Exdeath / Dissidia Exdeath is one of the villains fighting for the side of Chaos in " Dissidia Final Fantasy " and " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Representing " Final Fantasy V " , he was once a tree living within the sentient Great Forest of Moore . He is now a warlock who controls the power of the Void , a nothingness that can swallow space in seconds . His movements are slow , but he can use his teleportation ability to close in on his enemies . Exdeath is allied with Kefka , Kuja , and the Cloud of Darkness , and the four work together to destroy the world . With Kuja ' s assistance , he seeks to trap and combat his rival , Bartz , who often flees from him . While Bartz is his rival in the Light to All storyline , his main rival in " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s Treachery of the Gods storyline is Kain , whom he pursues to find the location of the Warriors of Cosmos that Kain knocked out . Profile . Appearance . Exdeath ' s appearance in " Dissidia " is virtually unchanged from his Yoshitaka Amano artwork and in - game battle sprite in " Final Fantasy V " . Exdeath wears a sky blue suit of armor with a horned helmet , spiked shoulders , and a long blue cape . His helmet is topped with a two - ended plume and has a thin opening . His armor is decorated with jewels , gold trim , and beads . Although he is a warlock , Exdeath carries a sword . In his first alternate costume , " Santalum Robe " , Exdeath ' s armor is colored a lighter blue - green shade , based on of Exdeath ' s Soul , a palette swap of him faced in " Final Fantasy V " . Exdeath ' s second alternate outfit , " Ebony Robe " , is based on of Neo Exdeath . He has a yellow and blue cape and white skin , revealing gold - lined black armor with yellow sashes around his waist connected to a blue gemstone . Exdeath has a demonic face , gray hair , and curved yellow horns with fin - like appendages emerging from their bases . His EX Mode is based on of Neo Exdeath ' s sprite . The gold colorings on his armor turn brown , his hair is brown and styled differently , his cape is purple , and his horns turn red and grow larger . In the " Battle Tips " menu , Penelo implies this is Exdeath ' s appearance underneath his armor , saying " His face is pretty . . . scary . . . " Exdeath ' s manikin version , Fallacious Tree , is cyan . Story . Treachery of the Gods . Prior to the twelfth conflict , Exdeath found the portal that unleashed the manikins into World B and regained most of his memories , although he sees no point in divulging them when the other heroes don ' t remember . Exdeath appears with Garland at the Chaos Shrine shortly after Lightning ' s battle with Kain , and implies that Bartz is not the first Warrior of Cosmos Kain betrayed . He decides to pursue Kain to learn the location of his allies and later appears to battle him . Following his defeat , Exdeath conjures several manikins to attack Kain . Later , alongside Golbez , he appears before the surviving warriors of Cosmos and tells them that the level of manikins is low in the area . The warriors realize they are going to attack Cosmos and hurry to stop them , but Kain stays behind . When Exdeath attempts to summon the manikins to his assistance , he realizes his control over the manikins has been nullified by Golbez , realizing Golbez has betrayed the Warriors of Chaos . Exdeath fights Kain but loses , then gloats that he will find nothing but a complete demise with his allies as he fades away . Thirteenth cycle . Exdeath appears before Onion Knight and Terra while they are searching for the their Crystals , seeking someone to fight to alleviate his boredom . The Onion Knight is intimidated and meekly asks him to leave them alone , claiming they are too weak to be worthy opponents . Exdeath agrees to spare them , but warns the Onion Knight that cowards will not find the Crystals . Exdeath meets with Kefka shortly after , telling him that Terra acts of her own will now and likely will not be swayed back to Chaos ' s side . Exdeath finds Golbez speaking to his younger brother , Cecil , telling him about the Crystals . With Exdeath intent on executing Golbez for his treachery , Cecil defends his brother and defeats Exdeath , claiming Golbez is different from him . Exdeath laughs and says that light and darkness share the same root , and departs . Under Kefka ' s suggestion , Kuja recruits Exdeath to assist him in their plans for Bartz and Zidane . Exdeath weaves a fake Crystal and leaves it for Bartz to find . Though he finds Golbez interfering , Exdeath lets it pass as he reveals his goal is a " true ending " to the conflict . After Zidane is teleported away by the fake Crystal , Exdeath confronts Bartz and Squall as they run off , conjuring manikins to attack them . Exdeath pursues the two to the Interdimensional Rift where Bartz engages him and wins . Exdeath fades away , and Bartz ' s Crystal manifests from his chocobo feather good luck charm . When Cosmos is destroyed , Exdeath and Kefka appear before the Warriors of Cosmos and explain that by collecting the Crystals they weakened Cosmos , as the power of the Crystals is the power of Cosmos herself , allowing Chaos to destroy her . As they fade away , Exdeath gleefully explains he shall return the world to the Void . The heroes encounter Exdeath in the rift , who compliments the Crystals ' strength . After being defeated , Exdeath fades into nothingness , delighting in his true demise while declaring the Warriors will follow suit soon enough . Official Quests . During the twelfth cycle , in " Lightning ' s Quest 012 : One Can Fight Together " , Exdeath attacks Lightning while she is musing over the memories stirred by Firion ' s wild rose , mocking her reliance on a flower to regain her memories . Yuna assists Lightning in defeating Exdeath , who retreats . In " Sephiroth ' s Quest 012 : The Hero ' s Memory " Exdeath tells Sephiroth that the manikins are hollow shells found in the Rift , information that motivates Sephiroth to kill himself to determine the true nature of the cycle and the purification of fallen warriors . Exdeath is briefly mentioned in " Kain ' s Quest 012 : A Dragoon ' s Betrayal " , when Kain thinks his plan to defeat Lightning and put her to sleep has to be delayed , as Exdeath ' s pursuit runs the risk he will be followed to where he is keeping the other defeated warriors safe . During an unspecified cycle in " Gilgamesh ' s Quest 000 : End of a Hero ' s Delusion " , Gilgamesh re - enters World B and begins looking for Bartz . Finding Exdeath , Gilgamesh struggles to remember him and comes to think Exdeath is Enkidu , and Gilgamesh joyfully battles his " old friend " to celebrate the reunion . Gilgamesh ' s memories soon return , and Exdeath mocks his amnesia . They battle again , and Gilgamesh is consumed by the Rift , Exdeath declaring it is a suitable fate for him . Gameplay . In battle , Exdeath is described as an Entropic Adversary . Exdeath ' s offensive Bravery attacks are slow and weak , but rather than be aggressive , Exdeath uses several powerful guards to block opposing attacks and launch swift , powerful counterattacks . Exdeath ' s guard attacks vary in effectiveness , but overall he can block almost any attack . Exdeath is able to teleport , which somewhat compensates for his slow movement . His HP attack Delta Attack doubles as another blocking attack , and his other two HP attacks are usable as counterattacks . All of Exdeath ' s guard attacks have the same counterattacks , and he can use any of his counterattacks when guarding regardless of if he has them equipped as normal attacks or not . When using any of the following counterattacks , Exdeath attacks much quicker than if he used them as normal attacks . In " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " , Exdeath can cancel any of his HP attacks into his guard attacks , and can combo Reverse Polarity into one of his counterattacks if it damages the opponent . Boss . In " Dissidia Final Fantasy " , Exdeath is fought in Destiny Odyssey IV and V , Shade Impulse , Distant Glory , and Inward Chaos . In " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " , he is fought in Indiscernible Truth , Report # 6 , Guidance of the Moon , A Treasure Hunt , and Conclusion of the Cycle chapters of Story Mode . EX Mode . Exdeath ' s EX Mode is Power of the Void , and is his tree form as seen in the second to last battle of " Final Fantasy V " . While in EX Mode Exdeath gains the ability " Speed Guard . " This decreases the recovery time from his guard attacks and lets him perform twice as many counterattacks when he successfully blocks an attack with them . Exdeath ' s EX Burst is Power of the Void in " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " — in " Dissidia Final Fantasy " , his EX Burst is The laws of the universe mean nothing ! . The player must hold to reduce an energy gauge to 0 % as Exdeath conjures the power of the Void around him and the opponent . If the player releases too early or too late , Exdeath will cast a more powerful version of Grand Cross . If the player releases the button exactly as the gauge hits 0 % , Exdeath will use Neo Almagest , casting the opponent into the Void and sealing the entrance between his hands as the screen fades to black . Equipment . Exdeath can equip Rods , Staves , Shields , Gauntlets , Helms , Light Armor , and Heavy Armor . In " Dissidia 012 " , Exdeath can also equip Swords , Greatswords , and Large Shields .