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Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is a Kingdom Hearts game for the iOS, Android, and Fire OS. It focuses on Xehanort and Eraqus' time in Scala ad Caelum where he is tasked by Master Odin to search for the Lost Masters, while Xehanort questions his alignment of wanting to side with the darkness. It takes place centuries after Union χ.

The game was announced on January 23, 2020 under the working title "Project Xehanort" while a Guess the Name campaign was being held on the official Twitter.[1] The official name was revealed on January 31, 2020.[2]

Gameplay[]

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History[]

The story of Dark Road is presented in the form of episodes. The main story takes place during Xehanort's apprenticeship in Master Odin's class at Scala ad Caelum, when the Master is forced to send his students in search of the Upper Class, other Keyblade wielders students who went missing during his Mark of Mastery exam.

However, each episode also touches on other moments in Xehanort's life, including his youth on Destiny Islands before reaching Scala ad Caelum with the help of his future self, his own journey as part of his Mark of Mastery exam. and even his machinations as an adult to start a new Keyblade War and summon Kingdom Hearts.

Episode 1: Unexpected Exit[]

On Destiny Islands, Xehanort felt the world was too small for his taste and was haunted by dreams of a Keyblade wielder from another age. He wondered if he could one day leave his island and meet these friends in his dreams. One day, a hooded figure appeared to him and opened a Dark Passage to allow him to leave his homeworld.

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Students prepare to go on a mission

Master Odin calls his students: Xehanort, Eraqus, Hermod, Bragi, Urd, and Vor, and asks them to go find the upper class. Baldr, the seventh member of his class, receives a special mission in his place: his sister is among the missing students and Odin did not wish to worry him.

Xehanort shares his knowledge of the outer worlds with his classmates, as he is the only one to have set foot outside of Scala ad Caelum, after which the students split into two groups investigating Agrabah and Wonderland, which are are in various stages of recovery from the Keyblade War. However, there they face the Heartless, creatures of the Dark, who until now had only existed as projections of the future created by the Book of Prophecies.

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Eraqus and Xehanort in front of four tombs

Four years later, Xehanort is in the Scala ad Caelum cemetery, laying flowers in front of four graves. Eraqus joins him there, and they say goodbye before Xehanort leaves to see the outer worlds as part of his Mark of Mastery exam.

Episode 2: The Presence of Darkness[]

Xehanort recalls that his apprenticeship on Scala ad Caelum was basically quite similar to his previous life on Destiny Islands: monotonous, but also peaceful, familiar, and comfortable. He thinks the difference lies in the interactions he had with his friends at Scala: even the smallest can sway a heart, towards Light or Dark.

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The darkness of the Queen of Hearts

In Wonderland, the students planned to meet during their investigation, but one of the two groups did not show up. Xehanort's group discovers that his friends have been taken prisoner by the Card Soldiers by order of the Queen of Hearts. They intervene in the trial and discover that the Queen of Hearts rules Wonderland through fear, and that she is under the influence of Darkness: her Darkness manifests as an aura that even summons a Heartless. The Keyblade wielders defeat the heartless and realize that the darkness in people's hearts is the real threat they will have to face, and not just the Heartless. Xehanort and Eraqus decide to stay in Wonderland to find out more about it.

Four years later, Xehanort is again arrested by the Queen of Hearts and seems pleased that she's still under the influence of the Dark.

Episode 3: The Purpose of the Journey[]

Xehanort recalls his journey through the Darkness Passage that brought him to Scala ad Caelum. During this journey, he experiences the attack of the Darkness, hears unknown voices and feels the negative emotions of these people. Looking back, he realized that these were people he had never met before. Despite the negative nature of these emotions, they made Xehanort realize that he was capable of sentience.

In Wonderland, Xehanort, Eraqus, and their other classmate seek to return to the Queen of Hearts to learn more about the Darkness in her heart. Thanks to the Cheshire Cat, they return to the Queen, and Xehanort guesses that his Darkness comes from her own anger. They eliminate the Heartless created by the Queen of Hearts darkness and leave Wonderland, regrouping with their companions at Scala ad Caelum. There, Xehanort comments that, although the Queen is under the influence of Darkness, she maintains order in her world: it may be that their perspective regarding Light and Darkness is not universal, and that such a conflict could pose a problem for the upper class, and even cause their defeat. Eraqus refuses to accept this possibility, but the students agree that in their quest for the upper class, they must seek the darkness, as it seems to be drawn to the light of the Keyblade wielders.

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Eraqus and Baldr

A week earlier, Eraqus finds Baldr at Scala ad Caelum. He is worried about his sister, who is about to leave for her exam, and seems to think that some of the upper class students will not return from their trip. Baldr reveals that Eraqus's grandfather may have perished fighting the Darkness himself. Eraqus is not sure of himself, but admits that hatred of the Dark is in his blood. Regardless, he comforts Baldr, telling him that his sister would surely return safely.

Episode 4: Cruel Clues[]

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A crucial part of Alba & Ater

A year earlier, Xehanort asks Eraqus during a game of Alba & Ater if he knows of the Lost Masters, linked to the start of the previous Keyblade War. Eraqus says he doesn't know, but Xehanort doesn't seem to believe him.

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Vidar makes his entrance

At the Dwarf Woodlands, Xehanort and Eraqus investigate with Vor. She finds the Queen's Magic Mirror, and, learning that it has all the answers, offers to use it to obtain information on the Upperclass. The Queen tries to oppose them, but they end up victorious. Learning that the Upperclass students have each followed their own path, Xehanort asks if the Magic Mirror knows the whereabouts of just one of them: Vidar. Just then, Vidar appears, having observed the Keyblade wielders. He knows that Vor had already asked the Magic Mirror a question, who had told him that she would not be able to improve as long as she remained safe with her friends: therefore, Vidar offers her instead to join. to the Upper Class, without explaining what they are trying to accomplish. Despite this, Vor accepts her offer, saying she needs to get out of her bubble.

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Master Xehanort returns to the Magic Mirror for advice.

64 years later, Xehanort returns to the Magic Mirror, and asks it a question: Were the young people he had seen in his dreams real? The Mirror tells him that some of them do indeed still exist in this world and that their time has not come; in particular, one of them is found within an ocean of keys on a dark land: a boy carrying both powerful light and darkness. Realizing that this is the Keyblade Graveyard, Xehanort sets off.

Episode 5: The key to the order of all worlds[]

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The conflict between two old friends.

54 years in the future, Xehanort visits Eraqus, newly settled in the Land of Departure, to announce that he intends to forge the Keyblade χ and summon Kingdom Hearts. Eraqus vows to oppose his plan as long as he lives; the two engage in combat, but Xehanort defeats him using the power of Darkness. Xehanort leaves and Eraqus comments that he never knew how to give up.

7 years in the future, Xehanort and Eraqus, newly appointed Masters, have a similar clash: Xehanort already believes that Kingdom Hearts is the only solution to defeat the Darkness. Eraqus reminds him that he now uses the Gazing Eye, and that he is supposed to inherit the wielder's resolve from ancient times as well. Determined to follow his heart, Xehanort wants to leave in search of answers, but then Eraqus, discouraged, decides to confront his friend to stop him and both duel.

Back at Scala ad Caelum, the remaining students are divided: Eraqus is disappointed and angry that Vor left them to join Vidar, and he and Bragi decide to try to find her. Xehanort, on the other hand, believes that his original mission is more important; however, after Eraqus leaves, Xehanort confesses that he suspects his paths, however divergent, will bring them together. Eraqus tries to ask the Magic Mirror a question, but the Queen now protects him; he and Bragi end up deciding to find another solution.

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The two thieves, Vala and Vali, are interested in the order of the worlds.

Meanwhile, at Beast's Castle, Xehanort, Hermod, and Urd discover that The Beast's enchanted rose has been stolen by two people who also carry Keyblades. Suspecting it to be other upperclassmen, they offer to help the castle's inhabitants find her. During her investigation, Urd gets separated while she is chasing a Heartless and is ambushed. She still manages to hold her own, showing Vala that her light shines through adversity. She eliminates the rest of the Heartless and offers Urd to join her ranks as well; however, Urd refuses to blindly obey Vala without knowing what her target is. Accepting this refusal, Vala joins Vali, who returns the rose to Urd. Vala advises him to take the rose to a safe place, saying that it is essential to maintaining order in this world.

One year in the future, Xehanort traverses the passages of Darkness on his journey to prepare for his own exam. Sensing that the protection offered by his armor is incomplete, he wonders if he is strong enough to resist the Darkness and removes his armor. However, he immediately collapses and is rescued by a stranger in a black coat.

Episode 6: Uncertain Order[]

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A stranger rescues Xehanort from the Darkness

One year in the future, right after the scene above, Xehanort wakes up in the Keyblade Graveyard. The stranger says that he is "more or less" a Keyblade wielder and offers Xehanort a black cloak, which will protect him against the darkness better than his armor. In exchange, he offers Xehanort a deal: to probe the hearts of the people for the presence of the Darkness and return here with his finds at the end of his journey.

Xehanort, Hermod and Urd arrive at Agrabah, the last world opened by Master Odin that they have not yet searched for. Urd is pensive from the events of Beast's Castle and confesses to her friends that she met Vali and Vala there, but she doesn't have time to explain why: Jafar appears, having learned that the bearers of the Keyblade can enter the Cave of the Wonders, and lies to them to convince them to get the magic lamp back for him. Xehanort agrees, despite not trusting Jafar, so that he can search for new parts of this world.

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Vidar reveals his true motives to the lower class

In the cavern, they find Eraqus and Bragi, also sent on a mission by Jafar. Realizing that they have been tricked, they decide not to bring the lamp to Jafar, but Urd offers to look for it anyway: it is certainly essential to the order of the world, and thus could be targeted by the upper class. In fact, when they find the lamp, Vidar appears with Vor and tries to convince Eraqus to let him take the lamp. In fact, Vidar looks for powerful lights and believes that by targeting objects important to order, he will create enough chaos to identify those lights. This will allow him to defeat the Darkness on behalf of his comrades who are now unable to do so. Eraqus agrees that they have the same goal, to eliminate the Darkness, but refuses to pay Vidar's price.

One year in the future, Xehanort returns to the Keyblade Graveyard at the end of his journey and reports abroad in a black coat: he judges that the light in people's hearts is often false, hiding jealousy or greed behind supposedly righteous reasons. The stranger asks him what he plans to do, and while Xehanort planned to wait for his exam, he admits that he already knows what he should do. When Xehanort asks him who he is, he ends up telling him his name and that he's one of the Lost Masters, before leaving.

Episode 7: The Seven Lights and Thirteen Darknesses[]

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Gallery[]

References[]

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