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"True, we don't have hearts, but we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special."

—Saïx to Donald

Saïx, theLuna Diviner (月に舞う魔人, Tsuki ni Mau Majin^?, lit.Demoniac Dancing in the Moonlight), is theNobody ofIsa, Rank VII within the originalOrganization XIII and a member of thereal Organization XIII. He derives power from the moon and uses this power to enter a berserk rage where he mercilessly attacks opponents with his massive claymore. He commands theBerserker Nobodies.

In the original Organization, Saïx serves as the second-in-command toXemnas. Fittingly, Saïx is the second-to-last member of the first Organization to fall. Along with all other original Organization members inKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Saïx is a playable character inMission Mode.

Story[edit]

BeforeKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days[edit]

"I started to wonder if we'd imagined her. Maybe she never existed. And then, in time, I awakened to a new purpose."

—Saïx musing on his original goals.

After becoming Nobodies alongside Ansem the Wise's apprentices, Saïx joins the Organization withAxel, believing thatXemnas would know what happened to their friendSubject X. To this end, Saïx works to get as close to Xemnas as possible while Axel secretly assists him to further their goal. During these years, Saïx at some point becomes a close aide to the Organization's leader and becomes trusted enough with knowledge of theReplica Project and Xemnas's other schemes. The search for his and Axel's missing friend comes to a standstill.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days[edit]

"Which would you rather suffer the loss of? Some make-believe friendship? Or a real one?"

—Saïx to Axel

Having become a trusted member of the Organization, and close to Xemnas himself, Saïx becomes largely responsible for assigning missions and passing down direct orders to the other Organization members. Along withXemnas,Xigbar andVexen, he also oversees theReplica Program during this time. Much like with the other members, Saïx is the one who assignsRoxas missions after he is brought into the Organization as its thirteenth member. Saïx also suggests he keep a diary.^[1]

Following the demise ofAnsem, Seeker of Darkness the Organization's plans are moved ahead of schedule^[2] and Saïx sendsMarluxia,Larxene,Vexen,Lexaeus,Zexion, andAxel toCastle Oblivion. Though officially this was done for the purpose of duplicatingSora's abilities and research into memory, Xemnas has also ordered the elimination of any traitors to the Organization. However Axel also seeks to eliminate any who would get in the way of his and Saïx's own plans.^[3]

Saïx asks whether Axel prefers his friendship with Roxas and Xion to their own.

After his return from Castle Oblivion, Axel develops more of a close bond with both Roxas andXion, creating a tension between him and Saïx. Feeling as if Axel had exited his life and abandoned their shared goal, Saïx lost his sense of purpose and committed himself fully to the Organization and their goals.

Continuing to oversee the fruits of the Replica Project, Saïx grows frustrated with Xion's declining performance as she struggles to wield theKeyblade, as well as with Axel's continued attachment to her. Saïx questions why their superior would deign to keep Xion around and muses on utilising a different replica after disposing of the perceived-failure. With Roxas getting weaker from Xion sapping his strength, Xemnas deems that one compliant Keyblade wielder would be more beneficial than two, thus Saïx sends them both separately toHalloween Town, secretly using an illusion for both to see the other as anOrcus. However, Axel intervenes and snaps them out of the spell.

Later, Saïx passes down the order for Roxas to plant adevice inAgrabah, this device among others are to allow Xion to grow more powerful so that she can absorb Roxas fully. Shortly after this, Saïx attempts to stop Roxas from leaving the Organization but is defeated by him at the exit to the castle.

Saïx and Xemnas both are able to hold onto their memories of Xion briefly following her demise, and Saïx is ordered by his superior to retrieve Roxas, though is unable to do so thanks to the actions ofRiku andDiZ incapacitating and hiding him away.

Kingdom Hearts II[edit]

"Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts. And yet they know not the true power of what they hold."

—Saïx musing on the nature ofHeartless

Saïx leaves after successfully confusing and frustrating Sora.

Saïx appears with the rest of the surviving Organization members to taunt Sora atHollow Bastion after he awakes from his slumber, and he and the Organization continue to monitor his activities throughout the worlds. Though as his journey continues Saïx begins to express doubts on Sora's usefulness and states that those who have lost their "true purpose" will inevitably destroy themselves.

Saïx later begins to pursue Axel after he begins acting against the Organization's interests and confronts Sora upon his second visit toTwilight Town, inquiring about their traitorous member. Here he taunts Sora over the Organization's lack of hearts and Sora's desire to find Riku. Saïx warns Sora that Axel has betrayed the Organization and is attempting to turn Sora into aHeartless, planting seeds of doubt and confusion within Sora, that Xemnas later compliments him for.

Sometime after this Saïx manages to locate Axel and in doing so takesKairi from him, imprisoning her withinThe Castle That Never Was.

Saïx explains how the Organization intends to use the Heartless.

During theBattle of the 1000 Heartless, Saïx appears while Axel is telling Sora about the Organization's plans, forcing Axel to flee. He states that Axel will receive the maximum punishment for his actions and reveals to Sora that the Organization has Kairi. Saïx forces Sora to plead on his hands and knees to prove how important Kairi is to him, but still denies his request.Maleficent then suddently arrives declaring that Kingdom Hearts will belong to her and comes into brief conflict with Saïx, though he dispatches her with a group ofDusks and tells Sora to destroy more Heartless as he summons a group ofArmored Knights. Saïx then departs through acorridor of darkness.

Their number drastically reduced, the Organization continues to meet to discuss Sora's progress and the status of their members. Saïx expresses his dissatisfaction with Sora uncovering the Organization's true intentions.

Saïx's pursuit of Axel continues, and eventually leads him into conflict with his former friend. Saïx manages to deliver a near-fatal blow to the Organization's traitor, though is unable to finish him off.^[4] Following Axel's demise, Saïx refutesLuxord's comment about him being a winner stating coldly that he won nothing and is nothing.

As Sora continues his approach towards the Organization's castle, Saïx continues to stand guard over Kairi in theSoundless Prison, telling her that she is "the fire that feeds Sora's anger". He later appears alongside a group ofBerserkers to prevent her escape whenNaminé takes Kairi with her through a corridor of darkness. He is unable to return Kairi as Riku, still cloaked and in the form ofAnsem, Seeker of Darkness, comes to her aid and attacks Saïx, who retreats through a corridor of darkness.

Saïx readies his Claymore and prepares to fight Sora.

Saïx awaits Sora in theHall of Empty Melodies, where he appears to taunt the keyblade wielder about his relationship with his friends, summoning more heartless for Sora to destroy as Kingdom Hearts nears completion. He then appears to Xemnas, asking if he can "end this charade", to which Xemnas agrees. Pleased with his response, Saïx moves to theAddled Impasse where he awaits Sora once more. The next time they meet Saïx calls Sora by Roxas's name and declares that he shall meet the same fate before creating a shockwave that pushes Kairi and Riku back, leaving him to do battle with Sora, Donald and Goofy.

In his last moments, Saïx reaches for Kingdom Hearts, asking it where his ownheart is before fading away.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]

Saïx charges at Lea to prevent him from escaping with Sora.

Upon being reborn asIsa, Saïx is taken byBraig andYoung Xehanort to be made a part of thereal Organization XIII.Destiny Wanting to atone for his mistreatment of Axel and Roxas, Isa agrees to rejoin the group and becomes Saïx again to house a fragment ofMaster Xehanort's heart.Kingdom Hearts III While collecting five of the six near-perfected replicas left behind by Vexen in order to house the time traveling hearts ofAnsem,Xemnas,Young Xehanort,Vanitas, andDark Riku, Saïx finds Vexen's records on the replica project and the forgotten prototypeNo. i, sparking his memory of Xion.Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind

When Xehanort's attempt to make Sora his final vessel ends in failure due to Lea's intervention, Saïx attacksLea, revealing his identity. After Donald and Goofy arrive, the real Organization XIII retreat to await the time to properly forge theχ-blade.

Kingdom Hearts III[edit]

Saïx and Xigbar discuss with Master Xehanort how they'll achieve a total count of thirteen vessels.

"Got it memorized?"

—Saïx to Lea

After the replicas proved unable to hold time traveling hearts indefinitely, Saïx retreats to theKeyblade Graveyard with Master Xehanort and Xigbar. There they discuss and confirm the status of their members, having failed to take Sora as their thirteenth, Saïx suggests using Xion to instead take that slot as a heart strongly tied to Sora, deemingVexen andDemyx "backups". In reality, Saïx had planned to have them act in his stead to undermine the organization's efforts and help Xion and Roxas, something he couldn't do being a main member; by suggesting Demyx and Vexen be backups, Saïx gave them the freedom to do so. He then leaves to recruit Vexen.Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind

Saïx visitsEven inRadiant Garden's central square and offers him the chance to atone for his past actions as Vexen through thereplicas. Even accepts and returns to his Nobody form.Secret Report 7 Together, Saïx and Vexen work secretly to provide replicas for "those who truly deserve them".Secret Report 8 Later meeting at the Keyblade Graveyard, Vexen updates Saïx on his progress with perfecting the replicas, telling him they will be able to become real people once they're given hearts.

At the Clock Tower, Saïx and Lea discuss their past with Subject X.

InTwilight Town, Saïx meets with Lea on the Clock Tower much to the latter's surprise. Saïx begins to reminisce and the two recount their original intent of rescuingSubject X before joining the Organization. His search had concluded with no trace of the girl, and as Axel had seemed to give up and move on, so too did Saïx. Keeping up his charade, Saïx tells Lea that Roxas is gone, just like Subject X, to which Lea declares that he will find a way to save all of his friends, including Saïx who disappears noting that Lea has outgrown the tear-shaped marks he gave him in the past.

The real Organization XIII and theGuardians of Light now assembled, both groups appear before each other in theKeyblade Graveyard to do battle. Saïx fights alongside the now-recreated Xion and does battle with Lea and Kairi Lea and Kairi. though Sora joins in shortly thereafter. As Saïx overpowers and rushes towards Sora and Kairi, Lea steps in to defend them but is pushed back. Saïx stays his hand as Xemnas appears and condemns Lea for his traitorous actions, watching silently as his superior attacks and injures guardian as well as Xion whose memory returns in the midst of attacking Sora.

Saïx reconciles with Lea and fades away in his arms.

Before Xemnas is able to injure the now-restored Xion, Roxas's now freed heart arrives in the vessel prepared by Vexen and taunts Xemnas over his inability to win over as many hearts as he thought. This prompts Xemnas to kidnap Kairi and flee, leaving Saïx to battle the group. Xion and Roxas aid Sora in battling Saïx as Lea is too injured to fight. When the battle concludes, Lea rushes over to Saïx who notes Lea once again needs the tear marks under his eyes. Conversing with his friend as he fades away, Saïx admits his feelings of jealousy towards Lea's friendships with Roxas and Xion and reconciles with him before fading away as Isa is restored to his original form.

Other appearances[edit]

Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross][edit]

Saïx appears as an enemy in the July 2018NEW XIII Event.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Saïx appears in the 5 o'clock Stations in theDive to the Heart sections of theHollow Bastion stage.

Design[edit]

Saïx in his regular and berserk states.

Saïx has long blue hair which falls to his mid back, while in the front it is a bit shorter and cut very unevenly. The hair on the top of his head is cut into shorter spikes and swept back. As a vessel for Xehanort's heart, Saïx shares his pointed ears and gold eyes. The X-shaped scar on Saïx's face is his most distinctive trait, with the vertex of this "X" lying between his eyes and extending from halfway up his forehead to just under his eyes. Saïx wears a standard Organizationblack coat, black gloves, and boots. He also wears silver stud earrings.

When Saïx enters his "Berserk" state, his irises and pupils turn a glowing yellow, his scar expands and the edges become jagged and rough, and his hair splays outward and appears more spiky. In the manga adaptation, he also gains sharp fanged teeth.

In earlier games, Saïx's hair is a lighter, less saturated blue, and his eyes appear more amber. InKingdom Hearts III, his hair is darker and more saturated.

Saïx's transformation under the moon's power is a possible reference to several things, including the ancient belief that the moon caused madness, hence the term "lunatic"; the modern belief that the phases of the moon can affect a person's mood; the legend of the werewolf, humans who became savage beasts under the influence of a full moon; as well as theberserker warriors of the Norse, who wore clothes made from bearskins as they went into battle in an insane fury and are the source of the modern term "berserk".

Personality[edit]

"If I had a heart, this would be where I die of laughter."

—Saïx

Along with Xemnas, Saïx appears to be one of the most "Nobody-like" of the Organization. Despite claiming to remember what possessing a heart was like, he behaves mostly as a cold, emotionless, and efficient operative, even in the direst of situations. He is very aware of how emotions are unreal to them, unlike other members who imitate their emotions. However, inKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, it seems he values his friendship with Axel from their time as humans, indicating that he believes that Nobodies cannot even try to genuinely show emotion or form a real friendship without having had one with another beforehand, thus having memories to fall back on. According to Axel, the friendship between them weakened due to how Saïx changed too much after becoming a Nobody, leading to Axel ignoring him for Roxas and Xion.^[5] Thus, Saïx has a colder demeanor towards Axel inKingdom Hearts II.

Saïx would later admit that his cold treatment of Axel was due to him being jealous of Axel's friendship with Roxas and Xion after Axel seemingly forgot about him and their goal of finding the girl; though Saïx would later admit that he knew better and that his old friend would never forget nor abandon him.

The only thing Saïx seems to "care" about is acquiring a heart and, by extension, Kingdom Hearts. More than any other member of the Organization, Saïx is portrayed the most dedicated to their goal, repeatedly stating his desire to "truly, finally exist". Even his last words were to Kingdom Hearts, sadly asking for his heart. Though this doesn't make him blind to Xemnas's plans to use Kingdom Hearts for more power, as he had originally plotted with Axel to overthrow Xemnas to regain their hearts. Saïx can also be quite cruel, claiming to know very well how to injure a heart. He had a keen insight into manipulating others, such as when he toyed with Sora's emotions by having him beg to see Kairi, only to refuse his request. He also sent the "useless" members to Castle Oblivion under the guise of Xemnas's orders to clear the way for his and Axel's plans, moving up the ranks while eliminating any competition or rebellion.

However, his usual calm exterior belies a more savage nature. In his final confrontation with Sora under the heart-shaped moon of Kingdom Hearts, he becomes a berserk force of destruction. Unlike his calm and reserved manner, in battle, he roars, shouts, and attacks relentlessly with no sense of self-control and portrays a psychotic behavior under the influence of Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts III has Saïx show a more sympathetic and remorseful side. Seeking redemption and forgiveness for his treatment of Roxas and Xion and a desire to rekindle his friendship with Axel, Saïx infiltrates the real Organization and ensures the guardians of light are given access to the replicas to save the two. He eventually becomes friends with Roxas and Xion after he returned to his human self. Saïx is also good at being subtle, trying to jog Xion's memories by using the names of her friendsAxel andRoxas without drawing Xemnas's suspicion.

Abilities[edit]

Saïx in his berserk state.

Main article:Game:Saïx

Saïx is a powerful member of Organization XIII and a capable fighter. Although he appears calm and collected throughout when speaking, in battle he becomes a wild, dangerous opponent. He uses brute strength and his large Claymore to attack, but his true danger is his "Berserk" form, which uses the power of the moon. As proof of his power, inKingdom Hearts III, Saïx was capable of overpowering Sora and Kairi while in his Berserk form and would have easily finished both, including Lea and the renegade Xion if Roxas hadn't come to aid them in the confrontation. A "Berserk" gauge at the top of the screen measures how close he is to becoming berserk. When it fills, Saïx's Lunatic Claymore shifts shape and produces a white aura that serves as extra blades. Saïx himself grows bestial, with glowing eyes, manic hair, and bared fangs. Saïx's strength and speed increase greatly, and he will rapidly slam his Claymore into the ground, producing shockwaves. When he swings or throws the Claymore, it will leave a wake of blue flames.

However, Sora can pick up any of the Claymores that Saïx releases, allowing him to use Reaction Commands that will knock Saïx out of his berserk state, as well as inflicting significant damage. When knocked out of his berserk state, Saïx will spend most of his time with his arms stretched towards the moon, absorbing its power.

The Nobodies under his command, the Berserkers, follow his attack style, using brute strength and a large weapon, but share the same weakness as Saïx.

InKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Saïx's Limit Break is also calledBerserk. During Berserk, Saïx enters a berserk stage; he rushes across the field and causes shockwaves. This intensifies during the Final Limit.

In Kingdom Hearts III, Saïx is shown to draw upon the limited moonlight at dusk. He also has access to a secondary "Berserk" gauge, allowing him to create four additional claymores to attack with; he can use them as shields or a supply of makeshift projectiles.

Weapon[edit]

Saïx wields a massive blade known as aClaymore. His signature Claymore is known asLunatic. Despite many dissimilarities to real claymores, Saïx does use a very large, two-handed bladed weapon. His Claymore is decorated with many additives that resemble the Nobody logo, in blues and yellows. When in normal form, Saïx attacks with powerful slashes and combos with the bladed edges.

Although it seems to be a completely different weapon, the Cursed Hammer of the Berserker Nobodies is used in much the same way and even has the same Reaction Command.

The names of Saïx's various claymores are all references to astronomy or astrology (especially the moon), with the exceptions ofDichotomy's Japanese name, Crocea Mors (Latin for "yellow death"), which is the purported name of Julius Caesar's sword; and Just Desserts, his joke weapon.

Trivia[edit]

• A slightly modified copy of Saïx's body model is used forYoung Xehanort's inKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Notes and references[edit]

• Organization XIII
• Original characters
• Kingdom Hearts II characters
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days characters
• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance characters
• Kingdom Hearts Union χ bosses
• Kingdom Hearts III characters
• Allies

• Articles with non-canon sources