Zayin

Zayin
ザイン
SMT2 SFCSMT2 PS SFC artwork from Shin Megami Tensei II PS artwork from Shin Megami Tensei II
Other Name(s)	ZainAeon Genesis
Occupation(s)	Holy Knight
Affiliation(s)	Messian Church
Race(s)	Warrior
Alignment(s)	Dark-Law

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

Though Zayin is his default name, the player is permitted to rename him should they wish in the beginning section of the game.

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, whose name means "weapon".

Gameplay

Shin Megami Tensei II

	Name Level HP MP Zayin 25 360 236	Strength 14 Intelligence 11 Magic 8 Vitality 9 Agility 11 Luck 8
Location Internment Facility B1F
Species Race Alignment EXP Macca Magnetite Drop Human Warrior Dark-Law (10) 600 ♄Macca800 MAGMagnetite200 —
Attack Accuracy Defense Evasion M. Attack M. Effect 78 53 68 52 10 13 Resistances Normal Boss Sword Gun Fire Ice Elec Force Nerve Light ×1 ×1 ×1 ×⅝×0.625 ×⅝×0.625 ×1 NulNull NulNull Dark Ruin Bind Charge Hand Skill Leg Skill Fly Skill Almighty NulNull ×¾×0.75 ×⅛×0.125 ×½×0.50 ×1 ×1 ×1 ×1
Moon Phase Damage Output New 1/8 2/8 3/8 Half 5/8 6/8 7/8 Full 87.5％ 106.25％ 100％ 100％ 87.5％ 100％ 100％ 100％ 112.5％
Basic Attack Element Hit(s) Target Sword 2 Single enemy
Extra Skills Skill Attribute Cost Description Roundhouse Leg Skill 8% HP Strongly kicks 1 enemy and deals damage. Flying Kick Leg Skill 12% HP Kicks multiple enemies and deals damage. Backfist Hand Skill 6% HP Strongly strikes 1 enemy and deals damage. Thunder Kick Leg Skill 20% HP Attacks 2 enemies. Power changes depending on user's max HP. Bodhisattva's Palm Hand Skill 10% HP Attacks 1 enemy. Power changes depending on user's max HP.

Game Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei II

At the beginning of the game in Valhalla, as Hawk is on his way to train at the Virtual Battler of Haneda's gym, he is told by a civilian that someone is looking for him, which prompts him into a flashback involving an unknown man asking him to name someone. If Hawk chooses not to name the person, he will be told that their name is Zayin, the same person the man says is looking for Hawk after the flashback ends.

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, Gimel.

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

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. Fighting Aleph however makes him decide that while the law must be obeyed, wrong laws must be abolished, so he allows Aleph through. 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 the archangel Gabriel undoes the curse put on Zayin. While their defeat frees Zayin and the populace of Tokyo Millennium, Zayin is left with a bittersweet 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.

After Aleph meets Lucifer in Keter Castle, Gabriel takes Aleph to Zayin's new base in Eden, a place at the top of the Center's headquarters where people who have heard the voice of God, regardless of their origin or class, have gathered to be part of a new world. There, Zayin urges Aleph to reject Lucifer's plans, claiming that he intends to destroy Tokyo Millennium, and argues that despite the Elders' actions, 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 equally, by killing Lucifer and rebuilding Tokyo Millennium. If Aleph accepts, Zayin offers his thanks and sends him to Seth's temple in Tif'eret to spy on Lucifer's minions for him, as he cannot leave Eden while it is still under construction. If Aleph refuses, Zayin finds it regretful that he cannot live in Eden and casts him out, banishing him from paradise just as Adam and Eve were.

Inside Abaddon's Body, Mekata tells Aleph that Zayin was among those created in the Messiah Project, created to act as Aleph's guardian. Towards the end of the game, Zayin is revealed to be half of Satan, and fuses with his other half Seth to become him.

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. 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, 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.

Trivia

Megami Tensei Jūnenshi claims he is Prototype No. 7, with No. 5 and No. 6 having failed or been discarded. This contrasts with the GBA version's Visionaries and Kōji Okada's comment in Shin Megami Tensei II Akuma Dai Jiten, which states there were up to No. 5

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 Zain	Zayin

Gallery

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  Cover artwork for the Super Famicom version of Shin Megami Tensei II featuring Zayin
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  Artwork from the Super Famicom version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Artwork from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Sprite from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Battle sprite from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Battle animation from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Defeated sprite from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Sprite of Zayin raising his arms from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II
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  Sprite of petrified Zayin from the PlayStation version of Shin Megami Tensei II