Niclade

Biodata

Power Progression

Background and History

Origins and the Saints

Niclade survived from the previous era, reached the New World, and founded the Saints. Shadow did not know how he had crossed into the New World, while Niclade’s strength as a deity prevented Shadow and his associates from attacking him directly 283 369.

The Saints’ ten highest seats commanded hundreds of thousands, possibly a million followers. Niclade directed mass sacrifices to awaken Cthulhu, promising believers eternal life in their lord’s dwelling. Some victims entered the temple with vacant eyes, moving like controlled puppets before being given robes and sacrificial daggers 93.

Preparing Cthulhu’s Awakening

The Doctor’s group learned that sacrificing Niclade to Serial Number 301—the Omniscient Mirror—could provide answers needed for a technological breakthrough. They planned to capture him within a month. Niclade knew their objective through Lucilla and believed their preparations were helping his own awakening ritual 78 93 94.

Niclade claimed that he had released the Omniscient Mirror himself. He ordered Lucilla to monitor the Prison Wardens and prevent an early attack, but the Doctor’s practice of distributing anomaly deployment lists separately kept most of their intended weapons concealed from him 94 163.

Gambler challenged Niclade’s certainty that Cthulhu would resurrect him after his sacrifice. Their wager stipulated that Gambler would lead the Saints if Niclade died, while Gambler’s soul would dissipate if Niclade returned to life. Niclade’s attempts to injure Gambler could not overcome the established wager 93 94.

On a South Pacific island, Niclade oversaw further sacrifices as the awakening approached. He offered War a rapid elevation to deity through Cthulhu’s divinity, but War insisted on attaining godhood independently. Niclade instead sent the Pope through the Flesh Gate, securing his ascension and binding his soul to Cthulhu 163 164 165.

He then instructed the Pope to test War’s loyalty and prevent the other seven members from escaping. Despite his earlier promises of succession, Niclade privately described those seven as nourishment for his lord 165.

Battle and Death

The Prison Wardens attacked with a coordinated combination of contained anomalies. Niclade endured bodily distortion, decapitation, and harassment from the Feis King, but the Doctor’s butler exploited a distraction to drive the Withered Branch into his neck 169 170 171.

During the subsequent confrontation, Niclade appeared to have escaped through the Flesh Gate by distorting the String Puppet’s rules and fusing with it. The apparent escape and Cthulhu’s emergence were later exposed as part of Little Black’s dreamscape; in reality, Niclade remained trapped in his treelike body 173 174 175.

Within the dream, the Omniscient Mirror told Niclade that Cthulhu had awakened but would not descend or receive his soul. When the figure emerging from the gate proved to be Little Black rather than his lord, Niclade’s conviction collapsed. After the dream shattered, he lost control and became a contaminating monster 174 175 235.

Lu Xiao damaged him with three shots from the Corrupted Revolver. Ultimately, a more powerful summoned presence focused its gaze on Niclade and made him vanish. Later accounts treated the operation as his death and sacrifice, and the Omniscient Mirror verified the destruction of his soul 175 177 229 283.

Salvation Society Episode

In the Salvation Society storyline, Niclade appeared as an outpost bishop who controlled local villagers. After surviving Chen Fei’s gunshot to the forehead, he presented his durability and regeneration as blessings available through devotion to the Lord 200 201.

He deliberately guided Doctor Li’s investigation toward himself because he feared that his lord had abandoned him. Niclade explained that Driver had been selected as a vessel for the Lord’s Advent, with Driver’s wife used to influence him, but the Lord had changed plans without giving further instructions 202.

Seeking information, Niclade offered the locations of the Salvation Society’s domestic bases in exchange for answers. He dismissed the organization as “a bunch of lunatics,” declared that his loyalty belonged only to the Lord, and vanished after leaving the group with the rotting corpse of Driver’s wife 203.

Later Revelations

The Creator revealed that Nick Lade was Gambler’s true name, not the original name of the slain Saints leader. The individual known as Niclade was an unfortunate person corrupted by Cthulhu. Lu Xiao later recalled that Gambler had lost the name when his Fate was grafted onto someone else 440 886.

Gambler also admitted manipulating Niclade through the Lies Trait. By making him believe in the supposedly existing Sin Trait, Gambler brought its seven incomplete component Traits into existence. Niclade then gathered their holders, intending to combine them as nourishment to strengthen Cthulhu after awakening 497.

Much later, the Doctor assessed that Niclade had achieved at least part of his objective: Cthulhu had awakened, although without recovering his expected strength 1122.

Appearance

• Normal form: A man with long azure-blue hair, golden eyes, and a high nose bridge 163 200.
• Clothing: Wears a black robe during the island confrontation and light-blue clerical robes as a Salvation Society bishop 173 200.
• Mannerisms: Frequently presents a gentlemanly smile and activates distortion by snapping his fingers 94 200 202.
• Withered Branch form: Develops a trunk-like neck and branches growing from his flesh; the branches eventually bloom into eyeballs 175.
• Apparent puppet form: A human head atop a puppet body appears during Little Black’s dreamscape, rather than as a confirmed lasting transformation 173 175.

Personality

Niclade combines polished manners with extreme religious fanaticism. He speaks courteously to potential recruits and investigators while treating mass sacrifice as salvation. Even the Pope regards his loyalty to Cthulhu as unquestionable 93 164 200 203.

He is impatient with failure, quick to threaten subordinates, and particularly susceptible to Gambler’s provocations. Nevertheless, he values competence: he praises the Pope’s orderly work and offers War a reward for concealing Lucilla’s identity and restoring Sloth’s sanity 94 113 137 163.

His faith also serves as his psychological anchor. Shadow explains that the conviction to awaken Cthulhu kept Niclade from descending into madness; its destruction caused his final loss of control. The Omniscient Mirror additionally states that prolonged exposure to the Seven Deadly Sins had steadily impaired his intelligence without his noticing 174 235.

Abilities and Skills

Distortion

Niclade can warp bodies, space, trajectories, and sensory perception 94 171 202.

• Twists Gambler’s body and the surrounding space with a finger snap 94.
• Distorts an area so extensively that even light becomes warped 171.
• Reverses the Feis King’s thrown steel fork, sending it back into its wielder 171.
• Replaces Lu Xiao’s perception of a corpse’s stench with a pleasant fragrance 202.
• Distorts his own figure before disappearing from view 203.
• Does not reliably expose the Feis King while it remains hidden in the void 171.

Durability and Regeneration

Niclade survives injuries that would ordinarily be fatal 170 171 201.

• Remains active while decapitated and manually replaces his head 170 171.
• Stops a firearm round with his skull and visibly regenerates the forehead wound 201.
• Recovers less readily from the Feis King’s cursed wounds 171.
• Can still be overwhelmed by anomalies: the Withered Branch feeds on his blood and immobilizes him through growth 171.

Rituals and Divine Mediation

Niclade conducts sacrifices and communicates with Cthulhu through obscure incantations 93 163 164.

• Uses believers’ flesh and blood to sustain the awakening ritual 163 169.
• Arranges for Cthulhu to grant the Pope divinity through the Flesh Gate 164 165.
• Knows that crossing the gate will bind the Pope’s soul to Cthulhu 165.
• Communicates remotely with Lucilla through a face formed from blood in her palm 110 113.

Knowledge of Contained Anomalies

Niclade recognizes nearly every anomaly recorded in the Prison Warden system and knows their traits and uses. His knowledge excludes a handful of classified anomalies requiring high-level clearance 171.

• Immediately identifies the Green Mailbox’s properties 169.
• Underestimates the butler because the butler alone poses no threat, overlooking the Withered Branch he carries 171.
• Fails to anticipate Little Black’s dreamscape ability 175.

Contamination After Losing Control

His uncontrolled form spreads madness through its appearance and voice 175.

• Develops numerous eyes on blood-red branches 175.
• Causes weaker members of the group to require the Prison Doctor’s sedatives 175.
• Suffers major damage when the Corrupted Revolver causes his eyes to burst and inflicts the Rotting Curse 175.

Relationships

• Cthulhu — Master and object of absolute devotion. Niclade dedicates his organization, sacrifices, and anticipated afterlife to him 93 163 164.
• Gambler / Nick Lade — Subordinate, intended successor, and adversary in the resurrection wager. Later revealed to have manipulated Niclade’s belief in Sin through Lies; Niclade’s name originally belonged to him 93 94 440 497.
• Lucilla / Pride — Intelligence operative tasked with monitoring the Prison Wardens. Niclade threatens her after she exposes her identity and endangers his plans 94 113.
• War / Shadow — Capable subordinate whom Niclade rewards but grows suspicious of after War refuses Cthulhu’s divinity 163 164 165.
• The Pope — A trusted, efficient subordinate. Niclade arranges his divine ascension, then assigns him to enforce loyalty among the Saints 163 164 165.
• Prison Doctor — Former attending physician who participates in the confrontation against him 173.
• Omniscient Mirror — A transactional associate Niclade claims to have released. Its statements undermine his faith and help precipitate his breakdown 94 174 235.
• Doctor Li — An investigator whose intelligence Niclade admires and whose information he seeks concerning the Lord’s changed plans 202 203.

Identity Clarification

• Niclade’s confirmed death is not reversed by Gambler’s later appearance as him. In the encounter with Liuguang, Gambler uses self-deception to assume Niclade’s identity and reproduce his abilities. The Prison Doctor’s insistence that Niclade is dead breaks that self-deception, restoring Gambler’s awareness of himself as “Nick Lade. Codename: Gambler” 689 690.
• Nick Lade is Gambler’s personal name: Nick is the given name and Lade the surname. The deceased Saints leader’s original name is not supplied 440 1357.