Ephemer

Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!
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"We'll go together."

—Ephemer

Ephemer is a Keyblade wielder who appears in Kingdom Hearts χ. He seeks to discover the truth behind the gathering of Lux and the structure of the world.

Story

Before Kingdom Hearts χ

Ephemer becomes a Keyblade wielder at an unknown point. Shortly afterwards, Ephemer meets Skuld and joins her party. Over time, more wielders gradually join them as they journey together to gather as much Lux as possible. Due to their busy schedules, Ephemer and Skuld begin drifting apart, putting a strain on their friendship. Eventually, Ephemer decides to leave the group to go his own way.

Ephemer starts to question the secrets of the world and the Book of Prophecies. Seeking answers, Ephemer approaches Ava and asks her why the Unions fight one another rather than working together, and Ava states that it is simply because the Master of Masters said so and his word is absolute.

Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]

Ephemer meets the Player one day while in Waterfront Park, where he is bested by an Invisible and the Player steps in to help Ephemer defeat the Invisible. Admitting that he had gotten a little cocky, Ephemer introduces himself to Player, and the two find that they are from opposing Unions. In spite of this, since Ephemer had been working on something outside of his Union for the day, he opts to explain his investigation to Player in return for helping him out. Ephemer then reveals to Player how the worlds they visit are merely projections and that they Lux they collect in actually from the world they're in. In order to better explain himself, Ephemer elaborates that the worlds are connected by land, however it's impossible to reach them all, thus the mechanism that creates the projections allows them to collect Lux from faraway lands. Though he's still unsure how it all works, Ephemer assumes that it's the Book of Prophecies that's creating the projections. Furthermore, Ephemer voices his desire to know why wielders are fighting over Lux without knowing why - revealing that he'd come to learn that the reason is because the Unions all have different goals.

With this in mind, Player explains a dream he'd had the night before in which he saw the Foreteller Aced, Ava, Foreteller Gula, Foreteller Invi, and Foreteller Ira meeting with a hooded figure in the Foreteller's Chamber. Intrigued, Ephemer suggests that the two of them investigate the room from Player's dream. When Ephemer questions whether or not Player knows where the room is, Player confirms that he does and motions toward the Clock Tower, with Ephemer understanding and explaining that he'd been there a few times before, but he'd never found a way in. The two split up in order to find some way of getting in, with Player eventually finding an entrance through the sewers located in a drained river. As Player and Ephemer proceed through the sewers, they're mobbed by Heartless - with Player getting bested by an Invisible on one occasion. Ephemer is quick to defeat the Invisible and heal Player however, joking that the two of them were now even. A crashing noise from ahead prompts Player to proceed forward - only to be stopped by Ephemer, who suggests that they come back later - reasoning that it had taken them a long time just to get this far, and they still don't know how long it will take them to enter the Clock Tower and find the Foreteller's Chamber - so it's going to look suspicious to their Union Leaders if they're missing for too long. Agreeing to meet the following day, Ephemer parts ways with his new friend.

Sometime later, Ephemer comes across Ava sitting alone in the Fountain Square and notices her depressed demeanor. Although Ava remains vague, she expresses her doubts about the Master's teachings regarding the competition between the Unions, much to Ephemer's surprise. Ava approves of Ephemer's desire to solve the mysteries of the world, as she believes that people should question things and think for themselves. Ephemer jokingly tries to get Ava to talk about the Book of Prophecies, but she denies him. Ephemer reveals to her that he had befriended a Keyblade wielder from a different Union, and Ava is pleased that wielders from other Unions could work together. Before Ephemer leaves, he asks Ava to cheer up, which brings a smile to her face.

That night, Ephemer ventures into the sewers alone - apologizing to Player before continuing his investigation. Before Ephemer can enter the Clock Tower however, he is confronted by Ava. Relocating to a more private setting on the Outskirts, Ava reveals the final entry in the Book of Prophecies, which details the events of the Keyblade War - an event that will subsequently bring about the end of the world. As well, Ava reveals her role to Ephemer, being to assemble exceptional Keyblade wielders, regardless of their Unions, into a separate faction called the Dandelions, who would not take part in the Keyblade War and instead travel to another realm to ensure that Light would not expire; inviting Ephemer to join the Dandelions. Though skeptic, Ephemer agrees, and Ava proceeds to explain that she intends on choosing five people from the Dandelions - including Ephemer - to act as Union Leaders in the Foreteller's stead following the Keyblade War. This makes Ephemer uneasy - prompting Ava to ask if he feels alright about being a Union Leader. Ephemer tells Ava that he can't handle becoming a Union Leader all of a sudden, claiming that all this talk of destruction is a pretty bad joke. Even so, Ava stresses that they do not have time for this, from now on everything depends on them, because if someone doesn't gather Lux, Light will expire.

Ava implores Ephemer to rise up to the challenge alongside his fellow Union Leaders so that they can lead each of the Unions and show everyone the way; asking if having four more wielders by his side wouldn't make it easier for Ephemer. As Ephemer accepts this, Ava provides Ephemer with a book of rules, explaining that the rules within must be followed absolutely. Thinking of what's transpired, Ephemer mentions that even though they've been talking for a while, he still doesn't buy all that Ava has said about the end of the world and the Union Leaders. However, Ava instructs Ephemer to do as she says regardless, which Ephemer agrees to do. Ava explains that what she's asking of Ephemer will help to prepare him for the other worlds, revealing that soon all the Dandelions will follow. Furthermore, they will experience the same events in the new world that they have already experienced, only without the future of destruction. Ephemer compares this to an overwrite - with Ava adding that the Union Leaders must erase the memories of the destruction from the minds of their fellow Dandelions, while also avoiding any possible connections between the two worlds. When Ephemer asks if this means that, to the Dandelions, it will be as if the end of the world never happened, which Ava confirms - insisting that there is no need for such tragic memories. Thus, the truth about the Keyblade War must be kept a secret among the new Union Leaders; asking that they work with the Chirithy in order to make this happen. Ephemer questions if it wouldn't be better to move forward with the memories of the tragedy within their Hearts. Ava anticipates that Ephemer would say this, asking if he will feel the same way when the Keyblade War is finally upon them. Ava then sends Ephemer into an unchained state so that he can travel to another realm in preparation for what is to come - instructing him to meet the other Union Leaders in the Keyblade Graveyard following the Keyblade War.

From this other realm, Ephemer attempts to reach out to Player - showing Player his conversation with Ava in a dream. From there, Ephemer meets Player in the Fountain Square as they were originally meant to - apologizing for being late by saying that there was something important that he had to take care of; asking for forgiveness. Ephemer and Player then proceed into the sewers in the dream, where Ephemer leads Player to the location they were meant to continue their investigation from. However, when Player does not appear ready to proceed, Ephemer reveals that he'd had a feeling this might be the case. Telling Player that he'll be waiting, Ephemer disperses into a cloud of Dandelions, allowing Player to wake from their dream - now equipped with clues to lead him to Ava. Around the same time, Ephemer visits Skuld in her dreams as well, instructing her to seek out Player, while also informing her that the end of the world is near.

When the Dandelions cross over to the new world as per Ava's instructions, Ephemer is reunited with Skuld - who had accepted Ava's invitation to join the Dandelions. Together, they venture back to the Keyblade Graveyard following the conclusion of the Keyblade War, finding that Player had survived, but lie unconscious. Waking, Player is shocked to see Ephemer again, reminding him that he’d broken their promise. Accepting responsibility for this, Ephemer voices his happiness over finally reuniting with Player before extending a hand to Player and suggesting that they go together. As Player accepts becoming a Dandelion, Ephemer and Skuld bring Player to the new world, where they rebuilt the Realm of Light with the Light from within their Hearts. Upon Player’s arrival in this new realm, just like the other Dandelions, he forgets everything about the Keyblade War and the world he'd left behind, just as Ava had intended.

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]

As per Ava's instructions, Ephemer ventures to the Keyblade Graveyard. Though Ephemer looks around, he can't see anyone else - finding that he is the first of the five new Union Leaders to arrive. Just then, a voice rings out from behind him, asking if they are they second? Turning, a shocked Ephemer sees Skuld - who asks if Ephemer is disappointed to see that it's her, mentioning that she'd anticipated seeing him there. Ephemer reminisces about how the two of them had already visited the Keyblade Graveyard together since the end of the Keyblade War, however he didn't think that she'd be chosen as one of the Union Leaders. Skuld reasons that it's in part because the identity of the Union Leaders was meant to be kept secret until they all met at this moment. Skuld then wonders aloud who the other three Union Leaders could be - but Ephemer admits that he has no idea - admitting that, before Skuld showed up, he hadn't put much faith in what Ava had said, so he couldn't possibly think of who could be coming. Skuld then sees someone in the distance.

When the third Union Leader gets closer, Skuld welcomes him and introduces herself, while Ephemer asks if he'd been sent by Ava as well. The third confirms this, prompting Ephemer to step forward in order to shake his hand, introducing himself in the process. The third then introduces himself as Ventus, though he asks that Ephemer and Skuld call him Ven. While bonding, Ephemer and Skuld reveal that they had been friends prior to becoming Dandelions. Ven admits that he's sort of jealous of their relationship because he's always been kind of a loner; something which Skuld can relate to. However, Ven claims not to be anyone special either, as he'd never ranked very high, so really he's not sure why he was chosen to be one of the new Union Leaders. Skuld conveys that Ava must have had some reason for choosing Ven - though Ven explains that he'd never really spoken to Ava before so he doesn't know what she was like. Ephemer pipes up, saying that Ava was really easy to talk to - amused Skuld tells Ephemer that he thinks everyone is easy to talk to; though he denies it. Ven voices his jealousy over Ephemer and Skuld's friendship - but Ephemer corrects Ven by stating that he's their friend now too.

With that, the fourth Union Leader makes his presence know, commenting on how nice the concept of friends sounds and introducing himself as Brain. Brain admits that he'd thought he would be the last to arrive - though surprisingly this isn't the case. When Ephemer confirms this, Brain asks if Ephemer is their leader - though Ephemer denies that he is the leader and stresses that it hasn't been decided yet, as they first must wait until they've all arrived. Brain accepts this, asking instead if the rules they'd been provided were absolute. Skuld suggests that the rules would be absolute, prompting Brain to compare her to Ava because of her diligence; which she notes is the second time that's happened. Hearing this, Ephemer jokes that Skuld isn't as amazing as Ava. Brain then questions if they can really believe all of this - voicing his discomfort with lying to everyone about the Keyblade War; something that had bothered Ven as well. Thinking about the pain that Player endured because of the Keyblade War, Ephemer firmly states that it must remain a secret, as he doesn't want people to remember the tragedy they'll follow the rules. Brain, Ven and Skuld all accept this, stating that they all believe in Ephemer. Together, the four new Union Leaders await the arrival of their final comrade.

Later, in Daybreak Town, Chirithy reports to Ephemer and Skuld about Player's persisting nightmares. Though Chirithy felt guilty about lying to Player initially, he really does want to allow Player to forget. Skuld asks that Chirithy push through it, which Chirithy agrees to do, because Player is his best friend. Ephemer then states that, for Player's sake, he leaves what he'd told Chirithy earlier about the Union Cross up to him. Skuld adds that surely Player's tragic memories within his Heart will be worn away as he goes on adventures with his friends. Unexpectedly, Ephemer mentions that he also senses a different Darkness in the world from that of the old one, being more complex - so he doesn't fully understand it himself - but he senses a strong intention. Skuld interjects however and advises Chirithy to leave it to them and focus on taking care of Player. Once Chirithy has gone, Skuld asks why Ephemer told Chirithy about the darkness, as they likely just made Chirithy worry. Ephemer apologizes, arguing that it affects Chirithy as well, and that the more that the new world differs from its predecessor, the more uneasiness will be generated. Furthermore, the Union Cross results in Ephemer sensing a different kind of malice and Darkness. Skuld then reminds Ephemer that the rules dictate that they start the Union Cross - which Ephemer accepts, suggesting that they'll just have to let their Heart's be their guiding keys.

Appearance

Ephemer has curly, silver hair and blue eyes. He wears a white shirt under a black vest, dark grey pants, and black boots. He has a red scarf around his neck.

"Ephemera" refers to things that are short-lived or transitory.

Abilities

Ephemer wields the third upgrade of the Starlight Keyblade.

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  Ephemer's Starlight Keyblade