Skuld

Skuld is a Keyblade wielder who appears in Kingdom Hearts χ. She is a member of the same Union as Ephemer.

Before Kingdom Hearts χ
At an unknown point in time, Skuld is chosen by the Keyblade to become a wielder and is transported to Daybreak Town. Driven by her excitement, Skuld creates her own party in order to undertake missions with other Keyblade wielders, but no one expresses any interest in joining her until Ephemer joins her party. Over time, more wielders gradually join them their journey to gather Lux. Due to their busy schedules, however, Skuld and Ephemer begin drifting apart, putting a strain on their friendship. After Ephemer decides to leave the group to go his own way, the other members of Skuld's party depart as well, leaving the distraught Skuld alone.

Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
One night, Ephemer appears to Skuld in a dream and instructs her to seek out Player, warning her about the impending Keyblade War. Skuld finds Player in the Fountain Square having a conversation with their Chirithy about collecting Lux for their Union before the other Unions do, prompting Skuld to question the competition between the Unions since they strive to collect light for the same goal. Introducing herself, Skuld informs Player that Ephemer had appeared to her in a dream the other night and told her to find them, who also reveals that Ephemer had contacted them in a dream and told them to go the Foretellers' Chamber. Skuld and Player decide to go investigate the Foretellers' Chamber themselves, in spite of Chirithy's protests since Foreteller Ava forbid them entering the area.

When a sudden quake shakes all of Daybreak Town, Skuld and Player rush to investigate the source of the disturbance and witness Foreteller Invi fighting against Foreteller Aced. Shocked at the sight of the two Foretellers fighting each other, Skuld affirms that Ephemer's warning must be true, and the trio proceed to the sewers to access the secret entrance to the Foretellers' Chamber. Destroying Darklings along the way, Skuld and Player come across a Nightmare Chirithy. Noting that Nightmare Chirithy has changed since their last encounter, Chirithy realizes it has now been fully tainted by darkness, much to Skuld's shock. Nightmare Chirithy asks if Skuld hates the darkness, explaining that light and darkness cannot exist without the other, and encourages Skuld to embrace the darkness just like the Darklings did. Hearing this, Skuld asks if the Darklings used to be Keyblade wielders, which Nightmare Chirithy confirms.

After the Nightmare Chirithy leaves, Player leads Skuld and Chirithy make their way to the Foretellers' Chamber, only to find it empty. When a Foreteller emerges from the shadows and demands to know why are here, Skuld immediately apologizes for intruding and explains that they are looking for Ephemer. The Foreteller reveals to Skuld and Player that Ephemer has been collecting Lux for a reason that contradicts their own, claiming that Ephemer had befriended them simply to get his hands on information and has been eliminated. Outraged, Skuld asks how the Foreteller could do such heinous act, while Player steps forward to challenge the Foreteller to avenge Ephemer, but is defeated. As Player is cast to the ground, the group finds themselves back in the sewers, and the Foreteller congratulates Player for having fought admirably. Ava reveals herself and heals Player, thanking Skuld and Player for showing her the strength of their hearts and apologizing for having deceived them with an illusion. When Skuld questions Ava's motive for the elaborate charade, Ava explains that she is gathering Keyblade wielders to join Dandelions, such as Ephemer, to ensure the future of the light in a new world after the Keyblade War. When Ava offers both Skuld and Player to join the Dandelions, Skuld immediately accepts, but Player remains hesitant. Ava allows Player time to consider her proposal, and requests that Skuld and Player keep this information to themselves.

Later at the Fountain Square, Skuld sits with Player and Chirithy, who asks why Player refused to join the Dandelions since it can reunite them with Ephemer. When Player explains that they are reluctant leave behind their friends who will take part in the Keyblade War, Skuld shares how she had been alone for a long time prior to Ephemer joining and popularizing her party, and how he assured her that she will fine by herself when he left her party. Convinced that the only way to see Ephemer is to join the Dandelions, Skuld thanks Player for their help and departs with a friendly handshake.

Skuld later joins the rest of the Dandelions in the Fountain Square, where Ava orders her Dandelions to avoid the Keyblade War and journey to the new world, leaving the future and the world's light in their hands.

As tensions rise between the Unions, Skuld comes across a skirmish in the Fountain Square, in which Player is trying to stop two quarreling wielders. When Skuld begs the wielders to stop fighting, they ask which Union she is in, but Skuld insists that her affiliation is inconsequential and reminds them that their enemies are the monsters of the darkness and not other Keyblade wielders. However, Skuld's attempts to quell the wielders are crushed when Aced appears to confirm that war has begun and the only thing they can believe in is the promise of their Unions. After Aced declares that absolute strength is based on righteousness rather than the amount of light you collect, which can only be proven by fighting, Skuld objects to his claims. Aced recognizes her as one of the Dandelions, comparatively stating that what Ava is doing is merely a display of strength as well.

Skuld watches as Player duels Aced and is defeated, the latter disqualifying the former as a Keyblade wielder. After Foreteller Ira steps forward and has the crowd disperses, Skuld asks Ira about the upcoming Keyblade War, to which Ira explains it is unavoidable. Skuld argues that Ava had said there would be no winner of the Keyblade War and questions the purpose of the war. Ira confirms Skuld's inquiry and suggests that Skuld and Player prepare themselves for what is to come. Once alone, Player collapses to the ground, leaving Skuld and Chirithy to tend to them.

Skuld and Chirithy bring an unconscious Player home to rest. There, Skuld and Chirithy discuss the growing tension between the Unions and how the Keyblade War is seems unavoidable as a result. Player then wakes and asks if Skuld has found Ephemer, and Skuld admits that she has not since she has been trying recruiting as many wielders as possible join the Dandelions so that they do not have to take part in the Keyblade War. However, Skuld laments that the Dandelions themselves have begun to lose morale. When Chirithy reveals that Ava has gone missing recently, Chirithy suggests that Gula might be able to help them, and the three of them set out to search for Gula the following day.

Eventually, Skuld, Player, and Chirithy trace Gula to one of the unoccupied houses of Daybreak Town. Gula immediately identifies Skuld as one of Ava's Dandelions and deduces their motive for seeking him out, stressing that neither he nor Ava can stop the upcoming war. Skuld retorts its a Dandelion's duty to keep as many of their comrades from the Keyblade War as possible. Gula remarks that Skuld is similar to Ava and informs the party that the Master of Masters is the only one who can save the world. As the Master of Masters is also missing, Gula directs to find Luxu, the sixth apprentice of the Master of Masters who disappeared around the same time. Skuld realizes that Ava's recent disappearance was because she had gone to look out Luxu in order to ask him the whereabouts of the Master of Masters.

Gula then shares some of the passages from the Lost Page with Skuld and co., which details that a traitor of the light would be the one to bring an end to the world, which will be signaled by the chiming of a bell. When the group hears the bells of the Clock Tower toll, Gula advises Skuld and co. to leave, as each Union will likely rally their forces for the war. Later, Skuld announces that she is going returning to the Dandelions and asks Player to join her in the new world, but they decline. Although Skuld understands, she tells Player to give her offer some thought and bids them farewell with a handshake.

While the Keyblade War wages at the Badlands, Skuld travels to another realm alongside the rest of the Dandelions and reunites with Ephemer. Together, she and Ephemer travel to the Badlands following the conclusion of the Keyblade War, where they find Player lying unconscious on the ground. They bring Player to the new world, where Player's memories of the tragedy are erased alongside the rest of the Dandelions, with the exception of the five chosen Keyblade wielders by Ava to become the new Union leaders.

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]
As per Ava's instructions, Skuld travels to the Keyblade Graveyard following the conclusion of the Keyblade War. Skuld is the second of the new Union Leaders to arrive, after Ephemer - who is surprised to see that she had been chosen as well. Skuld asks if Ephemer is disappointed to see that it's her, mentioning that she'd anticipated seeing him there. Ephemer reminisces about how the two of them had already visited the Keyblade Graveyard together since the end of the Keyblade War, however he didn't think that she'd be chosen as one of the Union Leaders. Skuld reasons that it's in part because the identity of the Union Leaders was meant to be kept secret until they all met at this moment. Skuld then wonders aloud who the other three Union Leaders could be - but Ephemer admits that he has no idea - admitting that, before Skuld showed up, he hadn't put much faith in what Ava had said, so he couldn't possibly think of who could be coming. Skuld then sees someone in the distance.

When the third Union Leader gets closer, Skuld welcomes him and introduces herself, while Ephemer asks if he'd been sent by Ava as well. The third confirms this, prompting Ephemer to step forward in order to shake his hand, introducing himself in the process. The third then introduces himself as Ventus, though he asks that Ephemer and Skuld call him Ven. While bonding, Ephemer and Skuld reveal that they had been friends prior to becoming Dandelions. Ven admits that he's sort of jealous of their relationship because he's always been kind of a loner; something which Skuld can relate to. However, Ven claims not to be anyone special either, as he'd never ranked very high, so really he's not sure why he was chosen to be one of the new Union Leaders. Skuld conveys that Ava must have had some reason for choosing Ven - though Ven explains that he'd never really spoken to Ava before so he doesn't know what she was like. Ephemer pipes up, saying that Ava was really easy to talk to - amused Skuld tells Ephemer that he thinks everyone is easy to talk to; though he denies it. Ven voices his jealousy over Ephemer and Skuld's friendship - but Ephemer corrects Ven by stating that he's their friend now too.

With that, the fourth Union Leader makes his presence know, commenting on how nice the concept of friends sounds and introducing himself as Brain. Brain admits that he'd thought he would be the last to arrive - though surprisingly this isn't the case. When Ephemer confirms this, Brain asks if Ephemer is their leader - though Ephemer denies that he is the leader and stresses that it hasn't been decided yet, as they first must wait until they've all arrived. Brain accepts this, asking instead if the rules they'd been provided were absolute. Skuld suggests that the rules would be absolute, prompting Brain to compare her to Ava because of her diligence; which she notes is the second time that's happened. Hearing this, Ephemer jokes that Skuld isn't as amazing as Ava. Brain then questions if they can really believe all of this - voicing his discomfort with lying to everyone about the Keyblade War; something that had bothered Ven as well. Thinking about the pain that Player endured because of the Keyblade War, Ephemer firmly states that it must remain a secret, as he doesn't want people to remember the tragedy they'll follow the rules. Brain, Ven and Skuld all accept this, stating that they all believe in Ephemer. Together, the four new Union Leaders await the arrival of their final comrade.

Later, in Daybreak Town, Chirithy reports to Ephemer and Skuld about Player's persisting nightmares. Though Chirithy felt guilty about lying to Player initially, he really does want to allow Player to forget. Skuld asks that Chirithy push through it, which Chirithy agrees to do, because Player is his best friend. Ephemer then states that, for Player's sake, he leaves what he'd told Chirithy earlier about the Union Cross up to him. Skuld adds that surely Player's tragic memories within his Heart will be worn away as he goes on adventures with his friends. Unexpectedly, Ephemer mentions that he also senses a different Darkness in the world from that of the old one, being more complex - so he doesn't fully understand it himself - but he senses a strong intention. Skuld interjects however and advises Chirithy to leave it to them and focus on taking care of Player. Once Chirithy has gone, Skuld asks why Ephemer told Chirithy about the darkness, as they likely just made Chirithy worry. Ephemer apologizes, arguing that it affects Chirithy as well, and that the more that the new world differs from its predecessor, the more uneasiness will be generated. Furthermore, the Union Cross results in Ephemer sensing a different kind of malice and Darkness. Skuld then reminds Ephemer that the rules dictate that they start the Union Cross - which Ephemer accepts, suggesting that they'll just have to let their Heart's be their guiding keys.

Design
Skuld has long black hair, pink star earrings and light brown eyes. She wears a grey, zippered shirt under a black vest, and a studded belt around her black skirt. She has a red belt wrapped around her left arm, and two around her ankles. She wears black boots and knee-high stockings.

Skuld shares her name with one of the in Norse mythology, specifically.

Abilities
Skuld wields the third upgrade of the Starlight Keyblade.