Azrael

**Azrael** is a Fighter featured in *Bleeding Edge*. He is the game's second post-launch character, introduced on July 16, 2020.

A trust-fund baby from Beirut, Lebanon with more good looks than brains, Azrael was born and raised in an unloving family, passed over for his smarter and more favored siblings. Unable to hack it in the family business, though not for trying, he was considered the family disappointment, constantly chided by his father that "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," causing him to develop vanity and self-doubt, living a shallow and directionless adolescence. A near-death experience with a rogue wave while surfing realized that saying to him, and he became an adrenaline junkie and thrill-seeker with a focus on aerial stunts that let him soar through the sky. Newfound pride and admiration from his fellows gave the himbo - male bimbo - an inflated ego; he now fancied himself an angel among men, a demigod, and he demanded to perpetually look and feel the part. With his infinite family fortune, he called the world's greatest minds and ordered them to turn him into a real angel, an Adonis with wings, to which they eventually complied and gave him cybernetic artificial wings that let him fly and a "halo" that lets him teleport (and perpetually coifs his hair). Now a self-realized "weapon of sexiness" but still lacking direction and true self-confidence, Azrael desired attention and turned himself into a (third-string) celebrity socialite, whereupon he was recruited to the Bleeding Edge gang by Daemon personally. Daemon saw Azrael's true potential and intended to give the himbo the guidance and trust he never got from his real family to make him into a real man, and so the Bleeding Edge took him in and made him one of their own.

## Biography

*The first memory of Malak Ali was at a crowded family dinner table in upscale Beirut. His 6 older siblings were competitively debating to a proud Mother and unphased Father. Forgotten at the foot of the endless table, little baby Mally cooed and climbed atop his gold highlighted high chair, spread his arms, and chirped “Tweet!!” before bouncing off the cold marble floor and bawling to inattentive ears. Lost in the shadows of his academic siblings, young Malak would grow accustomed to the inheritance of in-affection.*

*Never the brightest bulb in the relative vault, Malak simply couldn’t catch up to a family entrenched in the elaborate business built by his father. Every attempt drew upward eyes and spit ridden pffts. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” his Father would tell him dismissively, along with the back handed reminder that without the brains, at least he had the beauty. He did, but he never had respect, and in such ill-structured nests, so grows the vanity, and doubt.*

*Malak was granted this shallow life, but he was deep, if only in riches. With limitless family wealth and indifference as his spiritual guide, teenage Malak could become anything in this life he chose, so he decided to go soul searching. When he didn’t find much later that afternoon, he went to go surfing instead.*

*“Yah, that’ s what I’ll do.”, he painfully thought while pulling up his shorts backwards.*

*Sitting on his bobbing board, under a lonely sun, Malak gazed into his aquatic reflection and winked, before clumsily pondering his Father’s words. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” He wasn’t sure what it all meant, but he knew one thing for certain. He wasn’t afraid.*

*And at that perfect moment, the skies filled with screaming seabirds, the ocean darkened around him, and a rogue wave as high as the heavens came charging towards Malak. As the glistening terror crept closer, fear bathed his psyche, and the unknown wisdom hiding within Malak suddenly had its origin story.*

*This was a sign from heaven, he was certain of this, for the first time in his life. This is where angels feared to tread. This is where fools rush in. So Malak valiantly ascended the moving mountain, from where he saw his future, and soared down to a new beginning.*

*A life of worldly thrills would follow, challenging death in all forms of adventure sports like cliff diving, chute chasing, sky surfing, mono-boarding, base jumping and more. The sky had become his playground, like he had always dreamt of as a boy, a moment of reckoning. It was “His density”, he thought with artificial pride.*

*And with the extreme endeavours, admiration from fellow himbos followed. Malak was gaining respect amongst the broskis, perhaps the greatest rush of all. Pride would guide him to the mirror yet again, staring longingly into his vacuous beauty. What he now saw was something beyond just “man”. Something regular men pray for.*

*“I am so man.” he whispered at himself. But in that moment, insecurity reared its ugliness once again. Malak knew then that being the ultimate male not only meant the most handsome, but also most extreme. The most manly. The most everything. And he had the family money to try.*

*The following day Malak would gather thousands of elite specialists to his mansion. Neurosurgeons, trend futurists, gurus, physic manipulators, robotic engineers, combat masters, stem cell architects. Some say it was the largest collection of brain power ever gathered in the history of man. And this is what Malak told them.*

*“Oh hey. So, I’m like an angel. But also a bad boy. And I need to fly. And my hair needs to perfect. And I need to get up to the top of mountains quick. Oh I want to be tough. Ok thanks.”*

*Collectively dumfounded, but funded beyond belief, the team would categorically congregate, and design a new and improved Malak Ali.*

*They would develop stunning articulate wing appendages and Malak would take his first ‘free’ base jump. Malak glides down majestically, and upon landing utters the now legendary phrase “The seagull has landed.” amongst a flock of groans.*

*They would also construct a Portable Teleportation Propagator, to allow for instant relocation to cliff sides and perilous perches. And to address the hair, they created a vacuous mini-portal above his pompadour, denying gravity it’s natural chance to mess with his perfect ‘do. “Science is hot” he proclaimed to his mirror.*

*Malak began his new life of tattooed shiftlessness, winged fancy, and clumsy elegance. He had become more than human, a “weapon of sexiness”, and now all he needed was the attention he desperately deserved. So Malak would hire agents, reporters, muses, PR firms, marketing leaders, drama teachers and yes men.*

*They would find him unappreciated work on short lived reality shows, 3rd round exits from TV talent programs, poorly acted appearances on C movies, and oddly, scientific journals due to his advanced teleporting abilities. And this is where Daemon would discover him, an untapped asset lost in the blanket of insecurity.*

*Malak never needed attention or worship, he needed guidance, and purpose, and trust. And then confidence and respect would follow. And Daemon saw that.*

*So with open arms, Daemon would then invite Malak to join the Bleeding Edge and take him under his wing. The team would mentor Malak in combat, and even learn from Malak’s simplistic of way of thinking. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but it does make a nice end to the story.*

## Abilities

### Basic Abilities

*Slice and stab enemies with bladed wings. Each hit applies a stack of  Soul Eater.*
 Evade
*Dodge out of harm’s way. Costs stamina.*
 Parry
*Deflects an enemy's attack when well-timed.*
 Glide
*Glide through the air. Expends Stamina.*
 Soul Eater  | **Passive**
*Each Wing Spur attack applies a stack of  Soul Eater to the target, dealing damage over time and healing Azrael. Maximum 5 stacks per enemy.*
A stack of Soul Eater is applied by a single hit from Wing Spur or Void Wave. Multiple enemies can be affected by Soul Eater at the same time. Character-specific Soul Eater stacks will be shown by the counter above the enemy's health bar, while Azrael's global Soul Eater stacks are tracked on a counter next to his Specials. When an enemy is at maximum Soul Eater stacks, subsequent hits with a Soul Eater-applying attack refreshes the stack timer. A character affected by Soul Eater will be marked with a purple aura on their body. Azrael's self-healing is based on his global Soul Eater stacks.

### Specials

When activated, Azrael immediately drops two portals: one immediately in front of him and the other a fixed distance forward away from him. Holding the input lets Azrael adjust his facing and determine where exactly the portals will spawn, though he can't adjust the distance between portals. The portal will automatically account for height differences in terrain. Travel between the portals is near-instantaneous. The portal's lifetime is shown by a timer above both portals. Enemies cannot use the portals.
Azrael selects a single ally in a wide radius around him to receive Guardian Angel. The selected ally will be marked with a halo, a pillar of light, and a sigil at their feet, and the UI will show the pixel face of the selected ally directly above Guardian Angel's icon. If the ally leaves the radius, Guardian Angel breaks, and Azrael must select a new target. The healing boost to Guardian Angel is based on Azrael's global Soul Eater stacks.
Azrael has two charges of Void Wave; the recharge cooldown begins the moment he throws the special. Azrael throws a crescent wave projectile out in front of him that travels a distance and then boomerangs back to him. An enemy hit by a single pass from Void Wave suffers one Soul Eater stack; getting hit by both flights applies two stacks overall. An enemy must be struck by the backswing of Void Wave to suffer the Slow status effect.

### Supers

When activated, Azrael throws a massive forward column of wind that travels a great distance. All enemies caught by the gale are pushed backwards to Wing Blast's maximum distance and suffer the Slow status effect at the end of the push. Wing Blast does no damage.
*Enter a protective Chrysalis that heals over time. After 4s, if not destroyed, the Chrysalis explodes. Double tap to also protect a nearby ally.*
While cocooned in the Chrysalis, Azrael cannot perform any actions. The visual timer until Chrysalis's detonation is shown by a single bright ring that closes in on the Chrysalis from the visual maximum range of the AoE. If not defused by dealing enough damage to it before the timer expires, Chrsyalis detonates for major damage and a knockdown in a wide AoE centered on Azrael, as he emerges. If an ally is within a small radius of Azrael's position when Chrysalis is activated, he can double-tap the input and take the ally into the Chrysalis with him during the startup; the ally is removed from the field and is untargetable until the end of Chrysalis.

## General Strategy

* Melee support with single-target heals
* Soul Eater: stackable DoT/self-HoT from basic attacks and Void Wave
* Single-target HoT (Guardian Angel) and self-sustain based on Soul Eater stacks, so stay aggressive to stay alive
* Portal for quick repositions
* Void Wave to harrass through walls, general AoE damage and CC
* Wing Blast for more extreme CC; Chrysalis for healing surge and nuke if not defused