Skull Knight's affinity for the Berserker's Armor

While ol' Skully is probably the hardest character to assess, because little direct information about him is presented, he seems to me the antithesis of what the armor of berserk is.

The question to me, then, is whether SK's cold, rational demeanor is a result of his time spent in the armor... or if it's the reason he gave it up.
Did the armor sap all of his feeling -- rage or otherwise -- or was he an emotionless person unable to fully meld with the armor? Or something else?

As you say, there isn't a whole lot we know about Skull Knight, but I don't think he is cold or emotionless. If anything, his actions have shown just how much heart he has. Despite having bigger fish to fry, he has assisted Guts several times, including saving his life directly during the eclipse. He also had a warm relationship with Flora. In my opinion there is too little information to really have any idea how the armor effected him, except for maybe his current hollowness (which would still be pure speculation)- but certainly no long lasting emotional impact.

einherjar said:

While ol' Skully is probably the hardest character to assess, because little direct information about him is presented, he seems to me the antithesis of what the armor of berserk is.

The question to me, then, is whether SK's cold, rational demeanor is a result of his time spent in the armor... or if it's the reason he gave it up.
Did the armor sap all of his feeling -- rage or otherwise -- or was he an emotionless person unable to fully meld with the armor? Or something else?

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Well considering he is not a normal living being and has been around the block more then a few hundred years, I would say that he has more then enough time to master his emotions and what not. I am sure he was brash and as feisty as Guts was/is when he was around that age but man, I am sure it got old for him and/or just didn't really benefit him.

einherjar said:

The question to me, then, is whether SK's cold, rational demeanor is a result of his time spent in the armor... or if it's the reason he gave it up.
Did the armor sap all of his feeling -- rage or otherwise -- or was he an emotionless person unable to fully meld with the armor? Or something else?

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I think Scorpio mostly nailed it. SK may appear cold and detached, but he has shown through his actions that it isn't the case. Like when he saved Luca while it didn't bring him anything at all for example. There is one factor that you seem to have overlooked here and that could shine some light on SK's personality: his age. If our speculations are true, then he is over a thousand years old. I imagine that if all that time was spent fighting alone (for the most part, let's say) against evil, he's become a rather unexpressive person. Not to mention that his "face" can't actually display any expression, and that for all we know he might not have had a fleshly body and the feelings that accompany it for a very, very long time (the Berserk's armor may have played a role in bringing him to that state). And then there's the fact he seems to have been the greatest emperor the world has known at some point. It's hard to imagine what it must be like to be in his shoes. To oppose domineering, unattainable forces that manipulate the world through causality, to quietly wait until a chance of making a difference appears... Yeah, not the most fun of lives.

Scorpio said:

his current hollowness (which would still be pure speculation)

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It's not pure speculation, there have been direct hints (like the sound produced when he swallows Rosine's beherit).

Aazealh said:

It's not pure speculation, there have been direct hints (like the sound produced when he swallows Rosine's beherit).

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I didn't word that quite right, I was suggesting that the Berserk's armor was the cause of his hollowness is still speculation. There is no doubt that Skull Knight is indeed hollow.

Scorpio said:

I didn't word that quite right, I was suggesting that the Berserk's armor was the cause of his hollowness is still speculation. There is no doubt that Skull Knight is indeed hollow.

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Oh, alright then, sorry.

Well, any thoughts on why he gave up (or was relieved of) the Armor of Berserk?

He died while wearing it yet his life force or soul was kept in tact, perhaps by magic/Flora? Or he's caught in some kind of limbo.

Flora mentions something about Guts not having to go down the same path as SK, so I'm thinking the armor was his demise in some shape or form.

I'm just tossing out ideas here. The relationship between Flora and SK just has me thinking she had a part to play in the situation regardless.

KazigluBey said:

He died while wearing it yet his life force or soul was kept in tact, perhaps by magic/Flora? Or he's caught in some kind of limbo.

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We know Flora's talismans can hold a person's ego intact while under the control of the armor, but there's no indication she could transfer his soul to a different vessel.

KazigluBey said:

Flora mentions something about Guts not having to go down the same path as SK, so I'm thinking the armor was his demise in some shape or form.

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Zodd also questions SK about his intentions for Guts. And Schierke tells Serpico and Isidro that the previous owner was devoured by the armor, and continued to fight until all his blood gushed out, and he died. If she's referring to SK, then I guess we'd have to wonder how he cheated death. Perhaps, as you said, it is the work of Flora.

KazigluBey said:

I'm just tossing out ideas here. The relationship between Flora and SK just has me thinking she had a part to play in the situation regardless.

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She certainly held the armor in safe-keeping. And I would suspect she played a similar role for SK to the one Schierke performs for Guts. But do you think she caused him to give it up?

einherjar said:

Well, any thoughts on why he gave up (or was relieved of) the Armor of Berserk?

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You're assuming he had the choice. That armor is very dangerous, and while it hasn't been fully confirmed yet, it's likely that SK was the one who wore it last and who allegedly died fighting in it.

einherjar said:

We know Flora's talismans can hold a person's ego intact while under the control of the armor, but there's no indication she could transfer his soul to a different vessel.

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Well we don't know how any of it happened, so it's either speculation or nothing here. Those events don't have to fit what Guts is going through (the carving of a talisman inside the breastplate), you need to use your imagination. Maybe he was taken to Elfhelm as he lay dying and they (the Hanafubuku Ô?) transferred his spiritual body to an armor in which he could live without having a corporeal form of his own.

einherjar said:

But do you think she caused him to give it up?

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I highly doubt she forced him to abandon that armor against his will or anything of the sort. He actually seemed more reluctant than her to let Guts have it.