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| “ | "Don't take another step. It doesn't matter who I am, or who you are... my current mission as a Deepground soldier is all that is relevant." | „ |
| ~ Shelke threatening her sister upon their reunion |
| “ | "She was a fool. Why... why would she do something so...?" | „ |
| ~ Shelke's initial inability to understand her sister's sacrifice |
Shelke Rui was a member of the Tsviets, a group of genetically modified soldiers in command of the elusive organization Deepground.
Initially appearing as a major antagonist in the Final Fantasy spinoff Dirge of Cerberus, she was later revealed to be the game's deuteragonist after being betrayed by her former teammates & witnessing her sister sacrifice her life for her sake. Choosing to aid Vincent Valentine in taking down Deepground, she ultimately redeems herself in the end.
She also appears in the spinoff World of Final Fantasy as a supporting protagonist.
Biography[]
Taken from her family by Shinra at a young age, Shelke endured extensive experimentation due to an innate gifting that she possessed. This ability allowed her to perform a Synaptic Net Dive, which granted her passage into the Worldwide Network to gather valuable information. Aside from this she was trained in combat to the extent of reaching advanced prowess. Wielding two shock spears into battle, she fought with lightning fast precision. With all of these skills at her disposal she was a formidable threat to Vincent Valentine early in his battle against Deepground. Although she served as one of the game's secondary antagonists early on, she was eventually rejected by the Tsviets. Deeming her unworthy of residing among them, she was nearly eliminated by her former partner after her role gathering data had been fulfilled. Between this turn of events and her sister's sacrificial demise, she joined forces with Vincent and became Dirge of Cerberus' surprise deuteragonist.
Appearance[]
Dirge of Cerberus Storyline[]
Shelke is first seen working alongside Azul, as well as extracting data from a net dive. She encounters Vincent early in the game, but passes out from exhaustion before she can face him. Later on she is a part of a Deepground attack on an WRO base, where Shalua identifies her as her long lost sister. In spite of their past Shelke is willing to harm her if she gets in the way of her plan. Vincent intervenes before this can happen and manages to subdue Shelke after a one on one fight with her. When Shelke awakens she is still unwilling to join her sister and threatens her once more. She plans on rejoining Deepground, but is shocked when her former ally Azul tries to attack her. He reveals that she was merely a tool used by Deepground, and that she had no use beyond that. Attempting to dispose of her, she cannot take him on and his forced to flee alongside Vincent and her sister. As Azul gains on them, Shalua gives her life to protect Shelke. At first she cannot comprehend this action, but slowly she begins to develop feelings as she fights alongside Vincent and the WRO and reflects on the memories of Lucretia that reside within her. Eventually she is compelled to face her former ally Nero to protect the WRO. During the game's climax, she manages to bring the protomateria to Vincent and ensures his victory over the Omega Weapon. After she helps save the world, Shelke settles down at Cloud and Tifa's cafe and begins to live her life for the first time since childhood. Later arriving at Lucrecia's cave, Shelke tells Vincent that she was sent by the others to retrieve him. She says that she does not understand why it was her, but that she does not mind (while smiling a wide smile).
World of Final Fantasy[]
Shelke appears in the non-canon Spin-off game as a straight up ally assisting the protagonists. Though her role is far more heroic, she retains her emotionally detached personality from Dirge of Cerberus (only lacking her initially cold and remorseless outlook).
Trivia[]
- Shelke's english voice actress Kari Whalgren also voiced Aranea Highwind Final Fantasy XV. Strangely enough, she was yet another antagonist turned anti-hero.
- Shelke is the only member of the Tsviets with one boss fight, due to changing sides shortly after the encounter.
- Despite Dirge of Cerberus' polarizing (often negative) reception from the fanbase, as well as Shelke's relative obscurity as a character, she nevertheless made it into the crossover video game World of Final Fantasy.
- In the storyline of the Dirge of Cerberus' multiplayer mode (which was never released in the west) she manipulates the player into doing her bidding, and then kills them. This is ultimately her most villainous action (and mirrors her own manipulation and betrayal by the Tsviets).