If it be reason that destiny transcend human intellect and make playthings of children, it is cause and effect that a child bear his evil and confront destiny.
– Void[2]
Void is a member of the God Hand. Ages ago he and his kinsmen confronted a Berserker Armor user in the distant past.[3]
Personality[]
Void is very philosophical, more so than his demonic cohorts. His manner of speech is more formal and archaic than the other members of the God Hand, a testament to his age and wisdom. Much of what he has to say pertains to the flow of causality.
He is subdued in his temperament, showing no emotion even when confronted by something unforeseen by him and his kinsmen.[4] He is also the most polite member of the God Hand, addressing the Band of the Falcon as honored guests rather than treating them as mere sacrifices.[5]
Background[]
In a distant time, Void manifested at a temporal junction point alongside four inhuman beings distinct from his current kinsmen. He and the other four beings were witnessed by an unidentified man clad in the Berserker Armor.[3]
Story[]
Golden Age Arc[]
Void and the other God Hand members first make themselves known to Griffith while he is imprisoned in the Tower of Rebirth. Appearing in Griffith's vision, the God Hand introduces itself as Griffith's kinsmen and refer to Griffith as a "Blessed King of Longing" while ensuring him that they will soon meet at the appointed time and place.[6]
Once the Eclipse is underway, with Griffith and the Band of the Falcon arriving in an Interstice, the God Hand members see to convincing Griffith to sacrifice his comrades in exchange for joining their ranks and continuing the pursuit of his dream. Deriving visions from Griffith's past, Ubik reminds Griffith of who he is, and Void urges Griffith to accept his destiny and claim raven black wings with which he can soar higher than any summit in pursuit of his dream.[2]
As consecrated by causality, Griffith wills the sacrifice and Void then proceeds to perform the Invocation of Doom, branding all members of the Band of the Falcon present. After Griffith's rebirth as the fifth God Hand member Femto is complete with the deaths of all but Guts and Casca, the Skull Knight intervenes and immediately strikes at Void, which Void counters with spatial manipulation. As the Skull Knight glides past Void, the two stare at each other. The knight ultimately spirits Guts and Casca back to the Physical World.[4]
Black Swordsman Arc[]
Two years following Femto's birth, Void and the other God Hand members manifest at a temporal junction point before the fatally wounded Slug Count. Void and his cohorts attempt to convince the Count to offer his daughter Theresia as a sacrifice in exchange for new life, but do so in vain. Unwilling to sacrifice his daughter even on the verge of his own demise, the Count is dragged into the Vortex of Souls and the temporal junction point ends.[7]
Conviction Arc[]
During the Incarnation Ceremony at Albion, Void and the other senior God Hand members manifest rudimentary forms from the restless spirits running amok in the city. After attempting to strike down Void and realizing the angel and his cohorts are not entirely corporeal, Guts relents and turns his focus to Casca.[8]
Millennium Falcon Arc[]
While the Incarnation Ceremony succeeds with Femto incarnating in the form of Griffith, the process separates the other God Hand members across different layers of the Astral World.[9]
After the Great Wave of the Astral World brings about the merging of the physical and astral realms, Void and the other senior God Hand members gain corporeal forms within the new world of Fantasia.[10]
Abilities[]
Spatial Manipulation: Void can defend himself by bending space, such as creating two linked portals to redirect the Skull Knight's attack back at the knight.[11]
Causal Awareness: Void can see the flow of causality, enabling him to foresee almost any possibility and influence the course of events to ensure a given possibility becomes a reality. He is not omniscient, however, and cannot anticipate everything.[4]
Invocation of Doom: Void is the only member of the God Hand shown to perform the Invocation of Doom, the action of marking the souls of victims with the Brand of Sacrifice and damning them to being ceaselessly preyed upon by all manner of evil creatures until death. This ability is used as a means of branding the sacrificial offerings of desperate individuals who willingly offer as much to the God Hand in exchange for the fulfillment of a great desire.[12][2]
Portrayal[]
Japanese Voice Actor(s)[]
- Unshō Ishizuka: Berserk (1997 Anime)/Berserk: Millennium Falcon Hen Seima Senki no Shō
- Shinji Ogawa: Berserk: The Golden Age Arc
- Takashi Inagaki: Berserk Musou
English Voice Actor(s)[]
Notes[]
- When asked about the ultimate goal of the God Hand in an interview for the Berserk Illustrations File, Kentarou Miura stated it was too early to reveal their goal, but gave a clue to speculate over: "The key is 'void'." Though the katakana for Void the God Hand member (ボイド) is used in the interview, ボイド also refers to the English word for the general concept of void (i.e. a completely empty space).[13]
- The Count refers to Void in particular as "archangel" (天使の長, Tenshi no Chou).[12]
- The officially licensed Figma action figure of Void reveals that his body consists only of his two long arms attached to a vertebral column. It is unknown whether Kentarou Miura created this design.
- Void is one of the few characters in Berserk Musou to have a new voice actor.
References[]
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 12, "Promised Time"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 12, "Parting"
- ^ a b Berserk :: Volume 41, "Vision of Death"
- ^ a b c Berserk :: Volume 13, "Escape"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 12, "Advent"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 10, "Infiltration of Wyndham (1)"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 3, "Guardian Angels of Desire (6)"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 20, "Shadow of Idea (2)"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 26, "Whore Princess of the Uterine Sea"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 34, "Creation"
- ^ Berserk :: Volume 13, "Afterglow of the Right Eye"
- ^ a b Berserk :: Volume 3, "Guardian Angels of Desire (5)"
- ^ Berserk Illustrations File interview § BONUS QUESTIONS: How Will Griffith/Femto End?
Appendices[]
God Hand
Void · Slan · Ubik · Conrad · Femto · Idea of Evil |
Apostles
Zodd · Wyald · Unidentified Roaming Apostle · The Count · Borkoff · Rosine · Unidentified Female Apostle · Snake Lord · Egg of the Perfect World · Rakshas · Locus · Grunbeld · Irvine · Ganishka |
Pseudo-Apostles
Zondark · Elves of Misty Valley · Great Goat · Mozgus · Mozgus' Disciples · Ganishka's Spawn |
Phenomena
Abyss · Brand of Sacrifice · Sacrificial Ceremony (Eclipse · Incarnation Ceremony) |
Others
Beherit · Man-Made Beherit · Sea God · Daka · Dead Spirit · Demon Child (in essence) |