Power of waking
- "What do you think the power of waking is? It's for traversing hearts to reach worlds. Not for traversing worlds to reach hearts. There's a high price to pay for wielding such power foolishly."
- —Young Xehanort, to Sora
The power of waking (眠りし心を解放する力 Nemurishi Kokoro wo Kaihō-suru Chikara, lit. "Power to free a sleeping heart") is an ability introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and is a key plot element in Kingdom Hearts III. It is described by Yen Sid as "the power to free a heart from its sleep".[1]
Only Riku and King Mickey are known to currently possess the power of waking. Sora previously had the power, but his abuse of the power of waking to break the World's natural order caused him to lose it.[2]
Abilities[edit]
True to its name, the power of waking is able to awaken a sleeping heart.
The power of waking can also use hearts as an intermediary to travel to certain worlds. It can additionally be used to reach the Realm of Darkness, and is one of few ways to do so outside of using a Corridor of Darkness, or a world becoming unstable.[3]
Unintended uses and consequences[edit]
However, the power of waking has unintended uses - since the states of sleep and death are connected[4], it is possible to use the power to restore recently-deceased hearts. Furthermore, the ability to use hearts to reach worlds can be reversed, instead using worlds to reach hearts.
Abusing the power of waking in these ways is a "nature taboo", and incurs a high price for the offender - their power of waking will be revoked, as well as some of their other abilities, and they will vanish from the world where they originate. As a result, the offender will be unable to return to their original world without outside assistance.[5]
Story[edit]
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]
Sora and Riku take a Mark of Mastery exam to not only be named Keyblade Masters, but also obtain the power of waking by awakening the Sleeping Worlds. However, Sora loses this power when Xehanort corrupts his heart with darkness. After passing the exam and defeating Xehanort, Riku uses the power of waking to dive into Sora's heart; there, he defeats the Armored Ventus Nightmare and awakens Sora by answering three questions in a vision of the Destiny Islands.
Kingdom Hearts III[edit]
Sora travels through the worlds in an attempt to regain the power of waking. Upon facing Vanitas at The Land of Departure, Sora realizes with Ventus's help that the power of waking is still sleeping within him. He then uses the power of waking to free Ventus's heart from within his own and awaken him from his eleven-year coma.
After rebuilding his body in The Final World, Sora uses the power of waking to travel between facsimiles of the worlds and track down his friends' hearts, in an attempt to save them from the Lich. He succeeds and sends them back in time to their arrival at the Keyblade Graveyard. As a result, Sora creates a tear in the fabric of time known as a singularity and changes history so that Sora's friends are saved by the Lingering Will.
Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind[edit]
After the final battle with Xehanort, Sora travels back in time to before his arrival at Scala ad Caelum to save Kairi's heart. He succeeds, but having repeatedly used the power of waking to restore hearts that have been erased from existence, Sora vanishes into another world.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory[edit]
After a year of searching for Sora after he disappeared, the Fairy Godmother takes Riku and Kairi to the Final World, where they meet the Nameless Star. The Nameless Star opens a Portal to the world of Quadratum, and Riku uses the power of waking to travel through it.
Notes and references[edit]
- ^ Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Yen Sid: "In your Mark of Mastery exam, you were to unlock seven Sleeping Keyholes. By doing so, you would awaken those worlds from their prison of slumber, and also acquire the power to free a heart from its sleep."
- ^ Kingdom Hearts III, Chirithy: "A forbidden act. Break a taboo of nature, and you'll end up paying an extraordinary price. / You'll lose your powers. You won't be able to use the power of waking."
- ^ Kingdom Hearts III, Glossary: "The realm of darkness, however, exists in a space closed off from time. It is accessible only via dark corridors—pathways that open for agents of darkness, or when worlds become unstable—or by using the 'power of waking.'"
- ^ Kingdom Hearts III, Chirithy: "The edges of sleep and death touch, and one can't help the occasional crossover."
- ^ Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind, Chirithy: "You'll lose your powers. You won't be able to use the power of waking. [...] You yourself... will vanish from this world. And without your powers, you can't return to the world you came from."
| Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind |
|---|
| Additional characters |
| Playable characters |
| Seven Guardians of Light |
| Roxas - Mickey Mouse - Kairi |
| Non-playable characters |
| Aerith - Cid - Darkness - Fairy Godmother - Squall Leonhart - The Master of Masters - Yuffie |
| Additional enemies |
| Bosses |
| Dark Inferno χ - Real Organization XIII's Recreated Data - Yozora |
| Terms |
| An Oath to Return - Data Greeting - Like, Is Any of This for Real or Not? - Premium Menu |
| Archives |
| Additional accessories - Additional armor - Additional abilities - Images - Trophy |
| Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory |
|---|
| Characters |
| Party members |
| Kairi - Sora - Roxas - Aqua - Riku Donald Duck - Goofy - Axel - Xion - Terra - Ventus - Meow Wow - Komory Bat - Mickey Mouse Hercules - Aladdin - Ariel - Peter Pan - Beast - Fa Mulan - Simba - Stitch |
| Antagonists |
| Xehanort - Ansem, Seeker of Darkness - Xemnas - Maleficent |
| Non-playable characters |
| Aeleus - Ansem the Wise - Even - Fairy Godmother - Ienzo - Nameless Star - Terra-Xehanort - Yen Sid |
| Locations |
| Worlds |
| Mysterious Tower - Radiant Garden - The Final World |
| Terms |
| An Oath to Return - Another Key - Key Art - Keyblade - Museum - Music Stage - Rhythm Points - Story Scene - The End - VS Battle - World Tour |
| Music |
| Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory - Special Disc - Unnamed tracks |
| Archives |
| Artwork - Bosses - Enemies - Items - Trophy - Songs |
