Black N. Noire

"“Nothing is as it seems. There is always a deeper meaning. But sometimes, it's best to take some things at face value.”"-Nahkriin, Black N. Noire

Nahkriin, most commonly known as Black N. Noire, is one of the two remaining purebreed Ætherborn in all of existence. In recent times his transcendence has labelled him an Ætherborn-Omnis, even stronger than the capacities of an Ætherborn and rivalling the Creators' power. His moniker and appearance has changed countless times throughout recorded history, but this is his most common form. He is the Lord of Gaila, a land in a secluded Universe that he himself created as a pet project. He is a staunch advocate not of good or lack thereof, but of balance.

Appearance
Nahkriin’s Black N. Noire form resembles a hero of another world. Though he is literally older than Father Time, he prefers to take a young adult form. He has a light oaken skin tone and long, verdant green hair that is usually tied back but left dangling at its three feet any other time in a clean, orderly manner. Unlike the hero that he took after, he usually does not sport a black and white hat, but can rarely be seen in a tarnished golden crown. He sports a grey shirt with rolled up sleeves, grey fingerless gloves, black fitted pants, and black Traverse(TM) brand shoes. Interestingly enough, he rarely wears socks. In his Lord’s Regalia, his attire barely changes; an elegant white fabric resembling a cloak drapes his general attire, and the tarnished crown can be seen. His appearance has not changed since becoming an Æther|Omnis, but he seemed to have taken a liking to being a bit taller.

After the events of the Third Great Aether War, Nahkriin changes his attire, now wearing a long red scarf, a blue jacket with a grey shirt underneath. He also sports tan joggers with black crew socks and grey shoes.

In the Ascended Ætherborn form, Nahkriin’s hair grows another foot and becomes a sea green, and the immediate area about him is rended by his very willpower. His eyes sometimes go blank, and a strange aura radiates from him. This form exudes justice, and the very essence of evil recoils from his presence.

Personality
Black N. Noire’s one true purpose is to protect the balance of the Universe that he is currently in. To that end, there is no level of cruelty or aggression that he will stop at to preserve such a balance. When all reality is not in danger, he is a calm person, often friendly towards others. He is also a bit sarcastic, especially during battle. His interest is mainly in the progression of the Universe and its people, and often heavily handicaps himself to do battle with others, even those that appear to be stronger than himself. Even if he is at the verge of a loss, he will not suddenly use his full capabilities, instead giving the enemy the illusion of victory. Though he is omnipotent and omniscient, he conditions himself so that he is able to truly learn and think like the human race that he took interest in. As bipolar as he seems, he is so “pure” that he does not cast a shadow.

Biography
Soon after the events of the Hunting Party, Nahkriin fell to the mercy of his own fear. Nascent and afraid, he knew not of his own power, the fate of his people, or the celestial bounty on his head. To show thanks for the dying star that shielded him from his violent assailants, he used, at the time, all the power he could muster to create the biggest star that he could. Over the course of eons, the people of Earth would begin to call it “the Sun.” From that point on, he dabbled heavily in the world’s history, doing things without any warning or explanation such as building a ring of stone edifices or completely wiping out an early European colony on a new land.

His journeys are many and often perilous, but intentional naivete and a lust for new experiences helps him better understand the evolving world around him. The Astral Blade Nohr is almost always by his side at every turn.

Precursor Story
The Hunting Party was not without its repercussions. For a long time after Time and Space began, Deities supposed that they hadn't done away with the Ætherborn, when in actuality they hadn't done away with any of them thanks to Loki. It was here when the Greek Goddess Athena discovered Nahkriin hiding within the dying star and instead of murdering the nascent Ætherborn as she was meant to, she instead elected to harbor him and raise him for a time. She postulated that if she could teach the Aster to not pose a threat to the Universe then maybe he would be spared.

Nahkriin’s first celestially public appearance occurred when the Battle of Eros occurred. Unaware of the presences on the newly formed asteroid Eros, the Ætherborn was attacked by Ares and Osiris. During the battle, what is now the Astral Blade Nohr sensed his presence, and mistaking him for Chrom, rushed to Nahkriin’s aid. With the newly acquired blade in his possession, Nahkriin was able to fight off the deities. Understanding that Nahkriin was the last of his kind, the two found a need for each other and bound their existences. The blade did in fact remain nameless, as he didn't know the original name of the weapon, and it stayed this way until he later named it Nohr.

Nearly two-hundred years after the creation of the Sun, Nahkriin fell in love for the first time. As young as all other gods and equally as oblivious, it was worth noting that around this time Zeus was beginning to mate with other gods as well. A goddess in particular caught his eye, and with her not knowing who he was, the two met and mated after spending some time together. This strange mating led to the conception of a new entity that almost killed her in the process. She learned here that Nahkriin was not a god or a celestial being but something much worse, and she fled to the Creators in order to warn them. Nahkriin, now with this practical child of his, named her Nahkiira and raised her as a daughter. This time period is arguably the happiest he had ever been.

The time came during the parenthood of the halfling where she wanted to know who she was. Unfortunately, the Ætherborn himself didn't know what he was and so failed to give an answer. This bothered Nahkiira to the point where she departed from his care in an effort to find the answer for himself. Afraid of what would befall her, he attempted to stop her, but was unsuccessful. This led to the first sadness he had ever experienced in his life, and is still known to be the most scarring. He would spend a few thousand years looking for her with no avail, the Halfling having grown in power to the point where she could adventure across the cosmos while still evading her father's all-seeing eye.

When he grew in power some years later, he studied the culture and doings of the Creators, and finally decided to create for himself something to call solely his. This resulted in pulling from mass quantities of the Aether to create a standalone Universe. An unexpected anomaly came into play(which Nahkriin later learned was the arrival of the God “Julian” and the presence of the Entropy Matrix that was already there) that would pull people into this Universe, and being that it is not connected to any other Universe in existence, would leave them stranded, the only ones able to escape being those with strong dimensional travel prowess.

After the creation of the named “Crossover World,” the Universes were once again thrown into possible turmoil. At the time, a hired butler by the name of Tai(Gen X, deceased) was called upon to assist him. The two fused existences and was able to thwart the threat of the returning Ætherborn. All were wiped out except the elusive Viper, who got away unknowingly. To his knowledge, Nahkriin thus dubbed himself “The Last” and fell into a deep depression, becoming Kuro Shimada. After his bout of self(and Universal) destruction, he came upon the existence of Viper, whose goal was to do away with the Gods in their entirety. As he shares a passive kinship with him, he wishes nothing more than for Viper to put away his genocidal intentions and protect the Universe in tandem with Nahkriin, though he may not always seem to express such.

After ascending to the state of the Ætherborn-Omnis, Nahkriin takes his responsibilities a step further by patrolling and maintaining the balance of the known Universe, even challenging the authority of Gods and other Creators. With infinite power at his disposal, nothing suits him better than using it to maintain balance.

=== The Saga of Black N. Noire  === Black N. Noire was an identity that he came around to using somewhere between 366 and 352 B.C.E., after coming into contact with the Greek doctor Noire. The woman was the only maternal figure that the Ætherborn ever had, and as a gesture of fondness, he took her name as his own surname. He was in fact so fond of her that her name inspired his first, middle, and last names. From her death onward, he has made marks in history with such a monicker. His interest in the entities of the Universe led his human vessels to leave behind many children, all biologically related to the vessel and having no actual power granted from him. The celestial beings and deities that he created new life with also shared some of his being, though there are only three of his technical “children”--one since Grey C. Grisse was apparently killed by a force unknownst to him and his first child, Nightshade, supposedly vanished.

In the “The Æther Within” arc, Nahkriin comes to terms with what he is after being confronted by Creator Ask’arr. He is implored to watch over the Universe as its protector, and does so, dubbing the plane the XtraVerse. This brings him to wonder what really happened to his people; after learning the truth, he once thought to exact his revenge, but thought better of it. Him being the last was probably for the best, though unknownst to him, he was nowhere near endangered.

In later times, after the creation of Crossover World, he created Gaila alongside Narshe, but hid Gaila from the rest of the world. After seeing Narshe’s fate under free reign(as the entire universe in itself is just a social experiment) he decided to become the acting Lord of Gaila. The people there are orderly, mostly peaceful, and have not seen war in nearly one thousand years, though this peace has been threatened many times. Gailans have always questioned(and inevitably accepted) a sole ruler’s seemingly eternal rule, but Nahkriin’s judgement and superlative sense of justice has never yielded a political problem. Nahkriin is not as attentive to Gaila as he once was; when the throne of Castle Noire is empty and he is out adventuring, the wanderer/Mystic Tai is the acting head of the nation. When both entities are not focused there, the leader of the Military force, Hemenway, is the ruler.

During the Crossover World Saga is also the “Great Aether War” arc, where Nahkriin learns that he is in fact not alone, and never was. However, his long-lost people are hungry for revenge, with a hatred intent on swallowing the worlds. Knowing that he alone must take on the thousands of his kind that were much stronger than he, Black set off to the undisclosed Universe hidden by Loki to commit practical genocide. The Ætherborn was assisted by the Netherkin White S. Blanc and the Ætherkin Grey C. Grisse. The Superhuman Swordsman Tai and even the Pacifist Doctor Noire later joined, and together the team was able to destroy the last of the Ætherborn. Unknownst to them, the Ætherborn Ouroboros escaped, but Black opted to instead befriend the only other one of his kind. He soon realized that he’d be at odds with Ouroboros more than he thought, as his plan to kill the Gods would involve innocent people dying as well.

In the Ascension Arc, Nahkriin was able to discover the Ascended Ætherborn form, which was basically not a lack of restraint but a state of complete harmony with all of reality. He, in this arc, also departed from his Universe to return to the XtraVerse, where he forged Heishiro, a blade nearly comparable to Nohr except for the fact that it was not nearly as durable. This he gave to his friend in rememberance of their departed allies, family, and teammates.

While he was away seeking his friends in a Universe unlike his own, Black had assembled a team known as the “X-Heroes,” the most powerful heroes(and admittedly, villains) that would soon protect the World from the evil being Bahamut. After seeing how well the group stood against the Voidwalker, Nahkriin thought to create a group of X-Heroes of his own in his world. The thought hadn’t been brought up to anyone, and due to the depression that followed the results of his search and another issue that arose soon after, the idea was supposedly dropped.

In the NegaVerse arc, Nahkriin is lured to a distorted version of the XtraVerse by “Reverse Black,” a being somewhat like a corrupted Aetherkin, yet was born through circumstances unknown. Through a long conflict that eventually destroyed the NegaVerse, Black was able to defeat Reverse Black and return to the XtraVerse, where he was tricked into fighting Reverse Black once again. However this time, he was aided by the X-Heroes and together they were able to trap Reverse Black in the Aether, where Nahkriin absorbed the False Ætherborn. This, however, brought out the worst in Black and Kuro Shimada was reborn briefly.

In the Dark of the Void arc, Nahkriin raids Universal plane after Universal plane in search of Nahkiira, or Nightshade. He is assisted by the swordsman Tai and a new ally, who refers to himself only by the letter "M". His many adventures include an extended stay in the world known as Zeora, a Universe that threatened his very existence. Entities even more powerful than the Ætherborn himself lie in wait with supposed information on his daughter, and the desperate Ætherborn falls for every single trap, challenging each and every being that steps between him and his daughter. Ultimately he failed to find Nahkiira, and the guilt of his unsuccessful endeavor weighed on him so heavily that he returned home, where a depression secluded him to his castle.

In the Things Remembered arc, Nahkriin's depression turns the whole of the castle into a plane with an infinite surface area, an obviously fictional world in where he and Noire are happily together and with Nightshade. This illusion of happiness however threatens the Astral makeup of Gaila, and if left unchecked would destroy the planet. The mysterious man M steps up to traverse Castle Noire in search of Nahkriin and bring him to his senses, alerting him to the danger of the world around him. After much debating and a bit of earth-rending battle, Nahkriin sees the error of his ways and dispels the world, returning the castle and by extension Gaila to normal; but he promises the fictitious Nahkiira that he would do whatever it takes to truly spend that kind of time together, to which the copy responds with a hint at her location that drives Nahkriin to begin his search with reckless tact.

In the Scion of the Sun arc, Nahkriin is separated from Nohr and must use the Infinity Bow to accompany Solara, the new heiress of the Solaire system in the Sea of Stars, to the location so that she may rule. Solara proves to be headstrong and stubborn, but ultimately forges a friendship with Nahkriin and agrees to keep a lookout for his blade. It is later revealed that Nahkiira has possession of Nohr after finding it where Nahkriin left it, and sends an Aster of hers to return it, the red ribbon on the sword stripped from its handle. This depresses Nahkriin greatly, though he understands that this is the work of Nahkiira and that it is a sign that Nohr was in good hands.

In the InfiniTai War arc, Nahkriin plays a minimal role, but nonetheless is present in the battle regarding the myriad reincarnations and reiterations of the Hero Tai fighting against Nihiles the Destroyer, who had managed to conspire with Nevarro, the Great Lich. At the climax of the war, Nahkriin learned of Nihiles' assaults on Nahkiira, to which he interrupts--and inadvertently ends--the war to abduct Nihiles and drag him into the Aether. It is not explained what happens to Nihiles, but it appears that he survived whatever ordeal transpired.

In Paradise Flux arc, Nahkriin crosses a particular God of Ruin and as such is attacked on Gailan soil. Repelling him with ease, the unnamed ancient God then targets his loved ones and ages psychologial warfare with him, ending his ploy with a massive black hole that destroys Castle Noire and the things and people within it. Too occupied to rebuild and too focused on avenging his home and people, Castle Noire stands as the Untended Graves in the time that Nahkriin seeks out and destroys Ruin, as he named him. After doing so, a depressive slump in conjunction with a lesson learned leaves the Graves in its Untended, unreformed state, and the Ætherborn continues his adventures.

In the Omnis Advent arc, Nahkriin realizes that the energy flowing about is in excess and if left unchecked can cause the Universe to expand even quicker than projected. Even after postulating that the mass intake will leave him comatose or even dead, Nahkriin travels to the core of the Multiverse to take it all in at once. This overflow of power changes him, inside and out, and ascends him into the Ætherborn-Omnis, a fully-realized Ætherborn. This also consequently puts him into a coma, and situated at the core of existence itself, makes himself easy to access.

This leads directly into the Third Great Aether War. Enemies from all across the Time/Space continuum convene to destroy Nahkriin in his slumber, and his only defense are the friends he's made along the way. An unknown messenger crosses the cosmos, warning his friends across the timelines, and so, at the Core of Existence, they gather in wait for his greatest foes. The war ensues for quite some time and losses are suffered on each side, and all the while Nahkriin struggles to escape the confines of his own slumber. When he finally wakes, the war is immediately halted, and he deems it necessary to revive all that have fallen, and banishes them from the realm. Thanking his friends for coming to his defense, he pledges to stand by their side always and continue his efforts as an Aether|Omnis.

Referred to as “the chosen one from the land of the frozen sun,” Nahkriin is so powerful, and in some situations so revered, that his very presence expedites the calm defusion of a conflict, no matter how confrontational. As a being that advocates not just peace but balance, that suits him just fine.

In the last appearance he makes in recorded history, he separates from his team consisting of Tetsuya Shimura and Fi, Spirit of Luxe. Before he leaves he is seen with Nahkiira, who he has reunited with at last and he entrusts Nohr to Tetsuya, "loaning" it to him. After which he journies to cosmos unknown, his whereabouts unknown. It is said that no one has been able to locate him.