Due to lengthy periods between releases and the prevalence of Late Arrival Spoilers, spoilers from installments before 2010 may be unmarked. Read at your own risk.

This is a listing of the major characters in Kingdom Hearts χ in the Kingdom Hearts series.

Beware of unmarked spoilers.

open/close all folders

Lost Masters

The Master of Masters

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/master_of_masters_shot_copy.png

"'May your heart be your guiding key.' I say it all the time! You ultimately need to do what your heart feels is right."

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross] | III | IV

"Well, I could lie and tell you [I'm a fortune teller], when I'm actually a brilliant artist, or even a scholar. I could tell you that I dream of world peace, when I'm actually planning for its destruction. The truth is what you see with your eyes, not what you hear."

The enigmatic master of the Foretellers. Laid back, rather unprofessional, and overall just a little bit of a manchild, he is regardless the oldest and most powerful known Keyblade Master (although he himself claims there were others before him), and his six pupils dutifully follow his teachings. He possesses an eye that can see the future, and using it created the Book of Prophecies, a tome that predicts events to come, including The End of the World as We Know It.

His motives and identity are shrouded in mystery, and his methods seem to be at odds with his stated intentions: he claims his interests are defending the worlds from darkness and seeing Keyblade wielders proliferate through them to protect them, yet he helped nudge along Xehanort's Start of Darkness and set in motion the events that caused the first Keyblade War, and he did these things knowing what the results would be. Suffice to say, between his deep knowledge of the Keyblade and his long foresight into the future, he's a Chessmaster playing on a much higher level than anyone can conceive, even his own apprentices.

The Ace: As if him being referred to as Master of Masters isn't enough indication, he's also the one who trained the incredibly strong and skilled Foretellers, Keyblade Masters themselves, with him still clearly being visibly superior to their level of might, and is regarded by them all with awe.
- He is also an extremely intelligent and wise man, the Master is an extraordinary strategist and manipulator as he gave each of the Foretellers their own roles specifically based on his knowledge of how they would react to successfully ensure the Keyblade War would occur and despite the overwhelming darkness unleashed from the war, he was still able to successfully keep the light from fully expiring and prevent the darkness from completely consuming everything, allowing the worlds to exist, but separated, by having the members of the Dandelions transported to a different worldline so as to protect them and their light.
Affably Evil: His direct actions may have caused immeasurable damage and pain, not that it keeps him from being anything less than friendly and fun to be around. That being said, the character reports in Back Cover ponder whether his giddy and mischievous nature is genuine, or if his personality and quirks are a careful calculation.
Ambiguously Evil: The Master of Masters' motivation and goals are incredibly vague, which is exacerbated by his tendency to speak in riddles and outright lie to others, and sometimes directly saying they shouldn't trust what he says. What is certain about him is that he says he wants to protect all the worlds from darkness and has his apprentices to train Keyblade warriors to combat the darkness, but his treatment of his apprentices is what caused them to turn on each other and started the Keyblade War, and he likely knew this would happen. Most of the time he seems a very friendly and easy-going guy, but at a moment's notice can turn serious and stern and back again, and either way he acts very manipulative. He also has an interest in Kingdom Hearts if the secret ending of III is an indicator. The final story scenes of Union χ Cross reveal that he wants to destroy the thirteen Darknesses that were created when the original χ-blade was shattered, and he groomed the Foretellers, and himself, to fall to darkness so they could become hosts to those Darknesses and thus make it possible to destroy them. Assuming he's being truthful, this means his ultimate goal is a benevolent one, but he's engaging in extremely dangerous and evil acts to achieve it. But even so, thanks to the Gazing Eye, he's seen all of these events play out in the future already and they can't be changed even if he wanted to.
Anti-Villain: He's the one that set in motion the Keyblade War and the destruction of Daybreak Town, but he did it to defend the worlds from the thirteen Darknesses.
Arc Words: He repeats what he wrote on the final page of the Book of Prophecies: "Darkness will prevail and the light expire."
- He also provides some new arc words that also crop up in 0.2 and III: "May your heart be your guiding key." This one is a motto for all Keyblade Masters.
Arch-Enemy: He is this to Darkness, as he will stop at nothing to defeat them and he has been at it for a long, long time. Though in an unusual take on the trope they have a Friendly Enemy relationship as well - all of their discussions are cordial and polite, where Darkness even outright calls the Master their "friend." He might also be Yozora's primary nemesis and vice versa as well, if prior clues from past Tetsuya Nomura interviews are anything to go by.
Attention Whore: He really loves being the center of attention, and gets very pouty and complains when his students don't react appropriately to something he said.
The Master: Your role. You must find the traitor hidden among you, and stop them before it's too late. And in order to help you find the traitor—
Gula: I get it! That's why you gave us all different roles, isn't it? If anyone deviates from the job they were given, we can easily conclude that they are the traitor. It's brilliant!
The Master: Way to steal my thunder, show-off!
Gula: Huh?
The Master: It's not fair! My plan was supposed to blow your mind with its grandeur. Your jaw should've hit the floor with my sheer genius!
Gula: I'm... sorry? But was my logic flawed?
The Master: No, you're right.
The Bad Guy Wins: While he's not yet revealed to be an out-and-out villain, the fact is he's not a good person. And he's a consistent winner. Some of his claims to fame include:
- Create distrust and discord among his own apprentices to make them vulnerable and start the Keyblade War. He succeeded.
- Duping Daybreak Town and creating a data copy, then destroying the real one to force the Darkness to take refuge in the data world with the intention to trap it. He succeeded.
- Make himself, and his apprentices, vulnerable enough to the Darkness to have seven of the pieces possess them, then travel to Quadratum, a world without light or darkness, to render them powerless and inert while he exacts the next stage of his plan. He succeeded.
- Manipulating Xehanort into starting a second Keyblade War. He succeeded.
Batman Gambit:
- He appoints Ira to be the new leader upon his own disappearance; he tells Aced to be Ira's lieutenant but to usurp command at his own discretion; he tells Invi to observe the others and mitigate conflict; he warns Gula to only trust himself due to the presence of a traitor in the group; finally, he tells Ava to ignore Union allegiance and form a separate faction to rebuild after the war. Such orders to his apprentices, whose unshakable faith would make them pursue their missions past the point of practicality, would basically guarantee a falling-out.
- After worrying Luxu in a flashback with the burden of knowing that Darkness can't truly be destroyed, he then confides in him that there is a way to defeat it with great certainty, but he will need immense time to do it. Cue the main game. It's telling that the entire game and its aftermath is all his plan despite him fading away before it starts.
Beware the Silly Ones: He's definitely a goofball, and yet he's one of, if not the, most powerful beings seen in the series so far. He can casually intimidate even the arrogant and powerful Aced by merely pretending to find his disapproval of Ira becoming the leader undesirable, hinting he is most likely one of the most, if not, the most powerful and skilled Keyblade Masters around. It has also been noted that he has the power to forcibly stop his apprentices from causing the Keyblade War, further showing just how powerful the Master truly is.
Big Bad: Much like how Xehanort was the primary villain of the "Dark Seeker Saga", Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed that the Master - and to a lesser extent his apprentices - would be the main antagonistic force of the "Lost Master Arc."
Black Cloak: The design of his coat would be favored by Organization XIII, though his sports a unique zipper pull.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Behold: this man is the most powerful being seen so far. He can see into the future, create a Keyblade on the spot with just a tiny shard of someone's heart, and it's implied that he can summon Kingdom Hearts on a whim if need be. All said and done, he's extremely quirky - his personality ranges somewhere between easy-going and a giddy manchild.
Broken Ace: Beneath the goofy Manchild and even further underneath the ruthless Manipulative Bastard that he is, he is ultimately a broken man who has lost everything and everyone he loved to darkness, and will stop at nothing from eradicating it for good.
Casting a Shadow: His method of summoning his Keyblade is the same as Xehanort's, forming it from darkness and black lightning. Dream Eaters are formed from darkness and tellingly, he created Chirithy through darkness. He also wears the same Darkness-shielding coat as the Organization, rather than the lavish robes given to each of his apprentices. And of course, the demonic blue eye that adorns dark weapons such as Soul Eater, Void Gear, Chaos Ripper, etc? That's his Gazing Eye.
Character Catchphrase: His personal motto, "May your heart be your guiding key." He admits that he says it all the time, and repeats it to every one of his students after giving them their roles.
The Chessmaster: It's heavily implied that he set the Keyblade War in motion by putting the Foretellers and their Unions on a collision course, as well as making plans to put into action after the war had ended. Since his Gazing Eye can see the future, he's definitely got an edge in forward planning. He later reveals to Darkness that part of the reason he ordered Luxu to observe was in order to create a waypoint for himself to time travel into the future: using the Gazing Eye in the No Name keyblade as a medium, and the memories of Luxu, he created a direct means of reaching the future, and that everything happening so far was basically setup for that particular step to his plans.
Connected All Along: In the Secret Movie for III, it seems that he and Yozora have some sort of connection with each other, as they are both in Quadratum and appear in the Secret Movie one after the other. This connection was confirmed by Tetsuya Nomura.
- The E3 2019 trailer for the Re:Mind DLC shows him chatting with young Xehanort (specifically, the silver-eyed Youth in Black version of him) about the Black Coats and Xehanort's world tour, specifically mentioning that Xehanort won't be needing the dark-resistant cloak for long.
The Corrupter: While Xigbar/Luxu slowly edged and manipulated Xehanort into recreating the Second Keyblade War over a long period of time, it was the Master who met Xehanort in his youth and pushed him into that direction by having him traverse the worlds and witness the worst of humanity while also encouraging him to embrace the darkness. And he still managed to come off like a total goofball doing it.
Deadpan Snarker:
Ira: Isn't it our duty as Keyblade wielders to prevent this war from taking place?
Master of Masters: Nah, not possible.
Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of the Team Dad and A Father to His Men tropes. He has a very close, fatherly relationship with all the Foretellers, and they all have Undying Loyalty and the highest respect for him. However, he casually manipulates them into turning against each other, instilling paranoia in their minds and then telling them to do what they think it's best, which ends up causing them to fall apart as a group. The deconstruction part comes when you realize that the Foretellers are all too trusting of him because of the fatherly relationship he has with them, so they never suspect of the fact he's manipulating them. The Master shows what happens when you cross Team Dad with Manipulative Bastard.
Determinator: He will stop at nothing to defeat the Darkness. Nothing. There is no tactic he won't try, no low he won't stoop to, no line of acceptable casualties he won't cross. To him, it's a matter of "humane vs. the inhumane." Defeating the Darkness is the only end, and there are no means that cannot be justified.
Didn't See That Coming: Flat-out admits to Darkness that during his studies and travels, he discovered a world that not even he could have possibly imagined could exist - likely referring to Quadratum. The experience changed his worldview quite a bit.
Eccentric Mentor: A self-evident example. It's a wonder his apprentices are able to take him seriously.
Endearingly Dorky: Friendly, jovial, over-the-top, goofy, and overall just a big kid who can endear himself to anyone with a few choice words - including a young, rather cynical Xehanort! That said, even with this dorkiness firmly in hand there's still an undeniable air of menace and dread surrounding him.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Is only ever referred to as "the Master of Masters" or just "the Master", nothing else. Given the naming theme of his apprentices and how he considers himself one of the seven, his name is presumably based around the word "superbia",^noteLatin for "pride" which is reinforced by the "Super X" engraving on the chest he entrusts to Luxu.
- In Re:Mind he refers to himself as a "Lost Master".^note
Exact Words: He tells the Foretellers that it's impossible to prevent the Keyblade War. It turns out that in a conversation with Luxu 5 years prior that the war was already happening, and that the battle between the Foretellers was in fact the ending of the Keyblade War, not the beginning.
The Faceless: Like all characters that wear a Black Cloak with a hood over his head. As of the Secret Movie for III, the only part of his face seen is his chin. One of his eyes too, if the Gazing Eye is literally his eye.
A Father to His Men: His hand-on-the-shoulder/pat on the head gestures toward his apprentices suggests he's rather fatherly towards them, especially Ava.
The Gadfly: In tandem with his manchild tendencies, he's constantly having fun at the expense of the Foretellers, though in harmless ways; he just likes teasing them. Ava may be the only exception to this behavior.
Greater-Scope Villain: While he apparently plays no part in the events of the main story and is long gone by the time Xehanort comes around the Master's actions caused the first and second Keyblade Wars in the first place and in turn set the entire franchise in motion.
- With the events of III, this trope is further reinforced. From the information glimpsed in Luxu's reports, the Master didn't simply spark the first Keyblade War - he actively pursued a second one by having Luxu/Xigbar nudge Xehanort, referred to as "the scapegoat", to create a conflict that will ultimately end with the return of the Foretellers. This was done knowing full well how much pain, misery, and destruction Xehanort's actions would cause.
- A later story update for Union χ Cross suggests that the Master's goals may be about bringing a permanent end to the conflict between Light and Darkness that according to him has been going on at least since he was a child or teenager. If this is in fact true, then his end goals are actually noble in intent and nature.
- Re:Mind gives it to us even worse. He's the one who convinced Xehanort in his youth to embrace the darkness, appealing to Young Xehanort's ego. He tells Xehanort that he won't even need the protective black coat, and one day he'd be powerful enough to control the darkness himself. The Master also drops a vague hint that he truly wants to see the worlds destroyed more than anything else...
- Another story update for Union χ Cross finally reveals his motivations: he intends to destroy the world the series is set in, and in doing so, finally ending the Darkness within it.
I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Anti-Hero variety. He outright says to Luxu that that he has no intention of following heroic or sentimental principles, using pure pragmatism in his goal to eradicate Darkness, stating the battle is not a heroic tale of good vs. evil, but rather humane vs. inhumane, and that his aim is to preserve the dignity of those who have hearts.
In the Hood: He wears a hood to go with his Black Cloak, fittingly for one of the most inscrutable characters of the franchise.
It's All About Me: When he recalls parts of his childhood to Luxu, he mentions that the "real" Keyblade War has been going on for quite some time now, and that there used to be Keyblade wielders before the current roster, but that he was the only one who "mattered." The way he words it makes him come off rather narcissistic and that everyone but him was irrelevant and insignificant.
- A more subtle instance of this is how he is willing to discount the suffering of millions upon millions of children, as well as the anguish caused to the Fortellers, but uses his own loss and pain as a justification for his actions.
"Just Joking" Justification: He appears to thoroughly enjoy knocking his students off-balance with pointed jabs that are a little too personal to be all that humorous, then immediately retracting his comment and saying he was kidding. The exception to this may be Ava, who seems to bring out his serious side.
Lack of Empathy: When Luxu expresses shock and disgust with how far he's taking his manipulations, he outright says that there is no room for sentimentality in the war against Darkness. Even for him, it comes off as downright cold with how casual he is about causing so much death and destruction.
Large and in Charge: Not much attention is brought to it but he appears to be roughly the same height as Aced and of similar build too.
Large Ham: This man absolutely loves his grandiose and over-the-top speeches, and actually gets very pouty and sulky when he's denied them. It helps that both Tomokazu Sugita and Ray Chase chew the hell out of every line they're given.
Master of Masters: [to Luxu] The fact that it exists is proof of your success! That means you found a worthy apprentice, passed down that handsome Keyblade, and fulfilled your role! [begins clapping enthusiastically] Congratulations!
Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The Master seems aware that he's in a Doomed by Canon prequel, given that he prioritizes preparing for the world to come rather than trying to save the current one. He also tends to act cryptic with Luxu even when he doesn't have to because giving him straight answers about the future would ruin the surprises (read: spoilers) of his life. At one point, after Luxu calls out the Master's plan to abandon Daybreak Town, he scolds his apprentice for overthinking things, and to just wait and see what happens and that everything will make sense in time.
Leitmotif: His theme song, simply titled "Master of Masters" , is absolutely terrifying. Consisting of a manic, neurotic, dissonant piano at the forefront with a genuinely foreboding background, it's downright unnerving and unsettling how much it contrasts with the scene itself, which for the most part, contains some of the Master's funniest material.
Mad Scientist: With a side of Blacksmith. This jovial fellow, is the creator of Chirithy and a forger of Keyblades.
Magical Eye: His eye is said to be able to see into the future. He's actually referring to the Gazing Eye that adorns several weapons in the series including Xehanort's Keyblade. He claims that as long as it keeps getting passed down through the ages, he'll be able to see what it sees and that's how he can see the future.
Manchild: In-between saying cryptic things and acting suspiciously, he comes across as extremely childish and giddy with a juvenile sense of humor.
Manipulative Bastard:
- His catchphrase "May your heart be your guiding key." takes on a whole new, darker meaning if one pays attention in Back Cover: He only specifically says that to them after he's sewn doubt in them. He instills paranoia, then encourages them to act on it in a very roundabout way by telling to do what they think is best. End result? The Foretellers fall apart as a group.
- It's later revealed that the Book of Prophecies is basically a journal of waypoints to help the Master travel through time and the actual contents of the book is irrelevant. However, he still used the Book as the catalyst for the Keyblade War, using it to trick the Foretellers into quarreling and eventually turning on each other over how to stop the Darkness.
Mysterious Past: Not only did Keyblade wielders exist during his time, but he seems to have lived through several worlds, since he considers the world as consisting of three "stages", where Keyblade users gather in large numbers, struggle and dwindle in number, and then fight the forces of darkness in a sealed-off space, only for the cycle to repeat over and over.
The Master: So far he's only been called "The Master of Masters," with no other name. Amongst his powers is the ability to see the future, which he uses to unknown ends. To clarify, he saw the Keyblade War coming, and not only did nothing to stop it, but he practically encouraged it to happen through his apprentices.
The Nameless: His Keyblade. Interestingly, this appears to be on purpose. When Luxu calls it the Gazing Eye, The Master of Masters makes a point of stating that it doesn't have a name.
Necessarily Evil: The Secret Reports in III reveal that in any timeline where the Master of Masters doesn't start the Keyblade War, a greater darkness appears and destroys everything. A conversation with Darkness reveals that he basically came to the world specifically to end it, to plant the seeds of light for a future generation capable of defeating the forces of darkness.
Not So Omniscient After All: The Master's Book of Prophecies is not infallible as his apprentices believe. His knowledge of the future is limited to what is glimpsed by his eye on the No Name Keyblade; even then, the Master only wrote down the bits he felt were most important as waypoints.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: His conversation with Ava features none of his trademark humor, somberly informing her of the role she is to play in forming the Dandelions. She may well be the only person aside from Luxu that he has full faith in.
Orcus on His Throne: Despite being the most influential character in the series' backstory, the Master spends all of his scenes dancing around the idea of taking action without actually doing anything himself; he seems content to watch from the sidelines and let other people carry the plot. The Dark Seeker Saga ends with the heavy implication that the Master will step into the story personally now that Luxu's role is complete and the Foretellers have returned.
Outside-Context Problem: He admits to Darkness that there was one particular detail in the future that interested him above all else; a world that he, as he puts it, "couldn't possibly conceive.", suggesting he's referring to Quadratum, a world that exists opposite to reality whose existence baffled even the likes of Ansem the Wise.
Pet the Dog: He has this sort of behavior with both Luxu and Ava, who he acts the most serious around.
Plucky Comic Relief: The Master is one of the biggest sources of comic relief in the series by far, if not the biggest. Doesn't change the fact that he's still the most dangerous person in the series as well.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: He tells Luxu to pass down the Keyblade with the Gazing Eye in it so he can see the future, and then immediately lampshades that since he can already see the future now, Luxu will do a good job carrying out the order.
Seven Deadly Sins: Being the seventh member of his group, his sin of choice is logically Pride. While it's exhibited to an extent in his grandiose name, the Master of Masters actually prefers exploiting the pride of others to his advantage, appealing to the egos of his victims through calculated flattery. Even his catchphrase is designed along these lines, encouraging others to do what they feel is best even when they really shouldn't.
Sigil Spam: His Gazing Eye appears on numerous weapons, including Master Xehanort's Keyblade, Vanitas's Void Gear, and Riku's Soul Eater and later his Way to the Dawn.
The Social Darwinist: His true purpose for creating the Unions was to bring together countless Keyblade wielders and have them fight through fear and hardship until only those who could stand on their own remained to become Dandelions.
Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Word of God for Back Cover is that he created his own Keyblades, using his knowledge of the χ-blade to draw them out from hearts, rather than forging or tempering them. This would presumably make him the ultimate source of all Keyblades in the series thus far, with the exception of the χ-blade itself.
- He has noted in a story update near 2019's end that there may have been other Keyblade wielders before him and in his own childhood when Luxu presses him about it.
The Spook: While Union χ [cross] shed some light on his motivations and a bit about what he's done and been up to since his initial appearance, virtually nothing else is known about him. We don't know his name, his face, what world he was from, how old he is, how he became the Master of Masters or even whether or not he's even what he says he is. Arguably, this is intentional; since nobody knows who he is or what he's thinking, there's no way to know what he'll do next.
Team Dad: He shares a close relationship with his disciples, having inculcated an unquestioning loyalty to him within them, and treats them affectionately, though his eccentricity often baffles them. In spite of this, he manipulates them into starting the Keyblade War, without any apparent qualms.
Tomes of Prophecy and Fate: He uses his precognitive powers to write the Book of Prophecies, then gives a copy of it to each of the Foretellers. During a conversation with Darkness, he states that the Book of Prophecies doesn't contain all information about the future; just what the eye in the No Name keyblade sees, and even then, he only jotted down what he considered important, leaving out all the other details. He points out he'd have never let Darkness see the book otherwise if it truly had all knowledge of the future. He then points out the real purpose of the book wasn't about what it did or didn't contain; it was really just a means for him to create a waypoint to the future so that he could travel forward in time to commence the next step of his plans after everything is said and done.
The Un-Reveal:
- In Back Cover, he tells Luxu what secrets are held within his mysterious box. Although the camera is held close to his and Luxu's faces, there is no audio to let the viewer in on the secret. The only context the viewer gets is Luxu's shocked reaction and the Master's insistence that, "You'll see."
- In Re:Mind he tells young Xehanort his real name, but the audio heard by the audience is muted the instant he speaks.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The entirety of his plan is technically good in the vast, vast long-term by wanting to rid the Darknesses that are effectively intent on destroying everything they can. The problem is that he manipulates every single person he comes across to this end, no matter how much it might hurt or break them in the process, so that he can fulfill his plans. He at least seems to firmly believe in others compared to Xehanort, but is still morally bankrupt in this efforts given that this gets countless people killed.
What Happened to the Mouse?: An in-universe example. He just vanished, dimmed, and faded away. He mentions ahead of time this might happen (in those terms exactly), but either can't or won't explain how or why. Union χ [cross] revealed that he had traveled to the future and when he returned he stayed out of sight as he watched his plans unfold from a distance.
- He finally makes a return in III's secret ending, gazing at the moon in city of Quadratum that Riku and Yozora are in. According to Yen Sid, it's possible he and the other Foretellers have been in this world for a very long time - possibly since the end of the first war.
- He has a speaking role in Re:Mind during a flashback 75 years before the events of III revealing he set Master Xehanort up on his path.
Would Hurt a Child: More like hurt tens of thousands, if not more, children all in an effort to outwit the Darkness. His machinations have ended the lives of too many young people to count: The scores of lifeless keyblades found in the Keyblade Graveyard are a testament to that.
You Can't Fight Fate: Unlike Aced and Ava, he believes that the future is set in stone and that the great disaster is completely unavoidable. His connection with his Keyblade and the Gazing Eye embedded in it transcends time and space: he's not seeing things that may happen, he's seeing things that already happened. Because of this, he tells his students that it's not possible to avoid the Keyblade War, never mind that he's the one manipulating them into starting it. That said, what he sees will happen and what he writes will happen can be two different things, and even if what he writes is true, Exact Words may apply^note. The Secret Reports put an extra spin on this by indicating he can see more than one possible future, and that not starting the Keyblade War would have far worse consequences.

Luxu

"He will return..."

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese), Max Mittelman (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage- | χ[chi] Back Cover | III | IV

"The Master's intentions are not concerned with the longevity of the world. I will act in order to carry out my mission, and watch."

The sixth apprentice to the Master of Masters. He is gifted the Keyblade that would eventually be passed down to Master Xehanort, as well as a large black box, to fulfill the secret role bestowed upon him by the Master.

Animal Motifs: He doesn't wear an animal mask like the Foretellers, but his Keyblade features an animal head just like theirs—in his case, a goat. Luxu receives little characterization, but the animal's association with the devil highlights the evil that Keyblade will be linked to in the future. As with Gula, this animal is not linked to his namesake sin in Ancrene Wisse, where lust is associated with the scorpion.
Black Cloak: Wears a black long rain jacket, just like the Master and Organization XIII.
Brutal Honesty: Whatever he said to Ava infuriates her enough to make her attack him. He's merely doing his role given by Master of the Masters, despite Ava accusing him of perverting said instructions.
Corrupt the Cutie: See how he was just a dorky kid in Back Cover? By the time he's doing his role given by Master of the Masters, he exiled himself to a cliff near Daybreak Town to "watch" the upcoming Keyblade War. When Ava confronts him there, he casually explained to her that the war is inevitable, causing her to attack and accuse him orchestrating the war.
Dork Knight: Despite his appearance (that is, wearing a coat that every other villain in the franchise has worn) and the fact that he carries a weapon that will ultimately cause untold damage, Luxu is just an ordinary kid who, like everyone else, the Master absolutely loves to tease. His reaction to finding out that his Keyblade has one of the Master's eyes embedded onto it is to jump back and scream. When the Master tells him the contents of the black box are a secret and that it must never be opened, he excitedly says that he now wants know even more what it is. Similarly, when the Master recounts his childhood to him, Luxu excitedly keeps interrupting him with questions, like an exuberant little kid during story time.
The Dragon: While Luxu is the Sixth apprentice of the Master of Masters, he's by far the closest, and the only one to know what's inside the Master of Master's box. He is also the one tasked with passing down the Master of Master's keyblade, No Name, to form a Master-Apprentice Chain.
Even Evil Has Standards: While Luxu will usually follow his Master's orders without hesitation, he draws a line when he learns about the amount of people the Master of Masters intends to sacrifice for the Darkness in order to execute his grand plan to get rid of it. Even when the Master tries to sugarcoat things by stating that he wants to save the sacrificed in the end, Luxu is still visibly hesitant about it.
Evil Counterpart: To Ava. Both of them are ancient keyblade masters who lived long ago before Sora and his friends were even born, both of them are apprentices of the Master of Masters who were each given a secret role that their fellow Foretellers aren’t aware of, both of them share similar chessmaster tendencies like their Master, both of them constantly question the Master’s motives and both of them miss their friends (the other Foretellers) and don’t want them to fight. However, the differences there are that unlike Luxu, who still blindly follows the Master of Masters’s orders despite knowing that he’s not being entirely honest with his students, Ava instead decided to bend the rules and eventually starts defying both the Master’s orders and his prophecy. Also, unlike Luxu, who only acts Faux Affably Evil towards his enemies, Ava’s niceness is genuine and she even tries to act kind towards her enemies if she can. Plus, the roles that the Master of Masters gave them are polar opposites: Ava’s role is to ensure that other keyblade wielders survive the upcoming keyblade war to rebuild anew, while Luxu’s role is to ensure only his own survival ahead of everything else and to not try to intervene in the war to save anyone.
The Faceless: While it is subverted in the final as his face is like that of Brain, his true face is never shown through the series.
Fling a Light into the Future: Places someone or something hidden in a white cloth which he refers to as the True Dandelion in one of the lifeboats.
Insistent Terminology: The Keyblade he received from the Master actually never had a name, but Luxu enthusiastically called it the Gazing Eye before the Master tells him "nah". After that, he calls it the No Name - the Keyblade's official name.^note
In the Hood: He's only seen with his hood on in χ, preventing his face from being visible.
Kung-Fu Sonic Boom: Resulted from Luxu blocking Ava's attack. This shockwave made a clock in Daybreak Town toll, signaling that the Keyblade War was soon to begin.
Meaningful Name:
- Luxu is a shortened form of "Luxuria", the Latin word for Lust. In many Japanese religious traditions, this sin is connected to a "lust for life", which mirrors his task from his teacher to live on past the first Keyblade War, no matter what it takes.
- The name is additionally meaningful due to Luxu being a Body Surfer, thus showing a desire for other bodies to inhabit as per his role.
Nice Guy: Surprisingly, he's the kindest and most polite of the group after Ava. While he can be a little bit nervous and overly gruff, he's always polite and well-meaning. However, the role the Master placed on him caused him to grow immensely cynical and broken, causing him to undergo a massive Took a Level in Jerkass over the centuries.
Secret-Keeper: In addition to observing everything to come with the Gazing Eye, he is tasked with keeping a mysterious "X Super" chest safe and to make sure it's never opened.
Seven Deadly Sins: Just like the Master's other apprentices, his name is derived from the Latin name of one of the deadly sins. "Luxu" is short for luxuria: lust. It seems to be from a largely Buddhist sense (attachment to life), as his role is to do whatever it takes to live through the Keyblade War so the Master of Masters will know the events to come.
Sixth Ranger Traitor: As with the Master of Masters' other apprentices, he was one of the potential traitors who led to the Keyblade war. There's even a scene in Unchained where he summons his Keyblade when Ava questions if the traitor is him. Given the events that follows, it seems more like Luxu simply explained his role to keep out of things and be The Watcher, which Ava wasn't particularly happy about given how much she wanted to save people. Finally confirmed as such by the Master in the finale, though not in the way one might think. He is a traitor in that he betrayed the rules of his role; rather than passing the No Name onto successors and watching from afar, he would outright hijack their bodies for himself, preferring to stay closer to the ground.
The Watcher: His assigned mission is to have the Gazing Eye in his Keyblade observe so his Master will know the events in the future that'll unfold. The existence of the Book of Prophecies is proof of his success, having been written by the Master upon receiving said visions.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The role the Master gave him was that of an dispassionate observer, but Luxu is, put simply, too kind hearted to stand idly and watch as thousands suffer for thousands of years, even threatening the Master when he fully reveals his plan. As a result, rather than watch from a distance, Luxu "the traitor" opts instead to bodyjack the people meant to succeed him as wielders of the No Name. This has the unfortunate, inevitable side effect of warping him into the twisted man his latest vessel, Xigbar, would become.

Foretellers

In General

A group of Keyblade Masters from the age of fairy tales led by the Master of Masters, the oldest known Keyblade Master. Five were each given a volume of the Book of Prophecies from their Master, which foretells that Light will fall to Darkness. To prevent this, each leads a Union of Keyblade wielders who are sent out to protect the worlds from darkness. They also believe one amongst them is a traitor to the others, as the last page of the Book of Prophecies is missing; this suspicion would eventually lead to the Keyblade War, which destroyed their society and led to the Foretellers' disappearance.

Ace Custom: They each have Keyblades unique to them that are not shared by any of the followers in their Unions.
Ambiguously Evil: Although in contrast to other antagonists in the series, the Foretellers seem to be more blindfully misguided in their attempt to protect the world from darkness due to lack of details and explanation from the Master of Masters (who himself is Ambiguously Evil), causing them to conflict over what they believe is the best course of action. At the very least, they're all Knight Templars. Ava is an exception to that because she starts questioning and defying the Master’s orders, asks herself whether the Foretellers are in the right or not and even ends up becoming the Big Good later on via Character Development, but even then, she was blindly following the Master too at first.
- In III, we learn that Luxu is Braig/Xigbar, who is still not a nice guy regardless of how much of his act was faked. In the very last chess flashback, we also see that Xehanort has assembled seven dark pieces, with six bearing the animal motifs of the Foretellers, Luxu and the last bearing the sigil of the Book of Prophecies - presumably being an analogue to the Master, while Eraqus uses one white piece, representing Sora.
- The Union χ finale makes things a bit less ambiguous. According to the Master of Masters, all of the Foretellers are currently infected with pieces of the original 13 Darknesses, including himself. While this doesn't necessarily mean that they are evil, it does set them up as antagonists solely because of the fact they're vessels of Darkness fated to fight 7 new Lights.
Animal Motifs: Five of the Foretellers has a mask and Keyblade representing an animal, taken from Ancrene Wisse which associates each of the Seven Deadly Sins with an animal. The odd one out is Luxu, who has no mask and no original Keyblade of his own (and the No Name has a goat motif, an animal not found in Ancrene Wisse).
- Ava: Foxes
- Ira: Unicorns
- Aced: Bears
- Gula: Leopards (the one member of the five Foretellers who has a different animal than in Ancrene Wisse, which associates gluttony with pigs)
- Invi: Snakes
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The Foretellers aren't just Keyblade Masters, they're the Keyblade Masters. As in, the originals. And as expected, they are the toughest bosses in the game outside event raid bosses. Fully expect them to be able to take you down in one hit when you face them in Quest 555, 675, and the Keyblade War. For reference, when they battle the player in the opening stages of the Keyblade War, they simply remark that you're a remarkably strong Keyblade Wielder, implying that they weren't even going all out against you, before moving on while you keel over out of exhaustion.
BFS: They each wield a Keyblade that's far larger than the norm. It's actually telling in that the No Name (Luxu's and Xehanort's) is the smallest of the six.
Big Bad Friend: All Foretellers know that one of their number is a traitor.
Big Damn Heroes: The Foreteller of the Union the player chooses first appears to save the player from a Darkside.
Color-Coded Characters: Via their robes and Keyblades; pink (Ava), blue (Ira), brown (Aced), yellow (Gula), purple (Invi). Luxu lacks the colored robes of the other five but has his black coat and the No Name Keyblade to associate him with black.
The Comically Serious: Every single one of them - even Ava - take their jobs extremely seriously. This is in sharp, sharp contrast with the Master, who doesn't take anything seriously at all. He's constantly having fun at their expense, and their exasperated and surprised reactions just make it all the more funny.
Cool Mask: The Union animal masks.
Demonic Possession: The Union X finale reveals that all of the Foretellers, the Master and Luxu included, have each been possessed by seven of the Thirteen Darknesses. This was a gigantic Batman Gambit on the Master's part though - by having the most powerful sources of Darkness intentionally possess him and his apprentices, then escape to a world where light and darkness simply don't exist, it renders them powerless. So far.
Epic Fail: The Foretellers are all given crucial tasks to complete by the Master, and four out of six completely and utterly fail every step of the way. This is a remarkably darker take on the trope than usual, as the tasks they are given are completely mismatched to their personalities, skills, and flaws. Each and every one of them - save for Ava and Luxu - were doomed to fail from the get-go, and it's powerfully hinted that this was wholly intentional on the Master's part.
The Faceless: Almost. Their faces are completely obscured by their masks, but we can read their expressions somewhat by the fact that the lower half of their faces are still visible. Invi however covers her mouth with a scarf in addition to the standard mask and hood combo, leaving her almost entirely as this.
Fatal Flaw: All of them have a certain flaw to their personalities that drive a wedge between them due to their particular roles. However, the one thing they all share is their almost blind faith in the Master's teachings, with disagreements over what he told them to do sparking the conflict that leads to the Keyblade War. The Master uses their flaws to his advantage by assigning four out of six of them with roles they are utterly unsuited for, ensuring the Keyblade War happens as written. Fortunately, Aced, Ava and Gula end up subverting this later on when they slowly realize through the story that the Master’s orders make no sense and that they need to defy them. Luxu, on the other hand, is a mixed case. Like Ava and Aced, he’s aware that the Master isn’t being entirely honest with his students and is hiding plenty of things from them, but unlike them, he doesn’t care about defying the Master’s instructions and instead decides to just play along.
Final Boss: The final battle of Kingdom Hearts χ was against four of the five Foretellers, one after another, as the Keyblade War raged. Whichever Union the player picked at the beginning of the game made their chosen Foreteller The Unfought.
In the Hood: Each Foreteller wears a hooded, embroidered cloak.
Light Is Not Good: They want to protect the world from falling into darkness (i.e. the Keyblade War), and to do that, they believe that collecting as much lux (light harvested from defeating Heartless) as possible is the right thing to do. Unaware to them, lux is actually the manifestation of their "guilt" and it's a bad idea to compete against each other in collecting lux, as it results in the Keyblade War they sought to prevent in the first place.
Mr. Vice Guy: They all follow a Seven Deadly Sins motif which in varying ways define their personalities (in both good and bad ways), but when you get down to it, they were all just trying to protect their world from anything that would threaten it, driven to fighting each other due to their loyalty to a Master that drove them to paranoia in the first place.
Non-Indicative Name: None of the apprentices' personalities fit the sin of their namesake. For example, despite being named after the sin of sloth, Aced better embodies wrath, the sin Ira is named after. At best, they fit the roles the Master of Masters gave them.
Not Quite Dead: The Foretellers are revealed to be alive and survived the original Keyblade War. Luxu reunites with them at the end of III after completing his mission, with only Ava missing due to having completed her mission long before they did.
Seven Deadly Sins:
- The Foretellers' names are all based on the Latin words for the sins of Gluttony (Gula), Greed (Ava), Sloth (Aced), Wrath (Ira), Envy (Invi) and Lust (Luxu). The Master of Masters himself also exhibits elements of the last and often greatest sin, Superbia / Pride. The association becomes more appropriate considering that each Foreteller has one piece of the 13 Darknesses from the original Keyblade War inhabiting their bodies. And according to the Master of Masters, those specific 7 pieces are the deadliest of the total 13.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: Their story comes across as this once it is revealed that their Master, i.e. the one they revered and that taught them how to use a Keyblade in the first place, essentially set them up to kill each other so some of the willful darknesses could be destroyed. They put in all this time trying to identify the traitor and reducing the tensions between the Unions, unaware that Master of Masters deliberately engineered this to intensify their emotions and thus attract the darknesses to possess them, as well as the fact that the traitor was Luxu instead of any of the Foretellers.
Signature Attack: Each Foreteller have one that they only show in the Keyblade War. These are usable if you have their EX medals.
- Ava: Foxtrot: Creates clones of herself, then after they attack the player, pink petals scatter around.
- Ira: Horn Attack: Creates light arrow/spears and rain them down at the player
- Aced: Bear Claw: Charges and slammed his blade to the ground, causing it to rise.
- Gula: Panther Claw: Blitzing across the screen to slash the player countless times.
- Invi: Serpent's Illusion: Barrage of Elemental Powers attacks, fire, wind, ice, and lightning, in that order.
Tragic Hero: All of the Foretellers do what they do with a desire to protect their World from an impending darkness. They all possess an undying loyalty to their master (in Luxu's case, carrying out his plan that lasts for generations and results in multiple near-universe ending events) and it is only their conflicting flaws and paranoia (that might have been deliberately sown by their Master) that led to them turning on each other and causing the very calamity they fought so hard to prevent.
Two Girls to a Team: Ava and Invi are the two females in the group of five (six if you count Luxu).
Vague Age: It's not clear how old they are. Ava is said to be the youngest Foreteller, but seems to be slightly older than Ephemer and the other young Keybladers.
Unwitting Pawn: As it turns out, the only way to destroy the seven Darknesses is to have them infect living bodies and destroy them together. Thus the Master played a giant gambit to create discord and chaos by preying on the Foretellers' personality flaws and inadequacies in doing their jobs, making them vulnerable. In the end, all seven of them have been successfully infected - Luxu and the Master himself included.
What Happened to the Mouse?: What precisely happened to the Foretellers after the first war is one of the bigger mysteries in the series. Many believe them to be dead, casualties of the war. Most agree that they simply vanished, hence their collective title of the "Lost Masters." A few think that they may still be alive somewhere. The ending of III definitely shows that they're still alive, and Melody of Memory reveals they've most likely spent the last few thousand years hiding out in Quadratum, a fictional world where the laws of time and space are a bit more alien than the norm.

Ava

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/235px_foreteller_ava_kh28hd.png

"Why? … Why did it have to come to this?"

Voiced by: Yume Miyamoto (Japanese), Isabela Merced (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross]

"When the time comes and there is war, you mustn't fight, but instead you must fly away from here to the world outside."

The youngest Foreteller, Ava leads the Vulpes Union. Despite being a Foreteller, she often makes friends with the Keyblade wielders she commands due to her youth. She is granted the role of forming the Dandelions, a small band of Keyblade wielders with high potential, to ultimately prevent the extinction of the light when The End of the World as We Know It arrives. She’s probably the nicest of the Foretellers (and if one assumes them to be evil, then that would make her their Token Good Teammate). Like Aced and Gula, her loyalty and faith towards the Master changes throughout the story and even though she still respects the Master, she starts to question the Master’s motives and actions. Eventually, she decides to break the rules of the union set in place by him by going behind his back to defy his orders.

Animal Motifs: Vulpes is represented by the fox. While she always has good intentions, she does engage in deceit by secretly creating the Dandelions and relying on powers of illusion.
Asian Fox Spirit: Her animal motif is the fox and she has illusory powers.
Authority Equals Asskicking: It's probably a good idea to save up some Jewels before your first fight with Ava. invokedYou're gonna end up spending several hundred on continues alone...
Bastard Understudy: Heavily implied. And a rare non-evil example, considering that she’s more-or-less the Token Good Teammate of the Foretellers and assuming that she’s playing this trope straight. As of the time of this writing, she’s still pretending to loyally serve the Master (and even has respect for him still), but thanks to her Character Development, she’s started to catch on to his manipulations and has started secretely taking steps to throw a few wrenches in his plans. She’s slowly biding her time to stop the Master’s plans by directly defying some of his orders and bending the rules he set in place. On a side note, as most examples of this trope would traditionally play out, Ava was specifically chosen and groomed by the Master to form the Dandelions and to flee with them to rebuild after the war, which basically means that the Master was, for the most part, expecting only Luxu and Ava to survive the keyblade war by fullfilling their roles. So, in a way, he was grooming her as a successor of sorts, because she would technically be to the Dandelions and their leaders what the Master of Masters was to the Foretellers and their factions. Ava even gave copies of the book of prophecies to the new union leaders in the same way that the Master gave copies of the book to the Foretellers. Ava is to the new Dandelion leaders what the Master was to the Foretellers.
Big Good: So far, Ava is shaping up to be this as she is taking matters into her own hands to make something salvageable out of the whole war - all without the other Foretellers' knowledge. However, this is downplayed, because everything about the Dandelions and her involvement in them were her Master's orders.
- But then, even later on, she plays the trope straight by defying some of the Master of Masters’s orders and manipulating events behind the scenes to change fate. Her full plan is unknown, but it involves putting a wrench in the Master of Masters’s plan in the form of Brain.
Character Development: Through the story, Ava goes from blindly following the Master of Masters’s orders like most of the other Foretellers to doubting his methods and questioning his actions...and in the case of what she did with Brain, she blatantly defied the Master’s orders by giving him one of the copies of the book of prophecies. She even adopted some of the Master’s chessmaster tendencies, which befits her fox motif. Also, she seems to develop a position opposite to that of The Master of Masters. Unlike the Master of Masters, who sincerely believes that the future cannot be changed, Ava is convinced that there is yet hope for a brighter future and is trying her hardest to fight for it.
The Chessmaster: Somewhat played with. She recognizes the coming Keyblade War and takes steps to preserve Keyblade wielders with strong hearts against the destruction it will bring by relying on secrecy and subtlety, all without the knowledge of the other five Foretellers. That being said, forming the Dandelions was actually an order from the Master, and she's just as confused as the other Foretellers. Still, her plan works and she manages to succeed in fullfilling her role to preserve the light.
- Later on, it’s not played with anymore and Ava starts playing the trope straight by going behind the Master of Masters’s back and defying some of his orders.
Cunning Like a Fox: Befitting her animal motif. She doesn’t show it much at first, but the circumstances force her to go behind the backs of her fellow Foretellers (and the Master of Master himself too) to manipulate some events behind the scenes to create the Dandelions...and to create a “virus” in the Master’s plan in the form of Brain.
Cuteness Proximity: When the Master shows the Foretellers the first baby Chirithy he brewed up, Ava just melts at the sight of it. Out of all them, she also appears to have the closest relationship with the Chirithy species (or at least the Player's). Fittingly, she's the only Foreteller in Back Cover whose Chirithy appears on-screen and speaks.
Divided We Fall: Even though she is the most level-headed of the Foretellers when it comes to the issue of the traitor, Ava still unwittingly goes behind everyone’s back by creating the Dandelions, even though it was her assigned mission.
- In Back Cover, Ava angrily confronts Invi about her actions, accusing her of making things worse. Invi tries to turn it on her by citing the Dandelions, but backs off rather quickly when Ava reveals she was directly ordered to by the Master.
- She and Gula are also approached by Aced to form an alliance against the other unions, but she's the only one who declines. She later declines to help Gula's drastic plan to summon Kingdom Hearts in the hopes of forcing their Master to return.
- Later on, while racing to de-escalate the confrontation between Aced and Gula, Ava laments this very trope.
- She does something that's also not in accord with her own mission, namely attacking Luxu when she finds him and fails to interrogate him.
Fighting Your Friend: Chirithy mentions that she and Gula have a close friendship with one another. Nonetheless, they have to go to war against each other during the Keyblade War.
Fling a Light into the Future: Ava is gathering Keyblade wielders with strong hearts and no strong attachments to the unions in order to prepare for the Keyblade War—not to fight, but to send them away so that they can survive and rebuild.
Good Counterpart: To Luxu. Both of them are ancient keyblade masters who lived long ago before Sora and his friends were even born, both of them are apprentices of the Master of Masters who were each given a secret role that their fellow Foretellers aren’t aware of, both of them share similar chessmaster tendencies like their Master, both of them constantly question the Master’s motives and both of them miss their friends (the other Foretellers) and don’t want them to fight. However, the differences there are that unlike Luxu, who still blindly follows the Master of Masters’s orders despite knowing that he’s not being entirely honest with his students, Ava instead decided to bend the rules and eventually starts defying both the Master’s orders and his prophecy. Also, unlike Luxu, who only acts Faux Affably Evil towards his enemies, Ava’s niceness is genuine and she even tries to act kind towards her enemies if she can. Plus, the roles that the Master of Masters gave them are polar opposites: Ava’s role is to ensure that other keyblade wielders survive the upcoming keyblade war to rebuild anew, while Luxu’s role is to ensure only his own survival ahead of everything else and to not try to intervene in the war to save anyone.
Ironic Name: She predicts that having the Unions collect lux against each other is a bad idea, since it'll lead into conflict — that conflict becoming the Keyblade War.
Master of Illusion: And she's rather fond of using those powers for secret tests.
Neutral No Longer: After ensuring the safety of the Dandelions, Ava decides to take part in the final battle of the Keyblade War for her own reasons.
Nice Girl: Ava is an absolute sweetheart. Despite the occasional manipulation, everything she does is to keep everyone else safe, and she really goes out of her way to try and keep the Foretellers together. This is also evidenced in the game itself - she's adored by even Keyblade wielders from rival unions and has a very easy time making friends.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Unwittingly strikes the first blow in the Keyblade War against Luxu. Though to be fair, she was less concerned with fruitlessly trying to prevent it than making sure something survived the conflict.
Prophecy Twist: As the one who caused the bell to ring that brought about the beginning of the Keyblade War it is implied she is the actual "traitor" spoke of in the book of prophecies. However, given the events that follow, this seems to actually be referring more to her abandoning her fellow Foretellers after the end of the Keyblade War for being a bunch of Jerkasses, rather than betraying them in the events leading up to it.
Recurring Boss: She is fought three times over the course of χ (unless she's the player's union leader, in which case she is only fought twice).
Screw Destiny: Unlike her Master, she believes that the future isn’t set in stone and that it’s entirely possible for everyone to get along to create a better world.
Secret Test of Character: She pulls out her Keyblade when the she gets the notion that the player thinks she might be hiding something. Of course, it turns out to only be a test and she doesn't really think the player is accusing her.
- She later disguises herself as the player's Foreteller (or as Ira if the player is in Vulpes) and confronts the player as they snoop around the Foretellers' tower, claiming responsibility for Ephemer's disappearance and saying he was a traitor. This incites the player to challenge the Foreteller to battle, thereby proving to Ava the strength of their heart.
Seven Deadly Sins: Ava is short for avaritia (greed). Fittingly, she embodies the "positive" aspects of greed - mainly she wants the best outcome for everyone and continually acts on her own to see her desire through.
- On the other hand, the role given to her by the Master of Masters is somewhat greedy: To take the best Keyblade bearers from the unions and assemble them into her own Dandelions, on top of her own union.
Signature Attack: "Foxtrot", an attack only shown in the Keyblade War and as her EX Medal's Special Attack, she creates many clones of herself that all attack the player at once, with pink petals scattering around after the attack.
Spanner in the Works: While she does remain loyal to the Master (at first), she doesn't see eye-to-eye with his sense of futility with regards to the future. In an attempt to alter his prophecies, she arranges for the most clever Dandelion - Brain, a self-described "virus in the system" - to receive the Book of Prophecies instead of the Master's own chosen pick. While the full repercussions of this are yet to be seen, Luxu's letters in Kingdom Hearts III definitely point to the "virus" as a major source of headaches for him and the Master.
Token Good Teammate: While, save for an apparent traitor, none of the Foretellers are confirmed to be outright evil (including Luxu, who is more or less just following orders), Ava is the only one of them who never attempts any sort of conspiracy or some other highly questionable method to complete her role. Ephemer even states that he believes she's the only one out of all the Masters that wouldn't knowingly attempt to use someone else as pawns in light of the revelation that all the Dandelions were basically gathered to fight Darkness in a doomed world with only a small handful being able to escape.
What Happened to the Mouse?: She's the only Lost Master not to be summoned by Luxu at the end of the Second Keyblade War. According to him, she had long completed her role by then, making her whereabouts a mystery.
What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Invi out for making things worse than they already are.

Ira

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/254px_foreteller_ira_kh28hd.png

"Isn’t it our duty as Keyblade Masters to prevent this war from taking place?"

Voiced by: Yuichiro Umehara (Japanese), Matthew Mercer (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

"It isn't our place to try to change the events of the future; that is not our mission. We're here to make sure that light lives on. With only five lights, we can't afford to lose any."

A serious Foreteller with a strong sense of duty, who leads the Unicornis Union. He is granted the role of leading the other Foretellers when the Master vanishes, but ultimately threatens to tear them apart when he discovers the possible existence of a traitor amongst their ranks.

Animal Motifs: Unicornis is represented by the unicorn, befitting the leader of the powerful Foretellers.
Big Damn Heroes:
- After tensions run high between the unions, Aced attacks the player character only to be stopped by Ira.
- He does it a second time during the Keyblade War, making a Dynamic Entry to stop Aced from striking the player character while they're down. If the player character doesn't belong to Unicornis, this is closer to a Villainous Rescue, since the player will have to fight Ira later in the battle.
Big Good: Subverted. He was supposed to be this, but a lack of charisma leaves his leadership ineffectual at best.
Divided We Fall: Ira is the one who first reports of the existence of the traitor after noticing the absence of a page in the Book of Prophecies, inadvertently starting the paranoia within the Foretellers.
- He and Aced are shown to have a very strenuous relationship right from the revelation of the traitor’s existence onwards. This only escalates more the further the tensions between the unions rise, resulting in a confrontation in the Fountain Square in Daybreak Town and a declaration of war between their unions. At one point, it is slightly mended when Ira is the only Foreteller that doesn't challenge Aced and helps him up in the back alley, and the latter warns the former of Gula's own treachery. It doesn't last, of course.
Fatal Flaw: Has an overall lack of leadership skills altogether. He has little social graces, is indecisive, and doesn't know what information he should share and what he should keep to himself. He himself instigates the Keyblade War by making the other Foretellers suspicious and paranoid when he could have been more gingerly about it with regards to the Nightmare Chirithy that was caught snooping around. And worse yet, he had no plan of action to deal with the treason, both in the investigation for the traitor, and what to do after they found them.
The Leader: Even though the five Unions each have their own leader and general autonomy, the Master appointed Ira as the overall leader of the Foretellers in his absence.
Light 'em Up: He summons a holographic projection of the Nightmare Chirithy.
Nice Guy: He comes off as very stoic and sometimes even cold, but he still sees the best in everyone. Even after all the damage Aced caused, Ira doesn't hesitate in helping him out after finding him injured in a back alley.
No Social Skills: He is pretty bad when it comes to dealing with others. He accuses one of the group to be a traitor based on what amounts to a hunch, which as Aced lampshades accomplishes nothing beyond showing he doesn't trust them.
Seven Deadly Sins: Ira is Latin for wrath. While he is stoic and calm, he is prone to Tranquil Fury when he suspects one of his fellow Foretellers of treason.
Signature Attack: "Horn Attack", in which he raises his Keyblade, creating numerous shards of light that surround his foe before he thrusts his Keyblade forward, shooting out a beam of light that causes the previous shards to detonate in an explosion and a powerful burst of wind.
What the Hell, Hero?: Ira calls out Aced when the Ursus union leader beats down on the χ protagonist in the Unchained version. In his opinion Aced, as a Foreteller, had no business raising his weapon against a subordinate Keyblade Wielder.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Comes across as this, especially in the Master's eyes. Regardless of what the Master told, Ira still believes the world can be saved and the Keyblade War can be averted. In response, the Master just half-mockingly wishes him good luck and walks away.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Doesn't still quite believe this, but at least understood his Master's words that their responsibility isn't to stop the War from happening, only to ensure that light survives the aftermath.

Aced

"We need to defy the Master’s teachings to protect the world!"

Voiced by: Subaru Kimura (Japanese), Travis Willingham (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

"What, did you expect the traitor to give themselves up with that accusation of yours? That was foolish!"

A hot-headed, boisterous Foreteller who heads the Ursus Union. He possesses a strong will, and will confront even his fellow Foretellers when he feels that it's right. He is gifted the role of supporting Ira, or otherwise take command if Ira fails in performing his role properly. Like Ava and Gula, his attitude towards the Master’s rules and orders changes throughout the story and he eventually decides to defy his teachings.

Animal Motifs: Ursus is represented by the bear, fitting Aced's dangerous anger.
Bad Boss: The incident where he attacked the player character in the Fountain Square happens even if the player belonged to Ursus. Averted during the Keyblade War, where you wouldn't have to fight him if you belonged to Ursus.
Bears Are Bad News: Aced is short-tempered and instigates most of the physical conflict between the Foretellers.
Big Damn Heroes: Unwittingly saves the player character by attempting to strike Ira from behind after the player fought Ira during the Keyblade War. Played straight if the player belonged to Ursus. Otherwise, it's Villainous Rescue.
The Big Guy: The most physically imposing of the Foretellers, his fighting style in Back Cover involves the most brute force and property damage.
Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Fittingly for the most aggresive of the Foretellers, his keyblade looks less like a blade and more like a club.
The Comically Serious: Due to his serious and over-bearing personality, the Master loves absolutely nothing more than to yank his chain at every chance he gets.
The Consigliere: His role given to him by the Master is to act as Ira's right-hand man, and someone who occasionally needs to give him a push now and again. Needless to say, he's '''beyond''' terrible at it.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Aced whales on the χ protagonist at the fountain square. He only stops when they collapse from exhaustion and Ira shows up.
Divided We Fall: Aced is fervently searching the traitor and in the process antagonizing most of his fellow Foretellers.
- Right from the revelation of the traitor’s existence he and Ira continuously seem to upset one another. This eventually results in an armed confrontation between them in the Daybreak Town Fountain Square and a subsequent declaration of war.
- After doubting the Master of Masters' wisdom, he and Invi fight each other atop Daybreak Town’s rooftop. This serves as the first sign to the player character that there is a rising friction between the unions.
- Aced plans to form an alliance against Invi and Ira with other foretellers, but things seem to go south resulting in another fight, this time between him and Gula.
The Extremist Was Right: Considering the Master of Masters really manufactured the Keyblade War from the beginning so the Foretellers could take the darknesses down with them, Aced might have been right to defy the Master's orders. Where things went wrong was that his abrasive and forceful personality turned the other apprentices away from his plans.
Fatal Flaw: He is aggressive and power-hungry. Right off the bat, when the Master appoints him as Ira's right-hand-man, Aced expresses disappointment that he wasn't chosen as leader. The Master then strokes his ego, openly inviting him to rebel and defy Ira if he feels he's in the wrong. Which happens almost instantly. Every subsequent action Aced takes then is designed to defy Ira as much as possible, and break every rule in the book. Additionally, he has no qualms beating the tar out of any Keyblade wielder he feels is in his way. This makes just about everyone suspect him of being the traitor.
The Heavy:
- While he is not yet shown to be the traitor, his actions serve to continuously deepen the friction between the Foretellers. He is involved in almost every confrontation and is the most antagonistic force working against the player character.
- Part of the job the Master of Masters gave him is to stir the others into action. Arguably he does that too well.
Implacable Man: He gets into a fight with Invi, Gula, and Ava and is able to at the very least escape from them. Gula tracks him down after and points out that he can barely stand, but Aced still manages to defeat him and could have taken out Ava, if he wanted.
Informed Attribute: The journal for Back Cover stated that he has a pure heart, even if his attitude in Back Cover is anything but. Though that may refer to his Knight Templar mindset.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Out of all the Foretellers, Aced is the most outwardly unpleasant. Aggressive, dismissive of everyone around him, outright hostile to the player, and actively picks fights with his fellow Foretellers, you'd be pressed to think that he's the traitor. But in truth, it's his obsession to find the traitor that makes him so dickish. Also, in his heart he just does what he thinks is right. It takes him a long time to realize that beating the crap out of Keyblade wielders and his fellow Foretellers is the wrong way of going about it and just makes him seem suspicious more than anything else.
Knight Templar: Aced is a self-righteous individual with a strong sense of justice and rather puritanical in his behavior.
The Lancer: The Master of Masters gave him the role of supporting Ira, having picked him to step-up if Ira proves incompetent. Naturally, he takes it too far and becomes the contrarian to many of his decisions before trying to take over himself. Considering the Master of Masters knew what would happen and was trying to start the Keyblade War in the first place, he deliberately gave him this job knowing that his jealousy of Ira would cause discord among the Unions.
Leader Wannabe: His conversation with the Master pretty much has him stammering regarding him Ira's role as The Leader and how Aced is to be his second, with Aced nervously stating that he wouldn't mind being the leader if the Master asked him for it. He changes his mind and visibly lightens up once he's told that his role was the most important and that he'll be the true leader of the Foretellers if Ira doesn't step up to the task.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Even if the Master did manufacture the Keyblade War to occur, it is still Aced's fault in his dickish nature that alienates everyone and creates the war when he turns on everyone for not doing as he tells them to.
No Indoor Voice: Aced yells. A lot. In fact, most of his dialogue consists of yelling. In III, all of his dialogue is just yelling at Luxu.
Screw Destiny: Even though the Book of Prophecies reads that the end of the world will come and his Master believes You Can't Fight Fate, Aced is very vocal about his desire to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
Seven Deadly Sins: Aced is short for acedia (sloth). This seems like another case of the Master's twisted sense of humor, as Aced embodies pretty much all sins but sloth - he is impulsive, angry, wrathful, and goes all-out on everything he does. However, he lacks any interest in doing the job he was assigned properly, and instead goes straight for the part where he gets to usurp Ira as leader, ignoring his duty to support Ira and replace him only if Ira proves to no longer be in his right mind. Thus although Aced's anything but lazy in general, he's extremely lazy in the way that matters most.
Signature Attack: "Bear Claw", in which he leaps into the air before landing with a powerful crash, sending rocks flying everywhere.
Stunned Silence: When the Master of Masters tells Aced he might disappear one day, Aced is left speechless for a few seconds. The Master starts to repeat himself, thinking Aced didn't hear him, but is interrupted by Aced's shocked outburst once he's processed what was said.
Take Over the World: Mentions that he wishes to rebuild the world of Daybreak Town as its king during his battle with Ira.
This Is Unforgivable!: Betrayal of any kind. He didn't believe that there were was a traitor at first, which caused him to see Ira as a Broken Pedestal for most of the story. His fight with Invi was caused by her convincing Gula to break his alliance with him. Finally, Gula gets a Curb-Stomp Battle from Aced after finding out that he had the Lost Page that described the existence of a traitor and kept it a secret to the other Foretellers, which resulted in them fighting each other.
Unstoppable Rage: After Gula reveals that there really was a traitor in their midst (assuming it to be Aced himself), Aced is so enraged he's able to defeat Gula despite being barely able to stand.
What the Hell, Hero?: Aced calls Ira a fool for revealing the existence of a traitor to the entire group.
You Will Not Evade Me: During a battle scene in Back Cover, Aced is revealed to possess the ability to manipulate spatial vacuums. He does so by firing Sword Beams at Invi that transform into vacuums to pull her towards him.

Gula

"Trust no one but myself…"

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Kevin G. Quinn (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

"The only way to get him back is to break the rules! If things don't change, the entire world is doomed!"

A young Foreteller who heads the Leopardos Union. He much prefers solitude, distancing himself from his fellow Foretellers with an aloof personality. He is gifted the role of analyzing and discovering the secrets of the Book of Prophecies. Like Ava and Aced, his attitude towards the Master’s rules and orders changes throughout the story and he eventually comes to the conclusion that the rules need to be broken to save the world.

Animal Motifs: Leopardos is represented by the leopard. He is rather secretive, much like an ambush predator. Notably, unlike the other Foretellers, his motif is not drawn from Ancrene Wisse, where gluttony is linked to the pig.
Combat Pragmatist: Attempts to finish off Aced when he thinks he's weak from previous battles. It doesn't work out.
Divided We Fall: Being already the coldest of the Foretellers, the revelation of the traitor only convinces Gula that there is no one he can trust.
- He is approached by Aced to form an alliance, but the negotiations turn sour resulting in an armed confrontation between him and the Ursus union leader.
- Failing that, and in desperation for an explanation from their absent Master, he states his intention to Ava to summon Kingdom Hearts as a way to call back their Master, through collecting more and more Lux. Aghast at the extreme measure just for that purpose, Ava has to sorrowfully decline helping him. His Union's increased rate of gathering Lux is what sets off the other Unions (in varying degrees of reluctance) into doing likewise, which would further aggravate tensions between Unions.
Fatal Flaw: He's cold, aloof, and deeply anti-social. To make matters worse, the Master appointed him with investigating the traitor. This causes him to appear the most likely suspect after Aced due to his untrusting nature and shady movements due to no one knowing what his role was.
Fighting Your Friend: Chirithy mentions that he and Ava have a close friendship with one another. Nonetheless, they have to go to war against each other during the Keyblade War.
Fragile Speedster: Gula is a speedy Keyblade Wielder whose Keyblade resembles a bolt of lightning. Nevertheless, he hits hard, as shown during his fight with you during the Keyblade War. However, even an injured Aced could incapacitate Gula once the former got his hands on the latter.
Godzilla Threshold: He believes he needs to cross this by summoning Kingdom Hearts, a forbidden act because of the untold damage it would cause, so that the Master will return to them and explain the purpose of their missions.
Loner-Turned-Friend: Gula is this to Ava, seeing how Chirithy describes them as close friends even though Gula is described as a lone wolf.
Seven Deadly Sins: Gula is Latin for gluttony. His primary motivation in the story is to collect as much Lux as possible, by any means necessary, to summon Kingdom Hearts and gain the Master's attention.
Signature Attack: "Panther Claw", in which he Flash Steps around his foes so rapidly that his target doesn't even feel the hit until after he reappears.
The Smart Guy: When the Master gives him his role, he's the first to note and explain its brilliance, which ends up deflating the Master, as he'd thus been denied the chance to explain the scheme.
Tagalong Kid: He appears to be the youngest of the Foretellers, alongside Ava.
What the Hell, Hero?: Gets a pretty massive one from the other Foretellers, especially Aced, due to keeping the Lost Page to himself, which details the betrayal. He ultimately had to since those were his orders directly from the Master.
- He also gets it from Ava too, when he expresses his desire to summon Kingdom Hearts in order to bring the Master of Masters back to them. In hindsight, Gula may be the reason the Keyblade War turned out the way it did.

Invi

"I’m sorry you got tangled up in this…"

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Karissa Lee Staples (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

"But, that isn't the balance we were expected to keep. If everyone's collecting light solely for themselves, Keyblade wielders will soon turn against one another, which will lead to... the Keyblade War."

A noble woman who follows the Master’s teachings with absolute faith, Invi leads the Anguis union with unwavering prudence. She is gifted the role of watching over the other Foretellers with a fair eye.

Animal Motifs: Anguis is represented by the snake, fitting her clandestine nature.
Apologetic Attacker: She sincerely apologizes to the player character during their confrontation in the Keyblade Graveyard in Unchained.
Divided We Fall: As the most fervent follower of the Master of Masters' words, she believes the traitor will lead to the Keyblade War.
- While we don't know which actions she undertakes, she is confronted by Ava and accused of making things worse.
- When Aced doubts the Master of Masters' wisdom, Invi angrily retaliates with violence resulting in a fight atop Daybreak Town's rooftops. This serves as the first sign to the player character that there is a rising friction between the unions.
Combat Stilettos: It's tough to see at times, but during her fight with Aced, you can see that Invi fights in high heeled boots.
The Faceless: As mentioned above, all Foretellers have hints of this with their mask, but she takes it a step further and wears a mouth obscuring scarf as well. We only see it down during her flashbacks with the Master present, a visual cue to her complete trust and faith in the Master and his teachings.
Fatal Flaw: She's a busybody who has unwavering loyalty to the Master. When she is appointed as the neutral observer and mediator while Ira was made leader, Invi predictably begins answering exclusively to Ira, seeing him as the new authority-figure. This causes Aced to believe the two are conspiring against the rest of them. Even Ava calls her out on this, undermining her efforts of forming the Dandelions by tattling to Ira.
Knight Templar: Follows the Master of Masters' words with absolute conviction.
Lady of Black Magic: Invi is a calm, mature woman that shows fine control of elemental magic in her Signature Attack in the Keyblade War.
Lady of War: She can hold on her own against Aced, who is much bigger than her, while looking graceful in the fight.
The Lancer: Number Two variety. While on paper this was supposed to be Aced's role, Invi is the one Ira trusts to help him keep an eye on the other Foretellers, reporting all her findings to him. Invi gradually starts falling off this role, however, once it's pointed out that she's not being as impartial as her role requires her to be by acting as Ira's eyes and ears, thus becoming a more traditional Lancer who does things her own way.
Making a Splash: Back Cover shows her using water as a propulsion system in order to overwhelm Aced.
My God, What Have I Done?: Downplayed, Invi apologizes to Ava for ratting out the Dandelions to Ira because she genuinely had no idea that Ava is just following the Master's orders.
Poor Communication Kills: Takes her role of watching over the other Foretellers the point of spying on the group. Her investigations don't probe very far, since she assumes any and all subversive behavior is an indicator towards the traitor. She reports her findings directly to Ira, which in turn feeds into his paranoia.
- She privately talked Gula into breaking off the alliance between Ursus and Leopardos, pushing her into open conflict with Aced when he accused her of sabotage.
- She ratted out the Dandelions' training grounds to Ira on suspicion that Ava might be the traitor. Ava had no problem admitting that forming the group was the task the Master had given her when asked, causing Invi to tense up.
Seven Deadly Sins: Invi is short for invidia (envy). It fits her personality - she's something of a busy body that acts like she has more authority than she actually does, perhaps indicating jealously towards Ira's position despite being loyal to him. In-turn, she inspires envy in Aced, the man who was assigned the role of Lancer by their master but isn't trusted enough by Ira (and in-turn is jealous of Ira's role as Leader) to do his job properly.
Signature Attack: "Serpent's Illusion", in which she summons orbs of elemental energy that cascade upon her foes, bombarding them with a barrage of fire, wind, ice, and lightning in that order.
The Sneaky Guy: Her official role is to watch over the others and mediate conflicts, but it comes across as spying on and sabotaging them.

Union Members

Player

Appearances: χ[chi] | Union χ [Cross] | Dark Road

A Keyblade wielder from Daybreak Town who seeks to prevent The End of the World as We Know It by collecting enough light to combat the darkness. You decide their name, gender, appearance, and which Foreteller's Union they belong to.

Absurdly High Level Cap: In all previous Kingdom Hearts games, the highest level a character could achieve was 100. The current level cap for the protagonist in Union χ Cross is level 800; by the time you reach level 450, the total to level up is over 40 billion lux, in a game where special quests might give a few million. And at some point, it was increased past even 500, but it takes so long to hit whatever the cap is that no one's reached it yet.
Action Fashionista: If you so choose, the protagonist can dress up in some pretty snazzy outfits while kicking major ass.
All-Loving Hero:
- They only show dislike or hatred to those of darkness or evil. And even then, they help out Hades when he asks nicely, although that doesn't last long after he threatens Cloud and Hercules. Even then, it's implied that the protagonist only did that to find Cloud and search the Underworld without Hades getting in the way.
- They don't take a side between Aladdin and the city guards of Agrabah—despite learning that Aladdin is a thief, they know that he's a good person, but on the other hand, that the guards are only doing their jobs, and are trying to fight off the Heartless. This leads to them helping the guards protect the city in some missions, and clearing Aladdin's name in others when he's falsely accused of theft.
- When Ava offers them a place in the ranks of the Dandelions, they balk, not wanting to abandon their friends and allies who haven't been chosen to the destruction the Keyblade War will bring.
And Your Reward Is Clothes: Completing the various Avatar Boards award character customization items along with the other boosts.
Armor Is Useless: Your clothes will never affect how much damage you take, meaning that you could be decked out in Terra's Keyblade Armor and still take the same amount of damage as someone in a swimsuit. That said, your clothes provide other bonuses, like increases to skill activation rates and rare enemy sightings, so clothing selection is still useful in this regard.
Badass Adorable: Kid Hero? Check. Always sweet and willing to help others? Check. Willing to take on Eldritch Abominations to protect their friends and the known worlds? Check. Even Cinderella calls them adorable when they visit Castle of Dreams.
Big Damn Heroes: Frequently, whether it's showing up just in time to save one of the Princesses of Heart from the Heartless or breaking up a fight between their fellow Keyblade wielders. After being Locked Out of the Loop for most of the plot following the Keyblade War, they warp in just in time to help Ephemer, Skuld, Brain, and Lauriam take on Darkness.
Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Played with. During the Keyblade War, they take on four of the five Foretellers, who are the most powerful Keyblade Wielders in existence short of the Master of Masters, one after the other, with all four of them commenting on the protagonist's strength of heart and skill as a Keyblade Wielder. The only Foreteller who doesn't fight the protagonist is whichever Foreteller that leads the house to which the protagonist belongs. However, none of the Union Leaders are even winded, with Gula mentioning that he isn't putting any real effort into his battle with the protagonist while Aced subsequently curb-stomps the hero once he gets serious. Meanwhile, the protagonist is keeling over from the strain and despair as they watch everyone's hearts fade into darkness.
Brought Down to Badass: On a meta level. In the browser game, every one of their attacks is a special attack. Unchained instead gives them standard attacks, relegating special attacks back to being special. Naturally, this doesn't make them any less potent of a fighter.
Canon Character All Along: Of a sort. The ending of Union Cross reveals that they seemingly died, or at least lost their heart, and they refused to submit to sleep like they were meant to. As a result, their heart was connected to Xehanort. Whether as a reincarnation or if their heart took refuge there is ambiguous in the ending of Union Cross. Ultimately Subverted as of the end of Dark Road where it’s revealed that they didn’t reincarnate as Xehanort, but as the blue cloaked figure who raised him.
Character Customization: They are a true blank slate for the player to alter as they please—even gender can be changed at any time. Gender presentation is also up to the player; despite the game itself gendering costumes, nothing stops a "male" character from wearing "female" clothing.
Child Soldier: They ultimately fight alongside their Union in the Keyblade War while being almost certainly below enlistment age.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Like many a protagonist before them, they frequently help others out of the goodness of their hearts (with some advice from Chirithy), even though their job description is limited to collecting Lux and taking down swarms of Heartless.
Connected All Along: The ending of Union Cross reveals that their heart is connected with Xehanort's. As of the end of Dark Road this is Downplayed when it’s revealed that they didn’t reincarnate as Xehanort, but as the blue cloaked figure who raised him.
Cool Sword: Their Keyblade, of course! Like previous protagonists, they get to change out the default Keyblade, Starlight, for various other Keyblades in the series, such as Fenrir or Three Wishes. Unlike previous games, upgrading your Keyblade to a certain point makes its appearance change, making them increasingly flashy and cool-looking until they finally glow.
Crippling Overspecialization: Some Keyblades heavily favor a certain Medal attribute (Power, Speed, or Magic) or type (Upright or Reversed). Thus it can sometimes be difficult to work your best medals into a new Keyblade, as a Medal that's really strong on one Keyblade may not be so useful on another.
Cutting Off the Branches:
- The official novelization attempts to use Second-Person Narration, but it does establish that the protagonist is in the Anguis union, and that they're male.
- In the initial release of Dark Road, Player was once again depicted as male, and even given an uncustomizable appearance that looks very similar to the default male appearance from◊ Union Cross, with the only differences being that he's wearing different clothes and has lighter skin. However, a subsequent patch rearranged or removed all the scenes directly depicting him, leaving their gender and appearance once again ambiguous.
Dark Is Not Evil: Reversed Medals invoke the powers of antagonists like the members of Organization XIII, but the protagonist uses them for good and only good. They also start using the powers of darkness later on and at the end Pretend to Be Brainwashed by the Big Bad: They fake being completely under the control of Darkness in order to force Ephemer to lock them and Darkness up forever.
Did You Get a New Haircut?: The protagonist can change their appearance radically between missions, even changing their gender, and no one has any trouble recognizing them.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: By Mission 500, you're trusted enough by your Foreteller to take on Darksides single-handedly.
Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Manages to fake being possessed convincingly enough to successfully trick the 4 Darknesses, allowing them to enact their plan to trap them.
Disapproving Look: Gave one to a Keyblade Wielder who claims, "My friends aren't my power."◊
Dreaming of Things to Come: Thanks to Spirit Chirithy (and later Ephemer), they see things from the Foretellers' meeting with the Master of Masters to the Keyblade War. They also have a dream of the second Keyblade War between Xehanort and Sora, though they only see both groups as shadowed figures.
Enemy Without: The Nightmare Chirithy that appears throughout chi and Back Cover belongs to them, having been born from their darkness.
Face Death with Dignity: Smiles before pulling their own Heroic Sacrifice when Ephemer whispered his plans of sacrificing himself. Also does this again when they die as the blue robed figure who raised Xehanort on Destiny Islands in KHDR.
Fighter, Mage, Thief: Their Keyblades and Medals are divided between Power, Magic, and Speed categories.
Fighting Your Friend: The final bosses of Union Cross are their close friends Ephemer and Skuld, who think the protagonist is possessed.
Flashback Nightmare: Despite their memories have been rewritten, they keep having nightmares about their previous life before and during the Keyblade War.
Gender Bender: In Unchained, they can change their gender at will.
The Girl Who Fits This Slipper: Subverted or averted, depending on the protagonist's gender. If the protagonist is female, the Grand Duke of Cinderella will insist that she try on the glass slipper that Cinderella left behind at the ball. However, the protagonist refuses to take her shoes off, so the Grand Duke bids her good day. If the protagonist is male, the Duke doesn't ask him about it.
Good Counterpart: To Baldr. Whereas the Player was only faking Demonic Possession to eliminate 4 core Darknesses in his first lifetime, Baldr ends up becoming possessed by Darkness all the way to the end within his lifetime.
Head-Turning Beauty: If their first "encounter" with Strelitzia is any indication.
Hello, [Insert Name Here]: You choose their name. Your character introduces themselves to Ephemer at one point, and a few characters do refer to the protagonist by name, but it's rare.
Heroes Prefer Swords: As is typical for a Kingdom Hearts hero, they use a Keyblade as their weapon.
Heroic Mime: Downplayed. It's shown that the protagonist is speaking, given that other characters frequently repeat what the protagonist apparently said. However, the game rarely shows what the protagonist is actually saying. The few times the protagonist is shown speaking include when they introduce themselves to Ephemer ("I'm [name] of [Union]"), a short "Let's go" when pursuing Dark Chirithy, and a "No More Holding Back" Speech to their Foreteller when they're tricked into believing that Ephemer has been killed. Lampshaded by Ephemer when talking to Ava:
Ephemer: You know, I made a friend from another Union today. They don't talk much, but I think they're just shy.
Heroic Sacrifice: In order to save Ephemer and Skuld from the 4 Darknesses that remained in data Daybreak Town, the Player pretends to be possessed by them in order to force Ephemer's hand, who ends up with no choice but to warp the Player and Darknesses to the cable portal that connect data Daybreak Town to the other data worlds. There, with one side already locked up by Ephemer, the Player simply locks the other side of the portal as well, preventing the Darknesses from reaching the other data worlds, but also dooming themself in the process.
Hunter of Monsters: Their job title amounts to taking down as many Heartless as possible while collecting Lux to keep away the Darkness. Any good deeds they do (of which they do many), are purely bonuses done out of good will.
I Choose to Stay: Twice they're given the opportunity to escape the destruction of the world, and twice they turn it down to stay with their friends—once when they decide not to join the Dandelions (even if Ephemer brings them along anyway after the war), and once when they're offered one of the last five lifeboat pods out of the data Daybreak Town.
Jack of All Stats: Their initial Keyblade, Starlight, is the all-purpose weapon which buffs Power, Speed, and Magic, along with slots to buff Upright and Reverse Medals.
Kid Hero: Implied to be such, with all of the default customization options being rather youthful and most clothing sets designed to look trendy. Quite a few people also refer to the protagonist as "kid."
Laser-Guided Amnesia: In the browser game's secret ending, their memories of the events leading up to the Keyblade War have been erased after the point of being offered a place in the Dandelions.
Magic Knight: Their Special Attacks provide them with strong physical moves like Ars Arcanum as well as powerful magic like Dark Firaga.
Mundane Utility: Subverted. Even though the Keyblade has the power to open any lock, the protagonist is stopped each time they try to use this. When they try using this to open the door to the White Rabbit's house, the latter panics and thinks that they are going to blast his door apart, screaming at them to stop. Later on, they attempt to do this to get into Cinderella's house, only for Chirithy to appear and point out that they could just knock like a normal person.
Nice Guy: So much so that they give Sora and Ventus a run for their munny, being one of the single nicest characters in the history of the franchise, showing virtually no malice to anyone and being willing to help Hades of all people if he asked nicely. They spend most of the game doing favors for others with no real recompense.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As the robed figure who raised Xehanort, they told him about his fate as the Child of Destiny, someone who hails from Destiny Islands and has the ability to feel, share, and embrace the hearts of others, and connect their hearts with the heart of others. However, it's implied they got it wrong and in reality helped set Xehanort on his dark path.
"No More Holding Back" Speech: In one of the few times they speak, they deliver a truly epic speech to their Union's Foreteller (or Ira for Vulpes players), after learning that they were responsible for Ephemer's disappearance.
Protagonist: This whole thing was my idea. I was the one who wanted to look for Ephemer, and for good reason. You see, I've gone to different worlds to gather Lux; a lot of effort has gone into the contributions to my Union. I've even had to fight those I consider my friends. I've done everything that was expected of me without a second thought. And then I met Ephemer. We didn't know each other for very long, but he left a lasting impression. Not all of our memories are good ones; in fact, he even broke one of our promises. No matter what happened, I knew we were still friends. But you took him away from me. I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel hurt. Maybe that means I have darkness in my heart; I don't care. But I can't let you get away with what you did to my friend. Even if I have to fight you, even if I don't stand a chance, even if I may disappear... I will because I know in my heart that Ephemer would do the same if he were here. [they raise their Keyblade] Master [Foreteller's name], I mean no disrespect, but this is something I must do.
One-Man Army: Everything Sora and company do in a party, they can do by themselves. At one point, they're trusted to solo Darksides by themselves, which are monstrously large Heartless beasts.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: They aren't particularly tall, with the elder Foretellers Aced and Ira towering over them. Nevertheless, the protagonist is more than capable of holding their own against even the toughest Heartless.
Power Copying: The powers of the Foretellers and the Medal System allow you to access powers from the future. Hence, whenever you're using a Medal, you're actually borrowing some of the power of the character imprinted on it. This is also why the Special Attacks of Medals with characters that are powerful in-story tend to have stronger effects, like the various Kairi medals or the EX Foreteller Medals.
Pretend to Be Brainwashed: They fake being completely under the control of Darkness in order to force Ephemer to lock them and Darkness up forever.
The Quiet One: Their quietness is even recognized In-Universe by many characters, including Chirithy, Ephemer, Ava, and Skuld. This becomes key to a "Eureka!" Moment for Ephemer and Skuld after Brain correctly deduces that Lauriam's sister Strelitzia attempted to invite a certain quiet individual to join the Dandelions.
Ephemer: "....A really quiet person who didn't join the Dandelions."
Rage Against the Mentor: They challenge their Union's Foreteller to a duel when they reveal that they made Ephemer disappear. The protagonist loses, and it turns out to be a Secret Test of Character anyway and the foreteller that they were fighting was actually Ava in disguise, making this a Subverted Trope unless the player chose Vulpes as their Union, but that still took guts.
Refusal of the Call: Ava extends an offer to them to join her Dandelions, Keyblade wielders to be sent to another dimension to survive the coming Keyblade War. They ask to think on it, not very comfortable with the idea of leaving friends and allies to perish. Ultimately they do stay and fight in the Keyblade War, though in the end Ephemer, Skuld and their Chirithy wound up bringing them into the other dimension afterwards anyway.
Something Only They Would Say: In order to succesfully fake Demonic Possesion well enough fool everyone, they quote a very iconic phrase.

INH: (Player)'s heart has been lost to darkness. [...] He cannot hear you.

Ephemer: Wait. Are you-?

INH: I am formless. You cannot destroy me.

Suddenly Voiced: They're Heroic Mime for the most part, but they will suddenly gain their voice during key scenes:
- When they introduce themselves to Ephemer, they give the player's name and dictate what union they're from (which is always different from Ephemer's).
- After witnessing Aced and Invi battling across the rooftops, they say, "Let's go" to Skuld.
- When asked by their Foreteller (Ava in disguise) if Ephemer was a friend: "Yes, he is." They then break into monologue, noting proudly that Ephemer was their friend and left a lasting impression on who they are, and that they simply can't forgive the Foreteller for taking him away. The player character then challenges their Foreteller to a duel.
Supporting Protagonist: They're not initiating anything, they're not leading anything, and they're not changing anything. Ephemer leads the Dandelions and the Foretellers propel the plot forward. Even in the final battle during the Keyblade War, they are merely surviving fighting four Foretellers in a row; something that impresses the Foretellers, but doesn't change any plans.
Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors: Their medals are divided between Speed, Power, and Magic, and their weaknesses and strengths are highlighted by a Fire Emblem-esque triangle.
Tranquil Fury: During their Rage Against the Mentor, they never raise their voice, only calmly explaining their reasons for sneaking their way into the Foretellers' chamber before challenging their Master to Keyblade combat after being told that said Foreteller was the one behind Ephemer's disappearance.
Took a Level in Badass: In-story, the protagonist goes from a newbie wielder who doesn't even know what a Keyblade is to someone who is willing to take on powerful foes like Cerberus, Hades, and Darksides single-handedly. They even cross Keyblades with the Foretellers, albeit while the Foretellers holding way back. Given the difference in experience, they're still impressed by how well the protagonist fares, and prefer to simply leave them alone rather than finish them off. Eventually, the protagonist is left as one of the last fighters (perhaps the only one) standing in a battlefield littered with Keyblades, barely alive when Ephemer and Skuld come to rescue them.
Victory-Guided Amnesia: Ephemer, Skuld, and Chirithy either induce or allow amnesia of the Keyblade War for the Main Character because they feel it was too traumatic for them. Given how the protagonist was doubled over from exertion and grief by the end of the war, it's hard to argue with their logic.
Virtual Paper Doll: Everything from their outfit, hair color, accessories, eye color, and expressions are up for you to choose. Provided you've unlocked them of course.

Chirithy

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. I have to…"

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Lara Jill Miller (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross] | III

"This is where your story began, the story of your very own adventure. Five of the Master’s apprentices armed themselves with the Book of Prophecies. They each created a Union. This would fulfill his wishes. Then, they set out to rally Keyblade wielders just like you. By defeating Heartless, the monsters of darkness, they would gather light."

Cat-like creatures created by the Master of Masters to accompany Keyblade Wielders. Chirithy offer guidance to the Wielders they accompany and act as a beacon of light for their masters. It is said that a Chirithy will transform if its master's heart becomes tainted with darkness.

Bond Creatures: Chirithy's fate seems to be tied to the fate of the Keyblade wielder.
Can't Live Without You: Chirithy will disappear if the Keyblade wielder they're bound to disappears or falls to the darkness.
Dark Is Not Evil: They are born from darkness, but despite that they are extremely sweet and adorable. Brain's Chirithy in particular wears unique black and red accessories, but is no less cuddly and helpful than the others.
Deadpan Snarker: Aside from his general cuteness and role as Mr. Exposition, his other shtick is throwing quips whenever he can.
Dream Weaver: Can influence the dreams of Keyblade wielders. They are Dream Eaters, after all.
Earn Your Happy Ending: It was a very long time coming, but Ventus's Chirithy is finally reunited with him at the end of III after potentially waiting centuries in The Final World.
Exposition Fairy: To the player.
Expy: They are inspired by Final Fantasy Moogles, in a sense. Just like Moogles, they are Ridiculously Cute Critter composed of spherically large heads, narrow eyes, small ears, and petite fingerless limbs.
Innocent Blue Eyes: Spirit Chirithy have narrow blue eyes.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As seen above in Deadpan Snarker, he loves throwing around quippy zingers - typically at someone else's expense, but overall he's very helpful and huggable.
Leitmotif: In III, a slower orchestral version of the "Dream Eaters" theme accompanies the arrival of Ventus' Chirithy.
One-Steve Limit: Averted. There's a Chirithy for every Keyblade wielder in the Unions (including the Foretellers, according to Back Cover), and they all refer to each other as Chirithy (and apparently have no problem telling each other apart most of the time). Then again, it is their species name.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: Just look at him. In Back Cover, it's revealed his fully-rendered model is a plush! The Master intentionally created them to be as absurdly cute as possible so that the Keyblade wielders wouldn't hesitate in keeping them around.
Sigil Spam: They have Spirit emblems on their backs.
Taking the Heat: Attempts this when the protagonist is caught sneaking into the Foretellers' chambers with Skuld, but are stopped by the protagonist, who then says their "No More Holding Back" Speech.
Undying Loyalty: The Chirithy will always stay by their masters side no matter what happens or how bleak the situation is. Ventus's Chirithy waited in the Final World for an unclear time for him and other Chirithy have been shown to stay and comfort their masters on the verge of death.

Spirits

A customizable Spirit companion belonging to the player character, created by the leaders of Dandelion and gifted by a Chirithy for their hard work.

Action Pet: It serves as the sixth medal slot in your Keyblade and even has skills that can be activated during battle. To get more skills and make your pet stronger, you need medals with higher special attack tiers (and usually the source for that is the medal banners in the shop).
Amazing Technicolor Population: Each part of its body can come in all sorts of different colors, including blue, purple, black, yellow, pink, white, rainbow/iridescent...
- You can have a Starfox [Green], a Hamstar [Purple], and a Hamstar [Pink].
Asian Fox Spirit: The Starfox [White] is based off of the kitsune.
Canine Companion: If you make your pet a Pupstar or a Moon Dog.
Eastern Zodiac: The Moon Dog was released for the 2018 (Lunar) New Year to celebrate the transition into the Year of the Dog.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Due to being added in a later update, your pet plays no role in any cutscenes besides the one it is introduced in. Somewhat jarring since like Chirithy, it is also a Dream Eater and also seems to be tied to you. A story update later revealed that they canonically aren't given to you until after the Dandelion leaders meet for the first time.
Holiday Mode:
- For the winter holidays, Reinstar parts in gold, blue, green, and white were made available.
- The Moon Dog set was made available for the 2018 New Year's in the Japanese version to celebrate the Lunar New Year, as it was the Year of the Dog.
- Hamstar [Chocolate] was made available for the month of February 2018 for Valentine's Day in the Japanese version.
- Lambstar [Gray] was made available for the month of April 2018 for Easter.
Meaningful Name: A moon dog is an optical phenomenon in which a lunar halo around the moon is produced by the refraction of moonlight by ice crystals in clouds.
Mix-and-Match Critters: Your pet can have parts of a cat, a dog, a pig, a rabbit, and so on and so forth.
Punny Name:
- The monkey is called "Monstar", as in, monster.
- The hamster is called "Hamstar".
Precious Puppy: It's no denying that the Pupstar and Moon Dog sets are cute. Especially since the Moon Dog is based on the Shiba Inu.
Righteous Rabbit: The Bunstar.
Stellar Name: They all have the suffix of "-star" at the end of their species' names. The only current exception to that is Moon Dog, which has a moon motif instead.
White Bunny: The Bunstar [White], which also has rainbows on it. There are also white/rainbow versions of the other species that were only released in Japan.

Daybreak Town Party

Appearances: Union χ [Cross]

Four unnamed keyblade wielders that the Protagonist meets in Daybreak Town before the Keyblade War begins and after the Castle of Dreams quests end, later accompanying them in other quests.

Failed a Spot Check: The moogle head boy manages to defeat a particularly tricky Heartless all on his own and as he gushes to you, he fails to notice the arrival of a Gummi Hound behind him.
Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- Sanguine: The clown outfit boy
- Choleric: The bandana girl
- Melancholic: The frog hat girl
- Phlegmatic: The Moogle head boy
Gender-Equal Ensemble: Two boys and two girls.
Guest-Star Party Member: Technically the player is one for them, but functionally one of them will assist you when you head into a boss battle with them.
Jet Pack: The frog hat girl has one. Considering it's the same variety the player can equip, how functional said pack is is up for debate.
Making a Spectacle of Yourself: The clown outfit boy wears a pair of joke glasses with patterned opaque lenses.
Nightmare Fetishist: They're all thrilled at the appearance of new, dangerous breeds of Heartless.
No Name Given: Not only does their party lack a stated name, but they also lack personal names themselves too. One of the members (specially the Moogle head boy) is nicknamed "moogle head" in one quest.
Pink Means Feminine: The frog hat girl is decked from head to toe in pink.
Scarf of Asskicking: The frog hat girl also wears a neat red scarf.
Sleeves Are for Wimps: Both the moogle boy and the bandana girl have sleeveless outfits.
Verbal Tic: The Moogle head boy is definitely committed to his aesthetic, complete with kupo.

The Dandelions

Ephemer

"Hey, maybe talking about the Book will cheer you up!"

Voiced by: Yūto Uemura (Japanese), Michael Johnston (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross] | III

"Great! From today on, we're friends beyond Unions."

A fellow Keyblade wielder from a rival Union. Along with the player, he wishes to find the truth behind collecting Lux.

Apologetic Attacker: Ephemer apologizes after opening a portal to trap Darkness and the "possessed" protagonist.
Big Damn Heroes:
- You meet him by saving him from an Invisible. He returns the favor later in the Daybreak Town sewers.
- In III during the fight with the gigantic Demon Tower in the Keyblade Graveyard, he appears to Sora and helps by summoning the Keyblades of the deceased Union Keyblade wielders to attack the boss all at once.
  Ephemer: Need some help?
Big Good: He takes over this role from Ava as the leader of the Dandelions.
Connected All Along: He is the ancestor of none other than Master Xehanort himself.
Dual Boss: He and Skuld are fought together as the Final Boss of Union Cross
Final Boss: He is this along with Skuld in Union Cross
Flower Motifs: Dandelions, obviously.
Friendly Rival: He's a member of the protagonist's rival Union (for example, if you are from Unicornis, he will be from Vulpes), but there's no bad blood between the two of them at all.
Ephemer: Our friendship transcends unions.
Heroic Sacrifice: Double Subverted. Tried to do so when confronted by the 4 Darkness but the protagonist beat him to the punch.
Ephemer: *whispers* "Once this starts get in the lifeboat."
Player: "!?"
Ephemer: *whispers* "One of us needs to survive."
Player: "Fools."
I Choose to Stay: He decides to remain in the data Daybreak Town when the lifeboat turns out to be short two slots.
The Leader: Just as Ira was the de facto leader of the Unions, Ephemer is considered the de facto leader of the Dandelions.
Meaningful Name: An ephemera means a thing that exists for only a short time.
Memorial Statue: He has one in Scala ad Caelum, which he founded.
Nice Guy: Just an all-around decent guy who tries to lift the spirits of everyone he meets.
Our Founder: Ephemer is the one who rebuilt Daybreak Town into Scala ad Caelum. As a testament, a statue of him was built in his name.
Promotion, Not Punishment: His hunt for the truth led not to punishment from the Foretellers, but a place as the leader of the Dandelions when Ava stays behind, although it was on the Master's orders that she make him leader regardless.
Scarf of Asskicking: The most distinctive part of his outfit is his striking red scarf, and he's a capable enough Keyblade wielder that Ava selects him to become one of the leaders of the Dandelions, becoming its de facto leader in time.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The Union leaders decide to forego the rules of Ava and the Master and discard the notions of Unions in the Dandelions.
Talking in Your Dreams: As he was in the Unchained Realm upon becoming leader of the Dandelions, he was able to talk to the protagonist and Skuld in their dreams.

Skuld

Appearances: χ[chi] | Union χ [Cross]

"Our goal of protecting the light is the same. There's no need for us to fight."

A Keyblade wielder from Ephemer's Union. She wants to assist the player in discovering the truth.

Action Girl: So much that she was even chosen to be one of the the leaders of the Dandelions.
The Chosen Many: Not just as a Keyblade wielder, but Ava as per the Master's orders offers her a place in the Dandelions, her group of Keyblade wielders with strong hearts from all Unions, selected to survive the Keyblade War.
Dreaming of Things to Come: Ephemer tells her that the world is going to end.
Dual Boss: She and Ephemer are fought together as the Final Boss of Union Cross
Final Boss: She is this along with Ephemer in Union Cross
Heroic BSoD: Has a small one at the revelation that Heartless are fallen humans.
I Choose to Stay: When Ephemer and the player choose to stay in the data Daybreak Town, she stays with them, leaving one lifeboat pod in reserve.
I Just Want to Have Friends: She started a party in her Union to make friends, but no one joined. That is, until Ephemer, and the two started to become close. But then the party grew, and they saw each other less and less, culminating in Ephemer leaving the party, saying that Skuld should be happy now. But after he left, she lost the joy of being in a party.
Jumped at the Call: She eagerly accepts Ava's offer of joining the Dandelions, and is baffled when the protagonist asks to think it over.
Maybe Ever After: She is implied to have feelings for Ephemer and Xehanort's mother whom he inherited Ephemer's bloodline is her spitting image.
Meaningful Name: Skuld is the name of the Norn of the Future. She was also one of the valkyries in two poems. Fitting, she comes to rescue the player character at the end of the original browser game and they initially mistake her for a goddess.
Rank Up: She's selected to be one of the new Dandelion leaders in Union χ Cross.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The Union leaders decide to forego the rules of Ava and the Master and discard the notions of Unions in the Dandelions.
The Smurfette Principle: With Strelitzia's death, Skuld is the only female Dandelion leader.
Tranquil Fury: She simply calls out one of the Foretellers who apparently "banished" Ephemer without raising her voice. It turned out that the said Foreteller was Ava in disguise and it was just her Secret Test of Character. She deems Skuld and the player character passed test because they aren't consumed by anger and grief upon hearing Ephemer's supposed "death".
What Happened to the Mouse?: In the finale of Union X, a brief montage shows Ephemer, Lauriam, and Elrena awakening after using the lifeboats, but Skuld's awakening is conspicuously excluded.

Ventus

See Kingdom Hearts: Ventus

Brain

Appearances: Union χ [Cross] | Missing-Link

"Hey, about the rules, think they're set in stone? Or more like a guideline?"

A Keyblade wielder chosen by Ava for a special task.

Ambiguous Situation: Let's enumerate, shall we?
- In III Luxu (in a Secret Report) refers to the impostor of the new Union Leaders as a virus that's messing with the role the Master of Masters entrusted on the Dandelions. In quest 860, Brain outright declares that he's going to become a "virus" that overwrites the program of the world's destruction. Considering he is far more skeptical of his role and the rules set upon him than his fellow Union leaders, he comes to have a suspicious aura surrounding him and may come off as the impostor among the Five. However, in light of what is shown in later quests, whether Luxu was referring to Brain in this instance or not is unclear.
- Quest 911 reveals that Ava gave him the copy of the Book of Prophecies the Master intended one of the five new leaders to have along with a rulebook confirming that he was one of the chosen Dandelion Union leaders, though Brain himself was not the intended receiver, as Ava chose him instead. It also reveals she was the one who put the notions of bending the rules and rewriting fate and changing the future in his head in the first place. He still declares to be the virus, though.
- The finale of Union χ is this in spades regarding Brain's final fate. Not only does it heavily imply that Luxu took over his body, becoming the latter's first ever vessel, but Brain was also seemingly thrown into the future, landing in Scala ad Caelum (the rebuilt Daybreak Town) and having no evidence that he had his body hijacked whatsoever (which makes sense since Luxu is not meant to travel in time, following his master's orders). The conversation the two have implies that, rather than simply perform a Grand Theft Me, Luxu offered Brain a Deal with the Devil in order to save his life in exchange for his body. However, the full implications of this, as well as the means by which they carried this deal out, remain a mystery.
Brutal Honesty: He never fails to speak his mind with the other Dandelions.
Lauriam: I hope I didn't keep you waiting.
Brain: Well, you did.
Eye-Obscuring Hat: The "shadowed eyes" variant. This only applies to his in-game sprite, however; official artwork shows his whole face. In one cutscene, he lifts his hat up to show his eyes for the first time when he reveals that he wants to fight destiny and compares himself to a virus, something Luxu had complained about in III.
Grand Theft Me: Subjected to Luxu's Body Surf ability at the end of Union χ — though in a subversion, this may have been consensual.
Hidden Heart of Gold: It is there, but nearly obscured by his honesty.
Meaningful Name: It is important in three ways.
- His intellect is the most obvious. He is shown to be the one in charge of synthesizing the Spirits along with Lauriam while Ephemer, Ventus, and Skuld collect the materials. He's also the most inquisitive about the world they're in, the Master of Masters' and Ava's plans, and Darkness' nature and intentions.
- His name is a type of malware from the 80's. This is supposed to reference his role as a Spanner in the Works for whatever programming the Master of Masters and Luxu have in store for the Dandelions.
- Finally, it provides a contrast against the Master of Master's catchphrase, "May your heart be your guiding key". Most of the characters who follow this advice would have made better decisions if they'd been using their brains instead of their hearts.
Odd Name Out: In contrast to his teammates, who have some out-there names, his is a simple English word.
Pet the Dog: Gets a moment of this when he tries to offer emotional support to Ven by gently laying his hand on the boy's shoulder the same way Terra would in the future, when revealing that Ven is the Dandelion leader who doesn't belong.
Rank Up: Like the others, he was an ordinary Keyblade wielder in the Dandelions before he was selected as one of the five leaders by Ava as per the Master's orders.
Rebellious Spirit: He is the first Union leader to suggest that they should discard the rules left by Ava and the Master.
Red Herring: Brain was easily the most suspicious of the Dandelion leaders as an early suspect for Strelitzia's murder. We already know Ephemer, Skuld, and Ven are good, trustworthy characters, and Lauriam dropped off the suspect list after it was revealed Strelitzia is his younger sister and he's actively looking for her. For Brain himself, he comes off as somewhat rude due to how blunt he is, dresses in black with his hat initially obscuring his features, and describes himself as a "virus" overwriting the destiny planned by the Master of Masters the update after III had a Secret Report mentioning an "imposter" among the Dandelion leaders who was a "virus" going against what the Master preordained. However, he is revealed to have indeed been chosen by Ava and that she was the one who suggested he didn't have to follow the rules written in the book, as Brain is simply one of the good guys trying to save the Dandelions and the world.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Ava put this notion in his mind, and he decides to view the previous rules as unnecessary if they don't serve the well-being of the Dandelions.
The Smart Guy: He comes up with the idea of creating Spirits to help along with erasing the memories of suffering due to their ability to eat nightmares by researching them from one of the books.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Judging by the official artwork, Brain is quite pretty in addition to wearing the darkest outfit out of all the Union leaders.
Walking Spoiler: His role as a leader of the Dandelions following the Keyblade War spoils some pretty important plot points in the game he appears in.
Wham Shot: When Darkness finally reveals itself to the Dandelion union leaders, Brain finally reveals his Keyblade: the Master's Defender.

Strelitzia

^{Click here to see her in Kingdom Hearts IV}

Appearances: Union χ [Cross] | IV

"You don’t know me, but I feel like I know you. I hope that one day we can be friends. There’s so much I’d like to tell you."

A Keyblade wielder chosen by Ava for a special task.

Ambiguously Queer: Considering the player character (currently) has no canon gender.
All-Loving Hero: Like the player character, Strelitzia also has qualms about leaving all the Keyblade wielders who aren't Dandelions to die in the Keyblade War.
Back from the Dead: In a sense. Luxu manages to access Strelitzia's data and bring forth her data self to be sent into an unknown time period via one of the lifeboats, her destination being Quadratum. It seems this worked to at least some extent, since the first trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV shows her meeting Sora in that world.
The Chosen One: Before sending her off in a lifeboat, Luxu refers to her as the true Dandelion.
Connected All Along: She's the younger sister of Lauriam (Marluxia). She also used to share some of the same parties as Elrena (Larxene).
Died in Your Arms Tonight: After she is severely injured, she carries her Chirithy in her arms as she limps towards the door before Chirithy disappears and her heart floats away.
Dramatic Irony: She doesn't know that the player character actually already knows about the Dandelions and the impending Keyblade War, despite not being a member. Looking for them to bring them into the loop gets her killed.
Dropped a Bridge on Her: She gets introduced as the fifth member of the Dandelions, but in the next mission she is killed by an unknown assailant, later revealed to be Darkness.
Foreshadowing: To her being Lauriam's little sister.
- Both of them have flower-themed names and she does have a lot of plants in her bedroom.
- Marluxia's scythe resembles a bird-of-paradise flower as well as the fact that his final form bears a heavy resemblance to Strelitzia.
- Her hairclips resemble "XI", the Roman numeral for eleven, Marluxia's rank in the Organization.
Kill the Cutie: She's a kind and shy girl who wanted to warn the player character about the impending war, but she's murdered before she had the chance.
Meaningful Name: Strelitzia is the generic name for the bird-of-paradise plant. Considering Lauriam and his later Green Thumb power, it makes sense that his sister would have a floral name.
Parting-Words Regret: She dies regretting that she never got to chalk up the courage to befriend the player character, never mind ever talk to them, as well as never getting to warn them about the incoming Keyblade War.
Rank Up: Like the other four, she was an ordinary Keyblade wielder in the Dandelions before she was selected as one of the five leaders by Ava as per the Master's orders.
Red Herring: The above bits of Foreshadowing about her connection to Marluxia also double as this, since the player is initially led to believe based on prior knowledge that her relationship with Lauriam is that of murderer and victim rather than brother and sister.
Remember the New Guy?: Flashbacks in Union χ Cross add her lurking in the background during several pivotal points of chi and Unchained chi.
Sacrificial Lamb: Strelitzia was introduced in Quest 725, and shown being murdered in Quest 730, which were released together. It took until Quest 940, released two years later, during which Strelitzia's fate was debated among the Union leaders, for her ultimate role to even remotely receive any clarity.
Shrinking Violet: She's shy, which is why she never talked to you. The closest thing she had to a friend was Elrena, and even then they only really talked about mission-related things instead of personal matters.
Small Role, Big Impact: Her brief time in the story kicks off the mystery that there is a traitor among the Dandelions. Subverted once she was confirmed to be returning as a major character in IV.
Stalker without a Crush: After a chance meeting with the Player Character, she continues to watch them from afar and hopes to speak up and form a proper friendship with them.
Two Girls to a Team: She and Skuld were the two girls to the five Dandelion leaders until she was killed by Darkness.
Walking Spoiler: Her role as a leader of the Dandelions following the Keyblade War spoils some pretty important plot points in Union χ Cross which leads to her being killed as suddenly as she is introduced to introduce the mystery of a traitor among the Dandelions thing.
We Hardly Knew Ye: She's killed off just five missions after being introduced.

Lauriam

Appearances: Union χ [Cross]

A Keyblade wielder, chosen by Ava for a special task.

Agent Peacock: As fabulous as his Nobody and strong enough to become one of the new Dandelion leaders.
Big Brother Instinct:
- A significant part of Lauriam's story in Union Cross deals with his search for Strelitzia.
- Despite not being related to Ventus, Lauriam's brotherly instincts also activate towards him after certain plot developments.
Big Brother Mentor: Downplayed. He and Strelitzia weren't part of the same party, but she did look up to him and he tried to give her advice on how to improve herself while also encouraging her to finally try to speak to the Player. Her disappearance hits him harder than he lets on.
Connected All Along: Lauriam, Ventus, and Elrena were all Keyblade wielders who escaped Daybreak Town together and set a goal to find Strelitzia.
Have We Met?: He and Elrena would later work together as Marluxia and Larxene in the Organization, hoping to take over the Organization for themselves. Ironically, neither seem to be aware that they knew each other as Somebodies.
Irony: As Marluxia, he's known as the Graceful Assassin. Someone assassinated Strelitzia and at first it would seem that Lauriam himself was responsible for this… until it turns out that Strelitzia is his younger sister and that he's looking for her, unaware that someone had murdered her.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: In III, he scowls (in a "What? Are you joking?" type of way) when Xemnas reveals to him that he was selected to join the Organization because of his past as an ancient Keyblader, implying either Marluxia forgot his past life as Lauriam or, in a subversion, doesn't want to remember it. Revealed to be played straight after Sora defeats him in the Keyblade Graveyard, as he regains his memories in his last moments as a Nobody and is glad that he'll be whole again.
Last Episode, New Character: His appearance/reveal marks the end of χ's third season, Union χ [Cross].
Meaningful Name: "Lauriam" sounds like "laurel" and is an anagram of "lumaria", the specific name for the roundleaf hawthorn. Both are fitting since he is the original form of Marluxia.
Nice Guy: When it all comes down to it, he's definitely this to his fellow Dandelions.
Pet the Dog: When Ven expresses doubt about the unions and fear in leading one of his own, he quickly calms and assures him that he's not weak and that he is kind, which garners support from Skuld too, as well. This was after Brain tells Ven to grow a backbone.
- After realizing that Ventus did not murder his sister, he becomes protective of him during the last moments of the fight against Darkness and says before Ven's Heroic Sacrifice that he doesn't want to lose him too.
Rank Up: Like the other four, he was an ordinary Keyblade wielder in the Dandelions before becoming a Union leader. Of course, the narrative doesn't immediately make it clear if he was truly chosen or had stolen Strelitzia's book. However, after Lauriam starts desperately looking for her in Quest 846, it becomes clear that he was chosen; this is eventually confirmed in Quest 925 with the Master's memo.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He's certainly not calm about confronting his comrades when he overhears that Ventus might be involved in Strelitzia's death, as he shoves Ephemer to a wall and grabs Brain by the collar when both attempt to talk him down. He even goes as far as to draw his Keyblade on Ventus when he walks in, but calms down when Darkness reveals itself to them from his body.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: The Union leaders decide to forego the rules of Ava and the Master and discard the notions of Unions in the Dandelions.
Something about a Rose: As if to perfectly match the flower motif of his future Nobody, it's revealed his Keyblade of choice is Divine Rose.
Waistcoat of Style: That black vest makes for one dapper looking keyblade wielder.
Walking Spoiler: His role as a leader of the Dandelions following the Keyblade War spoils some pretty important plot points in Union χ Cross. His appearance instead of Strelitzia at the meeting of the new Union leaders also reveals that one of the five is a traitor who infiltrated the group. Lastly, among the remaining four Organization members yet to have a backstory, his own speaks volumes about his importance in the Dandelions and the later ones as a Nobody.
The Worf Effect: People expecting him to have the terrifying amount of power his Nobody self is infamous for are going to be disappointed when his attempt to apprehend an intruding and time-displaced Maleficent only ends with him getting very roughed up, but able to hobble off.

Elrena

Appearances: Union χ [Cross]

A member of the Dandelions and an occasional party mate of Strelitzia. After Strelitzia goes missing, Lauriam meets up with Elrena in secret in hopes of finding more clues to her disappearance, which in turn gets Elrena in on the investigation.

Deadpan Snarker: She's not as caustically cutting as she will later be as Larxene, but it shows. In Quest 851, as she embarks on her own search for Strelitzia, her Chirithy asks her when she started caring about others, to which Elrena grimaces and tells her Chirithy to shush.
Hair Antennae: A pair of bangs swept back over her head though they're shorter than Larxene's.
Have We Met?: She and Lauriam would later work together as Larxene and Marluxia in the Organization, hoping to take over the Organization for themselves. Ironically, neither seem to be aware that they knew each other as humans.
Formal Characters Use Keigo: Downplayed. While she's not really that formal, whenever she's talking to Lauriam, she's using this. Quite a contrast from her Nobody self.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: It is implied in III that Larxene forgot about her life as Elrena upon turning into a Nobody, as she is surprised when Xemnas tells her that she was selected to join the Organization XIII because of her past as an ancient Keyblade Wielder.
Loners Are Freaks: Elrena isn't a social person, preferring to keep to herself. The closest person she had to a friend was Strelitzia, but even then they only ever talked about missions and not personal matters. Her Chirithy also claims that she normally doesn't care much about other people.
Meaningful Name: Much like how her Nobody's name is close to "la reine" — French for "the queen", Elrena is a mix between "el rey" and "la reina", "the king" and "the queen" in Spanish, respectively.
Never Be Hurt Again: Coupled with Broken Bird as The Kingdom Hearts Character Files features a short story from the recompleted Elrena not long after she came back as her human self after the events of III. Her entire attitude reveals she didn't want to have her heart back because she suffered some kind of horrible loss or trauma and actually preferred being a Nobody so she wouldn't have to feel that way again.
Pet the Dog: Even after Lauriam interviews her and gets the assistance he needed from her, Elrena still goes off on her own to investigate for clues to Strelitzia's disappearance, with even her Chirithy pointing out how uncharacteristic it is of her. It shows that she cares about Strelitzia and Lauriam, even if she doesn't show it.
Tsundere: Seems to be a mild Type B. There's her statement of "it's not like we were friends or anything" concerning Strelitzia, even though it sounds like they were the closest thing each other ever had to friends. She also snaps at her Chirithy when it points out that volunteering to help Lauriam is out of character for her and suggests she may have a crush on him.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: She's very kind and polite, albeit somewhat withdrawn. She does have a sarcastic side, but it's much less caustic than Larxene's outright hostility, and Elrena only seems to let it out around her Chirithy.
Walking Spoiler: She's introduced as Larxene's original human form, with Lauriam meeting her in private to ask her about Strelitzia's status and whereabouts.

Antagonists

General

The various antagonists of the prequel.

Breaking Old Trends: Unlike previous villains, they tend to have much more ambigous goals. While they are supposed to be seeking The End of the World as We Know It, their methods are... confusing, to say the least. This trope is eventually averted though by the main antagonists, the group of Darknesses when they do bring about said end of the world (two worlds at the same time in fact). It was just a longer process then expected by the Dandelions and the players of the actual game. Most importantly, however, they generally avoid interacting with the player altogether, except for Nightmare Chirithy and eventually the Darknesses themselves.
Greater-Scope Villain: They are this to Master Xehanort. They are indirectly the cause of his motives for seeking Kingdom Hearts.

Nightmare Chirithy

Appearances: χ [chi]

"You don't look very happy to see me... Come on, I was just trying to help. I thought if I took away everyone's Lux, there'd be no reason to fight over it anymore. Aren't I the greatest."

A Chirithy that has been corrupted by the power of darkness, turning it into a Nightmare.

Cute and Psycho: As adorable as any other Chirithy, yet disturbingly casual about leading humans into embracing the darkness.
Enemy Without: It is the protagonist's original Chirithy, born from the darkness of the player's heart.
Evil Makes You Monstrous: It combines with three Darklings to go full Fusion Dance to become a creature that's part Nightmare, part Heartless, and all monster.
Evil Weapon: It gives the Protagonist the power bangle earlier on in-game as a seemingly innocent gift to boost their overall Keyblades' special attack. In the original browser game, it later uses its Hannibal Lecture to remind the player that they were drawing on the power of darkness through the bangle.
The Heavy: The only recurring antagonist for most of the events in the story.
Master of Disguise: It disguises itself as the player's friendly and adoptive Chirithy to give it the power bangle. Its own skin color is later warped due to it being heavily influenced by darkness.
Nightmare Weaver: It is a Nightmare-level Dream Eater, after all.
- It envelops the protagonist in hostile darkness in the dream the Spirit Chirithy was showing them about the Master of Masters and the Foretellers.
- It tries to become a living nightmare to the protagonist by sending three Darklings after them for not wanting to participate in the Keyblade War, but ultimately fails.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: His narrow eyes are circular and blaze bright with crimson.
Sigil Spam: He has the Nightmare emblems on his back.
We Will Meet Again: Its final words imply that it will return someday.

The Traitor

"Imbalance observed, strength misplaced, a future filled with sorrow. Words of truth misunderstood as they explore the secret of tomorrow. With a single strike, toll the bells and herald the end, bringing war upon us, as fate did intend."

According to the Book of Prophecies, one of the Foretellers is supposed to betray all the others.

Big Bad Friend: A Foreteller who betrayed both their Master and their fellow disciples.
Deceptive Disciple: A disciple of the Master of Masters who is allegedly trying to ensure to victory of darkness.
Driving Question: Their identity is seemingly the key to understanding the plot, so naturally the story continuously dances around outright name-dropping, instead providing Story Breadcrumbs. The finale reveals Luxu is the traitor.
Mind Screwdriver: Inverted. Part of the Mind Screw in the story comes from the secrecy of their identity.
Red Herring: Seemingly played straight, but ultimately subverted. The finale has the Master of Masters tell Luxu that the traitor never existed and it was all part of a Batman Gambit concocted by the Master of Masters to guarantee that his disciples would fall for the Darkness and be possessed by it, doing so by creating a negative atmosphere of fear and suspicion among them. When Luxu leaves, however, the Master talks aloud and reveals that, while none of the Foretellers were a traitor, Luxu himself is the real traitor, stealing the body of at least one of the No Name wielders (Brain) and potentially others throughout history up until Xehanort rather than overseeing a natural chain of successors as he was ordered.
Screw Destiny: The Lost Page suggests this to be their motive for betraying the others.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Implied. Given the very vague approach their master has regarding to the Keyblade War, as well as the wording of the Lost Page, they may not neccessarily have ill intentions.

Darkness

Darkness

An enigmatic shadowy entity. Darkness is conspicuously insightful on topics that should have been only known to the Masters of Masters and his Disciples... and is more than adequate in taking down anyone in its way, too.

13 Is Unlucky: Darkness actually consists of 13 pieces, the ones that were created during the first Keyblade War when the χ-Blade was destroyed. Of these 13, these are their current statuses:
- The strongest seven were attracted to and inhabited the Master of Masters, the 5 Foretellers and Luxu as competition between Unions and the possibility of a Traitor led to negative emotions festering in their hearts and becoming irresistable for the Dark to feast on. The Master's plan is for all seven of them to temper their hearts until such a time as a new method to destroy the Darkness can be found in the future.
- Darkness VIII found a time-displaced Maleficent stuck in the Datascape and guided her to the Lifepod Room where it joined her to the real world, then saw her off as she returned to the future. As it attempted to find out more of the Master's Data, it came across Luxu sending off the "True Dandelion" and had a confrontation with him. Its status is unknown, but Luxu notes that it no longer exists.
- Darkness IX-XII remained in hiding for most of the time the Dandelions were in the Data World, only sending out Darklings to find their missing compatriot once a rogue dataworld connected with Data-Daybreak Town (Game Central Station), where they would rejoin and infect all connected dataworlds with Darkness. It's only thanks to the Player having a final gambit where he managed to trick Ephemer into sealing them and the Darknesses behind a gate leading to the connected Lane Between. Once the Player revealed their ruse, they sealed the other end, dooming these four Darknesses to waste away as their current forms would erode their egos into nothingness.
- Darkness XIII is the one who killed Strelitzia and possessed Ventus, revealing that it and the others read parts of the Book of Prophecies to see their roles. It's revealed that it was prepared to permanently alter itself by joining with Ventus, whereupon it was further altered by Ven in his final attempt to seal it inside himself. It's implied by Master Xehanort that he knows Vanitas is more than Ventus' extracted darkness, and that there was more to itself than it let on.
Affably Evil: In all of its interactions with Maleficent, it takes on a polite and helpful - if somewhat smug - tone.
Ancient Evil: They're as old as the Master of Masters and maybe even older; and considering he's older than Daybreak Town itself, that makes them the closest Kingdom Hearts has to a primordial evil.
Arch-Enemy: They’re this to the Master of Masters, as the master will do whatever it takes to destroy them.
The Battle Didn't Count: Even after the battle against the Dandelions and the Player, they point out that, being formless, they can't really be defeated. Ven then wakes up and plans to use his pure light to reshape Darkness into a form they can defeat.
Big Bad: It is the closest thing the game has of being one.
Big Bad Duumvirate: With Maleficent even though it's likely only temporarily.
Big Bad Friend: In a sense, to the Master of Masters. It doesn't extend to Keyblade wielders, however.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: It operates on a moral and logical framework that is incomprehensible to humans and vice versa. See Evil Cannot Comprehend Good below.
Character Catchphrase: The Darknesses uses an specific line to inform or mock the other characters with the futility of attempting to destroy them:
Darkness: I am formless. You cannot destroy me.
Death of Personality: Tossing their bodies aside and becoming the very embodiments of darkness allowed to them to cheat death and obtain all manner of powers, but it came as a double-edged sword as they are slowly but surely losing their consciousness and sapience. It's strongly implied that one of them completely lost themselves this way and devolved into the monsters that would become the Heartless. Stealing the bodies of others allows them to delay this, but even that is a catch-22 as inhabiting a vessel makes them completely vulnerable once again.
Didn't See That Coming: Darkness are so omniscient, ever-present, and such masters of guile and subtle cunning that they outright can't comprehend that anyone else is capable of the same. When the Player tricks them into trapping themselves inside the datascape cage, they completely lose it.
Dying Race: The Keyblade War wiped a lot of them out, leaving only thirteen separate self-aware beings of darkness left. Seven of them are currently in the Foretellers. One is sealed within Ventus and another one was last seen with Luxu in the real Daybreak Town, while the remaining four are trapped inside the data cables leading to the Game Central Station. Even worse, it's revealed that they used to be physical beings but cast off their flesh in order to defeat the light. Not only are only six individuals left, but they are implied to be slowly losing their sense of self as well. Even if they survive they'll likely devolve into mindless monsters with time.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: The Master of Masters states that it only knows what people hate, and that even if it realizes what someone is trying to achieve, it won't be able to understand their reasonings for it. The opposite is true as well for the same reason. Its lack of comprehension and understanding for those within the light makes it impossible for Darkness to make sense of their actions, making both sides totally incompatible in understanding each other.
For the Evulz: Confesses that they have no real long-term goal in mind; everything they've done so far was purely just because they could do it in the first place.
Greater-Scope Villain: Considering that everything in the Master of Masters' grand plan is being done for the sake of eradicating Darkness for good, it is considered this by default to pretty much every other game in the franchise.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Says as much to the Dandelions after Lauriam wakes up and the Player returns to join the battle, stating that even if they do manage to defeat them, they'll still lose. Having used the Ark, the world is doomed to be consumed by darkness no matter what they do.
Hero Killer: Darkness XIII is the one who murdered Strelitzia and tricked Ventus into taking her place.
Humanoid Abomination: Their original form, before they lost their bodies, is implied by the Master of Masters to be "Monsters that look like humans". By the time of the events of the game, they definitely qualify due to turning into humanoid masses of sentient darkness.
I Am Legion: They constantly refer to themselves using the "we" pronoun. When Brain asks them to clarify this, they state that they are actually one of many similar beings that outnumber the people of the light. When Brain confirms that, at the moment, they're currently by themself, he rallies the other Union Leaders to attack them then and there. The first part of the finale goes into more detail by revealing the "we" refers to six specific self-aware beings of darkness; one is with Ventus, one took the pod with Maleficent, and the other four become sealed in the second half of the finale. Said second half reveals that the count is closer to thirteen, with the other seven being sealed in the foretellers and the Master of Masters.
Invisible to Normals: They reveal that they're normally invisible to people. When Brain asks them why they were biding their time and chose to appear before them now, they reply that they were actually quite busy; the Union Leaders just didn't take notice of them. They go on to say they didn't so much as suddenly "appear" before them so much as the Union leaders finally became aware they existed to begin with, which is why they could see them now.
Lazy Alias: Implied. As Maleficent puts it, Darkness is a pretty vague name.
Manipulative Bastard: It plays the new Union Leaders off against each other and manipulates Maleficent into taking one of the lifeboats back to her own time (which sets the end of Daybreak Town in motion). Even when it does get its own hands dirty, like when it murdered Strelitzia, it tends to be in service of some greater goal that involves manipulating others.
Sealed Evil in a Can: Four of the Darknesses end up trapped in the conduit between the Data Daybreak Town and Game Central Station as a result of the Player and Ephemer's efforts.
Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: The Master of Masters intends to do this as part of his plan to destroy Darkness permanently, since they can only be destroyed if they have a physical form. Seven of the strongest are currently inhabiting the Lost Masters (including the Master of Masters himself), one is hidden away within Ven's heart (and is implied to have been Vanitas' original form), and the Master intended to have the other Dandelion Union Leaders become vessels, though it seems they were fortunate enough to escape that fate and with four of the Darknesses trapped inside a portal cable and potentially mindless and harmless as a result of lacking hosts, the latter part of his plan may no longer be needed.
Sinister Silhouettes: Conceals their appearance using these. Although it may actually be its true form as Maleficent says it has no flesh, which it itself later confirms, although it does look pretty ethereal.
Spanner in the Works: Blatantly accused of trying to derail the plans of the Master of Masters by Luxu in the Secret Reports of III and confirmed in the September 2020 story update. It killed Strelitzia while both she and Ven were inside an empty warehouse. Strelitzia was intended to become a Dandelion union leader and receive a rulebook, but Darkness murdered her and made Ventus take the rulebook and while posing as Ava, recruited him. Brain later speculates it was also to sow discord amongst the remaining union leaders, since Lauriam nearly attacks everyone in a rage upon confronting them about what happened to Strelitzia. It is unclear if the Master of Masters knew this would occur or not.
Luxu: In the absence of us and our Master, a "darkness" arrived—one that shall surely lead the World to yet another demise.
Terms of Endangerment: When Brain asks if they and the Master of Masters share history together, they reply that they're "old friends". Ephemer wonders if that means they're actually working together, but Darkness makes it clear that they have no desire or need to work with the likes of Keyblade users.
Time Travel: Offers Maleficent help to return back to her era, which it does by leading her to the Ark.
Villainous Breakdown: The four Darknesses trapped in the conduit between the Data Daybreak Town and the Central Game Station undergo this once they've found out they've been tricked by the Player and are trapped in a place they can't spread, dooming them to eventually lose their sapience as a result.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: It can apparently shapeshift/disguise itself, or at least put on some sort of glamour. As Darkness and Ventus leave the abandoned house after killing Strelitzia, when the entity steps out of the shadow and into the light it instantly takes on Master Ava's form. Likewise in Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind, assuming it's not merely a monster that's created and summoned by Darkness, it (or something using the same alias) takes on the form of a Dark Inferno χ Heartless when it does battle with Sora.
Warm-Up Boss: As Dark Inferno χ (again, assuming that it's not just a monster conjured by Darkness), the first boss of the Re:Mind DLC, easing players back into the game which they may have not touched in quite some time. Ironically, it's considerably easier than the original Dark Inferno.
You Can't Fight Fate: Reveals that they were actually present when the Master of Masters wrote the Book of Prophecies, which is why they know so much about the future. Them hypnotising Ventus into inaction and killing Strelitzia were done purely because that's what the Master of Masters had foreseen; it had literally no other reasoning for doing so and even mentioned it was an unnecessary death; it didn't have to be Strelitzia, they could have arbitrarily killed any of the other Union Leaders to replace them with Ven to ensure the boy who would 'carry the darkness' to the future was put into the group.

Dark Road

Master Odin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/odin_khdr.png

The Keyblade Master to Xehanort and Eraqus in their youth. Upon the disappearance of the senior students, he sends them and four of their classmates to search the different worlds.

Ancestral Weapon: He wields the Master's Defender and No Name Keyblades, relics of the Keyblade War and passed down from master to apprentice.
Despair Event Horizon: The events of the game lead him to stop accepting new pupils and declare his intent to retire once Xehanort and/or Eraqus pass the Mark of Mastery and succeed him.
Mythology Gag: Literally. Master Odin's design clearly takes from depictions of his namesake as a wanderer, such as this one◊, including the hat's brim obscuring the left eye (since Odin is missing his). And, of course, it's far from the first time Square Enix has used the name Odin.
Not Quite the Right Thing: Following Hoder's death, Odin has the grieving Baldr confined to the infirmary, hoping some time alone will allow him to heal; to that extent, he also lies to Baldr's classmates, claiming Baldr to be on a special assignment. This only causes the darkness in Baldr to grow even stronger.
Unseen No More: Master Odin was alluded to in Xehanort's reports in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, nearly ten years prior to his first clear appearance.

Bragi

One of Xehanort and Eraqus's classmates. After their senior classmates disappear, Master Odin sends him to the World outside Scala Ad Caelum with his classmates in search of them.

Barrier Warrior: His fighting style is "Protect", which means he often casts spells to boost Defense in battle.
Call-Forward: He drops his future vessel Xigbar's "As if!" in a flashback with Baldr, and later muses that Xehanort shows promise.
Canon Character All Along: Introduced as a seemingly new character. Then the ending reveals he's really another of Luxu's vessels.
Color-Coded Characters: Associated with shades of orange, between his Keyblade Armor and...
- Curtains Match the Window: ... reddish-brown hair and eyes.
Doomed by Canon: Never seen nor mentioned in Birth by Sleep. The ending of the very first episode heavily implies he will be dead before Xehanort takes his Mark of Mastery exam. Ultimately Inverted as of the end of Dark Road where it’s revealed that he's alive and is another vessel of Luxu during that era.
Meaningful Name: Bragi was the Norse god of poetry, one of the eldest sons of Odin and the 'skald of skalds', the supreme of future-seers. His name is also an anagram of Braig, and fittingly, he's one of Luxu's vessels.
Pelts of the Barbarian: Downplayed. He wears a fur-trimmed jacket, and uniquely has fur on both shoulders of his Keyblade Armor.^note

Vor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vor_khdr.png

One of Xehanort and Eraqus's classmates. After their senior classmates disappear, Master Odin sends her to the World outside Scala Ad Caelum with her classmates in search of them.

The Baby of the Bunch: Though her exact age is never confirmed, she certainly looks like the youngest of her group, wearing clothes that seem too large to fit her. She also mentions being distracted chasing after a butterfly during a mission.
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: When asked why she wants to be a Keyblade Master, she pauses, unable to come up with an answer, and deflects. She asks the Magic Mirror in Dwarf Woodlands if she'll ever become a Keyblade Master, and its answer that she will stagnate in her current environment spurs her to join the upperclassmen's plan, hoping to find out where she belongs.
Doomed by Canon: Never seen nor mentioned in Birth by Sleep. She dies fighting a possessed-by-darkness Baldr during his attack on Scala Ad Caelum.
Meaningful Name: Shares her name with the Norse goddess of wisdom. Fittingly, she frequently casts Magic boosts while in the party.
Muscles Are Meaningless: With some small effort, she's able to move a boulder as large as she is to clear out a cave-in.
Pink Means Feminine: Her Keyblade Armor is pink, with violet accents and a purple visor.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Befitting her name, her young-looking appearance belies her intelligence.

Urd

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/urd_khdr.png

One of Xehanort and Eraqus's classmates. After their senior classmates disappear, Master Odin sends her to the World outside Scala Ad Caelum with her classmates in search of them.

An Ice Person: Her fighting style is described as "Blizzard".
Conservation of Ninjutsu: Despite being lured into a trap and completely surrounded by Earth Gargoyles, she manages to take down three on her own, when just one was enough to give Hermod and Xehanort trouble.
Doomed by Canon: Never seen nor mentioned in Birth by Sleep. She and Hermod are slain within the Dark Corridor by the possessed Baldr.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Her Keyblade armor is mostly lilac.
Making a Splash: She often casts Water magic in battle.
Meaningful Name: Similarly to Skuld, Urd shares her name with one of the Norns—specifically, the Norn of the Past.
Pink Means Feminine: Her armor features a hot-pink visor.
Tomboyish Ponytail: It even sticks out of her Keyblade Armor!

Hermod

One of Xehanort and Eraqus's classmates. After their senior classmates disappear, Master Odin sends him to the World outside Scala Ad Caelum with his classmates in search of them.

Attack! Attack! Attack!: His fighting style.
Color-Coded Characters: Associated with olive green, based on his outfit and Keyblade Armor.
Curtains Match the Window: Has dark grey hair and eyes.
Doomed by Canon: Never seen nor mentioned in Birth by Sleep. He and Urd are slain within the Dark Corridor by the possessed Baldr.
Horrible Judge of Character: Easily falls for Jafar's scheme to get the lamp, to contrast Xehanort's wariness of the vizier and even Urd initially holding Hermod back.
Meaningful Name: Shares his name with the messenger of the Norse gods, who was also a son of Odin and brother of Baldr.

Baldr

One of Xehanort and Eraqus's classmates. While the others search for the missing students, Baldr is made to stay behind in Scala Ad Caelum.

Arc Villain: He is the main villain of Dark Road.
Demonic Possession: Is revealed to have been overwhelmed by darkness in the last chapter of Dark Road, and kills the other students of Scala ad Caelum, save for Xehanort, Eraqus and Bragi, the latter of whom is revealed during the ending to not only have been Faking the Dead but is also actually the vessel that Luxu used during that era.
Despair Event Horizon: The death of his sister, Hoder, drives him over the edge.
The Empath: He's highly sensitive to the hearts of others. It's how he falls to darkness.
The Ghost: He's mentioned as early as the first episode, but never seen. Appropriately, marketing never so much as hinted at his existence. He makes his first physical appearance in a flashback in Episode 03.
Hero Killer: He kills all the students of Scala ad Caelum except for Eraqus and Xehanort. Baldr's probably got the biggest body count of any character in Kingdom Hearts.
Locked Out of the Loop: According to Odin he hasn't revealed everything he knows about the missing students to Baldr due to one of them being his sister.
Meaningful Name: Baldr, in Norse Mythology, was the son of Odin and Frigg, and the god of light. His death ended up being the first in a series of events that would lead to Ragnarok. Likewise, his fall to darkness and subsequent death is a pivotal moment on Xehanort's road to instigating a new Keyblade War.
Shadow Archetype: To Xehanort himself. Much like the former's future self, both were promising Keyblade Wielders with sensitivity to the hearts of others leading to them being overcome by darkness and plotting to summon Kingdom Hearts by manipulating their former comrades. Additionally much like Ansem SoD, he gained access to the ability to summon a Familiar to his side with his being a Heartless known as Hringhorn.
Teleporters and Transporters: He's the only one of the group who retains the clearance to open corridors between worlds after Odin relieves the students of their duty, and uses this to ferry everyone to Olympus. He also travels almost exclusively by teleportation during his attack on Scala ad Caelum.
White Hair, Black Heart: Not of his own volition, but he's overwhelmed by darkness and proceeds to murder the upperclassmen — including his own sister — and most of his classmates.

The Upperclassmen

Hoder, Vidar, Vala, Vali, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun

Master Odin's apprentices who are above Xehanort's class, whose disappearance kickstarts the plot.

Big Damn Heroes: When Urd is outnumbered by Heartless at Beast's Castle, Vala arrives and purges the remainder with a Faith spell.
Dead All Along: Over the course of the game's story, we never meet Hoder, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun in life. Hoder was killed battling Maleficent on her own (with a fallen Baldr delivering the coup de grace), and the other three died trying to avenge her.
- Killed Off for Real: Vidar, Vala and Vali are then torn through by the Hringhorn Heartless that Baldr summoned during his attack on Scala Ad Caelum.
Heroic Sacrifice: Hoder tried to protect her brother from the dragon Maleficent's attacks, and ended up being barbecued for it. The fallen Baldr finished her off.
Holy Hand Grenade: While all of the upperclassmen wield the Light, Vala in particular is seen casting a variation of the Faith spell and uses it as her primary form of attack when battling the surviving trio.
Meaningful Name: Hoder particularly stands out by sharing her name with the Norse god Hoder, twin brother of Baldr. After being misled by Loki, Hoder killed his brother by throwing a shaft of mistletoe at him. This Hoder's death protecting her brother lead to Baldr spiraling.
Ninja: Vali wears a mask covering his face at all times, and usually enters a scene by dropping in from above.
Odd Name Out: Sigrun is the only member of the class whose name doesn't start with a 'H' or a 'V'.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Vidar, Vala and Vali are shown stealing artifacts from other worlds in a willful attempt to disrupt the world order. Their hope is that the ensuing chaos will reveal the "true" lights needed to summon Kingdom Hearts to purge the darkness.

Characters / Kingdom Hearts χ Characters

Edit Locked

Due to lengthy periods between releases and the prevalence of Late Arrival Spoilers, spoilers from installments before 2010 may be unmarked. Read at your own risk.

Lost Masters

The Master of Masters

Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese), Ray Chase (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross] | III | IV

Luxu

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda (Japanese), Max Mittelman (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage- | χ[chi] Back Cover | III | IV

Foretellers

Ava

Voiced by: Yume Miyamoto (Japanese), Isabela Merced (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross]

Ira

Voiced by: Yuichiro Umehara (Japanese), Matthew Mercer (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

Aced

Voiced by: Subaru Kimura (Japanese), Travis Willingham (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

Gula

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (Japanese), Kevin G. Quinn (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

Invi

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Karissa Lee Staples (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | III

Union Members

Player

Appearances: χ[chi] | Union χ [Cross] | Dark Road

Chirithy

Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Lara Jill Miller (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross] | III

Appearances: Union χ [Cross]

The Dandelions

Ephemer

Voiced by: Yūto Uemura (Japanese), Michael Johnston (English)

Appearances: χ[chi] | χ[chi] Back Cover | Union χ [Cross] | III

Skuld

Appearances: χ[chi] | Union χ [Cross]

Brain

Appearances: Union χ [Cross] | Missing-Link

Strelitzia

Appearances: Union χ [Cross] | IV

Lauriam

Appearances: Union χ [Cross]

Elrena

Appearances: Union χ [Cross]

Antagonists

Nightmare Chirithy

Appearances: χ [chi]

The Traitor

Darkness

Dark Road

Master Odin

Bragi

Vor

Urd

Hermod

Baldr

Hoder, Vidar, Vala, Vali, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun

Alternative Title(s): Kingdom Hearts The Master Of Masters

Previous

Index

Next