Nex

Nex (coming from the Infernal word for "murder" or "death") is a powerful Zarosian general. She is a Zaryte from the plane Freneskae and one of Zaros' most powerful weapons of war. She is located in the Ancient Prison, sealed away in the back of the God Wars Dungeon. With a combat level of 1001, she ranks amongst the most powerful monsters in RuneScape.

Slaying Nex does not count towards a Nihil task nor does she count towards the "God Wars - Like a Boss" daily challenge.

History
In Zaros's quest to recruit mortal races, he made a promise to the Dragon Riders to solve their infertility crisis. In order to do this, he returned to Freneskae to harvest Mah's elder energy and manipulate life. Zaros considered his creations a failure. Although the proper name for these life forms is Zarytes, Zaros called them nihil as they meant "nothing to him."

One of these nihil, shunned by the others, outgrew and outwitted the rest. It was for this reason that Zaros implanted a sliver of his being into the nihil and granted it sentience; if he left her, the other nihils would kill her for being different. This nihil, as she came to call herself, was Nex. She was given the rank of Legatus in his army.

Nex recruited humans to Zaros' cause, especially those that interested her. During this time, she recruited warrior Torva from a village when he stopped a horde of Ripper demons and made the Mahjarrat Hazeel angry. She also recruited the ranger Pernix, who challenged her in the hopes that he could save his village if he defeated her. Nex had difficulty keeping up with Pernix, even when he stumbled on a loose battlement; impressed by his abilities, Nex allowed him to join her group. Later on, she recruited the mage Virtus when Zaros sent him to the Lumbridge swamps to investigate the large transfer of magic.

Following Zaros's downfall in the Second Age, a group of Zarosians were working to secure the area around the Mahjarrat ritual site to gain the upper hand. The leader of these Zarosians was Nex. Gaining power whenever she battled, Nex was considered unstoppable. Despite her immense strength, the forces of Saradomin were eventually able to imprison Nex and her powerful Zarosian army around the beginning of the Third Age. With much effort and sacrifice, the Saradominists managed to lead Nex and her army into a large ice cavern, where they enchanted them into a frozen sleep. Afterwards, the Saradominist forces built the Temple of Lost Ancients around it, ending the Battle for the Ritual Site.

Nearly a thousand years later, a flock of aviantese transporting a newly created Godsword were ambushed by an army of demons as they passed through the mountains of Trollheim. Outnumbered, the aviantese were forced to retreat, into the temple. Each of the gods — Armadyl, Bandos, Saradomin, Zamorak — sent combatants to this temple, beginning the battle for the godsword.

Years after these God Wars began, Saradominist priests (one of whom was Ashuelot Reis) were approached by a mysterious figure who spoke of Guthix. This entity taught them that Guthix was the only god who could end the chaos and stop the war. The priests abandoned the cause of Saradomin and became followers of Guthix. Their new leader taught them the ways of druids which included an ancient ritual that supposedly had the power to awaken Guthix itself. The priests and their leader performed the ritual, but the result was not what they had expected; the priests had accidentally reopened the prison, releasing Nex. Their leader, the one who convinced them to side with him and perform the ritual, revealed himself to be Sliske, a loyal Zarosian Mahjarrat.

Due to the length of her enchanted sleep, Nex was not at full strength. Despite this, she quickly laid waste to vast quantities of combatants from all opposing sides. Rapidly gaining power from her participation in battle, she would soon be at full strength once again. Brought together by a common and powerful enemy, all four sides participating in the battle for the godsword united in battle against Nex. After an intense struggle, Nex and her army were ultimately trapped again, behind the frozen door.

When the God Wars Dungeon became accessible again in modern times, adventurers who entered seeking the godsword had ventured inside the gods' chambers and found pieces of the key to the sealed prison. With the frozen key completed, Nex could be engaged in combat once again.

The Death of Guthix
Nex is amongst the characters who visit Guthix's lair after the player discovers it during The World Wakes. To bolster the ranks of the Zarosian faction, Sliske had once again freed Nex from her prison so that she could join the battle. Nex and the other Zarosians effortlessly cleared the path on their way and in the end, managed to corral the Guthixians, Commander Zilyana, and the player. Nex expresses no objection to killing Guthix ; however, she is not decided on what her role is in this ambush.

While the remaining factions were arguing with each other, Sliske destroyed the wall that was blocking Guthix's chamber, reached Guthix and launched a deadly attack which killed him. Before Nex could celebrate Sliske's achievement and her freedom, Saradomin returned to Gielinor, arriving at Guthix's chamber. He teleported all the Zarosians back into their "hiding" places, sending Nex back into her prison.

Return of Zaros
When Zaros returned to Gielinor with a new corporeal form, he called upon his most loyal followers to work on specific tasks, with Azzanadra, Char, and Nex being amongst the group. Zaros tasked Nex with keeping the young gods in check, keeping Sliske's game in order, and containing their destruction with as little open conflict as possible. She was also advised to continue to attack the other god's forces within her ancient prison.

Becoming the Angel of Death
Shortly before the events in Sliske's Endgame, Zaros praised Nex for her achievements and admitted that he no longer viewed her as a failure. Knowing that her role was to monitor the younger gods and that even she could not withstand their power, he gifted her the four elemental power stones of smoke, shadow, ice, and blood that were used to create the Nihil and that he had promised to give her millennia ago, but could not due to his defeat by Zamorak. Zaros then left to confront Sliske with Azzanadra, Char, and Vindicta, but instructed Nex to continue keeping watch on the gods and his sister Seren.

Location
Nex resides in the Ancient Prison, a room locked behind the Frozen Door in the southern part of the God Wars dungeon. The door can only be opened by completing the frozen key, which is created by killing foot soldiers of each of the gods (Armadyl, Bandos, Saradomin and Zamorak). Each faction has its own piece of the key to be dropped. Key pieces are only dropped by combatants in the god's stronghold and outside the boss room; i.e. regular monsters not in the main area of the dungeon. As such, obtaining every part of the key requires at least level 70 Ranged, Strength, Agility and Constitution (none of these skills may be boosted). When assembled, the parts make a frozen key with ten charges to open the frozen door. The key can be repaired for a cost which decreases based on your Smithing level (and can also have added charges beyond the initial ten).

Just beyond the door is an isolated room with no enemies in it and stairs leading down to the ancient prison. Down these stairs is another safe room that contains a hole in the wall connecting it to the room that contains Nex's army. The area after this room is filled with Nex's soldiers, ancient warriors, ancient mages, ancient rangers, and blood reavers. This room is dangerous, and the monsters are aggressive. In the back of the room is the door to the second-to-last room to reach Nex. Opening this door requires either killing 40 of Zaros' followers or having equipped a full set of Ancient ceremonial robes. Having the Shard of Zaros is the only possible way to walk through the Zarosian army without being attacked by them.

The last room before Nex is another safe room. There are no monsters in here. The only entity in this room is Ashuelot Reis, who can provide banking services to the player. In this room is a magical barrier that seals Nex in her room. It can be removed to enter her room, but cannot be used to exit. The only way out of Nex's chamber is teleportation or death. Nex is not always present in her room; rather, she only appears when challengers have entered her room to face her.

Personality and relationships
Nex is known to be malevolent and aggressive towards anyone who is not on her or Zaros' side. She holds a belief that a victory is not achievable without strategy and knowledge of the enemy. Additionally, she respects a worthy opponent and treats them chivalrously. Nex acknowledges - and does not deny - rumours that describe her as being of pure anger and hatred. She speaks in a fashion commonly associated with hissing and snakes, extending her "s" sounds in almost every word.

Nex's strength lies in not only her personal abilities but the priority she gives to thought and planning. Compared to gods like Bandos and Zamorak, whose armies mainly consisted of brute strength (e.g orks, demons, undead, etc.), Nex chose humans to be the foundation of her army. While humans were physically weak compared other soldiers like demons, the humans could easily swarm opponents and had the ability to think quickly.

Nex tends to think highly of her allies. When her three warriors, Torva, Pernix, and Virtus succumbed to age, she honoured them by personally designing the armour they wore for her army. The book The Praesul also shows her high regards towards them. From this book, she also states that in addition to being powerful in combat, she also learned many aspects of humanity which made her how she is in the present day.

She seems partial to all Zarosians, naming only Zarosian Mahjarrat when speaking of Guthix's awakening, and expresses a specific fondness for Sliske, noting him as a friend initially but later regretting her decision of trusting him.

Nex acts aggressively towards both Commander Zilyana, whom she threatens with mutilation, and the player, whom she berates Azzanadra for not killing. It is unknown how she feels about the player after Fate of the Gods depending if they helped or sabotaged Zaros' return.

Quotes
Nex will occasionally say various lines which are voiced. Initial phase Smoke phase Shadow phase
 * AT LAST!
 * Fumus! Umbra! Cruor! Glacies!
 * Fill my soul with smoke!
 * Let the virus flow through you!
 * There is...NO ESCAPE!
 * Fumus, don't fail me!

Blood phase
 * Darken my shadow!
 * Fear the shadow!
 * Embrace darkness!
 * Umbra, don't fail me!

Ice phase
 * Flood my lungs with blood!
 * A siphon will solve this!
 * I demand a blood sacrifice!
 * Cruor, don't fail me!

Final phase
 * Infuse me with the power of ice!
 * Contain this!
 * Die now, in a prison of ice!
 * Glacies, don't fail me!


 * NOW, THE POWER OF ZAROS!
 * Taste my wrath!

Drops
Nex's drop mechanics differ from those of other bosses while LootShare is in effect. Rather than one person obtaining the whole drop, Nex's drops are split (if applicable) to everyone that has LootShare on. How much each drop is split varies, though they are commonly divided into groups of 3-5. Despite this, it is still possible for one player to obtain the whole drop, depending on their potential to receive loot.

Pre-release
Nex was one of the most discussed bosses before her release in January 2011. Many players were wondering what the Frozen door was, and what it represented. Her developer, Mod Chris L, teased with many small hints to what it would contain. The Frozen door used to have the symbols of all the 4 God Wars factions prior to the release of Nex, and this formed the core of many discussion threads in the forums. Players were confused to what this door meant and what it could contain, and many speculated it was the last resting place of Guthix. Some players were discussed it would be part of Zaros, but more figured it would not make sense from a lore perspective since Zaros didn't directly interfere with the God Wars.

One of the teasers occurred in-game on 20 December 2010, when an 'Open' option was added to the Frozen door. Players who tried to open the door would hear an unknown voice talking to them to terrorise them, later revealed to be Nex. It was just a teaser, the door could not be opened. Many players stood at the door with an Orb of Oculus, trying to peek in, but all they found was a hidden, half-implemented underwater tunnel that would have been part of Zamorak's "bridge jump" when attempting to go to his side of the map. Players that failed the jump would end up in this underwater tunnel. This has never been released, however.

Consequently, Torva Armour was teased on the website by searching it through the Grand Exchange function. It appeared on the site weeks before release, which caused many players to wonder what this meant and what it would do. It was later, on release, revealed to be part of Nex's new armour drops.

Trivia

 * The plaque memorial in the safe and banking area reads: Vita brevis breviter in brevi finietur, Mors venit velociter quae neminem veretur, Omnia mors perimit et nulli miseretur, which translated (idiomatically) from Latin means: "Life is short, and will shortly end; Death comes more quickly, which fears nobody; Death destroys everything and shall spare none." The inscription is taken from the lyrics to "", a medieval song which served as a memento mori, a reminder of the certainty of death.
 * For a while after the Evolution of Combat, when using Kick against Nex it would knock her back a tile, despite her stun-immunity. This has been fixed.
 * After killing Nex, the Adventurer's Log will say: "I killed a devastating creature of Zaros, Nex." or after killing Nex several times, it will say: "I killed X devastating creatures of Zaros, all named Nex."
 * After the God Wars Instances update, it was possible to have Nex spawn multiple times at once. This bug has been fixed.
 * On 19 May 2011 there was a Quick Poll on which RuneScape character you would like to follow on Twitter. Nex was the option with the second highest number of votes.
 * Prior to the God Wars Dungeon graphical update, players climbed down a slope rather than dispelling a barrier and jumping down.
 * Jagex added a "stomp" attack that dealt 100 damage to the player and shortened their Overload effect to prevent players from soloing Nex. However, her "stomp" attack caused her moving pattern to be incorrect, which resulted in players being able to solo her. After the God Wars Dungeon graphical update, the stomp attack was removed and replaced with Deflect Missiles instead. It was readded again at a later date; this time, the stomp dealt moderate damage, and stunned the player for 9 seconds.
 * However, this stomp was extremely bugged, as players using an instance reported that the stomp attack would deal damage to the player if they were in the lobby. This is because upon spawning in an instance, Nex automatically goes for a target, and as she would be unable to attack them, she would fly back to the center, causing the stun mechanic to hit. In addition, the stun did not activate all the time even if Nex was being walked. This was removed with the update on 12 September 2016.
 * An hidden update also changed Nex's collision size; prior to this, Nex occupied 4x4 tiles, and was changed to 1x1 with the aforementioned update.
 * If a player enters the arena via barrier, she will spawn shortly, provided that no other players are inside. If a player logs into the arena and there is no one else inside, they will have to wait for her to respawn instead.
 * Nex's combat level of 1001 is a reference to her release date, 10 January (10-01). It was changed to 220 with the Evolution of Combat and it was changed back after legacy was released.
 * According to the Book of Zaros - one of the sections of the Book of the Gods - Nex once owned a palace unto herself, and it was from here that she and Azzanadra planned their counter-attack following the fall of Zaros. It is unknown where this palace is, and what happened to it.
 * On 7 January 2014, Nex received the following updates:
 * Nex can now use the Deflect Magic curse.
 * Nex now has an instance option, costing 800,000 coins per hour.
 * When Nex uses her deflection curses, her wings will turn green for ranged, blue for magic and orange for melee, similar to the Kalphite King's wings when using a combat style.
 * For the duration of December 2014, during her ice phase, Nex will say "Die now, in a present of ice!" The icicles that form the prison are replaced with presents. Along since the start of December 2014, she wears Santa's hat. This includes during quests like Fate of the Gods in which Zaros transforms into her with the hat on.
 * In the alternate universe featured in the Dimension of Disaster quest, Nex was created by Loarnab from dragons, virii, hydras and mahjarrat. This alternate Nex was responsible for the death of that universe's Zanik, who was Bandos's avatar at the time.
 * Nex's phrase "Let the virus flow through you!" is most likely a reference to "Let the hate flow through you!" said by Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars.
 * "Nex", when translated idiomatically from Latin, means "death"; or the procurer thereof.