Heartless
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The Heartless (ハートレス Hātoresu?) are creatures of darkness who serve as the antagonists in the fictional universe of the Kingdom Hearts video game series.
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[edit] Description
Heartless are hearts corrupted by darkness and without a body or a soul. They serve as most of the battles and challenges that the player must go through to complete the games. They come in a large variety of types, categorized by being Pureblood or Emblem. Emblem Heartless are artificially created and are labeled with a heart symbol. Pureblood Heartless are natural, inky black shadow creatures with bright yellow eyes. In contrast to the strongest Nobodies having human form, many of the stronger types of Heartless take on more monstrous forms. Though normally used by Xehanort's Heartless and the Disney villains under Maleficent, the Heartless usually obey those with the will to control them as Saïx of Organization XIII shows. The Heartless' method of entering worlds is to use the corridors of darkness, an unpredictable pathway that interlinks many worlds.
[edit] History
[edit] Prior to Series
Heartless were created by the experiments conducted by Ansem and his apprentices. This force corrupted Hollow Bastion before proceeding to sweep out across the worlds, invading and conquering them one by one.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts
Concerned by the progression of the Heartless, King Mickey set out to find a way to stop them. Leaving instructions for Donald Duck and Goofy, he disappeared from view. Following their king's advice, the two friends traveled to Traverse Town, where they met Sora. The trio then went on a series of adventures, confronting Heartless under such villains as Clayton, Hades, Jafar, Oogie Boogie, Ursula, and Captain Hook.
Eventually, Sora's companions arrived in Hollow Bastion, fighting Sora's corrupted friend Riku, Maleficent in her human and dragon forms, and finally a Xehanort's Heartless-possessed Riku. In the process, the Princesses of Heart inadvertently unsealed Hollow Bastion's Keyhole, allowing a veritable flood of Heartless to seep through and begin attacking the worlds. After sealing the Keyhole, Sora followed the flood back to its source at End of the World, confronting Xehanort's Heartless one last time. After that, he worked together with Riku and King Mickey to seal the door to Kingdom Hearts, seemingly putting an end to the rampage of the Heartless.
[edit] Chain of Memories
The Heartless found in Castle Oblivion are only ones made by Sora's and Riku's memories.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts II
In Kingdom Hearts II, it is revealed that Sora's efforts in the first game stopped a huge effusion of Heartless, but the creatures still remain a threat. Setting out once again, Sora and the gang found themselves fighting Heartless again and again. Several of their old foes, including Maleficent, Jafar, Hades, and Oogie Boogie returned with Heartless at their disposal, along with a few new villains such as Scar and Pete.
Later on, it was revealed that every time Sora destroyed one with a Keyblade, the heart contained within then collected together to form Kingdom Hearts, which contained more power as it combined with more hearts. After a series of adventures, Sora found his way to the Organization stronghold of the World That Never Was. So close to the darkness, the Heartless were uncontrollable, and Sora had no choice but to fight them. However, when he went to confront Xemnas, the Heartless were held back by the most unlikely allies- Maleficent and Pete.
[edit] Types of Heartless
There are two types of Heartless: Pureblood Heartless and Emblem Heartless.
[edit] Emblem Heartless
To further his research, Xehanort invented a machine that recreated the conditions of the natural, "pureblood" creation of a Heartless; the test run was successful, producing a Heartless. To keep the two types distinct, he and his assistants branded the artificial Heartless with the "emblem" frequently seen in conjunction with Heartless in the games. In contrast to Pureblood Heartless dissolving into black mist upon death, the hearts that compose the Emblem Heartless are released once they are destroyed by the Keyblade. The hearts leaving from dying Emblem Heartless then wander back to Kingdom Hearts.
[edit] Pureblood Heartless
Pureblood Heartless are differentiated from Emblem Heartless by their lack of the symbols seen on Emblem Heartless. Each pureblood Heartless is the accumulated darkness of a destroyed heart. They come in every shape and size, but it is a general rule the more monstrous they get,that the more powerful they are. They seek relentlessly to consume hearts, and will stop at nothing to consume even one. When they consume a heart, they destroy it, creating one more Heartless. They are mindless, though they can be controlled by the "strongest". More variety is seen from Emblem Heartless than from Pureblood Heartless in the games.
[edit] External Links
Heartless Bestiary of Kingdom Hearts
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Kingdom Hearts • Chain of Memories • II |
