17 years ago...
"What's this? A mouth-watering soul has intruded upon my domain? How I can't wait to feast upon it".
Ivy, her face contorted with hatred and anger, stood defiantly before Nightmare, her blade writhing with the power of her anger. "At last...I have come to meet the wielder of Soul Edge, Nightmare. Of course it would be you..." she began. "Do you know why I have come?"
"For honor? Valor? Fame? Fortune? I care not, for I have quelled the weak souls who have dared faced me...Taki, Setsuka, Hilde, Maxi, Kilik...all of these were weak and easy to put an end to! But now...you have come...Soul Edge seems to deem you powerful as it quivers in my grip..." he boomed, his deep voice ringing around the sky.
"I have come...to destroy what has caused much sadness, anger, remorse, death...to destroy SOUL EDGE!" she shouted. "As you may know...I had to put an end to my own father because he was consumed by the power that Soul Edge gave him when he found several of the shards...this is why I must end it all!" her blade uncoiling now, ready for combat.
"Yes! I can feel the power running through you! Your soul will provide me with a nice feast and will last me a long time after I have devoured it! RRRRARRGGHH!".
Nightmare raised Soul Edge up into the air and with a mighty roar, he struck the ground and a line of fire and evil energy swept towards Ivy.
The alchemist curled her lips in distaste and lashed forward with her whip. Her sword pierced through the flames and with a flick of her wrist, it swung upward and hit the Azure knight. To her surprise, Nightmare didn't even flinch and with no other choice, Ivy quickly ran away from the burning flames. “Curse you Nightmare....”
Nightmare laughed. “Tell me... Can you feel your death coming closer and closer? Can you feel the fear that will saturate this world once I'm done with it?!” Rushing forward, Nightmare drew a quick uppercut with his sword that Ivy swiftly blocked.
“No longer will I fear anything! I made a promise to myself and my sword that I will destroy you no matter what the cost!” Her hands were trembling from the strain and a chilly wind howled around them. With a grunt, Ivy pushed Nightmare back and struck at his legs. “Take this you cur!”
But he merely deflected the attack with Soul Edge and to counter, he struck forward with his right arm and punched her. Ivy let out a small gasp of pain as his fist connected with her chest and she stumbled backward. However, she seized the opening and whipped her Valentine forward. “Ensnare!”The whip lashed onto his monstrous arm and Ivy pulled. “Let's see if you can handle this! Tear him apart my sword!”
As if responding to her will, her sword became sharper and it embedded itself even deeper into the Azure's knight arm. With a roar of rage, Nightmare thrust Soul Edge at her and Ivy had to let him go and dodge the attack. Following up on that attack, Nightmare aimed at her legs and tried to sever them but the alchemist anticipated the attack and quickly evaded. What she wasn't ready for, was the rocks that blasted off the floor as the evil sword struck the ground. Closing her eyes reflectively, she realized that she had made a fatal mistake as a painful wound blossomed on her stomach. She reeled backward and held a hand to her stomach and gasped. “No... I was careless.” Her vision began to blur and she felt her consciousness slipping. “No... I've come to far to... lose now.” She looked at her sword and she whispered, “I swore... that I would end this cycle... of pain and suffering...”
“It looks like this is the end for you,” said Nightmare triumphantly. “Now... give me your soul you wretched human.”
“It looks like... this is it...” Blood trickled down Ivy's lips and a few drop fell on her Valentine. With a heavy heart, she closed her eyes and waited for the death blow. A loud clanging sound made her open her eyes and to her shock, her sword had lashed itself forward and wrapped itself around Nightmare and held on tightly. “Valentine!” Seeing her sword's own determination, she pushed herself to her feet and said, “If you refuse to give up, then I too shall continue to defy fate!” Concentrating hard, she kicked Nightmare and cried, “Sing him a requiem my sword!” Her sword heard her command and instantly broke apart into many sharp metal pieces.
“Damn you!”
Before the Azure Knight had a chance to defend himself, Ivy pointed at him and cried, “This is the end of the nightmare! Now die!” Her sword flew through the air and it made a sharp whistling sound as they all headed towards him. Every time they connected with his armour, they pierced through and produced a clear chime. Finally, Ivy called her sword back to her as she stepped back to see the damage. There were holes all over the black armour and she had specifically imbued some of the pieces with her magic before the battle so they were able to deal spiritual damage as well. Looking at Nightmare's trembling body and the dwindling black energy, Ivy knew that she was victorious.
"UGGHHGHHH!" Nightmare's scream pierced the clouds and shook the heavens. He staggered back, his breath rattling. Suddenly, a bright blue light filled the dark sky and Soul Calibur appeared, apparently from nowhere.
"Soul...Ca-Calibur?" Ivy stuttered.
The blue crystal sword hovered over Nightmare's quivering frame, and then dropped. It sliced straight through his soul, and Soul Edge with it, destroying with a thunderous boom. A iced/crystal floor began flooding the tower's floor, spreading its way slowly towards Ivy. She stood there motionless. Then it began encasing her body, slowly making its way up her body.
"So this is how I'm going to die...I'm just like him...I guess, it's a fitting ending...".
Her sword suddenly sprung to life and wrapped round her body, sending pulses of heat around her body. The ice broke off almost immediately and she was free...unfortunately her sword broke as well.
"Wh-what?" she gasped.
She picked up a broken shard of her sword.
"Is there...maybe something else I can do...?"
Until 17 years in the future, we will not find out what she did from there...
So, Soul Edge and Nightmare were destroyed for good...or were they?
