The World That Never Was


 * This article is about the Dark City and the World That Never Was as a whole. For the castle above the world, see Castle 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 to the darkness of Kingdom Hearts The World That Never Was actually is. The Organization controls the world from The Castle That Never Was, a massive fortress that floats weightlessly over the expansive Dark City.

Creation
Although never confirmed, it can be inferred from Xemnas's speeches that the World that Never Was is not an actual world, but an artificial world created by the Organization to use as a home for Nobodies. That being said, the World that Never Was would have no true heart as other worlds do, and would therefore be a Nobody itself. It may be the Nobody counterpart of the End of the World, which is a Heartless world.

This hypothesis seems to support itself through several of the structures within the world. Memory's Skyscraper, for example, appears to use the memories of others and display them on the massive television screen on its front. The world may use this in place of a heart to keep on living, the same way that Nobodies use memories of emotions to retain their sense of self, rather than a heart.

Headquarters
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.

Betrayal
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 want him eliminated 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. Displaying some amazing swordsmanship, Roxas fended off the hordes of Neoshadow Heartless, but quickly 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 Xehanort's Heartless, 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.

Downfall of the Organization
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, though, Sora did arrive in the Dark City, with the help of the Organization's traitor, Axel. Slashing their way through the hordes of Heartless, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey fought to the center of the city, Memory's Skyscraper. Here, Samurai Nobodies appeared out of 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, telling Sora that he's a "good other," the group continue 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 to destroy Xemnas's Kingdom Hearts (world), 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 "The Superior," 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 of the Castle.

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
Every type of Nobody besides the Twilight Thorn and the mech-like Nobody used by Marluxia in Castle Oblivion appears in Organization XIII's stronghold:

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 the sacrifice of Axel. 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. Roxas was battling a legion of Neoshadows when Riku appeared at the top of the building, and when the two began their duel.

After arriving at the World That Never Was, Sora was confronted by Roxas at Memory's Skyscraper, while 2 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.

Trivia

 * At the corner of the Memory's Skyscraper map, there is an overturned truck. It cannot be passed, and the streets behind it presumably lead to more of the city. It is never explained.
 * Although the city appears to be unpopulated, when pressing triangle next to Memory's Skyscraper, it makes a reference to 'the residents of the dark.'
 * Interestingly, the boxart of Kingdom Hearts shows a scene with the younger versions of Kairi, Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Donald, sitting on a skyscraper in a world, that bears a 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 Simulated Twilight Town.
 * In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the top screens of Memory's Skyscraper cannot be seen during the battle with Riku at the end of the game (aside from the cutscenes). If the player glides off of the spot in front of the door of the skyscraper with the camera pointed toward the Skyscraper, this is easily noticeable.
 * The World that Never Was is the only world in the Kingdom Hearts series to have a weather change, excluding the dark storm on Destiny Islands; right before Roxas fights Riku, it rains and before Roxas appears to Sora, it rains again.