The plot focuses on the fal'Cie, beings created from the crystals residing inside them. The people marked by the fal'Cie for a greater purpose are named the l'Cie. l'Cie are being bestow great powers and has the ability to cast magic and summon their own unique Eidolons to aid them in times of need.

But being an l'Cie has a price; for should they die before fulfilling their Focus, they will turn into monsters called "Cie Corpses". Some thirteen centuries ago, a fal'Cie constructed a paradise for humanity: The shell-like city of Cocoon floating high above the surface of the world now known as Pulse,

both maintained by their own fal'Cie. Cocoon's fal'Cie created life forms and machines for its inhabitants to use, and humanity flourished. Over time, the people of Cocoon began to fear for the safety of their world, and were worried that it would be cast down from the sky into the hell that they see Pulse to be.

In present day, the wilderness of Pulse has strange effects on people, and the theocratic Cocoon Sanctum quarantines and exiles anyone who has been influenced by Pulse from the city with the help of its mighty army, PSICOM.

However, as Snow leads Team Nora in a vain attempt to stop the purging, the mysterious Lightning fights her way past PSICOM soldiers to find Pulse's fal'Cie with the aid of Sazh. But by a chain of events, these three along with two of the Purgees, Vanille and Hope, are chosen by the fal'Cie of Pulse against their will to become l'Cie among others, and with that become enemies of humanity that would bring about the downfall of Cocoon.

Square Enix gave the answer September 8th at its Final Fantasy XIII Premiere Party event in Tokyo. Closing off the event, the company announced that 19 year old up-and-coming singer Sayuri Sugawara will provide at least two songs for the game: Kimi ga Iru Kara (roughly "Because You're There") and Eternal Love.

Both songs were written by Sugawara and singer/songwriter Yukino Nakajima and feature composition by Final Fantasy XIII composer Masashi Hamauzu and arrangements by Sin, producer of Sugawara's upcoming single. Both songs will be released in CD form on December 2 2009, offering players a chance to hear the music a few week's before Final Fantasy XIII December 17 release.

Composer Masashi Hamauzu took the stage following this and spoke a bit about his composition work for the game. He noted that he was doing a number of

new things with FFXIII, including making use of an overseas orchestra consisting of over 100 people.

Players can also look forward to more use of vocal musical, it seems. Hamauzu said to expect vocal songs during actual gameplay -- as you're running about on the fields, for instance.