Well, this is it, dudes and dudettes! The last dance! I've tried to make this last battle between Siggy and Nighty as good as possible, and I hope I've done very well as moments like these are my favourite in any fanfic There's a little epilogue after this though, just to add something lovely at the end! Well, this is the final battle between Siegfried and Nightmare! Enjoy
Chapter 8 – Ascension
Siegfried stared incredulously across the vast vacuum of blackness. The stars whizzed all around him, and Nightmare.
"Surprised?" said Nightmare, giving a laugh. Siegfried recognised the deep, insane tone of his own voice. No………HIS voice………
"This………this is impossible!" spluttered Siegfried. "How can we both exist?"
"We are both very much one." hissed Nightmare, sliding his finger down Soul Edge's blade. "You are good, and I am evil."
Siegfried snorted. Nightmare was just a mindless monster searching for souls. Since when did he get this smart?
"It must be something to do with Chaos, or Soul Edge." thought the knight out loud, nodding to emphasise his point. "Yes, that's it." He went into his stance with Soul Calibur.
"You pathetic human!" laughed Nightmare, his cold voice echoing through the emptiness. "You really think you can defeat me? You still have no idea, do you?"
"I know I can beat you." declared Siegfried, looking the monster in the eye. "I broke free of Soul Edge, I stopped Raphael and Inferno. You're next!"
Nightmare simply laughed again. Now his laughs sounded taunting. Siegfried felt somewhat uneasy.
"You haven't broken free, Siegfried. And you never will." spoke Nightmare with an evil grin.
Siegfried's anger rose. "What are you talking about!" he shouted, and his voice echoed louder than Nightmare's.
"Where are we, Siegfried?" grinned Nightmare, gesturing around him with his arms.
Siegfried frowned. What kind of question was that? "Chaos!"
Nightmare smiled. "What is Chaos?"
A pained look stretched across Siegfried's face. "I don't know………some kind of other world? Where Soul Edge came from? I don't know!" he yelled in frustration.
Nightmare stepped closer, causing Siegfried to tense, ready to strike. Nightmare stopped a few steps away from him, with a superior smile fixed to his face.
"Wrong. You humans make me sick………so stupid and blind. You can't see the truth. Your perception of Soul Edge is all wrong."
"What the hell are you talking about?" growled Siegfried, who looked ready to kill.
Nightmare looked straight into Siegfried's eyes, and said coldly:
"Welcome to your soul, Siegfried!"
Siegfried's eyes widened, and he almost dropped Soul Calibur in shock. "What!"
Nightmare turned and faced into the endless black. "This is your soul, Siegfried. Your own personal Chaos. Everyone has one. What you call Chaos is what happens to your soul once your dark side takes it from you."
"This………is my soul? My consciousness………who I am………?" gasped the German, his head spinning.
"Yes. All those lovely little stars represent what is left of your good or light self, the fragments of your wretched humanity." Nightmare hissed, turning to face Siegfried again. "The blackness?"
He gave a sick laugh.
"That's me!"
Siegfried raised his weapon again in anger and disbelief as Nightmare's cruel laughter echoes through what was supposed to be………his soul.
"You're lying!" he screamed.
"It's the truth and you know it, you imbecile!" retorted Nightmare, readying Soul Edge. "You see this? Soul Edge is merely the catalyst! Once some foolhardy human takes it, it pours into the wretch's soul, drawing out his or her dark side! You see, it's not Soul Edge that devours your soul, but yourself! Your own darkness!"
"H-How can this be………all these years, I've just been possessed by myself?" yelled Siegfried, anger dominating his thoughts.
"Yes! You have never been a slave to the sword; you were a slave to me! And you still are, fool!" laughed Nightmare, grinning. "You broke free of the sword's influence, not me! Remember when you fought the samurai? When the lust for his soul came back? That was me, taking you again! Only that damned girl stopped me………but she won't be a problem anymore! Ha ha ha!"
Sophitia's death flooded back into Siegfried's mind. "You bastard! Sophitia and many innocent people are dead………all because of that goddamned sword and YOU!" He resumed his stance. "Well, I'm making a stand, Nightmare! It ends here!"
"Yes, the life of Siegfried Schtauffen ends here!" snarled Nightmare, taking the same stance as Siegfried. "Whoever wins here gets your soul! I'm going to enjoy sucking every last part of it from your corpse!"
"You've had my soul for too long, demon!" rebuked Siegfried, his eyes flashing with hate. "I'm taking it back! For everyone that has suffered because of you, I will kill you!"
"I'm going to enjoy this, Siegfried. I'm going to enjoy watching the last of your worthless humanity be extinguished!" Nightmare smiled evilly, and thrust Soul Edge into the air. Red energy crackled out of it, and Nightmare shouted.
"Sword, give me STRENGTH!"
Siegfried simply stared at his dark side. "I will not rest until I wreak vengeance for everyone you have killed!"
Nightmare rushed at Siegfried, screaming death. "Raaaaaaggggghhhhh!"
Siegfried rushed at the same instant, with his own battle cry. "Haaaaaaaaaaaagggghhhhh!"
Both of them swung their weapons, and there was an almighty clash as Soul Calibur and Soul Edge locked together once again.
Siegfried broke the lock, and swung left, right then vertically. Each hit was parried by Nightmare.
Nightmare countered with an almost identical move, except that his vertical slash was more vicious. Siegfried barely blocked it, and was forced to crouch down because of the force.
However, he was ready. He went into his Maelstrom attack, and Soul Calibur sliced through Nightmare's azure plating, slashing his legs.
"Raarggh!" hissed Nightmare. The murderous knight was normally quite resilient to pain, but it was Soul Calibur that had wounded him. He stepped back as Siegfried sliced forward, attempting to gain advantage of his momentarily loss of concentration.
"Pain isn't a very nice feeling is it?" taunted Siegfried, grinning. "You're going to get a lot more of that before I'm through with you!"
"I'll show you a whole WORLD of pain, you fool!" Nightmare roared, delivering two immensely powerful vertical strikes to Siegfried. The German blocked the first one but couldn't withstand the second, and he lost balance, falling to the ground………or at least whatever he was standing on.
Nightmare crouched and stabbed forward, attempting to thrust straight into Siegfried's head. Fortunately Siegfried saw this coming and once again Soul Edge harmlessly clashed off of Soul Calibur. Siegfried rolled to the side and got back to his feet.
"You can't win, human!" hissed nightmare with an evil grin. "I know you, I know how you think!"
"I know how you think as well, and theirs is always a weakness somewhere. I'll just have to find it!" retorted Siegfried, before rushing back at Nightmare and thrusting his weapon forward. Nightmare deflected it but the force of the stab pushed him back.
Siegfried changed his stance, holding Soul Calibur behind his shoulder. He made to swing it………
Too late! He just noticed Nightmare swinging upwards………
Soul Edge sliced across his outstretched arm and upwards along his face. It went through his arm plating like butter.
"Agh!" cried Siegfried, stepping back and nearly letting go of his weapon. His left cheek was now dripping with bloody from the horrendous cut along it, and his right arm was pulsing with pain.
"Would you like some more?" sniggered Nightmare.
"Why won't you just………die!" shouted Siegfried. "Stop plaguing me, you fiend!"
The knight began to feel warm sensations on his two fresh wounds. Soul Calibur was beginning to heal him, but he knew it would take time. He was lucky he'd only been caught on his face and his less favoured arm. Next time he dropped his guard he would not be so lucky.
"I will never die………my thirst, my darkness………my power is eternal!" declared Nightmare loudly, holding Soul Edge in a victorious pose. "You are nothing but a weak little human who cannot see that it is useless to resist your TRUE desires!"
"My true desire is to redeem myself for the things I've done! To be a hero to the people, and to make this world a better place!" yelled Siegfried, rallying himself. "Those are MY desires, the desires of me! Siegfried Schtauffen! You are NOT me! You're just a shadow, the monster that lays dormant in me in the day and that awakens at night! The desires of death, of chaos, of souls………those are YOURS, not mine!"
He held up Soul Calibur. "If Soul Edge brings out a person's dark side, then this must bring out their light side! I'm not going to let that light go out………"
"I'll just engulf it with my darkness instead, then!" said Nightmare, dashing to his opponent again. He tried to catch Siegfried with an upwards blow, but Siegfried slashed down, knocking him off balance. Siegfried seized the moment and stabbed Nightmare in the stomach.
"Arrggghhh!" cried Nightmare, staggering back and clutching his stomach. Blood was pouring from the nasty wound, and Nightmare was beginning to cough it up as well.
"You're not as immortal as you think." declared Siegfried, looking at Nightmare's wound and the blood that was on Soul Calibur. "You bleed, and you can die."
"I'll drown you in your own blood!" shouted Nightmare, his voice full of rage. He struck at Siegfried again, the eye on Soul Edge becoming ecstatic as it smelled blood.
Gritting his teeth, Siegfried braced himself firmly against Nightmare's blows, suddenly countering by grabbing Nightmare's head. He smashed Soul Calibur's hilt into it, sending the azure knight to the floor.
Dazed, but fuelled by bloodlust, Nightmare swiped violently at his foe as he rose to his feet. Siegfried parried him for a moment, but then he sneaked a stab into his attack, which pierced Siegfried's side. The knight grimaced, but fought on undaunted.
Siegfried noticed that the surroundings were changing. The 'stars' were becoming bigger, turning into hug patches of light, and the blackness was beginning be engulfed by it. That could mean only one thing………
"You're weakening." He grinned at Nightmare.
"I think not!" snarled Nightmare, slashing at Siegfried. The knight blocked, but didn't realise it was a trick. Nightmare smashed his demonic arm into Siegfried's face.
Taken completely by surprise, Siegfried staggered backwards, dazed from the blow. He fell backwards, but jammed Soul Calibur into the 'ground' to support himself.
As he went to get up, Nightmare slashed at his sword arm and legs. Soul Edge went cleanly through his armour and delivered punishing pain to those areas.
Siegfried cried out in pain and fell back to his knees. Blood was dripping from his legs and left arm now, but as it hit the 'ground' it vanished. He clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the pain. However, he was struggling to even hold Soul Calibur now.
"What a pathetic sight." hissed Nightmare, standing tall over him. "You were just like this the first time you awakened me."
Siegfried guessed he was talking about when he first acquired Soul Edge. "I was………blind back then………too blind a-and stupid………to see how evil that sword was………how evil it would make me………"
"You still are blind, fool." Nightmare pointed Soul Edge at his fallen foe. "You are too blind to see that no matter what you do, your soul is destined to mine! Surrender it now, Siegfried………and I may finish you quick."
"I-I………won't give you………the satisfaction………"said Siegfried angrily, but weakly. A strange sensation started to come over him, and he knew that Soul Calibur was once again trying to heal him. He knew however that the spirit sword would not be able to regain his strength in time to avoid Nightmare's death blow.
"As you wish." smirked Nightmare. "I'd prefer to make you suffer anyway!" He winded up with his mutated fist and punched Siegfried in the face again. The young knight fell on his back, now sporting a claw mark down the left side of his face.
"I've waited a long time for this!" yelled Nightmare, grabbing Siegfried by his throat. "I'm going to strangle every last inch of life out of you, and make sure that this time, you won't come back!"
He tightened his grip on Siegfried's throat. The German began to cough violently, the colour starting to vanish from his face.
"Ha ha ha………so weak, you can't even speak any final words………you will die like the waste of breath you are!" taunted Nightmare, feeling Siegfried's life begin to slip away. Soul Edge quivered in excitement in his left hand, waiting to finally consume the best soul of them all.
Siegfried began to see a white light as he began to lose consciousness. Looks like this is it………I've failed………
The pain from his wounds was starting to fade. Everything was starting to fade, as the light grew brighter.
Good bye………
"Siegfried!"
A voice called out to him. The voice he'd known only a short time, but he'd cherished hearing it.
"Don't give up! If he kills you, the world as we know it is finished! Everyone and everything will be consumed by him! Nothing will be able to stop him! Please, Siegfried! Or even more people will suffer………"
Tears started to well in his eyes. "Sophitia!" he cried.
"Siegfried………"
Her voice vanished. Siegfried felt like he was dead already. He remembered the horrible moment, as Raphael killed her.
"It's………it's not fair………" he cried. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Son!"
Siegfried opened his eyes in disbelief. Before him stood Frederick Schtauffen, his father.
"Father!"
"Son, do not listen to that monster. Vanquish him! I know you have the strength inside you!"
"Father………he's too strong………"
"You're wrong. You've already broken yourself from him physically and mentally. He has lost his grip on your soul. All you have to do is destroy what remains of him inside you. The last fragments of him that grasp your soul."
"But………"
"It was he that killed me, son. Not you. If nothing else, avenge my death. I know you can do it."
"Father………"
"Finish it, my son. Destroy Soul Edge………destroy him………"
Frederick's voice faded away as well. The light was intense now………Siegfried was on the verge of death.
"No………" he said. "This ends now………"
Siegfried snapped back to reality. He was choking, his face blue with death, and his life nearly gone. He stared at the red eyes looking at him with glee, the red eyes that were once his own.
He would not let this monster live any longer.
His left arm, numb with pain, suddenly regained its strength. He sliced upwards into Nightmare's demonic arm, causing blood to spew out of it like a fountain.
Nightmare screamed, and released his grip on Siegfried's throat. The knight, barely alive, dropped to the ground. However, energy was flowing into his body from Soul Calibur, and his renewed spirit. Gradually he got back to his feet. Nightmare was still holding his arm, shrieking in agony.
Siegfried's angered eyes locked onto his dark side. Nightmare looked up into them.
"Go to hell, you bastard." cursed Siegfried.
Siegfried charged forward with speed and strength he'd never known in his whole life, and would never know again. Soul Calibur began to supercharge with energy, a brilliant blue light emanating from its blade.
Nightmare went to raise Soul Edge, but he never made it.
Siegfried thrust Soul Calibur into Nightmare's chest, right where his heart was. There was a sickening sound as the blade pierced Nightmare's flesh. Blood began to seep out of the wound, soaking Soul Calibur.
Siegfried waited a moment, then thrust back, removing the spirit sword from his foe.
Nightmare's eyes were widened in surprise. He stepped back, clutching his wound with his demon arm. The blood flowed down his chest, leaving a trail of red.
Then, light flashed all over his body, the same light that had come from Soul Calibur. He screamed, the light burning him inside and out. "AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Siegfried blocked his eyes because the light was hurting his eyes. All around him, the empty black vacuum erupted into light, as the tiny 'stars' became larger and fused together, ripping through the blackness.
Yet, Nightmare was still alive. Despite the tremendous agony he was in, the azure knight managed to grab Soul Edge.
"You………you will die now………Siegfried! RAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Screaming bloody murder, Nightmare charged at Siegfried with all the strength he had left.
"How can he still be alive!" thought Siegfried frantically. Just then, he heard Soul Calibur again.
Soul Edge………destroy Soul Edge………
Soul Edge! As Nightmare had said, it was simply the catalyst for a person's dark side. If he destroyed it………
Soul Calibur began to surge with energy, the bright blue bolts crackling around it.
Siegfried saw his dark side………his nightmare rushing towards him.
"Sophitia………this is for you………" he spoke out loud.
Just as Nightmare reached Siegfried, the knight brought his sword crashing down from behind his shoulder, performing his trusty Rook Splitter technique once again.
Nightmare stabbed forwards with Soul Edge………
Soul Calibur smashed downwards onto Soul Edge with such power that the evil sword was shattered into two pieces. The evil red bolts of energy began to crackle around the broken sword.
Nightmare stepped back, releasing the broken bottom half of Soul Edge. The cursed weapon hung in mid-air, still crackling.
"Ugghhhh……….AAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!" screamed Nightmare. Rays of light began to pierce his body, and he knew what had happened. Soul Edge was finished………and so was its master.
"NOOOOOOOO!" he yelled in shock. "RAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Nightmare exploded into nothing with a loud, echoing bang. He was simply vaporized by the light. There was nothing left of him.
Siegfried looked at where his dark side had stood. Nightmare was dead………gone. He was never coming back. He would never slaughter another innocent again, and he would never plague Siegfried's soul ever again.
He saw that Soul Edge was still hanging there, as if taunting him. However, the energy around it began to react violently. The two pieces of the sword began to shake, and Siegfried could swear that he heard a scream.
The sword's eye widened, but not in excitement. It looked at Siegfried with terror.
Seconds later, Soul Edge exploded, with an unholy force. A brilliant shockwave of light surged from the dying sword, and it rushed towards Siegfried.
The blast hit him and threw him to the floor, and he blacked out………
Daylight………blue sky………clouds………
Those were the first things Siegfried saw as he finally opened his eyes. He groggily got to his feet, and grimaced. His wounds from the battle were still hurting, but he felt Soul Calibur helping to ease the pain.
He took a deep breath, and looked around him. The ruins of Ostrheinsburg Castle looked much more serene in the daylight.
Also, the feeling of death and darkness………it was gone. It was almost like he'd purified the entire place.
However, the strangest feeling was within himself. He no longer felt tortured………he felt complete. The darkness he'd always brooded over was gone. His soul was clear now………and it was his once again.
The German looked at Soul Calibur. The sword was a little scratched from its battle with Soul Edge, but other than that it was just fine. He gave a smile. "Thank you." he said to the spirit sword.
As if to acknowledge him, Soul Calibur glowed blue for a moment.
Siegfried sheathed the sword. He had a feeling that he would find to be a better companion than even his trusted Faust had been.
He started to walk away, knowing that he would never again need to come back to this place. He'd fought the biggest battle a human could ever fight, and he'd won.
Suddenly, he stopped. A pain like no other he'd ever known shot through his heart. Tears began to well his eyes.
In front of him was Sophitia's body. He knelt down beside her, and touched her face. Once it had been so warm and full of life. Now it was cold, unmoving………dead.
She'd stood by him the whole time, believing in him. She had been right, as well.
She'd believed in him so much, she'd given up her life for him. He'd finally destroyed Soul Edge………but it all seemed so pointless to him now, because the price had been too high………
"Why………?" he said, the tears finally coming. "Why did you have to die………? I………"
Siegfried paused. He wished he'd been able to tell her………
"I-I………I loved you………"
He held her lifeless body in his arms, doing something he hadn't done for a long time in his life.
He cried. His tears fell from his face onto Sophitia's. His cries echoed through the whole castle, and he just couldn't stop. He had never known pain like this before in his life.
Eventually, he laid Sophitia's body down on the ground. The least he could do was give her a proper burial.
He was about to start digging a grave, when Soul Calibur began to shake. Puzzled, his unsheathed the spirit sword.
Immediately, it flew out of his hands, and hovered above Sophitia.
"What the………?" exclaimed a puzzled Siegfried. "What are you doing!"
The sword responded by suddenly surging untold amounts of energy into Sophitia's body. Blue bolts flew through her body, and it looked like she was being electrocuted. The reaction began to give off a huge light, a light so bright that it was too bright for Siegfried to look at.
"Agh!" he cried, the light hurting his eyes. He was forced to look away.
The light flared for a few moments, before subsiding slightly. Siegfried looked at it.
There was now a pillar of light shimmering in front of him, and Soul Calibur was floating above it. It had completely engulfed the body of his fallen love.
"What is happening?" he said in bewilderment.
Then, a figure stepped out of the pillar. At that moment, Soul Calibur flew back into Siegfried's sheath, and the pillar faded.
The heroic knight's mouth dropped open in shock, for standing before him was………
"Sophitia!" he exclaimed.
The Greek maiden smiled. "Did you miss me?"
Siegfried's sadness turned to happiness. He ran to her and threw his arms around her. "I………I thought you were dead………"
"I was………" said Sophitia. "But Soul Calibur can do more than heal………" She looked into his eyes.
"I'm so happy………"said Siegfried, his face breaking into a wide smile. "I thought I'd lost you………"
"You could never lose me. I was in there………in your soul." She tenderly touched his face. "And………I heard what you said………"
Siegfried gasped, and his face went slightly red. "Y-you did………?"
"Yes." replied Sophitia, smiling brightly. "And this is what I have to say to that."
She wrapped her arms around the knight's neck, and gently kissed him on the lips.
"Siegfried………I love you too………" Now it was Sophitia's turn to flush red.
Siegfried's heart leapt. She loves me………? She loves me! He looked into her eyes, and leaned into her, kissing her on the lips as well.
Sophitia slid her tongue inside his mouth, searching eagerly for his. When she found it, she entwined hers with his, lovingly sliding hers all the way along his.
Siegfried had never know what a kiss felt like before, having never been in love. It felt like he was in heaven, and despite having never kissed before, he kissed back with passion and love.
A gentle breeze blew through both of them, blowing their hair all around their faces. Siegfried pressed his body closer to Sophitia's, to keep her from being cold.
As they lost themselves in their passionate kiss, Siegfried realised that for the first time in his life, he wasn't in a nightmare anymore, but a dream. A sweet dream………
He'd escaped his nightmare at last………
You didn't think I would kill off my favourite female character from Soul Calibur did you? I love romantic stories and I couldn't resist pairing Siggy and Sophie!
This isn't the end, however! Read the epilogue for what I think is a sweet ending!
Chris the Phoenix Knight
