Case of The Importance the Kingdom Hearts X[chi]/ Union Cross

*Warning this may contain spoilers of several Kingdom Hearts games*

The Kingdom Hearts as a series has a handful issues and one of them is the marketing and naming of all the Kingdom Hearts games. This is an issue because all the Kingdom Hearts games are cannon and are important to the story. That even includes the mobile game, Kingdom Hearts X[chi] (noted as KHX at times) or as it is now know as Kingdom Hearts Union Cross. I believe that there are many details within this game that connects and answers some of the question some may have had with parts of Kingdom Hearts 3, noted as KH3 at times. Let’s start by taking a closer look at what Kingdom Hearts X[chi]/Union Cross is about.

Kingdom Hearts X[chi], pronounced “key”, and Union Cross is about the events the led up to the first Keyblade Wars and the after math. The game was first a web browser game before it was ported to mobile. First being released as Kingdom Hearts X but later was re-released as Kingdom Hearts Union Cross which focuses more on the after math of the war. The follows your character as they join a Union and collect Lux or light to be used to fight off the growing darkness. However, with tension grows among the unions as the need to be the strongest and have the most Lux ignites conflicts among the Unions and their Leaders which leads to the war. So, who were the key players in this war?

Looking at the movie special Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover, we learn about the Master of Master and his 6 app. The Master of Master was a power being that had a Gazing Eye that gave him the power to see the future. The Master saw the events that would cause the first Keyblade War and that the light would be lost and the darkness would win. He wrote down all the events in a Book of Prophecies and then gave his apprentices roles to in preparation for the events to come. The 6 students were Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula, Ava and Luxu. Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula and Ava were each given a copy of the Book of Prophecies, a Union to lead and a role to play among the group. These 5 would know as the Foretellers among the Unions. The last apprentice Luxu was given a special role of wielding the Keyblade that contain the Master’s Gazing eye so he could observe events to come and a black chest that contains a secret one him and the Master knows about. For now, let’s focus on the Foretellers and their roles.

What were the roles of the Foretellers? KHX: Back cover goes more into detail about the roles the Foretellers were given. Ira was tasked to be the leader of the group when the Master of Master left. Aced was given the role of second in command and Invi was to act as the mediator of the game to make sure there was balance between the group. Gula and Ava had more interesting roles. Gula in addition to be given a copy of the Book of Prophecies was also given a secret page that was missing from the other books that described that there would be a traitor among the Foretellers and how the war would begin. Ava was ordered to gather Keyblade wielders that would flee when the war began to ensure there would be future protectors of the light after the war.

Out of all the Foretellers, Gula and Ava had the most interesting roles. Starting with Gula, in the secret page it described that the traitor would be the one who bear the sigil and the war would be begin with a strike of Keyblades and a ring of a bell. Though, Kingdom Hearts is full of import symbols from the crest on Heartless to the crown that Sora wears and used to keep track of progress, the one that stands out and that Chi[key] or Recusant’s Sigil. This symbol has been used as a way to track Sora during Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance and was used when Xemnas was giving names to members of Organization 13. However, Gula never did find the traitor and got decided that the war would bring forth Kingdom Hearts which would bring the Master back. Speaking of the war, in one of the cuts scenes Gula tells your character this passage reads as follows: “Unable to permit disharmony, you will be disappointed by fate, and lose sight of true strength…
Misreading the truth, you will venture forth in secrecy…
And then with that one strike, a bell will toll for the final battle, and the battle will begin at last, and the time shall be chosen..”. At this point of the game, tensions between the Unions are at a all-time high and the desire to be the ones with the most Lux has pushed some to steal from other Unions and fights have broken out across town. The last part talks about that talks about one strike that will cause a bell to toll, while Gula is talking to your character about this, Ava confronts Luxu thinking he is the cause of all that has happened and raises her Keyblade against him. The clashing of their Keyblades cause the bell in a clock tower to ring and thus the war has started. Though it would seem Gula has failed his mission, Ava had a bit more success.

As mention before Ava role from the Master was to gather Keyblade wielders to be flee during the war to ensure that the future of the worlds after the war. This group became to be known as Dandelions. However, gathering members to became Dandelions and training wasn’t enough. The Master also wanted ensure order would be restored as well so he gave Ava a list of Keyblade wielders who would become the new Foretellers. They would also be given a copy of the Book of Prophecies; however, they would be the only ones to know about the first group of Foretellers and that there was a war at all. To ensure this would work, the Dandelions where transport to another world and as they entered the world, their memories of the Foretellers and the war were wiped.

Who were these 5 new Foretellers that the Master had chosen? Well that is a bit of a tricky question as we only see a few actually talk to Ava and are given the book. The selected Dandelions were; Ephemer, Skuld, Ventus, Brain, Strelitzia and Lauriam and no I didn’t miss count. In a series of cutscenes we actually see Strelitzia be approached by Ava and handed a book and was told that she would be a leader of the Dandelions. However, Strelitzia determined to make sure your character joins the Dandelions goes into an abandon warehouse looking for our character would. Sadly, while in the warehouse Strelitzia is cut down and her booked picked up by the figure in the shadows. Last, we see of her is her heart floating away. The 5 we see meet up at the Keyblade Graveyard at the is Ephemer, Skuld, Ventus, Brain and Lauriam. Now need to figure out which of these 5 are the one that attack Strelitzia. Ephemer and Skuld are out due to how important they are to your character’s story and are reoccurring characters. Lauriam is currently out as apparently him and Strelitzia are siblings. That leaves Ventus and Brain as the current suspects. However, that is a case for another time and will probably be answered as Kingdom Hearts Union Cross is still getting new story missions, though the release of the new material won’t be released until the Summer of 2019.

So, how does all the info above connect to Kingdom Hearts 3? Let’s start with the post credits Epilogue scene.

 

*Image from Google Image Search*

After the credits of Kingdom Hearts 3, we see Xehanort’s Keyblade fall from the sky and is picked up by a man in a black cloak carrying a black chest. This is Luxu, but he is currently known as Xigbar, the 2^nd member of Organization 13. After picking up the Keyblade, 4 more figures join Luxu in the graveyard. They were 4 of the first Foretellers; Ira, Aced, Gula and Invi. Apparently Luxu has summon the Foretellers and begins to tell them what he has been up to since the first war. Luxu does make a note that Ava didn’t join them. I believe the reason Ava didn’t appear with the others is she completed her role. Ava roles was to basically setup a new group of Foreteller’s and Union to ensure the future, where was for the others it can be said they failed their roles. Ira and Aced ended being at each other’s throats instead being side by side. Invi would was to act like a peace keeper for the group and to do so enforce their behavior onto her Union and finally Gula never did find the traitor. Now we have to wait to see why the Foretellers are back and what Luxu has planned next.

The next one is actually during the final battles. After Sora and crew get wiped out and Sora brings them all back, one of the scenes we see is thousands of Keyblades in the graveyard come to life and aid Sora in defeating the giant horde of Heartless. The person that approaches Sora and askes if he could lend a hand is Ephemer.

 *Image from Google Image Search*

Ephemer was the first one selected and approached by Ava to be the new a Union Leader but was also selected to be the Leader of the group. He also makes an appearance Kingdom Hearts X[chi] Back cover as well. Side note, kind of awesome that so many people got their name in the game during that part, I thought it was a nice touch. The next couple of connections may be scene as a bit of a stretch.

During one of the scenes in Kingdom Hearts 3, we see the Organization members of Marluxia, Larxene, Luxord, and Demyx gather and talk about why they have returned and were selected to be part of the new Organization. Soon Xemnas joins them and tells them that they were selected because of “the ancient Keyblade legacy that slumbers within you”. That at first that made my head scratch but after doing a bit of digging I think I found out what it could be related to. Now we don’t know all the Dandelions there were selected outside of your character, Ephemer, Skuld, Ventus, Brain, Strelitzia and Lauriam. Now there are a couple names that stand out in that list. The one I want to focus on first is Lauriam. If you play “What my Organization 13 name game” with his name can be changed from Lauriam to Marluxia and with some similar features. Though that is a long shot with the difference in art styles.

Lauriam           Marluxia

*Images from khwiki.com*

In future quest of the Kingdom Hearts Union Cross that have released in Japan there is a scene between Lauriam and another Dandelion he hopes can help find his sister Strelitzia. The person is named Elrena who if you arrange the name and add an ‘X’ you get Larxene and the similar hair style make her a strong candidate.

Elrena          Larxene *Images from khwiki.com*

Now that leaves just Luxord and Demyx but as I said before Union Cross is still being update so I wouldn’t be surprise if we see their characters soon.

Next connection is Ventus and Chirithy.

*image from https://twinfinite.net/2019/02/five-questions-we-still-have-after-beating-kingdom-hearts-3/3/*

First, what is Chirithy? Chirithy were creatures created by the Master of Master to be assigned to every Keyblade wielder as a way to aid them. Now going back to when we saw Ventus as a Keyblade wielder during Kingdom Hearts X, that would mean he would have been assign a Chirithy to be his partner. The only one we see in Kingdom Hearts 3 is the one in the Final World where Sora ends up after being defeated by the hordes of heartless the first time. However, this isn’t the one from the final world as that one has black-ish eyes and this one has blue ones. The way it appears that Ventus reacts to it, it seems that he is familiar with this blue eyed Chirithy. This one may be a long shot but even the design of Ventus from the Kingdom Hearts Unions cross shows some shared details. Now if this is true that would mean that Ventus has been around for hundreds of years, but not impossible as we see the Foretellers reappear and none of them seem to have aged a bit.

Ventus from Kingdom Hearts Union Cross *Image from khwiki.com*

The last thing I want to bring up is the hearts Sora talks to while in the Final World. During this part of the game, story finds star looking objects that are the hearts of those who have past away. 2 of these trigger cutscenes with more in-depth discussions. One is Namine and the other one we never know the name of but I have seen many people think it is Strelitzia. I understand why as this voice states the only reason their heart is still around is because it waiting for another. When asked if someone is coming for them, they respond they are not sure as they gone through a drastic change and their heart has been replaced by another’s and if that person’s old self would be restored, they would be saddened by their absence. Now I can see heart talking would make sense. In KHX, Lauriam after the war spends much of his time looking for his sister Strelitza and if we continue with the theory that Lauriam will become Marluxia one day who during KH3 becomes a vessel for Xehanort’s heart, then this unknown heart Sora talks to is Strelitza.

After making all these connections between Kingdom Heart 3 and Kingdom Hearts X[chi]/Union Cross, why is this mobile game so important? I truly believe that the next Kingdom Hearts game will focus on the Keyblade Legacy. Why make so many references and connection to a part of history that was suppose to be forgotten and were thought as legends. Why would he bring back 4 members who has connections to the Keyblade legacy? Why would he bring back Xion and the Riku Replica? I think that Xehanort want to not only became the leader of a world of pure light, but he wanted to become the new Master of Masters and begin building up the number of Keyblade wielders. I mean just looking at Vanitas, Marluxia, Larxene, Luxord, Demyx and Xion could be his version of the Foretellers that could enforce his teachings and rule. So, the point of Union Cross will be to establish this legacy that Xehanort may have wanted to tap into to ensure that his new world will not fall to the same fate the lead to the first Keyblade War and first purge performed by Kingdom Hearts.

Hopefully this was at the least, informational. Writing this was a bit harder that originally plan and hopefully it was somewhat good for my first attempt. For the next part, I want to focus Luxu and Xehanort and their part in starting the Dark Seeker Saga. Big shout out to khwiki.com as I used them double check several facts and spellings of key characters for this theory and for a source of images. Have a good morning, day or night and see you next time.