Board Thread:Theories Discussion/@comment-202.152.194.172-20130910125301/@comment-6192846-20130911152642

If the reason for the Demon being absent is explained, it would be in Praefatio. One person theorized Kachess killed the Demon with the Golden Key and its left over magic was what influenced Kyle but The Daughter of Fog clearly describes Gast hearing a rather inhuman voice. In fact, the Veno Sword has a lot of mysteries that aren't explained.

Irina knows about Zenon and decides to take the sword only after his sister dies. She then wants to test it to make sure it works but why does she need to do that? She knew the other vessels worked without coming up with such a contrived scenario. Why did it have to be Gast? She gives it to Prim a few years later and it works on Arth. It is later planted in the Freesis home and works on Kyle, although it ignores Keel.

Then, between when Kyle picked it up and when Elluka and Gumillia get it from Keel months later, it's suddenly got its Demon missing. It isn't the Demon of Vanity; it can't just leave to another piece of its vessels. Abyss I.R. and Elluka both confimr that the Demon's original body always stays in its vessel, even when she placed the Demon of Gluttony in one of the four mirrors.

We are not even aware of what happened ot the sword during the Venomani Event. Does I.R. take it back? Is it left in Venomania's home? Did one of the harem girls run off with it?

Now for the facts you laid out. My deconstrunction, in order:

1) I have stated that the implication is that the Demons are apparently absent from their vessels as there has been nothing to suggest they have returned; it is my speculation that the Demons are required for it but nothing confirs nor denies this as a fact.

2) Shapeshift is hard to say. We don't know what they are. All we know is GEAR coins the term as "awakening", that the vesels which have awakened appear as humans, and that they appear as a character represented by a Vocaloid that is tied to the Sin (eg, Kaito characters and Greed).

3) The awakened vessels personality are distinct from the Demons by appearance in all cases but one: Master of the Graveyard. She acts like both her Sinner and her Demon, devilish, monstrous, and gluttonous. Waiter acts much like her vessel, vain and selfish, but also acts as if she were the mournful Riliane.

4) Back to point 3, the relationship between Demons and the awakened vessels is unknown and the personality connection is inconsistent. GEAR doesn't even act greedy or like his famed sinner, Gallerian. MotC inherits many of Gallerian's traits and acts quite less than indolent.

Now for the rest. Ma is physically Kayo Sudou, as in her body is genetically identical to her. Ma also relates the story of how Elluka body swaps with Kayo out of Envy and leaves Kayo burdened with the Deadly Sin (ie, the Demon), and runs off with the scissors after replacing the real pair witha  fake pair for Kayo (cue Kayo's song). Considering some of what I have read on the Venomania novel, I am not surprised if most of these details are untrue, as Ma has already been wrong about Lukana and Elluka's body swap and has proven herself to be a habitual liar.

In conclusion: We do't have enough facts or facts with context to say one way or the other what awakened vessels are or why they are what they are. Reincarnations, imprints of their owners, the Demons unleashed, or whatever all have their own contradictions that makes this one big mess.

Btw,  hello to you again! Seeing users who actively stick around to share their thought sand theories can be a rarity. Nice to see other people's ideas. There is a lot of information so take your time reading, learning, and understanding everything. I am glad to see users have been giving some thought to what they understand.