Castle Oblivion
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS CHAIN OF MEMORIES (2004)
Between the realms of Light and Dark is Castle Oblivion. Rather deformed and illogical on the outside, the castle is constructed of several identical floors, all pure white and completely empty. Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy Cricket reach this world following Pluto, King Mickey's loyal friend. They hope he will lead them to the King who went missing along with Sora's best friend, Riku. Instead, they reach the castle and enter it, believing it to be where their lost friends are.
The first thing the four find there is a hooded man, clad in a black coat with his face hidden. They immediately go on the offensive, only to discover that upon setting foot in the castle, they forgot all of their magic spells and abilities. The hooded man explain that in Castle Oblivion, to find is to lose and to lose is to find, and Sora will understand it better as the castle also holds someone dear to him. Sora is then handed cards made out of his own Memories that transform a floor of the castle into a world Sora's been to in his past journey.
Unsettled by this, when next Sora meets the hooded figure he demands to know the reason behind guiding him down memory lane. Before any explanation can be given however, another coat-donning man appears. His name's Axel, and he claims his turn to test the Keyblade Master. He is easily defeated by Sora and his friends, yet along with more cards to help Sora climb up the castle, he also has to offer a warning. The most special Memories lie deep inside one's Heart, out of reach. Sora's to find the most special person to him by climbing up the castle, but one he finds those memories, he may no longer be who he was.
Axel's words haunt the group, but they remain united. Goofy tries then to bring up a similar occasion that took place in another castle. It was where Sora freed the Heart of his childhood friend Kairi from his own Body and became a Heartless. Sora and Donald recall it too - only to realize they barely remember anything about it. They can barely put together it taking place in a castle, let alone the castle's name. Lost and confused, they turn to the journal of their adventure Jiminy keeps, only to find all the pages inside it blank, the documentation lost and useless.
Sora's the one who finally connects the dots, suggesting not only the pages' content is missing. As they all had trouble recalling something they knew happened, the only explanation left is that they're losing their Memories. It explains the warning they received, that to find is to lose and to lose is to find - it was referring to their Memories. The higher they go, the more they forget, but Goofy has faith that regardless of that, they can never forget the truly important things - like who their friends are. Just like how, even as a Heartless, Sora remembered Donald and Goofy, so do Donald and Goofy still remember their quest to save the King, and Sora needs to search for Riku.
To prove nothing truly important was forgotten, Sora pulls out the good luck charm Kairi gave him, and he recalls his promise to give it back to her. As it is important to him to keep that promise, he could never forget about the charm or Kairi. As he thinks about Kairi, however, another girl comes to mind, leaving him confused over who she could've been. Try as he might, he cannot recall her name.
Before long Sora manages to recall more about her. Aside from Riku and Kairi, there was another girl with whom he was friends. Jiminy finds it odd that Sora only ever mentioned her then, and Sora explains that he must've forgotten about her. The higher they went up the castle, the more he remembered, yet he still can't remember her name. It frustrates him, having forgotten a friend despite believing friends are something that cannot be forgotten, and he goes on telling Donald, Goofy and Jiminy more about her. She liked to draw, and was withdrawn and quiet. Being close to both Sora and Riku, the two often fought over who'd get their picture drawn next, but one day she simply vanished, leaving Sora heart broken. Donald and Goofy try to encourage Sora that he'll remember the girl's name soon as well, and Jiminy in the meanwhile understands the other half of the infamous saying - to lose is to gain and to gain is to lose. In order to recall his friend, Sora had to forget about many other things so that the buried Memories could resurface. Jealous of Sora's progress, Donald and Goofy march forward, intent on forgetting faster in order to regain their own buried Memories.
Sora is soon confronted by Larxene, another member of the Organization, who tells Sora his long forgotten friend is not only in the castle, but is also held captive by the Organization. She strikes Sora down, making a Paopu shaped charm drop out of his pocket. Sora is surprised and is taunted by Larxene at forgetting about something so precious - something given to him by the girl he cared so much about and forgot - Naminé. At long last Sora manages to recall her name but Larxene is unimpressed and instead tries to break the charm, claiming that Sora isn't worthy of it. Sora snatches it back then, announcing that it's important to him. They battle and as she loses, she's left with no choice but to leave Sora with cards to help him up the castle and more insults. Sora is left with quite a bit of frustration, if only at the fact a person like Larxene was the one who helped him remember Naminé's name.
Larxene retreats, only to be mocked by a senior member of the Organization, Vexen. Not understanding why Axel and Larxene would bother with Sora, he wishes to test him via an experiment. He plans to throw against Sora the product of one of his researches, which oddly resembles an old friend of the boy's.
Sora rushes on ahead, intent on saving Naminé. He ends up running into another friend he's been looking for instead, as Riku appears in Castle Oblivion, as self confident and proud as ever. Sora's happy to see him, but Riku hardly shares the notion as he's certain Sora forgot about him up to that very moment. He accuses the brunette of being why Naminé disappeared from the islands and goes on to proclaim he'll be the one to protect Naminé - even from Sora. After a short battle in which Riku loses, he takes off without a word, leaving Sora even more confused. The party can only surmise that Riku forgot ever being friends with Sora, and all that needs to be done is for them to help him regain his memory. It's not too long afterwards that they run into Riku again, and Sora tries making Riku remember Kairi and everyone else they left on the islands. Riku accuses Sora of being the one to abandon Kairi after Riku told him to take care of her, and of having forgotten about the rest as well as they don't matter - unlike Naminé. Sora then sees that the only option left to him is to make Riku remember it all again - even if it means hitting him until he does. When even that fails, Sora tries to convince Riku to work together with him to save Naminé, but Riku takes off again, this time with parting words claiming Sora never really cared.
Confused, Sora tries his hardest to understand Riku's behavior. Donald waves off Sora's concerns that Riku doesn't care after all, as it has always been Sora, Riku, and- the girl whose name they can't remember. Jiminy is concerned by the pace their Memories are disappearing at, and urges Sora to try and talk thing over with Riku again. Sora is confident that it will work this time; after it, it has always been Sora, Riku, and Naminé.
Meanwhile, the Organization convenes again. In light of Riku continuously losing to Sora, Larxene and Axel have lost faith in Vexen. The leader of the Organization in the castle appears then, a man named Marluxia. He proclaims Vexen's efforts to be a complete failure, and that his only option of redemption is to eliminate Sora in Riku's stead. Marluxia then speaks to Naminé, reminding her of a promise Sora made to her that needs to be kept.
That promise is what keeps Sora going, even when Jiminy suggests they turn back to keep from losing what was left of their Memories. Sora refuses, as he once promised he'd keep Naminé safe. Now that he remembered that promise, he has to keep it, and Donald, Goofy and Jiminy can't bring themselves to deny him that obligation.
Vexen then appears before Sora. The man admits to being who brought Riku to Sora, and Sora lashes at Vexen as he blames him for making him and Riku into enemies again. Vexen hands him instead another card, one he claims to have crafted from Memories stored in the other side of Sora's Heart. As that's the only card left, Sora can only use it to move forward, despite Vexen's eerie statement regarding it.
As Vexen seems so intent on eliminating Sora, Axel voices concern it might hinder the Organization's plans. Marluxia hands him a task then - to rid the Organization of their traitor. Axel's all too eager to accept that order, declaring it to be one Marluxia couldn't take back so easily.
After Vexen's death, nothing seems to stand in the way of Marluxia, Larxene and Axel. Holding Naminé as their hostage, Sora is as good as their puppet, but Naminé herself seems to have mixed feeling about seeing Sora.
As though mirroring Naminé's thoughts, Riku appears before Sora yet again and warns him that he'll hurt Naminé if he goes further. Therefore, Riku has to protect Naminé from Sora, as he promised her he'd keep her safe. He describes the time he made the promise on, when they were young, but Sora ends up completing the story for him. He knows how it went because he was the one who made that promise to Naminé at the time, and has the good luck charm she gave him in return to prove it. Riku is confused, yet he recovers suddenly as he pulls out his own good luck charm.
After a short bout in which Riku loses again, he takes off and leaves behind the good luck charm which transforms into a card bearing the image of their world. Donald and Goofy are doubtful; Sora and Riku can't both be right about how things happened. Sora replies that if they really want to find out the truth, all they have to do is save Naminé. The two confront Sora; before they reached the castle he couldn't remember Naminé, but now she's all he talks about. They suggest he takes the time to think about it, but Sora takes that as them saying he should abandon Naminé. Enraged, Sora takes off, leaving the two behind.
Axel meets with Naminé then, saying rather off handedly that she's all Sora has left. He adds that neither Marluxia nor Larxene are around, meaning no one will stop her if she went to save her hero. Naminé leaves in the flash, leaving Axel behind to be amused by the whole ordeal.
Naminé meets Sora first inside the Memory world mirroring the islands he grew up on, and then they finally come face to face, forcing Sora to face the truth. There was another girl who was close to him, yet it wasn't Naminé. Try as he might, however, Sora can't recall her name. Before Naminé can explain Riku appears and explains it simply that Sora's Memories cannot be trusted - not about this, or about who really made the promise to protect Naminé. When he's about to strike at Sora in a fit of rage, Naminé calls out for him to stop, making Riku drop to the floor, unconscious. Larxene appears just in time to enjoy the scene and relish Sora's expression as she tells him that Naminé tore Riku's Heart into pieces. She goes on to snarl at Riku, who was really a clone of the boy made by Vexen. The Memories it had were planted inside him by Naminé - just like Sora's Memories of her. The girl's powers enable her to create, alter, and erase memories, thus letting her place herself in Sora's Heart. By using Naminé in this manner, the Organization could use Sora as their puppet, until Axel released Naminé. Larxene is forced into attacking Sora, only to have Naminé standing her way. With the girl in danger, Sora is determined to keep his promise to protect Naminé; regardless of the promise never really happening, Sora accepts it, and that's why he'll keep it. Donald and Goofy catch up and stand at Sora's side. All for one and one for all - just like they promised each other when they met. With the team reunited, Larxene is easily defeated, and they finally talk it all over.
Utilizing her abilities, Naminé stepped into Sora's Heart and changed his Memories. If Naminé didn't obey, she was threatened to be locked up in the castle forever. Unable to bear the thought of such loneliness, she obeyed Marluxia's plan until that was too much as well. Donald, Goofy and Jiminy were affected too, but it can all be set right again if they reach the castle's thirteenth floor. Until then, Sora begs Naminé not to cry. Regardless of not really knowing her, he still remembers her, and so wishes to keep his promise to her. The sentiment touches Naminé and she smiles, making Sora feel better as he takes off towards the final battle.
Marluxia has other things to worry about in the meanwhile, as Axel is intent on living up to his order to eliminate the traitors. He calls out Marluxia about his conspiracy to use Sora against the Organization which makes him the biggest traitor of all, but Marluxia then uses Naminé whom he recaptured as a shield. While it may not faze Axel, it means more than enough to Sora who reached the scene. He keeps Axel occupied long enough for Marluxia to make his escape, but Sora soon follows, having dealt with Axel. Once he finds Marluxia and Naminé, Marluxia orders Naminé to erase Sora's Memories. The girl refuses, unable to repay Sora's kindness and forgiveness with such an act. Sora tells her to go along with it, preferring to still have Naminé to protect even in complete forgetfulness than to lose her and be left with a hollow promise. Sharing his notion, Riku's replica, whose Memories were restored shows up to help Sora and the two together take on Marluxia who ends up being nothing more than an illusion. Leaving "Riku" to look after Naminé, Sora, Donald and Goofy head past the final door and defeat the real Marluxia. Now, after the battle, they decide on what's to be done.
Riku's replica decides to head off alone. With nothing to truly call his own, he prefers to leave, and nothing Sora says changes his mind.
The group still has matters to tend to though, and Sora has a choice to make. He can keep his Memories of Naminé, but to remain without anything else. The alternative is to regain his lost Memories, at the price of what Naminé created between them. Sora prefers to regain his Memories, and Naminé ushers the four into a chamber filled with pods. Their Memories aren't lost, simply delinked, out of their reach. They are to sleep in the pods while Naminé puts the broken links back together, letting them remember everything they did before they entered the castle. In order to be able to thank Naminé for the effort despite forgetting her, Jiminy writes down an entry in his journal - "Thank Naminé". That way, even when facing her as a stranger, they can do what needs to be done.
Before he enters his pod, Sora makes a promise with Naminé. He asks her to be there when he wakes up, so that the friendship that was originally a lie can be a reality. Even as his old Memories begin to surface and Naminé begins to fade, Sora is reassured. The promise they made will bring them back together one day, making Naminé forgotten - but never lost.
In order to help Sora and King Mickey save the universe from an outbreak of Darkness, Riku stayed with the King in the Realm of Darkness when the King and Sora used their Keyblades to lock the door to that realm. Having fallen asleep, he is woken by a strange voice that gives him a card. Taking the card means Riku's sleep will end, but he will be able to reach the truth - one that will bring him pain. Deciding that sleep would be boring, Riku takes the card and is brought to the lowest basement level of Castle Oblivion.
Using the cards, he visits worlds from his memories, in which he encounters nothing but beings of the Darkness, the same Darkness he gave into in the past. The voice is confused; why does Riku shun the Darkness? It is his power; he must accept it. The voice's owner appears before him then. It is Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness who took possession of Riku's Body but was defeated by Sora. He still remains as a shadow in Riku's Heart, waiting for the time Riku gives in again and becomes his slave once more. Before he can take any action, however, Mickey calls out to Riku and his Light reaches him. Reassured by the King's words, he manages to fend Ansem off. Ansem then challenges Riku - using the cards crafted from his Memories, he is to continue up the castle and fight the Darkness inside his Memories. If he loses, Ansem will take over again. Before he disappears, he manages to tamper with the Darkness till in Riku's Heart, strengthening it. To use it or not is Riku's choice, but Ansem seems convinced it is only a matter of time before Riku gives in.
Before long Riku realizes that there was at least some truth in Ansem's words. The Darkness not only corrupted his Heart, but also his Body - he can actually smell it now. Mickey appears again, but only as an illusion of himself. It will take him a while to reach there, but until then, he has a request to make. They both saw that even in the Realm of Darkness, there was Light - the Light of Kingdom Hearts that shone down on the both of them from afar. There will always be Light even in the deepest Darkness, and so regardless of anything, Riku shouldn't let go of who he is.
Meanwhile, three members of the Organization residing in the lower levels of the castle convene. They are Vexen, Lexaeus and Zexion, ranks Four to Six of the Organization. They are aware of Riku's presence in the castle, and can only theorize that he appeared in Castle Oblivion because his existence resonates with that of another Hero's - Sora's, who is in fact dashing up the upper floors of the castle. It seems the members residing on those floors have plans to capture Sora and use them for their own means, and so the three devise a plan that will allow them to acquire Riku as a counter measure.
As a result, Vexen appears before Riku. When he is confronted by Riku about his relations to Ansem, he replies rather eerily. He, like Riku, belongs neither to the Light nor to the Darkness, but to the Twilight between. Riku admits the Darkness remains in him but is intent on fighting it, and Vexen too as he reeks of it. After a short battle that ends in Riku's victory, Vexen takes his leave, but not before thanking Riku for providing him with invaluable data about himself. What will he do with the data is for him to know, but Riku knows one thing - it was for this that Vexen appeared before him to begin with.
The reason behind Vexen's actions soon becomes clear as Riku comes face to face with - Riku. It is a replica created by Vexen to be Riku's spitting image, in looks, attitude, and powers. Unlike Riku, however, he doesn't fear the Darkness, but uses it freely. That doesn't stop Riku from beating him, but excusing it with still being 'new', the replica uses the Darkness to knock Riku away before taking his leave.
He rejoins with Vexen, who introduces him to the members on the upper floors. They plan on having the replica fight Sora, but in order to make the most out of Vexen's experiment, they decide to implant the real Riku's Memories inside his replica, using the special powers of a special girl called Naminé. Despite the replica's objections, Vexen agrees to this course of action, regardless of how much his creation struggles and screams.
Ansem speaks to Riku again then. He appreciates the replica; In fact, he considers it to be all Riku should strive to be. He accuses Riku of being the fake one, as he denies the urges that once made him accept Ansem all too eagerly. He offers him more cards and then fades into Darkness, the same Darkness he claims Riku will realize he cannot resist.
Several floors higher, Riku is confronted by another member of the Organization. With Vexen having been annihilated by one of their own, it is Lexaeus's turn to appear before him. He reveals before that the boy is able to not simply use but properly control the Darkness. If he doesn't, he is a threat to the Organization and is to be eliminated. Riku is finally brought down, but as he lays unconscious, Darkness begins to cover him. He transforms into the form given to him by Ansem and kills Lexaeus, only to snarl with Ansem's voice rather than his own.
Riku himself is trapped inside the Darkness in his own Heart, where Ansem can reach him. He almost does, yet Mickey's voice calls out for Riku to fight, and thus saves him yet again. Riku wakes in Castle Oblivion, alone, yet he knows - The King is with him.
Members of the Organization convene again. Axel appears before Zexion, and they conclude that in light of Sora and Riku's actions, they are the only remaining members of the Organization. As the original plan was to use Riku against the traitors on the upper levels, Riku is now worthless to them, and Zexion sets out to deal with the nuisance.
He appears before Riku and tells him Sora is in the castle, yet in return to Riku's excitement at the news, all Zexion can do is wonder if Riku can truly face Sora. The Darkness, as well as Ansem's shadow, still cling to Riku and as Sora's role is to battle the Darkness, Riku is his enemy. With that in mind, Riku is given another card, one leading him into his home.
The choice of card ends up being Zexion's undoing, as Riku ultimately accepts both his Light and Darkness and fends him off. Zexion retreats, wounded and weakened, only to come face to face with Axel and Riku's Replica. Being aware again he is nothing but a clone, he followes Axel's coaxing all too willingly, believing that if he absorbed Zexion, he would be able to become his own person by using that power to defeat Riku.
Riku, who emerged from his battle with Zexion victorious and reassured, is faced once again with Ansem. As he let in the Darkness, Ansem's power over him increased, to the point he can manipulate his body. The King arrives to save the day again, this time in the flesh. Riku is so overwhelmed that he can't keep standing, letting out a burst of relieved laughter as he falls to the floor. It seems a card appeared before Mickey and led him to the castle, much like how Riku managed to escape the Dark Realm. It led Mickey straight to Riku, where the card belonged.
Having finally dealt with his replica in the world the card created, a man called Diz guides Riku to continue climbing and meet Naminé. He finds her hiding behind a large pod, and he recognizes her as the voice who helped him overcome his fear of both the Light and the Darkness when he fought Zexion. Inside the pod he finds Sora, sleeping as Naminé restores his Memories, and he is given a choice to make. Much like how Naminé toyed with Sora's Memories and is now putting them back, Riku can have his Memories dealt with. By locking the Memories that contain the Darkness, both it and Ansem can be locked out of Riku's Heart. Riku refuses, however, deciding to fight his own battles rather than sleep it all away.
Leaving Sora in Naminé's care, Riku meets Mickey who has been brought up to date by Diz. The man hands them both coats, the likes of which the members of the Organization wear. As they are now the Organization's enemies, they must hide themselves least they be hunted down, and by wearing the same special coats they can hide their presence.
Diz also gives Riku a card meant to draw out his Darkness, enabling him to fight with Ansem. Mickey is ready and willing to aid Riku, yet Riku declines the offer, claiming this is a battle he must fight alone; There's no point otherwise. He does have a favor to ask of Mickey, however - in case he fails to live up to the task, and Ansem is victorious, he wishes for Mickey to kill him. Refusing to let Riku even utter the word, Mickey is eager to help him if Riku'll need him. Finally, Riku comes face to face with Ansem. The man fails to understand - Riku accepts the Darkness, yet denies him. Beyond that, Riku dares face him and the Darkness he commands, yet Riku is amused. Even when using all of Ansem's powers, Riku still failed to defeat Sora when the man possessed him. He is, simply put, unimpressed, and for a reason, as after a long, grueling battle, he finally manages to subdue Ansem. The man's last words as he falls hardly mean well for Riku, however. As he is the one who gave Riku his Darkness, so long as his shadow remains in some small way in Riku's Heart, he will return.
Ansem disappears in a final burst of Darkness, and Mickey lets himself help Riku at least in getting out of that. It seems that despite it all, there isn't a happy ending in sight yet, as Riku still has Ansem's Darkness clinging to him. Until he rids himself of that, he can't go home. Mickey decides to stick along, seeing how Riku's special way of using the Dark is unlike anything he's seen before. He wishes to see where Riku's path will lead, and walk it alongside him. As they leave the castle, donning the coats, they meet Diz in the middle of a fork in the road. He asks them which path will they take - the one towards Light, or towards Darkness. Riku chooses the middle road, one Diz declares as the Twilight road to nightfall. Riku disagrees, declaring the path he follows is the road to the Dawn.
