Judge Holden
| “ | Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent. | „ |
| ~ Judge Holden expressing his desire to know and control all things in existence. |
Judge Holden, commonly known as The Judge, is an enigmatic demonic being who battles and tests Cain both spiritually and psychologically.
Overview[]
Judge Holden is a humanoid entity that first appears during the American Frontier. He joins a scalper gang in order to 'help them', only for it to be revealed he is a deranged sadist, serial killer and child molester with supernatural qualities who enjoys causing as much suffering as he can. He was involved in countless crimes on the Wild West, including mass slaughtering of people, robbery, and scalp hunting.
All of it was to draw out one individual; Cain. He would come to haunt Cain throughout most of his wanderings across the Earth. Judge Holden reveals that he has been searching for Cain ever since the world rose from the waters, implying that he was present either during or after the Flood Age. Holden is theorized to be a demon by most due to his almost monstrous appearance and hatred of religion, which is shown when he manages to convince a peaceful town to brutalize their local preacher for no reason. His activities and otherworldly behavior has even gone so far as to garner him a cult following, such as the Skinner Brothers or admirers of his work like Murfree Brood.
Another is that Holden is an amalgamation of all the sinful deeds committed by Cain which accumulated throughout the years by his descendants, implying that he could be the embodiment of humanity's darkness and the worst aspects. This theory could likely be true since he holds some form of enigmatic power over the people around him, as everybody wishes to shoot him but somehow find themselves compelled to not do so. Nonetheless, he was an incredibly deadly opponent for Cain, representing the darkness he unleashed upon the world from Abel's murder, and would follow him for the rest of his days all while Cain would vainly fight him off. Holden's goals for Cain were unknown but during their many battles, he wanted Cain to surrender to his vices and fears which would fuel the mark and have him "murder the world" so that Holden could eternally bathe in the carnage.
Appearance[]
The Judge is a man of strange appearance. He has an enormous frame, being both immensely muscular and close to 7 feet in height. His skin is extremely pale, to the point of being described as fluorescent and purely white in coloration; his lack of pigmentation is possibly the result of albinism, as exposure to direct sunlight is painful to him, as evidenced by how desperate he was to purchase a hat from Toadvine to protect himself from the harsh sunlight of the desert.
He lacks any hair, including his head, facial hair, and body hair, raising the possibility that he suffers from an autoimmune disorder such as alopecia universalis. In contrast to his apparent age and strong features, the Judge has a strangely childlike element to his appearance, having hands and feet that are small in proportion to the rest of his body and possessing a childish aspect to his face. The Judge is often partially or entirely nude, but (when clothed) will tend to wear clothing typical of his era, such as long coats, linen shirts, boots, and wide-brimmed hats. Often, the Judge can be seen smoking a cigarillo.
Personality[]
Judge Holden acts like an affable, kind and polite gentleman with impeccable manners who will bow to criminals and gentlemen alike. This is just a very well crafted façade, In reality Judge Holden is an extremely sadistic, ruthless, callous, monstrous, depraved, and remorseless psychopath, but also an extremely intelligent and knowledgeable individual. He often teaches lessons about the world to his fellow mercenaries and philosophizes with them. He is perfectly willing to murder or rape people in the most brutal ways imaginable if they are his enemies.
The Judge is perennially calm and rarely loses his cool, however, such a facade breaks whenever he confronts Cain. He enters a state of manic sensory euphoria at the rush of sensations. All sensations, but in particular, extreme ones such as pain, brought an ecstatic rush - serving to make him even more aggressive and unafraid of fighting than before, relentlessly seeking to pummel Cain during this fight, craving the sensation of both delivering and receiving blows.
Judge Holden is an immensely cruel and vile being, demonstrating his penchant for sadism on multiple occasions, such as buying two puppies just so he could toss them off a bridge to drown in a river (before the two puppies were shot and killed by the Vandiemenlander). The Judge is also known to be an abusive pervert given his additional status as a murderous child molester who habitually lures children into his clutches with sweets. A child goes missing in nearly every town that he visits, and he is, on several occasions, seen with a naked child in his room.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Judge is extraordinarily strong and durable, with his most prominent showings are his battles with Cain who is incredibly powerful in his own right. He can hold a heavy howitzer under one arm, break an arm with ease, and crush a man's head with one hand with such force that it explodes. He could also wrestle Cain for hours, and their struggles were said to have "shook the very earth" beneath them to where Cain believed that had the fight continued they would've leveled the town.
Holden also has incredible stamina, being capable of walking vast stretches of desert without ill effect. Moreover, given his commentary, Holden was searching for Cain for many an age and likely has not rested since then. He could fight Cain for long durations of time and seemingly not get tired. His large size betrays his capacity for stealth, and he often appears and disappears like a phantom without anyone noticing. It is these traits that suggest the judge is not, in fact, human but a demon of some sort.
The Judge has a power that allows him to empower himself from humanity's dark urges and vices similarly to Sin. This may explain as to why people seem to succumb to their primal urges with mere voice commands. This is further entailed when the Judge told Cain that the more he fights and kills him "the more of you I take." The Judge is an appointed judge of law and enjoys all the privileges that come with such a position, including the ability to negotiate for the pardoning of criminals. While his jurisdiction is not known, he can cite the words of the law from several jurisdictions from memory. He is a genius polymath with an exceptional level of intelligence and has extensive knowledge of many branches of science, including geology, botany, history, chemistry, and archaeology, and also can draw lifelike portraits of objects.