Of all the spells in the Final Fantasy franchise, Flare is among the most powerful. Thus far, Square Enix has introduced a few upgraded versions of the Flare spell across multiple Final Fantasy installments and spinoffs. While Megaflare is Bahamut's signature ability, Neo-Bahamut can be seen casting Gigaflare, whereas Bahamut Zero and Final Fantasy XIV's Bahumut both rely on Teraflare. Similarly, Petaflare is the finishing move Bahamut SIN uses in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and Exaflare is wielded by Midgardsormr, Bahamut Prime and Bahamut Fury. However, the most powerful Flare seen so far is wielded by an unlikely character -- Disney's Donald Duck as seen in Kingdom Hearts.

Zettaflare is perhaps the strongest spell in the entire Final Fantasy universe, as well as Square Enix's larger catalog. The spell's power was first demonstrated by Bahamut in Final Fantasy XIV during a boss fight. Zettaflare was later "repurposed" and styled as Zetta Flare in Bravely Default, where it was wielded by Airy, a companion Cryst-fairy who goes on to betray the party. Seven years later, Donald Duck struck Terra-Xehanort with Zettaflare before losing consciousness in Kingdom Hearts III.

RELATED: How Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Could Make the Original's Biggest Shock More Powerful

Donald Duck Is Capable of Destroying the Galaxy in Kingdom Hearts

Donald Duck casting Zettaflare in Kingdom Hearts III.

To understand just how strong a magic wielder has to be to cast Zettaflare, it's important to take a look at the spell's naming conventions. By and large, Square Enix uses Greek prefixes to quantify the power of different Flare spells. The first tier to take advantage of this metric is Megaflare, where the prefix mega- denotes a factor of power that comes with six zeros. This is followed by giga-, tera-, peta- and exa-, each increasing the spell's potency by three additional zeros, respectively. The last unit prefix in line boasting 21 zeros in total is zetta-, which means that the damage incurred by a single Zettaflare equals that of a septillion base Flare spells.

Why Square Enix chose Donald Duck as a worthy wielder of a spell capable of destroying the entire solar system in the extended Final Fantasy universe has not been confirmed through any official means. However, some theorize that the key lies in Donald's infamous temper. Known as a short fuse in various forms of media, Donald is the most aggressive out of the lot in Kingdom Hearts. He is also described as reckless, impatient and somewhat greedy.

RELATED: Indie TTRPG Interstitial Combines Dungeons & Dragons With Kingdom Hearts

Donald Duck Remains the Most Powerful Magic User in the Final Fantasy Universe

Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy are reporting for duty in Kingdom Hearts II

With traits such as these, Donald is the perfect fit for a powerful Final Fantasy Black Magic user. That said, his caring nature provides a stark contrast to what the fans would normally expect from someone yielding such tremendous power. To show that the balance between opposing forces can lead to mastery of extremely powerful spells, having Donald cast Zettaflare at the end of Kingdom Hearts III was likely intentional.

Whether Square Enix will further expand on the assortment of Flare spells in one of the upcoming Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts installments remains to be seen. Until then, as a character who was the last to cast Zettaflare, Donald Duck -- who is just as canon to Final Fantasy and any other Kingdom Hearts character -- remains the strongest magic wielder in the extended Final Fantasy universe.