Penitent

Penitent
Overview
Other name(s):	Merciful Benefic
Type:	Government faction
Functions:	Eliminate suffering through the Final Shape Destroy the Witness and prevent the Final Shape (Dissenters)
Engagements:	Operation Ahamkara
Affiliation:	The Witness
Allied with:	Vanguard (Dissenters)

The Penitent, also known as the Merciful and the Benefic, were a faction within the governing body of the Witness' Precursor species, known as the Consensus.

History

The Ancient Past

The Penitent faction 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 Nihilists and Solipsists. 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.

The Pale Heart

After the Witness entered the Pale Heart of the Traveler, it began using the Traveler's Light to reshape various beings into servants to oppose the Coalition and help enact its will. On at least one occasion, it reshaped one of its own Dissenters into a swarm of bestial flying entities known as Grim. Other Dissenters would have their minds placed into veiled statues until they could be reintergrated into the Final Shape.

Destroying the Witness

"In Darkness, we saw ourselves, simultaneously victims and perpetrators, condemned to fade in Light, as all things do.
And so, we reshaped ourselves to become this purpose the universe lacked.
We lost ourselves in it.
Destroy us."

— A Dissenter, asking the Guardian to destroy their statue and release them from the Witness.

As the Guardian and the Vanguard pushed into the Pale Heart in pursuit of the Witness, Zavala was telepathically contacted by some of the remaining Dissenters, who begged for his help. Against the recommendations of Ikora, Cayde and his own Ghost Targe, Zavala sought out a location in the Pale Heart where he could commune with Darkness and better hear the messages from the Dissenters. There, he received a vision from the Witness, during which the Dissenters were able to reach out to Zavala momentarily and beseech him to meet them at the place they had destroyed themselves- a recreation of one of the ritual sites where the Penitent had joined together to create the Witness.

Upon reaching the site, the Guardian engaged in a fierce battle against the Witness and its Dread lieutenants as they attempted to prevent the Guardian from communing with the Darkness. They were unsuccessful, however, and the Guardian managed to enter the Witness' collective mind and destroy three of the imprisoned Dissenters, grievously wounding the Witness and forcing it to retreat.

Later, a large group of Guardians, aided by Coalition forces, stormed the Witness' hiding place and communed with the Darkness once more to destroy the remaining Dissenters, ending their torment and destroying the Witness once and for all.

List of appearances

• Entelechy (First mentioned)
• Destiny 2: The Final Shape (as Dissenters)
  • Episode: Heresy (Mentioned only)