Try our affiliated browser extension - redirect to BreezeWiki automatically!

Merkava

Overview
Relationships
メルカヴァ
Merkava

Profile
NameMerkava
メルカヴァ
GenderMale
BirthdayUnknown
Height210 cm (6'11")
Weight71 kg (156 lbs)
Blood TypeUnknown
Affiliations
AliasThe Basilisk of The Abyss
深淵の怪蛇
Eel monster (By Carmine)
Fighting Style
AbilityThe FLS of The Basilisk: Jormungandr
WeaponN/A (Dark Bite in UNIst)
Character Voice
JapaneseHidenobu Kiuchi
EnglishBenjamin Diskin[1]
Appearances
GamesUNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH (Playable)
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late (Playable)
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Latest (Playable)
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late cl-r (Playable)
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II Sys:Celes (Playable)
Other AppearancesBlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Playable)

"I have encountered many humans tonight, and it is becoming tiresome.
Now tell me, how has this Void maintained its consciousness?
How did I become a beast? Because I do not know."

Merkava (メルカヴァ) is a Void capable of human speech whose instincts drive him to consume Existence.

He is one of the twelve characters introduced in the original version of UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH.

Background

The Basilisk that Devours All

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH

A mysterious man(?) who has fallen into the corruption of a Void -- thought to be the failed shadows of Re-Births. Many are fascinated with its form of existence most recently a woman named Hilda has been pestering Merkava quite thoroughly. On this Hollow Night, many In-Births gather, and something doesn't feel quite right. "Heh, perfect..." He'll have plenty of victims to satisfy him. The hunt will go on.[2]

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II [Sys:Celes]

A mysterious figure, Merkava has a Void's shape but a human's heart.

He can speak and understand human language. His two distinct consciousnesses stand at opposition to one another; the Void wishes to devour humans, while the human tries to suppress such urges. As the Void grows stronger by the day, Merkava searches for its cause. His search leads him to learn of Kuon's efforts to open the pit that will lead him into the Night--efforts that stir the Void within Merkava.

In hopes of attaining inner peace, and to show Kuon who the real Lord of the Void is, Merkava sets out to devour his soul.

Appearance

In both forms, Merkava has long white hair.

As a human, Merkava is a blue eyed and well built handsome man with a matching longer side hairs which reaches his shoulder with a bang with an ahoge that covers his right eye. It is revealed in his good ending that the full transformation into a Void left him naked the entire time. It is unknown if the human form he sports in this ending is the one he had before his transformation into a Void.

As a Void, Merkava is that of a tall, dark skinned humanoid-like creature with long arms and flashing blue markings all over his body. His hair undulates similar to flames, vanishing at the tip.

In this form, Merkava does not have eyelids. When he is sleeping, the white light from his eyes vanishes - making it look like he's sleeping.[3]

In his bad ending in Sys:Celes, Merkava gains a second mutation as a Re-Birth: His mouth shows nothing but a blue light when open, and his eyes now fully glow, matching the color of his Curse Commandment markings. Additionally, Merkava sports six arms and his legs are replaced by a snake tail.

Personality

Like all Voids, Merkava has the desire to consume EXS and does not seem to try resisting it.

However, he appears to still retain some fragments of his humanity. He genuinely thanks those who try to reason with him as if he was still human and respects those who are unafraid of him, although he dislikes those who gawk at him.

Merkava dislikes when humans get curious and interested in his form. He usually resides on the mountains away from the city and spends the daytime mostly by sleeping. He doesn't actually need sleep, but Merkava doesn't know any better ways to kill time[3]. During the nighttime, he's focused on hunting for prey.

Story

Merkava's past is shrouded in mystery, but he, alongside other characters theorize that he was once a human who pursued the status of a Re-Birth, but was consumed by the Power of Existence and turned into a Void. For some reason, he managed to retain his consciousness and ability to speak, though he lost his memories at the same time. Ever since his new body has craved for more and more EXS to devour. The only memories he retained of his previous life are a small girl crying and his own name.

Episode: The Beast and The Hunter (『獣』と『狩人』)
Ritter Schild member Londrekia Light arrives to Kanzakai to investigate a Void known to "speak human language". On the mountain trail, Londrekia meets Merkava whom had come there to hide from human attention. Merkava is amused by Londrekia's ideal of reaching a mutual agreement and solving the situation without combat. As a little prank to this amusing human, Merkava carries Londrekia's luggage to the Licht Kreis' office and then watches as Londrekia struggles through the situation.

Arcade Mode
Several months later, Merkava is drawn to the Abyss due to immense amount of EXS coming from Hilda. Along the way, he encounters several characters who are astonished at his ability to speak due to Void normally being mindless monsters hell-bent on devouring EXS. Upon encountering Hilda, Merkava refers to her as a "Void Red" and fights her. Before he devours Hilda, she swears revenge on both Merkava and Kuon.

Some time later, Merkava realizes that, ever since consuming Hilda's EXS, his body is no longer satisfied with consuming the EXS of ordinary In-Birth and craves only the strongest EXS. He flies off into the night, intent on devouring the Re-Birth themselves starting with Kuon.

In Orie's story, it's stated that Merkava could possibly be the Void that killed her parents. However, Merkava himself can neither confirm nor deny Orie's accusation.

UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH II: Sys:Celes