ACT X : INSURRECTION

And so, after agreeing to assist the strange girl who had helped him, Nightmare left Ostreinsburg, following her to the kingdom over which she ruled - Sylva, she had told him it was called. Soul Edge did not reject this decision as strongly - it thought that working as a mercenary would be an excellent opportunity to collect souls, and was convinced that when the time came Nightmare would see the error of his ways and kill the girl as he had been originally ordered.

The ever-worsening weather did little to hinder their journey. Thankfully, the girl seemed as unaffected by it as he was - if anything, he was the one causing any hindrances to their progress. Somewhere during the second day of walking, the wound in his stomach reopened, and he scarcely noticed it.

It was when the girl turned around, perhaps to make sure he still followed, that he finally realized the extent of it. She raised an eyebrow upon seeing the blood but seemed otherwise unsurprised.

"You are bleeding."

With an irritated sigh, he realized she was right. But still, he continued on past her.

"A wound such as this does not affect me as it would a human," he stated.

"No, but it is best you staunch the bleeding before it worsens." There was a certain condescending quality to her tone, as though she was issuing a reprimandation to a child, that irritated him.

Nevertheless, she was probably correct. "Fine."

From the small leather bag she had with her, she produced another handful of linen bandages, handing it to him. She obviously had recognized he would rather tend to it himself.

He sat down against a tree, taking off the old bandages. Why had she had these with her? Carrying this many bandages was not typical of someone who expected to be going on a normal expedition - unless, of course, that was not what she had been expecting at all.

Had she known he would be injured when she found him?

And why had she gone to such trouble to keep him alive? It wasn't worth this much effort just for a recruit who would increase the chances for a probably already likely victory. If it was to her, then this girl was a fool.

No. There was some other reason, one that she had not and probably would not, at least not yet, reveal to him.

After he had finished the job of re-dressing his wound, he moved to get up. "No, not just yet," the girl said, motioning for him to sit back down. "It will be best if you allow yourself at least a few moments of rest."

Being treated like a child so much was incredibly frustrating - but she was not ordering him around, like Soul Edge did; rather, everything she had said so far had been a suggestion, which had made him more compelled to listen. So he sat and waited, and she sat down across from him.

After a few minutes of silence, she spoke up. "So, the stories all call you the Azure Knight. I can see why now. But, I have thought - there must be some other name you are called by."

First treating him like nothing more than a child in need of supervision, and then expecting him to make idle conversation as a human would? Now he was fed up.

No, he reminded himself, pushing the surge of anger away. Soul Edge would amplify and use that emotion as a means of controlling him, and he had vowed not to allow himself to be controlled again. So, for the time being, he decided he would play along.

"Nightmare," he answered after a hesitation. "My name is Nightmare."

The girl smiled slightly, seeming almost amused. "A fitting name for he who is infamous for being the essence of fear itself."

He studied her expression carefully, trying to decide if she was mocking him or not. For now he would give her the benefit of the doubt. "And you? You must have a name as well, and unless you want me to call you what Soul Edge does - 'the witch' - you'd best tell me."

The amusement in her expression was even more apparent now. "My name is Megumi. The witch, hmm? I haven't heard that nickname in quite a while. People used to call me that years ago - The Wind Witch."

Nickname? So she had been called that before. Which meant that Soul Edge knew her from before she had helped him.

Whatever was happening here, it went much deeper than he could hope to know right now. Both Megumi and Soul Edge were withholding information from him, and, admittedly, it was making him more than a little angry.

But he remembered what he had decided to do, to simply serve Megumi until the war was won, and concluded that whatever these things were that he was not being told were not important to him.

He stood. "I have waited long enough. Let us continue."

Another four days of walking eventually brought them to the kingdom of Sylva - a city and castle of average size but built atop towering mountains and plateaus that overlooked what seemed to be all the world.

"You will be allowed out onto the field for actual combat tomorrow," Megumi stated as they entered the city. "We have not stopped to rest much on our travels, and a brief break will do you good."

Nightmare looked around. The grimy cloak he was wearing concealed his arm from view, but the townspeople still watched warily, whispering to eachother - assured only, it seemed, by the presence of their queen. It continued until they reached the castle, where the guards eyed Nightmare apprehensively but responded to Megumi with a quick bow and a curt nod.

It was so odd, observing the society of humans actually operating rather than thrown into chaos by his slaughters.

She led him down a hallway and up a flight of stairs to a room that was bare and empty except for a bed. "You can stay here for as long as you serve under my forces," Megumi stated. "Tomorrow at sunrise you will be expected in the main hall with the infantry unit before we lead another assault on the opposition."

"Understood." His tone was flat as he answered.

She turned to leave, but paused, looking back at him. "And how is your wound healing? It has not been causing you too much pain, has it?"

That caught him off guard. Even more so than providing assistance to others without any sort of personal gain, concern for others' welfare was to him a useless concept. Another weakness of the human mind.

But he found her questions neither irritating nor amusingly pathetic, as he normally would have.

Rather, he was baffled.

"...My sense of pain is... dulled," he stated slowly in response. "Therefore I can deal with a significantly greater amount of it than any human can."

"I see." She turned again, this time starting down the stairs. "Well, do keep an eye on it. Though you cannot feel the pain, it may still reopen as it did before."

And then, she was gone, leaving Nightmare more confused and with more questions than he thought he had ever had at one point in the entirety of his existence.

Being on time to the assembly of the army was easy, as Nightmare did not actually sleep. He stood silently in the ranks of foot soldiers as they lined up, awaiting orders. He was the recipient of many stares and wary glances, but none of the men were panicking or trying to attack him, so it was obvious they had been warned of his coming.

The men all quieted and straightened after Megumi entered the room, still attired in the platemail she had been wearing but this time carrying a lance. It was a magnificent weapon - with an ebony handle laced with gold patterns and a silver center blade that gleamed in the torchlight. The ornamented blades on either side almost resembled wings.

"Today we move forward with another assault. We are far outnumbered, so we must strategize and plan for this attack carefully. I know that if we band together and do not lose hope, we will succeed." She glanced at Nightmare. "With the additions to our power, we will be able to do more damage with each attack as well. So, with that said, we march to war. Fight well, and bring glory to this kingdom! We fight for what could have been and never was... We fight for what is lost, and what will be. We fight for the good of our kingdom, our people, for balance and equilibrium, and for all of humanity!"

Fight all you wish, pathetic little queenling...

Soon I shall be reborn, and all shall bow to my might!

So fight all you wish! There is no stopping me!

Death! Death to them all!