Search the Community

Hello guys! So, I wrote this fan fiction in... 2014, after KH3D release. I've decided just now to translate it (I'm italian). The story is set after CoM - and during Days, the main character is one of my favourites and (in my opinion) one of the most underrated, Riku Replica. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to Afa Bill Aseh and his team for translation. The Hero of Darkness Chapter 1 Rebirth “What happens when a fake dies- one like me? Where will my heart go? Does it disappear?” Drop by drop, Riku Replica’s consciousness began to reform. A feeling, a memory, a thoughts... It took time for the puppet to realize that, but little by little he resumed being someone, or something. "Where… am I?" he asked weakly. There wasn't even a slight glow of light and he couldn't see anything. He was lying down, but beneath him, he did not feel the ground or any kind of floor. He was floating alone in the pitch black. "Is this the Realm of darkness?" sighed Riku. “Is here where ends those like me?” He wondered how much longer he would have to wait. He thought that some kind of entity would soon appear and would list what he had done well and what he had done badly, a short list and a very long one respectively. As long as that wasn't a lie too, he said to himself, and seeing no one arrive, he smiled almost incapable of regretting yet another disappointment. The only sensation he had left was that it was cold there, yet he didn't feel any kind of temperature. He sighed again, then tried to move his limbs. Strangely enough, he felt them distant. He had to make an effort just to bring his right hand in front of his face, trembling with exertion. “Wake up”. “Who’s there?” Riku snapped into an upright position, while floating. “You should wake up, that's your only opportunity to do it”. “Who are you?!” “I am your only opportunity”. Riku stared at the darkness in front of him, waiting for more explanation. “You have to go back, Riku, you have some unfinished businesses to close”. “I'm afraid I'm not," the boy replied, puffing. "I'm just a fake, I don't have any pending issues”. “Are you sure? Don’t you ever had anything that was real, to you?” The sound of the voice echoed into the everlasting darkness. Riku raised hesitating his face. "What are you talking about?” “A promise" answered the mysterious interlocutor. "A promise you have to keep. It's your only way”. The boy looked down. A name slipped from his lips: "Naminé...” “Of course, the little girl in your memories”, the voice said. “It wasn't my memory", replied Riku. “They weren't even real memories...” “But they were all you had, they were real to you. They had to be”. “Why are you telling me all this?" the puppet asked, raising his tone, as if he had found again all his arrogance. "Tell me who you are!” “I told you: I'm your only opportunity. This is your second chance”. “Who are you really?” The voice only answered after a brief pause: “You can call me the King”. For Riku Replica, those words had no meaning: he had never met King Mickey, nor had any memory of him. “Just don't want to tell me who you are, huh?” the boy asked. “At least explain me why you should help me”. “I need a favour, Riku, a mission that only you can accomplish”. “You don’t say! Everyone always expects something from others!” The soft laugh of the voice echoed again in darkness. “Listen to me to the end at least, after all your interests are at stake or you might never go back. You need me in order to do it”. “Why? What do you have so interesting to offer me?” “Well, I can offer you an all-new body”. “A... what?” The King's response was quick: without saying anything, the darkness surrounding Riku diminished and finally the boy could see himself. He brought his right hand back in front of his face and could glimpse through it. His skin was as transparent as glass, a little more opaque. With a mixed expression of disbelief and horror, he could not look away and could barely syllable words of accomplished meaning. “Your body has vanquished” continued the voice, “but something holds back your soul here, at the edge of oblivion. Unconsciously, your will has clung to some feelings and is struggling not to disappear completely. Maybe to obtain, one day, your own heart”. Riku was breathless. He continued to watch his limb with his mouth open, without saying anything. “Accepts my proposal, Riku. Complete the mission I want to assign to you and I will be able to give you a whole new body. It will be the first step to becoming a unique person like everyone else”. “...you said a heart of my own?" “Correct”. “Why should I trust you?" the Replica asked in a convinced tone, raising his head. “In fact, you would have no reason to do so. Unfortunately, however, I cannot offer you any alternative. Choose what you prefer; if you want I'll slip away in the dark and never bother you again”. Once again, Riku Replica looked down at the glassy hand. He knew he could not trust this King, but that could really be his second and only chance, the last of many wasted chances. Would it be a bigger mistake to attempt going for broke, or to waste this last opportunity without getting anything in return? “What do I have to lose?” “How much do you care about you have got lost so far, Riku? Your existence, your promise, everything fictitious that meant something to you... only you can know what you have got to lose”. A life of imitation which has come to an end, or perhaps something else. Everything was there. “Hey, King...” the puppet called out, closing his fist in front of him. He could only have hoped that the benefit of the doubt would be worth the risk. “I accept the mission”.

Hello all, This week has been incredible for KH3, not only do we have a concrete release date, but two world confirmations, a lot of plot content and the return of my favourite character- Luxord. However, I'm writing today about Riku Replica. In particular, what context will he have in KH3. From the get go. I do not believe that Replica will be a Member of the Darknesses. Yes, people can point out that the eyes could be later corrected as Marluxia's were to show he has been norted, but my idea runs a bit deeper than that. There seems to be an emphasis on 'helping' someone in need. Sora seems determined to help Roxas become his own person, Mickey was trying to help Aqua (that went well..) and whilst this is speculation I cannot see Lea abandoning Isa either. Now going back to Replica, we have a similar situation to Roxas where both characters were determined to be individuals and their main connections ( Sora and Riku) accept this and do not seem them as fakes or a nobody. Carrying on, in the D23 trailer, Riku leaves his broken Way to the Dawn keyblade for 'his other me' which was proven to be Replica. My concept is that Replica will mirror Riku's journey from the dark to the light or at least attempt to. Riku as a character can control his darkness and has reached masterhood. Hence, why I believe he will gain his new keyblade after initially being defeated by Dark Aqua. However, I believe Riku will discover a manner to help Replica in the Realm of Darkness and that's why his old Keyblade is left behind. This is because Replica will be starting his own 'Way to Dawn' and I think not only will we see a keyblade break in the game, but also mend. What would be the point of this? We've seen countless characters go from being Denizens of the Darkness to the light, however I do believe there are two potential aspects important to the story. Firstly, as mentioned above there is the theme of helping others in need and Riku's connection to Replica is no different, also look at the latest trailer- Riku does not seem alarmed to see Replica, but on the contrary seems happy. Secondly, and I admit this is my more radical possibility, but could Replica be needed for the final battle? If we believe Aqua has been norted, then I believe that Ven has been compromised. Terra's position is still unknown- so leaves the lights needing numbers. Not only does Roxas' return become plot relevant, but so does Riku Replica. Replica could very easily decide to help Riku in the final battle and potentially, we could have a scene where Replica sacrifices himself for Riku too. Either way, I do not believe Replica will be 'bad' as such and I think he will play an emotional bond in Riku's arc. I hope you all enjoyed E3 and are well!

Tagline: "...Our battle is over...but the war...has only just begun." Synopsis: Three and a half years have passed since the events of KINGDOM HEARTS III, in which Sora, aided by his fellow Guardians of Light had defeated both Master Xehanort and his Organization XIII comprised of various incarnations of himself and now, the Worlds are at peace, however...that does not mean that peace lasts forever, for now a both strange and mysterious new threat is attacking the universe and it is up to both Sora and friends to stop it, along the way they meet both old and new friends alike, exploring various and vast new Worlds unlike which they have ever seen beforehand, mastering new spells and abilities and also for Sora, gaining new Keyblades to fight with, as Sora begins this new adventure of his, he soon discovers that this new threat that is trying to destroy the galaxy is related in more ways then one to the legendary Keyblade War, of which Xehanort was trying to restart and had ultimately failed to do so, thanks to Sora and the others' efforts, at any rate, this new threat may very well be trying to get its hands on the one true χ-Blade, in order to unlock the mysteries of its counterpart, the one true Kingdom Hearts, to in turn become a god above both everything and everyone...in an attempt to stop this evil menace, Sora travels with both Donald Duck and Goofy once more to find out more about the enemy that they are currently facing whilst both Riku and King Mickey Mouse don the Black Coats of Organization XIII once more and travel across the Worlds through the Corridors of Darkness, attempting their own investigation into matters from their side, meanwhile, Master Yen Sid has both Kairi and Lea undertake the Mark of Mastery Exam, in the hopes that just like Sora and Riku beforehand will the two master new powers to combat this new threat, aiding in the training of the two are Merlin and the three good fairies, as requested their help by Yen Sid, in the meantime, Maleficent and Pete are up to their no good tricks again and are attempting to reassemble the council of Disney villains from the original KINGDOM Hearts to further their own goals of universal domination, Ventus, Terra and Aqua are on standby at the newly restored Land of Departure until given further orders by the revived Master Eraqus, Roxas, Axel, Xion and Namine are also on standby with Pence, Hayner and Olette in Twilight Town at the old mansion, finally, the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, along with the somebodies of Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo and the redeemed Isa, as well, as Ansem the Wise, having been restored to the wise sage and ruler of Radiant Garden are currently looking into matters regarding research on this new foe that everyone is now faced with... This new foe is said to be just about, as dangerous, as Xehanort was...maybe, even more so...aided by four henchmen, this new enemy and his servants don white versions of Organization XIII's Black Coats and all together call themselves the "Illuminati", the Illuminati lead creatures that feed off positive energy and vibes that they refer to, as the "Versed", said to be the exact opposites of the Unversed themselves, the Versed are easily identified by having the very same symbol, as the Unversed do upon their bodies, the only difference being that the colour for the Versed is white instead of the Unversed's black, a possible hint into the identity of who these new enemies are, namely their leader, as he bares a Unversed symbol zipper on his white coat, he calls himself "χ-Super" and under his white coat's hood, he is shown to wear a variation of Vanitas' helmet but with a large X across the helmet's face, whatever his intentions are currently unknown but he states that he will bring about what he calls the "Versus XIII" and whatever this means, most people tend to take it, as to him meaning that he is going to form another Organization XIII like Xehanort previously did in the past twice and is attempting to recreate the Keyblade War, now, on a mission to stop this possible raving lunatic, Sora and friends, old and new battle Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, Dream Eaters and these new Versed monsters across all of the realms a person can think of and finally, the story that began with Xehanort's ambition will end once and for all here, at least that is what is going through Sora's mind at the moment but still he ponders, is there more to this Versus XIII? what exactly does it mean? all will be explained... This is KINGDOM HEARTS IV-The free Role-Play for everyone where they can experiment on what life would be like after the events of the Xehanort/Dark Seeker Saga have ended, please share with me your opinions on the story before i continue making the Character Sheets and Rules.

Every Spirit has a Doppelganger Nightmare counterpart, why would Riku be the exception to this rule? Replica Riku is Sora's nightmare. it makes even more sense considering Sora's concern of Riku being consumed by the darkness again and his negative experiences with Riku. Plus, Ansem-Riku is a Xehanort when you really think about it... even Vexen's Doppelganger. Riku Replica is literally a replica of Riku when he was Ansem-Riku. Xehanort could have recruited him as a Seeker of Darkness so that Riku Replica develops his identity beyond a "pathetic imitation".

I'll be explaining the various kinds of enemies in the Kingdom Hearts universe, how they're created, what happens when they die, and what their goals are. If you feel you are very familiar with the details and lore behind these enemies, then this post is not for you. Over a long time playing the Kingdom Hearts games, I've notice many people left confused about these enemies, whether it be in real life, or online, so I'm making this post to hopefully clear up that confusion. Enjoy! (This is a part of my "Explained" series of posts. To view my "Time Travel Explained" post, click here, to view my "The Braig/Xigbar Situation Explained" post, click here, and to view my "The Realm of Sleep Explained" post, click here.) What are Heartless? Heartless are the main and first enemy type introduced in the Kingdom Hearts series. Most of them are ink black in color and only act on instinct. They can be seen in various of the many worlds and realms in the universe of Kingdom Hearts. The stronger your heart is with the darkness, the more powerful your Heartless you produce will be. There are two types of Heartless: Pureblood Heartless and Emblem Heartless. What goal do Heartless try to achieve? Heartless mainly attempt to find and devour hearts, whether it be the heart of people, or the hearts of worlds. When they devour the heart of a person, then that person becomes a Heartless as well. Heartless, along with other beings strong with dark powers, are able to use portals called Corridors of Darkness. This portals allow them to travel from world to world and from realm to realm. It is dangerous for just anyone to use these portals however, because it is exposing you to direct darkness and it could affect your heart. That is why Heartless mostly use them since they are beings of straight darkness. How are Pureblood Heartless created? Pureblood Heartless were the first types of Heartless to exist. Pureblood Heartless are also known as natural Heartless, since they exist from natural causes. There are two ways a Pureblood Heartless can be created. The first way that a Pureblood Heartless can be created, is when someone succumbs to the darkness in their heart. Once this happens, the darkness inside their heart will devour their heart, then that darkness becomes a Pureblood Heartless. The second way that a Pureblood Heartless can be created is simply by drawing parts of the darkness out of your heart. Only beings that are strong with the darkness are able to do this, such as Xehanort. For example, in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Xehanort was able to create Neoshadow Heartless simply by drawing out the darkness in his heart. Similarly, Riku in the first Kingdom Hearts, was able to create an AntiSora Heartless simply by drawing out the darkness in his heart. Pureblood Heartless are simply darkness of the heart, made flesh. When a heart is unlocked or succumbs to the darkness, the darkness within comes out and becomes a Pureblood Heartless, and devours the heart while it's at it. When a Pureblood Heartless devours someone else's heart, then the darkness within that person's heart will come out and become a Pureblood Heartless as well. When Heartless devour the heart of a world, that world falls to darkness, meaning it ends up in the Realm of Darkness. How are Emblem Heartless created? Emblem Heartless were originally created by a machine made by Apprentice Xehanort, along with the other apprentices of Ansem the Wise. This machine reproduced the process in which Pureblood Heartless are created. This means that this machine was able to produce artificial Heartless by making hearts be consumed by darkness. Emblem Heartless are essentially darkness that has a trapped heart inside, unlike Pureblood Heartless which are essentially darkness that have devoured the heart and become one with it. Emblem Heartless can also be created when an Emblem Heartless consumes someone else's heart, just like how Pureblood Heartless are created when a Pureblood Heartless consumes someone else's heart. What happens when Heartless are destroyed? When you destroy a Pureblood Heartless, the heart within them isn't visibly/physically released, but it is definitely freed. The freed heart will eventually end up turning back into a Heartless. When a Pureblood Heartless is destroyed by a Keyblade, then it's freed for good. It goes into a sort of limbo state and waits for the corresponding Nobody to be destroyed so that it can combine back with the body and recomplete the original person. If the person has no corresponding Nobody, then all you have to do to recomplete them is destroy their Heartless (with a Keyblade) since their body is already waiting in the limbo state. When Emblem Heartless are destroyed, the corrupted heart that's freed will end up turning back into a Heartless, just like the Pureblood Heartless. Except the hearts are visibly freed. When Emblem Heartless are destroyed by a Keyblade, the heart is freed for good and goes into the aforementioned limbo state and waits for the Nobody counterpart to be destroyed, just like the Pureblood Heartless. If there is no Nobody counterpart, then all you need to do to recomplete the original person is to destroy the Heartless with a Keyblade. Them being destroyed by a Keyblade also allows Organization XIII to be able to collect the hearts before they get a chance to recomplete. What are Nobodies? Nobodies were the second enemy type introduced in the Kingdom Hearts series. They are mainly white in color, and they lack hearts. Many Nobodies also use Corridors of Darkness as well. Since they have no hearts, Corridors of Darkness are a huge convenience for them since they can use them without being affected. What goal do Nobodies try and achieve? Nobodies do not have a direct goal. Unlike Heartless, Nobodies have a sense of self, so they are basically free to do what they please. Most of them however, work together to achieve the one thing they truly want: their hearts. Since Nobodies have no hearts, they do not have emotions or feelings. They do however remember what it was like to have emotions and feelings. How are Nobodies created? When somebody loses their heart and become a Heartless, their body and soul fade away and wait for its Heartless counterpart to be destroyed by a Keyblade so the original person can be recompleted. If you had a particularly strong heart however, then your soul will continue living on inside of your body, therefore making your body live on as well. This is what a Nobody is. The stronger your heart was, the more humanoid and the more like you, your Nobody looks. People with slightly weaker hearts, become less and less human looking and take the form of creature type beings that somewhat resemble Heartless, other than the color differences. Organization XIII, a group of powerful Nobodies, are able to convert other powerful Nobodies into lesser, creature-type Nobodies, such as Dusks, as well, presumably using a machine to do so. What happens when Nobodies are destroyed? If a Nobody is destroyed, then it fades away. When someone's Nobody and corresponding Heartless are both destroyed, then that original person will return as a complete being, with heart, body, and soul all intact. (The Heartless needs to be destroyed by a Keyblade). If somebody didn't have a strong enough heart to produce a Nobody, then simply destroying their Heartless with a Keyblade will make them return since their body and soul, the things that would have created a Nobody, have already been destroyed. When you return as a complete being, you have all of your memories from when you were a Nobody as well as your old memories. You do not remember your time as a Heartless though. Other Information Nobodies are actually able to regrow hearts of their own. It is currently unknown what the specifics of this are and what the exact process is. Nobodies have the memories of when they were people. What are Unversed? Unversed are beings created by extremely strong negative emotions. They spawn from Vanitas and his emotions particularly, presumably because there is no other being with negative emotions as strong as his since he is a being of pure darkness. The negative emotions are so strong, that they take physical form, which is what Unversed are. Their goal is to do whatever Vanitas orders them to do, and when they are destroyed, their negativity flows right back into Vanitas. What are Dream Eaters? Dream Eaters are beings that exist and are born in the Realm of Sleep. They can also be created artificially. They are the Realm of Sleep's own personal way of darkness taking form as creatures. They are also the physical embodiments of dreams. They consume dreams. There are two types of Dream Eaters: Spirits and Nightmares. Spirits eat bad dreams, while Nightmares eat good dreams and plant bad ones. When they are destroyed, they seem to simply vanish, but Dream Eaters essentially work the same way dreams do since they are the physical embodiments of dreams, so all you'd have to do to get a Dream Eater to return after being destroyed is to dream it up again. That would be pretty difficult though since you can't really control what you dream about. Sora and Riku used fragments they collected from Nightmare Dream Eaters to artificially create their own Spirit Dream Eaters. The Master of Masters artificially created Spirit Chirithy Dream Eaters as well, probably using the same method as Sora and Riku. That is what we know so far about all the enemy types in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Now, I will explain various characters' involvements with these enemy types and how they relate to them. Sora In the first Kingdom Hearts, Sora stabbed himself in the heart with the Keyblade of Heart. This unlocked his heart, therefore making the darkness in his heart come out and become a Pureblood Heartless. When Sora stabbed himself with the Keyblade of Heart, he had Kairi and Ventus' hearts inside of him. This also created Sora's Nobody, Roxas. Roxas is a special Nobody since he was created by a unique circumstance. Since Sora had Ventus' heart inside of him, Ventus' heart went with his body and soul (Roxas) and went inside of Roxas. Kairi's heart returned to her body and she was recompleted. Since Kairi is a Princess of Heart, she has special light abilities. Since this is the case, she was able to purify Sora's Heartless and bring him back to his human form. Sora was able to return back to his human form without the need and use of his body or soul, which is an extremely unique circumstance. He had technically become a walking, talking heart, until Roxas returned to him. Another thing to mention is how Sora's Heartless had a sense of self. When you willingly give in to the darkness and become a Heartless, then your Heartless will have a sense of self. Roxas Roxas is the Nobody of Sora. He took on the appearance of Ventus since he has Ventus' heart inside of him. Roxas has since returned back to Sora, and Sora is complete again. Roxas lacks his memory from when he was Sora because Sora's time as a Heartless was so short. Kairi Kairi is one of the Seven Princesses of Heart, so she doesn't have any darkness within her heart whatsoever. Since this is the case, when her heart left her body, no Heartless was created. Her heart took refuge within Sora and was later returned to her body when Sora stabbed himself with the Keyblade of Heart and she was recompleted. Since she is a Princess of Heart and couldn't produce a Heartless, no Nobody was created either. Her body did not fade away since she had a strong heart, but it did not turn into a Nobody either since she had no darkness within her heart to turn into a Heartless, so her body stayed in a sort of comatose state until her heart returned to her. Like I stated before, she could not produce a Nobody since there was no darkness within her heart to produce a Heartless. But, when Sora stabbed himself with the Keyblade of Heart, Kairi's heart was released, which then created a Nobody of Kairi since Sora did have darkness within his heart. Naminé Naminé is the Nobody of Kairi that was created by Sora instead of Kairi, as explained above. Since she was not created by a body or soul, she technically doesn't exist and shouldn't exist, but she does anyway. It is an extremely unique and special circumstance. Since she was created by such a unique circumstance and has a unique bond with Sora since she was created by him instead of Kairi, she is able to manipulate Sora's memories and the people's memories who are close to him. She has since returned to Kairi and Kairi is a complete person again. As stated above, Roxas has no memories of his time as Sora because Sora's time as a Heartless was so short. Naminé lacks her memory of her time as Kairi for this same reason. Naminé doesn't have her memory of her time as Kairi because Kairi never even had a Heartless to begin with. Terra-Xehanort Terra-Xehanort, also known as Apprentice Xehanort, is Terra's body taken over by Xehanort and is being used as a host body for Xehanort. He worked as an apprentice under the scientist, Ansem the Wise, so he can get close to the technology and resources that he has. He tested on different people and their hearts to see what affects different tests had. All of his tests ended in the people's hearts collapsing. He locked these people up in cells in a dungeon and since their hearts were collapsing, the darkness within them came out and consumed their hearts and became Pureblood Heartless. Heartless were very rare before these experiments occurred. He then created another test. He put alive people and dead people in the cell with these Heartless. The Heartless went for the alive people, because they had hearts. This caused the Heartless to increase in numbers. Apprentice Xehanort, along with the other apprentices of Ansem the Wise, then created a machine. This machine was the machine stated earlier that artificially created Heartless, known as Emblem Heartless. Later, Terra-Xehanort turned most of the apprentices into Pureblood Heartless by stabbing them all with his Keyblade. He also succumbed to the darkness and became a Pureblood Heartless himself. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness Ansem, Seeker of Darkness is the Heartless of Terra-Xehanort. He was created when the Robed Figure let himself be consumed by the darkness in his heart, therefore becoming a Heartless. That is what Ansem, Seeker of Darkness is. He had a sense of self, just like Sora's Heartless did, because he willingly became a Heartless. He is one of the only people to retain a human appearance after becoming a Heartless. He has since been destroyed by Sora. Scar Scar gave into the darkness in his heart, which caused the darkness within his heart to come out, consume his heart, then turn into a Pureblood Heartless. Scar retained his regular appearance, much like Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. He also had a sense of self, because he willingly became a Heartless. After Scar's Heartless was defeated, a strange and unique phenomenon occurred. Beings known as The Ghosts of Scar were formed from the lingering darkness of Scar. It is unknown why or how this exactly happened, and it is unknown if these "ghosts" would be classified as Heartless or not, but they were able to merge together to create an Emblem Heartless known as a Groundshaker, which is an even stranger phenomenon that has no current explanation. Xemnas Xemnas is the Nobody of Terra-Xehanort, created when Terra-Xehanort succumbed to the darkness and became a Heartless. Xemnas has since been destroyed by Sora. Since both Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody have been destroyed, Xehanort has returned as a complete person. Vanitas Vanitas is the darkness from inside of Ventus, taken humanoid form. Ventus was used by Xehanort to try and fulfill his plan of recreating the χ-blade. To recreate the χ-blade, two beings, one of pure light, and one of pure darkness, need to clash. So, Xehanort extracted the darkness side of Ventus' heart from within Ventus and it took a physical, humanoid form, known as Vanitas. Since Vanitas is a being of complete darkness, without a single bit of light within him, he produces extremely strong negative emotions. These negative emotions are so strong, that they take physical forms, known as Unversed. Riku In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Riku is considered to be a Dream Eater, because he has the ability to dive into Sora's dreams, and defeat the bad dreams, just like a Spirit Dream Eater would. That's it! I hope this was able to help anyone who was puzzled or somewhat confused with any of the enemies in the Kingdom Hearts universe Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.