Ragnarok (Final Fantasy XIII)



Ragnarok is a creature from Final Fantasy XIII. It is the legendary beast that a Pulse l'Cie must transform into in order to bring about the obliteration of Cocoon.

Profile
''Lightning, Snow, and the others saw a phantom vision of this beast upon their branding as l'Cie. In the dream, they witnessed the creature besieging Cocoon's capital of Eden, but whether this was a glimpse of past events or a vision of things yet to come was unclear. What is clear is that Ragnarok is inextricably linked to their Focus. The nature of that Focus, and what must be done to fulfill, it remains to be seen.''

Fated Beast
Some of the fal'Cie of Cocoon and Gran Pulse desire for l'Cie to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon. By doing so, they will be able to bring back the Maker, the deity that created the world. In order to bring back the god they yearned for, the fal'Cie realized that an ideal sacrifice needed to be made - the deaths of millions of Cocoon citizens. Though powerful, Cocoon fal'Cie are prohibited from attempting to harm Cocoon because they are bound to its creation and maintenance. Instead, they use l'Cie as tools and give them the Focus to destroy Cocoon in their place.

This in turn sparked the War of Transgression, putting both humans on Cocoon and Gran Pulse at odds with each other to ensure Ragnarok's coming. Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang were selected from the village of Oerba to become Ragnarok and destroy Cocoon. But Vanille, frightened at the thought of killing millions of innocent people, refused to transform into the beast, and so Fang was forced to become Ragnarok by herself. However, the Goddess took pity on the people of Cocoon and decided to drain Ragnarok of power. Fang's weakened form of Ragnarok managed to leave a huge scar in Cocoon's shell, but she did not have enough strength to completely destroy it. The Goddess then forced both Vanille and Fang into early crystal stasis, their Focus still incomplete. Later, Barthandelus took the Pulse Vestige to Cocoon where they would reawaken years later to finish the job.

Born Anew
Five hundred years later, Barthandelus had taken peaceful political rule over Cocoon as Primarch Galenth Dysley. After they awaken, Vanille remembers their previous Focus, but hides her knowledge from Fang as she cannot recall anything of Ragnarok. Bearing the guilt of Ragnarok within her, Vanille simply goes along with Fang's attempts to revive "their" memories, attacking the Cocoon fal'Cie Kujata. The incident only served to separate the two, Vanille bearing her guilt and looking for a way to escape to Gran Pulse, while Fang joins the Cavalry under Cid Raines.

During the Purge, Vanille boards a train headed for Gran Pulse, meeting Lightning, Hope, Snow, and Sazh after the incident at Hanging Edge flies out of control. The other four are branded by Anima, a Gran Pulse fal'Cie that Barthandelus had hidden along with Vanille and Fang in the piece of Pulse Vestige left on Cocoon. Though tasked with yet another mission to bring about the end of Cocoon, Vanille continues to hide her knowledge of the past from her friends, keeping silent or playing innocent during her journey with Sazh, who harbors anti-Pulse feelings and eventually learned of Vanille's indirect role in his son becoming a l'Cie.

Fang, meanwhile, learns of the other l'Cie after helping to apprehend Snow, and reunites with Vanille and the others upon the Palamecia. There, they also meet Dysley, who reveals himself as Barthandelus and taunts Fang's inability to remember her fate. On Gran Pulse, Fang gradually begins to recall her mission of the past and confronts Vanille, who admits she was hiding the secret so they would not have to transform into the beast again. Barthandelus appears to them once more as they scour the ruined city of Oerba, first taking the disguise of Serah Farron. Serah's shade chants to legend of Ragnarok, begging the party to open their eyes to its inevitability, but they reject her, and Barthandelus reveals his true form in order to convince them by force while stating his back up plan to have Cocoon's people destroy themselves in their stead. After his temporary defeat, Vanille, Fang, and the rest of the party resolve to save Cocoon rather than destroy it.

When the party passes through Edenhall and descends into Orphan's Cradle, Barthandelus orders them one last time to accept their destiny and kill Orphan and the whole of Cocoon. Vanille and Fang refuse, and Barthandelus decides to eliminate them and await new l'Cie. The protagonists prove stronger than him and he sinks into Orphan's pool, his extension Menrva flies into the pool to awaken Orphan, the fal'Cie having merged Barthandelus unto it. After a lengthy battle, Fang begins to waver and decides to begin the transformation; the other party members save Vanille, and are transformed into Cie'th. Vanille pleads with Fang to reject the fate of Ragnarok, but her words are in vain. Fang is only able to morph into an inferior version of the beast, unable to kill Orphan, who resorts to torturing a restored Fang to make her embrace her hatred and assume the intended form.

Just as Vanille seems ready to give in, the other party members will themselves out of Cie'th form and blast Orphan, causing its shell to crumble into its pool as the fal'Cie rises into its true form. The party resolves to defeat Orphan without the aid of Ragnarok, killing it and signaling the end of Cocoon. As Lightning, Snow, Sazh, and Hope rise out of Orphan's Cradle, Vanille and Fang choose to remain at Eden's core and transform into Ragnarok together, bursting out of Cocoon using a volcanic eruption on a Gran Pulse island to slow the structure's descent while enveloping it within crystal. This results with the two trapped beneath Cocoon within the crystal pillar while encouraging the others outside to look toward the future.

Theme
Ragnarok's theme is a haunting melody most prominently featuring a Latin chorus. It references Ragnarok's role to destroy Cocoon.

Trivia

 * Ragnarok's complete form resembles a fusion of Bahamut and Hecatoncheir, Fang and Vanille's respective Eidolons.
 * The rendition of Ragnarok at Pompa Sancta parade slightly resembles Chaos, in his appearence at Dissidia Final Fantasy.