The King of Fighters 2001. His handsome and youthful appearance was specifically created at the sponsors' request. Although Igniz had served his father, the previous leader of NESTS also named Nests with utmost loyalty, he had secretly sought to overthrow him and become the new leader of NESTS, seizing the opportunity to do so near the end of the 2001 tournament, to which NESTS was hosting. Upon succeeding in murdering his own father and becoming the new leader of NESTS, Igniz decides to test his newly-acquired power against the finalists in the hopes of crushing them and becoming a new god. His ambition is short-lived, however, as he is defeated by the K' Team. Cursing his failure and declaring himself a demon instead, Igniz attempts to destroy the planet by plummeting NESTS' main headquarters out of orbit; his attempt fails, and Igniz dies in the process. In The King of Fighters XIV, Igniz is one of the souls inside Verse. Those From The Past are a new group of antagonists that make their debut in The King of Fighters 2003. They are mysterious, and supposedly inhuman, warriors who want to get the power of the Orochi so that they can give it to their shrouded master. It is implied that they are the European counterparts of the Orochi Clan. The organization is destroyed after Saiki's death by Ash in The King of Fighters XIII, but their actions triggered the birth of Verse. Mukai is the hidden final boss in The King of Fighters 2003. His appearance was designed with the concept of petrification in mind. Mukai's primary power is his control over many things related to stone. He can form stone, either in crude rocks to throw at foes, or as elaborate pillars to crush them. He speaks in very pious, grandiose declarations, but appears to have a cautious attitude toward the potential of humans. Mukai appears in The King of Fighters 2003 tournament, seeking strong opponents to test his strength against them. Mukai reveals that his group had organized the tournament so that they could break the Orochi seal and give its power to the group's unknown leader. Mukai wanted to battle against the winning team of the tournament, seeing if they had what it takes to survive in "the new age". Mukai is defeated, but manages to escape. He would later return in The King of Fighters XIII,