Gaignun Kukai
Japanese Voice Actor: Koichi Yamadera, Mikako Takahashi (child)
English Voice Actor: Crispin Freeman, Jennifer Hale (child, II), Wendee Lee (child, III), John Gremillion (anime)
Gaignun Kukai (ガイナン・クーカイ, Gainan Kookai?) is the chairman of the Kukai Foundation, a special organization based in Miltia. His older brother Jr., charades as Gaignun's son. Gaignun is the charismatic leader of the massive and wealthy Kukai Foundation. Gaignun has black hair and deep green eyes. His gentle personality and humanitarian nature is well respected both within and outside the Foundation. Gaignun is falsely listed as the first son and heir to the industrialist Soze Kukai.
Gaignun Kukai is really U.R.T.V. Unit #669, who is a biological weapon designed to combat U-DO. U.R.T.V. Unit #669 is nicknamed Nigredo (ニグレド, Niguredo?), a reference to his black hair. Gaignun can telepathically communicate with Jr. and Albedo and can use his voice to hypnotically manipulate people, if need be he can telekinetically destroy a person. "Kukai" was a fictional persona created by the Second Miltian government as a means to pool their special operation funds. Following the Miltian Conflict and Helmer's rescue of Gaignun and Jr., they took on the Kukai surname to justify and establish the Kukai Foundation. This also allowed the U.R.T.V. units to live their lives more normally. The name Gaignun was derived from a name Nigredo gave to one of his pet cat's that died during the Conflict.
Towards the later parts of Episode I Gaignun is first introduced to the main party when they first enter the Kukai Foundation, Shion however upon meeting him felt that she had just apparently acted quite rude to him while shaking his hand and noticing his #669 brand on the palm of his hand, possibly alluding that even Shion was able to see or detect Gaignun's powers and true nature. Afterwards Gaignun is arrested by Cpt. Roman on allegations of treason along with most of the main party and put into a separate holding facility until the main party had proved the Kukai Foundation's innocence through KOS-MOS's triple A data recordings shortly prior to Albedo first using the Song of Nephilim. When Albedo eventually did use the Song of Nephilim, only Gaignun, chaos & Jr. could hear the song being played at first while on the Durandal. On the bridge almost immediately after, Gaignun and Jr. conversed telepathically over the proceedings until Shion was able to faintly hear the song being played. As the ending credits roll Gaignun is seen one last time discussing the status quo with Helmer over a video link, commenting that a vortex of temptation and obsession still remains in the aftermath of the games climax and finally adds that Albedo is being drawn into it all just the same.
In Episode II, Gaignun's past relationships with Albedo and Jr. are explored. He is first requested by Helmer when arriving on Miltia with M.O.M.O. to obtain reconnaissance information from a brief conversation with Albedo via a telepathic link in order to gain insight into Albedo's plans for the future tense, the two converse with Gaignun offering to come to terms with Albedo at the time but Albedo was only interested in goading his brother and even goes as far as calling him two-faced when Gaignun kinetically destroyed Albedo's right arm at one point during the conversation when Albedo had threatened Rubedo's life. Later on flashbacks occur when the main team take subconscious dives into Sakura Mizarhi's mind in order to allow her to speak once again. These adventures showed the rift growing between the trio of U.R.T.V. units, which eventually led to a breakdown during the Miltian Conflict, causing Albedo to come into contact with U-DO and become insane. At the end of Episode II, Gaignun suffers from a double personality; one part is Gaignun, the other is Dimitri Yuriev, his father. Dimitri most likely created Gaignun just as a host for his consciousness, for he somehow transmigrated into his body at the time of his "death" in TC 4753 when Gaignun as Nigredo in his childhood had apparently shot and killed his father. Yuriev awakened in Gaignun's body during the events of Episode II. Although Gaignun's consciousness now struggles to regain control of his own body, Yuriev currently has complete control of him and first makes his renewed presence known to Pellegri on a video link, tasking her to tell her superiors that he is not dying...ever.
Gaignun's dilemma throughout the series had always been secretly that he had struggled with the notion of eventually killing his own brother Rubedo, a task that was highlighted by Albedo earlier during their telepathic link in Episode II in which he had known about Gaignun/Nigredo's true form for many years. In truth his actual creation and very meaning to his own existence was to simply monitor his own brother Rubedo and if necessary terminate his life, to this end Yuriev had secretly implemented a second Red Dragon drive inside of Nigredo in the expressed purpose of rivaling Rubedo's power but as we see in Gaignun's nature he hides it all the way throughout the series.
In Episode III Gaignun's story comes full circle resulting in his eventual redemption when he comes to terms with what he is and had always been, Albedo arriving as a Testament during Yuriev's power bid after kidnapping Abel and the Zohar sheds some light on the fact that Gaignun had presumably let his own father take control of his body during the takeover with the thoughts of making his father proud somehow. As Albedo and Jr. initiate a link in order for Gaignun to be sent into Jr.'s body whilst Albedo in his Testament form would be sent into another dimension with their father Yuriev still in Gaignun's body. Gaignun however seeing through Albedo's feelings during this link expresses that he does not like taking orders and makes a desperate attempt at switching this vis a vis of minds around however resulting in Albedo's mind being thrown into Jr.'s body evidently reuniting the twin brothers for the first time in one body since their very birth. Saying his farewells to Rubedo/Jr. inside of Albedo's Testament body, Gaignun shows his brother his true form and tells him that his duty to keep watch over him has now ended or rather that he had wanted it to be over, but admits that if he had denied his nature in the end he would have been literally denying his own existence regardless. Jr. makes a last-ditch attempt at saving him by telling him they were always friends as Gaignun/Nigredo offer's to him that he'd like to play with his brothers again someday as he is sent into another dimension.
Gaignun shares his name with the horse that Roland, a general serving under King Charlemagne and wielder of the legendary blade Durandal, rode into battle on. Kūkai is also the name of a famous Japanese Buddhist monk; Buddhist undertones can also be seen in Xenosaga. The name Nigredo refers to the philosophic beliefs of Carl Jung, who believed that the process of self-realization has three major steps, which he named using terms derived from alchemy, which he studied prior to developing his theories. These three steps are known as Nigredo, the death of the old, perceived self, Albedo, the discovering of one’s inner identity, and Rubedo, the process of living a self-aware life.
In the series, Jr. and Gaignun both raised a cat named Gaignun, which is the origin of Nigredo's (and Jr's) alias.
Read more about this topic: List Of Characters In The Xenosaga Series, Other Characters