Editing Penitent

{{Faction infobox
|othernames=Merciful<br>Benefic
|type=Government faction
*Eliminate suffering through [[the Final Shape]] {{C|formerly}}
*Destroy [[the Witness]] and prevent the Final Shape
|conflicts=[[Operation Ahamkara]]
|affiliation=[[The Witness]]
|ally=[[Vanguard]]
}}
The '''Penitent''', also known as the '''Merciful''' and the '''Benefic''', were a faction within the governing body of [[the Witness]]' [[Precursors (Species)|Precursor]] species, known as the [[Consensus (Precursors)|Consensus]].

==History==
===Ancient Past===
They believed that the ultimate purpose of existence was to eliminate suffering and that anyone who did not act to do so was complicit in perpetuating it. By the time [[the Veil]] had been discovered and [[the Traveler]] had fled their species' homeworld, the Penitent had become the sole remaining faction in the Consensus, having destroyed the other two factions, the [[Nihilist]]s and [[Solipsist]]s. They would subsequently go on to use the Veil and its [[Darkness]] to bind the consciousnesses of their entire species together, merging themselves into the entity that would become known as the Witness. However, their minds would remain separate in the Witness' subconscious, with a significant portion growing disgusted with their actions and betrayal of their original ideals, becoming '''Dissenters'''.

===Destroying the Witness===
{{Expand-section}}
{{Quote|In Darkness, we saw ourselves, simultaneously victims and perpetrators, condemned to fade in Light, as all things do.<br>And so, we reshaped ourselves to become this purpose the universe lacked.<br>We lost ourselves in it.<br>Destroy us.|A Dissenter, asking the Guardian to destroy their statue and release them from the Witness.}}

==List of appearances==
*''[[Entelechy]]'' {{Fm}}
*''[[Destiny 2]]: [[The Final Shape]]'' {{C|as Dissenters}}

[[Category:Organizations]]