The Sign

The Sign

The Sign (Hangul: 표지, pyoji) is a mysterious symbol which manifests on the bearer's forehead.

According to Demian and Sonya, this mark is a symbol of those that are "special", distinguishing them from others and allowing bearers to see "the new world to come".

Overview

Appearing as a red symbol consisting of two strokes surrounded by one crooked stoke, the Sign is a miraculous mark engraved on one's forehead signifying them as "special". This marking seems to be invisible to most people and can be latent in manifestation, remaining unknown to bearers themselves until awakened. Those with the Sign are able to to perceive this marking on others with it too, as Sinclair was still able to vaguely see it on Demian when he first arrived to school despite being unaware of his own potential. Furthermore, the Sign can be hidden and revealed seemingly at will, as Rim keeps his hidden.

The true nature of the Sign is unknown and largely shrouded in mystery.

Known Bearers

• Demian
• Sinclair — while latent during his school years, Sinclair fully manifests the mark during the events of Canto III.
  • The One Who Shall Grip Sinclair — in the World of N Corp. Sinclair manifested the first two marks of the Sign, but was unable to complete it. Notably, the Sinclair that Kromer witnessed in the Mirror did not seem to manifest any part of the Sign.
• Rim

Implied

• Sonya — implied to have it himself given his ability to see it latent in some Sinners.

As noted by Sonya in Canto II, several of the Sinners in Limbus Company bear the Sign the same as he does. Notably, he remarks that Rodion does not bear this mark unlike some of her peers.

Dungeon

“

Sinclar's determination to stand up to Kromer. Once 3 have been drawn...

”

Appearing as a Wrath-affinity E.G.O Gift in Branch K-02, the Sign is obtained from various Events found throughout the dungeon:

• Gate #1, regardless of choice
• Choosing to intervene in the Torture Chamber and allowing Sinclair to block
• Choosing to free the Prosthetics in Room of Echoing Screams and winning the battle
• Passing Gate 3 through combat or the three Tokens

After gaining 3 stacks of A Sign, the E.G.O gift will debuff the final boss at the end of the dungeon and will additionally buff Sinclair if brought into said battle.

Trivia

Literary origin

The Sign is based on the Mark of Cain discussed in the novel Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth by Hermann Hesse, a important motif and point of discussion by its namesake characters.

Statue of Cain after killing his brother Abel.

The Curse and mark of Cain was a sort of geas (depending on perspective, a blessing or a curse) given to Cain by God after the former murdered his younger brother, Abel, in a fit of jealousy. Because of the mark, if someone were to kill Cain, the damage inflicted would be dealt to his assailant sevenfold. God engraved this mark so that no one would wreak vengeance upon Cain and slay him, ensuring that Cain would instead live a full life and properly serve his punishment for his sin of fratricide.

In the novel, Demian explains his view of the story of Cain and Abel, that is quite far from the interpretation of the story in Christian canon. Rather than seeing the "mark" as one of shame, as it was taught to him and Sinclair during their scripture lessons, Demian sees it as one of distinction. Demian reasoned Cain was a “superior” being compared to his fellow man, and because of this difference, was ostracized by others who concocted fictional stories of him instead of admitting their own shortcomings and inferiorities.

Demian himself bears this mark, signaling the numerous qualities that set him apart from the other characters in the novels, particularly his near-psychic abilities and the mental link he appears to have with Sinclair. During the events of the novel, he recognizes the same mark in Emil Sinclair, reasoning that he too is “special” and that they with others bearing the Mark of Cain will one day see the “rebirth of a new world”. This leads him to become closer with the latter, claiming to his mother, Frau Eva, who similarly bears it, that "there's a boy there who has the 'mark' on his forehead; I must have him for my friend."

As the novel's finale takes place in 1913 — one year before the First Great War — with the novel itself being mostly written in 1917, this concept refers to the world as it might be rebuilt after the war, revolutionizing antiquated social structures and Christian beliefs. The mark has thus become an important motif in the book’s criticisms of current European society and themes surrounding individualism.

Appearance

There is no consensus on what the “mark” exactly was, either interpreted as metaphorical sign or a literal physical mark inflicted upon Cain.

• Interpreters such as medieval French rabbi, Rashi, took the line "and the Lord placed a mark on Cain" (Hebrew: וַיָּשֶׂם ה' לְקַיִן אוֹת) of Genesis 4 to mean that Cain’s mark was one of the Hebrew letters of the Tetragrammaton: that God engraved part of his name onto Cain to protect him from those that swore vengeance upon him.
• In the Kabbalistic Zohar, the mark of Cain was thought to be one of the Torah’s twenty-two Hebrew letters, but the text doesn’t specify what the identity of the letter actually was.

As shown in Limbus Company, the Sign appears to be a stylized ‘he’ (𐤄), the Phoenician letter where the Hebraic ‘he’ (ה) derives from, the namesake of the HE classification given Abnormalities.

• The standalone ‘𐤄’ appears to a clipping of the Tetragrammaton, ‘YHWH’ (יהוה)‎, otherwise written in its Paleo-Hebraic form: “𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄”.
  • “YHWH”, was one of the seven sacred names of God and saw use in the Hebrew Bible, meaning "to be, become, come to pass". The name is often transliterated as Yahweh or occasionally Jenovah.
  • “יהוה‎“ was not to be pronounced out loud nor erased upon being written according to Talmudic Jewish traditions because of its immense sacredness. Multiple epithets and shortenings related to God’s name were invented to circumvent these restrictions to properly respect the Lord’s name.
  • Former official English translator, Ian Watson (@casual_watson), affirmed the origins of the appearance of the Sign to be that of the Tetragram in a tweet below the reveal tweet of The One Who Shall Grip Sinclair and N Corp. Mittelhammer Don Quixote.
• 

  The Mark of Cain as it appears in Supernatural, manifesting on its bearer's right arm.
  The Sign's design references the depiction of The Mark of Cain in the American television series Supernatural. In the show, the mark's form is based on The First Blade, the weapon used by Cain to murder Abel.
  • The two depictions of the mark are almost completely identical, with the key differences being the Sign in Limbus Company slanted counter-clockwise and located on a wearer’s forehead in contrast to the Mark appearing on the right arm of its bearer in Supernatural.