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Nightmare is a '' and '' Soul Calibur III ''. He appears in '' Soul Blade '' as "Siegfried!", an extra costume for Siegfried that was actually used to represent Nightmare in Siegfried's ending. BIOGRAPHY The biographies of Siegfried Schtauffen and Nightmare are the same up until the last paragraph, where they become separate and are able to co-exist simultaneously. Nightmare is a completely different personality spawned within Siegfried from Soul Edge's consciousness and Siegfried's evil aspects. During the late Sixteenth Century , the oppressed peasants of Germany were revolting against the Holy Roman Empire . With its forces weakened by the Italian Wars , the German peasants finally had a fighting chance. One of the champions of the people, a brave Knight named Sir Frederick Schtauffen, met and fell in love with a woman named Margaret while on campaign; and they spent the night together. When Frederick returned after nine months of battle, he rejoined Margaret, having given birth to a son, whom he named Siegfried, after the famous hero. Over the course of the next ten to fifteen years, Frederick spent a lot of his time teaching his son swordsmanship. Embarking on a foreign Crusade , Frederick promised Margaret that he would return; unfortunately, without his father's guidance, Siegfried began to socialize with an edgy clan of teenagers, and he soon became the leader of their band of thieves known as "Schwarzwind," meaning "black wind." In a misguided act of national pride, the band devised a plan to attack the Knight s who ran away from the Crusades , as they were bound to carry valuable possessions, and were too cowardly to deserve respect in any case. That night, the "Schwarzwind" ambushed a group of war-weary Soldier s, too tired to retaliate. Siegfried even managed to kill the Commander himself; but as he held the Commander's severed head in triumph, the moonlight shone on its face, and Siegfried screamed as he realized he held the head of his own father. In mere seconds, Siegfried had snapped and ran straight into the forest, becoming more and more insane as he ruminated over his previous acts, until he came to a point at which he psychologically convinced himself that his father's murderer was actually someone other than himself. And in this newfound delusion for revenge, Siegfried decided that his father's murderer must only be defeated by a specific weapon so that the vengeance would remain all the more satisfying; that weapon was the Soul Edge. He traveled first to Ostrheinsburg Castle, the refuge of the Noble Sir Stefan, who he believed to be the possessor of the Soul Edge; and he joined in its forces, rising in its ranks with the hopes of acquiring Stefan's self-proclaimed legendary blade. During a siege on the castle, Siegfried saw an opportunity to take Sir Stefan's prized possession, the sword Grimblade, and killed him, running off with it into the Black Woods nearby the castle; but the sword held no power. Frustrated, he continued to search for weeks for the Soul Edge, growing increasingly more insane for its power as time passed. He finally managed to come across the legendary weapon Soul Edge, lying next to the defeated corpse of the dread Pirate , Cervantes De Leon . But as he reached for it, the corpse lit up in a hellish blaze of fire and attacked him. Siegfried Schtauffen raised his Zweihänder --appropriately named Faust --and defeated the fiery Inferno , earning the right to wield the Soul Edge for himself. At the precise moment that Astaroth , the lizard man Aeon Calcos , and Ivy , the unknowing daughter of Cervantes De Leon . Each of them aided him in the Soul Edge's quest to devour souls for a rejuvenation ceremony to be performed in his chosen stronghold, Ostrheinsburg Castle. But as the ceremony was about to take place, the clan was quickly laid to waste. Aeon Calcos had been defeated by Rock for kidnapping his foster son, Bangoo; Astaroth had been killed by Maxi for murdering his crew in an Indian port town; and Ivy was considering abandoning the clan after learning the shocking truth of her horrifying past from the Fu-Ma Ninja , Taki . Nightmare did succeed in resurrecting his father, but as Nightmare battled viciously with Kilik's holy Bo Staff Kali-Yuga, he came to the realization that this resurrection was merely an illusion of his own weakened soul, and he was too distracted to invest his full energy into the fight. Kilik eventually defeated him, and as his wounded body lay on the ground, Siegfried Schtauffen began to become the dominant force in Nightmare's mind again; and he witnessed the fateful battle between the holy sword Soul Calibur and the Inferno of Soul Edge. The battle between the swordsmen took place in a vortex of hellfire and evil energy summoned by Soul Edge. After a raging battle, the evil sword shattered, and both Nightmare and Soul Edge fell into the collapsing void. With Soul Edge severely weakened, Nightmare regained some of his humanity. Along with lucidity came the horrifying memories of the sins he committed, as well as the fear and anger of those who were slaughtered by him. Moreover, he realized that he had been the one who murdered his father. Expelled from the void into an unfamiliar place, Siegfried disappeared into the night-the evil sword still in his grip. But Soul Edge was weaker now, and splinters of itself were left in Siegfried's footsteps. Siegfried meditated on all he had done and eventually learned to accept responsibility for his sin. He planned to return to his mother, who had no knowledge of anything that occurred during or after that fateful night three years ago; but just as he was about to knock on the door, he could hear his mother praying, and concluded that if he was to be successful in his new resolve, he must distance himself from society so that he never kills again. He could not see his mother until he was fully redeemed; but he knew he was not yet atoned for, for every time he awoke from a night's rest, he found his new Zweihänder Requiem bloodied, and he was surrounded by the corpses of victims he had presumably murdered in his sleep. Siegfried Schtauffen was aware that although he had regained his sanity and learned to accept his past sins from three years ago, he was not yet fully redeemed. Every morning, as he awoke from rest, he would find the corpses of helpless victims lined around his body. He knew that the Soul Edge still held power over him, but now it used its strength in his sleep, and no matter how hard he tried not to fall asleep again, he would always eventually give in, and the darkness would continue to operate at night in his subconscious. He tried to forsake civilization as far as he could go so that no person could be corrupted by the dark energy of the Soul Edge, but never to any avail. Four years passed, and he had eventually assumed the azure armor for a second time, becoming Nightmare all over again, desperately pursuing fragments of the Soul Edge that he might fully restore it. As he plundered powerful souls and recovered shattered fragments of the sword, the cracks in the Soul Edge's surface healed one by one. His goal of reviving the sword was nearly complete, and he returned to his old stronghold, so that he may be in the Ostrheinsburg Chapel when he restored the blade to its true power. But just as he was about to begin his ceremony, he was interrupted once again, this time by a lone Fencer from the French Empire --the exiled son of the Sorel Nobility , Raphael . At the end of the fierce battle, Nightmare stood victorious; but just before he administered his finishing blow, the wounded man muttered something incoherent. Deep within the azure helmet, a faint hint of the will of Siegfried Schtauffen emerged and attempted to fight off the Soul Edge's influence for a second time. The battle between the two personalities waged in the mind of the singular being, causing the azure Knight to stand motionless in distraction. Unknown to him, the fallen body of the Fencer Raphael had been conjuring up all of its remaining strength to unleash a desperate pierce into the center of Soul Edge's eye. Nightmare let out an inhuman cry, and as the will of Soul Edge desperately clawed to keep its grasp on the azure Knight , the time had come for Siegfried Schtauffen to re-emerge and reclaim the body as his own. Siegfried Schtauffen had re-emerged to reclaim his body as his own for the second time--this time, he hoped, for the last time. And when he had become separate from his azure identity, Siegfried quickly thought back in a daze over all he had done; it had been a reflexive action. Just then, a sword had appeared within the light: the holy sword Soul Calibur. It had been trapped inside the Soul Edge all this time, waiting for a force strong enough to free it for its fateful battle to occur. As if guided by a mysterious force, he grabbed the Soul Calibur by its hilt and drove it into the evil eye that was the core of Soul Edge. ''At this point, the biographies of Nightmare and Siegfried Schtauffen become separate and are able to co-exist simultaneously.'' In the instant that the Soul Edge was pierced by the holy sword Soul Calibur, no one noticed the evil Inferno dwelling within the Soul Edge flowing out. Throughout its long history of slaughter, the sword had obtained its own immortal soul. This invisible entity--the will of the cursed sword--chose to cling to the remains of the azure armor strewn on the ground, the armor of the former azure Knight , Nightmare, who had unleashed his reign of terror across Europe . The evil soul flowed into the armor, desperately trying to manipulate its bodiless host to devour more souls. But the absence of a physical body held the spirit's potential back tremendously, and it was unable to accomplish anything. All it could do was resign itself to its current fate and wait for an opportunity to arise. Some time later, an Egyptian man bearing a large Scythe --the enigma known as Zasalamel --visited Ostrheinsburg Chapel where the strewn armor remained. He could read what had happened by studying the armor and the evil energy hanging in the air. In the thick fog, the spirit of the evil sword had an unspoken conversation with him; and Zasalamel agreed to aid the sword in its resurrection. He performed an ancient ritual, using powerful words to distort the laws of nature. The unsteady energy of the weakened sword was woven together and bound to the remains of the azure armor. The revived being clad in azure armor shone as new, with not a trace of damage remaining. Out of its hand oozed a tremendous sword which resembled the previous incarnation of the Soul Edge. But Zasalamel had plans of his own, and with his newfound control over the will of the sword, he ordered the entity to create havoc in the name of one Siegfried Schtauffen . The azure Knight soon made its presence known as the incarnation of fear, death, and devastation as it devoured countless souls, attacking and consuming all it encountered on a pure impulse to destroy. Not even death could quell the revived evil. But more and more souls would not be enough, and the spirit knew that it was in desperate need of stronger souls. Ultimately, however, the raging Inferno regained its independence and decided to free Soul Edge on its own as rumors of the terror of the azure nightmare spread throughout Europe once again. WEAPONS -- Soul Edge (Male) Some call it the "Sword of Heroes", others the "Sword of Immortality". Although the details of this legendary sword changed while the rumors spread around the world, its nature is unmistakably evil. The evil sword is said change forms to accommodate its wielder's fighting style and experience. Whenever the sword is bathed in blood, its single eye appears enraptured. It can control its wielder to commit grotesque crimes in order to consume souls, but its true purpose and intents remain unknown. After the events surrounding its defeat at the hands of two young warriors, the sword has been severely weakened. But still its power remains as a great force. In the present Soul Edge is now in a dormant state, sealed alongside its polar opposite, Soul Calibur, in what is known as the "Soul Embrace". -- Soul Edge (Phantom) After Nightmare was granted a new body, he used his memories of the sword alongside his great strength and will, and materialized this sword. It seems like a phantom memento of his origin. Nothing is really known about this sword. It is still capable of absorbing souls in order to maintain Nightmare's new shell, but it is dwarfed in comparison to the genuine Soul Edge in terms of power. STAGES -- Ostrheinsburg Castle (SC) Ostrheinsburg Castle rises high with the deep forests of Mittelberg in Germany behind it. Constructed by a renowned independent knight named Sir Stefan, this castle's defenses consisted of quadruple castle walls considered as being impregnable. However, after Sir Stefan was killed in a war, the remaining soldiers loyal to him were summarily executed and the women and children were taken away as slaves. After thieves plundered it thoroughly, this castle became a tragic ruin that reeked of death. It became a place where none dared to visit. -- Ostrheinsburg Chapel (SC2) The broken wall of the chapel reveals a somber view of the castle ruin looming in the distance. The ruin is what remains of Ostrheinsburg Castle that bore witness to the clash between Soul Edge and Soul Calibur four years previous. This chapel was the epicenter of the events surrounding Nightmare that transpired a few years before then. No one has dared to visit this chapel ever since, but mysteriously, some say that the chapel bell can be heard once in a while. Rumors say that the bell rings itself in honor of the chosen warriors. (Note: Nightmare shared this stage with the Guest Characters Heihachi, Link and Spawn) -- Lost Cathedral (SC3) It resembles many others, yet is like nothing else. A magnificent palace of water that seems to contain every form of architecture known to Europe. No one knows who made it, or where it is located. However, it is said that only those with a strong will and a willingness to bet their own lives can reach it. The great volume of water that flows through it is always circulating and pure, and it is said that it cleanses those who come here to pray. Siegfried seeks a showdown with Soul Edge and atonement for his own sins. Pursuing him, Nightmare, too, reaches this place. Will this holy palace of water be the end of both their journeys? (Note: Nightmare shared this stage with Siegfried) CHARACTER ANALYSIS In ''Soul Calibur II'', Nightmare is considered a mid- Tier character. Although he had the power, he was too sluggish, meaning he was not able to keep up with the like of Xianghua, although his ability to string combos together seamlessly through his multiple fighting stances can make up for the apparent lack of speed. He also lacked the initiative of characters such as Xianghua and Yoshimitsu . Though his Zweihänder swords had huge range, most of his moves at that distance were unsafe. His ideal range was mid. Nightmare is a stance-based character, having a total of five, through which he can transition seemlessly by either manual control or through attacking. One of his staple attacks is his primary launcher ''Sky Splitter'' (a.k.a. 3 {Link without Title} ), which goes into Night Back Stance, followed by ''Terror Stomper'' (B). Since Nightmare is relatively slow and does not have strong pokes, his game is based on punishing and provoking mistakes. Nightmare has a strong wake-up game due to his ability to mixup Sky Splitter, throws, and low attacks. In ''Soul Calibur III'', like Siegfried , Nightmare is quicker, but his damage has been reduced. Nightmare also posseses a new stance called "Grim Stride", which includes him running forward a bit, and making a total of 3 stances. Nightmare doesn't have many launchers anymore, which makes it hard to do air-combos. The usual laucher command (3B) is replaced with a downward attack. Many say that he remains mid- Tier . TRIVIA
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