- "It's the Cursed Rune, the "Soul Eater." Its power..."
- —Ted, Suikoden
The Rune of Life and Death, also known as the Soul Eater (ソウルイーター) or the Rune that Rules Over Life and Death (生と死を司る紋章), is one of the 27 True Runes.
Description[]
The Soul Eater represents life and death. It grants outstanding powers to its bearer over the energies of Life and Death, and like the other True Runes, as well as ageless immortality. However, it's "cursed" title and nickname have a reason to exist. The rune is known to seek people close to its bearer in order to eat their souls.
It's believed that the Rune manipulates fate to create lethal situations for the people close to its bearer, in order to feast. As such, the life of the bearer of the Soul Eater is very solitary, riddled with paranoia and fear, with its bearer trying to avoid to create any kind of link with any other individual.
History[]
This rune was kept by the Village of the Hidden Rune until Solis 150 when Windy, along with Yuber and Neclord, destroyed the Village. The rune was passed on from Ted's Grandfather onto Ted, and Ted since wandered the world.
Eventually, worn down by the rune's curse and the social exclusion that it brought, Ted accepted the offer of the mysterious Fog Ship Guide to hand over the rune and disappear from the world. His exile lasted years, but when he saw the actions of the bearer of the Rune of Punishment (another heavily cursed rune), Ted decided to leave the Fog Ship and return to the outside world. The Fog Ship Guide was unwilling to part with the Soul Eater and battled for possession of it and the Rune of Punishment. Following the Guide's defeat, Ted reclaimed the Rune and aided the bearer of the Rune of Punishment in the war between the Island Nations and Kooluk. However, once the conflict was over, Ted returned to a solo nomadic life.
After his wandering, he befriended the son of General Teo McDohl, Tir. After Windy realized that Ted bore the Soul Eater, he was attacked by Windy. Barely escaping with his life, Ted begged Tir to become the next bearer of the Soul Eater, which Tir accepted. Since then, the rune bent the fate of those around Tir and dragged them into the clutches of death, starting with Odessa Silverberg, then with Gremio, Teo McDohl, and even its former bearer Ted. However, it is uncertain whether having one's soul being sucked by the rune means death, as the spirits of those who have died live on within the bearer of the Soul Eater, and may even be brought back to life under special circumstances, such as with Gremio who was resurrected with the power of Gate Rune when the remaining 107 Stars of Destiny gather under one banner, all without depowering the bearer just because there's one soul brought back to life.
Attacks[]
Suikoden[]
- Deadly Fingertips: Sudden death to 1 enemy (except bosses)
- Black Shadow: 300 damage to all enemies
- Hell: Sudden death to all enemies (except bosses)
- Judgement: 1500 damage to 1 enemy
Suikoden II[]
- Finger of Death: Sudden death to 1 enemy (except bosses)
- Black Shadow: 500 damage to all enemies
- Hell: Sudden death to all enemies (except bosses)
- Judgment: 1500 damage to 1 enemy
Suikoden IV[]
- Finger of Death: Drain 1 enemy's life energy
- Black Shadow: 300 damage to all enemies
- Hades: Drain life energy of all enemies
- Judgment: 1500 damage to 1 enemy
Trivia[]
- The Soul Eater is the most recurring player controlled True Rune in the series, appearing in three different entries of the series.
- The Soul Eater's shape resembles the "Grim Reaper", the personification of Death in some mythologies.
- Along with the True Fire Rune, this rune does the second most direct damage to enemies in the series, with the first being the True Lightning Rune.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Genso Suikoden Kiwami Daijiten (Japanese) (pages 66, 68, 171, 173, 434, 437)