Destiny 2: Beyond Light’s story finally moves a few key parts of the series’ overarching narrative along. Because it’s Destiny, though, nothing is ever clean cut and finite. As one door closes, another opens as they say and that’s very true in this series. You’re here because you’d like a nice and simple story summary of the Destiny 2: Beyond Light campaign and an explanation of the expansion’s ending right? Well, let’s get into it.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light Story Summary
Eramis and the Darkness
The Beyond Light story started, in earnest, last season when the Darkness pyramid ships finally arrived in the Solar System. This was foreshadowed at the end of Shadowkeep, and low and behold they came through.
For the most part they kind of just hung around and stared at everyone angrily until the end of last season when they made entire planets and moons completely disappear which is… problematic. If that wasn’t bad enough, the start of the Beyond Light campaign introduces a new and even more immediate problem.
The normally scattered Fallen are uniting under a new Kell known as Eramis. Why is she so popular? Well, she has demonstrated strength through her acquisition of new powers given to her by the Darkness.
She is threatening to destroy all those who side with the Light by creating an army of Fallen that are all capable of wielding this new power.
We learn about this thanks to Variks, our controversial “ally” who has been hiding out on Europa since he aided in the breakout at the Prison of Elders; a move that led to the death of Cayde-6.
Variks once supported Eramis, thinking she had the Fallen’s interests at heart, but now he sees that she has grown twisted from this new power and wishes to continue serving the Light. As a result, he calls out for someone to help him and we come through.
The Exo Stranger’s Plan – Beyond Light Story Summary
Shortly after working with Variks to try and stop Eramis the old fashioned way, we realize that she and her lieutenants are too powerful with their new Darkness powers. We won’t be able to stop them.
Fortunately, our very old friend from Destiny 1, the Exo Stranger, shows up (along with the Drifter and Eris Morn) and has a new plan for us: we’re going to fight fire with fire. We’re going to learn how to control this new Darkness gift, more specifically known as Stasis, and beat Eramis at her own game.
The Exo Stranger acts as our mentor and teaches us how to use Stasis without succumbing to the Darkness.
It turns out the Exo Stranger is very familiar with the power the Darkness can have over the mind of a Guardian. She reveals that she’s from another timeline. One that played out exactly like this, except the Guardians (ourselves included) all too hastily accepted the powers of the Darkness and were quickly corrupted by it, leading to humanity’s demise.
In this timeline, she wants to avoid that mistake and ensure that the process does not corrupt us.
Our Ghost, a fragment of the Light, is very concerned about this plan but vows to support us no matter what, believing that what we do, we do to defend the Light and fight the Darkness.
Fighting the Lieutenants – Beyond Light Story Summary
With some level of control over the Darkness, we start to fight back against Eramis’ closest advisers, and one by one we take them out.
First, we start with check name, the most feared warrior in her circle. After destroying an entire platoon of hers to draw her out, we fight and defeat her.
Next, we fight check name, the brains behind the whole operation to convert all of the Fallen into darkness wielders. With check name dead, Eramis’ plans would be put to a halt. Fortunately for everyone except Eramis we take check name out as well.
All the while, we slowly start to gain more and more control over our Stasis powers. While Ghost and Zavala and others around us are concerned, the trio of the Exo Stranger, Eris Morn, and the Drifter recognize that it’s the only way to stop Eramis.
Eramis and the Fallen
Our actions force Eramis’s hand. She hatches a desperate plan to open a portal to the Vex in order to sow chaos on Europa. She partially succeeds and some Vex does make it onto Europa, but it appears our actions prevented a total disaster at least and the Guardians continue their pursuit.
We eventually learn that Eramis is motivated by anger and hatred of the traveler. The reason the Fallen (formally known as Eliksni) are called the Fallen, according to Eramis, is that after the Light abandoned them they never learned to pick themselves back up.
To those unaware, the Eliksni were once blessed by the Light and Traveler, just like we are now, but for reasons not fully known the Traveler abandoned the Eliksni. This led to a collapse of their civilization and their home planet.
Ever since then the Eliksni have followed and worshipped the Traveler, trying to find a way to get back into its good graces, while opposing the Humans who currently have the Traveler’s favor.
Eramis wishes to do away with this era once and for all and carve a new future through embracing Darkness instead.
While her motivations may have some logical merit, it’s for naught. The Guardians will of course snuff out this plan, like we’ve done every dangerous plot since the series has begun. We eventually confront Eramis and defeat her in battle.
Destiny 2: Beyond Light Ending Explained
Before we can strike the final blow on Eramis, it appears that she loses control of Stasis; that or the Darkness betrayed her. In either event, Eramis slowly begins to freeze and is now frozen in place. The Guardians are victorious.
Variks feels bittersweet. He once considered Eramis a friend but is happy to see her plot foiled and the Eliksni, as we know them now, preserved and safe. Some Fallen are even joining the new House of Light.
The Exo Stranger is pleased with our efforts and feels hopeful for humanity for the first time in a long time. She continues to assist us with our training in mastery of Stasis, believing it to be crucial in the battles ahead. Presumably, the Drifter and Eris Morn are also with the Exo Stranger on this one.
The Vanguard, while pleased Eramis was defeated, is now more deeply concerned with the spread of Darkness among Guardians. Zavala makes it clear that he is opposed to the Vanguard using Darkness and reaffirms their position on being on the side of Light.
One of Eramis’ last remaining high-ranking advisors however, check name, tell us that Eramis is not actually dead and will be reborn again at some point.
We never really quite figure out how exactly that would be the case, but to be safe, we track and locate check name, and kill them too.
The possibility that Eramis is still alive, though, remains on our mind as players wait for the release of the next raid, Deep Stone Crypt, which will likely continue the story of Beyond Light and also await the progression of the current seasonal story, Season of the Hunt.
That’s all for our Destiny 2: Beyond Light story summary and ending explained guide. Hopefully that helped make things easier to understand.
For more tips, tricks and FAQs answered, be sure to check out our Year 4 Destiny 2: Beyond Light wiki guide, filled with helpful guides.
About the author
