Shindaketsuatsu/Mortuus
Name: Shindaketsuatsu aka "Mortuus" / Nox PraecordiaAge: Unknown / 19
Height: 7'6" / 6'1"
Weight: 80 lbs / 145 lbs
Hair: None / White
Eyes: Harsh, Glowing Yellow / Violet
Skin: Onyx / Pale White
Race: Oni / Modified-Human
Body type: Well-toned / Thin, little muscle
Affiliation: Anti-Hero
Personality: Nox is a quiet, introverted young adult who prefers the company of his books and his quill. He has very few real friends to speak of and though he can make friends fairly easily, he often keeps people at arms length. 'He does this partially due to the fact that his mother's death hit incredibly close to home for him and since then he has not wanted to have anyone very close to him, else he becomes vulnerable to the same pain again.
His seclusion was also attributed to his father's abusive tendencies, causing Nox to become much less sociable to those who openly loved violence and wished to inflict pain and suffering on those under them. because of this personality quirk, whenever Nox sees this taking place, he acts with his heart first and defends those who are being attacked, often going to extreme lengths to keep the attacker away or to implement exact vengeance on them.
Nox Praecordia
When he is alone, Nox loves to listen nocturnes and others orchestrated works. He also likes to listen to different degrees of rock bands that have very bass or very low songs that mirror how he feels in his heart. Sometimes he will result to screamo or punk music if he is in a specific mood, but he often dislikes that type of music due to how possessed by anger it is, preferring educated music and bands that he can actually understand what they are saying.
The spirit that possess him is much the same way in terms of personality, but he is often the twisted reflection Nox. Though careful with his actions and words, it will take very little for Mortuus to become defensive and/or enraged and can be victim to extreme fits of blood-lust. In both traditional life and his style of combat, Mortuus loves to create fear, panic and general chaos in the city he resides in, however, he often does not go to great lengths to make himself appear as an enemy of the common man, often revealing himself to the most fool-hearty or care free to shake their reality that demons exist and to play with their minds.
Both personalities will protect those they care about with their lives and will defend their honor to their dying breath. Since their personalities mirror each other's very closely, it is sometimes hard to know when Nox ends and where Mortuus begins. Only on rare occasions will there be internal battles and often the environment is to pay for it, because internal struggles for power often cause heir "shell" to go crazy and will attack and/or destroy anything it perceives as a threat, depending on how far they're willing to fight for control.
Powers: (Human Form)
Enhanced Agility: Thanks to the fusion of their physical and mental limitations, Nox is now able to push his mortal boundaries. With concentration, Nox is able to react much quicker then most humans, enabling him to see attacks and obstacles coming to meet him and able to act on them much more quickly.
Enhanced Speed: With concentration, Nox is able to move much quicker then most humans can. Though he can not travel at incredible speeds, Nox is able to move faster then humans are capable of for expended periods of time, moving up to a maximum of 40 MPH.
Enhanced Jumping Power: With concentration, Nox is able to jump much higher then ordinary humans can. With human physical abilities exquivalent to that of a grasshopper, Nox can leap to a maximum height output of 50 feet. With minimal effort, Nox can leapt up to 20 feet in the air.
Demon Nails: As an off trait of Mortuus' cutting abilities, Nox is able to elongate his nails to very fine, razor points, usually to about 3-4 inches in length. These nails cannot be broken easily and are capable of slicing and cutting into average strength substances such as stone, wood, brick and certain metals. Combined with his jumping ability, this allows Nox to become a very agile climber. They cannot pierce or damage very strong substances such as industrial metals, concrete or most alien constructs.
Heart Search: Whether in his Demon Form or in his Human Form, Nox has the ability to "sense" corruption within individuals around him. This power is mainly provided by Mortuus' dark affinity, acting like a magnet towards other dark sources, but this causes a kind of innate telepathy that fills Nox's heart and mind with visions of atrocities commited or what sins they have played out. With focus, Nox can also sense positive energies and where they stem from, helping him discern who are his enemies and who he needs to spare.
(Demon Form):
Monster Strength: In his demon form, Nox's physical prowess multiplies because of the dark energy flowing across his skeleton, allowing to overcome and surpass his human boundaries when it comes to strength, allowing him to lift and manipulate objects that weigh up to 2000 lbs.
Flight: When in demon form, Nox grows large, imposing wings that allows him the capability of flight. At minimum, Nox is able to fly at speeds up to 65 MPH, but can reach to speeds of 130 MPH if he pushes his flight ability to the extreme, but holding this speed for a long time can cause him to become exhausted quickly.
Oni Skin: Due to Mortuus' form being comprised mainly of raw, dark energy, their merged form is comprised of a very slick, almost rubber-like material that is incredibly resistant. Most earthly weapons cannot penetrate the thick hide, with exception to high-powered lasers and high quality alien weaponry.
Though their form isn't "damaged", attacks are still "felt" by their psyche and so the more damage by weapons they endure, the harder it is for them to maintain their merged form, not making them in, any stretch of the imagination, invincible. Their strength of will power governs how long they can remain in demon form.
Amalgamtion: In essence, Amalgamation is a division of molecular manipulation. Instead of altering DNA or physical structures, Amalgamation is the process in which molecules are forcibly joined with those of another object, essentially making the two the same object and can allow the user to manipulate that object as they please, without altering its shape or function.
The most famous example of its use for Mortuus has been when he fuses himself to a building or other construct and travels about its form to spy on those around him or to leap out from the physical makeup to initiate suprise attacks on his enemies. He can also use this power to graft himself within a living being's body (NPCs only) and take control of their bodily functions as well as their mind, making them his puppet until they are no longer needed. This can be extended to directly damage the structure of the being in question.
In the beginning, Nox had no access to this power as it was exclusive to his demon side, but when their bond grew and their souls began the intermixing process, Nox now has the capability to use Amalgamation at will with very little concentration.
Dark Matter Manipulation: Dark matter manipulation is a form of elemental control that allows for the direct control over the underlying energies that exist in the universe. Dark Matter is an adjoining energy field that imposes gravitational forces upon all objects, regardless of size or mass, including atoms and exists in the space between them, keeping the atoms together. When concentrated to incredible degrees, it can take on a physical existence, often attributed as a dark, cloudy energy that can be formed out from thin air or from the shadows of any nearby object or even one's own person. This energy then can be molded into various forms and shapes to the desire of the user, however, Dark Matter seems to exist best in dark environments, so it's full potential is only achieved during night time. It is by this same power that Mortuus relinquishes the souls of his victims; by burning them with this power.
Weakness: Holy Ground Restrictions: Being of demonic origins, Nox is unable to transform himself into Mortuus while he is in a place blessed by saints or in a spiritual nexus for positive energies envoked by priests, aka Holy Ground. Nox is able to cross into Holy Ground and exist within it, but he is unable to use any of the powers Mortuus has access to while in Holy Ground, limited only to his claws and his human enhancements.
Holy Icon Impedimentation: As well as being affected by Holy Ground, Nox's demon form is vulnerable to all forms of holy icons. Though they will not kill him, exposure to Holy Icons can nullify Dark Matter attacks that are at close range to the target and Mortuus can be prevented from Amalagamating to anyone who wears the holy icons. Nox's human form is not affected by the icons, just as Nox can cross into Holy Ground.
Contract of the Forbidden Heart: As one of the conditions of the union between Mortuus and Nox, the God of Chaos put forth a doctrine that both must follow.
1. Neither of them can attack, slay, hurt, maim, slander, possess or intimidate any member of a holy order that has expressed their faith to the highest degree and follows the strict followings of their religion. These members include priests, nuns, monks, saints, popes, bishops and any other form of religious devotees, excluding members that follow a corrupt cause; aka followers of Satan or suicide bombers or any other form of idea that twists religion for dark purposes.
2. They can only harm the former, religious devotes if the devotes are morally corrupted in their soul and are not following the complete doctrines of their order and have not, formally, repented for their sins and mean it completely in their hearts. For instance, a nun who doubles as a prostitue or a religious leader who also murders and/or rapes women is not under the protection of the first law.
3. Neither of them can harm man, woman or child who takes them into their confidence in dire need of spiritual guidance. This means that, if Nox or Mortuus were to speak with someone openly about religious beliefs and they had affected that person signifigantly enough to make an impact on their souls, then Nox and Mortuus can no longer do harm to that person for as long as their hearts have been changed.
4. Neither of them can harm any being in which they hold emotional ties to. This includes anyone who feels deep attachments of love or companionship to them. Friends or acquaintances do not fit in this category. Only those who intimately know Mortuus or Nox on deep emotional levels or those that feel strong bonds of companionship with. Neither Nox nor Mortuss have to register these feelings for them to be in effect.
Skills: Incredible mathematical, psychological and scientific knowledge. Poetic skill and writing ability, enabling the ability for professional forging.
Origin: Nox is an anti-hero existing in the Epic Heroes saga. Born as an average human, Nox goes through life as a gifted, yet highly abused and misunderstood, child who ends up inheriting a sword upon his family's death, that is possessed by a previously sleeping Oni aligned with Darkness known as Shindaketsuatsu, who is living by the alias of Mortuus.
Mortuus brings Nox back to life on the condition that Mortuus may possess Nox's body while in their "merged" form and that Nox no longer has ownership of his soul for the duration of their combined existence; knowing full well that upon their contract's termination or when he dies, Nox will have nowhere to go except to Hell.
To this end, Nox decides to use the demon's unique and dark powers to liberate the world of as much sin as possible, spilling the blood of those that he believes to be morally corrupt or sinful; Mortuus' ability to sense dark pulsations in life energy allowing him to hone in on all sources of evil and to also learn of their hearts.
Nox was born in Orlando, Florida of December 10th, 1992. As a boy, Nox was a reclusive youth of great intellect, even in his younger years, which partly caused a schism to take place between him and his biological father, whom was considered very hard headed and hated displays of great intellect used against himself.
Known as Dimitri Praecordia, his father was a very wrathful man, I trait passed down from the tempers of their Russian and German forefather's. His father often lashed out into destructive fits when Nox put him down or beat his father with logic, which caused Nox to become severely abused as a young boy, as an effect, Nox became a somewhat reclusive in his younger years because of this.
Because of the abusive nature of his father, Nox often sought out sanctuary in the arms of his mother, Dalia Mina Praecordia, who sheltered him and kept him safe from his father. As a by product of his father's angry behavior, Nox was also known to have fits of rage of his own against bullies at his school and would face them, but often lost. This continued onward for a long time until they moved to Tangent Tropolis in hopes of new lives.
As a result of Nox's gifted personality, Nox's grades in school skyrocketed and, because of this, his years of normal schooling was very brief. He was constantly tormented by others about his brain power, chiefly the older students and the jocks at his school that viewed him as a social outcast. Because of his youth, he was never able to fit in many social cliques either until he was 16, but at that point he had finished high-school an entire two years early, having already attained the great amount of credits needed to graduate.
With nothing else to do in his time, and dreading a life of living with his father as he became an adult, Nox signed up for a four-year degree at Stark University, a fairly prestigious college that he was barely able to register for and be accepted into before the new year started. Upon registration, he quickly moved into the co-ed dorms on the campus grounds, intending to live life to it's fullest here while, at the same time, planning what he wanted to do for his future...
While in this university, Nox had met several new people, some among them were friends while others were his enemies. Among his new friends, Nox met a woman that he had become close with in his days as a student, but Nox never learned her real name, the woman preferring herself to be known as "Tali" instead of giving him her real name. He was never able to scan her paperwork for a name and their teacher, but of course, omitted himself from asking questions to Tali and she never rose her hand when he wanted an answer.
This caused Nox only to become more curious about the mystique in her ways and he craved to know more; the real first time that Nox could be in a good relationship with someone and actually go somewhere with it, but it wasn't long before others took notice of their attachment.
Several, small-time gangsters have pronounced their disapproval of her hanging out with Nox, whilst at the same time trying to woo Tali and bring her over to their side. She never did and always put them down for it, but it always ended with Nox getting the bitter end of the deal, having to live with being struck down by the vandals, unable to defend himself properly against large numbers as they always seemed to gather themselves in. Tali always stepped in though and has been able to help him stop their attacks on Nox, but only when she was around. When she wasn't, he was fair game.
This continued on for around the next year and a half, a monotonous cycle of being beaten, studying for his future and trying to figure out who Tali was. No one seemed to know her real name and he later found out that "Tali" was all the name that was given on her academic transcripts and was the only source of identification that the teachers could provide him with.
He was heavily estranged by this, wondering what exactly lay underneath the gentle smile of his female companion, but he decided that he would only speak to her about it when he felt it was the right time to consul her on it, foregoing lessons for that day because it had become his eighteenth birthday and he planned to enjoy himself in the privacy of his room while his bunk-mates were away...for a time anyway...
On his eighteenth birthday, resting comfortably in the solace of his dorm room, Nox received an anonymous letter left underneath his door after a vicious knocking that had woke him up. There was not a soul to be seen in the hallway of his level, so he did not know who brought the letter until he opened it and read the bright, red words scrawled in a messy, amateur font in angry words
Nox didn't even need to see a signature. It was coming from a ruffian he knew all too well. Alec Winshaul. Considered the biggest opponent of normal society in this university, Alec has single-handedly made himself invincible; collaborating together with a hundred others to form a massive group of mobsters that have been holding the universities denizens inside a web of danger and ransom, threatening their lives so they may glide through college at the misfortunes of others.
On more then one occasion, Nox has faced Alec and, surprisingly, each time he has lived to tell the tale, but not without his own share of bruises and broken bones. Alec's pride has always drove him to believe that all men were inferior to him and that all women were his play things. Nox did not know if Alec indeed had something with Tali, but if that was true, then she would have mentioned it a long time ago or Nox would've seen evidence of it, so he dismissed the letter from his and tried to get some sleep.
There was nothing that Alec could've done to him. Everything Alec could do has already been done to him, short of killing him, but Alec wasn't stupid. If he had done that, everyone would know who was to blame, especially with the letter sent to him that he kept in the safe under his desk, in case he needed it at some point; blackmail not lost on Nox's mind. But Alec had indeed something up his sleeve. It came to Nox too late and only realized what had happened when he received a call on his cell from the hospital, informing him that both his father and mother were dead and that his home had been burnt to the ground. This caused Nox to fall into a great depression, weeping for several days from the grief that this had caused him.
The only possessions that were saved from the fire was his mother's wakizashi, a relic that had been passed down in her family for generations, as well as a signet ring that belonged to his father, a thick band that had a dragon holding a heart in its claws as its symbol; the symbol's style was archaic and it loosely reminded him of the Medieval Style that shields and other symbols resembled.
Over the course of the next week, only one thing beat within Nox's mind: revenge. He wanted Alec to pay for what he had done and he could not search for his base of operations while in school, so Nox gave a temporary leave of absence for "personal matters".
An old friend of Nox's, Michael Sulforius, was part of Alec's band for a while before he met Nox and so he allowed Nox to know about the location of their hideaway, on the condition that Nox would not reveal that he gave him this information.
Nox willingly agreed and sped towards Alec's hideout, a shabby hide away in a secluded area of the sewers, a surprising contrast the vagrants style and motives. Nox would've thought that he would have a base more attuned to his style and ego, not a hollowed out area of the sewers, complete with a couple of couches and coffee table; a game of Texas Hold'em in progress.
Nox slowly unsheathed his blade once wielded by his ancestors as he charged into the open, disregarding the guards that watched the entrance, intending to carve the first man he saw; Alec. Alec's face was twisted in horror and surprise before it was sliced cleanly in two and the battle began, the dozens of followers attacking Nox with clubs and aluminum bats.
Nox defended himself as best as he possibly could, but he was no match for the large group, nearly instantly pummeled to the ground, his sword kicked away to the far wall as they hammered at his body, breaking his bones and damaging his organs, turning him to pulp under their barrage.
Thinking that their work was finished, they all hovered above Nox, spitting at him and cursing at him, taunting him as he slowly faded from consciousness, the icy grip of death coming over him until he heard a voice speak to him. The voice was maniacal, high and positively evil and sounded incredibly ancient. It asked him if he wanted to die and Nox told him that he did not.
The voice then told him that he could be saved, on the condition that Nox's soul now belonged to the mysterious voice and that Nox's body would act as his own. Nox, willing and quickly, agreed, not caring what the price was to live and thus began a chain events that would change his fate.
The sword that was kicked to the far wall disintegrated into a bubbling mass of black liquid, almost like tar that left an acidic wake, eating the earth as it quickly covered Nox's body. The attackers yelped and rushed away from the ooze as it consumed Nox, his body flailing from the massive pain that coursed through him, his flesh and clothes eaten away by the black mass until all that remained was a humanoid shape of the liquid that then began to burn itself away, revealing a monstrous new creature.
Nearly every shred of his human form left behind in favor of a skin made up of onyx and indigo colored scales. Nox's hands and feet had become much more raptor like while he had also grown a heavily barbed, prehensile tail and wings. Smaller wings grow out from his temples of his skull and span backwards, interconnected by two horns that take center from the middle of his forehead and spread outwards in a crescent shape.
With this new being formed, it took possession of Nox's body, controlling him as it then moved with deadly speed and precision, quickly killing the entire army against them and proceeded outwards into the night, the demon free and allowed to exist freely.
When its travels were finished, the demon returned Nox's body to him, temporarily, bringing him back to human form, but with a difference. As long as they have their contract, as the demon explained it, Nox will always be forced to wear a choker around his neck that resembles a thin, tight vine of thorns.
The demon then introduced itself as Mortuus and from then on, Nox made it a point to point his new life in the direction for noble goals, to cleanse the sin that exists in the world, as best as he could so that others may feel the respite he has in avenging his family. Mortuus, seeking entertainment in this new world, decided that this was as good of a task as any and decided to help Nox.
Mortuus' History
Not a lot of history is known about Mortuus' past. The only things about his past that he has divulged to Nox is that Mortuus was once a rogue Shikigami that opposed the natural order constructed by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Fleeing from her, Mortuus became kin with Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu's brother, who represented the Moon and was allowed to take on an elemental affinity to Darkness.
Mortuus placated Amaterasu by keeping himself hidden in the shadows and vowed never to impede on Amaterasu's will. He has kept his word to this day, but infringes on the will of the other spirits and mainly impedes the humans, believing himself to be more powerful then all other spirits and naturally dominate to the humans.
This continued until a feverent, Shinto monk spoke for Amaterasu and blessed a chosen Samurai's sword with the power to "cut through moon and stars". This Samurai, presumably Nox's ancient ancestor, faced Mortuus in duty to his Goddess and sacrifices his life to seal Mortuus away in the sword, Mortuus screaming a thousand curses upon the Samurai's soul until Mortuus was force into a deep slumber. Since then, Mortuus has been removed from the events of the world and depends of Nox to explain things that he doesn't understand.
It was also revealed to Nox, that Mortuus was not the complete cause of the merging between them. Mortuus was allowed to be freed by the God of Chaos on the condition that Mortuus would never to return to divinity with his family, thus exiling Mortuus to life as a demon that feeds from one host to another, Nox being his first host.
