Matthew Morningstar

"I just wanted to know, I just wanted to help..."

- Matthew Morningstar

Matthew Morningstar (マシュー・モーニングスター) is the original main protagonist of Evershade;Gaiden.

Matthew was an honest, kind, and optimistic young man, raised by his single mother, whose life became a living hell after moving to Illinois with his childhood friend Sean Beckett. Following the disappearance of his friend and classmate Zack Levine, Matthew's subsequent investigations inadvertently made him the primary target of an entity only known as Siege.

Seeking to protect himself and stop the monster, Matthew, joined by Sean and a mysterious blogger known as DEUSEXMACHINA, and later by Gabe Benson, sought out an object referred to as "The Other" but this resulted in deadly encounters with the Majestic Others, a masked man, and a psychotic serial killer.

He eventually succeeded in finding Zack, who was now under the influence of Siege, and after spending weeks evading his former friend, Matthew was fatally wounded by Zack during a final confrontation in Freedom Hall and taken by Siege.

Appearance
Matthew is most commonly seen with a gold vest with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath, with black and blue shoes, along with black skinny jeans. He sports short brown hair and red eyes. He sometimes does not wear the gold vest and simply wears a black shirt, and sometimes a white t-shirt.

Personality
Matthew was a very determined individual who seemed to give out a great deal of effort into figuring out what was going on, such as going to areas where he had seen the Majestic Others and Siege before alone. Although Matthew has admitted that he is terrified of Siege, he does not show it, displaying a more calm nature than the average person.

As stated by Siege, Zack, and HYBRID, Matthew is very stubborn, acting on his own often despite being told by his friends not to for his own safety. This trait would later end up getting him killed.

Early Life (1993-2017)
Matthew grew up in the same town as Zack, Sean, Tobias, and Gabe, but does not remember that he was friends with Tracy in their first years of elementary school and was friends with Wayne until middle school. Matthew and his friends would visit Dr. Murphy whenever needed. Until high school, Matthew and his friends would be bullied by Tobias until a confrontation between the two led to Tobias earning respect for him.

Since elementary school, Matthew and Gabe were well known for their heated rivalry, constantly dissing each other and trying to surpass each other in almost everything, with Gabe having a slight edge over Matthew. Once out of high school, Matthew moves out of his house that he grew up in and moves with Sean to "Twin Peaks" to live with Zack, as Zack had moved there a year prior.

Avert the Odds (2018-2019)
Zack starts to become less active and eventually goes missing. Matthew and Sean set out to find him but get no lead, and cannot think of any reason for Zack to leave without telling them. Matthew and Sean begin to notice that they are being watched and later assaulted by a figure only known as Siege, and a masked man. When Matthew attempts to run after the masked man, he is instead knocked out by Siege.

Waking up in his bed after being found by Sean, Matthew is greeted by Gabe who tells him that he will be living there, too. The masked man attacks Gabe later who fends him off, which sparks a new rivalry between the two. After being chased by the masked man, Matthew and Sean encounter the Majestic Seven and run as they are quickly spotted. Matthew and Sean contemplate on what to do and Matthew goes back to the area where he saw the Majestic Seven, and instead finds Zack, emerging from the woods and claiming not to remember that much, before they are ambushed by Siege.

Matthew is relentlessly attacked by the Majestic Seven and Siege, and is finally captured by them but is saved by Zack and Sean. A girl that Matthew does not recognize, Tracy, arrives to ask about Gabe's current whereabouts and Matthew's old friend Wayne also greets Matthew. Tracy reveals some stuff she knows about Siege which proves useful when Matthew and Sean are again chased by Siege. Gabe is repeatedly harassed by the masked man. When the Majestic Seven strike once again, Sean and Gabe escape, while Matthew trips and falls. Zack appears and reveals that he is the leader of the group. Siege appears and almost kills Matthew, but he escapes. Matthew breaks the news to everyone and Tracy agrees to help out a little.

However, Siege and a new threat, the psycho killer supposedly "get rid of" the rest of the group. Matthew and his friends are attacked by the killer frequently, until the masked man injures him. Matthew is given a clue by somebody to an abandoned location where answers are hidden, but it instead proves to be a trap as Zack is there too. Matthew engages in a fight with Zack, where Zack tells Matthew that he is under the influence of Siege. The floor beneath Matthew crumbles, leading Matthew to fall one story below. Heavily injured, he avoids Zack's strike and hides. Thinking that the coast is clear, he runs towards the stairs to the bottom floor, however he runs into Siege, and runs the other way. Zack, hiding in a corner ambushes Matthew, fatally wounding him with a gunshot.

Matthew attempts to escape but is unable come up with enough to resolve to survive and closes his eyes, dead.

Fate's Rising Universe
Matthew's counterpart in the Fate's Rising universe is "Matt Morningstar." His counterpart is mentioned several times in the "Fate's Rising" arc by the alternate version of the Morningstars, and in contrast to Matthew's family in the "base world," Matt's family bears noble lineage, making their residence in Los Angeles as a wealthy business family.

Matt is mentioned to have disappeared in 2018, likely implying he encountered Siege and the Majestic Seven like Matthew. His disappearance is one of the reasons why the Morningstars in Fate's Rising, especially Mary Morningstar, are concerned with their public image. In addition, Dylan McConnell's birth name is also "Matthew Valentine."