Lich
Japanese	リッチ
Rōmaji	Ricchi
Type	Pureblood Heartless
Game	Kingdom Hearts III
KHIII tracks Battle theme - Dive into the Heart -Destati- Third Revival

Lich
Kingdom Hearts III
This haunting horror held the hearts of Sora's friends hostage. Time and again, Sora fought it back, but with each hard-won victory, it would simply slough its form and depart to another world. Its broad arsenal of magic made it a formidable foe to face alone, but in the end no Heartless could match the strength of Sora's resolve.

Location			HP		Strength			Defense			EXP
The Final World			600		55			28			0
Physical	Fire		Blizzard			Thunder				Water
x1.0	x0.5		x1.0[1]			x1.0[2]				x1.0[3]
Aero		Dark		Neutral					Rapid-fire
x0.5		x0.5		x0.7[4]					x0.5
Freeze		Electrify		Stun					Hunny
X		X		X					X
Reaction Endurance		Revenge Value		Attraction Magnification					Damage Limit
0		4		x0.8					24
Rewards
Sora: Max MP +5, Aeroga
World(s)
The Final World

"The Lich you've been fighting—it's not like other Heartless. It exists to usher hearts down to the depths of darkness."

—Young Xehanort to Sora

The Lich is a Pureblood Heartless that appears in Kingdom Hearts III. Unlike other Heartless, it does not consume hearts to create more Heartless. Rather, it captures hearts and ferries them to the abyss of darkness. If caught in time, however, it can be forced to relinquish the hearts it has captured, allowing them to return to their bodies.

Story

Kingdom Hearts III

The Lich first appears at the Courtyard in Olympus to collect Riku's heart after the Guardians of Light have been consumed by a Demon Tide and scattered across the worlds. After Sora chases the Lich down and frees Riku's heart, the Lich flees into a portal leading to other worlds to claim the hearts of the other fallen warriors—Aqua at the Northern Waters in The Caribbean, Goofy at the Middle Tier in Arendelle, Donald Duck at the Lobby & Offices in Monstropolis, Ventus at Main Floor: 1F in Toy Box, Mickey Mouse at the Marsh in Kingdom of Corona, and Lea at the Central District in San Fransokyo—forcing Sora to use the power of waking to give pursuit. Upon finally vanquishing the Lich, Sora is told by Young Xehanort that he has misused the power of waking too many times, and is condemned to meet the same fate as those whose hearts were taken by the Lich.

Design

The Lich is a large black Heartless with the shape of a roughly humanoid torso. It wears a black robe which fades into white tendrils at its base, and has draping sleeves that end in pink points. Its tall, pointed headdress covers its head and long neck with a criss-crossing design ending in a flair at the shoulders that resembles white hair or feathers. Its glowing yellow eyes peer through a skull-shaped mask. A heart-shaped hole cuts through its chest, in which is stores the chained hearts it captures, bordered by a bright pink design on its robe. Three chains dangle from under its robe, ending in pink spikes that hang at alternate heights.

It bears a grey staff with a black headpiece, which also features a heart-shaped hole through it.

Its name is derived from the recurring enemy from the Final Fantasy series, which in turn was named after a class of undead creatures usually found in fantasy fiction.

Strategy

Kingdom Hearts III

The Lich has a broad arsenal of magic, which grows stronger with every fight, and it must be defeated seven times before the battle is truly over. Each fight will take place in a different world.

The first fight takes place in Olympus. Sora must chase it through the corridors, which are filled with Shadows and Neoshadows. Despite Jiminy Cricket's many warnings, they can be slain for extra experience. At the end of the corridors, the Lich will open a Corridor of Darkness to the Apex, where the true fight begins. The Lich has three attacks: Afterimage Slide, 6-fold Fire, and Aerora. The fire and aero attacks can be blocked. However, avoiding the afterimages can be tricky because, if Sora is locked on to it when it slides, he will remain locked on to the afterimage. Air Slide is good for avoiding the explosion. Due to only having three health bars, the fight will end quickly.

Following the Lich's first defeat, it retreats through another Corridor of Darkness, leading Sora into a Dive to the Heart where he must dive into five more areas to fight the Lich. The order of the next five fights depends on the order Sora dives into the arena, and each arena gives the Lich a new attack.

• Toy Box: This fight takes place in the Main Floor: 1F area. It can now use the Thunder Disc attack, which summons electrical discs that charge at Sora and will inflict Electrify, but as the party has just Sora fighting alone, this status has no negative effect. They can be blocked. It is assisted at the start of the battle by Marionettes, which can possess any toy they get close to. Kill them if necessary, but focus on the boss.
• Kingdom of Corona: This fight takes place in the Marsh. It can now use the Cloud Magic attack, which summons clouds that inflict the cloud status, and thus must be dodged. It is flanked by several Flutterings that spawn at the beginning of the fight. This part of the fight can be particularly tough due to the large area of trees that the boss can run away into, as well as the lack of lighting.
• Monstropolis: This fight takes place in the Lobby & Offices area. It can now use the Fire Turn attack, which summons 6 fireballs that move in different directions before charging at Sora. The charge can be cancelled by attacking it as he summons the fireballs. After having its HP reduced to 50%, it will disappear from the screen and summon Large Bodys to attack Sora. After they are all defeated, the Lich will reappear. This can avoided by killing it quickly, before it summons the enemies.
• Arendelle: This fight takes place in the Labyrinth of Ice. It can now use Blizzaga, which will freeze Sora unless he has Freeze Protection equipped. This attack is telegraphed by the Lich's eyes glowing blue. It is now flanked by Winterhorns upon its HP being reduced to 50%.
• The Caribbean: This fight takes place on a ship. It can now use Afterimage Water, which causes its afterimages to use Water magic. It is now assisted by Vaporflys upon its HP being reduced to 80%. Simply dodge the water, block all its attacks, and mash it with combos until it dies.

After the Lich's sixth defeat, Sora must dive into the Central District of San Fransokyo for a final showdown. It uses all of its attacks from the previous fights, and the Neoshadows return to assist the Lich when its HP is reduced to 90% and 70% HP.

Upon its final defeat, Sora will gain a max MP increase, and learn Aeroga.

Technique		Element	Status	Power	Block?	Repel LV
Afterimage Slide (残像スライド, Zanzō Suraido)		Dark	—	1.0 per hit	△	—
		Moves around at high speed, leaving several afterimages in its wake; each afterimage explodes and vanishes after 1.5 seconds. Used in all worlds.
		The afterimages are targettable.
6-fold Fire (６連ファイア, 6-ren Faia)		Fire	Burn (100%/1s)	0.5 per hit	△	—
		Shoots six homing fireballs in succession at an opponent. Used in all worlds.
Aerora (エアロラ, Earora)		Aero	—	1.5	△	—
		Spins sideways and generates winds at an opponent's location. Used in all worlds.
Thunder Disc (サンダーディスク, Sandā Disuku)		Thunder	Electrify (100%/10s)	1.0 per hit	△	—
		Shoots six discs of lightning that fly around and spin sideways. Used in Toy Box and San Fransokyo.
Cloud Magic (クラウドマジック, Kuraudo Majikku)		—	Cloud (100%/20s)	—	X	—
		Shoots three rain clouds forward. Used in Kingdom of Corona and San Fransokyo.
Fire Turn (ファイアターン, Faia Tān)		Fire	Burn (100%/1s)	0.5 per hit	△	—
		Generates six fireballs overhead and fires them at an opponent. Used in Monstropolis and San Fransokyo.
Blizzaga (ブリザガ, Burizaga)		Blizzard	Freeze (100%/2.5s)	2.0	△	—
		Waves its staff and releases cold air around itself. Used in Arendelle and San Fransokyo.
Afterimage Water (残像ウォータ, Zanzō Wōta)	(water ball)	Water	—	1.5	△	—
	(explosion)	Dark	—	1.0	△	—
		Moves around at high speed, leaving an afterimage in its wake; the afterimage explodes and vanishes after throwing a water ball. Used in The Caribbean and San Fransokyo.
		The afterimage is targettable.
Guard/Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked.

Video

Gallery

• 

  Concept art of the Lich in Kingdom Hearts III.

Notes and references

• Pureblood Heartless
• Kingdom Hearts III bosses