Game:Lingering Will

The Lingering Will is an unlockable secret boss featured in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. His boss battle is unlocked when the player unlocks The Gathering, then returns to Disney Castle's Hall of the Cornerstone, where a portal to the Keyblade Graveyard has appeared. Defeating the Lingering Will grants the player the Connection Proof, and the Lingering Will can be refought by leaving the Keyblade Graveyard and then returning.

Strategy
In order to fight the Lingering Will, Sora must have defeated Xemnas. Sora should have High Jump, Quick Run, Dodge Roll, Aerial Dodge, and Glide at Level 5, as well as some support abilities such as Once More, and Second Chance, and should pack as much Ethers as he can, and have at least one Combo Plus. For Sora's Keyblades, the Kingdom Key is recommended for its Damage Control, though the Decisive Pumpkin, Oblivion, and the Ultima Weapon are still excellent options.

The Lingering Will is difficult to defeat. Its most basic moves are attacking with its Keyblade, Ends of the Earth, and can fly at high speeds. The Lingering Will's most basic attack is when he leaps in the air, and dashes through Sora three times. The timing of the dashes are easily predictable, so you can avoid being hit by using Dodge Roll, or Guard. You should be able to anticipate where its third dash will end, so you can attack it during its third dash. The Lingering Will attacks Sora twice with its Keyblade before turning it into a drill like object and thrust it at Sora. It isn't easy to predict when the Lingering Will is going to actually use this move after running, but you can easily defend your self using Guard, or Reflega. However, you must be cautious. If you use guard to block the attack, you must wait before attacking. If you start the attack right after guarding, the Lingering Will's drill will take most of your health, and you will be knocked far away from the Lingering Will. The Lingering Will can turn its Keyblade into long whip and swing it around itself, dealing massive damage. Unfortunately, you have a very small perception about when its going to use this attack, but there is a very high chance that he will use it after he dashes though Sora three times, or when receiving massive damage. You can defend yourself with Guard or Reflega, but it is a lot better if you just run away and quickly get close to the Lingering Will as soon as it is landing and attack it with a new combo. However, if you do get hit, do not try to resist with Aerial Recovery or Retaliating Slash. Being hit by this attack will leave you with only 1 HP left, if Once More (and preferably Second Chance) is equipped, so don't try to use Aerial Recovery of Retaliating Slash, or you'll die. If you really need to get out of the attack and save your HP, activating a Drive Form, or using Trinity Limit with Donald Duck and Goofy are the only ways for getting some invulnerability.

The Lingering Will can also use Terra's Ultima Cannon Shotlock from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep as an attack. The Lingering Will's Ultima Cannon fires one sphere of energy that homes in on its target and produces a larger explosion than Terra's version. However, the explosion is weaker, it chases Sora around the battlefield, and the sphere can be deflected back at the Lingering Will. However, there are other ways to nullify or evade the move. The easiest way is to Guard when you are a few meters from the Lingering Will so you can deflect the cannon back to it, which leaves him very vulnerable. If he is charging the cannon and you are too far away, then Dodge Roll, or Quick Run against it to nullify the explosion. The Lingering Will can turn its Keyblade into something resembling a bow and shoots 3 deadly projectiles trying to catch you, but keep in mind that it shoots five when low on HP. It is a particularly deadly attack that consist in trapping Sora in a triangular shaped shield that drains his health at a very fast rate. Your command bar changes, and you will have to select the "Release" command in order to break free from the curse. The projectiles can easily be evaded with the right timing of Dodge Roll, or Reflega, and when he turns his Keyblade back to normal form, that is the time to attack. If the Lingering Will's projectile hits you however, the best way to break free from the curse is to glide away while waiting for the "Release" command.

The Lingering Will can also transform his Keyblade into the Keyblade Glider that Terra used in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and move around the map extremely fast. Using Guard is the best way for defending yourself, and if you're in Final Form just Glide, as Sora's Keyblades will protect you. You can attack when your target lands, though it's hard to predict when and where. In addition to his Keyblade, The Lingering Will has some magical abilities as well, such as creating an strange looking seal that either creates a blue, or orange orb above Sora's head. The orange orb prevents Sora from attacking, while the blue orb prevents Sora from using Magic or Items. In order to break free from this curse, you have to deplete a new, smaller bar of HP, visible when the Lingering Will has been Locked on to. If you see a blue orb, attack to deplete the bar, if you see an orange orb, use Magic, or Limits in Limit Form. Either way, drive forms are still usable. You can simply evade this move by using Dodge Roll, Quick Run, or Reflega if timed right. It is unexpected when the Lingering Will is going to use this move, but when you hear him teleporting suddenly behind Sora, then be prepared. Another clue for you to dodge this attack is when you see the Lingering Will flying at high speeds and repeatedly landing right behind Sora.

The Lingering Will can conjure Drone-like objects which Fire beams of Plasma at Sora, Donald, Goofy. When it is low on health, usually when it has six, or seven bars left, it automatically launches them and disappears from Sora's sight for a few seconds. When it does this, the second phase of the battle is about to begin. You can react to this attack using guard, Reflega, or simply gliding away. Sometimes though, even when the Lingering Will is full on HP, it can combine its other moves especially its Keyblade Glider attack, with the drones. This makes things a lot more difficult to handle since not even a right timed Guard or Reflega can always protect you from several angles all the time, although with some luck you may be able to deflect against the Lingering Will itself. They can be destroyed with Aerial Dodge but it's not worth it.

When the Lingering Will uses its Desperation Move, it enters a berserk-like state, similar to Saïx's berserk technique. Its arm gauntlets, and helmet will emit a bright red aura, and it then splits its Keyblade into two weapons. The first part of the attack is quite easy. You can either use Guard, or Glide and no particular time is needed for blocking. In the second phase of the attack, you cannot physically block anything. Just Glide away, and land as soon the Lingering Will prepares the third and final phase of the attack. The third part is probably the most difficult move to block/evade in the entire battle. It is all about having perfect timing with Guard, Dodge Roll, and Quick Run. The Lingering Will starts by swinging his Keyblade in midair. Then he disappears, and reapers behind Sora. To defend yourself from this attack, you must lock-on to the Lingering Will and guard. Keep guarding until he uses the move very similar to Thunder Surge and lands. Then, he is left vulnerable. Just like every other move, however, there are various ways to evade this one as well. If you happen to get hit, make sure to use Aerial Recovery at the right time to nullify its last spinning move. This way, you can still quickly reach the Lingering Will and start a new combo. Thundaga is best for distracting the Will if you are too far away, giving you the time to reach it. A very useful trick is flying and reaching a specific point on the edge of the map. This way, the Lingering Will is forced to always teleport in front of Sora, making it easier to block all of its attacks. In the second phase of the battle, while low on HP, the Lingering Will also makes use of Magic. There is a small chance that it may cast Magnega, that will put Sora into its path, and Blizzaga, both in some lethal combinations.

Another rule to keep in mind, is to never overdo with your finishers; this is due to compared to other bosses, the Lingering Will actually takes the longest to reach its retaliation point, so around 5 basic finishers maximum is enough to cause it to reach retaliation point. This makes the Will one of the few bosses that takes the most amount of hits and damage before retaliation, but it can cause the player to lose track of their attacks landed if they're too combo-happy on the Will, though exploits that can inflict a lot of damage on the Will without triggering any rise to retaliation point (such as all of Ars Arcanum's attacks save for the very final Reaction Command) work even better on the Will compared to all other bosses that reach retaliation point much sooner.

These are all of the Lingering Will's abilities. In the first phase of the battle, it usually executes them in a predictable pattern. But when it is left with seven-to-six HP bars, it will automatically use its Desperation Move for the first time. This marks the end of the first phase, and the beginning of the second phase of the fight, where the Lingering Will makes use of all of its resources and the player can barely predict which attacks it is going to use next. If you want to prevent this, count your combos and finishers and you'll know when it is going to react. Also, if you deflect its Ultima Cannon back at him, that counts as one of Sora's finishers. Therefore, the enemy will react after 4 more finishers. No matter how cautious you are, when the Lingering Will is being left with seven-to-six bars, it will react in the middle of your combo or right after a finisher if you happen to reach its retaliation point. So keep an eye on its HP and be prepared to evade its sudden move.

Also, a very notable exploit during the final phase is to always drop your combos to cause it to normally retaliate with its desperation move; though intimating each time, it will always retaliate like so and thus, it can be looped like so if one wants to try a safer strategy. Otherwise, throughout most of the battle, the Will's normal forms of forceful retaliations in the middle of being knocked back are its triple dash attack and whip attack. Both moves have long coverage, which make them devastating punishers if Sora does not watch out for them upon hitting its retaliation point.

The final rule to bear in mind is the most important one. The Lingering Will changes its fighting style depending by its very first move at the start of the battle. However, this rule only works for the first phase of the battle.