Hyness

"We, masters of a matter most dark, vow to be restored, as foretold in the book of legend, which everyone thought was just a fairy tale! It WASN'T! We have already obtained the vessel that contains our Dark Lord, and he will soon awaken and shower us in compassion! Look! The vessel of our Dark Lord is filling up even as we speak! Now the time for his greatness to enter our world has come! Welcome to a new history! A new age! The age of awesome! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARK LORD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

- The conclusion of Lord Hyness' completely insane rant to Kirby and his allies before fighting them.

"Anyone who interrupts our revival ceremony, we must kindly ask that you… PLEASE DISAPPEAR FOREVER!"

- Lord Hyness threatens Kirby.

Hyness (in Japanese: ハイネス, Hainesu) is the central antagonist of the 2018 Nintendo Switch videogame Kirby: Star Allies. He is an insane mage and the leader of the Jambastion Cult, as well as the superior of The Three Mage-Sisters, who desires to bring his dark lord Void Termina back to life by assembling the evil Jamba Hearts.

He was voiced by Shigeru Chiba, who also played F.A.N.G in Street Fighter V in the Japanese dubbed version, and Kefka Palazzo in Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia.

Past
Hyness' past is shrouded in mystery, but he does hint at it very much towards the end of the game. According to Hyness, he and the Jambastion Mages had helped put an end to a "repulsive nightmare of a galactic crisis" using their magic. However, they were later sealed away and banished to the edge of the galaxy seemingly for fear that they were too powerful. Although they have their existence erased from history, Hyness and his followers vowed to be restored and bring about the revival of their dark lord Void Termina.

Kirby: Star Allies
Hyness is seen in the opening cutscene of the game, where he is performing a ritual in an attempt to summon Void Termina from the Jamba Heart. This ritual goes wrong, causing shards of the Jamba Heart, both good and evil, to shower across the universe. Many evil Jamba Hearts land on Popstar, possessing the likes of Whispy Woods, Meta Knight, and King Dedede, while a single good Jamba Heart lands on Kirby, giving him the power to turn his enemies into allies. After Kirby defeats everyone who was possessed by the evil shards, one of Hyness' Jambastions arrives on Popstar to collect the heart shards, and Kirby has to fight his right-hand generals; Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne, the latter of which destroys the station upon her defeat.

These mage generals are the ones that Hyness can be seen abusing throughout his appearance in the final world; he slaps one of them out of the way when they have failed to defeat Kirby, and as a last resort in his boss fight he sucks out their life force to heal himself and uses them as meat shields. It is unknown why the generals are so loyal to him despite being on the receiving end of constant abuse.

When he is defeated in his boss fight, he decides to sacrifice himself and his generals to Void Termina in a final bid. It works, however, Void Termina absorbs him and the generals, being seen in the Core phase of the fight. After Kirby and friends open Void Termina's heart to expose his core, Hyness and his mages are ejected out of their dark lord into space.

Heroes in Another Dimension
"Hyness has fallen into a hole leading to another dimension. The darkness left its master, transforming into a giant Jamba Heart and swallowing him whole. Is there hope for escape? Friends in another dimension offer a sliver of hope..."

- Corrupt Hyness' pause description.

Following Void Termina's defeat, Hyness and the Jambastion mages found themselves in another dimension. Using remaining Void of their fallen leader did Hyness try to resummon Void Termina, only for the Void to corrupt him instead, consumed by the evil within his heart. "Corrupt" Hyness finds himself sealed inside a giant Jamba Heart within the dimension, leaking Void that threatens the universe.

Kirby and allies travel across four terrains of Another Dimension to gather four Heart Spears to shatter the Jamba Heart restraining Hyness, only for his corrupt form to battle them. After his defeat, the Mage-Sisters come to his aid and battle Kirby, but are also defeated.

If Kirby had collected at least 100 of the 120 hearts in the four Another Dimension levels, he can create a massive Friend Heart to purify the Mage-Sisters, who in return seal away the Void from Another Dimension. After Kirby and allies leave for their home dimension, a single Friend Heart falls from their warp star and purifies Hyness. Once he awakens, the Mage-Sisters comfort him and explain to him what all happened.

Corrupt Hyness can later be fought within the Ultimate Choice at Soul Melter EX difficulty.

Appearance
Hyness wears a white cloak to hide his identity. The only part of his face seen is two glowing yellow eyes. His cloak is outlined in golden lines with ancient writings printed on them. On top of his hood is the Jambastion symbol.

When his hood is knocked off, it is revealed that his body is coloured blue with a big nose, chameleon-like eyes, and ears. Both his eyes and ears have yellow stripes on them.

In his corrupt form, both Hyness' cloak and body are dark blue. While hooded, the Jambstion symbol on his hood and eyes glow red. While unhooded, his eyes are light yellow mixed with blue, and his ears have a red striped pattern. The writings on his clothing retain their yellow appearance.

Personality
Unlike past, more subdued Kirby villains such as Magolor, Hyness is completely insane and doesn't try to hide it. He seems to be oblivious to the loyalty and love his mage generals display to him as he constantly abuses them, and is purely focused on reviving Void Termina to not only wipe out all life but all of existence. It is hinted in his long rant seen above that he might have some sort of grudge against the Ancients, important characters in Kirby lore, though it is not entirely clear what it is. As well as that, due to Hyness' deteriorating mental condition, he could be spouting completely unreliable nonsense.

In the game mode, Heroes in Another Dimension, it is hinted that Hyness was once a good man that helped bring a future for the Jambastion Mages, as stated by Francisca, and that his insanity was the result of his heart being trapped in eternal loneliness. His insanity would soon fall further upon entering in Another Dimension where he would transform into a corrupted being after being swallowed whole by the Jamba Heart. Upon defeating the Jambastion Mages, Hyness wakes up from his coma and seemingly appears to have return back to his sane self, as he is seen alongside the Jambastion Mages with Kirby in an end screen.

Trivia

 * Hyness' name is an alteration of "highness", fitting his position as the leader of his cult. It could also be an alteration on "heinous", referencing how evil and insane he is.
 * Hyness' has the highest attempted body count in the main Kirby games due to his attempted destruction of the entire universe, with the only one coming close being Star Dream.
 * One of Hyness' pause screen quotes reveal that Hyness has a habit of forgetting Zan Partizanne's name and often apologizes about it, and another reveals that his "heart goes crazy" for her. This may imply that he truly does care for her, but it could also be a sign of his insanity conflicting himself, due to his abusive nature.
 * During the pause screens for each Jambastion Mage in Heroes in Another Dimension, their backstory mentions of a "mysterious traveler" that unlocked their natural talents of magic. It is then revealed by Francisca that Hyness led them to a bright future during their glorious days, likely indicating that Hyness was indeed this mysterious traveler.
 * Hyness went through multiple changes during the concept development. One of his designs depicted him as female, another depicting him slightly older looking, one with him looking closer to that of a bird-like creature, and one reminiscent of Cthulhu.
 * In the game's soundtrack, the theme for Hyness' second phase is titled "La Follia d'amore", which is Italian for "The Madness of Love".