Editing Darkness

{{Youmay|the plot element|[[Darkness (character)|the character]] or [[Dark (disambiguation)|other uses]]}}

{{Q|All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every Heart returns to the darkness whence it came! You see, darkness is the heart's true essence...|[[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]]}}

[[File:Eraqus Announces the Results 01 KHBBS.png|thumb|250px|Terra taps into his inner darkness.]]

{{nihongo|'''Darkness'''|闇|yami}} is a force parallel to [[light]], and is also used in the form of attacks in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' universe. Darkness is a force known to cause the loss of people's hearts if they have delved too deep into it. Slowly suppressed and conquered by the darkness's influence, these unfortunate souls become [[Heartless]] and, if their [[heart]] is strong enough, leave behind a [[body]] that becomes a [[Nobody]]. Those who follow the path of darkness will usually gain untold power at the expense of something of their former selves. The [[Realm of Darkness]] is also one of the three known realms in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' universe, along with the [[Realm Between]], and the [[Realm of Light]].  

Different characters have different views on darkness: [[Aqua]] regards it as nothing but "hate and rage," while Mickey insists that light and darkness are interdependent and cannot exist without one another.

 

Nearly all beings have darkness in their hearts, but the levels of darkness and light vary from person to person. For instance, [[Sora]] has less darkness in his heart than [[Pete]] or [[Maleficent]]. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however, as all seven of the [[Princesses of Heart]] naturally have hearts completely devoid of darkness. As a result of Master Xehanort forcibly removing the darkness from his heart, [[Ventus]]’s heart is pure light as well. The removed darkness itself, [[Vanitas]], likewise has a heart of pure darkness.

 

When Nobodies or Replicas are defeated, their body and [[soul]], if any, fade back into the darkness to await being reunited with their missing heart.

===Before ''[[Kingdom Hearts χ]]''===

The first light Kingdom Hearts came from the darkness in which the world began in. When the [[Master of Masters]] was a boy an earlier war began with a conflict between the physical manifestations of light and thirteen darknesses. This conflict continued without end for an unknown period of time. To finally win against light, [[Darkness (character)|Darkness]] abandoned its physical form and became a whole, but its will could not be maintained and in order to expand and propagate their number, they slowly corrupted people’s hearts to give rise to the [[Pureblood Heartless]].  

The [[χ-blade]], which acted as the counterpart and key to [[Kingdom Hearts]], was forged from pure light and darkness. The violence of the [[Keyblade War]] shattered it into seven pieces of light, and thirteen pieces of darkness.<ref>'''''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance''''', '''Yen Sid''': "As for the real χ-blade, it did not survive the battle. The two elements that created it, one of darkness and one of light, shattered into twenty pieces—seven of light; thirteen of darkness."</ref>

===''[[Kingdom Hearts χ]]''===

Before the second Keyblade War began, there was the Master of Masters and his apprentices [[Ira]], [[Invi]], [[Aced]], [[Gula]], [[Ava]] and [[Luxu]]. He taught them the ways of the Keyblade, how to form their own [[Union]]s and gave them their roles. Sometime after that, he creates the Spirit [[Chirithy]] to watch over the wielders during their endeavors but warned if any wielder gave into darkness then the Chirithy will turn into a Nightmare. When the Foretellers read that the [[Book of Prophecies]] foretold the world would end in darkness. In spite of their best efforts, distrust and accusations come between the Foretellers and their unions causing it to grow in some of the wielder's hearts turning them into [[Darklings]]. Aware that Darkness could not be defeated without a physical form, the Master's real purpose of training his students was to make their hearts strong enough so they could lock the seven strongest darknesses away.

 

 

 

 

 

The most major story development about light and darkness in the story is Riku's constant struggle throughout the game against the darkness in his heart. He tries to shun the darkness and "Ansem" out of him, but he cannot do it. Because of this, "Ansem" taunts him that darkness is his destiny. Riku finally finds a revelation in himself when he talks with [[Naminé]] after [[Zexion]], in the guise of Sora, blinds him with light. Riku finds that darkness can be used while under control, and that he should use it along with light to help defeat his enemies, and give him more power. This changes Riku, and "Ansem", thinking that Riku has turned to the darkness, mockingly tells him that he was right about Riku's destiny. Riku fights "Ansem" and destroys him. However, "Ansem" still lingers in Riku's heart. Riku later declines Naminé's offer to seal "Ansem" away in Riku's heart. Then, at the end of the story, [[Ansem the Wise|DiZ]] asks Riku which path he wishes to take. He decides to take the road to dawn, a path leading from darkness to light.

The Organization uses the Corridor of Darkness to travel to different worlds to conduct their missions. While Roxas is in his coma, the members at [[Castle Oblivion]] faded back into darkness. At the climax of the game, [[Riku]] uses the darkness in his heart to transform into [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]].

 

Riku, in the form of Ansem, has control over numerous powers of darkness. He is able to cast Dark Firaga, open Corridors of Darkness, and use darkness in finishing moves for his combos. After Riku returns to normal, he can no longer use the Corridors of Darkness but is able to use Dark Firaga and Dark Shield, among other attacks. When Sora enters his [[AntiForm]], he turns into a shadowy silhouette of himself and attacks enemies with darkness.

 

Organization XIII uses the power of darkness either to help them fight or use the Corridors of Darkness. After Xemnas absorbs the remnants of Kingdom Hearts, he uses the powers of both light and darkness.

 

Maleficent, once again an antagonist, uses darkness as well. She uses it to cover [[Disney Castle]]'s [[Hall of the Cornerstone]] with thorns. She is also able to use darkness to create walls of green fire.

 

When Sora and his friends confront Xemnas, he asks the warriors why they hate darkness. King Mickey replies that they do not really hate it, and are just scared of it. He goes on to say that the world has both light and darkness, and darkness is half of everything. He then says that it makes him wonder why they are scared of the dark. Riku answers that "it's because of what's lurking inside it", referring Xemnas and the other villains.

 

 

 

While Aqua travels through the Realm of Darkness alone, she comes face to face with the darkness of her own doubts and insecurities in her heart while fighting countless Heartless. She is eventually found by Mickey, who informs of the events that has been transpiring in the realm of light for the past decade. The Keyblade Masters work together to find the realm's Keyblade to help Sora and Riku seal the Door to Darkness to save the worlds from darkness.

 

 

 

 

Darkness is also been shown to be able to revive others, shown when Maleficent used the powers of darkness to resurrect [[Oogie Boogie]], and [[Ursula]]'s journal entry states the powers of darkness brought her back. This can cause memory problems; Oogie kept forgetting things.

Darkness can also be used for transportation. Experienced users of darkness are able to open a Corridor of Darkness to travel between locations with a great degree of speed. However, these are physical corridors of darkness, and prolonged or repetitive use of this means of travel will often allow darkness to manifest deeper within a being, leaving them more vulnerable to its negative effects in the long run. Dark corridors can also hide their users from sight; members of both Organizations used this to discreetly observe and taunt enemies.

[[DiZ]] shows the ability to use darkness to shapeshift, as does Naminé; he appears as [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]], while she took on [[Kairi]]'s form.{{storylink|Chain of Memories}} In a minor capacity, it can cause the illusion of a different skin tone as DiZ did while wearing his mask.

There are many items that have used for protection against the darkness. Some of these items are seen as simple things, such as the [[Midnight Anklet]] and [[Champion Belt]], which boost the equipped character's resistance to dark-element attacks, or the [[Keyblade Armor]] and [[black coat]], which protect the wearer from the darkness between the worlds.

==Effects of darkness==

[[File:Darkness Takes Over 01 KHBBS.png|thumb|250px|Terra submits to his darkness.]]

Darkness creates and feeds off of primal emotions such as anger, hate, greed, and fear. In the process, it makes those it affects experience and exhibits these feelings while constantly making those feelings stronger, eventually leading to the affected becoming a [[Heartless]] and (rarely) a [[Nobody]]. If one relies too heavily on the powers darkness gives them, it will swallow their hearts in a matter of time as Riku almost lost his heart from using Corridors of Darkness frequently.

Darkness can also change the physical appearance of those it affects, the most extreme is a normal person becoming a [[Shadow]] and Riku taking on the form of [[Riku-Ansem|Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]]. The most common physical changes are golden eyes, darkened skin, and silver hair; however, the manifestation of these traits depends on how much the darkness has stained the heart. [[Master Xehanort]] and his various incarnations display all these traits as he willingly embraces the darkness. [[Ansem the Wise]], on the other hand gains no changes in his appearance as he did not desire the power of darkness the way Xehanort did and only used it to traverse the worlds. Maleficent also does not experience any changes in her appearance nor do Pete or Hades.

==Known and notable darkness users==

<!-- Please note the above article referencing Nobodies and Corridor of Darkness users as darkness users, please see Talk:Darkness and declare reasons for removing people from this list

Shouldn't this be at Darkness (element)?-->

*{{c|Darkness|character}}

**[[Vanitas]]

*[[Master of Masters]]

*[[Luxu]]

*[[Master Xehanort]]

*[[Heartless]]

**[[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]]

**[[Organization XIII]]

**[[Naminé]]

*[[Ansem the Wise]]

*[[Riku]]

*[[Sephiroth]]

*[[Hans]]

==Notes and references==