Kortifex The Deathless or simply Kortifex, is a character from the Call of Duty Franchise, mentioned in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, but made an official appearance in Call of Duty: Vanguard. He serves as one of the main antagonists, alongside Wolfram Von List, for the zombie mode.
History[]
Dark Aether & Netherwars[]
Kortifex & Saraxis married
Kortifex was born within the Dark Aether, where he grew into one of its most powerful deities, born of a royal bloodline, like his bride Saraxis. Kortifex followed in his parents' footsteps, killing them as a result of clan tradition and opposed that his wife ever bear him an heir. Despite this, Saraxis did so and Kortifex responded with cruelty, forcing her to wear the mask of the Sisters of Agony and even wiping her memories and bestowing an unknown fate on their child. Following the arrival of several items into the Dark Aether, the others including Kortifex himself learned about other universes, particularly that of Earth. Kortifex found interest in the mortals inhabiting Earth and so, crafted an artifact for himself, that of a scepter. The scepter itself landed in Egypt, where he was mistaken for Osiris by the Egyptians and bonded himself to a black hearted and cruel pharaoh.
With the aid of his then-General Norticus, Kortifex started the Netherwars as a way to take command of the entirety of the Dark Aether. While he was initially successful in his campaign, several other deities including Saraxis, Bellekar, Inviktor and Vercanna, revolted against him and formed a resistance, leading them to win against the Night Legions. Angered, Kortifex trapped the Decimator within his own shield and was eventually deposed when the war turned against his favor and even betrayed by Norticus. The final defeat came when he was trapped in his own artifact, however at the cost of the other deities being trapped within their own artifacts as well.
A New Chapter of Warfare[]
Kortifex's artifact remained untouched for the next several thousand years, as was those of his adversaries. This all changed when the Schutzstaffel discovered his artifact in Egypt and it was acquired by Oberführer Wolfram Von List of Die Wahrheit. Through the work of Ulrich Vogel at Projekt Endstation and being able to penetrate the dimensional membrane, all of the artifacts activated, resulting in Kortifex to bond with Von List. Once Von List was bonded to Kortifex, it allowed him to raise an army of the dead to fight for the failing Third Reich. The army was initially raised in Stalingrad, but would also be raised in other areas too, including Paris, Normandy and Shi No Numa. Gabriel Krafft, a former demonologist forced into working for Von List, managed to reach out to allied forces and informed them of the situation. They arrived in Stalingrad, where Kortifex placed a containment spell to keep the allies in the area, forcing them to fight with Von List's forces. With the aid of Bellekar and her transmissions into the Dark Aether however, one of them made it to Vercanna. The Goddess then summoned a portal, overriding Kortifex's spell, allowing the allies to enter into the ruins of a temple in Egypt.
Egypt & The Lost Tome Page[]
Following his defeat in Stalingrad, Kortifex would continue his fight with Krafft and his allies in Egypt. As a result, he dispatched Zaballa to take on the operatives, but Vercanna and the allies were able to create a beachhead in the Dark Aether via the corrupted lands. At the same time, breaking a void spell to obtain the last pages of the Tome of Rituals, particularly those to separate Von List and Kortifex.
Shi No Numa[]
With another failure, Kortifex continued his fight against special forces at Shi No Numa, where they successfully obtained the Relic Mirror in order to restore the memories of his ex-wife. He also conversed with Von List, explaining he "allowed" for the special forces to obtain the tome page and Zaballa inquired as to why he didn't take the construct yet. Kortifex answered with venom, exclaiming that everything was going according to his plan and she should never question it. As such, she asked for forgiveness, which he coldly denied and she continued her duties.
Becoming The Archon & Defeat[]
In the Eastern desert, Die Wahrheit consolidated its forces and Kortifex separated the Pack-A-Punch machine to hinder the progress of his foes, leading to the deaths of all of the organization's men. With Von List as the only survivor however, he became angered at the deaths of his men and wished he never bonded with the god. Special forces then arrived in the desert and restored the device and used the Relic Mirror to successfully separate Von List from Kortifex. With himself free, Kortifex continued with his plans and attempted to seize power of the construct, with Von List "never mattering" to him. Kortifex then traveled to the Dark Aether, where he petitioned the construct to become its Archon, but not before special forces arrived.
Special forces then abide by the rules of the construct, completing 3 trials, those being that of sacrifice, mindfulness and resilience. Despite their success, the construct made up its mind, making Kortifex its Archon. A battle ensued, leading the special forces to emerge victorious and Kortifex both stripped of his power and his corpse claimed by the bottomless depths of the home he once resided.
Characteristics[]
Physical Appearance[]
Kortifex is a male Dark Aether entity, who despite him hovering over the ground, is somewhat taller than that of a human. He is rather demonic looking, possessing 3 red eyes in his head, as well as possessing a skeletal-like face, which is covered over with golden ornamentation. He wears a long tunic, which goes from his waist past his legs, though it's unknown if he has any legs at all. He wears no top, aside from a strip of cloth that drapes over his chest. This cloth is also the same color as his tunic, which is dark. He possesses 2 sets of arms and hands, one of which is smaller than the other. The smaller ones are directly beneath his main arms, connected to his torso and abdomen, but both his fingers possess dark claws. Some pieces of his skin, particularly his arms and chest are shown to glow the same color of red as his eyes.
Personality & Traits[]
Kortifex is a spiteful, merciless and cruel being, to both his enemies and his allies. He desires the complete and total subjugation of both the Earth and his home of the Dark Aether, as a means of revenge against those who deposed him.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Dark Aether Elder God Physiology: Born as an being of the Dark Aether, Kortifex possesses a variety of abilities attributed to those of his realm. Though, most of his kin possess many abilities he does as well, Kortifex also possesses powers that his kin simply do not possess. He is considered in his world to be one of the most powerful of his kin as well.
- Immortality: As a being of the Dark Aether, Kortifex is essentially immortal, since time moves faster within his realm, compared to that of Earth. He is incapable of dying or even aging, as well as immune to disease.
- Flight: When introduced, Kortifex possessed the ability to hover in the air, as opposed to walking. It's unknown as to if this ability is limited to his movement closer to the ground, or if he is indeed capable of ascending into the sky without issue.
- Teleportation: Kortifex is capable of generating portals to and from the Dark Aether, giving him the ability to move quickly throughout both dimensions. He can teleport both himself and those he dubs "Revenants" to and from locations.
- Resurrection: Kortifex possesses the ability to resurrect those who are long since dead, as well as control them, so they do not attack his allies or host.
- Artifact Symbiosis: When a mortal takes up his artifact, Kortifex is capable of bonding with said individual. This gives them the ability to come into the mortal world, as well as bestowing his own abilities to his host.
- Magic: Kortifex possesses a knowledge in various forms of magic, including containment spells.
Abilities[]
Weaknesses[]
- Eyes: Kortifex possesses 3 eyes on his head. Upon becoming the Archon, his eyes become his only vulnerable spot and are only vulnerable when glowing.
- Artifact: Following his first loss in the Netherwars, Kortifex was trapped within his own artifact, as was his enemies in their own. This was remedied however, following him being separated from Von List by the Relic Mirror.
Trivia[]
- Kortifex was worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians. As to what god he was known as however, is unknown.