King Sisyphus

King Sisyphus, better known in his Prime Soul form as Sisyphus Prime, is a major posthumous antagonist in the video game ULTRAKILL. While not as peaceful or honourable as his counterpart Minos, King Sisyphus was a noble man who wished to free Hell from the oppression of the Angels and as such, led a full-scale rebellion against Heaven's forces that managed to temporarily push them back. However, the Archangel Gabriel would slay Sisyphus in single combat, scattering the demonic armies and ending the insurrection, though Sisyphus himself anticipated this and only wished to eternally wound Heaven's pride. His soul, which immediately began development into a Prime Soul, was sealed within the Flesh Panopticon where Sisyphus would slumber for untold eons.
Years later, Sisyphus, with some help from V1, would break out of his prison, eager to resume his conquest of Heaven. However, out of curiosity he battles the machine, which inevitably leads to his demise. 
He is voiced by Lenval Brown.
== Appearance ==
As a Prime Soul, Sisyphus Prime takes the form of a translucent, burly orange and incandescent humanoid. He is much larger than Minos Prime but possesses the same visible circulatory system. Thanks to being beheaded in life, Sisyphus's head is replaced by a glowing orb of light that has the red outlines of his facial features. His hands and feet are also caked in blood. During his second phase, Sisyphus grows a beard and several dreadlocks, with the bloodstains on his limbs increasing in size.
As a human, Sisyphus had dark brown skin, black hair which he wore in dreadlocks and a thick beard. He wore bandages over his eyes, which were put out with molten gold as a part of his punishment in Hell. Just like Minos, his husk was exceptionally large, though apparently smaller than the king of Lust’s.
== Personality ==
Contrasting Minos's gentler, pacifistic personality, Sisyphus is an arrogant and boisterous man who is exceedingly proud. Similarly to his mythological counterpart, Sisyphus refused to repent for his crimes and remorselessly toiled away at the eternal punishment placed upon him, unwilling to let his dignity be wounded by such a task and anticipating the day when he and the other damned could exact revenge on Heaven. As such, Sisyphus's will and charisma shone so radiantly, all of his men were enamoured by it and completely relied on his leadership to guide them to victory, spelling their demise, with Sisyphus caring for them as well. However, this would not dampen Sisyphus's spirit as even after many years of imprisonment, he shows an eagerness to resume his attack after being released and even takes time off to fight V1 as a warm up. By extension he's also rather cheerful, as he compliments V1 on its skills and is extremely affable to it.
Despite this hot-headed bravado however, deep down Sisyphus was capable of much more philosophical thought and showcased an unerring will. While he acknowledged that his insurrection would inevitably fail, Sisyphus carried on with it anyways, believing the act or carrying out an impossible revolution would be a greater insult to Heaven than any victory could bring. As such, with his final moments spent maniacally laughing in glee, Sisyphus at core embraced the futility of his actions and gladly relished in just the act of doing them.
== Biography ==
=== Background ===
While his life as a human is never explicitly stated, it's implied Sisyphus led a sinful, murderous life similar to that of his mythological counterpart, though it seems he was less selfish and cared about his subjects. As such, when he died he was sent to the Greed layer of Hell and sentenced to push boulders up monuments of mankind's greed for all eternity. Despite this soul-crushing punishment, Sisyphus would remain unrepentent as he saw the depths of Heaven's tyranny and bided his time to overthrow these oppressors and free his fellow sinners.
The time would finally arrive many years later when the Father disappeared, leaving the angels of Heaven in disarray. Seizing this chance, Sisyphus would rally the Greed layer's husks and begin training them for war, producing weapons such as the Sawblade Launcher in the process. When the new Heavenly Council was formed and attempted to reestablish order, they were met with an unprecedented might that forced them to retreat. The heavenly forces' leader Gabriel however, would quickly realise that the Insurrectionists were completely reliant on Sisyphus's leadership and thus, rallied the angels to spearhead Sisyphus, beheading him and sending the husks into disarray, ending the revolution. With this, the Insurrectionists would be mutilated as punishment and Sisyphus, whose soul had begun to develop into its prime form immediately after death, was imprisoned in the Flesh Panopticon residing in the Heresy layer. 
Despite this quick defeat, Sisyphus had succeeded in his ultimate goal: humiliate Heaven, and with the oppressors in shame at having an impossible revolution sent against them, Sisyphus would sleep for many years in the Panopticon, not bothered to break out. In the meantime, Sisyphus's headless corpse would be entombed within one of Greed's pyramids, with a portrait of him and a Sawblade Launcher placed there as tokens of remembrance.
=== Ultrakill ===
Many years later, V1 would eventually arrive in the Heresy layer and encounter the Flesh Panopticon, fighting it. Midway through the battle, Sisyphus Prime would be awoken by the ruckus and begin tearing the Panopticon apart from the inside out, freeing himself. Sisyphus notes V1's presence and while he's eager to get his revenge on Heaven, he also notes that the machine has killed Minos Prime, another powerful Prime Soul and as such is curious about its skills. As such, he challenges V1 to a battle, beginning his boss fight.
Despite his efforts, Sisyphus is inevitably defeated. As he begins to die, Sisyphus remarks that while his existence has been filled with nothing but futile struggle, he regrets nothing and as such, dies laughing before he explodes in a burst of yellow light, ending the king once and for all.
== Trivia ==
* Thanks to his extremely difficult boss fight and unusual personality, Sisyphus Prime's quotes have become popular memes in the Ultrakill community, with images of cubic objects on sticks often being likened to the Flesh Panopticon.
** Furthermore, voice clips of him calling V1 an "appetiser" and his maniacal laugh during his death have frequently been used in shitposts and the like.
* Along with Minos Prime and the Mysterious Druid Knight and Owl, Sisyphus Prime is one of 3 bosses that acknowledge the player's restarts.
* Contrasting Minos Prime, who simply walks menacingly, Sisyphus adopts a boxer stance, implying he has a greater knowledge of martial arts than the peaceful king.
* Just like Minos Prime, Sisyphus Prime's design reflects various aspects of his character:
** Instead of a head, Sisyphus has a glowing orb of light with his facial features on it, reflecting his radiant charisma.
** Just like Minos, Sisyphus has an oversized heart which could represent his passion and will.
** Sisyphus's musculature is similar to that of a strongman, reflecting how instead of lifting people up, he led his comrades by muscling the oppressors out of the way.
** Sisyphus's bloodstained limbs may be a reference to the Sisyphean Insurrectionists using blood to protect their skin from the scorching sands, or could reference his violent nature.
* Thanks to Sisyphus's affable behaviour towards V1, it's believed that he's not actually fighting the machine for fun, but instead testing it as a successor, hoping that it can overthrow Heaven and free Hell in his stead.
==External Links==
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