Nightshroud

Nightshroud, known in Japan as Darkness 「ダークネス, Dākunesu」, is an evil spirit in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. He has the ability to possess people, and is the one responsible for the Abandoned Dorm incident. He serves as a main antagonist in both the first and fourth seasons.

Character design


Nightshroud's character design was overseen by Kenichi Hara. Nightshroud wears a tight-fitting overcoat with raised shoulders and waistline and gold and green trimmings.

His dark dragon mask, similar to that worn by his signature monster "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon", is completely black with the exception of blue eye-pieces and a red stone in the center of the forehead. In this incarnation, the bangs closest to his face are positioned in front of the mask.

Character overview
Nightshroud is introduced as the first of the Shadow Riders to challenge Jaden, and the owner of the other half of the Shadow Charm pendant in Jaden's possession. Nightshroud sets a Shadow Game in which the loser would have his soul sealed in a card. When defeated, Nightshroud's soul which represented by the mask is sealed away, and Atticus, who had been the dark personality's vessel, is freed.

During the Genex tournament, Atticus uses Nightshroud's Deck in hopes of convincing his friend, Zane, that the dark path taken by a duelist is a terrible course. As a result, Nightshroud's influence that lay dormant within his cards is once again able to take control of Atticus, only to be permanently banished following his defeat.

However he makes a subsequent return in the fourth year after Jaden challenges Atticus to a rematch to discover Nightshroud's secrets. Atticus also has nightmares about the day he became Nightshroud's host, which reveal he was not the first or only person to take up Nightshroud's soul. Adding to the mystery, while visiting the arena underneath the Abandoned Dorm, Atticus is attacked by Yusuke Fujiwara, knocking him unconscious in the process. After he recovers, Jaden visits Atticus in the nurse's office and Atticus comes up with the idea of having Jaden duel Nightshoud (despite the obvious dangers) in order to uncover the entity's origins, which he does (Jaden wins again so Atticus stays free from Nightshroud); turns out, Yusuke had learned about the entity before the incident at the Abandoned Dorm, heading to the Dorm's subterranean duel arena in order to perform a ritual to free it and gain its power. However, Atticus, Yusuke's friend, followed him and interrupted the ritual, which fatally injured Yusuke and forced the boy to make Atticus its host in vengeance. Atticus resisted Nightshroud's influence from then on, until he was forced to embrace it and become its host in order to survive the Dorm's events.

Nightshroud later appears to Atticus during the siege at Duel Academy, still in Fujiwara's body. He reveals himself as the mastermind behind the Trueman attacks and thus the main antagonist of the season thus far. Here, too, his true intentions and motivations are revealed. Nightshroud, his true form being the Void or Nothingness itself, identifies consciousness with pain. In every person there is insecurity and inner turmoil - hopes and dreams failing before fear and guilt, creating "darkness". Nightshroud wants all humans to be taken into the World of Darkness where they will ultimately give up on their own lives, becoming a single entity sharing all joy and all suffering. Nightshroud claims his actions are justified in that, with no more individuality, humanity's suffering will finally end. This claim is very similar to that of the one made by the Light of Destruction.

Deck
Nightshroud, while possessing Atticus, plays a "Red-Eyes B. Dragon"-based Dragon Deck. It focuses on quickly summoning "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon" and strengthening it by placing a large number of Dragon-Type monsters in his graveyard.

Nightshroud uses a Clear Deck while being Yusuke Fujiwara. Clear monsters have the distinction of having no true Attribute, and the deck centers around varying effects depending on the Attributes of the opponent with the field spell "Clear World". The deck itself is a reflection of his beliefs - individuality brings suffering while nullification relieves it.