Safi’jiiva/Adult Xeno’jiiva Redesign

A rough concept I started back when Safi’jiiva was first revealed, but I never got round to finishing. Now I personally disliked the design to begin with, but it’s grown on me since. But here is what I wished Safi looked like, including an explanation to the ideas behind the concept.

I wanted Safi’jiiva to have a better connection with Xeno’jiiva’s concept beyond some physical similarities, because it’s such a cool monster and a unique idea, but Safi has a really common look/theme for dragons, which is a shame.

With Xeno’jiiva (or Safi’s juvenile form), the main concept is of an “otherworldly” being that guides the hunter toward itself (like a moth to a flame). That idea was emphasised with the hunter needing to travel down an underground river to reach it, which was compared to being guided by the river Styx to the Underworld. And then there was the whole narrative of the Sapphire Star too, which Xeno somewhat physically resembles.

Keeping with that theme, Safi’jiiva’s redesign was inspired by the Aurora Borealis, space and the night sky, which I think makes way more sense than the whole “emperor” angle. They are symbolic ideas of guidance in some cultures, and connect the juvenile to adult progression much better in my opinion. Plus it gives a neat contrast with how Xeno was born in the dark caves underground, and Safi has broken free from its confines and looks down upon the world from the sky.