Xemnas

Xemnas, the Superior of the In-Between, sometimes referred to as the Superior or Lord Xemnas by members of the original Organization XIII, is the Nobody of Terra-Xehanort. He is the leader of the original Organization XIII, the former ruler of The World That Never Was, and a member of the real Organization XIII. He serves as the main antagonist of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and as a supporting antagonist in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts III. Xemnas wields the power of "nothingness", which takes the form of non-elemental energy. In addition to expelling this energy in various forms, such as barriers and electricity-like arcs, he channels this energy into his weapons, red blades of energy called Ethereal Blades. He commands the Sorcerer Nobodies. Xemnas, as the Superior, is the founder of Organization XIII and has dominion over all other Nobodies. He is also the original Organization's most powerful member. Xemnas's name is derived from the alias his human form took when he assumed the identity of his exiled mentor, Ansem. Xemnas is a playable character in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days's Mission Mode.

Design: Like all the Organization members, Xemnas wears the basic black cloak, boots, and gloves. He has amber-orange eyes, the same shade as Ansem's, and dark skin (though it appears much lighter in-game than in some artwork), much like his complete being, Xehanort. Xemnas's hair is long, reaching to about mid-back, silver in color, and some of it falls over his shoulders. His hairstyle is reminiscent of Xehanort's hair, including his bangs, the color, and the length. It also shares traits with Terra's hair, including its layered, messy look and the spike on the top of his head. Since Xemnas was born from Terra's body and soul, his appearance is identical to Terra, albeit being older, and having darker skin and silver hair. Nobodies don't age, existing as they were at the time of becoming a Nobody; physically, Xemnas seems to be about 30 years old.

Personality: Being the founder of Organization XIII and apparently the oldest of Nobodies, Xemnas is truly emotionless to the point that he does not even remember what it was like to have any feelings. He claims that this allowed him to have a clear understanding of the heart, though this had, in actuality, warped his mind into believing that anger, hatred, and other negative emotions dominate the heart. His lack of emotion deprives him of remorse for his actions, as well as for the loss of other members of the Organization. He cares only about Kingdom Hearts, even lamenting it when it is damaged and possesses a deep desire for power. However, on some occasions, he has appeared to value friendship, as he is shown to converse with the armor of Aqua in the Chamber of Repose, though this is likely due to the influence of Terra. Unlike the other members of the Organization, Xemnas does not seem to want Kingdom Hearts for true existence. Rather, much like his Heartless counterpart, he seeks to use it to obtain power, and remake the universe in his image. Xemnas considers nothingness the source of great power and does not seem to despise it in the slightest. This goal stems from that of Master Xehanort, who had desired to unlock Kingdom Hearts for the same purpose in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Xemnas speaks with calmness and deep authority, strangely similar to Master Eraqus. He has a tendency to be melodramatic, making long-winded speeches, and exaggerating his false rage and sorrow with wide sweeping arm movements and hand gestures. His exaggerations represent his lack of emotion. He is very intelligent and manipulates others, particularly Sora and his friends, for his own interests. Xemnas's personality seems to share traits from both Master Xehanort and Terra. From the former, he inherits his manipulative nature, the concept of the Organization's black coat, and the idea of adding the letter "χ" to rename himself and his fellow Organization members. From the latter, at the very least, the Nobody inherits a familiarity with Aqua's armor, which he refers to as "friend", and his strong desire to find his other "friend" Ventus in Castle Oblivion, as he has Saïx search for the Chamber he sleeps in. However, it is greatly implied later on in the series that this desire to find the chamber is due to Xemnas seeing the potential in Ventus as a possible vessel for Master Xehanort's heart, rather than Terra's sleeping memories of his former friend, and attempted to use Terra's connections with Aqua to deceptively obtain the chamber's precise location from her. Upon his final defeat, Xemnas admits that he felt a bond with his first Organization and that he took them for granted. What he feels at the very end is loneliness, the very first surge of emotion he has felt in years. While considering a heart nothing but pain, Xemnas is told that pain is part of being human; he gives a smile to Sora, commending him on having a will strong enough to handle the pain.

Abilities: As the leader of Organization XIII, Xemnas wields nothingness and manifests this as blades of energy called Ethereal Blades. It is noted by Axel that Xemnas's control over nothingness allows him to even reduce other Organization members into Dusks if he wants to, though he can also greatly empower them, as he did to Luxord in Kingdom Hearts III. In his encounter with Sora as the "Unknown" in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and their first battle in Kingdom Hearts II, Xemnas is very agile, and attacks with swift acrobatic combos with his blades. He can also teleport, fly, and create energy barriers to shield himself. Besides using them as melee weapons, Xemnas can fire his Ethereal Blades as laser-like projectiles and can either fire them directly from his hands or create them in mid-air. In all three battles with Xemnas's unarmored form, Xemnas also incorporates some sort of attack that drains his opponent's health with a sphere of dark energy, though the exact manner of this has varied. In Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, in his first encounter as the Unknown, Xemnas also had the ability to encase himself in a blue ball of energy that made it impossible for Sora to attack him, and would also fire out a set of powerful lasers. The ball would follow Sora around if he ever tried to get away from it. In his first battle with Sora in Kingdom Hearts II, Xemnas can encase him in a field of dark energy that steadily drains his health, which can only be broken by using the reaction command. In the final battle in Kingdom Hearts II, Xemnas uses an attack known as the "Invitation to Nothingness", in which he ensnares opponents in a sphere of dark energy that slowly drains their life force. In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Xemnas has a Limit Break named All-Vanity, which summons an electric barrier around himself. Its Final Limit causes two laser beams to decimate enemies. After merging with his damaged artificial Kingdom Hearts, Xemnas becomes much more powerful - creating a realm within Kingdom Hearts named "The World of Nothing" that he possessed total control over, being able to instantaneously generate structures seemingly from nowhere and even creating a black hole at one point. While in his armor and aboard his dragon form, Xemnas has access to the powers and weapons of his fallen Organization comrades, such as Xaldin's lances and Demyx's power over water. In this form he remains in his throne, attacking enemies with his massive sword when they come close. He can still project barriers and summon crests of light in the air to fire white beams of energy at his enemies. In the final battle of Kingdom Hearts II, Xemnas's power increases dramatically. He can create copies of himself, summon torrents of white and black thorns much like Twilight Thorn, and retains his normal ability to use his Ethereal Blades and project barriers. As his ultimate, final attack, Xemnas summons thousands of Ethereal Blades around Sora and Riku to bombard them from all sides with no hope of escape.

Weapon: Xemnas uses weapons called Ethereal Blades. They are beams of red energy and extend directly from the palms of his hands, without any hilt or handle. He can summon or disperse them at will and is able to change their length as well. They are solid despite their appearance but do not seem to have any cutting ability and are used as bashing weapons, more in the style of a club. The Ethereal Blades can also be used as projectiles and can suspend themselves in midair around a target before firing at them. As a desperation move, Xemnas can surround his enemy in darkness and fire an amazing amount of Ethereal Blades at them. The names of Xemnas's various Ethereal Blades seem to be references to iron-fisted leadership. Perhaps due to his preeminent power among the Organization, only one of his Ethereal Blades, Infinity, grants him support ability. As the Nobody of Terra-Xehanort, Xemnas may have been capable of wielding a Keyblade, implying he simply chose not to, and he does use what appears to be Master Xehanort's old Keyblade Armor against Sora and Riku.