Scala ad Caelum
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS III (2019)
The trio emerged into a breathtaking townscape where stark-white buildings stood beneath a sapphire sky. The world, Master Xehanort explained, was called Scala ad Caelum, and long ago it was a seat of power for Keyblade wielders.
Here, at the end of a long, gruelling journey, Sora, Donald, and Goofy steeled themselves for the final battle – to see Xehanort’s ambitions thwarted, and with hope in their hearts that somewhere, somehow, they might save Kairi in the process.
~♥~Re Mind~♥~
As Sora came to, he found himself back in the Final World, the world of ocean and sky. Before he even got his bearings, Chirithy appeared with an unexpected sound in this otherwise quiet world.
Chirithy taught Sora how to get Kairi back, but warned him of the great price he would have to pay., But Sora, who had always followed his heart, was determined to save Kairi. He decided to return to the past, existing only as an embodiment of his heart.
Sora returned to a point in the past where history had not yet been rewritten. There, he came into contact with the hearts of Ventus and Aqua, both of which were under threat from Terra-Xehanort.
Deep within Ventus’s heart, Sora battled a physical manifestation of the darkness, and as he traced his way into Aqua’s heart, he came face to face with her fear and despair.
Sora proceeded to the world where there was no defeat. There, his heart was approached by Naminé’s. Seeing that Terra’s heart was lost deep in the darkness, Naminé had instead brought with her Terra’s will, which embodied his fear, anger, and regret. It is with these unbridled emotions that Terra’s lingering will confronted Terra-Xehanort.
Whereas Terra-Xehanort represented Terra’s physical body, the lingering will represented the tangible elements in his heart. The clash between these two entities would be devastating for Terra. In an effort to stop this, Sora followed the connection between hearts and joined the fight. Exhausted, Sora was caught off guard and lost consciousness.
As time continued to flow in the world of the past, Sora suddenly found himself inside Terra’s heart. The true Terra had protected him from Terra-Xehanort’s darkness.
Encouraged, Sora resumed following the connection between hearts.
The next heart Sora arrived at was Roxas’s. As Sora touched upon Roxas’s heart, the memories of Roxas that were inside Xion also flooded into him.
For Roxas, it was not enough to merely return as he was. He needed to restore the connection he shared with his dearest friends, and reaffirm their bond. So with Sora’s help, Roxas, Axel, and Xion recovered the Recusant’s Sigil from Xemnas, the curse that binded them together in friendship.
Meanwhile, it appeared as if events in the past could not be changed after all, as Kairi was abducted during the battle, just as before. But now, having followed the connections to five guardians – Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Roxas, and himself – Sora only needed to follow two more guardians’ hearts before he finally reached Kairi’s.
Before Sora was able to follow the next connection, he was forced to witness Kairi’s essence being shattered yet again. But while in the depths of despair, Sora heard the voice of the King. He informed Sora that Kairi could still be saved – Master Xehanort needed to keep her as insurance until Kingdom Hearts appeared.
Armed with this knowledge, Sora jumped into Master Xehanort’s portal before his past self caught up.
Sora failed to find Kairi in Scala ad Caelum, but by reaching the hearts of five guardians, he had found five fragments of her heart. He was certain that if he could follow the connection to the remaining two guardians, he could find Kairi.
And so, Sora followed the connection to Riku, then to King Mickey.
Finally, Sora and Kairi were reunited. But before they could celebrate their reunion, Master Xehanort descended upon them.
The guardians of light, armed with the power of connecting hearts, succeeded in thwarting Master Xehanort’s foul ambition, and in turn, Kingdom Hearts slowly faded into the clouds.
The world of ocean and sky – the Final World. Sora found himself here yet again, this time with Kairi’s hand in his.
But this time, Sora had a purpose. He was determined to reunite Chirithy with its friend. With a smile, Sora extended his hand – “Let’s Go!”
