Deus Ex Machina (Future Diary)
Deus Ex Machina is a male anime and manga character who features in Future Diary
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Biography
Deus Ex Machina (Japanese: デウス・エクス・マキナ) was a powerful cosmic deity who controlled the Akashic Records and served as the Lord of Time and Space where he maintained the fabric of existence. Despite his grand cosmic role, his lifespan was finite and he approached the end of his existence by the modern age. He was engaged in various dealings with mortal humans. Among those he encountered was John Bacchus who convinced Deus Ex Machina to engage in a grand experiment by linking prognostication with human devices. These would be given to a select number of humans allowing them to know future events. A number of prototypes were made that culminated in the creation of the Future Diaries. These were made with the goal of forcing human evolution and twelve diary users were to be selected as part of a survival game. The diary holder who last survived would be selected as Deus Ex Machinas's heir and successor prior to his natural demise. While the exact details of the First Survival Game are unknown, it apparently played out according to Deus's design, as he saw no need to act directly. It is suggested he died at 28th of July, shortly before Yuno Gasai won the game; Muru Muru would transfer his powers to the Second, marking her as the new god of their universe.
Yukiteru Amano regularly day-dreamed where he met Deus Ex Machina in the Cathedral of Causality but came to believe these events were in his imagination and that Deus Ex Machina was an imaginary friend. During one such discussion, the deity offered a great gift to Yukiteru namely the power to know of future events. Amano dismissed this notion until his phone started to accurately predict events in the future which he began to use. He later met with Deus Ex Machina where he confronted him over his being an actual entity instead of an imaginary one. Yukiteru also learnt of other Future Diary holders and believed that Deus Ex Machina had tricked him but the Lord of Time and Space denied any deception. Deus Ex Machina later formally announced a survival game between the various diary holders and stated that the one who won would become his successor and given the power of a god over time and space. He remained as an observer over the game and witnessed the creation of a new timeline and game when Yukiteru Amano decided to break the Future Diary's prediction by looking into a closed room in Yuno Gasai's house. In the prior timeline, he ignored this room but Amano decided to change the timeline and discovered three corpses that created such an intense event that it altered all the Future Diaries as well as shook the foundations of the Cathedral of Causality. Deus Ex Machina was greatly pleased with this development and felt he had made a correct choice in giving Yukiteru a Future Diary that made him part of the survival game.
Deus continued observing the game from his Cathedral with little comment until Yukiteru found a secret room in Yuno's house. On a whim, he opened the door, causing a massive shift in the future that even shook the Cathedral. In contrast to Muru Muru's panic, Deus was pleased by the drastic change, calling it "a second miracle" after he had twisted causality to bring the twelve participants of the Survival Game to Sakurami City. As the shock to the timeline subsided, the God of Time and Space mused that he was right to have chosen Yukiteru for the Survival Game. After Yomotsu Hirasaka, Tsubaki Kasugano, and Reisuke Houjou's eliminations, Deus sent his Observer to investigate Karyuudo Tsukishima, suspecting that he was trying to outlast the other participants by hiding in his mansion. Shortly thereafter, the Tenth contacted Deus and requested permission to loan his Future Diary to a third party; while somewhat perplexed by the request, Deus allowed it.
When Keigo Kurusu killed Karyuudo and betrayed his alliance much earlier than expected, Deus commented on the 'third miracle' before realizing that Muru Muru had manipulated the Fourth into action. While Muru Muru dodged his attempt at punishing her, she admitted to motivating Kurusu into action in an effort to speed up the game, reminding Deus that they had very little time to find his successor before his death. While Deus accepted Muru Muru's logic, he regarded his servant with much more caution from then on, especially when she challenged him to wager on the winner of the Survival Game. Noticing that Muru Muru favored Yuno while he bet on Yukiteru, Deus directed his Observer to investigate the Second's house, suspecting that there was more to her than was readily apparent. After the Apprentice Users made their appearance, Deus contacted Yukiteru to let them ask questions about the new diary users. When Yukiteru's mother was killed by his father, Yukiteru asked Deus to revive her. However, Deus admitted that he could not do so as he cited the loss of his power as the day of his death drew nearer. In the final meeting of Diary owners, he almost erased Yukiteru and Yuno from existence when they failed to appear with the others, but they arrived just in time and revealed John Bacchus as the Eleventh. With all of the remaining Diary owners' identities revealed, Deus removed the shadows concealing each of them, allowing everyone to see their remaining competition for his throne.
Deus was later seen talking with Muru Muru after Minene's attack on John Bacchus, before dismissing her as he went to rest. Deus is soon visited by Minene in his resting sphere, who asks him about John's Future Diary; accordingly, he reveals the nature of the Watcher Diary and relates how he collaborated with John Bacchus to create the Future Diaries. Deus also takes this opportunity to transfer some of his powers to Minene so that she could stop Muru Muru's scheme to let Yuno win the Survival Game, expressing his suspicions that both Muru Muru and Yuno secretly hailed from the First World where Yuno had already become god. Before returning Minene to her world, he sealed the memory of his revelations within the depths of her mind, intending them to return to her when she was needed as his trump card. By the time of John's death, Deus's condition had degraded to the point where the universe was starting to collapse, creating voids in the world that wreaked widespread destruction. At this time, he was visited by Aru Akise, seeking to confirm if it is possible to resurrect the dead. Contrary to what he implied to Yuki, Deus admitted that he can revive the body of the deceased, but not their soul. He then stopped Akise from leaving, revealing his true nature as the Observer before commenting that he has outlived his role. Slowly vanishing into the Akashic Records, Akise tried to prove that he has a will of his own; Deus calmly and easily disproved each of Akise's arguments, almost destroying him completely until Kamado Ueshita granted him an Apprentice Diary of his own. Amused that Akise was indeed capable of something outside his assigned role, Deus let him live on his own account.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, he was an extremely large individual that towered over humans and had a humanoid appearance. His body was seemingly made of machinery and he had a large skull-like head that sported spike purple hair with a crown. He wore a large dark cloak that shrouded his lower body and had ornaments attached to it.
He was shown as being very laid-back and playful, seeking courses of action that will amuse him in addition to achieving his goals; unfortunately, he is completely apathetic and/or oblivious to the consequences of his 'games'. In his first appearance alone, he is shown provoking a war for fun, and he develops the Survival Game without considering the consequences for the participants being forced to kill each other. He also seems to have chosen several participants based on how "interesting" they will make the game, regardless of their motives to become his successor. As a result, many of the Survival Game candidates are planning to use their eventual godhood for selfish and destructive ends - some even plot to destroy the universe outright - and others have no desire to play the game at all. Furthermore, while Deus never outright lies, he is not above manipulating the truth to achieve his desired goals, such as evading Yukiteru's question over whether or not he could revive the dead as a god.
Deus Ex Machina felt that Yuki held some promise during the survival game with his views only enhanced when the boy created such a change in causality that it affected the timeline causing it to change. In fact, he commented that he had been seldom so entertained until Yukitero had altered the timeline by looking into a room containing Yuno's parents dead bodies.
Powers and abilities
His control over space time was stemmed over his control over the Akashic Records. Deus Ex Machina was able to empower others and give them some of his divine power such as the ability to fly as well as travel through time. Such was his power that there was no distinction between reality and imagination. In the words of Murmur, Deus Ex Machina was a god and therefore could live wherever he desired.
Though he claimed otherwise, he could not bring back the dead. It was said that he could bring back the body but it would be devoid of a soul. Similarly, those that inherited his power suffered from the same problem. The only means for them to bring back the dead was to go back in time to before the survival game when Deus Ex Machina was still alive but this led to the creation of a new timeline of events.
Such was his ties to time and space that his dying caused tears in the fabric of reality. Despite his great power, he was not immortal and had a finite lifespan that necessitated in him seeking out a successor to his position.
He was noted as being the Lord of Time and Space. Deus Ex Machina was typically situated outside of Earth in his own realm where he was seated on a throne in the Cathedral of Causality. This was depicted as a large domed building with purple lighting. Deus sits in a large throne which hovers just above the ground amid a partial sphere of metal fragments; he can also summon a "resting sphere" around himself to conserve energy and have private conversations with others. The cathedral also has an arena where Deus and Muru Muru summon the diary holders for occasional meetings. The arena is covered with an endless cloudy sky, revealed to actually be a cover for the Akashic Records. As Deus's death draws nearer, his body, throne, and the Cathedral itself all begin to crumble and fall apart.
Notes
- Deus Ex Machina was created by Sakae Esuno where he featured in the setting of the Future Diary universe.
- The characters name Deus Ex Machina was Latin for 'God from a Machine' or 'God of the Machine'.
In other media
Television
- In Future Diary, Deus Ex Machina appeared in the setting of the anime television series where he was was voiced by Japanese actor Norio Wakamoto and by English actor Kent Williams in the dub.
Appearances
- Future Diary:
External Links
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