An apparition foretold to appear and send the world back to nothing when the balance between light and darkness is severed. Although appearing as a woman, the true nature of this being remains unknown.
Dissidia 012 description
An existence that wishes for all to return to nothingness. She has transcended the abstract and is the embodiment of fear.
Dissidia Final Fantasy description
The Cloud of Darkness is a Warrior of Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy. She is an entity that appears when the balance between light and darkness is disturbed, and tries to pull the world into the Void. She floats around like a cloud, and attacks with the tentacles wrapped around her body.
While the Onion Knight is her rival in the original Dissidia Final Fantasy, her main rival in the Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy storyline is Laguna, despite their shared goal of getting rid of the manikins.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
The Cloud of Darkness's appearance is based on artwork by Yoshitaka Amano 
. The Cloud of Darkness is depicted as a nearly-nude woman with pale skin and long, white hair. It wears a red cloak that graidnets to black and has a black inner lining, with a high collar that attaches to its wrists and forms a pair of gloves. Two mouthed, yellow tentacles extend from its hips, and its body is covered with various red and black markings. In its EX Mode it loses its cape and most skin, hair, and most of its body coverings turn green while the markings on its legs turn red, mirroring the appearance of its battle sprite 
in the final battle of Final Fantasy III.
Cloud of Darkness's first alternate outfit, "Dark Robe", recolors its cape blue. In Dissidia Final Fantasy, its EX Mode is colored a mixture of light and dark green with a dull red for the legs. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, the EX Mode in this outfit is changed to a bright orange and yellow form with blue markings along its legs, reflecting the NES sprite 
when it is first fought atop the Crystal Tower as an unbeatable encounter. The Cloud of Darkness is colored primarily orange with blonde hair, green tentacles, and blue markings on its legs.
Cloud of Darkness's second alternate outfit, "Lucent Robe", gives the Cloud of Darkness a white cloak that gradients to lavender, and the stylings of its body coverings are different and are colored primarily lavender, black, and gold. Its tentacles lack mouths and are a lighter shade of yellow. In its EX Mode it retains its cloak and gains red markings along its legs and torso, and the lavender parts of its cloak and body coverings become gold and beige.
Its manikin version, Counterfeit Wraith, is green.
Personality[]
The Void fascinates us. Unlike the world and its tiresome conspiracies, it is eternal.
Cloud of Darkness
The Cloud of Darkness is cruel and condescending, having a disregard for human life. Even though it has knowledge on the other villains' plots to end the cycle and obtain power for themselves, it does not care, as it is an emissary of the Void and thus believes all will be consumed regardless of their actions. The Cloud of Darkness is presented as an eternal entity who will always exist to consume the world; defeating it merely sends it into sleep to recover its power and awaken at a future date. Despite her cruelty, she does have her limits, as she willingly provided information to Laguna Loire on how to seal off the source for Manikins because she viewed their existence as an abomination that should not be used even by her fellow Warriors of Chaos.
Story[]
12th cycle[]
The Cloud of Darkness taking her leave from Laguna.
At some point prior to the 12th cycle, the Cloud of Darkness aids Sephiroth when the latter takes interest in its abilities when fighting the Warrior of Light and Lightning. The Cloud of Darkness later ambushes Laguna while he is separated from the others. Their fight ends with Laguna getting a leg cramp after staring at the Cloud of Darkness's scantily-clad female body. This, and Laguna stating his reasons for helping Cosmos, cause it to develop an interest in him, leading the Cloud of Darkness to reveal where the manikins are coming from.
The Cloud of Darkness reveals this information as it is a potential suicide mission and it is curious about the manner of death Laguna would choose for himself. It is also implied the Cloud of Darkness intends for Laguna and the warriors of Cosmos to succeed in sealing the rift because it finds the manikins to be abominations. It later appears with Kefka, Garland, the Emperor, and Ultimecia to fight Laguna, Vaan, Lightning, Yuna, and Tifa before they seal the rift leading to the manikins' domain. In the aftermath, the Cloud of Darkness is ambushed by Kefka, who marks it as a traitor for its indirect part in the manikins' world being sealed off from World B. The Cloud of Darkness is purified in preparation for the next cycle, though this is ultimately of no consequence to it.
13th cycle[]
Working with Kefka, the Cloud of Darkness attempts to kill off Terra and the Onion Knight from a distance before Kefka stops it as he desires to regain control over Terra. Though not convinced of Terra's power, the Cloud of Darkness agrees to capture her and release her full power. After Terra loses control of her powers and battles the Onion Knight, the Cloud of Darkness arrives to abduct her. It berates the Onion Knight for his blindness to Terra's struggle during their travels and tells him he has only himself to blame for her capture.
The Cloud of Darkness confronts Onion Knight.
While holding Terra captive, the Cloud of Darkness questions Kefka as to the value of going through the trouble of enslaving Terra when they have the manikins. Kefka claims the supply of manikins is growing limited and any power they can use is helpful. After Kefka leaves, Terra regains consciousness, still unable to control her power, and the Cloud of Darkness fights her to see Terra's power for itself. The battle leaves Terra unconscious and the Cloud of Darkness declares her too fragile to be of use and wonders if she is fighting for a personal reason rather than for Cosmos, then senses the Onion Knight approaching.
The Onion Knight offers to take Terra's place as its servant, only to fool the Cloud of Darkness and strike it with its guard down, proclaiming he will defeat it and protect Terra. The two battle and the Cloud of Darkness is defeated. It fades away, leaving Terra to recover and the Onion Knight to claim his Crystal. The Cloud of Darkness later appears when Kefka realizes he cannot have Terra, cornering the girl and Cloud Strife when the Onion Knight comes to their aid and helps Cloud double-team the villain while Terra fights Kefka. The outcome of the battle with Cloud and the Onion Knight is not shown, but the two are safe once Terra dispatches Kefka.
Cloud of Darkness disappears, going back to sleep.
After Cosmos is killed, the Cloud of Darkness speaks to Ultimecia, who tells it that Shinryu has begun to stir, and reveals the dragon is responsible for the cycles of war. The Cloud of Darkness is unfazed by the Emperor's plans, along with Ultimecia's time compression scheme, and focuses only on the eternal Void. Later, when the Onion Knight confronts it, the Cloud of Darkness asks why he and the other warriors are still moving on with Cosmos gone and there being nothing for the boy to protect.
After losing, the Cloud of Darkness tells the Onion Knight it is too late, claiming they cannot stop the inevitable. He replies he is listening to his heart and will not run away, because the determination of his friends encourages him to move forward. The Cloud of Darkness comments that living creatures are fascinating, and that it will be waiting in the rifts of the Void as it disappears into the darkness, going back to sleep.
Gameplay[]
Cloud of Darkness's fighting style is Bane of Life. Its Bravery attacks are limited, but it can change up their effects based on when the player presses the Circle button the second time, giving it a larger array of Bravery attacks than its moveset would seem to indicate. However, as a whole they are not very powerful and offer more supportive effects. The Cloud of Darkness' specialty is a variety of HP attacks that cover numerous tactical options, letting her rapidly drain her opponent's HP. However, the Cloud of Darkness moves a bit slowly and many of her HP attacks have a fair start-up time, so she can have trouble finding openings to land hits.
Boss[]
In Dissidia Final Fantasy, Cloud of Darkness is fought in Destiny Odyssey III, Shade Impulse, Distant Glory, and Inward Chaos.
In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, it is fought in Clues, An Undocumented Battle, Wisdom or Courage?, and Conclusion of the Cycle chapters of Story Mode.
Attacks[]
Bravery Attacks[]
| Move | Type | CP (Mastered) | AP | Priority | Effect | Damage type | Obtained | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tentacle of Pain | Ground | 45 (25) | 140 | Initial | Variable | |||
Whirl tentacles to attack. Depending on when player presses  a second time, effect changes. Timing can be determined by "whipping" sound and graphic of tentacles waving:
|
Melee Low | Chase | Physical | 
| ||||
| Melee Low | Wall Rush | Physical | 
| |||||
| Ranged Low | None | Magical | 
| |||||
| Tentacle of Suffering | Aerial | 45 (25) | 120 | Initial | Variable | |||
Whirl tentacles to attack. Depending on when player presses a second time, effect changes. Timing can be determined by "whipping" sound and graphic of tentacles waving:
|
Melee Low | Chase | Physical | 
| ||||
| Melee Low | None | Physical | 
| |||||
| Ranged Low | None | Magical | 
| |||||
| Move | Type | CP (Mastered) | AP | Priority | Effect | Damage type | Obtained | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tentacle of Pain | Ground | 60 (30) | 120 | Initial | Variable | |||
Whirl tentacles to attack. Depending on when player presses a second time, effect changes. Timing can be determined by "whipping" sound and graphic of tentacles waving:
|
Melee Low | Chase | Physical |
| ||||
| Melee Low | Wall Rush | Physical |
| |||||
| Ranged Low | None | Magical |
| |||||
| Tentacle of Spite | Ground | 60 (30) | 120 | Level 13 | Variable | |||
Whirl tentacles to attack. Depending on when player presses a second time, effect changes. Timing can be determined by "whipping" sound and graphic of tentacles waving:
|
Melee Low | Wall Rush | Physical | 
| ||||
| Melee Mid | Absorb | Physical | 
| |||||
| Ranged Mid | None | Magical | 
| |||||
| Tentacle of Suffering | Aerial | 60 (30) | 120 | Initial | Variable | |||
Whirl tentacles to attack. Depending on when player presses a second time, effect changes. Timing can be determined by "whipping" sound and graphic of tentacles waving:
|
Melee Low | Chase | Physical |
| ||||
| Melee Low | None | Physical |
| |||||
| Ranged Low | None | Magical |
| |||||
| Tentacle of Scorn | Aerial | 60 (30) | 120 | Level 27 | Variable | |||
Whirl tentacles to attack. Depending on when player presses a second time, effect changes. Timing can be determined by "whipping" sound and graphic of tentacles waving:
|
Melee Low | None | Physical | 
| ||||
| Melee Low | Wall Rush | Physical | 
| |||||
| Ranged Low | None | Magical | 
| |||||
HP Attacks[]
| Move | Type | CP (Mastered) | AP | Priority | Effect | Damage type | Obtained | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Anti-air] Particle Beam | Ground | 40 (20) | 180 | Ranged High | None | Magical | Initial | 
|
| Summon four columns of energy that has a high reach into the air. | ||||||||
| [Long-range] Particle Beam | Ground | 40 (20) | 180 | Ranged High | None | N/A | Initial | 
|
| Send a line of energy columns that pursue the opponent. Has a high reach into the air. | ||||||||
| [Wide Angle] Particle Beam | Ground | 40 (20) | 180 | Ranged High | Wall Rush | N/A | Level 6 | 
|
| Create a large wall of energy that slowly moves forward. Very wide horizontal range but low vertical reach. | ||||||||
| [Wrath] Particle Beam (ground) |
Ground | 40 (20) | 180 | Block High Ranged High |
None | Magical | Level 12 | 
|
| Guard by summoning a shield of darkness. If successfully blocked, summon an energy column that knocks the opponent high into the air. | ||||||||
| [Feint] Particle Beam | Ground | 40 (20) | 180 | Ranged High | Dodge Wall Rush |
N/A | Level 24 | 
|
| Disappear in a portal, then reappear to fire a quick blast of energy. The direction of the teleport can be controlled with the analog stick. | ||||||||
| Aura Ball | Aerial | 40 (20) | 180 | Ranged High | None | N/A | Initial | 
|
Hold  to send up to five orbs of dark energy that slowly spread out to track the opponent. Release button to cause the orbs to detonate.
| ||||||||
| [[[Wrath] Particle Beam|[Wrath] Particle Beam]] (midair) |
Aerial | 40 (20) | 180 | Block High Ranged High |
Magical | N/A | Level 12 |
|
| Guard by summoning a shield of darkness. If successfully blocked, summon an energy column that knocks the opponent high into the air. | ||||||||
| [Fusillade] Particle Beam | Aerial | 40 (20) | 180 | Ranged Mid | None | N/A | Level 17 | 
|
| Summon six orbs of energy that turn around in the air and bombard the opponent. | ||||||||
| [0-form] Particle Beam | Aerial | 40 (20) | 180 | Melee High | Wall Rush | Magical | Level 38 | 
|
| Fire an enormous but short-ranged beam of energy. Automatically turns to track the opponent. | ||||||||
| Move | Type | CP (Mastered) | AP | Priority | Effect | Damage type | Obtained | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Anti-air] Particle Beam | Ground | 30 (15) | 130 | Ranged High | None | Magical | Initial |
|
| Summon four energy orbs around you that fire beams of energy high into the air. | ||||||||
| [Long-range] Particle Beam | Ground | 30 (15) | 130 | Ranged High | None | N/A | Initial |
|
| Send out a line of energy beams that pursue the opponent. Has a high vertical reach. | ||||||||
| [Wide Angle] Particle Beam | Ground | 30 (15) | 130 | Ranged High | Wall Rush | N/A | Level 6 |
|
| Create a wall of energy that moves forward. Wide horizontal range but low vertical reach. | ||||||||
| [Wrath] Particle Beam (ground) |
Ground | 30 (15) | 120 | Block High Ranged High |
None | Magical | Level 19 |
|
| Guard against an enemy's attack. If attack is blocked successfully, summon an energy orb below opponent that fires a beam of energy upwards. | ||||||||
| [Feint] Particle Beam | Ground | 30 (15) | 130 | Ranged High | Dodge Wall Rush |
N/A | Level 23 |
|
| Vanish into a portal and reappear to fire a blast of energy. The direction of teleportation can be controlled with the analog stick. | ||||||||
| Aura Ball | Aerial | 30 (15) | 130 | Ranged High | None | N/A | Initial |
|
| Hold to send out up to five orbs of energy that slowly spread out and travel towards opponent. Release to make the orbs explode.
| ||||||||
| [Wrath] Particle Beam (midair) |
Aerial | 30 (15) | 120 | Block High Ranged High |
None | N/A | Level 31 |
|
| Guard against an enemy's attack. If attack is blocked successfully, summon an energy orb below opponent that fires a beam of energy upwards. | ||||||||
| [Fusillade] Particle Beam | Aerial | 30 (15) | 130 | Ranged Mid | Wall Rush | N/A | Initial |
|
| Send out balls of energy in multiple directions that turn in the air to bombard the opponent from all sides. | ||||||||
| [0-form] Particle Beam | Aerial | 30 (15) | 160 | Melee High | Wall Rush | Magical | Level 36 |
|
| Charge and fire a large but short-ranged beam of energy. Automatically turns while firing to track opponent. | ||||||||
EX Mode[]
The Cloud of Darkness's EX Mode is Flood of Darkness, where it loses its cape and its skin turns green, like its in-game appearance from Final Fantasy III. When in EX Mode, the Cloud of Darkness gains ability "[Null] Particle Beam", which lets it cancel out the lag after it attacks by using another HP attack, allowing it to attack faster in succession and combo its attacks.
Its EX Burst, Ultra Particle Beam, has it attack with a smaller beam of energy, before summoning a large orb of darkness. The player must hold to fill a bar to 120%. If successful, the Cloud of Darkness ends with Ultra Particle Beam, where it blasts the opponent with a large beam of energy. Failing to release the button, or failing to press at the right time, results in the Cloud of Darkness firing a smaller beam that does less damage.
Equipment[]
The Cloud of Darkness can equip Rods, Staves, Bangles, Hats, Hairpins, Clothing, and Robes. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, the Cloud of Darkness can also equip Thrown Weapons and Poles.
Exclusive weapons[]
| Name | Level | Stats | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calcite Staff | 50 | BRV +26 ATK +35 |
BRV Recovery +50% | Trade: 15460 gil, Healing Staff, Thorny Lumber x3, Mana Shard x2 |
| Bizarre Staff | 92 | BRV +38 ATK +62 |
BRV Recovery +75% | Trade: 29570 gil, Calcite Staff, Revival Tree x5, Mana Crystal x3 |
| Everdark | 100 | BRV +40 ATK +67 |
BRV Recovery +100% Major Gambler's Spirit Effect. |
Trade: 31920 gil, Bizarre Staff, Roaming Clouds x5, Mana Orb x5 |
- Dissidia 012
| Name | Level | Stats | Effects | Obtained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calcite Staff | 30 | BRV +41 ATK +38 |
BRV Recovery +50% | Trade: 61000 gil, Healing Staff, Scarletite x1, Wraith's Desire x5 |
| Bizarre Staff | 90 | BRV +34 ATK +62 |
BRV Recovery +75% | Trade: 158,000 gil, Calcite Staff, Electrum x1, Wraith's Dream x5 |
| Everdark | 100 | BRV +39 ATK +67 |
BRV Recovery +100% Slight Anti-EX Effect. |
Trade: 182,800 gil, Bizarre Staff, Roaming Clouds x1, Wraith's Hopes x5 |
Behind the scenes[]
Tetsuya Nomura has stated that when he joined the company, he saw Yoshitaka Amano's original design of the Cloud of Darkness that was not featured in Final Fantasy III, and decided to use the design in a future game once he got the chance.
The Cloud of Darkness is one of only three characters in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy to have an outfit modified, the other two being Jecht and Tidus.
Voice[]
The Cloud of Darkness is voiced in English by Laura Bailey. She shares her voice actor with Serah Farron from the Final Fantasy XIII series and Belle from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. It shares its Japanese voice actress with Hydaelyn from Final Fantasy XIV, the Cadetmaster from Final Fantasy Type-0 and Kairi's Grandma from Kingdom Hearts series.
Allusions[]
Cloud of Darkness and Onion Knight in their NES battle pose.
- When the Cloud of Darkness uses Aura Ball, it laughs its characteristic laugh from Final Fantasy III.
- In Shade Impulse II-3, when fighting the Cloud of Darkness with a character other than the Onion Knight, one of its pre-battle lines is, "We have had an eternity in the Void to prepare. We will flood this world with darkness---and return all to the Void". This is roughly the same as the dialogue in Final Fantasy III. The scene was removed from the Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy version.
- Cloud of Darkness's HP Attacks and its EX Burst are variations of its signature attack in Final Fantasy III, "Particle Beam" ("Wave Cannon" in the Japanese version).
- When the Cloud of Darkness charges its EX Burst, it assumes the pose from its original NES battle sprite
from Final Fantasy III. It assumes the same pose if the Onion Knight uses his EX Burst against it. - While the Cloud of Darkness's attacks "Tentacle of Pain", "Tentacle of Suffering" and "Aura Ball" do not appear in any game version of Final Fantasy III, they appear in the game's 1992 manga adaptation. The manga, like the game, was written by scenario writer Kenji Terada.
- The Cloud of Darkness seems to dislike the manikins as they are a foreign presence that upsets the equilibrium of the world. This alludes to it appearing when the equilibrium between light and darkness is destroyed in Final Fantasy III.
- The Cloud of Darkness's opening line towards the Warrior of Light in both games might allude to it only being defeated after the Warriors of Darkness sacrificed themselves and the Warriors of Light weren't enough to defeat it alone in Final Fantasy III.
- The Cloud of Darkness's opening line towards Cecil in Dissidia Final Fantasy alludes to how it needed both light and dark energies to invoke the Void's power.
- The Cloud of Darkness's line to Tidus, "Existence is but a fleeting dream", alludes to him being a dream of the fayth in Final Fantasy X.
- In Final Fantasy III, the Warriors of Darkness explain the Cloud of Darkness is made of both darkness and light, and that it was predominantly made of light when they fought it. The Cloud of Darkness's third costume, "Lucent Robe" (lucent meaning giving off light), may be a reference to this side of its nature.
- When the Cloud of Darkness faces Yuna, it says, "Try and summon us", referring to a line said to Xande in Final Fantasy III, and Yuna being a summoner.
- The Cloud of Darkness's unique weapons, Bizarre and Calcite Staff, are not available in Final Fantasy III, but find their origin as weapons usable by Yuna in Final Fantasy X.
- Several of the combos in its Bravery attacks make use of what appears to be red electricity. This may allude to the tentacles' use of the Lightning attack in the 3D remake of Final Fantasy III.
Gallery[]
