Time Travel Explained

[BlackOsprey]

Essentially, yes. It's just that you must "first" cast off the body to gain the ability. Technically Xehanort gained the ability in BBS when he casted off his body and possessed Terra. Ansem meeting YMX led to him being able to pass on the ability to him. It's doubtful that Xemnas and Ansem in KH3D are time travelling though.

Okay, I've needed this cleared up for a while now: what exactly are Ansem and Xemnas doing there right now, then? They both got destroyed, so they SHOULD re-form as one complete person. And they do, by the end of DDD, and yet all three of them are co-existing in one space at the same time... Ugh, is that just because it's the Realm of Sleep or what? WAIT, that couldn't have been the Realm of Sleep, because that scene in the throne room took place in the real world and...

I think what I mean to say is, if Xemnas and Ansem aren't in the present day because of time travel, how are they THERE, in the real world, physically present enough to pin down Mickey and Riku, despite the fact that they had both been destroyed and THEIR COMPLETED SELF IS SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM?

 

[Neyan]

Okay, I've needed this cleared up for a while now: what exactly are Ansem and Xemnas doing there right now, then? They both got destroyed, so they SHOULD re-form as one complete person. And they do, by the end of DDD, and yet all three of them are co-existing in one space at the same time... Ugh, is that just because it's the Realm of Sleep or what? WAIT, that couldn't have been the Realm of Sleep, because that scene in the throne room took place in the real world and...

I think what I mean to say is, if Xemnas and Ansem aren't in the present day because of time travel, how are they THERE, in the real world, physically present enough to pin down Mickey and Riku, despite the fact that they had both been destroyed and THEIR COMPLETED SELF IS SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM?

From what I understand, YX has taken them from their times and brought them to the present day, before they were destroyed by Sora; the same thing he did with the other incarnations of Xehanort and, just as the others, they had to go back to the time they came from.
So, these are really just the Ansem and Xemnas from KH1 & KH2 respectively, while in the present they have already been destroyed and merged back into the original Master Xehanort.

 

[BlackOsprey]

From what I understand, YX has taken them from their times and brought them to the present day, before they were destroyed by Sora; the same thing he did with the other incarnations of Xehanort and, just as the others, they had to go back to the time they came from.
So, these are really just the Ansem and Xemnas from KH1 & KH2 respectively, while in the present they have already been destroyed and merged back into the original Master Xehanort.

So they ARE time-traveling, then. -.-

 

[Audo]

Okay, I've needed this cleared up for a while now: what exactly are Ansem and Xemnas doing there right now, then? They both got destroyed, so they SHOULD re-form as one complete person. And they do, by the end of DDD, and yet all three of them are co-existing in one space at the same time... Ugh, is that just because it's the Realm of Sleep or what? WAIT, that couldn't have been the Realm of Sleep, because that scene in the throne room took place in the real world and...

I think what I mean to say is, if Xemnas and Ansem aren't in the present day because of time travel, how are they THERE, in the real world, physically present enough to pin down Mickey and Riku, despite the fact that they had both been destroyed and THEIR COMPLETED SELF IS SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM?

lol idk. When I say they aren't time traveling, I mean like... actively doing it? Like throughout the game, YMX is acting as a portal pulling them from their proper times, right, which is why YMX is always there when they are there. So in that sense you could say they are time traveling, sort of, it's just that they aren't doing it like YMX and Ansem did.

In the end of the game though, in TWTNW, it's less clear if that is still what is going on. And Nomura seems to deny them being there due to time travel:

— In other words, Ansem and Xemnas were, at the same time, existing in the time and space of KH3D as well as having returned to their true human form after being destroyed?

Nomura: Yes, it does turn out that way. However, as I said before, ‘The World That Never Was’, where the thirteen all met, is a special space. The mechanics behind how they were all able to exist at the same time is a mystery. From KH1 on, Ansem has returned no matter how many times he has been defeated, perhaps the same sort of thing happened.

So it's a little left up in the air. Them being there solely due to time travel would probably be the simplest solution, but there seems to be hints of something different going on as well.

 

[Deleted member 235902]

Every member of the Seekers of Darkness have the ability to time travel. Let me explain.

Once you time travel, then you have the ability to time travel forever, even if you become a complete person again. Young Xehanort has the ability to time travel because the Robed Figure time traveled. The Robed Figure and Young Xehanort are the same person, so the moment the Robed Figure time traveled, is when Young Xehanort got the ability to time travel as well. They are the same person, so they can both time travel. The same goes for Xemnas, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, etc. The rest of the Seekers of Darkness all have the ability to time travel as well because they have pieces of Xehanort's Heart inside of them. They have all become Xehanorts, and since they are all the same person technically since they all have the same heart inside of them, they can all time travel.