Ragnarok ( Final Fantasy XIII ) Ragnarok is a creature from " Final Fantasy XIII " . It is the legendary beast a Pulse l ' Cie must transform into to bring about the obliteration of Cocoon . Datalog . " Lightning , Snow , and the others saw a phantom vision of this beast upon their branding as l ' Cie . In the dream , they witnessed the creature besieging Cocoon ' s capital of Eden , but whether this was a glimpse of past events or a vision of things yet to come was unclear . What is clear is that Ragnarok is inextricably linked to their Focus . The nature of that Focus , and what must be done to fulfill it , remains to be seen . " Message of the Orbs " The most famous of the prophecies left by the seeress Paddra Nsu - Yeul concerns the descent of the monster Ragnarok in the great battle for Cocoon . " " Long before this came to pass , the seeress named the two ' sisters ' who would summon the beast . ' They shall come from the far north , and the black - haired one shall be of the family Yun , and the red - haired one of the family Dia . ' The truth of the prophecy was later confirmed by the priests of Oerba . " The Book of Haerii " This is the prophecy told by Lachesis , messenger of the magic world . " " Ragnarok the beast shall bring down Cocoon . After the War of Transgression , two girls from the far north shall come to Cocoon , the nest of Lindzei , and transform into the beast that destroys it . Until the end of time , this day shall be known as the Day of Ragnarok . " Story . Fated Beast . Some of the fal ' Cie of Cocoon and Gran Pulse desire for l ' Cie to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon . By doing so , they hope to summon Etro ' s gate and be reunited with the Maker , the . To bring back their Maker the fal ' Cie need an ideal sacrifice — the deaths of millions of Cocoon citizens . Though powerful , Cocoon fal ' Cie are prohibited from harming Cocoon because they are bound to its creation and maintenance . Instead , they use Pulse l ' Cie who are given a Focus to destroy Cocoon . This sparked the War of Transgression six hundred years before " Final Fantasy XIII " , putting both humans on Cocoon and Gran Pulse at odds with each other to ensure Ragnarok ' s coming . Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang were selected from the village of Oerba to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon , but Vanille never transformed into the beast , forcing Fang to become Ragnarok alone . As Fang ' s incomplete form of Ragnarok left a huge scar on Cocoon ' s shell , Etro took pity on the people of Cocoon and drained Ragnarok of power before placing Vanille and Fang into early crystal stasis , their Focus still incomplete . Later , Barthandelus took the Pulse Vestige to Cocoon where the pair would reawaken hundreds of years later to finish the job . Born Anew . Six hundred years later , Barthandelus had taken peaceful political rule over Cocoon as Primarch Galenth Dysley . After awakening from crystal stasis Vanille remembers their previous Focus , but hides her knowledge from Fang as the latter cannot recall anything of Ragnarok . Vanille goes along with Fang ' s attempts to revive " their " memories , attacking the Cocoon fal ' Cie Kujata . The incident separates the two , Vanille looking for a way to escape to Gran Pulse , while Fang joins the Cavalry under Cid Raines . During the Purge , Vanille boards a train headed for Gran Pulse , meeting Lightning , Hope , Snow , and Sazh after the incident at Hanging Edge flies out of control . The other four are branded by Anima with the Focus to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon , the same fal ' Cie that used to reside in Fang and Vanille ' s home town of Oerba and originally branded the pair . Barthandelus had hidden Anima along with Vanille and Fang in the Pulse Vestige left on Cocoon . Vanille continues to hide her knowledge and later reunites with Fang and everyone else upon the " Palamecia " . The group meets Dysley , who reveals himself as Barthandelus and taunts Fang ' s inability to remember her fate . On Gran Pulse , Fang confronts Vanille , who admits she was hiding the secret so they would not have to transform into the beast again . Barthandelus appears to them as they scour the ruined city of Oerba , first taking the disguise of Serah Farron who chants to legend of Ragnarok . Barthandelus reveals his true form to convince them by force , while stating his back up plan to have Cocoon ' s people destroy themselves in their stead . Vanille , Fang , and the rest of the party resolve to save Cocoon rather than destroy it . When the party passes through Edenhall and descends into Orphan ' s Cradle , Barthandelus orders them to accept their destiny and kill Orphan and the whole of Cocoon . They refuse , and Barthandelus decides to eliminate them and await new l ' Cie . The protagonists prove stronger than him and Barthandelus sinks into Orphan ' s pool , and his extension , Menrva , flies into the pool to awaken Orphan , the fal ' Cie having assimilated Barthandelus unto its shell . After a lengthy battle , Fang wavers and begins the transformation ; the other party members save Vanille , and are transformed into Cie ' th . Vanille pleads with Fang to reject the fate of Ragnarok , but Fang morphs into an inferior version of the beast , unable to kill Orphan , who resorts to torturing a restored Fang to make her embrace her hatred and transform into Ragnarok again . Vanille rejects Orphan when asked to become Ragnarok , and the other party members come out of Cie ' th form and blast Orphan , crumbling its shell into its pool as the fal ' Cie rises into its true form . As Orphan has shown its true colors as an enemy of Cocoon , the party resolves to defeat Orphan without Ragnarok ' s aid . With Orphan no longer keeping Cocoon airborne , the floating continent begins to fall . Vanille and Fang transform into Ragnarok together and smash through Cocoon ' s shell and use an erupting basin of lava on Gran Pulse to form a column of volcanic rock . Ragnarok envelops the floating continent in crystal , saving the world with Vanille and Fang crystallized within the crystal pillar . Creation and development . Ragnarok , like the Eidolons , was designed to have connections to the Goddess Etro , despite not being her creation . It incorporated design elements from several Eidolons , such as the many arms of Hecatoncheir , frills from Brynhildr , and Alexander ' s crown . Its incomplete form was designed as a fusion between Fang and the complete Ragnarok . Musical themes . Ragnarok ' s theme is a haunting melody most prominently featuring a Latin chorus . It references Ragnarok ' s role to destroy Cocoon . Etymology and symbolism . In the " Final Fantasy XIII " mythology Ragnarok is to bring the destruction of the world , which the fal ' Cie believe will bring about the Maker ' s return and thus remake the world anew , similar to the Norse legend . The death of the Cocoon fal ' Cie after Cocoon ' s fall can also be seen as similar to the gods ' death in Ragnarök in Norse mythology . The characters of Fang and Vanille are based on the Ragnarök myth of Líf ( " life " ) and Lífþrasir ( " eager for life " ) — the only humans who will survive Ragnarok . They sleep through the destruction of the earth and upon awakening will find the earth green and verdant again . will become the progenitors of a new race of humans , and their descendants will inhabit the world . This is congruent with the idea that Fang was originally envisioned as a male character .