Boxbearer

Boxbearer
The Boxbearer, as shown in the guidebook.
Information
Name	Boxbearer
Gender	Male
Location	Neuro Tower (-700 cubits)
Purifiable?	Yes

"You're going to give me a box? I'm overjoyed! I'll give this to you as a token of my gratitude!"

―the Boxbearer, when given a box.

Description

The Boxbearer is a lanky man who tightly clutches his prized box.

Appearance

The Boxbearer is a distorted man with slicked-back, dark-grey hair and very long arms, legs, fingers and feet.

He wears a ragged, green, short-sleeved shirt and torn, brown shorts, while his arms, legs, feet and chest are wrapped with white bandages. He hangs a noose around his neck and between his ankles, and carries a yellow-and-black, diamond-patterned box with two golden handles.

Game Traits

The Boxbearer can be found in the Neuro Tower at -700 cubits, the same as the Mind Reader (though his appearance on this floor is not always guaranteed). If you give him a box by throwing it at him, he will be overjoyed and give you a different box as thanks.

He can only be purified after his box is broken, the option of which becomes available after being given the Bagged One's Idea Sephirah.

Crystal Readings:

1. Compassion... Separation... an empty box.
2. A sway of delusion... what he wanted and what he couldn't grasp...
3. A girl that had started to distort before his very eyes. Something kept in a box... what was it that he killed?
4. A giant research facility. He seemed to have worked frantically as some sort of technician... to escape something that was haunting his mind.
5. He could not live without clinging onto his delusions. Yet unable to completely become his Baroque, he likely suffered in the gap between delusion and reality...
6. I'm accustomed to Baroques of immortality, but... this must be a Baroque of rebirth. It's not like I haven't come across one before, but... it is an incomplete delusion.
7. A daughter that was transferred through the Consciousness Orb, hmm? Whatever the case, this was something that had already happened.
8. What was inside his box? It's said that disaster and hope were inside Pandora's box... but in this world, there are also empty boxes.

Personality

The Boxbearer is completely obsessed with his box, claiming that he "needs nothing else." He values the safety of this box above his own well-being, and if attacked, he will only scold the player for nearly breaking the box instead of injuring him. He is firmly gripped by a delusion that his daughter is inside the box he clutches. As a result, he is highly protective of it and refuses to let it go.

This belief that his daughter is inside the box seems to be something he is actively convincing himself of, rather than a delusion he is unaware is not real; he will occasionally get lost in thought and comment on his daughter in the past-tense, only to quickly remind himself that his daughter is "here, inside this box!" Despite this, he does seem to believe that his daughter has died, as he constantly searches for ways in which to "unite" or "resurrect" her (or, at least, what he believes remains of her inside the box).

If given his daughter's Idea Sephirah, the Boxbearer will suddenly remember that he attempted to strangle her because he thought they'd be happy if they died together after the Blaze, despite the fact she cried the opposite. However, upon seeing his motionless daughter, he changed his mind and realized he was afraid to die. If his box is broken after this, it is revealed that he has always known that the box was empty, but was deluding himself that she remained in order to give himself a reason to continue living. When forced to come to terms with this reality (through being given her Idea Sephirah), he gives in to his despair and begs to be killed.

Trivia

• It is implied that, prior to the Blaze, the Boxbearer worked as some sort of lab technician for the Order of Malkuth. Aside from this being supported by one of the readings from his crystal, the Boxbearer also has lines of dialogue where he looks at things with a scientific perspective, or seems to know things about the Order of Malkuth. The fact that he no longer wears a uniform like most other active Malkuth members could further imply that he was discharged, or has otherwise left the Order.
  • The Boxbearer will occasionally imply that he "knew what the Archangel was doing", or criticizes the Archangel's choices. Even more curious is the fact that he knows about the cultivation of the Littles. In any case, he seems haunted by the guilt of his inaction.
  • Longneck seems to know who the Boxbearer is. Given that they both regret their inaction against the Archangel, are both former members of the Order of Malkuth, and both know about the cultivation of the Littles, it's possible that they worked together on the project.

• Despite attempting to kill his daughter when she distorted, the Boxbearer doesn't seem to harbor any lingering malice towards her; most of his dialogue mentioning her is spoken in a protective or caring way, and otherwise his lines imply concern over her well-being, or a desire to see her again. It's unclear whether he feels guilt over the event, or if he's sane enough to be aware of the consequences.
• If the player does not immediately kill him when he begs for it (or at least hesitates in doing so), he will have a change of heart and decide to continue living in honor of his daughter, clutching her Idea Sephirah instead of the box. He can still be purified in spite of this.