Characters / Death's Gambit

Characters' page for Death's Gambit. Needs More Love.

Main Characters

Sorun Galbraith

Sorun Galbraith

Voiced By: None, Aleks Le (After Thalamus is defeated)

A soldier of Vados sent on the latest Great Expedition to Siradon to claim the Source of Immortality - and personally, to find his missing mother Everly who was sent there earlier for the same purpose. The expedition goes south fast when his forces and then himself are killed by Endless. He comes back to life thanks to Death and ends up drafted by him to be his servant in destroying the Source.

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• Amnesiac Hero: He starts the game like this. This is due to Thalamus wiping his memories at the end of each loop. He gets hit with it again at the start of the Collapsing Nightmare, but the Observer helps him recover.
• Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Most characters - chiefly Vrael - seem to think so, but they could not be further from the truth. Death explicitly explains him that his current state (neither dead nor alive) is an unnatural state of flux, and that it will take its toll on him. Dying enough times shows clearly that Sorun's mind is falling apart, as if Thalamus' machinations weren't wearing him down enough. This is shown as the Will stat in-game. It doesn't represent his force of will, it represents Thalamus'. The more Will Sorun has, the stronger Thalamus' influence over his mind will be. If he has more than 100 Will when he confronts Death where the endings branch, Sorun will only be able to side with Thalamus.
• Determinator: He won't stop until he finds his mother. Vrael is more than happy to chew him out for it, asking if he thinks throwing himself at the enemy without fear of death is going to solve his problems. This stubbornness actually manages to yield fruit in Ending A.
• Disappeared Dad: Sorun's father left his family behind when he was a kid, leaving his wife Everly alone in raising him and Ash.
• Evil Makes You Ugly: By the time he reaches Death in Ending B, his portrait degrades into one of the withered "dark" Soruns you've met before.
• "Groundhog Day" Loop: NG+ has him realize that he's been here before. Come Afterlife, If Sorun sides with Death, he reveals to him he was actually stuck in a dream-like state ever since he got sucked into Y'lnoth, and had been there for several years. Ash freed him from it shortly before their latest meeting. Because of this, he never entered Caer Siorai, killed Endless and destroyed the Source, and the last two are still alive and whole, respectively.
• Locked into Strangeness: Death's revival of Sorun left him with greenish skin. It also made his body emit a horrible smell.
• Mini-Boss: Not himself, but various "dark" Soruns found throughout the world are powerful non-respawning enemies who drop abilities when killed. About a half of them have to be fought, notably the ones in Y'lnoth.
• Missing Mom: The main reason he went to Siradon is because his mother, Everly, disappeared in a past Great Expedition when he was a teen and he's looking for her.
• My Greatest Failure: Having to kill Endless a.k.a Everly over and over again is the "greatest regret" that Thalamus's been feeding him for an undisclosed amount of years. You can finally avert it come Ending A.
• Suddenly Voiced: Audibly speaks once you defeat the Avatar of Thalamus and end up in Vados.
• Tears of Blood: On occasion his portrait is shown with these. They become more frequent with subsequent deaths/hallucinations. Come Afterlife, one hallucination does it at Ending A and Sorun himself in Ending B.
• The Voiceless: Though Sorun speaks quite a lot, unlike everyone else his voice can't be heard. It's finally subverted once Thalamus is defeated in Ending A, where Sorun speaks with his own voice.

Death

Death

Voiced By: Matthew Mercer

• All-Powerful Bystander: Despite his incredible powers, he cannot directly interfere with the mortal world; hence the need for Sorun to act as his agent. Defied here and there for a joke however, i.e. at Garde Tum where he can be seen playing a game or being a hapless cookhelp of a caustic Lumberkin chef. It's a subtle foreshadowing that something is off about this whole adventure.
• Didn't See That Coming: Not even Death himself is as omniscient as he'd like to be. Blame Thalamus for that. Sorun was locked in a deep sleep ever since he first encountered Thalamus at Y'lnoth, causing Death to lose contact with him for years until Sorun suddenly appears in his own domain in the afterlife, leaving him gobsmacked until Thalamus reveals himself.
• Don't Fear the Reaper: Although he can be caustic and intimidating, he is there to offer advice or console Sorun after he finds Everly's corpse, or rather, its hallucination. He's also willing to humor some banter.
• Final Boss: Of Ending B, as The Crow.
• Noodle Incident: Not allowed to directly interfere with events on the mortal plane after an incident of some kind.
• Sinister Scythe: A huge golden scythe he uses to reap Sorun's soul once he dies.
• Thanking the Viewer: In Ending A, thanks you for guiding Sorun through the adventure and crisply remarks that he'll see you again "in a while".
• What the Hell, Player?: Doesn't address you directly, but ponders just what else other than "sick curiosity" could have spurred you to trust Thalamus of all people.

Vrael

Vrael

Voiced By: Carson Beck

A tailless lizardman exile from Vil'Dradur, he's the first person Sorun interacts with after reviving. Not a very friendly fellow all in all, and utterly unsympathetic for immortals.

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• Action Dad: Ending A reveals he has a daughter named Nive, and they're seen playing together.
• Assist Character: He, alongside Ione and Endless, help you out against Thalamus in Ending A.
• Dual Boss: He and Ione's hallucinations ambush you just before Endless. They're also fought in Y'lnoth. No longer the case come Afterlife.
• The Lancer: Shares the role with Ione.
• "Leave Your Quest" Test: When he first meets Sorun at the very beginning, he asks him to leave Siradon and return to Vados so that his people know what happened. Unfortunately, if Sorun listens to him, his own people will execute him for abandoning his men.
• Lizard Folk: Unlike his immortal brethren that you face in-game, he's both tailless and mortal.
• My Greatest Failure: As seen during the Ending A route, Vrael is haunted by his time being ostracized and disowned by his people and family for wanting to destroy the Source. This is also the reason for his tail getting cut off.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Although he isn't immortal himself, he's seen his homeland and his people tear themselves apart over their desire for it, and he wants to stop the issue for good by destroying the Source.
• You Are Too Late: He and Ione arrive just in time to see Sorun getting sent to Y'lnoth. They die by Endless's hand shortly after. Subverted in that Vrael didn't die, but all three of them were trapped in a nightmare by Thalamus after Sorun falls into Y'lnoth.

Ione Eku

Ione Eku

Voiced By: Allegra Clark

A woman initially working as Endless's lackey, she eventually defects and becomes a companion of the journey alongside Vrael, with her designs set on destroying the Source of Immortality. She also teaches Spear and Halberd skills.

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• Achilles' Heel: Ione can hit quite hard in her fight, but nearly all of her moves hit horizontally. Her attacks can also be parried.
• Dual Boss: She and the Forgotten Gaian take turns fighting you before they attack you together. Her and Vrael's hallucinations also ambush you just before Endless. They're also fought in Y'lnoth hallucination.
  • Inverted in the Afterlife update if you fight the Dark Knight after defeating the Forgotten Gaian, where she will assist you against the Dark Knight and against Thalamus in Ending A.
• Enemy Mine: In Ending A, she's clearly still furious with Endless for what she forced her to do, but she's still willing to fight alongside her for as long as they're stuck in Thalamus' realm.
  Ione: I thought I felt the nauseating resonance of your soul. Endless, you will answer for the horrors you've inflicted.
  Endless: Ione... I'm not naive enough to ask for your forgiveness. The choices we made-
  Ione: You didn't give me a choice. The blood on my hands will never come clean. And neither will yours. But... there are forces here beyond my understanding. And you three are the only things familiar to me in this strange new world.
  Endless: Then we are agreed. We are united, until we get through this. Should we survive, you may have your retribution, Ione.
• Heel–Face Turn: After defeating the Forgotten Gaian, she'll end up at Central Sanctuary as a, initially begrudging, ally. It turns out she was never planning to join Endless, but chose to out of fear for her own life.
• The Lancer: Shares the role with Vrael. Unlike him, she steadily warms up to Sorun over the course of the game.
• My Greatest Failure: As seen during the Ending A route, Ione's greatest regret was choosing to turn on her comrades in the Expedition and hunt them down with Endless's forces in exchange for being spared.
• Sole Survivor: She was the only survivor of the Great Expedition sent before Sorun's, spared by Endless in exchange for working for her.
• Warmup Boss: The game's first boss at Gaian's Cradle. The jury's out if she's easier to beat than the Owlking after.
• You Are Too Late: She and Vrael arrive just in time to see Sorun getting sent to Y'lnoth. They die by Endless's hand shortly after. Subverted in that Ione didn't die, but all three of them were trapped in a nightmare by Thalamus after Sorun falls into Y'lnoth.

Endless

Endless/Everly Galbraith

Voiced By: Evanne Friedmann

The Immortal responsible for Sorun's death. Her plans are a mystery, but her martial skill cannot be questioned.

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• Archnemesis Mom: She turns out to be Sorun's disappeared mother, Everly.
• BFS: Her sword is a more unusual variant, being slender and thin, but quite long and sharp. It also glows green like her eyes.
• Disc-One Final Boss: No longer the final boss as of the Afterlife update, unless it's Ending C.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: In Ending A, uses Thalamus' tantrum attack against him to destroy the Source of Immortality, though she dies from the long fall.
• Final Speech: In Ending A, after destroying the Source and saving Vados from Thalamus' last attack, she gives one of these to Sorun in her final moments.
  Everly: Do you remember? The days gone by? It feels like... we've been fighting forever to have them back. Maybe we finally did. If only for a... brief moment. You and Ash... were everything to me. So promise me... you'll live to see a new dawn.
• Flash Step: Her signature move. She can quickly teleport and shred anything in front of her with a swing of her sword.
• The Heavy: She's the main antagonistic force in the game, but it's Thalamus who's in charge.
• Heel–Face Turn: In Ending A, joins forces with you, Vrael and Ione to fight Thalamus.
• Hero Killer: She seemingly kills Ione and Vrael after Sorun falls into Y'lnoth. Fortunately averted. Thalamus trapped all three of them in his nightmare realm.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The fight at the Caer Siorai gate. Double Subverted in that while you still need to defeat her (she has a health bar to deplete), Thalamus will kill you once you do.
• Locked into Strangeness: Whatever Thalamus did to Everly to turn her into Endless, it turned her black hair white, her skin pale and her eyes black.
• Master Swordsman: Her first chronological appearance in the original game involves cutting down four horsemen and their horses in the blink of an eye, and then again... and again. You fare a little better, at best.
• My Greatest Failure: As shown during the Ending A route, Everly is in utter anguish over her failure to protect Ash from the Magisters as a child.
• Poor Communication Kills: Subverted. Once Endless reveals herself to be Everly, one has to wonder why she never bothered to address Sorun about this and save at least him a lot of grief. And yet, the alternate outcome from her first fight and the Zero Fear ending in the original game imply that her mind and actions were not her own the entire time...
• Resurrective Immortality: Endless became an Immortal and is unable to be permanently killed for as long as the Source exists. Ione saw her suffer otherwise mortal injuries during their time together, only to stand back up shortly after, no worse for wear.
• Unwitting Pawn: Zero Fear ending reveals that she expected to be transported to Y'lnoth upon her death - which implies Thalamus has been influencing her decisions for a while now. Afterlife implies she's actually a witting pawn.
• Weapon Tombstone: After her death in Ending A, Sorun plants her sword alongside her grave near their home.
• What a Senseless Waste of Human Life: Her opinion on the Great Expeditions. She doesn't enjoy killing so many people, but she believes it's necessary to keep the Source of Immortality away from them. She was in fact planning to unite the nearby kingdoms against Vados and kill its king to end them for good.

Everly Galbraith

Everly Galbraith

Voiced By: Evanne Friedmann

Sorun's mother, sent on an earlier expedition to Siradon. Never returned. Finding her is one of Sorun's primary motivations during the game, even in spite of everyone finding it unlikely she survived the ordeal...

For further information about her, consult the Endless folder.

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• Action Mom: Like mother, like son.
• Exact Words: One conversation with Death has him state that he never reaped Everly's soul. That's because she's an Immortal.
• Missing Mom: Finding Everly was Sorun's primary goal during the expedition even before he became Death's servant.

Ash (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Ash Lorn

Afterlife-exclusive character (although he was alluded to before and the NPC now known as Nier used to have his name); Sorun's older adoptive brother. First seen as a hallucination after escaping Y'lnoth, he is also the voice addressing you as you defeat Heroic bosses. Thalamus' left hand who breaks you out of the Lotus-Eater Machine to try and win you over on his master's side.

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• Black Eyes of Crazy: His eyes are completely black.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Killed his abusive father in a gory ritual killing - which he might have had some help with - before trying to kill himself. That didn't take due to the Exiled Gods' intervention, so he ended up at Everly's household - and then was torn away from there once the Magisters seized him. By the time you meet his real form in-game, he's a burnt-out puppet of Thalamus.
• The Dragon: Thalamus' real second-in-command.
  • Dragon Their Feet: Doesn't really show up to help his master until the final fight with Thalamus in Vados, and even then he's busy fighting Ione and Vrael in the background.
• Dual Wielding: Uses two curved swords wreathed in black and purple energy.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite Thalamus' influence on him, he still loved his mother Everly/Endless and was heartbroken after her sacrifice in Ending A. In the credits, he can be seen grieving alone in Y'lnoth, slamming his fists on the floor and howling at the sky.
  • It was also the main reason he freed Sorun from the nightmare, as he hoped Sorun will fight alongside him and help Thalamus end Death. He's visibly saddened if Sorun sides with Death.
  Ash: I see... I was fool for expecting anything less.
• Horned Humanoid: He has five horns growing around his head. The horns' shape resembles the crown of Sirad.
• Instant Armor: Manifests one made of pure Soul Energy in his heroic rematch's second phase. It will be temporarilly dispelled if his attacks are parried.
• The Kingslayer: He kills King Valz by running him through with his sword, pinning the king's corpse on his own throne.
• Misplaced Retribution: After the events of Ending A, he blames Sorun for Everly's death, despite her sacrificing her life to save all of Vados from Thalamus.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: He's the only reason why you're able to destroy Thalamus' nightmare. Death posits Ash broke you out either because he wanted to manipulate you or out of genuine familial bond. (It was the latter). Thalamus even rubs it in his face if you choose to side with Death.
  Thalamus: This is what your family bond is worth, Ash. Nothing.
• Post-Final Boss: He's fought after Thalamus, the True Final Boss, is defeated.
• Rage Breaking Point: Everly's death turns his anger towards Sorun for not siding with Thalamus into murderous hatred.
  Ash: Everly is dead! By your own doing! All you had to do was kill the Crow! Instead, you betrayed me... AND HER!!
• Revenge Before Reason: Wanted Sorun to be fully awake and cognizant so he could witness the destruction of Vados. This backfires on him severely.
  • His anger towards the Magisters that ruined his life drives him to devastate Vados alongside Thalamus, killing the king personally.
• Villainous Breakdown: The double combo of Everly's death and Sorun defeating him shatters what remains of his psyche, reducing him to a furious and screaming wreck that wants nothing but to destroy all of existence to end his own misery.
  Ash: Why won't you die?! You are nothing. I WAS CHOSEN!! This... this is just another nightmare... haha... ahahahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!
  Sorun: You can't keep running from grief.
  Ash: ... Everly... was the last person who remembered me for who I was.
  Sorun: I remember... a shy but caring older brother.
  Ash: Look at me. There is nothing left of what you remember. And you killed the last of what I remember! I will unmake this reality, once the Dormant Father wakes! I 'll never forgive you, Sorun! If it means crossing dreams, and shattering reality... I will make you suffer.
• Walking Spoiler: His very existence makes him this. If you don't play a heroic rematch, you will never even know he lives still.
• Why Won't You Die?: After he's defeated in his heroic rematch, he screams the trope verbatim.

The Observer (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

The Observer

Yes, you. Only Death, Thalamus and Xyarlohatp acknowledge you, but it is through your guidance that Sorun's actions in either Ending A or B are possible.

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• From Beyond the Fourth Wall: Thanks to Death giving you a shard of Sorun's soul, you're able to control him and interact with his world.
• No Name Given: You're just referred to as "The Observer" most of the time. Thalamus averts it at the start of his Final Boss fight, calling you by your computer's name.
• Spanner in the Works: You can become this to either Thalamus or Death. Your intervention alone saves Sorun from being trapped for eternity inside Y'lnoth as another plaything of Thalamus.
• You Bastard!: Gets called out by Death on Ending B for seeing what the route entails. Pre-emptively gets invoked in Ending A, as initiating New Game Plus will undo the hard-fought happy ending.

NPCs

Sigur

Sigur of the Flame

Voiced By: Sarah H. Fairbrook

A knightess of the Covenant, sent here together with Sorun on an expedition. Fairly resigned about her fate. She teaches a number of skills, chiefly a handy Light spell for navigating dark areas.

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• Be Careful What You Wish For: Gets killed by her reanimated brother at the end of her questline.
• Heroic BSoD: She's stuck on one, having lost her brother, who was killed by Endless when she attacked the expedition.
• Sole Survivor: She and Sorun were the only survivors of the Expedition after Endless killed everyone else. If not for Death bringing Sorun back to life, Sigur would've been the only survivor.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: The Covenant of the Flame binds and enslaves immortals into eternal servitude. She even threatens to do the same to Sorun should he linger around for too long.

Bast

Bast, Emissary of Vil'Dradur

Voiced By: Evan Smith

You've strayed far from your herd, little sheep. Any solace you might've found here has long since fled.

An emissary of Vil'Dradur, or so he claims, this lizardman can teach you Dagger skills. He also requests that the player gathers NPC's to bring some life and closure to the Sanctuary.

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• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He is in fact a Serial Killer and, unless killed, will slowly begin picking off the people of Central Sanctuary one by one as you progress further in the game. If not stopped, he'll kill everyone except for Ione and Vrael.
• Lizard Folk: Unlike Vrael, he still has his tail. The two never actually interact.

Jaco of Basilus

Jaco of Basilus

Voiced By: Evan Smith

• The Cavalry: Shows up at Vados with Vrael and Ione in tow to help out against Thalamus. In a flying balloon carriage, no less!
• Never Found the Body: His fate if you let Bast kill him.

Zuma

Zuma

Voiced By:Matthew Mercer

A servant of Death, and a liaison to His chosen - that being you. Freed after defeating the Amarog Shaman guarding him short ways from the Sanctuary, he offers enchanting/disenchanting services, a number of Scythe and Tome skills, and a chance to reflect on the past...

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• Distressed Dude: Sorun finds him tied between two poles by Kaern (Original version) or an Amarog mage (Afterlife). After killing it and freeing him, Zuma moves to Central Sanctuary.
• Equipment Upgrade: Zuma can upgrade Sorun's items with the right amount of Soul Stones. He can also scrap unused equipment and turn it into more Soul Stones.
• It's the Journey That Counts: He waits for you on top of the stone giant. Sorun is disappointed to find no grand fight on top of the creature, to which Zuma replies sometimes one has to do other things than just scale giant monsters in search of a challenge. He does give you some goodies as a consolation prize though.

Nymeria

Nymeria

Voiced By: Allegra Clark

An archer from the Isles, she and Grimgaud are first found prisoners of the Amarog. Once freed, she returns to the Sanctuary where she teaches Bow skills.

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• Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Speaks with a French accent.
• Hired Guns: Explains that people from the Isles are compensated to join Great Expeditions, and clarifies to a baffled Sorun that "immortality doesn't pay taxes".
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: If you let Bast kill her, her corpse wounds up impaled on the broken pillar near where Ione stands. Ione herself is notably shaken by the event.
• The Straight and Arrow Path: Wields a huge golden crossbow. Sadly it's not available for use.

Grimgaud

Grimgaud

Voiced By: Carson Beck

A huge warrior, he and Nymeria are first found prisoners of the Amarog. Once freed, he returns to the Sanctuary where he teaches various skills pertaining to Strength-scaling weapons.

Alistair

Alistair

A snail-like creature, allegedly cursed into this form by Astromancer Amulvaro. While his role in the original game was greatly limited, in Afterlife he lets you craft weapons, armor, and items.

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• Fate Worse than Death: Calls his current predicament such verbatim.
• Forced Transformation: Amulvaro turned him into a snail.
• Voice of the Legion: Speaks in at least three different voices.

Braeorn

Braeorn

An agent of the Vados crown, and a character exclusive to a Noble playthrough. He sells unique items.

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• Disc-One Nuke: He's in possession of an Aldwynn Halberd +5 for 1100 shards - which can be acquired well before you set foot in Obsidian Vale and even gain an ability to enchant weapons.

Fink

Fink

Voiced By: Keenan Mosimann

A strange little critter that offers wares and shows up throughout the game, trying to swindle you out of your essence.

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• Devious Daggers: A dishonest swindler who attacks with a poisoned knife if made hostile. Come Afterlife, you can get his knives from him.
• Harmless Villain: If non-hostile, he'll just try to swindle you out of Essence here and there, usually over things that you can easily do yourself. If made hostile, he's barely a roadbump even early in the game.
• Honest John's Dealership: Half of his stock when you first meet him is useless, and the other half has questionable applications at best. Subverted later if you do buy something from him where he gains access to useful items.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: He traps you and Vrael in a crusher pit and nearly kills the two of you. Subverted when Vrael decides he's done playing around and simply busts out of the trap with little effort.
• Permanently Missable Content: If you don't buy anything from him at Gaian's Cradle or attack him by accident (Not that hard to do, actually, Gaian's Cradle is full of shambling enemies and he comes right after Ione, so you may be too tense to realize he isn't hostile), he'll turn hostile for the rest of the playthrough, locking you out not just from his services, but also Sigur's questline.

Nier

Ash'Nier of the Deep

Voiced By: Marisha Ray

A strange dragon-like creature found at Journey's End. Not hostile, but scorns Death.

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• Draconic Abomination: Heavily implied to be an Exiled God, like Thalamus and Xyarlohatp. Her presence in their realm to aid Ash in his fight with Sorun confirms it.
• One-Steve Limit: Was originally called Ash, before Afterlife added Ash.
• Our Dragons Are Different: She resembles a dragon, but her body seems to be made of tree roots and bark, she has no eyes and her wings are like a dragonfly or a fairy.
• Shout-Out: Since her name change, She's now named after that Nier.
• Token Good Teammate: Unlike her kin, Nier isn't interested in fighting or harming Sorun in any way.

Eva

Eva

A young girl found in the Collapsing Nightmare during Ending A. Sorun rescues her, and she goes on to try to find her mother and father.

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• Small Role, Big Impact: Literally just an ordinary girl that Sorun finds and helps out in the midst of finding Ione, Vrael, and Endless. Freeing her though allows her to find and wake up her parents, who in turn wake up more people who in turn wake up more people beyond that at an exponential rate who then play the role of The Cavalry, rescuing Sorun and his friends just as Thalamus seemed poised to defeat them.

The Lumberkin

The Lumberkin

A race of diminutive, reptile-esque creatures. In a game about immortality they stand in polar opposite, as a race whose members only live for a day.

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• Always Someone Better: One Lumberkin is also in the employ of Death like Sorun, but trash talks Sorun for using Death Idols to save his progress. Death himself confirms that the Lumberkin in question has died fewer times than Sorun.
• Fake Ultimate Hero: Sir Thomas, who co-opts Sorun's victory over the Owlking by claiming he was the one who did it. When you confront each other, he offers to let Sorun get the first hit in. It doesn't go well for him.
• Killer Rabbit: Throughout Siradon, you can find several Lumberkin riding frogs and wearing knight helms. Despite their frailty, they can hit quite hard.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: One of the Lumberkins running Frupi's restaurant gang pressed Death into working as a cook.
• One-Steve Limit: The last Lumberkin of the colony in Central Sanctuary is also called Sorun. His parents named him after you.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Word of God establishes that their presence is just there for levity.
• Rewarding Inactivity: When you meet Lumberkin Sorun, he tells Sorun to wait for him for 10 minutes in the cave. Once those 10 minutes pass, an older Sorun returns with a rare Immortalite stone he gives you for free.
• Violation of Common Sense: A race of creatures whose members that only live for a day, and have domesticated giant slugs for conducting exoduses. One of them rightfully questions why they are using such a slow animal.
• We Are as Mayflies: You can't get much more short-lived than a single day. One particular room in Central Sanctuary chronicles the rise, and inevitable fall, of a Lumberkin society, with its final member visibly aging significantly in just the span of ten minutes.

Burlag

Burlag the Great

A gigantic rabbit that lives in the Burrow, a cave system that lies beneath Gaian's Cradle. He's a vendor that has no interest for shards, but for something more... carroty.

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• Collector of the Strange: Burlag's wares are highly rare and unusual, including Immortalite, Dark Matter, Seeds of Knowledge, stat-enhancing boots and even intel on Endless' true nature.
• Dented Iron: His body bears several scars.
• Lemony Narrator: His speech pattern is like this, narrating Sorun's encounters with him.
• No Name Given: His interactions only call him "Rabbit". His Golden Carrot Aura reveals his name.
• Telepathy: Burlag speaks with his mind, but prefers to call it his stomach rumbles over his hunger for carrots.
• Trademark Favorite Food: He loves Golden Carrots. He also accepts them as currency for his wares.

Valz

King Valz

The king of Vados and organizer of the Great Expeditions sent to Siradon every four years, due to his desire for immortality.

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• The Ghost: Goes unseen for nearly all of the game, except for two occasions: Sorun's execution if he returns to Vados at the beginning of the game, and his death at the hands of Ash.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Is killed by Ash when he stabs him with one of his swords.
• Puppet King: In the grand scheme of things, he's just a puppet of the Magisters' bidding.

Magisters (Unmarked Spoilers Ahead)

The Magisters of Nurem

Voiced By: Aleks Le (Wounded Magister), Keith Silverstein and Matthew Mercer (Vados Magisters)

An ancient and highly influencial cult, the Magisters of Nurem act as advisors to the kings of several nations, who hide their true treacherous nature behind their golden masks. A large group of them have a base in Siradon known as the Magisters' Labyrinth, led by the Grey Wanderer.

• Almost Dead Guy: Early in the Labyrinth, you can find a dying Magister that discovered the Awful Truth about his cult.
• Asshole Victim: Once Ash returns to Vados to Destroy the Abusive Home, the Magisters in the city are his main targets. You can even see when he brutally kills two of them while he heads towards Valz' palace.
• Human Sacrifice: The real reason of the Great Expeditions is to feed Thalamus with the souls of the many poor sods that die in them.
• Light Is Not Good: They wear white robes and golden masks, but they're rotten to the core.
• Lightning Bruiser: Magisters have it all. They can teleport, their spells hit really hard and they're very sturdy.
• The Man Behind the Man: They are the ones directly responsible for the terrible suffering Siradon's neighbors have suffered in trying to obtain immortality. They're also the reason Sorun has no family anymore, having lost both his brother and his mother to their machinations.
• Religion of Evil: They worship the Exiled Gods, especially Thalamus. They weren't always this way, as they used to worship Death.
• Squishy Wizard: Averted. Despite mainly using magic to fight you, they're surprisingly tough and hard to kill.

Bosses

Owlking

Owlking

• Authority in Name Only: One of its Journals states it's "royal only in name, with no subjects to speak of".
• Body Horror: It has a huge gaping maw going through its torso and two bone blades for hands, as well as a mismatched face.
• Dead Guy on Display: After its death, the Lumberkin Sir Thomas of Dark Hole took its corpse and decorated his stash with it.
• Degraded Boss: Owlkings show up en masse at Amulvaro's Observatory. They're actually stronger than the original, though they do not possess the boss's bombarding attack.
• Law of Chromatic Superiority: Subverted. Normal Owlking has a red cape; Heroic Owlking instead dons a blue one.
• Noodle Incident: The byproduct of one, according to a Lumberkin at Frupi's describing someone else fed a bunch of Soul Stones to an animal and turned it into a monster.
• Warmup Boss: Though technically a second boss in the game, it's the first to get a proper title card and a health bar. It's still much, much easier than anything else you'll face ahead.

Forgotten Gaian

Forgotten Gaian

• Agony of the Feet: How you defeat it: by hacking away at its foot until it topples. Afterlife goes one step further, where depleting its health there will make it fall to one knee and expose more vulnerable spots.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: It's positively huge, and swings with enough power to let you feel it.
• Colossus Climb: You can climb its sword, though it will try its damnedest to shake you off. If you succeed, it will simply extend the blade and let you duel Ione without interruptions. The rework to this fight in the Afterlife update removes this though.
• Dual Boss: At first it and Ione take turns fighting you. Once you deplete her health enough, the two begin attacking in unison.
• Flunky Boss: Heroic fight has it summon reinforcements from time to time.
• Optional Boss: You don't actually need to defeat it, but doing so lands Ione in the sanctuary and begins her questline (on top of the Talent Point and the essence). No longer the case come Afterlife; it drops a Crash Down upgrade you'll need to progress.

Soul of the Phoenix/Phoenix Rider

Soul of the Phoenix/Phoenix Rider

Voiced By: Sarah H. Fairbrook

• The Cameo: Shows up during a fight with Thalamus as a hallucination.
• A God Am I: Calls herself a god after she finishes taunting Sorun over Everly's death if you die to her in the fight in the Orange Forest.
• Glass Cannon: Much squishier than your average boss, but with enough range and ferocity to kill you in seconds. Getting caught in her second phase's Spin Attack might as well be a One-Hit Kill. Doubly so in the Heroic rematch - which, prior to Afterlife, was the sole Heroic fight you had to do.
• Mythology Gag: In Afterlife, upon gaining the ability to Dreamshift, you can warp to the "Orange Forest" and fight an alternate version still retaining the name Soul of the Phoenix. This version of the Rider replicates the environment and gimmicks of the original release's mandatory Heroic Rematch version of the Rider, though it still has its own tougher Heroic Rematch.
• Non-Indicative Name: Defeating her doesn't actually do any harm to a Phoenix. Journals of the Immortals straight up call her a parasite leeching off the Phoenix's endless energy. The Afterlife update renames it the Phoenix Rider.
• Self-Duplication: Its Heroic Rematch lets it summon additional copies of itself, though they all share the same health bar.
• Turns Red: Inverted. The Rider/Soul starts red-orange but turns blue after its health drops too low, and employs stronger attacks.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The Phoenix itself sleeps in the background during the first fight.

Tundra Lord Kaern

Tundra Lord Kaern

• An Ice Person: Can summon icicle projectiles like Amarog Shamans, but also throws around giant ice blocks.
• Body Horror: He's basically a rotting body with a skull on top of it.
• The Cameo: Shows up during the fight with Thalamus as a hallucination.
• Meaningful Background Event: You see him getting revived by the Amarogs on your first entry to Obsidian Vale.
• Optional Boss: Come Afterlife, the entire Obsidian Vale is an optional area, with Kaern at the top of it all. Defeating him does net you an extra plume however.
• Took a Level in Badass: Kearn is fought much later in Afterlife than he is in the original release, when the only real obstacle between you and him was the Soul of the Phoenix and holding Zuma (and thus the means to upgrade gear) captive meant he was a priority earlygame target. Afterlife puts more bosses and obstacles between you and him, and provides a significant damage buff to Kaern so he can still be a challenge to Sorun in spite of newfound power and mobility.

The Bulwark of Aldwynn

The Bulwark of Aldwynn

Voiced By: Jalen K. Cassell

• Animated Armor: Natch. Once you hit him enough, his soul comes out and start throwing out AOE's. Unlike what you may think, it isn't his weak spot and you simply need to force it back in the armor to continue damaging him. Origa states that he used to be an actual person underneath the armor, but the passage of time robbed him of it.
• BFS: He's able to use Storm Caller, which turns Skybreaker into a gigantic blade of light.
• The Cameo: Shows up during the fight with Thalamus as a hallucination.
• Damage-Increasing Debuff: Getting hit by the shockwaves released by his exposed soul will increase the damage you sustain from attacks for quite a while. This is a concern during his fight, easily qualifying as That One Attack, which goes into overdrive when Thalamus summons MULTIPLE OF THEM during your boss fight against him, who do nothing but spam this attack.
• Double Jump: The upgrade you get from defeating him. Defeating the Bulwark in a Heroic rematch nets you the Bulwark's Pride, an aura that lets you triple jump and permanently manifests his wings behind Sorun's back.
• Flunky Boss: Periodically summons mobs to distract you.
• Graceful Loser: Once you approach him for the Heroic rematch, he can teach you a powerful Longsword skill instead.
• Named Weapons: His sword, the Skybreaker. The sword was used as Aldwynn's guillotine before the kingdom's collapse and has the power to summon the Bulwark's soul when Sorun has 100 Soul Energy.
• Power Gives You Wings: He manifests a pair of glowing golden wings when his fight starts, though he doesn't fly with them. Sorun obtains an Aura that gives him those same wings after defeating him in a Heroic rematch.
• Sinister Scythe: He's able to turn Skybreaker into a scythe when he swings it downwards.
• Small Role, Big Impact: The immortalization of the Bulwark gave way to the craze that beset Aldwynn and led to its society's complete destruction. Despite that, he's fought fairly early in the game.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: It's possible for Bulwark to be your third boss - and it's likely you'll get your butt handed to you if you try to tackle him right away. Between his solid health pool and strong-hitting attacks, you may want to consider arming up appropriately first.
• You Remind Me of X: After he's defeated for the first time, he tells Sorun he reminds him of Everly.
  Bulwark: You remind me... of... of her...

Origa

Origa Magdalena, the Ghost of Aldwynn

Voiced By: Evanne Friedmann

• Cardboard Prison: Traps you in one after you die to her. Double Subverted in that while the prison is effective (though Origa wryly notes that "the bars will rust, eventually"), you can just use a Crow Plume to warp to the last visited Death Idol or use a Suicide Blade that's in the very same cell. If you get die to her a second time, Vrael will simply bust the cell doors open if you wait long enough.
• Cold Sniper: She wields a sniper rifle and will shoot Sorun from afar when he first enters Aldwynn.
• Dead All Along: Ending B reveals that her soul is in the Afterlife.
• Face Death with Dignity: She's simply meditating on Aldwynn Graveyard as she expires.
• Laser Blade: Wields a katana-like energy sword in case she empties her rifle's magazine.
• Last of Her Kind: She's the last surviving human from Garde Tum.
  Sorun: Are you the last of your people?
  Origa: In... a manner of speaking... My people live as memories... violated by the specter of our past... I was spared, for better or for worse.
• Mystical White Hair: Her hair is stark white.
• Not Afraid to Die: Her desire for death has made her opinion for it the opposite to most people in Siradon, as she knows how much suffering being immortal can bring.
• Outside-Genre Foe: What is a cyborg sniper doing in this dark fantasy world? But then you find Garde Tum...
• Precursor: She's the last survivor of Garde Tum, the oldest human civilization in Siradon.
  "Once my home, now a derelict tomb."
• Really 700 Years Old: Her people lived centuries before Siradon and Aldwynn existed, and she's seen the fall of both nations over their obsession with immortality. She has lived for over 1,000 years.
• The Soulless: According to herself, her soul is already gone. Ending B reveals she's serious about it. The incident with Bysurge separated her soul from her body.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: In her long life, she's seen the lives of everyone she cared about be destroyed by their immortality, including her people, her parents, the Bulwark's, and her own.
  Origa: Death needn't be so loathed... for you will be reunited with the loved ones you lost. But my soul has perished long ago, and I have naught but dust to commune with my family. My choice to die was taken from me. Venture no further, while you still have that choice.

Dark Knight

Dark Knight

• Body Horror: He's a prime example on why the Source's power is too dangerous, as it twisted a loving father into a horrific monster.
• The Cameo: Shows up in a flashback of Adult Sorun to scare away his horse in the original game.
• Darkness Equals Death: Not directly, but one of his attacks will summon motes of darkness that will explode after a period of time which also subsequently dim visibility to almost nothing if you don't have the Light of the Grey Wanderer equipped.
• Dying as Yourself: Manages to wrench himself off Thalamus' grasp in Collapsing Nightmare for a few moments to talk with Ione before his form degrades.
  Dark Knight/Mr. Eku: I... Ione... Take... my soul... Save... me...
• Humanoid Abomination: His shape remains human, but he's been so warped by his immortality that he's more akin to a Lovecraftian horror than a mere monster.
• I'm a Humanitarian: You first meet him eating a guy while Ione speaks with him.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Ione reveals him to be her missing father.
• Not Quite Dead: Once you deplete its health bar, a specter will show up to try and revive it. Depending on how fast you deal with it, you might need a couple more hits or a whole new boss fight.
• Shout-Out: He's a walking expy of Guts with his Berserker Armor on. His head also resembles Grifith's helmet as Femto.
• Shapeshifter Weapon: His right arm is the Darkeater Greatsword, a blade of flesh and teeth. He also has several attacks in which he shapeshifts into massive masses of black liquid, tentacles and teeth.
• Turns Red: Or rather, gets a purple aura as darkness coalesces around him a few minutes into the fight, which increases his damage output and grants a few new attacks.

Bysurge the Lightning Lurker

Bysurge the Lightning Lurker

Voiced By: Jalen K. Cassell

• All for Nothing: Not even accounting for how the mind merge left Bysurge criminally insane, you find them in the Collapsing Nightmare as yet another of Thalamus's thralls.
• Ax-Crazy: Their overriding desire for more energy drove Bysurge's component minds murderously insane. Now they hunt anything that dares enter their home/tomb.
• Barrier Change Boss: You and Bysurge are both either positively or negatively charged during the boss fight. Matching polarities halves the damage you inflict to each other while opposing polarities double the damage. In its Heroic Rematch, Bysurge also has an attack summoning sweeping waves of projectiles coming from both sides of the screen that players will have to carefully try to maneuver through (matching colors won't hurt them)... or just avoid the attack altogether on the hovering platforms.
• Boss-Arena Idiocy: Their Heroic Rematch incarnation stupidly has levitating platforms on their assembly line. The platforms stay online indefinitely once powered up and not only are essentially to avoid several of Bysurge's attacks, but in fact most of their moveset can't reach them. If not for trying to use his energy-transferring attack, none of this would've been a concern either.
• Flunky Boss: Summons progressively more dangerous foes as the fight goes on. At the last stretch they'll move on from drones and droids to assassin droids which can quickly ruin your day.
• Hive Mind: They're all that's left of an attempt to grant the people of Garde Tum immortality. It... didn't work out very well. Afterlife reveals instead that the people of Garde Tum were already immortal, and the mind merge was a desperate attempt to escape Thalamus' hordes.
• Large Ham: Among the more talkative and bombastic bosses. "I AM THE FUTURE!", indeed.
• Madness Mantra: "Energy! I need more... ENERGY!!"
• Warmup Boss: Come Afterlife, fought briefly during an elevator ride down further into Garde Tum, though they're scared off after enough damage is inflicted.

Cusith

Cusith

• Advancing Boss of Doom: Its lightning attack covers the entire floor and can quickly wipe out even the tankiest Soruns. To avoid it, one can jump on platforms scattered across the boss room - but Cusith slowly advances forward, destroying the platforms on contact and putting the player on a time limit. No longer the case come Afterlife.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: It makes the Forgotten Gaian look like a toy.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Come Afterlife, you can see it milling in the background at Gaia's Cradle.
• Optional Boss: Even further out of the way than Forgotten Gaian is, and with even less incentive to fight it. No longer the case come Afterlife; as you need to confront it to acquire one of the key items to reach Caer Siorai. However...
• Skippable Boss: Battle against Cusith in Afterlife only begins when you attack Cusith. Interacting with the beast gives you the option to pet it instead, skipping the fight outright. You even receive a unique aura for it.

Wraith King Sirad

Wraith King Sirad

• Achilles' Heel: Sirad's attacks are devastating, but many of them are well-telegraphed, making Perfect Blocks or Parries easy to do against him.
• Ambition Is Evil: The desire to mark his place in history is how he ended up founding the Kingdom of Siradon.
• Beat Still, My Heart: Uses his own heart like an incendiary grenade.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Wields a giant scythe for an arm. You can get it for yourself.
• Buried Alive: Although he's little more than bones and rags, Sirad is still very much alive and will fight Sorun as soon as he touches his sarcophagus.
• Early-Bird Cameo: If you played the original Death's Gambit, you would have seen him already as the relief at Caer Siorai's main gate.
• Egopolis: Siradon was named after him, its founder.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He was once a humble, but ambitious pilgrim who found the Source of Immortality in the ruins of Garde Tum.
• Immortality Seeker: Abhorred Death with a passion, such that the Death Idol found at the start of the Sky Tomb is fashioned like a demonic monster, and did all that he could to find a means of immortality. He succeeded.
• Living Forever Is Awesome: Despite the decay of time ravaging his body and mind, Sirad isn't bothered at all by his immortality. In fact, he's glad his legacy of immortality seekers lives on, even a millenium after his rule.
• Purple Is Powerful: A purple ghost who throws his heart on the ground to trigger massive purple waves of fire.
• Wakeup Call Boss: As the first new boss that returning players will face, Sirad has a simple but aggressive moveset that tests if players know how to best make the most of their newfound mobility. His Heroic Rematch similarly changes things up with entirely new moves too.

Amulvaro the Galaxy Mage

Amulvaro, The Galaxy Mage

Voiced By: Jalen K. Cassell

• Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: The background for the fight is a sprawling shot of galaxy.
• Barrier Warrior: Though no slouch in hand-to-hand combat, one of the greatest threats in the battle against Amulvaro are the walls of damaging energy created by Amulvaro's blue orbs. They linger on the battlefield for a long period of time, making it all the harder to maneuver around, and if any is present, then Amulvaro can create clones of himself and fire destructive rays across the area that Sorun will have to dodge through.
• Dual Wielding: One of his attacks has him swinging two sabres in a series of rapid strokes.
• Friendly Enemy: Not with Sorun himself, but he's on speaking terms with Death.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: Realizing how truly insignificant their existence is in the grand scheme of things, on top of his immortality and the recognition of dark forces out there, did him no favors. He alternates between raving bombast and being Crazy Sane.
• Hero Antagonist: Is opposing Thalamus in his own way, but you need to defeat him to reach Caer Siorai
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: the incarnation of him summoned by the Black Wanderer is fairly tame if you've been doing the Heroic Rematch bosses in order, only drawing on attacks from his normal variation and lacking the layered environment that made his lunging slashes so deadly.

Eldritch Inquisitor

Jocasta Holdrem, the Eldritch Inquisitor

Voiced By: Marisha Ray

• Foreshadowing: The Inquisitor is first brought up when Vrael mistakes her name as being that of Siradon's first ruler. She then takes an active role upon reaching Journey's End. The same location also serves as the first major giveaway about the presence of Thalamus and the lie that the afterlife is just reliving your greatest regrets over and over.
• Improperly Paranoid: "Thoughts of betrayal", possibly instilled by Thalamus, made her brainwash - we think - her peers at the council. There is no other member of the Council present by the time you fight her.
• Religion of Evil: The head of it, and it's Thalamus we're talking about, so it's pretty dang evil.
• Time-Limit Boss: The first phase of the fight involves smashing crystals and then summoned mooks. During that time, the blood level raises until it will become impossible to escape it - and it saps health fast. The second phase does away with the rising blood as the Inquisitor comes down to fight you herself. Alternatively, if you can bring her down to half health, she'll come down either way and skip the first phase.
• Wardens Are Evil: It's implied that the Crimson Court she rules over decided the fates of prisoners in Aldwynn. Considering just what you find at Journey's End...

The Grey Wanderer

Sybil, The Grey Wanderer

The leader of the Magisters of Nurem in Siradon and the mastermind behind the Great Expeditions.

• Breather Boss: Far easier to deal with than the Time-Limit Boss fight against the Eldritch Inquisitor. Thanks to relying on her copy and Amulvaro for the heavy lifting, the Heroic Rematch against the Black Wanderer is arguably even easier!
• Chekhov's Gunman: Twice over. The base game had an aura and shield alluding to the Gray Wanderer that are found in Amulvaro's Observatory. You finally meet her in Afterlife, and in her Heroic Rematch she summons either a copy of Amulvaro or the real deal to help her.
• Fallen Hero: Her corresponding shield and aura describe her as a force for good and peer to Amulvaro, though defiant in the face of the gods that granted her power in the first place. Her own tomes though detail her involvement with establishing the Great Expeditions and the influence and wealth gained as a result, and by the game proper has "fallen to darkness".
• Horrible Judge of Character: Regards Thalamus as a mentor and guide on a path to renewal and rebirth.
• Law of Chromatic Superiority: Her Heroic fight has her don black clothes and retitle herself as "Black Wanderer".
• Optional Boss: You do not need to defeat her to progress, but doing so unlocks the Advanced Talent Tree.

Thalamus

Thalamus

Voiced By: Jalen K. Cassell

One of the Exiled Gods, an ancient group of Eldritch Abominations that has terrorized the world for countless centuries. He feeds from the trauma of living beings and is the real antagonist of the game, the creator of the Source of Immortality and the one responsible for the downfalls of Garde Tum and Siradon. He's also feeding on Sorun's grief without his knowledge.

• The Bad Guy Wins: In Ending B, where Sorun helps him kill Death. In exchange for trapping him, Endless and Ash in a Lotus-Eater Machine where their family never broke apart, Thalamus claims the souls of the dead for himself, dooming all life that dies to a Fate Worse than Death.
  • Also the case, or at least his defeat is delayed, if you jump the gun and start New Game Plus immediately upon being prompted after beating him.
• Big Bad: He's the real antagonist of the story, and the one responsible for all of the suffering that's ravaged the land of Siradon since the times of Garde Tum. Especially Sorun and Everly's.
• Big "NO!": Once his souls break free from his control and empower Sorun, he starts screaming one when he's about to defeat him and break free from his nightmares.
  Thalamus: MY NIGHTMARE! MY REALM! NOOOOOO!!!
• Brown Note: His own name is this. Death doesn't speak openly of him for a good reason. Too bad Sorun stumbled across him on his own.
  Death: For a mortal to say his name is to invite him into your mind. Like a whisper that burrows through your memories.
• The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: The Heroic Rematch incarnation of Thalamus takes away your ability to heal, leaving you wholly reliant on what stray lost souls you can knock out of the bastard. This is taken a step further once you knock him below half health, as a screen-wide, near-undodgeable attack that does 1000 damage damage that previously would provide you a single lost soul to confer a few seconds of invincibility doesn't, all but necessitating perfect dodging or the player bringing along the upgraded Fortitude ability.
• Civilization Destroyer: His forces did this to Garde Tum centuries before the game. Near the end of Ending A, Thalamus and his minions invade Vados with the intent of doing the same, but is stopped at a heavy cost.
• Determinator: Unfortunately for you and everyone else, Thalamus is as strong-willed as Sorun. The Will stat in your character interface isn't Sorun's willpower, it's Thalamus', and it grows each time Sorun dies.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Afterlife gives him a few.
  • The realm Sorun starts the game in is Y'lnoth. And Thalamus is the narrator in the class screen.
  • You can see his face in some of Garde Tum's TV screens. Fitting, as he's the one who destroyed that city.
• Eldritch Abomination: Certainly has the look.
• Enemy Summoner: Summons hordes of previously-killed bosses during your initial encounter against him, just so he can show Sorun how little he's accomplished... though these copies can't hurt you just as you can't hurt them. The Avatar of Thalamus fight pulls off the breaks by letting him summon copies of the Phoenix Rider, Bulwark, Sirad, and Bysurge who can kill you and aren't going away unless you kill them first. Oh, and there is seemingly no limit to how many of them he can have active at once. The Heroic Rematch version goes a step further, summoning Ash.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There: One on his palm, two more on the shoulders, none where they're supposed to be. You acquire one of his eyes come Ending A, and you use it to trigger New Game Plus.
• Fate Worse than Death: Delivers the trope name verbatim during his Breaking Speech.
• Faux Affably Evil: Even when not being overtly antagonistic to Sorun, his efforts to sound reasonable and friendly are undercut both by how he sounds and what he's actually asking you to do.
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: Threatens to come after the player next once he's done with Sorun; after reading your computer's name, no less.
  Thalamus: None of this had to happen. None of this WOULD have happened, was it not for... the Observer. You there, Observer... (Computer's Name), That's your name, right? Or... is that your computer's name? Hahahaha! What? You didn't expect me to notice you? I can tell you've been guiding Sorun... But your charade ends here. When I'm done destroying Sorun, I'm coming for you next! NOW WATCH HELPLESSLY AS I REND HIS SOUL!
• Final Boss: Of Ending A. Once Sorun reaches the heart of the Collapsing Nightmare, Thalamus will fight him personally.
• God of Evil: Called such by his Journals.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The puppetmaster manipulating both Endless and you for his benefit.
• Hope Crusher: He goads you to renounce the contract with Death, well aware of what that entails, and when that fails, settles for torturing Sorun personally, both in and outside of Ylnoth. Turns out he's actually been doing that for a while now.
• Hostile Show Takeover: After you meet him, he changes the title screen; instead of a pile of corpses and the main theme, it instead shows young Sorun curled up under a withered tree as Thalamus's hand lingers underneath. Afterlife goes a step further: it reboots the intro cutscene, but with a couple of distressing changes and an off-key tune, Undertale-style.
• Immortality Seeker: Not specifically for him, but the Source of Garde Tum is still necessary for his plans. Normally anyone who falls into one of Thalamus's dreams will die after a few days due to a lack of food and water, significantly limiting how long he can torture people. This is not a concern with Immortals, however, hence Thalamus opposing Death's efforts.
• Interface Screw: The fight. Screen splitting in five, item descriptions turning into gibberish, your own stats taunting you, among others. He's happy to use it for the rematch at Collapsing Nightmare. Just as he's about to be defeated, he attempts to stop the Observer by bringing up the New Game Plus menu and tries to convince Sorun to go through with it. Unfortunately for you, the NG+ screen is the real thing and you can accidentally revert the game back to the start if you fall for it.
• Invincible Villain: Downplayed. Although Thalamus is an immortal god that's impossible to kill outside of his home realm, Sorun and the Observer were still able to defeat his Avatar, ruin his plans and save Vados from sharing the other kingdoms' fate.
• I Shall Taunt You: Does he ever. Breaking speeches? Check. Preying on Sorun's guilt complex? Check. Warping the interface just to deliver his message? Check.
• It's Personal: In Ending A, Thalamus quips that Sorun is the only person to ever escape his nightmare, and in doing so rescued the souls of all of Vados. Thalamus is not happy and guns for Sorun not even minutes after he woke up.
• Meaningful Background Event: Thalamus himself is one; he can be faintly seen right at the top of Caer Siorai, just before your final confrontation with Endless.
• Meaningful Name: "Thalamus" is a part of brain that regulates, among other things, consciousness, sleep, and alertness. Quite a fitting name for a god of nightmares.
• Nightmare Sequence: Since he fell into Y'lnoth, Sorun is kept in one of these by him. Each time Sorun killed Endless and destroyed the Source of Immortality in the nightmare, Thalamus would bring him to his realm, wipe his memories and force him to relive the game's events over and over. He did so for several years until Ash freed Sorun.
• Real After All: The original version of the game made it ambiguous whether Thalamus was a real god or if he was simply a manifestation of Sorun's brain undergoing Sanity Slippage over dying so many times. Afterlife confirms that he's indeed real, and a civilization-destroying menace.
• Required Secondary Powers: With a dash of pure and raw irony, the power in question is living. His victims forced to slumber eternally eventually die from malnourishment because they can't wake up to eat or drink; he can't generate suffering for his nightmare realm from a soul that no longer exists. A major reason Thalamus is as dangerous as he is is because of the Source of Immortality "fixing" this pesky human limitation, and his realm and his plans fall apart after the Source is destroyed.
• Shapeshifter Weapon: His avatar is able to transform his limbs at will, turning them into sharp weapons like axes and massive blades.
• Shows Damage: His body melts and distorts as you gain hope. Unlike what the trope name suggests, he's not any worse for wear. He does it again during the rematch in Collapsing Nightmare, but this time you're actively undoing his plans.
• Skippable Boss: Should you renounce the contract with Death, Y'lnoth becomes inaccessible and he cannot be "fought". You still have to fight his Avatar as the final boss of Ending A though.
• Sphere of Destruction: In their final fight on Vados, once Sorun and Everly push him over the edge, Thalamus tries to destroy the entire city with a final attack. He's ultimately stopped by Everly, who teleports him far above the skies and throws the Source of Immortality at the sphere, destroying both and saving Vados at the cost of her life.
• Walking Spoiler: His presence casts shadow on Sorun's entire quest and questions just about every single foundation of the world.
• Wham Line: Have a look at your stats during the fight. YOU HAVE ALREADY FAILED EVERLY AND ASH.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Loves to provide provide Hope Spots only to then immediately undo them, and in some cases doesn't even bother with the first part. To whit:
  • The Afterlife update has him taunt Sorun at the start, commenting how maybe on this run of the game he'll be able to save his mother. Endings B and C leave Sorun trapped in the cycles, leaving both him and Everly being tortured by Thalamus. Ending A breaks the cycle, but Thalamus's final attack on Vados is only stopped by Everly's Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Hold your own against a seemingly Hopeless Boss Fight against Endless? Thalamus just kills you anyways.
  • Escape Y'lnoth and overcome Thalamus in his boss fight and gain the Dreamshift power to return to the real world? Turns out you actually never escaped and the reset of the game -and all subsequent New Game Plus runs- are all with Sorun trapped in the dream.
  • Defeat Endless and try to destroy the Source? Unless you fulfilled the requirements to have Ash wake you up, Thalamus just resets the cycle to feed on Sorun's regrets and despair in perpetuity.
  • Finally awaken from the Dream? If Thalamus's will over Sorun is too strong, you have no choice but continue obeying him and grant him access to the Nexus of Souls, and whatever reprieve Thalamus grants for Sorun helping him is undone once the cycle resets.
  • Resist Thalamus's control and start to gather allies to oppose him? He just separates all of you, renews his torture of everyone, and would have won if not for the Observer helping Sorun recover his memories.
  • Get to his actual boss fight? Thalamus invokes The Battle Didn't Count after seemingly losing and tries to overwhelming you by cutting loose. And when that falls through due to unexpected reinforcements and he's soundly beaten again, he tries to trick you to start New Game Plus again to reset the timeline and undo his defeat. AND EVEN THEN you still have one final battle in the real world in Vados where even the narrative acknowledges he was only defeated, not killed.
• Your Mind Makes It Real: There is no conclusive evidence whether if Thalamus is a genuine Eldritch Abomination or a particularly vivid hallucination that refuses to let Sorun go - if not both. The fact that you end up right where you last died after escaping him or that his face is faintly visible just before the final boss fight does not help in answering these questions. Afterlife confirms that he is a fully-fledged god however.

Aberrant AI

Aberrant AI

• Early-Bird Cameo: She's the cybernetic ghost greeting you at Garde Tum on your first visit.
• Face–Heel Turn: Fascilitated by Xyarlohatp upon encountering him.
• Route Boss: Only fought on the way to Ending A. She also doesn't get the Heroic rematch and is treated as Xyarlohatp's "normal" fight instead.

Xyarlohatp (Unmarked Spoilers)

Xyarlohatp

• Anti-Magic: Highly resistant to elemental and magical damage. Raw is the way to go here.
• Combat Tentacles: He uses his tentacle arms as his main way of attacking Sorun.
• Death by a Thousand Cuts: For a Heroic Rematch-exclusive boss fight, Xyarlohatp's attacks aren't too terribly impressive. The real through though comes in the fact that to get anywhere in the fight, Sorun can't bring Phoenix Plumes to the fight because Xyarlohatp will just steal them to recover as soon as he takes damage.
• Eldritch Abomination: Another Exiled God, though this one at least seems happy to mind his business. He's also capable of perceiving all of time at once, including every possible version of his fight with Sorun.
• "Get Back Here!" Boss: Attempts to retreat multiple times in the span of the fight. You need to fiddle with in-game or console time settings to find him again and continue.
• Glass Cannon: Once you work through Xyarlohatp's main gimmicks (escaping through time and stealing your Phoenix Plumes), the actual fight is fairly straightforward. The bad news is that no Plumes makes healing harder if not impossible. The good news is that you can use all the ones amassed to increase your damage output to the point that Xyarl breaks like cheap glass from Sorun's offensive.
• Guide Dang It!: The method to reach him is extremely complicated. In fact, when Afterlife was first released, he was completely inaccessible until three riddles were resolved in real life.
  • You need to beat the game, with Ending A (Death's Gambit). Thalamus' Will over Sorun must also be beneath 100.
  • You must obtain the Al Aziph Grimoire in Garde Tum.
  • Craft the Crimson Egg, made with three Tortured Souls found in the Collapsing Nightmare, and four pieces of Otherworldly Flesh, which only drops from invisible creatures found across Siradon.
  • You also need the five Fragments of an Exiled God, which drop from five unique enemies that can only be killed with the Al Aziph Grimoire.
  • With all the stuff, bring it all back to Garde Tum and look for the Portal control console.
  • Open the portal and enter.
• Humanoid Abomination: The best way in describing his form is as a humanoid-shaped white void, with a blade-shaped head with a single vertical eye, a ragged skirt and bundles of tentacles that act as limbs.
• Life Drain: Not directly, but after taking a relatively small amount of damage Xyarl will steal one of Sorun's Phoenix Plumes if they're available and heal himself back to full. To avoid this, you need to go in without any.
• Optional Boss: Completely out of the way, and only accessible if you're going for Ending A. Not that it's an easy process...
• Shout-Out: One of the forms he takes during his fight resembles the Eye of Cthulhu's second form.
• Time Master: Uses it to escape from his own boss fight. You have to follow him through the portals and deduce the correct number of hours to go forward/backward. The blue dust means he traveled forward, the red dust - backward. You will have to change your computer's time settings or input the correct amount of time if you're on Switch.
• The Battle Didn't Count: Invoked after defeating him. As a god of time and space, there are infinite timelines where Sorun either lost or just never fought him in the first place, so he's not going anywhere anytime soon.

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