Cie'th

Cie'th [siːθ] (シ骸, Shi-gai, lit. Cie corpses) are crystallized monsters formed when a l'Cie fails in his or her Focus, a mission given by the divine fal'Cie. This also happens if time runs out for completing the Focus. The l'Cie loses all the humanity within them and crystals cover and twist their body. Their heart is sealed in endless despair, a fate far more torturous than death. This fate is also the reason why becoming a l'Cie is considered a curse.

It is said that the rate at which a l'Cie becomes a Cie'th depends on their psychological state. The more panicked and distressed a l'Cie is while completing their Focus, the faster they will turn into a Cie'th. Over the course of the game, Oerba Yun Fang reveals that as time runs out, their l'Cie mark sprouts more and more arrows and eventually an eye, and when the eye is fully opened, they are transformed.

Most Cie'th have no emotions, intelligence, or goals, they just live trapped inside their crystallized bodies. They have long claws instead of hands, but they retain the facial features of their past selves. A pulsating red light in their chest keeps them alive.

It is possible for Cie'th to still complete their Focus, in which case they would still transform into crystals. Over the course of years, the energy of a Cie'th may dry out, in which case it would turn into a crystalline tombstone, unable to move about anymore, but still having the ability to communicate and ask others to complete their Focus for them.

There are a few types of Cie'th: The Ghouls and the larger Ghasts are two of these types. There are also larger, white Cie'th called Sacrifices late in the game. In Orphan's Cradle, there is also a boss fight with an aerial Cie'th called Wladislaus. Also, many of the missions on Pulse have monstrous Cie'th bosses. there are also Cei'th, like Vetala, that apear to be multiple former l'Cie merged into one, with 2 human faces, spines, and Cie'th eye marks visible on them.

There is a very powerful group of Cie'th known as The Undying who have a unique appearance compared to the random Cie'th you encounter. These Cie'th defy the will of the fal'Cie that made them into l'Cie and are filled with hatred because of it. They have an intense hatred for everything that lives. Completing a mission which has one of these Cie'th as a mark normally allow you to access a previously closed-off area, except for the first and last marks which initiate and finish the series respectively.