Birth by Sleep (video)



"Birth by sleep" is the secret ending video to Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and a follow up to "The Gathering", the secret ending video to the original Kingdom Hearts II. The video centers around three armored warriors wielding Keyblades and an unnamed foe and is meant to introduce Tetsuya Nomura's newest Kingdom Hearts project, the details of which are still scarce. However, it is a trailer for one of the newly confirmed games Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (for the PlayStation Portable) and will obviously deal with the characters mentioned here. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep will take place ten years before the original Kingdom Hearts.

Synopsis
The video begins with an old man approaching three armored individuals (seen in "The Gathering") picking up Keyblades stuck in the ground which resemble Sora's Kingdom Key from the Realm of Light, Riku's Way to Dawn from Realm of In Between, and King Mickey's Kingdom Key D from the Realm of Darkness. It is set in a desert area similar to the Grand Canyon circa 1885 as the sun is setting, and the characters are surrounded by countless Keyblades stuck in the ground that form a four-way crossroads. The actual reason why these Keyblades are there has been speculated as being a graveyard for Keyblades after their respective Keyblade wielders died. The old man is named Master Xehanort (his clothes like those worn by Xehanort's Heartless) and has slightly pointed ears, and bears a malevolent expression. He is joined by another entity wearing a muscular suit of red-and-black who appears to spawn from the essence of the old man. He is commonly referred to as the Darkness Soldier.

The two are charged by Terra, and Master Xehanort responds by shifting the earth beneath them to create a rising plateau that carries Terra above the rest. Master Xehanort then lifts the ground beneath himself as well, creating a cliff much higher than the surrounding terrain. It becomes apparent that Master Xehanort and his companion have great power; while his apprentice strikes Terra with Thunder, and is immediately pursued by the other two knights. Terra chases after Master Xehanort, who creates a Keyblade cyclone to aid his apprentice against the two knights.

The apprentice chases and battles the two knights on the cyclone, and neither are able to overcome him. Noticing that Terra is getting closer to Master Xehanort, the apprentice directs the cyclone towards Terra, knocking him off the cliff. The two other knights watch in horror, and one of them is hit by the cyclone, crashing to the ground. The knight's helmet is gone, revealed that the knight is a blue-haired woman, confirmed by Nomura as Aqua. The third knight comes to her aid and she unleashes Reflect magic on Terra to protect him from the cyclone, which protects him from the cyclone until the cyclone pushes him up to the cliff where Master Xehanort is where it explodes, blasting the cyclone to pieces. Terra is dropped to where Xehanort is. Terra briefly duels Master Xehanort until the old man freezes his left arm. The third knight attempts to attack Master Xehanort from behind, but Master Xehanort teleports himself behind him and grabs him by the helmet, crushing it and freezing him. Terra tries to stop him, but the apprentice reappears and hits him off the cliff with the cyclone's remains. Master Xehanort freezes the third knight's body solild and throws him off the cliff, shattering his keyblade and helmet. Aqua catches his body and his face is revealed to have a striking resemblance to Roxas. Though frozen, he moves his eyes to indicate that he is still alive. His name, as confirmed by Nomura, is Ven.

Master Xehanort's Keyblade reverts into a purple and blue ball of flame-like energy. Master Xehanort then raises his hand to the sky while holding the sphere, and the ball of energy promptly shoots upwards to part the gathering dark clouds, revealing what appears to be Kingdom Hearts by means not fully explained. Terra removes his helmet to look up at Kingdom Hearts as his eyes turn yellow (hinting a potential 'Anti-Form', which is also supported by trailers indicating that Terra gave in to the darkness).

The video ends with King Mickey looking at the supposed Kingdom Hearts in the same area but from a distance, holding the Star Seeker Keyblade, which appears to be a gift most students of Yen Sid receive after some form of training. Judging by his expression, he appears to be on the verge of stepping in to fight Master Xehanort and his apprentice.

Characters

 * Terra
 * Aqua
 * Ven
 * Master Xehanort
 * Master Xehanort's Apprentice
 * King Mickey

Condition to Unlock This Video
The condition to unlock the video "Birth by sleep" varies according with the difficulty that you chosen:


 * For Beginner Mode the video is not available;
 * For Standard Mode you must complete the Jiminy's Journal and all Gummi Missions;
 * For Proud Mode you need to complete the game;
 * For Critical Mode you need the Gold Crown.

Commentary by Nomura
Tetsuya Nomura, the head storyline designer for the Kingdom Hearts series, originally gave very few details about the secret ending. Originally, the only information he disclosed was that all the characters in the video were new to the series, despite any physical resemblances. The time and place of the video were all left ambiguous as well. However, Nomura stated in a Famitsu interview that this video is the non-playable ending of the PSP game, and that the game might take place ten years before the first Kingdom Hearts game.

In a May 2007 interview dubbed the "Scenario Mysteries Interview", Nomura revealed more insights into the video and its implications for the series. He confirmed the names of Aqua and Ven and introduced the name of the third Keyblade knight, Terra; however, he also stated that Ven was only a nickname for the young male knight, and that the full name is "a little bit longer" (his full name is Ventus).

Nomura had this to say of Ven's resemblance to Roxas:

He also gave no details regarding the change in color of Terra's eyes from blue to yellow, saying "I think everyone's imaginations are pretty capable so please try and anticipate a lot of things." His final comments regarding the three warriors' names were that the names of Sora, Riku, and Kairi are meant to signify Sky, Land, and Sea, while the names of Ven, Terra, and Aqua represent three different properties of the world;: Wind, Earth, and Water.

Trivia

 * Master Xehanort's apprentice's uniform is similar to that of Riku's in Dark Mode.
 * Master Xehanort wears clothing very similar to that of Xehanort's Heartless.
 * In the video, the following Keyblades are shown: Follow the Wind, a recolored version of Sleeping Lion, Fenrir, Circle of Life, Wishing Lamp and Star Seeker, held by King Mickey.
 * Interestingly, in "The Gathering," Terra, Ven, and Aqua picked up the Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key D, and Way to the Dawn. However they do not seem to have these Keyblades in "Birth by sleep" at all.

Video
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