The Cloud of Darkness manipulates Xande to destroy the world's Crystals. In her Dissidia appearances where she is voiced, the Japanese version has her speak with an elder woman characteristic, while in English dub she talks more like a high class woman. Both Final Fantasy III and Dissidia Final Fantasy present the Cloud of Darkness as a timeless, 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 later date. Though the Cloud of Darkness is aware of the other antagonists' schemes to end the cycle and seize 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. It tells Laguna where the manikins are coming from to see how he handles the information, and is intrigued when he and his allies choose to track it down and close the portal knowing it will cost them their lives. In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy it dislikes the arrival of the manikins in the cycle, feeling they are a foreign presence that disrupts the order of the cycle. Dissidia Final Fantasy characterizes it as cruel and condescending, having a disregard for human life. The Cloud of Darkness's personality is not explored in Final Fantasy III, as it is more of a monster rather than a character. A feedback survey issued by the Final Fantasy Record Keeper team also referred to the Cloud of Darkness as female, and so grouped it with other female characters asking which was the "coolest" among the group.
#CLOUD FINAL FANTASY SERIES#
For purposes of gameplay, however, the Cloud of Darkness is treated as female in its spin-off series appearances, and is therefore able to equip female-exclusive equipment. Dissidia Final Fantasy explains this as its two tentacles having minds of their own, and the humanoid body speaking for the three of them. The Cloud of Darkness refers to itself in the plural, using "We" instead of "I". Though the Cloud of Darkness universally takes on a feminine form, it is officially considered a genderless being that merely chooses to appear as such. The Cloud of Darkness is the tallest non-giant character in the Dissidia series. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, long silver hair and two tentacles emerging from its waist. In Yoshitaka Amano's illustration and Dissidia Final Fantasy, the Cloud of Darkness takes the form of a shapely woman wearing a red and black cape with the rest of its body covered in red and black markings. Its field sprite is a glowing green orb, and in the 3D remakes, several multiple green orbs exit and enter the main orb in an arc. It has a red heart-shaped mark on its forehead, and several mouthed tentacles around it. In Final Fantasy III, the Cloud of Darkness appears as a green-skinned female humanoid that emerges from a portal of darkness at its waist, though its form appears ghostly and ethereal.
Yoshitaka Amano sketch of the Cloud of Darkness.