Ansem, Seeker of Darkness: Difference between revisions

'''Ansem, Seeker of Darkness''', sometimes referred to as '''Xehanort's Heartless''', is the [[Heartless]] of [[Terra-Xehanort]] and a member of the [[real Organization XIII]]. He serves as the main antagonist of ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'' and the "[[Reverse/Rebirth]]" scenario in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories]]'', as well as a supporting antagonist in ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts III]]''.  His appearance and personality are primarily derived from [[Master Xehanort]], and he retains his original form's "[[Dark Figure]]".

Terra-Xehanort, at the time using his king's name, "Ansem", willingly gave his heart to the darkness in the pursuit of knowledge, creating both his Heartless and his [[Nobody]], [[Xemnas]]. His Heartless was able to retain its selfhood for uncertain reasons, though it was believed that this was due to Terra-Xehanort's willing abandonment of his heart.<ref>'''[[Secret Ansem Report 10]]''': "But what if one willingly releases one's heart from one's body? Sora and Xehanort retained their selfhood even after becoming Heartless."</ref> As a result, he could command the lesser Heartless without consequence,<ref>'''[[Secret Ansem Report 5]]:''' "A human's command would be ineffective; the Heartless would easily steal the human's to increase their own ranks. But what if an even stronger Heartless was giving the commands? If he cast aside his own body and soul and became a Heartless, would he be able to control the otherwise intractable Heartless?"</ref> and came to learn of the existence of [[Nobodies]], including his counterpart [[Xemnas]]; the two collaborated to fulfill Master Xehanort's goal of obtaining the [[χ-blade]].<ref>'''''The Story So Far: Darkness:''''' "His heart, Ansem, manipulated [[Maleficent]] and [[Riku]] into gathering the seven pure lights he needed: the [[Princesses of Heart]]. His body, Xemnas, founded [[Organization XIII]], who would serve as the thirteen darknesses.</ref>

Disguising his actions as an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Ansem sent the Heartless to many worlds in the search of the [[Princesses of Heart]] to serve as the pure [[light]]s to forge the [[χ-blade]]; many worlds fell in the process. Regardless if Xemnas could create thirteen darknesses, Ansem could create the lesser [[Keyblade of heart]] from the seven pure lights to open the [[Door to Darkness]], which leads to [[Kingdom Hearts (world)|Kingdom Hearts]].

Ansem traveled into the past, giving his younger self the task of traveling through time to collect hearts connected to them to be used in a second version of the Organization, as a backup plan in case the first cannot collect enough vessels.{{Storylink|Dream Drop Distance}}

[[File:This World Has Been Connected 01 KH.png|right|thumb|200px|Ansem mentions the existence of other worlds and their connections to Sora.]]

In control of Riku's body, Ansem meets with Maleficent as the Final Keyhole form. He informs her that unlocking the Keyhole will allow the Heartless to overrun Hollow Bastion, but she is unconcerned, as she believes that she can use the darkness to rule the other worlds. Sneering, he creates the [[Keyblade of heart]] from six of the Princesses of Heart's hearts. As the Keyhole is not finished yet, Ansem notes it is because Kairi's heart is missing and without its power, they are at a standstill. Maleficent leaves him to guard the princesses, while she deals with Sora, [[Donald Duck]], and [[Goofy]]. After she is defeated, Ansem follows her to a hidden chamber, asking if she needs help. Once Sora sees him and the Keyblade of heart, Ansem tells him it can unlock the hearts and demonstrates by stabbing Maleficent with it, transforming her into her dragon form. When the dragon is felled, Ansem notes that the dark fairy was arrogant to believe she controlled the Heartless when it was the other way around, and takes his leave, waiting for Sora in the [[Grand Hall]].

Around this time,<ref>'''''Riku, gummiphone post''''': Ansem didn't have a form until he possessed me.</ref> Young Xehanort collected Ansem's heart to serve as a member of the second Organization XIII. However, his time ran out as he could not coexist with Master Xehanort at the time,<ref>'''''Secret Reports'', ''Vexen''': The old man's humanity prevents his Heartless and Nobody, others vanquished in the last from existing.</ref> and Ansem was forced to return to the past with his memory erased.<ref>'''''Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind'' ''Xigbar''': Are you sure everyone made it back to their own times?/ '''Saix''': The hearts of Ansem, Xemnas, Vanitas, Riku Replica, and Young Xehanort returned the past and have been completed once more.</ref>

[[File:A Light within the Darkness 01 KH.png|right|thumb|200px|Ansem talks about his views on darkness to Sora on Destiny Islands.]]

As Sora, his humanity having been restored by Kairi's light arrives at the remnants of Destiny Islands at End of the World, Ansem appears, bearing Riku's form. He explains Riku's fall to darkness, that he desperately sought to escape the island "prison" enough to open his heart to the darkness. Afterward, Ansem explains his philosophy: that worlds and hearts begin and end in darkness. Thus, darkness is the heart's true essence. Sora denies this, in words and in battle, with Ansem. During the battle, Ansem summons both his familiar, the guardian, and a [[Darkside]] Heartless to assist him. As the battle rages on, Ansem leads the trio to the endless abyss where the [[Door to Darkness]] resides. This time, Ansem merges himself to the [[World of Chaos]], a monstrous Heartless ship, and captures Donald and Goofy, though Sora rescues them.

[[File:The World of Darkness 01 KHRECOM.png|right|thumb|200px|Ansem tries to assert control after Lexaeus weakens Riku.]]

[[File:The Beginning of Everything 02 KHIIFM.png|thumb|right|200px|Riku opens himself to Ansem's darkness in order to defeat Roxas.]]

Riku catches up to Roxas at [[The World That Never Was]], but Roxas proves to be too powerful and Riku is left with only one way to overwhelm the Nobody: unleashing his inner darkness. This allows Riku to manifest Xehanort's powerful guardian, who seizes Roxas and knocks him unconscious but also forces Riku to take on Ansem's appearance. Feeling that he has sacrificed his identity, Riku takes on Ansem's name.

[[File:Seven Lights, Thirteen Darknesses 04 KH3D.png|thumb|right|200px|Ansem tackles Riku to keep him from rescuing Sora.]]

Once Riku finds Sora in the throne room with Mickey's help, Ansem appears before them along with Master Xehanort, Young Xehanort, Xemnas, [[Xigbar]], [[Saïx]] and the rest of the new Organization. Master Xehanort proceeds to reveal that Ansem's possession of Riku's body, along with overseeing Maleficent's gathering of the Princesses, was all part of his master plan with Riku meant to become the vessel to complete the Organization. Ansem restrains Riku from trying to save Sora from becoming Master Xehanort's final vessel, but [[Lea]]'s unexpected intervention distracts Ansem long enough for Riku to break free. Ansem summons his Guardian and has it grab Riku and Mickey, but the Guardian is defeated by Donald and Goofy. As the heroes advance, the Organization's allotted time expires and its members, including Ansem, retreat to their rightful points in time.

Ansem first appears alongside his Nobody counterpart, Xemnas, outside of the Old Mansion, waiting for Sora. Seeking to use [[Roxas]] as a possible 13th member of the [[Real Organization XIII]], Ansem and Xemnas tell Sora to give his heart to darkness, to recreate Roxas. They don't humor Sora's plan to recreate Roxas in the virtual Twilight Town created by [[Ansem the Wise]], saying it's just data. After breaking Sora with their words, both leave through a [[Corridor of Darkness]], after summoning a swarm of [[Neoshadow]]s and [[Dusk]]s for Sora, Donald, and Goofy. After this, they watch Sora leave [[Twilight Town]] from a rooftop, just as [[Xigbar]] arrives to berate them. Ansem defends needing to be direct with guiding Sora, due to the boy being slow with hints.

Ansem shows up for the last time in the [[Keyblade Graveyard]], accompanying Master Xehanort alongside Xemnas, Young Xehanort and [[Vanitas]], while he welcomes the [[Guardians of Light]]. Much later, he drops into [[the Skein of Severance]] for the final battle. Ansem, now without his [[Black Coat]], fights against Riku alongside [[Dark Riku]] and Xigbar. Once Sora joins the fight, it doesn't take too long for Ansem to leave.  

[[File:More to Seek 01 KHIII.png|thumb|200px|right|Ansem reflects on his journey with Riku as he fades into darkness.]]

Ansem is, thus far, one of only three Heartless with human-level intelligence, the others being Sora's Heartless and [[Scar]]. His knowledge of the worlds and hearts shows that Xehanort's keen intellect has survived the transition into a Heartless. However, the few shreds of humanity which remained in the researcher have been obliterated. Ansem is cold, calculating, and utterly ruthless. He treats people and their hearts as either tool to be manipulated and disposed of, or as cattle for his ravenous Heartless legions. He reveres power and knowledge above all things, and he despises ignorance.

''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]'' reveals that Ansem is essentially the Heartless of [[Master Xehanort]]. This is why he appears to share most of his personality traits with the elderly Keyblade Master, demonstrated by his choice of words when facing Sora, Donald, and Goofy; this is also reflected in his desire to find, open, and become one with Kingdom Hearts itself.

By ''Kingdom Hearts III'', Ansem shows pride in Riku's development since their first meeting, seeing Riku gain true strength as a Keyblade Master surpassing the power of darkness. At the very end, Ansem shows that he still values learning about the World, telling Riku to expand his horizons by going to seek more. He also demonstrates a fatalist attitude, expressing that initially wished to defy his fate, but found himself no longer caring after other Organization members betrayed them.

{{main|Game:Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|World of Chaos}}

When Ansem takes possession of Riku's body to procure a physical form, his fighting capabilities increased greatly, and he gains the ability to fly. His new body allows him to fight alongside his guardian by having it possess others to trap them while he utilizes an energy shield to both protect himself and damage foes.

Ansem does not wield a specific weapon.

While possessing Riku in ''Kingdom Hearts'', he wields the [[Keyblade of heart]], which was created from the six captured hearts of the Princesses of Heart. Later, in his World of Chaos form, Ansem wields a weapon as massive as he is, a dual-bladed [[Soul Eater]] halberd<!--薙刀 per ultimania-->. When fought on his own, Ansem simply uses the power of darkness and his Guardian to attack opponents, aside from when he is fought in ''Kingdom Hearts III'', where he only wields the power of darkness in battle due to having lost his Guardian. When he briefly possess Riku to take down Lexaeus, he wields his Soul Eater.

In ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'', Ansem briefly wields Frollo's sword to threaten Riku but does not actually use it to fight.

File:Keyblade of heart KH.png|The [[Keyblade of heart]], wielded by Ansem while he is possessing Riku.