After Act 2

You finished The Mothercrystals and Ultima. This picks up at Act 3 and goes to the end.

Act 3 · 18 · playing as Clive

Five years of war

In this chapterFive years later, 'Cid' destroys several Mothercrystals with Jill.

Years pass and Clive, as Cid, destroys more Mothercrystals. Hugo, tricked into hating him, lures him into a fight and becomes a raging Titan. Clive wins, but at a cost.

Dion tries to overthrow Anabella and accidentally kills the Emperor, which leads to his possession by Bahamut. Olivier is revealed as Ultima's vessel and as the one who planned these events. Clive and Joshua defeat Bahamut and destroy the Dominion's Mothercrystal. This section shows how war produces tragedies on every side. Hugo and Dion are not villains by nature, they are people pushed to extremes.

Olivier's revelation reframes earlier events as parts of Ultima's plan. Each destroyed Mothercrystal weakens magic and shifts the balance of power, which has consequences for the people who depend on it.

What unfolds

  1. Hugo Kupka, manipulated into revenge for Benedikta's death, lures Clive out; Clive defeats and mutilates Hugo, who becomes a raging Titan.
  2. Dion stages a coup against Anabella but accidentally kills Emperor Sylvestre, becoming possessed and transforming into a raging Bahamut.
  3. Olivier is revealed as Ultima's vessel and orchestrates events; Clive helps Joshua defeat Bahamut and destroys the Dominion's Mothercrystal.

Act 4 · 18 · playing as Clive

Barnabas, the Fallen and Origin

In this chapterBarnabas Tharmr, king of Waloed and Dominant of Odin, reveals that Ultima plans to turn Clive into Mythos, a vessel for possession.

Barnabas reveals Ultima's plan to make Clive into a vessel. Clive defeats him with Shiva's help and destroys Waloed's Mothercrystal. Joshua discovers that the Fallen created the Mothercrystals and humanity itself to prepare a body for their return. At Origin, Ultima kills Dion and wounds Joshua. Joshua transfers his Eikon to Clive, who absorbs Ultima and destroys the last Mothercrystal, ending magic.

The final conflict makes the war about the nature of humanity: if people were bred for a purpose, can they choose another? Clive's final act is both a victory and a loss, since the end of magic removes both the oppression of Bearers and the tools that kept some people alive. Joshua's sacrifice closes the brothers' story, in which each saved the other.

What unfolds

  1. With Jill's Shiva powers, Clive defeats Barnabas and destroys Waloed's Mothercrystal.
  2. Joshua's research shows that Ultima's predecessors, the Fallen, planted Mothercrystals to drain aether and created Bearers and humans to breed a vessel powerful enough to resurrect them.
  3. Clive, Joshua and Dion assault Ultima's sky fortress Origin; Ultima kills Dion and mortally wounds Joshua.
  4. Joshua sacrifices himself by transferring his Eikon to Clive, who absorbs Ultima and destroys Origin's Mothercrystal, ending magic in Valisthea.

Epilogue · 19 · playing as Clive / Joshua

A world without magic

In this chapterA post-credits scene shows a family living peacefully in a Valisthea without magic.

After the war, a short scene shows a family living quietly without magic. Joshua's book about the events survives, though what became of him is left open. The ambiguity lets players decide whether Clive and Joshua survived, and whether the quiet family is theirs. The final image is deliberately small and domestic, in contrast with the scale of the war.

What unfolds

  1. Joshua has written a book about these events, and his exact fate remains deliberately ambiguous.

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Where this comes from

Every sentence above is built from facts confirmed by at least two independent sources. Sources used: Wikipedia, Final Fantasy Wiki.