Ultimecia Ultimecia is the main antagonist in " Final Fantasy VIII " . A powerful sorceress , her ultimate goal is to compress all time and space to become " a living god . " Profile . Appearance . Ultimecia wears a skin - tight red gown with a plunging neckline that exposes her neck , chest , stomach and abdomen , and only partially obscures her breasts . A black collar extends down the neckline to her waist ; the collar rests over her shoulders and covers the junction of her black feathered wings . In " Final Fantasy VIII " the collar appears to be made of feathers , but in " Dissidia Final Fantasy " it is made of fur . The dress has a short train , which drags along the floor , trimmed either similarly to the collar , or torn and frayed and made dirty . Long red sleeves with prominent shoulder pads join with her purple taloned hands . Ultimecia ' s skin is tattooed with lined patterns . She wears a gold necklace , earrings and hair jewelry among a headdress designed to pull her hair up to resemble horns ; silver bangs are left to frame her face . Ultimecia has yellow eyes surrounded by purple eyeshadow and she wears deep red lipstick . She has no eyebrows , instead having tattoos . She doesn ' t wear shoes , walking ( or perhaps flying ) barefoot , and although Ultimecia has a human appearance , her toenails resemble a beast ' s claws and are accentuated in her " Dissidia Final Fantasy " appearance . Personality . In the English version of " Final Fantasy VIII " , Ultimecia emphasizes the letter ' c ' pronouncing it as a harder sound than normal . However , during and after she evolves into her final form she loses this emphasis . She also doesn ' t speak this way in the " Dissidia Final Fantasy " series , or while possessing Edea . Ultimecia has no accent in Japanese , and arrogantly uses " omae " to refer to the party , this usually being associated with male speech . Overall , she uses few feminine speech markers , which makes her sound rather like a male villain . Ultimecia has a definitive sense of style : the interior of her castle is filled with faux - Victorian opulence . In Deling City , her waiting room is draped with sheer curtains , and while in Galbadia Garden , she reclines on a throne designed like a translucent flower with lights similar to the fronds of luminescent sea kelp . Having acted through the bodies of other sorceresses , Ultimecia has been described as a malevolent and manipulative sorceress filled with anger and hate . Ultimecia ' s background and motives are alluded to indirectly , the most significant being her inauguration speech in Deling City and the events surrounding the final battle . Ultimecia demonstrates a strategic and diplomatic mind , such as convincing the president of Galbadia to employ her as the nation ' s diplomat , as well as enticing Seifer Almasy , normally a hostile youth , to devote himself to her . In " Dissidia Final Fantasy " Ultimecia manipulates Kuja into performing for her ends and tries to get Sephiroth to join her and Emperor Mateus in their quest of taking over the world , though they end up failing . Abilities . Ultimecia is an immensely powerful sorceress who focuses on time and space manipulation . In the final battle she casts spells such as Bio , Quake , and Meteor , or absorbs fallen party members into time . She has a devastating magical attack called Hell ' s Judgement that reduces HP to one point for the entire party , and she employs it often in the final battle . Ultimecia can manifest and give life to subconscious thoughts and inanimate objects . This includes giving life to Griever ; Ultimecia manifests it from Squall ' s subconscious , having found Griever to be his conception of the most powerful force that could exist , and brings him to life for battle against Squall himself . Ultimecia seeks to become omnipotent through the absorption of all time , space , and existence . She can invade and control an individual ' s body and mind both internally and externally , and , through the use of Junction Machine Ellone , wields this ability throughout different eras . Ultimecia can reach into a person ' s mind to steal or give life to thoughts , knowledge , and magic . Her ability to manipulate objects and matter has also led to some interesting junction forms . Despite being a sorceress of time , Ultimecia rarely uses time - based spells , such as Haste , Slow or Stop in battle . It is unknown to what extent the magic used is from Ultimecia or from the host when possessing other sorceresses , but as Edea , Ultimecia can teleport and phase through solid matter , create a barrier to repel a bullet , use the powers of telekinesis , and cast fascination spells . Story . Ultimecia ' s castle dominates the landscape in the era where she lives . It is implied she is the sole ruler of her world , although besides fallen White SeeD no other inhabitants of her world are introduced , their fate unknown . According to the " Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania " , Ultimecia ' s actions are driven by a means to escape her destined defeat at the hands of the " Legendary SeeD " . Ultimecia ' s knowledge of this fate could be the main instigation for her desire of bringing about time compression , by which Ultimecia could absorb all time , space and existence , and become " a living god " and thus escape her fate . With the Junction Machine Ellone Ultimecia sends her consciousness back in time to take possession of Edea Kramer , a sorceress living on the White SeeD Ship . Ultimecia ' s plan is to send her mind far enough back in time to cast the time compression spell , but the Junction Machine has a limit ; to get even further back in time , she needs to find a girl called Ellone with a natural gift to send people ' s consciousnesses through time , upon whose powers the junction machine was originally built . Ultimecia uses Edea as a host to infiltrate the government of Galbadia , and is appointed ambassador of Galbadia by President Vinzer Deling . President Deling announces her appointment in the first worldwide televised broadcast in 17 years . The broadcast is interrupted when Deling is taken hostage on - air by Seifer Almasy , a renegade SeeD cadet . Ultimecia ( within Edea ' s body ) surfaces from a teleportation spell and offers to save him from his " predicament " . When Squall ' s SeeD party approaches her , they are paralyzed by her magic and Seifer allows Ultimecia to teleport him away to Galbadia . Although Seifer is announced executed , Ultimecia turns him into her Sorceress Knight and makes him her personal guardian . Nonetheless , Deling continues to publicize his new ambassador and plans a parade in Deling City to honor her appointment . Unbeknown to Ultimecia , General Caraway of Galbadia and SeeD mercenaries from Balamb Garden formulate a plan to assassinate her at the parade to prevent her from usurping power across the world . General Caraway ' s daughter , Rinoa Heartilly , attempts to trick Ultimecia into taking a bangle created by Dr . Odine to seal away her sorceress power . Ultimecia recognizes the bangle , telekinetically disables Rinoa and takes control of her body , leading her to the balcony of the Presidential Palace . Ultimecia ascends the podium to give her acceptance speech to the people of Galbadia with Rinoa in tow , but it is a speech of hatred . According to the " Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania " guide , Ultimecia casts a fascination spell that drives the crowd into a frenzy of reverence . Ultimecia impales President Deling through his chest with her hand in front of the city and throws his corpse aside . Ultimecia declares herself the ruler of Galbadia , assuring the beginning of a " new reign of terror " , and brings two Iguion statues on the side of the Arch of Triumph to life and orders them to devour Rinoa as a sacrifice . Leaving Rinoa to her fate , Ultimecia boards her float which glides out into the street parade . As Ultimecia passes underneath the Arch of Triumph the gates trap her inside . The sniper working with the SeeDs , Irvine Kinneas , takes a shot at her from atop the clock tower , but she blocks the bullet with a protection spell . Ultimecia is confronted by Squall , Irvine , and Rinoa ( who had been rescued from the Iguions ) , and is disgusted upon discovering Squall is a SeeD . Ultimecia uses Edea ' s Ice Strike Limit Break to stab Squall through the shoulder . Instead of killing Squall and his friends Ultimecia has them imprisoned in D - District Prison and orders Seifer to extract information from them via torture , namely , the reason SeeD persecute sorceresses . The interrogation yields no results as the SeeD themselves have not been informed of their organization ' s true goal . As Galbadia ' s new dictator , she declares Garden to be her enemy , and orders missiles aimed at both Balamb and Trabia Garden s . Balamb Garden avoids the missile attacks thanks to Squall and the others ( who had escaped from prison ) making the Garden mobile , but Trabia Garden is annihilated . Ultimecia takes control of the remaining Galbadia Garden and sets out to find Ellone . Galbadia occupies the towns of Balamb and Fishermans Horizon at her order to search every house , but comes up unsuccessful . Ultimecia attacks Balamb Garden directly , but the Battle of the Gardens ends with Squall leading his allies into Galbadia Garden where she is confronted in the Garden Auditorium . Ultimecia orders Seifer to dispatch the SeeD , and when he fails , Ultimecia is forced to do battle . The encounter ends with Ultimecia being bested inside Edea ' s body and Edea inadvertently relinquishing her powers to Rinoa , transferring Ultimecia from within Edea to Rinoa ' s body . Ultimecia uses Rinoa to revive Seifer , orders him to salvage the Esthar ian weapon of mass destruction Lunatic Pandora from beneath the ocean , and Rinoa falls into a coma ; whether Ultimecia forces this upon Rinoa , or if she collapses due to the strain of having received Edea ' s sorceress power , is unknown . Edea , no longer a sorceress , divulges to the SeeD Ultimecia is a sorceress from the future who wants to destroy the world with time compression . Searching for a means to awaken Rinoa , Squall takes her to the Lunar Base — the Estharian space station — to see Ellone , hoping she could cure Rinoa with her powers over time . Ellone had come to the base to meet with the president of Esthar , but Ultimecia appears unaware of her presence and uses Rinoa to unlock Sorceress Adel ' s tomb , kept in space orbiting the planet overseen by the president of Esthar himself . With a more powerful sorceress in reach , Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in space to die . Meanwhile , Seifer and the G - Army have taken control of the Lunatic Pandora and triggered the Lunar Cry , which brings monsters down to the planet from the Moon . Adel ' s unlocked tomb comes down with the monsters . Seifer captures Ellone , who had escaped the Lunar Base on an escape pod , and brings her to the Lunatic Pandora for Ultimecia ' s use . Squall and his comrades have saved the now recovered Rinoa from space and figured out Ultimecia ' s goal . They concoct a plan to halt Ultimecia ' s scheme with the Esthar scientist Dr . Odine , who explains Ultimecia exists many generations in the future and the only way to reach her is via time travel . Their plan is to defeat Adel , leaving Rinoa the only sorceress in the present era whom Ultimecia could control . After she would take over Rinoa , Ellone would send both of their consciousnesses into the past , allowing Ultimecia to initiate time compression . Ellone would then send both of their minds back to their original bodies . To survive the time compression Squall and his friends would have to keep their bonds strong and wade through the compressing timelines and reach Ultimecia ' s era . Ultimecia possesses Adel as she awakes from the frozen state she had been kept in the tomb , and orders Seifer to capture Rinoa . Ultimecia junctions Rinoa to Adel ' s body , but after engaging Squall and his friends in battle , Adel is defeated and passes on her powers to Rinoa . Ultimecia possesses Rinoa , allowing Ellone to send both of their minds to the past , where Ultimecia casts time compression only to have it temporarily halted when Ellone sends their consciousnesses back to their respective eras . Squall uses the partial time compression to enter Ultimecia ' s future . Squall and his allies enter Ultimecia Castle , and after getting past the various traps and puzzles , confront Ultimecia in the Master Room . The SeeD battle Ultimecia who reaches into Squall ' s mind to find a power he values most . Using this information she summons Griever , the strongest Guardian Force in Squall ' s mind . In the Japanese version of " Final Fantasy VIII " , Ultimecia unveils the party ' s fears of memory loss , but claims it is not what they should fear , but the power of Griever , and orders the GF to unleash its ultimate attack , Shockwave Pulsar . After Griever ' s defeat , Ultimecia junctions herself to him , amplifying her power . After Griever ' s body is destroyed , Ultimecia transforms and begins absorbing time , space and existence into her new body . She speaks of the futility of fighting against time and her final speech is distinctly different from her pre - battle lines , and she seems to be warning the party of something . Despite her extensive powers , Ultimecia is unable to overcome her fate as the links that bind Squall and his friends protect them from time compression , and she falls in a massive explosion as time begins to decompress . As Ultimecia cannot die until she passes on her sorceress power , she ends up in Edea ' s Orphanage of the past where she passes on her power to the Edea Kramer of that time . In doing so Ultimecia ultimately perpetuates her predestined defeat , while fading away in a cloud of purple smoke . Gameplay . Ultimecia is fought a total of six times , twice within Edea , once within Adel , twice in her own body , and once when junctioned onto Griever . There are four final boss battles , the first phase being against the normal Ultimecia . The second phase is against her newly created Guardian Force , Griever . She junctions herself to Griever during the third phase , and the fourth and final phase is fought against Ultimecia in her existence - absorbing final form . The video game website , 1up , ranked the final battle with Ultimecia # 15 on their list of the 25 best final boss battles in video game history . Ultimecia was also listed in denofgeek . com ' s website as the third most difficult boss in video gaming history . Voice . In the " Dissidia Final Fantasy " series , Ultimecia is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese . In the English versions , she is voiced Tasia Valenza . Ultimecia speaks in a normal voice with a flirtatious tone in contrast to her appearance in " Final Fantasy VIII " where she emphasizes the letter ' c ' . Musical themes . Ultimecia has a variety of musical themes that accompany her presence . The themes often contain the words , " Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec " , which are first heard in the game ' s opening , " Liberi Fatali " . All of her themes tend to invoke feelings of melancholy and terror . " Succession of Witches " is accompanied by a chorus chanting the words , " Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec " and is usually heard when Ultimecia appears to Squall and his comrades within the body of a sorceress she has possessed . " Premonition " plays during the times Ultimecia is fought within the body of Edea and also plays during the first phase of the final battle with Ultimecia in her real body , and during the battle with Griever , until Ultimecia orders him to use Shockwave Pulsar . The theme then transitions into " The Legendary Beast " . " Compression of Time " is an ambient theme played when Squall and his party enter the future through time compression . It features a synth saxophone accompanied intermittently by a chorus . " The Castle " is the dungeon music for Ultimecia Castle that features a baroque organ , and is separated into three sections of varying emotions . The styles of these three sections vary from lighthearted , dark and sinister , and playful intimidation . " The Extreme " is the final boss theme played during the confrontation with Ultimecia ' s ultimate form . This is likely Ultimecia ' s most recognizable theme . A version by the Black Mages is included on the " " album . It is also used at various times during battles with her in " Dissidia Final Fantasy " and " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Other appearances . Ultimecia has appeared in the following games throughout the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Ultimecia has made key guest appearances in the following non - Final Fantasy games : Etymology . Ultimecia ' s name differs depending on the translation . The English and French translations ' addition of " Ulti " to the name could be derived from the word , " ultimate . " A definition of " ultimate " is to be the furthest away or the best of a kind ; Ultimecia was assumed to , once time was compressed , possess every sorceress power bestowed upon humanity by the Great Hyne , effectively becoming " the ultimate sorceress . " Another theory is that her name derives from the spell Ultima . " Ultimate " comes from " ultimare " , which in Latin means " to be final , come to an end , " befitting of Ultimecia since she may be the last sorceress . The Spanish translation ' s take on the name ( " Artemisa " ) could be derived from Artemis , the Greek Goddess of the hunt ( also the Goddess of Childbirth , Virginity , Forests , and the Moon ) , and Zeus and the nymph Leto ' s controversial child who never married and remained chaste for all her days . Another possible origin is the spell Ultima which is called " Artema " in Spanish language versions . The Italian and German translation ' s take on the name ( " Artemisia " ) calls back to at least three prominent historical women : In Italian culture " Artemisia " is a typical sorceress name . As " l " turns to " r " in Japanese , it might also simply be that " Ultimecia " is a phonetically - wrong transliteration of the katakana composing her name in the Japanese version ( literally : " a ru ti mi shi a " ) which , as most foreign - sounding words in such language , is written " as it is pronounced " , and that she was meant to be called " Artemisia " all along .