The Cloud of Darkness first appears as the final boss of Final Fantasy III. It manipulates Xande into destroying the world's Crystals. Xande believes this will stop time and allow him to prolong his mortal life, but in reality this is the catalyst needed for the Cloud of Darkness to manifest.The Cloud of Darkness is fought twice. It is first encountered in an unwinnable storyline battle after Xande has been defeated. At the very end of the game, after the party has traversed the World of Darkness, the Cloud of Darkness is fought again, but if the player has not freed all the Warriors of the Dark in the final dungeon before doing so, the final boss will have an unparalleled high defense stat and the heroes will find themselves fighting a losing battle