Darkness
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- "All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is it's nature. In the end, every Heart returns to the darkness whence it came! You see, darkness is the Heart's true essence..."
- —Xehanort's Heartless
Darkness is a force parallel to Light, and is also used in the form of attacks in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Darkness has been known to cause people to lose their hearts to it if they have delved too deep into it. Slowly suppressed and conquered by its 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.
Though darkness is mostly used by the series' villains, it is not entirely malevolent; friendly characters are able to use the powers of darkness to some effect, ranging from opening the Corridors of Darkness to projecting dark energy blasts (one of Riku's abilities in Kingdom Hearts II).
Story
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
Master Xehanort talks to Terra, Aqua, and Ventus a long time ago about the reason The Gathering had tons of Keyblades is because of the Keyblade War between other Keyblade Wielder fighting over light and darkness.
Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts, the roles of light and darkness play very typical roles as in most games, with light being good, and darkness being bad. Since the Heartless is a dark based enemy. The entire quest is about closing the Door to Darkness and eliminating pitch-black Heartless creatures, the entire story is very biased in a light direction. One important belief about light is that there is always "a light in the deepest darkness". This plays a role many times in the story, including when Sora opens the Door to Darkness and finds a blinding light inside with King Mickey. Even through all of the bias towards light, it is still balanced with a closed Door to Light and a closed Door to Darkness. There are also two Keyblades, one from the Realm of Light, which is used by Sora, and one from the Realm of Darkness, which is used by King Mickey.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth, Darkness play as much role in Riku's game, since the main enemy is Organization XIII and Xehanort's Heartless.
The most major story development about light and darkness in the story is Riku's constant struggle throughout the game, with him against the darkness in his heart. He tries to shun the darkness and Xehanort's Heartless 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 is not bad, and 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, but he is still in Riku's body. This is due to Riku declining Naminé's offer to seal "Ansem" away in Riku's heart along with his memories of the castle. Then, at the end of the story, DiZ asks Riku which path he wishes to take. He decides to take the road to dawn,a path leading from darkness to light. This also gives him his Keyblade with it's respective name.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
The Organization use the Corridor of Darkness to travel different worlds to collect Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts II
Riku and Organization XIII both use the power of darkness either to help them fight or use the Corridor of Darkness. After Xemnas absorbs the remnants of Kingdom Hearts, he use both power of light and darkness.
Weapons and Special Uses of Darkness
While darkness is often associated with evil, it can be used for the force of good. If one can accept darkness into themselves without allowing the darkness to consume them, they may wield its powers without succumbing to its influences (as in Riku's situation).
King Mickey's Keyblade is a Keyblade from the Realm of Darkness, though this does not mean that it is actually affiliated with Darkness; in this case, it means that it is necessary to close world doors from the side of the Realm of Darkness.
Darkness is also seen being manipulated into attacks by the Heartless and Nobodies, and to a greater degree Maleficent, the members of Organization XIII, and Riku. Sora can also slightly manipulate Darkness in Kingdom Hearts II through his Drive Form, Anti Form, in which the darkness inside Sora that was created when he became a Heartless in Kingdom Hearts reawakens. He and Jack Skellington also use dark power during "Dance Call". Darkness is also an element used in multiple forms of Magic, the most notable being Gravity.
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.
There are many items that have used for protection against 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 infamous Black Cloak worn by King Mickey, Riku, and the members of Organization XIII which protect the wearer from the negative effects of using the Corridors of Darkness.
Effects of Darkness
Darkness creates and feeds off of primal emotions such as revenge, hate, and greed. In the process, it makes those it affects experience and exhibit these feelings while constantly making those feelings stronger, eventually leading to the affected becoming a Heartless. Darkness can also change the physical appearance of those it affects, up to such extremes as a normal person becoming a Shadow and Riku taking on the form of Xehanort's Heartless. Also, those who use the Corridor of Darkness, or come in contact with Darkness of any form on a regular basis, have their Heart "stained" by Darkness, which leads to a change in eye color to a golden yellow color. Members of Organization XIII and Naminé do not experience this due to the fact that they are Nobodies and do not have hearts to stain. Also, Riku does not have yellow eyes because the explosion of the Kingdom Hearts Encoder cleansed his body from the effects of Darkness.
Known and Notable Darkness Users
- Heartless
- Nobodies
- Xehanort's Heartless
- DiZ
- King Mickey
- Riku
- Organization XIII
- Master Xehanort
- Maleficent
- Sora
Darkness as a Destination
When Nobodies or Replicas are defeated, they usually fade back into the darkness. It is unknown what it is like at their final destination, or if they retain any consciousness at all.
