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"The truth... you can never know... the truth..."
―The Nihilanth[src]
 

The Nihilanth is the supreme leader of the alien forces in Xen. An ancient being who is thought to be the last of its race[2], the Nihilanth serves as the main antagonist and final boss of Half-Life, responsible for spearheading the invasion of Earth during the Black Mesa Incident.

A refugee fleeing the terrible power of the Combine, the Nihilanth and its minions found sanctuary in Xen after being chased from their homeworld, where they found relative safety beyond the reach of the interdimensional empire. It subsequently enslaved the Vortigaunt species and ruled the dimension as a tyrannical overlord, only to eventually be destroyed by Gordon Freeman.

Overview[]

Physically, the Nihilanth resembles a gigantic, abnormally proportioned brownish-gray (pink in some lighting instances) fetus with a massive head atop a smaller body. The creature's minuscule legs appear either to be vestigial or the remains of amputation, as the Nihilanth relies on a levitation device for movement.

Its head is so large that it must be kept upright with a small cord/string that extends from the base of the spine to the back of the head. Like all of the other sapient Xen species, it has 3-fingered hands, multiple eyes, and a third appendage protruding from the middle of its chest. Underneath its third arm is a surgical scar that goes down its abdomen. It has unusually long arms, huge hands, and disproportionate fingers. In addition, the Nihilanth also wears metallic wristbands similar to those worn by enslaved Vortigaunts, suggesting it was at one time enslaved by another species (perhaps the Combine).

The Nihilanth is extremely powerful, able to absorb massive damage from the player's weapons before finally being killed, even without the aid of the creature's healing crystals in its chamber. It also possess the ability to create small portals that teleport the player to a random location within its lair.

Biography[]

The Nihilanth is a member of an alien race that hailed from beyond the Xen dimension, living on their own homeworld in their own universe, long before the Black Mesa Incident.

An unknown amount of time before the events of Half-Life, the Nihilanth's species came into contact with an immensely powerful interdimensional empire known as the Combine. What followed was a brutal campaign of genocide against the Nihilanth's species, as the Combine mercilessly invaded their homeworld and drove them to near-extinction, leaving the Nihilanth itself as the sole survivor. In an effort to avoid being hunted down and destroyed by the Combine, the Nihilanth and its minions escaped into the border world, Xen, where they barely managed to survive in a new ecosystem. Eventually, the Vortigaunts, another species that were victims of the Combine's brutality, escaped to Xen as well, and the Nihilanth promptly enslaved them, forcing them into servitude.

Some time prior to the events of Half-Life, the scientists of the Black Mesa Facility located on Earth discovered Xen and began collecting specimens of its flora and fauna for research. The Nihilanth took notice of this, and grew contemptuous of them, decrying them as simple thieves. After the scientists triggered a cataclysmic resonance cascade event using a particularly potent Xen crystal, a massive interdimensional rift opened. The Nihilanth saw an opportunity to both strike back at the human race, and put even more distance between itself and the Combine, and took advantage of the ever-widening fissure in spacetime to send its slave army across into the human homeworld.

When the scientists attempted to close the rift using a satellite array, the Nihilanth held the breach open from the other side. When the scientists realized this, they came to the conclusion that only the entity's death would truly mend the rift between dimensions. As a result, Gordon Freeman, one of the scientists overseeing the experiment which caused the Resonance Cascade, was sent to the borderworld and charged with the task of killing the Nihilanth. Freeman was ultimately successful in killing the creature, ending the Nihilanth's reign of tyranny over Xen forever. However, this seemingly only worsened the effects of the Resonance Cascade; Instead of sealing the rift, destructive Portal Storms began to spread across the globe, depositing hostile Xenian wildlife into human society and ultimately resulting in the full-scale invasion of the planet by the Combine.

Appearances[]

Half-Life[]

Gordon Freeman is tasked with killing the Nihilanth as he was the only force holding the dimensional rift open after the Satellite Delivery Rocket launched by the Black Mesa Lambda Labs failed to reverse the Resonance Cascade. After Gordon enters Xen, the Nihilanth regularly contacts Gordon telepathically and occasionally taunts him. These messages are often received right after teleportation in Xen.

Upon entering its lair, the Nihilanth attacks Gordon by launching two different types of energy spheres: a swarm of blue-colored electrical orbs which cause immense damage and have a small splash radius, and a slow-moving, green-colored orb which homes in and teleports him to other sections of the Nihilanth's lair populated by other Xen aliens. In addition, these green spheres teleport creatures into the Nihilanth's main chamber on impact with the cavern walls to help defend against intruders.

A series of gold-colored "energy spheres" orbit around the Nihilanth's head, rendering it impervious to damage. These are consumed as the Nihilanth takes damage, but specialized crystals within the upper portion of its chamber replenish the spheres as they vanish. After Gordon destroys these crystals, the shield put up by the orbs will not regenerate anymore. After a massive amount of damage is done, the shield drops and the orbs disappear, leaving the Nihilanth's body exposed and susceptible to damage. At this point, the glow of its brain is visible through its head.

After a large amount of damage is done to the Nihilanth's body its head opens up like a flower, revealing a shining, vulnerable brain. This appears to weaken its ability to attack, as once this happens it is only able to fire one electrical orb at a time. After a significant amount of damage is done to the brain, the Nihilanth floats up to the roof of its chamber and dies in a massive green explosion.

Half-Life: Decay[]

Dr. Richard Keller discovers an alien force actively holding the dimensional rift open from the other side, when Dr. Gina Cross and Dr. Colette Green attempt to release the dampening fields to create a resonance reversal after the Resonance Cascade, leading him to realize that not all the aliens are there by accident.

Furthermore, in the bonus chapter Xen Attacks, the Nihilanth orders two Vortigaunts, drone subjects X-8973 and R-4913, to retrieve several stolen Xen crystals from the Ordnance Storage Facility in Sector E Biodome Complex, a mission the Vortigaunts accomplish. This chapter also shows that the Nihilanth is capable of controlling when or where its minions are teleported and are capable of sending them quite close to their target.

Half-Life 2[]

The Nihilanth is mentioned by various Vortigaunts throughout City 17, such as the All-Knowing Vortigaunt, if they are triggered. It is through these messages that it is revealed that the Vortigaunts see Gordon as a messianic figure after he freed them by killing the Nihilanth during the Black Mesa Incident.

Half-Life: Alyx[]

The Nihilanth, along with the Alien Controllers, appears in Gary's mural as depictions of events before, during and after Half-Life.

Abilities[]

The Nihilanth is capable of actively holding the dimensional rift caused by the Resonance Cascade open, though not of opening a new one. It can control when and where its Vortigaunt minions are teleported to a fair degree. It also has some form of Telepathy, as evidenced by the numerous messages heard by Gordon Freeman on Xen. It is capable of using energy spheres as a shielding mechanism as well as for offense. It can regain strength to a certain extent using Xen Crystals.

Quotes[]

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The Nihilanth regenerating health from one of the three Xen crystals in its chamber

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The Nihilanth being defeated by Gordon Freeman.

There are several cryptic phrases that are either spoken or telepathically broadcast by the Nihilanth once Gordon Freeman reaches Xen, but most are difficult to understand in-game. Below are transcripts of several speech files extracted directly from the Half-Life sound files. Note that these transcriptions may not be entirely accurate, as the exact contents of the Nihilanth's speech are fairly difficult to make out due to unclear articulation and the low, gravelly manner in which it speaks. Some of them are not heard at all in-game.

  • "Comes... another...": Said when Gordon first enters Xen. In reference that Gordon is not the first person to enter Xen.
  • "Win... you cannot win...": Said when Gordon enters Gonarch's Lair.
  • "Done... what have you done...": Said after the Gonarch's defeat, when Gordon enters the chapter Interloper.
  • "You are man... he is not man... for you he waits... for you...": Said when Gordon enters the second part of Interloper at the alien camp. Referencing the G-man andits lingering presence.
  • "Die... you all die... you all die...": Said in the second part of the chapter Interloper.
  • "Alone... not you alone... not you alone...": Said in the 3rd map of the chapter Interloper and after the player is teleported by the Nihilanth's teleport orb for the first time.
  • "The last... I am... the last...": Said when Freeman enters the final part of Interloper near an eerie, coral-like altar with a red portal. This is Nihilanth telling Gordon of its status as the last of its kind.
  • "Deceive you... he will deceive you...": Said when the player is teleported by the Nihilanth's teleport orb for the third time. Nihilanth warning Gordon of Gman.
  • "Now die... now die... now...": Said during the battle with the Nihilanth, when the player is teleported by the Nihilanth's teleport orb for the fourth time.
  • "Their slaves... we are their slaves... we are..." Rarely said when Freeman enters the 3rd map of the chapter Interloper. Nihilanth referring to the Combine's enslavement/genocide of its race(s).
  • "The truth... you can never know... the truth..." Said during the battle with the Nihilanth, when the player is teleported by the Nihilanth's teleport orb for the second time. Likely telling Gordon Gman will never reveal his true intentions.
  • "Thieves... you all are thieves... you all are...": Heard at the beginning of the bonus chapter "Xen Attacks" in Half-Life: Decay. The Nihilanth referencing the analyzing/seizing of Xen crystals.
  • "Freeeeemaaaaaannn...": The Nihilanth eerily utters Freeman's name at the very beginning of the game's final battle.
  • "The last... you are the last... you are...": Unused quote.

Behind the scenes[]

Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar states that the first part of the Nihilanth's name is a reference to Nihilism, while -anth is a common suffix that is related to flowers and is a reference to how its scalp peels open like a blossom.[1]

Trivia[]

  • Using the Xen Trampolines scattered around the Nihilanth's lair, it is possible to get into its head. Hitting it with the crowbar shows a unique blood effect not shown anywhere else. Gordon cannot kill the Nihilanth, but it can damage it until its health is reduced to 1 point, at which point the player must switch to a firearm and shoot its brain; a single bullet will kill it.
  • Using the "notarget" or "god" console command while fighting the Nihilanth and later killing it will result in a continuous loop of its dying animation with no sound and the player being stuck on this stage, not teleported to the G-man.
  • In an Interview with Valve News Network, Gabe Newell's son Gray Newell said that the boss was inspired by his birth, saying, "The final boss of Half-Life 1, the giant evil baby monster, is supposed to be me. When my mother was in childbirth they were thinking, 'what's really scary?' And at the time, having a child seemed to be the scariest thing to everyone.”
  • The Nihilanth's third arm appears to have been sewn or stitched onto its body. Whether this means it did not originally possess a third arm, or if the arm was at some point removed and simply re-attached surgically, is unknown.

Gallery[]

List of appearances[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
  2. The Nihilanth telepathically communicates the phrase "The last... I am the last..." to Freeman in the chapter Interloper.
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