Ultimecia (アルティミシア, Arutimishia in Japanese, Artemisia in Italian and German, and Artemisa in Spanish) is the primary antagonist and the Final Boss of Final Fantasy VIII. A powerful Sorceress from a future many generations ahead of the game's time, Ultimecia intended to compress time into one single moment with a form of magic known as Time Compression. She used a device called "Junction Machine Ellone," as a means to send her consciousness into the distant past. In the past era, Ultimecia manipulated world events, and utilized her ability to possess other sorceresses.
The first sorceress known to have fallen under Ultimecia's control was Edea Kramer of Centra. Ultimecia resided within Edea's body for a long period of time in order to enact her plan of Time Compression. In her final confrontation with Squall Leonhart, she attempted to absorb all that ever had and ever would exist, including all time and space, in order to become "a living god." However, her ambitions were ultimately thwarted at the hands of Squall and his friends.