Zane Euphoria

Zane's Kanji Initials

### Age

**15** (Chapter 1-6)**16** (Book 1, Chapter 7-45; Book 2; Book 3, Chapter 1-46)**17** (Book 3 Epilogue; Book 4-5)**19** (Book 6)**20** (Book 7-10)

### Cause Of Death

Used his life-force to severely injure Daisy Lucifer

### Height

**165.1 cm / 5'5** (Books 1-2)**168.91 cm / 5'6 1/2** (Books 3-5)

**172.72 cm / 5'8** (Books 6-10)

### Relatives

**Cassie Euphoria** *(Sister)***Asami Akatsuki** *(Younger Sister)*

## Series

### Debut

 **Black Crown & The White God-Slayer**, **Chapter 1**

The protagonist of the Black Crown series, **Zane Euphoria** is a reincarnated devil. After being killed by a God-Slayer, he was resurrected as a devil by a Byakuya Dierenji, and informed that he is the most recent host of the First Axis: Unus, the god of elements. He also serves as the vice captain of the guild of the same name of the series after Book 2.

## **Appearance**

Zane is described as having jet-black hair with burgundy tips and bright sea-blue eyes. His usual attires consists of normal human clothes, however, when using his magic, he's equipped with a suit of armor that changes color depending on the element he's currently using.

While usually dressing like a mortal would, Amber and his other guild-mates have pointed out that he usually prefers to wear black clothes, usually opting for an all-black attire. Even after ridding himself of his past grief caused by Absalon and his influence, he still opts to wearing darker clothing, saying it makes him feel comfortable.

## **Abilities**

* **Armor Magic:** allows Zane to coat himself with a protective suit of armor made from Dream Metal
* **Gold Dragon-Slaying Magic**: inheriting the power from one of the previous hosts of Emperor Unus, Zane can utilize this magic to grant him the power of Dragonification, which gives him a unique set of armor that gives him the appearance of a dragon, and a large boost in power
* **Fire Devil-Slaying Magic:** after directly inserting this magic from Summer, Zane can upgrade his normal flames into this form of Fire Magic, which is highly-effective against devils and burns a lot hotter; combing this with his armor gives him the "Shakugan No Shogun Mode," which makes his armor slightly more bulkier and offers a boost in power
* **Water God-Slaying Magic**: having accidentally inherited the form of magic from an artifact, Zane can use this form of magic to harm gods and upgrade his water into a more powerful variant
* **Elemental Absorption Magic:** Zane can absorb the different forms of Elemental Magic that he can use — fire, water, air, earth, poison, nature, and lightning— and thrown them back at his opponents
* **Fire Magic**
* **Water Magic**
* **Wind Magic**
* **Earth Magic**
* **Poison Magic**
* **Nature Magic**
* **Lightning Magic**

## **Transformations (Armor)**

* **Fire Armor:** Red in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Fire Magic; additionally, it grants him an added boost in reaction time
* **Water Armor:** Navy-Blue in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Water Magic; additionally, it grants him low-tier healing abilities
* **Poison Armor:** Purple in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Poison Magic; additionally, it grants him the ability to summon claws from his fingers, which he can use for added grip or sharp attacks
* **Lightning Armor:** Yellow in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Lightning Magic; additionally, it grants him an added boost in speed
* **Wind Armor:** White in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Wind Magic; additionally, he is granted a boost in agility
* **Earth Armor:** Light-Brown in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Earth Magic; additionally, it grants him an added boost in physical strength
* **Nature Armor:** Green in color, and allows Zane to absorb and shoot Nature Magic; additionally, he can use it to sense his opponents more effectively
* **Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode:** Golden in color, and grants him wide-span wings and a tail, which he can use as wings; additionally, it allows him to absorb and shoot Gold Magic, as well as harm dragons more effectively
* **Absalon Mode / Shogun Devil-Slayer Mode:** Crimson-Red in color, and grants Zane blades made of concentrated flames on the side of his forearms, and a six-sided shuriken that sits on his back; additionally, it allows him to use his Fire Devil-Slaying Magic and the **Mugen Flames.**
* **Harbinger Mode:** Light-Blue in color, and grants Zane his two chain-batons, which he uses for a multitude of purposes; additionally, it grants him the ability to use his Water God-Slaying Magic
* **Crimson-Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode:** Identical to his Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode, only with a crimson-red gauntlet instead of gold one on his left arm; additionally, he can combine his Dragon-Slaying Magic and Fire Dragon-Slaying Magic into one.
* **Steaming-Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode:** Identical to his Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode, only with a crimson-red gauntlet on his left arm and a light-blue gauntlet on his right arm; additionally, he can combine his three Slaying Magics into one.
* **Dark-Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode:** Identical to his Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode, only with black gauntlets; additionally, he can borrow Amber's Destruction Magic.
* **War-Hammer Dragon-Slayer Mode:** Identical to his Gold Dragon-Slayer Mode, but changes to color of his left-gauntlet to crimson-red, the color of his right-gauntlet to light blue, and the color of the bottom-half of his legs (from the knee down) to black; additionally, he can summon both the Mugen Drill and Mugen Press without too much backlash.

## **Personality**

At first, Zane appears to be distant and unemotional, a result of his training that he underwent during his childhood. Not wanting to believe in devils and magic following his reincarnation, he initially wanted nothing to do with Black Crown and wasn't interested in being a hero. However, after Jay threatened to out him as a devil, Zane began to reveal a darker side of his personality, manipulating Lucy into thinking he would be her friend and causing her to side with Zane against Jay. Angered and realizing who was behind her sudden change of mind, Jay revealed to Amber that Zane had been manipulating several students at school through false rumors for entertainment. Explaining that it was his only source of fun, Zane said that he made sure that things didn't get out of hand and that no one would get too hurt as a result of his games. Believing there was still a good side of him, Amber made him a deal that he eventually accepted,

As shown and stated in Book 1, Zane struggles with paying attention, mostly due to his lack of emotion and care. His nonchalantness often leads to the annoyance of others such as Amber and Chloe, who frequently poke fun at his emotionless attitude. When reuniting with Lilly Simon during the heist for the North Star, Zane states that he doesn't seen any purpose in emotion and that they only get in the way of critical decision making and take up time to handle, also showcasing in a fight against her how much he liked to take risks, accepting power from both Arburium and Absalon. Even after being several injured after the fight, Zane forces himself to keep on moving, Lilly stating that he was still as stubborn as ever. Following the heist, Amber states that he is still capable of showing emotion, and that he should stop forcing himself to be suppressed. In response, Zane states that emotion never did anything for him and that it was useless, in contrast to Amber who left emotions get the best of her and only weaken her in the long run. To demonstrate his point, Zane displays how serious he can get, taking a knife and cutting his left cheek to the point where he begins to bleed somewhat profusely, stating that Amber's first thought was why he cut himself and if he was going to be okay, and not fear for her own safety. This recklessness is displayed several times throughout the series, leading to several injuries.

Following the war between the Alliance and the Underworld, Zane begins to display more emotion, showing more concern for the members of Black Crown. Meeting Hailey Luna and taking her in, Zane begins to question himself if the ideologies he was taught as a kid were truly correct. Several times before, Zane showed that he didn't truly understand how relationships worked; however, he began to become more concern for Amber and her condition. As the two began to develop feelings for each other, they began to argue more often as well, leading Zane to realize that he was showing more and more emotion especially in front of her. In Book 2, when meeting with her in order to discuss his encounter with Caloris Azathoth, Zane refuses to order something from café, believing that if he were to do so, their meeting could be considered a date. Later, in the Royal Blood Tournament Arc, he refuses to help Amber take down Felix, believing that it was a personal problem for her to take care; however, he would agree to help her after seeing her cry, and would later state that the real reason he agreed was because he didn't want to see her upset over something he could take care of. Zane then realizes that he's in love with Amber after she kisses him on the cheek, hiding a smile.

Despite learning to open up to people and show more emotion, Zane retained the darker side of his personality as a result of his childhood trauma. Highlighted by his Devil-Slaying Magic, Zane displayed his willingness to beat people to near death, especially when he clearly outclassed them. When speaking to Absalon, Zane reveals that he finds fighting fun and that it was part of his motivation for joining Black Crown in the first place. Being inside of his soul, Absalon adds that he is used to seeing blood and people hurt, and so he is more willing that anyone else to go that far. This leads to him frequently letting loose in battles, sometimes going into a full on rage to win and having to be calmed down by someone else. On top of that, Zane retained some of his manipulative tendencies, using it to get information and get what he wants out of people, even his friends if need be.

On the other hand, however, Zane has also shown to be unordinary kind, especially to the innocent. After meeting Hailey and allowing her to live with him, Zane admits that it was what he would have wanted someone to do for him had he been in that position, and that he was trying to payback the kindness shown to him by others. In Book 5, though Zane berates and even acts aggressively towards Hailey, he is seen fighting in order to protect her, with rescuing her as his number one motivation throughout the book.

Throughout the course of the series, Zane's main goal of finding the meaning of life remains his primary motivation, fueling his growth as a character and causing to change as he gets attached to people.

## **Writing**

* While Zane's goal of becoming a human again was mostly to undo his status as a devil and on a biological level, it was more so about him finding what it meant to truly meant to be human. Though he chooses to remain a devil at the end of the series, he is satisfied with how he turned out, believing that he had already become human in the process.

The first way to see this is through his dichotomy with Amber Lucifer, who is also his love interest. The two stem from two different backgrounds—one of them had a poor childhood, while the other was a princess suffering from the same fate—yet they both shared the same goal in the end of wanting to become a human, even though the ladder didn't realize that until much sooner.

* When he's juxtaposition next to Divinos, Zane's past becomes further highlighted, as the former's terrible childhood and past is revealed more and more throughout the series. Divinos wanted to let go of his past, which was something Zane ended up doing in his quest to become a human.

* Though on the surface his goal is selfish, Zane ends up helping other people reach their goals as well, which is a metaphor for how devils selfishly attempt to fulfill the desires and dreams of humans for their own benefit.

* In trying to define what a human is, Zane is juxtaposition with Jay Valentine and Kieron Bernard, who are both reincarnated angels, but have just as bad of a past and just as much blood on their hands as him. With that in mind, the definition of what it means to be a human becomes unbound by the concepts of race, and more so about how a character is able to accept themselves and the people around them.
* By harboring a secret, darker side, Zane metaphorically conveys the idea that there is a darker side to humanity and all humans, which is a direct opposite to the beliefs of Afeus Clover, who argued that it was society that brought out the worst in humans. Though the two never meet face-to-face in a direct confrontation, their journeys are nearly the same but also different at the same time. While Zane is a devil that wants to become a human and find something to attach himself too, Afeus is a living metaphor for the coming of Jesus, and a being who seeks to free himself from the world.

* In terms of physical strength, as Zane's mental status got weaker and weaker throughout the first five books, his physical strength began to increase further and further, presenting the idea that, much like Divinos had, he was hiding his fears behind strength. This can be added onto the fact that Zane battles other mages in armor, not allowing them to see his face and his emotions.
* In Book 5, the *Black Crown & The Anti-Devil Society,* Zane shares a direct dichotomy with Itsuki Echo, despite the two never properly meeting until Book 9. While Zane became increasingly more violent and unhinged, looking for more destructive ways to solve his problems, Itsuki became more peaceful and caring, seeking a more peaceful ways to solve the injustice in the Underworld.

## **Background**

Born to human mages, Zane was abandoned at birth. Prior to his birth, his father had been killed by a devil, and during his birth, his mother (35) had died, giving her powers of the Fist Axis, Unus, to him as a hereditary gift. This was later revealed to not be the case, as Zane's mother actually survived giving birth and instead committed suicide shortly after. Due to this, Zane grew up without his biological parents, having been adopted by Liam Jackson, though he was mostly absent due to his job as a Shinigami.

Growing up, he was close with his twin sister, Cassie and their neighbor Kiara; however, as they got older, Cassie became more occupied with her mage training—as she was host of the Seventh Axis—meaning the three were seen together less frequently. Meanwhile, Zane and studied and trained under a group of elite mages that were close to his parents after school. Due to this training, he learned how to fight but also became less emotional as a result.

When Zane became nine-years-old, he began experiencing black-outs and extreme fevers that would heat up his body. His father, worried about what was happening, used his Shinigami abilities to peer into Zane's soul, learning that a second entity—Absalon—had invaded him. Due to this, Zane would occasionally be taken over by Absalon and forced to commit horrendous acts of terror, such as burning multiple cities out in the east and nearly harming multiple innocent humans.

Just shortly after, he would also meet a girl disguised by a black cloak out in the forest by Morning Star Town, where he resided. Though she never revealed her face or her name, the two quickly became good friends in the time that they were together, and the girl—later revealed to be Amber—promised she would return.

Growing up through Elementary and Middle School, Zane would find the bullying and teasing on him to steadily decrease as he slowly became more distant and emotionless, as well as much more of an intimidating figure. Prior to the series, he spent most of his time drawing paintings and images based off his childhood and his surroundings, attempting to find ways to socialize with others. He has a perfect memory, otherwise known as a photographic memory.

## **Trivia**

* Zane originally had no darker side to his personality, and was mostly inspired off noble characters such as Superman until the final draft of the first book begun to implement the roots for his more obscure way of thinking.
* In his free time, Zane likes to draw images of things in the magical world that he finds interesting, and is noted by Amber and Hailey as being extremely skilled. Additionally, Zane admits that he dislikes drawing real people and painting on big canvases.
* Amber confidently notes that Zane is the best hand-to-hand fighter in Black Crown behind only Divinos. Thus, only behind Lord Spencer, Divinos, and Gelida, Zane is the fourth-best hand-to-hand fighter in the entire series.
* The Mugen Drill is inspired by the anime franchise *Gurren Lagann,* which uses Drill Power as its primary source of fighting.
* Due to his nature, Zane has the most character dichotomies in the series
* His birthday is February 14th, meaning he was born on Valentine's Day
* He is the only member in Black Crown who does not wield a magical eye ability
* Kieron states that Zane is good at cooking, even though he dislikes doing so
* His perfect memory is cited as being super-human, and was stated to not be a side effect from Absalon or Unus's abilities, rather something he was born with and something his twin sister, Cassie, lacks
* Zane states that he dislikes watching horror movies as Cassie use to frequently scare him when they were children watching some; thus, he tends to stay away from them
* It is revealed by Joker that Zane had a crush on Amber even before his reincarnation, which was the cause of their frequent squabbles prior to the series as the two had no idea how to communicate with each other through their feelings for one another
* It is revealed that in Dimension-111, the alternate timeline where Vahn wins, Zane died after giving up and conceding to the God-Slayer
* The alternate version of Afeus Clover seen in Book 10 claims that Zane is still alive in Dimension-777, the alternate timeline where Divinos was defeated, as well as Dimension-246 where Ivior defeated Hylax and Zane before destroying the Underworld. The alternate Caloris and Galvamesh claimed to have killed all of Black Crown, however.