Kingdom Hearts Union Cross Quest 376 - 425 Explained: Ephemer's Disappearance
No one has seen Ephemer in Kingdom Hearts Union Cross since he ventured off into the Foreteller's clock tower by himself. The only person who would have any idea about where he went is the protagonist, but they don't know Ephemer continued into the tower without them or that he's even missing.
They just know he didn't keep his promise to show up at their planned meeting place. The Union Cross questlines set between 376 and 425 covers the protagonist's search for Ephemer and how it leads them to their toughest fight yet. This writing acts as a retelling and explanation of these events, so expect spoilers ahead.
After Ephemer missed their rendezvous, the protagonist went about their routine of collecting Lux, choosing Wonderland to do so. While this won't be the last time they visit this world, the trip does wrap up Wonderland's storyline. Here, they protect Alice from herself and everything else Wonderland throws at her, including a death sentence issued by the Queen of Hearts. By the end, Alice thinks herself invincible with the protagonist and goes about carelessly exploring Wonderland to the protagonist's dismay.
The growing hostility between the Foretellers has Master Ava unhappy. She believes her friends are close to turning on each other over their possible traitor situation, and she doesn't know how to handle it. While she's pondering, Ephemer comes across her. The two have only spoken once before, but every wielder thinks Ava's the easiest to talk to among the Foretellers because she's the closest to their age group, so Ephemer attempts to cheer her up.
Kingdom Hearts Back Cover's Case of Invi adapts Ephemer and Ava's conversation and further fleshes it out. In it, Ava vents her feelings by admitting that she, like Ephemer, is confused about the Master of Masters instructing the Foretellers to organize their Unions to compete against each other. She knows the Master's word is absolute, so she'll obey it. However, she believes people should be more like Ephemer: questioning things and thinking for themselves. In response to this, Ephemer tells her that he made a friend from a different Union today, and he plans to meet up with them tomorrow. Excited for him, Ava sends him away so he can get ready. As he leaves, Ava envisions leaving the future to wielders like him.
Back home from Wonderland, the protagonist finds themselves having another surreal dream. Ephemer actually shows up to their rendezvous as planned, apologizing for his tardiness. The two then return to the clock tower entrance they found in the water tunnels, but the protagonist hesitates to enter. Ephemer understands the protagonist isn't ready yet but assures them he'll be waiting for them when they are. With that, he disappears in a cloud of dandelions, and the protagonist awakens.
The protagonist's waking stirs Chirithy from its sleep too, and it wonders if they had a dream. The protagonist conveys that the dream was about Ephemer, and they want to go search for him in the clock tower. Chirithy rejects the idea, though, as only Foretellers are allowed in the tower. Not to mention, the timing is terrible. Chirithy can't go into details, but it can say the Foretellers aren't seeing eye-to-eye, and therefore aren't in the best of moods.
At first, the protagonist takes Chirithy's advice to avoid the tower, and instead, they ask other Keyblade wielders about Ephemer's whereabouts. Their investigation teaches them a few things: Master Ava is reportedly recruiting Keyblade wielders, she was the last person seen with Ephemer, and she mostly hangs around the tower. So, to Chirithy's increasing anxiety, they return to the underground waterway. However, before they can even reach the tower entrance, they run right into Master Ava.
When Ava recognizes the protagonist and questions why they're in the waterway, they explain they came looking for her. They had a dream about Ephemer telling them to meet him in this place, but since the area is restricted, they figured Ephemer got caught up in the Foretellers' problems. Because Ava was the last person seen with Ephemer, they believe she may have had something to do with his disappearance.
Ava tells the protagonist that she likes them for their honesty and that they're not totally off-base with their theory. However, she currently can't tell them much more than that. Then, to the protagonist and Chirithy's shock, Ava draws her Keyblade and tells the protagonist to show her what they're capable of.
Ava defeats the protagonist but sees great potential in them. However, she also sees the sadness in their heart (the loneliness they've been dealing with). She warns them to be mindful of it, as it can lead to darkness. They should be fine so long as Chirithy is with them, though. She then tells the protagonist to go home, as, again, the tower is strictly off-limits. As the Kingdom Hearts Union Cross protagonist complies, Ava makes a mental note that they're the friend Ephemer was telling her about.
On the night Ephemer went to the clock tower entrance alone, Master Ava confronted him. It's here Ava inducts Ephemer into her Dandelion initiative, a group whose purpose will be explained later on in the story. Ava trains her Dandelions in the Realm of Sleep, so when Ephemer accepts her proposal, that's where she sends him. This is why no one has seen him and how he could communicate with the protagonist through their dreams. Kingdom Hearts Union Cross doesn't explicitly show any of this, but it, along with Kingdom Hearts Back Cover's Case of Ava, heavily implies it.
Following the battle with Master Ava, the protagonist lies knocked out in their apartment, and Chirithy watches over them in disbelief over the fact that they fought one of the Foretellers. Ava, who snuck into the protagonist's home, further surprises Chirithy by replying to it, saying that she didn't find the fight fun either. She approaches the protagonist and asks Chirthy if it was the one to show them the dream of Ephemer. After Chirithy denies responsibility, Ava guesses that Ephemer showed it himself.
When Chirithy asks how such a thing is possible, Ava explains that Ephemer is currently in an "unchained" state and exists in a different realm. Also, since the protagonist actually managed to have Ephemer's dream, they're getting closer to entering that realm too. Although, whether they enter it or not will depend on their own heart. She then instructs Chirithy to protect the protagonist from nightmares so that the wind can carry them far away from here one day. In other words, so they can one day become one of her Dandelions. She then vanishes, leaving Chirithy wondering if it's up from the task and bringing the questline to a close.
Kingdom Hearts Union Cross is on IOS and Android.
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