boundbynaught | Empatheias Canon Update 2.0

Player: Frudence
Character: Riku Replica / Repliku / "Arden"
Current Canon Point: end of re:Chain of Memories (Riku's Side), when Repliku "dies" by fading into the Darkness
Updated Canon Point: Kingdom Hearts 3, Keyblade Graveyard: Skein of Severance, just before the Riku Replica Vessel ("Replitwo") is defeated in battle.

Updated Background:
I'm going to refer to "Arden" as the original Riku Replica character that I'm updating and "Replitwo" as the Riku Replica Vessel that Organization XIII created. Apparently, because Arden was created using data and memories the first time in re:Chain of Memories, the Organization was able to reconstruct a similar vessel and bring the same Heart of Riku Replica from the past - before Arden's memories were overwritten, so he still knew he was a Replica. That is Replitwo, a completely separate timeline and character from the original Riku Replica whom I play, now going by Arden in Empatheias.

Arden fades into the Darkness at the end of re:Chain of Memories. According to him, "my body fell to ruin and the Darkness took my broken mind." So, his body deteriorates in the Darkness, because it was an imperfect creation - Arden and Xion were the first of the replicas created. The replica bodies made for the KH3 villains ("Vessels") are a better fit for a Heart in the KH 'verse.

Early in the game, Riku and Mickey are searching The Dark World for Aqua and come upon a swarm of Heartless on the beach where Sora and Riku once sat near the end of KH2. Riku is swallowed up and nearly defeated; this is when what's left of Arden's heart/mind finds Riku. As it would happen, Riku's prediction from the end of re:CoM that Arden's heart would eventually find its way to the same place as Riku came true.

Chapter 2 > Reunion

Arden: "Didn't expect to see you again."
Riku: "What...?"
Arden: "Why did you even come here?"
Riku: "Because somebody needs me."
Arden: "Do you want some help?"
Riku: "Who are you?"
Arden: "Me? I'm..."

We get more details alluding to how this happened later when Arden and Riku talk on the Destiny Islands beach. After Arden saved Riku, his essence stayed with Riku. Arden wasn't in the Darkness nearly as long as Aqua, probably about a year, but like everyone stuck in the Darkness, he didn't experience it in real time 1:1 duration either. For all that time he was stuck in the Darkness, he never expected anyone to find him, so the connection to Riku definitely took him by surprise. Yet, he offers to help Riku anyway. Arden will eventually explain that he decided (very quickly, it seems) that he'd "rather face my end with [Riku] than in Darkness" - alone and a failure. He saw helping Riku as an opportunity to redeem himself, and he took it.

One of the ways that he must have immediately noticed how much Riku's grown and changed is a line very soon after he's joined with Riku: "What if [Aqua]'s feeling as scared and alone... as I felt the first time I came here?" This will inform how he reacts to Riku later, building off of the way they'd started to understand one another as Arden lay dying at the end of re:CoM. Riku leaves the broken half of Way To Dawn on that beach "for the other me", but Arden will later return with it in one piece.

Notably, this would be the first time that Arden has seen multiple keyblades in use, let alone ones that are not The Kingdom Key that Riku was the original wielder for and fought over with Sora back in KH1.

Next there's a long stretch of the game where Arden is dormant inside Riku's heart, tagging along with Riku's adventures and hearing all of it while not actually engaging with anyone. I'm going to specifically highlight new information that Arden discovers as a result of this that he wouldn't have known previously, having only had Riku's memories up through Kingdom Hearts 1, or what he doesn't fully understand up to this point in Empatheias through natural conversations with his castmates.

Rest of The Dark World

Riku and Mickey are searching for Aqua in the Realm of Darkness. Aqua is like Sora in the sense that she's strong, implying resilient. Riku: "Sora could fall into any darkness and swim his way out." This informs both how Arden will think of Aqua by the comparison to Sora, but also building off of his positive association with Sora from the end of Sora's line in re:CoM.

The Mysterious Tower

The Mysterious Tower general layout and Yen Sid's personality. Sora appears with Donald and Goofy, giving Arden a chance to see them in a more casual setting than as combatants. He also gets to see Donald and Goofy excited to see Mickey, "Your Majesty" but also clearly their friend.
Sora: "Come on. Can I finally say something?!" Later, Riku to Sora: "Happy now?" Sora's this big hero but still getting razzed by his friends.
Aqua is a Master and her traces vanished into the great abyss, beneath the realm of darkness
Riku: "Sora was dragged into the abyss during his exam. (Arden doesn't have context for what the exam is in KH3, but he does in Empatheias) And I went in after him. (Ditto) So, I think if we find someone who was really close to Aqua, and they make the dive, they could reach her down there." Arden still won't know what "make the dive" means.
Mickey goes on to explain the ties between Aqua, Ventus, and Terra. Yen Sid also supplies that their master was Eraqus, but "Xehanort mercilessly struck him down."
Sora doesn't have the power of waking early in the game - which Arden doesn't have context for at this point in KH3, but he'll get it eventually - and that's why Sora, Donald, & Goofy went back to Olympus.
Riku and Mickey will look for traces of Aqua and Yen Sid is the supplier of their gear.
Kairi and Lea are training with the wizard Merlin - Arden wouldn't know at this point that Lea is Axel
Riku and Mickeyy deliver Kairi and Lea's new clothes to them. Yen Sid: "Special vestments to shield Kairi and Lea from the darkness." Contrasted with Sora's clothes, which were made by "the good fairies." (Who Arden won't know.) Also that the gummiphones were made by Chip & Dale.
Heartbinder is a kind of good luck charm. Yen Sid: "You have a gift, Sora, for connecting with others, and this makes that gift stronger."
Yen Sid's parting words: "May your heart be your guiding key."

Radiant Garden

Prior to this, Riku and Mickey already gave Kairi and Lea their new vestments and met Merlin.
The general layout of Radiant Garden and meeting Dilan.
Aqua dove into the darkness to save Terra, after Terra was acting strange. There was a big fight. The guards later finding a white-haired man calling himself "Xehanort" in the same place where Aqua & Terra disappeared.
Arden can't see the memories and montage supplied to the game's player, but he can hear Riku and Mickey talking.
That Xehanort was the one who learned how to separate Heart from Body to create the Heartless/Nobody split.
The general idea that the Xehanorts are doing time-travel
Confirmation of some of Arden's memories from KH1: that Ansem did in fact have control of Riku at one point.
Xemnas is the founder of Organization XIII. (Namely, one of the people who Arden can blame for his mistreatment along with Marluxia, Vexen, Larxene, and Axel, but who wasn't in Castle Oblivion at the time he was alive.) The Organization's goal was to prepare 13 vessels for Xehanort's heart. And that Riku was involved in taking down Xemnas's original Organization.
"Mark of Mastery exam" said for the first time.
Mickey: "That's the Xehanort I remember. He was already a pretty old man then. But how do you explain Ansem and Xemnas, his Heartless and Nobody? Isn't it strange how young they look? Why aren't they old men? It's because Xehanort was using a different body when the split happened." These lines do two big things: 1) Reinforcing the Heartless/Nobody split, which is Arden wasn't privy to because it was introduced in KH2 and not explained / glossed over when his memories were rewritten in re:CoM to make him forget he was a Replica. 2) Gives Arden a general idea of the characters' appearances despite having never met Xehanort or Xemnas, only Ansem. So, even without the visual aids given to the player, he can follow Mickey's logic.
Mickey, cont. "That face from the portrait I mentioned-- it wasn't just some stranger that Ansem the Wise took under his wing. It was the young man whose body Master Xehanort possessed." Riku: "No way! That was Terra? Master Xehanort was using Terra?" This is all brand new information to Arden, as none of this has come up so far in Empatheias in conversations with him, so Arden will be as shocked as Riku is to learn about it. The most he knows about the BBS history is about the Ventus-Vanitas bond.
Mickey: "[Xehanort] claimed to have two of our seven lights. We got Sora back, but Terra must still be on Xehanort's side." This doesn't tell Arden when the Organization had Sora, but they clearly got him at some point. "We" is also too vague for Arden to know who all was involved in that rescue effort.

Radiant Garden: Phonecall

Sora: "In order for us to recomplete Roxas, he needs a body, right?" Micky: "Yeah, to put his heart in." Aside from the "recomplete" vocabulary, this also shows Arden that Sora is trying to help Roxas.
Riku: "Replicas..."
Sora: "Huh?"
Riku: "Well, replicas are basically human."
Sora: "Uh, what?"
Riku: "Oh, yeah... You wouldn't remember." Here, Riku places his hand over his heart, which is a signal he's thinking about Arden who is with him right now. The beach scene confirms that Riku knew all along that it was Arden who was with him.
Riku, cont.: "The previous Organization XII developed "replicas": realistic vessels to place hearts in. They're so real, in fact, that you'd actually mistake them for people. And with hearts, the replicas will become people." This is a major shift in Riku's thoughts regarding replicas, as far as Arden knows. It plays a huge part in both how Riku sees Arden, and how Arden sees Riku, moving beyond Real Thing and Fake, to two people whose origins are as intertwined as that of Sora and Roxas.
Sora: "Cool, but if we get our hands on a replica, will Roxas look like himself when he's recompleted?"
Riku: "Yup. The replica takes the form of the heart inside it." This implies that Riku, if no one else, believe Arden did have a heart of his own, even if it was based on Riku's.
Sora: "That's perfect!"
Mickey: "I'll talk to Ienzo." Arden won't know this is Zexion yet. "He was in the Organization back then, so he might more."
Sora: "Great. Thanks."
The new Organization XIII could be after replicas in order to "fill out their ranks" as Riku says later, but they're also after "a black box." Maleficent is back too, who Arden would remember from Riku's KH1 memories.
Mickey: "So, let the rest of us worry about Roxas and Naminé for now. You journey on, and keep and eye out for Terra." This would be the spark of inspiration, I think, that if Roxas is around, then Naminé is too, but they'll need a vessel for each.
Most important to this whole dialogue is the fact that at no point does Riku actually mention he had a replica based on himself at one point. He clearly does remember him, but this will remain a sore spot in terms of Arden's personality - his self-sacrificial nature being amplified by the fact that this whole time, Riku is still the only person to know that he exists, or ever existed at all. So his fate doesn't matter, but he's following along and developing a plan for how he might be able to help someone else important to him - Naminé. If he can make sure that she has a vessel, then that's all that matters.

Radiant Garden: Ansem the Wise's study

The general layout of the study, especially the room with Terranort's picture in that you have to pass through to get to all of the computer equipment.
Ienzo = Zexion. This is major because a huge sense of guilt Arden had before was that he killed Zexion, destroyed him for good, despite Zexion never actually doing anything to harm Arden. He also blamed Axel for coercing him into this murder. So the fact that Ienzo is here and fairly happy with the situation is a massive weight off of Arden's shoulders.
Riku: "What about his research?"
Ienzo: "Unfortunately, his work on the replicas was incomplete. There may still be documents around, but all of them from well before he made any significant progress." This just proves for Arden that he was a true experiment and not "significant progress."
Even = Vexen and Aeleus = Lexaeus. Dilan and Lexaeus searched for Even, but he was gone. Riku suspects he was taken, since the recompleted Somebodies can't use Dark Corridors anymore.

The Mysterious Tower #2

The Organization claims to have their 13 darknesses.
The New Seven Hearts. Kairi was one of the original and now Kairi chose to fight with them as a Guardian of Light. Kairi is a massive ??? for Arden since she didn't exist in his memories; she was replaced with Naminé. So this gives him a clear insight into her role in the plot.
Ventus's heart is asleep inside Sora, but his body is still missing, and only Aqua knows where that is. Sora had a run-in with Vanitas and Vanitas could sense where Ventus was sleeping.
Sora still doesn't have the power of waking and gets frustrated when everyone laughs at him, calling him reckless. Basically, not a 100% Pure Light Hero, as Arden learned in Empatheias, but didn't know at the time of his death.
Goofy: "If only he listened to Master Yen Sid the way he listens to Riku."

The Dark World #2
Mickey and Riku return to the Realm of Darkness to look for Aqua at the same beach they left before. In the process, Mickey is taken by a swarm of Heartless that have Aqua inside them, except she's been touched by Darkness. Once she recognizes Mickey's keyblade, Aqua chastises Mickey for taking so long. Here's a fallen Master who was supposed to be so strong, and this is when Arden makes his first visual appearance in the game.

Chapter 10 > Too Late

Aqua: "Do you have any idea how lonely it is here? How frightening it is to have no one? All that's left in my heart is misery and despair... and now, you can share it!"
Riku stands up and approaches Aqua at the shore of the beach.
Riku: "There's no need. Got my own."

This implies Riku has misery and despair in his heart, but it flashes to the same symbolic black space where Arden and Riku met originally, when he tied himself to Riku's heart. To me, this implies more that Arden is the one holding the amount of misery and despair within Riku that he's referring to. Arden approaches from the Darkness, Way to Dawn in hand and Dark Mode appearance, and comes to stand beside Riku. Then, he disappears into little balls of light, while Riku gains some additional power based on the wavy heat-like Darkness strands around his body, in particular his right hand.

Riku summons his keyblade again and Riku walks out across the water, able to stand on it through Aqua's magic. Together, they fight Aqua to a standstill, then Sora appears and joins the fight. They summon their joint keyblade and that releases Mickey to the beach, where Riku stays while Sora finishes the fight with Aqua. This releases her tie to the Darkness, but she sinks down into it again. Sora rescues her, and they make it back to the Destiny Islands beach where Aqua recovers.

The Mysterious Tower #3

After Aqua recovers, she goes with Sora, Donald, and Goofy to recover Ventus, so he's here now along with Lea and Kairi.
Goofy: "Did ya know Riku's a true Keyblade Master now?"
Aqua: "That's wonderful!"
This would certainly be news to Arden, but I think he might put together by learning that that passing the Mark of Mastery exam makes you a Keyblade Master. If nothing else, some conversations with Aqua and Sora in Empatheias would confirm it. He just didn't know Riku himself passed.
Donald: "But Sora needs work."
Sora: "Yeah, rub it in..."
This confirms Sora didn't pass.
Aqua and Kairi's connection from her past in Radiant Garden, when Unversed were trying to attack her, and Mickey having been present for that as well. Although Kairi doesn't remember it, because she was little.
Sora: "I do wish that Roxas, and Naminé, and Terra could be here with us too."
Another good reminder for Arden that Sora does know about Naminé, albeit not knowing whether he remembered her completely. The point is that Naminé would be welcomed back.
Kairi: "Naminé is right here, safe with me. I know that we'll find a way to help her. Trust me-- I'm not giving up."
Arden wouldn't have known what happened to Naminé at the end of KH2, so this is good information, showing Arden that she really is in the same predicament as Roxas and Ventus - latent hearts that just need a body to return to.

Destiny Islands Beach (the first scene in which he actually talks):
Riku is sitting near the shack. Arden appears just a few feet away, closer to the pier. This would have also been the first time Arden got to see Destiny Islands "for real", even though he's not able to touch it or feel it himself.

Riku is slightly shocked that Arden speaks up, because Arden hasn't until now. Given the way the conversation ends, Riku seems to have been waiting for Arden to make the first move in acknowledging their connection, but he did try to create an opening for it - given that Kairi says Riku intentionally walked away from her and Sora to have some alone time. That didn't guarantee Arden would talk to him, though. Lastly, by now, Arden has committed himself to his goal to focus on Naminé and figured out that she needs a vessel in order to be recompleted.

Interval 11-4: Respite > A Replica's Resolve

Arden: "How long have you known that I was with you?"
Riku: "You did save me."
Arden: Hm.
Riku: "I think you came along for a reason."
Arden: "I didn't make much of myself as a replica. /sigh/ I was a failure, and after you and Sora moved on, my body fell to ruin and the darkness took my broken mind. I was all ready to give up and let it happen, and then you showed up."
Riku: Heh. "You took that as a sign?"
Arden: Hmph. "Maybe. I'd rather face my end with you than in darkness."
Riku: "That's... what you want?"
Arden: "Yeah." Huh. "But I'm not done yet. Got one last thing to see through."
Riku: Hm. "Take the time you need."

This is a major shift in how they spoke at the end of re:CoM. It has much more camaraderie and even hints of friendly ribbing. Arden never calls Riku by his name, but neither does he call him Real Thing either. Likewise, Riku has no name by which to call Arden, but he doesn't refer to his status as a Fake or Replica either. For all intents and purposes, it's just two guys catching up and talking about one's goals. It's also amazing that Riku would say something like "Take the time you need" while carrying Arden around in his heart like that, after how much venom they spit at each other in re:CoM. Riku had games' worth of time to shift his perception about the Replicas and Nobodies and their rights to their own existence, but Arden had to come to terms with his own looming end alone. That he can admit he'd rather fight alongside someone else, and for someone else's sake, until his end is a testament to Arden developing a few of Riku's better qualities in a very similar arc as Riku himself. Arden is now willing to rely on Riku to carry him somewhere that Arden can make a difference in Naminé's life.

Following the day of rest, the 7 Guardians of Light head for the Keyblade Graveyard.

Keyblade Graveyard: The Badlands, Timeline 1
Arden is with Riku when everyone loses the battle against the Organization and the prophecy comes to pass, "the light expired." Sora goes on to the Final World and rescues the 7 Guardians, including Riku, using the Power of Waking. However, there is no indication that anyone but Sora and Kairi remembers this time period, so I'll include Arden along with not remembering anything except the introductory warning from the Xehanorts and Vanitas, plus the ensuing fight against the horde of Heartless. This is where Arden and Riku are pulled back to along with the other Guardians.

Keyblade Graveyard: The Badlands, Timeline 2

So once more, the 7 Guardians of Light approach the battlefield and come face to face with Xehanort possessing Terra's body, or Terranort. Aqua correctly identifies that it's not Terra and Mickey points out that he's their 13th Vessel.
Terranort: "But fear not. The χ-blade will still be forged." This would be the first time that Arden's heard about the χ-blade. He's from a time when Sora had the Kingdom Key, he has Riku's memories of fighting over it and being the original intended wielder, and having his Soul Eater weapon that is a dark variant of the Kingdom Key in functionality, but not that it was the only keyblade around. So between Riku having bequeathed him Way to Dawn and now this, it's a major shift in his perception going from The Keyblade (Kingdom Key) to multiple keyblades to now there being a one true χ-blade after all.
Before Terranort can attack Ventus this time, Lingering Will appears. He transforms his keyblade into both a whip and a giant shoulder cannon.
Riku participates in the battle against the 2nd Demon Tide
They see the former keyblades come to Sora's aid in a wave that he can surf, using one ancient keyblade after another to attack. Aqua: "Keyblade wielders... from long ago." Ventus: "It's the light of the past."

Now we get to talk about Replitwo. Sora saw him before this, in a black cloak like the organization hanging around San Fransokyo conducting some experiments for the Organization, but Riku wasn't there for any of that. As I mentioned before, Replitwo acts like Riku Replica from the past, before he had his memories overwritten to think he actually was the real Riku, which was the early half of Riku's route in re:Chain of Memories and took place chronologically before anything on Sora's route. Up to this point, Replitwo was shown in the black cloak, so Sora's group assumed that he was based on Riku's time possessed by Ansem: Seeker of Darkness. Replitwo is also the guy that we saw in Monstro in Dream Drop Distance. At the Keyblade Graveyard is the first time that we see Replitwo throw off his cloak to reveal the Dark Mode uniform underneath. This is why you will see Replitwo also referred to as Data Rikunort - because I like many others assumed this was the corrupted Journal from re:Coded - and canonically as Dark Riku - because that was the name of his combat form in KH1 while possessed. Also remember that while we see Replitwo in the black cloak and the Dark Mode outfit, it's the same character, albeit different from Riku and Repliku / Arden.

Replitwo's Formal Introduction

Like everyone else, upon seeing Replitwo for the first time, Arden probably assumed that this was really Riku's heart from when he was possessed by Ansem Seeker of Darkness. Replitwo doesn't dispute that claim either; he shows up on the battle field and then:
Riku: "You!"
Mickey: "The Organization's been using hearts. Ones Xehanort got to in the past and has influence over. So, that must be you from when Ansem had control of your heart." (Back in KH1, so Arden knows when Mickey is talking about.)
Riku: "Yeah. How could I forget?"
Replitwo: Kehahaha. "I'd say that was our finest hour."
Riku: "Wrong. My hour of weakness."
Replitwo: "You sure?" He pulls down Soul Eater from his shoulder "How about we find out?!" He also unleashes a wave of dark energy from his body. This forms a shadow with yellow eyes in the shape of Master Xehanort, a level of power that Arden never had. "A real test for the Mark of Mastery!"
Riku: "What did you say?!"
Xigbar: "We gotta make sure you're not blundering your way toward a second failure." Heh.
Lea: "Blundering? I'll have you know we failed with style, chief."
Xigbar: "At least you admit it. Well, if you guardians think you brought the goods, you'll have to prove it to the old guy one last time." He puts his hand on Replitwo's shoulder. "Kid, take it away."
Replitwo: Heh. Rrrah! And together with the MX shadow, Replitwo brings down more Heartless. A veritable sea of them. Replitwo disappears presumably through a Dark Corridor, but not leaving the Keyblade Graveyard entirely.

Keyblade Graveyard: Interlude and Crossroads

More fighting Heartless, with all 7 Guardians trying to protect one another. Riku even stops Mickey from using Time Magic against the swarm, fearing that Mickey "won't have enough strength for the final battle." Eventually, Master Yen Sid shows up and parts the heartless sea, to allow the 7 Guardians through. Donald and Goofy stay behind to help protect Master Yen Sid.
The 7 Guardians meet in the crossroads with the 13 Vessels.
Master Xehanort: "I have waited patiently... but together, we shall unlock the Keyblade War's secrets." This is the first time Arden would have heard about the Keyblade War.
Master Xehanort then forms the Skein of Severance labyrinth out of the rocky earth in the Keyblade Graveyard. Along with the other 7 Guardians, the group gets split up, such that Riku ends up alone until Sora shows up.

Keyblade Graveyard: Skein of Severance
This battle includes Ansem: Seeker of Darkness, Xigbar, and Replitwo versus Riku. Sora shows up to join the fight. Namely this means that Arden would have had long enough with Ansem SOD and Xigbar to know how they fight, but in particular his attention would have been on Replitwo. This is when he builds up a suspicion that Replitwo is actually his heart from the past, but doesn't have it confirmed yet. It doesn't get confirmed until he actually attacks Replitwo a few minutes after his pull-point.

The scenes in this battle ("Final Confrontations I") can take place in a few different orders, but I'm going to go with the order presented in Theater Mode for KH3:
- Ansem Retreats
- Riku and Riku (Repliku's end point, and Replitwo's as well)
- A Vain Promise (Xigbar leaves the field)
- A Replica for Naminé (the scene which hints Sora didn't see or hear Arden, just Riku's side of the conversation, and the end of this combat sequence)

It also doesn't matter if Sora fights alongside Mickey ("Final Confrontations II") before coming to Riku's aid, because Arden wouldn't have experienced the fight alongside Mickey regardless. (That's the fight that is against Xemnas, Luxord, Marluxia, and Larxene.) Additionally, due to the game's structure, there's absolutely no way for Arden to have been present for the other fights which reunite the Wayfinder Trio (Ventus, Aqua, and Terra) and the Seasalt Trio (Roxas, Xion, and Lea). The most important call-out there is that there's no possible order of events within the game's slightly fluid fight sequences here in the Skein of Severance in which Arden ever gets to see Xion, let alone interact with her. Technically he saw her when the 13 Vessels presented themselves at the Crossroads against the 7 Guardians of Light, but with all of their hoods up, there was no way for him to know it was her.

So, Arden will remember Ansem retreating from the fight, but not Replitwo's defeat in the "Riku and Riku" sequence, and Xigbar will still be an active threat at the time he returns to Empatheias.

Updated Personality:
The biggest changes are an injection of nihilism and a self-sacrificial streak. If Repliku canonically follows a similar arc to Riku, then this is Arden's blindfold period, like when Riku was going through 358/2 Days. This is when Arden is looking for redemption by holding up the person he cares about the most, Naminé. At this point, he still doesn't have a name and, among the primary protagonists, no one but Riku even knows about him. If Even is genuine in his desire to make amends for his past scientific experimentation as Vexen, canon gives us no indication that that includes Repliku, only Naminé and Xion.

The fact is that Arden didn't have to go with Riku on his journey. He could have stayed in the Darkness and disappeared there permanently. He chose Riku. He chose to hang on just a little bit longer and try to make his existence matter, but to do that he had to accept tagging along with Riku.

So Arden will be dealing with the prospect that he might be stuck attached to Riku as a ghost, thereby losing his autonomy and the entire life he built for himself in Empatheias. He's been telling all of his castmates after him that it's possible to have a fresh start in Verens, so he's going to feel like that applies to all of the Replicas and Nobodies except him. On the flip side, he's okay with that; that's the nihilism. Whether in English or Japanese, Arden will go on in the next few minutes to tell Riku essentially the same thing - that the world already has him (Riku), or that he (Arden) is good/done (with life) since Riku is there/exists. Much like the perspective of Naminé, Roxas, and Xion, Arden assumes that there's no place for him. This liminal existence he's stuck with attached to Riku seems to him as confirmation of that.

The only time Arden got remotely heated about anything at all is a few minutes into his future, and even then it was on the cusp of completing a process that he's sure will be the end of him - because it will mean a new beginning for Naminé. This is why he'll be pretty mellow at best and despondent at worst starting off. He does have a better opinion of Riku now, and won't reject his help in communicating to others, but he'll also treat that with the same gravitas as if Riku was reading off Arden's Final Will and Testament. Especially due to their stronger bond in Empatheias already, it's possible for Arden to reach a point where he's open to gently teasing Riku - building off how they spoke at the Beach - for whatever it is Riku's doing at any given moment, but that's also because he won't have anything better to do and Riku's the only one who can hear him. He still isn't likely to experience any emotions with any intensity aside from Ennui itself, because of thinking that his life is over.

Updated Abilities:
With mod permission, Arden is returning to Verens in the same limited form (ghost/specter-like) that he exists in during the Kingdom Hearts 3 game, where he is tied to Riku's heart, only visible to him, and can only speak to him.

- While in his limited form, Arden can float a few feet off the ground and fly with good maneuverability, but he also can't move more than a few yards away from Riku at any given time.
- Arden can lend his power to Riku for a generic power boost by fully merging with him temporarily, rather than just hanging around nearby in ghost form
- Arden is now in possession of Way To Dawn

Per request of the mods, these changes are a heavily restricted version of my original proposal for Arden being temporarily stuck in a Force Ghost style form akin to how I saw Shiro from Voltron and the Seraphs from Tales of Zestiria treated in Empatheias.

Other:
Riku will have to carry Arden's amulet, and in a few weeks I'll update Arden again so that this limited form is truly limited in duration as well.

Questions: n/a