Vanitas
Vanitas is a Demon in Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2.
Profile
Origin
The name "Vanitas" means vanity in Latin. In this instance, vanity represents futility and worthless action, this meaning being derived from from a passage from the Old Testament. 'Vanity of Vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity' (Ecclesiastes 12:8). This inspired a genre of still life paintings called "vanitas", which are meant to represent the inevitability of death.
Design
Vanitas appears as an androgynous humanoid with deep black skin and red and grey markings covering its body. It has thick, long white hair that flows upwards and what appears to be six antennae curved downwards from its head. In its right hand, it carries a massive golden sword that has a large black orb on the ricasso. The body is surrounded by black and red tendrils that flow from a puddle of darkness.
Gameplay
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
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Compendium
| Compendium Entries | |
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| Liberation Dx2 | The manifestation of a part of Vanitas who is omnipresent in the world's Dragon Stream. As a miracle of the gods given divine form itself, Vanitas has long witnessed the corruption of the Dragon Stream by humanity's malice. However, deification drove Vanitas into a frenzy. It stood against the Neo Liberators as a powerful enemy capable of bringing about the Extinction Event. After being defeated in a direct confrontation, it shifted its focus from observing all humanity to fixating on a single individual. The danger of Vanitas bringing about the end of humanity looms evermore. |
Game Appearances
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
Vanitas acts as the main threat to the earth throughout the first and second seasons. Vanitas is the physical manifestation of human malice that pollutes the Dragon Stream. When the pollution brought by Vanitas reaches a critical mass, an extinction event is brought about. The threat of this event acts as the motivation for the acts of almost every organization and demon within the story. At the start of the story, the pollution within the Dragon Stream caused by human malice is said to be reaching a critical mass. The main factions of the game the Liberators, the Acolytes, the Elements and the Brothership of Harmony all exist in relation to Vanitas. While the Liberators, Elements and Brothership of Harmony all seek a means to halt the incoming extinction event, The Acolytes wish to bring it about on purpose to reset the earth to a more primal and natural state.
Vanitas itself does not appear in the story until Chapter 15, when the extinction event begins proper. Einherjar appears and explains to the Neo Liberators that Vanitas will enact "trials" for humanity. While Vanitas itself does not appear, it uses certain humans to act as catalysts for the trials. The two trials that Vanitas had given out in human history were the two World Wars. However, these trials were not meant to wipe out humanity as a whole, unlike the trial presented in Chapter 15. Despite Einherjar claiming that once the extiction event starts it cannot be stopped, Honey Sweet proposes to simply "kill" Vanitas to stop the carnage. Kokoro then identifies a massive concentration of malice within the Dragon Stream that she posits could be Vanitas itself. As Newbie and Hiro are the only ones able to withstand the intense malice protruding the area in which Vanitas resides, the two set out with Kokoro to defeat the monster.
While Vanitas at first appears nigh invincible, the efforts of Kokoro, Jabo Kuzuryu and the other Neo Liberators, Vanitas begins to show weakness and is ultimately defeated by the two Newbies. However, just before Newbie can deal the finishing blow, Vanitas claims that so long as humanity exists, so too shall it. It then follows by stating that if it is defeated by Newbie, a deep bond between them will form. Once defeated, Vanitas turns its observation away from humanity as a whole and solely on to Newbie. Accepting these terms, Newbie strikes down Vanitas and stops the extinction event.
Some extra tidbits involving Vanitas can be found in certain Event stories. While the featured demon's story often revolves around halting or causing the extinction event, certain scenarios have more to do with Vanitas itself.
In The Lord of the Armies, Sabaoth explains that Vanitas is an aspect of God, the same as itself, Shaddai and Elohim. However, Vanitas is said to have escaped God's grasp and began rampaging about in the Dragon Stream.
In Serpent of Eternal Recurrence, Ouroboros shows a vision of Vanitas to the Neo Liberators during their battle. This is significant because it is the first time the physical form of Vanitas is seen in game, months before Chapter 15 released.
In Nascent Vanitas, a strange incident in the summoning portal causes Vanitas to appear once more. Although it is dispatched by the Neo Liberators much more easily than before, its presence is deeply concerning. Its seeming revival is explained by the pact that it formed with Newbie, making good on its promise to observe solely them after being defeated. Vanitas is unleashed again later on in the story, where Belial captures the other Neo Liberators and tortures them until Newbie agrees to relinquish the power of the god to Belial. In a fit of rage, Vanitas comes forth, swiftly defeating Belial and being quelled by the Neo Liberators once more. The event ends with the Neo Liberators reassuring Newbie that they will always be there to support them to keep the power of Vanitas under control.