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"Once again, we return."
This article contains spoilers for Issue 25 of The Wicked + The Divine. Read at your own risk. |
The Great Darkness is the enemy of the Pantheon. Little is known about them, but it appears they prevented the growth of civilisation.
History
The Great Darkness appears to have been around for as long as the Pantheon. According to Ananke, they fight the gods every cycle, and in the early days of the Recurrence, won every time. Eventually it was decided that, in order to halt the forces of darkness for good, the gods would need someone to guide them in future cycles, so Ananke agreed to take on that role and sacrificed her ability to inspire.
Ananke claimed that the Great Darkness can only be stopped by the deaths of four gods, which is presumably why she had been murdering gods for several millenia. This involves something called the "core sacrament", and necessitates the completion of a particular ritual. Ananke believed that the fourth death is always the hardest.
During the 2010s Recurrence, Ananke killed Lucifer, Inanna and Tara to fulfill the core sacrament. She intended to use Minerva for the final death, but was stopped by the other gods. She was then killed by Persephone, and her knowledge of the Great Darkness presumably died with her, leaving the surviving gods clueless in their fight against them. Some of the gods seemed sceptical about its existence, with the exception of Baal, who appears to have past experience with them. He was proved correct when they burst into the Pantheon's new headquarters inside the Shard, kidnapping Minerva.
Appearance
The Great Darkness takes the appearance of a shadowy cloud that has a vaguely humanoid shape, with at least three arms and clawed hands and feet.
Powers
The extent of the Great Darkness' powers are unknown, though it appears to be able to travel through the air.
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