Twilight Thorn

The Twilight Thorn is a Nobody that is found in Kingdom Hearts II. It is one of the bosses at the Dive to the Heart. The Twilight Thorn is also the only boss-level Nobody that is not a member of Organization XIII; however, it does share an attack with the most powerful member of Organization XIII, Xemnas.

Development
Early scans and trailers for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance showed Sora encountering a Twilight Thorn in Traverse Town's Second District. While Tetsuya Nomura originally planned for the Heartless and Nobodies to return as the main enemies encountered throughout the game, the idea was scrapped in favor of the Dream Eaters.

Kingdom Hearts II
Only one Twilight Thorn appears, when Roxas goes to the Station of Awakening. When Roxas senses a presence and turns around to see who it is, he briefly sees a figure wearing a black coat before it transforms into the Twilight Thorn, just as Sora, in his own Dive to the Heart, turned to see a Shadow Sora which became a Darkside.

Since the player battles the Twilight Thorn as Roxas, they will not receive its journal entry until they return to Simulated Twilight Town as Sora.

Design
The Twilight Thorn is a gargantuan Nobody that seems to be clad in a white bodysuit, as evidenced by the large, silver zipper lining its front. Its simple, round head's only feature is a white Nobody logo on its front where the creature's face would be. It has rather thick, short legs with spikes on its hips and long, pointed feet. Its waist is quite thin and has dark grey sides. Its shoulders each sport a gigantic, diamond-shaped spike and its arms are very long, and reach the floor when fully extended down. The Nobody only seems to have one distinct digit on each of its hands, the thumb. They also seem to have high-heels on their ankles. It also has four long, blue tentacles with tips resembling the spikes on the Nobody sigil that wrap around its neck. Its overall body shape seems to be meant to resemble the Nobody symbol. Despite its size, the Twilight Thorn has the same astounding level of flexibility as all other lesser Nobodies.

The Twilight Thorn's name refers to the time of day between sunrise and sunset, which, in turn, references the fact that Nobodies are not truly aligned with the Light or the Darkness. "Thorn" refers to the thorns it can generate as weapons. Its Japanese name, Twilight Zone, highlights its numerous similarities to the Darkside Heartless. Both Twilight Zone and Tales from the Darkside are science-fiction horror serials.

Strategy
Unlike the Darkside, the head is the Twilight Thorn's only weak point, so aim for that. It begins by tossing Roxas into the air to hurt him—use the Reaction Commands at the right time—Key Counter and Lunarsault in particular. Then follow up with Break Raid; when on the ground do a combo. It will get up and begin to use many Tendrils of Darkness.

Many of Twilight Thorn's attacks can be guarded.

When it fires thorns use the Reaction Command, Reversal to get close to attack. But if it continuously fires thorns, even if you are close to its head, prioritize safety. Keep on using Reversal until it is safe to attack. The Twilight Thorn has a tendency to shift its shape, and sometimes you may see it upside down. Again, it will fire thorns. Keep on using Reversal, then attack his head twice and begin avoiding again.

Sometimes, Creepers will appear. If you are low on health it is possible to fight them as they have little health and drop HP orbs.

As the fight with Twilight Thorn takes place at the beginning of the game and Roxas's stats are low, it is advisable to train him up to at least Level 5 and stock up more than three Potions. Use the Auto-Reload function and heal when necessary—because poor evasion of the thorns can take a toll on Roxas's health.