#Obey Me! Nightbringer Spoilers

[emmys-grimoire]

The Nightbringer, how lesson 9-A tells us everything, and why it’s (probably) not Barb

I’m working on lesson 3 summary, but now that a good portion of the fanbase seems to have gotten through lesson 10, I feel it’s timely to get my thoughts out there ahead of covering lesson 10 because the story will likely continue before I’m done.

And I think a lot of you are ignoring some of the contextual clues.

Don’t read this if you don’t want lesson 8+ spoiled yet.

Ahead of the game releasing, most of the fanbase thought the prologue was a peek into how Barbatos met Solomon because it matched up with the lore in the OG game and Solomon was narrating. There were also other hints that Barb was behind things via promotional media and art. Pair that with his well-known time travel abilities, and it all seems very straightforward and obvious.

We learn in lesson 8, though, that the boy in the prologue video isn’t Solomon -- it’s Adam, and it’s heavily implied that he’s Lilith’s lover.

This fact alone doesn’t actually change much beyond the implied relationship between the Nightbringer and Solomon. It is relevant that Solomon is narrating, though, because they do have a significant relationship.

In lesson 9-A (and the node in lesson 10 that’s a continuation), which I have not gotten to myself yet, Solomon has a telling conversation with the Nightbringer after being confronted with illusions of Diavolo and Simeon meant to test his resolve. They’re squabbling over him, the obvious metaphor for humanity.

Solomon chooses neither, because he believes humanity doesn’t need either demons or angels guiding them. This is meant to mirror a choice he made in the past, as the self-appointed steward of humanity.

And furthermore, back then... the Nightbringer was likely one of the advocates of one of these sides. Furthermore, whatever this agreement he made with the Nightbringer is meant to ensure his “freedom”, even though...

The Nightbringer clearly wanted him to choose one of the presented sides, not neither. So which side was he on? He reveals his hand here, too, if you read into it far enough.

Why on earth would Solomon make this retort if the Nightbringer was actually a demon? If he was a demon, of course he’d be acting like one. It’d be no surprise, and certainly not considered an insult.

We got an angel who acts like a demon. This conversation doesn’t make any sense otherwise.

The Nightbringer is an angel? But that’s CRAZY!

Is it?

Is it really?

There’s one angel in particular who has a similar connection to Solomon as Barbatos, who has also had a significant role in his past: Michael.

We find out in the dream sequence flashback in S3 that Michael was eyeballing Solomon before the Great Celestial War. We know he’s the one who fished us out of that sequence, and warned us that the effect we had on the brothers past selves will carry on into the present (though admittedly this never manifests later). We find out he approached Solomon when he was lost and confused and we know he gave him his Ring of Wisdom, which grants the power to control demons. We find out in Nightbringer that Solomon waged war against the entire Devildom in an effort to leverage his newfound power to better humanity’s position. We learn that war was ultimately inconclusive. At numerous point in the story, Michael is referred to as a “demon in disguise” and a sadist like Lucifer.

We don’t know why Michael would give his very powerful ring to Solomon, but it likely was part of some agreement.

What doesn’t line up with this theory is a lack of motivation. I have no idea why Michael would want us to fling us back to this point of time, after the war. It sounds like he’d want to prevent the war entirely. Adam also meets the Nightbringer in the Devildom, and I can’t see the Devildom allowing Michael to just waltz in and meddle with things, particularly after the Great Celestial War. I’m not sure why they’d let any of them in, but I digress...

The other small details

There’s other small details strewn throughout the story that point to an angel, or at least someone that isn’t Barb.

Adam says he heard trumpets heralding the Nightbringer’s arrival. The king in the prologue also blows a trumpet.

You know what trumpets are associated with? Angels. According to this wikipedia article:

“In Christian Eschatology, all the first six trumpets are used to serve as a wake up call to the sinners on Earth and a call to repentance. Each trumpet blast brings with it a plague of a more disastrous nature than the one before it. The trumpet is used to build anticipation and tells the reader that an alert, announcement, or warning is about to take place. The seventh trumpet does not bring a plague with it. Rather, it is sounded so that glory is given to God and His kingdom is announced.”

There’s a bunch of other biblical associations, too. Barbatos has no trumpet symbolism in any point in the story. His callsign is portals.

Additionally, Barbatos interacts with time via doors.

The Nightbringer sees time as mud, which just might be the liquid swirling around in the Nightbringer trailer.

Who is the king?

The prologue implies that the Nightbringer is summoned via trumpets, and the trumpet is blown by a king. The Barbatos puppeteering art implies it’s a human king, but I’m not so sure.

Understanding who the king is may be instrumental in figuring out who the Nightbringer is. Is it a human king? Is it King Solomon? Is it the Demon King? Is it God? Is it someone completely different? It implies the Nightbringer acts at the behest of someone else, but so far it doesn’t sound like he is right now. And if he’s acting against Solomon, it would be quite problematic if he was tethered to him via a pact like Barbatos clearly is.

My conclusion

It’s either Michael and his motivations are simply more complex than I give him credit for, or it’s another angelic being that has gone rogue without falling somehow. I’m leaning towards the latter, honestly. I’d be really happy if we got a multi-season big bad.

It could still be an alternative timeline Barbatos if Barbatos was once an angel, and this is an angel Barb which has managed to avoid falling and doesn’t have the door motif thing going on. 

This is kind of why I hate time travel shenanigans. You have to account for so many damn possibilities that it gets tiresome having to sort through it all.

[isabeauwolf]

Unlocked both Diavolo's cards in Nightbringer 😍❤️

"The Heir on the Job"

"Demon Lord's Castle Tour"

[distressed-devilsitter]

Wake up babes new Solomon lore just dropped.

[angelinabowtie]

WHY DID MEPHISTO JUST ENTER LIKE A GUEST CELEBRITY ON A SITCOM

[emmys-grimoire]

Keep in mind that:

Michael is well-regarded in the human world. They mention a cake being named after him in S3. I don’t think he’s ever done mass murder in the past and I don’t think he’s inclined to now.

He’s helped Solomon by giving him his ring, which is comparable to our Ring of Light in power, which suggests he’s inclined to ally with humankind when it’s necessary. We all learn how Solomon feels about both factions in Nightbringer, and he did this anyway.

He’s probably correct: the human world likely does get caught in the crosshairs in Celestial Realm versus Devildom conflicts. It’s notable that he actually suggests balance is what’s best for the human world, not subjugation. Certainly not killing everyone. Since angels assign guardians to humankind, between the two factions, I think the CR is the less hostile of the two towards human kind. Diavolo, on the other hand, seems like a once-in-a-millennia ruler and the previous kings likely weren’t so merciful.

It’s also suggested in Hard Mode that he sees MC as a mediator that could bridge the gap between the two worlds, which implies that’s what he wants.

There’s never going to be war arc. It was likely a bluff because when Raphael asks what they’re going to do next, Michael avoids answering the question and it doesn’t sound like there was an actual plan in place. And sorry, this game just doesn’t have the guts to go for an actual war arc.

I feel this fandom suffers from “reading the absolute worse in everything a character I dislike says or does, contrary to readily available context or evidence” sometimes.

Wait actually the possible concept of nightbringer s2 is so funny?

Because michael's gonna join the rad program just so he can hang with lucifer and the others but also believing all the things the celestial realm has told him about demons and humans.

He's going to join RAD because he'll see it as his last chance to be close to the brothers before the inevitable War he feels will happen.

Because from what we've seen he does feel it's inevitable

The main reason for immediately wanting the brothers back was that they gained power in the Devildom (something the Celestial Realm never would have bet on) and tipped the scales in favour of the Devildom. For the Celestial Realm to fear there no longer being "balance" between them and the Devildom they must believe that there is no other option than a fight between the two

The Celestial Realm also declared that if the brothers don't come back they will once again start seeing the Devildom as their enemy, so this brief time at RAD will be Michael's window of opportunity to be close to the brothers one final time before that boils over

Michael also more or less begs Simeon and Luke to come back, and seems to show disdain towards demons/the devildom (which is obviously expected at this point)

While talking to MC, he basically threatens the lives of all the humans by saying they will all be killed once the war between the Celestial Realm and Devildom starts. So he doesn't really care about humans either

And from the last time he spoke to MC as himself, and not while disguised as Raphael, he seemed to be sick of them as well

So this man is going into RAD:

• Lamenting the loss of the brothers

• Believing demons are so different from himself and his people that they have no choice but to be enemies

• Seeing humans as basically nothing

• Tired of MC as a whole

• Believing this is a final indulgence before it all crashes down around them and they are all dragged back into a bloody war

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poor bastard's not even gonna see it coming rip

[devildomwriter]

Simeon’s Journey

Simeon was introduced to us as an angel, not just any angel but an archangel; A warrior angel in charge of legions of angels.

From season one we immediately learn not everything is as it seems with Simeon. Simeon tends to bend the rules, be more relaxed, and was mentioned as having once been a Seraph, the highest rank of angel in the Celestial Realm.

In the Celestial Realm Simeon was a brother to Lucifer. He was given a rose garden by his Father and watched it diligently while having a great interest in a book of prophecy, one that foretold he’d one day lose his wings. Although this concerned Mammon, Simeon wasn’t particularly bothered.

When the war broke out, Simeon tried to cover for the brothers, and for this, he was demoted to Archangel, a busy position where his job was to defend the realm from the frontlines. Gone were the days of rest and relaxation with his family and two close remaining friends, Raphael and Michael.

To cope with the loss of the brothers, Simeon began to write about them, likely using the book of prophecy as a reference since most of his books reflected what would eventually become reality, with the main protagonist, Henry, replacing MC. These books would eventually be published but upon visiting the Devildom and discovering the brothers were so different from how he remembered he became disheartened and didn’t continue his work until Season Four of the game.

Upon coming to the Devildom in season one Simeon was guarded against Diavolo and didn’t particularly like him. He enjoyed scaring Luke, befriended Solomon, and acted as a messenger for Michael.

In season two things take a turn with Simeon. He’s more relaxed and adjusted to the Devildom and doesn’t hide his secretly stern behavior, even bringing Mammon to tears when put in charge of a play he’d write.

When everyone learned MC would likely die from their abundance of uncontrolled power, the ring of light was given up as an option because it was lost in the war. Simeon keeps quiet but immediately leaves to steal the ring from the celestial realm to save MC’s life.

These actions closely resemble Lilith’s choice which started the war with similar results.

Lilith directly altered a human's lifespan which is forbidden, by offering him stolen fruit from the Celestial Realm.

Simeon more or less altered MC’s lifespan by bringing them the one object that could keep them alive. If MC hadn’t died, Lucifer would have, Lucifer who although forgiven, was still a traitor to the realm.

The final chat of season two is Michael asking to speak with Simeon. It’s clear he’s in trouble for what he’s done.

In season three we aren’t shown anything is too different with Simeon although the brothers find it weird that he’s in the human world as it’s not an archangel's job. During his time at the cafe, Simeon meets with Raphael on multiple occasions who is checking on how he is doing as a human.

In season four Simeon comes back to the Devildom, this time as a human exchange student though this fact is only known by Solomon, Raphael, Diavolo, Barbatos, and Lucifer who keep an eye on him to make sure he is safe from other demons.

Now in the Devildom, it’s clear how powerless Simeon is. Unable to protect himself or his loved ones with an angelic blessing, everyone learns the truth. With the truth revealed and his closest friends there to support him, Simeon finally takes the steps towards accepting his new life as a human and even begins to wear his old celestial realm clothing.

But things don’t end there. Despite his newfound confidence, no more than a few weeks later he becomes sick and unsettled, even missing part of the RAD Science Fair to stay home.

While observing Simeon one day, Lucifer notices his aura has changed and when he confronts Solomon, Solomon reveals that Simeon is turning into a demon and he has been since the human world.

Moments we can see this too in the human world were Simeon’s teasing in the “Celestial Realm”, his threats to the brothers in the cafe, and his confession to Lucifer that he feared his own Father or an aspect of him.

Simeon may not understand what’s happening to him, although he knows his magic is stronger and applauds MC for noticing in chapter 47. Simeon is now forced to make another huge adjustment by becoming a demon, and it’s difficult for the people around him too—after learning Raphael was found staring into space and incorrectly answering questions, even struggling to drink Demonus, which he loves. Michael has been pestering Luke for updates on Simeon, and Luke is now concerned about his condition again.

This will only go a few different ways. Simeon becomes a demon, demon form and all, and perhaps reunites as brother with the other seven, or he’s going to fight against the change to become an angel again as even Raphael states he believes Simeon is better at his “job” than he used to be.

Depending on how Simeon copes with this change, it’s either a tragedy or a new beginning. Simeon has always been disillusioned with his job, even telling MC he believed angels couldn’t have dreams of what they wanted to do, and drunkenly sobbing to Lucifer that he’s now more of a middle management type.

Either way, for Simeon and everyone around him, it’s hardly the ending.

[eldrichboyo]

Demon mc gets stressed and subconsciously tugs at their horns and rub at the base where they grow out from similarly to how human will sometimes pull at their hair or pick at their skin.

A self soothing action found in demons with high anxiety.

Diavolo noticed this action over time and made a point to have you sit next to him or one of the other lords for comfort. If he catches mc, reaching to tug at their horns, he will gently take their hands and shake his head authoritatively. " No tugging, it'll hurt you"

Mc puts their hands back down as diavolo gives them scratches and pets on the spot in between their horns. He dgaf who sees, what is anyone gonna do??? He's the prince, and you're his favorite.

[misc-obeyme]

Can we please take a moment to appreciate this latest chat photo?

I would make Solomon talk to every cat for me. Be my kitty translator I need to know all about that precious baby’s life.

Barbatos, darling, give me those books they look stupid heavy. He calls that paperwork in the chat.

I love them both so much it makes me silly.

[impish-ivy]

This scene! <3

We get protective older brother Mammon and protective Solomon!

[emmys-grimoire]

Everyone is looking forward to the Lucifer x Michael interactions for the drama but I'm looking forward to the Solomon x Michael shenanigans almost just as much.

[bluewolfangel01]

I headcanon that if the brothers are reminiscing about the old days back up in the celestial realm Mc and Satan will hold hands

Mc, or my Mc specifically, has a slight issue with their self image after og lesson 16 and when in a dark place they feel like they're nothing other than a Lilith copy

Mc doesnt hate Lilith btw ( it's mainly the brothers' fault)

Also sometimes feels excluded/sad cause they weren't around for the brothers' angel days

We've seen Satan have issues as well about feeling excluded when the brother bring up the angel days

Although he saw some things through Luci's eyes, he didn't see everything

So Mc and Satan will hold hands as a way to say "You're not alone, I'm here for you even if it feels like they arent."

[moonstrumpet]

“My love for you transcends time” ~Barbatos, The Nighbringer..

UGHH IVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR SO LONG.. i’ve been coloring it and coloring it over and over so i gave up and decided to post it.

[distressed-devilsitter]

Presented without context

[angelinabowtie]

Mc getting almost killed by two seperate demons within a few hours. Please get them some therapy

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Mammon and Lucifer's intimacy rate going up when MC says they're worried about Mammon

And then, Lucifer and Mammon's intimacy rate going up when MC's worried about Lucifer

they care about each other so much🥺

[moinstar]

Soft Spoiler - Lesson 48