Crystal pillar ( Final Fantasy XIII ) The crystal pillar is a large crystal structure in " Final Fantasy XIII " and " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " that was erected in the conclusion of " Final Fantasy XIII " . Its creation marks the beginning of the AF calendar . Its remains can still be found in " " . Datalog . " During the catastrophe of 0 AF , a gigantic crystal pillar appeared and caught Cocoon in its embrace . This miracle was the work of Fang and Vanille , two women who sacrificed themselves to achieve the impossible . " " In the centuries that follow , however , erosion weakens the massive structure . This second threat to Cocoon triggers a war among its people , and the resulting violence brings the sphere crashing to the ground . The apocalyptic age in which Noel was born is what remains of the world after those tragic events come to pass . " Story . " Final Fantasy XIII " . After Orphan has been felled robbing Cocoon from its power source , and the floating continent begins to fall from the sky , Vanille and Fang transform into Ragnarok . They crystallize Cocoon ' s shell , build a crystal pillar from the ground up to support the structure , and crystallize themselves within the pillar and enter crystal stasis . After the others wake up from their crystal stasis on the surface of Gran Pulse they marvel at the sight of the crystal pillar , but are saddened Vanille and Fang remain trapped inside it . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . After Lightning disappears , the only thing left of her is her survival knife found at the base of the crystal pillar . While the others believe Lightning to be either dead or crystallized within the pillar with Fang and Vanille , Serah Farron is certain her sister is still alive . In 10 AF at the Yaschas Massif , it is discovered through a vision recorded in an Oracle Drive by the seeress Yeul that the pillar holding Cocoon will crumble sending the crystallized Cocoon plummeting to the surface of Pulse . According to Noel , a man hailing from a bleak future , this marks the end of days to human civilization . The vision depicts Cocoon ' s fall will be caused by Caius Ballad . Serah and Noel set out to save the future and prevent Cocoon from falling , while Hope makes it the Academy ' s top priority to prepare for the event set to take place hundreds of years in the future . When Serah and Noel travel to the Sunleth Waterscape in 300 AF , they find a giant flan eroding the crystal pillar and conclude the flan would weaken the pillar enough for it to send tremors on the ground , making people nervous and causing them to break out into a war , which would culminate in the pillar ' s full destruction . Serah and Noel solve the double paradox and defeat the flan , preventing this scenario from happening . In the year of the prophecy , 500 AF , Serah and Noel stop Caius from destroying Cocoon and Hope ' s New Cocoon , and defeat him in Valhalla , restoring the timeline . Hope and Sazh remove Fang and Vanille from the pillar moments before it crumbles . " " . While the pillar is no longer intact , its remains can be explored in the Wildlands , the area where the old Cocoon fell , where Academia once stood , and where Chaos first entered the world . Snow creates an ice pillar similar to the crystal pillar during his first battle with Lightning where he uses it to stop a falling chandelier .