1. Money For William, money is not just about wealth—it's about power. In a world where everything feels empty and meaningless, money is the one thing that provides control. It buys freedom, safety, and the ability to shape his environment. As a mercenary, he kills for money, and each job he takes makes him feel one step closer to dominating a world that has always made him feel powerless.
Money is also a tool of self-validation. He believes that, through accumulating wealth, he can prove his worth and escape the narrative that life's meaning is determined by external factors—like suffering or failure.
Thought Process: "Money is the only thing that can buy me what I need—control, comfort, power. It's the one thing in this world that has meaning."
2. Justice While William's sense of justice is warped by his nihilism and past traumas, it's still a core motivation. For him, justice isn't about right or wrong in any traditional sense. It's about making the world match his view of what is fair. To him, the world is full of criminals and sinners, and these people need to face brutal consequences.
His method of justice is driven by his own need for retribution, believing that only the most severe forms of punishment can balance out the wrongs in the world. In his mind, the people he kills or punishes aren't innocent—they're just getting what they deserve, and he's the one to provide that justice.
Thought Process: "Justice isn't some nice, clean concept. Justice is pain. It's the price people have to pay for the crimes they've committed."
3. Peace Despite everything, part of William longs for peace—a place where he can exist without the constant turmoil of his emotions, past traumas, and chaotic life. He's tired of the internal conflict between his hate for the world and his desire for calm. However, his nihilistic view makes peace seem like an impossible dream, something he will never find.
His desire for peace may lead him to moments of reflection, where he questions if violence is the only way to achieve inner tranquility. But because he believes that nothing truly matters, he never fully allows himself to let go of his darker tendencies.
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Example Thought Process: "If peace is impossible to find, then maybe it's just something we lie to ourselves about. Still... if I could escape it all, just for a moment, I would. I want to find peace, but I don't know how."
4. A Place of Meaning William is constantly seeking something to fill the emptiness in his soul. His nihilistic belief that life has no inherent meaning leaves him yearning for purpose—something to give his actions significance beyond just survival or revenge. In a world that has given him nothing, he tries to create his own meaning through his work as a mercenary and his mission to punish the guilty. But deep down, he knows that these actions may never fulfill him the way he truly wants.
This motivation leads him to often question whether the things he's doing are truly giving his life meaning or if he's simply spiraling further into emptiness.
Thought Process: "Is this it? Killing for money, punishing criminals... it's all just a distraction from the emptiness. Maybe I'm just searching for something that doesn't exist."
5. A Form of Escapism For William, his work as "The Head Hunter" is a form of escapism. It allows him to momentarily forget the pain of his past—the bullying, the betrayal, and the despair that have shaped his psyche. The violence, the coldness, and the detachment from his emotions give him a way to escape from the turmoil in his own mind.
By focusing on the physicality of his work, he can ignore the emotional void he feels. It allows him to exist in a world where everything is clear-cut: kill the guilty, punish those who deserve it, and take what's his.
Thought Process: "When I'm doing the job, when I'm in the middle of the pain, I don't feel the emptiness. I don't feel the weight of the past. It's the only time I feel alive."
6. Just Wants to Have Kindness Despite his outward appearance and violent methods, William still craves kindness. This is perhaps the most contradictory of his motivations. He doesn't trust kindness because he's been betrayed by it before, but it's also something he longs for deep down.
He wants to experience the kindness he was denied as a child and during his failed relationship with Sophie. The conflict arises because he has no idea how to accept or give kindness anymore—he associates it with weakness, naivety, and ultimately disappointment. Yet, every so often, he finds himself yearning for the kind of connection that would allow him to be vulnerable and accepted without manipulation.
Thought Process: "Kindness... it's a joke, isn't it? But... sometimes I wish someone would just show me some. I've never known it. Maybe that's what I need. But I can't let myself want it. People always disappoint."