My friends are my power... and I'm theirs!
Ventus to Vanitas
Ventus, also known as Ven, is one of the main protagonists in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He wielded a Keyblade before Sora, and became an apprentice to both Master Xehanort and Master Eraqus. His best friends are Terra and Aqua, of which he is the youngest.
Ventus was sent to the Keyblade Graveyard and forced to fight Neoshadow Heartless using darkness so that the X-Blade could be forged. Ventus, unable to use the darkness, was knocked unconscious. Xehanort used the power of his Keyblade to unlock Ventus's heart. The darkness in Ventus' heart was removed by Xehanort, severely damaging it. When the darkness was released, it formed first into an orb and then into a creature of pure darkness. Xehanort gives it the name Vanitas.
The damage done to Ventus' heart by Xehanort and later when the X-blade is destroyed leaves his heart severely damaged. Both times, Sora's heart reaches out to mend Ventus's heart. At end of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Ventus' body lies comatose in the Chamber of Waking as his heart is sleeping with Sora, where it can mend and heal, to be returned to Ventus once it has done so. The official Japanese website refers to Ventus as the "Swift Wind Returning to Bonds" (絆巡る疾風 Kizuna Meguru Shippū?).
Personality[]
During his time in Daybreak Town, Ventus' personality was mostly the same but he was also shy and had a hard time making friends and yet didn't like the idea of fighting other wielders. After learning the truth of his part in Strelitzia's demise, he feels guilty that he was unable to save her when Darkness had possessed him. According to Darkness, Ventus also had a hidden desire for power.
Ventus is the youngest of the three Keyblade warriors. Personality-wise, he has many similarities with Sora; he's sweet, cheerful, curious, and gets excited at anything new or interesting, and he also has Similarities with Roxas; he can be short-tempered, blunt and stands his ground. He also feels disappointed whenever Aqua and Terra refuse to allow him to join them on their missions because they do not want to put him in "harm's way." When he gives them their passes to Disney Town, he grudgingly mentions that Scrooge McDuck told him to "take two grown-ups," but he doesn't seem to dislike his status as the youngest of the three.
He also makes new friends easily in different worlds and really cares about his best friends Terra and Aqua, viewing Terra as an older brother. Ventus is very much unable to cope with Terra turning and subsiding to the darkness in his heart. Some of his traits and personality might have passed on to Sora when his heart joined him. Along with his kind personality, he also shows a lot of bravery, especially evident when he battles Vanitas for the final time, where he icily promises to fight for his friends no matter what, knowing the fact that he would lose his heart as a result.
He summons his own ruthlessness during the final battle with Vanitas; as the latter offers that the two become one once and for all and form the χ - blade, Ventus ominously shakes his head, and coldly offers to instead destroy the pair both instead.
Physical Appearance[]
Ventus has bright blue eyes, body build, and caramel blond spiky hair. His hair style also separates them, as the front concentrates the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, and the back is smoother and more feathered. Further highlighting this resemblance is Ventus's outfit, which is strikingly similar to Roxas's own Twilight Town clothes. He wears a jacket that resembles a fusion of Roxas's jacket (white on the right side) and Sora's jacket in Kingdom Hearts II (black on the left side). The collar of the jacket is red and pleated, again, similar to the collar on Roxas's own jacket. Underneath this, he wears what appears to be a grey vest with a button and several white, angular patterns on it. He wears a third layer under this, in the form of a plain, high-necked, black shirt. He also has a chunk of dull green and grey blue armor on his midsection that appears to be under his vest, and another piece of armor on his left shoulder.
Master Eraqus wears a similar piece of armor, though more blue-green, and more obvious. Ventus's pants are also similar to the pants Roxas wore, though Ven's balloon outward slightly before closing up about halfway down his legs, similar to caprice pants. These pants are colored in shades of grey, black, and white. He also wears an ornate, dull green and grey blue piece of armor on his upper-left arm, along with a black and white checkered wristband that is, once again, strikingly similar to Roxas's, but with white edges as opposed to Roxas's black-edged wristband. Like Aqua, he wears two criss-crossing straps on his chest, on which he wears a silver Keyblade Master emblem. His boots are rather odd when compared to Aqua's and Terra's, as they resemble an armored version of normal street shoes in shades of grey blue, dull green, and red.
Ventus's mannerisms are also echoed by Sora and Roxas; in particular, when standing around he often places his hands behind his head, in the same stance that Sora uses. Throughout both the canonical story and the extra-canonical videos of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Ventus echoes Sora and Roxas in various ways. For example, in the opening video, Ventus is shown falling through a Station of the Dive to the Heart due to the Kingdom Key and Soul Eater shattering the pillar, in a similar way to how Sora and Roxas fall from shattered Stations at the beginning of their games. At the beginning of his episode at the Land of Departure, Ventus falls asleep outside after watching a shooting star, and a little while later, he yawns, and then is startled to find Aqua standing over him, who giggles upon his reaction and teases him affectionately, mirroring how Kairi startled Sora awake in the original Kingdom Hearts.
When touching the piece of armor on his shoulder, Ventus becomes fully clad in armor. In Birth by Sleep, Ventus's suit of armor is mostly colored in shades of steel blue, black, and gold. Dull red lines decorate the armor as well. Ventus adds a greyish-blue cape to his armor that looks discolored, almost appearing rusted. The armor on his knee is gold and bears a sharp, upward-pointing hook on the outer side of each one. His gloves are a shade of brown, and the black mask on his helmet has a slight orange tint. Ventus's helmet has a notably different design from Terra and Aqua’s, appearing more squashed and flat at the top. His helmet also has two prongs on either side of his head which point backwards and angle diagonally upward.
In Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Ventus's armor is largely unchanged, though He loses his cape.
History[]
Kingdom Hearts Union χ[]
Prior to the Keyblade War, the Master revealed to Ava that the world as they knew it would end and that five new leaders were to be selected to replace the Foretellers. Ventus was thought to have been chosen by Ava to be a member of the Dandelions, a group of Keywielders deriving from all five Unions, chosen by Ava per the instructions of The Master of Masters. The Dandelions, including the five new leaders, were to leave their current world for a new one before the War begins.
After the Keyblade war was over, these new Union leaders were recruited by Ava, each given a Rule Book, and sent to meet their co-leaders at the site of the battle, now known as the Keyblade Graveyard. Ventus sees Ephemer and Skuld chatting at the graveyard and tells them that he is envious of the friendship the two share, having spent much of his time alone. Ephemer assures Ventus that they value his friendship as well. Brain arrives and questions Ava's rules about not sharing the events of the Keyblade War with the other Dandelions. It seems the un-chosen members of the Dandelions lost their memories of the old world when traveling to the new one. Brain is reluctant to lie about it, but Ephemer assures him and everyone else that it is for the best. Ventus agrees as well.
After the fifth leader Lauriam arrives, the group return to Daybreak Town and go to the Forteller's Chamber. As each Foreteller had led one of the five Unions, Skuld suggests that they decide who among them will now lead each one, but Ephemer convinces them to stay undivided for the time being. It was the division that caused the conflicts in the past, a past the Dandelions no longer remember. Brain believes it a good idea for the leaders to create new Spirits and sends Ephemer, Ventus, and Skuld to find ingredients while he and Lauriam stay behind to prepare.
Then, he noticed Brain reading through the book of prophecies intensively hearing his comrade's belief that they were still in a ruined future and wanting to be the virus that overrides it. Meanwhile, Ven confides with Skuld about what Brain said suggesting they talk to Ephemer but they were both shocked to find data apparitions of the Master of Masters and Master Ava and left to find Brain on the way there he meets Player and Ephemer making their way into the control room. Through, Brain's explanations, they discovered not only was a new data world trying to connect with their's as a result of the glitches and Darklings but they were also stuck inside a data version of Daybreak Town despite that he heard his comrade reaffirm his promise of getting them out.
After some time, Brain sends his Chirithy to fetch Ventus. When gathered with the union leaders except for Lauriam, it is revealed that Brain was the one given a copy of the Book of Prophecies. In the book, Ava left the memo that Master of Masters gave her with the names of the five new union leaders on it. Furthermore, this note had a name circled to indicate which one of the leaders would be given the book. Brain reveals he was not the intended recipient of the book, and that one of the current union leaders is not on the list at all. Brain informs Ventus that he was not originally chosen to be a union leader, and that Lauriam's missing sister Strelitzia was supposed to be in his place. Nonetheless, the remaining union leaders determine Ventus was not self-aware that he was an imposter, and pledge to continue to work with him as a friend to uncover the truth.
Afterwards Ven explained that he met Master Ava in a warehouse and left together walking towards the clock tower but struggled to remember what went on inside and vaguely saw Strelitzia dying as he left. The continuing struggle to remember was so hard on Ventus that he was put in his sleeping corridors through his dreams, he finally remembers what happened to her. What the others believed was true; Darkness posed as Master Ava, possessed him, killed Lauriam's sister and while under the dark influence took her rulebook and left the house. Waking up afterwards, Ventus starts to cry, feeling guilt-ridden about what happened.
With this horrifying revelation, he admits to the others about what he did to Strelitzia much to his friends protest as well as invoking Lauriam's anger. But the struggle to remember makes him unable to answer, feeling something terribly wrong Ventus is unconscious as darkness emerges from him.
While conversating with Darkness, his friends discovered that Ventus is supposed to be the vessel that houses the Darkness as the "Destined Child", as written in the book of prophecies by the Master of Masters and that the Darkness used him to separate itself from the Darkness whole entity.
Despite the others beating the Darkness back but due to the entity having no physical form the Union leaders couldn't destroy it. Then, shortly after Ventus was surrounded by the Darklings but before the creatures could do anything he wakes up to the other's surprise and uses the light within his heart to destroy them. Aware that the entity is pure darkness and him being pure light; just as the Darkness used him to change its form Ventus knew he could do the same giving it entity a form his friends could defeat but was briefly held back by a concerned Lauriam. And yet, he told him everything would be fine before taking on the Darkness alone.
The fight leaves Ventus unconscious once again and was watched over by a remorseful Lauriam. Then, he was carried by Lauriam to the basement below worried about the state of both worlds the union leaders decide to separate for his safety Ventus leaves with Elrena, Brain and Lauriam for the real world while Ephemer, Skuld and Player remain behind. Despite making it to the real world Ventus remained asleep inside the pod but with the real world on the verge of destruction too and for a chance to bring the others back he, Luariam and Elrena travel to the future; however, Ventus ends up separated from the others still unconscious in the Keyblade Graveyard found by an unknown individual.
Prior Birth by Sleep[]
Four years before Terra and Aqua take their Mark of Mastery exam, Ventus served as an apprentice to Master Xehanort, as part of the elderly Keyblade Master's plans to forge the legendary χ-blade. However, he proved to be a poor candidate, and when he refused to use his darkness to fight several Neoshadow Heartless in the Keyblade Graveyard, Master Xehanort finally lost patience with him and used his own Keyblade to unlock and extract the darkness from Ventus's heart, using it to form a being of pure darkness who is then named "Vanitas" by Master Xehanort.
Unfortunately, the process left Ventus in a comatose state, with his broken heart of pure light slowly fading out of existence. Master Xehanort, disguised in a Black Coat, then took Ventus to Destiny Islands to allow him to live out his last days peacefully. Ventus is sent to the Dive to the Heart, where he comes in contact with the heart of a young Sora. After a brief discussion, his heart connects with Sora's, mending the damage and allowing Ven to stay alive until he someday becomes strong enough to repair the damage by himself. Ventus then summons a Keyblade, much to Master Xehanort's surprise.
Following these events, Xehanort brought Ventus to the Land of Departure, where he could train as an apprentice to Master Eraqus. Terra and Aqua met him with open arms. However, when Terra asked Ventus about his past, he screamed out in agony, eventually falling unconscious. Eraqus revealed that this was because Ven had lost his memories. Afterwards, he remained asleep for some time. As he slept, Aqua kept watch over him, to keep him safe. Some time later, Ven woke up. Overjoyed, Aqua quickly alerted Eraqus and a worried Terra about Ven's recovery.
It was then that his heart began to heal and he started to form strong bonds of friendship with Terra and Aqua. During a training session, Ventus loses humiliatingly, but Terra and Aqua reassure Ven that he was getting stronger. As time went on, Terra and Ven grew close, forming a brotherly bond. Terra even went so far as to give Ven his wooden training Keyblade and recite a mock inheritance ceremony. Together, the three of them shared the same dream: to become Keyblade Masters.
Birth by Sleep[]
Years later, now sixteen, Ventus awakes to a meteor shower and hurries out to look at the stars. Later, both Terra and Aqua join him. When Ven asks about stars and their light, Terra explains how each star is another world and compares the light to Ven, who doesn't understand. After a brief spat between the two boys, they, along with Aqua, spar in order to prepare for the Mark of Mastery exam the next day. Following their workout, Aqua gives both Ven and Terra good luck charms and tells them the story behind the charms. The charms, also known as Wayfinders, were gifted with a powerful magic that formed an "unbreakable connection". Upon receiving the charms, Ven and his friends return to their castle for the night, eagerly awaiting the exam.
However, things don't go smoothly. During the exam, Master Xehanort rigs the test, and the orbs of light attack Ven and his friends. Together, the three fight off the orbs, and the exam continues.
After the exam, it's clear that Ventus has earned the interest of Master Xehanort and his apprentice, Vanitas. Though their intentions are rather ambiguous at the time, Vanitas decides to give Ventus some incentive to leave his home. When Vanitas appears in Ven's room, he leaves dark hints of Terra's fate and how he'll "become a different person". Ven becomes very defensive, telling Vanitas that he doesn't know the first thing about Terra. However, once Vanitas leaves, via a Corridor of Darkness, Ven hurries out to find his friend in hopes of giving him a warning.
Unfortunately, Ven arrives much too late, as Terra leaves to go on his mission. Left with no other choice, Ventus leaves his home and begins a journey of his own.
He visits a number of worlds and builds new friendships along the way. In the Dwarf Woodlands, he helps Snow White escape the woods and guides her to the Dwarfs' home. There, he learns that Snow White encountered Terra and immediately tries to get to the bottom of things. After facing several more Unversed along the way, Ven encounters the Queen in the form of an old lady, and she tells Ven that Terra threatened her with his Keyblade. Refusing to believe this, Ventus leaves in hopes of finding Terra, wondering what's gotten into him.
Then, in the Castle of Dreams, Ven befriends Jaq and Cinderella. Though Terra isn't there, Ven still lends a hand, helping gather supplies for Cinderella's dress, and even facing Lucifer. When the dress is complete, Cinderella thanks Jaq and Ventus, and the two talk about their dreams. It's here that Ven decides that his dream is to become a Keyblade Master; the dream he and his friends all share.
It's in Enchanted Dominion that Ven gets another clue regarding Terra. After freeing Princess Aurora's heart, Ven encounters Maleficent. Maleficent reveals that Terra helped steal Aurora's heart, but Aqua arrives just in time to convince Ven otherwise. She then asks Ven to go home with her, but he refuses, remembering the cryptic warning left by Vanitas.
Coincidentally, Ven encounters Vanitas again after leaving Enchanted Dominion, and he follows him straight to the Keyblade Graveyard. There, Ven tries to get some answers out of Vanitas, who simply restates what he said before, that Terra will be gone forever. The two battle, but Vanitas easily outmatches Ven and nearly kills him. It's not until King Mickey arrives, that Vanitas is defeated. Upon his defeat, Vanitas tells Ventus that he's on probation and disappears, leaving Ven and Mickey alone.
The two introduce themselves to one another, and Mickey tells Ven about the Star Shard. Apparently, it allows him to travel to different worlds, but he still doesn't know all of its secrets. Shortly after, the Star Shard sends the two of them both to Radiant Garden, and Ven tries to follow Mickey, only to be intercepted by Aeleus and Dilan. After spying an Unversed, Ven gives up his search for Mickey and instead trails after the monster. He's interrupted several times, by Scrooge McDuck, who gives him lifetime passes to Disney Town, and Merlin, who tells him of the book to the 100 Acre Wood.
Eventually, he does find the Unversed he was chasing, as well as Terra and Aqua. Together, they face the Trinity Armor, but after its defeat, things change for the worse.
First, Aqua tries to tell Ven to go home, and then she and Terra get into a fight regarding the darkness and Eraqus's intentions. The whole time, Ven is left completely confused, as he'd never seen his friends bicker in such a way. In the end, he tells Aqua that she's let being a Master go to her head, and he leaves to find Terra again.
His search is interrupted again, when he spots Ienzo being attacked by the Unversed. Without any hesitation, Ventus protects the boy and defeats his attackers. Even arrives shortly after and thanks Ventus for his help. Then, when asked about Terra's location, he tells Ven to look in the Outer Gardens.
Though Ven does find Terra, their reunion is short lived, as Terra leaves, telling Ven that he can't come along, but when he really needs Ven, he knows Ven will be there. Meeting up with Aqua again, Ven asks to come along, but Aqua orders him to return to the Land of Departure in a somewhat harsh manner. Seeing Ven's disappointment, Aqua softens and explains that she merely doesn't want him to get hurt before departing.
For a while, Ven stays in Radiant Garden, reminiscing about the times when his friendship wasn't strained by newfound complications. He's left wondering just what it means to be friends, and after meeting Lea and Isa he becomes more and more curious about friendship.
Thus, when he continues his travels, Ven has a new resolve. Rather than search for Terra and Aqua, he decides to go out and make some new friends in hopes of redefining his simplistic views of friendship.
By the time he leaves Olympus Coliseum, Ven finally comes to understand what it means to be friends and realizes that he, Terra, and Aqua will patch things up someday.
Later, in Neverland he finds Mickey's Star Shard, only for Captain Hook to steal both it and Tinker Bell. Together, both he and Peter Pan team up against the pirate captain, saving Tink in the process.
Together, Ventus, along with Peter and the Lost Boys, decide to put their own personal treasures in the empty chest they stole from Hook. As the Wooden Keyblade holds many cherished memories for Ven, he puts it in the chest, for his best memories with Terra and Aqua are still to come. With Hook out of the way, he also retrieves the Star Shard from Tinker Bell after a little persuasion from Peter, only to be whisked away to the Mysterious Tower.
Upon his arrival, Ven meets Donald Duck and Goofy, who take him straight to Yen Sid. There, it's discovered that Mickey went missing, but when Yen Sid uses his magic to find him, they discover that the King is in danger. Determined to save Mickey, Ven departs from the Tower and returns to the Keyblade Graveyard, but when he reaches Mickey, everything changes.
It turns out that Master Xehanort was waiting for him the whole time, and that's not all. Xehanort reveals Ven's destiny to forge the χ-blade. He tells Ven that this is the real reason why he was never allowed to leave home and constantly told to return, out of fear for the χ-blade's creation.
After learning of his past, Ventus returns to Eraqus, only for his Master to try and destroy him upon realizing Xehanort's plans. Fortunately, he is saved by Terra and sent to Destiny Islands, much to his displeasure. There, he encounters Vanitas again, who taunts him into remembering how Master Xehanort broke their heart in twain.
Once the memories return, Vanitas decides to give Ventus a reason to fight: Vanitas tells Ventus to come to the Keyblade Graveyard, the only place where the χ-blade can be forged, and threatens to kill Terra and Aqua to see if Ventus will continue to "play the pacifist." Left with no choice, Ven leaves in hopes of setting things right, once and for all. Once reunited with his friends, Ventus explains the situation between himself and Vanitas, and, admitting that he is terrified over the very thought of the χ-blade, asks to be destroyed in the event that he does have to fight Vanitas, much to their shock. However, there's little time to mull over Ven's request, as both Master Xehanort and Vanitas arrive.
During their final battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, Master Xehanort encases Ven in ice and throws him off a cliff. Aqua manages to catch him before he hits the ground. Braig quickly appears and fights Aqua. Stalling long enough, Braig eventually withdraws from the stalemate battle. Vanitas knocks out Aqua as he drops down from a cliff. He prepares to kill Aqua, but before he can, however, Ven uses all his willpower to thaw himself and defend his friend. After the battle, Vanitas reveals his true intentions and explains that the Unversed came from his negative emotions. Trapping Ven with several Floods, Vanitas merges with Ventus and gains control over his body.
However, the merging process was not complete, their Union was still not finished, Vanitas and Ventus engage in a metaphysical battle, where Vanitas tries to fully join with Ventus and complete the χ-blade. Ven coldly refuses and instead chooses to defeat Vanitas and destroy the weapon utterly, even if it means the destruction of his own heart.
The two then engage in a decisive battle, and towards the end, Vanitas forces a D-Link on Ventus in hopes of completing their fusion. However, Ventus prevails, and the χ-blade is destroyed along with Vanitas. Unfortunately, this also results in Ventus losing his heart, leaving him in a comatose state. Aqua later places his body in a chamber within Castle Oblivion. Somehow, Ventus's heart finds its way to a young Sora, in his own Awakening, and his heart passes on into Sora's body.
358/2 Days[]
Xigbar sees Xion (an imperfect Replica of Roxas) as Ventus. Xigbar states that Ventus had always looked at him as if he had "drowned his goldfish" before he is defeated by Xion.
A Secret Report written by Xigbar makes reference to Roxas's similarity to Ventus's appearance. The entry also mentions that the way he wields the Keyblade is the same, despite Ven holding his Keyblades backhand. However, this is likely because Ven's style had not been finalized.
Kingdom Hearts II[]
When Sora first returns to Hollow Bastion and encounters Organization XIII, Xigbar stays behind to taunt him, at one point commenting that "he" (Ventus) used to give him the same glare that Sora did.
At The World That Never Was, Sora encounters Xigbar again, and he comments that the Keyblade chose "a dud this time" and that "He (Sora) didn't look like half the hero the others were."
Blank Points[]
Ventus is seen at the Land of Departure, sleeping on a bench outside before Terra wakes the boy by approaching him. They both smile and look up to the sky while uttering Sora's name with a sense of renewed hope. This is only symbolic, however, as Ven's true body is in the Chamber of Waking.
Coded[]
When Data-Naminé explains to Data-Sora about those in hurting that Sora must save, Ventus is among those she mentions. She in particular notes that Sora has not met him despite Data-Sora mentioning that Ventus felt familiar. She than elaborates that he (Ventus) was still very important to Sora. Ventus is also briefly mentioned in the secret ending in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded by King Mickey, saying that they are close to finding his heart.
Dream Drop Distance[]
Ventus appears during opening sequence along with Roxas, Aqua, Terra, Donald, and Goofy to help Sora, Riku, and Mickey battle Master Xehanort.
Ventus appears during Sora's visit in The World That Never Was. When Sora sees visions of Kairi and Riku, they turn into Aqua and Terra. Sora then turns into Ventus and when Aqua and Terra turn around Ventus tries to reach them, but they disappear.
When Sora falls into darkness, Ventus's heart follows him, giving him his armor for protection, however not entering the darkness with Sora. The armor, however, becomes corrupted by Sora's inner darkness, transforming into the Armored Ventus Nightmare and confronting Riku. After this, Ventus is the second person who Riku meets in Destiny Islands inside Sora's heart. He asks a question and Riku can choose from three options.
In the final ending scene of the game, Ventus is shown still inside Castle Oblivion, however he starts to smile slightly, sensing Sora's happiness during his encounter with the Dream Eaters when he returns to Traverse Town in the Realm of Sleep.
Kingdom Hearts III[]
When Sora and friends finish up defeating the Unversed and Randall Boggs in Monstropolis, Vanitas confronts them and reveals that Ventus' heart is resting within Sora's body. Vanitas also reveals that he intends to extract the sleeping half of him out of Sora to become fully complete. With that being said, the masked boy attempts to attack him, pointing out the connection they shared throughout the series. Goofy adds that Ventus' heart was lost after his clash with Vanitas at the Keyblade Graveyard.
During their ventures on the Gummi Ship, Sora is contacted by Ienzo, who gives them important info on his body. It turns out that while deciphering Ansem's study, Sora contains three unique hearts inside of him. The first being Roxas and the second belonging to Ventus, but not being able to identify the third as Xion's.
After rescuing Aqua from the Realm of Darkness, she allows Sora, Donald, and Goofy to accompany her to the location of her former home the Land of Departure, still under the identity of Castle Oblivion. Aqua intends to restore Ven's sleeping body to normal once she restores the Land of Departure to its former glory.
The group then heads inside the castle and find Ven's comatose body sleeping right where Aqua left him for the past eleven years. She attempts to awaken him but realizes that his heart still hasn't found its way back to his body. The moment is quickly interrupted by Vanitas, who stalked the group and intends to retake his "brother" for completing himself once again. Aqua refuses to let Vanitas capture Ven and summons a large barrier, trapping both of them for a one-on-one fight.
However, Aqua's efforts to defend Ventus fall apart thanks to Vanitas pulling a dirty attack that badly injures her in the process. As Vanitas prepares to land the finishing blow, Sora is contacted by Ven's sleeping heart. He then guides Sora to unlock the Power of Waking that rests within him all along. With this fully accomplished, Ventus finally awakens from his 11 year long slumber and launches himself straight at Vanitas, saving Aqua as well. The two clash with bolts of light and darkness shattering Aqua's barrier.
Once Vanitas retreats, Ventus reunites with Aqua and notices Sora's resemblance to Vanitas. Regardless, Ventus warmly greets Sora and the group decides to depart to the Mysterious Tower for rest. Upon arrival, Yen Sid expresses happiness over Aqua and Ven's return, though Mickey points out that Terra's still missing. Despite this, the two still have hope of bringing Terra back and he is happy to be reacquainted with his old friend Lea. Once outside the tower, Ventus was happy that he got to stargaze again with Aqua wishing to do so when they find Terra and during his sleep he remembered dreaming a lot about went on believing he was a part of some big adventure.
When Sora and the others arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard for their final confrontation with Master Xehanort and his True Organization XIII, Ventus quickly notices Terra but was halted by Aqua aware that they weren't talking to their friend but Terra-Xehanort. Before they even reach Master Xehanort; Ventus and Lea are struck down, leaving the others unable to fight off a powerful Demon Tide Heartless tornado that swept them all up, leaving Sora at its mercy. However, they are all saved when Sora uses his power of waking while in the Final World and reverse time to moments before the encounter with Terra-Xehanort, this time before history can repeat itself and Terra-Xehanort can strike down Ventus again, the Lingering Will appears to protect him and Aqua, forcing Terra-Xehanort into retreating, he watched as the Demon Tide tornado is defeated and dispersed by Sora and the Keyblades of fallen Keyblade Warriors coming to their aid.
Later Sora, Aqua, and Ventus fight Terra-Xehanort again with Vanitas. After Vanitas' defeat and hearing his counterpart speak of how the trio were "brothers" claiming he is the darkness that the two define. He clarifies believing it is each individual person's choice to decide what they are and not pick just from one side or the other. When he heard Vanitas' choice about being darkness, Ventus did not protest, understanding that his dark counterpart's mind was made up. After Terra-Xehanort is defeated, he and Aqua let their guard down to free Terra but they along with Sora were ensnared in chains but before Terra prepares to kill him and Aqua; Ventus tells him that his promise was kept and was saved by Terra-Xehanort's guardian setting the pair on the ground. Then, he wakes up to see that Terra is whole again and shares an embrace as the three friends are finally reunited.
When they rejoin Sora, joined by Lea, Xion, and Roxas, they find they are too late to stop Master Xehanort, as he struck down Kairi in cold blood and provoked Sora, Riku, and King Mickey into attacking him, allowing the X-blade to be reformed. However, though they believe they've failed to stop him, Sora refuses to give up and prepares to confront Master Xehanort once and for all. Ventus lends his support alongside Terra, Aqua, Lea, Xion, Roxas, Riku, and King Mickey to allow Sora, Donald, and Goofy to send Master Xehanort into the world within Kingdom Hearts to deal with him once and for all. Once the trio defeats Xehanort in Scala ad Caelum, Ven and the other Guardians of Light arrive. Watching Terra confront the elderly master Ventus and Aqua are surprised to see the heart of Eraqus emerge from him. After Eraqus convinces Xehanort to relinquish the X-blade to the guardians and apologizes to him, Terra and Aqua for what his actions and ideologies put them through. Once Eraqus and Xehanort pass on to the afterlife, Ven and the others close Kingdom Hearts and Sora departs to bring back Kairi with the Power of Waking.
Ventus and his friends return home to the Land of Departure, paying their last respects to their late master, then he is reunited with his Chirithy. Sometime later, he has a victory beach party on Destiny Islands with all of his friends; playing frisbee with Lea and Isa. Everyone, including Ven, bear witness as Sora and a revived Kairi share a moment before Sora fades away.
Abilities[]
Ventus is the most balanced fighter in the game. He’s also fastest and most agile out of the trio, which reflects in his primary fighting style of dodging, quick movements and swift combo attacks. Ventus has an affinity for the wind and Light elements and mixes both into several of his techniques and magic attacks.
Ven's primary battle style consists of very fast, wide backhanded strikes with his blade in quick succession to deal damage. His single strikes aren't as powerful as Sora's two-handed strikes or Terra's powerful blows, but his ability to attack quickly makes up for his lower attack power. His Command Styles are the following:
- : An exclusive Command Style for Ventus that utilizes Ven's speed and a wide-range of attacks. Activated by filling the Command Gauge with physical-based commands. The finisher of this Command Style consists of a long combo ending with five streams of light. This was named "Speed Rave" in the Japanese release.
- : Activated by filling the Style Gauge with Raid, or Aero-based commands. A powerful Command Style that consists of Ven attacking surrounding enemies with a series of spinning slashes. The finisher consists of Ventus spinning around and hitting enemies, like a cyclone.
- : Activated by filling the Style Gauge with Edge-type commands, Reprisal commands, or Magnet-based commands. Ven discards his Keyblade in exchange for six glowing swords of light that float behind him resembling wings, and allow him to strike multiple enemies at once. The finisher consists of Ventus jumping in the air with his blades pointed downward; Ventus lands and causes a flash of light that damages all enemies within the area. This Command Style bears a resemblance to Riku and Sora's "Session" limit.
D-Link[]
Ventus becomes a D-Link for Terra and Aqua, after they received the Wayfinder Aqua made for the three of them. While in link with Ventus, they can use swift and quick commands, reflecting Ventus's swift fighting style.
Shotlocks[]
- Pulse Bomb: A Shotlock exclusive to Ventus. Ven launches energy blasts form the tip of his Keyblade and bombards enemies with a series of small explosions.
- Multivortex: Ventus's ultimate Shotlock. Ven swings his Keyblade and creates shockwaves of wind to launch at enemies. Rotate the analog stick to elongate the whirlwind.
- Dark Cannon: A special Shotlock only used in the last stage in final battle against Vanitas. Vanitas unleashes a beam of blue energy, augmented by a rotating triangle of blue crystals. Using Vanitas's D-Link, Ventus gains a gold-colored version of the same Shotlock, named "Dark Link," which he uses to combat Vanitas's Dark Cannon & his blue version of Dark Spiral.
Weapons[]
Ventus's Keyblades are primarily balanced in terms of attack and magic power. His versions of common Keyblades are shorter in length compared to Terra and Aqua's.
Ventus's Keyblade is also the one used by Sora and Roxas when they are dual wielding. Due to Ventus's heart residing within Sora, Sora can use both his own and Ventus's Keyblades. Roxas can use it because Ventus's heart stayed within him when Sora was turned into a Heartless, but Xion's existence siphoned away Roxas's ability to use Ventus's Keyblade until she is defeated.
When Sora and Roxas join together, Sora reawakens his ability to use Ventus's Keyblade in Drive Forms or even outside them.