In Greek mythology, the Anemoi were the gods of the winds. Zephyrus was known as the god of the west wind.
Zephyrus and Chloris, from an 1875 oil painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus, was known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. It was thought that he lived in a cave in Thrace.
One of the surviving myths in which Zephyrus features most prominently is that of Hyacinth. Hyacinth was a very handsome and athletic Spartan prince. Zephyrus fell in love with him and courted him, and so did Apollo. The two competed for the boy's love, but Hyacinth chose Apollo, driving Zephyrus mad with jealousy. Later, catching Apollo and Hyacinth throwing a discus, Zephyrus blew a gust of wind at them, striking the boy in the head with the falling discus.
Soma encounters Zephyr at the top of the Cursed Clock Tower, who makes his introduction by demonstrating his time-stopping ability by destroying all the lamps in the room before Soma can even move. His main weakness lies in the fact that he stands or walks frequently without attacking, allowing the player to keep hitting him with any ranged soul or weapon. However, the player has to be careful not to attack Zephyr if he has an aura around him; otherwise, he'll stop time and slash them. Once defeated, Zephyr's power over time will go out of control and cause him to age rapidly until becoming nothing but bones and dust.
In the game's Library, it is said that Zephyr is close friends with the Chrono Mage, another character with control over time.
Zephyr appears in Portrait of Ruin as an optional boss in the Nest of Evil. He retains all of his attacks from Dawn of Sorrow, with the only difference that now he throws three knives instead of one. Due to the added abilities of the protagonists of this game, Jonathan and Charlotte, this time the fight ends up being easier overall. A couple of 1,000 Blades casts is usually enough to defeat him, although Zephyr can still move while the attack is performed and he may bring out his aura in the meantime, allowing him to stop time and rush to slash the player, so choosing carefully when to cast it is advised.
Zephyr fights with the power of time manipulation (chronokinesis). He also wears a strapped claw on each hand and throws knives at his enemies. His main attacks include:
Throwing a knife in a straight line. In Portrait of Ruin this becomes three knives at once.
Jumping off the walls and ceilings while throwing knives at the player's current position.
Slashing at the enemy with one of his claws should they get too close.
Using time powers to make himself faster and perform a charge followed by a claw slash.
Freezing time and placing some knives above the enemy; upon unfreezing time the knives will drop.
In Dawn of Sorrow, the player should get away from him when he murmurs to himself, because if they are close to him, he will charge. The player may equip the Dead Pirate's soul, Backstab, perform a double jump over him and hit him from behind with a polearm, exploiting his weakness to Piercing damage.
If Zephyr stops moving and just stands there, it means he's taunting the player into attacking him. If the player does so, Zephyr will stop time and rush to slash them. Instead, the player is advised to move around until Zephyr is positioned at the very edge of the screen; after a brief moment, he will resort to stop time, jump over the player and leave a series of knives in his track which will drop once the flow of time resumes. By doing this, the player will be in a safe spot at the center of the falling knives and also have a perfect opportunity to fight back.
In Portrait of Ruin, he's far easier because Jonathan can hit him with the Flame Whip, which exploits his weakness to Fire; and if the player attacks Zephyr while he's doing his pose and knives are set up in their positions, the Whip Skill 1 can also provide protection from them. The player may also use the Alucard Spear, which deals considerable damage. Another option is to cast 1,000 Blades; however, this must be done with caution as it's rest assured Zephyr will dash through it and slash at the player, although perhaps it may be worth taking the hit in exchange of the massive amount of damage Zephyr will receive in the meantime.
Overall, Zephyr is just easier to beat than his Dawn of Sorrow counterpart, because at the point the player faces him, they'll most likely already have a wide array of advanced weapons and magic with which to fight him properly.
Item Data
The soul of Zephyr has the power to stop time. However, it's not as useful as it sounds and will most likely rank low on the player's most used list. It's an important component in the story, however, as it's essential in order to gain entry to the Silenced Ruins (although it's also possible to enter this area from the rear entrance by using the Cutall's special attack). The first time the player reaches the area, via the Subterranean Hell, they'll come across a cannon firing at a pillar. However, before the cannonball destroys the pillar, time is stopped (presumably by the Chrono Mage, as hinted by his silhouette carved on the wall), impeding the player from proceeding further. Once they have acquired Zephyr's soul, they can come back and use it to counter the frozen time spell, which will allow the cannon to destroy the pillar and allow passage into the Silenced Ruins.
In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Zephyr's skeleton is sucked into a vortex upon death, while in Portrait of Ruin his skeleton crumbles. Using Charlotte to cast Dark Rift as he dies will produce the same effect as the seal in Dawn of Sorrow, and suck in his skeleton.
Zephyr's stats in Dawn of Sorrow are a suite of numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4 (HP), 5, 6, 7, 8 (EXP). In Portrait of Ruin, his stats go in reverse: 3, 2, 1, 0 (HP and EXP). It may be a reference to time (countdown and music), which is Zephyr's element.
Zephyr's internal sound files in Portrait of Ruin.
The sounds and graphical data for Zephyr in Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin internally refer to him as "Edward", most likely in reference to his overall resemblance to Edward Scissorhands from Tim Burton's 1990 film of the same name. It's also snowing when he's fought, as his boss battle occurs on the roof of a tower, much like Edward's old mansion where snow entered in the roof through a large hole.
Some of Zephyr's attacks are likely based on Dio Brando from the anime/manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (throwing knives and freezing time). One of his Japanese voice clips even echoes Dio's famous line "Toki yo Tomare!" ("時よ止まれ!","Toki yo Tomare!"? "Time, stop!").
His fight on top of the clock tower may also be a reference to Part 3 of the manga.
