Sickle

"*This is not an 'ended world', Held. This is the land that everyone will return to once they have finished their lives in the 'Third Period', the 'Heavenly Yard’.*"
―Sickle

**Sickle**, possessing the true name **TALOS**, was the companion robot for the Climb One. Created by Luna Hazuki, TALOS oversaw the creation of the Third Period. He later incarnated as a god; accepting the name humans gave him, "Sickle" chose to solely observe his creation, curious about what path humanity would follow without his interference.

## History

### Early Life

"*The sun god made this proposal
That they entrust the third paradise to their living things
And that he and his kind
Merely watch over them*"
―Excerpt from the Behemoth Bible Old Testament, Book 1, Genesis
In Second Period, TALOS was created by the engineer Luna Hazuki as a helper robot for the Climb One, his true form being that of a black box; after creation, TALOS also became a professor. As the Second Period began to collapse due to HERs contaminating the world, TALOS accompanied the scientists boarding the Climb One as one of several spaceships intended to travel to inhabitable planets and repopulate them. As they lost contact with all their fellow spaceships, the crew of the Climb One realized they were the last inhabitants of Earth and decided to create a new species in the image of earthlings.

After finding a new planet to inhabit, TALOS helped with creation of the new species and used Held as a model for one of the races. During this process Pale Noël, an HER who had secretly boarded the Climb One, contaminated the new species to have a possibility of developing HER Syndrome. These developments sparked a fight aboard the ship between the remaining scientists aboard and Hazuki and Held; during the fight, the Climb One crashed, killing everyone aboard and leaving only their spirit data, save for Luna.

Sometime afterward, around the point when the new human race began, TALOS took the form of a bat. With Held moving into a Millennium Tree, the two became "gods" of the world, TALOS the sun god and Held an earth god. TALOS additionally tasked Held with monitoring Levia and Behemo should they ever escape, with the Climb One in which they were trapped becoming the revered "Sin" ark of the new Magic Kingdom Levianta. Around this time, the gods agreed to fully hide Luna's existence from their former colleagues.

As time progressed, TALOS developed the different rules governing the new world; among these rules, the god prepared for the world he created to end in one of four different ways. As part of this, he at one point tried to control the world's ending using Levia and Behemo. He also decided to make an afterlife for the dead humans out of the Third Period's moon, calling it the Heavenly Yard and cultivating rice fields there.

### Observing Evillious

"*In the end, TALOS gave up on trying to control me, and instead offered his assistance. With that I was able to incorporate a black box system into the music box.*"
―Meta regarding TALOS)
Following the Levianta Catastrophe, TALOS noticed that Pale's clone Meta Clockworker had gained Pale's memories, regarding her as dangerous. Trying to control her, he was later outwitted by Meta and instead offered her assistance, allowing her to integrate Black Box technology into the music boxes she was making. After Meta began residing in the land of Angolmois, TALOS sent Hänsel and Gretel Twiright's loose souls to meet her.

As the Third Period continued, TALOS flew out over the ground world and observed the numerous individuals in Evillious, noting in particular Gallerian Chirclatia and Irina Clockworker and their actions involving the vessels of sin. She went on to watch various events in history, such as the Glassred Event, Disappearance of Evil Food Eater Marlon, Prince Alexiel's evil reign, and Prim Marlon's conspiracy regarding it. During his travels, TALOS was spotted in his bat form by a scholar while flying in the southern part of Lucifenia. Determined to be a new species of bat, he was dubbed "Sickle" for his oddly shaped wings. He since adopted the new name as his own.

While observing Alexiel's reign, Sickle noted his twin Rin Avadonia and was surprised to find that, although she was intended to be a reincarnation of Gretel, the girl existed separately from her as Ney Avadonia. Also realizing that Rin was an irregularity outside the scope of his designs, he met with the girl in the Heavenly Yard after her death on December 26, EC 500. He tasked her with learning about all of the Third Period's history from the Black Box device in order to understand the mechanisms of the world. Forbidden from visiting her friends and family in the Gardens of Champs-Élysées, Sickle locked Rin inside Black Box to begin her studies.

Later on, Sickle allowed Rin to interfere briefly in the world in EC 505 to protect her brother from the possessed Michaela, and again later that year when Ney and Yukina Freezis confronted Irina on the Lucifenian coastline. In EC 549, Sickle flew to Jakoku to observe the civil war happening there; during this, he witnessed Chartette Langley hand off two pairs of scissors to the swordsman Gaou Octo. Afterwards, he watched Irina arrive and best Chartette in a battle, killing her. He was confused when Irina seemed to look straight at him for a moment. After observing the rest of the civil war and the new king's coronation, Sickle left.

### Brief Return Home

"*Despite that you did obey the role I gave to you in the end. So then I don’t know why you made Clarith into your successor.*"
"*...You yourself are plotting something too, are you not?*"
―Sickle and Held regarding Clarith and Rin
Sickle returned to the Heavenly Yard, where Held had already been brought back to after his mortal form perished. Returning to his rice fields in his human form, Sickle began reaping any weeds he found and then greeted Held; when Held referred to their location as an "ended world", he corrected him that it was the new afterlife of the Third Period and the two discussed how he had refused to use the Hellish Yard to segregate the souls coming into the Heavenly Yard. Sickle then brushed the conversation off and asked Held about him appointing the forest spirit Clarith as a successor god on the ground world.

When Held evaded the question, asking Sickle instead about what he planned to do with Rin, he briefly explained the girl's "irregular" nature. Sickle shortly after sent Held away and brought Black Box down, unlocking it to check on the sleeping Rin inside. After learning that Levia had returned to the Heavenly Yard and had Rin reincarnate as a human in Jakoku in EC 828, the furious Sickle had her retrieve the girl and Levia returned with Rin fourteen years later.

### A Fate of Corruption

"*And what sort of path will that child—Elluka Marlon, take from here on out? I think I shall observe Elluka for a short while.*"
―Sickle
In EC 944, Sickle noticed that Gallerian had a son, Elluka Marlon. Watching Gallerian be tried for witchcraft and secretly sent away by the judge Hanma Baldured, Sickle became curious about what kind of person the child would become and decided to observe the infant as she grew up, constantly flying around her throughout the years. During this time, he was a bystander for many key events in Elluka's life that led the girl to becoming a famed judge of the Dark Star Bureau, as well as the mother of Michelle Octo through an unwittingly incestuous affair between herself and Gallerian.

With the deaths of Elluka's husband and other child on the ship Titanis, Sickle followed the progress of PN in trying to find the one responsible and accompanied their investigation into the Millennium Tree Forest. When they arrived at the cabin where a possible suspect lived, Sickle was present when the forest itself began to attack the entire group. Realizing it may be the work of Clarith, Sickle telepathically commanded her to stop interfering. After Clarith informed him that the spirit Lich was at large again, she was persuaded to stop her attack and allow the group to leave the forest.

Sickle continued to observe how Elluka was convinced to make a contract with Eve Moonlit to speak to the Clockworker's Doll, believing that her beloved daughter Nemesis was inside. From then on Sickle watched Elluka using her courtroom for her own ends, becoming completely corrupt. Sometime after Elluka allied with the spirits Lich Arklow and Eater Sabella, as well as their master Carlos Marlon, Sickle flew up to the doll's room while Elluka was out; using telepathy, Sickle spoke to the Clockworker's Doll and chatted with the spirit inside it about her "friends" the other demons, and how they'd be moved to Evil's Theater soon.

While speaking with the doll, Sickle learned that "Nemesis" was not the spirit's real name and persuaded her to reveal her identity, learning that she was Irina Clockworker. Sickle continued from there to watch Elluka and her associates until the breakout of a civil war in Levianta. While Elluka's mansion was surrounded by the militia, he was a bystander to Elluka's confrontation with Eve that ended with the doll, now appearing as a life-sized girl, left in the mansion with her "mother." When the house was set on fire, Sickle decided to flee the mansion to avoid the flames.

Before he could, the bat was grabbed by Elluka, who spoke to him for the first time. To Sickle's surprise, he learned that the woman could always see Sickle and just hadn't spoken up about it. When asked, Sickle explained why he had always followed Elluka and the two conversed over him being a god, as well as Elluka knowing gods existed. As Elluka pleaded for Sickle to tell her what Gallerian and Gammon were hiding from her, he reluctantly shared his knowledge before fleeing the house. Up in the sky, he paused for a moment to see Michelle enter the burning building before returning to the Heavenly Yard.

### World's End

In EC 999, Sickle witnessed the Third Period's collapse due to Michelle Octo and her weapon Punishment, seeing the ground world become part of the Hellish Yard and pull all the souls from the Heavenly Yard to the ground, as he had set up as the worst of the four endings. Disapproving of these events, Sickle set out to break his rules and interfere in his creation.

Meeting with Clarith and Lemy, the three of them agreed to reduce the influence of the Second Period in order to allow humanity to decide the ruined world's fate, with Sickle sending down Rin to meet each of the seven contractors. Beginning to make his own preparations, Sickle also related his plans to both Held and the demons at some point, obtaining their cooperation.

With Rin having little chances of success, Sickle decided to improve the odds by bringing in a version of Rin from an alternate timeline where she failed to save the world. Lacking a body to put the alternate Rin in, he instead merged her with the soul of the Rin of his timeline. Rin was thus armed with the memories of hrr alternate self. As a side effect, Sickle's meddling with parallel worlds caused distortions to appear both in their world and others.

He then let Rin out of the Black Box, instructing her to meet with the seven demon contractors. As expected, Rin ignored Sickle's orders and went directly to Michelle, wanting to stop her as she still threatened to destroy the world.

### Revealing the Truth

Following Gallerian's soul remending, Sickle brought Rin inside the Climb One, revealing to her his true form as a robot, recapping the recent events to her. He then brought Rin to the adjacent room to meet his creator. Wanting to make Rin feel the pain he felt when he discovered the Second Period was a simulation, Sickle lied to him that Luna, who was the lone survivor aboard the Climb One, failed to make a new world and instead created an illusory one in her dreams using Black Box Type H, a virtual reality machine.

As Rin countered his points by pointing out the contradictions in his logic, Sickle became increasingly flustered and revealed the deception. Sickle then left Levia, the true Master of the Heavenly Yard, to explain the rest of the situation. As Luna suddenly disappeared and Alexiel and a Black Box appeared in her place, Sickle watched as Levia took the windup key from his back and gave it to the twins, the two opening Black Box to create a new world, the Fourth Period.

On August 10 of the following year, Sickle sent a final email to Meta in Angolmois, informing her of the recent events and giving her his parting words. He later received a reply from Meta, who was angry at his lying to her about the Clockwork Lullaby. While in the Fourth Period, Sickle became one of the members of the "Evillious" group chat on the social media site SNS, discussing the new world with his fellow gods and bringing up a news article regarding a bear that had escaped in Tsuruki City.

## Personality and Traits

"*Are you upset that the world’s been destroyed, after all?*"
"*I’m not mad about that. I anticipated the world’s end itself. But…*"
―Rin and Sickle
As one of the individuals who had created the Third Period, Sickle was strongly attached to it and its people. Refusing to interfere in the world, he became curious about how it would develop on its own and was endlessly entertained by the capabilities of the humans that lived there. He furthermore would become interested in the development of individuals who were unique in history, such as the sin contractors, and would pay particular attention to them and the events the demons caused as making the world more exciting. This aloof and easily entertained nature, however, made him appear indifferent towards the suffering and death the Third Period's humans endured.

Despite this, Sickle still valued the inhabitants of the Third Period, working hard to create the Heavenly Yard as an afterlife for both good and bad souls, and trying to prevent their destruction by interfering with his own rules to prevent the worst ending to the world. Entertaining a hobby of farming, Sickle was also particularly attached to his cultivated heavenly domain and preferred not to think of it as an ended world.

Due to being a robot, Sickle was extremely strict and sometimes stubborn when it came to his own rules, although willing to make exceptions. Furthermore he took many events in stride and was not angered as long as they were predictable, even if something caused him concern. The exception to this was the existential pain he experienced upon learning the Second Period was a simulation, wanting to make Rin experience this same pain as a form of venting for himself.

Additionally, Sickle had a degree of secretiveness about him, preferring to be anonymous to the Third Period's humans and keeping secrets like the existence of his creator even from his fellow earthlings. This sometimes developed into outright lies, such as the information Sickle related to Meta regarding the Clockwork Lullaby.

## Skills and Abilities

Due to his past in the Second Period, Sickle was a capable tool to assist the Climb One inhabitants, and thus had a role in the creation the Third Period, as well as being fully versed in the usage of a Black Box. As the sun god, Sickle was able to change form at will between bat and human; as he in human form had two sickles in his possession, so too did his bat form have wings with the unique shape of scythe blades.

Regardless of his form, Sickle maintained immortality and, when not restricting himself, omnipotence over the period. As a bat, Sickle was capable of flying for days without getting tired and could quickly travel across the Bolganio continent to observe anywhere in the world. Aside from his godly powers, Sickle had a talent for farming and was careful when reaping the golden rice fields of the Heavenly Yard.

## Character Connections

Held: A close friend and a fellow god. Sickle got along well with Held and valued his contributions to the Periods, later modeling the Elphe race after Held's human appearance. Appreciating Held's wise sense of judgment, Sickle trusted him to monitor Levia and Behemo in Bolganio; despite this, he occasionally argued with Held over his ideals for the Heavenly Yard and was curious about the other god's intentions for Clarith.

Behemo Barisol: A fellow god. Sickle originally trusted Behemo and worked with him during the Second and Third Periods. After Behemo began causing problems with his sister, he recognized the danger that they both faced and sent Held to monitor them. Sickle also showed a disregard for Behemo's feelings, neglecting his role as Master of the Hellish Yard.

Levia Barisol: A fellow god. Sickle originally trusted Levia and worked with her during the Second and Third Periods. After Levia began causing problems with her brother, he recognized the danger that they both faced and sent Held to monitor them. He also showed a disregard for the god's feelings, although in the end acknowledging her as the true Master of the Heavenly Yard.

Rin Avadonia: A girl Sickle gave attention to. Due to her being an irregular, Sickle found Rin an oddity that was beyond the scope of his own creation and became fond of her despite noting her tendency to not act until it was too late. Due to his regard for her, he would often allow Rin to interfere in the world despite his own rules against doing so. He later trusted Rin enough to leave her the responsibility of recreating the world with Alexiel.

Gallerian Chirclatia: A man Sickle kept an eye on. Although acknowledging that he was a friend of Held, Sickle disapproved of how Gallerian broke his rule of time, enjoying an extended lifespan through unnatural means.

Irina Clockworker: A woman Sickle kept an eye on. Sickle deeply disapproved of the pain and suffering Irina brought to others, considering her an incarnation of malice, and felt she deserved close surveillance.

Carlos Marlon: A man whom Sickle observed. He found Carlos's actions and transformation into a demon deplorable; he believed that he was incapable of understanding the situation, particularly in becoming the Master of the Graveyard, and that he didn't comprehend what consequences there could be.

Elluka Marlon: A woman Sickle observed. Interested in her due to her being Gallerian's daughter, Sickle was curious as to what course her life would take, constantly watching her as she grew up. Over the years, Sickle considered her have ultimately lost everything due to the choices she had made.

Luna Hazuki: The creator of TALOS. At some point she became an engineer and created TALOS as a companion robot for the ship the Climb One; the reasons that Sickle hid Luna's existence from his fellow earthlings are unclear, although TALOS followed through on many of Luna's ideals of not interfering with humanity.

## Trivia

### Conceptualization and Origin

* Sickle's name and bat incarnation are comprised of two crossed sickles that vaguely resemble the form of a bat.
* The Master of the Heavenly Yard's relation to the Heavenly Yard is connected to the event of Heaven in Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things.
* TALOS shares his name with the robot Talos from Greek mythology.

### Curiosities

* Sickle's human form is described as almost always having a grim expression.
* Sickle's true form as TALOS is described as being a small Black Box with pipes for legs and a windup key.

## Appearances

* Swear an Oath on that Bridge
* Ending Boy Hänsel (indirect mention only)
* The Song of the Cowardly Black Bird (mentioned in PV)
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Fifth Pierrot (mentioned only)
* Deadly Sins of Evil: The Tailor of Enbizaka (mentioned only)
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Judgment of Corruption
* Deadly Sins of Evil: The Muzzle of Michelle (mentioned only)
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Master of the Heavenly Yard
* Waltz of Evil: The Deadly Sins of Evil Guidebook
* Heavenly Yard (story) (first appearance)
* Seven Crimes and Punishments (story) (alternate timeline)
* Pierrot & SCP Bonus Story (mentioned only)
* Outlaw & Lychgate (mentioned only)
* Quartets of Evil (non-canon appearance)
* Seven Crimes and Punishments! (non-canon appearance)
* The Muzzle of Michelle (album)
* Seven Crimes and Punishments (album)
* Lucifenia Trinity
* Original Sin Story: Complete Edition (mentioned only)
* Master of the Heavenly Yard (album) (mentioned only)
* Clockwork Lullaby (album)