Χ-blade

""χ"... A most ancient letter. Some say "kye," but the meaning is the same. Death... A letter that spells endings."

—Master Xehanort

The χ-blade (χブレード, Kīburēdo) is a legendary Keyblade introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. According to the Xehanort's Report, the χ-blade was an alternative method to opening Kingdom Hearts. As written in Report 7, he stated that "unlike the Keyblade, which existed to join Kingdom Hearts, the χ-blade existed alongside Kingdom Hearts." Presumably, Master Xehanort believed that lust for the power gained from opening Kingdom Hearts and thus the urge to create the χ-blade to open Kingdom Hearts was the reason behind the Keyblade War.

Story

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Ventus was trained by Master Xehanort so that he may use it to open the door to Kingdom Hearts, creating Vanitas from the darkness in Ventus's heart to achieve this goal. The χ-blade was finally created when Vanitas fused with Ventus, though both their fusion and the χ-blade were incomplete. Ventus fought off Vanitas, who was wielding the incomplete χ-blade, inside their Dive to the Heart, while Aqua and Mickey Mouse fought off Ventus-Vanitas (who wielded a completed χ-blade until Aqua destroys part of it with her Keyblade) in the Keyblade Graveyard. Thanks to the combined efforts of Ventus, Aqua and Mickey, the χ-blade was destroyed along with its wielder, Vanitas.

Within his reports, Master Xehanort stated that the χ-blade could be created when a heart of pure light and a heart of pure darkness intersected, both of their powers being equal. With the creation of the χ-blade, Kingdom Hearts, being the heart of all worlds, would form and one would be able to use the χ-blade to open Kingdom Hearts. As a result, Master Xehanort used Ventus as a tool to create the χ-blade as he split his heart into one of pure light, Ventus, and one of pure darkness, Vanitas.

Design

The incomplete χ-blade.

The χ-blade appears to be made up of two crossing Kingdom Keys, with the teeth facing outward. It has a filigree that slightly resembles one on the Ultima Weapon, and the blade slightly resembles the Dream Sword.

It should be noted that the incomplete χ-blade has the Ultima Weapon coloring to red-orange than bluish-yellow, and the blade is slightly covered with an aura of darkness. It also seems that the incomplete one appears to have chips in the side of the blade, and it lacks a part of the filigree on one side, and part of the Kingdom Key's hilt, what makes it look somehow broken or shattered. The Keychain's two crossed Kingdom Keys is reminiscent of the symbol of the "Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven". Although it is not seen in this incarnation, it is especially significant that the Kingdom Key has a silver blade and gold hilt, and the Kingdom Key D has a gold blade and silver hilt, matching the keys on the symbol.

File:X-Blade2.png

The Keychain of the χ-blade.

The Keychain is a black and red heart that is similar to the Heartless symbol, only without the fleur-de-lis bottom and jagged cross, with two Kingdom Keys crossed over it. The chain starts out as two separate chains that form into one.

The letter "χ" is the letter chi from the Greek alphabet. This is why the name of the weapon is spelled "χ-blade", but pronounced "Chi-blade", a pun on "Keyblade". In Japanese, the two are pronounced the same way. In turn, in the English version, it is pronounced "Keyblade", and Master Xehanort explains to Ventus, with a visual demonstration of the ancient letter "χ", that he is not referring to a Keyblade that Keyblade Wielders use. He also says it is sometimes pronounced "kye", but the meanings are the same.

Trivia

• The symbols that appear when someone is hit by the χ-blade resemble the ones from Way to the Dawn.
• Xemnas's memories of Master Xehanort's fascination with the χ-blade are the reason why all Organization XIII members are named with an anagram of their original names with an "X" added.

See also

• Kingdom Key