AKUMA

Akuma was once a human who wished to enter the Dream and Nightmare Realms. It has been forbidden for humans to enter these sacred lands, especially against the will of the gods. Akuma experimented with black magic, and finally was able to enter the Realm of Dreams. But this created a magical disturbance in the heavens, and nearly brought both realms of Dreams and Nightmares to ruin. Yuma's ancestor, the original Deity of Dreams, and his comrades worked together to defeat the evil that Akuma wreaked across the Dream Realm. Then, Yuma's ancestor banished Akuma to the Nightmare Realm with a holy spell, as punishment for what he had done. Finally, Yuma's ancestor placed a forbidden curse on Akuma: that all of his descendants shall never have dreams, and only have nightmares. Back in the human world, the descendants Akuma left behind began to suffer from this curse for years and years to come... While he was in the Nightmare Realm, the only thing on Akuma's mind became revenge. He faced off against demons in the Nightmare Realm and absorbed their power, becoming a demon himself. Eventually, he faced off against the Lord of Nightmares and won. Then, he became the Lord of Nightmares himself-- the Deity of Nightmares. Akuma then began planning his revenge as the Deity of Nightmares... Presently, it's hard to tell whether Akuma is trying to help Yuma and Hibiki, or if he's against them. At one point, Akuma tries to kill Yuma, but Yuma and Hibiki manage to convince him to strike a deal. Akuma decides that if Yuma and Hibiki can defeat all of his demons and break the seal on Hibiki before the next red full moon, then Akuma will let them live. But does he mean it? Far in the future, awaits a final battle... but that's a story for another time!