Nikolai is a sadistic and loves to speak in great theatrics and filled with humor. One of his main traits is his tendency to pose questions (oftentimes rhetorical threats) as "quizzes". He hints that his eccentric persona may or may not be real. He does feel empathy and severe guilt over hurting others and just wants to be free from the constrains those emotions give. But while closing up the speech he makes it unclear whether that was the truth or just another act to play with the victims.