The First Era's releases, listed chronologically from top left.
This is a sub-page for the characters of Sound Horizon's so-called "First Era" albums, the era where the band was but a budding doujin circle with 1-4 vocalists [Acting for Two playing multiple roles]. Before Aramary came along and dominated the vocals from Thanatos onwards, the band debuted with Chronicle, a fully instrumental album featuring an entire plot written inside the booklet. Placing a greater emphasis on storytelling and world building, a very prominent presence of spoken dialogue and narration is one of this era's most prominent characteristics.
Following the release of Elysion ~Rakuen Gensou Monogatari Kumikyoku~ and Leviathan: Shuumatsu wo Tsugeshi Kemono, however, Aramary left the band due to undisclosed personal reasons. Her resignation, though upsetting for many fans who had come to fondly remember her as the band's biggest charm, more or less heralded both the end of the band's days as a niche doujin circle as well as the dawn of its Second Era, from which the band began to experience its true rise to fame and re-branded itself as the Sound Horizon Kingdom fans know and love today.
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Chronicle and Chronicle 2nd
Lucia
- Played by: Aramary
I have a song to sing. I have a path to tread. I have a hill to protect.
- "No matter the period, we will not give up. Beyond history, beyond the sky that is far yet close.The promise I made with you, the thoughts I received from you, is our endless Chronicle..."
The main protagonist of the whole album, Lucia is a girl who wholeheartedly believes that the world can actually be saved from the Beast That Devours History by forgoing the Chronicle and guiding it to the right path.
- Animal Motifs: The white crow mentioned on every instance of the tracks of Chronicle 2nd is possibly a representation of her.
- Conveniently an Orphan: The reason why she was taken into the Black Order.
- Foil: To Chronica. Whereas the latter is a fatalist who chooses to just go with whatever outcome the Chronicle (read: she) had predicted, Lucia wants to go exactly against it. Oh, and her hair is white, whereas Chronica's is black.
- Defector from Decadence: She disagrees with the Black Order's complete submission under the reins of history.
- Generation Xerox: Revo singing "Kuro no Yogensho" as Lucius, Lucia's dad, in the 3rd Territorial Expansion live concert indicates that Lucia's struggle in this album is the very same one her parents went through before.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: The counterpart to Chronica's striking red ones.
- In the Blood: Her parents are also defectors from the Black Order. Noah lampshades this trope to her in name.
- Knight Templar: This little excerpt from "Kuro no Yogensho" somewhat paints her in this light.Lucia:Our enemies have been wholly defeated. And so, sworn comrades, we have achieved a momentary relief.Yet even allies can turn into foes. So take the first move and kill them.But there is no end to our enemies, thus we live fearing them.Though it will repeat all over again, that is our path to attaining happiness.
- Portmanteau: Lucius and Ilia makes Lucia!
- Sailor Fuku: Some drew her wearing either a pair of shorts with this, or a skirt. It's hard to determine what she's actually wearing, as there is no full-body official art of her wearing the clothes she had in the album cover.
- Screw Destiny: The bulk of her arc in the album is about breaking free from the Black Chronicle's shackles upon history and humanity.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: In the end all of her effort came to nothing, since the Great Flood destroyed them. However, The End of the World as We Know It does not mean the end of the universe; it will be born anew soon. It is still possible for Lucia to continue her struggle, as she can pass her message to the next residence of the new world to continue fighting the way she did.
- Spell My Name With An S: Sometimes her name is also transliterated as "Rukia".
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Chronica has stated that history does not allow altercations—indeed, as any altercations imposed upon the Chronicle’s predestined path is, in itself, destiny, and thus, it could be said that Lucia’s whole effort has already been predicted by the Chronicle, as well. Nonetheless, Lucia still wants to guide history to the ‘right’ course, whatever it is, so long as it's not as hopeless as was predicted.
Chronica
- Played by: Aramary, Miyuki Sawashiro (Nein)
The world repeats its birth and destruction countless times. All is within a prestructured harmony.click here to see her in Shounen wa Tsurugi wo...
- "All's well that ends well."
The personification of the Black Chronicle, or, rather, its whole “essence”. As she is the one who dictated the course of history, the Black Order venerated her as a God. In contrast to Lucia, Chronica, true to her nature, believes that there is no changing history and prefers to wait for the end of the world.
- Ambiguously Evil: Heavily implied to be the Beast that Devours History, but...what she is doing amounts to nothing but say that opposing Fate is hopeless.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: She is the "Aggregate Sentience" of the Black Chronicle, taking the form of a young woman.
- The Cameo: Appears in Shounen wa Tsurugi wo...'s back cover and the very last part of Nein's second track.
- The Fatalist: Justified, since she is essentially a book. To her, to struggle against anything is futile since everything has been set in stone by the last chapter.Chronica: In the end for him/her, there is no escaping the clutches of fate. Though there will be no need for the slightest bit of pity, for not one soul—neither I nor you—can. All's well that ends well.
- Foil: To Lucia. To her, the Chronicle, and thus, destiny, is inescapable, as no matter what you do, the path has always been predestined. Whatever seemingly defiant path you take has always been a predetermined possibility. Thus, opposing anything is but a hopeless act of desperation. That, and her hair is black, in contrast to Lucia's pure white.
- Physical God: She is, after all, an omniscient book. And she isn't a minor one, either—"Seisen to Shinigami -Senjou wo Kakerumono" reveals that she isn't some obscure deity worshiped by a shadowy cult, as even the Emperor of the Holy Flandre Empire himself worships her.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Just like the book of which she is an Anthropomorphic Personification—jet-black cover, pure white pages.
- Reality-Writing Book: A type 1—in addition to being a, well, Chronicle of human history, the Black Chronicle also predicts every single aspects of the world's future, culminating in The Great Flood on its 24th and final chapter.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: As if having a long, completely black hair and paper-white skin isn't enough, she also has blood-red eyes. This made a lot of fans speculate that she might really be The Beast that Devours History or an aspect of Michele Malebranche, since popular artistic interpretations often portray her as a red-eyed brunette.
- Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: She herself is this.
Luna Ballad / "The Earthly Moonlight"
- Played by: Aramary, Karen (Nein)
Because there is no meaning to a life without song.note
- "Destiny ... even if you take the light from my eyes, you'll never be able to take the song from my lips ..."
Protagonist of the song "A Song Struggled Towards" ("Tadoritsuku Uta"), from the 9th chapter and page 883 of the Black Chronicle. She is the lover of Endymio Ballad, who perished right in the previous track after his poem enraged the ruling Queen of Britannia.
Nein reveals that the two used to be together until a certain battle separated them from their homeland. Earnestly believing that Endymio is still alive somewhere, she sets out to search for him. Blinded on the way, she nonetheless managed to find Endymio's... remains, in the form of a song he dedicated to her moments before his execution.
In Nein, she reappears in track 2, “Na mo Naki Onna no Uta”.
- Bittersweet Ending:
- Her whole search for her lover ended up with the discovery that :he was already dead since a long time ago, but she does manage to find his last song, dedicated to her. With this comes her recognition as a hero and a symbol of both struggle and peace by the people of Britannia due to her determination, and their everlasting respect.
- Blind Musician: Literally becomes this, after she collapsed from exhaustion.
- Determinator: Not much people would continue a journey alone while blind.
- Doomed Hometown: Her hometown and Endymio’s was most likely destroyed in a war, which would explain their separation.
- Heroic Spirit: Even after becoming blind and losing her lover, she does not succumb to despair, but remains as determined as before. This is why the people of Britannia came to hail her as their heroine.
- I Will Find You: The song "Tadoritsuku Uta" is about her determined quest to find her lover.
- Last Kiss: With Endymio under the stars. She remembers it very dearly.
- Living Legend: Elevated as this following the events of "Tadoritsuku Uta".
- Motherly Side Plait: In Nein her long hair is tied in this, though in name only since she's not a mother. Initially.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted as of Nein. There is another woman with the same name in track 5.
- Red Baron: "The Earthly Moonlight", a nickname she earned after her elevation as a heroine.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: She is named after the Roman personification of the Moonnote , just as her lover/husband is named after the mortal shepherd/prince the goddess fell in love with.
- The Storyteller: Tadoritsuku Uta is one of the only two tracks in Chronicle 2nd (the other being Raijin no Sawan) that is not narrated by the album’s main narrator, but by its respective protagonists instead.
- Wandering Minstrel: Just like her lover. She wanders because she is searching for him.
Endymio Ballad
- Played by: Shin-Imayama (Nein)
Shin-Imayama as Endymio in the Nein live concert.
- "A blooming rose cannot compare itself to a withered one, swaying in reminiscence."
A minor, yet important character featured in chapters 7-9 of the Black Chronicle, first appearing in "Tragedy of Ballad the Poet" ("Shijin Ballad no Higeki"). Luna Ballad’s lover, he thought she was dead after they were separated in a certain battle, or so it was detailed in Nein. Some time after the separation he was called forth by the previously ruling Queen of Britannia to recite a poem that praises her beauty and power.
Instead of doing exactly that, though, he mocked her with a certain passage: a supreme, blooming rose (the Queen) cannot match the beauty of the withered one in his memory (Luna). Insulted, the Queen immediately orders his execution. The night before his death, he composed a final poem for Luna, which was heard by his jailor. The jailor was so fascinated by the song and sung it to his lover, who passed it on to everyone, and the song became popular throughout the country. Contrary to his belief, Luna is not dead yet, and is in fact still searching for him. It was that final song that guided her to his fate.
- The Bard: And his lover is a Wandering Minstrel, searching for him.
- Doomed Hometown: His hometown and Luna’s was most likely destroyed in a war, which would explain their separation.
- Perma-Stubble: As with his hat, he is also depicted as having this in Nein.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Named after the mortal shepherd/prince from Classical Mythology whom the anthropomorphic goddess of the Moon fell in love with, just as his lover is named after said goddess.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: What his whole story is at its core, both in the original album and Nein. The latter example is rather jarring (and grating) because R.E.V.O. is supposedly trying to find a “happy” outcome to the tragic fates of previous horizons’ protagonists.
- Suddenly Voiced: The only track of which he is a protagonist in Chronicle is only an instrumental. Come Nein and he’s been voiced by a baritone.
General Albers Alvarez ("Arbelge")/"The Silver Reaper"
- Played by: Jimang"Lotte...ah, Charlotte, what must I exactly fight for?"
The protagonist of songs “Alberge’s Battle” (“Alberge no Tatakai”), “The Promised Hill” (“Yakusoku no Oka”), and “Holy War and the Reaper” (“Seisen to Shinigami”), which spans two whole chapters in the album. Albers is a man from the country of Belga, who, after its occupation by the Flandre Empire, became a ruthless war general nicknamed “The Silver Reaper”, serving its leader, Emperor Childebert VI...under the purpose of freeing Belga from the latter’s grasp.
- Anti-Hero: He may be wholly dedicated to protecting his country, but he is obliged to become a mass-murderer in order to continue doing so. And this he complied without remorse, at first.
- The Atoner: After realizing just how many massacres he had led, he decides to defect to Britannia in "Seisen to Shinigami -Eiyuu no Fuzai-". Witnessing his comrade about to strike an unarmed village girl is pretty much his last straw.
- Bling of War: From where else could his famous nickname come from but his lustrous silver armor? Even Michèle Malebranche approves of its badassery and makes it a featured collection of her antique shop.
- Death Seeker: After withdrawing from Whitehaven following his Heel–Face Turn, Albers just wants someone to kill him to atone for his foolish mistakes. Queen Rose quickly snaps him out of it. He got exactly what he wished just after he stopped being this trope and during a ceasefire agreement that was meant to stop the whole schtick he made worse.
- Doomed Hometown: Belga was attacked and then occupied by the Holy Flandre Empire. Then he swore an allegiance to its very Emperor under the faint hope that the latter would grant the country its freedom if he fights hard enough.
- Defector from Decadence: A defector from Holy Flandre Empire's warmongering ambitions.
- The Dragon: Initially, of Emperor Childebert VI. After his Heel–Face Turn, he becomes The Lancer of Queen Rose.
- Dying Dream: Before he dies, he saw a vision of the sunset-colored hill where he made his promise with Charlotte. That’s exactly where they're buried at.
- Empathic Weather: A soft rain can be heard during his funeral sequence.
- Final Love Duet: He sang "Yakusoku no Oka" with Charlotte at the end of the first act of his story, promising to come back to her no matter what happens. This is indeed the final duet for them as Charlotte soon died while Alvarez was on duty, leaving him with no other reason to free his country except for its own sake.
- Fighting for a Homeland: ...under the very man who conquered it.
- Heel–Face Turn: He massacres other countries in hopes that if he conquers more territories for the Emperor, then the latter would grant his occupied hometown freedom. It’s not granted, resulting in him defecting to Britannia, the country he at first was ordered to attack.
- Heel Realization: The dude realized kind of too late that no matter how many countries he conquered for the Emperor, the latter just isn’t going to give Belga the freedom he requested.
- Hypocrite: Has a major moment of this when he called one of his comrade out for daring to shoot an unarmed girl (who, unbeknownst to both of them, is the Queen of Britannia) and nearly striking her to death, when in the previous track he had just massacred an entire capital and smiled after the entire deed. Gefenbauer, naturally, chews him out on this.
- Leitmotif: The riff of “Alberge no Tatakai” and his battle chant.
- The Lost Lenore: Charlotte, his lover, was a casualty in the war, and he’s very remorseful about it.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-Universe. After he died, the world hailed him far and wide as a hero, a symbol of struggle against tyranny, forgetting altogether his ruthlesness. Not only that, he had himself confessed to Queen Rose that he used to massacre thousands of innocents to satisfy his own belligerent impulses.
- Ominous Latin Chanting: Or something like it. An epic chorus that translates to “The time has come! Here he is—The Reaper! The time has come! Look! The Reaper!” Accompanies his appearance in the battlefield and his death.
- Playing the Heart Strings: A very soothing, yet somber violin solo serves as the ending to his saga.
- Red Baron: “The Silver Reaper”, named after his shining armor and his countless victims. Certainly doubles as A Name To Run Away From Really Fast.
Gefenbauer/"The Reaper of the Reaper"
- Played by: Yasro"Don't you ever forget the name of the man who will destroy you—his name is Gefenbauer!"
One of the main antagonists of "The Holy War and The Reaper" arc. A former war prisoner from Preuzehn, its capital Offenburg specifically, he is drafted by the Emperor Childebert VI himself into his imperial army of Flanders. The Emperor knows all too well of Gefenbauer's thirst for avenging his hometown, and uses it to his advantage in order to get rid of a certain "Reaper"...
- Doomed Hometown: Offenburg.
- Mirror Character: From Alvarez, his nemesis. Both lost their hometown, want to avenge their loss, equally ruthless, and are unwitting pawns of the Emperor. The only thing that separates them is that Alvarez came to realize that he is nothing but a pawn, dropped his bloodshed and came to atone for his mistakes, while Gefenbauer never cared a bit of his being used as a pawn and follows his quest for revenge through and through, culminating in his death. Basically, Gefenbauer is Alvarez sans Heel Realization.
- Pyrrhic Victory: He managed to avenge his hometown by shooting Alvarez...in a heavily-guarded ceasefire meeting. Well, Gefenbauer succeeds, but he was naturally caught and murdered on the spot by security—in this case, Sir Parsifal, Queen Rose's bodyguard.
- Unwitting Pawn: He was so caught up in avenging Preuzehn that he is remiss of the implication that the Emperor is essentially using him as a tool to conquer more territories.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He has a good reason to cringe when Alvarez, a war general nicknamed The Silver Reaper, told him to "stay on the right path".Alvarez: What did you intend to do to an unarmed civilian?!Gefenbauer: A mere girl she might be, but still a heretic. There is no need for pity.Gefenbauer: I will take no orders from you, Arbelge! Hypocrite, hero-maniac, murderer!My father died at Offenburg...my older brothers, my younger brothers, my comrades— all of them!
- You Killed My Father: ...and mother, and brothers, and friends, and...JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY IN MY FRICKING HOMETOWN, ALVAREZ!
Rose Guine Avalon / "The Supreme Rose"
- Played by: Aramary"A fool ... isn't someone who makes mistakes ... it's someone who knows their mistakes, but does not correct them ..."
The very young Queen of Britannia, having known to hold the throne since track 5, "Knights of the Rose" ("Bara no Kishidan"). She is the niece of the previous Queen, who was so infamous for her cruelty, Rose herself gave her the nickname "The Winter Rose". An optimist charismatic, she earnestly believes that she can become a beacon of hope for her people under the guidance of her Goddess, Brigid.
- Annoying Arrows: Shot by Gefenbauer in "Eiyuu no Fuzai" and almost struck dead by his sword hadn't Alvarez saved her. Her energetic singing on the following track indicates she has completely recovered, without any medical complications implied. Perhaps Alvarez is that good of a medic?
- A Child Shall Lead Them: She is still a little girl when her aunt died and she was appointed as successor to the Britannian throne.
- Expy: The High Queen of a land called "Britannia". Inherited the throne at a tender age after her less competent, female, predecessor died. Restored her country to a period of normalcy after years of unrest instigated by said predecessor. Bravely guided her people in a great war against a powerful empire. Hailed as a symbol of faith and nationalism. Royal insignia is a rose. Anybody else reminded of the first Queen Elizabeth?
- Also, note her last name—Avalon. She is surrounded by knights with names such as "Parsifal"/Percival and "Tristram"/Tristan. Rose is clearly a subtle homage to the famed King of Britain.
- The High Queen: Very wise, very charismatic, and loved by her people for her optimism and benevolence. No wonder she is nicknamed "The Supreme Rose".
- King Incognito: By necessity, as she did this to escape an oncoming siege to her castle by the Flandre Empire. She disguises herself as the village girl who Gefenbauer shot at the battle in Whitehaven.
- Modest Royalty: She prefers people call her by her first name, not "Her Majesty", courtesy of her conversation with Alvarez.
- Plucky Girl: Yes! For starters, she confidently vows in front of her people, who have for long been suffering under her predecessor's rule—who is her own aunt, no less—that she will lead her kingdom out of darkness. She also does not cower in the presence of Alvarez despite his reputation, instead commanding him (who is having a major My God, What Have I Done? moment) to bravely face his mistakes, as redemption does not equal death. Also, not many royalties could maintain their charisma after being shot by an arrow until unconscious like she did.
- Red Baron: "The Supreme Rose".
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Still a young girl, yet manages to relieve her people from the fear caused by her aunt's reign of terror.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Nothing is told of her anymore after that botched ceasefire agreement which took Alvarez' life.
Roberia Maria Della Firenza
- Played by: Aramary"A singing voice burning scarlet with passion, accompanied by a gorgeous figure— I am the greatest songstress!"
One of the main characters of "Shizunda Utahime", the 741st page of the eighth chapter of the Black Chronicle. Along with Giulietta Simone del Viscontie, Roberia is one of the contestants of King Alessandro I's singing contest, the winner of which shall become his bride. Roberia is the more ambitious of the two and desires to win by any means necessary.
- Ambition Is Evil: Roberia wants the throne of Itania, and will use every means available to get it, including falsely accusing a whole family of attempting to poison the King just to get rid of her competitor in a singing contest.
- Arch-Enemy: She regards Giulietta as her main obstacle, even though the latter most likely doesn't.
- Evil Laugh: She does this after Giulietta is disposed of, which automatically makes her the winner of the singing contest and King Alessandro's bride.
- Foil: To Giulietta. Roberia's color scheme is red, while Giulietta's is blue. Roberia is heavily implied to be a commoner, while Giulietta comes from a very old noble house. Giulietta is naive and childish, while Roberia is passionate, vicious and more mature. Giulietta participates in the singing contest only to sing, while Roberia participates to win the position of Queen-Consort of Itania.
- Lady in Red: She has no official artwork, but with her nickname being "The Red Songstress", it's a clear indication that she would be this. In fact, many, many fan works depict her dressed head-to-toe in red.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Just after three years of reign as Queen-Consort, King Alessandro's mistress Beatrice and his Prime Minister Galeazzo disposed of Roberia through the same means she used to get rid of Giulietta and her family.
- Nouveau Riche: Heavily implied. Unlike Giulietta, whose surname is a clear indication that she came from the Sound Horizon universe's counterpart of the Milanese branch of the House of Visconti
, Roberia's only entailed her hometown, Firenza—this indicates that she is not of noble birth, as commoners either use their moniker or their birthplace as surnames in Renaissance Italy. Yet it seems that her family's got just the right amount of money to bribe people to believe that Giulietta's more powerful family schemed to poison the King, which would mean that they must be insanely rich to do so despite their implied status. - Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Giulietta's Blue. She is scheming and aggressive, while Giulietta is naive and passive.
- The Rival: To Giulietta in the singing contest. Their rivalry is, in fact, the whole plot of "Shizunda Utahime".
- Villain Protagonist: "Shizunda Utahime" is told mainly from Roberia's perspective.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Roberia's brief conversation with her father during the narration sequence indicates that part of her motivation in winning the singing contest was to please him.
Giulietta Simone Del Viscontie
- Played by: Haruka Shimotsuki"A singing voice brimming in azure with purity, accompanied by a serene smile— I am the greatest songstress!"
Roberia's aforementioned rival in King Alessandro I's singing contest. In contrast to Roberia, Giulietta participates in the contest for its own sake.
- Ambition Is Evil: Noticeably downplayed, or even downright averted, especially if you compare her to Roberia. Giulietta does want to win, but she doesn't seem to use any other means to do so besides her voice.
- Blue Blood: Giulietta's surname indicates that she came from the Sound Horizon universe's counterpart of the Milanese branch of the House of Visconti.
- Brown Note: The songs she sing as the Sea Witch summon up deadly, ship-wrecking storms in the sea, of which Agnes is a victim.
- Blessed with Suck: By "Umi no Majo", Giulietta had transformed into the Sea Witch, meaning she can sing forever, which is what she has always wanted. Forever sing songs that can boil up fearful storms, destroy ships and generally lead people to their deaths, specifically.
- Forced Transformation: After she threw herself off a cliff as an act of desperation to escape the angry swarm of mobs, she turns into The Sea Witch.
- Hero Antagonist: "Shizunda Utahime" is told mainly from Roberia's perspective, with Giulietta regarded as Roberia's main obstacle towards reaching her goal.
- Foil: To Roberia. Giulietta's color scheme is blue, while Roberia's is red. Giulietta comes from a very old noble house, while Roberia is implied to be a commoner. Giulietta is naive and childish, while Roberia is passionate, vicious and more mature. Giulietta participates in the singing contest only to sing, while Roberia participates to win the position of Queen-Consort of Itania.
- One-Woman Wail: The final narration sequence of "Umi no Majo" is accompanied by her lonely humming.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Roberia's Red. Roberia is scheming and aggressive, while Giulietta is naive and passive.
- The Rival: To Roberia in the singing contest. Their rivalry is, in fact, the whole plot of "Shizunda Utahime".
- Sirens Are Mermaids: The Sea Witch has all the attributes of a siren in common fantasy stories. Even though in the original myths they are stated to be women with the body of birds, many fanworks depict Giulietta as a mermaid.
- True Blue Femininity: Giulietta has no official artwork, but her moniker is "The Blue Songstress", plus she becomes the Sea Witch in "Umi no Majo", further strengthening her connection with the color blue and the sea. Naturally, many fans would depict her being dressed head-to-toe in blue in art.
Thanatos
The protagonist
- Played by: Aramary
I do not have the strength to live in an instant, but I am not so unfeeling as to be able to live through eternity, either.
- "I feel as if Thanatos is watching me from somewhere..."
A mysterious girl who resides in an old, dusty attic. Suffering from insomnia late at night, she fantasizes about the various ways in which her death may arrive by way of the toys strewn about her room, which became the basis of the album's branching storylines. She also appears in the bonus track of Pico Magic.
- Creepy Doll: What she appears as in Nein.
- Death Seeker: Played with. She has always felt like her life is meaningless and wants it to be ended quickly, yet is also reluctant to meet the eternal darkness. In the end, this trope ultimately gets subverted as she decides to go on with her life. Her somber fantasies still go on, though.
- Freak Out: In "Thanatos no Gensou wa Owaranai". Thanatos is indeed looking at her.note The girl: He's watching. He's watching. He's watching. He is watching.Me—me—he is watching me.Ahh, even now somewhere Thanatos is watching me...watching me!— [door abruptly closes]
- Character Overlap: If Nein is any indication. She is the pink haired doll girl from Chronicle.
- Hearing Voices: She often states that she can hear Thanatos whispering to her.
- Immortals Fear Death: If she is indeed the doll in Chornicles, she can't die of old age, and doesn't have to fear the passage of time like humans.
- Knight of Cerebus: Downplayed. Though most of the stories it contained are nowhere near light-hearted, Pico Magic's songs are indeed very catchy and upbeat-sounding. Then you stumble upon the bonus track—"Thanatos no Gensou wa Owaranai". Lonely music, depressing lyrics, scary ending...
- No Name Given
- The Ophelia: She's a creepy, kind of unhinged girl who often hears weird voices and spends her whole screentime in the album rambling about death and lament. Due to the plot's coincidental setting, she doubles as a Madwoman in the Attic.
- Thinking Out Loud: She is the only principal protagonist of Sound Horizon's post-instrumental era who never sings, only monologuing and narrating.
- Straw Nihilist: "Everything you have in this world is meaningless because Death will come for everyone. No exceptions." That, folks, is the message behind each of the stories in the album.The Protagonist: Even though history will be born anew in a brilliant summer, fantasies of being embraced by Thanatos (death) will never come to cease.
- Technicolor Eyes: Fitting, since purple is the color of death in Japanese culture.
Lost
The woman who shot down her lover
- Played by: Aramary"In a world where I have lost my lover, flowers of what colour will bloom?"
The protagonist of the song "Koibito wo Uchiotoshita Hi". Her lover was wounded at one point by an ancient monster while trying to save her, and by the time the song is sung, he is already at the brink of transforming into one of its kind. The song details her struggle in killing the creature who was once the man she loved so much.
- Broken Record: The poor girl snapped.In a world where I have lost my lover, flowers of what colour will bloom? In a world where I have lost my lover, flowers of what colour will bloom? In a world where I have lost my lover, flowers of what colour will bloom? IN A WORLD WHERE I HAVE LOST MY LOVER, FLOWERS OF WHAT COLOUR WILL BLOOM?[Repeat ad nauseam.]
- Driven to Suicide: At the song's end, she is heavily implied to shoot, or stab, herself using the last arrow she had with her.
- I Cannot Self-Terminate: So I asked my girlfriend to kill me, courtesy of the protagonist's boyfriend.
- Lyrical Dissonance: Wait, so that's the plot of "Koibito wo Uchiotoshita Hi"?! That super upbeat pop song?!
- Rescue Romance: A very, very tragic example. Their romance is kindled at the same time the guy gradually transforms into the same monster he killed. Even the narrator lampshades it:Narrator: Their encounter is a promise heading towards misery.
- Staking the Loved One: This is the whole plot of her song.
- Together in Death: She is heavily implied to commit suicide in the end, and if we take into account that her quote above are her last words, it would mean that she does so out of her refusal to be left alone.
- No Name Given: Just like every other characters of the album, sans the magician Sarabando from track 3.
Michèle Malebranche
- Played by: Aramary, Rika Fukami (Roman)
Who is the one within that cage?note
- "Before I bloom madly then wither away inside this cage, allow me to bid goodbye to this world that has lost its love."
The protagonist of the songs "Yaneura no Shōjo", "Ori no Naka no Hana" and possibly "Ori no Naka no Yūgi". After these she somehow disappeared from the continuity with little further explanation.
...or did she?
A batshit crazy murderer in the form of a renowned beauty, her horrible deeds are one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries. Michèle Malebranche is Sound Horizon's most enigmatic character—her only concrete appearances are in songs that are seemingly only connected to each other and don't have any direct ties to the any other plotlines present, yet astute fans can discern her presence in almost all albums—as the distinct symbolisms used in her songs came to be recurring themes throughout Revo's work, especially in Roman. Indeed, in the album's fourth track she is revealed to have reincarnated as a piece of cursed red diamond, and is the source for all the Mind Screw occuring within Roman's world.
In short, Michèle is Sound Horizon's number one source of debate, with fans driving themselves nuts trying to find out what the hell her role really is in the Sound Horizon universe. Regardless of whether she is the God of the whole Sound Horizon universe, the Black Chronicle itself, or is actually manipulating Revo's own story, making your head ache from creating such theories as these is exactly what she does to most characters she interacted with inside the story world proper--trapping their minds inside a loop, making them sink deeper into a spiral of madness just to find out more about her. Congrats.
- Abusive Parents: Her Start of Darkness began with her insane father locking her up in the attic.
- Artifact of Death: The Reine Michèle is the world's biggest 30-carat red diamond. Everybody who gets the chance to lay a hand upon it is guaranteed to die horribly. The manga adaptation takes it up a notch, where it dooms just about everyone who's unfortunate enough to happen to be close to it.
- Ax-Crazy: Considering what she had to go through in her life, you can't help but feel sorry for her being this. In addition, it seems that she has the power to drive everyone who loves her insane until they die horribly in one way or another.
- Based on a True Story: A certain "Noël Malebranche" adapted her life into a mystery novel. A bulk of its contents serves as the lyrics of "Ori no Naka no Hana".
- Blood Sucking: Sucks a young boy's blood in "Ori no Naka no Hana" under the guise of a kiss. In her word, it tastes faintly sweet, drawing an intoxication much like drinking wine.
- Buried Alive: She came close to being locked up in a coffin then buried alive by her stepfather.
- Character Overlap: She appears in the bonus track of Roman. This was at first meant to be a spoiler but now
this has become more or less common knowledge. But lo, witness her once again making every fan lose their beans in Nein. - Darker and Edgier: Well, Sound Horizon's stories do occassionally feature dark themes, but none get as horrible as the "Cage" trilogy, which deal with sexuality, incest and murder described in an almost explicit detail.
- Enfant Terrible: Despite being a little girl at the time, Michèle somehow managed to murder her biological father in cold blood before using his blood as red paint. Even the authorities examining her can't understand why such an adorable little girl could perform such a grisly act.
- Eternal Recurrence: The first person she trapped in this is her stepfather. Then it's Hiver.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Aramary sang "Ori no Naka no Yuugi" and "Ori no Naka no Yuugi"—both of which are strewn with random French words and phrases amidst its mostly Japanese lyrics—in a breathy, sensual voice.
- Femme Fatale: One of the finest examples of this trope.
- Fille Fatale: Her twisted rampage had begun since she was still a small girl.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Being locked up in a dark attic during most of your childhood brings predictably unflattering results to your sanity.
- Gratuitous French: All of her songs sans "Yaneura no Shoujo" note —"Ori no Naka no Hana", "Ori no Naka no Yuugi", "Norowareshi Houseki, and "Seiyou Kottou Yaneuradou"—are all positively contaminated with this, complete with unintelligible pronunciations. Considering her background, this is to be expected.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: In her official artwork in Nein, she wears a purple dress.
- Hidden Depths: Her actions in Nein; at first there's something ominous looming about her when she manipulates Noël into "buying" R.E.V.O.. Turns out the circumstances that followed led him into coming to terms with his own life, turning him from a cynical, jaded young man into a spirited one ready to live life to its fullest. Michèle is, you know, Michèle; it's unlikely she had never predicted that outcome before.
- Humanoid Abomination: What a considerable amount of fans view her as.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Said this trope word for word in "Yaneura no Shoujo".
- La Belle Epoque: Lived in 1890s France. Her life doesn't quite match up to the era's nickname, unfortunately.
- Lady in Red: How she was depicted in the manga version.
- Lyrical Dissonance: "Ori no Naka no Yuugi" and "Ori no Naka no Hana" are sexy jazz songs sung with an intoxicatingly seductive voice. Their stories are about having sex with your stepfather who wants to bury you alive and murdering young boys for some sort of a dark ritual, respectively.
- Mad Artist: She was chained up in the attic as a child. Her only companions were canvases and paint tubes in three colors. You can see how these two would mix up.
- Madwoman in the Attic: A variation in that she is not locked up because she is insane, but insane because she is locked up.
- Meaningful Name: She shares a surname with the malicious guardian demons from Dante Alighieri's Inferno, and a French priest who is known for his dissertations concerning the active role of God in the world and dualism—all prominent themes in Revo's works. Hmmm...
- Medium Awareness: A non-comedic example: she is presumably aware that she is only a character in a story—which is probably why she likened her life to "being trapped in a cage"—and all of the crazy, scary schticks she committed in her songs may very well be her attempts to escape into our world.
- Mind Screw: She is a walking example of this trope. Her whole existence in Revo's works—her enigmatic theme songs, the "cage" she constantly mentioned, her involvement in Roman—is only the tip of a gigantic iceberg that is the discourse regarding Michèle Malebranche's true role in the Sound Horizon universe. It's made worse by the time Nein came out.
- The Ophelia: Everything she said "breaches the boundary between reality and fantasy", courtesy of the narration of "Ori no Naka no Hana".
- Parental Incest: "Ori no Naka no Yuugi" heavily suggests that she used to have a sexual relationship with her stepfather, Armand Ollivier, until he went absolutely nuts and tried to bury her alive.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: In Roman, her spirit is sealed inside a 30-carat red diamond, the biggest in the world.
- Troll: To just about everybody. Perhaps even Revo himself.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Presumably so until her father decided that locking her up in an attic is a good idea.
- Walking Spoiler: Bet nobody expected her when Roman and Nein first came out.
The delusional mother
- Played by: Aramary (Lost), Mari Yura (Nein)
A sleep of oblivion, much like within a cradle.note
- They noticed how mad she was, though none had the desire to tell her
The protagonist of "Yurikago", she is a miserable mother whose self-denial about her child's death had become so severe to the point of madness. She wanders serenely about town carrying its sack of bones as if it was still alive, sleeping soundly in her cradle.
She retells her story from her own perspective as she reappears in Nein's fourth track, "Ienakatta Kotonoha".
- Adaptation Expansion: "Ienakatta Kotonoha" expands greatly upon her minimal background, revealing that her child is the result of Sex for Solace with a stranger she barely knew, who left her the morning after.
- Death of a Child: The poor child had died since they were an infant, but their mother vehemently refuses to swallow the bitter pill.
- Dissonant Serenity: Everything about her song is this trope. From the way she converses with people as if nothing happened, the casual response she received from them, the very compliment they gave to the child's corpse, to how the song remains chillingly cheerful and soothing to the end..."Yurikago" is one of Sound Horizon's scariest songs, really, in a brilliantly subversive way, especially if you're not well-versed in Japanese.
- The Gay '90s: Her dress from Nein's box art possesses aesthetics from this era.
- Mummies at the Dinner Table: She treats her stone-cold skeleton of a child the same way a saner mother with a living child does. Given the situation, it's more than possible she still feeds, bathes and dresses it at home.
- The Ophelia: She's frigging carrying her child's bones around the neighborhood and showing it off to everyone!
- True Blue Femininity: She is depicted in Nein being dressed head-to-toe in blue.
Pico Magic and Pico Magic Reloaded
Picomary
- Played by: Aramary
- "BUONGIORNO~! I'm Picomary, the very same one from Lost's bonus track!"
The album's protagonist. She energetically introduces the album's contents in the fashion of radio DJs, which she self-proclaims herself to be.
- Ambiguously Human: Some fans think she might be an alien, probably because of that weird puffy thing on her headdress.
- Author Avatar: Or Singer Avatar. She's obviously meant to be Aramary's stand-in.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: She's addressing you directly in her narrations, and at the end of "Onegai! Picomajin☆" even tells us a little story about Revo taking Aramary to an Indian restaurant despite her saying she can't take spicy food.
- Breather Episode: More like Breather Protagonist. Seeing as she's only a DJ without a plot of her own, she is Sound Horizon's sunniest, least conflicted, and least Angsty, protagonist, natch. Good for you, Picomary. The rest of the album is still as depressing as you'd expect it to be, cheerful tunes notwithstanding.
- Early-Bird Cameo: As she herself had said, she first appeared in Lost's secret 12th track.
- Genki Girl: She must be the jumpiest of all Sound Horizon characters. Nothing in the album she says without overflowing glee.
- Gratuitous Italian: Greets you with "Buongiorno!", the Italian phrase for "Good day!".
- Magical Incantation: She gives you her "Yahha shanten i-pe-ja non non"note , ostensibly to summon a "legendary genie" that can get you through hard times.
- Mood Whiplash: Her upbeat techno songs are rather jarring in comparison to Sound Horizon's usual Rock Opera fare. But then again Revo composes his songs according to whatever he wants at the moment.
- The Pollyanna: She's a sunny, jumping ball of cheerfulness. It must be hard for anything to get her down.Picomary: No matter when, don't abandon hope 'till the last drop!
Rein
- Played by: Aramary"The moment the girl's closed eyes open,The world will come to witness the worst vision of madness it has ever dreamt of—a cruel God of Death."
The protagonist of the song "Rein no Sekai". She is a blind girl who relies on her dog as assistance.
- Apocalypse Maiden: The song foretold that the world will come to witness the birth of a "cruel God of Death" if she somehow came to regain her sight. Even the narrator warns us not to get caught in the same world as hers.
- Icy Blue Eyes: The singer described her eyes as shining in this hue.
- The Ophelia: The lyrics of her song, implied to be sung from her perspective, is...very rife with metaphors. It requires a very thorough thinking to be understood.
Elysion
Elys/El
- Played by: Aramary
There is no such thing as crying in paradise.
- "Hey ... papa, what kinds of flowers bloom in that paradise?"
The album's deuteragonist, the Masked Man's only, sickly, daughter. She is just about to reach the age of 8 when the album starts, yet is already on the verge of dying from a painful, incurable disease; her wishing for a picture book to her father would serve as the catalyst of the album's catastrophic plot.
- Children Are Innocent: Her appearance aside, she is actually no different from other little girls about her age, being very naive, Constantly Curious and all, showing absolutely no hint of malice whatsoever throughout her songs. In an ironic twist, the girls her father abducted all harbor incurable contempt for the world and have each committed unforgivable sins in the name of love.
- Constantly Curious: She comes across as this in "El no Rakuen [->side: E->]".
- Creepy Child: Subverted. With her completely white hair, skin, clothes and blood-red eyes, it's only natural that one would be creeped out upon seeing her appearance on the cover at first, but once you listen to the music, you'll quickly discover that she's the the nicest character of the whole album.
- Daddy's Girl: El is the Masked Man's only daughter and remaining family, so of course he would consider her this, and vice versa. In fact, the Masked Man loves El so much that he would drag living girls into Hell just to reunite with her in death.
- Death Seeker: El wasn't born into a family wealthy enough to be able to afford a medication for her chronic illness; she had no other choice but to wait for death as her only cure. That's why she is as excited to go to paradise as a child on their trip to Disneyland would, as she is sure there would neither be pain nor sorrow in that place. In the end, she never really did get her chance to get in there.
- Delicate and Sickly: Spends most of her life on bed suffering a wasting illness. The singer of "El no Rakuen [->side:E->] implies that El is suffering from consumption, since she mentions that the latter is often struck with bouts of painful coughs and subsequent chest pains.
- Dying Alone: In "El no Rakuen [->side:E->]", she ultimately dies this way. Slowly, painfully, her father's bleeding corpse lying beneath her bed.
- For Want Of A Nail: For want of a picture book, her father gets killed by a very, very angry woman.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: "El no Rakuen [->side:A->]". El's finally dead! Yay! It looks like she's finally in the paradise she's been dreaming of! Looks like the girl will get a happy ending with her dad—huh? Wait—she heard somebody crying? Nobody cries in—huh? What's happening? Why are all the trees dying? Why is the sky suddenly turning dark? Isn't this what Hell is supposed to look like?
- Meaningful Name: Both El and Elys play on Elysion. Also, "El" is a Hebrew name which bears the meaning, "God".
- Mirthless Laughter: In the bonus track, she greets her dying father with a pained, weak laugh.
- Mummies at the Dinner Table: "El no Rakuen [-> side:E ->]" suggests that El has convinced herself that her father is still alive and carries on conversations with his dead body. Though, like so much about Sound Horizon, it's open to interpretation.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Due to her father's damnation, El can never get into paradise like she wanted.
- Sins of Our Fathers: She ends up being cast down into Hell because her father, being a murderer and a kidnapper, has been damned from the start for his crimes.
- Spoiler Opening: El is already dead by the end of the very first track.
- Together in Death: With her father. In hell.
- Nightmare Face: For some incomprehensible reason, the Elysion PV had cute little El played by a horrifying plastic doll with Aramary's mouth pasted into it. Not◊ a very pleasant sight. note
The Masked Man / Abyss
- Played by: Jimang
The name of this girl, who is about to be born, has been decided since long ago.
- "Is that girl my Elys?"
The protagonist of the whole album. The Masked Man is a professional criminal with a past marred by violence and murder, all for the sake of her daughter's well-being. A messy aftermath of a certain murder contract, however, brought an unexpected end to his tale.
- Badass Cape: Which doubles as an Ominous Opera Cape. Given his profession, he wears this presumably to easily slink away into the darkness.
- Catchphrase: Besides the above quote, he's very commonly identified with the line "Zannen datta ne," which probably translates best to "Now that's a shame." That line's appearance in the lyrics of "The Grapevines of Joy and Sadness" leads to the common speculation that Loraine de Saint-Laurent is actually the bride who killed Abyss.
- Cool Mask: His mask undoubtedly adds several points of coolness to his appearance. It's so cool and badass, Michèle Malebranche makes it a collection of her antique shop in Nein.
- Determinator: Despite his body profusely bleeding from the back, in the middle of winter, no less, he somehow managed to reach his house by crawling. Too bad he died shortly after.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He is very, very devoted to El, caring for her and doting on her just like a parent ideally should.
- From Bad to Worse: Upon his death, he becomes a vengeful ghost abducting young girls to hell, all because he thinks they bear a resemblance to his real daughter. It does nothing but make her cast into hell with him.
- Kick the Dog: In the live performance of "El no Tenbin", at the beginning of the song, he's after money, and he sees two injured people on the street. So does he simply mug them quickly and demand the money? No... he sneaks up behind them and freaking takes one of the injured people's crutches and beats him half to death with it before taking their money. Really, there had to be a slightly less... destructive way of achieving the same ends.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He ends up getting stabbed to death by a woman after daring to murder her lover.
- Magical Flutist: In "The Piper and the Parade"—implied to be an alternate version of Elysion—he is a flutist leading young girls in a march towards an unknown horizon.
- Marriage of Convenience: In the very beginning of the album he admits that he will never love his girlfriend, but he considers her important because she's pregnant with his daughter, and he has picked out the daughter's name a long time ago.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: His ghost is a type 2—he wanders the world because he hasn't yet fulfilled his promise to El to celebrate her birthday, restlessly searching for her remains. He's also got the ability to drag living people into hell.
- Perma-Stubble: Has a thin white beard covering his chin.
- Professional Killer: What he does for a living, in addition to thieving, kidnapping and smuggling.
- Spoiler Opening: He's already dead from his wounds several minutes into the very first track.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The illustration on the back cover of Elysion ~Rakuen Gensō Monogatari Kumikyoku~ depicts him with glowing red eyes.
- Together in Death: With El, in hell.
Soror / "Subject 1096"
- Played by: Aramary
Did you think you have become a proud, incompetent Creator [God]?
- "Come ... let us return to Paradise, brother ..."
The protagonist of the song "Ark". She is a young girl used as a test subject along with her brother, Frater, by a certain Mad Scientist simply called "The Watcher". He projected the siblings' minds inside his artificial simulator world, in the midst of which she came to harbor a twisted infatuation for Frater she herself cannot control. She is the first girl abducted by the Masked Man in order to reunite with Elys.
The novel names her and the rest of the three girls "Elys".
- Apocalypse Cult: Frustrated by Frater's increasingly constant avoidance of her, she joins one of these inside the Watcher's world. The cult bestows upon her a silver knife called "Ark" upon her induction, which purportedly bestows salvation upon those who believed in it as Noah's ark does. She eventually becomes such a staunch believer in the cult's teachings and ultimately ends up using it to murder Frater, which is her definition of "inducting" a person into paradise and thus, salvation.
- Boyish Short Hair: Her hair only reaches as far as her lower ear.
- Brother–Sister Incest: She falls in love with her older brother. Sadly, Frater does not return her feelings.
- Creepy Child: She looks very young compared to the other four girls, yet is already harboring inappropriate sexual thoughts about Frater. The latter has a very good reason to be grossed out.
- Dissonant Serenity: After stabbing Frater to death, she calmly asks him to accompany her into paradise before bursting into laughter.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": She's only known by the name "Soror", which is a basic Latin word for "Sister", or "Subject 1096".
- Fille Fatale: She's still a girl, and she already knows how to kill a person. Specifically, her own brother.
- If I Can't Have You…: If she can't get Frater into paradise with her by himself, she's going to do it herself.
- Laughing Mad: After murdering Frater.
- The Lost Lenore: In the manga, she is this for Frater, who is actually the Watcher himself.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: The world which serves as the initial setting of "Ark" is actually an artificial construction programmed by "The Watcher", the scientist who's been experimenting on her and Frater. Only after Frater's death does Soror get pulled back into his inhumane laboratory in order to be punished for her crime.
- A Taste of the Lash: After Frater is murdered, the music is interrupted by a brief narration, telling us of what had actually happened inside the Watcher's laboratory before it returns to Soror's perspective, the background sounds of which are the cruel crackings of a whip.
- Yandere: Just like the other "Abyss" girls, each of whom harbors a twisted love towards someone. The one she is mad about is her brother.
Frater / "Subject 1073"
Soror's older brother. He actively avoids the latter's advances, leading to his demise.
- Aloof Big Brother: Implied in the song "Ark", definitely the case in the song's manga adaptation.
- Disproportionate Retribution: All he did was reject his younger sister's sexual advances. No matter how miserable it made her, he did not deserve to get stabbed to death.
- The Voiceless: In the song, but not in the manga.
The Watcher
The person who conducts and/or observes the experiments on Frater and Soror.
- Fingore: Lost his ringfinger due to unknown reasons.
- Mysterious Watcher: Well... It's in his name. He's only mentioned briefly in the end of the song, watching over the suffering Soror and sees Abyss appear behind her.
Lafrenze
- Played by: Aramary
The protagonist of the song "El no Ehon - Majo to Lafrenze". She guards the gates of the underworld, but can only do so as long as she remains a virgin.
- Albinos Are Freaks: In the New Testament Marchen manga this is the reason why her mother abandoned her. In a last ditch attempt to save her child from being burned as a witch she leaves her in the forest. With Sleeping Beauty only able to wish for her child to live while shedding tears.
- Barrier Maiden: She guards the gates to Hades simply by existing... as a virgin.
- Chosen Conception Partner: If you go with the interpretation that Abyss is "Orpheus". Abyss states that he will never love Lafrenze in the beginning of the album, he just wants her to have his baby, and he specifically wants an albino girl.
- Morality Pet: In the Old Testament Marchen manga, she winds up having this effect on Alte Rose.
- Parental Abandonment: Marchen's song Bara no Tou de Nemuru Himegami reveals that her mother, Sleeping Beauty, abandoned her due to Alte Rose's curse.
- Virgin Power: Her abilities as the gatekeeper.
- Woman Scorned: When she finds out Orpheus was just using her ("Hell hath no fury..." is a strangely appropriate expression, there).
Crimson Old Rose
- Played by: Aramary
A witch who was banished from her country. She was the one who raised Lafrenze.
- Character Overlap: She and Alte Rose (German for "old rose") in Märchen are implied to be the same person.
"Orpheus"
- Character Overlap: He and Abyss are implied to be one and the same. In the manga and novel he only gets together with Lafrenze because he wants to have an albino daughter named Elys.
- No Name Given: His identification as "Orpheus" is mostly metaporical. In the song, the narration stops right before saying his real name."That beautiful young man's name was..."
- To Hell and Back: The lyrics in Majo to Lafrenze states that he ran into Hades to rescue his "Eurydice". However his method of doing so comes back to bite him in the ass, hard.
- The Voiceless: He has no speaking role, unless you count erotic moaning.
The nun / "Maiden of the Twisted Pearl" / "Baroque"
- Played by: Aramary
This twisted heart, this twisted body—is my red pearl so distorted?
- "O, Lord, I have killed a person. I, with these hands, have killed a person dear to me."
The protagonist of the song "Baroque". According to her confession at the church on a certain rainy day, she used to have a fear of rejection that drove her to exile herself completely from human communication. This didn't last long, however, when a certain beautiful girl approached her and offered to become her only friend, unaware of its horrific aftermath. She is the second girl abducted by the Masked Man in order to reunite with Elys.
The novel names her and the rest of the three girls "Elys".
- Boyish Short Hair: Has a girlish bowl cut that resembles a 20sBobHaircut.
- Decapitation Presentation: In the live performance.
- Not Good with Rejection: She is absolutely terrified of being rejected, so when the girl she's fallen in love with rejects her love, she snaps.
- Nuns Are Spooky: There's the obvious Death by Woman Scorned, of course, but the fact that she's a lesbian to begin with, as a member of the (presumably) Catholic Church, and confessed (presumably hoping to commence a relationship) goes pretty well against Catholic dogma, even if she hadn't been rejected and gone Psycho Lesbian.
- Psycho Lesbian: Pushed a poor girl down the stairs for rejecting her love. She claims to not know how this event exactly played out.
- Shrinking Violet: She doesn't want to mingle with others for fear of being rejected for the slightest difference she might have.
- True Blue Femininity: In official illustrations her habit is blue. Averted in the concerts, where she wears a standard black habit.
- Yandere: Like the rest of the Abyss girls. She has a mad infatuation for her best friend.
The farm girl / "Yield"
- Played by: Aramary
The protagonist of the song "Yield".
- Off with His Head!: Kills her parents by severing their heads.
- Parental Incest: One of the most common interpretations of her story is that she is in love with her father and became pregnant with her own half-brother. This is the case presented in the novel and manga.
- Yandere: Murders her own parents becuase of her fruitless lovelife. It was most likely because of her incestious infatuation with her dad.
The bride
- Played by: Aramary
The protagonist of the song "El no Tenbin".
- Character Overlap: She and Loraine de Saint-Laurent in Roman are implied to be the same person.
The older sister / "Sacrifice"
- Played by: Aramary
The protagonist of the song "Sacrifice". She used to envy her younger sister greatly, but a plague that almost killed her and actually claimed their mother's life made her overcome that feeling as she struggles to feed both of their mouths.
The novel names her and the rest of the three girls "Elys".
- The Caretaker: To her sister.
- I Wished You Were Dead: At one point, she is so envious of her younger sister that she prays for her death, after which her sister becomes infected with the plague. Feeling guilty, the older sister takes her wish back and her sister recovers ... and then their mother dies.
- Knight Templar Big Brother: Female version. It's implied that she ends up burning the entire village down as retribution for her sister's death.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After her sister becomes ill, she blames herself for it due to having previously wished for her death.
- Promotion to Parent: After her mother's death, she plays the role of a mother to her younger sister.
- The Un-Favourite: She certainly feels like it, but it may not actually be the case.
- Where I Was Born and Razed: The end of the song implies this.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: After the injustice she faced, it's hard not to feel sorry for her.
The younger sister
The naïve and adorable sister of "Sacrifice"'s protagonist. Initially envied by the latter to the point of wishing her death, her subsequent illness and their mother's death that followed harshly reminded the protagonist of her fatal error, making her intent on protecting her younger sister at all costs.
The novel names her "Lily".
- Child by Rape: Gets pregnant towards the end of Sacrifice and is far too young to consent.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: As her sister remarks; not even being raped and later dying a painful death alogn with her unborn child could make her hold a grudge.
- The Ingenue: A little child who is loved by everyone and holds no ill will against anyone. Not even Her rapist and her murderes.
The woman in red / "Stella"
- Played by: Aramary, Fuki (Nein)
Women are not mute, big dolls that can only look pretty. Do you understand, my dear love?
- "We are a match, aren't we? We match up each other very perfectly, ah...I'm so happy..."
The protagonist of the song "Stardust". She is a woman so fascinated with true love, she cannot perfectly comprehend how fleeting and fickle it could be. She is the last girl abducted by the Masked Man in order to reunite with Elys.
In Nein, she reappears in the song "Nikushimi wo Hanataba ni Kaete" ("Turn Your Hatred into A Bouquet"), and is called "Stella" by the fashion show announcer.
The novel names her and the rest of the three girls "Elys".
- Abusive Parents: Nein reveals that her father is this.Stella: That's right...It's my fault here...I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'll become a good girl, so please, don't hit me, Papa!
- Amicable Exes: She rejected Gino's marriage proposal after some time of dating, but 4 minutes after the heart-breaking sequence they meet up with each other and act like they're best friends already.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: In Nein, she develops this with Luna, a fellow model who she initially hates for having stolen a certain "lover" of hers.note After teasing each other for a long time, Stella finally decides to ask Luna out...and was promptly rejected.
- Cloudcuckoolander: She is this in both albums, but more on the creepy side in Elysion. In Nein, though, she plays the trope straight in a lighter tone. If giving your date a flower bouquet with a gun in the middle of it still won't convince you just how much of a Cloudcuckoolander she is, we don't know what else will.
- Dissonant Serenity: Listen to the first half part of "Stardust" before the refrain and feel the contrast of the trigger-happy, murderous lyrics against the cheerful instrumental and vocal. That should give you a full explanation on her craziness. It's worse in the Elysion live, as Aramary sings even more cheerfully and bounces up and around the stage to boot.
- Fashion Show: In Nein, she is scouted by the famed designer Giorgio "Gino" del Cielo as a model for his "Verseine Collection" brand and naturally participates in this.
- Freudian Excuse: As was stated above, it's heavily implied that the reason she became such a glutton for love and affection—and snaps when she is betrayed—is because her father never gave any.
- Lady in Red: She loves the color red very much. This extends to the redness of blood.
- Lighter and Softer: Goodness no, not her original song, but her song in Nein. "Nikushimi wo Hanataba ni Kaete" is filled with many light-hearted jokes and comedic effects (a true rarity in the Sound Horizon universe), has a rejection of marriage proposal as its saddest moment instead of a child's death like many other albums, ends with the protagonist being truly happy and satisfied without having to experience any other losses or deaths, and nobody remarkably dies. Also, the song arguably presents less horrible after-effects compared to other tracks from the album, as having to deal with prejudice as a lesbian woman is obviously a normal thing compared to getting dragged into Hell alive by a ghost who thinks you resemble his dead daughter.
- Love Freak: It would seem that "true love" is the only thing that's available on her mind.
- Sexy Backless Outfit: Only visible if you watch the live, Elysion and Nein both.
- The Tragic Rose: Played with. Rose is a recurrent motif in both versions of her song, but each song presents it differently. "Stardust" presents the rose as a symbol for Stella's mad passion and its fatal consequences—thus playing the trope straight—while "Nikushimi wo Hanataba ni Kaete" represents it as a symbol for her renewed affection and vivacity, subverting the trope instead.
- Woman Scorned: "Stardust" follows her descent into madness as she is slowly eaten up by her hatred as this.
- Yandere: Very clingy and oh so very jealous. She wouldn't hesitate to blow your brains out with her trusty gun if she caught you cheating on her.
The woman in red's lover
Played by: Shin-Imayama (Nein encore)
Shin-Imayama portraying the man in Nein's encore of Stardust.
The man who was once the lover of The Woman in Red. It seems that they used to have a happy relationship until the man presumably grew bored of her and decided to start a new one behind her back. Needless to say, the results ain't pretty.
The novel portrays him as an artist named Pavro/Pablo.
- Casanova Wannabe: Shin-Imayama's portrayal of him in Nein brings this plus Handsome Lech into mind.
- Death by Woman Scorned: Poor guy should have known his girlfriend better.
- Flat Character: His characterization amounts to nothing but being a cheating bastard.
- Oh, Crap!: In all incarnations of him from the live concert, he always had this expression on when Stella caught him cheating on her red-handed.
- Rustproof Blood: Very noticeably averted - the song notes that the blood turns black as it's exposed to air, for symbolic purposes.
- The Voiceless: Averted in the Nein encore, but briefly. Shin-Imayama only uttered one line in the whole song, and even that was originally spoken by the narrator.
- White Shirt of Death: Then his own blood turns it red.
