Zayin

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Zayin
Occupation(s)	Holy Knights
Affiliation(s)	Messian Church
Alignment(s)	Neutral-Law

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Zayin is a character in Shin Megami Tensei II. He is a member of the Holy Knights, the police force of Tokyo Millennium.

Profile

Zayin is a prominent Holy Knight tasked with monitoring Aleph. He is a man of strong conviction, who believes in the necessity of law and order, but struggles to accept the lengths the Center is willing to go to uphold it. Unlike his colleagues, he is not classist, believing that the goal of the Millennium Kingdom should be to save as many people as possible.

Zayin is a muscular man who wears a sarashi under his Holy Knight uniform. He has an angular face, with closely shaven hair on the sides of his head. "Zayin" is named after the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which can translate to either "7" or "weapon".

Gameplay

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Game Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei II

Zayin is first introduced in a mysterious flashback Aleph has in Valhalla, in which a man introduces him to Aleph and asks if he remembers his name. If Aleph responds he does, Zayin can be renamed. Otherwise if he responds with no, then he will be told Zayin's name.

Zayin is first met in-person after Aleph searches for the scientist Hanada by Madam's request with the goal of returning both him and Hiroko to the Center, which causes Aleph to remember his original name. Back at the Center, Zayin recommends that Aleph visit Arcadia and visit an old acquaintance, Gimmel.

When Hiroko is sent to the Factory's prison for breaking the law, Zayin attempts to stop Aleph from rescuing her, believing that the law is absolute despite understanding her reasoning for breaking it. Zayin's allegiance to the Center finally breaks when the Elders order the fallen angel Abaddon to swallow Valhalla whole in an attempt to destroy the sector in one fell swoop. He realizes that someone has to stand up against the Center and hijacks the Millennium News Network to expose the Millennium Kingdom conspiracy. By revealing to the populace outside of the Center that their lives are worthless to the Elders, he is able to start a rebellion in Holytown. Their initial goal is to free the Factory slaves forced to endure to inhumane labor conditions. However, even after being liberated, the workers refuse to leave. Confused by their insistence, Zayin asks Aleph to check out the nearby Watchtower, whereupon it is revealed that the Center have been using demons to brainwash the Factory workers. The revelation shocks Zayin at the hypocrisy of the Center and he attempts to defeat the demon, Belphegor, guarding the Watchtower, but fails, barely escaping with his life.

When the Factory workers are finally free, the Center sends Zayin an ultimatum: either surrender himself or the air flow in Holytown will be cut off, suffocating everyone in the area. Zayin agrees to go to the Center, but on his own terms, believing that the ideal of the Millennium Kingdom has been corrupted and that he has to end it himself. However, when Aleph catches up to him, Zayin is found to have been imprisoned through petrification. This leads Aleph to dethrone the Elders in his stead. While their defeat frees Zayin and the populace of Tokyo Millennium, Zayin is left with a bitter-sweet feeling, realizing that there is now no one left to maintain the city. During the conversation, an alarm alerts of an emergency in Holytown. Zayin asks Aleph to check on the settlement in his stead, still too injured to leave.

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

Much later, after Aleph meets Lucifer, the archangel Gabriel teleports Aleph to Zayin's new base in Eden, so they can speak one more time. Zayin urges Aleph to reject Lucifer's plans, claiming that he intends to destroy Tokyo Millennium, and argues that the city is the only reason humanity has managed to survive through the apocalypse. He asks Aleph to join him in building a true Millennium Kingdom, an ideal world where everyone can live in peace, by killing Lucifer and rebuilding Tokyo Millennium. If Aleph accepts, Zayin sends him to Seth's Temple in Tif'eret to spy on Lucifer's minions. If Aleph refuses, he is cast out of Eden.

Late into the game, it is revealed that Zayin was among those involved with the Messiah Project. Towards the end, Seth fuses with him and they become Satan.

Visionaries

Zayin is featured in four Visionary cutscenes in the Game Boy Advance and iOS versions of the game.

In "Gold Wing Harp", Zayin and Gimmel discuss the concept of salvation. Gimmel disparages Zayin's idea that it should be accessible to all people, arguing that the Center does not have the resources to accommodate everyone and adding that there is a growing corruption within the Center that must be destroyed.

In "The 13th Report", The Bishop calls Zayin to his office to discuss Daleth escaping the Center. Zayin suggests organizing a team to pursue him, but the Bishop stops him, explaining that Daleth's escape is all part of their prophecy. In order to keep their plan on track, the Bishop orders Zayin to secretly monitor and protect Daleth until the true Messiah defeats him.

In "Fragment of Petrification Prison", Zayin has an internal monologue while trapped within his stone prison. He questions whether he was abandoned by God until a voice echoes within his head, declaring that there is no God. The voice further explains to him that he had been viewing God incorrectly; that God is everything and therefore he can represent God. This motivates Zayin to follow his own ideals to become an instrument of God's judgment, even in His absence.

In "Bloody Bullet", Zayin comes across a fellow Holy Knight executing a child accused of rebellion under the orders from the Bishop. When Zayin asks the Bishop how a child could be considered a rebel, to which the Bishop answers that anyone who opposes the Millennium Kingdom in any way must be eliminated. Shortly after, the Holy Knight returns, telling the Bishop that the execution is completed. Zayin is left baffled, but the Bishop tells him that the laws must be obeyed.

End of spoilers.

Nomenclature

Zayin is named after the 7th letter of the Hebrew abjad, ז zayīn.

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ザイン	Zayin

Gallery

• Sprite

  Sprite

• Battle animation

  Battle animation

• Defeated sprite

  Defeated sprite

• Zayin raising his arms

  Zayin raising his arms

• Petrified sprite

  Petrified sprite