Oerba Oerba [ ɛɹbə ] is a location on Gran Pulse in " Final Fantasy XIII " and " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . It is one of the few urban areas visitable on Pulse , and is the hometown of Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang . Villagers from several different clans had settled in Oerba and all lived together in communities , sharing their houses with the fal ' Cie Anima as the village protector . After the War of Transgression , Oerba was abandoned , left devoid of life other than Cie ' th and other monsters . Daisuke Watanabe , the lead scenario writer for " Final Fantasy XIII " and " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " , has explained in an interview that when the war ended the environment on Pulse was in ruins and human survivors had no alternative but to leave , and this is how Oerba became a ghost town . The village ' s outskirts are covered in a layer of snow - like crystal dust . Although it is not explained how the crystal dust came to be , it could be a result of Oerba ' s proximity to Cocoon . Datalog . " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Fang and Vanille ' s former home , the village of Oerba is located at the northernmost edge of the Gran Pulse mainland . Villagers from several clans shared a communal lifestyle here , honoring the fal ' Cie Anima as their patron and protector . " " Today , what remains of the abandoned village is overrun by Cie ' th and in the process of being swallowed by an encroaching sea of ashen crystal sand dunes . " " Oerba is an abandoned village located in the northern reaches of Pulse . The sand that covers the ground is powdered crystal that fell during the War of Transgression . " " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . " In recent times , large numbers of Cie ' th have been seen in the area . Presumably , they were created from living humans to serve some mysterious fal ' Cie purpose . Cie ' th are former l ' Cie who failed to complete their Focus . " " Oerba is a designated Special Protected Zone , so visitors are not allowed . However , you might get permission from the Academy for an airship flyover . " Story . " Final Fantasy XIII " . After completing the trials of Taejin ' s Tower , Oerba is only a short distance away . While Vanille and Fang recall their hometown covered in flowers , they come to accept it is now a barren land devoid of color . The party is free to explore the village , which includes finding spare parts to repair Bhakti , Vanille ' s pet robot , but when they reach the end of the Rust - eaten Bridge they encounter Galenth Dysley in the form of Serah reciting the hymn of Ragnarok . After failing to trick the party with the imitation Serah , Dysley informs the l ' Cie he has had the resurrected Cid Raines succeed him as Primarch and engineered a back - up plan to destroy Cocoon if the l ' Cie refuse to follow their Focus . Following a battle with Dysley in his true form as Barthandelus , he invites the party to " release Cocoon from her suffering " and departs , leaving them an airship transformed from Menrva . Before their departure , Vanille activates a purple Cie ' th Stone and reads the story of the War of Transgression , which reveals the events behind her and Fang ' s participation in the war , the goddess Etro ' s intervention , and how Barthandelus brought them and Anima within the Pulse Vestige into Cocoon to finish what they had started . With their knowledge of Dysley ' s plan to make Cocoon tear itself apart , the l ' Cie fly Menrva out of Oerba and through a gate into Eden . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . The Academy made Oerba a protected area in memory of Vanille and Fang ' s sacrifice . Centuries later , Oerba is caught within a paradox due to its past and future overlapping causing Temporal Rift s to emerge . After departing from the Yaschas Massif 10 AF , Noel Kreiss , Serah Farron , and Mog arrive at Oerba 200 AF to find the village caught in a paradox and being sucked into a black hole . As they resolve the anomalies , Oerba recovers . Caius and his companion , seeress Yeul , corner Noel and Serah on the roof of the old schoolhouse saying they have been watching them . Caius tells Serah and Noel he knows of their travels through time because of Yeul ' s visions . He engages them in battle seeking to sanction them but before he can kill Noel , Yeul intervenes , saying time has already been changed , and she and Caius leave the area . As Serah , Mog , and Noel explore the Temporal Rifts throughout Oerba at 300 and 400 AF , Mog begins to remember things from his past before he met Lightning in Valhalla and recalls a place called the Ocean of Time . Serah and Noel believe that to be Mog ' s home and offer to help him return there . Completing the last Rift in 400 AF , the trio hears a bunch of moogles on the other side . Mog remembers how he was sucked into a paradox and drifted through the Void Beyond to Valhalla , losing his memories along the way . In the end , Mog decides to stay with Serah . A view of Oerba ' s bridge is seen as an apocalyptic vista in the trial known as the Altar of Judgment in the Luxerion Cathedral . Areas . Oerba represents a concept of the " present " world , contrasting Cocoon ' s futuristic look . There is evidence of living spaces , wind farms , oil rigs , billboards , and a railroad , possibly connecting Oerba to the outside world . A potential reason for the difference between Cocoon ' s futuristic look , and Oerba ' s present day look , is due to Oerba being destroyed over 600 years ago , and so technological advancements in the following years on Cocoon progressed to the more futuristic style , whereas Oerba stayed in ruins and Cie ' th and monsters slowly overtook it . After the Day of Ragnarok when the timeline has been distorted , Oerba is caught in a paradox : the great tree that was in the west side of the village is gone allowing passage , but some doors are locked and can ' t be opened . Seemingly , most of the Ashensand that was leading to Taejin ' s Tower is gone , yet the area is extended by waters lowering near the Deserted Schoolhouse , as well as access to the Rust - eaten Bridge being cut off . A plaza behind Fang and Vanille ' s home is uncovered and free to travel . Quests . " Final Fantasy XIII " . Bhakti . Oerba ' s sole survivor is Bhakti , Vanille ' s pet robot . The player can help fix him by salvaging parts scattered throughout the village . In return , Bhakti will grant valuable items , such as Deceptisol , Platinum Ingots , and Gold Nuggets , as well as tips on where to find secret Cie ' th Stone missions and new areas that the player may not be aware exist . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . In " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " the area of Oerba has numerous Temporal Rift puzzles the player must solve . Musical themes . " Final Fantasy XIII " . " Dust to Dust " plays at the outskirts of Oerba and in the village itself . Like many other tracks , it features female vocals , evoking a sense of nostalgia and longing for times past , and represents the reaction of Fang and Vanille upon returning to their hometown , now a ghost town . " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . " Village and Void " and " Village and Void - Aggressive Mix - " are two tracks associated with Oerba , serving as its background theme in 200 AF and 400 AF . Both were composed by Naoshi Mizuta , with vocals provided by Joelle . " Sulyya Springs " from " Final Fantasy XIII " is the background theme for Oerba 300 AF . Creation and development . Oerba stays abandoned in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 " . The reason for this is that the game designers felt that Oerba holds a symbolic value in " Final Fantasy XIII " as it signifies the end of the protagonists ' journey . Therefore , the developers would have felt uncomfortable in repopulating Oerba or making it busy . There were preliminary plans for an Oerba where Orphan ' s Cradle would have crashed after the events of " Final Fantasy XIII " . Concept art for this area is found in " Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Ultimania Omega " . Other appearances . " Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call " . Oerba appears as the Field Music Sequence for " Dust to Dust . "