Isidora, Voice of the Dead

"Can you already hear their song? Can you already hear their ancient aria? The lady who sang to the bones has awoken... The skeletal remains on the other side have opened the door to you. They bid you welcome. But beware of the secret they wish to share."

**Isidora, Voice of the Dead** is a boss in Blasphemous. She was introduced as one of the two additional bosses from the Wounds of Eventide DLC, (the other one being Sierpes).

To unlock this boss, 30 bones must be given to *The Collector* NPC on Albero's Ossuary.

She is seen briefly emerging from the flames of a censer at the Albero Ossary as a naked woman with fiery hair, that will shortly afterwards materialise a set of ceremonial clothes and a scythe formed from the Severed Right Eye of the Traitor. Upon her death, her clothes and hair will vanish, the censer and scythe will break and she will attempt to pick the Eye from the ground, before finally collapsing and being reduced to ashes.

According to the relevant item descriptions, she was once a songstress that would delight the Albero children with her songs. One day, the Miracle manifested as she was singing, making the dead in the graveyard sing in reply to her. Entranced, Isidora entered the Ossary where the combined voices of all the dead joined and mixed with her in a lugubrious chant, referred since to as the "Voice of the Dead".

At some unspecified point after the sealing of the Fourth Visage, the High Wills entrusted Isidora with guarding the Severed Right Eye of the Traitor, which shaped itself into a scythe, giving her control over fire and the ability to fly and teleport.

## Behavior and Tactics

* **Song of the Dead:**: During the entire fight, the game can't be paused, and the Relics/Beads/Prayer menus can't be accessed. If the player tries do so, an in-game message reading "The Song of the Dead cannot be stopped" will show.

* **Fire Pillar:**: Isidora summons fire columns from the ground under Penitent One.
* **Scythe Dash:** Isidora holds her scythe aloft, rears back and slashes 3 times in quick succession across the screen before disappearing in a pillar of flame.
* **Scythe Upper Slash:** Isidora will move under the ground heading for the Penitent one. When close, she will emerge with a flying upper slash from her scythe, followed by 3 Fire Pillars when she reaches peak height.
* **Scythe Spin:** Isidora will fly towards the Penitent One and spin as she moves. She then will teleport away and repeat this attack, finishing with a version of her Scythe Dash.
* **Fireball**: Isidora will teleport to the middle of the room and begin singing, slowly hovering towards the roof. 4 to 6 slowly moving homing fireballs will rise from the censer in the centre of the room and chase the Penitent One for several seconds.
* **Fire Pillar Inferno:** When she is brought under 50% health, Isidora will disappear and send 2 barrages of fire pillars to hit on an alternating pattern across the screen. She then will appear in the middle of the room and levitate towards the ceiling, while two walls of flame pillars close on Penitent One from both sides. The only safe spot for this attack is right under Isidora.
* **Censer Fire Ball:** When Isidora is under 50% health, the censer in the center of the room will continuously produce fireballs at fixed time intervals, so that there are always 2-3 of them on screen.
* **Improved Scythe Upper Slash:** When uder 50% health, Isidora will plunge the tip of her scythe in the ground and dash forwards ending in her flying slash. It is essentially the same move as in her first form, except for the fact that it summons a fire pillar on the point where she starts the dash, and can no longer be dodged by sliding.
* **Fireball Rain**: When under 50% health, Isidora will teleport to a corner of the room, and a barrage of fireballs will fly to her from the censer. After some time, she will start hovering across the room, summoning 5 Fire Pillars together on an area of effect attack.

## Relevant Item Descriptions

An eyeball of solid gold hat adorned the scythe of Isidora, the singer of the dead. Condemned to an eternity of deep-rooted darkness, the melted face of the Traitor was also robbed of his eyes for he had seen too much. The lady of the ossuary was charged to watch over him, and the bones that used to sing with her found a new tomb in the darkest of corners

## Lore

*The children opened the doors of their houses and ran out after her shouting, Isidora! Sing to us, Isidora! But, still dressed in one of her flamboyant stage outfits, Isidora did not sing to them that night.Instead she headed towards the cemetery and stopped before the entrance to the crypt that connects to the Ossuary beneath the old Church of Albero. The intrigued children fell silent behind the iron gates. And it was then that she began to intone verses that no one had ever heard before. After a short while, another distant voice could be heard, accompanying the sad melody from the depths of the crypt, forming a beautiful yet mournful duet. The lady then walked through the stone archway, closing the door behind her. As he voice faded into the distance, more and more voices joined with her, as if a great choir of dozens was awaiting her at he bottom of the steps. When the song came to an end and they heard the final strains rise up from beneath the ground, the children walked away with tears in their eyes, and the cemetery recovered its usual silence. Never again was the singing lady seen, and ever since she has been remembered as Isidora, the Lady of the Ossuary and the voice of the dead.*

## Trivia

* Isidora's dress (white gold-trimmed gown and hood with a blue cape and a golden circular crown) shares several design elements with several carvings and images of the Virgin Mary commonly used in processions.
* Isidora is, to date, the only Boss in the game that will actively block the player from pausing during her fight.