Deus Ex Machina (Future Diary)

Deus Ex Machina is the God of Time and Space and a major character of the Mirai Nikki manga and anime. Co-creator of the Future Diaries alongside John Bacchus, Deus creates the survival game to make sure he has a successor to his title before his inevitable death. Able to manipulate time, space, and the laws of cause and effect, Deus is the most powerful character in the series and acts as the judge of the survival game.

Appearance & Personality
Deus is an extremelly large figure, towering with tens of feet tall. Barely humanoid in appearance, Deus appears as a huge creature made of machinery, possessing a large, skull-head head, sporting spiked purple hair and a crown, and he wears a large dark cloak.

Despite being god, Deus is very playful and laidback, considering most of his actions as games. He creates the survival game in order to choose a successor for his throne and title, but instead of just choosing one purpose, he makes the survival game in order to create a more interesting outcome, having multiple candidates to choose from, and possibly with a rather fondness for Japan given that all the participants are Japanese. He seems to be playful to terrifying degrees as he is completelly apathetic of the results of his fun, as seen during his first appearances that he had provoked a war for the simply sake of fun, as well as how the overall survival game involves the participants to literally kill each other through any means possible, no matter how dirty while most of them being openly insane, while Yuki who believed him to be his imaginary friend is the most normal-wise participant.

During the game he's however a man of honor and does whatever he believes neccesary for the game to be as fair as possible, such as answering questions or create a special observer to collect info of the participants. Although far from a benevolent god, Deus is not without compassion and has in few occasions done good things without any personal profit, the survival game being the case as he used the game to choose his successor before the world dies, saving Minene Uryu from death despite how much she hates him, making Minene a participant despite it being clear that she was not forced to do so, among others.

Also, the fact that he interacts with few humans seemingly without any explanation implies that Deus may in fact be fond of some humans, or at the very least those whom he finds to be interesting.

Character Outline
Deus is an ancient deity who has ruled over time and space and the laws of causality. As god, Deus is omnipotent and is able to create and alter causalities through time and space. It is implied that he may be able to rewind time, but leaping back in time can create parallel worlds. Despite being a god, Deus is unable to resurrect the dead. While reviving a body is possible, without a soul, the dead cannot come back to life by any means. Deus has control of the Akashic Records, the universal compendium of knowledge and history. Deus is shown to be able to create artificial lifeforms, namely Akise Aru, revealed to be his "Observer" in the survival game to keep track of the ever changing futuries of the diary owners.

Deus operates from the Cathedral of Causality, depicted as a large domed building coloured with a purple tint. Deus sits in a large throne which hovers above the ground. The cathedral also has an arena where the diary owners, Deus and Muru Muru meet for occasional meetings. The arena is covered with an eternal cloudy sky, revealed to actually be a cover for the Akashic Records.

He remains oblivious to the existence of the first alternate world, implying he only has power over the time and space of the universe he lives in. Deus at first makes the choice to not interfere with the events of the game and watches merely as an observer. However, during the second game, when Yukiteru Amano discovers the three corpses in Yuno Gasai's house, the whole pre-planned events of the second survival game are altered, and Deus does not act to restore it, finding an alternate path all the more interesting. He eventually abandons his intention to not influence the events of the game after Muru Muru does. He wishes to make the game as fair as possible, but outside influences force Deus to play his hand near the end of the game to ensure it runs smoothly. He is even willing to abandon the game all together, as seen in the third world when John Bacchus puts a halt to his Future Diary project, cancelling out the third survival game.

Deus appears to have extended relationships with the different diary owners. He is rather fond of Yuki, at first posing as his imaginary friend and personally makes him the "First" diary owner. Deus openly supports Yuki throughout the game, unphased by Yuki's mishaps and believes it is all part of Yuki's future to win the game. He also has a unique relationship with Minene Uryu, who does not believe in god and wants nothing more than to rid the world of the very concept of a deity. Minene has a love/hate relationship with Deus, openly hating him but is willing to ask him for advice, and even protests to receiving a portion of his powers when the time comes. Deus views Minene as an ally, using her to put a stop to Muru Muru's plans. Deus and John Bacchus seem to be good friends, creating the Future Diaries together. John seems to care for Deus, but also uses Deus' needs as an excuse to extend his own plans in the survival game, requesting that Yuki and Yuno be eliminated from the game to speed it up before Deus dies.

It is never explained why Deus is dying, but his death causes the universe to be swallowed up in black holes. Deus is succeeded three times in the series. In the first world, Yuno becomes his successor, Yuki in the second, and finally Yuki and the third Yuno from the third world.