Soul Eater

The Soul Eater is a weapon used by Riku, introduced in . It is a sword that grows more powerful when used with darkness, and is the developing form of Way to the Dawn. The Soul Eater is also wielded by Riku Replica, Data-Riku, Dark Riku, and Dark Riku's Replica Xehanort counterpart, all of whom are copies of Riku.

Kingdom Hearts
Some time after arriving at Hollow Bastion and being taken in by Maleficent, Riku learns to summon the Soul Eater, which he uses as his primary weapon. Later, while he is in Traverse Town, he uses it to take out a pair of Soldiers that are about to attack Sora. He continues to use Soul Eater in his battles until he is possessed by Ansem; at that point, he uses the Keyblade of heart instead. During Sora's final battle against Ansem and World of Chaos, Ansem uses a giant, double-bladed, pole-arm version of the Soul Eater.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Riku continues to use the Soul Eater as he makes his way up from the lowest basement of Castle Oblivion. Along the way, he battles Vexen, who uses data from the battle to create the Riku Replica; this clone uses his own Soul Eater in his battles against both Riku and Sora, who is ascending the upper floors of the castle.

When Riku fights Zexion on the third basement, Zexion steals Riku's Soul Eater attack cards, which he uses to summon Soul Eater-wielding clones of himself.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
In order to avoid the notice of Organization XIII, Riku keeps a low profile. Even when he is spotted by Organization members, he avoids drawing his Soul Eater, instead electing to stay on the defensive and running when possible. However, on Day 149, he draws Soul Eater in a duel against Xion at Beast's Castle, and defeats her easily. He does not use it again, to the point of using Roxas's own Oblivion Keyblade during his final battle against the Nobody at The World That Never Was.

Kingdom Hearts II
In the form of Riku-Ansem, Riku once more uses Soul Eater as his main weapon; he fends off Dusks in front of the Old Mansion on the Sixth Day, and both duels Sora and subdues Li Shang in the Land of Dragons. His fighting style and use of Soul Eater start to clue Sora in on the identity of the mysterious hooded figure.

By the time Riku arrives at The World That Never Was, Soul Eater has transformed into the Way to the Dawn. Even after this, Riku continues to refer to his weapon as Soul Eater.

Kingdom Hearts coded
Data-Riku wields his own Soul Eater in battle. He first draws it when he attempts to take on Maleficent and Pete in Agrabah, and wields it against Data-Sora after he is corrupted by bugs.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
As Yen Sid introduces the Mark of Mastery exam to Sora and Riku, Riku summons the Soul Eater as he muses on his history with darkness.

After Sora and Riku begin their journey through the Sleeping Worlds, they fight Ursula on the ocean. During this battle, Riku wields the Soul Eater, but he begins wielding Way to the Dawn after the battle is over.

Kingdom Hearts III
As the past version of the Riku Replica, Dark Riku wields his version of the Soul Eater in battle, as does his Replica Xehanort counterpart.

Design
The Soul Eater is a falchion-esque sword, with a red, purple and blue blade shaped like a demonic wing. Its handle bears the Gazing Eye, and the handle itself consists of dark braids. It has a striking resemblance to Way to the Dawn, as well as Void Gear. The weapon can be summoned at will, appearing in Riku's hand in an amorphous cloud of darkness. In Halloween Town, the Soul Eater gains an aged appearance; the scales on the wing are more apparent, the ivory clips on the handle bear red splatter spots that resemble rust, and the eye of darkness becomes cracked.

The weapon's name is derived from an ability attributed to the class in the Final Fantasy series, in which Soul Eater drains the HP of the user to initiate an extra-powerful attack. The attack and the Dark Knight class are associated with darkness, and the Soul Eater ability is sometimes called Darkside, Dark Wave or even Darkness, making it a fitting name for Riku's weapon.

Gameplay
The Soul Eater serves as Riku's default weapon in Mission Mode, requiring no Gears in order to be equipped. Its ground combo starts with a diagonal upward slash from the left leg, followed by two thrusts, two more thrusts, and it ends with a forward rushing thrust. The aerial combo consists of a diagonal upward slash from the right leg, followed by a horizontal slash to the right, a vertical upward slash on the right side, two large forward thrust, and ends with a spinning slash.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
The Soul Eater appears in the opening video of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, alongside the Kingdom Key; together, the two weapons shatters the Dive to the Heart, and falls along with Ventus.

Final Fantasy Record Keeper
The Soul Eater appears as a 5★ Sword. It can be acquired from the Relic Draw during the Kingdom Hearts collaboration event. The Soul Eater bestows the Burst Soul Break Darkhand Helm Split when equipped to Riku.

Notes and references
Seelenfänger Âme-nivore Devora Almas