- “I am Lord Nictis, former ruler of the Cursed Realm, and judge of all souls wicked. For your sake, pray that the day I personally judge yours never comes to pass...”
- ―Nictis
Lord Nictis was the ancient ruler of the Cursed Realm, the creator of both the Mask of Nictis and Summoning Key, and the true biological father of Samantha Maxis. Scarred in the wake of the Cursed Realm's destruction caused by his absence, Nictis desired to safeguard the concept of life in his own way by sealing all of creation in a new realm of his own making. To accomplish this feat, Nictis sought to procure the Dark Scepter to harness its Aetherial powers, though he was forced to make a terrible sacrifice in the form of murdering his own daughter to obtain the scepter.
In spite of his eventual success in creating the Accursed Realm, Nictis remained consumed by grief and despair over the loss of his daughter, leaving the duties of maintaining his authority over the realm to his Dark Order. When finally confronted by Novus at his stronghold in Berlin, Nictis refused to let Samantha's death be in vain and fought back against the heroes, though he would ultimately be defeated. Before his fate could be decided by the heroes, their proceedings were interrupted by The Visitor, who stole the Dark Scepter from Nictis and delivered the killing blow to the weakened lord, thus abolishing the Accursed Realm and bringing true freedom back to Earth-31218.
Sometime later, Nictis was revived by the Grandmaster using Prima Materia and a reflection, forcing him and twelve other villains to combat the Heroes of Light in the Boss Rush Tournament to forge the key to the artificial Sentinel Artifact binding him to his prison. After being defeated in combat by Novus for the final time, Nictis made amends with the heroes and peacefully accepted his death before returning to the afterlife to reunite with his daughter.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Ruler of the Cursed Realm[]
Long ago, Nictis was created along with the Cursed Realm, becoming its appointed ruler by the Aetherians responsible for its creation. Over the course of his rule, Nictis personally judged countless souls who found their way into his realm from across the Nexus, enacting punishment upon them by imprisoning them within the very walls of the realm for all eternity.
In 1934, millenia after the Cursed Realm's creation, Nictis created a daughter, Samantha. However, despite his love for her, Nictis deemed the Cursed Realm too dangerous for him to raise her in. Using his powers, Nictis "freed" Samantha from the Cursed Realm and sent her to Germany in Earth-31218, where she would be found and later raised by Ludvig Maxis, who would hide the fact that she was adopted from her.
Sometime before sending Samantha to Earth-31218, Nictis came upon the Soul Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones. Through harnessing the power of the Soul Stone, Nictis crafted the Mask of Nictis, designed to manipulate the souls of others and bind them to the wearer's will. Following Samantha's departure to Earth-31218, Nictis forged the Summoning Key to house the Soul Stone, intending to trick weaker beings into misusing the stone's power in an attempt to get them banished to the Cursed Realm.
In truth, Nictis desired to use the Summoning Key as a way to sever his bonds in the Cursed Realm to see if Samantha was happy with her new life. In a twist of fate however, Nictis found himself misusing the Soul Stone, which punished him by sealing the ancient lord within the Soul Stone's pocket dimension. As a result, Nictis remained imprisoned within the Soul Stone as both the Summoning Key and the Mask of Nictis were displaced from the Cursed Realm to parts unknown within the multiverse.[2]
Without Nictis to maintain the unique foundation of the Cursed Realm, the realm would ultimately collapse and cease to exist decades after Nictis' departure, placing its imprisoned inhabitants in a perpetual state of limbo within the Ethereal Divide.[3]
Quest for the Dark Scepter[]
Release[]
Following the destruction of the Soul Stone and the other Infinity Stones, Nictis was freed from his captivity, where he quickly learned of the Cursed Realm's destruction in his absence. Nictis used his newfound freedom to explore the Earth of Earth-31218, where he became disgusted upon learning of humanity's history over the years. Horrified that he allowed Samantha to live in a world that he viewed as "crueler than the Cursed Realm," Nictis sought to assume control over the world by converting it into a new Cursed Realm, thus allowing him to enact his judgment upon the world.
In order to fulfill his dauntless mission, Nictis desired to locate the Dark Scepter, an ancient Aetherian tool hidden away somewhere in the world that could manipulate dimensional energy, allowing him to create a new realm of creation using Earth as its foundation. Shortly after, Nictis' powerful ambitions and connections with souls caused many people throughout the world to experience lucid nightmares later that night, with one of these individuals being Samuel Higgins, who envisioned Nictis and the completion of his goal.[4]
Securing the Mask[]
After some time exploring Earth-31218, Nictis began to sense the presence of his mask somewhere within the world. By remotely peering through the eyes of the mask, Nictis discovered that it had been found within the frozen tundras of Northern Alaska and was being transported on a 501st Corporation cargo train bound for a private military research lab in Washington.
On October 2nd, 2028, Nictis managed to intercept the train and derailed it, inadvertently triggering the mask to send out a shockwave that transformed the bodies of several nearby humans into zombies by manipulating their souls. As these zombies began infecting other humans, Nictis paid no attention to them and instead focused on locating his mask amidst the vast debris field. Simultaneously, four 501st Corporation soldiers who narrowly survived both the derailment and initial outbreak sought to also find the mask in an attempt to undo its effects.
After searching the area, the four soldiers located the mask buried beneath a pile of debris that landed over it. Upon grabbing the mask, the mask negatively reacted to them and shot a beam of light into the sky. This alerted Nictis, who immediately discovered the four with his mask. Before the four could do anything, Nictis used his powers to take the mask from the four's grasp. Nictis spieled to the four regarding his concept of life, saying that it needed to be forever kept in check if it was to ever truly thrive from itself. Nictis then raised his mask into the air, saying that it was his job to ensure that life would be better for everyone before activating his mask.
Nictis then placed the mask over his face, causing his entire body to surge up with orange energy. Using the mask, Nictis drew out the souls of the four soldiers from their bodies into the mask, their physical bodies turning into zombies. By using their souls, Nictis searched through their respective memories until he discovered that the four uncovered one of Higgins' safehouses within the town, where a number of his research notes were kept, including the necessary information regarding the Dark Scepter's location on the other side of the world.
With the mask back in his possession, Nictis began preparations for a journey to the other side of the world. To hinder anyone that could potentially intervene with his efforts, Nictis decided to use his mask to trigger numerous zombie outbreaks throughout the United States and later the rest of the world, absorbing countless souls to replenish his lost power while plunging the world into a state of emergency. To test his regained strength, Nictis obliterated all of the zombies he created in the proximity of the trainwreck before moving east.[2]
Discovering Samantha[]
By October 5th, Nictis had reached Chattanooga, Tennessee as he drew closer to the United States east coast, where he intended to find a way to cross the Atlantic Ocean to reach Europe. While there, Nictis suddenly began to sense a familiar energy signature that closely resembled his own, and promptly set out to find its source. To his utter shock, Nictis discovered that the energy signature belonged to none other than Samantha, who was still alive and well under the care of Novus, the heroes of Earth-31218. Nictis watched as they managed to escape from his undead army at a Chattanooga shopping mall aboard a helicopter, and quickly trailed them to their destination.[2]
Reunion with Samantha[]
Nictis followed the chopper all the way to the United States eastern seaboard, where numerous survivors of Nictis' undead attacks were preparing an exodus from the country to Europe aboard an aircraft carrier. Using his mask, Nictis borrowed a human appearance from one of the souls he absorbed and joined the survivors onboard, hiding his mask in a locker within the carrier's cargo hold. Over the course of the voyage, Nictis kept close tabs on Samantha from afar.
Late on the night of October 11th, as the aircraft carrier approached the entrance of the English Channel, Nictis snuck into the cargo hold to retrieve his mask, which he used to trigger another undead outbreak aboard the ship to obtain even more power, deliberately ensuring Samantha and her immediate allies did not succumb to the infection. Nictis then hid within the second aircraft hangar near the cargo hold, where he awaited the arrival of Samantha and her allies as they prepared to evacuate from the ship using a rubber dinghy.
When Samantha and the others finally arrived as he anticipated, Nictis revealed himself to the group, reverting back to his original form. He warmly greeted Samantha, calling her his daughter, much to her confusion as she stated that Ludvig Maxis was her father. Nictis explained that Samantha was correct to a degree, stating that Ludvig was, in truth, her adoptive father. Using his revitalized powers, Nictis conjured Ludvig's departed soul in the palm of his hand, who confessed to Samantha that she was indeed adopted. Adding on to Ludvig's story, Nictis revealed that Samantha was born in the Cursed Realm, but due to the nature of the realm, he deemed it unfit to raise her in, hence why he sent her away.
Nictis silently watched as Samantha said her final goodbyes to Ludvig before peacefully returning his soul back to its resting place. Nictis then directed his attention to Novus, thanking them for also keeping Samantha safe for him, though the bittersweet moment is interrupted when the carrier finally began to sink due to Novus' earlier efforts to contain the outbreak. Nictis quickly grabbed Samantha's arm and bid Novus farewell, claiming that he would "take it from here" with Samantha before using his restored powers to teleport away from the ship with his daughter, leaving Novus to abandon ship using the dinghy.[2]
Finding the Dark Scepter[]
To be added[2]
Creating the Accursed Realm[]
To be added[2]
Ruler of the Accursed Realm[]
Establishing the Dark Order[]
To be added[5]
Consumed by Grief[]
To be added[5]
Confrontation in Berlin[]
To be added[5]
Skirmish with The Visitor[]
To be added[6]
Boss Rush Tournament[]
Member of the Thirteen[]
To be added[1]
Personality[]
Nictis, despite what seems to be a ruthless and heartless being, is quite philosophical; he believes that all of existence should be bound to rules in order to contain itself from its own destructive potentials. To ensure this would happen, Nictis would make it his eternal goal to set things to how he believes they should, by utilizing the Dark Scepter to transform all of the universe into a new Cursed Realm, one that he would control and force his rules upon. While most consider him the villain, Nictis sees himself as the true protagonist, often referring to the heroes as the "true villains".
Despite this, Nictis is actually remorseful in some of his endeavors for the completion of his master plan. One such event occurs during Dark Solace, where he ultimately has to sacrifice Samantha, his biological daughter, in order to break the seal encasing the Dark Scepter. This causes him to become heartbroken and traumatized, enforcing him to complete his plan no matter what to ensure Samantha's sacrifice would not be in vain.
Appearance[]
Nictis takes on the appearance of a ghostly knight fully clad in silver armor. He wears a red tattered cloak over the front of his armor, and a black tattered cape on his back. His eyes are dark red, which pierce through his helmet's open visor; his eyes are also the only distinguishing feature ever shown of his actual physical appearance underneath his armor.
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Nictis' name is derived from the Latin name "Noctus", which translates to "Night" in English.
References[]
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