Mr. Shadow (Chinese: Yinying xiansheng) is the director of SEAL in Varsapura. He is depicted as an enigmatic shadow-formed being in a suit, frequently accompanied by a black cat. His silhouette-like appearance suggests he is not fully human, or at least not human in the conventional sense.
Relationship with Hollowone
Mr. Shadow appears to see through the Hollowone's true motives for joining SEAL. While she claims to be a willing recruit, her real goal is to find the officer who killed her former self. Mr. Shadow's awareness of this creates an underlying tension: he allows her to operate within SEAL despite knowing she has a hidden agenda, which raises questions about his own motives.
Director Nyan
A character closely associated with Mr. Shadow is Director Nyan (Chinese: Miao juzhang). The Chinese name translates to a cat meow, strongly suggesting a connection to the black cat that accompanies Mr. Shadow. Whether Director Nyan is the cat in human form, or the cat is Director Nyan in animal form, has not been clarified. The playful naming adds to Mr. Shadow's air of mystery.
Narrative function
Mr. Shadow sits at the intersection of the game's two storylines. As SEAL director, he oversees the official missions dealing with Mindrot threats. But his apparent knowledge of Hollowone's secret mission means he also has visibility into the personal revenge storyline. He likely knows more about the truth Hollowone is seeking than anyone else in the organization.
Visual design
Mr. Shadow's shadow-formed appearance is one of the more striking character designs in the game. His body appears to be made of living shadow, dressed in a formal suit that gives him a bureaucratic air despite his clearly supernatural nature. The black cat perched on his desk or following him adds to the character's enigmatic quality.