Caius Ballad



Caius Ballad (カイアス・バラッド) is the main antagonist in Final Fantasy XIII-2. He is Lightning's fated rival, and is an important figure in both Noel's past and Serah's future.

Hailing from the future, Caius is the immortal guardian of the timeline. Therefore, he pursues Noel and anyone who gets in his way, seeking to carry out an all-out war against all who tamper with the space-time continuum. In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Hiroshi Shirokuma.

Appearance and Personality
Caius is a tall, slender, and muscular man with light bronze skin and purple eyes. He also has long straight purple hair adorned with feathers and tribal beads, and wears a long, purple bandanna. He wears form-fitting black and purple armor with dark boots lined with white fur that bears a strong resemblance to Bahamut. He wields Ragnarok, a large sword with an eye in the hilt that emanates a purple flame after it opens.

Caius is an all-powerful warrior of equal strength to Lightning, able to fight on even terms with her. As overseer of the timeline, he sees Serah and Noel as "contradictions" in it, and so he believes that they should pay for tampering with the timeline with their lives. However, Caius also appears to pursue them in order to find out whether or not they will "find the dawn," as though he wants them to succeed in their endeavors. He is described as a person with a calm personality. He rarely displays his emotions, making it difficult for others to tell what his thoughts or intentions are.

Despite being Lightning's rival and enemy, Caius is said to be on a mission similar to hers, but will be in her way as she tries to complete her own.

Story
Upon learning that Noel had managed to defeat a Behemoth, Caius acknowledges the boy is now strong enough to become Yeul's new guardian. Caius says that in order for Noel to become Yeul's new sworn servant, Noel must defeat him in battle, just as he challenged and defeated the previous guardian to win the title. However, much to Noel's dismay, Caius also says that Noel will ultimately have to kill him, just as he killed the previous servant since there can only be one at a time. Later when Noel tells Caius about his plan of receiving the guardian's power and going on a journey with Yeul to find other people so that she will not be lonely anymore, Caius reprimands him, saying that it is a futile dream since they and Yeul are the only three people left at all.

Then he says that the 'Heart of Chaos' resides within his chest and that it is connected to the Goddess Etro. Caius says that if he dies then Etro will die as well, causing the Chaos contained in Valhalla to be released and time to be distorted. Noel continues to refuse the notion of having to kill Caius, so the latter says in that case, Noel will have to be the one who dies instead. After Caius defeats Noel, he tells the boy that he has no hope of beating him the way he is now. Noel tells him that distorting time will only sadden Yeul, but Caius says even if it does make Yeul sad, she will at least be saved. He tells Noel that he is going to Valhalla to kill Etro himself and free Yeul from her fate and disappears.

After laying Yeul's lifeless body to rest in the waters off Valhalla's shore, an angered Caius has a vision of Cocoon crashing into Gran Pulse and Etro's shrine. He summons a swarm of Pantopoda and other monsters to challenge Lightning to a battle. His army is countered by her summoned army of monsters and the Eidolons. Though he gets frozen by the Shiva Sisters, Caius quickly breaks free and grabs Nix, telling her to embrace the terror before throwing her into Stiria. As Caius sees Lightning riding Odin towards him, he conjures a barrage of Comets to counterattack. After she dodges his onslaught, he sends a blade of energy at her as she is midair. She deflects his attack and they meet face-to-face. Caius admits that he is impressed by her strength before they clash blades. At one point, Caius grabs Lightning's gunblade and aims it directly at his heart. It begins to glow and then he uses Ragnarok to transform into an entity known as Chaos Bahamut. He furiously swipes at Lightning before sending her flying over Valhalla.

She remounts Odin and they continue their duel as the transformed Caius gives chase to them along the beach and into the city. Lightning defeats him but he returns with a surprise attack. After Odin saves her, Caius returns in his human form. He fires magic projectiles at Lightning, but she sends them back at him. He survives her attack and they continue to clash blades. Lightning eventually manages to take Caius down, and he gets buried under a pile of rubble. However, as Lightning saves Noel as he falls from the sky, Caius emerges from the rubble as Chaos Bahamut and continues to engage her as she and Noel fly over Valhalla atop Bahamut. He returns to find Lightning and Noel, and summons a large meteor above Etro's shrine before transforming to escape the impact. He later appears with Yeul in New Bodhum -003 AF-, as they watch Serah, Noel, and Mog leave through the time gate.

In Oerba -200 AF-, Caius reveals himself to Noel and Serah, emerging from a vision they induced from an Oracle Drive. Yeul appears behind them saying she and Caius have been watching over them. Caius says Yeul does not exist as a single individual, and that he knows about them flying through time since Yeul had seen them in her visions. Then he engages them in battle to punish them for doing so. Afterwards, he tells Noel and Serah they will pay for their crimes in blood, and sends multiple blades of energy towards them. With Noel at his mercy, Caius is about to finish him off until Yeul intervenes, saying that time has already been changed. He kneels before her, asking if they can accept it, to which Yeul gives a silent nod. Caius tells her they should go in order to not see the future any futher than this. Then he opens a portal and they leave. In the Sunleth Waterscape -300 AF-, after Noel and Serah leave through a time gate after Snow's disappearance, Caius and Yeul appear in front of it. He asks Yeul if Noel and Serah will ever find the dawn. She tells him it depends on what is in their hearts and they leave.

In Academia -400 AF-, after Serah and Noel apparently surrender, Caius appears behind them. He mocks Noel for pretending to surrender in order to stall. After Noel says there is no point in fighting again like the last time, Caius explains that he has every reason to dispose of Noel and Serah since they are contradictions in the timeline. Caius tells them that they discovered the history sealed in a tower 200 years ago, and have now appeared in front of him again, asking if it is a paradox in itself. He summons a horde of Cie'th and leaves Noel and Serah to die. Sometime later in other parts of the city, Caius reappears to them, saying that their existence is distorting time, their deaths will prevent the tragedy that has consumed the city, and that they cannot escape from him since they know the true history.

Later, finding him separated from Serah between time and space in the ruins of Valhalla, Caius stabs a fallen Noel in the back, releasing his Chaos before teleporting away. He later deceives Serah by disguising as Yeul before engaging her in battle. Caius admits he is impressed by her before appearing on Etro's crystal throne. Then he tells Serah that Noel gave up more quickly than that and accepted his fate, before knocking her down with magic. Serah fires an arrow at him and he halts time just before her arrow hits him. He walks behind her, unfreezes time, and blasts her against a wall. Then as Caius holds his foot on Serah's weapon, he tells her how she has interfered with his task of maintaining the timeline at every turn before impaling her from behind, releasing her Chaos as well.

In Academia -500 AF-, Caius transforms and eventually engages Serah and Noel as Chaos Bahamut while they are atop an airship piloted by Sazh Katzroy. Then he fights them in his human form atop the airship. Caius strikes Serah down and is about to do so again before Noel steps in. In a joint effort, they strike Caius in midair, sending him flying. He transforms back into Chaos Bahamut and flies into a wormhole that opened in the sky before they pursue him with help from Hope Estheim. After Noel and Serah arrive in Valhalla with help from Odin, Caius blasts them down and continues their fight on the beach. Refusing to face defeat, Caius tells Serah and Noel that they cannot kill him now. As Noel asks Caius if he believes causing mass destruction will make Yeul happy, Caius asks which one since he has known many Yeuls throughout the countless years. He clashes blades with Noel before the boy manages to take him down.

However, Caius returns in the form of Bahamut Wollow and fires an attack at Noel and Serah. Later, after the final battle, while hinting that Etro is more than she appears, Caius attempts to force Noel into killing him by saying that he had defeated Lightning and condemed her to an eternal slumber. When Noel still refuses to give in to his demands, Caius tries to attack Serah. Though Noel restrains himself at the last second, Caius says that in the act of changing the future, someone must die. He takes Noel's blade, tells him to bear the sin of an eternal paradox, and forces the blade through him and dies as the Chaos within his body bursts out before he and his sword fade away into nothingness.

Caius reappears in the secret ending, sitting on Etro's throne in Valhalla between time and space. He says that everyone played straight into his hands before telling Yeul that they can start over and create a new world without a goddess. Using Ragnarok, he calls forth Chaos and his left eye glows red as he smirks.

Creation and Development
Caius's clothing was designed by Yusuke Naora, who also designed Serah and Noel's clothing. His design was chosen after several designs from various members of the development team were drawn and compared to select the best one (similar to Mog). Naora stated that he was inspired by Yoshitaka Amano for the character's armor and accessories — Leon from Final Fantasy II in particular.

Musical Themes
Caius has an eponymous leitmotif, titled "Caius's Theme," composed by Naoshi Mizuta. It is a dramatic and mellow orchestral piece with a Latin chorus that represents his godlike status, as well as a hidden tragic side to him.

Two variants of his theme are "Followers of Chaos" and "Heart of Chaos." His theme is also featured in "The Promised Future," the Final Boss Theme "An Invisible Abyss," "Eternal Paradox," and the "Ending Credits."

Lyrics

 * Dea Mortis, juravi
 * Carissimam servaturum
 * Dea Mortis, servabo
 * Ut tempora recte ducan


 * Etsi cor in Chao,
 * Aut Fortuna bella ferat
 * Occurram et obviam ibo.

Translation

 * Goddess of Death, I will keep
 * My vow my beloved,
 * Goddess of Death, I will see to it
 * That time is steered in the right direction


 * Though I am drawn by the heart of Chaos,
 * Or beautiful Fortune, I shall bear it
 * Those shall I meet and face

In Battle
Even in his human form, Caius is capable of powerful magic such as Comet and using Chaos to suit his needs and assume the monstrous dragon form of Chaos Bahamut, and later that of Bahamut Wollow.

Caius is encountered by Noel and Serah in Oerba -200 AF-, Academia -500 AF-, Valhalla -??? AF-, and the Dying World -700 AF-.

Etymology
Caius is an alternate spelling of Gaius, a common Roman given name. It was a praenomen of many famous Romans throughout history, including Julius Caesar, and through his line, Augustus Caesar and Caligula; Gaius Cassius Longinius, a leading conspirator in Julius Caesar's assassination; and Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, the famous historian.

His family name, Ballad, could come from the French world "ballade," which means either a little song, or a poetic form. A ballad is also characterized by describing unusual events; "divine" powers are frequently mentioned in them, which alludes to how Caius is a "god" in his own way, similarly to Lightning.

Trivia

 * According to Dengeki PlayStation magazine, Caius is said to be one of the strongest rivals in the series.
 * When Caius transforms into Bahamut Wollow in the middle with Bahamut Ratio and Hatio on both his sides floating around a rather small platform, bears a certain resemblance to Zable Fahr the God Beast of Darkness in Seiken Densetsu 3, another game of Square, with both entities at the sides being fakes, with the middle one being the real and most powerful one.