Nihil

“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”

The following article/section contains spoilers.

The Glassmaker
Information
Voice Actor(s)	Ryan Laughton
Quotes	Nihil/Quotes

See, in the old days, crime and punishment was all in the hands of those Orokin judges, the Seven. Mercy was a quick flash of the Jade light... But - if they wanted to make an example, they'd suck up your soul and make you a prisoner of the glass, forever.

Seems like magic to us nowadays, but dreamers... someone's got it puzzled out again. Waves are buzzing, new glass is showing up. Souls getting snapped up and trapped up. All we've got to go on is this crime-simula I pulled from the weave. No sign of our killer and not a soul to tell us where they went...

—Nora Night on the Glassmaker

Nihil is a mysterious serial killer also known as the Glassmaker, a former Orokin judge who is responsible for "glassing" people throughout the Origin System. He is believed to be the creator of the Cephalons. He was introduced during Nightwave: Series 3 - The Glassmaker.

Lore

Dreamer, I think I know who the Glassmaker is... or... who he was... Nihil. Every Ceph you ever met was once a person, before they met him. He made them all. For them. For the Orokin. As a punishment that would never end.

—Nora Night

Nihil was the creator of the Cephalons: former humans who violated Orokin law, and were thus punished by being transformed into immortal, digital intelligences after their respective executions. These Cephalons were stripped of their past memories as living beings and were reprogrammed to serve the Orokin in various tasks.

The Glassmaker resurfaced and brought attention to himself after glassing Shigg, an Ostron who attempted to illegally black market material from the Tower of Unum. His next victim was Bak Vondu, a "selfless" Corpus who attempted a solo gig but accidentally unleashed the Glassmaker in the process. The third known victim was Gral, a Grineer defector who was "chaotic" to Grineer "order". All of the victims shared a pattern: they rebelled against their way of living.

The Tenno work with Nora Night and investigate the Crime-simula she pulled from the Cephalon Weave to investigate the source of the glassing. As they uncover evidence related to the victims, the Tenno enters Nihil's Weave and hear his voice, who explains his motivations for committing the murders.

Quotes

Series 3: Episode 1: The Glassmaker Emerges

• "Oh. I'm so glad you're here. Was old Shigg a mutual acquaintance? How well did you know him, really?"
• "Fine. You talk to daffy old Shigg. If you favor the opinions of the low."
• "Of criminals. The depraved."
• "Do you know what he did, old Shigg? Set out a selfish play against his clade. Willing and able to draw blood for it, too."
• "A foul necrocapitalist, a clear violator of the 401st and 623rd legem!"
• "To your association I am now witness."

Series 3: Episode 2: Corpus Crystal

• "Oh dear. We meet again. I really am in the middle of something."
• "I find chaos... unsettling."
• "Corpus dogma demands self-interest. Their culture is ordered by it. Vondu here was... was selfless."
• "Look at the chaos that spewed from that. Broken laws, black marketeering, a broken-hearted mother and a collapsed family empire."
• "Everyone is guilty of the good they did not do - if one only looks."
• "And I see everything. What to do. What to do..."

Series 3: Episode 3: Sea Glass

• "Rarely does one encounter a lamb so eager to know the mouth of the lion. But, since you're here..."
• "There is order, and there is chaos."
• "I am order. He was chaos."
• "His insubordination, thoughts... guilt... feelings... chaos to Grineer order."
• "Your persistence is disruptive to my efforts to order. Therefore you are...?"
• "You are an infection. Chaos infects, as Gral was infected, and spreads. A lack of vigilance is the vector. Oh, we lose vigilance if not reminded. This Grineer? Now? Is an eternal reminder, has become an agent of order and so... is redeemed. You, yourself, are not beyond redemption."

Series 3: Episode 4: Iced Vallis

• "You want to know why I'm doing this. Your friend - Nora - wants to know. Naughty little Nora. Afraid I would find her all alone and put her in a bottle. Yes. Cutter (Character) and his friends have been quite helpful in opening my eyes and ears to the modern System."
• "Why oppose me? We both prize Justice, defend it. What justice do you imagine enacting if I have to put you in a bottle? "
• "Do you know mercy, Tenno? I almost spared Cutter. He was a traitor, but to betray one must belong. Cutter never did. He was a nation of one, and to that he was truly loyal."
• "But traitor he was and for all his proud words he begged at the end. And I... killed him, I suppose. Killed what he was. But you kill, too, constantly. Doesn't put you in much of a position to judge."
• "I have all that I need. Order will no longer be upheld one miscreant at a time. I am amplified. Soon I shall be everywhere and with it... order."
• "What a fine example each and every Tenno shall make, you killers of foes, friends and family. And naughty Nora. Her role won't change terribly much, but her agenda... very different. a voice of truth and order, sermonizing tirelessly, forever. Fully aware of what she has become. Goodbye, Tenno. Our next meeting will be our last."

Trivia

• Nihil is voiced by Ryan Laughton who also voiced Boon.