Sora lands in Traverse Town, the place where he began his original journey. He notices his clothes are different, but brushes them off as a side effect of Yen Sid's magic. However, he also notices that Riku seemingly isn't with him and calls out Riku's name, but attracts the attention of Neku Sakuraba, who is a Player in a seemingly unrelated game. Neku is looking for his game partner and requests that Sora follow him.
After learning the basics of Flowmotion, a technique used to navigate the Sleeping Worlds with the ease of parkour, Sora follows Neku into the Second District, where he learns about Dream Eaters, the manifestation of darkness in the Sleeping Worlds in lieu of the Heartless. The Nightmares are the Dream Eaters plaguing the worlds, and the Spirits, which are to be Sora's allies, consume the Nightmares. However, in the Third District, Sora finds out that Neku is under the orders of a Mysterious Figure, but falls asleep soon after.
When he comes to, Sora decides to take a look around to find Neku. He uses the Postbin at the First District to sneak into the Fourth District and meets Rhyme, an amnesiac girl with no memory of her partner. Assuming her to be Neku's partner, Sora takes her to the Fifth District and finds Neku on the roof of the Garden. Neku explains that the Mysterious Figure told him he could send Neku and his partner home, and denies that it is Rhyme. Rhyme disappears, and the Mysterious Figure summons the Hockomonkey Nightmare to battle Sora.
After Sora defeats the Hockomonkey, he, Neku, and Rhyme learn from another youth, Joshua, that Traverse Town is actually split into two different worlds and catch a glimpse of the other Traverse Town, one containing Riku and their other friends. They realize that they will reach each other when their hearts are connected. Joshua talks to Sora and Riku in their sides of Traverse Town, explaining that the town appeared as a manifestation of Joshua's dreams, and that it was split because of the Mysterious Figure's actions. After he bids them farewell, Sora and Riku then spot the Sleeping Keyhole and seal it together in their sides.
