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"Can you feel it? The world... universe... You two are part of it, yet also all of it. It includes law and chaos within it, too. I can sense it... My connection to all life... The vibration of the particles; the winding of the galaxies... The beating of Heroine's heart... All of it..."
—Taishang Laojun's final words in the Neutral ending of the game.

Taishang Laojun (太上老君, Taijōrōkun)? is a character from Shin Megami Tensei.

History[]

Tai Shang Lao Jun is one of several ways of referring to the deity that the philosopher Laozi (also widely known as Lao Tzu) was supposedly the incarnation of in Taoist belief.

Appearances[]

Profile[]

Shin Megami Tensei[]

After demons begin to appear in the streets of Tokyo, the protagonist can go to Inogashira Park and meet an old man who speaks cryptically of the protagonist gaining great power and of a choice between Law and Chaos. He then conjures up a vision in which the protagonist, Law Hero and Chaos Hero fight against the devil summoner Douman in the Echo Building and are soundly defeated. The vision ends and the old man tells the protagonist that, in his actual state, he is too weak to beat his future enemies, and so he needs to develop strength.

He appears again after the nuclear holocaust of the Great Cataclysm, following the return of the protagonist from the Diamond Realm. There, he can be found in Ginza, where he will prophesy through philosophical messages the protagonist's alignment. If the protagonist then slays both Echidna and Haniel in Shinagawa and Tokyo Destinyland, the old man will reveal a secret passage on the underground tunnels of Ginza that leads to the otherwise inaccessible Basilica; where he will wait in the heart of the Messian fortress to guide the protagonist in the inevitable war of the religious factions, and again right before the protagonist takes his first steps to battle the Archangel Michael or the Asura Lord.

After both generals are defeated, thus leading to the Neutral ending, the old man reveals himself to be Taishang Laojun, commenting on the strong points of both God and Lucifer's plans for the future of humankind, as well as their fatal flaws that would inhibit them of bringing genuine happiness to the world. He then urges the protagonist to help shape this new future, free of the influence of outside forces, stating that "the future of humanity shall be built by neither reliance on God nor demons, but by the hands of people themselves."

Gallery[]

 
ROUKUN1
Taishang Laojun as the old man in Shin Megami Tensei
 
ROUKUN2
Taishang Laojun's true form at the end of Shin Megami Tensei

External references[]


Playable Characters Protagonist - Heroine - Law Hero - Chaos Hero - Pascal
Non-Playable Characters Stephen - Ozawa - Yuriko - Old Man - Gotou - Ambassador Thorman - En no Ozuno - Louis Cyphre - Soul Diver
Locations Tokyo - Kichijoji - Shinjuku - Ichigaya - Diamond Realm - Shibuya - Roppongi - Ginza Underpass - Ginza - Tokyo Tower - Shinagawa - Ikebukuro - Ueno - Tokyo Destinyland - Basilica - River Styx
Terminology Terminal - Alignment - Ring of Gaea - Order of Messiah - Great Cataclysm - Sword fusion - Four Heavenly Kings
Soundtracks Shin Megami Tensei Sound Collection
Archives Demons - Bosses - Skills - Items
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