#they were originally going to be the teeth of Oathkeeper and Oblivion but I changed them to their current

[goldenchocobo]

Last time I was in town, I saw someone wearing an outfit similar to this and immediately thought of Roxas. I don't remember much; just that their pants were chequered and their boots were similar and they had a black denim jacket. When looking for references, I saw this jacket- with the belt and zippers and knew it was the one I needed to draw.

Thank you, Random Stranger who passed me in the Market, for inspiring me to draw a Roxas outfit redraw

[iamoncewas]

Oathkeeper, Oblivion, and the other promise

Oathkeeper (約束のお守り Yakusoku no Omamori - Oath's Charm) represents a promise (an oath) Sora made to Kairi. Specifically, this one:

This is why it's token is Kairi's Wayfinder, which are modeled after the paopu fruit and represent basically the same thing: an unbreakable connection.

It's teeth are fashioned after the kanji for light (光). Oblivion's teeth are fashioned after the kanji for darkness (闇), showing it's meant to be seen as a pair with Oathkeeper. They are meant to have equal symbolic significance, but only Oathkeeper's origin has ever been explained.

Oblivion's Japanese name is Passing Memories (過ぎ去りし思い出 Sugisarishi Omoide). In DDD we see a significant memory related to Riku that Sora doesn't quite remember. As Sora chases the dreams, Riku and Kairi shifting into Terra and Aqua, he hears Riku's voice, the dream dissipates and he sees a light. He then remembers when he and Riku met Aqua when they were children, but there is no audio in the memory, showing that Sora doesn't recall what Aqua told him. Aqua then fades and Sora sees Ansem SoD, who can be seen as the personification of Riku's darkness. We found out in KH3 that possessing Riku's body is the reason Ansem looks the way he does.

The dreams that come right before waking are the dreams you are most likely to remember.

What Aqua told Sora was very important. And he doesn't remember it. A "passing memory."

I believe Riku however, does remember this, since he is consistently referencing his promise to Terra. He met them both on the same day, Aqua arriving not long after Riku was bequeathed.

Oblivion's token is a crown very similar in appearance to the one Sora wears around his neck, except it is black in colour. If Oblivion represents Riku, why is it not the same as, say, Way to the Dawn's token, for example? It is the only keyblade with a token like this. Royal Radiance and Unbound are similar, but not as exact as Oblivion (that's a whole other pile of symbolism I won't get into). And we know exactly where the wayfinder came from, Kairi made it herself from thalassa shells.

So, that black crown, I believe is also a symbol of "an unbreakable connection" like the wayfinder, that Riku actually physically carries with him. He doesn't wear it around his neck however like Sora. In KH1 you get Oblivion from a chest in the Grand Hall in Hollow Bastion, where Sora fought possessed Riku, implying Riku left it there for him. In KH2, Sora gets its after the reunion, implying Riku gave it to him. It wasn't outrightly shown like Sora and Kairi exchanging the Wayfinder has been, however. And Sora clearly doesn't remember it's symbolic significance.

If the black crown is a keyblade token, Sora's necklace is a keyblade token (silver - "grey area" - balance between light and dark, making Oblivion, Oathkeeper and this keyblade a trio. This keyblade would then represent Sora). I assume anything can be a keyblade token, which is why Sora receives one from every world he visits (especially since none of the inhabitants of these worlds even know what keyblades are). They are regular objects, given meaning by the connections they symbolize, given form by Sora's heart and keyblade. Since their combined keyblade contains both a crown and a Hidden Mickey when it's complete, I believe the crown chains are of the same nature as the Kingdom Keys and Braveheart, directly tied to Kingdom Hearts.

Since Oathkeeper is meant to be Oblivion's parallel, I believe Oblivion also represents a promise. Since Sora doesn't remember his "job" that Aqua gave him, I assume the promise was something like "I'll always stay with you." This would conflict with the promise he made to Kairi, "I'll always come back to you" in the event that he would ever have to choose between them.

Which is exactly what happened in KH1. Kairi wanted to leave with Sora, without Riku. This is why Riku got so angry, and fell to darkness. This would have been Sora breaking his promise, a huge betrayal. Sora forgot he ever made it. But Riku didn't, and he was hurt that Sora would forget about him that way.

Oblivion - the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening; the state of being forgotten.

Sora had forgotten how important Riku is to him.

That means that, all this time, Sora has been wearing a REMINDer of this promise, his necklace. This is why the origin of Sora's necklace and Oblivion have never been explained, because its vital to the endgame and will be explained in the DLC. It's everything. The "secret episode" is going to be the secret ending, the game's CLEAR ending, Sora choosing Riku, straight up, no room for debate afterwards. He's already remembered by the end of KH3, we saw him vanish from Kairi's side (even though I think Kairi's in his heart, Sora leaving her side is just a symbolic image) and (attempt to) return home to Riku, which is what everybody was looking at and smiling about. That's why Donald got so excited and tried to run out there before Mickey stopped him. Nomura said he wanted to keep the ending vague, but realized after people's reactions that he left it "too vague". I think what he wanted to be more clear about, was Sora leaving Kairi's side. The result of his choice. But he wants us to be surprised as well.

Aqua also told Sora to keep Riku safe. He also broke this part of his promise and committed and even greater betrayal. In the original timeline, he let Riku die. The MoM is Sora(/Vanitas) attempting to save his life at whatever cost (all for one and one for all), which should be impossible, because you can't change what's already happened, but this is the ending we played through. I imagine Sora saw him die, and the memory of this would also remain within Sora's heart even if he doesn't consciously remember it, a painful memory he's pushed deep into the darkness. The mind may forget, but the heart always remembers. Oblivion also represents this I believe, because of one last definition of it's name: extinction. The passing memory of Riku's death, and the darkness it caused.