Caius Ballad

“	Time is our greatest obsession. Who has not dreamed of returning to the past, of changing the future? Imagine the power. To see how our choices affect our lives, and then return to undo them... What would you do if you had that power? Could you eradicate the mistakes of history, and build a perfect future? Or would you be subject to fate, and be swept down the river of time... powerless to change your course? Come with me, let me show you your fate.	„
	~ Caius Ballad at Valhalla

Summary

Caius Ballad is Yeul's immortal guardian and the main antagonist of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Originally a Pulse L'Cie from thousands of years ago, he performed an incarnate summon to become Bahamut in order to protect the seer Paddra-Nsu Yeul from an invading army, perishing and completing his Focus in the process. However, the goddess Etro took pity on him, and granted him the Heart of Chaos, reviving him and granting him immortality and a mission to protect every incarnation of Yeul for all of eternity. In time, however, Caius began to see the benevolent gift as a curse, a view worsened by the fact that Etro's intervention during the Day of Ragnarok caused a paradox that cut Yeul's life short in every timeline, forcing her to die young and reincarnate again and again. This pushed Caius to the brink, leading him to begin to use the paradox effects in an attempt to end his and Yeul's suffering....no matter the cost.

Powers and Stats

Tier: 2-A | 2-A

Key: Final Fantasy XIII-2 | Dissidia

Name: Caius Ballad, true name unknown (Caius' name comes from a warrior he had slain in the past, which he took up to honor him)

Origin: Final Fantasy XIII

Gender: Male

Age: Over 2,500 years old

Classification: Guardian of the Seeress, former Pulse L'Cie

Powers and Abilities:

• Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Lightning Returns
• Dissidia

• Abilities
• Resistance

Unseen Chaos Physiology, Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Blessed (Magic is drawing upon one's inner "Crystal Power", due to crystal energy mixing into the soil. Granting him the abilities of The Crystals as a result), Master Swordsman, Immortality (Types 1 and 3; via the Heart of Chaos), Immortality Negation and Regeneration Negation (Types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and High-Godly; As a fellow Guardian, he should be able to sever Hearts and Souls like Noel did to him. Crystal Power negates regeneration and immortality of this scale), Magic, Conceptual Manipulation (Type 2), Space-Time Manipulation (Magic is shown in the novels to remove concepts and warp space and time itself, like the Devil's road, which the concept of time was lost, and time and space were twisted to the point the past, present and future existed as one), Law Manipulation (Magic is stated to rewrite the natural order of things), Subjective Reality (Magic, in its basest form, is projecting one's inner mind onto reality, and is powered by intelligence and mental strength), Durability Reduction (Magic ignores durability to physical attacks requiring specific resistances to reduce the damage of), Forcefield Negation and Intangibility (Magic negates conventional physical durability, barriers, and armor, requiring specific defense against magic which is powered by the mind and spirit), Non-Physical Interaction (Magic as a whole is shown to affect a wide variety of different beings, from intangible/immaterial beings to non corporeal beings, to abstract concepts like Chronodia, who's the flow of time itself , to Nonexistent beings like Exdeath and Cloud of Darkness), Power Modification (Including Duplication, Fusionism, Statistics Amplification, Size Manipulation, Homing Attack, Danmaku, Aura, Breath Attack, and Energy Manipulation, Magic users across the games have consistently shown the ability to manipulate the shape and properties of their own magical abilities, with even higher tiers of spells simply being considered stronger versions of the same basic ability), Elemental Manipulation which can extend to Fire Manipulation, Ice Manipulation and Matter Manipulation (Sub-Atomic; via Fire and Ice magic, Both Fire and Ice related abilities are stated to affect the target's electrons, and even negate durability in the process), Water Manipulation (via Water, Watera, and Waterga), Air Manipulation (via Aero, Aerora, and Aeroga), Earth Manipulation (via Quake), Poison Manipulation and Corrosion Inducement (Can inflict Poison, which is also stated to corrode the target), Energy Manipulation and Projection, Status Effect Inducement (via Daze and Dazega, which stuns the target), Limited Death Manipulation (via Deathblow), Information Analysis (via Libra), Pain Manipulation and minor Power Nullification (Via Pain: The "Pain" spell inflicts the "Pain" ailment which causes one to be unable to use physical capabilities), Healing (For himself and others via Cure, Cura, Curasa and Curaja), Resurrection (via Raise), Purification (Type 3, via Esunaga), Forcefield Creation (via Protect), Limited Empathic Manipulation (Via Provoke and Charge: Causes enemies to target you), Instinctive Action and Damage Boost (via Vendetta), Power Nullification: (Via Fog and Fogga: Disables an enemies spell casting capabilities), Curse Manipulation and minor Probability Manipulation: (via Curse which lowers the target's odds of interrupting actions), passive Damage Reduction (via Fringeward), Limited Immortality (Type 2 via Reprieve; A passive ability that allows one to survive a fatal blow with 1 HP remaining), minor Power Modification and Elemental Manipulation (via Enfire, Enthunder, Enwater and Enfrost; Can cause basic attacks of any role to have elemental attributes), Statistics Reduction (via Debrave and Defaith), and Resistance Reduction (via Deprotect, Deshell and Imperil, which lowers an enemies physical, magical and elemental resistances), Levitation, Summoning and Radiation Manipulation (The Eidolon Bahamut is set into the Hilt of Caius' Greatsword, and can be summoned to aid him in Battle. Bahamut can also use the Megaflare attack which is stated to be nuclear power), Time Manipulation (He is able to speed himself up, slow opponents down, and stop the flow of time all together by thinking. This can even work in Timeless Voids such as Valhalla and The Void Beyond, and work against beings who resist these effects such as Serah and Noel Kriess), Information Manipulation (Type 1: Fragments are nuggets of pure information made of crystal, which contain the memories and stories of various things, Telekinesis (Can call down meteors and raise massive rock formations), Teleportation (Has been shown to teleport), Fusionism and Empowerment (An Incarnate Summon fuses the Eidolon with the summoner's essence for an immense power boost), Pocket Reality Manipulation, Transformation, Summoning, and Radiation Manipulation (Upon transforming into his Ultimate Form as "Jet" Bahamut. He creates a pocket dimension and summons two other Bahamuts to fight against Serah and Noel. Bahamut can also use the Megaflare attack. This form can also grant him True Flight)

Resistance to the effects of "Chaos" (Has been shown to withstand the Chaos in various areas and fight fellow wielders of Chaos such as Lightning, Serah and Noel), Immortality Negation and Regeneration Negation (Types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and High-Godly: Has fought various foes who possess inner crystal power, including Noel Kriess numerous times, who can severe someone's Heart and Soul), Physical Attacks, Magic, Conceptual Manipulation (Type 2), Space-Time Manipulation, Law Manipulation, and Subjective Reality (Can resist the effects of Magic, which have these properties), Fire Manipulation, Ice Manipulation, and Matter Manipulation (Sub-Atomic; Can resist these elements and Fire and Blizzard spells plus their higher levels are stated to affect the electrons of the targets to create fire or ice.), Electricity Manipulation and Pain Manipulation (Able to resist various Lightning Magic which can attack the nerves), Air Manipulation (Able to resist wind based spells), Earth Manipulation (Can resist the Quake spell), Water Manipulation (Capable of resisting water based magic), Mind Manipulation, Poison Manipulation and Corrosion Inducement (Can resist the Poison spell and status effect, which is also stated to corrode the target), Radiation Manipulation (Should be able to withstand the Megaflare attack which cause fusion reactions), Pain Manipulation, Empathic Manipulation, Power Nullification, Curse Manipulation and minor Probability Manipulation, Status Effect Inducement, Statistics Reduction, and Resistance Reduction (The party able to resist all of these status effects, and further amplify resistance with the "Veil" spell), Perception Manipulation (Is able to function properly in Valhalla which distort one's senses), and Time Manipulation (Is able to move in Voids such as Valhalla and the Void Beyond where the very concept of time doesn't exist)

• Abilites
• Resistance

All previous abilities minus those provided by the Heart. Though he still retains the powers of Chaos, and Immortality (Type 4; for the Soul), plus Immortality (Type 7: Caius Ballad's Corps was reanimated through Chaos and bound to Etro's Temple. Forcing him to fight the Savior), and Nonexistent Physiology (Nature Type 1; Aspect Types 1 and 2: No longer possessed Etro's "Heart" after Noel Kriess had killed him. Though whether he still possess a "Soul" is unknown)

Same resistances as before, plus Resistance to Deconstruction (Fought Lightning and can withstand attacks from her)

• Abilites
• Resistances
• With Eidolons

All previous abilities enhanced, Summoning (Can summon various Eidolons from Summonstones and the World of Illusions), Willpower Manipulation (a person's will is power there and enables them to do a multitude of things the stronger their will), Reactive Power Level (the greater someone's will, the greater their power), Law Manipulation (Beings with strong wills can overwrite the laws of the world and bend them to their will), Creation (With a powerful enough will, once can create various things such as phone lines, airships and even entire countries and worlds), Sealing (Can seal off large areas and people with her will, such as Cecil sealing himself in Castle Baron or the cast sealing Kefka inside a Torsion), Dimensional Travel (Characters can open Torsions, rifts in space-time to travel various dimensions), and Immortality (Type 2) (Due to the crystal core of darkness's influence in the hands of Ardyn, warriors will not die no matter how injured they are)

Resistance to Mind Manipulation, Soul Manipulation (Via Zalera, the Death Serpah, who was going to absorb the souls of every living being on the planet), Corruption & Body Puppetry (Due to their light, Warriors of Materia can dispel attempts to control them), Empathic Manipulation, and Madness Manipulation (Type 3; Resistant to the effects of the True Moon, which is capable of affecting the hearts and minds of all living beings on the planet), Gravity Manipulation (Unaffected by the gravitational pull of the True Moon, which even the Lunar Whale couldn't escape from), Spatial Manipulation, Deconstruction, and BFR (Can withstand the attacks of Atomos, who manipulates space, crush enemies down to a molecular level, and can warp them into another dimension), Extreme Cold and Cosmic Radiations (Can fight and survive on the moon), Absolute Zero (Can survive Shiva's ice attacks, including Diamond Dust),

Hellfire Manipulation (Via Ifrit, Phoenix, Rubicante, and Marilith), Ice Manipulation and Absolute Zero and Duplication (Via Shiva who's Ice and aura are stated to reach Absolute Zero including her Diamond Dust, Shiva can duplicate herself), Water Manipulation (via Kraken, Cagnazzo, and Leviathan), Necromancy (Via Lich), Spatial Manipulation, Deconstruction, and BFR (via Atomos, who manipulates space, crush enemies down to a molecular level, and can warp them into another dimension), Death Manipulation and Space-Time Manipulation (Via Odin, who's Zantetsuken instantly kills an enemy and opens a rift in space time to take their remains), Matter Manipulation and Radiation Manipulation (via Megaflare, which is stated numerous times to be a nuclear power), Attack Reflection (via Carbuncle), Poison Manipulation and Corrosion Inducement (The Poison status effect, which is also stated to corrode the target), Darkness Manipulation and Perception Manipulation (The darkness status ailment via various equipment, which would render the target blind), Power Nullification (The Silence status, which would render the target's ability to use magic null), and Petrification (Via Malboro's Bad Breath), Resurrection (Phoenix can revive fallen party members), Light Manipulation and Holy Manipulation (Via Alexander), Explosion Manipulation and Self-Destruction (Via Bomb), Healing (Via Sylph and Asura), Earth Manipulation (Via Titan), BFR (via Typhon), Soul Manipulation (Via Zalera, the Death Seraph, who was going to abosrb all souls on the planet)

Attack Potency: Multiverse level+ (Defeated Serah and Noel, who were both capable of defeating Gilgamesh and Omega in the Coliseum) | Multiverse level+ (Is comparable to the other Warriors of Spiritus and draws power from the gods of the cycle. Can damage Materia's Warriors such as Warrior of Light)

Speed: Massively FTL+ (Superior to Noel and Serah, who fought Gilgamesh and Omega) | Massively FTL+ (Can keep up with the other Warriors of Spiritus such as Garland)

Lifting Strength: Class T | Immeasurable (Is superior to Neo Exdeath and Enuo)

Striking Strength: Multiverse level+ (Able to trade blows with Lightning, who is essentially his equal at this point in time) | Multiverse level+

Durability: Multiverse level+ (The nature of the Heart of Chaos makes him very difficult to kill) | Multiverse level+

Stamina: Superhuman

Range: Multiversal+ (Magic as a whole is shown to affect omnipresent beings such as Exdeath when he's become one with the Void itself, which spans across the entire Final Fantasy Multiverse, can even banish foes into the Void with the Teleport ability), (Chaos exists at all points of Space and Time, extending across the Visible World, The Historia Crux, The Invisible World, and Valhalla, and even the Spiral which is a Multidimensional structure containing multiple worlds, of which the total reach Infinite)

Standard Equipment: Ragnarok, his sword, The Heart of Chaos, an artifact that grants him eternal youth as well as the ability to regenerate

Intelligence: As Yeul's Guardian, Caius is an incredibly skilled warrior and swordsman as well as Lightning's equal in combat. Due to being immortal and having knowledge of every timeline and possible scenario through his connection to Yeul, Caius is always one step of his opponent and fully exploits this in every one of his fights with Lightning, Noel, and Serah. He is serious and callous, with thousands of years of combat experience and a ruthless nature to match, single-mindedly searching for his chance to be free of his "curse" of immortality and to liberate Yeul of the suffering caused by her constant reincarnation.

Weaknesses: Weaknesses Provided by the "Heart and Soul", The former of which goes away in Lightning Returns

Notable Attacks/Techniques:

• Body and Soul: Bestows Bravery, Faith, Haste and Regen on Caius, boosting his attacking and magic power as well as making him faster and slowly heal his injuries.

• Eye of Bahamut: Caius unleashes several dark beams from Ragnarok's hilt to inflict various debuffs on the target.

• Heart of Chaos: Bestows Reraise to Caius, which automatically revives him when he's killed.

• Megaflare: When in the form of Chaos Bahamut, Caius generates a large ball of blue fire and throws it, causing it to explode and trigger a fusion reaction at the target location.

• Gigaflare/Teraflare/Exaflare: Used only when he becomes Jet Bahamut, Caius begins a countdown from three and takes off when it reaches zero. He charges up a large fireball and fires it after a few seconds. If Caius is alone when this is performed, it is known as Gigaflare, if either Ganet or Amber Bahamut are present, it becomes the more powerful Teraflare, and if all three perform the attack, it's the extremely powerful Exaflare. All of these attacks generate massive amounts of energy through a fusion reaction on impact.

Notable Matchups

Notable Victories:

Notable Losses:

Inconclusive Matches:

Discussions

Discussion threads involving Caius Ballad