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The Heartless Emblem

The Heartless (ハートレス Hātoresu?) are beings of darkness which manifest in two forms,

"Pureblood" and "Emblem". While most Heartless are in fact manifest hearts, they behave entirely
devoid of emotion, and were thus named "Heartless".[1]

Contents
 [show]

edit Story
[edit]Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Master Xehanort summoned several Neoshadows to fight his apprentice at the time,Ventus. The
Neoshadows overwhelmed him, allowing Master Xehanort to unlock Ven's heart.

Much later, Aqua is sent to the Realm of Darkness following her battle with Xehanort. There, she
encountered a pack of Darkside Heartless.

This section of the article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
[edit]Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts
Ansem the Wise suspected that his research was endangering the citizens of Radiant Garden, so he
ordered his apprentices to cease the experiments on the hearts immediately. However, his foremost
apprentice, Xehanort, continued the experiments. He also convinced Ansem's other
apprentices, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo, to help him in his experiments on the heart, but
eventually, the experiments drove them mad, and they descended to Darkness, then they revolted
against their teacher, Ansem, and banished him to the Realm of Nothingness, where he was driven by
revenge and became the mastermind, DiZ.

After experimenting further, they discovered the Heartless, who devour their hearts, as well as the
citizens of Radiant Garden. The Heartless then began to thrive and spread to other worlds, devouring
innocent people, and driving the worlds they invade into darkness. After a while, Maleficent makes the
remains of Radiant Garden her new headquarters, renaming the twisted remains Hollow Bastion, and
takes control of the Heartless.

[edit]Kingdom Hearts
The Heartless appear inside Sora's Awakening as preparation for the coming invasion of Destiny
Islands. They succeed in separating Riku from the world, and then they stealKairi's heart, they
devoured Destiny Islands and everyone that lived on the islands, all except Sora, who slew many of
them with the Keyblade. After he escaped, he met Leon andYuffie, who told him about the Heartless,
what creates them and what they hunger for, the Darkness in the heart of every living being. This
leads Sora to fighting the Heartless alongside Donald Duck and Goofy in an effort to save the worlds.

The Heartless were actually being used by Xehanort's Heartless, who renamed himself as Ansem:
The Seeker of Darkness, and Maleficent, who sought to use their power to rule over all worlds.
However, Maleficent's plans were thwarted by Xehanort, who possessed Riku's body to pierce her
body with a Keyblade formed from the Princesses Hearts, and change her into her dark ego. After she
was beaten by Sora, Xehanort said that she was actually being used by the Heartless.

Sora rushes to where Kairi was, and then encounters Xehanort, who explained that Kairi's heart was
inside of Sora the whole time. He also told his false name (Ansem) to Sora. Xehanort needed Kairi's
heart so that the Heartless could devour the worlds, but Sora stood against him, and defeated him.
Xehanort fell, but he took Riku along with him as his vessel. After turning into a Heartless to restore
Kairi's heart, then regaining his shape from Kairi's own heart, Sora went out to save Riku from
Xehanort and the rest of the Heartless in End of the World.

Xehanort used the Heartless to try and annihilate Sora so that he could unlock Kingdom Hearts, but he
was bested once again. Xehanort proceeded to reaching out to Kingdom Hearts to try and control the
darkness from within, however, Sora spoke out, saying that he was wrong, and in actuality, Kingdom
Hearts was made of Light. The light shined through toward Xehanort, destroying his dark-fused body,
giving Sora enough time to try and seal the door.

[edit]Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

The Heartless appear inside Castle Oblivion as pawns of Organization XIII. It is unknown if the
Heartless in the castle are crafted from Sora's memories or they are real Heartless. The Organization
could have been using Sora even then to release the hearts from the Heartless.

This section of the article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
[edit]Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Roxas was sent by Xemnas, Xehanort's Nobody, to work with other Organization members and
release the hearts of every Heartless that he encounters. Since only Emblem Heartless release
hearts, the Organization only seeks to slay their kind; Pureblood Heartless are seen only as obstacles.
 This section of the article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
[edit]Kingdom Hearts II
After Sora awakens in Twilight Town, he travels to the Mysterious Tower, where he meet's Pete,
Maleficent's second in command, who is working to try and make an army of Heartless for Maleficent
to use. After a skirmish with a couple of Heartless, Sora realizes that the worlds are still in danger. He
meets with the Tower's master, Yen Sid, who explains Sora's new mission to him, though the
Heartless have returned, they are not the main enemy this time, the Nobodies were. In almost every
world, the Heartless appear alongside Pete, Maleficent, and one of the Disney villains. It was later
revealed by Axel during a war on Hollow Bastion that Organization XIII was using Sora to release the
hearts of every Heartless he destroyed so that the Organization could take them and create their own
Kingdom Hearts.

After knowing this, Sora heads for the Organization's base, The World That Never Was, to try and
destroy their Kingdom Hearts. After Ansem sacrificed himself to destroy Kingdom Hearts, the
Heartless began moving together inside the Castle that Never Was, to seek out whatever they could to
eat. Maleficent and Pete fought off the Heartless while Sora, Kairi, Riku, and the others went on to
defeat Xemnas.

[edit]Kingdom Hearts coded

The Heartless appear once again as enemies inside a digital Journal.

This section of the article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
edit Origin
According to legend, the people of the universe once lived in harmony on one world, with their hearts
full of light. Unfortunately, they began to selfishly fight over the light, and darkness grew within their
hearts, covering everything and destroying the world. The light survived in the hearts of children, who
were able to rebuild the broken fragments of the one world into many, smaller worlds. However, the
true light was still hidden in the darkness, so the worlds remained separate.[2] As manifestations of that
Darkness, natural Heartless have existed within the Realm of Darkness ever since. However, due to
the walls between the worlds, they could initially only enter the Realm of Light when summoned.

About a decade before the events of Kingdom Hearts, Ansem the Wise, king of Radiant Garden, took
it upon himself to study the darkness within human hearts, so he and his
apprentices, Xehanort, Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo, conducted experiments on the heart
beneath his castle. Ansem Report 1 While these tests began with simple psychological tests on willing
subjects like Xehanort Secret Ansem Report 1, they quickly snowballed and eventually caused their
subjects' hearts to collapse, producing a Heartless. Ansem Report 2 Unable at first to determine what they
were, Xehanort named them "Heartless" due to their apparent lack of emotion. Ansem Report 3 After
finding that the Heartless were naturally drawn to the worlds' Keyholes Ansem Report 5, he invented a
machine within the Heartless Manufactory that recreated the conditions which naturally spawned
Heartless in order to create artificial Heartless. In order to differentiate the natural and artificial
Heartless, Xehanort set the machine to mark its creations with the castle's emblem, and named the
two types "Pureblood" and "Emblem", respectively. Ansem Report 8

After a visit from King Mickey Mouse of Disney Castle, Ansem officially ceased his experiments Secret
Ansem Report 2, but they continued to be performed by his apprentices, while he was exiled by them to
the Realm of Nothingness. Secret Ansem Report 3

To further their research into Heartless, as well as the Keyblade and the Princesses of Heart, the
apprentices cast off their bodies and surrendered their hearts to darkness, giving birth to their
Heartless and Nobodies. Against expectations, Xehanort's Heartless retained his human form Ansem
Report 12, as did the apprentices' Nobodies. Eventually, the witchMaleficent learned of the Heartless
and began using them in her quest for power, and gave the power to lead the Heartless to those who
joined her in her quest.

Nine years before the events of Kingdom Hearts, she sent a swarm of Heartless to conquer the
Radiant Garden, causing it to be lost to darkness so completely that only the castle that became
known as Hollow Bastion remained, even in the survivor's memories.[3]

During this time, whether from the machinations of Ansem's apprentices or Maleficent herself, the
Heartless became able to invade the Realm of Light at their own choosing, and whole worlds began
disappearing to the darkness.

edit Nature
Pureblood Heartless are natural Heartless, born from the darkness in people's hearts. They are ink-
black in color, with yellow beady eyes. They are more common in places that are close to or saturated
in darkness. Upon their destruction, they simply disappear in puffs of darkness, without a heart leaving
it's body.

Emblem Heartless, on the other hand, were originally created from machines that reproduce the
process of a heart being consumed by darkness. Afterward, stolen hearts can become Emblems. They
have more varied shapes, colors, and are branded with Xehanort's symbol to differentiate them from
the Pureblood ones. They are more common on the worlds within the Realm of Light, and usually
mimic the shape of creatures or objects within that world.

Heartless, Emblem or Pureblood, possess several key characteristics that define them as Heartless.
All Heartless are created when the darkness that resides in a person's heart consumes him or her,
thus giving the darkness shape and form (this process occasionally forms Nobodies, which are born
from the body and soul left behind when the heart is lost). Being born from darkness, they are
mindless and act on instinct, their only goal to find hearts, and consume them to create more
Heartless. But what they desire above all are the hearts of worlds, and thus they enter worlds in
search of the way into the hearts of the worlds. When they consume these colossal hearts, the
remains of the world form new worlds, such as Traverse Town and the End of the World.

At the same time, Heartless seek out the users of the Keyblade, since the Keyblades are able to
vanquish Heartless very effectively. In order to stop the users of the Keyblades, the Heartless use the
Keyblade itself as a homing beacon, but ultimately desire to take the heart that commands it. Because
of this, Keyblade wielders are under constant attack.

Heartless, being formed from darkness, have varying strengths, depending on the amount of darkness
in a person's heart. The darker the heart forming a Heartless, Emblem or Pureblood, the more
powerful and more monstrous the resulting being will be. An exception to this is Xehanort's Heartless,
who retained his human appearance for unknown reasons. This is a direct contrast to Nobodies, which
determine rank according to the strength of the heart, and whose appearance becomes more human
as they increase in power.

The Heartless, being mindless, usually have no master to direct their actions and instead act on the
instinct to gather more hearts. However, there are some higher beings who can command them.
Heartless will obey those with an affinity for darkness and a strong will. If many people attempt to
control them, the Heartless will side with whomever is most powerful. Those with hearts, such as
Maleficent, endanger themselves however, as the Heartless are attracted to their hearts and if they
show weakness, the Heartless will not think twice of consuming their hearts.

On the other hand, higher ranking Heartless, like Xehanort's Heartless, can fully command other
Heartless without endangering themselves. Also, Organization XIII is able to command them as well
with their strong wills, but are not endangered of being consumed by them for their lack of a heart.

Heartless make use of the "corridors of darkness", inter-dimensional pathways that connect the many
worlds. These pathways are located in the Realm of Darkness, and thus are very dangerous to use if
one is not accustomed to the darkness.

edit The Heartless Invasion

While the Heartless were not researched with the intent of creating a fighting force, their very nature
as manifestations of the destructive force of darkness made them naturally suited for conquering and
destroying the various worlds. Their natural ability to travel to various worlds through the use of
Corridors of Darkness makes it virtually impossible to fully defend a world from Heartless, and the
method in which they are created and exist make it practically impossible to cut them off at the source.
Even fighting them once they appear is made difficult due to their immunity to standard weaponry.

While sealing a world's Keyhole will save the world itself, it is still possible for the Heartless to appear
on the world and hunt the people themselves. For example, even though the great Door to
Darkness at The Radiant Garden was sealed by Sora in the Kingdom Hearts, the Heartless were able
to remain on that world even after the destruction of the End of the World and the restoration of the
worlds, and propagated to form a gigantic siege engine of over a thousand Heartless.
The Heartless's natural danger is only increased due to the many villains who seek to harness the
creatures' power for their own goals. Many of these villains, such as Pete andOrganization XIII,
specifically seek to create abnormally strong Heartless by forcing beings with strong hearts to
succumb to darkness.

The primary weapon for destroying the Heartless is the Keyblade, as it is both specially suited for
manipulating the bonds between heart, body, and soul which create Heartless, and it is the only object
able to thwart the Heartless in their goal of devouring a world's heart. However, in the absence of the
Keyblade there are several other options. Magic is effective against the Heartless, as are magical
weapons. In either situation, invading Heartless can be made disorganized by defeating the major
Heartless which leads them, or the dark heart which attracted them to that world. While this does not
by any means purge the world of its Heartless, it gives no small respite from their threat.

edit End of the World and Kingdom Hearts

The Heartless reside wherever darkness is abundant, especially the Realm of Darkness. However,
they also reside in places such as the End of the World, a collection of the remnants of worlds that is
located near the darkness. Another area that the Heartless live in is The World That Never Was, the
world of the Nobodies that rests dangerously close to the darkness upon which the Heartless thrive.

Heartless, as they seek and consume hearts, also desire to return to the greatest heart, the heart of all
worlds, Kingdom Hearts, that resides deep within the Realm of Darkness. And because of this,
Heartless seek immense darkness, enough to completely consume the Realm of Light. The entryway
into this place of great power is the Door to Darkness, the door that separates the realm of light and
the realm of darkness. However, with the efforts of Sora and the King, the door is closed, which
causes the worlds lost to the darkness to be restored, and preventing a massive army of Heartless
from pouring into the realm of light.

The forces of the Heartless were extremely weakened after the door to Kingdom Hearts was sealed
off, though there were still many left. At the end of Kingdom Hearts II, it is unknown what exactly
happened to the Heartless and if they still pose a threat. It should be noted though that Yen Sid has
mentioned that the only true way to destroy all Heartless is to have all people have light filled in their
hearts and no darkness, leaving nothing to create a Heartless or something for them to thrive for.

edit Types
Note- A name in  bold denotes a  boss.

[edit]Pureblood Heartless
Shadow Mega-Shadow
Gigas Shadow Shadow Sora

Darkball
Invisible Orcus Bit Sniper

Neoshadow Novashadow Gargoyle Knight Gargoyle Warrior

Shadow Glob
Massive Possessor
Sora-Heartless Anti-Sora

Thresholder
Dark Follower
Darkside Possessor
Shadow Stalker Dark Thorn

[edit]Emblem Heartless

Soldier Stealth Soldier Deserter Sergeant

Large Body

Air Soldier Fat Bandit

Commander

Red Nocturne Blue Rhapsody Yellow Opera Green Requiem

Black Ballade Silver Rock Emerald Blues Crimson Jazz

Spring Metal Scarlet Tango Grey Caprice Striped Aria

Sapphire Elegy Pink Concerto Turquoise March Emerald Serenade

Powerwild Bouncywild Sniper Wild Bandit

Pot Spider Barrel Spider

Pot Scorpion Search Ghost

Hover Ghost
Living Pod
Grand Ghost Carrier Ghost
Sheltering Zone Sea Neon Screwdiver Missilediver

Aquatank Jet Balloon Gargoyle Wight Knight

Air Pirate Air Viking

Pirate Battleship

Avalanche
Tailbunker Wavecrest
Wyvern

Dustflier
Defender
Phantomtail
Windstorm
Wizard White Mushroom Black Fungus Rare Truffle

Angel Star
Chimaera
Pink Agaricus Creeper Plant

Dire Plant Fire Plant Blizzard Plant Poison Plant

Crescendo Flare Note Bubble Beat Tornado Step

Magic Phantom
Snapper Dog
Trick Ghost Rabid Dog
 Bookmaster
Bully Dog Hook Bat Perplex

Runemaster
Barrier Master
Minute Bomb Skater Bomb

Storm Bomb Detonator Hammer Frame Iron Hammer

Bulky Vendor Rare Vendor Fortuneteller Cannon Gun

Silent Launcher Ice Cannon Switch Launcher Jumbo Cannon

Rapid Thruster

Driller Mole Lance Soldier Lance Warrior

Morning Star Spiked Crawler Scorching Sphere Fiery Globe

Icy Cube Snowy Crystal Luna Bandit Graveyard

Mad Bumper
Toy Soldier Aeroplane Hot Rod

Magnum Loader
Assault Rider Nightwalker Bolt Tower
 Devastator
Strafer Reckless Living Bone

Aerial Champ

Shaman Necromancer Aerial Knocker

Armored Knight

Surveillance Robot Guardian Destroyer

Clay Armor

Large Armor
Solid Armor Land Armor

Air Battler Aerial Master

Cymbal Monkey Tricky Monkey

 Sky Grappler

Creepworm Zip Slasher

Artful Flyer

Heat Saber Blitz Spear

Dual Blade Chill Ripper

Stalwart Blade

Guard Armor Red Armor Powered Armor

Crimson Prankster Stealth Sneak

Opposite Armor
Trickmaster

Veil Lizard
Lurk Lizard
Sneak Army
Pot Centipede
Parasite Cage

Destroyed Behemoth Arc Behemoth

Behemoth

Kurt Zisa
Ansem, Seeker of
Phantom World of Chaos
Darkness

Volcanic Lord
Illuminator Prison Keeper Blizzard Lord

Grim Reaper
Storm Rider
Groundshaker Mushroom XIII No. 1

Mushroom XIII No. 2 Mushroom XIII No. 3 Mushroom XIII No. 4 Mushroom XIII No. 5
Mushroom XIII No. 6 Mushroom XIII No. 7 Mushroom XIII No. 8 Mushroom XIII No. 9

Mushroom XIII No. 10 Mushroom XIII No. 11 Mushroom XIII No. 12 Mushroom XIII No. 13

Antlion
Infernal Engine Leechgrave
Tentaclaw

Ruler of the Sky

edit Trivia

 Ansem, Seeker of Darkness appears to have characteristics of both Emblem and Pureblood
Heartless, in both his human and world forms. In both forms, he carries the Heartless emblem on
his chest, though in human form it could possibly be an article of clothing. Notably, though, the
similar outfit worn by Master Xehanort does not possess the emblem. Furthermore, the shadowy
symbiote attached to him in both forms possesses the "hollow heart" shared by many other
Pureblood Heartless. Though it is uncertain what the situation of this Heartless is, it is possible
that this makes him both an Emblem and Pureblood Heartless.
 Xehanort's Guardian is the only type of Heartless that has appeared in every released game.
If Kingdom Hearts Final Mix is treated as a version of its original game, then the Neoshadow has
appeared in every game as well.

 In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, a Tentaclaw consumes a Creepworm. This is the only known
instance of Heartless eating other Heartless.
edit Notes and References

1. ↑ Ansem Report 2: "One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion."
2. ↑ Kingdom Hearts, Kairi’s Grandmother: "Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the
warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to
keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread,
swallowing the light and many people’s hearts. It covered everything, and the world
disappeared. But small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these
fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It’s the world we live in now. But the true light
sleeps, deep within the darkness. That’s why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each
other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return.
So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you.
Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its
power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?"
3. ↑ Kingdom Hearts, Leon: "[Maleficent's] the reason this town is full of Heartless. Don’t take
her lightly." / Aerith: "She’s been using the Heartless for years." / Leon: "We lost our world,
thanks to her." / Cid: "One day, a swarm of Heartless took over our world!" / Leon: "That was
nine years ago."
edit See Also

 End of the World

 Nobody
 Unversed
 Dragon Maleficent
 Scar's Ghost