ONA
Description
Idia Shroud is a third-year student at Night Raven College and serves as the housewarden of the Ignihyde dormitory. He is the elder brother of Ortho Shroud and the heir to the prestigious Shroud family, which governs the isolated Island of Woe and is connected to the research organization S.T.Y.X.. His family carries an ancient curse that incinerates accumulated blot but will consume the user's own magical energy if no blot is present, forcing them to remain in proximity to it for survival.
Idia's past is defined by a profound tragedy. As a child, he was a promising prodigy whose only close companion was his younger brother, Ortho. The two dreamed of going on adventures inspired by the video games they played together. In an attempt to have a real adventure before Idia was to assume his family duties, they attempted to leave the Island of Woe. Idia used his abilities to shut down the security system, unaware that this would also disable the controls keeping overblot phantoms contained. During the chaos of an attack by a freed phantom, the original Ortho was killed. Consumed by grief and guilt, Idia spent two years mourning before using his genius-level engineering skills to create a robotic recreation of his brother, programming it with Ortho's memories and personality.
In terms of personality, Idia is reclusive, gloomy, and deeply avoids socialization, preferring to shut himself in his dorm room at all times. He often communicates through a tablet or takes classes remotely to prevent face-to-face interaction. When forced into social situations, he can become anxious, stutter, and assumes others are mocking him. Despite this, he becomes unusually talkative, enthusiastic, and prideful when discussing his hobbies, which include video games, engineering, and anime. He frequently uses internet slang and video game metaphors in his speech, and his long, blue-flamed hair can turn red when he becomes excited or agitated. He is a member of the Board Games Club.
Idia's primary motivation stems from a desire to stay within his controlled, technological comfort zone and avoid the pain of the outside world. He is deeply reliant on Ortho, not only for companionship but as a proxy for social interaction, often sending his brother to handle tasks that require leaving his room. His role in the story is initially that of a distant, eccentric genius, but he becomes central when he returns to the Island of Woe to act as the acting captain of S.T.Y.X. and when the past he has tried to bury is forced to the surface. A key part of his development involves confronting the truth about the original Ortho's death and the nature of the robotic brother he created, ultimately finding closure and releasing the new Ortho from the role of a replacement, allowing him to become his own person while still choosing to remain brothers.
Key relationships define much of his character. The bond with Ortho Shroud is the most significant; Ortho is upbeat, curious, and protective of Idia, trying to coax him out of his shell, while Idia depends on him heavily and creates all of his gears and bodies. Idia has a strained relationship with Riddle Rosehearts, finding the Heartslabyul housewarden's strictness and active leadership to be annoying. He actively fears the extroverted nature of his classmate Cater Diamond, who nevertheless tries to get Idia to engage with the world. He is also suspicious of Trey Clover, placing him on a list of people to avoid. Ironically, he is online gaming friends with someone he knows as Muscle Red, unaware of their true identity.
Idia possesses several notable abilities. His unique magic is called Gate to the Underworld, which allows him to open and close the gate to the underworld, specifically the facility that contains overblot phantoms at S.T.Y.X. headquarters. He is also a technological and engineering genius, capable of creating highly advanced artificial intelligence and robotic bodies, demonstrated most profoundly in the construction of his brother Ortho and his various gears. He is also a highly skilled gamer and programmer.
Idia's past is defined by a profound tragedy. As a child, he was a promising prodigy whose only close companion was his younger brother, Ortho. The two dreamed of going on adventures inspired by the video games they played together. In an attempt to have a real adventure before Idia was to assume his family duties, they attempted to leave the Island of Woe. Idia used his abilities to shut down the security system, unaware that this would also disable the controls keeping overblot phantoms contained. During the chaos of an attack by a freed phantom, the original Ortho was killed. Consumed by grief and guilt, Idia spent two years mourning before using his genius-level engineering skills to create a robotic recreation of his brother, programming it with Ortho's memories and personality.
In terms of personality, Idia is reclusive, gloomy, and deeply avoids socialization, preferring to shut himself in his dorm room at all times. He often communicates through a tablet or takes classes remotely to prevent face-to-face interaction. When forced into social situations, he can become anxious, stutter, and assumes others are mocking him. Despite this, he becomes unusually talkative, enthusiastic, and prideful when discussing his hobbies, which include video games, engineering, and anime. He frequently uses internet slang and video game metaphors in his speech, and his long, blue-flamed hair can turn red when he becomes excited or agitated. He is a member of the Board Games Club.
Idia's primary motivation stems from a desire to stay within his controlled, technological comfort zone and avoid the pain of the outside world. He is deeply reliant on Ortho, not only for companionship but as a proxy for social interaction, often sending his brother to handle tasks that require leaving his room. His role in the story is initially that of a distant, eccentric genius, but he becomes central when he returns to the Island of Woe to act as the acting captain of S.T.Y.X. and when the past he has tried to bury is forced to the surface. A key part of his development involves confronting the truth about the original Ortho's death and the nature of the robotic brother he created, ultimately finding closure and releasing the new Ortho from the role of a replacement, allowing him to become his own person while still choosing to remain brothers.
Key relationships define much of his character. The bond with Ortho Shroud is the most significant; Ortho is upbeat, curious, and protective of Idia, trying to coax him out of his shell, while Idia depends on him heavily and creates all of his gears and bodies. Idia has a strained relationship with Riddle Rosehearts, finding the Heartslabyul housewarden's strictness and active leadership to be annoying. He actively fears the extroverted nature of his classmate Cater Diamond, who nevertheless tries to get Idia to engage with the world. He is also suspicious of Trey Clover, placing him on a list of people to avoid. Ironically, he is online gaming friends with someone he knows as Muscle Red, unaware of their true identity.
Idia possesses several notable abilities. His unique magic is called Gate to the Underworld, which allows him to open and close the gate to the underworld, specifically the facility that contains overblot phantoms at S.T.Y.X. headquarters. He is also a technological and engineering genius, capable of creating highly advanced artificial intelligence and robotic bodies, demonstrated most profoundly in the construction of his brother Ortho and his various gears. He is also a highly skilled gamer and programmer.