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 an important figure in both Noel's past and Serah's future.

Hailing from the future, Caius is a former friend and mentor to Noel. Other than being Noel's once trusted ally, Caius is also apparently 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.

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 also a powerful warrior of equal strength to Lightning, therefore 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
After laying the lifeless body of a girl named Yeul 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 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.

Soon, Caius transforms into an entity known as Chaos Bahamut, and sends Lightning falling towards Valhalla below. 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 continues 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 ball of energy above Etro's shrine before transforming to escape the impact. He later appears with Yeul in New Bodhum, as they watch Serah, Noel, and Mog leave through the time gate.

In the New Adventures trailer, Caius is being chased by Serah, Noel, and Hope Estheim.

In the PS3 TGS 2011 trailer, he appears in front of Noel and Serah in Oerba, with his companion, a veiled woman named Yeul, saying she has been watching over them after Caius tells them that they will pay for their crimes in blood. The Xbox 360 TGS trailer shows Caius and Yeul traveling together, interacting with Noel and Serah. In the Sunleth Waterscape, Caius and Yeul stand in front of a time gate, and he asks her "Will they ever find the dawn?" (presumably "they" being Serah and Noel).

In Academia, after citizens suddenly turn into Cie'th, Caius appears behind Serah and Noel. Correcting them for misunderstanding him, Caius explains that he has every reason to dispose of them because they are "contradictions" in the timeline, before leaving them to the horde of Cie'th. Caius also engages in battle with Serah and Noel in Valhalla, saying that they cannot kill him now. Yeul reveals to Noel that Caius is "beyond death", apparently unable to die with full memory of all timeline events.

Later, finding him separated from Serah in the ruins of Valhalla, Caius stabs a fallen Noel in the back, releasing his Chaos before teleporting away He later battles Serah before sitting on Etro's crystal throne, knocking Serah down with magic. He tells Serah that Noel gave up more quickly than that, and how she has interfered with his task of maintaining the timeline at every turn before defeating her without trouble.

Later, after the final battle while hinting that Etro is more than she appears, Caius attempts to force Noel into killing him by attacking Serah. Though Noel restrains himself at the last second, Caius forces the youth's blade through him dies as the Chaos within his body bursts out.

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
300px|right 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 powerful godlike status, and hints a tragic side to his character.

Two variants of his theme are "Followers of Chaos" and "Heart of Chaos." His theme is also featured in "An Invisible Abyss," and the "Ending Credits."

Abilities
Even in his human form, Caius is capable of powerful magic such as comet and using Chaos to suit his needs to assume monstrous forms.

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; commonly "divine" powers are frequently mentioned in them, which alludes to how Caius is "god" in his own way.

Trivia

 * Upon close inspection, Etro Script can be seen on the lower part of Caius's armor behind his sword.
 * According to Dengeki PlayStation magazine, Caius is said to be the strongest rival in the series.
 * The act of Caius leaving the lifeless body of Yeul in Valhalla's waters resembles the event in Final Fantasy VII in which Cloud Strife lays Aerith Gainsborough's lifeless body to rest in similarly looking waters.