Zayin

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Zayin
Occupation(s)	Holy Knight
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 the 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 Thousand Year 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".

Game Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei II

Zayin is first introduced in a mysterious flashback as "having the greatest power" among you.

He's met for the first time in person after Aleph searches for the scientist Hanada for Madam 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 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 rules and their punishments are absolute, even when someone has understandable reasons for breaking them. After losing, Aleph's resolve convinces him that the Center is fallible and decides to reject their orders if they ever go too far.

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 so he can expose the Millennium Kingdom conspiracy. By revealing that the lives of everyone outside of the Center is worthless to the Elders, he's able to start a rebellion in Holytown. Their first goal being to free the Factory slaves forced to endure to inhumane labor conditions. However, even after being liberated, the workers refuse to leave. Confused, he asks Aleph to check out the nearby Watchtower. There, its revealed that the Center have been using demons to brainwash the Factory workers. Shocked at the hypocrisy of the Center, Zayin attempts to defeat the demon guarding the Watchtower, but fails, barely escaping with his life.

When the Factory workers are finally free, the Center sends Zayin an ultimatum: surrender himself or the air flow in Holytown will be cut off, which would suffocate 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 the player catches up to him, Zayin is found already defeated, his body petrified. This leads Aleph to dethrone the Elders in his stead. While their defeat means freedom for the Tokyo Millennium and Zayin himself, he is left with a bitter-sweet feeling, realizing that now there is no one left to maintain the city. During the conversation, an alarm warns of an emergency in Holytown and Zayin asks Aleph to check what's happening for him because he's still injured.

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Later, after Aleph speaks to Lucifer, the archangel Gabriel teleports Aleph to Zayin's new base Eden, so they can speak one more time. Zayin urges Aleph to reject Lucifer's plans, since he intends to destroy the Tokyo Millennium, which he argues is the only reason humanity has managed to survive through the apocalypse. Zayin 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 the 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.

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 doesn't have the ability to accommodate everyone and goes further saying 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 this 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 declares that there is no God. It explains to him that he had been viewing God incorrectly, saying that God is everything and therefore he can represent God. This motivates Zayin to follow his own ideals become an instrument of God's judgment even in their 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, he answers saying anyone that 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 baffled at what just happened, but the Bishop tells him that the laws must be obeyed.

End of spoilers.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning

Zayin is named after the 7th letter of the Hebrew abjad (ז)

Gallery

• Zayin's standard sprite

  Zayin's standard sprite

• Zayin's battle animation

  Zayin's battle animation

• Zayin defeated

  Zayin defeated

• Zayin raising his arms

  Zayin raising his arms

• Zayin petrified

  Zayin petrified

• Zayin on the Millennium News Network

  Zayin on the Millennium News Network