Chief of Heaven

'''SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!'''

The Chief of Heaven is a minor protagonist in the 07-Ghost series. He is an omnipotent being, essentially having the role of God in the series, and is the ruler of Heaven.

He has only been seen briefly a few times, but the Chief of Heaven plays an important role in the series. He was the being who created Verloren, his greatest creation which was supposedly perfect. When his daughter, Eve, was found murdered, he accused Verloren of having been the killer. He was the one who ordered Verloren's execution by the Seven Ghosts, whom he created from Verloren's fragments.

The Chief of Heaven is presumably also Mikhail's and Raphael's creator and superior.

Physical appearance
The Chief of Heaven has not been fully seen so far, but it hasbeen shown that he looks like a human.

In the anime, he has shaggy blonde hair that almost reaches his shoulders, with a full fringe that covers his eyes. In the manga, his hair is an unknown light colour and short. Being a god, his appearance does not show his true age, and he physically appears to be in his twenties or thirties, looking only somewhat older than his daughter.

Clothing
He has only been seen wearing simple white robes in both the manga and the anime. On page 13 of manga chapter 89, he seems to wear a fur collar, or something resembling a fur collar, around his neck. He does not appear to wear a fur collar in the anime.

Personality
The Chief of Heaven has only been seen briefly so his personality is largely unknown.

It seems he's more concerned with duty than personal feelings, as even though he took pride in creating Verloren and seemed to have been very satisfied with him, he still did not use his discretion to acquit Verloren when Verloren went against his duties and committed the slaughter of many humans for personal reasons.

However, he is not so focused on his responsibilities that he neglects his daughter or his subordinates. Eve mentions that she liked talking with her father, showing that he made time to talk with her, and the Chief of Heaven was openly deeply angered at finding his daughter murdered.

According to Frau, the Chief of Heaven more than anything hates it when "equilibrium" is destroyed. For example, when a human is granted by a Kor the wish of meeting and touching the dead, the human would start life all over again. The reason for this was to attain flawlessly beautful souls and this has been kept up since ancient times. Humans and even Kors are punished if they overstep the boundaries.

Despite many evidences that contradict this, some people think that the Chief of Heaven is also a vindictive person. Bastien believes that the Chief of Heaven does not believe in forgiveness, and instead thinks that ruining a life can only be repaid with one's own. At the same time, Zehel disputes this, telling Bastien that his view of the Chief’s sense of justice is mistaken.

The Chief of Heaven seems to be a perfectionist, as he made sure that his greatest creation, Verloren, was perfect in every way.

He also seems to value beauty greatly, as he only allows beautiful souls to live in Heaven, where he also lives. However, the Japanese word for beautiful, きれい (kirei), also means clean, which could mean that he only lets souls without sin into heaven. The Seven Ghosts also stated that the punishing of the Kor has been kept since ancient times to attain flawlessly beautiful souls as in Teito's case. He also gave Verloren a beautiful face on purpose, though ironically not giving Verloren the knowledge of aesthetics. It is worth noting that Mikhail, one of his angels, also apparently greatly values beauty.

He may be a proud person, if "like creation, like creator" is true. His greatest creation, Verloren, and one of his angels, Mikhail, are proud.

The Chief of Heaven can be considered sarcastic or cruel, as he sent Verloren's own fragments to kill him (Verloren), throwing the dry fact that Verloren would no longer be unique, and lose the identity of "the greatest/perfect creation" which he (Verloren) greatly valued, into Verloren's face to hurt his pride or/and feelings.

The Chief of Heaven may also be prone to jealousy. Evidence of this is the fact that, after Eve and Verloren fell for each other, although the Chief of Heaven is an omnipotent being, he was still 'unable' to fix the defect which appeared in Verloren and ordered his execution.

However, despite all this, The Chief of Heaven is ultimately benevolent, as he cares deeply for all of his creations and would do his best to protect them. He is capable of sympathizing with those who have suffered great unjust, as Mikhail mentioned that he’s sure the Chief sympathizes with Raphael’s being brainwashed for ten years. The Chief of Heaven is also willing to forgive those who have committed great sins, as he forgave Landkarte and allow him to ascend to heaven, despite the fact that Landkarte committed various atrocities during his lifetime, such as trying to revive Verloren to usurp his power, manipulating the Pope into sealing Pandora’s box in a young Teito Klein, helping to start the Raggs war, decapitating four of his comrade Ghosts, blinding his best friend Ea, and putting Verloren's Scythe in a young Frau, due to his belief he was righteous. It's worth noting, though, that Ea also comments that Landkarte would get a "severe scolding" from the Chief for doing foolish things, implying that the Chief would take time to lecture those who have committed grand sins but was motivated by their belief it was right before letting them ascend to Heaven. The most prominent display of his benevolence is shown when despite holding the power to kill Verloren, he chose not to and instead just had the Ghosts and the Archangels seal him and allowed him to reincarnate as a human, which can be seen as being far too compassionate for him, as Verloren had killed so many in his reign of terror yet the Chief allowed him to be happy as a human, which implies that the Chief came to realize that he is indirectly responsible for what Verloren became, as had he been less restraining towards Eve in her approach of Verloren and not tried to execute Verloren and instead tried to destroy the corruption in him, she would not have died, likely accepting that he too had a part in her death and taking pity on the God of Death and feeling remorse for what Verloren became, implying that while arrogant and proud, he can still acknowledge that he too has his faults and accept and take responsibility for them, something that Verloren never could, making him ultimately a far better being than Verloren despite Verloren's claims of him being evil. In addition, despite his supreme power and authority, he still has some advisors and would listen to their judgement over his decision and not punish them should they deem it wrong and instead patiently correct them, showing that the Chief is not so arrogant as to completely ignore the advices of others and kill them for simply objecting.

Eve
Although the Chief of Heaven and Eve had a somewhat rocky relationship, as they would argue at times, which at one point drove her to run away from home for a week, they truly loved each other. Eve sometimes regretted visiting Verloren because she could not spend time with her father when she did so, and the Chief of Heaven was concerned for what could happen to Eve if she were to get too close to Verloren, as he had a highly contagious "defect" that could kill even her. However, the Chief's desperation to keep Eve safe led to her death indirectly, as his execution of Verloren made Eve save him and led to Verloren coming into contact with Eve and killing her. He was outraged and saddened after finding Eve's skeletal corpse. In his anger and sadness towards Eve's death combined with Verloren killing many souls on Earth to find her, which probably only added further to the Chief's rage, who most likely saw it as an insult to Eve's memory, the Chief was quick to create the Seven Ghosts and order them to execute Verloren. It is possible that the Chief eventually came to regret how tragic Eve and Verloren's relationship was and realize that he had a part of his own, as he could have tried to warn Eve directly but didn't and just ordered Verloren to be executed. It may be that his respect of Eve's love for Verloren ultimately led to him gaining the compassion he did for Verloren, considering how he spared his life, let him reincarnate into humans so he could live a happy life and later allow him to ascend to Heaven.

Verloren
The Chief of Heaven took pride in Verloren as his creation, hailing him as perfect, and Verloren was initially obedient to the Chief, as he willingly carried out his duties and even did not defy the Chief when he ordered his execution. However, the Chief's pride do not blind him to his darkness and his potential of gaining a defect if he were to become too close to others and so he decided to keep Verloren isolated from everyone else so they wouldn't become tainted by him, which at the same time could also be perceived as the Chief seeking to protect Verloren as were her to fall to darkness, he would have no choice but to execute him. With Eve growing too close to Verloren and making Verloren feel emotion, the Chief was concerned for his daughter and wanted her to stay away from Verloren but though it was to protect Eve, it could also be said that the Chief was trying to keep Verloren safe as well. Indeed, the Chief did try to remove the defect instead of just killing him and only did so when it turned to be too severe, showing that the Chief did care for Verloren once enough to not wish to kill him unless he had no choice.

After Eve's death and Verloren fleeing to Earth to take many souls in order to find her, the Chief came to harbor deep rage towards Verloren, clearly finding his defiling of Eve's memory by killing the countless humans he did all in her name as being an outrage and disgusting, and he quickly created the Seven Ghosts, forged from Verloren's fragments, and sent them to seal away Verloren. This sealed the hatred Verloren felt towards the Chief: Not only did the Chief indirectly lead to him killing Eve but in his eyes he also destroyed his pride before replacing him. It remains unclear if the Chief really intended to mock Verloren with the fact that he is no longer his greatest creation with the Seven Ghosts but it is likely he knew how it would affect him and considering everything Verloren had did, the Chief clearly didn't care if it hurt Verloren's pride and only that he stopped him, although whether he really meant it to be a cruel act remains unknown. Verloren remained as hateful as ever towards the Chief of Heaven after thousands of years.

However, at the same time, it is likely that the Chief came to regret how badly Verloren turned out as he reflected on the events and realized he had indirectly led to Eve's death and Verloren's corruption, as despite everything Verloren had did, the Chief seems to show him a rather astonishing amount of compassion as he didn't eliminate Verloren despite having the power to do so, but just sent the Seven Ghosts to seal him rather than taking on and killing Verloren himself and was even willing to let him reincarnate as newborn humans, and to some extent living as a human being is a happier life for Verloren, since at least he could touch and hold the one he loves, something that he could have never done when he was the God of Death, and have other people's company, while as the only God of Death he had always been alone (e.g. he had to play chess with himself  ). It seems that the Chief ultimately fully forgave Verloren, as he was willing to let his soul finally be at peace when he finally died a true death.

Mikhail
Being an archangel, it is probable that Mikhail knows the Chief of Heaven and is affiliated with him. His personal relationship with him has never been shown, although it is likely that he is loyal to him, as he helps the 07-Ghosts oppose Verloren by sealing Pandora's Box, Verloren's true body, through the Eye of Mikhail. It is unknown if Mikhail resents the Chief for sending him to the human world.

Mikhail made a brief reference to the Chief of Heaven in Kapitel 86, stating that he was sure the Chief of Heaven was saddened by Raphael's situation. This could mean that he may know the Chief of Heaven on a personal level, or at least know him well enough to understand his feelings in certain situations.

Their personalities are slightly similar, as they share a fondness for beauty and a proud nature. This could indicate that the Chief made Mikhail a little like himself.

Raphael
Being an archangel, it is probable that Raphael knows the Chief of Heaven and is affiliated with him. However, Raphael's personal relationship with the Chief has never been shown, although it is likely that he is loyal to the Chief, as he helps the 07-Ghosts oppose Verloren by sealing Verloren's memories through the Eye of Raphael.

It seems that the Chief of Heaven may care somewhat for Raphael, as Mikhail said that he (Mikhail) was sure that the Chief of Heaven was saddened that Raphael had been brainwashed for ten years.

Advisors
Flashbacks in manga chapters 89 and 97 show that the Chief has some advisors. The Chief clearly respects and tolerates them, as they are allowed to question his decisions and though the Chief has the final say, he will take the time to explain his reasons.

Seven Ghosts
The Chief created the Seven Ghosts to replace Verloren, who had gone insane after the death of Eve. The Chief has shown that he cares considerably for the Seven Ghosts, as even though the current incarnation of Landkarte has committed terrible crimes, he still decided to allow him to ascend to heaven. The Chief also allows the Ghosts a certain amount of freedom as he usually does not directly intervene in their lives, allowing them to live their lives as they wish, though Karu/Ea does mention in manga chapter 94 that Landkarte will get a 'severe scolding' for his crimes from the Chief.

The Ghosts have been shown to respect the Chief. Although Frau occasionally seems to have little faith in the Chief, he (Frau) does still retain some faith in him. Once, when Frau insulted the Chief, Castor took offence and shouted at Frau.

Humans
Volume 5, Chapter 34, Heaven's History, "From the Darkness, Oh newborn sheep, Lend me your ears."

Volume 77, Last Chapter, Heaven's History, "When you see the Light, come to me."

Volume 3, Chapter 17, "As long as I am within thee, my Heart will always be with thee."

Volume 77, Chapter 2, Heaven says, "Those who along with me shall be praised their soul for all eternity."

Volume 3, Chapter 7, "As long as we are inside thou, we will be thou."

The Chief is very fond of humans and cares deeply for their well-being, as shown by phrases in the Barsburg Bible. He even granted a wish of favored humans, in the case of Teito Klein. He clearly cared for and favor them above his immortal creations, as shown when the fallen Verloren went to Earth to massacre them in order to find the soul he wanted and sent his servants (the Kors) to tempt humans and corrupted their soul, the Chief was so deeply angered that he saw this as a personal insult and unwilling to see his creations fall to Verloren's outrage and blasphemy, he sent the Seven Ghosts and the two Archangels to seal Verloren, and told the Ghosts to stay on Earth to guard the seal, help the tainted souls by purifying them so that they can enter Heaven.

Omnipotence
The Chief of Heaven, as the God of the 07 Ghost series, is the most powerful being in the series. His power allowed him to create the whole world and has been shown to be able to create other beings of godly power, as he did Verloren, the Seven Ghosts, and the two Archangels. He is presumably capable of destroying immortals as he created every immortal that existed, such as Verloren, having intended to do so after finding him too dangerous, although he later decided against this. However, the Chief seems to have some limitations, as he could not fix the defect that Verloren was under and was forced to try to eradicate him instead.

Omniscience
The Chief of Heaven is probably omniscient, as he is said to know all that happens on Earth. He is clearly able to speak, read and write in the language of the gods and most likely is fluent in the use of all human languages.

Immortality
The Chief is immortal, and has lived for at least 1000 years without ageing or suffering any physical deterioration. As he is the Supreme Being of the 07 Ghost series, apparently, there is no weapon or being capable of killing him.

History
The Chief of Heaven has presided over souls since their creation. At one point he fathered a child, Eve, but it is unknown who her mother was, or if she did indeed have a mother. Considering that 07-Ghost makes reference to Christianity, it is plausible that the Chief will Eve into existence and hailed her as his daughter, like God hailed Jesus Christ as His son, and that he did not need a female partner in order to have a child.

Creating Verloren
The Shinigami (death God), Verloren, was created by the Chief of Heaven to preside over souls.

Verloren's purpose was to sort the souls entering Heaven; allowing the pure souls to enter Heaven, but punishing the 'bad' souls by devouring them. Devouring the soul was a process that involved either sending the soul back down to earth to be reincarnated in a different body with no memories of their previous life, or sending them to purgatory or hell. The worst souls which are irredeemable even by Verloren would be destroyed.

The creation of the Ghosts
The Seven Ghosts are amongst the earliest gods created by the Chief of Heaven and their existence dates back roughly 1000 years. At the time of their creation, humanity was already present.

The legend of the ghosts tells that Verloren (the God of Death) was in love with the Chief of Heaven's daughter, Eve, but after her skeleton was found and her soul devoured, the Chief of Heaven accused Verloren of killing her. As Eve's soul being devoured automatically forced it to be sent to earth and reincarnated, Verloren escaped the heavens and fled to earth to find her reincarnation.

Verloren began looking into the hearts of humans in order to find the soul that originally belonged to Eve. However as he looked, that person's heart was instantly tainted by his presence, and slowly slipped into despair. This meant those souls could not enter Heaven in this life because they were no longer pure, and they would be forced to reincarnate again once they died.

"The Chief of Heaven dispatched seven heavenly lights from the heavens, in order to punish the wicked Verloren. They are said to have sealed the detestable Verloren on this earth."

- A nun

When the Chief of Heaven noticed the consequences Verloren's actions had on those souls he looked into, he fashioned seven heavenly lights out of Verloren's fragments, each with one of Verloren's powers, and sent them to execute him.

Teito's reincarnation
In the final manga chapter, the Chief granted Teito Klein's wish to return to the human world.

Quotes

 * 'YOU! YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!'  The Chief of Heaven accuses Verloren of killing his daughter.
 * 'No. You people don't understand how terrifying it is.' (to some inhabitants of Heaven about Verloren's 'dark' part, Kapitel 89)

Trivia

 * The Chief appears very infrequently throughout the series and some characters, such as the Wars Man, believed that he either doesn't exist or is already dead. However, Mikhail, Raphael and the Ghosts have always been firm in their conviction that he is alive. In manga chapter 86, Mikhail referred to the Chief in present tense, and Raphael and Ea did not correct him. Ea's conversation with Landkarte in manga chapter 94 also indicates that they both know the Chief is alive.
 * It is possible that the Chief of Heaven does not have a name, as other characters, including other immortal beings, simply address and refer to him as 'Chief of Heaven', 'God/Kamisama' or sometimes simply 'Chief'.
 * The Chief of Heaven's hairstyle seems slightly different in the anime as compared to the manga (compare his appearance in anime episode 4 and manga chapter 89 page 13).
 * The upper half of the Chief of Heaven's face is never clearly shown, being obscured by shadow in the manga and covered by his hair in the anime.