Exdeath



Exdeath, also known as X-Death, ExDeath or Exodus, is the main antagonist and the final boss of Final Fantasy V. According to Ghido, Exdeath, despite his knightly appearance, was once, and still is, to an extent, a tree from the Great Forest of Moore, but 500 years prior to the main storyline, the said tree was used to seal the soul of the evil necromancer Enuo and it was eventually turned into a dark creature with a life of it's own.

Story
The original Warriors of Dawn, Galuf, Xezat, Kelger and Dorgann sealed Exdeath within the crystals for many years, until his dark influence caused the crystals to shatter, and in the Ronka Ruins, he was finally released from his seal when the Earth Crystal was shattered. He then teleported himself to his castle in Galuf's homeworld. The Warriors of Light followed him, but were captured soon after that, in order to keep Galuf from progressing any further in the siege against his castle. Eventually Exdeath made an example of what happens to those who did not support his unknown cause when he destroyed Ghido's island. It is revealed later by that what Exdeath seeks resides in the Great Forest of Moore, his original birthplace. When the warriors break the seals that binded what Exdeath sought, they found that they were truly the crystals, and they had just done Exdeath's dirty work. He then used the power of the crystals to torture the Warriors of Light, but Galuf resisted. Powered by hope, Galuf was seemingly unstoppable in the battle against Exdeath. However, after Exdeath was defeated and retreated, Galuf died, and Krile Mayer Baldesion became Warrior of Light in his stead.

Exdeath was soon confronted at his castle, where he was apparently defeated. But soon, Exdeath appeared again, disguising himself as a splinter in Krile's hand. Exdeath's plan was then revealed: to control The Void originally created by Enuo and in the process returning the world to a state of chaos. Eventually, Exdeath gained partial control of the Void, and managed to merge the two worlds together as they were originally meant to be, and the Void absorbed some of the locations as well. After collecting the Sealed Tomes and unsealing the Sealed Weapons of Castle Kuza, the Warriors of Light descended into the Void, where they defeated the final Demons of the Rift and finally confronted Exdeath, now transformed back into a monstrous tree, in the Interdimensional Rift. After a heated battle, Exdeath himself was absorbed by the Void, and became Neo Exdeath; a being of hatred, created to bring ruin to all. After a long final battle, Exdeath was finally no more, and was sealed again for all time.

Battle
Exdeath is fought twice in the course of Final Fantasy V.

Other Appearances

 * The Esper Exodus from Final Fantasy XII and Totema Exodus from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are similar to Exdeath's Japanese name. The Esper Exodus resembles Exdeath's knightly form with tree like qualities, while the Totema pays homage to his tree form.
 * ExDeath appears among other villains on the poster for Dissidia -Final Fantasy-, but he has yet to be seen in game. A silhouette highly resembling his appears along with the other villains in the latest trailer, however.