The World That Never Was

The World That Never Was is a world featured in Kingdom Hearts II. It is also the base of operations in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

The world of Organization XIII, it is home to a seemingly endless supply of Heartless and Nobodies. The Heartless seem to spawn more here due to how close The World That Never Was is to the darkness of Kingdom Hearts. The Organization controls the world from the Castle That Never Was, a massive fortress that floats weightlessly over the expansive Dark City.

Alley to Between
The Alley to Between (狭間につながる路地) hides a portal to Betwixt and Between. Sora, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey used this portal to get into the world, thanks to Axel's sacrifice. The alley way connects to the main route that leads to the Castle That Never Was. There is the first Save Point of the world here.

Fragment Crossing
Fragment Crossing (断片を紡ぐ道) is a long series of winding streets that lead to Memory's Skyscraper. It is full of neon signs attached to vacant buildings as well as a power plant which seems to power some or all of the city. Many Shadow Heartless are here, but in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, they are eventually replaced with Nobodies. Sora, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey took this route on their way to the Castle That Never Was. Pluto also had an encounter with Axel here.

Memory's Skyscraper
Memory's Skyscraper (記憶の摩天楼) is a tall building in the World That Never Was. Located near the Castle That Never Was, the building kept watch over the residents of the Dark. On its front, it has a massive television screen that seems to flash images of memories of those nearby, although this feature is only visible in the FMV videos at the end of the first Kingdom Hearts game. A truck is visible flipped on its side in one corner of the area. Roxas was battling a legion of Neoshadows when Riku appeared at the top of the building, and after the two eliminated the Neoshadows, they began their duel.

After arriving at the World That Never Was, Sora was confronted by Roxas at Memory's Skyscraper, while two Samurai blocked Donald and Goofy. Sora and Roxas soon disappeared to the Station of Awakening, but Donald and Goofy claimed to not see Roxas.

During his battle with Xemnas, Sora was pulled into an area that included Memory's Skyscraper, called Memory's Contortion, in a battle similar to the one Roxas and Riku had.

Brink of Despair
The Brink of Despair (絶望を望む断崖) seems to have been made by The Castle That Never Was which hovers above it. Sora, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey arrive here and access the castle via a path using the Keyblade. It has the second Save Point of this world.

Castle That Never Was
The enormous white castle that floats above the city, dominating its skyline. It is decorated all over with Nobody symbols.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
The World that Never Was has likely been the headquarters for Organization XIII since its creation. It remained so all the way through to Xemnas's death, even after the founding of Castle Oblivion as a secondary base. Meetings were held here, and members would return here when done with their missions. Up until the time of Sora's arrival on this world, it was a safe haven for Organization XIII.

When Roxas abandoned the Organization, he wandered for a short time through the streets of the Dark City, likely contemplating where to go to start his search for himself. Here, outside one of the many locked stores, Roxas met with Axel, who tried to stop him from leaving, warning him that the Organization would destroy him were he to leave. Roxas, stating that no one would miss him (were he to die), left a saddened Axel behind and moved along the streets to Memory's Skyscraper. Axel mutters that he would miss him, before Roxas disappeared into the darkness.

A few days later, Roxas returns to the city, hoping to engage Xemnas along with the other Organization XIII members, but instead he discovered multitudes of Heartless, sent to attack the Keyblade master while the Organization was not protecting him. Roxas fended off the hordes of Neoshadow Heartless, but realized he was too far outnumbered. It was then that he saw Riku atop the skyscraper. Using Roxas's Oblivion keyblade, Riku helped the Nobody defeat all the Heartless (Roxas used his Oathkeeper).

The two then turned on each other and dueled. Roxas eventually defeated Riku, who had not yet mastered himself or control of the Keyblade. Riku used the darkness in his heart as a last resort and unleashed Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, with his Guardian, to subdue Roxas. DiZ promptly arrived to find Riku-Ansem with his hood up, and the two took Roxas back to their secret base in Twilight Town.

Kingdom Hearts II
The World that Never Was continued to be used as a base of operations for the Organization throughout Kingdom Hearts II. Although their numbers continued to decrease, they still held meetings in the Castle that Never Was, and plotted a way to use the Keyblade.

Eventually, Sora arrived in the Dark City, with the help of the Organization's traitor, Axel. Making their way through the large amounts of Heartless, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey fought to the center of the city, Memory's Skyscraper. Here, Samurai Nobodies appeared from nowhere, and Roxas appeared to Sora, challenging him to a fight. The two disappeared from the scene and while Donald and Goofy fought off the Samurai, Sora and Roxas dueled on the Station of Awakening.

After Roxas is defeated, he tells Sora that he's a "good other." The group then continues on to the Castle that Never Was. They make their way through the many levels of the castle, meeting up with Riku and Kairi, and finishing off the remaining members of the Organization.

After meeting with Ansem the Wise on one of the upper floors of the castle, the latter sacrifices his life in an attempt to destroy Xemnas's Kingdom Hearts, the blast returning Riku to his original form. The party makes their way to the top floor and finally defeat Xemnas.

During the extensive final battle with Xemnas, much of the Dark City and the Castle That Never Was is destroyed. Chunks of building were ripped up and thrown at Sora and Riku, and the main tower collapsed off the Castle. What ultimately happened to the World that Never Was following Xemnas's defeat remains unknown.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
The World That Never Was is set to return in the upcoming sequel, as well as the Castle That Never Was.

Heartless
Heartless only appear in the Dark City, as the Castle is home to the Nobodies. Although Armored Knights are shown in cut scenes before you fight Xigbar, you can never actually fight them in that area.

Nobodies
Each type of Nobody, excluding the Twilight Thorn and Spectre, appears in Organization XIII's stronghold:

Trivia

 * Interestingly, the boxart of Kingdom Hearts shows a scene with the younger versions of Kairi, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy sitting on a skyscraper in a world, that bears an uncanny resemblance to the World That Never Was, even with the Kingdom Hearts moon in the background, although this world didn't actually appear before Kingdom Hearts II.
 * The World That Never Was cannot be accessed via the Gummi Ship until after you enter the world via the Simulated Twilight Town.