"Your attempt at a clever deception was cute, to say the least. But I could always tell… just from the way your heart trembled. I simply decided to play along.”
"That look of despair of yours… It's practically adorable. It's a shame that I have to end our little game so soon."
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Aliases: Pillar of Grace
Age: 200+ years
Race: Aanuh Ka'ri
Place of Origin: Neophis
Residence: Unknown
Affiliation: Exceeds, Order of the Archives (formerly)
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Hypbest Ned-Djemet is a High Archon of the Exceeds, the Pillar of Grace. She is one of the three Pillars of the Night, who lead the Exceeds faction.
Hypbest carries herself with an air of refined grace that masks a deeply cunning nature. Her outward demeanor is unfailingly polite and elegant, using proper titles and pleasantries in regular conversation, and she prefers when others are polite with her, even if superficially. Despite her manners, she shows little concern for others and takes pleasure in their suffering. There's often an edge of mockery in her words.
Her keen ability to detect and analyze physiological responses makes her particularly adept at identifying deception and emotional states. Hypbest views deception as a tool reserved solely for herself and her allies. She harbors particular disdain for those who attempt to deceive her, often responding with disproportionate retribution when she catches someone in a lie. This hypocritical stance stems from her belief that only she possesses the sophistication and right to employ such tactics, while viewing others' attempts at deception as personal affronts.
As a High Archon of the Exceeds, she demonstrates unwavering belief in their ideology of Aanuh Ka'ri superiority. Hypbest’s interactions with other races are marked by a distinct air of condescension, treating non-Exceeds as little more than objects for her entertainment and psychological experiments. She takes particular delight in toying with their emotions and expectations.
She has been known to display flashes of genuine cruelty when faced with defeat or perceived humiliation. Her pride and dignity are paramount to her, and any slight against either tends to be met with carefully orchestrated revenge rather than immediate retaliation.
Born in the city of Neophis over two centuries ago, Hypbest was recognized as a highly skilled technician in her early years. Despite her technical prowess, she felt unfulfilled and yearned for a deeper sense of purpose beyond her analytical work. This search for meaning drew her to join the Order of the Archives. As an Archivist, Hypbest excelled in her role and became an adept user of psychostasis. However, she was more devoted to Ar-Ikhet than the ideals of her faction, finding a sense of purpose under his guidance. When he orchestrated the plot to seize control of the Neophite Archives from within, Hypbest immediately joined his cause. His calculated approach and firm belief in their race's inherent superiority resonated with her own feelings of being lost and seeking direction.
Following her exile, Hypbest continued to serve as one of the three Pillars of the Night within the Exceeds hierarchy. Her exceptional skill in manipulation and psychological warfare made her a formidable leader, earning her the title "Pillar of Grace."
Like other Aanuh Ka'ri, Hypbest possesses the fundamental ability to shift her form, allowing her to alter her size and density. However, these abilities are significantly limited when away from Neophis's sophisticated maintenance systems, requiring careful management to preserve her lifespan and capabilities.
Like others of her race, she can manipulate sound waves for both communication and defense, capable of creating barriers, disrupting electronic systems, or inducing temporary paralysis in targets. Her most notable sonic ability is her mastery of psychostasis, which she developed during her time with the Order of the Archives. She can quickly pick up on and analyze the subtle sounds of others' bodies—their breathing patterns, heart rates, and other physiological responses. This allows her to read their emotional states and intentions with remarkable precision, giving her a significant advantage in manipulating and exploiting their vulnerabilities.
Beyond her combat and manipulation abilities, Hypbest is a highly skilled technician and engineer. She was able to somewhat replicate the Neophite technology used to maintain and regulate the Aanuh Ka'ri form for the Exceeds. These portable containment units, though not as perfect and sophisticated as those on Neophis, allowed Exceed members to manage their forms and extend their lifespans while operating away from their homeworld.
As a Marvel-class wielder, Hypbest demonstrates precise control over elemental forces and ethereal construction. Her mastery allows her to create complex ethereal constructs that she uses both offensively and defensively. However, maintaining these constructs requires intense concentration, potentially leaving her vulnerable during their execution. She utilizes crystalline ethereal structures to trap or overwhelm opponents and block direct attacks. However, she can also float above the ground by creating a dome of energy around herself. Like other Marvel-class wielders, maintaining these complex constructs requires intense concentration, which can leave her temporarily vulnerable.