The Interdimensional Rift (Final Fantasy XVI)

The Interdimensional Rift is a "place beyond space and time" in Final Fantasy XVI related to the heart of Drake's Spine and the Ultima that is the true form for this Mothercrystal. The Interdimensional Rift is a dark void full of structures floating in mid-air, and no apparent end to the landscape or an entrance. Humanoid statues appear fused into the floating structures. It is an unrevisitable location.
The rift looks different from the "pocket dimensions" other Ultimas of their collective had pulled Clive Rosfield into before, such as before Typhon the Transgressor at Drake's Head, in that the Interdimensional Rift has matter floating about, and is shrouded in darkness. The in-game lore implies that the rift exists inside Ultima's mind and was created by Ultima.
Interdimensional Rift is a recurring name in the Final Fantasy series for a location lodged from geographical continuity of the world. It first appeared in Final Fantasy V.
==History==
Clive and Joshua Rosfield made their way to the last Mothercrystal on the Twins, Drake's Spine in Stonhyrr, the capital of Waloed. The bridge to the Mothercrystal was guarded by an army of Akashic, as the entire nation of Waloed had turned as a result of Ultima's Primogenesis. Jill Warrick, Dion Lesage, and other Cursebreakers arrived to aid them on Midadol Telamon's ship, the Enterprise, and were to hold down the army while Clive and Joshua continued on. Before the brothers could set foot into the Mothercrystal, they were pulled into a void and disappeared, their loyal frost wolf, Torgal, leaping into the void after them.
They appeared in an otherworldly dimension where various structures floated about in space, making footpaths for the pair to advance toward the platform where they met Ultima face to face. As the dimension lacked natural light, the brothers used a fireball generated by Clive to navigate their way around the area. Ultima addressed the pair, having been the one to "invite" them to his abode, and explained the plan the Ultima collective had for Clive, their "Mythos", and revealed Ultima as mankind's creator, who thus commanded their subservience. Ultima explained his species's past as well as not only their role in discovering magic, but also how that created the Blight that made locating Valisthea and creating humanity necessary. Ultima went on to tell that after he had gone to rest, humanity had committed their first sin by "awakening" and fighting among themselves for more. Ultima made clear that despite what he led Barnabas Tharmr to believe earlier, he had no intention of sparing humanity due to being too vexed at their developing wills of their own, and only sought out Mythos.
Clive and Joshua rebelled against the self-appointed god of mankind, who fought them as Ifrit Prime, apparently his former physical body, a dark version of Clive and Joshua's combined Eikon form, Ifrit Risen. Clive and Joshua persevered and Ifrit Prime was defeated, destroying the Mothercrystal, and leaving Joshua looking after a weakened Clive. Ultima warped them back out to Stonhyrr after condemning Clive for rejecting his destiny as Mythos in favor of "Logos", as well as hinting at his plans to show Clive the "true meaning of suffering".
Later on in Origin, Clive and Joshua learned that eight of the Ultima collective had become the hearts of the eight Mothercrystals of Valisthea, and Ultima had wanted them destroyed to free his kin; when Clive and Joshua defeated Ifrit Prime inside the rift, they did destroy the crystal but also freed the Ultima from serving as its heart.
==Enemies==
Clive and Joshua fight Ifrit Prime inside the rift, a dark version of the brothers' Ifrit Risen.
==Musical themes==
"Bow" plays as the background music in the Interdimensional Rift.
==Behind the scenes==
The exact nature of the Interdimensional Rift is not explained, but appears related to the Ultima who serves as the heart of Drake's Spine. The Ultimas act as a collective, so when speaking to any of them, Clive and Joshua are in communication with all of them.
The Interdimensional Rift first appeared in Final Fantasy V as the final dungeon, a place lodged from the normal geography of the world where the power of the Void is sealed. Places named Interdimensional Rift have continued to appear in the series as mysterious liminal spaces that defy the laws of physics, often with the possibility to traverse to other worlds via them. The Ultima species in Final Fantasy XVI is said to have journeyed to Valisthea on the Origin from elsewhere, but whether this is related to the Interdimensional Rift, is unknown. Ultima displays the ability to pull Clive to pocket dimensions, but it appears that his physical body does not always make the jump during these instances, such as at Phoenix Gate, or the final battle against Ultimalius; however, when Clive and Joshua are teleported to the Interdimensional Rift, they are physically transported there as the others see them vanish in front of their very eyes.
When Ultima invites the brothers into the rift, he calls it "our darkness". This could be the space where the Ultima's consciousness is while their essence back in the normal reality serves as the Mothercrystal's heart. The Active Time Lore calls it "the shadowy depths of his fractured mind", as Ultima at this point is still divided. This suggests that anything in the rift is created from Ultima's mind or imagination. However, the Interdimensional Rift does not disappear after Drake's Spine shatters and Ifrit Prime is defeated, suggesting it is a space that exists independent of Ultima, who may have merely been inhabiting it. On the other hand, while it does not disappear, it does begin to collapse just before Ultima warps them out. Ifrit Prime lies dormant inside the rift, which Ultima momentarily quickens to battle the brothers, meaning the location could be where the Ultimas cast-aside corporeal bodies are left, however, later on multiple bodies of Ifrit are shown "sleeping" inside Origin, instead. When Ultima uses the body, it behaves similar to when subjects become Akashic in aetherfloods, flaying its limbs and looking up as aether bursts around it.
Statues inside the rift include a four-armed one assumed to represent Ultima, as he has four arms, and some two-armed humanoid figures, assumed to represent the offspring Ultima created.
Dormant Ifrit body from FFXVI.png|A dormant body.
Ultima and a statue from FFXVI.png|Four-armed statue.
Ifrit Prime gains control from FFXVI.png|Ifrit Prime bursts with aether.
==Citations==
Category:Locations in Final Fantasy XVI