Destiny 2’s Witch Queen Expansion Could Tease Calus’ Return

As Destiny 2 progresses into its fifth year, it seems inevitable that Emperor Calus’ return will be confirmed in the near future. The final boss in Destiny’s first raid, Leviathan, Calus has been operating in the shadows for a few years, and the results of his work could be coming to a head soon. If that happens, Calus may prove himself to be an unforeseen variable in the ongoing battle between the Light and the Darkness.

Guardians first met Calus once the campaign for the base game was completed and Dominus Ghaul, the leader of the Cabal’s Red Legion, was defeated. Upon Ghaul’s defeat, Calus invited Guardians aboard his Leviathan, a massive ship, for a series of challenges in the form of the raid. By the end of the raid, it was revealed that the Calus players defeated was nothing more than one of countless robotic replicas, meaning they had yet to come face-to-face with the real exiled emperor.

Calus’ true nature was revealed during the “Presage” exotic mission from Season of the Splicer, where players could also earn the scout rifle Dead Man’s Tale in Destiny 2. Successive completions of the mission unlocked pages from the lore book, Captain’s Log. The first one, titled “Charon’s Silhouette,” described Calus’ first meeting with Katabasis, a hunter he employed for his experiments aboard the ship Glykon Volatus where “Presage” takes place. After first speaking with a statue of Calus, Katabasis was then shown the man himself: a weak, dying husk attached to machinery to keep him alive. He wished to become the image of himself depicted in his replicas, and it’s a wish that may have been granted.

What Calus Has Been Up To In Destiny 2

After numerous completions of “Presage,” it became clear that the Glykon was used for experiments on the Scorn. In an effort to understand the Darkness, commune with it and eventually be empowered by it, Calus had his exiled loyalists capture Scorn and take them to the ship. The Scorn would later be featured more prominently in Destiny’s Vow of the Disciple raid. At this point, the group was also in possession of the Hive Crown of Sorrow and used it on the Scorn to examine how their consciousness reacted with the artifact’s ability to seize the mind of its wearer. Prior to this, Calus had given the Crown to Gahlran, the boss of the Crown of Sorrow raid lair. The Crown drove him mad and gave him the ability to summon Hive to the Leviathan, forcing Calus to request the services of Guardians to eliminate the threat. The experiments, however, failed catastrophically and resulted in the Glykon being overrun by a Darkness-infused growth. It killed everyone but the Locus of Communion, the boss at the end of “Presage,” and Calus and the Leviathan haven’t been seen since.

Season of the Risen introduced the “Vox Obscura” exotic mission, which rewards the player with the Destiny grenade launcher Dead Messenger. In the mission, Guardians were tasked by Empress Caiatl with traveling to an old Cabal base on Mars and shutting down a propaganda broadcast encouraging her soldiers to switch their allegiance to the Darkness. Once the broadcast operation was successfully brought down, Caiatl’s Psions were able to decrypt a message from Calus. In it, he offered “salvation” for those who join him. Promises of salvation usually come from those with ties to the Darkness, so it’s possible Calus succeeded after the experiments aboard the Glykon. With Rhulk now out of the picture thanks to Destiny’s “Vow of the Disciple” raid, it leaves a vacancy that Calus would be more than willing to occupy. The Witness’ first Disciple has been killed, and Calus has spent years trying to prove loyalty to the Darkness. Judging by the messages left in “Vox Obscura,” he may already be aligned as another Disciple in Destiny that players will face in the future.

Calus’ presence has been felt on multiple occasions since the disappearance of the Leviathan, and it’s likely for good reason. Not long after the first completion of his raid in 2017, the Destiny community was able to routinely make quick work of a challenge that became trivial over time; but it’s safe to assume the new Calus will be much more powerful. The latest Destiny 2 exotic mission shows that moment is slowly getting closer.

About The Author

Ahmad Austin
(16 Articles Published)

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Ahmad began writing for Screen Rant in January 2022. A lifelong gamer, his current interests include Destiny 2, Forza Horizon 5, Session and a multitude of RPGs.

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