Heartless: Difference between revisions

Emblem Heartless, on the other hand, were originally created from a machine designed to reproduce the process of a heart being consumed by darkness.<ref>'''''[[Ansem Report 8]]''''', "There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to people's heatts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and thr mysteries shrouding the heart. Asa a start, i have buily a devuce that artificially creates Heartless. By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I should be able to produce rhem artificially. The device is the culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run successfully xreated a Heartless. Thus may be a step toward xreating a heart from nothing. The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types should remain distinct for thr purposes of this experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially."</ref><ref>'''''[[Secret Ansem's Report 5]]''''': "The six traitors were operating a laboratory that churned out those cursed shadows. Not only did they generate "pureblood" Heartless from living hearts, but they then used those Heartless to synthesize artificial versions of the creatures as well. These synthetic Heartless bore insignias and were called "Emblems." Pureblood or Emblem, these Heartless act only to fulfill their instinctive needs. They single-mindedly detect hearts and swarm around them."</ref> Once that machine was activated, most stolen hearts become Emblems, provided they contain darkness. They are more common on the worlds within the Realm of Light, and usually mimic the shape of creatures or objects within that world. The machine fell into disuse after ''[[Kingdom Hearts (game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'', due to the [[Villains]] losing the control of Hollow Bastion. However, powerful Emblem Heartless have also been shown to be created directly from [[Storm Rider|a dragon from the Land of Dragons]], [[Skoll|Prince Hans]] and [[Grim Guardianess|Mother Gothel]].

Heartless – Emblem or Pureblood – possess several key characteristics that define them as Heartless. Pureblood Heartless are generated naturally from the darkness within people's hearts. Heartless are born when a heart is consumed by the darkness within it, or when a Heartless steals the heart. <ref>'''''Ansem Report 4:''''' "The Heartless appear in group, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided by living and non-living samples. They've only responded to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing somehting from thr living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace. I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by he Heartless become Heartless themselves."</ref>They can also be drawn out by a dark being like [[Maleficent]] <ref>'''''Kingdom Hearts II''''', '''Maleficent:''' "In the meantime, I'll turn Santa Claus into ''Santa Heartless.'' [···] I do hope our jolly friend is looking forward to becoming a Heartless."</ref>or a source of dark power like the [[Keyblade of heart]].<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Ultimania]]''''' "As Yen Sid says in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', the Heartless cannot be separated from the darkness in people's hearts, and have been around for a long time. Beings of darkness can draw out the darkness in the heart, so Master Xehanort could summon the Neoshadows with his own hands. In the same way, when Xehanort and Ansem the Wise's students begin to perform the first experiments on the darkness of the heart, artificial Heartless were created in large numbers."</ref> This process will occasionally also form [[Nobodies]], which are born from the [[body]] and [[soul]] left behind when the heart is lost.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Yen Sid:''' "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will---be they evil or good---becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own."</ref> Being born from darkness, they are mindless and act on instinct; because of such, their only goal is stealing more hearts to turn into Heartless. But what they desire above all are the hearts of worlds, and thus they enter worlds in search of the way into the hearts of the worlds. {{Storylink|Ansem Reports}}When they consume these colossal hearts, the remains of the world form new worlds, such as [[Traverse Town]] and [[End of the World]].

At the same time, Heartless seek out the users of the Keyblade, since the Keyblade holds the power to lock and unlock hearts.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Leon:''' "The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade. That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what."</ref> If a Heartless is slain by a Keyblade, it will reunite with the body and soul it left behind, if it isn't currently a Nobody. In order to stop the users of the Keyblades, the Heartless use the Keyblade itself as a homing beacon, but ultimately desire to take the heart that commands it. Because of this, Keyblade wielders are under constant attack. Magic can also destroy Heartless, but only temporarily.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''''', '''Xion:''' "But if I don't defeat Heartless with the Keyblade... the hearts they release just find their way into other Heartless instead. I swat them in one place and they just pop up in another."</ref> If a keyblade wielder becomes a Heartless, their keyblade is lost to them. <ref>''''' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance''''', '''Riku:''' Ansem, or rather, Xehanort. You used to be a keyblade wielder, but darkness stole your heart and the keyblade with it." </ref>

The strength of a Heartless is proportional to the depth of the darkness from which it was born. The darker the heart forming a Heartless, Emblem or Pureblood, the more powerful and more monstrous the resulting being will be.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''''', '''Pete:''' "I'll give that pirate somethin' he can reeeally be greedy about. Then I'll summon a great big whopper of a Heartless!"</ref><ref>'''''Kingdom Hearts II''''', '''Pete:''' "Just wait till [[Jafar]] is free; he's going to make one beauty of Heartless."</ref> An exception to this is Xehanort's Heartless, who retained his human appearance for unknown reasons.<ref>'''''[[Ansem Report 11]]:''''' "The body is gone; the heart should have returned to the Heartless. And yet, nothing. This one is unlike any other. Its memories remain, and itbhas yetbtk take the form of a Heartless. A close wye must be kept on the situation. Much is still unknown.</ref> This is a contrast to Nobodies, which determine rank according to the strength of the heart, and whose appearances become more human as they increase in power. Furthermore, as beings of elemental darkness, some Heartless are able to take possession of other beings or even inanimate objects, granting them immense dark power and often reshaping their very forms to suit their purpose.

The Heartless, being mindless, usually have no master to direct their actions and instead act on the instinct to consume more hearts. However, there are some higher beings who can command them. Heartless will obey those with an affinity for darkness and a strong will. If many people attempt to control them, the Heartless will side with whomever is most powerful.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Saïx:''' "The Heartless ally with whoever's the strongest."</ref> However, those with hearts, such as Maleficent, endanger themselves, as the Heartless are attracted to their hearts and if they show weakness, the Heartless will not hesitate to consume their hearts.<ref>'''''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}''''', '''Maleficent:''' "Don't steep yourself in darkness too long. The Heartless consume the careless."</ref> However, the Heartless are capable of manipulating others that direct them. <ref>'''''Kingdom Hearts''''', '''[[Riku-Ansem]]:''' "How ironic. She was another puppet after all. [···] The Heartless were using Maleficent from the beginning. She failed to notice the darkness in her heart eating away at her. A fitting end for such a fool."</ref>