Pulse

Pulse, known as Hallowed Pulse in the Analects and sometimes referred to as the Maker, is a deity in Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy mythology. Pulse is said to have created the world where Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 take place, and it used to be worshiped by many of the tribes inhabiting the world, who named the planet after it, calling it Gran Pulse. Cocoon inhabitants refer to the world of Gran Pulse simply as Pulse. In Final Fantasy XIII, though its appearance is brief, Pulse is a figure with a half covered face of a man.

Datalog
''VII. Hallowed Pulse''
 * ''It was the Great and Hallowed Pulse who, seeking to expand divine domain, parted the chaos and fashioned realm within; made fal'Cie, and charged them with this world's completion.
 * ''The fal'Cie, anxious to please the hand that shaped them, labored devotedly at the task they had been given. They made l'Cie of men so that they, too, might be able to aid the greater cause. Men, in turn, offered praise and prayer to Hallowed Pulse, naming their great land in honor of its architect.
 * Yet still the architect departed.
 * -- On the Nature of Fal'Cie

Theological Attributes
As a god, Pulse's aspects and traits that which he rules over and associates with can be seen much throughout Nova Crystallis, in the worlds that he created and how he manages them. Pulse's aspects hold an affinity to the earth and the material world, being tasked to delve and search through the universe by corporeal means to find Etro's Gate.

In aspects of phenomena, Pulse appears to abide by the principles of Darwinism and the more primal aspects of nature, where only the strongest survive. Seemingly inspired by this, Pulse's ways are often stand alone and tests of might and will amongst each individual, where upon granting them his graces and blessings, will leave onwards for his beneficiaries to fend for themselves. As the result of this, his perception ranges considerably, as a provider and hallowed god of the earth, to a tyrannical deity and dark god who pits all in savagery and feral barbarism.

Mythology
According to the official Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology, the god Bhunivelze took control of the mortal world after banishing his mother Mwynn to the Unseen Realm. To find the gateway and take control of both realms, Bhunivelze created Pulse to search land, sea and sky for Etro's Gate. Etro was originally created to aid Pulse, but her similarity to Mwynn caused her to be discarded. To aid in his duty, Pulse created multiple fal'Cie before vanishing from the world. Since Pulse's departure, humans came to revere the deity and he was often identified as the "Maker".

Final Fantasy XIII
While the Pulse fal'Cie continued with their objective, the Lindzei fal'Cie who oversee Cocoon scheme to reveal Etro's Gate by the means of a mass sacrifice to bring back their creators. The Cocoon fal'Cie use Pulse l'Cie to see that goal through and when Anima brands Lightning, Snow, Sazh and Hope as its l'Cie, they and Vanille are brought before Pulse in a Historia Crux-like dimension, referred to as the gods' domain in the Ultimania. Emerging from his crystal, Pulse brands the l'Cie with its tendrils.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Pulse is mentioned by Lightning and Fang when the latter states Pulse used the people of the world and threw them away similar to the way Lindzei treated the people of Cocoon. Pulse appears during Lightning's battle with Bhunivelze, transformed into a half of a twin scythe for his creator to use. Pulse is presumably destroyed during the battle.

Final Fantasy Type-0/Agito
Pulse is the master of Arecia Al-Rashia and tasked her to find Etro's Gate in Orience by picking out twelve people from the Peristylium Suzaku and see if the quality of their souls is enough to become Agito and complete their task. Arecia created the crystals of Orience, as evidenced by their chosen l'Cie bearing the brand of Pulse. The crystals continue this function during the 600,104,971 cycles of war, which are spiritually depicted in Agito.

The armistice in the the era of Type-0, the 600,104,972nd repeat of the cycle, was proclaimed by three of Orience's major nations as "in the name of the God Pulse", noted by Celestia quoting from the Fabula Conventions. During the coming of Finis, Class Zero, Arecia's chosen instruments, are given the option of becoming l'Cie to fight against the Lulusath Army. While in the previous cycles the twelve accepted the role, the present group refuses it and defeats the l'Cie Arbiter of Lulusath, freeing Orience from the cycle.

Trivia

 * The sound of church bells heard when the party enters the dark realm where they meet Pulse is also heard in Final Fantasy XIII-2 whenever the world is engulfed by chaos; this is seen during the scenes where Lightning is taken to Valhalla, and in the end of the game. The bells toll thirteen times, an allusion to the number 13, a recurring theme in the whole of Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. In its concept art it can be seen Pulse has church bells attached to its body.
 * When Pulse brands the party as l'Cie in Final Fantasy XIII, Pulsian script floats in the air. When deciphered, the text reads words like "variable", "average", "multiplication" and "000 number".