Dissidia Final Fantasy: Secretum -Himitsu-

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Secretum - Himitsu - was a special two-time only event, presented in a live recitation of a side-story related to Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, focusing on the warriors Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart, Tidus, Sephiroth, and an amnesiac young man summoned to the war.
The event was held at Nakano Sun Plaza, Tokyo from December 18–19, 2017. The voice actors of their respective characters reprised their roles in the reading.
==Story==
===Premise===
One day, the light in the world began to fade into darkness. Three Warriors of Light, Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart, and Tidus, who were present in the vicinity, were sent out to investigate the light and head for the fading point, where they find a young man suffering from amnesia. Confused by his presence, they learn he was summoned by the gods for a purpose beyond conflict, but before they can know more, their situation turns into the unexpected...
Final Fantasy - An original story presented exclusively, unfolding more of the world of 'Dissidia', where warriors of the cycle continue to gather.
===Stageplay===
The event begins with a narrator explaining about the Phantom Train that ferries the souls of the dead to the afterlife. While the train was traveling through the Void, one of the souls onboard breaks a window and leaps out, descending into World B as a "shooting star". Materia sees the light falling, and orders Cloud, Squall, and Tidus to investigate. The presume it is some sort of summon, but when they arrive at the spot Materia saw the light land, they find an unconscious young man. The man awakens and claims he has no memories, so the three presume he is someone from the previous war who hasn't recovered his memories yet. After a disagreement between Squall and Tidus on if they should trust him or not since they have no idea who he is, the group agrees to take him to see Materia.
Materia denies summoning the man, and both she and the three are skeptical if this man was the light she saw falling, as she sensed great power from from it. Materia asks them to continue investigating and find the source of the power she sensed. Cloud, Squall, and Tidus return to the point they found the man, and he asks to accompany them; Tidus agrees but Squall is still suspicious. Since the man cannot remember his name, Squall reluctantly nicknames him "John" after the alias "John Doe" used for unknown dead persons, though Squall does not explain the meaning behind the unfamiliar name.
In Alexandria, Tidus explains the nature of the war between Materia and Spiritus to John, and while John is surprised he's been caught in a war, Tidus says he assumed he could fight since he carried knives with him. The group moves on to the Cornelia Plains where they encounter manikins, and John hides while the other three defeat them. While Squall scouts the area, Tidus and Cloud explain they are searching for what may be a summon, and the idea strikes a chord with John and he feels it is somehow important to him. 
Squall becomes more suspicious and claims that the summoned warriors no longer lose their memories when fighting in the war, so he believes John is an enemy lying about his amnesia to infiltrate them. Annoyed at Squall's paranoia, John goes off on his own. At the Floating Continent John encounters more manikins, but the trio arrive to help him, having decided to come with him after all. The four agree to travel together, and John thinks to himself that he hopes when he recovers his memories, he does not turn out to be their enemy after all.
On the Phantom Train, Sephiroth, identified as "a man in a black cape", notices that John had something from him when he escaped. Sephiroth rallies the other souls aboard the train and tells them John stole something that he could use to take them to a paradise realm, if they help him reclaim it. The souls force the Phantom Train to derail and return to World B, where Sephiroth escapes the train to begin tracking the thief.
Cloud, Squall, Tidus, and John, see the Phantom Train crash in World B and John falls unconscious, hearing strange voices in his head. Tidus goes to investigate the train shortly before Sephiroth confronts Cloud and Squall, and demands they hand John over to him. Cloud orders Squall to escape with John while he stays to fight Sephiroth. Cloud secretly wonders if either John or Sephiroth is behind what is happening, but he knows he must stop Sephiroth regardless. Cloud draws Sephiroth back to the Cornelia Plains to buy Squall time, and Sephiroth taunts him that the man is keeping secrets from them and he has the source of the mysterious power that Materia sensed, and he is after it the same as them. Cloud refuses to accept that John could be their enemy and asserts he is a friend, and continues to fight.
At the crashed Phantom Train, Tidus finds many angry souls trapped aboard it. He reflects on how the concept is different from how the dead depart to the afterlife in his world, and in thinking about it conjures the spirit of Auron. Auron urges Tidus to convince the souls to accept their death and let go of their hate, or they will be unable to move on and become monsters. He also tells Tidus they believe someone has stolen a treasure the souls could use to go to paradise, and Tidus realizes that John must have taken it. Auron does not know if the treasure exists or if it can do this, but regardless, the dead must remain at rest. Tidus makes an impassioned speech to the captive souls to accept their deaths and it is better to move on than become monsters, and the souls are calmed. Tidus goes to find John while Auron watches over the souls.
In a monologue, John thinks that the cries of the dead reminded him of a woman he loved that lost her memories in an accident, and when her parents rejected him he left and she was killed by an enemy nation. He regrets leaving her behind and has been searching for a "legendary treasure" that can bring the dead back to life so he could see her again. He remembers finding the treasure in a cave and thinks this must be a dream and he has to wake up. As Squall carries John, reflecting it similar to when he carried Rinoa this way, John wakes up and they decide to go back and help Cloud.
Squall and John, and Tidus, arrive at the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. John agrees to show the treasure to Sephiroth and calls out "Flames of Rebirth, Phoenix!" A summonstone he is carrying lights up and the Phoenix appears wreathed in flames. The firebird flies to the Phantom Train and gathers the souls there, and departs into the sky releasing them so they can be reincarnated. Sephiroth, seeing the summonstone was damaged, departs, having lost interest in it. John explains he didn't know he had the stone until he regained his memories. Tidus wonders if he should return to the Phantom Train as well, but since the power of the Phoenix has revived him, he should be safe to continue living. However, the summonstone is too badly damaged to continue using it. 
The group decides to return to Materia and tell her what happened. Along the way they thank each other for their aid, and Squall asks John what his real name is since he has his memories back, and Tidus asks for clarification if he really is a thief. John angrily corrects that he is a "treasure hunter" and announces his name as Locke Cole.
==Voice cast==
Character 	Voice Actor
Locke Cole 	Yūki Ono
Cloud Strife 	Takahiro Sakurai
Sephiroth 	Toshiyuki Morikawa
Squall Leonhart	Hideo Ishikawa
Tidus 	Masakazu Morita
Auron 	Hideo Ishikawa
==Behind the scenes==
The first day of the event took place on December 18, 2017, exactly 30 years since the original Final Fantasy was released. The original Dissidia Final Fantasy was also released on December 18, 2008, in Japan to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Final Fantasy series.
The event foreshadows the additions of Locke and Rinoa to Dissidia NT, who were revealed in 2018. Although the developers discussed Auron as a possible addition to the roster, he was not added by the time active development for the game ceased.
The events of the stageplay imply that Locke died searching for the Phoenix in the Phoenix Cave shortly after finding it, and the Phoenix's power restored him to life and he was returned to the world of Final Fantasy VI alive, when the party found him in the Phoenix Cave. Later in a cutscene in Dissidia NT, Locke mentions meeting Squall to Rinoa, alluding to the stage play.
In an interview with Famitsu magazine, Dissidia NT director Takeo Kujiraoka explained the Sephiroth aboard the Phantom Train was not truly Sephiroth, just a Sephiroth-clone that had taken on his appearance. To reflect this, Toshiyuki Morikawa voiced "Sephiroth" in a different manner than when he normally voices him. Kujiraoka also noted it was a possibility that the Phoenix would be added to NT, but since its summonstone was damaged it was not certain; the summon was ultimately not added.
==External links==
*Official Site
*Yūki Ono's commemorative photo of the event
Category:Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
Category:Promotional campaigns