(SPOILERS) Union X: Breath of Darkness

[Sign]

I was looking through my old posts and I suddenly saw something. Do you guys remember this? Think it has anything to do with what's going on with Ven?

Do we know if this was ever fixed in a patch?

One thing I still find a bit suspicious is what exactly triggered the unblocking of the memories. In BBS Ventus had the headache-pain episodes of remembering something he formerly could not by both Master Xehanort (in the badlands) and Vanitas (on Destiny Islands) egging him on with some keywords. What was it this time? Brain's questions?

I think so, yeah. Brain's prodding basically opened the floodgates. Ven's even younger at this point; he didn't have any friends until he joined the Union leaders so being told he didn't belong and that he might have been involved with the death of his friend's sister would have been absolutely devastating.

 

[Zettaflare]

Since Darkness is likely still with Ven in the present guess that will be the vehicle Nomura will use to bring Vanitas back. Though most of us probably figured he would come back somehow, lol

 

[Squood!]

Really? It got included in the novels?

Yep. I don't freakin get it.

 

[AdrianXXII]

View attachment 12966
Yep. I don't freakin get it.

The inclusion in the novel makes me think it was intentional, but what it signifies is a mystery. Maybe to symbolize he's not quite right at the time?

 

[Dandelion]

Fellas just don't understand that Vanitas didn't say "I am Darkness (the character/entity)", and they are taking the ReMind cutscenes with the personality rewrite and Dark Inferno Chi way out of context

That doesn't change the second part of what I was saying, Darkness is Vanitas, or rather, Darkness becomes Vanitas and admits that he was squatting in Ven's heart long before the split.

Is everyone really that obtuse?

EDIT: Though I will freely admit that Nomura has done hard 180s away from the obvious, but, I mean this feels like a reeeeeally long con.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

View attachment 12966
Yep. I don't freakin get it.

WTF is that?
Did Amano just copy the error from actual game scenes or did he get some info to actually make the back of Ven's shirt like this?

Then again, it got never addressed in any official capacity now did it?
And in KH III I think Ven's shirt was correct again (and it also was correct in 0.2.'s opening, the opening that wordlessly showed off TAV's friendship and closeness better than BBS itself in its entirety).
---
When it comes to the whole Darkness/Vanitas thing I'd say that when you look solely at what was displayed in the games themselves and in-game reports there is not much that outright disproves that Vanitas might be the entity "Darkness" nor is there anything that would make it impossible.

Now some might say it doesn't add up with Vanitas' backstory in the BBS novel, but it would not be the first time that something that was in the novels is ignored in favor of a new development.
If I recall correctly there were several things in the KH 2 novels (and the 358/2 Days ones maybe too) that were rendered non-canon by later developments in the series.

Another point possibly hinting towards there being more to the whole issue is the "Unversed" symbol being present not only in Scala ad Caelum but also in some magic circles.
Perhaps it isn't exactly only a symbol of Unversed but actually one of the Darkness (as either the element or the entity) itself as it can be interpreted as Darkness engulfing and holding a heart.

Still, that doesn't mean that Vanitas has to be "Darkness" from the UX-era in an 1-to-1 relation as there is a possibility of a Roxas/Naminé/Xemnas situation insofar that Vanitas is actually a hybrid being like them too.

Roxas is a hybrid made from Sora and Ventus.
Naminé is a hybrid made from Sora and Kairi.
Xemnas is a hybrid made from Terra and Xehanort.
Vanitas would then be a hybrid made from Ventus and "Darkness".

After all, when Xehanort ripped Ven's heart apart he may indeed have torn out the entity "Darkness", but still together with a small part of Ven's actual heart, the part that "Darkness" was hiding/sealed in.

Making it more "complicated" and Vanitas being a hybrid is imho much more Nomura's usual twist-loving MO than to simply say that "Darkness" from Ux and Vanitas are 1-to-1 the very same being just with some amnesia.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

So Ava is Darkness? Why would she help Maleficent? Also, I'm wondering if there was ever any scene between Marluxia/Roxas that may have some new subtext thanks to Ven's murder of Streletizia?

I need more clarification ugh.

Ava is not Darkness, Darkness just took the appearance of Ava for the sake of an illusion. It's like how Zexion disguised himself as Sora to try and fool Riku in Chain of Memories.

Speaking of which, I don't even think Ava even chose Ventus as a Dandelion. Maybe Ventus took a pact with Darkness to save himself from the Keyblade War because Darkness told Ventus that there was a way to survive the Keyblade War in the real world?

 

[zander1995]

I may be overthinking things, but if it is intentional and not just a mistake, I'd like to point out that Ventus's official Union Cross artwork appears to have a checkered style on the back, but the regular style on the front. The color used for the lower portion uses the same greys and blues used to shade the white segments of his outfit. It definitely seems to match his design in 0.2

Spoiler Show

In KH3, the line itself is white, but the black parts are still definitely the same color, so I don't think it was just a coloring issue, but more Nomura foreshadowing.

Spoiler Show

 

[Face My Fears]

Darkness wants to help Maleficent get back to the future so there is someone in the future who remembers them, which is necessary for Darkness and the other residents of the past to travel to the future themselves.

So did Maleficent in KH3 already speak with Darkness and travel from the past?

 

[Sign]

So did Maleficent in KH3 already speak with Darkness and travel from the past?

Yes. Maleficent and Darkness's little escapade in UX is what leads to her revival in KH2.

 

[Idreamaboutcats]

Darkness wants to help Maleficent get back to the future so there is someone in the future who remembers them, which is necessary for Darkness and the other residents of the past to travel to the future themselves.

I know that, but I should’ve been more specific. Why help her at all if it’ll choose to stay behind in the past anyway? If it wanted her as a waypoint, why not come along with her already? What did it want to do in the past before coming to the future? Come to think of it, if it does possess Ven as a body for the future (because Ava is still missing if that really is Ava), why the disparity of 10+ years? Maleficent managed to return in KH2, but Lauriam was already Marluxia way before then, and even of Lauriam was the first to be taken to the future and used as a waypoint for the others (Ven, Skuld/X, etc.) why were they thrown into the Age of Prophecy before Maleficent returned and not during or after?

Putting the minor details aside, what did the Master even mean? Discard the current worldline to nothing, or just end Daybreak Town specifically?

 

[Sign]

Putting the minor details aside, what did the Master even mean? Discard the current worldline to nothing, or just end Daybreak Town specifically?

That scene was pre-Keyblade War, so he's referring to the end of the world brought upon by that tragedy. He's not talking about any worldline, just the regular ol' world.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I'm expecting there to be some form of twist that Darkness itself is the embodiment of all darkness in people's hearts,

I'd like to propose a similar thought: Darkness, being a more "wild" force of nature, has slowly started to notice that there is an imminent threat to its survival, so it has slowly started to become sentient.

 

[kirabook]

This jacket thing is very interesting. Thanks for pointing out Nomura's drawing zander, it definitely appears that in KHUX, Ven's jacket is slightly different. The back is checkered.

I wonder then, why was Aqua's vision of Ven wandering in the dark realm his... KHUX self? Is Nomura placing some significance on this then? Maybe there's a reason TAV is going to the dark realm....

 

[Deleted member 252753]

I know that, but I should’ve been more specific. Why help her at all if it’ll choose to stay behind in the past anyway? If it wanted her as a waypoint, why not come along with her already? What did it want to do in the past before coming to the future? Come to think of it, if it does possess Ven as a body for the future (because Ava is still missing if that really is Ava), why the disparity of 10+ years? Maleficent managed to return in KH2, but Lauriam was already Marluxia way before then, and even of Lauriam was the first to be taken to the future and used as a waypoint for the others (Ven, Skuld/X, etc.) why were they thrown into the Age of Prophecy before Maleficent returned and not during or after?

Sorry, I didn't mean to patronise you. I guess we'll see what it wants to do before leaving though Luxu's Secret Report says a 'darkness' will lead the world to another demise so maybe it's to destroy to the data world for some reason.

 

[Idreamaboutcats]

That scene was pre-Keyblade War, so he's referring to the end of the world brought upon by that tragedy. He's not talking about any worldline, just the regular ol' world.

Ah, so the World itself before it got separated into tinier worlds.

Sorry, I didn't mean to patronise you. I guess we'll see what it wants to do before leaving though Luxu's Secret Report says a 'darkness' will lead the world to another demise so maybe it's to destroy to the data world for some reason.

No offense taken. I have to wonder what the real world Daybreak Town looks like now since the war came to pass. The room with the ark in it looks intact and barely disturbed.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

I'd like to propose a similar thought: Darkness, being a more "wild" force of nature, has slowly started to notice that there is an imminent threat to its survival, so it has slowly started to become sentient.

There might be something in that. A little after the Keyblade War, Ephemer did say that he felt a darkness in the new world unlike that of the old world and that it has a sort of 'intent'.

 

[Violet Pluto]

Vanitas would then be a hybrid made from Ventus and "Darkness".

After all, when Xehanort ripped Ven's heart apart he may indeed have torn out the entity "Darkness", but still together with a small part of Ven's actual heart, the part that "Darkness" was hiding/sealed in.

Making it more "complicated" and Vanitas being a hybrid is imho much more Nomura's usual twist-loving MO than to simply say that "Darkness" from Ux and Vanitas are 1-to-1 the very same being just with some amnesia.

I mean that's what I assumed. After all, Ven became a heart of pure light afterwards and judging from the fact that nothing seems to indicate that here in the past, he must have a little darkness within him, much like someone like Sora has darkness. If Ven was Darkness's way of smuggling itself through undetected then all of this is logical thought at this point. It also explains what's up with Vanitas and the Unversed; after all why can Vanitas birth these creature of darkness just by having a heart of pure darkness? I mean a good amount of people just stopped asking that question but now we have something of an answer that makes sense.

 

[Face My Fears]

Yes. Maleficent and Darkness's little escapade in UX is what leads to her revival in KH2.

Maybe that explains her interest in Pete's time travel method? It's interesting that Pete was able to open a doorway to: 1) another world and 2) another time from Hollow Bastion (the apparent location of this "Arc" device).

Could there have been something in The World That Never Was that facilitated Maleficent wanting that world, besides it being a "castle"? I'm just thinking that if she knew about time travel, the past and "Darkness", then maybe her new mission started in KH2?

 

[Clue.Less]

Does "breath" of darkness mean the smell of darkness / stench of light lore lives on?

Catching up on the UX videos I was excited to see Maleficent's sense of smell was still a thing. Seriously. I want to know what the MoM smells like and if Riku will be able to figure out his identity without needing a face reveal!