Warning: This chapter is pretty violent, so I have to change the ratings on my entire fic, but I figure I'll be free me upto do as I please.

Chapter IV

Azure as Night

The night was perfect in a certain quaint little village. Nestled away in a valley surrounded by low sprawling hills. The ever so slight breeze causing the windmill, the only large structure in the village, to rotate slowly.

In one of the simple little cottages a small girl sat, cuddling her baby brother in her arms. She was sweetly singing a melody as she rocked him, gazing at the perfect full moon. She noticed that in the distance dark storm clouds swept slowly toward her village. She eyed this storm suspiciously, something in the wind told her that something was amiss.

She quickly returned the infant to its bed and headed for the windmill. Talim loved climbing to the top of the windmill. There was something about being that high that filled her with excitement. Tonight, however, instead of going to gaze out into nothing, she was going to see if she could figure out the message in the wind.

She was only sixteen, and still a novice priestess, but she had learned from the high priest of the wind himself. Hers was a village that believed in the goddess of wind, and its priests were able to receive feelings and messages from the wind itself at times. So to Talim, the wind had spoken a message of danger through the storm.

As she ran for the outskirts, where the windmill was located, she passed the orphanage that she worked at during the days when she wasn't at the temple. Every week the town would send out a group of people to the larger cities to find and bring back orphans. Being kind-hearted as she was, it was only natural for Talim to want to be apart of that.

When she finally got to the windmill, she looked back and saw that the storm was much closer than before. Too fast had it moved to be moved by even the strongest of winds. She became even more worried as a gust of wind blew by. In the wind Talim sensed an almost overwhelming feeling of hatred and evil. Like a gateway to hell had been opened wide.

She ran at full speed up the winding stairway. The sound of crashing thunder deafened her momentarily as lightning streaked over the sky. With every second she sensed the evil growing closer. By the time she reached the top of the windmill, the rain had reached the other end of the village.

The storm, however, was not the center of Talim's concern. Standing at the forefront of the storm was evil itself. Standing there, with the Soul Edge in hand, was Nightmare. His red glowing eyes gazed out at the unaware village.

Look at all those souls there, ready to be harvested. It certainly isn't much, but it's a start.

Talim looked in horror as the Nightmare charged towards the village. He arrived at the first house and shattered the flimsy door. Stepping inside he began his massacre. The shrill cry of death was all that emerged from it. He continued his massacre, killing anything living. He cared not whether his victim was old, young, male, or female; he just killed.

A band of men gathered with their farming tools, attempting to keep him back. He laughed maniacally as his Soul Edge rent each into pieces. He arrived at Talim's hut. A feeling of pure horror and dread filled her as she remembered that her baby brother was still in there. She felt a sharp pain in her heart as a baby's cry of pain rang out.

Nightmare continued relentlessly murdering everyone in sight. Then, when it seemed everything was lost, the priests and priestesses of the wind came forth.

"Foul demon! You have gone far enough! Already you've murdered dozens, it is time you pay for your sins!" The high priest said as he and the others began to summon the wind. Suddenly a gale of wind assailed Nightmare. It was so powerful that it sent him backwards into one of the houses. He crashed through the wall and in the process knocked over a lamp, starting a fire in the house. The wind summoned by the priests caused it to spread to other houses as well.

Nightmare rose from the wreckage, his skin burning as he stepped forward against the wind. The wind slowed Nightmare a great deal, but did nothing to Soul Edge as it came crashing down on the first priestess. The gale lessened as she collapsed, rent in two by the sword. Nighmare then charged forward piercing two more priests at once. One priest came up from behind to attack him with a short dagger. Before he noticed what had happened the priest's arm was chewed off by the extra mouth on Nightmare's arm. Nighmare swung his sword in a full circle, five more priests and priestesses fell.

Now only the high priest stood. He assaulted Nighmare with insanely powerful blasts of wind. One actually crushed in Nightmare's breastplate, but no matter how much damage he took, Nightmare would not fall. Nightmare had had enough. He grabbed the priest with his inhuman arm. Its three claws digging into his back. Nighmare looked into the priest's eyes and sucked the very soul from his body. He then tossed the lifeless body into the flames.

Talim stood there, too shocked to move, too crushed to cry, just standing there shivering as the deluge brought upon by Nightmare drenched her. She watched in silence as Nightmare laid waste to the rest of the village, finally ending up at the orphanage. The cries rang out once again, each a piercing sword through Talim's heart.

Nightmare finally stopped. He took a deep breath and plunged Soul Edge into the ground. Then from throughout the village eerie streams of ghastly blue light began to flow towards Soul Edge, the eye at it's core intently still, absorbing every unfortunate soul. As soon as it was done Nightmare turned and began walking away.

Now Talim felt the overwhelming sadness and began sobbing uncontrollably as the rain poured and the fire consumed her home below. She was truely alone. One teenage girl was all that survived the carnage caused by the seed of evil, the Nightmare.