Yuri Night

**Yuri Night**, or simply **Yuri**, is a new member of the Syndicate and a suspect in the Crime To End All Crimes.

## Biography

Yuri was born in the Marble Chambers on Island Sequence 15 under the sign of Dire Rose. He despised his parents due to them having no drive or ambition, and couldn't see any future for himself without political power in the Syndicate.

He was an unattractive person inside and out, and thus had no redeeming qualities. However, he unexpectedly transformed into a male beauty overnight during his teen years.

He recently joined the Syndicate and has quickly rose from the ranks using his new found charm and intelligence. He's currently the Secretary to Carmelina and Lydia's Handler.

## Personality

Yuri was born on the 15th Island Sequence, long after Love Dies' exile. He is quick to look down on the investigator, disparagingly calling her a freak at every opportunity. He is arrogant and rude, with little interest in making connections with those he does not deem worthy of his time. Blunt and to the point, he dislikes sarcasm despite dispensing much of it himself.

Yuri is proud to have risen through the ranks at a young age and with a nothing background, describing his parents as 'cowards'. He longs to be perceived as 'strong', rejecting any attributes or behaviours that may make him appear weak in other's eyes. He takes the greatest pride in his promotion to Carmelina's secretary, preening himself for achievements he describes as remarkable.

There is some truth to his hubris, few members of the Syndicate can tout the same background, and fewer still on the Council. The majority of them having formed the original group or ascended through birth right and nepotism. The Council resists change and encourages stagnation, so Yuri's rise would not have come without the hard work and determination he praises himself for, and... of course, a little help from a God would not have hurt. Would Yuri have ever been able to make it as far as he had without Enchanted Blue's blessing? Can Yuri's foul personality and underhand methods really be blamed on himself, or is it a by-product of a system that only allows such players to succeed when the odds are stacked against them? Regardless, he is, in Shinji's words, a 'nasty piece of work'.

He has a tendency to resort to violence when he does not get his way. Logs reveal that after his motion to join the Council was unanimously rejected, he had to be restrained while threatening Monserrat. He was later put under watch. These violent tendencies re-emerge just days before the Crime To End All Crimes after Yuri misplaces his ornate ring that he specially commissioned from K.HX. He publicly chastises one of his assistants, going 'berserk' in the HQ over its disappearance. Whether this was done as an attempted to create an alibi for himself over K.HX's disappearance, or that he worried that it could have been used to trace him back to the scene of his murder, or if this is simply his usual behaviour when he loses something precious is unknown.

## Relationships

**Lady Love Dies:** Despite being born after Lady Love Dies' exile, Yuri immediately holds the investigator in contempt. He views her and her associates as 'the drinking gang', describing them as a 'bunch of drunks and freaks.'

**Crimson Acid:** Yuri has somewhat of a vendetta against Crimson Acid, calling her 'smug' and 'traitorous', questioning why the God's would bless her when she 'peddles secrets and destabilises the Syndicate'. A case of projection, perhaps, or he may worry that she could out him on his own, secret, blessing. During every Island transfer, he purposefully leaves her to last as he knows this antagonises her. He is also quick to accuse her of potentially being involved with the Council murders, urging Love Dies to investigate her despite knowing of their friendship. Their birth signs, Dire Rose and Eternal Moon, were Gods who warred in the Real World, and perhaps it is destiny that this feud would continue through them.

**Lydia Day Break:** Despite acting as her handler, Lydia holds little respect towards Yuri. She is quick to confess her suspicions of him to Love Dies during the investigation, describing him as fake, power-hungry and self-obsessed. She warns Love Dies to be careful of him, perhaps speaking from her own experience or observations.

## *Paradise Killer*

Yuri is one of the suspects Lady Love Dies can question during *Paradise Killer.* He has little interest in talking to the investigator, providing little by way of useful information as the interrogation begins, shrugging her off with hostile and dismissive remarks.

Speaking to Lydia, Love Dies can gain some insight into Yuri's character. She reveals her fears that Yuri has been potentially deceived by a God, Enchanted Blue. Enchanted Blue is known for blessing her followers with physical perfection, and multiple Syndicate members note that Yuri's appearance changed 'drastically' as if overnight, becoming muscled and toned and suddenly speaking with eloquence and charm. Yuri has also developed a fixation with retrieving Enchanted Blue's corpse from the Sahara caverns in the real world, petitioning the Council to retrieve her. The mission would be nigh suicide as Enchanted Blue is protected by elite custodians, something Monserrat acknowledged. Lydia believes that Yuri's motive to joining the council, and perhaps instigating their slaughter, is not just an act of megalomania but one in service to the god deceiving him. Such a crime is an exile-able offence.

## Trivia

* The statue splashed across Yuri's dialogue background may be Narcissus, a beautiful hunter who rejected all romantic advances, ultimately falling in love with his reflection in the pool of water he would later drown in. After his death, a flower sprouted in his place. This may lend to Yuri's flower theming.
* Yuri's name may be a reference to Yuri's Night, an international festival to commemorate milestones in space exploration, named after the first human launched into space, Yuri Gagarin. Yuri, after all, goes through space in order to bypass the Second Seal.

## Gallery

Yuri Sprite - ShockedYuri Sprite - HappyYuri Sprite - BreakdownYuri Sprite - AngryYuri Sprite - NeutralYuri Sprite - SmugYuri Sprite - ShockedYuri - Dialogue Background