MALFEAS
Malfeas is Demon King of the universe. His will is paramount; denying it unthinkable. This is incontestable, self-evident truth. All else is irrelevant before it. When the world proves this untrue, Malfeas knows madness. Infernals with a Malfean Urge gain Limit whenever their wills are thwarted and their titanic power was unleashed and found insufficient to the task. As a rule of thumb, any action which would have qualified for Malfeas' Excellency counts as sufficient to trigger the Limit gain. This Limit gain applies only once per scene. For example, a Slayer having her unstoppable attack combo blocked with Heavenly Guardian Defence would gain Limit, but any further instances within the scene, regardless of the target aimed at, would generate no Limit, as the Slayer has already been shown that her blows can be denied.
Act of Villiany (Malfean): Roll for Limit loss whenever a display of overwhelming power and force grants victory over meaningful opposition (defined as opposition that has a chance of winning - insignificant insects provide no satisfaction when crushed). This Limit loss may only apply once per scene.
The Torments of Malfeas are listed below. Upon Limit Breaking and entering a state of Torment, the Infernal must select one of these manifestations, which immediately takes effect.
Shattered Solipsism Awareness
Only in the depths of the torments of his psyche does Malfeas truly understand that there can be perspectives beyond his own, and in those moments, the terrifying awareness of such things is a cold radiance in his mind. To cope with such a state and such a multitude of different viewpoints is horrifying indeed. It is said that the Ebon Dragon sometimes conspires to approach Malfeas when he is in such a state, for it makes him more pliable.
For the duration of the Torment, the Infernal gives equal weight to the opinions of others as to his own. This is more than merely acknowledging that someone else's viewpoints matter; he internalises all that he hears, and acts as if it was his own opinion. If someone says "I like grapes", then the Infernal will act as if he likes them too; if someone later expresses a counter-opinion, the Infernal follow the most recent one he heard. This can lead to rapid fluxes in opinion; the Infernal ignores all contradictions that this would produce. The order to kill one's self remains Unacceptable, even in this state. However, other Charm-based Unacceptable Orders, such as the ones made Unacceptable by Impervious Mantle Primacy, cease to provide a defence.
Partial Control: The Infernal can take the source of the opinions into account, and ignore ones which come from people who he genuinely believes are actively conspiring against him with such sentiments. All other viewpoints are still mimicked.
Duration: One Scene
Ecstatic Freedom Gavotte
Dance, music, weakness; these are the secret pleasures of the Demon City which embarrass the Green Sun and cause him to turn his face from his greater self. The Demon Emperor neglects his crown and gives himself to the joys and pleasures which lessen him in his heart of hearts, as he waltzes through the streets.
The Infernal loses all of her self-control, and focuses only on pleasures, choosing ones which would embarrass or degrade her in her own eyes, if given a choice. The character will not listen to any attempts to dissuade her from such practices, shows no shame for the duration of the Limit Break, and will not postpone such activities even if there are greater deeds afoot.
Partial Control: The character can show discretion in her vices, and choose ones which will embarrass her less when she comes back to her senses, though she must still self-indulge. In addition, others may persuade her to carry out other necessary duties, although she will not do so willingly unprompted. She will attempt to fit as much self-indulgence as she can around her tasks, and will likely require frequent reminders to keep on-task.
Duration: One full day
Nothing-Is-Impossible Totality
Lost in the glories of ages which are no more, Malfeas sometimes walks within his own mind, when he was unchallenged and nothing was beyond him. At these times, the layers of Malfeas will shake, as he tries to pull himself across the sands of his sister, doing the impossible and breaking all barriers by the force of his burning will. For him waking is a terrible experience, though most demons rather prefer it when the layers of Malfeas do not shake with the earthquakes of his futile escape attempts.
The character loses all sense of what is, and what is not possible. There is only their will. All things that they want are possible; all things they do not cannot ever be done. All their decisions will be interpreted through this warped lens, and so they will place themselves at the forefront of battle to fight an overwhelming foe, thoughtlessly challenge their secretly-hated superiors, throw themselves into attempts to bring back a dead loved one in the certainty that they know the secret, and generally attempt the impossible in the genuine belief that they will succeed.
Partial Control: Their sense is not fully extinguished, though it is greatly weakened. They can be talked out of their futile quests by others, and will not attempt things if it is certain that they will die. They will still not take the possibility of failure into account in any of their actions, and will still act with no consideration of their own mortality against less than overwhelming odds.
Duration: One full day
Cast-Down King Rage
There are those who would refuse to acknowledge Malfeas as King. They are wrong. They have to be. Certainly, their destruction is a fit penitence for such an affront. Such is how Malfeas must challenge the shiver of fear which quakes in his burning heart whenever he thinks of his authority lost.
The character appears superficially normal, right up until anyone challenges their authority in any way. This can be anything from attacking them, to not acting quite fast enough to follow an order, to obstructing them in the street. Upon such an event, the Infernal attacks them as if in a Berserk Anger (as per the Solar Limit Break), attacking anything associated with them if they cannot reach their foe – killing the messenger if an insulting letter is sent, for example. Should the character beg for mercy and acknowledge their supremacy, the Infernal may moderate their actions with regards to their target once they have been chastised. Trying to prevent the murderous frenzy of the Infernal is a challenge to their authority.
Partial Control: The character can avoid attacking allies or people he is sure serve him completely, as long as they do not act to physically obstruct him in a major way. Slight disrespect – such as not using their title in full – can be tolerated; actively working against them brings on the rage.
Duration: One full day
Lonely-City-in-the-Desert Rejection
Malfeas was once the Holy Tyrant, the bodiless presence who disdained all others. Now he is a city of brass and basalt, five days travel from anywhere, with only his subjects and their lesser parts. In the depths of torment, he feels this meaninglessness, and it overwhelms him, closing him in within his layers that seal to restrict passage. This life is not a life; it is not existence. In such a mood, even the Green Sun dims, and those changed by Erembour dare the upper layers of the catacombs to celebrate.
The character closes in on themselves, refusing to respond to any external stimuli, entering an unresponsive catatonic state. In a stressful situation, the character cannot function, and merely stares vacantly. If attacked, he will defend himself, suffering the external penalty for blindness, but will not resist being dragged away from combat, and will not act under his own volition.
Partial Control: The character still will not take acts which require any form of forethought under his own initiative, but may defend normally, and only takes a two-dice internal penalty when attacking in self-defence.
Duration: One scene in combat, or five days otherwise. Should the character end up in a combat at any point, the Torment only lasts for the rest of the scene, no matter how long it would have lasted normally. Violence has a way of bringing Malfeas back to himself.
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