nightmare's armor changes design, now sporting long red hair from the back with bat wing-like ornaments on the sides replacing the horn. With a body to call his own at last, Nightmare returned to a suit similar to his original *Soulcalibur* variant, although slightly re-vamped, in*Soulcalibur III*, with the claw having stretched over his chest plate, possessing a rudimentary jaw lined with sharp teeth both on his shoulder and chest. As of *Soulcalibur IV*, Nightmare seems to have degraded into a body of dark energy. What was once flesh has now fully transformed into a compound of metal and bone. The mouth covering the chestplate from before has split open around his entire waist, connecting the legs and torso with a torrent of evil energy. The armor appears fused to his claw and much more metallic in appearance. No longer using Siegfried, the alternate costumes are much more severe in mutation. His alternate outfit in *Soulcalibur IV*displays traits similar to Night Terror.

Following the destruction of the original Nightmare, Soul Edge obtains a new host in *Soulcalibur V*, resulting in the rise of a new Nightmare. His design returns to a more traditional look best likened to his appearance in*Soulcalibur II*. He retains the long horn on his helmet from his other designs, and both the horn and parts of his arm display a menacing orange glow. Despite having a new host, he retains his fighting style from past games. Soul Edge, like Nightmare himself, has also reverted to a design more like its appearance in earlier titles, despite having a different official design for the game. In Legendary Souls, the *Soulcalibur IV* version of Nightmare appears as one of the opponents, albeit the dark energy and smoke being replaced with flames, resemblingInferno to an extent.

In *Soulcalibur VI*, Nightmare is given a redesign from his *Soulcalibur* appearance, not only featuring yellow trims from his later designs, but now having upward-facing fins on his helmet and his breastplate being pointed. He also now wears a cape, similar to an art render from *Soulcalibur'*s Art Gallery. As the game features battle damage, Nightmare's helmet can be knocked off, revealing Siegfried's face and shoulder-length blond hair underneath, though his eyes continue to produce the same glow.

In the spinoff *Soulcalibur Legends*, Nightmare's appearance is taken from *Soulcalibur III* but it noticeably more demonic, with his grieves having developed talons and his right leg having taken on the form of a large jaw, similar to his right shoulder.

## Abilities

Nightmare is incredibly powerful, thanks to being the incarnation of Soul Edge. He possess immense sword fighting skills - as shown by how he was taking on and defeating multiple armies at once, even with only the phantom Soul Edge, and physical strength - as shown during his battle with Siegfried, where one slash from his sword destroyed the entirety of Ostreinsburg Castle. Nightmare also has the ability to release the Evil Seed, a corrupting rain of energy, he can drain his enemies' souls, and can use a massive soul draining technique called the "Soul Wave", which drains the souls of everyone in the area into Soul Edge. It is also shown that he can create at least two weaker clones of himself if he wishes. Nightmare can also control anyone who has a sufficent amount of Soul Edge's shards imbued within them, and as such if someone contained Soul Edge's shards and was killed, he could even revive them as an undead warrior. In *Soulcalibur IV*, when Nightmare had almost reached his full power his power became so great that Soul Edge's evil took root in Ostrheinsburg City, cursing the place and effectivley making the entire city his host - making it impossible for regular people to live their lest their souls be drained by the cursed city or turned into malfested. He has numerous fire manipulating abilities, he can summon fire around Soul Edge to increase its damage output, and as shown in his *Soulcalibur IV* ending, when at full power he can release flames from his body that will spread over and eventually consume the entire world. He can also infuse Soul Edge with lightning to increase its damage output. In *Soulcalibur V* it is shown that Nightmare can teleport, when doing so he is wrapped in flames and disappears in a fiery explosion.

## Weapons

* Soul Edge
* Soul Edge (Longsword and Pistol Sword) (*Soul Edge* ending only)
* Soul Edge (Male)
* Soul Edge (Phantom)
* Claymore
* Soul Edge (Nauplius)
* Soul Edge (Veiled)
* 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
* Broken Destiny
* Soul Edge (Cleaver)
* Balmung
* The Ancient (Nightmare)
* The Master (Nightmare)
* Chrome Blade

**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 shape, even separating into more than one physical object to accommodate its wielder's fighting style and experience and it also has the power to corrupt and control its wielder's mind, guiding them 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.

Its 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 completed, 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 is a version of Soul Edge labeled as "Soul Edge (Nauplius)". This version is the same one Algol and his son are seen holding in the game's opening movie. It is believed that this is the original form of the weapon, shortly after it gained sentience.

**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 the sword itself.

## TMNT X Pokemon

Nightmare is one of the many villains that you will face throughout the game. He is one of the strongest and most difficult on the difficulty scale.

## Trivia

### General

* Nightmare is nicknamed "The Azure Knight" due to the distinctive dark blue armor he wears.
* Ever since his debut in *Soulcalibur* he has become one of the most recognizable characters in the *Soul*franchise. His status would be further cemented when he became apart of the official *Project soul* logofrom 2005 to 2011, and 2014.
* Despite being sworn enemies throughout most of the series, Nightmare and Siegfried never actually have aDestined Battle with each other.
* In early concepts, Nightmare's left arm was mutated into a demonic claw rather than his right arm. This is true with Siegfried! in *Soul Edge* and some concept art of Nightmare in *Soulcalibur*.
* In *Soulcalibur* and *Soulcalibur II*, Siegfried seems to speak through Nightmare in his winning quotes, such as "I shall reclaim my soul!" or "I'll be restored soon!". That, or Nightmare is referring to collecting all of the shards of Soul Edge, becoming whole.
* Oddly enough, in every *Soulcalibur* installment, Nightmare appears to have gained more "weight", which is most likely measured from muscle and metal. But he is no more resistant to knockback and grappling attacks than anyone else.
* Nightmare appears in the Game Boy Color game Seme COM Dungeon: Drururuaga. The player can obtain him as an "ally" and use his armor.
* He is similar to Faust from *Blades of Fury*. They both are the main antagonists of their games and are associated with fire. They both have large swords they use in one hand. Coincidentally, Nightmare has a sword named Faust.

### *Soul Edge*

* In Siegfried's Ending in Edge Master Mode, in the paragraph where Siegfried turns into Nightmare standing at the top of the mountain, he wields Soul Edge, in the form of two blades.

### *Soulcalibur*

* Within the Schwartzstrom group, Nightmare is referred to as "Honour Azules".[1]
* In all Destined Battles concerning Nightmare, his lines do not seem to react to his actual opponent in any way. He is the only character for this to happen.

### *Soulcalibur II*

* If you play as Nightmare in his bonus costume & equip Requiem or Faust, he will look just like Siegfried. They can both be purchased at Misari in Weapon Master, with the Requiem costing 2400 gold, & his bonus costume costing 24,700 gold. (Unless the player uses Nightmare often, in which case the price will have inflated.)

### *Soulcalibur III*

* Nightmare's Tales of Souls shows that he doesn't need to eat or drink to survive, as when other characters reach the Grand Labyrinth, they carry food and provisions, but Nightmare goes without. It is strongly implied that he feeds on souls and despair.
* In the character creation mode, there are parts from Nightmare's 2P costume from *Soulcalibur*. These parts are named "Slayer", like "Slayer's Helmet" or "Slayer's Tasset".
* The Soul of Nightmare discipline is available to created characters of the Barbarian class.

### *Soulcalibur Legends*

* Nightmare fights in a similar fashion as Night Terror, as he is able to levitate, and uses many of Night Terror's attacks, such as his beam attack.

### *Soulcalibur IV*

* In Nightmare's Story Mode, Nightmare is accompanied by Tira for most of the time, until he kills her and devours her soul after the fourth stage before he fights Siegfried.
* In Chain of Souls, Nightmare is shown to have only two loyal servants: Tira and Voldo. In contrast, Nightmare is shown to have more enemies than any other characters, for a total of 10.
* Nightmare is the only character in the Story Mode that doesn't respond to the player's character's dialogue, with the exception of Cervantes and Siegfried. For example, in Taki's story, when the player encounters Nightmare, Taki says, "Wicked soul, prepare to die!". Nightmare responds with "Tremble, this is true darkness!". He also uses this response with every character. However, when fighting Cervantes, Cervantes shouts "Sword! Return to your master!"; Nightmare responds with "You, I remember you!" There is also a unique dialogue with Siegfried atop the tower; Siegfried states "Let's do this! My unforgivable past!", and Nightmare retorts "In the end, you will give into despair".
* Nightmare seems to be associated with fire, as revealed in his introduction sequence, as a "fiery" aura surrounds him in some scenes. Furthermore, many of his lines involve a variation of the word "burn". This is in contrast to Siegfried, who is associated with ice.
* Many variations of his helmet are available as DLC.

### *Soulcalibur V*

* Interestingly in the english voices, after being defeated by Elysium, Nightmare's death cry isn't heard, but is present in the japanese voices. Whether this is intentional or due to a bug in the game, it is unknown.
* Much like Astaroth, Nightmare was defeated and destroyed by his nemesis Siegfried at the end of*Soulcalibur IV* (as Astaroth was destroyed by his respective nemesis, Maxi, as well). He was succeeded by an identical version.
* Nightmare's music theme title, Pavor Nocturnus, is the clinical name for night terrors and most likely a reference to the hidden boss from *Soulcalibur III*, Night Terror.
* Nightmare's 2P costume resembles his 2P costume from *Soulcalibur II*, except for his mask that prevents you from seeing his face.
* Nightmare has a special costume featured in Legendary Souls mode - his *Soulcalibur IV* 1P. Unfortunately it is not available to players, it can only be accessed through hacking.
* His 1P costume is a modified version of the same from *Soulcalibur II*, with elements from other versions added in.
* It is possible to see Nightmare in his Dumas persona in 3D by creating an original costume for him in Create-A-Soul mode. His character model's face is that of Raphael with Dumas' mask from the story mode artwork, called the Persona of Deceit in the creation menu. On top of that, when recreating Nightmare, you can get a very good glimpse of his face when equipping certain items: the Prayer Helm, Warthog Bascinet,Nightmare: Torment, and Nightmare: Misery hide the mask, leaving his eye area, and thus complete face, visible.
* Both Nightmare and Raphael share the same voice actor in both languages, further fueling speculation that Dumas' body is Raphael's.
	+ Furthermore, Nightmare's fighting style was also changed to "What the sword desires", implying that the new host could have let his will be overwhelmed by the sword's desires, leading Nightmare to use his 'previous' fighting style instead of the host's.
	+ Also, in the New Legends of Project Soul artbook, designer Hiroaki Kado states that there is a reason why Nightmare's armor has a bat theme, without giving further information.
* Upon defeating Viola, Nightmare has a special win quote in which he doesn't speak; instead groaning, possibly in pain.
* In early demos, Nightmare had an alternate theme which included vocals. This was excluded in the final version of the game.
* In the artwork, Graf Dumas had red hair, but in story mode seems to be blonde.
* After the end of *Soulcalibur V* it's unclear what happened to Nightmare's armor after Graf Dumas died since Inferno/Soul Edge and Elysium/Soul Calibur were both sealed away it could be possible that Nightmare's remains were separated after Dumas was killed.