Belial

Belial
Portrayed by	()David Learner
Voiced by	()Sören Langfeld () Phillippe Monnet () Giancarlo Ciccone ()Daniel Minayo
Signature	Lie
“ Humans do still bleed, don't they? Splendid... ”

Belial (Hebrew בליעל Bəliyyáʻal) is one the main antagonists in Realms of the Haunting. According to Hawk, he is one of the great Lords of Hell and in many earthly texts has even been confused with the power of Satan. His signature, as identified by Rebecca during our conversation with Abaddon at the Gates of Sheol, is 'Lie' and notably, his name in the Standard English pronunciation contains the phoneme /laɪ̯/ (see also: Elias Camber, the false identity of Claude Florentine).

Belial and Florentine

During the lengthy conversation with Adam and Rebecca after they have freed him from his prison, Hawk describes Belial as Florentine's shade, his 'Doppelganger' of sorts, conceived from the Soulstone and born from the evil within Florentine's soul.
As evident in the pages of Florentine's Journal, he and Belial used to share a close friendship for many years but what's left to bind them now is merely the goal to plunge the world into darkness.

Notes

Doctor

During the course of the game, Belial usually appears in the guise of a doctor, dressed in a white attire with a stethoscope around his neck: Belial - Lord of Lies

When Adam arrives on the Island of Threads after the tedious trials pertaining to the Key to the Abyss, he discovers Rebecca chained to a rock. According to Adam's examination, she has been sedated with chloroform, a chemical substance one does not simply carry around in one's handbag, supporting the image of the doctor and the fact that this is an illusion created by Belial to distract Adam: Rebecca - Power of Dominion

Apparently, Belial has been conducting various experiments on those branded in the Mausoleum, skinning their hands and using these gloves to touch the Shrive.

“	Into the Abyss for all eternity. Eternity is what he wanted. Eternity's what he got. All these years in pursuit of the shrive - manipulating and butchering innocents, experimenting with the branding chair in the Mausoleum. Poor souls. Fashioning gloves from their part branded hands. How many died just so he could touch the Shrive? Well, they can rest in piece now. There's no return from the Abyss. Even for a demon. Now, it's your turn Florentine. Your lieutenant was no match for Eternity. I'm coming to finish what you started.	”
—Adam, after defeating Belial on the Island of Threads.

Lieutenant

In addition to Adam's mention of the word, Aelf has previously used the expression Lieutenant in reference to Belial, during our conversation in Hawk's Prison, after finding Aelf's Dagger:
Aelf - Dedication
Supposedly given to Belial by Florentine during the Templar battles against the Falshire Knights, the French title "often designates someone who is second-in-command." Examining the French roots of the word, tenant means "holding", and lieu means "place" or "position" which we also find incorporated in the English phrase "in lieu of". Therefore, lieutenant refers to a person who holds their superior's position in the case of the latter's absence.

Quotations

During our encounters with Belial, he appears to have a penchant for embellishing his speech with quotations from works of religious liturgy and English literature:
Belial - Demon's Test
Concerning Adam's Father, Belial states that

“

His cup certainly runneth over

”

an expression which stems from the King James translation of Psalm 23:5, meaning to be blessed with an overwhelming quantity of good things.

Belial - Into the Abyss
During their climactic fight on the Island of Threads, if Adam directly storms at his adversary and not hide behind the rock, Belial will stab him with Eternity, stating that

“

There is no armour against fate; Death lays his icy hands on kings.

”

hereby quoting from a poem by British dramatist James Shirley in a slightly altered form.

Theological Background

Judaism

In the Hebrew Bible, the word "belial" is not a proper name, but a common noun usually signifying "(extreme) wickedness" or "worthlessness", respectively.
In "The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness", also known as "War Rule" (1QM) and part of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Belial is identified as 'Prince of Darkness' and serves as the leader of the Sons of Darkness against whose dark legions is led a host under Michael as "Prince of Light". In this role Michael is Viceroy of Heaven which, ironically, was the title of the Prince of Darkness before the Fall. This information, by the way, is also reflected in one of the documents in the game. The precise passage is to be found in 1QM XIII 9–13, and goes as follows:

“

You, [have crea]ted [us] for you, eternal people, and you have made us fall into the lot of light in accordance with your truth. From of old you appointed the Prince of light to assist us, and in [. . .] and all the spirits of truth are under his dominion. You created Belial for the pit, angel of enmity; his [dom]ain is darkness, his counsel is for evil and wickedness. All the spirits of his lot angels of destruction walk in the laws of darkness; towards them goes his only desire. We, instead, in the lot of your truth, rejoice in your mighty hand, we exult in your salvation, we are happy with your aid and your peace. Who is like you in strength, God of Israel?

”

Christianity

Belial appears both in the New Testament and in the Christian apocrypha. As Hawk states in a conversation with Adam and Rebecca, Belial has often been confused with Satan himself. Here he refers to a passage in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians where Belial as prince of darkness is contrasted with Christ, the light. In earlier Christian writings, Belial was believed to be created after Lucifer, whereas some apocryphical texts actually credit him as the father of Lucifer.

Script

“

Adam: Belial... that piece of shit. That devious, pus-faced, evil... mother. I'm clearly going to have to finish what I thought was done a long time ago. Despite appearances, he's still very impressed with himself - bound to make a mistake sooner or later. I'll be waiting.

”

Nota bene: Apparently sharing or at least empathizing with Adam's sentiments about Belial, the developers humorously titled one of the sprites for Belial: BELIAL.the biggest son of a bitch aro.BMP

Gallery

Belial in a doctor's attire with stethoscope and skin gloves, as seen in Belial - Lord of Lies.

Belial puts on the skin gloves, as seen in Belial - Lord of Lies.

Belial appearing as a doctor in the Ending sequence.

Belial with several of his Undead minions.

Here we see Nik Hull applying the prosthetic latex make-up for David Learner's Belial, after his face has been burnt-off by Aelf's Dagger. Image courtesy of PC Power #33.

Belial, after his face has been burnt off with Aelf's Dagger.

Concept artwork for Belial in his doctor's attire with stethoscope. Image published in PC Format #65.

During the early conceptualisation of the characters, Belial was supposed to appear in both his humanoid persona as a doctor and his second, monstrous form. This evolution was later dropped though, as revealed in the PC Format #65 feature on Realms of the Haunting.

References