Heathcliff/Story

Overview

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"Wait!"

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Background

Orphaned from a young age, Heathcliff was found in the District 20 Backstreets by a Nest dweller, Mr. Earnshaw, and brought to his manor at Wuthering Heights. Here, Heathcliff was raised alongside the Earnshaw children, Hindley and Catherine.

All throughout his youth, Heathcliff was constantly tormented by Hindley, who envied the favor Heathcliff had gained with his father, and who disliked Heathcliff's closeness with his sister. When Heathcliff and Catherine were in their early teen years, following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley became the owner of Wuthering Heights, and decided to further worsen Heathcliff's condition by beginning to treat him as a servant, often beating him, starving him, and refusing him entry in the house, forcing him to sleep in the barn. In such occasions, the only person who would defy Hindley's orders would be Catherine, who would run outside to let him in. Hindley also requested Nelly, the Butler tasked with the two children's care, to neglect Heathcliff's; several interactions throughout Limbus Company imply Heathcliff's education was brusquely interrupted in his youth, presumably at this point.

Through the years, despite Hindley's efforts to separate them, Heathcliff and Catherine's affection for each other remained strong, with their time together being the only memories of Wuthering Heights he would always treasure. Heathcliff endured the abuse received from Hindley and the rest of the household, which would result in him growing to be quite a violent person as well, as remarked by Nelly; despite this, he kept living in Wuthering Heights until adulthood for the sake of remaining by Catherine's side.

"I could not stand that. Not even the idea of it."

This would change after he happened to overhear a conversation between Catherine and Nelly, during which Catherine discarded the idea of marrying him, in favor of the wealthy Linton Edgar. Believing this implied she had no affection for him, and fearing his anger would lead him to resort to violence and hurt Catherine in the process, he decided to leave Wuthering Heights rather than allow that to happen.

Having fled to the T Corp. Backstreets, Heathcliff then decided to join the Syndicate of the Dead Rabbits, a gang with a reputation as vigilantes. To prove himself worthy of joining, Heathcliff killed the member of a rival gang with his own hands, shoving them into a bodysack and carrying the corpse back. At this point, the Dead Rabbits boss, Matthew, accepted him into their fold.

Heathcliff would spend some time with the Dead Rabbits, which he would remember fondly, remarking on the dependability and loyalty of its members. During this period, he attempted to stay in contact with Catherine by sending her letters, although he never returned to the manor.

Main Story

Beginnings

Some time before the start of the main story, Heathcliff left the Dead Rabbits and District 20, vowing not to return until he'd made something of himself. Shortly before January 984, he joined Limbus Company as Sinner #7.

Coming from the rough background of Syndicate work, Heathcliff immediately appeared, more than other Sinners, very prone to violence, often seeing it as the best-advised solution to many problems. In many cases, these assumptions proved correct, such as his assessments of the people trapped within Branch D-02, or his quick-thinking in obtaining the wishpower from the slot machines during the mission to J Corp.

While this is often assumed by others as behavior caused by a love for violence, by the time of the LCB's mission to Calw, Dante started to understand Heathcliff to be an impulsive person who dislikes standing idle. This was shown during the second mission in K Corp., with Heathcliff insisting on Dante healing Don Quixote after a particularly painful death, and during the group's time in the U Corp. Backstreets, when he and Ishmael began a heated argument over her belief that the LCB would need to wait months before venturing into the Great Lake. Despite taking particular offense in Ishmael's words, Heathcliff worried for his fellow Sinner through her journey, prompting Dante to keep an eye on her, and helping her out of the Pallidification effect that encroached her following the death of her closest friend.

After the commotion at the shore, Vergilius gave Heathcliff a letter from Wuthering Heights, which invited him at the manor in late November 984: it would be his chance to reunite with Catherine. He grew impatient and nervous about the prospect of returning home, worrying about what to wear months in advance. This led Heathcliff, Don Quixote and Dante on a mission to procure him an outfit by exploring the Backdoor volatility that had manifested inside Mephistopheles. During the adventure, the three reached a gift factory in the Outskirts, where, in a moment of tranquillity, Heathcliff revealed to the others his intention to return to his former home as a man of quality, to trample over all who had mistreated him and make Catherine regret not choosing him.

Canto VI: The Heartbreaking

In November 984, the LCB reached Nest T, which had been the setting of numerous kidnappings, and headed towards Wuthering Heights, where a Golden Bough had been located. Heathcliff grew morose at the prospect of returning; firm in his belief that nobody in the house carried any love for him, he claimed he'd never been happy in the manor; the Sinners are surprised by lightning striking down soon after he spoke. They were then welcomed by Nelly and met Linton and Hindley, the latter of whom was accompanied by the Dead Rabbits. Here, Heathcliff learned the occasion he'd been invited for was Catherine's funeral and the reading of her will; according to Catherine's wishes, after the seventh bolt of lightning hit the manor during the funeral, he would obtain her Golden Bough.

The news of Catherine's death shook Heathcliff, who refused to believe it and requested to see her body, calling for her to come back. At this point, a first lightning bolt hit the house, causing a blackout. When the lights returned, the LCB found themselves lost inside the manor. In their search for clues, the LCB stumbled upon Hindley being attacked by Josephine and the Butlers, and Heathcliff decided to help him, although the action resulted in Hindley disparaging him, before departing again. Eventually, the LCB reached Catherine's room, where Heathcliff found the diary she'd hidden during the modifications Catherine and Linton had done on the manor after acquiring it from Hindley.

The diary led the LCB to the fireplace, where Heathcliff was confronted by Linton, who belittled him and dismissed Catherine's affection for him. In response to his claims, a second bolt of lightning hit Wuthering Heights. Linton then stepped aside, allowing everyone to access the basement.

The LCB learned the area had been turned into a laboratory: the victims of the kidnappings in Nest T lay in glass tubes, with Catherine's body among them, in a coffin to which a Golden Bough was attached. The LCB learned that the kidnapping victims were being used as subjects in Mirror technology experiments, run by former members of the Ring and backed by the New League of Nine Littérateurs. Heathcliff's attempt to reach the coffin was halted by the researchers and later by Hindley, who had joined back up with the Dead Rabbits. Following his defeat, Hindley distorted, blaming Heathcliff for the ruin of Wuthering Heights, as well as Catherine's death. This caused the third lightning to strike.

After Hindley's demise, the boss of the Dead Rabbits revealed himself to be an Identity of Heathcliff who, after witnessing many Mirror Worlds in which Heathcliff led Catherine to her death, had traveled through the Mirror to kill other versions of himself. Already shaken by the abuse suffered since returning to the manor, Heathcliff witnessed the memories of the alternate world, and was overcome with disgust for himself, believing in the Identity's claims of his existence having brought nothing but pain to Catherine. As he sank further into despair and self-hatred, he was visited by a voice, who pushed him to the brink until he admitted to his belief that Catherine had never loved him, that his attempts to change and return a better man had been pointless, and that he'd never been anything but a beast, much like Hindley had often claimed. He thus headed towards Distortion, transforming into a wolfish creature, and rampaging across the laboratory, destroying everything in his way.

While the Sinners attempted to fight him back and return him to normalcy, a fourth bolt of lightning would strike the manor. In a memory reconstructed by the Bough, Heathcliff spoke with a younger Catherine. Heathcliff admitted to her the regret he felt regarding the incident with hounds in their childhood, as well as the fact that he still treasured their memories of that day. With Catherine replying that she did the same, and that the time spent with him would always be the one she'd cherish the most, the memory faded away, and Heathcliff returned to his senses, although he still contemplated whether Hindley had been right, and he could do nothing but destroy.

At this point, Linton revealed himself and his part in the kidnappings, and the creation of the laboratory, which had been Catherine's wish following his departure, as she fell ill and developed an obsession with the Mirror. After explaining that the lightning signified Catherine's heart breaking, Linton turned himself into a human "dough", causing the fifth strike of lightning. The researcher Aseah explained to the LCB that creating this had been the purpose of the experiment, with Yi Sang commenting that no single person was worth such a great human cost. With this dough, Aseah completed the second summoning of the Identity of Heathcliff, the Erlking.

Heathcliff claims his Golden Bough.

Erlking Heathcliff fled with Catherine's coffin, but as the LCB caught up to him, Heathcliff confronted him, refuting his claim that their only peace would lay in death, showing himself determined to change his fate. Following the fight, the LCB faced off with Nelly, who revealed herself as the person who'd invited the Erlking to the manor and who'd gotten Catherine in contact with Hermann, as well as the one who'd intercepted Heathcliff's letters, consciously keeping Catherine vulnerable and leading to the creation of the laboratory. Nelly recounted to Heathcliff the fear she'd felt gazing into the Mirror, finding herself always caught in between him and Catherine, unable to live out a life of her own. Nelly went on to claim she brought upon a better ending, as Heathcliff could never have changed his fate of becoming a devil like the Erlking. The sixth bolt of lightning then hit the manor, as Nelly's words threw Heathcliff into a deep despair: he began fading away, his consciousness dragged away from the present, with Nelly explaining he'd returned to the Backstreets where he belongs.

Dante's voice reached him where he found himself lost in the memory of overhearing Catherine, and their powers allowed him the time to finish listening to her words. Heathcliff then opened the door and spoke to her again, apologizing for having run away. Although unable to reply, Catherine's diary showed him an old memory to remind him of the love she had always had for him. Once again motivated to change their fates, Heathcliff, now owner of Wuthering Heights following the death of Hindley and Linton, freed Nelly from her contract before marching on to the rooftop, where he took the second Golden Bough and stabbed himself with it in an attempt to drain it of its power, having understood Catherine's plan and attempting to disrupt it.

In response, the final bolt of lightning hit the manor, completing the summoning and revealing the last memory recorded in the diary, as well as the true intent behind the laboratory: to bring forth an Identity that would erase Catherine's existence from all worlds, something she'd believed would allow Heathcliff to live his life happily. Combat ensued between the LCB and Erlking Heathcliff, supported by the Catherine from another world, Every Catherine. As the fight dragged on and Catherine contacted Dante through their PDA, Heathcliff managed to join the conversation: speaking with Catherine for the first time since his departure, he confessed his love for her, with her returning his feelings, before Dante carried out her plan, using the Bough in the coffin to erase Catherine from all Mirror Worlds. With the fight coming to an end, Nelly took the other Golden Bough and fled. Heathcliff, left the only person to remember Catherine, together with Dante, resolved to one day get the Bough back and restore Catherine, sure that their bond, thanks to which they'd reunited in a Mirror World where both had died, would bring them together once more.

"I have to start... fixing the things I've wrecked."

Developments

Following the events at Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff refashioned his bat to spell out the word "remember", signifying the shift in his goal. The weight of the revelations at the manor still weighs heavy on him: even after leaving, he often appeared contemplative and regretful over how far Catherine had gone for his sake, and her recent disappearance would keep affecting him. The other Sinners, who no longer remember her but still recall that Heathcliff meant to return to the person he loved, have occasionally questioned this, although Heathcliff appeared still too overwhelmed to open up about it, and has only discussed it with Dante during consultation thus far.

Despite this, having faced his past and reconciled with Catherine, his personality began appearing far more mellow than it had been up until returning to the manor. As the journey continues, Heathcliff has shown himself far more dependable and caring, going as far as to consider the Sinners his family.

Relations

Catherine

“	Do you want to know why I still love this flower the most? All other flowers lose their colours and fade as they wither away. But this flower... even as it withers and wilts... remains the same colour.	”
–Catherine's confession, a riddle about the heath flowers

Catherine and Heathcliff grew up together at Wuthering Heights. Despite Catherine having initially disliked Heathcliff's presence in the house and denigrated his lowborn origins, the two quickly became close friends. During their early childhood, both of them were looked after by Nelly, and they would spend much time together, playing around Wuthering Heights and in the gardens. In this period Heathcliff began developing romantic feelings for Catherine, cherishing their time together and admiring her passionate personality, describing her as "the most beautiful person in the world."

Their bond would greatly suffer after Mr. Earnshaw's death, as Hindley took control of the manor: his abuse of Heathcliff became more violent and unmitigated, with the intention of hurting him as well as Catherine, and he began pushing the two away from each other as a way to cause them further pain. A catalyst for this would be the incident during which Catherine was bitten by the Edgar Family hounds. While Catherine was taken in by the family, Heathcliff fled back to Wuthering Heights, and would be tormented by regret over not having been able to protect her, and the feelings of inadequacy in face of the Edgar Family's wealth. Following this event, Hindley ordered Nelly to neglect Heathcliff's care; this would lead Heathcliff, upon Catherine's return to the manor, to run away from her, overwhelmed by the shame he felt, and to begin doing so whenever her new friends Linton and Isabella Edgar were visiting the house.

"Because birds are meant to fly."

At this point, Heathcliff was convinced his world would never again converge with Catherine's: because of this thought, continuously reinforced by Hindley and Linton's abuse, he became distant from her, a fact that would worry Catherine, who felt unable to connect with him as they always had, and would end up leaning on the Edgars, who made their affection for her much clearer.

Despite this, the two remained each other's closest friend. They would spend evenings chatting by the fireplace together, and often Catherine would pose Heathcliff riddles, challenging him by making them more complicated as he solved them. Even after hearing of her death, Heathcliff discusses these moments and Catherine's personality candidly, commenting on her being at times irritating and impatient, being open about his frustration at her and the anger he felt at her choice to marry Linton.

During his travels with the LCB, Heathcliff is always affected at mentions of Catherine. During Canto II: The Unloving, Heathcliff is offended by the pawnbroker commenting on the quality of his ring, given to him by Catherine. Similarly, during their fight in Intervallo II, Ishmael mockingly comments on Heathcliff "constantly whining about his girlfriend," which, together with her other claims, leads their fight to violently escalate.

Miracle in District 20 sees Heathcliff directly addressing his goals for the first time. He tells Don Quixote and Dante that he must return to Wuthering Heights as a changed man, to make Catherine regret not choosing him and prove himself as the best man for her. Dante observes that Heathcliff cannot help but smile at the mere mention of Catherine's name. Heathcliff also becomes visibly embarrassed when Gregor and Rodion tease him about Catherine's pet name for him, 'Heath', and when Heathcliff discusses Catherine's invitation with the other Sinners, Sinclair comments on them looking like school kids opening their first love letters.

Throughout Canto VI, Heathcliff shows himself to know Catherine deeply, refusing to give in to Hindley's provocations as to not cause a commotion in her home, clearly recalling details about her such as her fear of the dark, and being the only person able to read her diary, testifying to the strength of their bond even after the many fractures. The two also keep referring to each other by pet names all the way to adulthood, with Heathcliff being the only one to still refer to Catherine by the childhood nickname Cathy.

Through the diary, Heathcliff comes to understand Catherine was, in many ways, more similar to him than he believed; he learns of her sorrow and anger after his departure, and of the affection she felt for him, that she struggled to communicate just as he did. The memory of Catherine recorded in the diary allows Heathcliff to fall out of his state of Distortion by conversing with him, and the memory of her confession about her love for the heath flowers is what motivates him to shake himself out of the despair caused by Nelly's betrayal. Eventually, he understands the intent behind her laboratory was to erase herself for his happiness, much like he'd thought to protect her by killing her murderer, even if that person was himself.

A glimpse of tranquility.

Through the numerous Mirror Worlds, the two are always drawn together, yet their union is fraught with sorrow and tragedy. Heathcliff acknowledges their inability to be open with each other as the catalyst of these events, with Wild Hunt Heathcliff identifying the manor of Wuthering Heights as the origin point of all the misery that would follow. Because of this, in countless worlds their goal appears to be that to reunite: while their story usually ends in tragedy, Dante witnesses the strength of this wish, which in a certain world leads the two of them to reunite and be happy after both of their deaths.

“	… That's okay. I didn't think it'd be this easy. But that… that is her voice. I'm certain of it. I'll shout and shout until she hears me. I'll shout that I'll never run again.	”
–Heathcliff, determined to meet his loved one again

Through the final fight of Canto VI and the events that follow, Heathcliff continues fighting to talk with Catherine again, refusing to part while still keeping unspoken feelings between them. While Catherine attempted to use the power of the Golden Bough to erase herself without revealing the truth, Heathcliff reached her and confessed his affection for her. Having receiving Catherine's response that she felt the same, and loved him above all the other possibilities of the Mirror Worlds, Heathcliff remains determined on his goal, set on recovering his Bough and restoring Catherine, motivated by the knowledge of a possibility for them to be happy even beyond death.

As opposed to the one from the main story, the Heathcliff Identities seen in the various Mirror Worlds no longer remember Catherine; this reflects in them losing their wish to return to the manor, but also in them no longer carrying his distinctive ambitions and drive for self-improvement. In most cases, they continue wearing Catherine's ring.

Nelly

Nelly was Heathcliff's caretaker in his childhood. Despite him claiming that she was not a nanny to him, it is clear that she played a big part in raising Heathcliff. Nelly described Heathcliff as a kind child, and to an extent cared for him, but due to her employer's mistreatment of him, she would not spare him from the harassment, and was often complicit it in. Despite this, he carries no resentment towards her in current times, being aware that her behavior was a necessity tied to her role as Butler.

When Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights, Nelly cared for Catherine as she became increasingly sick. During this period of time she met Hermann, who showed her the Mirror Worlds. After witnessing the sorrow that each version of herself suffered due to Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship, she began to despair, and her attitude towards them changed deeply. In the times of Heathcliff's absence, she felt disgusted by their slothfulness, perceiving Catherine's illness as a desire to be at the center of attention, and Heathcliff's letters, written in an attempt to keep contact with Catherine, as proof of his cowardice and inability to speak face to face. This would lead her to sabotage their relationship and their attempts at reconnecting.

Despite the revelations that led to her betrayal, Nelly still treasures the happy times of the two's childhood. Heathcliff shares her feelings, thanking her for looking after them and recognizing the struggles she went through, particularly because of her contract as a Butler; for this reason, left the sole heir to the household, he frees Nelly from its obligations, and tells her to live her own life.

After the battle on the rooftop of Wuthering Heights, as Nelly leaves with Heathcliff's Golden Bough, he expresses no particular ill will towards her, but vows to take the Bough back from her.

Hindley

Hindley was raised alongside Heathcliff. From the get-go, Hindley was enraged with his presence, due to the fact that his father had taken Heathcliff instead of bringing back the violin Hindley had asked for. During Heathcliff's childhood, Hindley would constantly verbally abuse, harass, and even beat Heathcliff for miniscule reasons, believing the boy to be taking his father's attention and love away from him. Hindley's violent behavior would lead to Mr. Earnshaw reprimanding him, and to become distant towards his son.

Having understood Hindley's feelings, Heathcliff would often respond to the abuse by pointing out Mr. Earnshaw's preference for him. Hindley was never able to let go of this, and began blaming Heathcliff for all of his misfortunes; despite being the heir to his father's fortune, having received expensive augmentation procedures and boarding school education, he still viewed himself as a victim of a great injustice.

Even as an adult, after Mr. Earnshaw's death, Hindley's abuse of the still young Heathcliff continued, now with the complete complicity of all the Butlers in his service. Furthermore, as Heathcliff and Catherine started developing feelings for each other, Hindley enjoyed hurting their friendship, either through physical or verbal abuse.

When the two reunite at the manor, Hindley still clings onto the authority he believes to have over Heathcliff, once again demeaning his origins and treating him as less than a human. Heathcliff, on the other hand, claims to only find him pathetic, after seeing how Hindley has fallen into his vices so completely he no longer resembles the high society person he prized himself as. Heathcliff also steps forward to help Hindley when witnessing the man being attacked by the manor's Butlers, and mentions to feel pity for him upon seeing him fall into Distortion.

After the events at Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff keeps carrying disdain towards Hindley, the main source of misery in his youth, and remarks on never having considered him as his family. Still, he shows himself to be aware of having changed and grown despite the degradation received from Hindley.

Linton

Heathcliff and Linton's animosity traces back to their childhood. Jealous of Catherine's preference of Heathcliff over him, Linton relished in Heathcliff's pain. While too physically weak to do it himself, Linton would often provoke Heathcliff to attack him, therefore getting him in trouble with Hindley, who would then beat the other boy as punishment.

After meeting again in Wuthering Heights, Linton takes a similar approach as he did when he was younger, verbally abusing Heathcliff while maintaining an attitude of superiority and a detached countenance, in an attempt to make the other's reactions appear as needlessly violent. Linton also often brings up his marriage to Catherine as a way to further hurt and humiliate Heathcliff, deriding him as a "poor Backstreets vagrant" and remarking on his belief that Catherine would've gotten tired of him. Linton also initially claims to have been the one to burn Heathcliff's letters to Catherine; while this is later on revealed to be a lie, as Nelly was truly behind it, Linton's awareness of the letters hints at his complicity in hiding them.

All through the events at the manor, while profoundly hurt by Linton's words, Heathcliff holds back from reacting to the provocations, believing Catherine would've been unhappy seeing the two of them fight again.