The World That Never Was: Difference between revisions

At the end of the Ruin and Creation's Passage is a pathway leading to the top of the castle, the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Altar of Naught}}'''|虚空の祭壇|Kokū no Saidan|lit. "Altar of Empty Space"}}. The alter is a giant tower peering out of castle, with Kingdom Hearts radiating in front of it. The Dark City below is impossible to see from here due to all the swirling smoke leaking from previous area. During his first fight against Xemnas, Sora is transported to {{nihongo|'''{{a|Memory's Contortion}}'''|記憶の歪み|Kioku no Yugami}}, which is platform in the middle of nowhere with a strange and wavering illusion of the Memory's Skyscraper. Returning to the alter, there's now a huge door which can be used to access Kingdom Hearts.

Entering Kingdom Hearts leads the party to The World of Nothing. The first area they arrive at is called '''{{a|The World of Nothing—End's Beginning}}''', which is a passageway resembling the Dark City where skyscrapers suddenly erupt from the ground in order to repel Sora. Powering through a tunnel at the end leads to the next area where Xemnas' colossal [[Game:Xemnas|Dragon Ship]] can be seen from the distance. From here, Sora can ascend the falling skyscrapers, eventually leading him to the Dragon Ship's massive cannons at '''{{a|The World of Nothing—Twin Cannons}}'''. Once the cannons are destroyed, Sora swings his way up to the ship's Energy Core, which is kept in a room appropriately named '''{{a|The World of Nothing—Energy Core}}'''. After disabling the ship's energy core, he ascends to '''{{a|The World of Nothing—Xemnas's Throne Room}}''', where Xemnas sits in his [[Keyblade Armor]], enthroned in a chamber atop the Dragon Ship's head, equipped with several of the deceased Organization members' weapons.

===''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days''===

In ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days'', The World That Never Was serves as the game's hub world. The world's main room is the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Grey Area}}'''|闇と光を紡ぐ庭|Yami to Hikari o Tsumugu Niwa|lit. "The Garden that Interweaves Darkness and Light"}}, which serves as a lounge for the Organization's members, as well as the place where they'll receive their mission briefings from [[Saïx]]. The room is wedge-shaped with one wall being just a giant window, out of which [[Kingdom Hearts]] can eventually be seen floating in the distance. The room has couches and tables spread around it, and Organization members are often seen lounging about between missions. There is also a [[Moogle]] here wearing a [[Black Coat]], whom offers [[Roxas]] to synthesize panels as well as using the gained heart points to shop.

The castle is shown to have a large computer room which seems to contain information regarding all the various Organization XIII related projects, including the [[Replica Program]] and [[Castle Oblivion]]. The castle also contains a library filled with literature on various subjects. In here, Axel finds a book titled "The Truth about Naminé," authored by Vexen. All of the members have individual bedrooms across the castle, which are white with metal-like walls and lots of pipes across them. There's a single bed with the headboard in the shape of the Nobodies' symbol, and a window showing the heart-shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts. The Organization often gather at the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Round Room}}'''|円卓|Entaku|lit. "Round Table"}}<ref>'''''[[Roxas's Diary#Day 7: Entry 1|Roxas's Diary, Day 7: Entry 1]]''''': "Today they told us to go to the Round Room, where we met our new member, No. XIV."</ref> to discuss plans and other developments. Each member has a throne-like chair at top of a pillar here, except for Xion. These pillars can move up or down at the user's, or at the leader's will<!--The possibility of the thrones changing heights is also seen in ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]'', when the throne where Sora's body is sitting lifts up.-->, though they all keep their thrones below Xemnas out of respect.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania]]''''', pg. 502; '''Interviewer''': "During the meetings, the members of Organization XIII are sitting in chairs. Is the height of these chairs determined by things like their skills and abilities?" / ''' Tetsuya Nomura''': "No, the height of the chairs is not fixated, they move. That is to say, the height is up to each person. The leader, Xemnas, is always the highest and to be at the same height as him would have a pretty bad feeling, so the other members wouldn't do that." [https://www.khinsider.com/news/New-Nomura-Interview-Hoards-of-new-Information-388 Translation via TheWertle and Xaldin].</ref><!--explain as out-of-universe:  Mission Mode of 358/2 Days shows that the thrones change height based on how well the members of the Organization do on missions.--> The remaining members also gather at the '''Altar of Naught''' on the ninety-third day, to watch as Kingdom Hearts finally takes form.

In ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'', only Memory's Skyscraper, the Brink of Despair, and the real Castle That Never Was are visited in the Realm Between, while the rest of the areas appear within a dream version of the world. The dream version of The World that Never Was' Dark City appears a lot more contorted and ethereal than the city initially appeared in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', much similar to The World of Nothing within Kingdom Hearts.

Sora first arrives at the Memory Skyscraper, but is quickly sent to sleep and eventually wake up at the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Avenue to Dreams}}'''|夢境の街路|Yumesakai no Gairo}}. The place is a large urban area beginning with an enclosed alley featuring a save point and a Moogle Shop hologram. Up a long flight of stairs lies a piece of a destroyed building, blocking the path into the city that must be scaled to advance. Beyond is an area of twisting alleys surrounded by skyscrapers that can be scaled with [[Flowmotion]]. Several buildings are adorned in blue stripes with a geometric pattern and when stood upon, they rapidly elevate, throwing Sora into the air. Perhaps the most notable feature of this area is a stream of blue-green mist that falls from the roof of a massive tower extremely similar to the Memory's Skyscraper. The Castle that Never Was can be seen from this area, but instead of floating above a giant crater, it floats above several tall buildings. The next area is the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Contorted City}}'''|歪みに満ちた街|Yugami ni Michita Machi|lit. "City Filled with Distortion"}}, which seems to emerge from a strange canyon. Thea area is similar to the previous one, though many of the buildings float of their own accord. Beyond several overturned buildings, a path of broken pavement and destroyed buildings form an upward spiral, and neon strips and signs on the buildings can be traversed with Flowmotion. Several floating buildings marked with red symbols will hurtle towards Sora and must be destroyed with [[Reality Shift]] to avoid damage. Pressing on leads to the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Nightmarish Abyss}}'''|凶夢の深淵|Kyōmu no Shin'en}} which features a large open plaza surrounded by three skyscrapers, with a crashed truck blocking access to a side-street. The fourth side drops off to an abyss that is spanned by floating skyscrapers laid on their sides, forming a mostly straight path between two cliffs, and leads toward what appears to be the bottom of the Castle That Never Was. The end of the area is where Sora fights Xemnas.

Riku arrives at the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Delusive Beginning}}'''|幻想のはじまり|Gensō no Hajimari}}, one of the lowest known areas of the Castle That Never Was, situated just inside the large spinning ring at the base of the castle. It is comprised of four hallways connecting to a circular central chamber, two connecting at the ground floor, two high above. In the central chamber rests an energy beam housed in an impenetrable shield that'll damage Riku; destroying it creates a walkway to the upper levels. Next area is the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Walk of Delusions}}'''|幻惑の歩廊|Genwaku no Horō|lit. "Gallery of Entrancement"}}, which initially appears as a shifting maze. Scattered throughout the maze are devices which can be destroyed with a Reality Shift. Once disabled, the layout of the area changes, with new pathways opening up leading to the next device. Once three devices have been destroyed, the maze disappears entirely and reveals the area to be a long, straight bridge leading from the outer edge of the castle to the castle itself, across the open crater beneath it.

After defeating Anti Black Coat, Riku will be summoned by [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]] to {{nihongo|'''{{a|Darkness's Call}}'''|闇への誘い|Yami e no Sasoi|lit. "Invitation to Darkness"}} to battle. The area is a dark arena with a spiraling violet vortex below, and streams of darkness rising around the central area. A platform may appear if Riku uses Reality Shift on Ansem. After the first battle, Riku is further brought to the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Darkest End}}'''|闇の果て|Yami no Hate|lit. "Edge of Darkness"}}, which is a long corridor-like arena with huge dark pillars on each side, resembling the ones found in the [[Realm of Darkness]]. At the end of the room is a violet spiral where Ansem resides within a transformed [[Dark Figure]]. During their second battle, Ansem can manipulate the space within the area at will, by either stretching it to send Riku to the back or by compressing it to pull him forward.

After the battles against Ansem, Riku arrives back in the real The World That Never Was at the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Memory's Skyscraper}}'''|記憶の摩天楼}}. From here he can either teleport back to Verge of Chaos via [[Link Portal]], or press onwards to the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Brink of Despair}}'''|絶望を望む断崖|lit. "Cliff of Despair's Desire"}}, where he'll meet a [[Komory Bat]] granting access to the real Castle That Never Was. Riku then finds himself at the '''Where Nothing Gathers''', before he's attacked by [[Young Xehanort]], who pulls him away to the {{nihongo|'''{{a|Sanctum of Time}}'''|時の祭壇|Toki no Saidan|lit. "Altar of Time'}}. Thesanctum is a large circular arena with several cogs and clockwork devices integrated below the floor as well as atop pillars on either side of the battlefield, and is surrounded by six different colored hourglasses. The area as a whole resembles a fractured {{w|Sundial#Universal equinoctial ring dial|ring dial}}. Peculiarly, at certain times during battle, the poles sticking out of the ground cannot have Flowmotion used on them. Beneath the glass is a red Nobody insignia.

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===''Kingdom Hearts II''===

Sora arrives in the Dark City, with the help of the Organization's traitor, Axel. Fighting their way through large numbers of Heartless, [[Sora]], [[Donald Duck|Donald]], [[Goofy]], and [[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]] reach the center of the city, Memory's Skyscraper. Here, [[Samurai]] Nobodies materialize in front of Goofy and Donald. Roxas then appears, challenging Sora to a fight. The two disappear to duel on the [[Dive to the Heart]]. Sora defeats Roxas, who departs, calling Sora "a good other."