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
His original self, Isa had previously joined Ansem the Wise's apprentices, in order to find out what happened to Subject X, a girl both he and Lea had befriended when Ansem the Wise was still conducting research into the mysteries of the heart. However, shortly afterwards, Ansem vanished and Terra-Xehanort took control of the group. Soon after, Xehanort regained his memories and his No Name, he extracted the hearts of his fellow apprentices to create Nobodies for housing fragments of his heart. Now a Nobody, he joined the new Organization XIII as its seventh member "Saïx", along with Lea, who joined as the eighth member "Axel". Their plan was to get Saïx as close to Xemnas, Xehanort's Nobody, as much as possible since Subject X was Xehanort's favorite guinea pig, and they believed he may know what happened to her.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Due to his diligent personality, Saïx was chosen by Xemnas to be the mission coordinator for the Organization; he would give out missions to rest of the members in the Grey Area at the Castle That Never Was. Along with Xemnas, Xigbar and Vexen, Saïx was part of overseeing the Replica Project. When Roxas was brought into the Organization as its thirteenth member, Saïx suggested the boy keep a diary to help him focus as his mind was mostly blank. Shortly after Xemnas sampled Sora's memories in Hollow Bastion, the No. I replica was created from using the memories. Xemnas named it Xion and made it the fourteenth member of the group.

Once Sora defeated Ansem, the Castle Oblivion plan had to be moved up on the Organization's time table. Saïx chose Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen, Lexaeus and Zexion to be the group to conduct memory experiments with Naminé's powers; secretly, he had chosen those members because they would have just gotten in the way of his and Axel's plans. When reports of treachery among the members at C.O. arrived, Saïx sent Axel to eliminate the traitors. The following day, Saïx assigned Roxas to carry out missions with Xion 16 days after Xion was inducted into the group, as per Vexen's hypothesis. After three days of the two conducting missions together, Xion developed a Keyblade of her own from being near Roxas, the Nobody of real Keyblade wielder.

Its later reported that a member at the castle had been felled, and soon after, Roxas fell into a coma while on a mission with Xigbar to Agrabah; Sora had been put to sleep by Naminé to restore the damage she had done to his memories on Marluxia's orders. Reports came back that the entire C.O. team had been wiped out; while doubtful that Axel was gone, Saïx began planning on how to cover for his absence. After 21 days, Roxas awakens and Saïx puts him back to work. To Saïx's own surprise, Axel returns and reveals that he eliminated Vexen and Zexion to clear the way for him; he also had no luck in locating "the chamber", which would give them leverage over Xemnas. He sends Axel and Roxas to Twilight Town to find Xion, who hasn't returned from her mission in days. Unknown to him, Xion lost the ability to use a Keyblade after Roxas awakened; they manage to trick him into sending them on missions together to hide the fact. However, when a Bully Dog appears in Beast's Castle and the Antlion surfaces in Agrabah, Saïx almost splits them up until Axel convinces him to have the two team up one last time to deal with the Bully Dog, while he keeps the Antlion in line. Having finally caught on, Saïx is ignored by his old friend, who leaves to take care of his mission.

Xion later regains control of a Keyblade, with Saïx deciding to put the matter behind him as they need to keep fueling the Kingdom Hearts moon. Since Axel has been spending his time after missions having ice cream with Roxas and Xion at the Twilight Town clock tower, causing a rift to start forming between the two former friends. Giving the Organization a day off, Saïx confronts his old friend, telling him not to get attached to the two Keyblade wielders. Getting word of an "Organization Imposter", Saïx sends Xion to deal with him, only for Xion to fail and fall into a coma. Saïx deems the replica useless, but she awakens a month later; when she has a brief fainting spell, Saix wonders if "it" broke again. He's told to shut his mouth by Axel, while Roxas snaps at him for objectifying Xion. After they take Xion back to her room, Saïx notes that something happened at Castle Oblivion to change Axel. He wonders to himself if their past even matters to him anymore, feeling jealous Axel made new friends.

Saïx keeps sending Axel back to Castle Oblivion to find the chamber, but gets no results. 255 days since Roxas joined, Xion flees the group after discovering her origins. Xemnas orders the Organization to not bother searching for her; however, Roxas and Axel disobey and search the worlds for her. Reports of the Organization Imposter being spotted in Castle Oblivion has Saïx send Roxas and Axel to take care of him, leading to the revaluation Xion has joined forces with Riku. However, Axel is able to kidnap Xion and bring her back. When asked if it was the right move, Saïx tells him about how annoyed Xemnas is about the "fixing" they've had to do. He taunts him by asking if he had to choose either Xion or Roxas to save, why would he choose the puppet. He then poses his real question: would he risk their genuine friendship over one that couldn't exist between Nobodies? With everything in such a delicate stage, they have to make things right to carry out their real plans; he invokes Axel's human name to remind him of its importance.

With Roxas getting weaker from Xion sapping his strength along with Sora's memories from him, and therefore a liability, Saïx plans to make Xion and Roxas fight to the death; the Organization needs one useful Keyblade wielder. He sends them separately to Halloween Town, secretly causing both of them to see the other as an Orcus. However, Axel intervenes and snaps them out of the spell. Saïx berates him for his continued interference, only to be ignored. 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. Soon, she will absorb all of Sora's memories and the majority of Roxas's power; they just need to get Xion to absorb Roxas to become their obedient clone of Sora and leave the real one in his coma forever. When asked about the status of the devices, Saïx states that they will be ready in a few days. However, things go awry the next day when Saïx assigns Xion to carry out a mission in Wonderland with Xigbar and Axel; Xigbar is knocked out and Axel lets her escape. With this being the final straw, Xemnas, Saïx and Xigbar reveal Xion's origins as a replica to the rest of the Organization and task Axel with bringing Xion back. Saïx sends Roxas to put up a device in the Lamp Chamber in Agrabah.

The next day, Roxas is at his wits end with barely knowing who he is and decides to leave the Organization to find Sora for answers. Saïx confronts him, telling Roxas that the Organization does not accept resignations; any attempt to leave is treason. However, Roxas is adamant about leaving, giving Saïx a sound beating. Weakened, Saïx looks to the moon, wondering when its strength will ever be his.

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

Kingdom Hearts II
Saïx's first appearance is in Hollow Bastion, along with the surviving Organization members, excluding Axel, to taunt Sora. He commends Sora for destroying numerous Heartless thus far, but like the others (except for Xigbar), does not confront Sora, and simply stands next to Xemnas. Upon the Organization's return from Hollow Bastion, he is present at a meeting regarding their future plan for Sora, expressing his doubts on Sora's usefulness of having a pure heart. After Xaldin's lecture, he states the consequences of those who have lost their "true purpose" and how they will lose out before Xemnas dismissed them. His words will eventually come to light during his service with Master Xehanort later.

Upon Sora's second visit to Twilight Town, the trio fight off several Nobodies that were attacking Seifer and his gang. After they save him, Saïx appears before them, applauding their battle skills. He warns them of a traitor in the Organization: Axel, and he says that he might be in Twilight Town somewhere. Sora insults the Organization, remarking on how they're "not a very organized Organization". Saïx is unfazed, and tells Sora to watch his back, for Axel will stop at nothing to turn him into a Heartless. Sora declares he is not worried, prompting Saïx to remark that the Organization would want nothing to happen to Sora. He also cryptically remarks that the Organization knows how to "injure a heart". He then opens a portal of darkness behind him, and Sora thinks of jumping in after him, though Saïx overhears this and advises not to do so, lest he end up like Riku. Sora inquires the meaning of his words, but Saïx immediately leaves to report to Xemnas that he succeeded in placing Sora in a state of confusion and frustration to keep him going toward their goal. He is applauded for his efforts, given he had more qualities than the rest of the Organization. Saïx admits he had a question regarding Axel, which leads to Xemnas showing his musings on Axel's pursuit of his disillusioned friendship with Roxas, thus giving him the order to deal with the renegade.

Saïx next appears in Hollow Bastion during the Heartless Invasion, interrupting Axel and Sora's conversation, and forcing the traitor Nobody to flee. Saïx ensures that Axel will be rightly punished, but Sora is not mollified, his only goal being to enter the realm of darkness to rescue Kairi. His face unreadable, Saïx asks Sora to prove just how much he cares about Kairi. In response, Sora actually gets onto his knees and begs at the Nobody's feet. Seeing Sora's devotion to the Princess of Heart, Saïx sees this as a further opportunity to enrage and confuse Sora so that he might further the Organization's goal. He refuses Sora's wish, eliciting a hot fury.

Bending Sora's anger to suit his own needs, Saïx convinces Sora to destroy more Heartless so that the hearts held within them are released by the Keyblade, so that they may flock to Xemnas's synthetic Kingdom Hearts, which will be all the closer to completion because of it.

At that moment, Maleficent appears, declaring with much aplomb that Kingdom Hearts will belong to her. She summons more Heartless to attack Saïx, despite Sora's protests, but Saïx calmly summons several Nobodies to destroy the attacking Heartless. Maleficent then places herself between Sora and the Nobodies, telling him to devise a way to vanquish the Organization. Swarmed by Nobodies, she is overwhelmed and disappears, allowing Saïx to resume convincing Sora to release more hearts. Before he can finish his ploy, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are rescued by a portal of darkness that swallows them up (which was Maleficent's doing). Shortly afterwards, Saïx presents his findings on Sora's fate to the Organization, voicing that with Sora's newfound knowledge of the Organization's plans will only make the latter harder to control. His concerns were brushed off by Xigbar, who claims that it doesn't affect their goals since Sora will continue to destroy the Heartless to help those in need.

Saïx later talks to Kairi in her cell in the Castle That Never Was. He tells her, much to her horror, that she is the "fire that feeds Sora's anger". When Naminé rescues Kairi through a portal of darkness and the two halves are stopped by Saïx during their escape. Riku, still cloaked and in the form of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, attacks him from behind. Saïx does a back flip in the air, and lands a few feet away. Riku slams him up against the wall, intending to finish him once and for all. However, Saïx opens up a portal behind him and sinks away into the wall with a smirk.

After Axel's demise, Saïx was present during the last meeting as he 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 again appears in the Castle That Never Was to Sora, who had managed to work his way through the Organization's floating fortress with the help of Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi. He looks lovingly upon his Kingdom Hearts, his source of power. He tells Sora that Kairi no longer needs him and makes a cryptic remark about a "friend from the darkness." Sora is not deterred by Saïx's manipulative comments, but Saïx is not concerned. He tells Sora that the Organization's Kingdom Hearts is nearly done, pointing to the heart-shaped moon in the sky. He then enigmatically asks Sora if he can hear the euphoria of the countless hearts he has harvested. 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. Sora's part in their plan is done, he has given them every heart required, and he can now safely be killed. 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 that he is Sora. Saïx seems not to care, simply stating: "Different name, same fate." Then, summoning his claymore, he creates a potent shockwave with sheer strength alone. This power manages to push away Kairi and Riku back towards the entrance of the room. He then quickly erects a force field, separating them from the battle, yet doing no harm. 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. With the last of his strength, he asks: "Why...Kingdom Hearts...Where is my heart?" With all his power gone, he now fades back into darkness. Sora watches with a brief look of pity and regret, then turns to rejoin Kairi and Riku.

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.

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, Saïx and the rest of the real Organization XIII return to their own time periods to await the time to properly forge the χ-blade.

Kingdom Hearts III
Sometime after Lea departs Radiant Garden, Saïx approaches the revived Even in the town square with an offer. As Even also seeks redemption for his past actions, he accepts Saïx's offer and becomes Vexen once more to regain access to the Replica Program.

In the Keyblade Graveyard, Saïx questions Vexen's decision to abandon his humanity a second time and rejoin the Organization after Axel gave him a new lease on life. Vexen claims that his research in perfecting the Replica Program and creating the perfect vessel is all that matters to him. He admits that he is very close to making a replica that would become a true person once a heart is given to it, and Saïx is pleased with Vexen's progress.

Later, Saïx appears before Lea as he sits on the Clock Tower 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 tearmarks, 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 a hooded figure wielding a Keyblade. 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 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 a human 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.

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 bear skins 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, friendship between them weakened due to how Saïx changed too much after becoming a Nobody, leading to Axel's 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.

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. A "Berserk" gauge in 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 which 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 Claymore. 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.