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Kreide
| NPC | Enemy |
- Witch King (ancestor)
- Franz von Urtica (distant relative)
- Unnamed adoptive grandfather
Kreide is an NPC in Arknights. He is the deuteragonist of Lingering Echoes and a supporting character in Prelude Suite: Cadenza Virtuosa.
Background[edit]
Kreide is one of the Witch King's distant descendants who, like Ebenholz, was kidnapped by the Echoes of Herkunftshorn as a child to be used as a subject in their cruel experiments.[2] The Remnants forcefully implanted a fragment of the "Voice of Terra", a form of musical Arts that possesses the Witch King's consciousness, into his body in the hope of "resurrecting" their king. However, the experiment was so brutal that all the other subjects except Kreide and Ebenholz died. Kreide himself almost lost his life and was discarded by the Remnants as little more than a corpse.[2] After the Twin Empresses purged the Remnants' experiment, they assigned a secret agent to keep an eye on Kreide, who was found to be alive. The secret agent, an Infected Feline man, would eventually become Kreide's adoptive grandfather for the remainder of his life.[3] Due to the passage of time, Ebenholz and Kreide forgot this part of their lives and treated each other as strangers upon their subsequent reunion, with Ebenholz even believing him to be long dead.[4]
Following their arrival at Vyseheim, Kreide and his grandfather decided to settle there for a quiet, peaceful life as they had been wandering around the country due to social discrimination against their Oripathy. Unfortunately, Kreide's fragment of the "Voice" was not properly sealed within his body and was constantly "leaking out." The power of his Voice not only affects his body by temporarily keeping his Oripathy dormant, but also quietly accelerates the progress of Oripathy in the Infected around him, a phenomenon which he noticed as time passed.[5] To this day, he feels a deep guilt at this "curse" that he brings to others around him.[6]
Story[edit]
Prelude Suite Cadenza Virtuosa[edit]
In 1092, a young Kreide gazes at the display window of a musical instrument shop when another child approaches, inviting him to the town square where a group is gathering to play music. Kreide accepts, having planned to go there to find his grandpa after shopping anyway, and watches someone play music from inside the shop. Later, he discovers that the Graf Edwin and the Gendarmerie had rounded up the Infected at the town square. Unable to find his grandpa who was nearby the fountain, he decides to follow the group.
He is discovered by Arturia, and to avoid drawing attention of the guards, he suggests they communicate by clashing rocks together and she would respond by playing a tune on the cello. Three days later, the campsite is engulfed by a mysterious black fog, causing the Infected to panic due to its resemblance to the Witch King's Arts and the appearance of shadowy figures resembling the Echoes of Herkunftshorn. Kreide is discovered by Edwin and the guards on duty are doubled. Arturia questions Kreide on his decision to risk his life even though his grandpa was not among the group, and he responds that his grandpa taught him to be kind to others. He admits that the dangers in the forest scares him, but Arturia's music causes his fear to disappear. He asks her to teach him, and she agrees, reminded of the memories with her late mother.
Kreide plays the cello for the first time. Though he initially made some mistakes, he eventually performs the famous melody Lied des klaren Himmels, capturing the attention of the Infected townspeople, who see musical potential in him. At dawn, the Graf spots the Spire ruins and orders the Infected to scout the ruins. When Arturia steps forward, a concerned Kreide attempts to stop her to no avail. He follows after her and recognizes the Spire, and Arturia states that his fate was unfortunate. He asks her if he will die one day, and she reassures him that death comes for everyone and despite the Spire's ominous relation to his fate, he will not die today and will have time to help others.
The fog returns and engulfs the group, scattering them and causing chaos. The fog eventually dissipates, the sound of Arturia and Kreide's music leads the rest of the group to them. The Empresses' Voice's arrives and Arturia leaves, gifting her teacher's cello to Kreide. He hears the sound of clashing rocks and reunites with his grandpa, who emerges from the forest. At her teacher's grave, Arturia acknowledges they likely will meet again in the future, though she hopes it will not be too soon.
Lingering Echoes[edit]
Kreide encounters Ebenholz outside the audition site for Czerny's farewell concert when the noble helped him skip the long line. He had auditioned under the impression that performing at the concert would provide a large amount of prize money, which he needed to pay for his grandfather's treatment. However, upon learning otherwise, he was devastated but still performed. Joining in on his performance, Ebenholz offered to cover for his grandfather's medical expenses on the condition that the two of them perform together. Ebenholz and Kreide decided to audition for "Morgen und Abend", Czerny's composition for the flute and cello.
Hibiscus insists to treat Kreide's grandfather at the Rhodes Island branch office, to which he is grateful for. The next morning, he is nearly late to meet with Ebenholz because he was searching for his grandfather and defends Rhodes Island and Hibiscus against Ebenholz's cynicism, though he thanks the latter for his concern.
Kreide and Ebenholz practiced intensely to fulfill Czerny's expectations, but there were still hitches in their cooperation. Ebenholz did not consider Kreide's rhythm, while Kreide was too focused on cooperating with Ebenholz, neglecting to showcase the brilliance of his own piece. However, the two Caprinae developed a friendship as they practiced, and the flaws in their playing also began to disappear. Unfortunately, Kreide's cello, borrowed from Czerny, was damaged in the ensuing scuffle, prompting Ebenholz to purchase a new one for him, even arguing in his defense when the shopkeeper had banned Kreide entry for being a commoner. Additionally, Ebenholz also paid for Kreide's performance clothes.
Immensely grateful for Ebenholz's generosity, he muses on what keepsake to remember him by, just as he had done with the bow of his old cello, a gift from his teacher. He settles on a coin from Ebenholz as a keepsake. He persuades Ebenholz to visit Czerny's house to repair the rocky relationship the two had. Kreide also defended Hibiscus when she faced threats from locals for being a Sarkaz due to a rumour spread by Lachmann.
Hibiscus reveals the results of her investigation: the recoverees are deteriorating and the recovery was in fact a 'false positive'. Kreide and Ebenholz are identified as the factors behind the phenomenon, with Kreide significantly influencing the event. When Lachmann unleashed a swarm of Originium Slugs on the city, Ebenholz finds Kreide and tells him of their shared past. Kreide plays a duet with Ebenholz, invoking a resonance between their "Voices of Terra" and driving the slugs away. Kreide collapses and later becomes informed of Gertrude's plans to use the concert to massacre the district's inhabitants, as well as the "Voice of Terra" residing in his body.
Though Gertrude has been apprehended, Kreide's condition is still dire. In an attempt to create a vessel for the two youths' "Voices", Czerny composes a new piece, Licht und Schatten, to draw out the "Voices".
During Czerny's farewell concert, Czerny, Kreide and Ebenholz performed this new piece but Gertrude's interference causes the Voices to destabilize, threatening to consume everyone in the concert hall. In a desperate attempt, Ebenholz decides to sacrifice himself by taking both "Voices" into himself. However, Kreide, drived by his worsening health, self-sacrifical nature, and satisfaction from the events leading up to this moment, chose to take both "Voices" into himself instead. The performance concludes.
Kreide begins transforming into a monstrous being. Despite his body and mind degrading from the unstable Voices, Kreide manages to maintain his sanity, urging Ebenholz to not let their past misfortunes define them and to instead look fondly at fate's blessings rather than cursing its woes. As Kreide finally asks Ebenholz to stop his impending rampage, he transforms into a towering, monstrous Arts Creation as the Witch King's consciousness fully corrupted him, forcing Ebenholz to fulfill Kreide's request and put him out of his misery.
Eventually, Ebenholz defeats Kreide's monstrous form, and Kreide dies in his arms despite Ebenholz's frantic denial. As Ebenholz embraces the dying Kreide, the active Originium spikes on Kreide's body pierces Ebenholz's skin, infecting him with Oripathy. Kreide leaves an encouraging speech and his final words to Ebenholz, which would change the other Caprinae youth's outlook on the world and eventually prevent him from falling into despair and bitterness.
| “ | Live on, Ebenholz, and walk through the long night. Fight injustice, and treat others with generosity and charity. Only by doing so will I live on in your memory. I'll ask you, how did your day go, Ebenholz? And you'll tell me proudly that you had a good and productive day. You'll tell me about the challenges you face while doing good, and complain about how fate is a miser. And it will be okay, because I'll be listening. It's alright to complain a little, when you've worked so hard. Only by doing so will you rise above pain and suffering, and find peace in your heart. Remember that we've fought together against cruel fate and won. When you think of me, laugh. Don't cry. And Ebenholz... I'm sorry. I haven't thought about what token... to give you... | ” |
| —Kreide's last words |