Dark Hide

The unnamed Heartless is a Pureblood Heartless that appears in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix. It is the boss of the Realm of Darkness, and is fought by Aqua. It is also the final boss of the game.

Design
The unnamed Heartless is a massive creature that slightly resembles the Dark Thorn. It has a dark-purple body with purple spikes running down its back as well as a purple mane around its head, a purple tail, claws, and legs. The most distinctive feature of the unnamed Heartless are its glowing red eyes, which are bright enough to be seen in pitch-black. There are chains that bind its two front claws. It has blue stripes on its body and face.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
While making her way through the Realm of Darkness in an attempt to return home, Aqua is stalked by the unseen Heartless, as seen through its bloodshot red vision. Upon moving in the shadows, Aqua notices the Heartless' presence, and draws her Keyblade. The Heartless attacks, knocking her down. At first she mistakes it for an Unversed, but quickly realizes that it is something else. The Heartless returns to the shadows, showing Aqua nothing but its red eyes. She then engages the Heartless in battle. She emerges victorious after strenuous fighting.

Strategy
The unnamed Heartless is a fast, fierce, and unpredictable opponent. In the first phase of the battle, the Heartless attacks from within the darkness, visible only by its glowing red eyes. The boss will attempt to charge at Aqua, and when it does the battle shifts to its point of view, making it hard to dodge. The Heartless also attacks with savage claw swipes and tail spins. The best way to deal damage to the Heartless in this phase of the fight is to patiently wait until just after the scene where it looks at you through its point of view, then quickly use Barrier to block the incoming attack and finally to use Aqua's counter attack to deal damage. The Heartless will then just stand there idly for a few seconds before returning to the sanctity of the shadows, so be sure to get as many Keyblade strikes in as you can! (If you have Teleport equipped sometimes Aqua will teleport behind the Heartless instead of blocking its attack with Barrier. However, this does leave the Heartless vulnerable as all of its attacks in this phase are focused on what's in front of him). After dealing around one and a half health bars of damage to the Heartless, it will reveal its true form, starting the next phase of the fight.

The second stage of the battle is the same as the first, with the exception of the new attacks in the boss's arsenal. The boss still retains its claw swipes and spin attacks, but can now charge at Aqua, leaving a trail of flames in its wake. Also, the Heartless's movements become more erratic, making it hard to land hits. However, the Rhythm Mixer Command Style finisher deals great damage to the boss. After another round of combat, the Heartless unveils the rest of its attacks.

In the final round of the fight, the Heartless now uses red, blue, and green afterimages of itself for offensive and defensive purposes. It may spin around Aqua, its afterimages charging at her while it slams the ground, creating a shockwave. The boss can also shoot dark energy orbs that, after a few seconds, expand, damaging Aqua if she steps to close. It also utilizes a variant of the Mega Flare command, wherein it shoots a large fireball at Aqua. With some patience, Cure and potion commands, and high HP, the Heartless will eventually fall.

Attacks

 * Claw Swipes: Fast swipes with its claws
 * Tail Whip: Spins around, hitting Aqua with its tail
 * Buzz Saw: A damaging midair flip
 * Fire Charge: Emerges from the shadows and charges at Aqua, leaving a trail of flames in its wake
 * Shadow Bomb: Shoots orbs of dark energy which, after a few seconds delay, expand into damaging force fields
 * Mega Flare: Shoots a large fireball
 * Illusion Spin: Spins at a blindingly high speed around the outskirts of the battlefield, using four of its after-images to charge at Aqua, before pouncing from above and into the center of the area, creating a damaging shockwave
 * Illusion Slash: Each of its after-images attack with their claws