Editing Heart

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[[File:The King's Memory 01 KHII.png|thumb|220px|Hearts held captive in Ansem the Wise's laboratory.]]

A {{nihongo|'''heart'''|心|kokoro}} is one of the three parts which comprise a being in the ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|series}}'' universe, the other two being [[body]] and [[soul]]. Hearts are one of the key points in the game's mythology, and the antagonists often seek to use them for their own gain.

The primary meaning for "heart" in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' setting does not refer to the physical organ,<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts III]]''''', '''Vexen:''' "Oh, how does he do it? A creature absent a heart and yet somehow able to keep existing... Not even my finest replica can claim that achievement. [...] How disappointing. So this is all they meant when they said "heart." We've been chasing the wrong box this whole time."</ref> but instead to a metaphysical animating force. What actually makes up a heart is a mystery to virtually everyone in the setting,<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Ansem:''' "We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach."</ref> leading many characters to devote themselves to researching the heart to unlock its mysteries. However, this research helped demolish the barriers between worlds, setting up the events for the first Heartless invasion and causing many worlds to be plunged into darkness.

As of yet, it has been determined by the various characters that the heart is primarily made up of [[light]] and [[darkness]], the latter of which formed due to people's greed, hatred, anger, and other dark emotions. The exceptions to this are the [[Princesses of Heart]], maidens whose hearts are free of darkness, and hearts artificially made devoid of light or darkness, such as [[Ventus]] and [[Vanitas]]. Additionally, [[Dr. Finkelstein]] attempted to create an artificial heart for the purpose of making the [[Heartless]] more terrifying, rather than pursuing knowledge. He believed that the key elements of the heart are memories and surprise so his [[Dr. Finkelstein's ingredients|ingredients]] contained the essence of these two components. However, when [[Oogie Boogie]] consumed the heart that the doctor had created, it had an underwhelming effect. Oogie Boogie's plan was to control the Heartless by taking the heart, but few Heartless answered his call. This indicates that Dr. Finkelstein's hypothesis about hearts is incorrect, reinforcing the mystery surrounding hearts. Later, the [[real Organization XIII]] also attempt to create an artificial heart by collecting data of both positive and negative emotions on a program chip and installing it in [[Dark Baymax|the original Baymax]]. [[Vanitas]] states that his heart of pure darkness was restored by the Organization using the negative emotions collected by Monsters, Inc. Both suggest that hearts are constructed from emotions.

The heart appears to be responsible for the composure of memories, will, goals, and ambitions, as is the case in the transfer of [[Master Xehanort]]'s heart into [[Terra]] and the internal struggle of wills inside [[Terra-Xehanort]]. Despite lacking a heart, Nobodies inherit these traits from their original selves. The heart is also responsible for emotions, as beings lacking one, such as the Nobodies, cannot feel emotions.

 

Memories can also be used to create hearts, such as the data Vexen gathered on Riku to create the [[Riku Replica]]; Xion was also made from memories Xemnas sampled from Sora. It's considered impossible to recreate a heart from data; [[Ienzo]] said they could only partially recreate [[Roxas]]'s heart. Even Ansem the Wise admitted the citizens of [[The Other Twilight Town]] acted differently than what he programmed. This suggests while a heart can be made from data, even if it's based on an existing heart, it gains a will of its own.

Scholar Ansem the Wise was struck by a great curiosity of the heart and its true nature. He began research on the topic so he could better protect his world from the forces of darkness, together with his six apprentices, and started to write his reports. However, when Ansem realized that his experiments could bring disaster to the world, he stopped all his research.  

However, Xehanort decided to continue the experiments and realized that when hearts were seduced by darkness, a creature he dubbed a "Pureblood Heartless" was born. He made note of how Heartless acted on instinct and wished to try creating his own Heartless. To tell them apart from the Purebloods, he dubbed them "Emblems" and christened them with what would later become the Heartless insignia. He also noted how they behaved relatively the same way, continuing to experiment in other areas with which the heart was concerned. He had no idea that he had caused chaos to brew. Soon, Ansem became aware of Xehanort's activities, and he ordered that his research be stopped at once. This strict request would lead to the birth of Xehanort's Heartless and [[Xemnas]], as well as the rebellion of Ansem's other apprentices. Xehanort and the other apprentices' Nobodies would later grow to form [[Organization XIII]], a group that had the sole purpose of unlocking the secrets of the heart.

While Ansem was cast out into the Realm of Nothingness, Xehanort wrote the [[Ansem Reports]]. After he put his research and his findings to paper, these reports scattered across the worlds and were able to help the residents of Traverse Town and Sora in his first journey when it came to learning about and fighting the Heartless. Ansem's experiments on the heart would continue to haunt him even after his escape from the Realm of Nothingness as he came across the reports and Heartless spawned by the research of himself and his apprentices. He was forced to recall his past mistakes and even failed to succeed in avenging his dignity, realizing all of his experimentation had gotten him nowhere. Upon his supposed death, which instead erased the majority of his memory and sent him to the [[Dark Margin]], one of the last things he would hear was Xemnas's accusations that he was the source of all Heartless and that the chaos and turmoil that had resulted over the past years were all his fault.

According to legend, the χ-blade shattered into twenty pieces, seven of which were of light. These seven pieces then became hearts of pure light; unlike [[Darkness (character)|the darknesses]], they have no sentience. The bearers of these hearts are known as "Princesses of Heart," because they are always female, for reasons unknown. Because they are needed to access Kingdom Hearts, the Princesses were sought by selfish and villainous beings who wished to rule all the worlds; [[Maleficent]] and [[Master Xehanort]] in particular. Kingdom Hearts could only be accessed by the completion of a Keyhole, which required all seven pure hearts to be joined as one in the [[Keyblade of heart]]. These hearts were released, however, due to Sora keeping Kingdom Hearts out of the villains' reach.

 

 

Xehanort crystallized Kairi's heart for safekeeping, placing a fragment each in Mickey and Riku's hearts, while hiding the remaining five in [[Scala ad Caelum]]. The fragments are gathered by Sora and put together by the [[Seven Guardians of Light|Guardian]]'s lights, allowing him to open a [[Gate]] to revive Kairi.

A cherished element throughout the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, hearts possess many unique powers and abilities. It is for this reason that antagonists seek them. Hearts are able to produce emotion, something that members of Organization XIII crave. Strong hearts are also able to feel the emotions of those connected with them, demonstrated many times by Sora, who has unconsciously felt the sadness of Roxas, Ventus, and Xion, as well as Vanitas, who was able to feel some of what Ventus felt. As shown with [[Kairi]] and Ventus, if one's body remains intact when the heart is lost and is not turned into a Nobody, the person will enter a state similar to catatonia until the heart is restored. Ventus, in particular, has been in this state for over a decade, without a change in his health, despite there being no one to look after him. It is unclear if he has aged.

Hearts are also able to merge with others or be split. When [[Player]] chose to stay awake instead of sleeping like the other Dandelions, their heart dissolved and merged with a hooded figure who eventually raises [[Xehanort]]. They can be split to produce an embodiment of either the light or the darkness, as seen when Master Xehanort produces Vanitas by unlocking the darkness of Ventus's heart.

Hearts can be absorbed into the heart of another, either with permission (explicit or implied) from the host heart's owner, or by force. Both Ventus and Kairi had their hearts enter Sora's after they were compromised in different ways, while Eraqus's heart was absorbed into Terra's after the former's defeat at the hands of Xehanort. There are notable differences when hearts are placed into someone else, based on the intentions of said hearts' owner: Ventus and Kairi left their hearts with Sora for safekeeping, unintentionally giving him access to a Keyblade and Kairi's memories, respectively. However, if someone forces their heart into the heart of another against their will, the victim will take on traits from the invading heart's original owner, as shown with [[Terra-Xehanort]]. In a similar scenario, if someone places a fragment of their heart into another, it can gradually turn the victim into a clone of the original person (though, in the case of Master Xehanort, his heart is strong and full of darkness, so it corrupts the host regardless if they are willing or unwilling).  

In ''Kingdom Hearts III'', the members of the Organization, minus [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]], [[Xemnas]], [[Young Xehanort]], and [[Vanitas]] (who already had hearts filled with darkness) did not turn into clones of Xehanort after receiving pieces of [[Master Xehanort]]'s heart; instead, they only gain his golden eyes and pointed ears. Even after their defeats, remnants of their hearts lingered on as [[Replica Xehanort|copies of Master Xehanort]] in a unique new uniform; they later merged with him to create a powerful [[Keyblade Armor]].

The heart also has a heavy influence on all that lives, having the power to produce Heartless and potentially Nobodies at its loss or corruption by darkness. As the heart grants emotion, negative emotions formed when Vanitas and Ventus were split caused the Unversed to spawn, hence their connection to the heart. Hearts can also be merged to create unique Keyblades, such as the [[χ-blade]] and the Keyblade of heart. These Keyblades ultimately grant access to Kingdom Hearts.  

 

 

 

 

 

Newly born and young children's hearts have even stranger, with more unique abilities. When Player dissolved and merged their heart with Xehanort's caretaker, Xehanort was able to receive glimpses and dreams of his caretaker's former life, giving him the motivation to seek other worlds. Sora's was able to seek out and unite with the broken fragments of Ventus' simply because he was brought to Sora's home-world, and as a result of this, Vanitas took on an appearance similar to Sora's. Then, the merge stabilized Ventus' heart, allowing him to eventually recover. This also resulted in both Sora and Ventus forming a connection, granting Sora the ability to sense Ventus' pain and suffering. With Riku's guidance, Sora reached out to Ventus' heart and allowed it to stay within his own heart. This would later cause Sora's Nobody, Roxas, to take on Ventus' appearance when Ventus' heart remained within Sora's body when the latter became a Heartless.<ref>[[Kingdom Hearts Ultimania|'''''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'' Ultimania''']], '''Interviewer:''' "Is it possible that Roxas has a heart?" / '''Tetsuya Nomura:''' "It is thought that it could be Ventus's heart... As was said in Q1, he has taken a lot of himself from Ventus. But perhaps when Sora and Roxas were separated, Ventus’ heart stayed in Roxas?" [https://www.khinsider.com/news/BBS-Ultimania-20-Mysteries-Solved-2546 Translation via Lissar].</ref> Xemnas and [[Xigbar]] also revealed that a new heart could be "nurtured," even to the point where it became an exact replica of another person's heart, although they implied that they needed the power of Kingdom Hearts in order to do so.

Even after Sora was restored as a complete being, his corruption continued to plague him. The darkness in his heart would sometimes take over his Drive Forms, causing him to transform into the feral AntiForm. Although he showed no signs of the usual Heartless behavior in this state, it was still a danger, because he could not heal or wield the Keyblade while in this form, and he could not willingly change back. However, once Roxas and Sora merged, Sora is able to become truly complete once again, granting him his strongest [[Final Form]] as well as dissipating his Heartless transformation. His Heartless remained alive inside his memories, corrupting the journal that recorded his journey, growing exponentially more powerful, and attempting to reclaim his body.

A disembodied heart that is not turned into a Heartless may sink into a semiconscious state, as with Kairi, who was unable to interact with the world, except to appear as visions to Sora.

When Master Xehanort divided Ventus's heart, Ventus was left catatonic. The last remnants of his heart fading away, he would have perished, had Sora not combined hearts with him. Even after this, it took an unspecified but lengthy amount of time for Ventus to return to a sense of normalcy. During this time, if one attempted to interact with Ventus for more than just basic greetings or instructions, he would scream in pain and collapse. Ventus did not regain his memory of what happened to him until Master Xehanort explained it to him. In the novelization of ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'', Vanitas also suffered extensively from feelings of incompleteness and inadequacy. After Ventus defeated Vanitas, Vanitas seemingly returned to Ventus's heart, his consciousness vanishing without a trace, while Ventus sank back into catatonia for over ten years.

Even Master Xehanort suffered some ill effects from tampering with his own heart. He was not able to completely control Terra's body, and the aftermath of their clash of wills gave him amnesia. Ultimately, he had to give in to darkness and become a Heartless in order to get his plans back on track. This Heartless was incorporeal, being forced to manipulate events from behind the scenes, and it could not use a Keyblade unless he was controlling the body of another Keyblade wielder. His Nobody inherited his amnesia, and it was also unable to wield a Keyblade, for reasons not fully understood. It took Master Xehanort over a decade to regain himself fully.

True death is possible if the body and heart are destroyed at the same time.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts III]]''''', '''Chirithy:''' "The natural end for those whose hearts and bodies perish together."</ref>

 

When a person's body and heart are destroyed at the same time, only hearts make it to the Final World. Much more so to the hearts that persist according to Chirithy it's because something or someone is still connected to the heart of the person that perished, refusing them let go.  

[[Kingdom Hearts]] is the largest and grandest heart of all. The heart of all worlds, it is a source of fantastic power and wisdom, and as such is sought out by many villains for different reasons. The artificial Kingdom Hearts of ''Kingdom Hearts II'' takes on the shape of a heart-shaped moon, which further reinforces the fact it is the heart of all worlds.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Saïx:''' "Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts. And yet they know not the true power of what they hold. The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free...until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes, we can truly, finally exist."</ref> Upon a heart's release after the defeat of an Emblem Heartless, these hearts travel to Kingdom Hearts, empowering it, and in the case of the ''Kingdom Hearts II'' storyline, benefiting the Nobodies. However, when a Pureblood Heartless is defeated, no heart appears.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''''', '''Marluxia:''' "The ones you just defeated are known as Purebloods. Purebloods don't release any hearts when you defeat them. In other words, don't bother with them."</ref>

[[File:Leon 01 KH.png|thumb|left|A heart being consumed by darkness.]]

When a being, be they good or evil, gives in to the darkness in their heart, their heart is consumed by it and becomes a [[Heartless]]. This new entity separates from the body and soul, which fade into darkness, and begins to act on a primal instinct to gather other hearts and corrupt them.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''''', '''Yen Sid:''' ""If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts."</ref> This instinct results in Heartless attacking other beings to increase their numbers, and attacking the heart of a world by means of the [[Keyhole]], causing it to be completely overwhelmed by darkness.<ref>'''''[[Ansem's Report 10]]''''': Just as people have hearts, so do worlds. The same can be said of stars in the night sky. And deep within each world lies a door to its heart. The Heartless desire those hearts. Born out of the darkness in people's hearts, they seek to return to a greater heart.</ref> Of course, as dictated by their instinct, the Heartless seek out the biggest heart of all: Kingdom Hearts.

[[File:Up Until Now and From Here On Out 01 KHII.png|thumb|The result of a heart being consumed by darkness.]]

The amount of darkness in the heart, as well as the strength of the heart, seems to dictate the strength of the Heartless formed. As the Princesses of Heart contained no darkness in their hearts, they could not create Heartless. Likewise, Sora's heart contained so little darkness, he became a small [[Shadow]], though his heart was immensely strong. This lets him keep his emotions and memories instead of fading to the darkness, and though it could not speak, his heartless displayed no aggression and merely sought out his friends. Xehanort's heart was so strong and full of darkness that he was able to fully retain his sense of self, and his heartless took on his original form when not in his incorporeal state. This heartless, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, has been implied to be the most powerful heartless currently in the Realm of Light, if not the most powerful heartless of all. The Heartless are arranged in a hierarchical society, with the most powerful Heartless directing the others' actions. This theory was proven by [[Xehanort]] whose [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Heartless]] went on to control all others.

Emblem Heartless defeated by the Keyblade gives up the stolen heart, which causes it to return to the owner's original body. Heartless slain by another weapon return to darkness and eventually reconstitute elsewhere. However, in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', the hearts went to [[Organization XIII]], who captured the hearts. Hearts will also not return to their owner if a Nobody was formed.

 

[[File:Up Until Now and From Here On Out 02 KHII.png|thumb|left|The empty shell left behind by a strong heart.]]

When a particularly strong heart is turned into a Heartless, the body it leaves behind begins to act of its own accord due to the strong will it possesses, becoming a [[Nobody]].<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> The body of a Nobody may be warped to a degree from its original form, depending on the strength of its heart. Members of Organization XIII all possessed remarkably strong hearts, allowing their Nobodies to retain their human appearance with only minor changes. Due to a lack of a heart, a Nobody cannot truly feel emotions; many members of Organization XIII often pretend that they can, following their memories of their human selves. The weaker Nobodies lose their sense of self, are made subservient to the Organization, and can even be modified beyond their original forms. A notable exception to this rule was Sora due to having his and Ventus's heart within him. As a result, his body retained Ventus's heart, resulting in his Nobody, Roxas, to look identical to Ventus rather than Sora.

[[File:Xemnas' Thoughts 02 KHII.png|thumb|Organization XIII capturing hearts.]]

In ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days'', Organization XIII's heart collection process was greatly elaborated upon. While on several missions to various worlds, Nobodies of the Organization would seek out as many Emblem Heartless as possible, obtaining a captive heart from those they defeated. The captive hearts would then be absorbed by Kingdom Hearts, more specifically, [[Xemnas]]'s synthetic incarnation of the world, immediately afterward. Organization XIII completely ignored Pureblood Heartless, as they lacked the hearts they sought. The heart collection field was strictly where Xemnas found a use for [[Roxas]], Sora's Nobody being the only one amongst their ranks able to actually release hearts, as he wielded the Keyblade. Any other Organization member simply caused a Heartless to fade back into darkness when it was defeated, without the released heart side-effect. [[Xion]] also possessed this power, as she was Sora, and to a lesser extent, Roxas's replica. While Xemnas planned on having Xion absorb Roxas so he could have the full power of Sora's Keyblade in the end, he desperately wished to reclaim Roxas after Xion was defeated and Roxas fled the Organization. He did not count on Roxas being captured by Riku in the Nobody's attempt to free Kingdom Hearts. This forced Xemnas to use Sora himself as an alternative.

In ''Kingdom Hearts II'', Organization XIII switched tactics and used Sora for heart collection, because no surviving member was able to collect hearts after Roxas was absorbed by Sora. Sora remained unaware of his role in Xemnas's plan, sending captive hearts to Kingdom Hearts as he saved each world from the Heartless threat. When [[Saïx]] revealed this role to the Keyblade wielder, however, Sora became wary of defeating Heartless, as he did not wish to aid his enemies, the Organization. He had no choice, however, eventually reaching [[The World That Never Was]], Organization XIII's stronghold. When [[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]] met up with Ansem the Wise, the elderly scholar attempted to encode Kingdom Hearts as data with a special device, the [[Kingdom Hearts Encoder]]. He realized, upon the machine's self-destruction, that hearts couldn't be encoded as data, destroying Xemnas's synthetic Kingdom Hearts and releasing every heart it held inside before not only his death but the final battle in Kingdom Hearts itself between Sora, Riku, and the Organization's Superior. The Nobodies were seen in the city below, waving their arms and presumably trying to locate their hearts, while the hearts that hit the darkness below the Castle That Never Was instantly transformed into Shadows.

It is unknown what became of hearts released in ''Kingdom Hearts''. While Organization XIII did exist, they did not collect hearts until Roxas's birth, after the events of Hollow Bastion, and after he trained with the Organization members featured in ''Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories''. It is most logical that these hearts went back to their bodies and returned to their original form.

[[File:A Girl in Distress 01 KHBBS.png|thumb|left|The basic form of a negative emotion's embodiment.]]

Unlike other enemies seen throughout the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, the [[Unversed]] lack a direct connection to the heart. Instead, they are the embodiment of negative emotions, produced when Ventus's heart was split in half by Master Xehanort to create [[Vanitas]]. It is implied that they feed off of negative emotions let off from the hearts of others, growing stronger, and in turn make Vanitas stronger when they are slain and flow back into him. In [[Monstropolis]], Vanitas explained his own heart could be reconstructed by the Unversed once they've gathered a sufficient amount of negative emotions.

To wield a [[Keyblade]], one must have a strong heart, whether it be a heart of darkness or light, and they must have [[Bequeathing|touched a Keyblade before]] or inherited the ability from one who has. Roxas could wield a Keyblade even though he did not remember his time as Sora, but it took an effort to get it to materialize in the beginning, and he was not aware of all of its properties, such as returning to the wielder's hand when called. Xemnas, however, did not wield a Keyblade. Riku implied becoming a [[Heartless]] makes one unworthy, telling Ansem that "darkness took [his] heart, and the Keyblade with it".

A type of Keyblade made from hearts also exists. The only known Keyblades of this type are the χ-blade, which is made from a heart of pure darkness and a heart of pure light, and the [[Keyblade of heart]], which is made from the hearts of the seven Princesses of Heart. The χ-blade may also be forged from the clash of seven guardians of light and thirteen wielders of darkness, by forging a new Keyblade for every clash between the two forces until thirteen have been made.