Kein

**Kein** is the patient the player is responsible for treating in the game, affected by a mysterious curse which the player desperately tries to slow down while brewing a cure for it.

## Personality

**Kein** happens to be an optimistic and gentle person, reassuring the player and encouraging them to continue their research. As the player interacts with **Kein**, they may also receive hints about their condition and what they are required to do accordingly. They also comment on wishing to help the Doctor gather supplies despite their frail body. However, as the curse begins to take over (or "devour their body" as the game suggests), their personality is affected as well. **Kein** becomes more passive-aggressive and bitter about their situation. Sometimes they ask the player why they bothered talking to **Kein** "now", or even blaming the player for their predicament. They express a fear for their life, eventually coming to the understanding that their curse appears to be incurable.

As various dialogue options imply, **Kein** also feels that their curse is a product of divine origin, claiming at one point that they should "burn the sin away" in the fireplace. This could hint to a deeper fear than just the curse itself, but also a demonic threat.

## Appearance

**Kein** appears to be a young adult, and is described as fairly tall. When they fully stand up, their head almost reaches the ceiling. They have shoulder-length black hair with green/blue highlights depending on the lighting that often covers the left side of their face. Their eyes are a light reddish color, although one is usually covered by their hair. They wear a simple white collared shirt with brown shorts, leggings, and slippers. In promotional material, they are also depicted with a purple coat slung over their shoulder (although they have yet to be seen wearing the coat in-game).

As the curse begins to overtake them, their appearance deteriorates and becomes increasingly more disheveled. Patches of dark spots and strange growths appear on their skin, which develops a sickly pallor. Although they sleep more often, prominent eye bags appear underneath their eyes. They always look tired and eventually, towards the end, their irises disappear (or become pinpoint; unclear due to the locks of hair falling over eyes), leaving only white sclera. **Kein** will also have a strange black liquid dripping from their mouth; it is unknown if this substance is blood or a side effect of the curse.

## Dialogue

The player may come across the following dialogue options when talking to **Kein**.

### Curse (Early Stages)

*"Hey, Doc, I hope you're doing okay today! Anything on your mind?"*

*"That's good to know. Thanks!"*

*"You're doing great. Don't rush things."*

*"I truly believe we can make it through. Thanks, Doc."*

*"I'm doing okay, the medicine really helped."*

*"I'm feeling much better already."*

*"Thanks for the medicine. It's really. . .potent."*

*"Thanks for the treatment. Seemed like it worked well. . ."*

*"I'm trying my best, but the medicine doesn't seem to be doing anything this time."*

*"Feels like we've run out of supplies, huh..."*

*"Thanks for checking in on me, I really do appreciate it."*

*"Ah! Sorry, I was drifting off..."*

*"I'm glad you're taking the time to talk to me."*

*"I wish I could help with the supplies, I know we ran out..."*

*"I'm worried we might not eat tonight. . ."*

*"We're almost out. Please tell me you have a plan. . ."*

*"There's few things left in storage..."*

*"It's been a while since the last dose, has it not?"*

*"So you bother talking to me now, huh? S-Sorry for that..."*

*"Hey, Doc. Here's hoping you'll figure this all out soon..."*

*"Have we run out of firewood? That's not good..."*

*"Something's. . . itching inside. Hard to explain."*

*"Seems like we've made a small bird friend."*

*"I'm thankful you haven't forgotten about me yet, Doc."*

*"It's. . . we're not going to starve, are we?"*

*"We're running out of supplies."*

*"I feel like we're running awfully low on supplies. Might be worth looking into."*

*"Phew, thought I did something wrong for a second."*

### Curse (Midway)

*"I'm feeling cold. . ."*

*"Just like. . . I need a moment, okay?"*

*"I'm starting to lose hope. . ."*

*"Please. . . promise me I won't die."*

*"Don't give up on me. . ."*

*"I'm. . . just happy to not be alone."*

*"It hurts, Doc. I don't want to leave yet. . ."*

*"Th-thanks for talking to me still. I appreciate it."*

*"Just going to get worse from here, huh. . ."*

*"I barely feel like myself anymore. . ."*

*"You'll. . . find a cure, right?"*

### Curse (Final Stages)

*"You're going to die."*

*"You can't stop this. It's too late."*

*"You're a worthless doctor."*

*"We're just delaying the inevitable. Why bother?"*

*"Turns out I'm still the patient and you're still the doctor. Shocker."*

*". . ."*

*"This will be our resting place."*

*"Nice to see you're still talking to your patient."*

*"This. . . is all your fault."*

*"You did this to me."*

### Curse (Final Stages, Fireplace Active)

*"Join me. . . In the light. . ."*

*"Flame. . . Warmth. . ."*

*"Burn the sin away. . ."*

*"The flame. . ."*

*"I can see it clearly now. . ."*

### When **Kein** is Asleep

*You: "Sleeping. . . That'd be a fruitless endeavor."*

*You: "They're fast asleep. I'd better not disturb them."*

*You: "They're fast asleep. I don't want to wake them up."*

*You: "They deserve a little rest after what they've been through."*

### When **Kein** is Injured

*"Sorry to be a bother, but. . . the wound."*

*"Urgh. . . this wound still hurts like hell."*

*"Could you do something about the pain?"*

## Trivia

* Although it is unclear what gender **Kein** identifies with, they are considered non-binary
	+ The colors of their clothing as an adult (yellow, white, purple, and black) make up the colors of the non-binary pride flag!
* The name **Kein** is derived from the Hebrew name "Kain" and the Nordic "ein", meaning "alone"
	+ Other potential names during development were Salvia, Jian, Chea (all variations of "healthy"), Juno, Kanoa, Liron (all variations on "freedom"), Jelle ("sacrifice"), Sayn ("sane", "sanity"), Mos ("soft"), Bian ("secret"), Anan ("fourth born child"), Enu ("fifth born child"), Tam ("innocent")
* As **Kein** is currently the only speaking character in Endless Mode, they have the most voice lines; second place is the Doctor themselves, as they make comments when **Kein** is asleep