Berserker (Fate/Crossover - Nightmare)

**Berserker** (バーサーカー, *Bāsākā*) is the servant of ??? in the Shinjuku Holy Grail War, and one of the main antagonists of Fate/Abyss Zone.

"*Show me the madness that lies within!*" — Nightmare

## Profile

### Identity

Berserker's true identity is **Nightmare**, wielder and living incarnation of the cursed sword, 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.

### Personality

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 in his Tales of Souls path where he considers possibly taking the soul of his loyal servant Tira if she doesn't complete her task. Though his incarnation in V wants to take over the world rather than destroy it.

Little is presently known about Nightmare's personality beyond his insatiable bloodlust and devotion to Soul Edge, to the extent that he is an enigma even to his own minions. It is clear, however, that Siegfried - the host - retains a certain level of awareness, given his response to Sophitia wanting to "save [him]". He mere replies "there is no turning back", indicating that, while aware of his actions, he either knows or believes that there is no way for him to stray from the path of blood. What remains of Siegfried's consciousness within Nightmare is enslaved by Soul Edge's will, which has impersonated the ghost of his father to manipulate him.

If he defeats Sophitia, he will utter "My sins...can only be cleansed with blood!", indicating that he has a twisted sense of atonement (possibly believing that his massacres will bring back his deceased father that he himself killed, i.e. his "sins").

Nightmare is shown to struggle with the knowledge of having murdered his own father as Siegfried. Part of him believes a different person did it and is unwilling or unable to see the truth, while another -mostly dormant - side of him has begun to accept his role in Frederick's death and is attempting to force Nightmare to accept the truth; that "[his] father's killer" Nightmare blames for his father's death is himself. He despises this and tells his other side that he "shall kill [him] a thousand times over" in an attempt to rid himself of his guilt.

## 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 effectively 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.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Soul Edge**

Soul Edge… A sword that has left countless indelible scars on history. The cursed blade devours souls, and most warriors who have sought it out have found only a horrific death.

Its past is one of doom and destruction, and now it finds itself in the hands of the mentally unstable Siegfried. The troubled man fails to see that it controls him like a marionette, and he dances to is accursed tune.

Soul Edge takes the form of its “vessel’s” preferred weapon—in Siegfried’s case, the Zweihänder. This is so it can push its owner’s power to the limit to better claim the blood and souls it craves.

Soul Edge has been part of many a battle, and the blade carries within it the memories of those who wielded it, and those who faced them. Such memories influence the fighting style of the blade’s current master, so even if its wielder lacks experience in combat, they can battle like a seasoned warrior. This alone makes those who oppose Soul Edge tremble with fear.

When facing Nightmare, one must never forget that he is able to at least partially unleash the power of the sword. If he does, be prepared for a blow designed to kill in one fell cut.

The souls of those struck down and devoured by the sword are like books that get added to the blade’s seemingly never-ending library of fighting styles. Is there anyone who can stop the river of blood this sword leaves in its wake?

#### **Dark Reconquista: Triumph**

Nightmare grabs his sword with both hands and thrusts it upwards, standing still while doing so. After a brief delay, he utters "Soul Edge...", driving his sword downward, striking and stunning his opponent while doing so. With a dark aura explosion enveloping him, he utters "Be unleashed!". Emerging from the explosion, sitting atop a horse made of dark energy, he charges towards his opponent, with his sword lowered, muttering "Taste...". As the sword connects, and slices trough the opponent, he finishes with shouting "...the sword of despair!" The horse disappears, with Nightmare ending up on the opponent's rear.

## References

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare