Demian
“ | ” | |
–Demian, Canto III: The Unconfronting |
Demian (Hangul: 데미안, Demian), is a peculiar young man with a link to the Sign. He first appeared in Canto III: The Unconfronting as a major supporting character.
Demian is originally introduced as transfer student at the school Sinclair attended in Calw, forming a friendship with him through Sinclair's increasingly tumultuous days until their hometown was ultimately destroyed by the Inquisition of N Corp.
Shown to possess a tie to the unknowably treacherous Outskirts and a handful of abilities defying the laws of the City itself, Demian showcases himself to be a powerful individual. He leads the unofficially named Demian's Group in present day.
Appearance
Demian is a young man of average stature. He bears brown, short hair that is swept to his right. He has an unnaturally pale, nearly gray complexion. His eyes are a deep blue.
He is occasionally depicted with a mysterious mark on his forehead. That mark being The Sign: a mysterious symbol resembling a crudely written ‘he’ (𐤄) turned slightly counter-clockwise.
His school uniform consists of a white long-sleeved button-up shirt overlaid with a green sleeveless sweater, as well as a pair of pants of the same color. Both his shirt sleeves and pants are partially rolled up. He also wears short white socks and black shoes.
In present day, he wears a different outfit. The attire consists of a similarly white long-sleeved button-up shirt, rolled up past his wrists, but overlaid with a dark gray waistcoat. He wears matching shorts, but this time with a black belt, too. Prominently, Demian wears a large blue scarf that waves behind him. Underneath this scarf in the "V" of his waistcoat lies a blue gem.
Personality
Throughout their childhood with Sinclair, Demian always seemed to exude extremely mysterious energy. In Sinclair's memories, he is described as detached, aloof, and mature. He gained an immense interest in Sinclair the moment the shy boy made eye contact with him upon seeing his mark, and was privy to information about Sinclair's personal life than what really seems natural. Always talking in a vague manner, Demian proves himself to be of the philosophical sort with an attitude of someone wise beyond his years. Despite coming off as cold and all-knowing at times, he remained supportive and hopeful of what Sinclair could become.
Like Sonya, he appears to have an interest in those who manifested The Sign, a mysterious symbol manifested in those who are "special". Demian himself possesses the Sign, which lead to his friendship with Sinclair. The enigmatic young man wishes to see his former classmate to cultivate his great potential, eager to see Sinclair transformation into something greater — to "see [him] completely bare", as he puts it.
He seems to be able to obtained information without being told beforehand: adding to his mystic charm, as described by Sinclair. This information is usually relayed eerily calm, even when confronting Sinclair about his endeavors with Kromer. Demian maintains his perpetual calm and smile even during his bisection and utter obliteration of Kromer upon rescuing the Sinners. This tranquil yet enigmatic personality is rather unnerving to those he reaches out too, as Dante and Sinclair have felt first hand.
Demian additionally characterizes himself as a bit of a contrarian, stating that he much prefers the "love and freedom" found in those barren lands compared to life in the Nest, that the Mirror technology is a cruel one, and that most adults are stupid. While some of his iconoclastic ideals are almost romantic, his unique views also tend to be incredibly eyebrow-raising.
Abilities
Demian is implied to have explored the Outskirts at some point in time— an incredibly dangerous place for even the most experienced Fixers. This may speak volumes on his capability of survival, especially in conjunction with having escaped the wrath of the Inquisition unscathed.
He also bears The Sign, a mysterious symbol largely shrouded in mystery, with a distinction from E.G.O yet similarly notable presence.
- Psychokinesis: Demian was able to completely bisect and disintegrate Kromer the Dreamer of Human Wholeness by manifesting a string golden rings with a wave of his hand, without any form of physical weapon visible.
- Levitation: Demian is shown to control the speed of his descent in cutscene, gracefully falling down from the sky. He is hinted to float in the air instead of walk, with Rodya even referring to him as the "flying blue kid".
- Telepathy: Demian states he can hear "all sorts of chirps and trills" when referring to his ability to understand Dante's ticking. It is not clear whether this is a sort of "true" telepathy— which would be one method of explaining his capability to know information he shouldn't naturally know— or if he can simply resonate and communicate with Dante like the others Sinners can.
- City Technology Bypassing: The post-credits scene Canto VI: The Heartbreaking shows Demian completely disregarding T Corp.'s restrictions on color, appearing before Dante in full color as he would anywhere else. He also proves himself to remember Catherine's existence, which had been entirely lost to everyone other than Dante and Heathcliff.
Gallery
Demian standing with others from a certain faction in the Official Promotion Video
Trivia
- Unlike most other characters, Demian is inspired by characters from two different pieces of classic literature: Max Demian from Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth by Hermann Hesse and the prince from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
- In Demian, Demian's mother, Frau Eva, tells Sinclair a story of a young man who had loved a star. While he believed that this love would never be fulfilled, one day while overcome with his love for it, he had leapt into space to be with the star, only to doubt the possibility of such a thing and fail at the last moment. This story relates to the ideas of having the strength of will in order to do things which others believe to be impossibilities present throughout the novel, especially in matters regarding love and connections to others.
- Demian's character in Limbus Company often brings up the stars in his conversations with Dante, such as when Demian made a metaphor about how the Mirror and its technology are stealing "stars" from him, and later even likening himself to being a star when explaining to Dante why T Corp.'s color draining technology does not affect him. The group that Demian is part of also has connections with the stars, with Rim describing their group as "those who will be sovereigns of a Star".
- Demian makes several direct references to The Little Prince throughout Limbus Company. His request that Dante draws him a sheep references the introductory line of the Little Prince, who asks the protagonist the same thing; his thought exercise about finding many copies of the rose one cared for, which he uses as an analogy for the events of Canto VI, references a plot point in The Little Prince; his recurring mentions of "taming" refer to the concept as used in The Little Prince, in which it's used to explain the forming of a bond of friendship. Demian also references one of the core concepts of the book, that "Anything essential is invisible to the eyes".
- The Little Prince is also referenced in Lobotomy Corporation with the Abnormality The Little Prince and makes several of the same references to the novella as Demian does in Limbus Company.
- The scarf Demian wears is likely a reference to the design of the prince from The Little Prince.
- In Demian, Demian's mother, Frau Eva, tells Sinclair a story of a young man who had loved a star. While he believed that this love would never be fulfilled, one day while overcome with his love for it, he had leapt into space to be with the star, only to doubt the possibility of such a thing and fail at the last moment. This story relates to the ideas of having the strength of will in order to do things which others believe to be impossibilities present throughout the novel, especially in matters regarding love and connections to others.
- The Sign that occasionally manifests on Demian's forehead is a reference to the biblical Mark of Cain, an important motif in the novel Demian.
| ||
|