I recently made this post asking players about their favourite LI and what makes draws them to their favourite LI. I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to respond, I really loved reading about everyone’s opinions! I am a Sylus main who pretty much only plays the game for Sylus. I only went through his content in the game because the others didn’t ‘hook’ my interest in the same way (or rather, I hyper-fixated on Sylus only). So I can’t really speak about them and the themes they represent as characters but it’s made me realise that I was a bit too hasty in writing the others off as less interesting. That said, it did make me think more about why I was drawn to Sylus in detail and I think I’ve pretty much nailed it.
Sylus, from the start, is presented to us in stark contrast to the other three. While our introductions to Xavier, Rafayel, Zayne and even Caleb early on in the game are quite uncontroversial, Sylus is starkly different. He rescues MC from the people at The Nest but he is rough with her at the start, to the extent of scaring the shit out of MC and making her dislike him. I started playing the game before his myths came out so I assumed this was because MC and him were enemies in a previous life or that she had gained his trust only to betray him. Either way, he invokes a strong reaction from MC and by extension, in us as players. From the start, we see the worst of him. He’s extremely powerful both in terms of status and in terms of sheer strength and he’s extremely wealthy. He’s the leader of Onichynus, a criminal organisation that’s very powerful and he’s basically the king of the N109 Zone, which a dangerous, treacherous, lawless place. He is not a good person and the story makes it clear to is from the very start. He doesn’t just exist in the darkness, he’s one with it.
That’s because he has to be. The world hasn’t been kind to Sylus. It has repeatedly showed him that the only person he can truly trust is himself. He can only trust his own abilities to keep himself safe. I think that’s why his way of supporting MC is to offer guidance instead of solve all her issues for her. He wants MC to be able to survive on her own if need be. To be able to rely entirely on herself and her own abilities. Also, being the ruler of a place like the N109 Zone offers is quite different from idk, a place like Linkon City, I suppose. I mean, it’s a pretty dangerous place full of crime and poverty. The people that live there care for nothing more than their own survival, so loyalty, kindness and compassion takes a back seat to base human survival instincts. But Sylus isn’t unkind and he has shown compassion. He’s shown that he’s trustworthy and that he’s does care for people beyond just MC. Sure, he’s done lots of very bad things in the past and he never pretends he hasn’t. In fact, we are faced with the worst parts of him from the start. Even later on, when MC gets to know him better, he’s nothing but honest about who he is. About the limits he’s willing to cross. He’s demonstrated that he cares about MC and that he is ready to honour whatever MC wants, even if it comes at a cost to him. If she tells him to leave and never come back, he will, no matter if it hurts him.
Sylus also understands darkness well. He lives in it and he thrives within it. He realises that darkness is just another aspect of human nature. We are all capable of it, and, to an extent, it is there to help us. In a perfect world, we would all be kind to each other. We would lead with compassion, we would be selfless because we would have absolute trust in other people to return our kindness and compassion. Sylus understands that this is not the world we live in. He knows that if we are not selfish, if we do not indulge our own desires, if we do not think about our needs, then we will not get what we want. That isn’t to say that we cannot be kind but that we should learn to be selective. We should honour our own desires because they are just important as those of the people around us. Selfishness isn’t always bad because sometimes, it’s what helps us survive. We know Sylus can be cruel but that’s not all he is. He is capable of kindness, compassion, he’s capable of being gentle, he’s thoughtful, he’s generous. His cruelty is directed towards those that have demonstrated that cruelty and violence is the only language they understand. And because of this, I feel like his actions speak more to his character. All of his actions are intentional, which shows that he operates on his own internal moral compass. It’s the difference between believing something because that’s what you’re told vs believing something because you deeply understand the reasoning behind it.
Him and MC make up a sort of yin-yang dynamic. Sylus lives and deals in darkness where as MC represents the light. MC brings out the light within him, the light - the good - that he’s always had. Sylus teaches her to nurture the darkness within her. To understand it and ultimately to work with it instead of fight against it.
I think that’s why he appeals to people who have either had to sacrifice their own needs in service of others or those who refused to and got shamed for it. He’s such a fascinating character to me and he’s quite different because I feel like he’s so aware of who he is, his beliefs, his morals and his purpose. There’s a maturity to him that far surpasses the others (imo). Whoever’s responsible for creating and fleshing out his character, I hope your pillow is cold for every night of your life!
Sorry for the super long post, thank you for making it this far! I feel deeply about Sylus and he’s been my hyper-fixation for a while now. If you have anything to add, I’d love to hear it!