Nezarec, Final God of Pain

Nezarec, Final God of Pain
Main Damage
Biographical information
Other name(s):	Nezarec, Disciple of the Witness The Purest Light The Darkest Hour Whispering Nightmare Prime Tormentor
Faction:	Disciples of the Witness
Rank:	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 is a Disciple of the Witness and the first Tormentor from which all others owe their lineage to. Nezarec is known to induce nightmares across entire worlds in order to feed on their collective fear; his psychic presence and reputation were both feared and even worshipped in several sects of civilizations including 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. Despite his physical death, echoes of his consciousness continued to persist across the system. His remains were later found by Fallen scavengers, who would split Nezarec's corpse into pieces that were distributed amongst them as "relics" and talismans. 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 in Season of Plunder. The original Fallen raiding party would leave Nezarec's head inside the Lunar Pyramid. This led to the Witness later coming into the possession of Nezarec's head and encased his remains in a sarcophagus located on the Witness' Pyramid.

Nezarec would become active again in the fallout of the Traveler's attack on the Witness's Pyramid, where he haunted the citizens of Neomuna in the CloudArk. Serving as the final boss of the Root of Nightmares raid, he would fully resurrect via a newly grown Tree of Silver Wings with both Light and Darkness powers, only to be defeated once more by the Guardians during their conquest of the Pyramid.

Biography

Pre-Golden Age

"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"

Hailing from an unknown species gifted with immense psionic abilities, Nezarec was elevated and transformed by the Witness into one of its chosen Disciples, empowering him with pure primordial Darkness. For his new position, he was also given a glaive by Rhulk as a gift. The titular final god of pain would become a force of terror across the known universe, with his psychic influence felt across countless races; the most particular being the ancient Psion race whom revered him as a deity in their pre-Cabal history. A hidden cult of Psions would continue to honor Nezarec in modern times, offering individuals with particularly powerful psychic abilities as sacrifices to him. One such unfortunate was Acasia's partner, who was taken from his home and tortured by the cult in order to feed Nezarec's hunger for pain and fear.

Nezarec's influence was also present amongst humanity before their Golden Age. 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.

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 assault against humanity, accompanied by Hive forces led by Savathûn, the Witch Queen.

During the Collapse, Nezarec had possession of the Veil, the primordial source of all Darkness and of the Witness’ endgame to link with the Traveler; which was present aboard his Pyramid. Just when victory seemed assured, however, Nezarec was betrayed by Savathûn, who mortally wounded the Disciple. Nezarec attempted to project his consciousness into the Darkness and cheat death, only for him to be denied as the Witch cursed his consciousness to remain bound to his physical remains. His last thoughts were of hatred for the Witch Queen as she stole the Veil away to Neptune and hid it from the Witness.

Nezarec's Pyramid crashed into the surface of the Moon following his death, entombing his corpse beneath the lunar surface.

Legacy of Nightmares

For centuries following the Collapse, Nezarec's corpse remained undisturbed within his Pyramid. Eventually, Inaaks, the then-Kell of the House of Wolves, uncovered his derelict ship 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 split his body into pieces, which were distributed as morbid talismans. Over time, these pieces were stored within relics and scattered across the solar system, exchanging hands between Fallen pirates including Inaaks' son Misraaks. Possession of Nezarec's remains were not without consequence, however, as echoes of his consciousness continued to persist from them; to haunt and torment their bearers.

During the Dark Age, Mykel and his family continued to worship Nezarec and conduct rituals in his name, 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 in order to "extract its fear". Later in his adulthood, Mykel would form the Acolytes of Nezarec by directing the God of Pain's influence towards his ideal victims. Those who would join included prior victims of his such as Acasia, a former Titan named Briar and the Eliksni pirate Koraxis.

At one point, Drifter was contracted by the Spider to retrieve a relic of the disciple from the Acolytes at the titular "Fourth Tomb of Nezarec" in Jovian space. Though he was accosted by both an unknown individual (implied to be Nessa) and Nezarec's own powers, he escaped unharmed with the artifact in hand.

Season of Plunder

After being released from her Stasis prison, Eramis, the Kell of Darkness, was tasked by the Witness with collecting the remaining pieces of Nezarec's corpse. Through her research on these relics, Eido, Mithrax's daughter, discovered a reference to the "Curse of Nezarec" in an ancient dirge. The curse is alleged to drain the life of the user, though to what purpose is unknown.

Ultimately, the Guardians gathered the majority of the pieces of Nezarec before Eramis. Mithrax was able to use them to create something useful: a special brew 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.

Lightfall

"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

During the siege of Neomuna, Neomuna Civil News reported that the Neomuni were experiencing widespread nightmares, with one name appearing in all of them: Nezarec. The reports also speculated on the connections between Nezarec and the Psions.

These claims would later be confirmed during the Hypernet Current Strike, in which a mysterious voice said it would claim a part of Vex space for its own, and announced itself as Nezarec. In addition, the Disciple could also occasionally be heard by The Guardian while patrolling Neomuna, particularly in Maya's Retreat and 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.

Additionally, a connection between Nezarec and the Tormentors may exist, as multiple Tormentors named after the titular disciple are fought by Guardians. When first encountered, Osiris claims that Tormentors are "The fruits of an unholy alliance between the Witness and Calus." Neomuni archivist Quinn Laghari later speculates if they are the same species as Nezarec or are clones made by the Witness, perhaps using Calus' cloning technology.

Root of Nightmares

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

— Nezarec's final words after his defeat

During the battle between the Traveler and the Witness in Earth's orbit, the Traveler struck the Witness' Pyramid with a terraforming beam. This beam deformed the surface of the Pyramid, causing large growths of ostensibly benign paracausal flora to grow within the structure of the ship. A fireteam of six Guardians was assembled to investigate the now-derelict ship. Upon exploration of the interior, the team discovered a large sarcophagus containing the disembodied head of Nezarec. This head is revealed to be the only piece of Nezarec Eramis managed to acquire for the Witness after the Guardian's retrieval of the other pieces in Season of Plunder.

Nezarec had unwittingly been resurrected by the Traveler's terraforming power and conversed with the fireteam, goading them on throughout the raid. Amongst other things, Nezarec talked about aspects of themselves, the nature of terror and how he wished to express his newfound paracausal powers. These powers appear to have been augmented by the terraforming beam of Light that the Traveler shot, causing an immensely large growth to pierce the sarcophagus of Nezarec.

The fireteam traveled throughout the shattered interior of the Pyramid, fighting the Shadow Legion in an effort to feed paracausal energy into the sarcophagus containing Nezarec. When enough energy was fed into the coffin, large contractions of Resonant energy began to pulse from the coffin, threatening the fireteam with extermination if they failed to attune with it. Nezarec's rebirth was complete.

With the fireteam returning to the sarcophagus, Nezarec burst forth from his amber-like encasement, displaying a newly grown body fed on the Light and Darkness supplied by the Guardians. He reveled in his newly-found powers, controlling both Light and Dark, wishing to hear the screams of terror of the fireteam as he killed them. The Guardians, however, proved too strong for his newly born state and he was destroyed, exploding in much the same fashion as Rhulk, Calus and the Tormentors had met their ends. Nezarec reminded the fireteam that even though he had expired, he would always be present in their memories and nightmares, an inescapable impression upon the Universe.

Gameplay

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

To open up Nezarec to damage, the team must link two sequences of Light and Dark seeds on the left and right sides of the arena respectively. Starting close to where the team enters this area are the first two usable seeds, highlighted by an aura surrounding them. Shooting this while inside the area of effect will grant the same buff as in previous parts of the raid. Similarly, a faint trail of Light or Dark will emanate from the shot seed, pointing to another which has just spawned and must be shot to create the link. Once linked, another aura will appear around a completed seed, and a Guardian must shoot this, obtain the buff, then travel to the next indicated seed to shoot it, and so on and so forth.

While this is being performed, many enemies will spawn in the arena. Colossi, War Beasts, and Legionaries will appear in waves to tarry the team. Also, Nezarec themselves will not sit idle, performing attacks similar to Tormentors. They will periodically throw Abyssal Cleaves at targets close to them, or spawn a floating pool of Void energy that will cast many of the same Abyssal Cleaves as it travels around the arena. Once enough time has passed, Nezarec will begin casting Nezarec's Hatred, which spawns a Psionic Blast beneath Guardians, which will blast them upwards after a set period of time, dealing damage. This will continue until Nezarec's chest weak point is broken. Once broken, Nezarec will jump down from their perch and begin chasing the Guardian who broke their chest, performing further Tormentor-like attacks, such as the Void suppression dive kick they are known for. The hunted Guardian will eventually lose the attention of Nezarec, then pick a new target and start to chase them, but it can be regained by once more breaking their chest.

The timer for the fight that determines failure or success revolves around a spell Nezarec will begin casting, wherein they begin to exhibit a strong white glow. Once enough time has passed, Nezarec will unleash a pulse of Overwhelming Energy or Overwhelming Light, wiping the entire team if they are not sufficiently protected. Similar to the platforming section before Macrocosm, Guardians must create a refuge of Light or Darkness, matching the spell Nezarec will cast. To determine this spell type, the shoulder weak points of Nezarec must be broken. Once both are broken, Nezarec will display a Light or Darkness colored tattoo across his body for a brief amount of time, matching the spell they will prepare. Shoot the matching seed while holding the opposite para causal affinity, similar to the pre-Macrocosm relay platforming, to create a field that will grant a 14-second buff that protects against being killed by Nezarec's spell. Be careful not to shoot a seed that currently holds an aura field around it, as doing so will not create a refuge. Instead, it will provide the Field of Light or Flux of Darkness buff instead. The protection buff can be refreshed repeatedly by getting close to the seed once the refuge has been created, and the refuge will stay until Nezarec performs the Overwhelming Darkness or Light.

Once a side has fully linked their seeds, large pulses of energy will go off from them in sequence, indicating success. Once both sides have been completed, Nezarec will shortly become vulnerable, indicated by a blast of light striking them. During this vulnerable phase, Nezarec will display some new attacks, such as the ability to perform a teleport into a slam, a slam that spawns large spinning Void projectiles across the ground, mixed in with their regular Void slashes.

If Nezarec's health is depleted enough to reach Final Stand, Nezarec will roar, displaying more Resonant energy coursing through their body, turning black. Now it remains a race to deplete Nezarec's health before they prepare another Overwhelming Energy blast that will annihilate the fireteam.

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  Closeup of Nezarec.

• 

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

• 

  Nezarec in his sarcophagus in the post-raid cinematic.

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. It is also implied that Nezarec is the one speaking in the description of the Delicate Tomb Exotic Fusion Rifle.
• The revelation that Psions once worshipped Nezarec may explain the design of the Exotic helmet Nezarec's Sin, which strongly resembles the helmets worn by many Psions. 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.

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)
• Breakdown (Mentioned only)