Nikolai Yishnev (Empire's Edge)

An important character in Empire's Edge, Nikolai was originally send to spy for the Russian Empire and to infiltrate the Knights of Constantine. However he then slowly uses his loyalty towards the Russian Empire and begins fading into depression and hatred.

Personality
Nikolai was a serious but yet optimistic person, believing that humanity would one day change for the beter. He cared a lot for his friends, and was fiercely loyal towards the Russian Empire, calling it "the best nation on earth". However after he is betrayed by his close friends, he loses hope. When he is then tasked with bringing his long time friend Natasha to Mark, he does so with pure hatred in his voice when he confronts her.

After Mark forces Natasha to drink poisened wine, Nikolai goes as far as too restrain her, so that she can't try to fight the poison. After her death, he goes on to kill Nikita who also betrayed him. He then loses his loyalty for the Russian Empire and leaves his position in the Russian Empire and joins the Knights of Constantine, for whom he works as he describes it "a soldier doing wetwork".

His optimism and hope seems to be gone in Chapter 2. He also seems to have developed a hatred for humanity and the world itself. Julius even goes as far as too say that Nikolai is just like him, because like him he wants to "destroy the world out of pure hatred for the darkness that dwells within humanity".

Nonetheless he still thinks that there are good humans. However according to him, the only good humans he know are Giovanni, Antonio and Stella (Lia's sister). He was also fiercely loyal towards the Knights and the Federal Empire.

After the last and final chapter, Nikolai is last seen boarding a train. When asked by a passanger to where he wants to go, he respons with "I don't know, somewhere far away from here", implying that after all the years of trying, he has finally given up on trying to live within society.

It is then mentioned by Antonio, that Nikolai has moved to Alaska where he begun raising Malamuts and begun sledging.