Forum:Second Collapse

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 to 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.

Prelude
(To be updated)

Millions of years ago the Black Fleet had waged war against an advanced civilization known as the Hierarchy of Hierarchies and an AI God of the fourth singularity. This war lasted for many centuries, the archailect using Displacement cannons to fire implosion bubbles to great effect against invading Hive forces and was capable of destroying minor pyramids. It was all for naught as the pyramidic fleet discovered the clarketech device left behind by the Traveler and used it to detonate the system's star, and the archailect succumbed to a Vex mind-eater virus.

At least one major pyramid unit was left behind, heavily damaged, in orbit of Titania for inscrutable purposes.

Overview
(TBA)

Rise of Aincrad
"My loyal and ambitious subjects, you are here today to finally end your troubles, finally end your griefs over your losses, finally to end your droughts against The Last City's forces...and to finally bring your people's salvation. The wait is finally over, for I, Kirito, Chosen by the Winnower, Champion of the Black Fleet, Bringer to Light's End, will bring you the Salvation and justice that you crave so dearly..."

- Kirito, addressing the Shadowkeepers and his elites.

Moments after taking over Auradon, Kirito and Asuna set up countless programs and SIVA networks from his computer that the Black Fleet used to rebuild Aincrad as they saw fit and split up the Shadow Army into its six respective groups: the House of Shadows, led by Kotrik, the notorious Fallen Kell of Shadows who formerly worked with the House of Devils; the Shadow Brood, led by Zharves, a surviving Hive Deathsinger who formerly served Crota and his father; the Shadow Divisive, led by Hydrax, a massive Vex Axis Mind Hydra who possessed the ability to stop time; the Shadow Legion, led by Gha'arn, a powerful Cabal warlord who helped restore the Cabal Empire to its full glory; the Reborn, led by Thu'urg, a Taken Cabal commander who sought to seize control of Oryx's army; and the Cult of the Scorned, led by Vayeriks, Fikrul's right hand and a commander of the first Scorn.

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:
 * Paradox