Diablo 4 takes place many decades after the events of Diablo 3 and begins its tale centered around the story of the fallen angel Inarius and his former lover, the demon Lilith. Their sordid history not only shaped the lives of every human living in Sanctuary, but they were actually the creators of Sanctuary itself and their son was the first Nephalem. Early in the game, players find many of the humans have taken to worshiping Inarius with a church dedicated to him, while another cult has taken root that pledges allegiance to the demon Mother of Sanctuary.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Diablo 4.]
The story of much that occurred before Diablo 4 is tied together in this latest entry into the series, with additional knowledge given regarding the Horadrim, Nephalem, and the very creation of humanity in Sanctuary. After Lilith was shackled by Inarius long ago, their offspring, the Nephalem, evolved into the humans that fill the world now, with their powers laying dormant within them. As Lilith breaks free from her bondage early in the game, she sees that by reigniting these powers within the humans who will follow her, she can use them to gain the control she desires.
The Ending Of Lilith, Inarius, & Mephisto
Lilith was the daughter of the Prime Evil Mephisto, the lover of the fallen angel Inarius, and the Mother of Sanctuary. As players come near the end of Diablo 4, Mephisto approaches the player and Neyrelle and attempts to reason with them to earn their loyalty in helping him to stop Lilith. Lilith also tries to reason with the player's character during a vision, but after they have chased Lilith across all of Sanctuary and slowly seen what she has been doing to those who she has tricked before, they refuse her offer for them to become her Champion.
Lilith and Inarius have had a long history of love and hatred. In Diablo 4, Inarius wants to stop the player from trapping Lilith in a Soulstone as he believes that his killing her instead will give him the glory he needs to be welcomed back to the heavens. Ultimately, while on her way to see Mephisto, Lilith comes face to face with Inarius, and after they engage in battle, she kills him while he was in a moment of hesitation. Because of this interruption, the player and Neyrelle make it to Mephisto first. Ultimately Neyrelle realizes that Mephisto is quite possibly a larger threat to humanity than Lilith is, and binds his essence to a Soulstone which was meant for Lilith. Neyrelle takes this Soulstone filled with Mephisto's essence and leaves on a journey with it.
Players are then faced again with Lilith herself at the end if Diablo 4, where she becomes enraged and a boss battle within the Throne of Hatred takes place, ultimately leading to Lilith's defeat. Though players witness her crumbling to dust following her battle with the player character, it is left to be seen if she is truly gone from the series or if she will make a return as several other Diablo characters have in the past.
Was Lilith Really A Villain?
Throughout the story of Diablo 4, Lilith claims that she wants to give the humans of Sanctuary protection and freedom by unlocking their Nephalem potential within them. She warned that more Prime Evils will be coming for Sanctuary and without the powers she alone could grant, humanity was doomed to fail. In Lilith's last moments, the player sees a vision that depicts a return of Diablo himself.
As is the norm for Diablo games, players do not have an active role in directing the outcomes of the story through choices. Diablo 4's ending, however, feels as though it could have benefited if the player had been given a choice in the game whether to side with Lilith instead of destroying her. Perhaps her warnings are truly premonitions of what is to come, and she could have really meant to be looking after the best interests of the greater whole of humanity.
What Could Be Next For Diablo 4 Expansions & Seasons
The ending of Diablo 4 has many unanswered questions. Blizzard has already confirmed that the game will have ongoing seasons connected to its battle service every 3 months, but although the seasons will feature more story content, the stories involved with them are said to be short, unique questlines that are not directly connected with the main narrative of the game. Therefore, if someone were to miss a season, they would not be missing a chunk of the story. Future expansions will be where the rest of Diablo 4's story is fleshed out.
There is no official word on what the future expansions will cover, but with the way the ending of Diablo 4 was left, it is likely that DLC and expansion content will cover the ongoing story of Neyrelle leaving to follow her own journey with Mephisto's confined Soulstone in hand. Lilith's warnings of other Prime Evils and even Diablo himself possibly returning could be foreshadowing either an expansion or possibly the next entry into the series. Other options for expansion content could follow the unresolved plot point of Lorath Nahr being seen by Prava as a heretic who was the cause of Lilith being set free. There are many directions developers could take the story, with many plot holes to be filled.
Diablo 4's ending did leave some unanswered questions for future expansions and DLC to delve into, but ultimately the ending wrapped up a lot of the major concerns. Lilith is supposedly destroyed, as is Inarius. Mephisto is a danger to Neyrelle, but perhaps she does know what she is doing and has a plan. No matter what else happens, and although the player character, the Wanderer, will never be able to live in peace, they at least played a major role in saving Diablo 4's Sanctuary for another day.
Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.
