Caius Ballad Paddra Ballad - Caius , or Caius Ballad is the main antagonist of " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " who also appears in " " . Caius engages his fated rival , Lightning , in an endless battle in the realm of Valhalla , and follows Lightning ' s sister , Serah Farron , and his former protégé , Noel Kreiss , on their journey through time . Caius was originally a Gran Pulse l ' Cie charged with protecting the seeress Yeul as her Guardian . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " , Caius continues to serve as Yeul ' s Guardian , and he faces Lightning in battle once more . His full name stands for " Caius of the Ballad clan , from the city of Paddra " . Datalog . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . " Caius Ballad is the man Serah saw in her dream , fighting with Lightning . In 200 AF , he appears with Yeul in the village of Oerba , and attempts to administer justice for Serah and Noel ' s crime of changing history . " " Noel seems to know this dark warrior , but is unsettled to have encountered Caius in that time period . " " Caius Ballad is a former l ' Cie and the immortal Guardian of the seeress , Yeul . " " Everything this man has done for the past several centuries has been for the purpose of freeing his charge from her curse of eternal reincarnation . If he can kill the goddess and send the artificial Cocoon plummeting into Pulse , the resulting flood of volatile chaos through Etro ' s gate would shatter the boundary between Valhalla and the mortal realm . Life and death would cease to hold meaning , and Yeul ' s cruel fate would finally be undone . Or so Caius believes . . . " Fragments . Helmwige ' s Nightshade . " Caius , the peerless hero celebrated in Paddra legend , was a Guardian , appointed to serve and protect the seeress . The sagas sung of his countless victories , of foes vanquished in the thousands . He was called ' Caius of the Ballads , ' but despite his renown , none knew his true origin . " " He took the name ' Ballad ' because of the one battle that nearly killed him . " " The foe was a fellow warrior of the Farseers . Overwhelmed by the strength and skill of his opponent , Caius was driven back and back , until it was only a matter of time before the final blow would fall . But their duel was interrupted by an enemy attack , and during the ensuing battle Caius ' s opponent gave his life defending the seeress . Caius believed that it was he who should have fallen in her defense . Thus , to honor the fallen warrior , he took his name . " " " . " The man responsible for releasing the Chaos from the unseen realm and inviting the world ' s destruction . Immortal since ancient times , Caius served the seeress Yeul in her many incarnation . He vowed to save Yeul from the cruel cycle of endless death and rebirth . " " Caius ' s plotting led to the downfall of the goddess Etro , and brought catastrophe . The unseen Chaos , released from Valhalla , now consumes the world . " " He was defeated in his confrontation with Noel and he lost the heart , full of Chaos , which had kept him alive so long . He should have died then , and yet he appears once again . Are his crimes so great that even death will not take him ? " Profile . Appearance . Caius is a tall , slender , muscular man with purple eyes . He has long purple hair adorned with feathers and tribal beads , with a long , purple and black headband to hold it back . His form - fitting black and purple armor resembles Bahamut , and he wears dark boots lined with white fur . The Etro script on the back of his armor translates to : " Undying Witness of Infinite Fate . " It is said the eye on the hilt of his sword is the eidolith capable of summoning Bahamut , a gift from the goddess Etro when he served as a l ' Cie . Caius can perform an incarnate summoning , which allows him to fuse with Bahamut and become Chaos Bahamut . His appearance is identical to Bahamut ' s in " Final Fantasy XIII " , only with a darker color scheme and the Gestalt Mode wings of Bahamut present in both normal and Gestalt Mode . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " , Caius retains his original appearance . Personality . He is calm and serious , rarely displaying emotion , making it difficult discern his thoughts and intentions . Noel describes Caius as someone who prefers to personally take action instead of having others do the dirty work for him , and says he is like " the calm before the storm , " as he may remain silent until spotting a weakness in his enemies , and once he does , he will expose it without mercy . As his goal draws nearer , Caius becomes emotional , ultimately revealing himself as a man who has been consumed by sorrow and rage over the centuries . In " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " , Caius no longer has a single - minded goal and has lost his drive and become cynical , reacting to Lightning and the world ' s condition with spite . He sees his predicament impossible to escape from , and thus exists in perpetual state of suffering . Abilities . Caius is a warrior of equal strength to Lightning . Having been made immortal as an act of benevolence from the goddess Etro , he has gained knowledge of every possible scenario in the timeline and uses it to his advantage . As Caius holds the Heart of Chaos , Etro ' s own heart , he has the power to command the powers of chaos itself , the mysterious energy that flows from the unseen realm and is kept at bay in Valhalla by Etro . As chaos has the power to warp the timeline , Caius makes the timeline unstable by manifesting time paradox es in an effort to change the fate of Yeul . Caius can perform incarnate summoning and become Chaos Bahamut , as well as the even stronger Jet Bahamut when enough chaos is present . When killed , the Heart of Chaos will revive Caius , making him unable to die as long as Etro ' s heart beats inside his chest . Story . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Born prior to the War of Transgression , Caius is a member of the Farseer s , the oldest tribe on Gran Pulse who revere the goddess Etro . The Farseers are led by the seeress Paddra Nsu - Yeul , gifted with the Eyes of Etro and thus able to see changes in the timeline and make prophecies of the future . Forced to witness the changes to the timeline , each vision drains a part of Yeul ' s life until a final vision will kill her . Unable to pass on to the unseen realm , the goddess Etro sends Yeul ' s soul back to the mortal realm where she is reincarnated with a new heart . Caius was made a l ' Cie after killing Yeul ' s previous Guardian , succeeding the role . One day , Caius dueled with a formidable fellow warrior of the Farseers . Overwhelmed by his opponent ' s strength and skill , Caius was driven back until an enemy army invaded Paddra looking for the seeress , interrupting the duel before the final blow could be dealt . In Yeul ' s defense , Caius ' s opponent sacrificed himself to protect her . Believing he should have been the one to die , Caius honored the fallen warrior by taking on his last name , " Ballad . " To protect Yeul himself , Caius performed an incarnate summon to destroy the enemy forces , a skill that let him become one with his Eidolon , but would cost him his life . Etro , moved by Caius ' s dedication , freed him from his fate as a l ' Cie and infused her heart , the Heart of Chaos , into his body , making him immortal so he could protect every incarnation of Yeul until the end of time . Although given as an act of benevolence , Caius would come to see his eternal life as a curse due to the madness he would have to endure . The city of Paddra fell in a civil war that broke out due to the seeress ' s prophecy of its destruction , and Yeul cast away her role as the leader of Paddra . Her followers became nomads , and Caius remained at her side as her eternal Guardian . Whenever a Yeul would die a new one would be born , and though essentially the same , Caius saw each incarnation of Yeul for her uniqueness as he committed every one of her prophecies to memory while forced to witness her death countless times . Over time , Caius is driven mad and longs for both himself and Yeul to be released from the cycle . Starting in 3 AF , Caius watches over Noel and Serah ' s progress alongside different incarnations of Yeul . Noel and Serah are time travelers who seek a way to Valhalla to reunite with Serah ' s sister Lightning and prevent a bleak future , but every change in the timeline they make causes Yeul to witness it , shortening her lifespan . As a seeress , she is forbidden from influencing the timeline to save herself , and Caius , as her Guardian , follows suit . In 200 AF , Caius reveals himself to Noel and Serah during their visit to Oerba . Noel mistakes Caius for the one he once knew in 700 AF , although this is still in Caius ' s future . As Yeul had told him of Serah and Noel ' s actions across time , believing them to have been the cause of the temporal anomalies that threaten the timeline , Caius engages them in battle . Before he can deal the final blow , Yeul intervenes , saying time has already been changed . Caius relents and leads Yeul away through a portal so she would not see the future any further . Caius takes Yeul to Augusta Tower at her request and allows her to meet with Noel and Serah in private and reveal his nature as her immortal Guardian . Yeul gives them an artefact that opens a Time Gate to the Proto fal ' Cie Adam , and tells Serah and Noel they have the power to restore the timeline . Noel and Serah set out again , and the subsequent change in the timeline triggers another vision , killing Yeul . Caius laments on her short life and resolves to remember her pain before carrying away her body . Two hundred years later in the city of Academia , Noel and Serah are surrounded by countless Cie ' th and approached by Caius , who claims they were killed in the Augusta Tower after having learned of the " forbidden history . " Because they stand before him alive and well , he accuses the two of being paradoxes . Noel finds Caius ' s behavior to be unlike him , and the two pursue him through the city , learning from a Yeul who perishes after an attack from Zenobia that the Caius they were chasing was not the real Caius , and that he was never in the city . By 700 AF , Caius is among the last remaining humans in the world as Noel is born in the Farseer tribe . Seeing that Noel is the one with the potential to free him from his curse , Caius takes the boy under his wing to serve as Yeul ' s protector . Upon learning Noel had single - handedly defeated a Behemoth , Caius acknowledges he is ready to become the one true Guardian , and tells Noel he must kill him just as Caius had once killed his predecessor . Refusing to succeed him that way , Noel tells Caius about his plan of going on a journey with Yeul to find other people so she will not be lonely anymore , but Caius says it is a futile dream . After revealing his death and Etro ' s demise are the only way Yeul can be saved , Noel ' s continued refusal to kill him drives Caius to force Noel to fight . Defeating Noel , Caius sees the boy is not strong enough kill him as he is now , and so departs for Valhalla after telling Noel that Yeul ' s feelings over his actions mean nothing to him , as his only goal is that she will be free upon Etro ' s death . Leaving Yeul ' s side as her Guardian , Caius uses the power he wields over chaos to find his way to Valhalla , the middle world between life and death where Etro resides , with the intent to kill her . Caius believes that Etro ' s death would free Yeul from her cycle of endless reincarnation . Back in the Dying World Yeul dies and passes on to Valhalla . Caius rests her lifeless body in the Sea of Chaos along Valhalla ' s shore and she disperses into light . He sees Yeul ' s implanted vision of the crystallized Cocoon crashing into Gran Pulse and a glimpse of Etro ' s shrine , and summons an army of Rift Beasts to enact his war on Etro . Caius challenges Etro ' s protector Lightning to battle . As she and Caius meet face - to - face he grabs her gunblade and aims it at his Heart of Chaos , which begins to glow . When Lightning backs away in shock , Caius transforms into Chaos Bahamut and sends Lightning flying over Valhalla as they continue their duel . Noel falls from the sky through Etro ' s gate , the portal to Valhalla , the goddess having answered his prayer to gain the power of chaos to follow Caius . Lightning saves Noel as Caius pursues the two in the form of Chaos Bahamut and engages her in an aerial dogfight . Lightning defeats him , but he reappears and summons a meteor above the Temple of the Goddess . Lightning asks Noel to bring her sister , Serah , to Valhalla , and sends him through a Time Gate to New Bodhum 3 AF where Noel will begin his journey through time with her . As mentioned in the " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Ultimania Omega " Scenario Interview , the battle between Caius and Lightning is in an endless loop that continues for eternity unless Lightning enters crystal stasis . Lightning is eventually caught off guard after having a vision of Serah dying , allowing Caius to strike her down . Assuming Lightning is dead and will not interfere , Caius uses his knowledge of foresight over the ages to create a series of paradoxes to shape the timeline and create the right circumstances to execute his plan to force Etro ' s gate to open so the chaos of Valhalla can enter Gran Pulse and destroy the timeline . As explained in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Ultimania Omega " , even though Caius cannot time travel , once his preparations are complete the place and time of his plan will become so badly affected by the chaos he will be able to enter there from Valhalla . Like Lightning can contact Serah and Snow in a dream from Valhalla , so can Caius send messages to his past selves to bring together his plan . Having learned of Lightning ' s gambit , Caius takes advantage of Alyssa Zaidelle , whose extended life is a paradox , in Academia 4XX AF . Caius contacts Alyssa in a dream and has her give a booby - trapped artefact to Noel and Serah . When the two use the artefact to open a Time Gate , they are separated in the Historia Crux and end up somewhere within the Void Beyond , an unstable world of chaos that exists in - between the Time Gates . Noel and Serah are ambushed by a future incarnation of Caius who first defeats Noel and places him in a dream world . That Caius is later summoned by one of the Yeuls within the Void Beyond to engage Serah . Stating he is impressed by Serah ' s strength , Caius explains Etro ' s interference with the events of the Day of Ragnarok caused a time distortion that cut Yeul ' s lives short , along with his intent to kill Etro , before impaling Serah and sending her to a dream world of her own . Serah and Noel escape their respective dream worlds and pursue Caius to Academia 500 AF , the time of the prophecy when Caius plans to destroy both the old and new Cocoons so the countless extinguished lives would force Etro ' s gate wide open and let the chaos of Valhalla seep into the mortal realm . As Academia is infected with chaos Caius is able to arrive there from Valhalla . Serah and Noel chase after Caius into the sky on an airship and defeat him as Chaos Bahamut . Caius returns to human form and admits he is impressed by Serah ' s determination to change the future even if it means her death due to being a seeress like Yeul . Caius remarks Noel would have made a worthy Guardian , and says everything he ever did was for Yeul . Believing the Yeuls being born only to die young is meaningless and cruel , Caius reaffirms he will stop at nothing to free them , even if reality itself must be destroyed to achieve it . He transforms into Chaos Bahamut and flies into a wormhole that opens in the sky . Noel and Serah follow Caius into the wormhole and emerge in Valhalla where Caius confronts them on the beach . Noel attempts to convince Caius that Yeul willed to be reborn to see him again , but Caius refuses to listen . After being struck down by Noel , Caius uses the chaos of Valhalla to transform into Jet Bahamut . He launches a ball of fire at Noel and Serah sending them falling into a bottomless abyss beneath Valhalla ' s waves of chaos . The two are saved by Lightning , who sends them to the battlefield where the two defeat Jet Bahamut , along with his supporters , Garnet Bahamut and Amber Bahamut . Having lost the final battle , a weakened Caius returns to human form . He tells Noel that if it is his fault Yeul keeps being reborn , he must be killed for her sake . He claims he had killed Lightning , and says that since time does not flow in Valhalla as it should , the " things that shall happen " in their future have " already been decided " in his past , and he knows how their encounter will end . Caius provokes Noel by attacking Serah . Noel disarms Caius and lunges at him with his sword , but stops at the last second . Caius seizes Noel ' s blade and forces it through his chest to destroy the Heart of Chaos , then collapses and fades away . As revealed in the secret ending , " The Goddess is Dead , " a revived Caius sits on Etro ' s throne in the Void Beyond . Though the Heart of Chaos was destroyed , Caius has obtained a new form of immortality as he became one with the chaos itself since the many incarnations of Yeul desire his continued existence . As elaborated in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Ultimania Omega " , he intended to destroy the world in a way that would minimize any temporal effects ; Caius knew the world would end at 700 AF anyway , and wanted to save Yeul ' s suffering by destroying the world sooner . He watched Noel and Serah ' s journey as they had been playing to his goal from the beginning . Even Serah and Noel ' s actions on alternate timelines converged and concluded with one moment : Etro ' s death . Telling Yeul they are free of their respective curses and can begin anew in a world without Etro , Caius releases the chaos to commence the end of time . Able to appear at the beckoning of the Chaos Yeuls , as seen when he attacked Serah in the Void Beyond , Caius is summoned to fight Lightning when she attempts to rescue Serah ' s soul . Though defeated , Caius ' s existence continues as the boundaries between the mortal and unseen realm mingle . After Noel destroyed the Heart of Chaos within Caius , Etro died and the boundary between the mortal and unseen worlds was destroyed . The Chaos of Valhalla bled into Gran Pulse , merging the two realms into a new world that became known as Nova Chrysalia , where people no longer age and cannot have children . For the next 500 years Caius resides in what remains of Etro ' s Temple in the Wildlands from where the Chaos has been flowing . With the various incarnations of Yeul as his only company , Caius suffers due to his new existence as a personification of the Chaos he unleashed upon the world . Lightning has become the savior of souls tasked with releasing people from their burdens before the oncoming end of the world . She encounters Caius in the temple where he tells her no one there seeks her salvation . He infects her with Chaos and drops her to the temple ' s lowest level . Lightning is surprised he is not dead , and Caius explains " they " are keeping him alive , doomed to haunt the temple ' s halls as it has become a shrine to Chaos . He disappears and Lightning pursues him deeper into the ruins , assisted by the many incarnations of Yeul Caius had protected throughout the centuries , some of whom wish for him to be freed from his suffering , while others admit their love for him has made them unable to let him go . Lightning confronts Caius in the throne room , where he tells her not to waste her time on him , and asks if she seeks revenge for suffering defeat at his hand centuries ago . He refuses salvation from Lightning , but she insists on trying because it ' s what Yeul wants , and believes that freeing him would bring the Chaos under control , but Caius challenges her to take his soul by force . Once defeated , Caius impales himself and shows her he is beyond salvation . He explains Yeul is the unseen Chaos and she has bound him to the dying world as her incarnations are not of one mind : some desire his prolonged suffering to end , while others wish him to remain by their side . He says that there is no place for Yeul in the new world that the god Bhunivelze is creating , and they must remain behind when Nova Chrysalia is destroyed . Caius reveals he is nothing but an empty husk and intends to become a shepherd of the souls wandering in the Chaos . When Lightning asks if it is how he plans to atone for bringing about the end of the world , Caius demands that she leave and disappears . Lightning turns against Bhunivelze when she learns of his true plan to make humanity but emotionless drones who would thus live in " perpetual bliss . " Lightning rallies the souls of humanity to strike him down , and moments after Bhunivelze ' s defeat , Caius appears to Lightning and her friends alongside the many incarnations of Yeul . Caius says the living don ' t need a god but the dead require one , and the Yeuls declare their intent to take Etro ' s place to maintain the flow of life and the balance between the new world and the new unseen realm . Grabbing Noel when he protests the Yeuls ' decision , Caius asks if he would be willing to take Yeul ' s place . In a final act of redemption upon finding Noel ' s answer satisfactory , Caius lets the final incarnation of Yeul depart with Noel to the new world and asks Noel to keep her safe , while he remains with the other Yeuls in the unseen realm . During her interview with Noel and Yeul to uncover the memories of people who remember the " other world , " a reporter named Aoede learns of Caius ' s existence and that he lives in the new unseen realm — what remains of the old world — as a guide for the souls of the dead . Noel mentions that Aoede might meet him should she be on the verge of death . Sometime later , while a war correspondent , Aoede blacks out during a missile attack and finds herself walking in line with a number of other people heading to a sea being watched over by Caius . Believing she has died , Aoede grieves how the free will Lightning and her allies fought for mankind has only made the new world full of hate . Giving Aoede the choice of rebirth or eternal rest , Caius explains that in her world humans decide their own fate , and that she can choose to change the world . Aoede hears Yeul ' s voice asking that Caius reveal the reporter is still alive , as she is led back to the land of the living by Mog . Gameplay . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . Even in his human form , Caius can cast powerful magic and use chaos to suit his needs and assume the form of Chaos Bahamut , and later that of Jet Bahamut . In his human form , Caius is fought by Serah and Noel five times : in Oerba 200 AF , the Void Beyond , A Dying World , Academia 500 AF , and Valhalla . As Chaos Bahamut , Caius is fought by Lightning in Valhalla in the prologue , and by Noel and Serah in Academia 500 AF . With the Paradox Scope activated , defeating Caius will trigger various paradox ending s . If the three battles against Caius activated by the Paradox Scope are counted separately from the six times he is fought during the story and during the " " DLC scenario , Caius holds the record of being the most recurring boss in a single " Final Fantasy " game , with a grand total of nine battles . The number increases to thirteen if one counts the four battles against Chaos Bahamut and Jet Bahamut . The second most recurring boss is Ormi from " Final Fantasy X - 2 " , with seven battles . " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " . Caius is fought as a boss in the Temple of the Goddess on the Wildlands . He has lost his ability to perform an incarnate summoning , but can still summon Bahamut like a regular l ' Cie . Unlike the other main scenario bosses , Caius does not become more powerful if fought on a later . Creation and development . Caius ' s armor was designed by Yusuke Naora , who also designed Serah ' s and Noel ' s outfits . Naora ' s design was chosen after several designs from various members of the development team were drawn and compared to select the best one ( similar to Mog ) . Naora was inspired by Yoshitaka Amano for the look of Caius ' s armor and accessories — Leon from " Final Fantasy II " was particularly inspiring . According to lead writer , Daisuke Watanabe , Caius is a unique villain in the " Final Fantasy " series due to his main objective being to save Yeul , as opposed to trying to destroy the world . Thus Caius doesn ' t necessarily appear as a " bad " person , and he was made to come across as a bewildering enemy to players . According to director Motomu Toriyama , Caius is the strongest ( in terms of abilities ) antagonist of the " Final Fantasy " series . Voice . Caius ' s Japanese voice actor is , while his English voice actor is Liam O ' Brien . Caius shares his English voice actor with Red XIII from the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " , Kain Highwind from the 3D remake version of " Final Fantasy IV " and " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " , Cu Chaspel from " " , and Nobutsuna Kamiizumi from " Bravely Default " . Musical themes . " Caius ' s Theme , " composed by Naoshi Mizuta , is a prominent theme in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , it and its variations playing whenever Caius appears . " Caius ' s Theme " is included in " Promise to the Future , " " Endless Paradox , " " Unseen Abyss " , and the " Closing Credits . " The song is reused in " Lightning Returns : Final Fantasy XIII " . Variations of it are heard in " The Doomed Soul - Caius and Yeul - , " the final boss theme " Almighty Bhunivelze " and the ending theme , " . " Other appearances . " Pictlogica Final Fantasy " . Caius appears as a memoria . " Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade " . Caius is a boss appearing both as a regular Esper class battle during the holiday event " Chaos Bahamut Attacks ! " , and as an area boss in Academia ( Day ) and Academia ( Night ) . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Caius appears in the Japan - exclusive " Final Fantasy " trading card game published by Square Enix . Etymology . Caius is an alternate spelling of Gaius . Coincidentally , an antagonist from " Final Fantasy XIV " uses this alternative spelling . Caius ' s name means " to be sorry " in Russian ( Я каюсь ) , possibly a reference to how he feels apologetic for the fate of Yeul and wants to save her . The name Caius could be a direct or indirect reference to " chaos " for reasons related to his persona and / or attacks . Caius ' s last name , Ballad , could come from " ballade " .