However, that trend may be coming to an end as a cinematic was included in this week’s Destiny 2 reset, taking most players by surprise after logging in. The footage showed a pissed off Osiris charging into Rasputin’s Vault to confront the Warmind with regards to the approaching Darkness. Osiris called out Rasputin, referring to him as a murderer and betrayer while not being the benevolent AI that many people believe it to be.

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Although brief, the cinematic was a big hit with the community and offered a potential first glimpse at a potential story line for the upcoming season and beyond. Additional speculation and details could also be interpreted from the footage as Destiny 2 slowly inches towards Season 10.

The Expansion Connection

For the first time, Bungie has managed to seemingly tie together both Year 1 expansions, Curse of Osiris and Warmind, something that was previously thought not possible. With Curse of Osiris, the exiled Warlock reached out to the player and Ikora Rey to assist in putting an end to a growing Vex threat on Mercury. Ultimately, players left Osiris inside of the Infinite Forest, where he remained until the events of Season of Dawn.

In terms of Warmind, it was the player, along with Ana Bray, who ultimately saved Rasputin from the Hive threat by destroying Xol, the Hive Wormgod. With the threat destroyed, Rasputin allows Bray and the Guardian to enter its Core where a disapproving Zavala also waits. Ultimately, the AI reveals that it’s no longer going to take orders from others and instead protect to Sol system under its own terms and what he deems correct.

The footage also hints that both Rasputin and Osiris share some sort of history with one another due to the way the Warlock mentions that its been a while and refers to the AI as “old man.”

How The Undying Mind Fits In

During last season, player’s ultimate goal was to stop the return of The Undying Mind across all timelines. While that goal was successful, it also seemingly broke time, which directly led to the Cabal Flayers attempting to infiltrate Mercury’s Sundial and undo the events of The Red War. However, defeating the Undying Mind seems to have had massive implications within the timeline, much more than originally thought.

As Osiris notes in lore that Bungie posted prior to Season of Dawn, destroying the Undying Mind seemingly changed the simulations in the Infinite Forest which all started to predict one particular outcome. The Traveler was no longer stationed above The Last City and was instead replaced by the black Pyramid Ship. This prediction is what seemingly triggered Osiris to venture to Mars and confront the Warmind Rasputin since its sole purpose is to defend humanity at all costs.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is that according to Destiny lore, the Vex are unable to simulate three things: the Light, the Darkness, and Warminds.

Confrontation with the Darkness

A heated Osiris threw some heavy accusations at Rasputin calling him a betrayer and murder among other things. While the trailer doesn’t confirm the source of his anger, it likely manifests from Rasputin’s failure to help during the Collapse and ultimately leading to the deaths of Lord Saladin’s Iron Lords during the SIVA Crisis. Based on that knowledge, Osiris is likely heated knowing that a similar situation is approaching thanks to a future event witnessed inside of the Infinite Forest. The question then becomes: Does Osiris believe that Rasputin will side with the Darkness when it arrives?

The dark future that Osiris saw inside of the Infinite Forest could have led the Warlock to believe that there were certain events that Rasputin could have warned the Vanguard about but ultimately didn’t. Knowing that the Vex can’t simulate Warminds, it’s impossible to know exactly what Rasputin did or didn’t do, though with most believing the AI would help, a future like this likely means it didn’t intervene in the way that most would have thought.

Or perhaps it did and the outcome was the best available option for humanity at the expense of the Guardians, who the Warmind simply views as tools of the Traveler. It’s ultimately left unclear though Osiris’ reaction to such a bleak outcome is understandable.

Rasputin’s Final Words

One of the biggest topics of debate form the cinematic came at the end as the vault doors closed on Osiris and Rasputin spoke. Bungie has typically given the Warmind a unique language made up of Russian words spoken backwards. However, many fans who have watched this latest cinematic believe that the word spoken by the AI was ‘Darkness.’

What makes this significant is that Osiris demanded to know which side the Warmind was on which means that the AI basically confirmed some very bad news. If this is the case, it’s possible that Rasputin’s ‘win at all costs’ mentality for the sake of humanity means that it views the Darkness as the ultimate victor in the coming battle.

Joining with the enemy is not as crazy as it seems because previously discovered lore hints that Rasputin could indeed be assisting The Darkness in some capacity. Looking at the Ghost Fragment: Mysteries lore from the first game reveals some of the origins of Rasputin and how it thinks. It states it was made to be powerful, to protect, and to learn on its own. Towards the end of the entry, Rasputin discusses another entity which is also alone and strong and that it always wins. It’s purposely vague, which has led many fans to speculate that the AI is talking about the power of Darkness.

Naturally, the community has gone into overdrive trying to figure out the exact words being spoken by Rasputin. While Darkness remains the most popular theory, some have even believed to have heard the Russian word for ‘Goodbye’ while others are claiming to hear the beginnings of a Russian phrase for “are you threatening me?”

Osiris and the Future

It’s probable that the last shot was set up to simply look dramatic, but it also conveys a sense of foreboding. While most players will likely cling to Rasputin’s final words, the last shot shows the doors closing seemingly trapping Osiris inside of Rasputin’s core. If the AI really is the villain Osiris believes it to be, the doors closing make sense considering that not only did the Warlock charge into the room seemingly ready to fire at the slightest movement, but he now knows that Rasputin is allied with the darkness. Not trapping Osiris and letting him rush off to warn the solar system would be problematic. So what happens next? Do players need to find a way to save Osiris and fight the Warmind? Will players be given a choice on which side to stand on? Does this potentially signal a return of SIVA in some capacity?

The other big question is how Ana Bray factors in considering she made the decision to stay behind and work/recruit Rasputin to aid humanity much to Commander Zavala’s chagrin. It should be assumed then that she’s likely to play another role in this matter somehow with how closely she’s integrated with the Warmind.

Whatever the case ultimately may be, this cutcene seems to indicate that Bungie has more than a few tricks up its sleeves in terms of moving major story lines forward. The stage appears to be set for a very interesting Season 10.

Destiny 2 is available on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Stadia.

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