Eshe
"This infernal place has taken me hostage. Something is watching in the dark... Waiting. It wants to change me."
The main protagonist and playable character. At the game's beginning, she is travelling through a desert when she is dragged underground into the caverns. To have any hope of escape, she must explore and overcome the nightmares that await in the depths.
- Action Girl: Fights her way through literal waves of corrupted mecha and eldritch demons.
- Dark Action Girl: She becomes this in the Embrace route, after rejecting her humanity and becoming Nyarlathotep's Dragon, leading his invasion of Earth.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Faces down many eldritch horrors over the course of the game and emerges victorious. And for the final boss of the Neutral and Resist endings, she actually does defeat a legitimate Lovecraftian god, Nyarlathotep.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Whenever Eshe dies, her death animation shows her futilely struggling as shadowy tentacles subsume her into the ground, the Eldritch Location of the caverns refusing to allow her escape even in death.
- Enemy Without: The Final Boss of the Embrace path is what remains Eshe’s own humanity taking form to stop her corrupted self from completing the ritual to free Nyarlathotep.
- Face–Heel Turn: If the player chooses the Embrace route, the game ends with Eshe killing her own humanity and then opening a portal to unleash countless eldritch horrors on the world.
- Heroic Mime: Doesn't say anything throughout the entire game, though she does speak in the trailer.
- Humanoid Abomination: If the player chooses the Embrace path.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Her eyes are a deep shade of blue.
- In the Hood: Her cloak.
- Light Is Good: Wears a white cloak, and most of her human/Valkyrie abilities are associated with light to contrast the shadowy appearance the corrupted abilities give her. Taken even further in the Embrace ending, where the remnants of Eshe's humanity and goodness manifest as a glowing version of herself with the subtitle 'Beacon of Hope'.
- Lovecraftian Superpower: What corrupting her abilities with Elder Shards grants her. Most of them upgrade the power by temporarily transforming her body into a shadowy, monstrous form.
- Mysterious Past: We never receive any information in-game about who Eshe is or why she was venturing through the desert, save for one perk on the Trapzehedron tree potentially implying she may have been a scavenger.
- Oh, Crap!: In the Neutral ending, we finally get a close up of her face after she escapes the caverns… and her expression quickly morphs into fear as she realizes that she brought the Shining Trapezohedron with her.
- Purple Is Powerful: The corrupted abilities are color-coded this way.
- Power Floats: When gaining an ability at a Shrine or corrupting those abilities with an Elder Shard, Eshe is raised up into the air within a pillar of light/eldritch power. The same animation also happens if the player has equipped the Rebirth perk and revives following a would-be fatal blow.
- Resurrection/Death Loop: For as long as she remains trapped, she will continue to die and resurrect within the ever-shifting caverns.
- She Who Fights Monsters: Should the player choose to corrupt any or all of Eshe's abilities, she becomes more and more like the twisted nightmare creatures she faces.
- Unnecessary Combat Roll: Eshe starts the game with this ability (alongside wall jumping), allowing her to avoid taking damage from enemy attacks, but not environmental hazards such as razor bushes or lasers. By destroying Elder Shards, it can be upgraded to damage enemies that Eshe passes through.
Taght'eh Shht'yng'yng'gl Tagr'laeph'ets'liht'ehct'r'lling (The Shining Trapezohedron)
"Hello, Eshe. How interesting that a human like you should find herself in such a place. This is my home, or well... what remains of it. Surely, you weren't taken here for nothing. I can sense a dark purpose in your future. But fear not, for I, the Shining Trapezohedron, shall be the weapon that leads you to freedom. I shall lend you my powers, so that you can fight in this place."
A sinister sentient crystal that Eshe encounters shortly after being dragged into the caverns. After introducing itself, it bonds with her body and becomes her main weapon and guide through the game.
- Ax-Crazy: Reacts with giddy enthusiasm at the destruction the corrupted Valkyrie Cannon is capable of.
- Berserk Button: Destroying the Elder Shards in the Incinerator is a quick way for Eshe to earn its open contempt and berating of her refusal to obey.
- Big "NO!": Lets out one of these in the Resist Ending after merging back with his body as Nyarlathotep and getting defeated. More specifically, he screams "Xa (pronounced Kha)", the Eschatonian word for "No/Not".Nyarlathotep: (directly translated from Eschatonian, subtitles differ) How could this BE?! NOOOOO!!! *gasp* WAAAAH!! *gasp* Uuurgh... Aaaaargh...
- Bond One-Liner: As Eshe is a silent protagonist, the Shining Trapezohedron usually delivers these after she defeats a boss or mini-boss.Shining Trapezohedron: I think this one’s beyond repair. (After defeating Model Luther X09)
- The Corruptor: Towards Eshe, trying to tempt her into using the Elder Shards to corrupt her abilities by claiming that their power is the only way for her to escape.
- Deadpan Snarker: On occasion, usually as pre-boss banter."It's an honor to meet Llaeyea, although you might not share my opinion…"
- Eldritch Abomination: As it’s the mind of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, one of THE Outer Gods, it’s definitively this.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Judging by its tone of voice, it feels nothing but disgust over Emmit Nelson/Hysteria's actions. Nelson killed most of the Eschaton civilians after finding their refuge, and was turned into his monstrous form as punishment.
- Evil Laugh: Frequently, even more so if the player goes down the Embrace route and corrupts more and more abilities.
- It has an impressive bout in the Embrace ending, as the portal has been opened by Eshe and Nyarlathotep is finally free to rampage across the Earth. He’s elated, as he's finally won.
Shining Trapezohedron: FINALLY!! After all these years! THE PORTAL! IS! RESTORED! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! - Faux Affably Evil: While it acts civil towards Eshe so long as she does not start destroying Elder Shards, it only sees her as a pawn and frequently attempts to manipulate her.
- Final Boss: In the non-Embrace routes, Nyarlathotep is the final boss. In the full Resist route, the Trapezohedron merges back with him.
- Foreshadowing: The game gives numerous hints to the Trapezohedron's true identity.
- In the Cthulhu Mythos, the Shining Trapezohedron is an artifact of the Outer Gods, which acts as a window to all of existence and is capable of summoning Nyarlathotep if it's empowered through human sacrifices.
- The Trapezohedron feels sorrow over the Fate Worse than Death that befell the Eschaton, as Ishaela and her people were his worshipers. For that reason, he dislikes the Valkyries and feels deep hatred towards their leader, Leonard Waters, and utter disgust towards Emmit Nelson/Hysteria.
- If Eshe corrupts the Propulsion Engine into Azathoth's Breath, it says having such a power is a great honor. Azathoth is Nyarlathotep's father and the strongest of the Outer Gods.
- In the Resist route, it namecalls Nyarlathotep in a mocking tone against Eshe, expressing its intent on reuniting with his body and betraying her.
- Living Weapon: Acts as Eshe’s melee weapon in combat, and her guide through the caverns.
- Mr. Exposition: Is the main source of information on the background of the game and the conflict between the Valkyries and the Eschaton. That said…
- Unreliable Expositor: Since it is actually a piece of Nyarlathotep, the deceiver deity, it's safe to say that neither Eshe nor the player should trust the information it provides 100%. It should also be noted that it is heavily biased against the Valkyries for what they did to its worshippers.
- Obviously Evil: While it does help Eshe, it clearly has an ulterior motive for doing so, namely finishing the ritual to restore the Eschaton portal and fully enter our world.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Its color scheme in its default crystalline form.
- Purple Is Powerful: If Eshe fully Embraces and corrupts all of her abilities, the Shining Trapezohedron will permanently turn purple.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: An interesting variation. It is actually a piece of Nyarlathotep, specifically his mind. In the backstory of the game, Nyarlathotep gifted the Shining Trapezohedron to the Eschaton, through which he could guide them to open the portal. After Leonard Waters and the Valkyries disrupted the ritual, however, the portal was shattered, leaving Nyarlathotep trapped on the other side… except for his mind, which he'd bound to the Shining Trapezohedron.
- The Unintelligible: Subverted. Although it only speaks in Eschatonian, the language of the Eschaton, Eshe is able to understand him. The player is also able to thanks to the subtitles, although sometimes its actual words diverge from them.
- Villain Respect: As part of its Faux Affably Evil demeanour, it often compliments Eshe's skills as a warrior after she manages to defeat a boss or mini-boss. It also begrudgingly acknowledges the Valkyrie's scientific prowess, even if it is quick to point out that it is nothing compared to his own eldritch power.
- Villainous Breakdown: Should Eshe start destroying Eldritch Shards, it will notably get more and more panicked and furious. Should the player choose the full Resist path, all pretence of civility falls away and it tries to kill Eshe by merging with the final boss, or rather, merging back with his body.
- You Fool!: Said verbatim if Eshe destroys enough Elder Shards.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: If the player follows the Resist path to the end. The Shining Trapezohedron, having failed to manipulate her, will betray Eshe and merge with Nyarlathotep, its true self, for the second phase of the fight — depriving you of your main weapon and requiring you to rely on the Valkyrie Cannon to defeat it.Nyarlathotep: AHAHAHA! AHA! Ah! ESHE! My little pawn... *sigh* YOU REFUSED MY HELP, AND NOW I SHALL CRUSH YOU! THE CREATURE YOU SEE BEFORE YOU IS MY TRUE FORM! YOU WILL REGRET... EVERYTHING!!!
