Scala ad Caelum

Scala ad Caelum is an original world in Kingdom Hearts III.

Settings and Areas
"Scala ad Caelum" is Latin for "".

During the Age of Fairy Tales, Scala ad Caelum was the world known as Daybreak Town.

The world is perpetually sunny and clear and considered breathtakingly beautiful, consisting of a nearly infinite number of mountain towns suspended on a body of water - stretching out as far as the horizon, though the "mountains" are composed entirely of glistening white and gold buildings - with a large citadel on the top of each mountain. Nearly every building in Scala ad Caelum has at least one windmill fixed atop it. Travel between the mountains is apparently achieved through numerous inter-connected cable cars, and via gondolas found by the piers.

Submerged beneath the water, however, are the upside-down ruins of Daybreak Town. The second phase of the final battle against Master Xehanort partially takes place around the dilapidated remains of Daybreak Town's iconic clock tower.

Development
Scala ad Caelum was first unveiled in a teaser trailer at a Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix fan event in Los Angeles in 2014, with the working name "Cable Town."

Before Kingdom Hearts III
In their youth, a young Xehanort plays a chess-like game with a young Eraqus in the middle tower.

On one day, while playing, Xehanort asks Eraqus about the ancient Keyblade War, which Eraqus claims is their master's favorite story. However, when Xehanort mentions the "Lost Masters" who actually started the war, Eraqus feigns ignorance, and Xehanort remains unconvinced. Xehanort muses on how on the land where the Keyblade War was fought, darkness will prevail and light expire, looking up at No Name, while Eraqus counters him by claiming that the light might surprise Xehanort and prevail, and Xehanort expresses interest in this possibility.

After their last game, Eraqus and Xehanort begin a new game of enacting a battle between seven dark pieces and one white piece.

Kingdom Hearts III
After forming the χ-blade at the Keyblade Graveyard and ascending to Kingdom Hearts, Riku says to Sora that because Master Xehanort exists outside of time and space, he can be used as a portal to trap himself in. Volunteering to defeat Xehanort, Sora, alongside Donald Duck and Goofy, decides to enter the portal, which is opened by the rest of the guardians of light using their Keyblades on Xehanort. This transports the four to Scala ad Caelum.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy start at the front of the empty town, and walk into it. They notice Xehanort appearing seemly in multiple places at once, walking around. They try to pursue him, later to be confronted by remnants of the real Organization XIII. After defeating them, Master Xehanort reappears, describing Scala ad Caelum to Sora as a former seat of power for all Keyblade wielders, and announcing he will become one with his other selves. Xehanort and the Remnants all combine together, allowing Xehanort to be armored. Xehanort, fights Sora and his allies, while bending space to his will, causing them to fight in an enclosed room, the walls folded up land, underwater, and then at the original location, although heavily damaged by the fighting. However, Sora manages to break the armor, but Xehanort then teleports to the tower in the middle of the island they are on.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy follow him to the top of the tower, where he wields the χ-blade in one final battle. Sora fights Xehanort, but is defeated by Xehanort using the power of Kingdom Hearts. He is then revived by Donald and Goofy, who together defeat Xehanort.

In the aftermath of the final battle, Xehanort is insistent on his goals until Eraqus projects his spirit through Terra and beckons him to surrender. Finally admitting defeat, Xehanort congratulates Sora on his victory and hands him the χ-blade before passing away.