Kingdom Hearts Dark Road's launch revealed that the game will tell Xehanort's story in an episodic format and that each installment will release periodically on separate dates. The first episode is called "Unexpected Departure," and it features twenty quests with four additional, optional tasks that the player can choose to perform after completing the main storyline. As a recap of the first episode, this article contains MAJOR SPOILERS.

The title acts as a reference and metaphor to the three key events of the episode: Xehanort's departure from Destiny Islands, the unexpected disappearances of Keyblade wielders, and the episode's ending, which displays the deaths or "unexpected departures," of specific individuals. This last event may be one of the saddest defining moments in the Kingdom Hearts series. But before that, of course, there's the first event.

RELATED: Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Delayed

Xehanort Leaves Destiny Islands

xehanort ansem

On Destiny Islands' recreational isle, Xehanort awakens from a reoccurring dream that he's been having all his life. The dream sees him living out the life of the player character from Kingdom Hearts Union Cross, experiencing events from the time the player gets sorted into a union until their "death" in the Keyblade War. The dream plays out for Xehanort similarly to how the dreams of Sora's memories played out for Roxas in the prologue of Kingdom Hearts 2.

Xehanort can't figure out why he's having the dreams or what they could mean. However, they make him feel so strongly connected to the people he sees within them that he instinctively refers to them as friends. But since he's never been able to leave Destiny Islands before, he's unsure if the people and the worlds he sees are even real. While contemplating this, a man in a brown cloak approaches Xehanort and confirms his dreams are real.

Xehanort tries to question who the robed figure is, but only receives cryptic answers. The man believes Xehanort lacks the knowledge to understand any explanation he could provide but does claim there is a way for Xehanort to gain it. He opens up a Corridor of Darkness and purposes Xehanort explore the outside worlds beyond Destiny Islands. Xehanort considers the portal and the proposition, and as revealed in the next scene, takes the man up on his offer.

Missing Wielders

xehanort eraqus

Now in the world of Scala Ad Caelum, Xehanort sits on his usual bench in the outskirts of town when his best friend Eraqus catches sight of him. The two are supposed to be heading to class but decide to lounge a bit and engage in conversation. Eraqus uses it as an opportunity to ask Xehanort about his experiences with the outside world. Xehanort seemingly tries to dodge the question, claiming he wouldn't know. But Eraqus remarks that they found Xehanort lying unconscious in the area they're sitting at. Since every town on the planet besides theirs is abandoned, Xehanort must have come from the outside.

Upon making it to class, Xehanort and Eraqus find Urd, Bragi, Hermond, and Vor already there. The only people missing are Baldr — a fellow student — and Master Odin, who shortly arrives after Eraqus inquires about his whereabouts. Odin informs the group that he hasn't gathered them for the usual studies but instead to tell them about the disappearances of the upperclassmen — the seven senior students above Xehanort and his friends. All of them were individually visiting other worlds in preparation for their upcoming Mark of Mastery exam, and none of them have reported in. So Odin wants Xehanort and his friends to go out looking for them.

The students display their excitement and disbelief at the task, namely because wielders of their level don't learn interstellar travel methods. Hermond offers to fetch Baldr for the lesson when Odin stops him. Baldr's sister is one of the missing upperclassmen, and to avoid the possibility of needlessly worrying him, Odin has assigned him a different task. With that, Odin begins teaching.

keyblade armor

After learning the Keyblade Armor and Glider method of transportation, Xehanort and his friends make their way to their usual spot on the outskirts of the town. Master Odin told them to split up into two teams of three for their search parties, and the group leaves the team creation up to Xehanort, as he's the only one of them that's been to an outside world. Xehanort's past also makes them curious about his overall opinion on the situation they've found themselves in. Once again, Xehanort avoids talking about where he came from, changing the subject of the conversation to World Order, the concept Donald explained to Sora in KH1.

Master Odin told them all some time ago that the Keyblade War destroyed all the worlds, and that they're only now recovering. Because of this, Xehanort thinks that some worlds are restoring themselves faster than others. Those already restored should have their rules and order respected as usual. But the group should also be wary of worlds that are recovering slower and don't have their rules in place yet, as any missteps from Xehanort and his friends could cause those world to develop in unnatural ways. With that, the player chooses which of Xehanort's friends they want to tag along with him and Eraqus before heading off.

The first world Xehanort's team finds itself in is Agrabah, where Heartless immediately attack the group. The battle that follows is the first time players experience Dark Road's gameplay. After congratulating each other on their first win and briefly worrying about their friends, the group decides to look around for clues. Their search leads them to one of the towns in Agrabah, which they quickly notice is strangely deserted.

RELATED: Kingdom Hearts Dark Road May Finally Answer Big Question

Xehanort believes that the last thing worlds' must restore is their native people, and Eraqus agrees with him. After getting confirmation that Heartless didn't exist in Xehanort's homeworld, Eraqus thinks that they must only roam until the people are restored. What he can't figure out is why exactly Emblem Heartless exist. According to Master Odin, they only appeared in worlds created by the Book of Prophecies, which projected the future versions of worlds that exist in the present and allowed Keyblade wielders to interact with them. It apparently hasn't been active since the conclusion of Kingdom Hearts Union Cross.

Xehanort and Eraqus teammate worries about whether or not the Heartless may have had anything to do with the disappearances of the upperclassman. Eraqus tries to pass it off, as he doesn't believe the Heartless to be all that strong, but Xehanort thinks there could be ones stronger than what they've gone up against. He decides the group should look around for more clues before heading back.

Eventually, the trio runs into a Fat Bandit Heartless, and it proves to be tougher than anything they've fought up until this point. After barely managing to defeat it, the idea that the Heartless must be behind the disappearances comes up again. While Eraqus concedes that stronger Heartless exist, he still doesn't believe that they caused all the upperclassmen's disappearances. Some of the wielders would have fought, sure, but others would have run. Xehanort and Eraqus' teammate counters that the there may be Heartless too powerful to run from, and with that, the group decides to return to Scala.

dark road characters

The trio arrives in the usual spot to see that their friends have already made it back. When Xehanort's group exchanges information with the other, Xehanort's team learns that their friends encountered powerful heartless too. They also concluded that these Heartless must have had something to do with the disappearance of the upperclassmen.

Vor believes the mission is becoming dangerous and wonders whether they should all report their findings to Master Odin. Eraqus doesn't think so, and Xehanort agrees with him. The two of them reason that they're all Keyblade wielders who were tasked with finding missing companions, so that's what they should do. Although Eraqus does believe that if anyone should come into contact with a Heartless they can't handle, they should turn around and run away shamelessly, because he knows he will. The groups then gear up again to try and find a more substantial lead.

Graveyard

eraqus xehanort gravesite

From here, the story jumps four years into the future to a graveyard on Scala Ad Caelum. Xehanort's walks in the rain, laying flowers down next to four different gravestones that are all lined up side by side. As he finishes paying respect to the last person in the line, he hears Eraqus calling out to him, questioning whether or not Xehanort has really decided to leave.

Xehanort has, claiming that he wants to see more of the world beyond Scala before the Mark of Mastery. Eraqus doesn't buy this and tries to convince him to stay, telling him whatever led to these deaths wasn't his fault, and that they've already seen what's out there. Xehanort ominously denies this, and when Eraqus asks him to explain, Xehanort walks away from him and the conversation.

Eraqus switches tactics and tries a more lighthearted approach. He tells Xehanort that he better return because they have a score to settle. As he remembers it, Eraqus has 117 wins, 312 losses, and eight draws. Xehanort corrects him: he actually has 107 wins, 323 losses, and seven draws. Eraqus dismisses this, considering his original estimate to be close enough, which promptly causes Xehanort to turn around and ask if he's serious.

Eraqus gloats about getting Xehanort to turn around, as he obviously just wanted to trigger the kind of conversations they used to have. He bids his friend farewell, telling him that he'll see him soon. Xehanort gives his friend a familiar smirk, agrees that he will, and then walks away. Eraqus reluctantly turns around and walks in the opposite direction, concluding the episode.

Next Episode

eraqus graves

The ending of this first episode heavily implies that all four of Xehanort's friends somehow died under his watch. Xehanort and Eraqus don't exactly come out and say that it's members of their group in the ground, though, so while it's unlikely, it could be others aside from Vor, Hermond, Urd, and Bragi who are dead. Four years is a fairly large time gap, so something may have happened within that span. Still, whoever is gone was obviously close to Xehanort, and their deaths influenced his choice to pursue Kingdom Hearts as relentlessly as he did.

The next Dark Road episode, episode 2, is called "The Presence of Darkness." The title of this first episode, Unexpected Departure, heavily referenced a lot of the events that happened within it. If episode 2 does the same thing — and there's no reason why it shouldn't — then it may hint at what fans can expect from it. A dark presence can refer to several things such as the Heartless, Ansem, mysterious characters like Odin, and even Xehanort himself.

The missing Keyblade wielder storyline wasn't completed in this episode, so it should continue in the next. The Heartless were the biggest suspects, so their presence seems like a no brainer, but the story also hinted at another reason why the wielders disappeared, so there may be a mysterious character wandering around causing trouble. KH3 Re: Mind confirms Xehanort meets the Master of Masters around this age so it could be him.

Xehanort also confirms in the Secret Reports of Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep that he starts to forgo his Keyblade Armor while traveling within the Lanes Between around this time as well. The armor wards off darkness, and by not using it while traveling, Xehanort is exposing himself to its presence and power. When the next episode releases remains a mystery as Square Enix hasn't disclosed a major update release schedule for Dark Road, but it should be at the end of this month, if not the start of the next.

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is available now for iPhone, Android, and Amazon.

MORE: What To Expect From Kingdom Hearts Dark Road