TheSleeping Worlds (夢見る世界, Yumemiru Sekai^?) are the main setting ofKingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. They are worlds that fell intodarkness but were not fully revived following the defeat ofAnsem, Seeker of Darkness for unknown reasons. Their formation created barriers not even theHeartless could penetrate, thus a different type of entity known asDream Eaters inhabit the Sleeping Worlds.

The nature of the Sleeping Worlds is complex, as time is not of any concern – the worlds are a "dream" of sorts that depict events that occurred before they were consumed. Residents of a world who were not present when it was consumed by darkness may be recreated within the Sleeping World as how it remembers them, as is the case withMickey Mouse andJiminy Cricket.Young Xehanort claimedThe Grid couldn't be a Sleeping World because it was digital.^[1] It is also possible to visit a world's dreams without the world itself existing in a sleeping state as seen withThe World That Never Was.

Story[edit]

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance[edit]

As part of theirMark of Mastery exam,Yen Sid sendsSora andRiku to the Sleeping Worlds to unlock the sevenSleeping Keyholes, and return the worlds to theRealm of Light in order to obtain a power to defeatXehanort. However, Xehanort foresaw such an event and arranged for his younger self to appear in the sleeping worlds. Eventually, Sora and Riku manage to seal the sevenKeyholes in the Sleeping Worlds, but thanks to a set-up by thereal Organization XIII, Sora ends up trapped inThe World That Never Was and hisheart is damaged during a fight withXemnas. With help from Mickey,Donald,Goofy, andLea, Riku manages to save Sora from becoming a new vessel for a fragment of Master Xehanort's heart, and they return safely to the Realm of Light.

After failing his Mark of Mastery exam, Sora once again enters the sleeping Traverse Town to visit his Dream Eater friends.

Sleeping Worlds[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance worlds