"Absent Silhouettes, presences of those who were slain. Exactly, though they come in all different shapes and sizes. The item belongs to its owner, who is now nothing more than a shadowy presence. But you can still fight them, of course. And as you do, it'll slowly awaken the real you."

—Demyx's explanation

An Absent Silhouette (アブセント・シルエット, Abusento Shiruetto) is a phantom version of one of the five Organization XIII members who were eliminated at Castle Oblivion in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories: Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, Marluxia, and Larxene. They appear in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix as a set of optional bosses. Upon defeat, they relinquish a Lost Illusion and a synthesis Recipe that allows the Moogles to craft an item resembling the defeated Organization member's signature weapon. Defeating an Absent Silhouette also allows Sora to challenge their Organization XIII's Replica Data at the Garden of Assemblage.

Story

After Sora and company have a skirmish with Demyx in the Inner Chamber, a ghostly sphere appears, emblazoned with the image of a Lexicon titled Absent Silhouettes. They decide not to inspect it. Later, after the group faces Demyx's water forms in the Underworld Caverns: Atrium, the Nobody retreats, but reappears before the group moves on to the Lock. Demyx tells the group about Absent Silhouettes, which he describes as "shadowy presences of those who were slain." He explains that they can take many forms, and that, even though they are only shadowy presences, Sora can face them in battle.^[1]

An Absent Silhouette initially appears as a dark sphere, depicting a silhouette of the slain member's weapon, with thornbeams and wisps of the respective member's element circling around it.^[2] When Sora accepts an Absent Silhouette's challenge, it warps him, Donald, and Goofy to the site of the Organization member's last fight. The Silhouette then assumes the form of its respective Organization member, commencing the battle.^[3]

As Sora defeats each Absent Silhouette, he is given a synthesis recipe that creates an equippable item that resembles the weapon of the respective member. Each defeated Absent Silhouette reappears in the Garden of Assemblage as part of the Organization XIII's Replica Data.

Gameplay

Though they serve as rematches with bosses from Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, each Absent Silhouette has a vastly different fighting style in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. For example, in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Larxene attacks by throwing her Foudre, and Zexion uses his Book of Retribution to create doppelgangers of himself using skills stolen from his opponent. In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Larxene's Absent Silhouette creates clones of herself to perform speedy attacks from multiple directions, and Zexion's Absent Silhouette uses the Book of Retribution to trap Sora in a pocket dimension. The Absent Silhouettes do not speak; instead they simply grumble, grunt, laugh, or cry out when struck or while attacking.

1. Vexen's Absent Silhouette is fought at the 11th Floor facsimile of the Old Mansion, and it relinquishes a Lost Illusion and the Road to Discovery Recipe. The portal to the battle appears in The Peddler's Shop after the shop is remodeled during Sora's second visit to Agrabah.
2. Lexaeus's Absent Silhouette is fought at the Station of Remembrance, and it relinquishes a Lost Illusion and the Strength Beyond Strength Recipe. The portal to the battle appears at the Sandlot after Sora defeats the Nobodies there on his second visit to Twilight Town. However, the portal becomes unaccessible during the third visit of the world, due to The Sandlot becoming unaccessible as well, and only becomes accessible again once that visit is cleared.
3. Zexion's Absent Silhouette is fought at the 3rd Basement facsimile of the Storm-tossed Island, and it relinquishes a Lost Illusion and the Book of Shadows Recipe. The portal to the battle appears in the Inner Chamber upon reaching it during Sora's first visit to the Olympus Coliseum, and the challenge can only be accepted once Sora has access to The Lock.
4. Marluxia's Absent Silhouette is fought at the Station of Oblivion, and it relinquishes a Lost Illusion and the Eternal Blossom Recipe. The portal to the battle appears in The Beast's Room after Beast asks Belle and Sora to leave his castle, during the second visit to Beast's Castle.
5. Larxene's Absent Silhouette is fought at the Station of Remembrance, and it relinquishes a Lost Illusion and the Cloaked Thunder Recipe. The portal to the battle appears at the Rock Face after Sora lands at Isla de Muerta during his first visit after the gunpowder battle on the Interceptor.

Defeating each Absent Silhouette increases the Bonus Level.

Unversed Remnants

In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, the Vanitas Remnant and the Unversed Missions appear throughout the worlds. Like the Absent Silhouettes, the Vanitas Remnant initially appears as a dark sphere depicting the Keychain of the Void Gear, and the Unversed Missions appear as dark spheres depicting the Unversed emblem. However, the spheres are only surrounded by wisps of darkness, without any thornbeams.

Notes and references

• Optional bosses
• Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix bosses