Herald of Death

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The Herald of Death, real name Marcus Antali,^[2] is a mentioned character in Honkai: Star Rail.

He was a Supplicant of the Phantasmoon Games 15 years ago. He attempted to gather Wishpower by carrying out mass killings of Planarcadia civilians, which led to his round of the Phantasmoon Games being dubbed the "Bloodstained Games."^[3]

Profile

Marcus Antali was a School of Evolutionary Perfection scholar working on a research project titled "███████ Cellular Composite Reconstruction Technology."^[4] Fifteen years ago, he participated in the Phantasmoon Games, going on a killing spree and earning the moniker "Herald of Death" from the Department of Aberration Defense. He took pleasure in twisting his victims into statues, behaving like an artist and leaving behind his signature, the "Bloody Bloom."^[5]

During the Phantasmoon Games, he assumed a form similar to Paramount Bliss Inverted: Illwish Archlotus.^[6]

Information surrounding Marcus and the Bloodstained Games has largely been erased by the Department of Aberration Defense, as well as by Yabuli, the Head of the Technology Department at the Interastral Peace Corporation. He has left a lasting impression on Planarcadia, and fear of him remains prevalent to this day.^[2] This fear is so pronounced that Fiend-level Aberrations have been created from the collective trauma.^[7]

History

Origin

Marcus Antali was born in Arcadian Calendar 1947, and by 1970, he was working for an as-yet unidentified employer. In 1980, he joined the Intelligentsia Guild's School of Evolutionary Perfection, where he remained until the school was shut down due to a lack of funding. While his colleague Bartwell transferred to the Astral Ecology School, Marcus chose to stay, becoming the last member of the School of Evolutionary Perfection.^[2] He declined the transfer recommendation offered to him, instead choosing to continue his research project, "███████ Cellular Composite Reconstruction Technology," which had just reached the final stage of clinical trials. According to Bartwell, he had been receiving donations from an unknown source.^[4]

Bloodstained Games

Gilam Quenmier, a member of the Intelligentsia Guild, brought Shuhu's flesh to Planarcadia to cause chaos.^[8] Due to Shuhu's flesh, Marcus gained the power of Abundance, transforming his body and causing him to have hallucinations of a golden tree promising him immortality.^[9] In 1984, Marcus managed to obtain a Mask of Elation and became a Supplicant of the Phantasmoon Games. On July 22 of that year,^[1] Marcus entered Graphia Academy and killed 22 students,^[4] with fellow Supplicant Himeko and a bystander Fulwish being the only known survivors of their class.^[10]

Following this, he traveled to Dovebrook District, killing 124 citizens along the way.^[4] There, he made his last stand. In total, Marcus Antali caused the deaths of several Supplicants,^[11] as well as an unknown number of civilians.^[4]

According to survivors' accounts, shortly before the Interastral Peace Corporation's suppression forces arrived, an intense beam of light appeared in the sky, followed by a tremendous roar, described as either a howl or mechanical rumbling, emanating from its direction, accompanied by spatial distortions. A gigantic arm then descended from above, crashing down toward the Herald of Death's location. After intense ground tremors, a massive surge of Wishpower caused numerous electronic devices in the area to shut down, and the giant vanished without a trace.^[11]

The public was never made aware of what truly occurred, and the outcome of the Phantasmoon Games, as well as the identity of the one who ultimately defeated Marcus, remained unknown.^[1] Despite the public being led to believe that the Herald of Death was defeated by the IPC, he was in fact defeated by Himeko and Starblazer's arm from the sky.^[6][5]

After his capture, on July 22, Year 1994,^[1] Marcus Antali was executed by the Interastral Peace Corporation^[2] in an attempt to quell public unrest. However, this instead resulted in widespread riots across Planarcadia.^[1]

Aftermath

Following the investigation into the "Herald of Death Incident," the previous CEO of Planarcadia, Silhoumont, was scrutinized for his lack of preparation in dealing with Marcus Antali.^[4] Silhoumont subsequently stepped down,^[12] and control of Planarcadia was transferred from the Marketing Development Department to the Strategic Investment Department.^[4] Compensation was also provided to all victims and their families.^{[Note 1]} Subsequently, all documents related to Marcus Antali and the Herald of Death were destroyed, and his personal belongings were transferred to Yabuli.^[2][4]

Fulwish, traumatized by the events of the Bloodstained Games, was taken in by a mutual aid society formed by the victims' relatives. There, she was introduced to a life-changing show titled Please Be Happy, which led to a surge in her popularity. She eventually acquired Seafeld TV and rebranded it as Fulwish TV. The Interastral Peace Corporation also capitalized on her rising fame, promoting her as a role model for the orphans of the Bloodstained Games. Fulwish later reorganized the mutual aid society into the Research Society of Happy Smiles.^[10]

Fifteen years later, the Daybreak Squadron, members of the Research Society of Happy Smiles modified by Happiness Surgery, imitated the Herald of Death's modus operandi and challenged the Astral Express Crew. They murdered Skott along with thirty-three members of the Synwish Syndicate, believing that their actions would improve the situation.^[13][14]

Missions and Events

Trailblaze Missions

• The Lethe Below the Living
  • Yesterday's World (flashback)
• In Ravages Does the Whistle Sound
  • The Comedy of Errors (cutscene)

Character Mentions

Character Stories

Character	Stories
Himeko • Nova	Character Story: Part II

Readables

• "Bloodstained Games" Archives
• Aberration Threat Levels in Planarcadia
• About Fulwish's Variety Show Plans
• Clipping of the Herald of Death Incident
• Marcus Antali's File
• Person of the Year in Elation: Fulwish
• Seafeld TV Chronicles
• Select Your Faction
• Urban Legend: The Vanishing Giant

HoYoLAB Articles

• Zero-Tolerance Threshold Classified Traditional Project Department Quarterly Report

Gallery

Herald of Death confronted by Himeko and Motoko

Herald of Death defeated by the Starblazer

Videos

Animated Short- "Your Ending, My Beginning" - Honkai- Star Rail

"Your Ending, My Beginning"
Official YouTube Video

Trivia

• The Roasters faction within the Masked Fools are largely hated within the Tavern for making jokes about the Herald of Death and Bloodstained Games.^[15]

Notes

Other Languages

Change History

References