Stephen (Shin Megami Tensei)

	"Mature Content"
	This character or verse has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.

“	I see you've got that computer program I wrote. Has it been useful for you? A long time ago, I was working on a teleportation device... A network of Terminal Systems that would allow the user to instantly transport him or herself from terminal to terminal. But in the middle of one of my experiments, I accidentally opened a portal to the Abyss and summoned a demon. The demon seemed like it was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn't understand it, and it eventually became hostile and attacked me. I managed to defeat it, but not without sustaining terrible wounds first. The experience motivated me to develop a computer program that would allow people to speak with and befriend demons, making them into minions... Thus, I wrote the Demon Summoning Program. After learning that the terminals were connected with the Abyss, a man named Gotou began to summon and attempt to control them. Knowing that the demons would be coming in large numbers, I sent my Demon Summoning Program to as many people as I could. By increasing the number of people that have the ability to control demons, I was hoping to balance things out and keep any potential demonic revolts from getting totally out of control. Unfortunately, the program itself is harder to master than I had hoped and very few people were able to become full-fledged summoners. Do you understand me? Very well. Then I shall give you this program to assist you. It is designed to capture and analyze data. It will scan and analyze any demons that you should meet, and record their data into your computer's memory so that you can refer to it whenever you need to. If there is anything I can do to help you, please come back here and see me. Now, go to the director's office on the second floor, I've unlocked the door for you. There should be another switch inside. If you hit it, it should open the gate outside so you can get out of here.	„
	~ Stephen to The Hero upon their first meeting

“	Hi. I'm not a demon. I'm a person just like you, and I came into this virtual battle so I could meet you. My name is... call me Steven. I'm here because there's something I want to give you. Here... this is my new Demon Summoning Program that I wrote. You can download it to your arm terminal diretly through the virtual interface here. There has been an... incident... and because of it, very soon. "Tokyo Millenium" here will most likely be overrun with demons. The leaders of this city have been surpressing the demons for a long time, but they can no longer hold out. At this point, nothing can stop the demons from entering our world. Unless we learn to live with the demons and use their power, we humans will never survive. Therefore, in preparation. I have been giving this program to everyone that looks to be able to summon and use demons. I don't know who you are, nor does it matter to me. All I can tell is that you are powerful, and thus I am giving you this program. Do you understand me? Very well. I am glad that you understand. I shall upload the demon summoning program into your arm terminal. Use it well! I hope you use this program with fore-thought and moderation. We will most likely meet again, here in the virtual reality of the Virtual Battler. I look forward to seeing you again. Goodbye for now!	„
	~ Stephen to Aleph

“

Stephen approaching Tamaki Uchida after they've finished all routes

„

“	The law of God, the temptation of demons, and the despair of the White... You turned them all down and chose your own path. For your current self, I am willing to tell you everything that I know... Wouldn't you say so, Burroughs? ...I see... Thank you. Now... If you are truly the one who has inherited his will, then for the sake of both Mikado and Tokyo... You must return to your home world to revive the goddess of Tokyo. I will help you with that. This is a world made by the thoughts of humanity... it is the Expanse. It's a bit different from the place where you met that girl before. The White are also aggregates of thought. This is their home. Though you rejected their proposal, the White's influence persists. There are four of the White lurking somewhere in this forest. I would like you to defeat them all and break their hold on this place. ...Let me heal your wounds. If you're ever injured in battle, you should go back to the forest entrance. I'll heal you whenever you want.	„
	~ Stephen to Flynn

“	Hello. I’m glad to see you accepted my quest. Sorry for being so terse, we’re short on time. Allow me to explain things. Four others have found their way here, besides yourself. And like you, each is a messiah – though from different universes. In other words, a protagonist. YHVH feared them, however, and tried to force an end to their paths. That is why I decided to…bend the laws of the universe and call them here. This is one of the four messiahs. He died when an ICBM fell on Tokyo. Unfortunately, despite the Goddess’s efforts to prevent otherwise, YHVH broke his cycle of reincarnation. I managed to salvage his soul, but… There’s nothing more I can do, beyond that. The same applies for the other three… They’ve lost their bodies, but are now fighting here in the Diamond Realm. I would like you to do what I am not permitted to – guide them back to their original worlds. Should you agree to help them, I will lend you my power – even if I must risk bending the will of the Axiom. I thought you might say that. First, I would like you to go and greet the messiahs. I’m counting on you.	„
	~ Stephen to Nanashi

“	Hello. Seems like you were able to meet with the messiahs from the other universes. That leaves just one more… He is called the Hero… Right now, he is only a soul. Your power is what he needs to return to his original form. Don’t worry, it’s far less complicated than it sounds. Now, using your power of observation, restore to him his rightful form. By observing you, he should recall who he is. Then, he will be revived as a messiah. To that end, I will do my own part. You just show us your potential. Humans have been given the power to change the world. We must show that power to his soul… Are you prepared?	„
	~ Stephen to Nanashi before the first boss battle

“	It looks like it's about time... It would seem he managed to regain his original form by observing our fight. Nanashi… Do you remember what I wrote in my request? Through your observation, the Hero has remembered what he needs to do. You are his guiding light… But I am not satisfied yet. I said you needed to guide all of them. I extended salvation to you, even though it meant bending the laws of the universe. That is because I sensed that humans have the potential to exceed The Axiom. I need you to show me that I'm right. That it was worth breaking such immutable rules to save you. Now, show me humanity's true potential. Take the reigns of history once more... We are short on time… All of you, come at me at once. This is the first time I have ever had to fight at full power. I might not be able to hold back. Apologies in advance.	„
	~ Stephen to the Messiahs before the true boss battle

“	You have shown me your power... Your strengths are all wonderful. I suppose it’s no surprise, considering the Goddess saw so much potential in you. My job here is done… All of you must return to your own universes and accomplish what you were meant to do. …Until we meet again.	„
	~ Stephen's final words to the Messiahs before leaving

“	...I've been trying to gather information through the computers since we can't get out of the school, but... I connected to some suspicious network and got this weird program. When I tried running it to see what would happen, that monster... that demon came out. The guy who uploaded it was called "STEVEN"... That's his handle, anyway, so I don't think it's his real name.	„
	~ Katsuhiko Sato to Tamaki Uchida about Stephen

“	I hear some guy saw a guy in a wheelchair while virtual battling. That's not supposed to be part of the program!	„
	~ Bartender talking about Stephen in Shin Megami Tensei II

Background

Stephen is a non-player character, first appearing in Shin Megami Tensei. Stephen is a recurring character within the series. Stephen has had contact with The Axiom and has gained immense power from it. Stephen has a cat named Schrodinger which is likely a reference to the idea of Schrodinger's cat. He has been present since the first Shin Megami Tensei game.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Stephen’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Stephen is a brilliant computer programmer who is the main architect of the Terminal System project, a revolutionary technology which allowed instantaneous travel through computer networks. However, during one of those experiments, a terminal accidentally connected to the Expanse, causing a demon to travel through. The supernatural being tried to communicate with Stephen, but as Stephen wasn't able to comprehend its language, it eventually got hostile and attacked, resulting in the crippling of Stephen. This event ended up motivating Stephen in developing the Demon Summoning Program, a computer file that, once downloaded in a COMP, will allow its user to translate the demon language, allowing for proper communication. It also possesses an auto-map and stores demons on its memory plate function, as Stephen hoped that someone would one day be able to use it to ally himself with demons to avert the obliteration of Tokyo by the upcoming war of the rising Messian and Gaean factions. Thus, he sent the Demon Summoning Program through e-mail to as many people as possible, before being captured by Gotou's forces and imprisoned in Echo Building; where he would meet the protagonist for the very first time. After this, he only makes minor appearances through the game, mostly to upgrade the protagonist's computer as well as the Demon Summoning Program, allowing them to store and summon more demons at the same time. Shin Megami Tensei II Stephen is first mentioned when some drinkers at a bar informs Hawk that a "guy in a wheelchair" has been seen by numerous fighters while Virtual Battling, and that this phenomenon was not supposed to be part of the program. While training in the virtual world, Aleph himself is approached by the mysterious man who, after introducing himself, predicts that great calamities are about to befall Tokyo Millennium, saying that he has been waiting for strong warriors to appear at the various public Virtual Battlers scattered through town as to be able to give them what he calls a "Demon Summoning Program;" stating that if humanity doesn't learn how to use the power of the demons as their own, they will be destroyed by it. It is mainly through this technology, uploaded into Hawk's Arm Terminal, that he can communicate, recruit, and summon different demons. Through the remainder of the game, Stephen can be seen on various other optional appearances, all in Virtual Battlers of different districts of both Tokyo Millennium and the Underworld. It is over these meetings that Stephen is able to grant Aleph with different improvements and upgrades to his Demon Summoning Program, giving him the ability to stock more and more minions (to the maximum capability of twelve) through the use of a compression algorithm that, according to him, reduces the size of demon data that is able to be simultaneously stored inside a computer. The Devil Analyze program and the Identification System (used to show information about specific demons and certain items, respectively) were both also engineered by Stephen. He appears much later, this time in Yesod, one of the multiple districts of the Abyss. There, he activates for Aleph the Terminal technology used in the Abyss, so that he can save the game and teleport himself whenever he likes. In the Neutral Route he teleports Aleph to Eden after they defeat the dragon Kuzuryu. Shin Megami Tensei IV Stephen returns as a guide to the protagonist, giving hints throughout the game. His appearance is said to be mere references to previous games in the series. He first appears in Alraune's Domain and introduces himself to the prentice Samurai. He mentions that the girl has taken an interest in Flynn. He offers to heal their wounds in a room further in if they are injured. He appears in the dream Flynn has after the Lilim incapacitate him and tells him that she wants to see him to the east, then vanishes. In Naraku he appears at the Temporary Scaffolding floor, updates the devil summoning program and disappears again. If Flynn remains neutral throughout the game, he meets Stephen at the Monochrome Forest, who introduces himself at the behest of Burroughs and requests that Flynn defeat the White, who still have sway over the expanse despite being rejected. Once the deed is done, he explains to Flynn his identity from the past and that he tasked Burroughs with finding Flynn's current self. He explains that the girl is, in fact, the goddess of Tokyo; and that by lifting the ceiling over Tokyo with the help of Masakado, that she will be restored to her original form. In the DLC Challenge Quest For the Past... For the Future, Stephen is met in the Expanse, which, he explains, is a place that transcends time. He takes Flynn to the past, to the day the ceiling formed over Tokyo to protect it from incoming missiles, and explains the events leading up to that day: When the Yamato Perpetual Reactor connected to the Expanse, it allowed demons to come into the world. This led to wars for control between the angels and demons, a world war among humanity, and the launch of the worst weapons known to man. He tells Flynn that he must help Masakado regain his senses and become the ceiling, and warns that any future Tokyo will fade into only a possibility if the city is destroyed. After Masakado's restoration and the rise of the Firmament, Stephen states that history will now continue along the path they remember, with Mikado's formation and Flynn's eventual birth, and returns Flynn to his own time, thanking him and Burroughs for saving everyone. Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse Stephen appears to the cast from time to time, guiding them on their quest and occasionally lending indirect assistance; most notably while disguised as Dr. Matsuda when developing measures to counter Shesha. His main motive appears to be to help restore the Goddess of Tokyo after her body is damaged. At the final chapter of the game, he appears to Nanashi to explain how humans and gods interact, and shows the party the way to YHVH's Universe, with the intent of defeating the Creator in order to either usher in true freedom for humanity or to pave the way for the new universe. Although mysterious and often appearing as a neutral figure in the background, Stephen reveals a more ruthless side in his desire to see human potential on Dagda's route. There he sends the united forces of humanity intentionally to their doom, knowing they would fail and to serve as a lesson to ensure that Nanashi will not back down from his current resolve. He also gives multiple warnings to the new Creator who still retains his humanity, leaving to chase the Goddess of Tokyo after warning him of Messiahs and the fates that befell Krishna, Lucifer, Merkabah, and YHVH. Messiahs in the Diamond Realm Stephen is the one behind the DLC quest "Messiahs in the Diamond Realm." He summons the hero, Aleph, the Demi-fiend and an alternate version of Flynn into the Diamond Realm, as a means to save them from YHVH's attempt to remove them from the cycle of reincarnation. He then calls Nanashi into the Diamond Realm, instructing him to find the other four Messiahs and guide them back to their worlds. He has one in his possession, that of the hero's, and has Nanashi find the remaining three first. Once the other three Messiahs are gathered, En no Ozuno unlocks a door that allows Nanashi to meet with Stephen, who instructs him to use his powers of observation to have the hero regain his form. To this end, Stephen does battle with Nanashi, hoping to have the hero remember who he is. As the hero reforms, the remaining Messiahs burst into the room. Stephen then gets out of his wheelchair, explaining his motives. He had sensed that humans have the potential to exceed The Axiom, and thus extended a chance for salvation to them. He then does battle with Nanashi's party and the four Messiahs, giving them a chance to show whether it was worth saving them and defying The Axiom's laws. He unleashes his full power as the game's ultimate boss. The second battle is easily the hardest fight in the game. Stephen has an estimated 100,000 HP, and initially resists everything. However, akin to the battle with YHVH, the player alternates between Nanashi's party and the Messiahs, and the hero and Aleph possess skills that can reduce Stephen's resistances and potentially open up weaknesses. Stephen also possesses very strong moves: Pair Production fully buffs himself and gives him smirk; Particle Annihilation fully debuffs the active party; Reboot Code wipes the party of all buffs and effects up to and including Charge, Smirk and Doping; Crack Code removes 3 Press Turns from the party's next turn. His most dangerous attack is Singularity Wave, which can inflict almighty damage reaching tens of thousands of points, which will immediately kill any combatant without revival passives or items. While it can be dodged, the attack landing on Nanashi on Apocalypse difficulty can completely ruin the fight. He will only use Singularity Wave if he has not taken any damage the turn prior, so to prevent him from using it you need to hit him at least once every turn. This is what makes Crack Code so dangerous: you need to choose between healing, buffing/debuffing, and damaging Stephen over one press turn. All his elemental attacks pierce resistances, but his physical attacks don't, so bringing phys-immune demons to the fight can easily snatch away his turns. Refrain from fully buffing yourself or debuffing him - i.e. keep him at -2 on all stats and you on +2 on all of yours - as having excessive buffs or debuffs can cause him to use Dekunda, Reboot Code, Pair Production and Particle Annihilation more often. Between the Messiahs, it is best to have the hero and Aleph focus on reducing Stephen's weaknesses to make it easier for both teams to do damage to him. Making Stephen weak to physical attacks will allow both teams to get a long string of free Press Turns. The Demi-fiend is the party's main damage dealer, as his Deadly Fury has a very high critical rate, allowing him to easily smirk and fire off double-power Freikugels. Flynn is largely reduced to support, being the party's only source of Mediarahan, but on odd turns he can strike any elemental weaknesses or fire off Smile Charged Antichthons. Upon defeat, Stephen applauds the Messiahs for demonstrating their power, and leaves. A wormhole opens, allowing each Messiah to return to their universe and set right what went wrong. En no Ozuno bids Nanashi farewell as the quest is complete.

General Information

Name: Stephen

Origin: Shin Megami Tensei

Sex: Male

Age: Originally around his 50s, Unknown (once transcending the cycle he no longer is bound by time)

Classification: Creator of the Demon Summoning Program, Agent of The Axiom

Species: Human

Occupation: Scientist

Status: Alive

Alignment: True Neutral (Stephen is noted to be the same as the Old Man from Kichijouji, who is noted to be the very symbol of neutral. Stephen will help the Messiahs regardless of their alignment to see what they will do, even after Nanashi has betrayed and killed his entire party, Stephen will give him insight on what to do next, however Stephen shows he isn't on Nanashi's side. When Nanashi does decide to create a new universe Stephen informs people that originally supported him the truth and warns Nanashi that a new messiash will come to overthrow him, as he did to YHVH)

Codex Statistics

Key: Pre-Cycle of Transmigration | Post-Cycle of Transmigration

Tier: Low 10-B physically, Higher with Observation & Willpower. Low 8-C to Unknown-B with summoned Demons | Unknown-A, possibly Higher

Cardinality: Finite | Unknown

Dimensionality: 3-D initially, Unknown after transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration

Attack Potency: Below Average Human level physically (Was attacked by a demon, giving him large wounds in the process, confining him to a wheelchair), Higher with Observation (His observation allowed him to kill a demon he summoned even after being greatly wounded. Observation can be used to massively amplify one's stats, such as when the early game Shin Megami Tensei 1 protagonist was amplified to be able to fight with all the other end game protagonists and fight Stephen. With it's power being noted by Stephen to give humans the potential to exceed the Axiom) & Willpower (A characters willpower in SMT allows them to increase greatly in strength allowing them to harm enemies they couldn't even scratch before and survive attacks that would have originally kill them, the will of one's friends and allies around them can invigorate one to become far more powerful then before). Small Building level to Unknown: Powerful level with summoned Demons (Can summon low tier demons who have access to Agi skills, which can vaporize humans, which gives these results. Can also summon high tier demons comparable in power to Loki, who can create and sustain his own mini-universe) | Unknown: Cosmic level (Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration. Risked bending the very will of The Axiom, and ended up bending the immutable laws of the universe to fight the Messiahs. This level of power would make him comparable to Matter Lucifer who transcended into a higher plane of existence beyond even YHVH. YHVH's own universe is more vague and more infinite then anything Nanashi or Flynn have ever seen, where they've seen demons such as Ouroboros, who is the embodiment of infinity, making him an incomprehensibly powerful being. With even YHVH himself noting he is infinity, and he exists as an incomprehensible transcendent being overseeing everything in his creation. He is viewed as an omnipotent existence that created everything . which would mean he created infinite universes, and exists beyond the very boundaries of time within the multiverse. Which would include planes such as Akarana Corridor a void that transcends time and space, with it requiring a special ritual to enter, where even the Herald of Yatagarasu cannot put Raidou into this place, putting it beyond even The Expanse a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse. Viewed as so immeasurably powerful that the combined cast of SMT IV Apocalypse, needed to deny his divine nature and form understandings repeatedly through the use of observation in order to defeat him), possibly Higher (Implied to have gained a portion of The Axiom's power, which is the most powerful being in the verse, existing deep within the collected unconscious, being beyond even the likes of Matter Lucifer and YHVH. Was the very being that granted humans observation, and tasked them with observing the universe, with the ability being the reason for Gods and demons existing. Which would include beings such as Matter Lucifer, who transcended into a higher plane of existence beyond even YHVH. A small glimpse of it's being caused Stephen to be so powerful he could fight off all four of the Messiahs at once)

Durability: Below Average Human level physically, Higher with Observation & Willpower (His observation allowed him to take a hit from a demon he summoned). Small Building level to Unknown: Powerful level with summoned Demons | Unknown: Cosmic level, possibly Higher

Striking Strength: Below Average Human Class physically, Higher with Observation & Willpower. Small Building Class to Unknown: Powerful Class with summoned Demons | Unknown: Cosmic Class, possibly Higher

Lifting Strength: Below Average, Class 5 with Fury Type Demons (Fury Type demons can move entire cars casually with "Use Force") | Unknown: Undefinable

Travel Speed: Below Average Human, Superhuman with summoned demons | Unknown: Undefinable (In a state where he can appear anywhere he wants. Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration. The Axiom exists in a plane beyond everything before, which is beyond even all of the concepts made by humanity's observation, which includes the Gods that embody said concepts)

Attack Speed: Below Average Human, cannot be blitzed due to Observation (His observation allowed him to tag a demon he summoned even after being greatly wounded, demons are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse). Unknown: Undefinable with summoned Demons | Unknown: Undefinable

Reaction Speed: Below Average Human, cannot be blitzed due to Observation. Unknown: Undefinable with summoned Demons | Unknown: Undefinable

Stamina: Below Average (Is an impaired person in a wheelchair, due to a fatal attack from a demon), Limitless for his summoned Demons (Due to their innate physiologies, demons naturally do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. Demons such as King Frost can passively produce magic for years upon years even while fighting enemies without tiring)

Range: Standard Melee, Kilometers with demons like Jack Frost (Could create an entire snowstorm that instantly darkened the entire sky), Planetary with demons like King Frost (It is noted that King Frost has the power to freeze the entire world), Cross-Dimensional for his demons (Demons passively create adecoherence field, that is essentially a special dimension of quantum fluctuation that they exist in, where humans cannot see them, and can attack from there. Demons can also create mirage realms, that shroud an entire area in mist, with them being able to attack from inside said illusion without being capable of being attacked back, requiring the user to go inside of their illusion to fight them), Multiversal+ with Summoning (Opened a portal to the Expanse, that summoned a demon from there, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse), At least Universal with Observation (Can affect beings such as YHVH through their observation, where YHVH is existence itself) | At least Multiversal+ (Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration. Risked bending the very will of The Axiom, and ended up bending the immutable laws of the universe to fight the Messiahs)

Intelligence: Supergenius Intelligence (Worked on a teleportation device that opened a portal to the Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse. Developed a computer program that allowed people to speak with and befriend demons and make them into minions, when he couldn't understand the demon prior, creating the demon summoning program. created a program designed to capture and analyze data, and record the data into the computer's memory so a user may summon a demon whenever. Attempted to stop the demon overrun by sending his computer program across Tokyo to prevent the attack, with his plan only failing because his summoner program was harder to master then he anticipated. Saw an incident that would very soon make Tokyo Millenium be overrun with demons and went to give people his demon summoning program) | Cosmic Intelligence (Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration. Is aware of other universes and the Messiahs that died in the other universes, recruiting Nanashi to save them. Knows about the multiversal ability of observation and how it works. Is aware of The Expanse and knows how it was created. Helps guide Nanashi through the entirety of Apocalypse)

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Powers and Techniques

Is a user of Observation which grants him: Observation (Varies between Unconscious Manifestation & Concious Manifestation; Observation users consciously and unconsciously change truths around them creating Gods and demons from myths and rumors), Negation (The power of observation, has the ability to make something without form, be certain and stable, The Axiom, tasked humans with observing the universe, allowing humans to assign an answer to phenomena without an answer. Dagda mentions humanity's "understanding" (observation) is what's locked him and Danu in physical forms. Nanashi and his party's denial of YHVH cast him into a demonic form. Gods and demons exist within a human's observation. Demons that also exist beyond death can be killed by observation users), Negation of Personal Nonexistence (Ayin Physiology; Can kill The White and demons, who naturally exist within the expanse, which the Monochrome Forest exists within the expanse, a place that is eerily still, having no sound or smell, where even the ground itself feels unusual, which demons naturally exist in. The Forest also holds the White’s realm, which is a vast, white space), Negation of Incorporeality (Can harm and kill demons, who are beings made of data, that exist in a virtual world, along with being pure information. With even the most basic of objects in the verse existing as data), Negation of Abstract Existence (Conceptual, Primordial Source; Demons embody the phenomena and beliefs of humans, with their physical forms only being created due to humanity's observation locking them into these forms, and their true forms existing as the phenomena and beliefs they reside in), Negation of Acausality (Causality Immunity; Can harm and kill demons, who are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse, demons such as Ishtar are capable of going into separate multiverses, along into the "real world", demons such as Demi-fiend, can exist in different universes asides from the original SMT 3 universe, demons can exist even when the flow of time itself collapses and there is nothing left but a void), Negation of Invulnerability (Metaphysical Invulnerability; Observation users such as Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV, can harm demons with regular guns and swords, even though demons when brought into corporeal forms cannot be harmed by conventional weaponry, along with military grade weaponry), Negation of Immortality (Ageless) & Resurrection (Atemporal Resurrection; It is noted by Lucifer that only a human can kill gods and demons, that when gods and demons try to fight each other the most they can do is seal each other. Permanently killed YHVH. All demons are reliant on the observation of humans to keep them existing, including even nonexistent demons such as The White, allowing them to come back even if they’re erased from existence and nonexistence), Negation of Dimensionless Existence (Non-Dimensional; Demons only have "forms" due to the observation of humanity with even some demons being in the lowest form of humanity's observation making them unseeable without help, the "true forms" of demons are in truth without the concept of form, without observation they are not certain nor stable, are a phenomena without an answer and are unbound by concepts such as truth completely unshaped by reality. Demons under their observation forms embody concepts such as infinity which they are free from in their true forms), Timeless Physiology (Demons are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse. Due to this, they do not apply by the speed formula and can appear anywhere they want in most cases), Negation of Omnipresence (Observation can reduce one into a singular being, when the being was originally one that was everywhere within reality), Negation of Omniscience (Humanity's observation of YHVH defies his words and truths, YHVH is an all-knowing being that sets the fate of the entire world), Irreversible Damage (Nyarlathotep used a spear conjured by humanity's observation of a wound that can never heal to inflict a blow that could not be healed even by the strongest healing magic), Existence Grounding (Observation users can bring a demon or god's existence down to their level, such as when Flynn and his party's denial of YHVH as the one true god brought him to the level of a demon, massively weakening him. Dagda mentions humanity's "understanding" (observation) is what's locked him and Danu in physical forms), Power Bestowal (Gods & demons are granted by humans observations of them. To the point that a gods power is based off if humans still remember them. Observation has the ability to resurrect someone and give them strength to the point where they can fight Stephen with The Axioms powers), Power Nullification (Observation allows one to remove one's defenses and strengths along with some of their innate abilities), Reality Warping (Stephen stated that humans have the power to shape the world. Philemon states people have tremendous power in their souls over the flow of reality, with their strong wills being able to change reality), Conceptual Manipulation, Subjective Reality, & Creation (The power of observation, has the ability to make something without form, be certain and stable, The Axiom, tasked humans with observing the universe, allowing humans to assign an answer to phenomena without an answer), Truth Manipulation (Humans have the ability to change the answer they've found into faith, and eventually into truth. Observation debased YHVH's truths, removing him from everyone's mind, killing him), Memory Manipulation (Through the power of observation, the Persona 2 Innocent Sin cast were able to erase their meeting during a summer evening, creating an alternate timeline), Perspective Manipulation (The power of observation allowed humans to change the very design of the Abyss [the Expanse] to what they perceive it as), Statistics Amplification & Resurrection (Observation has the ability to resurrect someone and give them strength to the point where they can fight Stephen with The Axioms powers. Isamu was able to survive a hit from Thor despite being a regular human), Statistics Reduction (Flynn and his party's denial of YHVH as the one true god brought him to the level of a demon, massively weakening him. One's will and beliefs can lower even a nonexistent entity's (such as The White) stats. Gods powers can be greatly reduced if they're forgotten. Observation allowed Aleph and his party to harm YHVH who stated as they were his creations, there blades cannot harm him, yet they were able to), Resistance to Memory Manipulation (Through the power of observation, the Persona 2 Innocent Sin cast were able to erase their meeting during a summer evening, creating an alternate timeline)

With their Willpower, they get: Sheer Will (Naturally users of willpower tend to have some of the strongest willpower in their respective universes), Statistics Amplification (A characters willpower in SMT allows them to increase greatly in strength allowing them to harm enemies they couldn't even scratch before and survive attacks that would have originally kill them, the will of one's friends and allies around them can invigorate one to become far more powerful then before), Regeneration (True-Godly; Characters that get completely erased by demons to the point that everything returns to nothing (otherwise known as returning to The Axiom) but with enough willpower one can regenerate back to life), Resurrection (Everyone praying for Raidou bolstered his willpower up, allowing him to resurrect and regenerate part of his body), Resistance to Pain (Users with high willpower can fight through pain that's so unbearable that it makes one unable to move, constantly take damage and being unable to control their demons well), Memory Manipulation (Noted by Polaris that all of the memories and relationships of the Devil Survivor 2 cast will be completely erased if they choose to restore the world, requiring a strong willpower to retain them), Empathic Manipulation (Humanity's willpower allows them to ignore the voice of God, with Zelenin needing to sing a stronger sword to wipe their willpower away), Truth Manipulation (Users with huge willpower can ignore the truths created by YHVH due to the bonds with their friends)

Genius Intelligence, Social Influencing (Developed a computer program that allowed people to speak with and befriend demons and make them into minions, like other demon summoners, he can convince demons to join his side), Nondualism (Everything within Megami Tensei is one, with one simple word binding all together, oneness), Reincarnation (Reincarnation Cycle, Irregular Cycle; All people when they die are sent to The Axiom to reincarnate back, some become demons in these cases. Due to post-Cycle of Transmigration Stephen being completely transcendent of time and space, along with being able to time travel, he should technically be able to interfere with anything that puts his pre-Cycle of Transmigration self off course), Immersion (Stephen was able to enter into the virtual world where Aleph was training), Save & Load (Stephen has the power to save Kazuya's progress).

Resistance to Erasure, Data Manipulation, Information Manipulation (Conceptual Erasure, Metaphysical Erasure, & Data Erasure; Can survive hits from demons, attacks in the Megami Tensei verse erase one from existence, with their body, mind, and soul, this would include a demon's Magatsuhi, which is born from the suffering of emotions, such as suffering, anxiety, sadness, and an enormous amount that exist in the Amala Network, a network which has a place of information and all of one's emotions transferred into Magatsuhi, along with this, melting and liquefying demons and it's been shown humans can be erased too from attacks)

Information Analysis, Data Manipulation, Information Manipulation & Sealing (Created a program designed to capture and analyze data, and record the data into the computer's memory so a user may summon a demon whenever. The Arm Terminal has a built-in auto-map feature for all areas, incluidng areas in the expanse. Can suck demons into their arm terminal), Summoning (Developed a computer program that allowed people to speak with and befriend demons and make them into minions, when he couldn't understand the demon prior, creating the demon summoning program)

All of his summons have Demon Physiology which gives:

Superhuman Physical Characteristics (Demons can casually rip out a man's throat. They can also casually eat fully grown humans), Sheer Will (Demons are able to survive and withstand attacks that should kill them), Immortality (Ageless; Demons are the descendants of the gods of old. Who are able to do battle for an eternity), Reliance (Reliance [On Observation], Partial; All demons are reliant on the observation of humans to keep them existing, including even nonexistent demons such as The White, allowing them to come back even if they’re erased from existence and nonexistence), Reincarnation (Reincarnation Cycle, Standard; Along with this, all demons that die return to The Axiom and reincarnate), Undead Physiology ( Many demons tend to be undead beings and humans that die and become ghost become demons), Abstract Existence (Conceptual, Primordial Source; Demons embody the phenomena and beliefs of humans, with their physical forms only being created due to humanity's observation locking them into these forms, and their true forms existing as the phenomena and beliefs they reside in), Dimensionless Existence (Non-Dimensional; Demons only have "forms" due to the observation of humanity with even some demons being in the lowest form of humanity's observation making them unseeable without help, the "true forms" of demons are in truth without the concept of form, without observation they are not certain nor stable, are a phenomena without an answer and are unbound by concepts such as truth completely unshaped by reality. Demons under their observation forms embody concepts such as infinity which they are free from in their true forms), Timeless Physiology (Demons are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse. Due to this, they do not apply by the speed formula and can appear anywhere they want in most cases), Incorporeality (Demons are beings made of data, that exist in a virtual world, along with being pure information. With even the most basic of objects in the verse existing as data. Even if a demon's physical form is lost, their residual MAG can still remain, allowing one to infuse them within one's weapons or objects), Nondualism (Everything within Megami Tensei is one, with one simple word binding all together, oneness), Resurrection (Self-Resurrection; Atemporal Resurrection; All demons are reliant on the observation of humans to keep them existing, including even nonexistent demons such as The White, allowing them to come back even if they’re erased from existence and nonexistence. Along with this, all demons that die return to The Axiom and reincarnate. This allows demons to die and come back in a short timeframe due to their continuous existence from The Axiom and the observation of humans. This means even if all of reality were to cease existing, The Axiom would still exist within it, allowing demons to come back), Acausality (Causality Immunity; Demons are natural residents of The Expanse, a place that transcends the past, present, and future of the multiverse, demons such as Ishtar are capable of going into separate multiverses, along into the "real world", demons such as Demi-fiend, can exist in different universes asides from the original SMT 3 universe, demons can exist even when the flow of time itself collapses and there is nothing left but a void), Hive Mind (Multiversal Hive Mind; Demons are a race of entities and are at the same time the same entity sharing all one collective hive mind of memories, species will note if they've been captured before even if they're being fought in an area one's never been to or were fused prior, demons such as Forneus and Decarabia talk about an event that happened in Nocturne where Forneus was late to a meeting due to his death from Demi-fiend), Self-Sustenance (Respiratory Self-Sustenance, Nutritional Self-Sustenance, & Restful Self-Sustenance; Demons can naturally exist and breathe within the vacuum of space without any adverse effects done to them. Due to their innate physiologies, demons naturally do not need to breathe, eat, or sleep.), Accelerated Development (Level;Physical Stats and Abilities. Demons and Humans are able to grow from battles, allowing them to enhance their level of strength, magic, agility, luck, etcetera. Additionally, they can learn new skills and abilities from battles and further increase their HP and Magic capacity, and get strong enough to the point that they can fight end game tier demons), Adaptation (Demons as they grow in battle form changes around their body until they transform into a higher level with newer stats and newer abilities to learn), Berserk Mode (Demons enter a state of pure rage and berserk mode during the full moon, being completely irrational and unable to be negotiated with), Extrasensory Perception (Demons are able to tell who is actually a demon in disguise and who is an actual human. Demons can sense the power of an opponent and compare it to the power they sensed of others.), Corrosion Inducement (Demons can shapeshift into a blob, allowing them to melt areas, completely dissolve objects such as steel chairs, and completely crush humans.), Duplication (Demons can make duplicates of themselves. With them being completely disconnected from the demons, thus killing or defeating the clones in no way affects the original and they can endlessly spawn more), Invisibility & Perception Manipulation (Demons are naturally invisible to humans, and can do actions such as make noises and fight without humans noticing), Quantum Manipulation & Intangibility (Spatial; Demons passively create adecoherence field, that is essentially a special dimension of quantum fluctuation that they exist in, where humans cannot see them), Non-Standard Interaction (Demons can interact with each other and Gods, despite their physiologies and existences), Hell Manipulation (Demons naturally use evil powers from hell), Sealing (Gods and Demons cannot kill each other, thus resulting in them needing to seal each other), Non-Standard Interaction (Soul Interaction; Noted by a soul that demons can eat souls), Empathic Manipulation (Women cannot resist the allure of demons, even if they despised a demon normally, they'd fall madly in love with them if they had sex with a demon even once), Size Manipulation & Statistics Amplification (Demons can grow in size to grow strong enough to fight Messiahs), Technology Manipulation (Demons can stop technology from working with their evil powers), Shapeshifting (Demons can shapeshift into humans to trick others), Hacking (Demons can hack into various servers and set up firewalls and "digital traps"), Necromancy (Demons can raise people from the dead and turn them into zombies), Personal Domain & Battlefield Removal (Application Based; Demons can pull one into alternate dimensions where coordinates and direction are different. Along with pull entire areas such as mansions into pocket dimensions. High level demons such as fiends can create personal realms to battle people in. Alice created her own personal domain that she could freely control. Demons can also freely teleport people to other locations), Pocket Reality Manipulation (Demons can warp areas into alternate dimensions such as the inside of a school. Once one is in said dimension the demon will keep it's hold into the dimension until it's defeated), Subjective Reality (Demons are able to take the thoughts of people and materialize them into something real), Information Manipulation & Matter Manipulation (Can absorb and consume magnetite, which is an information construct. As demons can make pocket realms and higher level demons can make universes, they are by extension they are creating areas entirely made of data and information down to their sub-atomic level. As demons can make pocket realms and higher level demons can make universes, they are by extension they are creating areas entirely made of data and information down to their sub-atomic level), Illusion Creation ("Real" Illusions) & Perception Manipulation (Demons can create mirage realms, that shroud an entire area in mist, with them being able to attack from inside said illusion without being capable of being attacked back, requiring the user to go inside of their illusion to fight them), Velocity Manipulation (When attacks are nullified or avoided, the enemy will forcibly forfeit their turn to move, allowing one to attack sooner, this extends further with absorbing attacks completely ending an opponents turn regardless of how fast they are), Teleportation (Demons are capable of teleporting around usually through manipulating their own Magutushi or Magnetite), Telepathy (Demons are able to speak telepathically to others. Demons such as Aogami speaks telepathically with Nahobino), Power Bestowal (The memories of a demon's techniques can be passed down into weapons), Absorption (Demons can absorb lifeforce and Magutushi out of another. Demons can feed off the lifeforce of people to manifest themselves into the real world. Demons have the innate ability to absorb the air and earth into their bodies), Healing Negation (Physical; Demons can inflict wounds that only spiritual magic can heal), Power Absorption (Demons can absorb the remains of other demons to gain their abilities), Consumption (Demons can consume and devour their enemies to gain power in battle), Dimensional Travel (Demons can feed off the lifeforce of people to manifest themselves into the real world), Healing (Demons naturally have healing properties, allowing them to heal other people. Demons have shown to heal wounds they create and "seal them away"), Telekinesis (Higher level demons can telekinetically affect the entire environment to cause the Earth to shake, cause fissures, and affect mountains), Erasure (Existence Erasure, Conceptual Erasure, & Data Erasure; Demons can kill humans, which in the process erases said beings from memory and existence), Pierce Resistance (Pierce Immunity; Demons even when brought into corporeal forms cannot be harmed by conventional weaponry, along with military grade weaponry.), Invulnerability (Metaphysical Invulnerability; Demons even when brought into corporeal forms cannot be harmed by conventional weaponry, along with military grade weaponry.), Invulnerability Negation (Demons are capable of harming each other, and are viewed as valuable tools to get past other demons invulnerability), Possession (Demons can possess one’s body), Creation (Demons can create Shikimi no Kage's that are unable to be put down for good and will regenerate), Resistance Bypassing (Shikimi no Kage have specific weaknesses that cannot be exploited by Raidou's gun or other things to do with their specific elemental weakness, requiring Raidou to get a demon's elemental magic to affect it), Regeneration Negation (Magic; Demons can fully destroy Shikimi no Kage's, that they've created that are unable to be put down for good and will regenerate), Forcefield Negation (Demons can destroy barriers made to block out humans from entry).

Limited Resistance to Observation (Demons to an extent can resist some humans abilities of observation as shown with them being immune to conventional weaponry and higher-dimensional demons not being able to be perceived by some observation users), Resistance to Cosmic Radiations, Biological Manipulation, & Gravity Manipulation (Demons can naturally exist and breathe within the vacuum of space without any adverse effects done to them.), Death Manipulation (Demons can naturally exist within the vortex world which kills all humans who enter), Disease Manipulation, Corruption, Data Manipulation, & Petrification (All demons are unaffected by the Cuvier Syndrome, a state where corruptive data came out of the black sun, irreversible petrification), Sealing (Demons naturally have a resistance to sealing if they’re stronger then their target, and their sealing resistance gets amplified during the full moon), Forcefield Creation (Demons can pass through tainted barriers that humans cannot pass through), Elemental Manipulation (Shikimi no Kage have specific weaknesses that cannot be exploited by Raidou's gun or other things to do with their specific elemental weakness, requiring Raidou to get a demon's elemental magic to affect it)

Power Bestowal (Demons can grant others their powers and strength), Reality Warping, Space-Time Manipulation & Creation (All powerful and god level demons sustain a colloidal conglomeration of countless mini-universes, each centered around a powerful demon that is sustained by said demon and destroyed upon their death. Demons such as Morax have created and ruled over their own realms within the Schwarzwelt, and controlled their own sectors, being noted to be the energy source the Strange Journey team were looking for, said energy source is noted to control the entire sector, and be linked to the sector like a magnet. Each sector is a space-time plane layered atop each other, being planes outside of the human worlds local space-time existing in a quantum tunnel, along with being noted as parallel universes and other dimensions overlapping being isolated in time and space by enormous power being connected by quantum tunnels. Demons such as Set with enough Magnetite gathered can merge entire worlds.), Sheer Will, Resurrection, & Transformation (Permanent Transformation; Some fiends are born from men that die in competitive sports), Curse Manipulation (Gods such as Anahita can remove curses).

Resistance to Physics Manipulation (A god's divine energy isn’t bound by the laws of physics)

All previous powers and abilities to a infinitely greater extent, except for Observation due to reaching such a state where he is no longer truly human, Singular Existence (Stephen is the same person throughout the entire series), Cosmic Intelligence, Cosmic Awareness, Enlightenment (Transcended the infinite Cycle of Transmigration, which allows one to reach Nirvana and become a buddha), Immortality (Life and Death Immunity; Transcended the infinite Cycle of Transmigration, a cycle of life and death), Acausality (Causality Immunity; Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration), Transcendence & Reality Separation (True Reality Separation; Gained a small glimpse of The Axiom, reaching his realm, through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration), Dimensional Travel & Time Travel (Able to travel through various parallel worlds, and the only one to travel through various points of time and space), Healing (Completely healed all of Flynn and his demons wounds), Metaphysics Manipulation (Soul Manipulation; Could salvage the SMT 1 Hero's soul after it was broken from the cycle of reincarnation by YHVH), Link Manipulation (Linked the SMT 1 Hero's soul with Nanashi's), Statistics Amplification (With Luster Candy, boosts all stats. With Smile Charge, induces smirk, the effects of Smirking include maximizing buffs like Tarukaja (boosts attack damage), boosting critical chance of attacks to 95% and 70% for phys and gun respectively, boosting hit rate of normal attacks and physical skills to 100%, removing the unit's weakness and preventing the enemy's critical chance, and boosting evasion rate to 85% against all incoming attacks, but with no changes to ailment infliction chances. With pair production, fully buffs himself by the maximum amount), Statistics Reduction (With deabilitate, drops all stats. With Particle Annihilation, fully debuffs all foes by the maximum amount), Electricity Manipulation (With singularity lightning, severe elec damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Ice Manipulation (With singularity hail, severe ice damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Fire Manipulation (With singularity hellfire, severe fire damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Air Manipulation (With Singularity Vortex, severe force damage to all foes, pierces resistances), Resistance Bypassing (Attacks such as singularity lightning have a pierce effect pierce allows the user's physical attacks to bypass all resistances, except for Repel), Energy Manipulation (With energy compression, a severe physical attack), Explosion Manipulation, Resistance Manipulation, Power Nullification, & Law Negation (With calamity code, medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe. Almighty damage is done to all foes by producing a large explosion. Modes such as Berserk Mode from Digital Devil Saga 2 gives all of their attacks almighty effect, where it bypasses all resistances.Almighty skills bypasses all barriers and reflectors, invulnerability, and resistances, as putting up barriers to reflect, void, resist, etcetera do not affect almighty attacks. Almighty attacks can even work in and affect reason bearers, who can change the very laws of battle to make attacks not allowed in reality which if they are done then the character is sent straight to hell, showing almighty attacks are beyond even the laws of the universe), Status Effect Inducement (With calamity code, medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe. With singularity brand, a heavy physical attack that inflicts the brand status, a status effect that reduces HP and MP recovery to one point), Durability Negation (With black body radiation, drops all foes remaining HP by half), Power Nullification (With dekunda, removes all stat buffs from allies. With Reboot Code, removes all buffs, debuffs, and effects (smirk, charge, Doping) from all foes), Law Manipulation (Risked bending the very will of The Axiom, and ended up bending the immutable laws of the universe to fight the Messiahs), Quantum Manipulation (Shown to have control over wave functions), Data Manipulation/Information Manipulation (With crack code, Stephen cracks and executes a code that removes 3 Press Turns at the start of the foe's next turn), Velocity Manipulation (When attacks are nullified or avoided, the enemy will forcibly forfeit their turn to move, allowing one to attack sooner, this extends further with absorbing attacks completely ending an opponents turn regardless of how fast they are), Resistance to Physical Attacks (Naturally resists physical attacks), Gun Attacks (Naturally resists gun attacks), Fire Manipulation (Naturally resists fire elemental attacks), Ice Manipulation (Naturally resists ice elemental attacks), Electricity Manipulation (Naturally resists electric elemental attacks), Air Manipulation (Naturally resists force elemental attacks), Light Manipulation (Naturally resists light elemental attacks), & Darkness Manipulation (Naturally resists darkness elemental attacks), Plot Manipulation (Unaffected by YHVH's control over Akarana Corridor a void that transcends time and space that controls the fundamental narrative structure of the multiverse, deciding what's "canon" and what's "retconned", with events from SMT 1 & 2 being included), Corruption (Capable of traveling in the Expanse for long periods of time which the Expanse slowly makes one more violent overtime)

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Equipment

• COMP: A COMP, also known as an Arm Terminal, is a portable computer which many characters have used in order to communicate with, transport, and summon demonic entities using the Demon Summoning Program. It comes with a list of other features such as automapping and auto-recovery.

• Wheelchair: Due to the injuries he sustained from his attack from a demon, he is confined to a wheelchair he uses to move around. Though once he transcends the infinite Cycle of Transmigration, it is shown he doesn't need the wheelchair.

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Notable Techniques

• Energy Compression: Severe physical damage to one foe.
• Singularity Brand: Heavy physical damage to one foe, chance of brand.
• Singularity Hellfire: Severe fire damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Hail: Severe ice damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Lightning: Severe elec damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Vortex: Severe force damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Calamity Code: Medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe.
• Black Body Radiation: Drops all foes remaining HP by half. Almighty-type.
• Smile Charge: Bestows the user with smirk. Cannot be used if the user has ailment(s).
• Luster Candy: Buffs party's attack, defense and agility by 1 level.
• Debilitate: Debuffs all foes' attack, defense and agility by 1 level.
• Dekunda: Negates all stat debuffs from all allies.
• Reboot Code: Removes all buffs, debuffs, and effects (smirk, charge, Doping) from all foes.

• Energy Compression: Severe physical damage to one foe.
• Convergence: 8 hits of heavy physical damage to multiple foes.
• Singularity Brand: Heavy physical damage to one foe, chance of brand.
• Singularity Hellfire: Severe fire damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Hail: Severe ice damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Lightning: Severe elec damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Singularity Vortex: Severe force damage to all foes, pierces resistances.
• Calamity Code: Medium almighty damage with chance of charm/bind/panic to one foe.
• Black Body Radiation: Drops all foes remaining HP by half. Almighty-type.
• Black Hole: Steals MP from all foes.
• Wave Function: Severe almighty damage to all foes.
• Singularity Wave: Incredibly severe almighty damage to one foe.
• Particle Annihilation: Fully debuffs (-3) all foes.
• Pair Production: Fully buffs (+3) self and gains smirk.
• Reboot Code: Removes all buffs, debuffs, and effects (smirk, charge, Doping) from all foes.
• Crack Code: Removes 3 Press Turns at the start of the foe's next turn.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Stephen before transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration encourages people to use the demon summoning program, meanning he himself would most likely open up with it. After transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration, he will use various attacks based off quantum physics, along with being able to manipulate the laws of reality that are meant to be immutable.

Weaknesses: Confined to a wheel chair. His demons are weak to mercuric sulfide. Sometimes has a weakness to light, though this is mitigated through "Resist Light" and "Repel Light" skills. | Nothing notable.

Trivia

• Kazuyuki Yamai (producer of Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse) stated in an interview that Stephen is the same person across the series, traveling across time and space to the various universes in which each game occurs. In the process he has transcended the cycle of life and death humans undergo due to being trapped in bodies of flesh and bone. Alongside Stephen, Mido and Saint Germain have also become similar transcendent entities.
• Though not appearing in person, one of the software installations for the COMP in Soul Hackers is named "Steven," likely after him. It removes the level limit during COMP Fusion in a New Game Plus.
• In the DLC Boss Battle against him in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse, the hero notes that magnetite is flowing out of Stephen.

Explanations

The following is an explanation of the various status effects of Megami Tensei

Status Effects

Name Effect Apperances Freeze Prevents any action in battle. Usually caused by Ice skills and generally only lasts for one turn. In later games, attacking a frozen enemy is guaranteed to cause a critical hit. Most Megami Tensei Games Shock Prevents any action in battle. Usually caused by Electricity skills and generally only lasts for one turn. In later games, attacking a shocked enemy is guaranteed to cause a critical hit. Most Megami Tensei Games Poison Depletes health at the end of each turn, often persisting on the field. Most Megami Tensei Games Paralyze Paralyzed characters are unable to move. Unlike Shock, this often persists for more than one turn. Most Megami Tensei Games Stun Stunned characters have lowered agility and defense. Most Megami Tensei Games Confused Confused characters become indecisive and may either attack a random enemy, do nothing or flee in a panic. Most Megami Tensei Games Charm Character begins attacking their own allies or cast healing spells on the enemies. Most Megami Tensei Games Stone Prevents the target from moving. This persists even on the field and is treated as similar to being dead. In most games, if the protagonist is petrified, it triggers a game over. In some games, Force spells will shatter a petrified opponent. Most Megami Tensei Games Sleep Prevents any action in battle. Character loses a turn. In some games, sleeping characters restore some of their HP and MP. Most Megami Tensei Games KO Can no longer participate in battle. In most games, if the protagonist dies, it is game over. Can only be recovered with Recarm spells. Most Megami Tensei Games Bind Prevents any action from a unit. In Persona Q and Persona Q2, Binds are spilt into three different subsets that stop specific actions. Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis Megami Ibunroku Persona Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Shin Megami Tensei IV Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Persona Q Persona Q2 Bomb Bomb is implanted in party member. When those inflicted with this status are hit, they explode, dealing damage to the entire party. Defending will prevent damage. In the Devil Children series, only the character inflicted with Bomb is hurt when hit by Fire attacks. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Devil Children series Happy Overjoyed and may not attack. Shin Megami Tensei Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku Megami Ibunroku Persona Devil Children series Rage Attack is increased, but the afflicted will attack anyone other than themselves as if they were Charmed. In the Persona series, Rage lowers the afflicted's defense and agility. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Persona 3 Persona 4 Persona 5 Down Character may get their turn skipped and they take more damage. Overlaps with other ailments. Persona 3 Persona 4 Persona 5 Hungry Hungry characters will become indecisive. On their turn, they will either not take action and receive a small amount of Almighty damage or attack an ally. DDS: Avatar Tuner Persona 5 Sick Capacity (how much the character can carry) is doubled. Shin Megami Tensei NINE Fly Renders the target 200% vulnerable to all affinities and reduces all their stats except Ag to 1. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Sick Reduces affected character's outgoing damage by 25%, its evasion to 0 and increases damage taken by 25%. At the end of a turn with a party holding this character, there's a 5% chance that another character will be infected. Shin Megami Tensei IV Lost Flynn cannot summon or fuse the affected demon and is forced to reunite with said demon through an encounter. Shin Megami Tensei IV Brand DLC only. Reduces HP and MP recovery to 1 point. Can't be cured. Shin Megami Tensei IV Sick Reduces affected character's outgoing damage by 25%, its evasion to 0 and increases damage taken by 25%. At the end of the party's turn or an individual party member's turn, if a party member is afflicted, there is a 5% chance that another party member will be infected. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalpyse Lost Nanashi cannot summon or fuse the affected demon and is forced to reunite with said demon through an encounter. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalpyse Brand Reduces HP and MP recovery to 1 point. Can't be cured, but wears off randomly or automatically after battle. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalpyse Close Prevents a unit from using their magic. Represented by kissing and hearts when inflicted by skills. Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis Mirror Affected character cannot move, takes increased damage from physical attacks but reflects all magic. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Card Affected character cannot move, takes increased damage from Fire attacks, and decreased damage from physical attacks. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Bat Affected character steals HP from allies outside of battle. Can spread to allies. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Plague Stronger version of Poison that deals more damage. Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku Dance Affected character cannot move. Evasion is increased. Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku Tipsy Affected character may take a random action Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku Drunk Affected character performs random actions Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku High Provides bonuses to all actions, but they also become random. Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku Guilt Randomly-selected actions cannot be performed. Megami Ibunroku Persona Blind Hit rate and evasion dropped. Megami Ibunroku Persona Sick Loses HP at the end of the turn and when walking around. Works like Poison, but Sick is considered a different ailment in-game. Megami Ibunroku Persona Cloak Cannot be directly targeted by single-target attacks. Defense lowered and cannot summon Persona. Megami Ibunroku Persona Puppet Allows controlling a K.O-ed ally. Puppet can attack and use items, but cannot summon Persona. Megami Ibunroku Persona Beast Buffs all stats. Amount varies depending on the current moon phase. Megami Ibunroku Persona Illusion When a character is in the illusion status effect, his/her hit rate will decrease significantly. Persona 2 Possession Possession occurs when the demon inhibits the characters body. When a possessed character summons a persona, there's a high chance that the possessed character will attack instead. Persona 2 Despair Drains SP every turn, cannot move. Dies/Faints after 3 turns have passed. Persona 5 / Royal Rattled Cannot move, damage taken increased. Persona 5 / Royal Artist's Grace Inflict weaknesses to all affinities. Persona 5 / Royal Lust Affected targets may lose a turn. Persona 5 / Royal Wrath Affected targets have their attack raised sharply, but their defense decreased sharply for a turn. Allows free action. Persona 5 / Royal Envy Affected Targets may attack random party members with weapons when a support skill is used on anyone but the envied target for a turn. Persona 5 / Royal Ache After a successful hunt, the character that just ate might get affected by a stomach ache. Occasionally inflicted as a side effect from eating a Moldy Roll. This prevents the character from gaining any AP after the battle. Allies also won't get any AP from the consumed monster, if AP sharing skills are set. Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner Bat Reduces all stats and makes the affected character weak to Force. Wears off over time or when battle ends. Does not override passive skills that affect Force resistance. Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner Egg When the team holding the affected character has their next turn, the affected character takes a large amount of Almighty damage and a Maggot is summoned next to them. Devil Survivor

Gallery

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  Stephen in Shin Megami Tensei

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  Stephen as he appears in the Sega CD version of Shin Megami Tensei

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  Stephen in the Sega CD version of Shin Megami Tensei

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  Stephen in Shin Megami Tensei II

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  Stephen's first reveal

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  Stephen as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei IV

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  Stephen as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei NINE

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  Stephen as he appears in the comic anthology.

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  Stephen standing up from his wheelchair in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse.

Battle Records

None.

None.

None.