Echidna

This page is about the Witch of Greed Echidna, for the Artificial Spirit, see Echidna (Artificial Spirit).

Echidna (エキドナ) is the Witch of Greed. She is one of the primary characters in the fourth arc of the series. After the Sanctuary was released, she transferred her soul into Ryuzu Meyer and renamed herself as Omega.

Appearance
Echidna has been described with two words - white and black, which express her extraordinarily stark beauty. She has long white hair that's reaching all the way down her back, and barely exposed white, porcelain-like skin. Most of the time she wears a pitch-black dress which is more similar to a dress someone would wear to a funeral, than casual attire, and a black butterfly hairpin (jade green in the anime). She has deep black eyes that shine with inhuman intelligence. Despite her extraordinarily beautiful appearance, Echidna injects overwhelming fear into everyone who is "lucky" enough to meet her, to the point people start vomiting in her presence, although it's worth mentioning Subaru somehow did not receive that side effect, he did however note that she was just as dangerous as the White Whale and the Sin Archbishop of Sloth if not even more. She is often seen smiling and acting very nonchalantly, until the topic shifts to something she's genuinely interested in. Due to her beautiful appearance, she often gives off a maidenly impression.

Personality
Echidna's curiosity toward the unknown and her thirst for knowledge are the two things that define her behavior. She refers to it as love, and currently directs those feelings toward Subaru's Return by Death, which she is interested to the point that she longs to become his advisor to record the many possibilities created from his ability.

Described as being black hearted, she cannot understand the feelings of others, and can be seen as a sociopath by normal standards. If it is to get a hold of more knowledge, she has no problems with employing sophistry, lying, and deceiving others. However, she interacts with ill will only toward three people in the world: Satella, Emilia, and one other person.

History
A long time ago, Echidna worried about everything, thinking of them as children that needed to be protected. She thought it was easy to control a world where things broke apart with the swing of a hand, however she decided to put her efforts into protecting things instead. Despite this, no matter what she tried, she was unable to do anything by herself, making her experience how powerless she was. Although she despaired, she didn't give up, knowing that she could reach her goal if she had more people with common interests. From that point on, she kept persevering, no matter how much she lost or was hurt, all to reach her goal.

During the Witches era, she served as a tutor for Roswaal after saving his life by fixing his defective gate.

According to Echidna, royals of every country came to visit Echidna to borrow her wisdom at some point in the past when she was alive.

Abilities
Authority of Greed (強欲の権能 Gōyoku no Ken'nō): Echidna is able to use the Authority of Greed.

Magic (魔法 Mahō): Echidna is able to use all six elements and is quite skilled in all of them.
 * Goa: Echidna is able to manifest a blaze of fire to incinerate foes.

Trivia

 * According to the author, Echidna's birthday is January 24.
 * Echidna's name refers to 42355 Typhon I Echidna, 42355 Typhon's moon and a companion to a binary asteroid. In Greek mythology, Echidna is a monster who was the mate of Typhon.
 * Before establishing the Sanctuary she used to live on a floating island that she created.
 * Echidna is the only person to have been born a witch.
 * Echidna in her rebirth, has the souls of the five dead Witches in her necklace, as stated in the special chapter.
 * Neither Echidna nor the other Witches seem to be able to use their Authorities outside of the Castle of Dreams however, it is not known if they can use them inside the aforementioned location.

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