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| “ | "You seek to 'start over,' don't you? Then make full use of your power. Survive. Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of humans." | „ |
| ~ Schwarzloch encouraging Phrolova to wield her power for her own ends as the "Devoted Watcher." |
| “ | "Should you crave power, we shall grant it, even that of the Threnodian. Should you seek to help, we shall guide mankind toward a future beyond all comprehension. | „ |
| ~ Schwarzloch attempting to manipulate Galbrena into joining him. |
Schwarzloch, also known as the Grand Architect, is the main antagonist of the 2024 open-world science-fantasy role playing video game Wuthering Waves.
He is the leader of the Fractsidus, a cult that seeks to bring about a new Lament while splicing together Tacet Discord abilities and traits onto its members in twisted experiments for power. He is a shapeshifting immortal that has plotted for centuries to enact a new Lament that will facilitate the evolution of humanity.
An enigma to all who encounter him, his Forte allows him to perfectly imitate the frequencies of seemingly any Resonator, and even concepts such as death. Schwarzloch cunningly uses this power with guile to seek out vulnerable Resonators from across Solaris-3 such as Phrolova, Scar, and Cristoforo, in an attempt to goad them into becoming Overseers under his Fractsidus organization.
Appearance[]
Nothing is currently known about Schwarzloch's true form. In his Kharon form that is meant to evoke the eponymous mythological Greek ferryman of the underworld, he appears as a tall, lanky emaciated figure of imposing height, draped in flowing dark black robes that conceal most of his body save for the left half of his torso and neck. The cloak features two long black straps extending across from his left hip that end in golden buckles, and he sports a black hood and cloak. Most strikingly, he wears a metallic, silver-gray mask that bears the shape of a stylized skull. His mask is dented and layered with cracks along its ridges, with a vertically aligned scar slit across its left eye, a golden metal plate covering the forehead, and horizontally ridged golden chin-plates lining its jaw. He wears an embroidery of golden medallions across the visible half of his torso and shoulders, with red and azure gems adorning the surface of several of them.
He has gray skin with thin golden cracks layering its surface, and the skin from his forearms downwards is dark black. His exposed left shoulder sports a golden bangle with an inlaid pattern, and he wields a long, hooked black stave that has a golden lantern hanging down from its tip, with blue energy pulsing within. Locks of neck-length light taupe colored hair are visible beneath his hood around each side of his mask.
Personality[]
In his few appearances thus far, little is truly known about Schwarzloch's true nature considering his choice to hide behind personas. A consistent trait across each of his appearances is that Schwarzloch possesses deep-seated cunning and charisma, which he has little qualms in using to push people towards his ends. When meeting Phrolova, Schwarzloch appeared in the form of a male spectator in the audience who remained behind following the end of one of her shows, long after her initial meeting with Rover and subsequent grudge held against them for not upholding their promise to return. Schwarzloch created a copy of Triss to gain Phrolova's trust, before easing her into embracing her desperation for power and means to find a way to resurrect her parents and village of Ostina.
However, Schwarzloch is equally as sharply strategic as he is opportunistic, as he used the guise of Triss during Dreamcatchers in the Secret Gardens once she was separated from Rover as a means of attempting to refocus her back to the Fractsidus' goals, rather than the creation of the Lost Beyond, with an implied callousness to him considering Phrolova's statement that he had taken a liking to appearing to her as Triss.
As Kharon, more of his guile and existentialist beliefs were unveiled, with him playing the part of the eponymous role in an attempt to trap Galbrena and Rover in the Journeying Paradise, and prevent them from slaying the Threnodian. After dropping the act, he was quick to try and recruit Galbrena, as he'd done in their past encounter, mocking her reliance on Tacet Discord abilities while affirming that she shared little humanity with those she saved considering her nature as someone harboring Tacet Discords inside of her. He claimed that joining the Fractsidus would give her greater purpose. His god complex fuels his belief that his vision for humanity is "beyond mortal comprehension," which he frustratedly belied once Galbrena again refused his offer.
Despite his arrogance, Schwarzloch is not prone to outbursts of anger or spite- even when met with defeat or setbacks, and can be honorable. After witnessing Leviathan's defeat, he calmly watched without anger nor panic and did not intervene, simply retorting that his and the Fractsidus' paths were never truly opposed and that they would meet again, before vanishing alongside the other Overseers. Once Phrolova informed him she would be departing the Fractsidus due to Cristoforo's loss of the Threnodian's gem and Rover's interventions preventing her from sustaining the Lost Beyond, he responded calmly and pragmatically. He commanded Scar to back off, while allowing her to leave on her own terms in respect to his confident beliefs that their shared goals would coalesce in due time.
Powers and Abilities[]
Like all Resonators, Schwarzloch possesses a unique Forte formed from his personality and experiences. Schwarzloch's Forte, however, is uniquely powerful even amongst the Fractsidus. He is able to perfectly replicate the frequencies of any given individual or entity. Little has been seen of his combat prowess and its true scope remains unknown, but his mimicry enables him to deceive, trick, manipulate others without abandon- even including powerful, perceptive Resonators such as Galbrena and Rover.
Powers[]
Schwarzloch taking Triss' form to encourage Phrolova to delay her plans for the Lost Beyond.
| “ | I've seen many who can use their Forte to mimic or create, but to perfectly replicate another's frequency and even forge an entirely new body... | „ |
| ~ Galbrena revealing the nature of Schwarzloch's ability. |
- Shapeshifting & Frequency Mimicry: Schwarzloch possesses the uncanny ability to not only shapeshift into seemingly any form, even concepts like that of death, but he also imitates their frequencies in doing so.
- Immortality: Schwarzloch is implied to be immortal or at the very least possessing an unnaturally long lifespan, according to Galbrena's description of him, as well as how he condescendingly refers to mortals in his speech to her.
- Energy Manipulation: As Kharon, Schwarzloch used multiple energy blasts and beams in his fight with Galbrena, quickly overpowering her for most of the battle.
- Frequency Separation: At the turning point of his battle with Galbrena, Schwarzloch split the Tacet Discords she had absorbed apart from her.
- Cloning: Alongside shapeshifting, Schwarzloch can create proxies that he sends out into the world to interact with others, like Kharon. He used this ability to trick Galbrena and Rover into crossing the river into the core of the Journeying Paradise by providing a ferry ride to them as Kharon.
Abilities[]
- Master Manipulator: Being an adaptive shapeshifter, Schwarzloch is incredibly charismatic, persuasive, and manipulative in how he weaves narratives around people's contexts to get them to serve his own ends, such as recruiting them into the Fractsidus. He took advantage of Phrolova's emotional vulnerability and grief to encourage her to ruthlessly acclimate power and adopt a Darwinian philosophy in how she sought the resurrection of her village and family. He immerses himself entirely in the roles he plays, such as Kharon, offering passage across the river surrounding Leviathan's citadel, and accepting Galbrena's Shell Credit payment. He expertly wields his charisma, such as how Phrolova was lured into joining him through his appeal to her insecurities and trauma, telling her exactly what she wanted to hear and assuring her she deserved to return to her village by any means necessary, which he could provide with the Fractsidus' resources and technology.
- Master Strategist: For centuries, Schwarzloch has amply plotted the creation of a new Lament in an attempt to foster the mass evolution of humanity. He deftly operated in Rinascita through Phrolova and Cristoforo in order to secure the Threnodian Leviathan as a means of gaining intel on it, along with Carthethyia's nature as Leviathan's resonator, to achieve an unknown future goal towards this grand evolution that he seeks to continue in Lahai-Roi.
Weaknesses[]
- Clone Vulnerability: While powerful, Schwarzloch clones are not insurmountable and weaker than his true form, as Galbrena was able to overpower his Kharon persona.
- Arrogance: The Grand Architect possesses an unapologetic god complex, believing his plan to uplift humanity beyond the boundaries of their fate to be beyond mortal comprehension, while lambasting Galbrena for failing to grasp this. He was quick to assume victory once he drained Galbrena of her Tacet Discord abilities, quickly losing once Galbrena turned the tide by wielding her innate power against him. His god complex remained consistent in his previous guise as the Devoted Watcher, displaying a tendency of looking down on greater humanity as he encouraged Phrolova to "laugh to scorn the power of humans."
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Schwarzloch implies he and Rover may have once shared a past connection in their past life, or even fellowship as members of the Fractsidus, as during the finale of Dawn Breaks on Dark Tides after Leviathan is sealed, he tells Rover that the Fractsidus were once their "waystones."
- Another of Schwarzloch's previous guises may be The Shepherd. A disturbing villain recounted in Scar's allegory about the story of Qichi Village.
- The name "Schwarzloch" is a portmanteau of "Schwarzes Loch", which translates to "black hole" in German. The current meaning of this in the context of his character and the story are unknown. A possible interpretation is that it symbolizes his manipulative nature as a force that actively seeks the destruction of Solaris-3 through a newly forged Lament, by drawing in other Resonators to serve his uses as Fractsidus Overseers.
External Links[]
- Schwarzloch on Wuthering Waves Wiki
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 Villains
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The Fractsidus Overseers Members Tacet Discords Threnodians Order of the Deep Fisalia Family (Wuthering Waves) Montelli Family Others | ||