REALM OF LIGHT (光の世界)

People live in this realm, filled with light. Although everything was connected long ago, stability decayed and everything split into smaller realms (worlds). Every world is covered by an invisible wall, making travel between them impossible without special means. Furthermore, prancing about between the worlds is forbidden, as it may mess with the natural order of each one.

Each world holds its own “World Heart“ within, and if the door that leads to it is opened, the walls will shatter due to the power of darkness. Wall fragments shimmer down as a meteor shower, forming the ingredients for a ship that can sail through the stars, called a ”Gummi Ship.”

So as not to disturb the world order, Donald and Goofy changed out of their royal garbs from Disney Castle so they wouldn’t stick out on their journey.

Data Realm (データ世界)

A realm that evolved within cyberspace, constructed with data as a base. In [KH coded], the King made a world by duplicating the data within one of Jiminy’s Journals, and in [KHII], a Twilight Town was prepared by DiZ for Roxas to spend a false summer vacation within.

The data realm within the computer that contained Roxas’s Twilight Town was connected to the pod that Sora slept in.

Realm Shut by Sleep (眠りに閉ざされた世界)

In [KHI], many of the worlds swallowed by darkness were revived when Sora defeated Ansem, while some others went to sleep within the darkness. This “realm shut by sleep“ becomes the stage for [KH 3D]. A realm shut by sleep can be woken up by opening a “Sleeping Keyhole,” leading it on the path to recovery.

Inter-world travel (ワールド間の移動方法)

Every world in the realm of light floats in a space known as the “star ocean” or the “Ocean Between.” Sora and friends travel between worlds by using the Gummi Ship and by opening special corridors.

Gummi Ship (グミシップ)

Developed by Disney Castle, a ship used to traverse the star ocean. The star shards (Gummies) that splinter off from the world-walls are its components, and it runs off of the crew’s smiling faces.

It has the appearance of a toy, but it possesses the ability to fight on equal terms with the writhing Heartless fleets in the star ocean.

Star Shard (星のカケラ)

A meteor made from splintered world-wall. The King in [KH BbS] traveled about by using the power of the Star Shard he borrowed from The Mysterious Tower.

Lanes Between / Corridors of Darkness (異空の回廊 / 闇の回廊)

The paths used to come and go between worlds are the “Lanes Between,” which can be opened by Keyblade-bearers using the power of their Keyblades. Meanwhile, beings of darkness can open up corridors with the power of their darkness, which are in turn classified as “Corridors of Darkness.” Traveling down these corridors causes the darkness to eat away at your heart and body, so it’s dangerous for even beings of darkness to use them frequently.

Terra’s group had the gates to the Lanes Between opened in advance by their teacher, and traveled through them by transforming their Keyblades.

Organization XIII’s black coats, DiZ’s red mantle, and Terra’s group’s armors all play the role of protective clothing while moving through the corridors.

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REALM OF DARKNESS (闇の世界)

A parallel realm located on what one might call the other side of the realm of light. There’s basically no humans, and it is teaming with the monsters of darkness known as Heartless.

The door that connects the realms of light and darkness comes in two types, the “Door to Darkness” and the “Door to Light.” The Door to Darkness is only for residents of darkness, and only residents of the realm of light can pass through the Door to Light.

When Riku’s body was hijacked by Ansem, his heart was expelled to the realm of darkness, which became his prison after he gained his body back.

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THE REALM BETWEEN (狭間の世界)

A realm that exists between light and darkness. Compared to the realm of light, the amount of worlds is scarce. Though, because it is spatially unstable, openings to corridors of darkness are prone to suddenly appear.

Positional Relations Between Realms (世界同士の位置関係)

REALM OF LIGHT: Radiant Garden (Hollow Bastion) / Destiny Islands / Disney Castle THE REALM BETWEEN: [close to light] The Mysterious Tower -> Twilight Town -> Castle Oblivion (Land of Departure) -> The World That Never Was [close to darkness] REALM OF DARKNESS: Dark Margin

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WORLD HEARTS and KEYHOLES (世界の心と鍵穴)

Any world that dots the realm of light holds its own “World Heart”. A World Heart is a collection of all the hearts that compose that world, hidden away within that world’s Keyhole.

The World Heart’s Keyhole is connected to the realm of darkness. While the Keyholes are usually shut to protect the worlds from darkness, this also shuts off the paths to the outside world. When a Keyhole is opened, the walls that cover the world shatter, allowing travel to the outside world, but also putting that world in danger due to the influx of the power of darkness. At the start of [KHI], the Keyholes of the World Hearts were starting to open, and Sora’s group had to venture forth to close them.

The World Heart’s Keyhole is usually hidden, but it shows up when a Keyblade is brought near.

As a child, Riku had recieved the Keyblade Bequeathing, allowing him to see the Keyholes that others couldn’t.

Opening and Closing Keyholes on the Adventures (冒険のさいに開閉する鍵穴)

Aside from the World Heart Keyholes, the realm contains a number of other types of Keyholes. Aside from [KHI], the Keyblade has opened Keyholes besides the World Heart Keyholes on its travels around the realms.

How the Heroes React to the Keyholes (鍵穴をめぐる主人公の行動)

Sora (KHI) : Traveling in the Gummi Ship to hold back the invading darkness, closing any opened World Heart Keyhole. Sora (KHII) : To help fix the realm, opening the Gate Keyholes that the worlds prepared, while traveling in the Gummi Ship. Data-Sora (coded) : Opening the Data Realm Keyholes and removing the invading Bugs, to repair the data in Jiminy’s Journal. Terra/Ventus/Aqua (BbS) : Opening the Keyholes to the Lanes Between which Eraqus had prepared, and traversing the realm. (the goal differs between the 3) Sora/Riku (3D) : Crossing the realm within the worlds’ dreams for the Mark of Mastery Exam, and opening the Sleeping Keyholes.

Aside from [KHI], you usually go around opening closed Keyholes.

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"KINGDOM HEARTS” (“キングダムハーツ”)

The collective heart of the World. Also called the “Dominion of Hearts“ and the ”Center of the Realm,“ it is a vast source of power and repository of knowledge.

People once considered Kingdom Hearts to be a “vast heart of light,” and started a war in their search for it, destroying the realm. Because of that, the current Kingdom Hearts is now securely locked away, out of easy reach. Now Sora’s group fights to prevent the forces of darkness, such as Master Xehanort, from using their sinister schemes to reach Kingdom Hearts.

“Kingdom Hearts of Worlds” (“世界の心のキングダムハーツ”)

A Kingdom Hearts made from the collective hearts of the worlds. You need to use the “Keyblade of People’s Hearts“ made from the hearts of the Seven Princesses in order to reach the Keyhole that leads to it. In [KHI], Maleficent and Ansem tried to acquire a Kingdom Hearts of Worlds by using the Heartless to steal the hearts from various worlds.

"Kingdom Hearts of People” (“人の心のキングダムハーツ”)

A Kingdom Hearts made from the collective hearts of people. Organization XIII, who had come to believe that they could become complete beings again by uniting with it, made their own Kingdom Hearts of People by gathering the hearts released from Heartless. However, the goal of the Organization’s superior, Xemnas, was to use the Kingdom Hearts of People as a medium to plant Xehanort’s heart within the members, making “13 Darknesses.”

Floating right in the middle of the Kingdom Hearts of People lies Organization XIII’s sky fortress.

True “Kingdom Hearts” (真の”キングダムハーツ”)

Unlike the two man-made creations mentioned above, this Kingdom Hearts has existed since the start of the World. In ancient times, it was consumed by darkness from being fought over in the Keyblade War, but it is said that its counterpart, the “χ-blade”, can bring it back.

Master Xehanort’s plan is to use the χ-blade to open the door to the True Kingdom Hearts and start up a second Keyblade War.

Door to Darkness and Door to Light (闇の扉と光の扉)

The door that leads to “Kingdom Hearts“ is the ”Door to Darkness”, which also leads to the realm of darkness. Only the dark are allowed through the Door to Darkness, and if you wish to seal it away, you need a Keyblade from the realm of light and a Keyblade from the realm of darkness, with each owner facing each other on their respective sides and joining their powers together.

But the Door to Darkness makes a pair with the “Door to Light.” This door is said to exist within the hearts of people, and if one’s heart envisions it, it will act as the ticket home for any resident of light that has been trapped in the realm of darkness.

The King with the realm of darkness Keyblade in hand, cooperating with Sora in the realm of light, was able to close the Door to Darkness.

Forsaken in the realm of darkness, Sora and Riku read Kairi’s letter and were embraced with hope as they discovered the Door to Light.

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SEVEN PRINCESSES (セブンプリンセス)

Seven women who have “hearts of pure light“ that act as the foundation of the realm of light simply by being alive. Because they can lead the way to Kingdom Hearts, the forces of darkness have set their sights on them.

Belle Snow White Aurora Alice Jasmine Cinderella Kairi

The Princesses all lived in different worlds, but they were gathered by the Villains to be used to create the Keyblade of People’s Hearts.

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KEYBLADE (キーブレード)

A key-shaped weapon that contains the power to perform a multitude of functions. Defeating the darkness, it can free the captured hearts within the monsters of darkness known as Heartless. It can also be used as a literal “key” to open and close any keyhole, including a Keyhole to a “World Heart,” which can lead to the vast source of power: “Kingdom Hearts.”

Originally, the Keyblade was made as a tool to fight over Kingdom Hearts, causing the “Keyblade War.” Reflecting upon that, current Keyblade-wielders generally move to act as guardians of the realm of light, referred to as “heroes of light.”

A single Keyblade can generally do one thing, but it can change its shape and abilities by attaching a keychain.

Terra’s group Keyblade’s can turn into vehicles, which allow their wielders to cross the Lanes Between.

How to use the Keyblade (キーブレードが使える仕組み)

The Keyblade, after being Bequeathed, decides on its own who will be able to use it. The Bequeathing grants a new wielder a Keyblade distinct from their Master’s, and is performed by coming into contact with a Keyblade Master through their Keyblade. The Keyblade chooses its user based on how strong the subject’s heart is, regardless of whether they’re bad or good.

The Keyblade is a symbol of the heart’s power, and only a number of hearts alive can wield it. Sora holds two hearts, so he is exceptionally capable of dual-wielding. Also, Sora’s is a rare case in that he can wield the Keyblade without having the Bequeathing performed on him.

Riku had the Bequeathing performed on him by Terra as a kid, while Kairi also met the conditions of the ritual by unexpectedly coming into contact with Aqua’s Keyblade.

Realm of Light Keyblade / Realm of Darkness Keyblade (光の世界のキーブレード / 闇の世界のキーブレード)

There are Keyblades that belong to the realm of light, and some that belong to the realm of darkness. They only play the roles of being the internal and external keys for Kingdom Hearts’ door, so it’s not as if “something from the realm of darkness uses dark powers.”

The King had a realm of light Keyblade in the days of [KH BbS], but could use one from the realm of darkness after [KHI].

Keyblade of People’s Hearts (人の心のキーブレード)

A special Keyblade made with the seven Princesses’ hearts. In addition to its power to make the Keyhole that leads to the “Kingdom Hearts of Worlds” appear, it can also unlock people’s hearts, plunging enemies into the darkness. Although Ansem tried to make one in [KHI], his lacked Kairi’s heart and was rendered incomplete.

Keyblade Master (キーブレードマスター)

Among Keyblade-wielders, the exceptionally great can be deemed Masters by their teachers. Performing the Bequeathing, and shifting hearts between bodies, are things that only Keyblade Masters (or those of a comparable power) can do.

Master Eraqus Master Xehanort The King Aqua Riku

By the end of [ KH BbS ], Aqua and the King are both in their early stages, while at the end of [ KH 3D ], Riku is recognized as a Keyblade Master.

], Aqua and the King are both in their early stages, while at the end of [ ], Riku is recognized as a Keyblade Master. For generations, Keyblade Masters, including Master Eraqus, choose just one to be considered the true successor to guard the Land of Departure.

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KEYBLADE WAR (キーブレード戦争)

Long ago, Keyblade-wielders instigated a war over Kingdom Hearts. Because of it, the realm of light was swallowed by darkness and disappeared completely, only to be revived as separate smaller worlds thanks to the light in the hearts of children. This fact has thus been passed down through the light and dark as a fairy tale.

Master Xehanort schemes to start a second Keyblade War due to his ideal of wanting to balance the light and the darkness, since the light is overly-dominant in the current realm.

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χ-BLADE (χブレード)

The key that leads to the True Kingdom Hearts. It is read as “keyblade“ and has existed along with the True Kingdom Hearts since the beginning of the realm, but since it serves as the model for all other Keyblades, that makes those Keyblades mere forgeries. Because of the Keyblade War, it was broken and scattered into 7 lights and 13 darknesses, unable to come back unless one evenly unites the power of hearts of pure light with hearts of pure darkness.

Master Xehanort has been scheming for over 10 years to complete the χ-blade. During [KH 3D], him and his clones, the “13 darknesses,” tried to advance their plan to forge the Keyblade by colliding with the “7 lights.”

Ventus’s heart of light and Vanitas’s heart of darkness fused to forge the χ-blade. It resembled 2 Keyblades crossing and making a shape like the letter X.

Melding the 13 darknesses and 7 lights to produce the χ-blade… That is the plan that Master Xehanort is currently aiming to advance.

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HEARTLESS (ハートレス)

A “heartless person” reborn in the darkness because of their darkness. Those which are the heart’s darkness made real, they’re born when a person falls and loses their heart to darkness. Lacking intelligence and purpose, they go after “World Hearts” in their instinctive desire for vast darkness, and they increase their ranks by stealing the hearts of others.

There’s a great variety of Heartless apart from the naturally occuring “Purebloods”, as about 10 years before [KHI], Xehanort (Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness) spawned a great amount of “Emblems“ during his experiments. There was a massive increase of Heartless in the realm of light because of Ansem, which settled down a bit after his defeat in [KHI]. But as long as people have darkness in their hearts, the Heartless won’t go away.

The people who showed hostility towards Sora’s group implemented the Heartless and the powers of darkness, but most of them were swallowed by the darkness or were overtaken by the Heartless.

Purebloods (ピュアブラッド)

Naturally occuring Heartless. When felled by the Keyblade, a heart gets released. A great many of these Heartless exist in the realm.

The realm of darkness is overflowing with Pureblood-type Heartless.

Emblems (エンブレム)

Artificial Heartless made by Ansem the Wise’s apprentices, lead by Xehanort, in their experiments to draw out the heart’s darkness. Somewhere on their bodies, they bear a crest (emblem) that’s combined with Xehanort’s recusant symbol, the “X”.

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NOBODIES (ノーバディ)

The opposite of Heartless, monsters of the darkness referred to as, “the non-beings.” They’re born when the owner of a strong heart becomes a Heartless. Most of them have bodies like white ghosts, but if the owner of an especially strong heart became a Nobody, they’d keep their form as a human.

While a Heartless’s true state is a “heart“ that’s regressed to darkness, a Nobody is the ”body and soul“ that’s been separated from their heart. They use memory and intelligence in place of emotions, and can act as a group, but due to their non-existences, their fate is to eventually fade into darkness.

If the heart from a Heartless is released when a Nobody is extinguished, they may be recompleted as a human.

Organization XIII is a group of Nobody’s that maintained their human forms, so they direct and control the standard Nobodies.

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UNVERSED (アンヴァース)

Born from the anger and hatred of people, monsters of the dark nicknamed, “those that aren’t well-versed in life.” Manifesting in the days of [KH BbS], they terrorized the people of the realm of light. They’re truly the negative emotions of Vanitas made physical, and are now extinct due to Ventus’s defeat of Vanitas.

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DREAM EATERS (ドリームエーター)

Monsters that eat dreams, who haunt the “realm shut by sleep.“ Every one is either a ”Nightmare”, which induces bad dreams, or a “Spirit”, which eats those nightmares, the latter of which lent their powers to Sora and Riku.

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ORGANIZATION XIII (XIII機関)

A group of Nobodies with power so great they maintined their human forms. Composed of 13 members, their names are anagrams of their human names with a recusant sigil, “X”, inserted within it.

Nobodies are aware of their incomplete existences, and therefore aimed to unite with the “Kingdom Hearts of People’s Hearts“ in a wish to become complete, but Sora destroyed them. However, with the nearing completion of the ”13 dark replacements“ scheme, the rebirth of the ”True Organization XIII“ is nigh.

I = Xemnas II = Xigbar III = Xaldin IV = Vexen V = Lexaeus VI = Zexion VII = Saïx VIII = Axel IX = Demyx X = Luxord XI = Marluxia XII = Larxene XIII = Roxas i = Xion

No. I through VI were all apprentices of Ansem the Wise. And finally, Xion’s entrance as a member isn’t legitimate, as her number i represents being imaginary.

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TRUE ORGANIZATION XIII (真のXIII機関)

It consists of Xehanort and his clones: the “13 Seekers of Darkness.” Considering themselves the “13 darknesses”, they’re trying to clash with the “7 lights” and make the χ-blade. They had 12 members at the time of [KH 3D], 6 of whom are known to be Master Xehanort, Ansem, Xemnas, Xigbar, Saix, and Young Xehanort.

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VILLAINS (ヴィランズ)

The general bad guys that have appeared in Disney works, such as Maleficent and Pete. They did evil deeds by using the Heartless and the power of darkness, to get in the way of Sora’s group during their adventures.