Dark Kain

Dark Kain Highwind is a character from the world of Final Fantasy IV. He is the manifestation of the darkness within Kain Highwind, and represents all of Kain's anger and jealousy towards his friend Cecil Harvey.

Known as Kain?, it also appears in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years working for the Mysterious Girl. Throughout the game he is thought to be Kain Highwind, but is in fact his evil side. After the real Kain failed his mission upon Mount Ordeals, this evil form was created, and it sided with the Mysterious Girl. He is temporarily playable during the course of the game.

Personality
Because of being Kain's dark side, he holds a powerful hatred towards Cecil and his mission in The After Years is to end his life at any cost. He is also a very inhuman person, as he tries to destroy Damcyan after stealing their crystal. While working with the Mysterious Girl, he shows little concern about her plan or what use she has for the crystals.

Although he is Kain's dark side, he has shown to be a good person at several points of the game. He saves Porom and her party from monsters, and shows some compassion to the Baron guards that accompany him to Damcyan in The After Years, telling them that even though they are mind-controlled, they should still value their lives. The reason for this is unknown, but it's possible some good aspects of the real Kain remained. Like Kain, he also remains loyal to Baron as a country, claiming that it was always his homeland.

In his solo fight against Rosa and Edward, he also refuses to harm Rosa: any attempt to attack her will automatically miss. This may be evidence that even Kain's dark side still harbors feelings for her.

Final Fantasy IV
Dark Kain appears during Kain's trial in the Lunar Ruins, which takes place in an alternate version of Baron. There, a figure in a black cloak has attacked people with a lance in the night, and escapes authorities by leaping across rooftops. The only clue to the crime is a blood-soaked lance Kain finds in his room at the inn. After more crimes, the lance continues to be found in Kain's room, which coupled with the assailant's reported jumping abilities cause Kain to be arrested as the culprit. Kain eventually apprehends a guard as the perpetrator, but returns to his room to find the blood-soaked lance once again. Dark Kain contacts Kain telepathically, and tells him it cannot end until Cecil is dead. Kain realizes that Cecil is in danger, and follows Cecil into the Serpent Road, where they are teleported to a mirrored chamber. Kain finds Cecil unconscious and Rosa tied up, when Dark Kain emerges from the mirrors and declares himself the embodiment of Kain's deep-seated dark desires, and the world of the trial is one he has created for himself. Dark Kain tempts Kain to use the blood-soaked lance to kill Cecil and claim Rosa. If the player accepts, Kain absorbs his dark side and kills Cecil, failing his trial. If the player refuses, Dark Kain grabs the lance and attacks Kain. They battle, and Dark Kain transforms into Lunar Bahamut, but Kain manages to defeat him. Departing from his trial, Kain returns to the real Cecil and is questioned about what happened in his trial, but Kain does not tell him.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Dark Kain first appears on Mount Ordeals where he defeats the real Kain in battle. He later rescues Porom, a Black Mage, and a White Mage from monsters, and together, they travel to Mysidia, only to find the city under siege by the Mysterious Girl's army. After finding out that the Mysterious Girl was after the Mysidian's Crystal, he steals it and offers it to the Girl in exchange for her taking him to Baron through the Devil's Road. When they reach Baron, Dark Kain joins the Mysterious Girls cause to retrieve the world's Crystals, and in return she will give him Cecil. Dark Kain then leads an army of possessed Baron soldiers to invade Fabul, and battles Yang Fang Leiden and Ursula in the Crystal Room. Despite their efforts, Dark Kain still retrieves the Crystal. He then leads his men to invade Damcyan, and Dark Kain enters the castle alone to negotiate with Edward, the ruler of Damcyan. When the negotiation fails, Dark Kain orders his men to take the Crystal by force. In retaliation, Edward unleashes a horde of Bombs, killing most of Dark Kain's men. Rosa then enters, and helps Edward to fight Dark Kain but he end ups winning his battle with Edward. He kidnaps Rosa and takes her to Baron so she could see him while he kills Cecil but he encounters Ceodore, The Hooded Man, Cid, and Edward. The Hooded Man reveals himself as the real Kain, and the one committing these crimes was actually his dark side. Dark Kain battles his other side but lost in the end and becomes one with Kain once again. By overcoming the darkness within himself Kain becomes a Holy Dragoon.

Equipment and Stats
For the brief time that the player controls Dark Kain in The After Years, he is a relatively strong character with sufficient stats and equipment. He can still use Kain's Jump, and has access to the Wind Spear, a fairly good weapon that can be unequipped for use by other characters, he also has a full set of Mythril Equipment, a good set for that moment of the game. The player can use him for a few sequences in the main story, or most of Porom's Tale. Despite the fact that Dark Kain has some MP, there are no skills or Band abilities for him to use it with.

When Porom's party is saved by Dark Kain on Mount Ordeals, he is seen using an attack which defeats all the enemies in one turn. The attack is not named and cannot even be used by the player.

Battle
Dark Kain is fought as a boss in Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, facing Kain in a final showdown in Baron Castle.

Dark Kain also has a battle sprite in Kain's trial in Final Fantasy IV, which appears during the beginning of their battle. However, he is not a true enemy and does not appear in the bestiary. He cannot be killed, unless he is struck by a tornado from the Abel's Lance. He can, however, take damage, and counters all forms of attack with a physical attack. After a few turns, he transforms into Lunar Bahamut.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord
Kain appears as one of the monsters that can be summoned by Mira, when purchased as an extra download content. While not called Dark Kain, he takes on the appearance of Kain's dark side.