Umbraster

Umbraster as a more mature Keri

*"Umbraster, the Faceless Specter. She who was created as a masterpiece of the divine was left forever unfinished, as no face was enough to complete her perfection. Yet she took a life on her own and went astray, wandering as a faceless monster. Devoid of identity, she seeks with primal hunger to steal even more faces to add to her collection, hoping to find one day a face that would befit her body. To this day, she devours endlessly."* - Dementero, about Umbraster.

**Umbraster**, the **Faceless Specter**, is an Apocrypha who found a strange redemption through a stolen identity. Her Contractor is Keri Cross.

## Story

### Summoning Gone Wrong

Umbraster was born as Sephira Umara, however she was incomplete and slowly transformed into the Qliphoth then Apocrypha Umbraster. For several millenia, she devoured the faces and identities of people in order to attempt to maintain her own existence, but no identity was sufficient to satiate her. Eventually however, Umbraster was summoned by Keri Cross, a young Witch in training. She seized the opportunity to reduce Keri to a faceless ghost, taking on her appearance and memories and forgetting about herself. She then took her place next to Keri's friends.

However, Keri eventually forced Umbraster to return to her by trapping and torturing her own friends, forcing Umbraster to finally confront Keri. In this event, the now very human Apocrypha realized who she was and broke down. She gave back her identity to Keri, and both of them began to understand the wrongs they both had done. Umbraster sealed part of her madness and together with Keri, performed a powerful spell to keep herself under check.

Umbraster then lived alongside Keri, pretending to be a twin sister, and rekindling her bond with Keri's borrowed friends (Felicia Suncastle, Jessica Starrie, Denise Kingston and Evelyn Morrow). This live could have remained forever if not for a twisted presence lingering in Umbraster's mind.

### Umbraster, the Hero

When Keri found a strange book connected to the Apocryphae, through the art of Dream manipulation, Umbraster leapt on the occasion and attempted to use it. She found out that she was able to return into the past and save other Apocryphae from falling down. Desiring to earn her redemption through good deeds, she started to save several Apocryphae.

Umbraster saved Udea from a trap of ugliness, Sheera from a desert-like tomb, Tritia from an abyss of loneliness, Nevea from a melancholic cruise, Eteriani from an undying dream, Maelia from a reign of fear, Elsa from a frozen heart, Leda from a cursed existence and Emeral from an eternal sleep. She also met Imeno Noawai, the book's author, his conscience imprisoned in the dream world.

Realizing that Imeno's mind was sealing the powerful Apocrypha Jabberwock, Umbraster decided to do anything possible in order to end Jabberwock's pain, and she broke Imeno's seal to confront the chaotic dragon, first of all Apocryphae, into her own Domain.

### Umara

Umbraster went into Jabberwock's Domain and was mentally tortured, showed illusions of her past, of Jabberwock's past, and a convincing mirage of all her friends' death. However, to the end she refused to give up on her sanity, on those close to her and on Jabberwock, and eventually confronted Jabberwock, clashing with her to the point her very constructed body broke apart, leaving her with nothing but a shadowy existence.

With this final effort, she managed to shatter Jabberwock's curse long enough for Imeno to bring the pair back to the real world. As a divine miracle and a reward for truly giving up on the only thing she had - her identity - in order to save Jabberwock, Umbraster was granted back her original Sephira body, as well as her forgotten name - Umara. With this, she was finally at peace with herself and the others.

## Appearance

Umbraster is at first little more than a shadowy blob without a face that cannot do anything but copy the appearance of those next to her. The usual appearance she was seen was her Contractor Keri's.

When she attempted to charm Princess Elsa, Umbraster took on the appearance of a young girl with dark brown hair, slightly similar to Keri's albeit different. This appearance was based on her repressed memories as Umara, which surfaced once again after Jabberwock was defeated.

## Personality

Umbraster at first, like all Apocryphae, was driven by madness, isolation, and desire for completeness. She sought only to devour other's identities. However, by absorbing Keri's, she slowly "became the mask" and started to feel human to the point of genuinely feeling regretful and seeking to atone, which is unique to her.

As a human-like entity, Umbraster was kind and caring, yet still empty, looking for a true way to define herself. She was altruistic and self-sacrificing, as there was little "self" to sacrifice anyway. However, she slowly began to develop her own personality and feelings, culminating with the emergence of a proper name and face, unique to her, finally breaking free of her own Curse.

## Powers

* **Apocrypha Powers:** Like all Apocryphas, Umbraster can make pacts and travel between the Apocrypt and real world.
* **Appearance Mimicking:** Umbraster is able to assimilate the physical abilities and appearance of any living being she encounters. However, she cannot efficiently mimic their powers.

## Storylines

* Faceless Haunt shows an amnesiac Umbraster learning who she is.
* An Endbound Story is the story of her redemption.

## Trivia

* Umbraster is based on Hans Christian Andersen's titular **Shadow**.
* Her name is a composite of Umbra, shadow, and Aster, a celestial body (or alternatively, a flower tied with memory).