Nezarec, Final God of Pain

Nezarec, Final God of Pain
Phase 1 Phase 2
Biographical information
Other name(s):	Nezarec, Disciple of the Witness The Purest Light The Darkest Hour Whispering Nightmare Prime Tormentor
Rank:	Disciple of the Witness Ultra
Class:	Tormentor (Basis)
Gender:	Male
Combat information
Mission:	Root of Nightmares
Weapon(s):	Night Terror
Abilities:	High Durability Rapid Movement Summon Cabal Null Paroxysm Suppression Abyssal Cleave Psionic Entropy Nezarec's Hatred Overwhelming Energy Overwhelming Light Overwhelming Darkness

“

Oh, a shame we can't entertain our one-sided conversations further! Ah, but this... this feels too good. Guardians! Let me devour your fear!

”

Nezarec, Final God of Pain was a Disciple of the Witness. An ancient being with powerful psychic abilities, he was known for bringing terror to entire worlds and species in order to feed on their collective fear; he was both feared and worshipped by various groups across time, including cults and sects among the pre-Cabal Psions and pre-Golden Age Humanity.

Nezarec led the Black Fleet in its assault on Earth during the Collapse, carrying the Veil aboard his Pyramid. He was betrayed by Savathûn, who killed him and cursed his remains, leaving him entombed in his own Pyramid on the Moon. Nezarec's remains were later discovered by Fallen scavengers, who split his corpse into pieces that were then distributed amongst them as "relics" and talismans, leaving only his head inside the Lunar Pyramid. These pieces would be gathered centuries later by two parties: The Guardians of the Last City and Eramis, Kell of Darkness of the House of Salvation during Season of Plunder. This led to the Witness taking possession of Nezarec's head and encasing it within a sarcophagus aboard its Pyramid.

Having long slumbered on the edge of death as a barely-living psychic presence, Nezarec became active again in the fallout of the Traveler's attack on the Witness's Pyramid, which resulted in his remains becoming infused with Light. As he gathered his strength, he haunted the citizens of Neomuna in the CloudArk, bringing them nightmares as they slept. He would later fully resurrect in a new corporeal form imbued with both Light and Darkness, only to be defeated a final time by the Guardians as they stormed the Witness' Pyramid.

As with Rhulk and possibly other Disciples of the Witness, the Witness used Nezarec as a template for its Dread soldiers, in his case the Tormentors.

Biography

Origins

"Rise, Disciple, and bear this gift with pride."

— Rhulk to Nezarec

Hailing from an unknown species gifted with immense psionic abilities, Nezarec was elevated and transformed by the Witness into one of its chosen Disciples. Rhulk also gifted him a glaive as part of his exaltation.

Eris Morn and Micah-10 speculated that Nezarec had the power to command Nightmares, a previously untapped power of the Darkness that he co-opted for himself and wove into the fabric of his Pyramid. These Nightmares would be encountered centuries after Nezarec's death during the Collapse, when his Pyramid was re-discovered on the Moon.

God of the Psions

"The Psions kneel to you. Their faith is shattered, and they will look to you. For guidance. For truth.
Sow the seeds of discord that will pave the way for our victory.
Preach unto their greatest the truth of the Darkness... so that they may see beyond the Veil.
Go forth, Nezarec... and show them the power of the Veil. The Dark of the Deep. The edge of the knife."

— The Witness to Nezarec

Nezarec would go on to become a force of terror across the known universe, with his psychic influence being felt by countless races. Notable among these were the Psions, whom he would sow discord into the society on behalf of the Witness and be revered as a god to them He would show them the power of the Veil, a primordial source of Darkness, and preached onto their greatest minds the "truth" it presents.

A hidden cult of Psions would continue to honor Nezarec in modern times, offering him individuals with particularly powerful psychic abilities as sacrifices. One such unfortunate was Acasia's partner, who was taken from his home and tortured by the cult to feed Nezarec's hunger for pain and fear.

The Acolytes of Nezarec

"He is that which is end. That which covets sin. The final god of pain—the purest light, the darkest hour. And He shall rise again."

— Passage from "Of Hated Nezarec"

Nezarec's influence was also present amongst humanity before the Golden Age, having formed their own cult dedicated to worshipping him. He was the subject of a pre-Golden Age text titled Of Hated Nezarec, a leather-bound tome containing apocrypha of the Disciple which survived in the possession of a human family into the Golden Age and post-Collapse eras.

The Collapse

"The Veil... So, the witch didn't ruin you during her escapade. Good."

— Nezarec's remark towards the Veil

When the Black Fleet chased the Traveler to the Sol System, Nezarec led the first invasion against humanity accompanied by Hive forces led by Savathûn, the Witch Queen. On Earth, Nezarec's fleet engulfed the planet in such massive numbers that they turned day into midnight.

When victory seemed assured, Nezarec was betrayed by Savathûn, who mortally wounded the Disciple. Nezarec drew upon the Darkness to preserve his consciousness after death, but the Witch Queen cursed his body with her magic and forced his psyche to remain bound to his physical form. She stole the Veil and hid it away on Neptune, leaving Nezarec to die on the floor of his Pyramid. His Pyramid subsequently crashed into the surface of the Moon, entombing his corpse beneath the lunar surface.

Relics of Nezarec

Inaaks cuts apart Nezarec's corpse.

Following the Collapse, Nezarec's corpse remained undisturbed within his Pyramid until the Fallen arrived during their Long Drift. Eventually, Inaaks, the then-Kell of the House of Wolves, uncovered his derelict Pyramid during a spelunking expedition, despite the nearby Hive forces picking off her raid party. Inside, Inaaks and her fellow Fallen scavengers discovered Nezarec's corpse and determined that it was a source of great power. They carved his body into pieces which were then distributed as morbid talismans amongst members of the Old Crews, including Inaaks's son Misraaks. Over time, these pieces were stored within super-dense reliquaries to contain their radiating Darkness energies. According to an intercepted transmission from Eramis to Vrisk, the Coward, the Darkness contained within the relics would dissolve anyone attempting to use them, with only beings of extraordinary fortitude being able to withstand their power.

This use of Nezarec's remains was not without consequence, however, as echoes of his consciousness continued to live within them, to haunt and torment their bearers. Among these was a Fallen pirate named Koraxis, who pried one of the Disciple's seven eyes from his head and kept it for himself.

By the time Koraxis became a Captain of his own crew, he was in constant pain from an injured leg and paranoia stemming from his possession of the eye. After experiencing a nightmare that caused him to relive his expedition into the Pyramid, Koraxis decided to evoke Nezarec's presence with a ritual involving the eye, a pointed crystal, and a book of magic. As Nezarec's voice beckoned for Koraxis to "free him", Koraxis reacted in fear and flung the eye out into the Reef with all the strength he could muster.

Other pieces of the Disciple were enshrined by the Fallen into what became known as the Tombs of Nezarec; one of them being located in Jovian space.

During the Dark Age, Nezarec's influence continued to plague the dreams of Lightbearers and non-Lightbearers alike with nightmares whenever the Moon was at perigee. One of his victims was a Titan named Briar of the Wild Brambles, who was psychically touched by the God of Pain after unknowingly killing one of his prior victims out of self-defense. Nezarec's psychic torment drove Briar to madness and desperation, eventually burning down his own home with his Hammer of Sol out of desperation. Eventually, Briar cut out his own eyes in a futile attempt to keep him from seeing the Disciple's visage, only for his Ghost Firethorn to heal him and restore his vision. At Nezarec's own command, Briar turned on his Ghost and killed him, piercing Firethorn's lens with a knife before blinding himself a final time.

Meanwhile, Mykel and his family continued to worship Nezarec and conduct rituals in his name to keep his legacy alive, with every new generation tested for loyalty and worthiness. On the night of his 18th birthday, Mykel was awakened after a nightmare caused by Nezarec, leading one of his parents to induct him into the cult by torturing a captive Eliksni to "extract its fear". Later in his adulthood, Mykel would lead the Acolytes of Nezarec by directing the god of pain's influence towards his ideal victims. He also reached out to other prior victims of his to recruit into their ranks, including Acasia, Briar, and Koraxis.

At one point, Drifter was contracted to retrieve a relic of the Disciple at the Fourth Tomb of Nezarec. Though he was accosted by both an unknown Acolyte and Nezarec's own powers, he escaped unharmed with the artifact in hand.

Around the time of the Leviathan's Haunt, Eris would delve further into Nezarec's derelict Pyramid and found the chamber that housed Nezarec's ancient glaive.

The Hunt for the Relics

"As I've gathered, there was barely anything left of me for the Witness to collect. Hmm... has anyone suffered from the pieces they took? I wonder if I could track them down. Do you happen to know who took them. Consider the information reparations for my untimely death."

— Nezarec comments on his scattered remains

All eight relics of Nezarec.

After being released from her Stasis prison, Eramis, the Kell of Darkness, was tasked by the Witness with collecting the scattered pieces of Nezarec's corpse for an unknown purpose. Having rallied the Old Crews of the Themis Cluster to her side, she tasked the Pirate Lords with recovering the relics of the ancient Disciple. When one of them attempts to extort Eramis with their possession of a relic, she immediately rebukes his threats. In retaliation, Mithrax along with his daughter Eido, the Drifter, the Spider, and the Guardian, would form their own pirate crew composed of Guardians and Eliksni alike as they took on the Pirate Lords in possession of the relics. Meanwhile, the Hive of the Lucent Brood began their own plundering of the Disciple's remains for reasons unclear, overwhelming Eramis's forces in the process.

During a parlay with Mithrax, Eido and the Guardian, Eramis revealed the true nature of the relics and the connection they share with Nezarec, Inaaks, and Mithrax's own bloodied past. The Drifter would also recall his past encounter with the relic he claimed back at the Disciple's Fourth Tomb a long time ago, which he tried gifting to Eris earlier as a sign of affection and was instead given an idea for Mithrax on the best usage of the relics for good.

Ultimately, Mithrax and the Guardians had successfully gathered the majority of the relics of Nezarec before Eramis and the Lucent Brood. Through her extensive research on the relics, however, Eido discovered a reference to the "Curse of Nezarec" in an ancient dirge as a potent side effect of the relics' usage. The curse is alleged to drain the life of the user, though to what purpose is unknown. Mithrax took time to study the secrets of Nezarec's relics as they were connected by threads only he could perceive and whisper to him. He then performed a conversion that distilled a mass of primal Darkness from them to create something useful: a mentally revivifying elixir which was given to a comatose Osiris in the hopes that it would rouse him from his state. The brew worked as hoped, leading Osiris to finally awaken from his slumber. Though in distilling Nezarec's essence, Mithrax had siphoned all its corruptive elements into himself and slowly became afflicted with the curse.

Nightmarish Revival

"This prison in-between... it will shatter. But I need power... I am pain. I am terror. I am Nezarec!"

— Nezarec's words echoed in the Vex Network

Nezarec's psychic hold on Neomuna.

During the initial battle between the Traveler and the Witness in Earth's orbit, it was revealed the Traveler struck the Witness' Pyramid with a Light-infused terraforming beam. Its attack deformed the surface of the Pyramid, sprouting a massive, budding root with ostensibly benign paracausal flora growing wildly within the structure of the ship. One such root would pierce a large crystalline sarcophagus containing the disembodied head of Nezarec. Nezarec, having been revived unintentionally by the Traveler's terraforming power, sought to use his newfound paracausal power for his own morbid curiosities. Meanwhile, the God of Pain would also terrorize the Shadow Legion aboard the Pyramid, with Zo'aurc, Explicator of Planets detailing his own nightmares and more reports of night terrors and violent incidents among his forces.

During the Shadow Legion's siege of Neomuna, the Guardian was sent on a Strike mission into the Vex Network to halt their sabotage of the city's CloudArk systems. When they first entered the network, Nimbus reported that the Neomuni had been having nightmares and hearing voices. Eventually, the voice within the network spoke to the Guardian and their Ghost, commenting on the abundance of fear and pain within the Darkness surrounding the CloudArk. Caiatl compared the phenomenon to the Nightmares they had previously encountered on the Leviathan. After the Strike team defeated Parthenios, Drifting Mind and stopped the Taken corrupting the network, the voice identified itself as Nezarec, who vowed to break free of his confinement within the network.

Jisu Calerondo of Neomuna Civil News reported on the ongoing psychic attacks inflicted by Nezarec on the Neomuni in the CloudArk as they continued to experience widespread nightmares, including city archivist Quinn Laghari, maintenance chief Viragni "Sid" D'Sydney, rapid responder Sam Moleyn, and city administrator Tse Jingye. Scientists from the city's Civil Defense Ministry determined Nezarec's CloudArk-disrupting signal to be a psychic carrier wave similar to the suspended energy matrix which maintains the CloudArk. Authorities also speculated on the possible connection between Nezarec and the Psion race, with ethnographers noting recurring motifs in Psion art and ritual, as well as the potent psychic abilities exhibited by both parties. The ongoing disruptions and nightmares would also contribute to the city's first case of cryogenic murder, with Bhur Zhimri being suspected of homicide following the death of his wife from cryo-tank malfunctions. Nezarec would later remark that if he had a modicum of his original power, he would kill one or even three other citizens to expedite the Guardians.

Additionally, multiple parties began speculating a possible connection between Nezarec and the Tormentors under the Witness's command, as multiple Imprints named after the titular Disciple are fought by Guardians. When first encountered, Osiris claimed that Tormentors are "the fruits of an unholy alliance between the Witness and Calus." Quinn Laghari also speculated if they are the same species as Nezarec or clones made by the Witness of its generals.

In addition, whispers from the Disciple could also occasionally be heard by the Guardian while patrolling Neomuna, particularly in Maya's Retreat and in the Thrilladrome Lost Sector. These whispers were ordinarily unintelligible, but whilst either Nezarec's Whisper or Nezarec's Sin was equipped they could be understood, and Nezarec would taunt them further during the Terminal Overload public event and within the Vex Network during Partition activities.

Nezarec's sarcophagus, pierced with the root from the Traveler’s terraforming.

"My memory will never extinguish. In your calmest moments, your deepest slumber... you will remember me, Guardians"

— Nezarec's final words after his defeat

Seeking to find the source of the mysterious provocateur haunting Neomuna, the Guardian led a fireteam of six to investigate the now-derelict ship. Upon exploration of the interior, Nezarec greeted the intrepid fireteam upon their arrival. After hoping that his messages had reached them, the disciple had considered they would leave him to rot in his crystalline sarcophagus but remarked that Guardians cannot resist unanswered questions or a challenge. Upon reaching his tomb, Nezarec began channeling his hatred into massive waves of overwhelming paracausal energies which threatened to wipe out the team in addition to the Shadow Legion reinforcements. The fireteam was forced into a relay race where they linked nodes of Light together and supplied paracausal energy into the root connected to the Disciple's sarcophagus. Cavum Tormentors were also called forth at the beckoning of their progenitor but were dispatched to keep his hatred momentarily delayed. Upon completing the encounter, Nezarec was invigorated by how familiar and yet different his new power felt.

The fireteam traveled throughout the shattered interior of Essence, fighting the Shadow Legion while they overcharged the Tree's root with Light and Darkness energies, growing even bigger across the Pyramid's architecture. Its energy fed into Nezarec's tomb, the Disciple could hear its shifting and even taste the paracausality on his tongue. When enough energy was fed into the coffin, large contractions of Resonant energy began to pulse from it, threatening the fireteam with extermination if they failed to attune with it. Along the way, Nezarec recalled his past encounter with the Witch Queen, having killed him and cursed his remains before whisking the Veil away to Neptune. Despite his loathing, he applauds her efforts. Nezarec would also remark about the current state of his remains, asking the Guardians if anyone had suffered from the pieces they took and if they knew who currently possessed them.

Once the team reached Zo'aurc's location at Macrocosm, Nezarec tells them to tear the Cabal apart as he had not accomplished as the Guardians in their short time there. After killing the Incendior and overcharging even more paracausal energies into the root, the Disciple remarks how fascinated he is by the lengths they went to reach their goals, labeling them as "emissaries of pain and death". As they approach back to his now terraformed tomb, he tells them to free him so he may experience the world again with his new perspective.

Nezarec, fully revived with powers of Light and Darkness.

With the fireteam returning to the sarcophagus, Nezarec's rebirth completed as he burst forth from the crystalline encasement of the tomb; now with a fully grown body fed on the Light and Darkness of the root thanks to the Guardians. Reveling in his newfound powers, the resurrected Disciple demanded to devour their fears as they engaged in battle. Armed with a massive Scythe and his Void-powered attacks, Nezarec unleashed both overwhelming energies of Light and Resonance at the Guardians only for them to survive by attuning to his attacks with Light and Dark nodes surrounding the battlefield. By linking both sets of paracausal nodes, they could channel the radiating power of the overgrown root into the Disciple's sarcophagus and unleash a massive beam of terraforming and resonant energies directly at Nezarec: dropping his impervious defenses and leaving him briefly vulnerable to the fireteam to damage. After much effort, the Guardians successfully defeated Nezarec as he was preparing to unleash a final wave of overwhelming energy; destroying his physical form in much the same fashion as Rhulk, Calus, and the Dread had met their ends. In his final whispers to the fireteam that killed him, Nezarec reminded them that he would always be present in their memories and nightmares, being an inescapable impression upon the universe.

Legacy of Terror

"Is Nezarec truly dead? Can something that exists as an idea ever be destroyed?"

— Micah-10

Upon his latest death, Nezarec's psychic hold on the citizens of Neomuna was lifted. Jisu Calerondo issued a report on Neomuna Civil News detailing the demise of the Final God of Pain aboard the Witness's derelict Pyramid.

Sometime later, an unpartnered Ghost named Balthazar would attempt to enter the lunar Pyramid seeking information on the Witness. Out of concern, Micah-10 had the Guardian venture back into the Pyramid to find the lost Ghost. Their own Ghost remarked that they thought the Nightmares would disappear after killing Nezarec, to which Micah responded by wondering whether or not something that exists as an idea could ever be destroyed. After entering the Pyramid and facing the Nightmares within, the Guardian found an artifact which contained a recording of an interaction between the Witness and Nezarec, instructing the Disciple to share the Veil's secrets with the Psions.

Mithrax possessed by Nezarec's paracausal curse.

Although Nezarec remains dead, his psychic influence nevertheless continues to torment Mithrax. Having previously taken on the corruption of the relics from their search, Mithrax began to suffer from the effects of the paracausal curse causing him to hear the Disciple's voice in his mind. The Disciple's influence can be heard in Mithrax's voice at moments when he is gripped by strong emotion, causing the Kell's thoughts and words to verge even deeper into bitterness, rage and despair.

Gameplay

For an in-depth description of the battle against Nezarec in the Root of Nightmares Raid, see Nezarec

Nezarec appears as the central figure and final boss of the Root of Nightmares raid, where he greets and subsequently attacks the Guardians. He shares most of the abilities of Tormentors (aside from the Dark Harvest grab attack); these abilities include the crescent-shaped Abyssal Cleave attack, a spinning disk of Void energy that sends out a barrage of Abyssal Cleaves, and the Tormentor's signature suppressing leap and slam attacks. In addition, Nezarec can channel his Hatred to conjure Psionic Blasts underneath the Guardians, and will eventually erupt in an explosion of Overwhelming Energy, Light, or Darkness that the Guardians will have to seek Refuge from. While made temporarily vulnerable by a combination of Light and Darkness, Nezarec will gain the ability to teleport for a suppressing slam attack, as well as a slower slam attack that sends out spinning Void blades along the ground.

Like Tormentors, Nezarec has two weak points on his shoulders and one weak point on his chest, though these serve different functions from those of Tormentors as they are tied to raid mechanics. While he is vulnerable, these weak points will take extra damage (though his whole body can take damage at this time).

Personality and traits

A known sadist who relishes in sowing fear and pain, Nezarec has a malevolent demeanor and a desire to feed off the terror of sentient beings to satiate his hunger. Even in his deceased state, however, the final god of pain uses his terrifying psionic powers to affect every being whether ally or enemy; showing no regard for who suffers under his influence. He also has a personal preference for screams which are "echoes that reverberate through eternity", especially when wrenched directly from his victims' throats before death. In battle, Nezarec expresses immense hatred and wrath as he immediately demands to devour the Guardians' fear following his resurrection.

Nezarec is also a devoted follower of the Witness and its goal of the Final Shape, which he believed would offer it "the fullest gamut of existence" based on his own interpretation. However, he would have a poor outlook on the Shadow Legion Cabal as their "new recruits" and the Vex, whom he calls the Sol Divisive the best of their kind. This is in contrast to his enemies such as the Guardians (especially Warlords), whom he labels as "emissaries of pain and death" inflicting terror with their own chaos, and even Savathûn, the Witch Queen, whom he applauds for her efforts despite his loathing of her.

Upon his initial resurrection with both paracausal powers of Light and Darkness, the Disciple was driven by morbid curiosity to experiment with his newfound power. After meeting his death a second time, however, he curses his killers to remember him in fear during their most peaceful moments.

Gallery

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  The silhouette of Nezarec's body as seen in a cutscene in Season of Plunder.

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  Nezarec charging at a fireteam of Guardians in Root of Nightmares.

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  Closeup of Nezarec.

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  A statue of Nezarec found at the beginning of the raid.

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  Nezarec in his sarcophagus in the post-raid cinematic.

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  Concept art of Nezarec

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  VFX of Nezarec's charging wipe mechanic

Trivia

• Nezarec's true nature as a Disciple remained largely mysterious until Season of Plunder, with most information coming from the lore entry for the Exotic Warlock helmet Nezarec's Sin and the Glaive Nezarec's Whisper.
• The revelation that Psions once worshipped Nezarec may explain the design of the Exotic helmet Nezarec's Sin, which strongly resembles the helmets many Psions wear. The helmet itself is similar to Nezarec's actual head and facial structure, with his horns being more vertically aligned in contrast.
• The Nightmare Harvester seasonal artifact from Season of the Haunted can summon a scythe, alluding to the connection between the Nightmares and Nezarec, who also wields a scythe.
• Nezarec has seven eyes, perhaps a nod to Bungie's recurring use of the number seven in their games.
• According to lead Bungie concept artist Tobias Kwan, Nezarec's heterochromia is caused by him being a "chimeric fusion"; it is unknown to what degree this description applies to in-game canon.
• According to intel gathered by the Vanguard, Nezarec was transformed into a Disciple through the blueprint of Rhulk.
• According to a message recorded by the last known surviving member of the extinct species known as the Noesis, which was wiped out by the Witness at an unknown point in the presumably ancient past, the Noesis, at one point, were terrorized by an entity which they referred to as the "whisper ∩ Nightmare ∩ predatory memeplex". This descriptor may refer to Nezarec, who has been described as a "whispering nightmare".

List of appearances

• Destiny 2 (First mentioned)
  • Forsaken (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Haunted (Mentioned only)
  • Season of Plunder (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Seraph (Mentioned only)
  • Lightfall (First appearance)
  • Season of the Deep (Mentioned only)
  • Season of the Witch (Mentioned only)
  • Into the Light (Non-canon appearance)
  • The Final Shape (Mentioned only)
  • Episode: Echoes (Mentioned only)
  • Episode: Revenant (Mentioned only)
• Breakdown (Mentioned only)