Null

**Null** is the main protagonist of Louse. They are a former Pilgrim that seeks to end Rot.

## Appearance

Null appears to have gray skin and messy, gray hair. They wear a grey cloak, unlike the other pilgrims, who all wear black. As Louse progresses, they eventually lose their right eye, and then their right arm, resulting in the blot becoming their arm. As a pilgrim, they had a mitestone mask; it was square, and had a smile on it.

## History

Null was a pilgrim, along with an undetermined number of others in their settlement. Their parents were also pilgrims, and left together to journey to Rot, leaving Null in the care of the Old Friend. As the only mitestone carver left in the settlement, the Old Friend took Null on as an apprentice. When Null was unable to stop themself from crying at the sight of their parents leaving, the Old Friend comforted them, letting them know that they were courageous, that they were destined for great things, and that he was sure their parents would be proud. Later, Null created their first mitestone mask. When the Old Friend saw it, he said that they had done wonderfully, and that he was glad their first mask would be going with him on his trip.

When the Old Friend reached Rot, he was not taken by it, and instead found the blot and stayed on the mountain above. Null heard about this, and 10 years after the Old Friend left, they began their own pilgrimage to Rot with three other pilgrims. One of them was named Crine. When they left, they were given a nullification vial, as all pilgrims are given when they begin their pilgrimage; however, they stole an extra one. While journeying to the mountain, the other pilgrims confronted Null about the extra vial they found. They claimed it to be a mistake; Crine asked if they expected him to believe this, to which they shrugged and nodded. This was not a satisfactory answer. They approached them; realizing their cover had been blown, Null threw their mitestone mask at Crine, shattering it and killing him. They then picked up a shard, and murdered the other two in a blur of fury. After murdering them, they looked down and realized that their mask no longer had its tranquil effect on them, and that the shard was causing their anger. They dropped the shard, then continued to the mountain.

They reached the mountain the day before Rot opened, right as daylight was beginning to fade. Traveling up to the top of the mountain, they found the Old Friend sitting in front of a fire. Sitting across from him, they noticed that he looked noticeably worse for wear as he expressed his gratitude for Null having come, before saying that the voice of Rot told him it would break through the surface the next day. He explained that it grew steadily over the years, taunting him as he stayed on the mountain, and that it knew he could not nullify it on his own.

Before Null could go to his house, the Old Friend informed them that the affliction of the blot wished to join them to end Rot. Null accepted, and the blot broke out of his eye and entered their left eye. The Old Friend then warned them not to let its hatred drain their soul. Following this, the two entered the Old Friend's house; he had a room prepared for Null. He then explained that it would be likely that he'd be taken by Rot tomorrow, and said that he would not stop Null from nullifying him. They remained silent in response, not answering, until the Old Friend left to listen to Rot. Later, while sleeping, Null had sleep paralysis, and saw the half-rotted Old Friend talk to them; he told them that they were nothing but a single Louse aimlessly crawling through the surface, and that they would see what was truly important.

After sleeping, they were awoken by the Old Friend. They thanked him as the blot stirred in their eye, and spoke to them. It asked them why they sought Rot; they said to end it, and began to feel pain as it called them naïve and oblivious. It then retreated back into their eye. Following this, the Old Friend opened the door to the house; outside was the opening of Rot, which was very close. Null began to approach it, but they took a moment to turn around, which let them see the Old Friend's house being taken by Rot, with no sound coming from inside.

They then stepped into Rot, and saw the Face of Rot. It told them that it had a gift for all that arrived at its body, and offered it; Null accepted, but the Face then revealed that it heard what they said above, while saying that their goal is impossible as Rot is endless. The gift also melted into Null's hand. They then felt themself being pulled down; they decided to let themself sink down without struggling. The Blot then appeared, admonishing them for failing so quickly, while saying that it would intervene. Null accepted, and the Blot branched out of their eye; they looked down, and saw the rotted Old Friend dragging them down. The Bot decapitated him, and both him and Null slid through the walls of Rot into a large cavern.

After landing, the Blot retreated back into their eye. The Old Friend's decapitated head remained on the ground, and was hissing as if it wanted to speak. Null chose to listen, and heard the Old Friend tell them to give in to the Rot, before it liquefied. Their right eye then saw nothing but red, before the color congealed, revealing the gift of Rot that they had been given. It said that it accepted their offering of the Old Friend, and thanked them for not nullifying his body. Then, sensing that Null wished to speak, it told them it would listen to them; they asked why it was there, and it smiled before answering that it had always been there, and that it would turn the surface of the Earth into the skin for its body.

The Blot then interrupted the conversation, telling Null to remove the Rot. Rot, meanwhile, told them to remove the Blot. They ultimately decided to side with the Blot, letting it branch out onto their left arm and control it. The Blot reached up and pulled out their right eye in a swift motion, removing the Eye of Rot from them. After removing it, the Blot retreated back into their left eye; looking down at the Eye, Null decided to take it with them. When they did, it sprouted red tendrils and used them to latch onto the back of their right hand, sticking with them.

After this, Null heard wet footsteps approaching; they attempted to hide, but the Eye squealed to give away their position, saying that it wanted them to meet all of its friends. As such, the Love of Rot approached them, saying that it had been searching for them. Null somehow already knew their name. The Love asked them to embrace Rot, and asked them to let it help them start their new life today; Null accepted, and their vision grew fuzzy as the Love took their hand, while they felt an unbearable sense of hopelessness. Before they fully succumbed, however, the Blot told them that they did not want this failure, and forced them to see a flashback of the day they arrived at the mountain.

The flashback showed them what they did once they arrived at the mountain; however, when the Old Friend told them that he would be taken with Rot, Null attempted to convince him to leave the mountain, which worked. When this happened, however, the Blot intervened directly, filling the sky as it told them that despite what they wished they had done, they can never go back. The flashback then continued to show what truly happened; after reliving the sleep paralysis with the half-rotted Old Friend, the Blot broke into the flashback once again, saying that their regret over what happened is no excuse to not continue. Null chose to get up instead of sinking into Rot, causing the flashback to disappear; the Blot told them that it is almost impossible for someone like them to end Rot, but that they are the only option.

After this, Null's eyes snapped open, letting them see the Love above them. Getting out of the Rot they were sinking into, they took a step back as the Love expressed confusion. Using this opportunity, they took out a nullification vial to nullify the Love. The Blot told them to do it now, but the Eye attempted to dissuade them, telling them that they could miss. They ultimately chose to throw it, shattering it at the top of its mask. The Love grew furious with Null for lying, and was about to attack before it suddenly froze, its mask falling off. It then dissolved into dust from the vial, being fully nullified. Looking at the shattered mask, Null realized they could take a shard, and use it to remove the Eye; the Blot encouraged this, saying that it did not know what they were thinking, but the Eye warned that it could tell what they were thinking based on their face. They decided to try to remove the eye anyways, but it leapt off their hand just before they could stab it, resulting in them stabbing their right hand instead.

The Eye gathered mass until it grew taller than Null, while telling them that pilgrims like them belong to it, and that they would not stop its endless spread. It continued, saying that them not being like the others concerned it at first, but they barely managed to end the Love, while a new one grows. Rather than continue to listen, Null chose to nullify it, smashing a vial against it. As it dissolved, it told them that it saw how many vials they had, and that it was not enough.

All that remained of it after nullification was Null's leftover eye. They moved to crush it, but before they could, a voice called out to ask them for it. Turning towards it, they saw someone they did not immediately know the name of; they asked them who they were, and they responded by saying that they do not have a name, but Rot called them Turmoil before it stopped speaking to them. The Blot told Null that all that comes from Rot must be ended, while Turmoil asked them what they were doing down here. They decided to be honest and explain that they wanted to end Rot. Turmoil was shocked before nodding, saying that they are not like the others, as the other pilgrims did not want that. They then said that they could help if Null gave them their spare eye. The Blot, furious, told them to end it; however, they chose to give Turmoil the spare eye. They thanked Null as they put it in, causing a blinding light to shine out. When the light subsided, they apologized, showing that their eye produced light.

Turmoil then turned around to reveal two passages. They explained that the passage on the left led down to the Bones of Rot and the Heart of Rot, while the passage on the right led up to the Face and the Brain of Rot. Null chose to go up, with Turmoil in tow; as they walked, the Blot spoke to Null, saying that it understood they were using Turmoil, and warned them to end them as soon as they were no longer useful. It then retreated back into their eye.

As the two continued walking, Turmoil asked Null what their name was. When they responded, however, the game broke while trying to load their name. Before it fully broke, the Blot began to move in their eye. When the game glitched, it loaded in alternate paths that were not taken; one of them showed Null cowering in the Old Friend's house, dying with him as he got a game over, while the Blot ran away. Another showed them when they first approached the mountain, noting that all the land around it was dead and grey. The third showed them immediately crushing Turmoil, which made the Blot confident that they were the one to end Rot. The game fixed itself after a brief amount of time, with Turmoil thanking Null for telling them their name. The Blot, calmer than before, told Null to be careful about what they said to Turmoil, as Rot would use everything against them.

Eventually, the two reached a large, cavernous room. Shining their light around, Turmoil saw nothing, while Null heard humming behind them. Turning around revealed the Sound of Rot. They got Turmoil's attention; when they did, Turmoil told them to move backwards very quietly. However, the Sound then rushed Turmoil, wrapping itself around them, as the Face descended from the ceiling. It claimed that Turmoil was working for it and led them to it; in an act of defiance, they shouted for Null to do what they came to do. However, in doing so, they used Null's name, which the Face noted. The Blot then appeared, telling Null that it was a betrayal, and that they should end all around them. Rather than doing so, they decided to focus on the face, pulling out a vial and throwing it into its mouth.

The Face grew furious as it began to dissolve, screaming that nothing would stop its spread, and that Null would get the suffering they so eagerly desired. It then wrapped tendrils around Null, trapping them, while forcing them to watch Turmoil as they were absorbed by the Sound. The Blot then chose to intervene, saying that the vial needed more time to end it. Null agreed, and the Blot said that they could save Turmoil before leaving their eye and restraining the Face. Doing so freed Null. The Blot then began to dissolve with the Face as the vial spread to it, and Null was faced with the choice to either save Turmoil, or help the Blot; they chose to save Turmoil and nullify the Sound.

Deciding to use the shard, they stabbed through the Sound's mask, shattering it, revealing a gaping maw beneath it. It detached from its tendrils, leaving Turmoil. Null chose to go to Turmoil and remove the Sound's tendrils, allowing it to escape without being fully nullified. When Turmoil was freed, they appeared to be largely unharmed outside of some scars. They then heard a crash behind them; turning around, they saw that the Face was fully nullified, but that the Blot was unmoving on top of it. Approaching it, they saw that the Blot was just barely hanging on, and let it back into their eye. It told them to end Rot as it crawled to the back of their eye to recover.

They then looked back at the shattered mask of the Sound of Rot, and had a flashback to their past as a pilgrim. They remembered making the Old Friend's mitestone mask and his reaction to it, remembered the aftermath of murdering their three fellow pilgrims, and remembered approaching the mountain, while thinking to themself that they were the only one supposed to know that the Old Friend wasn't taken by Rot. After this, they snapped back to reality, grabbing a larger shard. Turmoil also picked up a shard, unsure of what material it was or whether to take it, but Null encouraged them to do so. The two of them then turned to face an opening in the wall, which led to the Brain, and began to walk down it.

As they approached the Brain, the way behind them sealed, while a voice told them to continue. When they found the Brain, it told them that it was not interested in attacking them, and asked them to refrain attacking. Null consulted Turmoil, who said they would do whatever Null told them to; the Brain then revealed that it knew both of them had the means to end it, but that it wishes to talk first. Null then decided to allow the Brain to talk.

The Brain began to explain that it knew Null came a long way to find it, including killing the other pilgrims. Null flinched when it said that, not knowing how it knew, but remained silent as it continued. It asked them if they were remorseless or felt as if it were necessary, before saying that they are guilty either way, as the Old Friend did not ask them to do so. It then said that it knew what the Old Friend was telling them. Continuing, it said that Null was now here to end it, but warned that there would be unforeseen consequences, while taking a glance at Turmoil.

Rather than let the Brain continue, Null chose to nullify it. The Brain expressed disappointment at their eagerness for violence. They decided to throw a vial at it. Before it dissolved, it smiled as it told Null that they made several poor choices, before asking how many more they could survive. It then turned to Turmoil, telling them that "Turmoil ends" before fully dissolving, leaving just its shell behind.

After being nullified, Rot began to grow uncontrollably, making the room smaller and smaller as Turmoil looked on in shock. They explained that Rot is still alive, and that without the Brain it isn't being maintained, allowing its uncontrolled spread; they apologized for not realizing this. Null attempted to stab the encroaching walls as they pressed against their back, but it was no use; they started being taken by it as Turmoil entered the Brain's old shell. Once they entered, a blinding light filled the room, leaving Null to float in an endless white void.

A giant eye opened in the void as Turmoil's voice surrounded Null, telling them that they managed to slow the spread of Rot; however, it warned that the Brain's influence still surrounded it, while asking Null to end the Heart as quickly as possible. Null asked where they were as the eye looked around; it explained that this is where the Brain made a vast network of connections to the rest of Rot, but that they were all erased when the Brain was ended. They then offered to reopen any connections that might be of use, which Null accepted. A large tendril extended from the eye as Turmoil said they would open the way out so that Null could continue down to the rest of Rot.

The light then faded, revealing Turmoil in the Brain's shell. They explained that they would stay there to keep the Rot's spread under control. Before Null could leave, the Blot appeared to talk to them; it had somewhat healed, but was still damaged. It explained that the Brain spoke to Turmoil in a way that Null could not understand before it died, but that its senses were too damaged to hear what. Asking Turmoil what was told to them, they calmly explained that their true name, the Seed of Rot, was given to them; however, they rejected this name, saying that they are Turmoil. As Null began to leave, the Blot told them that Turmoil was hiding something, as something else was said; however, when they turned back around, the way back was closed.

After leaving the Brain, Null had another flashback, this time to when they murdered Crine and the other two pilgrims, and stole their nullification vials. They flinched back to reality after the flashback, and continued moving through Rot as exhaustion began to grip them. The Blot told them to rest a minute, which they did; unable to actually sleep, they leaned against one of the walls and caught their breath, as they heard some humming in the distance. They moved slowly towards the noise, noticing the Sound; they decided to sneak past it, noticing that it appeared deflated.

After sneaking by, they reached the intersection they saw before, where they went up to the Face and Brain; this time, however, they went down, to the Bones and Heart. Struggling to see in front of them, they heard something move above them in the darkness, as a viscous fluid dripped to the floor beside them. As they continued, they heard a wet mass hit the ground behind them. The unknown mass said that they knew Null was coming, and expressed anger towards them. In response, Null chose to run.

Barely any time was spent running before Null plunged into a pit they couldn't see. Upon landing, they tasted blood and saw a pair of glowing eyes from the darkness, while feeling a claw grab them. A voice boomed from the darkness, mocking them for running away from what chased them. Following this, Null chose to call to Turmoil, who made a connection to the pit of bones, allowing light to shine through to reveal the Bones of Rot. They then took their large shard and stabbed the Bones in the arm. In response, the Bones hissed and attacked with its tail; Null just barely managed to avoid being decapitated, and instead lost their arm.

As the Bones threatened to remove their bones one by one, the blot appeared in Null's eye. It informed them that they were close to ending Rot, and that it now knows Null is the one to do it. It then dissipated, leaving Null's eye to reform as their new arm. The Bones, not expecting this, lunged at Null with an immense speed; however, Null's blot arm was able to catch its tail. From there, they managed to tear its tail off, using it to attack the Bones; they then retrieved the large shard, and used it to render the Bones into a pile of flesh and gore.

Following the death of the Bones, Null was overcome with exhaustion and fell to the ground. Looking to the wall, they saw The Skull, who whispered that it could help them. Choosing to believe it, they reached out to it, only to get their left hand bit; rot then spread from where they were bit, shooting up their arm. As they prepared to make an emergency amputation, Turmoil intervened, offering to make yet another connection so that they could take control of the rotted arm. Null agreed.

As Null waited for Turmoil to make the connection, the Skull snapped at them repeatedly, forcing them to dodge and expend the last remaining energy they had. Soon after, though, they regained feeling in their arm as Turmoil formed a connection fourth connection with the arm. As they did so, however, they warned Null that they wished to keep spreading, and were going to do so. Instead of attempting to stop them, Null chose to let Turmoil spread.

As Turmoil spread, they took over The Skull, before informing Null that the Heart of Rot was nearby. After sprouting giant arms and digging through the remains of the Bones, they found it. Once Null approached it, the Heart looked sickly, and informed them that although rot may be ended, the Seed of Rot had been planted, that the cycle of life would continue as planned, and that they had changed nothing. Turmoil then asked Null to nullify the Heart with their vial to ensure all of the old growth could be removed; however, they chose to use their shard to stab the Heart, killing it.

Once the Heart was killed, all of rot began to decay. Turmoil questioned why they chose not to use the vial as they requested, but decided not to kill Null, instead turning them into the new Seed of Rot. The wall of the cavern then broke away, letting light spill into the pit of bones, as Turmoil requested that Null leave to plant themself elsewhere, allowing for more new growth of rot. Null, however, chose to ignore Turmoil's request, instead intending to follow through with their original plot to end Rot. They instead recalled the blot's words, reminding them to end all of rot, before climbing out of the pit to run to Turmoil.

While running, they passed the dying body of the unnamed threat from the tunnels; they chose to leave it to its fate, moving on past the decaying body of the Sound of Rot. They then returned to the sealed entrance of the Brain of Rot. Turmoil pleaded with them to leave, saying that this would be the best outcome. Null didn't listen, and instead chose to cut the entrance open with their shard, revealing Turmoil fully integrated as the new Brain of Rot.

Turmoil expressed their lack of surprise that Null chose to return, noting that they chose to immediately nullify the Brain when they first saw it. They then asked if Null intended to nullify them; they answered with a simple yes. Turmoil's expression softened as they explained that they understood; Null had come to end all of rot, which included them. They then explained that they always felt a desire to escape rot, which they now understood as their desire to spread rot. They then explained that they fulfilled their purpose by making Null the new Seed of Rot--even if Null nullified them, they would always hear the call of rot, meaning they would eventually crack and spread new growth. They then said that although they regret having to do this to a friend, this is what they were made to do.

Null chose to nullify Turmoil with the blot arm. They experienced no hesitation as they approached their former friend, letting the blot detach from their arm as it engulfed Turmoil. It then began to rapidly spread, covering the entirety of the new growth as the blot awoke once more. It informed Null that the last of Rot had been smothered, and that it would be there as the last of Rot dissolved. However, it then noticed the growth Turmoil had left in their arm, marking them as the new Seed of Rot.

The blot informed Null that although it could nullify them, it would instead let Null choose what happened next, as it considered them an ally. It explained that Null chose the path of fury through Rot, ending it without remorse or hesitation, and that they could finish the job by nullifying themself with the last vial. However, they could instead choose to leave the mountain, as the Rot in their arm was dormant. In this scenario, they would continue to hear the call of Rot until the day they died; if they ever succumbed to its call, the blot would return to intervene.

Deciding that they had to end Rot once and for all, Null crushed their last vial in their hand. The blot solemnly acknowledged that it figured this would happen, while informing Null that both it and their purposes were complete. As Null dissolved, they collapsed to the ground, and had one last memory. This memory was of when their parents left, and the Old Friend took Null under their wing. They remembered the Old Friend's word of encouragement, informing them that they were courageous, and would certainly go on to do great things. They then fully dissolved, and died.

Null is deceased.