| '''[[Attack Potency]]:''' '''Average Human level''' (Is a standard highschool student), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] ([https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=1410 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. [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=1862 With it's power being noted by Stephen to give humans the potential to exceed the] Axiom) & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] ([https://imgur.com/a/MBUN2th 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], [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=2272 the will of one's friends and allies around them can invigorate one to become far more powerful then before]). '''Building level''' to '''Complex Multiverse level''' with [[Aogami]] (Aogami is a demon that throughout the game grows in power along with the protagonist, going from being able to fight low level demons to being able to fight god tier demons) | '''Building level''' ([https://imgur.com/8iQ7vPo Has access to Bufu skills], [https://youtu.be/0xYct8Y3Zqk?t=86 which can completely freeze opponents], [https://imgur.com/AywQf2s and Agi skills], [https://youtu.be/0xYct8Y3Zqk?t=98 which can vaporize humans]. [https://youtu.be/pjpjwdREvFY?t=1461 His other half] [[Aogami]], casually killed several low tier demons upon saving the protagonist), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Universe level''' ([https://youtu.be/Fbpz4mw3ew4?t=88 Fought with and defeated] [[Loki (Megami Tensei)|Loki]] who can create and sustain his own universe<ref>[http://ddstranslation.blogspot.com/2007/03/part-2-chapter-4.html Digital Devil Story 2: Warrior of the Demon City Part 2, Chapter 4] "The last demon to appear called himself Set, correct?" "Yes, that's right." "While it's too dangerous to try and conjecture the state of affairs in the demon world based on our own knowledge of this one, my theory is that the demon world is like a colloidal conglomeration of countless mini-universes, each centered around a powerful demon. Most likely, with Loki's death, the mini-universe in contact with Japan or Tokyo vanished, and Set's mini-universe entered to take its place. Demon summoning is just opening a contact point between the two worlds at the same time."</ref>), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Complex Multiverse level''' ([https://youtu.be/IH54ImVLR3Y?list=PLDwjEcGRHRZ5vRYoiqkdBUHwkpUROkfXb&t=2229 Stated to have power that rivals the throne itself]. [https://youtu.be/nhsOQTvvVv0?t=1013 The Nahobino is noted as being a challenge to] [[YHVH|God]]'s reign on the throne, [https://youtu.be/nhsOQTvvVv0?t=1654 being a power that god himself feared]. Where for the true form [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=246 the multiverse and his manifestation head are infinitesimal in size compared to him], and he exists as [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=165 an incomprehensible] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=450 transcendent being overseeing everything in his creation]. [https://youtu.be/L23HK4gdQY0?t=516 His universe is a place beyond reality that is more vague and more infinite then anything the cast has seen before] [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 which includes areas such as the expanse] and Akrana Corridor, and his single manifestation head. Viewed as so immeasurably powerful that the combined cast of SMT IV Apocalypse, [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=526 needed to] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=637 deny his divine nature] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=676 and form understandings] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=853 repeatedly] through the use of [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|obseravtion]] in order to defeat him. An single manifestation head of [[YHVH]] [https://imgur.com/a/eNIH9qI is the progenitor of all gods and all religions from all around the world, existing as the one true original god]. [https://imgur.com/a/AQppUyn Turned all other gods in the pantheon into demons]. [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html He is viewed as an omnipotent existence that created everything]<ref>Profile: The actual One God of monotheism. The One God praised by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is the omnipotent existence that created heaven and earth and made man in his own image, but this also means that together with the angels, his bunrei [subparts], he also gave birth to demons. By giving humans bodies of flesh and bone, their lives and fears were repeated in the endless cycle of death and rebirth, restricting their range of observation.</ref> [https://youtu.be/sBJn2IrfER4?t=171 A single manifestation head is so far beyond all of creation that not even his creations blades can harm him]<ref>The reason YHVH is harmed during this fight is due to humanity's [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|observation]] weakening him, as there's no reason for YHVH to be lying</ref>. [https://youtu.be/ijJFkJ6l058?t=85 YHVH is a being who created] [http://shmuplations.com/smt/ infinite universes], [https://youtu.be/ijJFkJ6l058?t=70 and exists beyond the very boundaries of time within the multiverse]. Which would include planes such as Akarana Corridor [https://youtu.be/haOVB8wCagU?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=957 a void that transcends time and space], [https://youtu.be/haOVB8wCagU?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=886 with it requiring a special ritual to enter], where even the Herald of Yatagarasu cannot put Raidou into this place<ref>The Herald of Yatagarsu is [https://youtu.be/SJhzC5B5HGA?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=727 capable of teleporting Raidou into] The Expanse, [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 a place that transcends the past, present, and future] [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=98 of the multiverse] but cannot even reach this realm, along with this she [https://imgur.com/a/PxAg9xW exists a plane not apart of the human world], further showing how out of reach this plane is, [https://youtu.be/haOVB8wCagU?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=1043 it requires one normally to discard their human form and transcribe themselves otherwise they are threatened with being unstuck from time]</ref>, putting it beyond even The Expanse [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 a place that transcends the past, present, and future] [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=98 of the multiverse]. Beings such as [[Metatron]], [https://youtu.be/wH_4Fkwrh2A?t=7m50s are amped by them by in their fight against an] end game [[Demi-fiend]]. His avatar [[Kagutsuchi (Megami Tensei)|Kagutsuchi]], [https://youtu.be/c_t3wbCKCho created and sustains the Vortex world], which was resulted from him [https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Miroku_Scripture erasing the past, present and future of the universe], in order to construct the Vortex World in its foundations. [https://youtu.be/i7jFy187Fvk?t=1843 Exists as the light that encompasses] [https://youtu.be/i7jFy187Fvk?t=987 and administers all of creation within the Amala universe that is said to contain countless worlds] [https://youtu.be/i7jFy187Fvk?t=1804 along with being the source to creation] [https://youtu.be/cJ834NlLbgg?t=1411 with his defeat causing the destruction of the Amala universe]. [https://imgur.com/a/isoUifN Merged the Demon World and the Divine World into the remnants of the human realm to create the Vortex World]; the Demon World, best known as the Expanse, [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 is a higher plane of existence that transcends past, present, and future] [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=98 of the multiverse]. Capable of empowering the Reason Gods, among which is Ahriman, in order to allow them to reshape the foundation of the Vortex World and birth a new reality. [https://youtu.be/sBIKkfVaA9I?t=69 Fought and] [https://youtu.be/sBIKkfVaA9I?t=2734 defeated a] true demon ending [[Demi-fiend]] [https://youtu.be/B3_OsqKXf1k?t=490 who was implied to have fought] [[YHVH]] during the True Demon route), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Complex Multiverse level+''' ([https://youtu.be/cWmp_j5oz40?t=19334 Ascended to the throne] [https://youtu.be/cWmp_j5oz40?t=14215 obtaining vast power, which was described as enough to re-shape the world however they see fit] [https://youtu.be/cWmp_j5oz40?t=16404 along with being the source of eternal light that reforges the world], [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=361 the power was so vast it allowed him to see] [[Lucifer (Megami Tensei)|Matter Lucifer]]'s true form [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=460 proceeding to fight] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=1548 and defeat Matter Lucifer] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=428 who defeated and consumed YHVH's knowledge becoming more then YHVH could possibly imagine], [https://imgur.com/a/RaKpWpT transcending into a higher plane of existence] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=305 in a realm beyond the earth and heavens], with [[YHVH]]'s true form [https://youtu.be/Ajh6RtXbxME?t=482 his single manifestation heads are a single part of his true self that controls the entire cosmos], [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html with each head having control over a universe]<ref>He had a strong impact in the previous games, so I just followed the basic model. His image as the Father and main god was emphasised by the stern expression on his aged face. The panels with three angles in the middle of his face are there to portray him as a 3D representation. I showed multiple faces every time he appeared, in order to show he has all the universes under his rule. The true number of these faces is the number of stars, rather than just the number of lives we can observe.</ref>. [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=246 The multiverse and his manifestation head are infinitesimal in size compared to him], and he exists as [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=165 an incomprehensible] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=450 transcendent being overseeing everything in his creation]. [https://youtu.be/L23HK4gdQY0?t=516 His universe is a place beyond reality that is more vague and more infinite then anything the cast has seen before] [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 which includes areas such as the expanse] and Akrana Corridor, and his single manifestation head), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Complex Multiverse level+''', possibly '''High Complex Multiverse level''' ([https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=1597 Consumed Matter Lucifer's knowledge] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=1219 allowing him to transcend] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=906 the mandala system], [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=892 a spatial governing phenomena that creates an endless cycle of gods attempting to re-claim the throne]. This would put him on a similar state to [[Stephen (Megami Tensei)|Stephen]], [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html who gained a small glimpse of]<ref>Shioda: Professor Matsuda didn’t even have a character design in the preliminary stages.<br>Miyata: It’s shocking that so few people realised professor Matsuda was actually Stephen.<br>Shioda: That was shocking indeed, and they even had the same voice actor (laughs). What kind of device is the Shesha radar in Hibiya?<br>Miyata: I saw news the other day about the success of the detection of gravitational waves and this radar works on the same principle. There is a huge empty lot underneath Hibiya named ‘multi-purpose underground utility conduit’ and it is presumed that that is where Stephen built his detector.<br>Yamai: Because the device related to the elementary particles is extremely big.<br>Miyata: He also needed a secure place, and the underground was much safer than the streets dominated by demons. It is explained in the beginning of SMT4A that the multi-purpose underground utility conduit has been abandoned because of the battle of gods and the underground empty space remained as it is. I figured it was just right, since the new headquarters of the Hunter Association in Kasumigaseki is close enough, but I didn’t think gravitational waves would be discovered so fast when I was writing the setting.<br>Yamai: Stephen travels through various parallel worlds, so I believe it is possible for him to discover gravitational waves, since he makes contact with all kinds of technological developments.<br>Miyata: Gravitational waves appear anywhere in the universe when stars reach the end of their lives and explode, but every time Shesha warped to a different universe and a different dimension, there were weak gravitational waves released possible to detect.<br>Shioda: Since Stephen is also the creator of the terminals and the Demon Summoning Program, related to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor, it’s easy to say he is the biggest mystery of the Megaten series.<br>Yamai: What is clear is that Stephen is the same person across the series. Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II are related, while Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV are each in their own universes, but we can argue that he is the only one to cross space and time and visit each universe. I think the beginning was the universe created in Shin Megami Tensei, but we have no intention to give a clear answer on such a personal matter. As for the details of his arrival in the Shin Megami Tensei IV world, when he was researching the Demon Summoning Program and the Matter Transfer System he got connected by coincidence to the Expanse, demons showed up and hurt him badly, which led to him being now dependent on a wheelchair.<br>Shioda: This time he talks about the aim of the Great Reason in the end. Do you think he has met the Great Reason?<br>*From Dijeh (Basically just a translator's note): The term used here is NOT the Great Will. The Japanese for Great Will [of the Universe] is either “宇宙の大いなる意志” or just “大いなる意志” in previous games in the series, while in SMT4F and this interview, the term is 大いなる理; the kanji used are easily distinguishable: 意志 vs. 理. For more about the distinction, see Will and Li.<br>Yamai: From the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei, the Stephen of Shin Megami Tensei IV is one of the possibilities, but we can say it was possible for him to have met the Great Reason. Of course, from the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei IV’s Stephen, I think we can say Shin Megami Tensei is also a possibility.<br>Miyata: Stephen’s position allows him to catch a glimpse of a small part of the Great Reason’s movement. When he passed through time and space and made contact with the Great Reason, he interpreted things in his own way.</ref> [[The Axiom]] [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration]<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.<br>Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.<br>Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that.</ref>). '''Far Higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | | '''[[Attack Potency]]:''' '''Average Human level''' (Is a standard highschool student), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] ([https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=1410 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. [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=1862 With it's power being noted by Stephen to give humans the potential to exceed the] Axiom) & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] ([https://imgur.com/a/MBUN2th 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], [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=2272 the will of one's friends and allies around them can invigorate one to become far more powerful then before]). '''Building level''' to '''Complex Multiverse level''' with [[Aogami]] (Aogami is a demon that throughout the game grows in power along with the protagonist, going from being able to fight low level demons to being able to fight god tier demons) | '''Building level''' ([https://imgur.com/AywQf2s Has access to Agi skills], [https://youtu.be/0xYct8Y3Zqk?t=98 which can vaporize humans], [https://science.slashdot.org/story/13/09/13/2122208/it-takes-299-gigajoules-to-vaporize-a-human-body which gives these results]. [https://imgur.com/8iQ7vPo Has access to Bufu skills], [https://youtu.be/0xYct8Y3Zqk?t=86 which can completely freeze opponents], [[Reference_for_Common_Feats#Freezing_a_Human|giving these results]]. [https://youtu.be/pjpjwdREvFY?t=1461 His other half] [[Aogami]], casually killed several low tier demons upon saving the protagonist), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Universe level''' ([https://youtu.be/Fbpz4mw3ew4?t=88 Fought with and defeated] [[Loki (Megami Tensei)|Loki]] who can create and sustain his own universe<ref>[http://ddstranslation.blogspot.com/2007/03/part-2-chapter-4.html Digital Devil Story 2: Warrior of the Demon City Part 2, Chapter 4] "The last demon to appear called himself Set, correct?" "Yes, that's right." "While it's too dangerous to try and conjecture the state of affairs in the demon world based on our own knowledge of this one, my theory is that the demon world is like a colloidal conglomeration of countless mini-universes, each centered around a powerful demon. Most likely, with Loki's death, the mini-universe in contact with Japan or Tokyo vanished, and Set's mini-universe entered to take its place. Demon summoning is just opening a contact point between the two worlds at the same time."</ref>), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Complex Multiverse level''' ([https://youtu.be/IH54ImVLR3Y?list=PLDwjEcGRHRZ5vRYoiqkdBUHwkpUROkfXb&t=2229 Stated to have power that rivals the throne itself]. [https://youtu.be/nhsOQTvvVv0?t=1013 The Nahobino is noted as being a challenge to] [[YHVH|God]]'s reign on the throne, [https://youtu.be/nhsOQTvvVv0?t=1654 being a power that god himself feared]. Where for the true form [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=246 the multiverse and his manifestation head are infinitesimal in size compared to him], and he exists as [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=165 an incomprehensible] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=450 transcendent being overseeing everything in his creation]. [https://youtu.be/L23HK4gdQY0?t=516 His universe is a place beyond reality that is more vague and more infinite then anything the cast has seen before] [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 which includes areas such as the expanse] and Akrana Corridor, and his single manifestation head. Viewed as so immeasurably powerful that the combined cast of SMT IV Apocalypse, [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=526 needed to] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=637 deny his divine nature] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=676 and form understandings] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=853 repeatedly] through the use of [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|obseravtion]] in order to defeat him. An single manifestation head of [[YHVH]] [https://imgur.com/a/eNIH9qI is the progenitor of all gods and all religions from all around the world, existing as the one true original god]. [https://imgur.com/a/AQppUyn Turned all other gods in the pantheon into demons]. [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html He is viewed as an omnipotent existence that created everything]<ref>Profile: The actual One God of monotheism. The One God praised by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He is the omnipotent existence that created heaven and earth and made man in his own image, but this also means that together with the angels, his bunrei [subparts], he also gave birth to demons. By giving humans bodies of flesh and bone, their lives and fears were repeated in the endless cycle of death and rebirth, restricting their range of observation.</ref> [https://youtu.be/sBJn2IrfER4?t=171 A single manifestation head is so far beyond all of creation that not even his creations blades can harm him]<ref>The reason YHVH is harmed during this fight is due to humanity's [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|observation]] weakening him, as there's no reason for YHVH to be lying</ref>. [https://youtu.be/ijJFkJ6l058?t=85 YHVH is a being who created] [http://shmuplations.com/smt/ infinite universes], [https://youtu.be/ijJFkJ6l058?t=70 and exists beyond the very boundaries of time within the multiverse]. Which would include planes such as Akarana Corridor [https://youtu.be/haOVB8wCagU?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=957 a void that transcends time and space], [https://youtu.be/haOVB8wCagU?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=886 with it requiring a special ritual to enter], where even the Herald of Yatagarasu cannot put Raidou into this place<ref>The Herald of Yatagarsu is [https://youtu.be/SJhzC5B5HGA?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=727 capable of teleporting Raidou into] The Expanse, [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 a place that transcends the past, present, and future] [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=98 of the multiverse] but cannot even reach this realm, along with this she [https://imgur.com/a/PxAg9xW exists a plane not apart of the human world], further showing how out of reach this plane is, [https://youtu.be/haOVB8wCagU?list=PLZ-IDxWdqee_02DqvdXSdY3BjrLzAaxAY&t=1043 it requires one normally to discard their human form and transcribe themselves otherwise they are threatened with being unstuck from time]</ref>, putting it beyond even The Expanse [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 a place that transcends the past, present, and future] [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=98 of the multiverse]. Beings such as [[Metatron]], [https://youtu.be/wH_4Fkwrh2A?t=7m50s are amped by them by in their fight against an] end game [[Demi-fiend]]. His avatar [[Kagutsuchi (Megami Tensei)|Kagutsuchi]], [https://youtu.be/c_t3wbCKCho created and sustains the Vortex world], which was resulted from him [https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Miroku_Scripture erasing the past, present and future of the universe], in order to construct the Vortex World in its foundations. [https://youtu.be/i7jFy187Fvk?t=1843 Exists as the light that encompasses] [https://youtu.be/i7jFy187Fvk?t=987 and administers all of creation within the Amala universe that is said to contain countless worlds] [https://youtu.be/i7jFy187Fvk?t=1804 along with being the source to creation] [https://youtu.be/cJ834NlLbgg?t=1411 with his defeat causing the destruction of the Amala universe]. [https://imgur.com/a/isoUifN Merged the Demon World and the Divine World into the remnants of the human realm to create the Vortex World]; the Demon World, best known as the Expanse, [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 is a higher plane of existence that transcends past, present, and future] [https://youtu.be/defQEm2-A3g?t=98 of the multiverse]. Capable of empowering the Reason Gods, among which is Ahriman, in order to allow them to reshape the foundation of the Vortex World and birth a new reality. [https://youtu.be/sBIKkfVaA9I?t=69 Fought and] [https://youtu.be/sBIKkfVaA9I?t=2734 defeated a] true demon ending [[Demi-fiend]] [https://youtu.be/B3_OsqKXf1k?t=490 who was implied to have fought] [[YHVH]] during the True Demon route), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Complex Multiverse level+''' ([https://youtu.be/cWmp_j5oz40?t=19334 Ascended to the throne] [https://youtu.be/cWmp_j5oz40?t=14215 obtaining vast power, which was described as enough to re-shape the world however they see fit] [https://youtu.be/cWmp_j5oz40?t=16404 along with being the source of eternal light that reforges the world], [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=361 the power was so vast it allowed him to see] [[Lucifer (Megami Tensei)|Matter Lucifer]]'s true form [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=460 proceeding to fight] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=1548 and defeat Matter Lucifer] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=428 who defeated and consumed YHVH's knowledge becoming more then YHVH could possibly imagine], [https://imgur.com/a/RaKpWpT transcending into a higher plane of existence] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=305 in a realm beyond the earth and heavens], with [[YHVH]]'s true form [https://youtu.be/Ajh6RtXbxME?t=482 his single manifestation heads are a single part of his true self that controls the entire cosmos], [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html with each head having control over a universe]<ref>He had a strong impact in the previous games, so I just followed the basic model. His image as the Father and main god was emphasised by the stern expression on his aged face. The panels with three angles in the middle of his face are there to portray him as a 3D representation. I showed multiple faces every time he appeared, in order to show he has all the universes under his rule. The true number of these faces is the number of stars, rather than just the number of lives we can observe.</ref>. [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=246 The multiverse and his manifestation head are infinitesimal in size compared to him], and he exists as [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=165 an incomprehensible] [https://youtu.be/dFuKLmruIzQ?t=450 transcendent being overseeing everything in his creation]. [https://youtu.be/L23HK4gdQY0?t=516 His universe is a place beyond reality that is more vague and more infinite then anything the cast has seen before] [https://youtu.be/8kNv01GNrpE?t=104 which includes areas such as the expanse] and Akrana Corridor, and his single manifestation head), '''far higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] | '''Complex Multiverse level+''', possibly '''High Complex Multiverse level''' ([https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=1597 Consumed Matter Lucifer's knowledge] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=1219 allowing him to transcend] [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=906 the mandala system], [https://youtu.be/XdiZN8uatH0?t=892 a spatial governing phenomena that creates an endless cycle of gods attempting to re-claim the throne]. This would put him on a similar state to [[Stephen (Megami Tensei)|Stephen]], [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html who gained a small glimpse of]<ref>Shioda: Professor Matsuda didn’t even have a character design in the preliminary stages.<br>Miyata: It’s shocking that so few people realised professor Matsuda was actually Stephen.<br>Shioda: That was shocking indeed, and they even had the same voice actor (laughs). What kind of device is the Shesha radar in Hibiya?<br>Miyata: I saw news the other day about the success of the detection of gravitational waves and this radar works on the same principle. There is a huge empty lot underneath Hibiya named ‘multi-purpose underground utility conduit’ and it is presumed that that is where Stephen built his detector.<br>Yamai: Because the device related to the elementary particles is extremely big.<br>Miyata: He also needed a secure place, and the underground was much safer than the streets dominated by demons. It is explained in the beginning of SMT4A that the multi-purpose underground utility conduit has been abandoned because of the battle of gods and the underground empty space remained as it is. I figured it was just right, since the new headquarters of the Hunter Association in Kasumigaseki is close enough, but I didn’t think gravitational waves would be discovered so fast when I was writing the setting.<br>Yamai: Stephen travels through various parallel worlds, so I believe it is possible for him to discover gravitational waves, since he makes contact with all kinds of technological developments.<br>Miyata: Gravitational waves appear anywhere in the universe when stars reach the end of their lives and explode, but every time Shesha warped to a different universe and a different dimension, there were weak gravitational waves released possible to detect.<br>Shioda: Since Stephen is also the creator of the terminals and the Demon Summoning Program, related to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor, it’s easy to say he is the biggest mystery of the Megaten series.<br>Yamai: What is clear is that Stephen is the same person across the series. Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II are related, while Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV are each in their own universes, but we can argue that he is the only one to cross space and time and visit each universe. I think the beginning was the universe created in Shin Megami Tensei, but we have no intention to give a clear answer on such a personal matter. As for the details of his arrival in the Shin Megami Tensei IV world, when he was researching the Demon Summoning Program and the Matter Transfer System he got connected by coincidence to the Expanse, demons showed up and hurt him badly, which led to him being now dependent on a wheelchair.<br>Shioda: This time he talks about the aim of the Great Reason in the end. Do you think he has met the Great Reason?<br>*From Dijeh (Basically just a translator's note): The term used here is NOT the Great Will. The Japanese for Great Will [of the Universe] is either “宇宙の大いなる意志” or just “大いなる意志” in previous games in the series, while in SMT4F and this interview, the term is 大いなる理; the kanji used are easily distinguishable: 意志 vs. 理. For more about the distinction, see Will and Li.<br>Yamai: From the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei, the Stephen of Shin Megami Tensei IV is one of the possibilities, but we can say it was possible for him to have met the Great Reason. Of course, from the perspective of Shin Megami Tensei IV’s Stephen, I think we can say Shin Megami Tensei is also a possibility.<br>Miyata: Stephen’s position allows him to catch a glimpse of a small part of the Great Reason’s movement. When he passed through time and space and made contact with the Great Reason, he interpreted things in his own way.</ref> [[The Axiom]] [https://eirikrjs.blogspot.com/2016/08/apocalypse-artbook.html through transcending the infinite Cycle of Transmigration]<ref>Yamai: When you reach the battle with VISHNUFLYNN, there is a reference point of the soul, where it either enters or departs from the circle of transmigration. Nanashi is in the middle of that circle, he is a human just like us. That is the reference. Beings like Stephen, Mido, or the Count of Saint Germain left the circle of transmigration, and I think that is why they could get in contact with the Great Reason.<br>Shioda: In Buddhism, leaving the circle of transmigration equals reaching Nirvana and becoming a buddha.<br>Yamai: That’s right. This time, in order for the Divine Powers to succeed, various currents of thought from all kinds of countries and religions come into play. The Buddhist view on reincarnation is one of them and our setting is not biased towards it, but the soul itself is something important for the gods. Shin Megami Tensei IV adopts a quantum theory approach according to which gods exist thanks to human perception, and religious beliefs are one part of that.</ref>). '''Far Higher''' with [[Observation (Megami Tensei)|Observation]] & [[Willpower (Megami Tensei)|Willpower]] |