One year after the
Nightmare Hunts on Earth's Moon,
Beyond Light focuses on Eramis the Shipstealer, a former Baroness of the House of Devils, now known as the Kell of Darkness, who plans to use the power of the Darkness to save her people and take revenge on the Traveler back on Earth, as she and many Fallen believe that the Traveler had abandoned them before the Golden Age of humanity. At the end of
Season of Arrivals, the Traveler reawakened to heal itself of its wounds incurred during
The Red War three years ago to defend
Earth from the encroaching Darkness—its Black Fleet of Pyramid ships had just consumed
Io,
Mars,
Mercury, and
Titan.
Beyond Light begins in the immediate aftermath in which the Guardian is sent out across the Solar System to patrol for further evidence of the spreading Darkness. While on Jupiter's icy moon
Europa, where the Darkness had invited the Guardian to discover an ancient power, the player's Ghost detects a distress call from Variks the Loyal, who was partly responsible for the Prison of Elders revolt that resulted in
Cayde-6's death during
Forsaken two years ago. Despite their wariness to his loyalty, the Guardian rescues Variks from a Fallen patrol. Variks warns them of Eramis, who has been named the new Kell of Kells; she has brought the Houses of the Fallen together as House Salvation to fight against those that are protected by the Traveler by using Stasis, a power of the Darkness that she has learned to wield and passed on to her lieutenants—Phylaks, the Warrior; Praksis, the Technocrat; Kridis, the Dark Priestess; and Atraks, the Wildcard—through Splinters of Darkness obtained from a Pyramid ship silently hovering over Europa's surface. The Guardian finds themself quickly outmatched against Eramis' Stasis powers and retreats to safety. The Darkness then contacts the Guardian through Ghost, drawing them via a Crux of Darkness to a remote location on Europa overlooking the Pyramid ship where they find a Ziggurat made of the same material facing it, as well as the Exo Stranger, last seen at the end of the original
Destinys campaign, alongside
Eris Morn and the Drifter fighting off Fallen troops. The Exo Stranger explains that she comes from a different timeline where the Darkness won. Just as she had provided aid to the Guardian against the Vex six years ago, she has returned to the present time to help prevent the Darkness from claiming victory and causing a second Collapse. She helps guide the Guardian to defeat Eramis' lieutenants, collect their Splinters, and commune with the Darkness through its Cruxes and the Ziggurat to be able to harness Stasis for themselves as to be able to defeat Eramis herself, methods that both Ghost and Commander Zavala do not trust but recognize as the only solution. Along this route, the Guardian learns that part of Eramis' plan is to reactivate a Vex portal that was built by Clovis Bray I as part of his inhumane research into Exo development. Ultimately, the Guardian is able to defeat Eramis (who becomes trapped in Stasis ice) and three of her lieutenants and comes to have full control over Stasis after embracing their own inner Darkness inside the Pyramid. While the immediate threat to humanity is ended, Zavala cautions the Guardian to make sure the Darkness they possess does not spread. Afterwards, the Stranger assists the Guardian in further controlling their Stasis powers so that they can use it to protect humanity. The Stranger also reveals that she is actually Elisabeth "Elsie" Bray, the granddaughter of Clovis Bray I and sister of Ana Bray, revived as an Exo due to
a fatal illness; she also despises her grandfather for his experiments. The Guardian also continues to assist Variks to take down any remaining Fallen threats attempting to claim Eramis' vacant throne, as well as aiding Fallen refugees in escaping Europa to Earth to join an allied faction of Fallen, proper name Eliksni, called the House of Light, led by ally Mithrax, Kell of Light. In the course of the Guardian's efforts to decrypt
Clovis I's research on Stasis, the Elsie comes face-to-face with Ana, who is appalled at her and the Guardian's use of Darkness, as well as her sister's confession that she was forced to kill Ana in her dark future. The Guardian is later contacted by Elsie, who has discovered that the remnants of House Salvation have located the fabled Deep Stone Crypt, a Clovis Bray facility that served as the birthplace of the Exos. Fearing that Eramis' followers are using the Crypt's Exo technology and secrets for their own nefarious ends, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Elsie make their way through the frozen Europan wasteland in the midst of a harsh blizzard to locate the facility ("Deep Stone Crypt" raid). The Guardians make their way through the Crypt after disabling its security systems, wherein they discover "Clarity Control", a Darkness statue similar to the one found in the Pyramid, which Clovis Bray I used to commune with the Darkness and utilize it alongside Vex technology to aid in the development of Exos. It is revealed that Clovis I combined Vex radiolarian fluid with concentrated Darkness to perfect the Exo program, cementing the link between mind and body, and achieving immortality for humanity. They find Atraks, the last of Eramis' lieutenants, who has been converted into an Exo herself called Atraks-1, Fallen Exo, using the Crypt's Exo technology and the Darkness from Clarity Control to rebuild Taniks, the Scarred. The fireteam defeats Atraks-1 while Taniks confronts the fireteam as they board a space station orbiting Europa called the
Morning Star, where Taniks activates its nuclear descent protocol to send the space station crashing down on the Jovian moon and decimate it upon impact; the Guardians manage to disarm the descent protocol as the station breaks apart and enters Europa's atmosphere. The fireteam manages to survive the crash and they emerge from the wreckage afterwards, finding themselves back at the entrance to the Deep Stone Crypt. As they investigate the
Morning Stars wreckage, they discover that Taniks had also survived, who re-emerges as a grotesque mechanical being called Taniks, the Abomination. The Guardians defeat Taniks once and for all, securing the Deep Stone Crypt from further threats from House Salvation. In the aftermath of Taniks' defeat, the Guardian continues to work with Variks and Elsie as remnants of the
Morning Star perpetually rain down onto the surface of Europa, hoping to stop any Fallen from salvaging the debris for their own ends. As well, the Guardian is contacted by the preserved
artificial intelligence copy of Clovis Bray I, discovered to be a giant Exo head located deep within the Bray Exoscience facility. Further investigation reveals that Banshee-44, who fell unconscious at the same time the
Morning Star was destroyed, is in fact the Exo form of the original Clovis Bray. Numerous resets altered the exo's personality, making him ashamed of the man he was made from. Clovis-43 asked Elsie to modify his memories so that upon his next reset, he would have no memory of the name Clovis Bray I or what the man had done. Banshee is disturbed by the revelation, but accepts it begrudgingly. Banshee assists the Guardian in finding and repairing the Lament, an exotic sword with a chainsaw blade used by the Clovis exo during his war with the Vex on Europa. Banshee vows to never become his former, tyrannical self. Shortly after, Elsie and Ana reconcile to confront the giant Clovis AI together. Ana comes to understand Elsie's actions in killing her in the dark future while Elsie apologizes from withholding the truth, stating she was trying to protect Ana. The two sisters agree to work together and then confront Clovis and proclaim that they will use the Darkness to protect humanity from evil like him, instead of what Clovis had intended, which was to use it for research purposes only to continue the legacy of the Bray name.
Season of the Hunt Shortly after Eramis' defeat and in the midst of the Guardian's continued efforts to drive back remaining Fallen threats on Europa, Commander Zavala informs the Guardian that the former Warlock Vanguard Osiris has been trying to assess the damage done by the Darkness' return. Osiris was investigating the Scarlet Keep on Earth's Moon in his belief that Xivu Arath—the Hive God of War and youngest sister to Oryx, the Taken King and Savathûn, the Witch Queen—would take advantage of the chaos. Osiris' Ghost, Sagira, was slain by the High Celebrant of Xivu Arath, leaving him Lightless. Sent to the Moon to save Osiris, the Guardian finds him on the hunt for the High Celebrant to avenge Sagira. Osiris is nearly killed by a Hive Knight in the Shrine of Oryx before he is rescued by a resurrected
Uldren Sov, now a Guardian calling himself the Crow—upon resurrection, Guardians have no memories of their past life from before becoming a Guardian. Crow tells them that his boss, the Spider, wants to see them. At his safehouse on the Tangled Shore, Spider reveals that the High Celebrant is using artifacts of Darkness called cryptoliths to corrupt Cabal, Fallen, and other Hive into a mindless, enraged army called Wrathborn, and proposes a partnership with the Guardian, offering his resources to help end the threat, which is interfering with his business. Spider confides to the Guardian that he found the newly-reborn Uldren wandering the Reef and employed him, knowing the murderer of Cayde-6 would likely be killed again for his crime if he had been sent to the Last City. However, Spider secretly rigged Crow's Ghost, Glint, with a bomb in case he were to go rogue, and warns the Guardian not to inform Crow of his former self. Meanwhile, the Awoken Queen, Mara Sov, informs the system of her intent to return to reality, confront Savathûn, and end the Dreaming City's curse. Over the next few weeks, the Guardian assists Crow in hunting various Fallen and Hive Wrathborn, namely Savek and HKD-1 on the Tangled Shore and Dul Arath and Xillox in the Dreaming City. Crow begins experiencing dreams of a hawk and several places he had traveled to in his previous life as Uldren Sov. Fearing these may be signs of a larger catastrophe approaching, the Guardian investigates these locations but instead discovers that Crow's dreams are paracausal remnants left by the Traveler, a message that leads them to discover and reforge Hawkmoon, a weapon of Light reborn by the Traveler to fight the Darkness. Through this, the Guardian grows to finally see that Crow is not the same person who killed Cayde-6, and the pair develop a strong relationship. Crow and Osiris eventually uncover the location of the High Celebrant in the Dreaming City, and Crow joins the Guardian in assassinating the Ascendant Hive Knight. As a reward, Spider promises the Guardian any prize from his lair, to which the Guardian responds by liberating Crow from his bondage under his boss. Spider reluctantly honors the deal, ordering the two to leave his lair. A grateful Crow questions why the Guardian freed him, to which the Guardian proclaims that Crow is also a Guardian. Shortly after, Spider has his engineers remove the bomb from Glint, while Crow says he will remain on the Tangled Shore for a little while longer to help hunt down any remaining Wrathborn. In the final week of the season, Crow decides that he will leave the Reef. He said he thought about going off and exploring remote locations, like the planet Venus, but Osiris convinced him that he should come to the Tower, despite what others may think of him based on his previous life, and Crow proudly accepts himself as a Guardian.
Season of the Chosen Following the defeat of Dominus Ghaul at the end of the Red War over three years ago, Caiatl, who helped Ghaul rise to power and is the daughter of the exiled Emperor Calus, declared herself the Empress of the Cabal. She has since been piecing the fractured Cabal back together with her army of chosen warriors. Shortly after Caiatl's ascension to the throne as Empress, Xivu Arath led an attack on Torobatl, the Cabal homeworld, with the aid of Savathûn, driving Caiatl and her forces from it. In her attempts to bring the remnants of the Red Legion under her command, she finds that several lingering outposts were corrupted by the Hive cryptoliths that created the Wrathborn. Her plans to locate and capture her estranged father were also halted due to the invading Pyramid fleet of the Darkness. With Xivu Arath pushed back as a result of the Guardian's efforts in defeating the Wrathborn, Caiatl comes to Earth to seek a possible truce with the Vanguard by inviting Commander Zavala to her War Council to team up against the Hive and the Darkness, but demands Zavala and Osiris bow to her alongside the offer. Zavala refuses, and Caiatl instead marks the Guardians as enemies alongside the Hive, proclaiming that she will see them on the battlegrounds. Afterwards, Zavala explains to the Guardians that Caiatl is mounting an army to fight against humanity. As disgraced Cabal factions join Caiatl's forces, Zavala establishes a task force out of the H.E.L.M. (Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers) in the Tower, consisting of himself, Lord Saladin, Osiris, Crow (who wears a mask to hide his face), Amanda Holliday (providing air support and intel), and the Guardian to challenge various Cabal commanders—namely, Commander Dracus and Ixel, the Far-Reaching on Nessus, Basilius the Golem on Europa, and Val Ma'rag in Earth's Cosmodrome—and weaken Caiatl's forces to prevent her from gaining too much power. From data collected on Nessus, Crow discovers the Cabal are using Vex prediction engines to study futures where Zavala has been killed, and with the player's Guardian's help, suspects that Caiatl is plotting to assassinate Zavala by temporarily disabling his Ghost using a Light-disruptor created from stolen City tech. After a failed assassination attempt on Zavala by a Cabal Psion, during which Zavala almost sees Crow without his mask, Osiris assigns Crow to be Zavala's bodyguard, though acting from a distance and never to show his face to him due to his past life. Amid this offensive, a Vanguard communication is received from a Cabal ship, the
Glykon, lingering out in the Reef, which had left Earth along with Emperor Calus' fleet when the Darkness arrived in the system, but had since gone off course. Zavala tells the player's Guardian that it appears to be from another Guardian that was investigating the ship, and asks the player's Guardian to follow up. Aboard the drifting craft, the Guardian finds it has been taken over by the Scorn, led by the Locus of Communion, with the Cabal crew long dead. After battling the Scorn and the Locus, the Guardian finds the remains of a Hunter named Katabasis (later revealed to be one of Calus' Shadows), and recovers his prized exotic scout rifle, the Dead Man's Tale, which they bring back to Zavala as part of their report. The Guardian further investigates the
Glykon each week, receiving communication from Osiris and Caiatl, who believed that Calus was on the ship or at least information there could lead her to him. It is revealed that Calus had visited the ship while his Loyalists aboard had captured Scorn from the Tangled Shore and experimented on them using the Crown of Sorrow in an attempt for Calus to commune with the Darkness. The Guardian eventually finds the Crown of Sorrow itself hidden in a room below the remains of Katabasis, where Osiris makes arrangements for the Vanguard to extract the Hive artifact from the
Glykon for containment, despite Caiatl's concerns about keeping it intact. After weeks of battling Caiatl's commanders and after the assassination attempt, Zavala decides to challenge Caiatl to the ceremonial Rite of Proving to settle their dispute, with each side sending their best champions to fight. A team of three Guardians successfully best Caiatl's chosen warriors, led by Ignovun, Chosen of Caiatl, aboard her land tank on Nessus, the Halphas Electus, and Caiatl agrees to a truce and withdraw the Cabal from Earth. Caiatl and Zavala meet to agree to terms on a blood oath, but a rogue Psion attempts to assassinate Zavala again. Caiatl orders the Psion captured, asserting she had no knowledge of the plot, while in defending Zavala, Crow's mask is accidentally removed, revealing himself. Although surprised at first, Zavala lends a hand in gratitude. Back in the H.E.L.M., Crow says he felt that Zavala understood who he was and that it was a relief to not have to hide behind his mask, but he was ordered to lie low for the time being. Zavala also ordered Crow to go on a reconnaissance mission to continue to scout the Cabal. In a debriefing with Zavala, he is troubled that the truth of Crow had been kept from him and wonders if there are other secrets, while he also has unease over Caiatl's truce. Also as part of the agreement, any Cabal that elect to remain on Earth are no longer under Caiatl's command and are left to the Guardians to do as they see fit.
Season of the Splicer Following the armistice between Empress Caiatl and the Vanguard, the Vex find a way to plunge the Last City into a simulation of an endless night. The Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey and her former mentor Osiris cannot determine the means to stop it. Ikora suggests the Guardian seek Mithrax, the Kell of House Light, who has been aiding Variks to evacuate Eliksni survivors from Europa from the Vex and the remains of Eramis' forces. Mithrax is revealed to be a Sacred Splicer, who has extensive knowledge on the Vex beyond that of the Vanguard. a number remain in the Tower Annex and a new wing of the H.E.L.M. that's opened to oversee operations related to the new Vex offensive. Mithrax continues his Eliksni evacuation on Europa but instructs the Vanguard remotely through a scavenged House Salvation Servitor at the H.E.L.M. as a means to improve their infiltration and hacking of the Vex simulations. Meanwhile, Lakshmi secretly contacts the Guardian through a secure channel, informing them of a vision she had of the Eliksni invading the Last City; citing the Vanguard's refusal to heed her warning about the Red War years prior, she is determined to drive out the House of Light from the Last City. Saint-14 also takes issue with helping the Eliksni, as he believes that their scarce resources should only be used to help the people of the Last City during this endless night. Over the weeks, the Guardians continue to tackle Vex simulations appearing on Europa, Earth's Moon, and the Tangled Shore, hack into their network and defeat the Subjugated Minds Tacitas, Portunos, and Thesmotae within them, slowly weakening the endless night shrouding the Last City. Additionally, the Guardians attempt to collapse domains of the Vex network by defeating the Oppressive Minds Fantis, Dikast, and Dimio. Lakshmi, however, continues to broadcast her own propaganda to the people of the City, inciting hate toward the House of Light, while also singing a tune of unity for the people of the City that eerily has the same melody as Savathûn's song. At some point, Mithrax and Lakshmi get into an argument over sabotaged resources meant for the Eliksni, forcing the Guardian and Saint to intervene. Saint attempts to reason with Mithrax by citing humanity's fear of the Eliksni, but Mithrax responds by citing Saint as a monster himself in the Eliksni's eyes, telling a story of Saint's genocide of his people. Saint takes this to heart, and becomes empathetic towards the Eliksni. During a routine mission to collapse a Vex network domain, Mithrax discovers that the Dreaming Mind Quria, Blade Transform, a Taken Vex Axis Mind that serves Savathûn (previously referenced in
Destinys
The Taken King expansion), was able to invade the Vex network and turn it against the Vex by corrupting it with Taken energy. It is also discovered that Savathûn, through Quria's control over the Vex network, is responsible for the endless night simulation, which has strengthened with Taken Blights appearing throughout the Tower and the Last City. The Guardian's mission then changes to now drive the Taken out of the Vex network to expose and destroy Quria and foil Savathûn's schemes. After discussing the matter with Osiris and Ikora, the latter intends to keep the news secret within the Vanguard to prevent a panic. However, Lakshmi was able to learn the truth via anonymous sources. As she attempts to broadcast to the people of the Last City, Ikora intervenes and asks the citizens to unite with the Vanguard and the Eliksni to drive out the Vex threat. After navigating through several Taken-infected Vex simulations to triangulate Quria's position for Mithrax, the Guardian fights through a final layered simulation filled with Taken and Vex forces and defeats Quria, seemingly ending the immediate threat to the Last City, and the endless night simulation begins to slowly dissipate. Lakshmi seems grateful that the immediate threat is gone, however, she still does not have faith in the current Vanguard's leadership, believing Ikora and Zavala should be replaced. Despite the city returning to a peaceful state after Quria's defeat, Lakshmi continues to fear the Eliksni presence. She announces a city-wide sweep of all the Eliksni by the Future War Cult and New Monarchy, claiming Osiris is helping them, to isolate them to the Botza District and use Vex technology to try to open a rift to exile the Eliksni through, but they are overwhelmed by Vex that emerge from the portal. While the Guardian enters the rift to close it, Mithrax and Saint work together to protect the Eliksni from the Vex, and are soon joined by other Vanguard members. They are unaware of Osiris, watching these events from afar before departing. In the aftermath, Saint believes they have entered a new era of peace between humanity and Eliksni due to their combined efforts. Meanwhile, Ikora finds that Lakshmi was killed and most of the Future War Cult members scattered, and that Dead Orbit and New Monarchy have left Earth, dismantling the factions within the Tower and the Last City. She also worries that Osiris is still missing, and that he need only reveal himself to clear his name from Lakshmi's implications. A joint memorial is established in the Tower's main courtyard to honor both the human and Eliksni lives lost to the Vex incursion. During the course of these events, lore pages reveal that Savathûn has been able to possess some of the minds of the residents of the Last City, preparing them as sleeper agents for the Worm.
Season of the Lost Following the Vex incursion of the Last City and defending the Eliksni from the Vex, Osiris' role in Lakshmi's rebellion is brought into question, and Ikora orders for his arrest. Learning that Osiris may be hiding in the Dreaming City, Saint-14, Crow, and the Guardian go to retrieve him, with Crow helping them navigate through the Ascendant Realm to bypass Scorn, Hive, and Taken forces. They find Osiris in the presence of Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken people, who had returned to the Dreaming City after failing to stop the arrival of the Black Fleet. She at first is surprised to see Crow, but then realizes that he has become a Guardian and has no memories from being her brother Uldren who she thought was dead. Osiris taunts how Crow has been treated by the Vanguard before revealing that he has actually been Savathûn ever since the Guardian appeared to rescue him from the Moon. Savathûn, now held prisoner in a giant crystal cocoon by Mara, assures the real Osiris is safe, having rescued him from her sister, Xivu Arath. Savathûn took his form to influence and guide the Vanguard since they "rescued" him. Now, the Witch Queen is being threatened by the God of War, with the Taken, Hive, Scorn, and Wrathborn now under her command to seize the Ascendant Realm. The two queens have come to an understanding; Savathûn has helped Mara to learn of the location of several of her Techeuns trapped in the Ascendant Realm, and by tracking
ley lines in the Realm using the Wayfinder's Compass to rescue them, they can help Mara protect Savathûn from Xivu Arath until they rescue enough of her Techeuns to free the Witch Queen of her worm. Saint and Ikora are wary of this deal, given that Savathûn is known for her lies and trickery, but the Vanguard agree to help with freeing the trapped Techeuns for Mara, even if this helps Xivu Arath's own forces locate weak spots within the Ascendant Realm. Crow, also concerned about the deal, is more upset about the deception behind Osiris, whom he considered a good friend, and demands to seek answers from Savathûn, but Mara and her Queen's Wrath, Petra Venj, order him to stay far away from the Witch Queen, feeling that he would be deceived again, as he was in his previous life as Uldren by Riven. Mara also holds some contempt for how the Vanguard has treated Crow, recognizing a glimmer of Uldren's personality within him, and urges the Guardians to help protect him. To aid in their battles with Xivu Arath's forces, Mara helps the Guardian relocate Ager's Scepter, a weapon created for Uldren from the same materials as the Compass but hidden away by him before he had become Crow. Eventually, Crow finally gains an audience with Savathûn, who ultimately reveals to him his previous life as Uldren Sov. Traumatized by this revelation, Crow begs Ikora to reassign him elsewhere in order to stay far away from the Witch Queen. The Guardian eventually rescues enough of Mara's Techeuns to begin the ritual to expunge Savathûn' worm, but it is a process that will take time, and Mara fears that Xivu Arath will use that time to gather her forces and strike at the critical juncture of the ritual. At the conclusion of the season, Mara informs the Guardian that preparations are complete for the ritual to exorcise Savathûn's worm. The Guardian returns to the Dreaming City and fights through Xivu Arath's forces alongside Petra Venj and the Corsairs to reach the ritual site, where Mara, her Techeuns, as well as Saint-14 have gathered together with the entrapped Savathûn. As Mara and the Techeuns perform the exorcism ritual, the Guardian and Saint fend off the last of Xivu Arath's forces. Savathûn's cocoon breaks open at the end of the ritual, revealing an unconscious Osiris, but Savathûn herself flees using her own magic the moment her cocoon shattered, thanking Mara and the Guardian for freeing her. The Guardian then debriefs with Mara, who is disappointed that Savathûn had fled before she could strike her down after exorcising the worm, but also relieved that the Witch Queen kept her end of the bargain by returning Osiris to the Vanguard, and also reveals she has the Worm captive. She advises the Guardian to prepare for the battles to come with the Witch Queen. The Guardian then speaks with Saint, who thanks them for rescuing Osiris and returning him to the Tower, while also furious that the Witch Queen had taken his form to manipulate the Vanguard. Saint advises the Guardian that he will need time to help with Osiris' recovery, and swears vengeance against Savathûn for her actions and deception. The events of
Destiny 2: The Witch Queen follow. ==Release==