Kuja Kuja is the main antagonist of " Final Fantasy IX " . He operates behind the scenes , at first working in Queen Brahne of Alexandria ' s shadow . He wishes to acquire the power of the eidolons to come to rule Gaia . He is a powerful sorcerer who rides a silver dragon . Profile . Appearance . Kuja is a 24 - year - old man with silver hair that falls halfway down his back . He wears a large feather in his hair , has light - blue eyes , and is of medium height , light build , with a pale complexion . He wears white sleeves with a violet mantle around his shoulders . Kuja wears a white robe that covers the back of his legs down to his ankles . The robe is held up by four straps that act as a codpiece . His pants are purple and his shoes are black with golden buckles . When in Trance , Kuja becomes covered in red fur and his clothes , which turn white , become tattered . He has a long furred tail in this form . Personality . Kuja ' s speech patterns are metaphorical and jovial ; for example he refers to Garnet as a " canary " , and Brahne as " the elephant - lady " . His refined nature juxtaposes his role as a sadistic war - bringer . Kuja loves luxury , as evidenced by his home at Desert Palace . Kuja is narcissistic in contrast to Zidane ' s humility . Kuja has an ego to match his power , and he lets his pride rule his head . Kuja once chose to let Zidane live even if he had a chance to kill him to prove himself superior . After discovering his destiny as a mortal , Kuja ' s cultured personality turns into insanity , believing life should not be allowed to continue without him . Kuja uses his elegance to hide his insecurities , and deep down he is conflicted by his existence . Kuja scorns the black mages , but also finds himself identifying with them . As explained in " Final Fantasy IX Ultimania " Kuja never experienced childhood , and thus his emotional growth is stunted , being unable to empathize with others or feel remorse for his actions . It appears that learning of his fate as a mortal and rebelling against this destiny allows Kuja to grow , and he comes to see at least some of the repercussions of his actions . In the Japanese versions of " Final Fantasy IX " and " Dissidia " , Kuja refers to himself with the boyish pronoun " boku " and addresses others with the familiar / informal " kimi " . Abilities . Kuja is an exceptional mage . He knows the technology to manufacture black mages from Mist , and even with no outside help can summon Mistodon s . He can control monsters and controls an army of Silver Dragons led by the Nova Dragon . He also commands the monster Deathguise that attacks Zidane ' s party in the Crystal World . Kuja is largely immune to injury ; even Bahamut ' s attack barely draws blood from him . Even when not in Trance , Kuja can cast the powerful Flare Star , making him one of the most powerful , if not the most powerful , magic practitioners in " Final Fantasy IX " . After entering Trance Kuja ' s power increases exponentially . He knows the strongest spells of the game including Curaga , Holy and Flare and Flare Star . He destroys Terra with Ultima , and uses it as a final attack when on the verge of defeat . Story . Creation . Kuja is a Genome created by the ruler of the dead planet of Terra , Garland , in 1776 . Garland ' s ultimate plan is to assimilate the planet of Gaia with the planet of Terra by replacing the Gaian souls with Terran ones . To accelerate the process Garland created Kuja and sent him to Gaia to encourage war so the souls of Gaia would be replaced faster . Thus , it is Kuja ' s nature to incite death . Garland initially deemed Kuja a failure . According to the " Final Fantasy IX Ultimania " , Kuja was created as he is and never experienced a childhood . Thus he never developed full human emotions and would never be able to enter Trance , the world ' s ultimate power . A strong mind of his own with no feelings of remorse or conscience was a dangerous mix , perfect for inciting war , but difficult for Garland to harness to his own ends . Garland thus placed a limit on Kuja ' s lifespan and created another Genome who would be different from Kuja from the outset : Zidane was created as a child able to learn and grow , and thus develop the ability for complex emotions needed to enter Trance , making him superior to Kuja . While Garland never told him , Kuja was only a temporary Angel of Death meant to kill people on Gaia until Garland could perfect the true Angel of Death : Zidane . Kuja felt threatened by the new Genome and kidnapped him and abandoned him on Gaia . Garland continued using Kuja , while a third Angel of Death , Mikoto , was created , but outraged at Kuja ' s behavior , Garland banished Kuja from returning to Terra . Kuja , defiant of his master , made his home in the Desert Palace instead , though he frequents Treno and is known there as a nobleman . Scheming against Garland . According to the " Final Fantasy IX Ultimania " Kuja destroyed Madain Sari on Garland ' s instructions . Garland , fearful that the summoners ' power to call forth the magical eidolons would come between him and his plans , wanted to eradicate the practice from Gaia . Kuja grew curious about these mythical beasts his master so feared , and came to pursue them himself . The strongest eidolon in human memory , Alexander , was summoned only once 500 years ago . After being deemed dangerous its summoning crystal was divided up in four fragments so it may never be summoned again , the fragments divided between the kingdoms of the Mist Continent . It sounded perfect to Kuja who was scheming towards his own goals and only appeared loyal to Garland on the surface . Kuja knew if Garland ' s plan to fuse the planets was to succeed his role as the Angel of Death would end , and his soul would no longer be his own , as Garland would turn him into a regular Genome , a mere soul vessel . The idea was unbearable to Kuja , who did not think the world deserved to exist without him . As Garland feared Gaia ' s eidolons , Kuja decided he had found the perfect weapon to overthrow Garland and become the master of both Terra and Gaia . With this idea in mind , Kuja began to pursue Alexander ' s crystal shards . Fostering war . Kuja serves as a weapons supplier to Queen Brahne so she can conquer the neighboring nations of Burmecia and Lindblum and capture their crystal shards . The weapons Kuja supplies are the black mages , soulless golems who wield powerful magic . It is hinted Kuja knows how Genomes are manufactured and used his knowledge in making of the black mages . At some point Kuja kidnapped Hildagarde Fabool , a noblewoman from the nation of Lindblum , who has taken a prototype airship from Lindblum that flies on advanced technology named after her , the " Hilda Garde " . Kuja kept her captive and , in need of an audience to fuel his narcissism , told her of his plans to conquer Terra an Gaia while taking the airship for himself . Burmecia is conquered , and Zidane — now a thief living in Gaia with no knowledge of his origins — sets out on a quest to find out what is happening alongside his friend , a Burmecian Freya Crescent , and a sentient black mage , Vivi Ornitier , as well as possibly a qu gourmand , Quina Quen . The four arrive too late to defend the kingdom and are defeated by General Beatrix of Alexandria . Kuja observes Zidane before boarding his dragon and departing the site . Brahne , under Kuja ' s advice , extracts her daughter ' s eidolons and summons Odin to destroy the Burmecian survivors at Cleyra , and to capture Cleyra ' s crystal shard . Zidane and his allies sneak aboard Brahne ' s airship and teleport back to Alexandria Castle . Zidane and his friends rescue Brahne ' s daughter Garnet , who learns of her roots as a summoner . The group splits with Zidane , Garnet , and Vivi returning to Lindblum , only to witness Brahne conquer it with Atomos and her army of black mages . The surrendered Regent Cid tells Zidane ' s party about Kuja ' s role as Brahne ' s weapons supplier , and the three turn their attention to defeating Kuja and cutting off Brahne ' s supply of black mages . Armed with the knowledge that Kuja came from the north , they set out to the Outer Continent . Zidane , Vivi , and Garnet track Kuja , following leads to the Black Mage Village and the summoners ' ruined village of Madain Sari , recruiting Quina , Eiko Carol , and Amarant Coral along the journey . The group continues to the Iifa Tree , a gigantic tree that assists in filtering the Gaian and Terran souls — the Mist that Kuja uses to create the black mages is a by - product of this process . The party kills Soulcage , stopping the flow of Mist , but Kuja arrives on his dragon and tells them he no longer cares . Brahne ' s fleet arrives , and Brahne , deeming she no longer needs him , attacks Kuja . Kuja survives Brahne ' s onslaught and she summons Bahamut . Kuja enslaves Bahamut by calling forth the " Invincible " , a Terran airship able to house souls , and kills the Queen by destroying her fleet . New power . Garnet is crowned the new queen and Kuja returns to Alexandria intent on killing her with his new eidolon . Kuja summons Bahamut and commands it to destroy the kingdom . Garnet and Eiko rush to Alexandria Castle ' s turrets and call forth the eidolon guardian of Alexandria , Alexander , by bringing the four crystal fragments together . Alexander destroys Bahamut , and Kuja attempts to enslave the former by calling the " Invincible " . Garland has learned of Kuja ' s rebellion and commands the " Invincible " to destroy both Alexander and Alexandria , frustrating Kuja , and leaving him without an eidolon to manipulate . Kuja vows he will find an eidolon even stronger than Alexander and departs . Zidane and his allies return to Lindblum where Cid tells them Kuja has been spotted in control of his " Hilda Garde " airship , and has recruited the sentient black mages from the Black Mage Village . They use Cid ' s sailing ship , the " Blue Narciss " , to return to the Outer Continent and find Kuja ' s Desert Palace . Kuja captures the group , and tells Zidane he will release his friends if he retrieves an artefact for him , sending Zidane to Oeilvert with three friends of his choosing . While Zidane is at Oeilvert Kuja attempts to kill his companions who were left behind . They narrowly escape , but Zidane returns before Kuja finds the escapees and hands over the Gulug Stone . Kuja escapes with Eiko , and Zidane follows him to Mount Gulug where Kuja commands Zorn and Thorn , Brahne ' s jesters that now work for him , to extract Eiko ' s eidolons , but the attempt fails because she is too young . Eiko ' s pet moogle Mog enters Trance , unleashing her true power as the eidolon Madeen . Kuja realizes that to enter Trance one needs to experience a surge of powerful emotions , and formulates a new plan . He decides he doesn ' t need an eidolon to fight Garland after all ; he simply needs to enter Trance . Return to Terra . Kuja loses all his allies when the black mages realize he had tricked them and return to their village . Zorn and Thorn were killed by Zidane ' s party , who have rescued Hilda and taken back the airship " Hilda Garde " . With help from Cid ' s wife , Hilda , Zidane and his companions find a path to Terra where Zidane meets Garland , who reveals his and Kuja ' s past , claiming Kuja is in denial of his existence as a Genome . Although Garland attempts to take Zidane ' s soul and turn him into an ordinary Genome when Zidane defies his plans , he survives , and Zidane and his allies attack Garland . A weakened Garland is usurped by Kuja who has returned to Terra on his Silver Dragon and taken control of the " Invincible " . Kuja enters a Trance and crushes Zidane and his friends with Ultima . Because Kuja is a Genome and originally constructed to be a vessel for souls , he can absorb souls into his being and has absorbed the captive souls on the " Invincible " , including the soul of Queen Brahne ; her feelings of greed , hatred , and jealousy were the emotional surges Kuja needed to enter such a powerful Trance . Kuja kicks Garland off the precipice of Castle Pandemonium and declares he will rule both Gaia and Terra . Garland ' s spirit lingers and speaks to Kuja , telling him he was created to last only until the real Angel of Death , Zidane , reached maturity . Kuja realizes he is but a temporary pawn , much like the black mages he so despises . The revelation of his impending death drives Kuja mad , and he declares he won ' t let the world exist without him . Mortality realized . Kuja destroys Terra with a barrage of Ultima spells and returns to Gaia . Zidane and his friends escape on the " Invincible " along with the other Genomes they saved . They find Gaia covered in Mist and surmise Kuja is at the Iifa Tree . With the help of Beatrix commanding an alliance of the survivors of the Mist Continent ' s kingdoms , Zidane and his friends penetrate the barrier into Memoria , a world made manifest of the planet ' s memories . Guided by Garland ' s spirit , they travel deeper into Memoria and travel back in time to the origin of the universe , the Crystal World . In the Crystal World they find Kuja at the Crystal , the source of all life . Kuja summons Deathguise who is summarily destroyed . Kuja engages Zidane ' s party himself , and upon his defeat casts Ultima , defeating them . Zidane and his friends appear in the Hill of Despair and encounter Necron , a being summoned by Kuja ' s fear of death to destroy all life and save it from the suffering of existence . Necron is defeated , and life is allowed to continue . Kuja , who has lost his Trance , uses the last of his powers to teleport Zidane and his friends outside the Iifa Tree . Zidane stays behind to rescue Kuja , and barely makes his way to the Iifa Tree ' s core as its trunk and roots collapse . A weakened Kuja apologizes for his actions , but Zidane understands why he did it . As Kuja ' s body goes limp , the tree ' s interior collapses and Zidane protects the former as flailing roots converge on them . Mikoto , the third Angel of Death Garland had created , later tells Kuja in spirit how he taught the Genomes they can be more than mindless vessels and has given them hope for the future . Gameplay . Kuja is fought as a boss in Pandemonium and in Trance form in Memoria . Both times he casts Ultima upon his defeat , so although the party wins the battle , for storyline purposes Kuja prevails . At the end of his fight in Pandemonium , Kuja morphs into Trance form , but cannot be fought , and casts Ultima ending the fight . Voice . In the " Dissidia Final Fantasy " series he is voiced by Akira Ishida in Japanese . In the English versions he is voiced by JD Cullum . Kuja speaks in an aristocratic manner with a narcissistic pitch . Musical themes . " Kuja ' s Theme " is a sinister piano theme accompanied by a heavy beat which plays during many of his appearances , most prominently during his first appearance in Burmecia . " Dark Messenger " plays during the fight against Trance Kuja in the Crystal World . It starts with the organ like the original Kuja theme , but turns into synthesized electric guitar accompanying the original theme . Other appearances . Kuja has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Kuja has made key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " games : Other media . Games . A costume based on Kuja for " " was released on November 2014 . Etymology . " Born of the earth " may symbolize Kuja ' s birth on Terra ( " terra " is Latin for Earth ) , and reflect Kuja ' s role to incite war and destruction on Gaia . Mars is known as the red planet , fitting with Terra being the red planet to contrast Gaia ' s blue . Kuja could also be considered to be Zidane ' s brother . Kuja ' s name may also be derived from the Japanese word " kujaku " , which means " peacock " , an animal befitting of Kuja ' s flamboyant and vain nature .