Akram

Akram (アクラム, Akuramu) is the strongest demon of his era, and is the one who best personifies the atrocious history of his people. He acts as the main antagonist in the first two games of the series. While the opening dialogue for Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2 suggests that he may be undead, he is the same living Akram from the first game.

Role in Games
Akram is the leading noble of his small clan. Before the start of the first game, he traveled with his father to find fellow demons, Akram personally assembling his group of followers under his command. When his father passes away, Akram plots his revenge for the Demon Clan by targeting Kyou. He wants to eradicate humanity and reform Kyou under his rule.

After a thorough study of the archaic arts Akram locates the Black Dragon Priestess within the parallel world. He seals away her memories and magically controls her to be his indentured servant. When the Black Qilins try to protect her, Akram swiftly defeats them. He personally seals one Qilin to drape his shoulder like a mantle.

With the Black Dragon's powers at his command, he utilizes the massive amount of dark energy to subdue the Four Gods. Akram locates the Star Clan's domain through divination and steals the Dragon Gem from their possession. Using the artifact and the power of five deities, he forces the White Dragon Priestess's summoning. He approaches her with the temptation of returning her home, explaining his desires to her. Upon her rejection, he spares her due to his belief that she will one day become powerful enough to serve his purpose. As Akane and company build up their strengths, Akram uses his minions to summon vengeful spirits to attack them or to foil their progress using trickery. He uses the Four Gods to create a destructive curse on the capital to cripple its residents.

Over the course of their conflicts, Akram loses his minions and is forced to use his trump card, the Black Dragon, to destroy everything. As he summons it, both he and Shirin are sucked within the body of the dragon god. Ran isn't used as the necessary sacrifice so the Black Dragon tries to possess Akram. Shirin offers her own body in his stead and spares her leader from its wrath. Both demons are sent forward 100 years to answer Chitose's prayer for saving her home. Freed from following the dragon god's will, Akram dwells within the Loophole of Time.

He learns in this new era that his clan is no more and that the people are praying for death. Akram decides to grant them their wish and seeks to perfect the summoning of a massive vengeful spirit, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. Manipulating the priestesses from behind the scenes, Akram feigns a positive and informative front. He routinely appears before various individuals to meet his means.

Akram first tells Chitose to use the Four Gods and vengeful spirits to create a barrier around the capital, lying that she can use it to save its residents. In reality it collects a massive amount of dark energy and bolsters the people's suffering. The dark energy plays the White Dragon's hand of summoning its priestess to the parallel world. Akram senses her arrival and greets Karin in the Loophole of Time. Their brief meeting is enough for him to assess her weak spiritual awareness. To artificially build up her power, Akram teaches a doubting Misono how to create purification flowers. He warns the young boy that Karin's powers are escalating too quickly and falsely claims she would pose a danger to the capital. Meanwhile he sweet-talks Kazuhito and lends the young noble a fraction of his power. The demon wants the noble to oppose Karin and company in order to boost the priestess's power. He frequently visits Karin to advise her to fight whoever he thinks needs to be disposed.

By turning the priestesses against one another, Akram has successfully met the needed quota. He appears to show his true colors the moment both priestesses sense something is amiss. Since he needs a priestess's blood for the final defilement, he hurls a magical ball of energy to wound Chitose. Merging himself together with the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, Akram tries to destroy the capital. Despite being defeated, the vengeful spirit is too strong to contain and conjures a frightening storm in the sky. Once Karin summons Yinglong to dispel the monstrous energy, Akram's spirit disappears forever.

In the spin-off game, Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo, Akram returns to antagonize Kyou's palace and nobility. Aware of Suefumi's true nature, he goads the young man's feelings for Akane to turn into jealousy for her companions. Characters may challenge him personally depending on the character route.

Personal Routes
Akane may choose to become close to Akram in the game version of Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyoushou. She personally learns his clan's history from him and his personal thoughts of the populace. Akram hauntingly tries to implant skepticism for the Star Clan, stating that Akane is being used by them. As her opinions wavers, he opens the barrier to the Demon Clan's desolate homeland within the capital and invites her within it. Once he witnesses her pity for the prejudice his people has suffered, a touched Akram leads her away from the place. He instead demands she make her choice to either fight against him or beside him.

As Akane's bond with the White Dragon solidifies, Akram visits her once more to hear her answer. Before she can answer, one of her guardians barges in and tries to protect Akane from him. Infuriated by his interruption, Akram overpowers the guardian and nearly kills him. Akane instinctively uses the dragon god's power to deflect the final blow in order to protect her comrade. She unintentionally hurts Akram, which he views as a definitive act of rejection. Later a guilty Akane uses her dragon god's powers to enter the Demon Clan's homeland. She tries to apologize, but Akram says she has made her choice. She expresses her desire to save everyone, including himself, from fighting one another.

In spite of his belief in her humane wish, Akram continues to fight against her and, in the end, summons the Black Dragon. Akane reluctantly summons the White Dragon to null the other dragon god's power, fulfilling her duty as a priestess and returning to her world. She still misses Akram and wants another chance to talk to him. Returning to the well that summoned her to the parallel world, she intensely prays to be reunited with the demon. The dragon gods grants her wish and she is reunited with Akram. He admits his despair upon viewing the future and is glad to see her. Together again without status, Akram pledges his true feelings of endearment for her.

Karin may become intimate with Akram in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 2 and Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Yume no Ukihashi Special. Whenever he thinks deeply of her, Karin hears him. She ignores the White Dragon's warnings each time she visits him as she is curious to see him. Akram is a constant enigma to Karin and she desires to know more about him. Thankful for her company, Akram expresses his degrading opinions for Kyou to cope with his sense of loss. Her positive attitude during their meetings spurs his honest praise and admiration.

Though she clings to his every word, Karin ultimately doesn't learn much about him. Even after hearing his deception to Kazuhito, Karin falters to declare him her enemy. Before the final confrontation, Karin meets Akram once more to confirm her feelings for him. He denies her reconciliation and tries to force her to oppose him. Karin can't will herself to hate him and stays true to her innocent desire to not fight him. She uses her final wish to live with him and saves Akram from disappearing with the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Moved by her devotion to him, Akram catches her as she descends from the heavens. He asks her to stay beside him, which she may or may not accept. If Karin agrees, he gladly discards his lingering feelings of nobility for a life together with her. The couple forsake the dragon gods' blessings together and wander the land by themselves in happiness. Karin may also refuse him and return to her home alone.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Yume no Ukihashi Special allows Karin and Akram to share one another's dreams. His honest dream is Kyou under his command as it is peacefully inhabited by demons. The Demon Clan is thriving under his leadership and Akram coordinates his efforts with Iqtidar to defend it. Karin's dream is one she doesn't realize herself: a date with Akram in the modern world. Though he scoffs at the dream's simplicity, Akram plays along with the excuse that it's a part of his plans. The White Dragon captures Akram in their third dream together and offers the demon as a tool for Karin. She refuses to debase him and painfully frees Akram from imprisonment herself. Speechless by her benign act, Akram cryptically warns he will someday return the favor and disappears.

As Karin tries to return to the parallel world by herself, the bridge of the Heavenly Realm is clouded by the night's darkness. Blown from the proper path by the malevolent spirit, Karin mindlessly falls into the Loophole of Time. Akram catches her and defeats the threat for her. She protests being in his arms, but Akram warns she will never find her way back without him. Though it's a fleeting encounter in dreams, Akram is content to finally have her and guides her spirit back to Kyou before sunrise.

Development
Tohko Mizuno struggled with Akram's design, stating that she found it difficult to design his mask. She at first tried for a brazen face mask, but these concepts were rejected since it didn't look noble enough. As she gradually played with the idea, the mask designs gradually shrunk yet they still covered his entire face. When Ruby Party explained that his character is meant to be attractive yet menacing, Mizuno eventually came up with the mask's current design. The rest of Akram's design was altered to fit with the typical nobleman image of the time period.

As she was creating the series comic Mizuno's goal was to portray Akram in a sympathetic light for an interesting twist on the original story. She especially wanted to illustrate his face with his hair loose. Ruby Party initially denied her requests since they thought it betrayed their intended image of his character. After some thought, however, they replied that Mizuno could show a little bit of Akram's face. The results were positively received by Ruby Party members so the idea of Akram unmasking himself was added into the games. Akram using his sword and other types of magic in the games are other requests and suggestions made by Mizuno.

Personality
An individual who thinks only for his ideals, Akram originally fits the archetype of a nefarious and treacherous villain. His charismatic, noble stature warrants him loyal followers, but Akram doesn't think of them as people. They are his tools and mere extensions for his plans. Should they fail to meet his expectations he won't hesitate to discard all ties with them. Even those within his own clan are not excluded from earning his scorn, as he is callous to their dedication for him. Akram personally enjoys manipulating them to his whims and inwardly laughs at their foolishness. Thinking himself omnipotent and all-knowing, he often speaks in a condescending tone with his contemptuous and noble dialect. Akram's pride refuses to accept failure. He may forsake everything to destroy any who best him, seeking to obliterate any faults he may experience.

Later titles in the series keeps Akram's insensitivity to other people yet explores other facets of his persona. His upbringing taught him to be pragmatic and domineering, but Akram privately struggles with the dilemma of abandoning the Demon Clan's past. A part of him knows that restoring the Demon Clan's glory is futile and close to meaningless given their scant numbers. At the same time, he believes his clan being forsaken by the dragon gods' protection as hypocritical when those within Kyou are constantly wasting their resources. Akram desires to use his nobility to force a change in the balance of power, feeling obligated to at least try to claim a new paradise for his scattered people under proper government and leadership. In the second title, he is depressed by his clan's destruction and feels he has no purpose for living. Akram continues to wear his enchanted mask in their honor.

Akram at first obsesses over either White Dragon Priestess as she is the central instrument for his plans. Her powers can reshape the world in an instant, and he wants her power to be used for him. Until the climatic battle, Akram willingly indulges anything she may want from him. Her undying kindness and earnest nature surprises him during their private meetings, even making him temporarily forget his ambitions. Yearning for her mercy and passion, she is the first person whom Akram accepts as an intellectual equal. Once he realizes this, Akram tries to suppress his thoughts for her by resorting to cruelty. Even Akram is baffled by his own stubbornness, which he only admits after his utter defeat.

Character Symbolism
Akram (اکرم) is a name found in Indo-European languages, and it takes its roots from the adjective Karam. Both words note generosity or treasuring someone. Its Arabic meaning can imply nobility or greatness. The connotations for both words stress a high emphasis for the intended trait (e.g. "more" or "very" generous).

His symbolic item is a spider's web, which adorns both of his upper robes (直衣, noushi) in the series. His first robe is additionally decorated with stylized spider lilies. There are several legends surrounding the origin of the flower's name in Japan, but they all surround events in which someone dies or loses something. Within the flower language the flower generally represents depressing memories or hopes of meeting someone again. Since the flower is said to represent the shape of a fire, it has been used in fortunes as signs of an ill omen.

Maple leaves adorn his second robe to follow the autumn motif within the game. It may be also tied to a legendary woman named Momiji (maple leaf) near Kinasa. She was originally named Kureha, a tall, elegant and intelligent noblewoman who was actually a child blessed by Dai-Rokuten Maoh. Using her supernatural powers for the sake of her reputation, she forged a life of luxury and struck down her rivals. When she was caught in the act, Kureha was exiled with the name Momiji and barely salvaged herself near the capital at the rural Kinasa. Longing for her previous life of glory, she regularly descended from the mountains to gaze at the nearby high class society. A trail of defilements and curses were born from her yearning, and the mountain villages near her path were devastated. Momiji's life came to an end when a warrior named Taira no Koremochi volunteered to exterminate the demon and sliced her neck with a holy blade.

Ochiba (落葉), Akram's favorite scent, is said to be one of the six essential components for understanding the beauty and supposed therapeutic properties of incense during the Heian Period. Ochiba is aptly named for the image it is meant to invoke when burned: falling leaves. The scent was said to have been the one most preferred by nobles, often used to signal the end of each season.

Quotes

 * "When fools govern, they are destined for failure. Those who possess power need only commit a single folly to destroy everything."
 * "It takes a proper ruler to rectify the world."
 * "You'd best be useful to me."
 * "Damned priestess, daring to defy me. She's a pestering hindrance if she doesn't obey me."
 * "The people of Kyou are obese and torpid, blindly protected by the dragon gods' blessing. I am not in its influence, nor do I wish to be. I shall obliterate them using the Demon Clan's strength, the very power forsaken by the gods."
 * "I merely coaxed him with a few words. Results came sooner than I had anticipated."
 * "You understand nothing. You know not who you are or what you do."
 * "I could take you now, but you are far too weak for me."
 * "Your power belongs to me and only me, my priestess. I need you."
 * "I am always calling for you, priestess."
 * "Did you call for me, priestess? Then I shall answer you."
 * "This mask blocks you from me. But, for the moment, I will remove it."
 * "Idiotic girl, why do you persist? Why do you continue knowing your efforts are in vain? Even when you are the one being injured..."
 * "I told you! You and I are enemies! I could care less about you! As long as I have your power- that's all..."

Fighting Style
Akram often refrains from fighting since he prefers to use other people. He fights in battle during the series's board game and attacks by slashing his sword or by casting powerful magic. When the priestesses are not confronting him, he will resurrect vengeful spirits or places a curse on a random player. Akram's attacks are powerful and may devastate characters who aren't supported by talismans. The Seiryu duo are recommended partners for players who don't have healing or power up talismans on them.

If Akram is defeated four times in a single game, he will drop his mask as a collectible item. It can be presented as a gift to a single character who will oddly be pleased when they receive it.

Trivia

 * Ryotaro Okiayu cosplayed as Akram for his guest appearance in a 2009 episode of Coscos Playplay and in Festa TDC 2011.