Nimue later created a vault for her own usage, and emerged as the Dark One to the public from this vault. Because she used the power of the Holy Grail for evil, Nimue's soul is corrupted and she becomes the first Dark One, smashing Excalibur so that Merlin cannot destroy the darkness or her magic inside her. She then proceeds to rip out Vortigan's heart, and after ignoring Merlin's pleads for her to not give in to the darkness, she crushes his heart, and the Flame of Prometheus becomes extinguished. Vortigan, attempting to kill Nimue, seemingly fatally stabs her, but it turns out Nimue had drunk from the Holy Grail and had gained magic and immortality like Merlin. The Darkness is the corrupted soul of Nimue, lover of the Sorcerer Merlin.
