Nick Cullen

**Nick Cullen** is a recurring character in the World of the Exceed. He is a Dhampir that was born in Transylpyria but was exiled for having mastered his supernatural gift of being able to create the illusion of pain.

## Appearance

Nick Cullen is a seventeen-year-old boy with long dark brown hair. His right eye is of a golden color, and his left has been drained of color and has a scar over it. He also has a long scar on his right cheek, and silver bands of protection on his ears. He wears a long knee-length black milford coat with nothing underneath and a pair of black gloves.

## Personality

Nick is a very cold person, even to his friends, and he usually shows no empathy for what happens to others. He is also very self-centered and narcissistic, believing that he is above everyone else. The reason for this is because he sold his soul to Satan in exchange for being the most skilled at his supernatural talent. Additionally, he is apathetic, and has a cold outlook on the world and believes life to be a prison.

## Relationships

Vladimir Gladkov - Nick and Vlad first start off in bad blood, as enemies, fighting against each other. Nick didn't like humans and insults Vlad, and Vlad in turn insults his home nation of Transylpyria. However, after fighting the Dhampirs and deciding to put their differences aside, Vlad and Nick become allies. Yet they never became friends.

Matsuri Misaka - Nick was indifferent towards Matsuri after fighting, and he didn't really care about what she did or what happened to her. However, after working together and seeing how they both had an extraordinary battle dynamic, he befriended her. She tried to get him to befriend Vlad, and he tried, once, but it didn't work. Still, he and Matsuri had a unique friendship.

## Powers and Abilities

Nick's power is the illusion of pain, meaning he can cause someone to believe they are experiencing excruciating pain when nothing physical is being done to their bodies. This is most shown when he is fighting against Vlad and mentally causes him pain, but no marks of pain could be seen. However, the downside to this is that Nick has to actually see his enemy, and cannot use the illusion when they are out of sight.

He also possesses normal Dhampir powers, such as enhanced speed, strength, and senses such as eyesight and smell. His body or other attributes like hair and fingernails can't grow, and limbs can be reattached. Although indestructible and immortal, he does have the ability to scar on his skin, and even though Dhampirs do not have blood he explains that the Dhampir Hunter used a special blade that burned his flesh, turning it slightly red.

## History

### Early Life

Nick Cullen was born with his sister, Rose, in America with his parents. He lived happily, until one day, he heard someone breaking into his home. He got up to check out what it was, and tiptoed as not to wake up his family. As he neared the door, he saw two men on the other side, large men, and they kicked open the door. They saw Nick with smiles on their faces and lunged for him, but he was too quick and snuck out of the coming grasp.

He hurried upstairs towards his room, finding his best hiding place in a hidden toy chest where no one could ever find him when he played hide and seek. The men didn't bother to follow him, and instead went to his parents' bedroom, and Nick heard their screams as their throats were slashed. He kept on hiding, and he heard the men approach upstairs. But they skipped his room, and went to Rose's instead.

He heard Rose scream as well, but he could tell they didn't kill her. He didn't know who they were or what they were, and eventually they stepped into his room. He could hear one of them let out a loud sniff, and step towards his toy chest. He opened it, and Nick saw large fangs as they lunged for his neck. After that, he said he couldn't remember anything. And the next day, he woke up in Translypyria.

He was given a foster home with loving parents and wasn't separated from his sister. Just like all the other Dhampir children, he was sent to school and learned the ways of the Dhampir. He was still young, and it was embedded in him to never question what happened that night he was turned. Never to question about what was done to his parents, or what he was supposed to one day do. And so, all he had were ambitions to become the best out of everyone, and he worked hard to hone his supernatural talent of setting the illusion of pain among others once he found out he had them.

Time passed, and Nick was exceptional, but he still wasn't the best. He wasn't satisfied. Others were better than him, beating him in duels, and even laughing at how weak he was. Nick's anger and weakness led Lucifer to him. One night, while Nick was practicing, Lucifer came to him and told him that in exchange for his soul, he would become the best and most powerful. Nick agreed to this.

Over the next months, Nick was powerful. He beat everyone in his class, almost went close to killing some of them. However, he had lost his character. His sister and parents, his friends, they all noticed he was different. He didn't have the friendly charm he did before, and he seemed to not care about what happened to them. He beat them ruthlessly in duels.

Eventually, the Cold Ones caught wind of Nick. First, they visited him and tried to get him to join their military. But he refused, and said that he wasn't interested in that. Second, they had to get rid of him. They soon realized he was too powerful after he beat one of their best guards in a duel, and they exiled him. They threatened that if he ever dared to come back he would be killed on the spot.

So, Nick fled. He didn't know where, so he spent the next fifty years moving from place to place, never making any worthwhile friends, and never finding a permanent place to stay. Sometime along the road he was attacked by a Dhampir hunter, and that was where he got his blinded eye and scars. So he went even more on the run. Until he came across River City. It was something about this place, that made him think it was worth staying in for a while. Maybe he could have a fresh start.