Forum:Second Collapse

"We thought we felt the true meaning of mortality when the Collapse came... and when Ghaul took our Light, but we never believed that Kirito and Asuna could actually take from us more than that."

- Hannah Ciel.

The Second Collapse (also known as the Shadowkeeper's Apocalypse) was a massively cataclysmic system-wide conflict fought between the unified forces of the Solar System and The Black Fleet. The conflict began after Pyramidic fleet-elements started arriving en mass into the system. After the Outer System was taken without any meaningful resistance, the Fleet moved into the Inner System, shrouding world after world until only Earth and its Moon remained.

There, in orbit around the dyad worlds, the Fleet deployed the Shadowkeepers and its commanders, the Black Swordsman and its Angel. Most of Earth's landmass was quickly claimed by the Shadowkeeper armies except for the entirety of the southern American continent, where the Last City has grown into a megapolis of unimaginable proportions. Here the enemy forces were stalemated until The Guardian was lured away to the EDZ and subsequently corrupted. The Black Fleet claimed victory, broke the Traveler, and slew most of the Solar System combatants, with few survivors fleeing into new worlds. The enshroudment of Sol complete, the Black Fleet withdrew its forces into its home dimension, where secretly a hidden fortress had been constructed.

Birth of Fusion
"My many years of research has enabled us to reach a new level, because she is a special case. I hereby introduce to everyone, my daughter Mallory Bertha. The first human in the world to wield powers from our future. She is more than just my daughter, but also the hope of humanity."

- Kaguya Narusaka introducing her daughter Mallory to her colleagues and supporters.

Fifteen years before the arrival of the Traveler, Kaguya Narusaka, her husband Hendrick Yor, and their colleagues Calista Ying, Yukito Narusaka, Aoi Narusaka, and Erik Hidayat were recruited by a lone Hunter named Lila Bray and a renowned Titan named Darius Watanabe to help with the creation of a technologically advanced power source that could revolutionize the entire Earth and bestow a new source of immortality upon their people. Excited by the growing prospect of creating a better world for everyone, she would build various enhanced power structures to help with the formation of this new source, which eventually led to the unveiling of Fusion, a powerful element capable of harnessing the powers of both the Light and Darkness, which she also created as entities that can coexist alongside each other and save humanity from extinction, starvation, destruction, death, and many other plagues that threatened the world, one being the Light, which provides hope and prosperity; and the other being the Darkness, which provides power and knowledge. Astonished by the power it possesses, she would reveal Fusion to the whole world, earning her the support of many other professors and researchers and sufficient resources to extend her research.

On December 31st, 1999, she gave birth to a daughter named Mallory Bertha, whom she and Hendrick proclaimed as the hope of humanity and the girl who would unite every people of all species as the Dragon Queen. While Kaguya and her team were praised and commemorated by most of the Lightless civilians, some of the people, however, grew worried that their discovery would jeopardize the natural order of history or, even worse, enthrall everyone into abandoning their long-held traditions, creating a chaotic society fueled by anarchy and dark ambition in the process.

Some time around 2005, those who opposed Kaguya's research would call upon a group of ruthless criminals and killers known as The Overtakers in an ongoing plan to sabotage Kaguya's work and guide humanity back to history's intended path, each time being thwarted by Kaguya's team, who had established alliances with powerful businessmen, including Malcolm Merlyn, whom Kaguya helped arrange for the establishment of the Undertaking, a plan crafted by Tempest to safeguard Starling City against terrible conditions that emerged from the Glades; Damien Darhk, whom Calista helped create Project Genesis; Tobias Whale, who funded Kaguya's work, to which she repaid him by hiring certain people who sympathized with Tobias's plans; and Hiram Lodge, who rose up from humble beginnings and helped the team expand their research about the Light and the Darkness.

Three years later on October 7th, 2008, Aoi and Yukito knew about the Overtakers' plans and attempted to send a SOS to Kaguya; however, they were killed by an older Suguha Kirigaya, who was hired by Maleficent to assassinate the members of Kaguya's team and cover them up as accidents gone wrong. But unbeknownst to them, Yukito and Aoi sent a copy of the Overtakers' ultimate plan to Kaguya, who sent in protection for their son Kazuto Narusaka, shortly before they died.

Arrival of the Traveler
"Ever since the Traveler showed herself to our ancestors on Mars, we stared out at the galaxy and believed that we were chosen to walk in the light of other stars. But unfortunately, history had something else in mind for them."

- Eris Morn.

On September 9th, 2014, the day the Traveler arrived on Mars, Kaguya and Hendrick, having found out about the Overtakers' neverending grudge against her team, set up their secret contingency plan and, with their remaining colleagues' help, put themselves and their daughter on their respective Fusion-enhanced cryogenic chambers so that they can wake up as Guardians soon enough. Meanwhile, the rest of the members of Kaguya's team would go their separate ways to work on protecting the family from the Overtakers.

For around five years, the members had managed to stave off the Overtakers' attempts on their lives, even going on to set up their own secret outposts, but unfortunately for them, that all changed when Professor Cornelius stumbled across his wife, who had been infected by Johnny Black's deadly hypnotic toxin. Expecting to try to save her, he would instead be cornered by The Man, who explained that he knew who Cornelius was and what he had done by supporting Kaguya's works, claiming that the world didn't need people like her, but, rather, the Overtakers, along with many righteous and faithful people who devoted their lives to serving them and preparing the world for its 'prophesized' end. Furthermore, as The Man crippled Cornelius, he revealed that the end would come one day and that humanity must be ready to sacrifice itself for the good of the many, adding that Kaguya existed only to hinder the balance of history and that steps had been taken to ensure the subjugation of the entire universe to their will.

Some time after The Man killed Cornelius and acquired the whereabouts of the remaining colleagues, he sent his followers across Earth to hunt down each and every one of those who supported Kaguya and, with the help of the Order of the Innocents, convert the remaining bystanders to their side. With that mission fulfilled in around 2020, The Man called upon Maleficent and her champions to launch a worldwide assault against the colleagues.

Within the terrains of Indonesia, a group of schemers, led by Malice, Insane Black★Rock Shooter, Tech E. Coyote, Takeru, Dio Brando, Anti-Monitor, and Nui Harime, sabotaged the Eyebird AB013Q plane, which was scheduled to arrive from Jakarta to Singapore, through security-threatening damage control sequences, which claimed the lives of 168 people, one of them being Erik Hidayat, who was preparing to do an exposé on the Overtakers. Around the shores of the Tri-State Area, a nefarious cult, led by Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne and bionic duplicates of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Frank Underwood, Vandal Savage, Clifford DeVoe, Hunter Zolomon, and Edward Fyers, led a direct assassination attempt on Calista Ying, who had been trying to set up communication with a few loyal supporters who wanted to help avenge Yukito and Aoi's death, while Professor Hinkles, Agatha Trunchbull, Rallah, The Woodsie Trickster, Richard Roman, and Eto Yoshimura led a sadistic legion into Antarctica to launch a devastating surprise attack on Lila Bray and her supporters, who were preparing to safeguard their greatest weapon against any Overtaker-affiliated suspect.

Some time before the Auradonian War, an alliance between Laughing Coffin and Titan's Hand, led by Sugou Nobuyuki, Rosalia, Kuradeel, Gabriel Miller, Vassago Casals, the Shinkawa brothers, Raios Antinous, and Frencia Szeski assassinated Dr. Akihiko Kayaba and recruited one of their fellow sympathizers to impersonate him and build a "Death Game" virus that they would upload into Sword Art Online 2 years later.

The Auradonian War
"So many lives would've been saved if we had just let history run its course."

- Osiris, reflecting on the aftermath of the Auradonian War and Eaton's destruction.

Some time after freeing Audrey from the dark curse, Mal and her lover Ben were preparing for a big marriage to truly unite the people of both Auradon and the Isle of the Lost, but their marriage was interrupted by her mother's remaining followers, led by a renegade rival who sought to overthrow both her and Ben and continue what Maleficent started in taking over Auradon; luckily for them, her friends rushed to the rescue and distracted the rival long enough for Mal to overwhelm him and detain him. Unfortunately, while Mal and her friends were successful in stopping him, he had one last trick up his sleeves; with the last of his dying breath, he placed a malicious virus into her brain so that one day, she would turn against her friends and fall along with them.

A few days later, Maleficent would shapeshift back into her lizard form and enact a gruesome plan to turn all of Auradon against Mal. During the course of this preparation, she would whisper cryptic lies to Ben and Evie about Mal through their respective minds, telling them that Mal was never really their friend and that she was only using them to get what she wants, each time being duped by them, saying that they do not believe her lies. However, having anticipated that, she would activate the virus within her daughter's brain, making her assassinate Ben's parents without hesitation, guilt, or regret. With that fulfilled, she would call upon her soldiers to hunt down anyone trying to find out that she had infected her own daughter.

Luckily for Mal, though, Carlos de Vil was first to find out firsthand from her that she had been controlled by her mother; sympathizing with her, he would help her find a way to get rid of the virus that had manifested within her brain. Expecting to find a cure, he would instead get a glimpse at Ben and Evie turning corrupt through dark magic while Maleficent told them to rally each and every Auradonian to her cause, but unfortunately for him, he was shot point-blank in the head by Ben, who injected a terminal form of poison into his bloodstream, leaving him as if he had taken his own life.

Shocked by news about Carlos's death, Mal would take matters into her own hands, enlisting the help of her father Hades and her friends Jay, Uma, Dizzy, Harry Hook, Gil, and Celia Facilier to try to stop Maleficent from crippling Auradon. Meeting up with Darius Watanabe, she would hear about the fact that Ben and Evie had become the first ones to turn against Mal and were now planning to establish Maleficent's reign, which can be stopped by activating the dormant powers of the Ember. However, their meeting was interrupted by The Man and his forces, who immediately crippled Darius and stripped him of his Light, killing him instantly. Upon realizing that The Man had come to destroy the Ember, Hades immediately gave his life to help Mal protect it from The Man and escape with her friends back to Auradon.

However, by the time they reached the gates, Mal's friends were brutally gunned down, leaving her defenseless as Ben's soldiers dragged her down to the hanging chamber. As they tied her down, she watched helplessly as they smashed the Ember into pieces and tried to wrestle free, but then Ben and Evie appeared, preparing to restore Maleficent to her full form and inflict judgment upon Mal. As Maleficent's champions prepared for her daughter's death, The Man told Mal that what had happened to her was part of a prophecy, claiming that she needed to die so that Maleficent and her forces can subjugate the entire world to their will and save all of humanity from themselves. Now broken and stripped of her powers, Mal could do nothing but watch helplessly as her own mother executed her. With Mal dead, the Overtakers would succeed in bringing forth the corruption of Auradon, ultimately marking the beginning of the end of the world.

As the Overtakers began spreading their influence upon the universe, some of Earth's greatest heroes, including the Justice League, would abandon their duties and carry out the will of Maleficent, even turning against the very people and home they swore to protect.

Scourge of Auradon
"Just when the Auradonians were about to enter an age of peace and stability, the Darkness sent something back: a creature fueled by hatred with the heart of a dragon... and the blood of a vengeful murderer. She tore through their kingdom and leaders like they were nothing, and then she slew them all. Auradon was no longer safe from her insatiable rage... and her raw desire for revenge. In her eyes, even the most righteous of them all were nothing other than the very people who helped murder her parents in cold blood. No matter how many times they tried to put her down, she won't stay dead. Shaking off the rot that they thought they had inflicted upon her, she would return that pain to them a thousandfold. No one knew what became of this once-great kingdom, but those who tried to escape her wrath never lived to speak of these gruesome horrors... for she called herself the Deceiver."

- Jotaro Kujo foretelling the coming battle between The Guardian and a corrupted Mallory.

Some time during the beginning of the Red War between the Guardians and the Red Legion, Mallory would stumble across the ruins of Auradon, where she uncovered the coffin of someone who looked exactly like her. Expecting to find out what happened to her, she would instead become empowered the Darkness, alerting the people and soldiers of Auradon. Instantly recognizing them as the people behind her parents' deaths, she immediately attacked them, some of whom called upon Ben and his legion for help.

However, just when they were about to kill her, she would instead inflict waves of insufferable pain unto her opponents, resurrecting hordes of children and teenagers from the graves, all of whom began fighting for her. Gaining the upper hand against the Auradonians, she would slaughter every leaders and soldiers, along with all of the civilians, enshrouding what remained of Auradon in Darkness. Unbeknownst to her, a mysterious phantasm would appear to her, recruiting her to his cause and telling her to keep on fighting and killing for him so that she can avenge her parents' deaths.

The Shattered Throne
"Mara is right about one thing: A second Collapse is on the horizon, and this time, there will be no crawling out of the trash heap of humanity."

- Toland, the Shattered

The Swordsman's Arrival
Sometime after the First Collapse, the worlds of the Solar system partway drawn into Aincrad from various "Darkness Zones" left behind, the a-life that would come to be known as the Black Swordsman was deposited at the foot of the Signal Tower. Confused and disoriented, Kirito demanded answers from anything that would speak to it, and received nothing. After many long and fruitless months of attempting escape, Kirito gave up all hope and resigned itself to its fate. It was then the Darkness spoke to it, promising rich rewards in exchange for lifelong servitude. The a-life agreed, and was rechristened the Black Swordsman, herald of the Darkness' coming and leader of its armies.

As time passed differently in Aincrad, or perhaps the Darkness had bent the passage of time around the a-life specifically, no sooner had the Swordsman agreed than it was revealed the Black Fleet had been mustering for its second all-out assault upon a weakened Traveler and the small alliance of humans it had rallied. Kirito was sent out from Aincrad into the material realm, reawakening long dormant lieutenants of Darkness and cutting off avenues of escape; at some point, he would be reunited with his Angel, Asuna, who had been waiting patiently for his return.

Assault on the Empire
Sometime prior to the Second Collapse, Kirito and some of his family would meet with the criminal leadership of Castris's Criminal Empire in the hopes of bolstering their forces and acquiring new, illicit hardware. Castris, with profits in mind, would instead declare neutrality on both sides. However, following the failed negotiations, the actions of defectors Tyranaks, Lilthis and Kamrak would catch the attention of Tatsuyi Kirigaya, the eldest son of Kazuto, who would contact them with the promise of power and individual sovereign over the criminal underground; the trio would accept this deal in a heartbeat. From the powers of the Fusion bestowed to them, the triune would help to pioneer the field of Fusion-wielding weaponry and tech, as well as fashion new tactics from the profane power such as the Marrow combat stimulant, Fusion Warping and particle manipulation. From their new powers and the backing of the Shadowkeepers, the criminal alliance known as the Shadow Collective was formed.

Their first order of business was subverting the crippled Seraphite Cartel into the Shadow Collective, where the trio executed the remaining leadership, Zevaksis included. With the destruction of a long-hated Criminal franchise, many of the remnants would join the ranks of the Shadow Collective, the dens would be turned into firebases and forward-operating bases, and their Ethrite refining machinery would be repurposed by Kamrak to accelerate production of Marrow. Following this, Tyranaks would put his plan against his former crime syndicate into motion. With the help of his close friends and superior, he would conspire against Castris and her crime empire in an effort to rope them into the Shadowkeepers to weaken the enterprise, assassinate its leadership and claim it for himself. During this, he would begin assassinating some of the syndicate's associates to sever the ties between them and the Vanguard, including Hunter Ashe-5, her Ghost, and other imperial emissaries. This would, as according to plan, catch the attention of both the Syndicate and spies from the last city. With the help of Kotrik, they were able to kill Rudolph McAlister; however, syndicate investigators Solviks and Myra Winters narrowly escaped their would-be assassins. While the partners continued their search for answers, spymaster Robert E. O. Speedwagon, assisted by his fellow partners Tattoo and Kempo Master, would conduct his own investigation, where he witnessed the murder of Vibe and confronted his murderer, Tatsuyi, who would leave him paralyzed and rightfully angry at Vibe and Ashe's unjust fates, where he would finally swear vengeance against Castris and her empire, as according to plan.

However, Tyranaks would soon realize that Solviks and Myra survived the attempt on their lives. He would scramble as many of his assets to tie up any loose ends and prevent them from investigating the conspiracy any further. Meanwhile, he would dispatch his lieutenants, Kamrak and Lilthis, to hunt down and capture the Syndicate's arms dealer, Wren Kinsing, and his Ghost. During this, the Gunslinger and Guardian associate would eventually get some answers from one of the Shadow Collective's lackeys and would finally uncover Tyranaks's ploy from a bounty hunter indentured into the Shadow Collective's ranks. Before they could return to Castris with their newfound information, Speedwagon would recover his consciousness and would pick up on the investigation, where he would intercept a distress call from Wren himself. After saving the Syndicate's arms dealer from the disguised Shadow operatives, he would interrogate the Warlock before realizing the syndicate still maintained its neutralist agenda and the sword used to murder Ashe was recently purchased off him. But before he could get more answers, the two would be ambushed by the Fusion-empowered lieutenants and would be swiftly overpowered, leading to Wren's kidnapping and Speedwagon's wounding, where he would first personally meet Tyranaks himself, who threatened his life if he kept searching this far down. After, once again recovering from his wounds and with the help of the syndicate's investigators, he would soon realize this was a conspiracy and would report his findings to the Vanguard while the duo prepared to warn Castris of the war to come. Now realizing his plan was falling apart at the seams, Tyranaks then desperately enacted a new plot to amplify the powers of Fusion within him. A plan that would eventually drive him to the verge of madness from fascination and a road that would lead him to his death.

Fall of the Leviathan
"My allies aboard that decrepit derelict, hear me and rejoice! Your old master, the pompous and flamboyant fool that was Calus, thought he could comprehend the Darkness, bend it to his will, become one with it, and reign over the universe like a child ambitiously pursuing an impossible future. And in that pursuit, he vanished- nay, he was vanquished by the Darkness. He could never control its will and so he was consumed, lost forever in the dark world of un-being. But, I say, good riddance! Now, BEHOLD! Your true savior! Kirito! He gazed the abyss and the abyss didn't simply glance him like the pathetic chaff of the wheat, nay, it chose him! He now leads us to a new golden age, one where we will all prosper, not in the shadow of war, but in the shadow in its purest form. So, if you do wish to witness this magnificent tomorrow, reject your hedonistic ways and your incessant vanity and join us. As for those who refuse, fear not, salvation shall come to you too, but not in apotheosis, but in the bittersweet embrace of death. Either way, the Leviathan shall belong to us, to its right and true owners."

- Gha'arn rallying his followers to capture the Leviathan.

Before the Second Collapse, Gha'arn would begin a full scale assault on The Leviathan in the hopes of capturing it for the Legion in the hopes of adding a flagship to their fleet. With the help of loyal saboteurs and spies aboard the ship, the primary force consisting of Cabal and Shadowkeepers, led by Gha'arn, would rapidly seize a foothold aboard the ship, first establishing a base of operations within the Castellum. From there, they managed to slowly advance throughout the vessel, facing off against the Loyalists rather advanced and psionically empowered defenses, as well as Emperor Calus's mechanical proxies. Stretched thin, however, the clashing forces would enter a stalemate, gaining no ground and taking equal casualties each skirmish. That was until the reserve force, led by the combined forces of Shua'aud and Nu'uorc, arrived and quickly sabotaged the ship's planet-eating engine and captured the ship's core and advanced to the Celestial Observatory, with the combined might of the forces, the army easily penetrated the reinforced defenses of the remnant Loyalists and finally took the astral spire and marched onto the Power Conduit beneath. Here, the two massive forces clashed as Threshers and Harvesters engaged in dogfights, Goliath Tanks exchanged barrages of Planet Cracking rounds and their armies collided and, despite the fierce opposition the Loyalists demonstrated, they would be driven back to their last and most impregnable stronghold, the Menagerie, losing a massive chunk of their forces, many of their armor columns and their entire air regiment of Gunships. Despite the disheveled state of the true Loyalists, the remnant faction, now led by de-facto commander, Roudak, would manage to drive off their invaders with minimal casualties thanks to the commanders brilliant and careful use of the Menagerie's inhabitants. That would be until the arrival of the Shadow Enclave, where its leader, Aethrox, would unleash his beloved champion, Korvam, against the impregnable stronghold. Within hours, thanks to Korvam's immense psionic arsenal and cohorts, the last hope of Calus's true loyalists would fall and, despite an admirable last stand made by Roudak and the last proxy of his Emperor, their last leader would be captured and, humiliatingly, imprisoned within the corridors he once called his stronghold.

Now with the planet eating ship within his grasp, Gha'arn would repurpose, modify and reshape the ship to the Shadow Legion's image. The throne room became his personal chambers and mock court, the Gauntlet, Hunting grounds and Menagerie became research facilities for weapons and tactics, the lattermost chamber also becoming a base for the Legion's Psion Enclave, the Celestial Observatory a bridge, the Power Conduit a makeshift city, named Katharsis, and weapons factory and the maw a shipyard for his expansive fleet. Its hull would be reinforced with more enhanced and durable armor, shield projectors and retrofitted with more advanced and factory condition weaponry fresh from the Shadow's prestigious engineers and repainted in the image of the Shadow Legion. The Leviathan was renamed The Abaddon and, as according to plan, became a flagship and dreadnaught for the Shadowkeeper army. With the newly named Abaddon in hand, the ship and its battle fleet quickly encroached upon Caiatl and her fleet of scattered Imperial Cabal in preparation for the Second Collapse.

Aftermath
After the Sanctuary dwellers forged an alliance with the inhabitants, they decisively repelled an exploratory arm of the Black Fleet, reacting to a reinvigorated Traveler which had forsaken its spherical body for that of a human, and the entrapped inhabitants of Aincrad. Together, with Sanctuary and their allies launching a physical assault on the Solar System and Mallory infiltrating Aincrad to unmake the Black Fleet's interference, the system was freed and Aincrad locked away. Fusion was liberated from Aincrad.

The High Orbit
Remnants of the Shadowkeepers still lurked within the wilds of the freed birthplace of humanity. The Swordsman and the Angel were hunted to destruction by resurgent Guardian forces, with Cabal and Eliksni Lightbearers among them. Only their "son", Tatsuyi Kirigaya, remained strong enough to rally a number of Shadowkeepers and Nightmares, resurrecting his parents as Nightmares along the way, and attempted a direct assault on Mallory. They were defeated by The Guardian.

List of appearances

 * Destiny 2:
 * Forsaken
 * Shadowkeep
 * Season of Arrivals
 * The Witch Queen
 * Lightfall
 * Paradox
 * Season of the Inferno
 * Season of Loyalty
 * Shadows' Legacy Update
 * Season of the City
 * Destiny 3
 * Rise of the Betrayed