The Chaplain (Limbus Company)

Appearance The Chaplain is an older man of an average build, with silver hair worn in a middle part, with his bangs slightly resting over his eyes. He has thin facial hair in the shape of a beard and moustache, framing his mouth. He wears a gray coat, line with three silver buttons on either side, overtop a priest's clerical shirt. On his collar, a silver buckle sits at the center, adorned with the N Corp. insignia of a hammer and nail. He wears a silver buckle, which fastens dark pants into place, with his hands and feet covered by black gloves and shoes respectively.

As his avatar within the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, the Chaplain appears as a towering humanoid figure in a long, black robe with golden detailing down its center, resembling a cassock and representing the overall motifs of Le Noir's typical garb. His head appears as a brightly radiating pale yellow orb, eclipsed in the center, while at his back are two pairs of ethereal golden wings with feathers resembling nails. His entire body is silhouetted by a blinding light, with clothess of fabric floating from his center. His arms, outstretched, are obscured by gloves.

When under the guise of the Warden of the Sisyphe System, his appearance is one largely obscured in tattered, smothering rags. These rags overlap, creating a silhouette of an elongated humanoid. The body of the Warden is composed of a dark shadow, with numerous arms stretching from the gaps across the torso of the robes. The body ends in rusty chains, tailing behind with its torn robes. An extra, thicker set of dark arms come from its lower torso. Its back, neck, and head are all covered by nails, driven through the creature. Many of these carry candlesticks, lit with ethereal blue-gray flames. The creature's head is followed by a symmetrical symbol of two semicircles with points at their tops, glowing a blinding white. The Warden carries a massive hammer, one adorned at its end in a cross, used to punish those that defy the system of Sisyphe. The head of this hammer is covered in nails, driven through it, with candles on their ends.

Personality The Chaplain is a stoic man, one obsessed with all manners of preservation of the Sisyphe System. In his obsessive devotion towards the system, he looks for all possible means of upholding the current status of the wider system, commanding Le Noir into battle when needed as a manner of acting without his presence. No matter what hurdles are required to be crossed, he insists upon the total preservation of this system out of a fear of "barbarism". While speaking to those within the Sisyphe System, his voice is booming, accentuated by an antequated manner of speech. His words inspire great devotion among those that listen, similar to religious fanaticism.

After being forced from his role as the Warden and displaying his "true" avatar as The Chaplain, he reveals that his grandiose manner of speech is largely an act mandated by his persona as the Obsidian God, and displays a more casual, disgruntled attitude, often complaining about the trouble the Sinners are causing him by extending his shifts at work. In spite of this, his dedication to order remains, continuously fighting the Sinners over multiple work shifts and eons of subjective time in order to maintain the strict "fate" of the department store.

Despite his divine bearing largely being a ruse, he holds a genuine zealotry towards the Sisyphe System, and constantly tries to force Meursault to repent for disturbing it. He holds a steadfast belief that humanity is defined by its ability to restrict itself from following base urges, and subsequently that the Grand Magasin Sisyphe governed by his rules is the most "human" place in the City. He deeply fears the prospect of the Sisyphe System falling, as he believes that without it in place to mass-produce Canned Experiences, N Corp would fall to barbarism and resort to attacking other Wings to directly extract Experience from their citizens.

Story Prior to Limbus Company The Chaplain, at some point in the past, became one of the four Giants responsible for the maintenance of the Sisyphe System. Because of his role in the operation, he became familiar with Meursault's Mother, who insisted upon referring to the man by his title, rather than his name of Maurice. He viewed his responsibility as a manner of keeping the world from barbarism, which grew the sycophantic personality he was later known for.

In the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, the Chaplain, under the avatar of the Warden, kept control of the flow of the Sisyphe System by punishing those who violated the set rules and tried to change its predetermined endings. Uniquely among the Giants, the Chaplain was responsible for the Sisyphe System's internal memories and time, giving him a key role in the System's Liquidations. Beyond this, the Chaplain was also the Giant who served as the Voice of Le Noir, inspiring the prisoners to safeguard the Magasin's status quo.

Canto X: The Gaze Bearing Due to his role as a Sisyphean Giant, the Chaplain remained knowledgeable of all results accrued before each Liquidation, making him more aware of the Sinners' actions than others, including some of the Sinners themselves.

While a Limbus Company player's actions dictate the appearance of the Warden―and they may traverse the whole of the Grand Magasin Sisyphe's Route A and B without encountering it under particular circumstances―the Sinners are aware of its presence regardless, as means of progressing Route C's primary plot.

Route A: Ataraxie While the Sinners were first gathering their bearings after being sent to the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, they traveled into Le Noir's section of the Grand Magasin Sisyphe first floor, where they were met by Gustave. While he initially ignored the group, the Chaplain's voice spurred him into aggression, causing a brief battle with the Sinners.

During the raid upon the Luxury Hall, where the Le Rouge faction aimed to birth a fledgling god to take upon the role of their new Voice, the Chaplain's voice once again cut through the immense battle happening. In doing so, he spurred the Le Noir Brand Manager to join the battle, causing the death of the Le Rouge Brand Director. After the Sinners took the chance to slay the Crimson God, they gave the Noir faction a chance to completely dominate the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, and bringing about an eternal age of stillness and preservation. This would soon result in a Liquidation, bringing everyone within the Grand Magasin Sisyphe back to the beginning of recent events.

Route B: Bon Appétit As the Sinners chose to align with Le Rouge instead of Le Noir on their following attempt to discover a way through the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, the Chaplain rarely spoke while they were present. Despite this, his faction consistently impeded the Sinners at every possible avenue, viewing Pwie as the natural affront to the stagnation they so desired.

With the ascent of the Sinners reaching the restaurant within the fifth floor, the Noirs quickly pounced on the group following an attack by the Blackthread of the Elden Sea. There, the Chaplain commanded his faction to destroy Pwie by any means necessary. While the group pushed further within the bounds of the restaurant, more and more Noir members appeared, trying to slow the Sinners and their companion. Soon after, Pwie grew too hungry to ignore, causing them to enter a cocoon state, where extra arms began reaching out for more and more food to devour. While their defenses were down, the Chaplain ordered the Noir Brand Manager to lay waste to the enemies, who abided by her chaplain's word. In doing so, she battled the Sinners while they protected Pwie, resulting in her death. With nothing left to stop Pwie's endless consumption, the Rouge faction found the eternal age of consumption and thrills to consume. This would soon result in a Liquidation, bringing everyone within the Grand Magasin Sisyphe back to the beginning of recent events.

Route C: Cogito During the Sinners' third attempt at escaping the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, with Meursault purposefully attempting to defy its script, the Warden initiated a battle against the Sinners, who were now able to fight back due to some hints from Heinrich Kromer. After a struggle, the Warden eventually revealed himself to be the Chaplain in an alter ego, introducing himself through a one-sided exchange of business cards, before stating Meursault's defiance of his punishment had made the Chaplain decide to lock him and the Sinners away from the rest of the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, entering a new battle. This battle would never reach a proper conclusion, with the Chaplain utilizing any abilities of a Giant necessary to continually extended onwards through resetting himself. This fight continued onwards for eons within the Grand Magasin Sisyphe, while the Chaplain would clock in and out of his job for three months straight while battling the Sinners. Though the fight stretched on for so long, the Chaplain was unable to keep up against Meursault's stoic resolve. After one final struggle, the Chaplain, beginning to suffer the fatigue on his physical body, alongside the partial awakening of a new Seed of Light ability, was forced to take his leave, admonishing Meursault for his crime and the horrific consequences of destabilizing the Sisyphe as his avatar faded away.

With the Sinners able to continue onwards unimpeded by the Chaplain, they would inevitably find their way to Jeanne, and out of the Grand Magasin Sisyphe. In doing so, Meursault regained consciousness, and retrived the Golden Bough taking his mother's place atop the tower. In doing so, all 300 million prisoners of the system began to be released, awakening in their newly distorted forms. This act of reawakening was going along with the New League of Nine Littérateurs and N Corp. Inquisition's plans, stirring internal conflict against prosthetic users and Distortions. However, as the release protocol processed, the Chaplain hit the emergency incineration, causing a vast majority of the Distortions to be burnt to a crisp, with the man desperately attempting to hire the Sinners to handle the remaining Distortions. Heinrich Kromer, enraged and heartbroken by this aspect, skewered the Chaplain, resulting in his death soon after. The smoke from the incineration of Distortions would cause "Sisyphean Rain", expected to revive the dead Distortions as it poured down across the City.

The Chaplain's head would be removed and acquired by Jacob, who brought his head to a following N Corp. board of directors meeting, where Heinrich Kromer expressed her intention to siphon experience from his brain to create a new batch of Canned Experiences.