User:Nagihiko

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Biography

(In 3rd person)

"[...]Claiming he's seen the future, that he fought Six Fronts fueled on the idea that some Guardian savior is coming? That's insane."
"Belief is a heck of a thing."
"Sure, yeah. One Guardian's going to fix everything. Kick Crota off the Moon. Make it look like us Vanguard know our head from our hindquarters. Hey, where are you going?"
"One of the new recruits from Old Russia I've had my eye on—entering the Crucible for the first time."
"Hey, maybe they're the one. We'll call ‘em Crota's End."

— Cayde-6 and Lord Shaxx

Pre-revival

On a mission during the Taken War, Ghost remarks that prior to their resurrection, the Guardian had once been a part of the exodus during the Collapse and had somehow fallen by The Wall, resulting in their death. Wondering why the Guardian still can't remember, Ghost drops the subject.

Destiny

A Guardian Rises

Centuries after the Collapse, the Guardian was found and resurrected by a lone Ghost searching the Cosmodrome, but before Ghost could explain what had happened, he was interrupted by the roars of a Fallen Captain who had been tracking him. Ghost then led the Guardian into The Wall and helped them find their first weapon—a battered, ancient Khvostov 7G-02. After foraging for more gear, the Guardian kills a Fallen Devil Captain named Rahn, and escapes in an Arcadia-class jumpship revived by Ghost just as Riksis emerges. As the Guardian departs, the Fallen vainly attempt to shoot it down, and a mysterious stranger looks on as the Guardian departs.

After flying through a storm over many leagues of land, the Guardian arrives at The City, a place Ghost describes as the "last safe city on Earth" and "the only place The Traveler can still protect".

Defending Earth

The Guardian gets acquainted with the various Tower residents including the three Vanguard leaders, the Gunsmith, Master Rahool and the Bounty Tracker, as well as the Postmaster and the Tower Shipwright who helps repair their ship. Along the way they visit other Tower residents of lesser importance, including the three Faction leaders and Tess Everis.

Afterward the Guardian returns to the Cosmodrome to find a Warp Drive. They locate a downed Guardian's ship and learn the location of where an existing drive might be found. After battling and killing Riksis, they acquire the drive and return to the Tower to have it installed. Later that night as the Guardian looks up at the Traveler, they meet with the Speaker, an old Warlock who had been with the City since its foundation. The Speaker answers some the Guardian's unasked questions, namely what the Ghosts are, and a brief summary of the Traveler's history with humanity. He then confides in the Guardian his deepest fears: that the Darkness is returning and humanity won't be able to survive it this time.

The Guardian asks what they can do to help, and the Speaker encourages them to join those already fighting to defend Earth until a cure for the Traveler could be found; adding wryly that he hoped Ghost chose his Guardian prudently, to which the robot reaffirms emphatically it did.

Returning to the Cosmodrome at the request of the Speaker, the Guardian heads to the old Skywatch—a complex that once maintained communications with Earth's former colonies—and find the Fallen in an uproar. Pressing deeper into the Lunar Complex, the Guardian discovers another enemy: the Hive. After eliminating all of the Hive enemies they encounter including a Wizard named Gotra, Ghost recalls the Hive have not been seen on Earth for centuries, surmising that their presence here may herald another invasion.

Locating Rasputin

Shortly thereafter the Vanguard reports an upsurge in Fallen activity all over the Cosmodrome. Connecting to the vehicle grid, the Guardian makes their way to the Forgotten Shore via their Sparrow and find a Fallen amplifier. After searching out a second one, Ghost discovers both are linked to the Skywatch as they make their way to the next. Finding a Fallen encampment inside the Terrestrial Complex, they defeat the aliens and hack into one of their machines. In doing so, Ghost encounters resistance from an unknown entity and investigates further while the Guardian defends him against Fallen forces.

After Ghost retrieves the necessary data they destroy the machine. Ghost reports the existence of an ancient Warmind, Rasputin, who somehow survived the Collapse and is defending something later revealed to be the Terrestrial Array in the Cosmodrome.

In an effort to raise this Array, the Guardian finds a lost Dead Orbit team and extracts the codes from their dead Ghosts. Beating off the Hive, who have established a large presence there and are in conflict with the local Fallen, the Guardian enters the Terrestrial Complex once more. Sensing the increased presence of Darkness, Ghost quickly gets to work opening up the Array just as Hive Tombships arrive.

As the Guardians battles the oncoming Hive, including a Hallowed Knight, a satellite dish awakens in the distance and pivots skyward. Once the battle is over, Ghost reports that Rasputin took control of the array and is expanding his reach throughout constructs across the solar system.

Shortly thereafter, at the request of Commander Zavala, the Guardian partakes in a Strike to eliminate Sepiks Prime, Prime Servitor of the House of Devils. Locating the Lair beneath a colony ship the Guardian kills a Baron named Naksis and destroy a Fallen Walker barring their way, and battle Sepiks. After a fierce battle the machine is destroyed, ending the Devils' threat.

Awakening the Hive

On Earth's Moon, the Guardian picks up the trail of another Guardian who went dark searching for a way into the Hive fortress. After hacking a Golden Age colony base, the Guardian travels to the Temple of Crota where they fight off members of a shattered fallen house as well as Hive forces led by Wizard Vurok. Unable to save the Guardian, Ghost recovers his Ghost's memories and learns that the Hive are raising an army to invade Earth. Just moments before engaging the Hive, the Guardian hears the Stranger and catches a glimpse of her just before the Temple doors open.

In an attempt to uncover further information on what the Hive are planning, the Guardian infiltrates the The World's Grave and kills its keeper, Kranox. The Guardian's Ghost then steals as much data as possible before the two return to warn the City. After looking through Cryptarch records on the Temple, the Guardian infiltrates the Hellmouth once more and claims the Sword of Crota, killing its guards and shattering it in the process. While inside the Hellmouth, the Guardian also follows a lead from the vanished Warlock Osiris, seeking the fabled Shrine of Oryx - a tribute altar. After killing Frigoris and his Fallen crew, the Guardian defeats the shrine's priest, Sardok, and destroys the Shrine.

After successfully decrypting the information from the World's Grave alongside the Cryptarchs, the Speaker broadcasts an urgent transmission to all Guardians claiming that a Hive ritual is draining the Traveler's Light and that nothing else is more important. The Guardian then returns to the Hive Temple and after receiving a message from the Exo Stranger inviting them to come find her if they are successful, kills the Siphon Witches, effectively preventing them from stealing any more of the Light.

Uncovering the Vex

Following the Stranger's coordinates, the Guardian travels to the Ishtar Sink on Venus, where they are ambushed by alien cyborgs known as the Vex, described by Ghost as "war machines". After reactivating an extensive series of sensors established by other Guardians to track these machines, the Guardian meets with the Exo Stranger in the Ishtar Academy. There, she informs them of the Black Garden, the birthplace of the Vex, and a powerful entity responsible for keeping the Traveler in a state of catatonia.

Before the Guardian could ask any more questions however, the Stranger suddenly vanishes following a mysterious conversation with an unknown individual. Ghost suggests they go to the Awoken in order to find the Garden's location, an option he had brought up during the discussion. Wistfully he wonders if they could stay with the Vex, as the idea of traveling far into danger was not something he liked, and the Guardian jokingly calls him "little light" after the Stranger's remark. Ghost firmly objects.

The Awoken

The Guardian travels to the distant Reef and is intercepted by two Awoken Guard Galiots who demand an explanation as to the Guardian's intrusion into Reef space. The Guardian states their mission and the Guardian is escorted to the Vestian Outpost. After gaining an audience with Queen Mara Sov, the Guardian meets with the Prince, Uldren Sov. Sov mockingly reveals he had been the one to let them in, and attempts to deny them an audience with his sister the Queen.

Two Fallen guards armed with spears emerge from behind the Queen's throne, however; alarmed, the Guardian seizes a weapon from one of the Awoken Guards and prepares to shoot just as Uldren puts a knife to the Guardian's throat; Mara's subsequent appearance defuses the hostilities and the prince apologizes. The Guardian reiterates their request for the location of the Black Garden. Despite this, Uldren denigrates them until his sister requests his council. After a moment of conferring, Uldren offers them a deal: they bring the head of a Vex Gate Lord and the Awoken would give them location of the Garden. In spite of the Guardian's skepticism and Ghost's stammering, the two set off for Venus once more, determined to succeed.

Finding a Gate Lord

In order to find a Gate Lord, the Guardian travels to an old research station of the Ishtar Collective, defeating a Cyclops and analyzing its mind core. Armed with vital intel on the nature of the Vex as well as the means with which to summon the Gate Lord, the Guardian sets off. While at the Ishtar Academy, the Guardian kills Graliks, a Baron of House Winter, a High Servitor named Simiks-3, and secures an ancient Golden Age Archive for the Cryptarchs.

During their mission, the Guardian takes a detour to hunt down Draksis, the Kell of House Winter, as reports place him in a nearby group of caves. Battling their way aboard the Ketch, they find and kill the Fallen leader as well as his guards. Back on track with the Fallen threat dealt with momentarily, the Guardian reaches the Endless Steps. After summoning and slaying Zydron, the Guardian returns to the Reef.

A Bargain Made

The Guardian brings the Gate Lord's head before the Queen, to their astonishment. Reafirming their request for the location of the Black Garden a reluctant Uldren cuts out the now dead eye from the Gate Lord and gives the Guardian coordinates for the Garden's location. The Queen then addresses the Guardian directly, telling them they owe her. Courteously, the Guardian thanks her for her help and leaves, politely ignoring Uldren's mocking well-wishes.

Crossing the Exclusion Zone

The Guardian flies to Mars, stronghold of the enigmatic Cabal, and infiltrate a scout bunker. There they learn that the heavyset, militaristic aliens are locked in a massive attrition war with the native Vex with neither side gaining much ground. Venturing into Giants' Pass they break into a local computer and trigger a response from the Cabal; after a brief battle they kill a Bracus named Tho'ourg and retrieve his Access Key. Moving to the Valley of the Kings they spot a mountain Cabal outpost standing guard before a vast Vex Gate seething with dark energies. Using the Access Key, the Guardian has Ghost hack into the Cabal network, learning that the aliens have made significant progress in cracking Vex defenses. The Gate then starts surging with activity and they break off to defeat an onslaught of Vex, with Ghost remarking they would have to fight the Cabal after all.

Journeying through the Scablands, they discover a Vex Spire deep within the Rubicon Wastes. Within the Legion's Keep they encounter an army of Cabal intent on stopping the intruders, their Primus, Sha'aul, leading them. As Ghost repowers the Gate Lord's eye - the Vex Conflux forming - the Guardian obliterates the enemies and kills the Primus without much effort.

Upon a request from Master Rahool they venture to a buried city nearby and flush out the Cabal there. Atop an old Clovis Bray facility inside the Hollows they find the Cabal and Vex battling over a computer terminal. Killing Bracus Tha'aurn they clear out the opposing forces and secure the computer only to find that Rasputin has taken control of the old Martian Warmind's systems and locked it down.

The Black Garden

Somehow aware of the Guardian's effort to breach the Garden, the Vex suddenly surge across Freehold, overwhelming the Cabal and forcing a response from the Guardian as well. Delving into the Tharsis Junction the Guardian destroys several active Transfer Gates, destroying a Vex Minotaur called the Prohibitive Mind in the process.

The Guardian heads for the Vex Gate leading to the Black Garden, entering the Valley of the Kings before fighting off waves of Vex. Finally teleporting through the Gate as it reacts to the charged eye, the Guardian cautiously passes through a graveyard of frozen Vex, their immense age indicated by the plant life growing on them. Some activate and attack the Guardian but are subsequently destroyed.

Battling their way across the Garden, they pass a cliff overlooking the Vex realm, Ghost remarking that "something dark" lay beneath, and eventually come upon a barrier blocking their way. After destroying the Divisive Mind Cyclops protecting it, the Guardian reaches the entrance to the Heart of the Garden. They activate another Spire directly before the Entrance itself. Ghost inputs the charged Gate Lord eye, and the Vex gate opens.

Inside the chamber they encounter a curious sight: dozens of ancient Vex kneeling with their arms apart before a large writhing mass of Dark energy within a large coliseum. Three large statues of Gate Lords ring the worship ceremony. As they look on, the Vex begin to react to their presence sluggishly, as if the arrival of an alien intruder was unfathomable to them. Ghost sarcastically inquires if the Guardian could kill a god, to which the Guardian replies they didn't "have much of a choice". The Heart pulses with energy, animating a nearby statue and commencing the battle.

As each statue is brought to life, one by one—revealed to be the Eschaton Mind, the Imminent Mind, and the Primeval Mind—the Guardian destroys them. With the death of its protectors, the Heart grew visibly weaker; Ghost encourages the Guardian to keep fighting as the Vex bring in tens of reinforcements, until at last the final Mind is destroyed. The Heart contracts upon itself and the coliseum shakes violently as it explodes in a blinding flash. The Heart had been destroyed and, as Ghost said in surprise, they were back on Mars. The Darkness was retreating and the Light, ostensibly captured by the Heart, was returning back to the Traveler.

Summoned back to the City by the Speaker, who then gives a congratulatory speech thanking all of the Guardians for their work, the Guardian responsible wanders into the Hanger where the Exo Stranger stood looking at the Traveler. She remarks that even though it is a time for celebration, the fight was far from finished. Giving the Guardian her Rifle she turned and departed, warping away in a disintegrating cloud of bluish-white energy. The Guardian then repowers their ship and takes off into orbit, preparing for their next mission.

Further Adventures

The Guardian and a fireteam descends into the depths of the Hellmouth, and kills Phogoth, the Untamed before the Hive can unleash it on the City.A fireteam of Guardians descends far below the Ishtar Academy and slays Sekrion, Nexus Mind, dealing a devastating blow to Vex efforts and delaying Venus' transformation into their network. A Guardian fireteam is sent to stop the Fallen House of Winter from restoring the "soul" of Aksor, Archon Priest. Commander Zavala tasks Guardians with taking out Cabal High Command, and sends a fireteam to lead an assault on the Cabal Imperial Land Tank and take out their leader Valus Ta'aurc, breaking the Cabal's grip on the lost city of Freehold. The Cabal also unleash the Psion Flayers to locate one of Rasputin's usurped AI cores buried in the Dust Palace to attempt to break his control over Mars' defenses. In response, a Guardian fireteam is deployed to secure it. The Flayers are defeated, and Rasputin locks down the machine. Using data from a reclaimed Ishtar archive a Raid-team of Guardians follow in Kabr's footsteps and pierce the Vault of Glass. They slay the mighty Templar and its Oracles, avoid the Gorgons, and confront Atheon, Time's Conflux in the Glass Throne. Using the Aegis they defeat the Vex overseer and break the Vex's control over the Vault.

The Dark Below

Return of Crota, Son of Oryx

After an unspecified number of years, Eris Morn returns to the Tower, attempting to warn the Vanguard of an impending Hive invasion that will be led by a soon-to-be resurrected Crota. Under Eris' direction and guidance, the Guardian travels to the Cosmodrome and hunts down Sardon, Fist of Crota, slaying the Hive general within the waterlogged caves of the Grottos. Traveling to the Moon, the Guardian successfully foils a Hive ritual intended to resurrect Crota, thus stopping the Hive invasion. However learning that Crota's soul would have survived their initial assault, the Guardian, alongside five others, infiltrates the Hellmouth and finds a way to enter Crota's realm - the Oversoul Throne - where he is slain permanently.

Aiding Rasputin

Subsequently, the Hive lay siege to one of Rasputin's bunkers in an attempt to corrupt him. However after receiving a high-gain transmission from Rasputin requesting aid, the Guardian repels the incursion successfully and secures the old Warmind within its vault once more. The Guardian also leads a fireteam on a strike mission to track down and kill Crota's last remaining general, Omnigul, effectively breaking the Hive's hold on the Cosmodrome and ending the possibility of an invasion.

Foiling the Vex

Meanwhile deep within the crust of Mars, The Undying Mind attempts to repair the schism torn by the Heart's destruction. Upon learning this, the Guardian ventures to a previously unexplored part of the Black Garden and destroys it.

House of Wolves

Summoning the Guardians

At some point in the Reef, Skolas leads a Fallen uprising, slaughtering hundreds of Awoken and wresting control of House Winter. He declares himself the legendary Kell of Kells in the hopes of uniting the previously disparate Fallen Houses. Following the loss of numerous Awoken lives, Mara Sov declares the Reef open to the Guardian's who will exact her vengeance.

Defeating the Outlaws

Working with Petra Venj, the Guardian begins systematically tracking down and dispatching key Fallen threats. Among the first of their targets is Taniks, the Scarred, and Skoriks, Archon-Slayer.

Trouble on Earth

As Skolas vies for control over the various houses, he sends his elite assassin's to wreck havoc on Earth. The Guardian, who is tipped off by Variks, the Loyal, is sent back to Earth to stop Skolas' Silent Fang from usurping the House of Devils as well as foiling the Wolves' attempt to seize control of the House of Kings.

Hunting Skolas

Back on Venus, the Guardian follows Skolas assaults on Vex strongholds across the Ishtar Sink all the way to the Vault of Glass where he finally attempts to augment his army with its mysterious technology. As Skolas pulls the House of Wolves through time in a last effort to unite the Fallen, he is swiftly defeated atop the Citadel and sent to face the Queen.

The Taken King

Petra Venj detects the Hive Dreadnaught orbiting the rings of Saturn and orders all Reef assets to mobilize, following a conversation between Queen Mara Sov and Eris Morn and presumably Osiris on Oryx's imminent arrival.

The Awoken space fleet engages the Dreadnaught and a small fleet of Hive warships escorted by thousands of Tombships; Uldren Sov leads his fighter wings to scatter the Hive fleet whilst from behind the Queen and her Techeun Coven summon the Harbingers, as part of a predetermined plan. The Harbingers destroy much of Oryx's fleet, ripping through enemy vessels with ease, but leave no marks upon the Dreadnaught itself. Oryx ends the battle by firing his ship's main cannon, destroying both his and the Queen's fleets in a single Pyrrhic stroke and force him to forestal his advance.[268] The Queen and major parts of Reef leadership, including Paladin Abra Zire, and Techeun Shuro, are considered missing in action.

Primus Ta'aun suspends all Cabal mining operations and recon on Phobos pending investigation of a trans-Jovian threat, while mysterious anomalies are reported across the Skyburners' Keep.

The Vanguard intercepts a distress signal on all channels, broadcasting from the Skyburners fortress of Fleetbase Korus on Phobos. The Guardian is dispatched in order to investigate, but upon their arrival they find the Skyburners have been slaughtered. Oryx reveals himself to the Guardian, willing into existence the first wave of his army of corrupted Cabal and Hive called the Taken, led by Syrok, Word of Oryx. The Vanguard scrubs the mission and orders the Guardian to return. Fighting through hordes of Taken the Guardian finally reaches the transmat zone where their ship is waiting, and escapes.

The Vanguard discusses the arrival of Oryx's Dreadnaught over a hologram Ghost collected, analysing its weapon to find a way to slip past while reflecting upon Mara Sov's sacrifice. Eris Morn interrupts them, proclaiming that her “stone” has spoken for the first time since Crota's defeat and has told her Oryx was coming to finish what his son started. Cayde-6 leaves the discussion to “see about a ship”.

Realizing the Taken to be too deadly a threat to take lightly, the Vanguard send Guardians to rediscover lost powers of their forebearers. Hunters learn to harness the Void and become Nightstalkers, Warlocks travel to Mars and mediate upon the Arc to become Stormcallers, and Titans explore Mercury in search of the mercenary Sunbreakers only to find they were obliterated by the Vex, before reigniting the forge with the help of the Sunbreakers' Third Empyreal Magistrate Ouros.

Cayde-6 directs the Guardian to one of the dead colony ships in Old Russia, where he had previously hidden a modified stealth drive capable of getting the Guardian past the superweapon and into the Dreadnaught to face Oryx. Upon touching down in The Blast, just outside of the Fallen House of Devils' lair, the Guardian discovers that the Taken have already reached Earth and have begun overwhelming the Fallen. After defeating an Echo of Oryx, and retrieving the stealth drive, the Guardian returns to the Tower.

In the Hangar Cayde convinces Amanda Holliday to install the stealth drive on Eris' ship and arrange a “test flight” for the Guardian to infiltrate the Dreadnaught in order to establish a beachhead after disabling its super weapon.

With the stealth drive equipped, the Guardian travels to Saturn and reaches the Dreadnaught. Just as the drive malfunctions, causing the Dreadnaught to destroy Eris' ship, the Guardian is transmatted onto the Dreadnaught by their Ghost. They then proceeds to disable the superweapon and establish a transmat zone for reinforcements before returning to the Tower. Cayde leaves to speak with Eris about the loss of her ship.

The Cabal deploy their reserve force, the Skyburners, in a direct attack on Dreadnaught. After the Skyburners' Primus is Taken however, their offensive crumbles. A lone unit aboard the Cabal ship, Dantalion Exodus VI, sends a distress signal to the head of the Empire, only to be wiped out by Guardians. Nevertheless their message is believed to have reached its intended target.

The Guardian breaks into the crashed Cabal gunship, Dantalion Exodus VI, and steals information that the Cabal have secured on Oryx. The Guardian fights their way to a portal called the Rupture, and after defeating an Echo of Oryx discovers they must become Ascendant in order to enter.

The Guardian also travels back to the Moon once more, where they obtain a shard of the Hive crystal used to hold Crota's soul and defeated its Gravekeeper, but are discovered by Oryx, who sends his Taken after them. While escaping the Guardian stumbles upon an open entrance to Wolfship Kaliks-Syn and rids the ship of Taken. The Guardian then goes to collect more stealth technology from Rasputin in order to infiltrate Crota's funeral. Along the way the Guardian eliminates a Taken Centurion and collects a mysterious item.

Guardians answer Rasputin's call for aid in fending off a Fallen attack led by S.A.B.E.R.-2, a giant super-powered Shank, as the Devils attempt to gain control of the warsat network.

The Guardian enters Crota's netherworld, and sneaks their way to his tomb and acquires enough of his essence to become Ascendant. Crota's sisters lead a procession of Deathsingers in the dirge, along with a full contingent of guards, but the Guardian is successful in their mission. They are discovered by Oryx however, and he sends his Taken—ta'aun and Baxx among them—to kill the Guardian. Eris intervenes,and transports the Guardian to safety. Armed with Crota's soul, the Guardian returns to the Dreadnaught and using the Essence, is able to pass through the Rupture and confronts the Taken King before subsequently destroying his physical form, forcing his soul to retreat to his Throne World. Eris meanwhile takes apart Willbreaker and retrieves its shard.

In the wake of the Dreadnaught campaign, Commander Zavala tasks Cayde-6 with establishing patrol beacons across the Dreadnaught.

Dead Orbit detects the Skyburner's transmission to the stars and sends Guardians to put an end to it. During the op, Vro'ourn, Fist of Oryx is killed.

Alak-Hul, the Darkblade is found aboard Oryx's Dreadnaught and is slain in his Sunless Cell by a Guardian fireteam tasked by Eris Morn to eliminate a contender for the Osmium Throne.

Guardians prevent a Cabal assault team led by Valus Tlu'urn and Valus Mau'ual, from blowing up the Dreadnaught's core, saving the entire system from certain doom.

On Venus, Guardians destroy an Echo of Oryx and return to the emptied Vault of Glass hoping to rescue Praedyth from his timeless prison, but discover that a Vex Hydra tasked by Oryx to co-opt the Nexus' power, is blighting and corrupting the Vex network. Luckily for the Vex, Morphon, Blighted Mind is destroyed by Guardians and Praedyth is freed from their control, with his centuries-old remains being found in a small room within the deepest parts of the Vault.

A fireteam led by the Guardian, infiltrates Oryx Ascendant Realm, kills his Warpriest, the Ogre Golgoroth, and his daughters the Deathsinger twins, and finally the Taken King himself. Eris tasks one of the Guardians with collecting certain items from the Hive gods, and rewards them with a Hive weapon.

The Guardians stop Theosyion, the Restorative Mind from bringing back Sekrion, Nexus Mind from the past and completing its transformation of Venus.

Guardians destroy a Taken infestation blighting the House of Winter's Lair while searching for a missing Archon prisoner, and kill Nixis, Hunger of Oryx.

The Guardians eliminate two more Taken Echoes on both Earth and Mars.

The House of Wolves regroups on Mars and rebuilds their previous Prime Servitor, Orbiks Prime. Under Orbiks' direction, the Wolves attempt to establish a base in the Blind Legion's former keep, coming into conflict with local Cabal forces. The Guardian tracks down Orbiks Prime and eliminates it, scattering the House of Wolves once more.

A Taken Warbeast, Malok, Pride of Oryx, attempts to rally the remaining Taken from the Hellmouth. Malok is discovered however and a strike team eliminates him in a last stand at the Shrine of Oryx.

Rise of Iron

The Transmission Incident—field reports are made from Guardians whose armor have become infested with "tech mites", which manifest as swarms of colorful specks that swirl around their heads. Unable to contain the mites' spread among the Guardians, the Owl Sector and Vanguard instead implemented a quarantine on the Last City in order to prevent non-Guardians' exposure.

Bypass Authority Berriole travels to the Dust Palace to learn the origin of the tech mites. Following a set of tracks to a lab, she finds various locked storage cabinets had been cut or blasted open. Further investigation yields the mites were linked to a Clovis Bray project overseen by a Dr. Zarin Shirazi who worked under Dr. Willa Bray and that the tech mites were actually a nanomachine therapy to improve subjects' intelligence and strength for the Golden Age's colonization effort. After sealing Shirazi's lab, however, Berriole becomes aware that the tracks which led to the lab appeared to have been made by Fallen, implying that a group of Fallen (possibly the Splicers) were responsible for the incident. Eventually, a third of all Guardians become affected by at least one variety of tech mite, prompting the Vanguard to further tighten the City's quarantine.

The Owl Sector's Liaison to the Vanguard, Shun Li, accidentally becomes exposed to a sample of tech mites and loses consciousness soon after, forcing his fellow operative Ramos to take on the duties of Acting Liaison. Fortunately, the countermeasure to the tech mites is discovered among Shirazi's records, and the combined efforts of the Owl Sector's research corps, the Hidden, and the Techeuns succeed in replicating it. Shun is revived, and the cure administered to the Guardians, much to their dismay. With the crisis ended, the Owl Sector is returned to standby status.

The Fallen House of Devils begins digging into old Golden Age research labs all over the system, eventually returning to the Cosmodrome while shifting massive amounts of resources to a previously dark region of Old Russia. Concerned the SIVA Plague may have been discovered by the House of Devils, and unleashed upon the Cosmodrome, Lord Saladin personally leads the counterattack to contain the threat.

A Fallen force captures Felwinter Peak. Unable to get there in time, Lord Saladin orders the Guardian to secure the observatory at the top before it is too late. After defending the mountaintop from several waves of Fallen forces, the Guardian reaches the Iron Temple before defeating Sepiks Perfected in the courtyard, keeping the Fallen from the temple long enough for Saladin to arrive with reinforcements, but Sepiks escapes.

Lord Saladin then sends the Guardian to pursue Sepiks Perfected into a transformed Cosmodrome in order to learn the extent of the SIVA outbreak. In the Cosmodrome, the Guardian encounters the Hive who are being driven into the open somehow. The Guardian then seeks out a monitoring station responsible for keeping the sensor grid online and retrieves vital sensor logs that provide valuable insight into the Fallen activity.

Pushing further into the Cosmodrome, the Guardian discovers that the Fallen have taken control of several Golden Age gun positions near the Triglav Bunker. Upon reaching the Bunker, the Guardian destroys two SIVA enhanced shield generators before disabling the enemy guns.

A fireteam of Guardians tracks down Sepiks Perfected again, and kill both it and Dresiks, Splicer Baron in the Devils' Lair. A trio of augmented Captains—the Shock Captain; the Splicer Scorch Captain; and the Null Captain—are methodically eliminated.

Having observed that the Hive have begun hitting the Splicers near a beached Tanker, Shiro tasks the Guardian with discovering why they are at each other's throats. The Guardian arrives at the Giant's Husk expecting to encounter hostilities, but finds the Hive engaged in all out war. After the Guardian recovers a coded relay from a defeated Devil Splicer, Shiro deduces that the Hive may be attempting to reclaim something stolen and tasks the Guardian with exploring the Overpass for further clues. Working off of the pointers obtained from their exploration, the Guardian takes off for the Archon's keep in search of Hive or Fallen activity. At the keep, the Guardian discovers the Fallen Splicers are experimenting with the Hive, prompting them to seek out the Splicer's High Priest in order to end his madness.

Kovik, Splicer Priest invades a Hive nest located within Bunker Triglav. After a team of Guardians destroy a network of SIVA Nodes, which are augmenting the Silos' old defense protocols and keeping the facility sealed tight, they descend into the Hive Nest and kill Kovik, as well as a captive Hive Ogre the Fallen Priest had infused with SIVA.

Back at the Iron Temple, Lord Saladin meets with the Guardian and tells them the story of the Iron Lords, and how they attempted to co-opt SIVA against all of Rasputin's attempts to stop them (including eliminating all but nine of the Iron Lords in the process). In the end, revealing how SIVA ultimately corrupted many of the Iron Lords by turning their weapons and armor against them, forcing Jolder to seal herself and all of the Iron Lords except for Saladin within the Bunker rather than let SIVA escape. Saladin then realizes the Fallen have not yet mastered SIVA, and sends the Guardian to meet with Tyra, a Cryptarch well versed in the origins of SIVA, and also one who might know the source of the Fallen's discoveries.

The Guardian then travels to an old Clovis Bray research lab following a hunch from Timur, who believes the answer to the Fallen's weakness may lie with the ancient SIVA prototypes. After clearing the facility of the Cabal, the Guardian locates an old archive that reveals information on several types of nanotech designed for differing purposes. The Guardian is then attacked by a Cabal force which they promptly eliminate before returning to the Iron temple.

Communing with the Guardian, Lord Saladin informs them that Shiro-4 has analyzed the Clovis Bray data and found a way to temporarily disrupt the Splicers' control over it. The Guardian is then tasked to descend into the SIVA replication complex in order to cut its ability to replicate itself. On the way, they reverse the power cells in the SIVA reactor, temporarily cutting off the Splicer's SIVA supply. Infiltrating the Archon's Keep, the Guardian descends deeper into the facility and after confronting the Remnant of Felwinter, destroys the SIVA Replicator via a self destruct mechanism.

Returning to the Iron Temple once more, the Guardian returns Jolder's broken helmet to Lord Saladin who thanks the Guardian and subsequently gifts them a Sword, pronouncing the Guardian as the next generation of Iron Lord.

A Guardian fireteam descends into the Hellmouth to stop the Devil Splicers from stealing unborn Hive Ogres for their crazed rituals, and eliminate them, killing the Hive Abomination the Devils nearly took.

Guardians infiltrate Foundry 113 and defeat the Splicers' surviving duumvirate of Aksis and his second-in-command Vosik inside their Perfection Complex. With Aksis and his followers gone, the Devil Splicers are neutralized.

Omnigul returns and the Vanguard tasks the Guardian to go and eliminate her once and for all.

Brokering an alliance with Taniks' crew the Splicers resurrect Taniks the Scarred using SIVA, augmenting him into Taniks Perfected. Shortly after, a team of Guardians eliminate him.

The Vex finally discover how to manifest their ontological power outside of the Vault and augment Sekrion with it, but are unable to keep the Taken from corrupting the Mind, transforming it into Sekrion, Subverted Mind. A team of Guardians, with the aid of the Aegis, destroy both it and the Taken, and any lingering Vex.

Destiny 2

Onset of the Red War

While out on Patrol, the Guardian and Ghost responded to emergency frequencies from the City. Quickly returning to The Last City aboard a Hawk, they quickly discovered that the City had been invaded by the Cabal, and aided in defending the Tower against the Red Legion. The Guardian attempted to disorganize the enemy by disabling the Cabal command ship and though they succeeded in infiltrating the ship and in destroying the Shield generators, no reinforcements could make it, and they were confronted by Dominus Ghaul himself. There the Cabal Emperor activated the Light-restraining device upon the Traveler, encasing it in a force field. This act cut the Guardians off from the Traveler's Light, effectively crippling them. Ghaul savagely beat the weakened Guardian, even sending them off of his command ship along with their Ghost, plummeting to the devastated city below. Barely surviving the fall, the Guardian linked up with others, and with little choice, they evacuated the Last City.

Despite Ghaul's success in attacking the City, the Guardian refused to give up the fight, and after setting up a camp in the European Dead Zone, they sought out to gain new powers and began developing a counterattack against the Red Legion.

The Road to Titan

After supporting Hawthorne and Devrim Kay establishing a support beacon to draw people to the Farm, the Guardian received a distress signal from Zavala which told him to head to Titan where he was making a resistance with Deputy Chief Sloane and Amanda Holliday. The Guardian and Ghost headed there and found that the Hive were there taking control of the pipes and the planet itself. The Guardian and Ghost now had to reactivate the stations to fortify themselves against the Hive. After rebooting the power, the Guardian and Ghost then delve deep into the New Pacific Arcology after detecting an AI. After they escaped, the Guardian, Sloane, and Zavala eventually discover, through Cabal transmitions, that the sun-destroying Almighty is in position over Sol. After learning of this, Zavala orders the Guardian to locate the other members of the Vanguard so that they may attempt to destroy the ship.

Pursuit on Nessus

The Guardian and Ghost go to Nessus after picking up a signal from Cayde there. After Ghost questions why Cayde went to Nessus in the first place, it is soon discovered that Nessus has been almost completely consumed by the Vex. After tracking the source of the transmition, they soon discover Failsafe was broadcasting the signal for Cayde after he was caught by the Vex. They chased after Cayde's teleporting prison and slay a Hydra. They are then told by Cayde to shut down the teleporter to let Cayde free. After doing so, they hurry back to the Exodus Black after fallen were chasing Cayde. After slaying Jaliks, the Captain responsible for the attack, they are welcomed to the Exodus Black and are made Captain of the crashed ship by Failsafe. Through some convincing, Cayde turned back from his original plan, which was to kill Ghaul which would've inevitably caused the Almighty to fire, and discover that Ikora was meditating on Io.

Pilgrimage to Io

After finding Ikora, they learn of a nearby Red Legion base. While making their way over, they see a beam of the Traveler's light beaming over a convoy of Cabal ships. After eliminating what's left of the Cabal in the encampment, they delve deeper into the base and find mining equipment and drills. Pushing through the desolate base, they discover the Taken are trying to sap the light. After killing off a major Taken Wizard, Ikora, through some connections to the Taken, discovers that Ghaul is attempting to steal the light. As the Guardian and Ghost leave the base, they recieve a distress signal from Asher Mir that the Taken's sapping operation is going to cause the moon to implode if not intervened. After killing the Wizards responsible and killing a Taken Centurion within the portal, they are then summoned by Asher to be an assistant and help with his works. After the talk, they then head for a Warmind vault that was breached by a Cabal drill. After killing the Taken attempting to halt the Guardian and Ghost, Asher discovers that the Almighty is tithed to the Sun, and if destroyed, takes the Sun with it. Ikora, and the Guardian then head back to the Farm to finally reunite the Vanguard.

Payback

Once more united, the Vanguard plans their attack. They send the Guardian and Ghost to hunt Thumos, the Unbroken. With the help of a Drake Tank, they push through a web-work of Cabal tunnels and ground the carrier. They then march into the carrier and eventually kill Thumos and took his keys to his ship. They then reach the ship, killing the Cabal and invading Fallen whom were in their way and fly off to the Almighty. Once aboard the great ship, they push through the machinery of the ship and debris which was once apart of Mercury. After walking through the sun's heat, they make their way to the weapon and overheat it, disabling the ship and it's weapon. The Guardian and Ghost join the battle of the Last City and make their way to Ghaul. After meeting up with the Vanguard, they discover that everyone else is injured, and must face Ghaul themselves. Using the teleporter Cayde nabbed off Nessus, the Guardian and Ghost are teleported to Ghaul's command ship. They meet up with Ghaul, who has induced himself with corrupt, synthetic light, and face off with him. After Ghaul is killed by the Guardian, Ghaul attempts to use Radiance, and is turned into an etheral figure thanks to the corrupt light, and declared himself immortal as he speaks to the Traveler. In doing so, he awakens the Traveler, which breaks the cage and slays Ghaul. The Guardian is then congratulated on their success for killing Ghaul, awaking the Traveler, and saving Sol from the Red Legion.

Further Adventures

European Dead Zone

The Guardian help to push back the Fallen, weaken the Cabal, reboot the Patrol network and discover more lost powers in the Black Forest. Later, Bracus Zahn, a Cabal gunrunner is bringing supplies to the Red Legion and taking command on the Orobas Vectura. The Guardian and their fireteam tracked down Zahn and killed him. Meanwhile, the Taken attempted to corrupt the water supply at a reservoir on the other side of town. The Guardian puts an end to the operation and discover that the commander was once a member of the Red Legion. As the Guardian was patrolling the EDZ, they get a request from Devrim to look for "glowing" Fallen. They soon discover the Fallen are augmenting their Ether supplies with Cabal technology. The Guardian and Ghost destroy the Ether and kill the Archon and Servitor responsible for the attempted ascendance.

Titan

The Guardian reclaimed supplies taken by the Fallen and ended Hive rituals which could've ended the operation on Titan definitively. The Guardian is then dispatched to the Arcology to search for Guardians who have gone silent. They discover that the Hive were attempting to use Void Light to summon a powerful Shrieker. With the help of a Guardian's sacrifice, the Guardian and their team destroys the Shrieker, thus ending the ritual and avenging the lost. Later, Sloane dispatches the Guardian to scare off a Captain and his crew in the command center. They then learn of a Methane Reactor within the Arcology. So the Guardian and Ghost go off to search for the Reactor before the Captain can claim it. They track down the reactor before the Arcology's security systems detained them. Now in a race with the Captain, they seek to find the Reactor before the Captain can. They discover that the Captain was attempting to use the Reactor to create Ether with the help of a Servitor. They kill the Servitor and, depending on the Guardian's actions, spared the Captain or killed him, and claimed the Reactor for the Rig.

Nessus

The Guardian retrieved data on the Vex, collected info on the returned Cabal Emperor, and search for leads on Failsafe's missing crew across the Machine World. Eventually, the Fallen staged a massive raid, lead by Thaviks, the Depraved, on the Exodus Black. The Guardian lead a fireteam to clear out the fallen and assassinate Thaviks before he and his crew could do anymore damage to Failsafe's systems. The Guardian also lead fireteams against the Vex and Cabal, dealing Protheon, Modular Mind in the Inverted Spire and Kargen, the Technocrat at The Insight Terminus. Later on, Failsafe contacted the Guardian, informing them about her suspicions that Captain Masoud Jacobson was still alive on Nessus. The Guardian located four dead crewmen and reviewed their audio logs, hoping to find traces of the Captain. Eventually, they came across a strange looking Harpy which lead them deep into Nessus. After completing the Vex tests and defeating a Vex Mind, the Harpy lead them to Captain Jacobson's corpse and played his final audiolog, which concerned him lamenting over everything that had happened on Nessus. The Guardian returned to Failsafe to deliver the news.

Io

The Guardian routed Taken forces, delayed the Vex conversion of Io, and investigated mysterious Warmind broadcasts. The Guardian is then dispatched along with a fireteam into the Pyramidion to defeat Brakion, Genesis Mind, in hopes of eventually stopping the conversion of Io. The Fireteam succeeded where Asher and his team could not, breaching the Vex Structure and destroying Brakion. Later on, The Guardian responded to Hidden reports of Taken acting strangely with the Vex. The Guardian investigated, learning that the Taken were actually taking the Vex and turning them into mindless drones, against Asher Mir's initial presumptions that taking the Vex was impossible. The Guardian re-entered the Pyramidion and defeated the Taken Knight in charge of the operation, bringing an end to the Taken plot, though a few Taken Vex managed to get away. Regardless, the Guardian was successful, and Asher Mir congratulated the Guardian for their actions.

The Leviathan

Following the end of Ghaul, the Vanguard detected a massive Cabal Starship that wasn't bearing Red Legion colors entering the Solar System. The Guardian investigated the Red Legion defectors planetside, who were doing the bidding of this vessel's commander, later revealed to be Emperor Calus himself. They also discovered that the defectors were gathering geological data on Nessus with the intent of converting the soil of the planet into Royal Wine. Later on, the Leviathan itself arrived and began its absorption of Nessus. The Guardian themselves were invited by Calus to board his ship for killing Ghaul. The Guardian and five others accepted the challenge and embarked on the Leviathan. The Fireteam fought through the ship's palace, crushing the Loyalists and eventually reaching the Throne room. Seemingly facing off against the exiled Cabal Emperor, the Guardians witness his strange powers and after dealing critical damage, they find that the Calus they are facing is actually a robotic Automaton. Regardless, the Guardians succeed in destroying the robot, where the real Cabal Emperor rewarded the Guardians for completing his challenge, offering them a place by his side if they wish.

Curse of Osiris

Osiris and his Ghost, Sagira, are out in a simulation of the Vault of Glass looking for answers to the future. Osiris sees a future possibility that terrifies him, and quickly closes the portal, but not before the Vex are snapped out of stillness and attack Osiris and his Ghost. During the attack, they are ambushed by Panoptes, the mind responsible for creating the plan for the dark future. Realizing he has to stop the Vex now before it is too late, Osiris throws Sagira through a portal back to present day Mercury, while Osiris attempts to fend off Panoptes.

Search For Osiris

Sagira was eventually recovered by the Hidden on Mercury and brought back to the Tower. Ikora summons the Guardian, sending them to Mercury to investigate. The Guardian arrived at Mercury, coming in contact with Brother Vance and fighting through Vex in the Fields of Glass. However, the Guardian was unable to enter the Infinite Forest, and was greeted by swarms of Descendant Vex. The Guardian eventually cleared the area of Vex, lifting the lockdown on the Lighthouse, and spoke with Brother Vance. Vance was rather pleased that the Guardian had brought Sagira and believed that the ghost could be revived with the help of a sect of Cultists in the EDZ.

Following Vance's coordinates, the Guardian returned to the EDZ, hijacking a Heavy Pike to reach the radio tower where the cultists had set up their temple. Unfortunately, they arrived too late, as a Fallen Crew had already raided the temple and killed the cultists inside. Thankfully, the Guardian was able to defeat the Fallen before they could dismantle any machinery that could be vital to reviving Sagira. However, when Sagira was put into the machine, she dematerialized and her spirit took over the shell of the Guardian's Ghost. Despite awakening bewildered to her current situation, Sagira insisted that she and the Guardian return to Mercury to help Osiris.

The Hunt for Panoptes

The Guardian and Sagira ventured back to Mercury, this time able to successfully enter the Infinite Forrest, where they encountered numerous of Osiris's reflections. Venturing through the infinite parallels of the forest, the Guardian arrived as a simulation of Mercury in the past, mere minutes before the Vex Lighthouses arrived to convert the planet. The Guardian continued to follow the word of the reflections, which eventually lead them into a simulation of the Lighthouse in the Dark Future, where the sun was now a shadowy purple and the room was littered with the bodies of cultists, including Brother Vance. Osiris explained that all timelines lead to this simulation, a future without Light or Dark, only the Vex. However, Panoptes arrived in the simulation with a swarm of Harpies. Osiris opens a portal, allowing the Guardian and Sagira to barely escape the Infinite Mind.

Realizing that they could never find Panoptes on their own, Ikora suggests they locate a map in the Pyramidion on Io. The Guardian returns to the moon of Jupiter, entering the Vex construct for a third time. Fighting their way through, the Guardian brought Sagira to a conflux, where she was able to located a map in a node of the Infinite Forrest known as the Tree of Probabilities. The Guardian set foot on Mercury once more and re-entered the Infinite Forrest, which lead them to a simulation of the Red Legion invasion of Mercury, just as the Almighty was consuming the planet. Despite the Vex attempting to use the Cabal to destroy the Tree, the Guardian was able to get there first and located a map. Requiring more processing power, the Guardian flew to Nessus, where they were able to use Vex Minds to assist. However, Sagira was still unable to locate Panoptes, due to the processor shorting out. All was not lost, however, as Ikora suggested they return to the past to run time forward and locate Panoptes.

The Guardian returned to the Infinite Forrest, locating a past simulation of Mercury where the Vex had just begun their conversion process. The Guardian fights their way to a Lighthouse and encounters Dendron, Root Mind, the Vex Mind responsible for transforming Mercury. Through defeating Dendron, the Guardian reached the very peak of the spire, where Sagira was able to locate Panoptes in the Infinite Forrest, informing the Guardian and a Reflection of Osiris, who relayed the information to the real Osiris. However, Panoptes once again was able to located the Guardian, kidnapping Sagira and warping the Young Wolf out of the Infinite Forrest. The Guardian found themselves, and their ghost back in possession of his shell, just outside of the Gateway to the forest, where they were unable to re-enter without Sagira. The Guardian returned to Ikora, who was not willing to let Panoptes win just yet.

The Guardian and Ikora ventured back to Mercury, where Ikora forced open the gateway and allowed the Guardian inside. The Guardian made their way to Panoptes coordinates, with the Vex Mind itself none too pleased with the Guardian's intrusion. It attempted numerous times to erase the Guardian from existence, however, Osiris intervened with his reflections, giving the Guardian the opportunity to weaken Panoptes. Despite the Infinite Mind's numerous attempts to erase and destroy the Guardian with simulated enemies, the Guardian and Osiris were able to corner Panoptes and destroy him, freeing Sagira and preventing a Dark Future from occurring.

The Guardian, Osiris, and their ghosts exited the Infinite Forest, where they reunited with Ikora just outside. Ikora offered to invite Osiris back to the tower, but the ex-Vanguard declined, stating that he was needed in the Forest. After bidding farewell, Osiris and Sagira departed back into the Forest, with the latter claiming they had infinite realities to explore, and all the time in the world to do so.

Further Adventures

After resolving the crisis on Mercury, the guardian received a call from Calus. During the Leviathan's consuming of Nessus, a massive Axis mind by the name of Argos, Planetary Core was sucked into the Leviathan, with its shields interfering with the ship's absorption of the planetoid. Calus called the Guardian back to the Leviathan to destroy Argos. The Guardian assembled a 6-man fireteam to venture deep into the vessel and destroy the fearsome Vex Mind. Though they were able to destroy Argos, doing so allowed the Leviathan to begin to pull the Guardians into its fiery inferno, though Calus saved the Fireteam by teleporting them to his throne room, where he rewarded his champions.

Warmind

After responding to a mysterious distress call on an official Vanguard channel, The Guardian heads to Hellas Basin on Mars to help this guardian, who turns out to be none other than Anastasia Bray of Twilight Gap glory. After fighting through the Frozen Hive and reactivating the Braytech Futurescape Ana sends the guardian to save Rasputin's core from the Hive invasion. Upon arrival, Rasputin presents the Guardian with the Valkyrie javelin to help deal with the Hive that have swarmed outside his core chamber.

When the guardian finally gains entry to the core, it is revealed that a rather angry Zavala has beaten them there, which doesn't please Ana. A short argument ensues which ends in Zavala revealing the real reason he has arrived. Rasputin wasn't the only thing to awaken on Mars, but the Hive's worm god Xol, Will of the Thousands. The Guardian then goes to retrieve a shard of the Traveler from the EDZ, but finds it shielded by a Taken barrier. Ana responds to this by asking Rasputin to crash a Warsat into the shard in order to break the shield, which he does.

The Guardian returns to Hellas Basin and uses the shard to summon Xol, but instead provokes Nokris, his herald, who they proceed to kill. After this, they go into Rasputin's inner workings at Alton Dynamo to find a way to overcharge the Valkyrie and kill Xol, as he has started an attack on Rasputin's neural network. If he succeeds, Rasputin will be gone forever, taking the Valkyrie with him and leaving Xol with no way to even damage him.

The Guardian runs to Rasputin's aid, but is cut off by Xol and trapped on a service platform. With the help on Ana Bray and the newly overcharged Valkyrie, the Guardian is able to vanquish him and save Rasputin. After this, Rasputin grants Ana, Zavala, and The Guardian an audience with him, where he tells them that he will not serve any of them, and will protect humanity on his own terms, launching a new Warsat network to prove his point. Zavala returns to the Tower and Ana decides to stay on Mars as Rasputin's ambassador. The Guardian then proceeds to partially exterminate the Hive through Rasputin's Escalation Protocol, as well as fighting the Red Legion, who are on Mars to scavenge what they can during their retreat from Sol.

Further Adventures

Following Xol's death, Calus contacted the Guardian once more, revealing that Val Ca'uor, self-proclaimed successor of Ghaul, has invaded the Leviathan with remnants of the Red Legion in an attempt to finally bring an end to the Emperor. The Guardian assembled a raid team and returned to the Leviathan, clearing out the Red Legion, destroying their warships, and killing Ca'uor through the help of Calus's psychic powers. After the battle, Calus declares that the Guardians have grown "fat from strength and power." Calus tells the Guardians that he awaits the day they will stand by his side when the end comes.

Forsaken

Alongside Cayde-6, the Guardian traveled to the Reef in light of civil unrest and a breakout from the Prison of Elders.

However, the mission in the Reef ends horrifically as Cayde-6 is murdered by Uldren Sov, the former prince of the Reef. Outraged, the Guardian takes Cayde's body to the Vanguard where his fireteam, Zavala and Ikora, mourn his loss. Refusing to simply do nothing, the Guardian speaks for the first time in years, swearing to take down Uldren and avenge Cayde.

Teaming up with Petra Venj, they broker a deal with the Fallen criminal kingpin, The Spider, to begin the campaign to reclaim the Reef, assassinate the Scorn Barons and kill Uldren Sov. This mission takes the Guardian across the Tangled Shore, where they hunt the Barons down one by one until only the Machinist, the Fanatic, and Uldren himself are left standing.

The Guardian tracks the Machinist down to a junkyard in the Boil. Using a stolen Drake tank, the Guardian fights through the Scorn until they eventually encounter the Machinist herself. After battling her and more of the Scorn, the Machinist falls, declaring in her dying breath that the Scorned Barons are forever.

Soon after, the Guardian allies with Petra Venj and a small army of the Spider's associates to storm the Watchtower, where they find Fikrul, the Fanatic waiting for them. During their battle, Fikrul reminds the Guardian of the murders they've committed. Eventually, the Fanatic joins his friends in death as the Guardian continues into the Watchtower to find Uldren. During their trip up the Watchtower, the Guardian is pulled between reality and the Ascendant Realm, within which they hear Uldren being urged to open a door by his sister, Mara Sov. The Guardian battles Taken forces during their trip up, including many powerful enemies who are Taken by the Voices. Eventually, the Guardian arrives at a seemingly important room within the Watchtower, where Uldren Sov is devoured by a massive Taken monster, the Voice of Riven. The Guardian is again puled between planes of reality as they fight the Voice, eventually killing it and releasing Uldren. The Guardian reclaims the Ace of Spades and confronts the defeated Awoken prince along with Petra Venj. One way or another, Uldren is killed, and the Guardian returns to the Tower with Cayde-6 successfully avenged.

After Uldren's death, Petra gives the Guardian a broken Awoken talisman and tells them to meet her in the Dreaming City. The Guardian sets out to repair and charge the Talisman with help from the Spider, then returns to the Watchtower and enters the gateway to the Dreaming City. The Guardian finds themself on a beach in an unfamiliar place. They head for higher ground, seeing Petra's ship fly overhead and following it. They find three formerly Awoken woman standing in their way: the Techeuns known as Kalli, Shuro Chi, and Sedia, who had all been Taken when Oryx attacked three years prior. They send the Guardian into the Ascendant Plane, where they battle more Taken and encounter Toland, the Shattered, who warns them to leave the Dreaming City while they still can. Nevertheless, the Guardian keeps going, battling the Taken and Hive in their way. They eventually reunite with Petra, who requests that they find an Offering to present to the machine they've found. The Guardian goes back out to search, encountering a sizable Scorn force and defeating their leader, Elikaa, Sworn to Vengeance to recover the Offering. The Guardian returns the Offering to Petra, who uses it to activate the Oracle Engine and speak to the Queen. Mara requests that Petra assemble a team to face off against Riven, which she does.

The Guardian and their fireteam are sent into the Keep of Voices to face off against the monster at the heart of the Dreaming City in the Last Wish raid. During this raid, they fight and save Kalli, the Corrupted and Shuro Chi, the Corrupted, freeing the Techeuns from the Taken corruption. They also battle against Morgeth, the Spirekeeper, killing the colossal Ogre. Finally, the fireteam encountered and fought Riven of a Thousand Voices, slaying the Taken Ahamkara and purifying her heart. Their actions would do more harm than good, however, as Riven's death inadvertently granted a final wish, plunging the Dreaming City into a Taken curse.

During the first week of the curse, the Hive began raiding the Dreaming City, stealing artifacts from the Awoken. The Guardian is sent to find and help an injured Corsair named Amrita Vae. After returning the first artifact, Amrita is taken by her allies to get medical help. The Guardian continues searching for the artifacts, battling the Hive and Taken along the way, including another Taken Chimera known as Xaras, Greed of Xivu Arath.

During the second week, the Taken and Hive assault the Oracle Engine. The Guardian pushes back the assault and defeats Mukor, Soulkeeper and Ugroth, Soulkeeper.

During the third week of the curse, the Guardian puts an end to a fight between the Scorn and Taken outside the Awoken monastery. The Guardian pushes deeper into the monastery, defeating three Ascendant Sentinels and Val Belyx, Gauntlet of Incaru. Defeating Belyx opens a portal into the Ascendant Realm, where the Guardian kills two Priests of Incaru and destroys the crystal they were guarding. Doing so summons a large Taken defense force, forcing the Guardian to flee back to reality, where they report about the incident to Petra.

The three weeks of defending the Dreaming City and charging the Blind Well have opened a gateway into Mara Sov's throne world, Eleusinia. Along with a small fireteam, the Guardian enters and finds it effectively in ruin and corrupted by the Taken as The Shattered Throne. The Guardian travels through the throne world, slaying the Taken within, including a powerful Taken Ogre known as Vorgeth, the Boundless Hunger. After killing Vorgeth, they find a statue of an Awoken woman named Sjur Eido holding a bow. The statue tells the Guardian that she was the first to stand beside Mara Sov, and that they will be the last, but only if they are worthy. The Guardian presents their Awoken talisman to the statue before continuing deeper into the dungeon. Eventually, the Guardian and their team reach the top of the spire, where they encounter Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return and her Fatesmiths. The Guardian slays Incaru, seemingly breaking the curse. However, at the start of the next week, everything returns to how it was at the start of the curse, and the Awoken realize they are trapped in a three-week loop. The Guardian continues to return to the Dreaming City week after week, helping the Awoken defend their home against the endless threat.

The Guardian returns to the Tangled Shore, where they once again encounter Toland. He leads them to Sjursrest, where they are assaulted by the Taken and receive three tokens. They return to the Shattered Throne when it reopens on the third week, and once inside, summon and defeat Xavoth, the Waking, Eriviks, the Waking, and Querim, the Waking. After once again killing Vorgeth, the Guardian returns to the statue. They present the tokens to the statue and are granted the bow, Wish-Ender, as a reward. Sjur's voice states that she will "seek a way home."

Black Armory

A few months after Cayde's death, the Guardian is given a keycard by the Spider to give them access to the Black Armory. They return to the Tower. Holding up the keycard at a certain point in the Annex reveals a fake wall that disappears to allow the Guardian to enter a hidden room. Within the room, they encounter Ada-1, the curator of the Black Armory. She states that the Guardian is not welcome by the Armory before noticing their keycard, to which her attitude changes. She explains that the Armory cannot sell any weapons because they have lost access to their forges.

Soon enough, the Guardian recovers the Volundr Forge from the Red Legion and informs Ada of their success. They forge their first Black Armory weapon: a machine gun known as the Hammerhead. Ada realizes the potential benefit of working with the Guardians and begins selling weapon frames to the Lightbearers in the hopes that they continue to recover her forges. The Guardian finds a mysterious box at the Volundr Forge site and receives a key for the box.

Sometime later, the Guardian recovers the Gofannon Forge and briefly encounters Siviks, Lost to None, who then flees. The Guardian eventually receives yet another key for the box.

Next, the Guardian finds the second Nessus forge, this one controlled by the Vex: the Izanami Forge. They recover this third forge and again receive a key.

Sometime after securing their alliance with Ada, the Guardian finds the entrance to Niobe Labs in the EDZ and makes their way through, recovering the fourth and final forge: Bergusia Forge. Upon returning to Ada, the Guardian receives the mold for a fourth and final key. First, they are sent to the Leviathan to harvest parts from the Watchers in its Underbelly. Next, they are tasked with completing numerous Public Events and Strikes to obtain Glimmering Amethyst. Finally, they complete a Bergusia Forge ignition to forge the final key and finally open the box. Ada asks the Guardian to receive an Obsidian Crystal, which they do. From there, they continue to work on the contents of the box by completing the Shattered Throne and entering the Pyramidion. Finally, the Guardian is sent back to the EDZ to challenge and defeat Siviks. Upon doing so, they return to Ada-1 and receive the Izanagi's Burden sniper rifle.

Joker's Wild

Shortly after the events of Season of the Forge, the Guardian is summoned by the Drifter, who has moved down to the Annex. The Drifter invites the Guardians to participate in his new scam called Gambit Prime; he also invites the Guardian to visit his ship, the Derelict, after completing a few matches. The Guardian, upon exploring the Derelict, discovers that the mysterious haul tied to the back of the ship that, upon entering, leads into the realm of the Nine in unknown space. The Guardian fights waves upon waves of Taken inside the haul, including powerful Taken facsimiles of Nokris and Oryx. The Guardian also meets the Emissary of the Nine inside the haul, who reveals to the Guardian that it was the Nine who gifted the Drifter with the haul itself, and that the Taken and Primevals that the Drifter uses in Gambit originate from there, created by the Darkness and the Drifter's force of will. The Drifter finds out about this and advises the Guardian to not trust the Nine and to stop contacting the Emissary; he reveals that the Emissary was an Awoken named Orin who was close to Mara Sov before dying and being resurrected as a Guardian, and that she sought the Nine to gain power and was subsequently transformed into the Emissary. Despite the Drifter's objections, the Guardian continues to make contact with the Emissary via Xûr over the course of nine weeks, which leads to a dark omen from the Emissary, foretelling the return of the Darkness.

During these events, the Guardian is contacted by a Praxic Warlock named Aunor, who strongly advises the Guardian to not trust the Drifter—Aunor has been investigating the Drifter due to his connection with the Shadows of Yor, a group of renegade Guardians known as Dredgens who idolize Dredgen Yor, a former Guardian who had been corrupted by the Hive and the Darkness and killed by a legendary Gunslinger Hunter named Shin Malphur, and that the Drifter has been training Guardians to become Dredgens themselves through Gambit and Gambit Prime; Aunor has made several attempts to persuade the Vanguard to expel the Drifter from the Tower by any means necessary. In light of this revelation, the Drifter contacts the Guardian and asks where the Guardian's loyalties lie—whether if the Guardian remains loyal to the Vanguard or if the Guardian fully trusts the Drifter. Regardless of the decision made by the player, the Guardian learns more about the Drifter and his past through a series of recordings scattered throughout the European Dead Zone. In the recordings, it is revealed that the Drifter was resurrected by a Ghost during the Dark Age of humanity, becoming one of the first Guardians known as the "Risen", but he did not trust the Traveler's Light nor the Ghost that revived him. After several years trying to survive and live a normal, peaceful life despite getting into several conflicts with other Risen, the Drifter departed the Solar System during the onset of the City Age with a crew in search of a power "greater than Light". It was also revealed that the Drifter was also part of the Shadows of Yor for a short time until he had a falling out with a fellow Shadow named Callum Sol, followed by a testy confrontation with Shin Malphur; the Drifter also warns of an impending second Collapse, and that the Reckoning activity in the Derelict's haul was created to prepare Guardians for the looming apocalypse.

Season of Opulence

Following the events of Season of the Drifter, the Guardian is given an imperial summons by Benedict 99-40 (who has also moved to the Annex in the Tower) on the orders of Emperor Calus of the Cabal. The Guardian is invited to partake in treasure hunts across the solar system, as well as participating in the Menagerie on board the Leviathan—described by Calus as the Leviathan's oldest deck and once served as a prison for the Emperor and his Loyalist Cabal during their time in exile—and other tasks that the Emperor has created for them. After participating in the Menagerie, the Guardian returns to Werner 99-40 on Nessus and is informed by Calus that one of his Loyalist Shadows, Gahlran, the Sorrow-Bearer, was given a Hive artifact called the Crown of Sorrow in an attempt to control the Hive, but instead triggered a trap laid by Savathûn, causing Gahlran to fall under her control; as a result, the Leviathan has been overrun by the Hive. Wanting the Leviathan cleansed of the Hive infestation, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Calus make their way into the vessel's treasure vaults deep within the Menagerie and confront Gahlran. With the aid of Savathûn's magics, the Guardians slay the mad Shadow, rendering the Crown of Sorrow inert. Calus rewards the Guardians with treasure and formally makes them his Shadows.

Sometime after the defeat of Gahlran, Calus invites the Guardian to travel to the Leviathan, where the Emperor has erected a tribute hall onboard the vessel to celebrate the Guardian and their legacy. At first the hall is empty but Calus advises the Guardian to complete tasks across the solar system to earn golden tribute statues for the hall. After the Guardian fills the hall with some tributes, a portal to the Ascendant Realm appears in the middle of the hall, indicating that the Leviathan was pulled partially into the Ascendant Realm as a result of the Crown of Sorrow's influence. The Guardian ventures into the Ascendant Realm and defeats both Taken originating from the Hellmouth on Earth's moon and Calus's Loyalists deep within. After surviving the onslaught, the Guardian escapes the Ascendant Realm and returns to the tribute hall, where a display case below the Ascendant portal unlocks and rewards the Guardian with the exotic weapon Bad Juju.

Shadowkeep

The Guardian is summoned to the Moon by Commander Zavala in response to a disturbance originating from a massive citadel erected by the Hive near the Hellmouth called the Scarlet Keep. As the Guardian makes their way to the keep, Ikora Rey contacts the Guardian and reveals that the disturbance was caused by Eris Morn, and asks them to find her. The Guardian enters the Scarlet Keep and descends to the caverns below in search for Eris. They eventually discover a derelict alien vessel called the Pyramid (which was teased in the final cutscene of the base game), which Eris had discovered and accidentally activated. The Guardian tries to approach the Pyramid but is pushed back by a barrier emitted by the structure. The Guardian is then suddenly attacked by a Nightmare of Crota, Son of Oryx, and an army of Hive; it is soon joined by the Nightmares of Dominus Ghaul and Fikrul, the Fanatic, and they begin to overwhelm the Guardian. Eris then contacts the Guardian and teleports them away to safety.

The Guardian is teleported to a balcony overlooking the Pyramid, where Eris is looking over the massive structure, with a phantom of a fallen Guardian floating behind her. Eris explains that the Pyramid is a remnant of the Darkness that may have been struck down by the Traveler, and asks for the Guardian's help in finding a way inside the structure in hopes of finding something that would help prevent a second Collapse. As the Guardian investigates on how to enter the Pyramid, Eris reveals that the Hive living on the Moon have lived next to the Pyramid for eons due to its connection with the Darkness and they had constructed the Scarlet Keep above it as a result. The Guardian and Ghost discover that the Hive had exploited the Darkness originating from the vessel in order to command the Nightmares, created by the Darkness from the Pyramid which are manifested by the traumas of the Guardians' past; these Nightmares have begun appearing across the Moon and throughout the solar system. The Guardian then gives Eris a Nightmare essence from when they first fought the Nightmare of Crota, with which Eris forges a piece of armor that would help the Guardian bypass the Pyramid's barrier and enter the vessel. Eris then instructs the Guardian to defeat the Nightmare of Omnigul, Will of Crota, in order to collect more Nightmare essence, to which the Guardian does.

After defeating the Nightmare of Omnigul and extracting its essence, Eris forges another piece of armor for the Guardian. She then instructs the Guardian to investigate the Scarlet Keep and its tower in hopes of finding more information from the Hive in order to forge more armor. The Guardian makes their way into the keep and finds Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota, who was responsible for constructing the Scarlet Keep and is seeking revenge against the Guardian for the death of her father. The Guardian chases after Hashladûn into the keep and confronts her at the top of its tower. After defeating Hashladûn, the Guardian retrieves a Hive tablet that reveals the location of a powerful Hive artifact known as the Cryptoglyph, which the Daughters of Crota have been using to protect themselves from the Pyramid's power and command the Nightmares, and its powers could be used to harness Nightmare essence and craft more armor. Eris then sends the Guardian to the bottom of the Hellmouth in order to retrieve the Cryptoglyph. The Guardian finds the Cryptoglyph near the bottom of the Pyramid, and escapes with the artifact after defeating Besurith, Daughter of Crota, and her Hive forces who were guarding it.

The Guardian returns to Eris with the Cryptoglyph, and uses it to empower Eris's Lectern of Enchantment in order to forge more armor needed to infiltrate the Pyramid. It is shown that more phantoms of deceased Guardians have appeared before Eris while the Guardian was fulfilling tasks for her; Eris reveals that said phantoms are those of her former fireteam who previously took on Crota prior to the events of the first game. The Guardian then meets with Ikora Rey on the balcony overlooking the Pyramid; Ikora had traveled to the Moon to see the alien vessel with her own eyes, wondering how long it had been there for. Eris then appears before Ikora and the Guardian, with the phantoms of her former fireteam following her, stating the Pyramid has been there for "much too long". Ikora expresses that she could not help but feel responsible for Eris's predicament, but Eris retorts that her fate is her own responsibility and that she and Guardian know that Ikora did not come to apologize. Ikora replies that Eris was right about what she had discovered, and that the Darkness is indeed returning, mentioning that the Vanguard is available at her disposal. Eris then tries to repel away the phantoms surrounding her, telling them to "save your torment for someone who gives a damn". Eris then leaves Ikora behind with the Guardian in tow, stating that they have work to do.

The Guardian continues to gather Nightmare essence to create more armor needed to infiltrate the Pyramid. After defeating and extracting the essences of the Nightmares of Skolas, Kell of Kells; Taniks, the Scarred; and Phogoth, the Untamed, the Guardian constructs new pieces of armor with the help of the Hive Cryptoglyph and the Lectern of Enchantment. After completing the full armor set and equipping it, the Guardian descends beneath the Scarlet Keep to the Pyramid, and finally manages to bypass its barrier. Ghost all of a sudden becomes possessed by the Darkness originating from the Pyramid as the Guardian is being drawn into the vessel. The Guardian makes their way through the Pyramid, defeating the Nightmares of Ghaul, the Fanatic, and Crota along the way; the Darkness also taunts the Guardian through Ghost, claiming that there is only weakness and death through the Light, and that the Light had failed humanity and the Guardians during the Red War, the murder of Cayde-6, as well as the Great Disaster (an event prior to the first game that saw thousands of Guardians slain by Crota on the Moon). The Guardian then arrives at an altar where an unknown artifact is presented to them, with the Darkness declaring that "respite lies ahead". Upon touching the artifact, the Guardian is subjected to a vision from within the Black Garden on Mars, with a fleet of Pyramid vessels floating in the sky behind them. The Guardian then encounters the Darkness itself, taking on the form of the Guardian, who states they had "made it" and that they "heard your cries for help", and they would answer soon. The Guardian asks who they are, and the Darkness ominously replies that they are neither friend nor foe, but instead their "salvation".

Upon returning to the surface of the Moon, the Guardian gives Eris the artifact for her to study, and reports what they had encountered inside the Pyramid to the Vanguard in the Tower. Utterly suspicious of what the Darkness spoke to be their salvation, both Eris and the Vanguard conclude that the Darkness is preparing for its return, with a threat of a second Collapse soon to be imminent. As the Guardian continues to work with Eris and the Vanguard to combat the lingering Nightmare threat on the Moon and across the solar system caused by the Pyramid, Eris contacts the Guardian once again and reveals that the artifact began emitting a signal that leads to the Black Garden. Despite Eris's fears that the Darkness is leading them into a trap, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Eris invades the Black Garden through a newly discovered Vex portal beneath the lunar surface near the Scarlet Keep to follow the signal to its source. The Guardians make their way through, tracing the artifact's signal while evading the Consecrated Mind, Sol Inherent, which they eventually destroy. They eventually discover another Pyramid-like vessel in the Black Garden's central mesa, guarded by the Sanctified Mind, Sol Inherent. They destroy the Sanctified Mind and enter the vessel, leading them to another altar similar to the one in the Pyramid, where the artifact's signal ends. The Guardian then returns to Eris, who states that the discovery of a second Pyramid-like remnant of the Darkness in the Black Garden enabled the artifact to receive messages directly from the Darkness itself. Eris dismisses these messages as attempts at manipulation, and warns the Guardian to not be swayed by whatever the artifact communicates to them.

Sometime after the invasion of the Black Garden, Eris contacts the Guardian once again, who reveals that the remaining Daughters of Crota, Voshyr and Kinox, have begun performing strange Hive rituals involving sacrificing Nightmares at the Scarlet Keep; Eris believes that the Daughters are attempting through these rituals to harvest the Nightmares' essences for purposes unknown. The Guardian heads to the Scarlet Keep and disrupts the ongoing rituals by killing several Nightmares before they can be sacrificed. Eris then instructs the Guardian to head to the Pit of Heresy, located in the depths of the Scarlet Keep, to investigate further. A fireteam of Guardians enter the Pit of Heresy, where they fight their way through and find Zulmak, Instrument of Torment, a powerful Hive warrior who was resurrected by the Daughters of Crota and empowered by the Darkness harvested from the Nightmares. The Guardians defeat Zulmak and return to Eris afterwards, who states that the Daughters have become more dangerous than ever as they had violated the Sword Logic (the religious dogma of the Hive where only the strong survive through death and sacrifice) by resurrecting Zulmak. Eris fears that the Daughters will attempt to resurrect Zulmak again, and she advises the Guardian to remain vigilant.

Season of the Undying

While the Guardian fireteam assembled by Eris Morn invades the Black Garden tracing the unknown artifact's signal, meanwhile, out of nowhere, Vex invasion portals suddenly appear on the Moon, sending forth waves upon waves of Vex from the Black Garden. The Guardian is summoned by Ikora Rey to the Tower, stating that armies of Vex have begun invading the Moon en masse from the Black Garden in response to the Guardian fireteam's presence there. Ikora sends the Guardian to the Moon to fend off the Vex and close the invasion portals. The Guardian then speaks to Eris, who has discovered a way into their staging grounds in the Black Garden. The Guardian heads to the Black Garden and hacks the Vex gate network, hoping to slow down the Vex invasion on the Moon. After doing so, the Guardian returns to Ikora, who reveals to them that the Vex have resurrected the Undying Mind (which was the boss of its namesake strike from The Dark Below), and that its primary directive is to take control of the Black Garden, moving in between thousands of timelines and learning from its past mistakes. If left standing, however, the Undying Mind could use its secondary directive to attack humanity and destroy the Traveler. Ikora advises the Guardian to continue assisting in fending off and preventing further Vex incursions on the Moon and slowing down their mobilizations in the Black Garden while she devises a plan to find the Undying Mind and end the invasion once and for all.

Paradox

The Guardian and Zavala travel to Auradon, where they aid Ben, Mal's friends, Petra Venj, and the Spider in detaining Zevon back to the Isle of the Lost. However, during the assault, including an encounter against the Nightmare of Riksis, Devil Archon, they discover that Kazuto and Asuna had broken into the museum and acquired the Golden Cobra and the Birthright Jewels with help from Mal. The three members of the Core Four, the AKs, and Zavala go to try and stop them, only for them to be attacked by the Shadowkeepers, whom Kazuto helped destroy Evie's Magic Mirror with the help of the Baron Pirrha (The Rifleman) and incinerate Zavala's Ghost with a Scorn pistol, and for Evie to be severely wounded by Zevon and fellow Baron Reksis Vahn (The Hangman). The Guardian and the others attempt to rescue Zavala, but Zavala throws a Teleportation Grenade at them before Kazuto murders him with the Origin Story Auto Rifle before fleeing with the Answering Chord Auto Rifle; as Zavala's Ghost was destroyed, he is unable to be revived. Shortly after the encounter, Mal helped the Shadowkeepers turn the remaining Auradon Prep students into the Ghosts of Nagasaki and remake Auradon in their own images. At the same time, Ghost heals the Guardian and they meet up with Petra, who helps them try to evacuate the Auradonians, only to discover that the Nightmares of Omnigul, Will of Crota and Phogoth, the Untamed have been revived. Just when the Nightmares are about to massacre the civilians, Alice Liddell and the Cheshire Cat (from American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns) brutally kill them and help the Guardian defeat the Jabberwock (from American McGee's Alice) and the Vex. After the Jabberwock is defeated, the Guardian is teleported into a jumpship by Alice, having realized that the Spider was right about how the Shadowkeepers had been planning for Mal to become evil.

The Guardian takes Zavala's body back to Felwinter Peak, along with the bodies of Evie, Freddie, and the other Auradon Prep students, where Ikora Rey, Lord Saladin, and Osiris hold a funeral for the fallen Vanguard and the people of Auradon. Meanwhile, Ursula's daughter Uma, Captain Hook's son Harry, and Gaston's son Gil encounter Vali Lucifer (from High School DxD), who tells them that there would be a time for them to meet the Guardian. Back at the Tower, Cayde-6 began having nightmares about Mal turning evil and freeing the villains from the Isle of the Lost, along with Maleficent, who turns into a duplicate version of Mal and tells her that she has freed them all. When Ikora hears about them, she replies that she would try to cure him of those nightmares and relieves him of his duties.

Eight years later, upon arriving at the Tower, the Guardian finds out that Lucy Heartfilia (from Fairy Tail) has become the new Speaker, with Luther Hargreeves (from the Umbrella Academy) working as the new Vanguard Commander, Shiro-4 filling in for Cayde-6, and Glynda Goodwitch (from RWBY), Kakashi Hatake (from Naruto Shippuden), and Jotaro Kujo (from JoJo's Bizzare Adventure) working alongside the Vanguard. Ikora speaks with the Guardian about the Twilight Gap, telling the Guardian that the time has come for Cayde-6 to return to the Vanguard, but in order to hunt down Kazuto, the Guardians would need to acquire new powers. The Guardian is then sent to obtain a new power to combat this new enemy: Titans are sent to the Moon to find a rogue clan of Titans known as the Stormwakers and Meisters must find a guild of Meisters known as the Ghoulkillers on Mercury; Warlocks must perform a Shadowdancer ritual within a lightning storm on Io while Shinobis must call upon the powers of Kurama and his group of Medics on the European Dead Zone; Hunters must find Shiro's old friend named Lush, a Cursebreaker Hunter, in the Dreaming City and Huntresses are sent to Mars to retrieve the Sanctum crystal. After acquiring a new power and defeating the Nightmare of Mard Geer, the Guardian travels to the Twilight Gap. With help from Petra and Sagira, the Guardian finds Cayde-6 and does battle with an evil version of Audrey (from Descendants 3), known as the Remnant of Audrey's Past, and Sera, Cascade of the Archangel.

Elsewhere, back at the Twilight Gap, the Guardian, Petra, and Cayde-6 encounter Kirigamine Tougorou, Cayde's old friend and a vigilante from the future who calls himself the Outbreak Swordsman. He explained how he met Cayde in Auradon and how they helped Mal and her friends defeat Zevon in what Cayde called a "Supa Hot Fire-style Time Heist loop." Upon hearing this, Petra suggests that this could help them save Auradon and they attempt to activate the loop, but they are suddenly interrupted by Ada-1, who dissuades them from trying to activate the loop, stating that "if you want to change the timeline without leaving behind a single trace of your doings, Vali may be your best chance." By the time they began to understand what she meant, Cayde suddenly becomes incapacitated. The Guardian brings Cayde back to the Tower, where Ikora confirms that "his brain can't handle various memories from the old timeline," but Cayde replies that he'll be fine. Ikora tells the Guardian that "there is a place called the Mugunghwa Garden and Cayde'll be safe there."

Upon entering the Mugunghwa Garden, the Guardian speaks with Cayde, who gives the Guardian the Ace of Spades Hand Cannon and the Queen of Hearts Jumpship, and establishes an alliance with Kirigamine. The Guardian then meets with Luther, who reveals that following the fall of Auradon, an abandoned gateway to the Dimensional Gap had reopened and that the Cabal living on the Leviathan have been working alongside Vali's agents for eons due to their connection with the Almighty's power source and that they had helped build a hideout for the Auradonian survivors, and Shiro, who explains that the Vanguard's recent encounters in Auradon had merged the Guardian's world with other multiverses and asks for the Guardian's help in tracking down the Shadowkeepers who helped kill Zavala.

With help from Ladybug and Cat Noir (from Miraculous), the Guardian and Ikora set out to find out what Vali knows about the timeline, leading them to Elseworlds, a lawless wasteland in the Dimensional Gap. After a confrontation with Alex Russo, Negation of Phoenixaro (from The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex); Neo-Dominic, Vengeance of Phoenixaro (from The Wizard Returns: Alex vs. Alex); Phoenixaro, and the resurrected Scorn of the Fanatic, the Guardian is contacted by Uma, who introduces them to Vali, the leader of a Lost Pearl crime syndicate, and establishes an alliance. With assistance from Lila Rossi/Volpina (from Miraculous), they learn that long ago, the Ghosts of Nagasaki were dispatched to the Milky Way in response to a distress call sent during the Red War a few years prior, and that Phoenixaro possesses a superweapon known as the Shadowdrifter, a space station capable of destroying stars and corrupting unsuspecting wanderers. Resistance to Shadowkeeper rule has resulted in entire star systems and Auradonian inhabitants being destroyed. The intelligence also reveals that the Shadowdrifter is positioned near Auradon City, breaking up the Titan Crystal (from Attack on Titan) as fuel. With help from Vali and Uma, the Guardian sets out to save Mal and eliminate the seventeen Shadowkeepers, one by one.

Luther then sends the Guardian to Londerland to search for a Rift Zone to infiltrate Auradon with. He convinces the Tower's shipwright, Amanda Holliday, to attach the stealth drive to the Drifter's ship, as it has the scent of the Taken from his many years spent expanding his scams. The Guardian uses Drifter's modified ship to attempt to infiltrate Auradon, but is spotted by Alice. Alice activates her main weapon, the Vorpal Blade, destroying Drifter's ship. Narrowly escaping death by teleporting out of the ship and onto a chasm, the Guardian and Ghost establish an alliance with Alice after convincing her that they can help her avenge her daughter Ally's death. The Guardian also discovers that the Fallen and their leader known as the Scarlet Mindbreaker have also launched various attacks on Londerland and plan to usurp the Queen of Hearts's throne. After defeating the Scarlet Mindbreaker, the Guardian learns from Alice that in order to reach Auradon, the Guardian must steal what remains of her family's murderer Dr. Bumby's soul from his tomb on the Infinite Forest so that Calus and Orin (Emissary of the Nine) can reactivate a portal on the Unknown Space. The Guardian is able to get cloaking tech from the Warmind Rasputin to sneak into Dr. Bumby's tomb, and successfully recovers Dr. Bumby's soul with help from Calus when the Guardian suddenly see a reflection of Mal, who states that she's in danger and that the Guardian needs to rescue her. But, by the time the Guardian understood her message, the cloaking tech fails. The Guardian tries to escape the Infinite Forest but is pushed back by a barrier emitted by the structure; the Guardian is then suddenly attacked by the Nightmares of Golgoroth, Warpriest, and Crota, Son of Oryx, and an army of Hive; they are soon joined by Gunmar and Angor Rot (from Trollhunters), Val Morando (from 3Below), Gonnard the Great (from Wakfu), Zorp the Surveyor (from Parks and Recreation), Springtrap (from Five Nights at Freddy's 3), Nightmare (from Five Nights at Freddy's 4), Ennard (from Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location), and the Nightmares of Skolas, Kell of Kells; Taniks, the Scarred; Panoptes, Infinite Mind; Alak-Hul, the Darkblade; Atheon, Time's Conflux; Zydron, Gate Lord; Aksis, Archon Prime; Vosik, the Archpriest; Kovik, Splicer Priest; Oryx, the Taken King; Malok, Pride of Oryx; Sylok, the Defiled; Keksis, the Betrayed; Nixis, Hunger of Oryx; Noru'usk, Servant of Oryx; the Seditious Mind, the Undying Mind, and Dominus Ghaul, and they begin to overwhelm the Guardian. Orin then contacts the Guardian and teleports them away to safety, replying that the Nightmares have become immortal and are growing even stronger and that the Guardian must find Eris and neutralize Kazuto's powers.

After arriving at the Tower, the Guardian meets with the Drifter, who agrees to help the Guardian find Eris, despite being upset that Luther sabotaged his ship. With the guidance of Ikora and Kakashi, the Guardian is summoned to the Moon by Mara Sov in response to a disturbance originating from a massive citadel erected by the Hive near the Hellmouth called the Scarlet Keep. As the Guardian storms the citadel, Drifter contacts the Guardian and reveals that the disturbance was caused by Anna Blue, and asks them to find her. As the Guardian finds Anna in the caverns deep below the lunar surface, they discover a derelict alien vessel called Sanctuary II, Thanos's warship that Anna had discovered and accidentally activated. After establishing an alliance with Anna, the Guardian and Ghost venture deeper into Sanctuary II and learn that following the Shadowkeepers' invasion on Auradon, various anti-matter waves have reappeared and begun consuming many multiverses, killing heroes including Barry Allen (from The Flash), Oliver Queen (from Arrow), Kara Danvers (from Supergirl), and many other people. While exploring the terrains of Sanctuary II, Eris contacts the Guardian, explaining that she recruited Anna and asked for her help in exposing Sanctuary II in order to recreate the Silent Scream, an ancient weapon capable of harnessing multiple Light and Dark energies and that "evil itself had begun creating new talismans for the villains and helping the Fallen Splicers craft a path to the Ascendant Realm, and Silent Scream was the only way to weaken and destroy the energies of the evil talismans." Ghost ponders why the Fallen Splicers are there, to which they soon discover that the Fallen Splicers are being led by an evil doppelgänger of Gumball Watterson (from The Amazing World of Gumball) named Dodgeball Dickson and a vampire doppelgänger of Candace Flynn (first appeared in The Curse of Candace, from Phineas and Ferb), two of the members of Akatsuki, an organization thought to be long dead. This confirmed Kakashi's fears: SIVA had been reawakened by the Fallen and revived Candace and Dodgeball. After encountering Candace Flynn, Vortex of Phoenixaro and Dodgeball Dickson, Simulation of Phoenixaro, the Guardian and Ghost secure the Silent Scream and discover that the Fallen Splicers had helped Phoenixaro exploit the Darkness originating from the vessel in order to command the Reborn Army, which are manifested by the traumas of the Guardians' past and the evil desires of the forgotten souls generated by the Darkness; these Reborn have begun appearing across the Moon and throughout the solar system. There, it is learned that the Reborn have been utilizing SIVA and Taken powers to augment themselves and become more powerful. As the Guardian approaches the Scarlet Keep, an unknown artifact is presented to the Guardian, with the Darkness declaring that "respite lies ahead."

The Guardian, Ikora, and Kakashi return to Eris, who is looking at the Shard of the Traveler. It is shown that more phantoms of deceased Guardians have appeared before Eris while the Guardian was fulfilling tasks for her; Eris reveals that the phantoms floating before her are those of both her former fireteam who previously took on Crota prior to the events of The Dark Below and the deceased Auradonians. Kakashi gives Naruto's headband to Eris, stating that although he believed Sasuke was responsible for the deaths of Naruto and Sakura, he knew "what happened to Auradon eight years ago told me otherwise." By this time, Eris opens a door to a dark room, explaining that "there's something I must show you." The Guardian then follows Kakashi, Eris, and Ikora Rey on the balcony above the Pyramid; Ghost had looked at the archives that Eris had been collecting in the Hellmouth, asking how long she had been salvaging the archives. Eris then replies that the archives have been there for "much too long," stating that before the Traveler first existed, there were various groups of people who wielded the powers of both the Light and the Darkness. Ikora replies that "up until now, we thought the Vanguard destroyed the archives." Eris then explains that there was only one archive that the Vanguard didn't really destroy - one that King Beast failed to mention. The Guardian and Ghost discover that long ago, King Beast and Belle had a child named Blaine, who was supposed to become heir to Beast's throne, but became corrupted by Maleficent, whom he allied with in an attempt to assassinate Beast and Belle and rule Auradon, which would've succeeded if Beast and his army hadn't killed Blaine and imprisoned Maleficent and her minions aboard the Isle of the Lost. As Eris explains how the Darkness found its way into Auradon, Ikora sees a crystal; when she touches it, it replays a specific recording titled "Mallory," showing that before the two unknown Guardians died, they placed Mal's birthright jewel necklace on the little girl's neck, replying to her that "one day, you will continue our legacy, Mal." Some time later, as Maleficent was about to kill the baby, the blue-haired villain, known as Hades (from Descendants 3/Hercules), shows up and attacks Maleficent's followers before stabbing Maleficent in the heart with her own staff; after taking Mal to his home, he promises her that "Daddy will protect you, no matter what happens." Meanwhile, Kakashi learns from Eris that Kazuto was recruited by Evangelion, "an evil being of infinite powers who once fired a single rocket from the Deathbringer that conjured a terrible fire and razed the Boone Bread Factory, claiming the lives of eleven Pawnee civilians, and has recruited various dark agents to carry out his orders to awaken the Darkness." Eris then leaves Ikora and Kakashi behind with the Guardian in tow. Ikora tries to tell Eris about what she saw in the crystal, but Eris interrupts her, stating that they have work to do.

Back at the Moon, Eris explains to the Guardian that Mal is, in fact, the daughter of Hendrick Yor and Kaguya Narusaka, the two rogue Guardians who, before being killed by Maleficent, created Mal's birthright jewel (also known as the Crystal of Memory), attaching it to her necklace in the hopes that she would continue their legacy, and helped forge the other nineteen crystals of various Dark energies: Manipulation, Speed, Precision, Resurrection, Corruption, Destruction, Illusion, Supremacy, Crime, Darkness, Sorcery, Immortality, Redemption, Pain, Revenge, Ambition, Desire, Fury, and Wrath, stating that these crystals, including Memory, a crystal that gave Mal back her dark powers (first mentioned in Pair of Sneakers, from Descendants: Wicked World), helped decimate Auradon and reawakened the Plaguelands, the Vault of Glass, the Dreadnaught, and the Almighty with the powers of the four talismans: the Fruit of Venom, the Golden Cobra, the Ring of Envy, and the Dragon's Egg. She then instructs the Guardian to find all four talismans and purify them in order that she can create a passage into Phoenixaro's ship, the Shadowdrifter, before giving the Guardian the Silent Scream, an Exotic Scout Rifle that once belonged to Anna's old friend Damien Dawn, to which the Guardian does.

After defeating various enemies, including Midnight Sparkle (from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls: Friendship Games), Sinister Mouse (from Danger Mouse), Ak (from Dinosaur Adventure), Goldenface (from The Office: Threat Level Midnight), Janet Snakehole (from Parks and Recreation), the Bad Seven (from Ultraheroes), Cerebrum (from Daybreak Illusion), and the Nightmares of Nokris, Herald of Xol and Valus Ta'aurc, and purifying the four talismans with help from Dr. Facilier's daughter Celia (from Descendants 3), the Guardian infiltrates the Shadowdrifter and is able to pass through the Mindscape, and after fighting Phoenixaro's guards, including Dark Zexal, Infection of Phoenixaro (from Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal); Sardok-Hul, Wicked Darkblade; Kah'run, Hand of Phoenixaro; Rhandoliks, Eye of Phoenixaro; Mary Hughes, Shadow of Phoenixaro (from Fairy Tail); Jacob Two-Two, Likeness of Phoenixaro (from Jacob Two-Two); Leo, Eclipse of Phoenixaro (from Fairy Tail); and the Echo of Phoenixaro, the Guardian reaches a gateway into the Isle of the Lost, where they meet with Jay, Carlos, and the other people who have apparently survived the takeover. Jay explains that during those eight years, they have been recruiting many survivors to help support their cause and create a new Resistance in which they can fight back against the Shadowkeepers and free Mal from the curse. Ikora replies that what the Vanguard's doing will be enough to avenge their friends' deaths, but Carlos interrupts her, stating that Auradon has turned into a living hell, moments away from bringing the Shadowkeepers' armies closer to the Traveler. However, Ghost assures Carlos that "we'll save Mal."

While exploring the Isle of the Lost, the Guardian defeats the Nightmare of Sepiks Prime with help from All Might (from My Hero Academia), who informs the Guardian that before King Beast died, he disabled the barrier, ensuring that the Vanguard would find their way into Auradon. As they move deeper into the Dragon Hall, the Guardian defeats Pakura, Fury of Phoenixaro (from Naruto Shippuden) and Pitch Black, Bogeyman of Phoenixaro (from Rise of the Guardians) with help from Lord Saladin, who learns from the recordings of Ulan-Tan about how despite many claims that Mal would revert to her evil self and destroy the barrier, Auradon was the one who betrayed Mal, while Shiro-4 learns from Toland, the Shattered that Ben never really loved Mal, but was rather using her in order to destroy the barrier, turn Evie against Mal, and free Maleficent, so that Maleficent could free various villains including Dr. Doofenshmirtz (from Phineas and Ferb), Hacker (from Cyberchase), Dark Truder (from Zula Patrol), Comte de Gonzague (from Le Bossu), Baron von Cavitus (from 3-2-1 Penguins!), the Trickster (from Thief: The Dark Project), Rallah (from Samson), and other forgotten villains from the depths of hell in order to kill Mal - an aberration that would've led to an early decimation of the Traveler - and that Kazuto brainwashed Mal into killing Maleficent in order to prevent that aberration from ever existing.

After acquiring the Scepter of Light, the Guardian, with help from Ikora and Shiro-4, does battle with an evil doppelgänger of Sachi (from Sword Art Online), known as Dark Sachi, and walks into a portal that leads to various simulations before heading into Rath, where Ikora realizes that "the Kazuto who destroyed Auradon, reunited with Asuna, and gave Mal a future that Maleficent never gave her was, in fact, his character Kirito, but he isn't the Kazuto we know," confirming that the boy she was looking at is the real Kazuto Kirigaya, who's been comatose due to a fluctlight damage following the attack on Rath and made a deal with Evangelion in which he was willing to turn evil in exchange for getting his memories, senses, and Asuna back; since then, he and Asuna "established an alliance with Lysander and the Concordat, Shuriki, Victor Delgado and his daughter Carla, Xol and his Hive army, Lord Dragaunus and Wraith, Negaduck and the Fearsome Five, and the House of Devils, all of whom helped them kill various people," including Milo Murphy and his friends (from Milo Murphy's Law), Phineas, Ferb, their friends, Agent Perry the Platypus, and Major Francis Monogram (from Phineas and Ferb), Elena and Isabel's parents (from Elena of Avalor), Agent WD-40 Dick Steele (from Spy Hard), and Simon Templar (from The Saint), making them more hated by the civilians, forcing Zavala to reunite the Laughing Coffin members, reassemble the Integrity Knights, and summon them to Japan to launch a city-wide massacre that claimed the lives of Kazuto and Asuna's friends, including Klein, Kazuto's sister Suguha, Agil, Silica, Lisbeth, Alice Zuberg, and Sinon, which led them to believe that Zavala was a liar, a coward, and a murderer. Osiris then approaches Ikora, replying that it wasn't her fault and that the Vanguard didn't know what Zavala did. The Guardian then tells Ikora that "Kazuto may have done those things, but I know that there is still some good in him."

When the Guardian arrives at Hades's underground lair, Hades explains that he knew that Maleficent wasn't really Mal's mother, revealing that Mal's been under his care ever since he saved her from Maleficent's cruel deeds and that he alone knew about Hendrick and Kaguya's works from the Golden Age, replying that "if they were still alive, they'd say that I was right to save Mal by beating up Maleficent" and that "even though King Beast did disable the barrier, Auradon is still infected by Zevon's magic, making it impossible for any sane person to storm the city." The Guardian then gives Hades a Spliced Nightmare essence from when they first fought Dark Sachi, with which Hades forges a piece of armor that would help the Guardian bypass Auradon's barrier and enter Auradon Prep. He then instructs the Guardian to go to the Wizard World on the Cosmodrome and hunt down the four remaining Akatsuki members - Candace Flynn, Dodgeball Dickson, Alex Russo, and Neo-Dominic - in order to collect more Spliced Nightmare essence, to which the Guardian does.

After defeating Candace Flynn and Dodgeball Dickson in a simulation of Danville and Alex Russo and Neo-Dominic in a simulation of New York and extracting their essence, Hades forges another piece of armor for the Guardian. He then instructs the Guardian to investigate the Isle of the Doomed and its tower in hopes of finding more information from the Fallen Splicers in order to forge more armor to bypass Auradon's barrier. The Guardian makes their way into the Isle and finds the Nightmare of Hashladûn, Daughter of Crota, who was responsible for constructing the Scarlet Keep above the Pyramid to harness its power and the Nightmares and to enact her revenge against the Guardian for the death of her father. The Guardian chases after the Nightmare of Hashladûn into the Isle and confronts her at the top of its tower. After defeating the Nightmare of Hashladûn, the Guardian retrieves a Hive tablet that reveals the location of a powerful Scorn artifact known as the Shadowkeeper Cryptoglyph, which the Daughters of Crota and the Fallen Splicers have been using to protect themselves from and command the Spliced Nightmares, and its powers could be used to craft more armor. Hades then sends the Guardian to the bottom of the Shadow Complex in order to retrieve the Shadowkeeper Cryptoglyph. The Guardian finds the Shadowkeeper Cryptoglyph near the bottom of the Tomb Ship, and escapes with the artifact after defeating the Nightmare of Besurith, Daughter of Crota, and her Hive and Fallen forces who were guarding it.

At the same time, Celia tracks the cracks of magic in the underground tunnel. Realizing that the presence of magic, though minimal, will allow her to use it, Celia uses her tarot cards to predict the Guardian's future; there's a great chance that the Last City will be attacked by the Darkness. Celia realizes that there's a great threat to having even a small amount of magic leak into the barrier, as the Darkness can slowly siphon it off until it has enough to destroy the Traveler. Celia calls upon her own shadow, her own friend on the other side, commanding it to cover all the cracks letting magic into the barrier. Unbeknownst to her, however, a mysterious figure grabs the fragment before sending a message to Calus, proclaiming that "the end is coming." The Guardian returns to Hades with the Shadowkeeper Cryptoglyph, and uses it to empower Hades's Lectern of Embers in order to forge more armor needed to infiltrate Auradon.

The Guardian continues to gather Spliced Nightmare essence to create more armor needed to infiltrate Auradon. After defeating and extracting the essences of all of the dark forces, led by the Nightmares of Omnigul, Will of Crota; Skolas, Kell of Kells; Taniks, the Scarred; and Phogoth, the Untamed, along with the Ghoulies and Animatronics, the Guardian constructs new pieces of armor with the help of the Shadowkeeper Cryptoglyph and the Lectern of Embers. After completing the full armor set and equipping it, the Guardian descends beneath the Isle of the Doomed to the Altar of Nagasaki, and manages to bypass its barrier. Ghost all of a sudden becomes possessed by the Darkness originating from the Altar of Nagasaki as the Guardian finds a way inside. Upon being drawn into the Altar of Nagasaki, the Darkness taunts the Guardian through Ghost, claiming that there is only weakness and death through the Light, and that the Light had failed humanity and the Guardians during the Red War, the murder of Cayde-6, as well as the Great Disaster (an event prior to the first game that saw thousands of Guardians slain by Crota on the Moon).

The Guardian enters the Mindscape of the Tangled Shore and eliminates the Echoes of six of the eight Barons. They destroy the Echo of Hiraks (The Mindbender) and his Hive throne world; stop the Echo of Araskes (The Trickster) and her plan to sabotage engrams for the Tower; prevent the Echo of Kaniks (The Mad Bomber) from blowing up the Tangled Shore; kill the Echo of Yaviks (The Rider) and her gang; and then eliminate the aforementioned Echoes of Reksis Vahn and Pirrha. Following the death of the Echo of the sixth Baron, the Guardian is contacted by Petra, who informs them that Sasuke is headed for the Hidden Leaf Watchtower in the Infinite Forest. After defeating the Echo of the seventh Baron, Elykris (The Machinist), the Guardian, aided by Vali and Spider's crime syndicates and Petra, assaults the Hidden Leaf Watchtower, only to be teleported by Sasuke to a flashback simulation of Auradon Prep, where the Guardian, aided by the Reflections of Jane, Freddie, Jay, and Carlos, does battle with Zevon, Captain Hook's daughter CJ, and their armies of Fallen. During battle, Zevon reveals that when Mal came to the Isle of the Lost to find her Birthright Jewel, she disabled the magical dome for a few seconds. This gave Zevon the chance he needed to slip out while the dome was opened. He swam for most of the way to Auradon and then got a ride in a rowboat from CJ Hook, who suddenly swings into the scene. She is helping Zevon in his plot to take over Auradon in exchange for a full fifty foot schooner. At first Carlos does not believe it, but soon sees that Zevon is not kidding when he expresses his desire to fulfill his family's destiny in ruling an Empire.

Jay, Carlos, Jane, and Freddie try to apprehend Zevon, but end up being put under spells that make them walk backwards and spin like spinning tops. Zevon has created a selection of potions using the chemicals he stole from the school's chemistry lab. Then after taking a joyful moment to admire Jay, Carlos, Jane and Freddie's predicament, Zevon shrunk them down and with CJ's help trapped them inside a lamp. The Guardian attempts to stop them, but is immediately teleported into the Prison of Elders by the Reflection of Uldren, who taunts the Guardian by triggering a series of traumatic events into Ghost, forcing the Guardian to relive the moments when Uldren shot Cayde, when Ghaul invaded the Last City and stripped the Guardians of their Light, and when Oryx first approached Earth. Luckily, a hooded girl reboots Ghost, forcing Uldren to retreat. She proceeds to heal the Guardian before revealing herself to be Taiyou Hinata (from Daybreak Illusion), the mother of Taiyou Akari, explaining that Evangelion's arrival was caused by a corrupt surge that resulted from the reawakening of Rasputin. She then gives the Guardian a Tarot card that she called "The Sun," telling the Guardian that they'll meet again soon.

Regrouping at the Tower, Ikora accompanies the Guardian back to Auradon, where she forces open the gateway to allow the Guardian to enter Auradon Prep. With help from the Vanguard, Eris, the Isle survivors, Cayde-6, Kirigamine, and other people, including versions of the AKs and VKs, the newly-revived Iron Lords, members of Eris's Fireteam, the Lost Pearl syndicate, Petra, Hades, Alice, and the rest of the crew, the Guardian makes their way through Auradon Prep, defeating the Shadowkeepers, their armies, Asuna, and Kirito along the way; the Guardian then arrives at an altar where an unknown artifact is presented to them, with the Darkness declaring that "despair lies ahead." Upon touching the artifact, the Guardian encounters a corrupted Mal, who has become the Scourge of Auradon, and her Hive army. The Guardian fights through Mal's simulated legions of the evil doppelgängers of Evie, Jay, and Carlos, but is unable to damage Mal alone; Mal prepares to "corrupt" the Guardian with Darkness when a Reflection of Mal herself arrives to aid the Guardian. Her reflection is able to hold Mal at bay long enough for the Guardian to weaken and then destroy Mal's darkness, freeing Mal and preventing the dark future from occurring. The Guardian and Mal emerge from the gateway, where they join Ikora in reclaiming Zavala's weapon and freeing the Shadowkeepers from their darkness before wiping their memories from them, replying to Kirito that "I know what you did for Mal, but there are other ways of saving someone. I hope that someday, you can understand that."

The Guardian then returns to the Tower, their mission complete. Ikora accesses a private Vanguard communication system and makes a few changes to Mal's timeline, permanently erasing Maleficent and reviving her biological parents, stating that she is now a Guardian and that she is now safe. She then approaches Cayde, who, before returning to the Garden, tells her about how he's been enjoying those moments while at the Tower and that "there will be a time when we would meet again," to which Ikora replies that if she ever has the chance, she'd let the Guardian know about where to find him. Cayde then releases a new network of Warsats to the edges of the Solar System and beyond, to ensure that "as long as I'm alive, never again will a threat go unseen." The game ends with a posthumous voiceover from Commander Zavala, reminding all that the Light can never be stopped. The Guardian and Ghost convene with the rest of the people at a newly-rebuilt Tower, with the Vanguard returning to their duties, Mal reuniting with her biological parents and her daughter Alina, and Aunor assuming a new post in the Drifter's old spot.

After returning to the Tower, Ikora rewards the Guardian with the Black Flame, an Exotic sword only used by Dark Flame Masters, and the Guardian becomes the first of a new generation in this legendary faction. As the civilians make preparations for reparations inside some parts of the City that were damaged during the Red War, the Guardian engages further in the Shadowkeeper Apocalypse, and is tasked by the Vanguard of the Tower, Hades's associates Jafar (played by Marwan Kenzari, from the 2019 remake of Aladdin) and Madame Medusa (played by Lisa Kudrow, from The Rescuers), and Petra and Variks of Tokyopolis, a new Reef city situated near the Vestian Outpost, to eliminate remaining Ghosts of Nagasaki threats across the Solar System.

Upon returning to the Isle of the Lost, the Guardian gives Hades the artifact for him to study, and reports what had they encountered inside the Altar of Nagasaki to Celia, Carlos, and Jay in the Core Four's hideout. Utterly suspicious of what the Darkness spoke to be their salvation, both Hades and the VKs conclude that the Darkness is preparing for its return, with a threat of a second Collapse soon to be imminent. As the Guardian continues to work with Hades, Eris, the VKs, and the Vanguard to combat the lingering Nightmare and Ghosts of Nagasaki threats across the solar system caused by the Darkness, Eris contacts the Guardian once again and reveals that the unknown artifact from the Altar of Nagasaki began emitting a signal that leads to the World Seed. They set out to repair it with Light and Dark energies, and after doing so, they meet her at the Hellmouth again. The Guardian follows her and the Drifter into the World Seed, where Eris attempts to contact Rei Ayanami (from Neon Genesis Evangelion) using an Awoken device known as the Oracle Shard. The Guardian, Drifter, and Eris repair the device and establish contact with Rei, who has been in a mysterious realm of her own creation following her confrontation with Armisael (from Neon Genesis Evangelion). She reveals to the Guardian that Shin Malphur is indeed alive and that he's in danger. After explaining that he's been secretly recruiting Guardians to his cause in preparation for what's about to come, Rei implies that if what Shin Malphur said is true, "then we could be looking at another Collapse, one that could affect other universes."

Following Kirito's defeat, a massive Taken ship called the Horizonwake appears in orbit of the Isle of the Lost, under the control of Evangelion. Despite fears that the Darkness is leading them into a trap by beckoning them to follow the signal, Eris assembles a fireteam of Guardians to enter the Chronicle Dimension and follow the signal to its source; the Guardian fireteam enters the Chronicle Dimension through a newly discovered Taken portal beneath the Horizonwake. Poppy (from Kamen Rider Ex-aid) invites Guardians to complete a series of challenges before reaching Evangelion's throne. A fireteam of Guardians complete his challenges before facing the Bugsters, Parado, Mayura, Tokyo, Mar Novu, and Evangelion himself; however, after overcoming his strange powers and defeating him, they discover that they were fighting a shadow doppelganger. The real Evangelion speaks through the machine, congratulating them for proving themselves worthy and rewarding them with treasures from his ship, while claiming that what they know is a lie and that there is a truth beyond what Zavala had told them.

Season of the Black Swordsman

While the Guardian fireteam assembled by Eris Morn, Hades, and the Vanguard invades the Chronicle Dimension, meanwhile, out of nowhere, Fallen Splicer invasion portals suddenly appear on the Dreaming City, sending forth waves upon waves of Fallen Splicers from the Plaguelands. The Guardian is summoned by Rip Hunter (from DC's Legends of Tomorrow) to Eleusinia, the Throne World of Mara Sov, where he advises the Guardian that armies of Fallen Splicers have begun invading the Dreaming City en masse from the Plaguelands in response to the Guardian fireteam's presence in the Chronicle Dimension. Rip sends the Guardian to the Dreaming City to fend off the Fallen Splicers and close the invasion portals. The Guardian then speaks to Ada-1, who has discovered a way into their staging grounds in the Plaguelands. The Guardian returns to the Plaguelands and hacks the Fallen gate network, hoping to slow down the Fallen Splicers invasion on the Dreaming City. After doing so, the Guardian returns to Ikora, who reveals to them that the Fallen Splicers have resurrected Draksis (which was the boss of its namesake story mission from Destiny), and that its primary directive is to take control of the Dreaming City, moving in between timelines and learning from its past mistakes. If left standing, however, Draksis could use its secondary directive to destroy the Traveler. Ikora advises the Guardian to continue assisting in fending off and preventing further Fallen Splicer incursions on the Plaguelands and slowing down their mobilizations in the Dreaming City while she devises a plan to find Draksis and end the invasion once and for all.

Following the Guardian's success in defeating Draksis and stopping SIVA from infecting the Dreaming City, whose corruption was caused by Riven's last wish, the Guardian continues to work with Rip, Taiyou Hinata, and the members of the Magic Guild (from Jubaku) - Eolion, Voidal, Incynara, Aquio, and Stomporr - against Scorn, Hive, Fallen Splicers, and Taken forces over the course of three weeks. On the third week of the curse, a fireteam of Guardians enter the Tomb of Eternity, the lair of Nezarec, in order to end the curse. They fight their way through and find the Echo of Nezarec and the Nightmare of Dûl Incaru, the Eternal Return, a powerful Hive Wizard and daughter of Savathûn, a Hive god and sister to Oryx. The Guardians defeat Nezarec and Dûl Incaru and seemingly end the Taken curse. However, the curse opens a gateway into the Tower of Dreams, where the Guardian is given an imperial summons by Adamaï on the orders of Oropo, a mysterious Eliotrope and the leader of a secret guild known only as The Siblings. The Guardian is invited to partake in treasure hunts across the solar system, as well as participating in the Ordeal of the Menagerie on board the Leviathan—described by Oropo as the Leviathan's oldest deck and once served as a prison for the Emperor and his Loyalist Cabal during their time in exile—and other tasks that the Emperor has created for them. After participating in the Ordeal of the Menagerie, the Guardian encounters Cayde-7 on the Tower of Dreams and is informed by Oropo that one of Calus's Loyalist Shadows, Gahlran, the Sorrow-Bearer, who was given a Hive artifact called the Crown of Sorrow in an attempt to control the Hive, but instead triggered a trap laid by Savathûn, causing Gahlran to fall under her control, has been resurrected by Quinella (from Sword Art Online: Alicization), who, according to Adamaï, plans to help him overthrow Calus and become the new Cabal Emperor; as a result, the Leviathan has been overrun by both the Hive and Taken forces. Wanting the Leviathan cleansed of the Hive and Taken infestation, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Calus make their way into the vessel's treasure vaults deep within the Descendant Realm and confront Gahlran. With the aid of Savathûn's magics, the Guardians slay Quinella and the mad Shadow, rendering the Crown of Sorrow inert. Calus rewards the Guardians with treasure and formally makes them his Shadows.

Sometime after the defeats of Gahlran and Quinella, on Calus's orders, Oropo invites the Guardian to travel to the Leviathan, where the Emperor has erected a tribute hall onboard the vessel to celebrate the Guardian and their legacy. At first the hall is empty but Oropo advises the Guardian to complete tasks across the solar system to earn golden tribute statues for the hall. After the Guardian fills the hall with some tributes, a portal to the Ascendant Realm appears in the middle of the hall, indicating that the Leviathan was pulled partially into the Ascendant Realm as a result of the Crown of Sorrow's influence. The Guardian ventures into the Ascendant Realm and defeats both Taken originating from the Hellmouth on Earth's moon and Medusa Gorgon's allies deep within. After surviving the onslaught, the Guardian escapes the Ascendant Realm and returns to the tribute hall, where a display case below the Ascendant portal unlocks and rewards the Guardian with the exotic weapons Touch of Malice and Carnage of Blood.

Personality and Traits

"You know it's starting to concern me how seldom you talk. We've been through a lot together, the neural symbiosis is pretty far progressed, but you'd be surprised how little I understand what you're thinking."

— Ghost

The Guardian has demonstrated humility and bravery, often fighting the Solar System's enemies without question nor hesitation. Like other Guardians, The Guardian is very silent, only speaking when the situation deems it necessary. Cayde-6 once joked that the Guardian was the "strong, silent type" of hero. They also put high regard and value in those they consider as friends, such as dragging their Ghost away from Ghaul and shielding him with their body (as well as completely losing hope when he falls off the ship), giving various figures who have aided them gifts during the Dawning (including the Vanguard, Banshee-44, and Asher Mir), and personally seeking justice for Cayde-6's death.

A much darker side of The Guardian is revealed in Forsaken. First off, The Guardian is shown to be vengeful, as they became determined to kill not just Uldren Sov but the entire Scorn faction just for their hand in Cayde's death. They are also shown to be somewhat unscrupulous, as they were willing to openly disobey the Vanguard and work with the likes of the Spider in pursuit of the aforementioned goal. Although likely more unintentional, they were shown to be either oblivious or insensitive during this quest for vengeance; blinded by revenge, they didn't show regard for Ghost's discomfort during the entirety of the ordeal, as well as going through with Uldren's execution even with the knowledge of what he had endured for the sake of his sister. However, despite going through with the execution, they did take responsibility for their actions by returning to the Vanguard once their mission was complete.

List of appearances

• Destiny (First mentioned)