Cocoon ( Final Fantasy XIII ) Cocoon is a floating continent in the world of " Final Fantasy XIII " . It floats in the sky above the land of Gran Pulse ( known simply as Pulse to the people of Cocoon ) like a low - hanging moon . Cocoon ' s altitude from Gran Pulse is about the arm ' s length of the fal ' Cie Titan , and it is about the size of the real world North America . Although Cocoon has the appearance of a small planetoid , it is hollow and its inhabitants live inside of the shell , making it similar in concept to a . Cocoon is a futuristic paradise filled with highly advanced technology which protects it against the supposed intruders from the planet below . It is ruled by the Sanctum . Three years later in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , the Sanctum has been replaced by a new provisional government led by the Academy . Many of Cocoon ' s former inhabitants have migrated to Gran Pulse , while others remained in Cocoon . Datalog . " From her lofty seat , the world of Cocoon has long enjoyed tranquility . The interior of her spherical shell supports several sprawling cities and a population numbering in the tens of millions . Although a variety of dangerous beasts prowl the wilds , advanced technology and the protection of the world ' s fal ' Cie keepers ensure residents a peaceful and prosperous existence . Travel to the lowerworld of Pulse is forbidden , but given their deep - seated cultural fears of the place , Cocoon citizens would not even think to venture beyond the paradise they know . " II . Lindzei ' s Nest " And lo , the viper Lindzei bore fangs into the pristine soil of our Gran Pulse ; despoiled the land and from it crafted a cocoon both ghastly and unclean . Lies spilled forth from the serpent ' s tongue : ' Within this shell lies paradise . ' Men heard these lies and were seduced and led away . O cursed are the fools who trust a snake and turn their backs upon the bounty of Pulse ' s hallowed land ! For those who dwell in that cocoon are not Men , but slaves of the demon Lindzei . Ye who honor Pulse : rise unto the heavens , and cast down the viper ' s nest ! " " : - - Author unknown " " Cocoon is a massive sphere , constructed and set in the sky by the powerful and enigmatic beings known as the ' fal ' Cie . ' Up until 0 AF , it was a floating paradise that was home to several million people . Now , however , the broken shell rests on an immense crystal pillar , bereft of the power source that once kept it aloft . The interior of the sphere has deteriorated , forcing the population to relocate to the land below . " Profile . Cocoon was built by the fal ' Cie many centuries ago under the premise of protecting humanity from the savage world of Pulse . Its current population numbers in the tens of millions . Cocoon is a colossal sphere on whose inside shell people live . Cocoon is home to many futuristic cities , such as the floating capital of Eden , the port city of Palumpolum , the beach town of Bodhum , and the carnival city of Nautilus . There are expansive highroads located in the Hanging Edge , the exotic nature reserve of the Sunleth Waterscape , and ruined city of Bresha located on the outer - rim of Cocoon . Six centuries ago a great war between Cocoon and Gran Pulse was waged called the War of Transgression , which is responsible for the large crack in Cocoon ' s outer shell which exposes its interior . The people of Gran Pulse believe Cocoon to be a false paradise built by the devil Lindzei , who lured people to live there with sweet promises only to enslave them and steal their souls . Gran Pulse inhabitants see the people of Cocoon as impending intruders and the source of evil in the world ; as Oerba Yun Fang puts it , " Cocoon ' s a floating nest of vipers ready to strike " . Similarly , the people of Cocoon are made to believe Pulse is an aspect of hell , and its forces are poised to invade their beautiful world . Cocoon is an artificial world built and powered by the fal ' Cie , who are responsible for running everything from the artificial sun , Phoenix , in the center that provides the world with light and warmth and controls the weather , to cultivating the land and providing food and water , to keeping the world of Cocoon floating within Gran Pulse ' s atmosphere . Eden is a floating city from where the rest of Cocoon is governed . Distant landmasses are visible on the skies of Cocoon beyond the cloud coverage , and the nocturnal " starry skies " are , in fact , the lights of far off cities . It is mentioned in the Datalog that Cocoon has over eight million fal ' Cie . The fal ' Cie Eden maintains Cocoon ' s complex operational systems , and is itself powered by fal ' Cie Orphan that resides in a deep sleep in Orphan ' s Cradle , an alternate dimension created by Eden . Story . " Final Fantasy XIII " . Cocoon is a sacrificial vessel of millions of human lives maintained by the fal ' Cie to use as their means of summoning the Maker back to the world . The fal ' Cie provide the humans a " paradise " with the intent to summon the mythical beast Ragnarok to destroy the fal ' Cie Orphan . With Orphan destroyed , Cocoon ' s operational systems would fail and the floating continent would fall from the sky . The fal ' Cie plan to call the Maker , the god who created both the fal ' Cie and humans , back into the world for the world to be reborn , by opening Etro ' s gate by sending a surge of human souls through it . The fal ' Cie believe they can achieve this by sacrificing Cocoon and all its inhabitants . The fal ' Cie themselves are unable to destroy Cocoon due to having been specifically created to maintain it and being unable to defy their core programming , so they need the help of Pulse l ' Cie . Cocoon ' s true purpose as the fal ' Cie ' s " farm " for human souls is not apparent to its citizens , most of whom never question their masters ' benevolence . The fal ' Cie have two main goals in regards to their " farm " : they don ' t want humans to ever leave Cocoon , and they want to stop any human conflicts from escalating into war , which could result in population drops . The fal ' Cie ' s wish to cultivate humans for a sacrificial purpose may be the root cause for the high level of militarization within Cocoon , which at first may appear unnecessary seeing as Cocoon is touted as a peaceful utopia ; the fal ' Cie seek to keep the humans under tight control to suppress any possibility of the people warring among each other . The military presence is explained to the public by exaggerating the threat of the lowerworld , which also works as a deterrent for anyone wishing to leave . Although the citizens are under totalitarian rule as they cannot elect their own government , the world of Cocoon is filled with frivolous pastimes for the humans to engage in , diverting their attentions from seeking the undercurrent truth behind Cocoon ' s existence . The fal ' Cie - orchestrated animosity toward the lowerworld turns out to be a double edged sword as people become so afraid of Pulse any lowerworld presence triggers a chaos that can quickly escalate into violence . The fal ' Cie thus come up with the concept of Purge whereupon anyone to have come in contact with lowerworld entities is removed from society . Although seen as severe and unfortunate , the public view it as a necessity . The fal ' Cie ' s plans for Cocoon ' s destruction become to materialize when two Gran Pulse l ' Cie come out of crystal stasis within the Bodhum Vestige . As the Pulse fal ' Cie within the structure is discovered it brands more servants for itself and Cocoon falls into chaos . The town of Bodhum is quickly Purged , but the fal ' Cie Barthandelus , who rules Cocoon in the guise of Galenth Dysley , ensures the Pulse l ' Cie remain safe within Cocoon , their Focus to summon Ragnarok to destroy Orphan . Oblivious of the fal ' Cie ' s master plan , the l ' Cie wander Cocoon while evading their pursuers , eventually finding their way to the Fifth Ark where Cid Raines , Barthandelus ' s l ' Cie servant , explains to them the fal ' Cie ' s true purpose for Cocoon . The six Pulse l ' Cie destined to destroy Cocoon flee to Gran Pulse in the hopes of changing their fate , but , manipulated by Barthandelus , the l ' Cie return to Cocoon , charge through Eden , and make their way into Orphan ' s Cradle to protect Orphan . Orphan is awakened , and when it reveals its true colors as an enemy of Cocoon , the l ' Cie see no way out of fighting it . After Orphan is destroyed the floating world begins to fall from the sky , but Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang transform into Ragnarok and build a pillar from the ground up by crystallizing both Cocoon and themselves . The world is saved as the shell of the now crystallized Cocoon remains supported by the crystal pillar . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . After the Catastrophe some Cocoon citizens leave the crystallized Cocoon and settle on Pulse , building the village of New Bodhum and beginning construction on Academia near the pillar ' s base . Serah Farron returns to Cocoon with Noel Kreiss and Mog . They arrive in the Bresha Ruins at 5 AF , where a war machine called Atlas had arrived from the future to wreak havoc . Noel reveals the time Atlas comes from is when the crystallized Cocoon falls , but is unaware one of the factors in its fall was Royal Ripeness in the Sunleth Waterscape in 300 AF , caused by a Faeryl in the Archylte Steppe swallowing an artefact that enabled the Miniflan it sucked in to wind up in Sunleth Waterscape . Killing the Faeryl to digress Royal Ripeness into Mutantomato , Serah and Noel defeat the fused flan to undo its role in Cocoon ' s fall . After learning of Cocoon ' s fate through the Oracle Drive in 10 AF , Hope Estheim uses the Academy ' s resources to minimize the damage Cocoon ' s fall will cause . Hope concludes a new Cocoon must be made , and begins a centuries long project to do so . Caius Ballad exploits this in a plan to crash the new Cocoon with the old one in the year 500 AF . Noel , Lightning and Serah stop Caius from carrying out his plan , and with the crystal holding Vanille and Fang removed in time , Cocoon falls while Hope ' s new Cocoon , called Bhunivelze , rises . Cocoon ' s crystallized remains become part of Nova Chrysalia after the chaos of Valhalla bleeds into Gran Pulse and merges the realms .