Ascended Demon: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"No day goes by where I am not tempted to return to my inborn nature. ''Zin krif haalvut se sulyek.<ref>Approximately, "honor fights the touch of power."</ref> ''What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"''|'''Paarthurnax''', ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] V: [[Skyrim]]''}}
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[[Being Evil Sucks]], though not all baddies [[Heel Realization|realize]] this or [[For the Evulz|care]]. What really sucks about it is that those that want to give [[Good Feels Good]] a try often find it near impossible to fully pull a [[Heel Face Turn]]. This isn't for lack of trying, but because they're a demon, vampire, or other [[
▲[[Being Evil Sucks]], though not all baddies [[Heel Realization|realize]] this or [[For the Evulz|care]]. What really sucks about it is that those that want to give [[Good Feels Good]] a try often find it near impossible to fully pull a [[Heel Face Turn]]. This isn't for lack of trying, but because they're a demon, vampire, or other [[Always Chaotic Evil]] critter whose very body is [[Made of Evil]]. Kinda hard to walk into a temple and pray for [[Forgiveness]] when you [[Holy Burns Evil|spontaneously combust]] by crossing the threshold. This is a big reason why [[The Virus|humans turned to monsters]] who [[Heroic Willpower|held onto]] [[Transhuman Treachery|their humanity]] will angst at their [[Hell|abysmal]] fate.
So, what to do? [[Fallen Angel]] [[Opposite Tropes|in reverse]], and become an Ascended Demon!
The demon looking to ascend has a few avenues to explore. The most common are to go on a literal or metaphorical quest to [[Find the Cure]]. If their "evil nature" is biologically based, like [[Our Vampires Are Different|viral vampirism]] or [[Our Werewolves Are Different|hereditary lycanthropy]], finding the recipe for an ancient cure or researching a new one is one possibility. When it's mystical, getting an artifact (usually a holy relic) is another. The metaphorical route requires they try and get a [[God Is Good|benevolent god]] to [[Powers as Programs|"reformat"]] them [[Pinocchio Syndrome|into a human]] or even angelic body. This often requires doing lots of good deeds or [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|having an epiphany on the nature of good]]. Sometimes, just getting a [[Soul]] in itself is enough to earn salvation from the [[Nothing After Death]] and a [[Reincarnation]] as a [[Become a Real Boy|non]]-[[
Because [[Good Is Dumb]], there's a fair chance that by refusing their evil nature they [[De-Power|lose]] or [[Power Limiter|dampen]] all of those nifty powers, though it also likely removes [[Weaksauce Weakness|several]] exploitable [[Weaponized Weakness|weaknesses]]. Of course, such a feat may well do the opposite and take the "Suck" out of [[Blessed with Suck]], and make them a [[Super Mode|top tier angel]].
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Though by nature the Ascended Demon will be very rare<ref>(rising from evil is much harder than [[Slowly Slipping Into Evil]], after all, see Milton's page quote on [[The Atoner]])</ref> it's not uncommon for there to be a [[Mentor]] who has done this before and is willing to sponsor them, or more tragically, ''failed'' and wants them to succeed as a redemption by proxy. If they really ''are'' the first to pull it off, an author might [[Inverted Trope]] the [[Last of His Kind]] and have the Ascended Demon [[Monsters Anonymous|redeem some or all of their peers]] and reveal they were [[Good All Along]]. This is especially poignant if the demons were once [[Fallen Angel|angels who fell.]] Expect an [[Enemy Civil War]] to follow as demon-kind is divided between "loyalists" and "redemptionists".
It's not all rainbows and lollipops though. Aside from the fear of backsliding into evil, the Ascended Demon has made enemies of his former kind,<ref>(which might not be much worse for them since they're [[
Not to be confused with ascending to demonhood in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''.
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Chrono from ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' is a demon, but he fights on the side of good, even working for a [[Church Militant]] group.
* Shirasagi from ''[[Innocent Bird]]'' counts as this as he was a demon who had a [[Heel Faith Turn]], even becoming a priest.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In the first appearance of Necron in ''[[Green Lantern]]'', one of his minions demonstrates great courage and disagrees with his boss' invasion of the living universe. He "ascends" to become a Green Lantern that's free of Necron's influence.
* Though [[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]] never becomes fully human or loses his demon heritage, he's a very persistent [[Anti-Anti-Christ]]. To the point that in one story his spilled blood [[Fertile Feet|sprouts lilies.]]
* ''[[Batman]] & [[Dracula]]: Red Rain'' had this happen to vampires, although Joker's [[Oh Crap]] reaction was a bit [[
== [[
* Accomplished by Lucifer at the end of ''Apotheosis Now'', the novel-length story which caps off ''[[Neon Exodus Evangelion]]''. Lucifer and Moloch trying for this in the first place is what (indirectly) caused the Second Impact in ''NXE'''s [[Backstory]].
* In ''[[The Deaths of Ian Stone]]'' the Harvesters aren't really evil per se... but being extra-dimensional spirits that live off fear, and have long ago become addicted to the fear of a human facing death (and the easiest way to get that is to kill people), they are pretty close to [[Always Chaotic Evil]]. However {{spoiler|a renegade Harvester has found an alternate power source capable of killing the other evil Harvesters... [[The Power of Love|Love]].}}▼
* [[Ah! My Goddess|Marller]] in ''[[Drunkard's Walk]] V''.
* In ''[[
== [[
▲* In ''[[The Deaths of Ian Stone]]'' the Harvesters aren't really evil per se... but being extra-dimensional spirits that live off fear, and have long ago become addicted to the fear of a human facing death (and the easiest way to get that is to kill people), they are pretty close to [[
▲* In ''[[Manchester Lost (Fanfic)|Manchester Lost]]'', A ''[[Good Omens]]'' fic, {{spoiler|Crowley}} becomes this through the [[Power of Love]]. He reverts to [[Noble Demon]] in the sequel, ''[[Paradise Thwarted]]''. Opposites attract etc.
== [[Literature]] ==
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** Liquidon's Mikloche power shines like an angel; but becomes "The Dark Glow" when he gets too powerful. [[The Corruption]] is then reversed, but at the expense of {{spoiler|Cindy}} sacrificing herself.
* In Tolkien's ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the Maia (angel) Ossë had thrown in his lot with [[Satan|Melkor]], but eventually repented and returned to the good side. The book doesn't make clear just "how far" he fell, since he was not one of those who fell right at the beginning during the Ainulindalë. Nevertheless, he was fighting with the demons against the angels for a while there. Though in most ways he tried to make Arda 100% compatible with Catholicism, Tolkien explicitly disagreed with the idea that anyone could be truly irredemable.
* ''[[Monster Hunter International]]'' has {{spoiler|Agent Franks}} who is a fallen angel that possesses the empty body of {{spoiler|[[Frankenstein's Monster]]}} to get out of hell. Unlike the rest of the fallen he isn't interested in tormented/enslaving/killing humans though rather than being redeemed ({{spoiler|Though at the end of Nemesis he's told they'll bother judging him like a normal human if he dies now.}}) he has just made a deal with God: Kill the monsters (especially other demons) on Earth and God will let him stay as long as he stays alive. There's also a succubus (minor demons in MHI's universe) that has a PUFF exemption (killing this monster is murder rather than grounds for claiming a cash bounty), but she got it not through redemption but being ''useful'' as an agent of the US government.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Angel]]'' wanted to be this.
* ''[[Forever Knight]]'', sometimes.
* ''[[Reaper]]'' had a group of demons who were trying to overthrow Lucifer through being nice. One of them apparently ascended to angelhood after death, though the finale indicates that angels can be pretty ruthless too.
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== Mythology and Religion ==
* The 17th century Lemegeton and 19th century Dictionnaire Infernal (both demonology books) depict Marchosias, a literal [[Noble Demon]] looking to achieve this trope.
* According to [[The Other Wiki]], official Catholic doctrine declares all [[Fallen Angel
== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
* The ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' sourcebook "Book of Exalted Deeds" on good-aligned characters has one chapter on forgiveness. It features an orc chieftain sparing a girl's village because she had saved his life years earlier and a good-aligned [[Cthulhumanoid|illithid]].
** An [[Brain Food|illithid]]? Canonical [[Spelljammer]] character Estriss, obsessive [[Adventurer Archaeologist]] ([[Lawful Neutral]] with some Good tendency). [[Forgotten Realms]] got Sangalor of the Secrets, outcast from his city and priest of Ogma ([[Lawful Neutral]]).
** A ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' web article famously had a [[Horny Devils|succubus]] [[Knight in Shining Armor|paladin]]. [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fc/20050824a Here are the stats], and [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20061017a here is the adventure].
** One of the (Many) nicknames for [[Planescape]]'s Lady of Pain is "The fiend of blades", started by someone with the theory she is an ascended fiend. Given that he wasn't [[Deader Than Dead|flayed]] (like people who give... less than flattering nicknames) and lived long enough to die of natural causes, this indicates there isn't really an issue with the term. Of course, there are just as many theories that state she is a [[Fallen Angel]], and she doesn't seem to object to that either.
*** In ''Pages of Pain'' she remembered being a daughter of {{spoiler|Akadi and Poseidon, and formerly Set's fiance}}. That is, Lady is a born Power, has the Pain sphere/domain, as a gift and would be a goddess if she didn't refuse to.
** In [http://www.candlekeep.com/compendium/index.htm The Candlekeep Compendium], there is a certain Erinyes {{spoiler|who is rescued by a gnome adventurer as a mission from a [[Chaotic Good]] deity.}}
▲*** There was a chant about the agathinon Janarr and erinyes Nalura working in mortal disguise on the Prime. They [[Duel of Seduction|sort of]] just did their jobs--she tried to seduce him, he tried to turn her attitude up to [[The Power of Love|celestial standards]]. Before they knew whom exactly they faced, ''both'' succeeded. They [[Star-Crossed Lovers|had to hide from their respective bosses]] from that point on, though.
** The Kalashtar from ''[[Eberron]]'' all have a soul-bond to an ascended [[Eldritch Abomination]], which works on the same general principle.
** K'rand Vahlix is a ''general'' of the Risen Fiends who have fled to the various Upper Planes, organizing them into the Celestial Hosts, and is so powerful and [[Good Hurts Evil|good-aligned]] that he is completely unafraid of any [[Deep-Cover Agent|Deep Cover Agents]] that might assassinate him, which is the main obstacle to most Risen Fiends associating with each other.
* In ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]'' the demon Okura no Oni affected the honor of the Lion Clan through Kitsu Okura, and at Oblivion's Gate slew her father, Akuma no Oni. She ascended to become the Guardian of Tengoku and she is now seen guarding the Gates of the Celestial Heavens.
* ''[[The World of Darkness]]''
** In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' the fabled state of Golconda allows a vampire to transcend just about every physical and spiritual weakness of vampirism. The [[Enemy Within]] is muzzled, blood requirement drops to almost nothing, and various caps and restrictions vanish. Tellingly, the vampire is immune to Diablerie... their soul is no longer tied to their blood/body and can't be eaten.
** In ''[[Vampire: The Requiem|Vampire the Requiem]]'' the above is one of three suggested outcomes for reaching Golconda. The best one is a return to humanity. The worst one? Complete balance with the [[Enemy Within]]... which means the vampire is in perfect harmony with a remorseless gluttonous raging monster.
**
* In the ''Mystic China'' RPG from Palladium games there's a literal Ascended Demon class, where as you gain levels you lose demonic traits and gain human traits until if one survives all the pitfalls the character will be reborn as a human being with only dim memories of its former life.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' features two possible examples of this:
** The Abyssals are Exalted by [[Eldritch Abomination|the Neverborn]], who corrupted Solar shards to serve death and the Void. Thing is, underneath all that necrotic taint, there's ''still'' a glimmer of innate Solar nature. It may very well be possible for an Abyssal to seek redemption and become a Solar again... and if that happens, [[Nice Job Fixing It, Villain|then they don't have to deal with that pesky]] [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|Great Curse]].
** The Infernals are similarly corrupted Solars, only their shards were tinkered with by [[The Legions of Hell|the Yozis]] as part of a scheme to escape from Malfeas by making Creation just as bad. Infernals don't have innate [[Functional Magic|Charms]] as other Exalts do, but instead have a direct connection to their Yozi patrons that allows them to use their magic. There's just one problem that the Yozis didn't entirely
*** Alternatively, Infernals using the right Heretic Charms can redesign themselves into Primordials 2.0, taking and improving the designs that the Yozis used before being ripped inside out, castrated, and imprisoned. The resulting being ''literally'' [[Mental World|containing worlds]] and [[I Am Legion|having multiple souls]]. It doesn't require the character to [[Pure Is Not Good|be good]], or even [[Blue and Orange Morality|define good]], but it does involve long periods of spiritual meditation and reformatting one's own souls, and it's hard to get worse than being one fifth Ebon Dragon, the [[Evil Is Petty|Cosmic Principle of Dickishness]].
** Sidereals with access to Greater Astrology Charms actually have one, An End to Darkness, that allows them to hand this out willy-nilly. If they find a demon that wants to leave the service of Hell, they can cast this Charm and transform them into a god that will serve Heaven. The only downsides are that other demons will be out for that god's blood, and the Sidereal takes a large amount of [[Weirdness Censor|Paradox]] in the process.
* Interestingly, the infamous [[So Bad It's Good]] game ''World Of Synnibarr'' has this as the origins of its [[Our Angels Are Different|"angels"]]: they are all "devils" that decided to start helping out the mortal races instead. It actually manages to [[It Makes Sense in Context|make sense in context]].
* ''[[In Nomine]]'' being all about angels and demons, it has explicit rules for handling this if a PC demon wants to Redeem. It also makes it clear that it's ''very'' difficult to accomplish without getting whacked by Hell's [[Secret Police]] first, but that it ''has'' been done.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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*** Her ending in one of the games reveal that the Kris really works, but the rate of purification is proportional to the evilness and power of the target. Also, once the user is ascended (and safely expelled from the Netherrealm), the sword stays behind to repeat the process for another demon.
* ''Worlds In Global Battle Locked'', the sequel to ''[[Nexus War]]'', has Redeemed demons and Fallen angels as third-tier classes. The Redeemed's skillset has a strong emphasis on protection and debuffing over dealing damage.
* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' has Fall-From-Grace, a [[
** There is evidence that her "fall" is more than a little uncomfortable for her, as her race is evil incarnate in a universe where belief governs the laws of physics and 'being evil' is as much a part of their existence as 'breathing air' is for humans. Despite your party being composed of only those in [[Title Drop|true torment]], [[Witch Species|Ravel]] claims that Grace suffers more than any of your companions. This is pretty amazing, considering how your remaining party members are tormented.
* A Satyr in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' who came to his senses and seeks redemption culimnates when he uses parts of his former tribe and rips out his own heart to use in a potion to save a child dying of sickness. He doesn't actually ascend though: {{spoiler|He just turns back into a night elf.}}
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* Flonne has become this, as of [[Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten]]. That is to say, she was ''originally'' an angel, but in the [[Multiple Endings|Good (and canonical) ending]] of the first game, the Seraph turned her into a [[Fallen Angel]]. Not much of a punishment (or even intended to be one), since she gets to stay with her friends Laharl and Etna, and [[Love Freak|her personality]] remains the same. By D4 she has apparently gotten a promotion, and his now an Archangel, once again serving the Seraph (and is the boss of the new Vulcanus).
==
* Caliban of ''[[Narbonic]]'', who renounces his demonic powers and becomes human. Turns out he's less motivated by virtue than by getting away from some demonic loan sharks who are after him, but once that's sorted out he seems quite happy to live as a human and gets a job at Starbucks.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Angelic Tropes]]
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