Does Clive Die At The End Of Final Fantasy XVI?

Final Fantasy 16 tells the epic story of how humanity defies its fate as tools for the despotic god Ultima to use to create his paradise. As we follow Clive on his journey to destroy the Mothercrystals and end Ultima’s reign, we learn a lot about Valisthea and the land’s magic.

Final Fantasy 16’s ending is open-ended and ambiguous. While there are elements that definitely happen, much of the ending is open to interpretation. Below, we’ll break down what exactly happens at the end of the game, as well as the post-credit scene.

Updated December 27, 2023 by Quinton O’Connor: We’ve added a bit of further clarification to a handful of details. We have also included what is sure to be a temporary section, theorycrafting a little bit as to whether the upcoming second DLC, ‘The Rising Tide’, may alter FF16’s ending in some fashion.

Spoilers for the ending of Final Fantasy 16 below!

The Last Battle With Ultima In Origin

After years of work and hard-won battles, Clive, Joshua, and Dion prepare for the final battle against Ultima in Origin. Before the trio depart for Origin, they give their farewells to the Hideaway. In particular, Clive promises Jill that he’ll be back. Just as Clive leaves, Jill prays, presumably for his safe return. We’ll keep this in mind for later.

Clive, Joshua, and Dion arrive at Origin, where they begin fighting Ultima. In the end, Dion sacrifices himself to push back Ultima’s attack, wounding Ultima in the process. Afterward, Joshua finds himself in the interior wreckage of Origin, where Clive is hurt. Joshua uses the flames of the Phoenix to heal Clive, further draining his already dwindling power.

The brothers then head further into the Core of Origin, where Ultima awaits. Here, Ultima explains his plan; how he meant for Clive to destroy the Mothercrystals and return Ultima’s kin back to the collective. Ultima’s echoes return to the main body, causing the portion trapped in Ultima to escape and leaving Joshua unable to continue.

Using the last of his strength, Joshua transfers a portion of the Phoenix’s power to Clive before slipping into unconsciousness.

As Ultima teleports himself and Clive to the top of Origin, a feather of the Phoenix floats down to Clive, giving him the resolve to fight to the end. After a long battle, Clive defeats Ultima, using the power of the Eikons.

In defeating Ultima, Clive absorbs the god’s power, then uses it in his final act to destroy Origin and cleanse the world of magic and its curse.

The Outcome Of The Battle

A short time later, Clive washes up on a beach, noticing his left arm succumbing to the Bearer’s Curse, turning to stone. Looking up at the moon and the red star Metia, Clive tries to summon the flames of Ifrit, but is unable to do so, just before falling into unconsciousness.

Back at the Hideaway, Edda gives birth to her baby boy, while Gav comments that the world is his now, a world without the oppression brought by magic, Eikons, and Dominants. Jill watches the moon outside, then notices that the red star Metia dims, causing her to run out of the infirmary in tears.

With Torgal, Jill watches the horizon as night turns to day, bringing a new dawn to Valisthea. As the sun rises, she wipes her tears and smiles slightly, but as to what we can’t be sure.

Does Clive Die?

Final Fantasy 16’s ending is intentionally ambiguous. No matter how much you dig, you won’t find a definitive answer that says whether Clive lived or died on the beach. However, there are a few pieces of evidence we can look at that may help form an opinion one way or the other.

First is Clive’s promise to Jill that he’ll return safely. A recurring theme throughout the game is Clive’s inability to keep his promises to his loved ones. He promises too much and is unable to deliver on them.

For the ending, this theme can be interpreted in two ways. Either Clive is finally able to keep his promise to Jill and return safely, or he once again fails to, reinforcing what we’ve already seen.

The red star of Metia may also provide insight as to what happened, again with multiple interpretations. As Clive leaves for Origin, Jill prays to the star as she has done previously, hoping for Clive’s safe return. Then, after Ultima’s defeat, Jill watches as the red star fades away.

This could either mean that the “power” of the star is drained, granting Jill her final wish and keeping Clive alive, or that the star represents Clive himself, and by fading, tells Jill that he is gone.

Ultimately, whether Clive is alive or dead is up to you and how you interpret the information presented in the game. Even if the majority of people were to say that Clive died, it would be perfectly reasonable to believe the opposite.

As for Joshua, the jury is similarly out. While it’d be a real bummer for all three of the protagonists en route to Ultima to perish, it’s not like Final Fantasy 16 didn’t have a high mortality rate leading up to the finale!

What Happens In The Post-Credit Scene?

After the credits, there is a short scene set far in the future from the events of the game. Two brothers, whose appearances are strikingly similar to Clive and Joshua, collect firewood in a verdant forest surrounding a house.

While we don’t know exactly how far in the future this scene is set, enough time has passed that the plights of Clive and his allies are nothing more than a fairy tale.

Magic has long since departed the realm, but a reminder remains in the form of a book, written by Joshua Rosfield, entitled “Final Fantasy.“ The contents of the book are not revealed, but we can assume that they detail Clive and Joshua’s journey; essentially, the content presented in the game.

So, what exactly does this mean? As with Clive’s fate, this scene is up for interpretation. Undeniably, this scene shows how humanity has prospered after the fall of Ultima, even without the use of magic. Valisthea has returned to its former state before the Blight and the Curse of Magic, and the world is healing.

Who Wrote That Book?

However, what this means for Clive in the past is a bit more ambiguous. First of all, who wrote the book? It could have been Joshua, as it says on the cover, who wrote it before the final battle and his (probable but unconfirmed) death. Or, perhaps, Clive used part of his power in his final act to revive Joshua, who then went on living and eventually wrote the book.

If this is true, then it contradicts points made earlier in the game, in which the power of the Phoenix can heal wounds, but cannot bring the dead back to life. Again, whether Joshua was truly dead when Clive healed his wound before destroying Origin is up for debate.

On the other hand, “Final Fantasy” could have been authored by Clive, having returned safely to the Hideaway and taking the name of his brother, as he had done previously with Cid.

This theory is also supported by the side quest ‘A Tail to Tell’, in which the Loresman Harpocrates gifts Clive a Stolas Quill, saying that perhaps one day, Clive could hang up his sword and take up the pen.

In the end, the post-credit scene is one of hope, letting us know that, regardless of whether Clive lived or died, he succeeded in his mission and brought hope back to Valisthea; where humanity can flourish through its own will.

Will ‘The Rising Tide’ Alter The Ending?

Needless to say, this last section will only be included in our article until Final Fantasy 16’s second major DLC, ‘The Rising Tide’, releases sometime in Spring 2024. Square Enix has hinted that, once Clive obtains the powers of the Eikon of Water, Leviathan, things may change for him in some noteworthy way.

Clive lacks the powers of every Eikon in Final Fantasy 16’s climax, since Leviathan won’t be available until this upcoming new chapter. Perhaps, with this much strength, he will be able to overcome the odds in a more definitive fashion, and the ambiguity surrounding the ending will fade. Or maybe the final boss fight will be altered instead. Or both. Or neither! We’ll be sure to revise our analysis of the ending accordingly, if necessary.