Saïx

Saïx, the Luna Diviner (月に舞う魔人), is the Nobody of Isa. He is Rank VII within the original Organization XIII and a member of the real Organization XIII. He derives power from the moon and uses this power to enter a berserk rage where he mercilessly attacks opponents with his massive claymore. He commands the Berserker Nobodies.

In the original Organization, Saïx serves as the second-in-command to Xemnas, and is a major antagonist in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Fittingly, Saïx is the second-to-last member of the first Organization to fall. Along with all other original Organization members in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Saïx is a playable character in Mission Mode.

Before Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Saïx joins the Organization with Axel, believing that Xemnas would know what happened to their friend Subject X. To this end, Saïx works to get as close to Xemnas as possible while Axel secretly assists him to further their goal.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Along with Xemnas, Xigbar and Vexen, Saïx oversees the Replica Program. When Roxas is brought into the Organization as its thirteenth member, Saïx suggests the boy keep a diary to help him focus as his mind is mostly blank.

Once Sora defeated Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Saïx chooses Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen, Lexaeus and Zexion to be the group to conduct memory experiments with Naminé's powers at Castle Oblivion to prevent them from interfering of his and Axel's plans. When reports of treachery at Castle Oblivion arrived, Saïx sent Axel to deal with it. Saïx assigns Roxas to carry out missions with Xion.

Soon after, reports came back that everyone at Castle Oblivion perished; doubtful Axel is gone, Saïx began planning to cover for his absence. When Axel returns, he reveals to Saïx that he failed to Chamber of Waking to give them leverage over Xemnas.

Over time, a rift forms between Saïx and Axel, as he spends more time with Roxas and Xion. One day, Saïx confronts Axel, telling him not to get attached to them. He begins pondering if their past even matters to him anymore, having grown jealous of Axel's newfound friendships.

Sometime after Xion flees the group after discovering her origins, reports of Riku being spotted in Castle Oblivion has Saïx send Roxas and Axel to eliminate him, leading to the revaluation that Xion is now his. After Axel is able to retrieve Xion, Saïx taunts him by asking if he had to choose to save either Xion or Roxas. He then poses his real question: would he risk their genuine friendship over one that cannot exist between Nobodies. Saïx reminds Axel of their real plans, invoking Axel's human name to remind him of its importance.

With Roxas getting weaker from Xion sapping his strength, Saïx plans to them fight to the death as the Organization needs a useful Keyblade wielder. He sends them separately to Halloween Town, secretly causing both to see the other as an Orcus. However, Axel intervenes and snaps them out of the spell. By this point, Saïx dismisses his previous plans with Axel as "just an idle fantasy".

He meets with Xemnas and Xigbar regularly to discuss Xion, only to be told that Xion's sense of self is due to her trapping Sora's memories within herself. When asked about the devices, Saïx states they will be ready in a few days. However, when Xion is on a mission with Xigbar and Axel, she knocks Xigbar out and escapes. Xemnas, Saïx, and Xigbar reveal Xion's origins as a replica and task Axel with finding her. Saïx sends Roxas to put up a device in the Lamp Chamber.

The next day, Roxas decides to leave the Organization to find Sora for answers; Saïx attempts to stop him but loses. Weakened, Saïx looks to the moon, wondering when its strength will ever be his.

After Xion's demise, Xemnas orders Saïx to retrieve Roxas.

Kingdom Hearts II
Saïx and the surviving Organization members to taunt Sora at Hollow Bastion. Upon the Organization's return to discuss their plans for Sora, Saïx expresses his doubts on Sora's usefulness of having a pure heart and states that those who have lost their "true purpose" will inevitably destroy themselves before Xemnas dismissed them.

Saïx later manages to track Axel down and take Kairi from him as a hostage for the Organization.

Upon Sora's second visit to Twilight Town, Xemnas sends Saïx to confront Sora, leaving him confused and frustrated to further their goal. Saïx warns Sora that Axel has betrayed the Organization and is attempting to turn Sora into a Heartless. Saïx then leaves to report to Xemnas and asks about Axel, who merely mocks Axel's desire for friendship.

During the Battle of the 1000 Heartless, Saïx stops Axel from revealing the Organization's plans to Sora, forcing the traitor to flee. Sora pleads with Saïx to take him to Kairi, and upon seeing Sora's devotion to the girl, Saïx uses the opportunity to bend Sora's anger to suit his own needs, convincing Sora to destroy more Heartless to continue building Kingdom Hearts. Maleficent appears, declaring Kingdom Hearts will belong to her. She summons Soldiers to attack, but Saïx has Dusks destroy them. After Maleficent sacrifices herself to defeat the Nobodies, Saïx summons his Heartless once more and resumes his attack on the party. As Sora continues to extract hearts from the Heartless, Saïx departs in a corridor of darkness.

Saïx updates the Organization when concerned that Sora's newfound knowledge of their plans will only make him harder to control. His concerns were brushed off by Xigbar, who claims that it does not affect their goals since Sora will continue to destroy the Heartless to help those in need.

After Axel's demise, Saïx meets with Xemnas, Xigbar, and Luxord. Saïx contradicts Luxord's statement on Axel gaining his existence back, berating Axel's sacrificial actions as he believed Axel died for nothing. Xemnas, while agreeing that Axel's actions were foolish, sees it as an opportunity for Roxas's possible revival.

Saïx speaks to Kairi in her cell in the Castle That Never Was, stating that she is "fire that feeds Sora's anger". When Naminé rescues Kairi through a corridor of darkness, Saïx stops their escape. Riku, still cloaked and in the form of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, attacks him and slams him up against the wall, intending to finish him once and for all. However, Saïx is able to escape by opening a corridor of darkness.

Saïx appears to Sora in the Hall of Empty Melodies. He tells Sora that Kairi no longer needs him as a "friend from the darkness" is with her. Sora is not deterred, but Saïx tells him the Organization's Kingdom Hearts is nearly done, pointing to the heart-shaped moon in the sky. He summons more Heartless for Sora to destroy, but his attention is quickly turned to Maleficent, who has also infiltrated the castle along with Pete. He takes this in stride, wondering in an amused voice if the intrusions will ever end, and soon after vanishes to check on Kingdom Hearts. Saïx appears to Xemnas, who is watching Kingdom Hearts come closer to completion. He asks the Superior if he can end this "charade," and Xemnas grants him permission to kill Sora. Saïx smiles savagely and remarks that he's waited so long to hear that.

Elsewhere in the castle, after Luxord's defeat, Saïx awaits Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi in a room with a direct view of Kingdom Hearts: Addled Impasse. He calls Sora by the name of "Roxas", saying only he could have made it this far, though Donald vehemently states Saïx is wrong. Saïx doesn't care, stating: "Different name, same fate." Using his claymore, Saïx creates a potent shockwave with sheer strength, pushing Kairi and Riku behind a barrier. With them taken care of, he confronts Sora, Donald, and Goofy for the final time. He finally lets his outer decorum slip away. Under the influence of the moon, he becomes savage and unrestrained, truly a model for his Berserker Nobodies.

However, despite the incredible power and abilities he drew from the moon of Kingdom Hearts, he is overcome. Defeated and mortally wounded, he limps away from Sora to the ledge overlooking the moon before he fades back into darkness.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Upon being reborn as Isa, Saïx is taken by Braig and Young Xehanort to be made a part of the real Organization XIII. Wanting to atone for his mistreatment of Axel, Roxas, and Xion, Isa agreed to rejoin the group and became Saïx again to house a fragment of Master Xehanort's heart.

Following Lea's departure to Disney Castle, Saïx visits Even in Radiant Garden's central square and offers him the chance to atone for his past actions as Vexen through the replicas. Even accepts and returns to his Nobody form. Together, Saïx and Vexen fool Master Xehanort into thinking they returned to fill the ranks of the new Organization. Later meeting at the Keyblade Graveyard, Vexen updates Saïx on his progress with perfecting the replicas; very soon they will be able to become real people once they're given hearts. Six of which go to Ansem, Xemnas, Young Xehanort, Vanitas, Dark Riku and Xion.

When Xehanort's attempt to make Sora his final vessel ends in failure due to Lea's intervention, Saïx attacks his former friend. As their weapons collide, his identity is revealed to Lea, shocking him. Wistfully recalling his former friendship with Isa, Lea knocks Saïx away to regroup with Riku and King Mickey. After Donald and Goofy arrive, the real Organization XIII retreat to await the time to properly forge the χ-blade.

Kingdom Hearts III
Saïx has Vexen work on their mutual goal of redemption, while he maintains the facade of Xehanort's loyal pawn.

Saïx appears before Lea as he sits on the in Twilight Town, eating sea-salt ice cream while holding two others. He remarks Lea should be saying goodbye to his real home and assures he's not there to fight. Saïx then swipes an ice cream from Lea, pointing out that Lea can't eat them all. He asks why Lea bought three, one for Roxas and perhaps two for good luck. Lea scoffs that he doesn't know but he felt like it. When Lea demands to know why Saïx is there, he recounts how they used to sneak into the castle when they were younger and befriended Subject X there. In order to rescue her, Isa and Lea apprenticed to Ansem the Wise but failed as she disappeared one day. Saïx says Lea gave up but Lea dismisses the notion, pointing out things got crazy as one day they were apprentices, then Ansem the Wise disappeared, then they were Nobodies, and after they were working for Xemnas. Saïx says following Xemnas, Xehanort's Nobody, was the only way to find out what happened to their friend whom he used as a lab rat. When Lea asks Saïx if he has found her after helping him climb the ranks in the Organization, he admits there's no trace. He says he thought they probably just imagined her, so he decided to follow a new path and become stronger. Lea insists Saïx wise up on helping Xehanort and quit to which Saïx jabs Roxas is gone forever like Subject X. He says Lea needs to accept that but Lea declares he'll get all their friends back, including dragging Saïx back home. Saïx proceeds to point out Lea's upside-down tear marks, which stopped him from crying, are gone and Lea scoffs he no longer needs them. Lea tells Saïx to get lost as he'll clobber him tomorrow, to which Saïx says he expects no less and disappears.

In the Keyblade Graveyard, Lea and Kairi pair up to fight Saïx and Xion. Sora soon joins them but Saïx overpowers them. As Saïx rushes to finish Sora and Kairi, Lea defends them while telling Saïx to stop but is pushed back. Then Xemnas appears and condemns Lea for becoming a traitor when he used to be the one trusted to deal with them. Saïx watches silently as Xemnas attacks and injures Lea as well as the hooded figure, revealed to be Xion before Roxas appears and comes to their rescue.

Xemnas proceeds to kidnap Kairi and leaves the group to fight the berserk Saïx. Xion and Roxas aid Sora in battling Saïx as Lea is too injured to fight. When the battle concludes, Lea rushes over to Saïx, who asks why he looks so sad. When Lea expresses disgust at what Saïx let the Organization reduce him to, the latter remarks he thought Lea outgrew the marks under his eyes as it looks like he needs them. Lea demands Saïx to drop the whole act and says he thought it was all for their missing friend, which Saïx affirms was in the beginning. Saïx says he sacrificed everything to try and track her down but Lea abandoned them and replaced them with Roxas and Xion. In his anger, he lost all sense of purpose, to which Lea insists he didn't forget them. Saïx affirms he knows Lea wouldn't do that and proceeds to admit he was jealous, though he won't say it again if he returns as Isa once more before collapsing in Lea's arms as he begins to fade. Lea tells Saïx he'll see him again, calling him Isa, to which Saïx reciprocates and fades away smiling.

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]
Saïx appears as an enemy in the July 2018.

Design
Saïx wears a basic Organization black coat, along with the usual black gloves and boots. He has long blue hair vaguely reminiscent of Vexen's in style and length, though Saïx's is a bit wilder at the top. Most of his hair is tucked into his cloak, though a portion is not and falls over the back. As a vessel for Xehanort's heart, Saïx shares his pointed ears and amber eyes, as does his fellow vessel Xigbar. Saïx also wears stud earrings like Xaldin's. The X-shaped scar on Saïx's face is his most distinctive trait, with the vertex of this "X" lying between his eyes and extending from halfway up his forehead to just under his eyes. When Saïx enters his "Berserk" state, his eyes turn completely yellow, his scar becomes more jagged and a bit larger, and his hair becomes spiky and unruly.

Saïx's transformation under the moon's power is a possible reference to several things, including the ancient belief that the moon caused madness, hence the term "lunatic"; the modern belief that the phases of the moon can affect a person's mood; the legend of the werewolf, humans who became savage beasts under the influence of a full moon; as well as the of the Norse, who wore clothes made from bearskins as they went into battle in an insane fury and are the source of the modern term "berserk."

A slightly-modified copy of Saïx's body model is used for Young Xehanort's in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, though it is likely that this is simply due to data recycling rather than any deeper significance.

Personality
Along with Xemnas, Saïx appears to be one of the most "Nobody-like" of the Organization. Despite claiming to remember what possessing a heart was like, he behaves mostly as a cold, emotionless, and efficient operative, even in the direst of situations. He is very aware of how emotions are unreal to them, unlike other members who imitate their emotions. However, in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, it seems he values his friendship with Axel from their time as humans, indicating that he believes that Nobodies cannot even try to genuinely show emotion or form a real friendship without having had one with another beforehand, thus having memories to fall back on. According to Axel, the friendship between them weakened due to how Saïx changed too much after becoming a Nobody, leading to Axel ignoring him for Roxas and Xion. Thus, Saïx has a colder demeanor towards Axel in Kingdom Hearts II.

Saïx would later admit that his cold treatment of Axel was due to him being jealous of Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion after Axel seemingly forgot about him and their goal of finding the girl; though Saïx would later admit that he knew better and that his old friend would never forget nor abandon him.

The only thing Saïx seems to "care" about is acquiring a heart and, by extension, Kingdom Hearts. More than any other member of the Organization, Saïx is portrayed the most dedicated to their goal, repeatedly stating his desire to "truly, finally exist". Even his last words were to Kingdom Hearts, sadly asking for his heart. Though this doesn't make him blind to Xemnas's plans to use Kingdom Hearts for more power, as he had originally plotted with Axel to overthrow Xemnas to regain their hearts. Saïx can also be quite cruel, claiming to know very well how to injure a heart. He had a keen insight into manipulating others, such as when he toyed with Sora's emotions by having him beg to see Kairi, only to refuse his request. He also sent the "useless" members to Castle Oblivion under the guise of Xemnas's orders to clear the way for his and Axel's plans, moving up the ranks while eliminating any competition or rebellion.

However, his usual calm exterior belies a more savage nature. In his final confrontation with Sora under the heart-shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts, he becomes a berserk force of destruction. Unlike his calm and reserved manner, in battle, he roars, shouts, and attacks relentlessly with no sense of self-control and portrays a psychotic behavior under the influence of Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts III has Saïx show a more sympathetic and remorseful side. Seeking redemption and forgiveness for his treatment of Roxas and Xion and a desire to rekindle his friendship with Axel, Saïx infiltrates the real Organization and ensures the guardians of light are given access to the replicas to save the two. He eventually becomes friends with Roxas and Xion after he returned to his human self.

Abilities


Saïx is a powerful member of Organization XIII and a capable fighter. Although he appears calm and collected throughout when speaking, in battle he becomes a wild, dangerous opponent. He uses brute strength and his large Claymore to attack, but his true danger is his "Berserk" form, which uses the power of the moon. As proof of his power, in Kingdom Hearts III, Saïx was capable of overpowering Sora and Kairi while in his Berserk form and would have easily finished both, including Lea and the renegade Xion if Roxas hadn't come to aid them in the confrontation. A "Berserk" gauge at the top of the screen measures how close he is to becoming berserk. When it fills, Saïx's Lunatic Claymore shifts shape and produces a white aura that serves as extra blades. Saïx himself grows bestial, with glowing eyes, manic hair, and bared fangs. Saïx's strength and speed increase greatly, and he will rapidly slam his Claymore into the ground, producing shockwaves. When he swings or throws the Claymore, it will leave a wake of blue flames.

However, Sora can pick up any of the Claymores that Saïx releases, allowing him to use Reaction Commands that will knock Saïx out of his berserk state, as well as inflicting significant damage. When knocked out of his berserk state, Saïx will spend most of his time with his arms stretched towards the moon, absorbing its power.

The Nobodies under his command, the Berserkers, follow his attack style, using brute strength and a large weapon, but share the same weakness as Saïx.

In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Saïx's Limit Break is also called. During Berserk, Saïx enters a berserk stage; he rushes across the field and causes shockwaves. This intensifies during the Final Limit.

Weapon
Saïx wields a massive blade known as a . His signature Claymore is known as Lunatic. Despite many dissimilarities to real claymores, Saïx does use a very large, two-handed bladed weapon. His Claymore is decorated with many additives that resemble the Nobody logo, in blues and yellows. When in normal form, Saïx attacks with powerful slashes and combos with the bladed edges.

Although it seems to be a completely different weapon, the Cursed Hammer of the Berserker Nobodies is used in much the same way and even has the same Reaction Command.

The names of Saïx's various claymores are all references to astronomy or astrology (especially the moon), with the exceptions of Crocea Mors (Latin for "yellow death") in the Japanese version, which is the purported name of Julius Caesar's sword; and Just Desserts, his joke weapon.