Kirac's my name, Commander of the Citizen Vanguard. We're the front line, ensuring callous gods and bloodthirsty fiends never blindside us again. The Templars kept the true nature of the world hidden from the populace, but now the rhoa's out of the sack, and we'll keep both eyes open. Or the one eye open, in my case.

We are the people's response to the madness of Wraeclast. We've had enough of corruption, gods, and would-be dictators. The last year or so, the Citizen Vanguard has embarked upon a celestial war in secret in a realm called the Atlas, and we've lost many valiant men in battle. We need all the soldiers we can get, so it's time for you to put your strength and wits to good use.

I can't help but feel a sense of hope that the people we have gathered are part of something greater. We're all utterly different, but something has brought us together here and now. Alva, with her blood thaumaturgy. Tane, with his dark science. Einhar, with his natural wisdom. Niko, with his machinery skills. Jun, with her combat prowess. Kirac's leadership, and your strength, make me confident that we can handle whatever the future brings.

The Atlas is a grave threat to mankind, a realm unlike any we've seen. It offers up your wildest desires, urging you ever onward into madness and danger... and yet, it may be our greatest defence as well. The Atlas draws the attention of eldritch creatures that would otherwise destroy us without a second thought. It's too dangerous to interact with, but too valuable to be left alone. You can see the position that leaves us in.

We used to have the Atlas fully mapped, but it changes. It grows. After recent major events, it completely changed form. We've started from scratch at a moment we can ill afford to be blinded. The more you explore the Atlas, the better our chances of survival.

You encountered The Envoy? This is exactly what I was hoping for. He's an enigmatic being, but he never strays far from his ward. He serves and guards a being called The Maven, and she is the true reason I've asked you to work with us. She is... a horrific abomination of a similar kind to the ones that are on their way. You might think I'm crazy for seeking her on purpose, but she may be the only one who can help us. You'll understand when - and if - you find her.

Something dark is coming, Godslayer. Time is short. Keep exploring the Atlas. Where The Envoy resides, The Maven cannot be far.

The Maven is a powerful entity with a penchant for forcing combatants to fight to the death. Then, she resurrects them to do it all again, over and over. She's tortured more than a few of my men and added them to her collection... my own brother included.

A previous exile worked with her on our behalf, catching her interest for a time. That didn't last. Don't let her make you part of her collection.

Murky waters have cleared, giving light to the past. Silence befell this realm at the hands of the Nomad. Silence befell this realm at the hands of the six. As one, they achieved the impossible, but scattered and alone, they were vulnerable. She keeps them still, her four prized trophies, a source of unending amusement. Two remain elusive, much to her ire...

They set foot upon this realm as a challenge to The Maven. Omnipotent and merciless, an eternity of suffering underlies and begets the annihilation they wreak.

Their power is an insurmountable summit. You will not give them cause to falter. The Maven stakes her claim here, and only her voice might give them pause. Cling to her, Nomad, and pour all your hopes into the Struggle.

The weavers of destiny do not share knowledge of the path. The murmurs of the lightkeeper are not for our understanding. He illuminates the way forward, but our eyes are ever locked downward on the steps we take, marking each moment in tireless sequence. Only the progenitor may cast its gaze forward, birthing new ambitions apace as the old turn to dust in the light. In this cold conflict, an Impulse emerges. The winter forest grows, and does not burn. Not a miracle, not a gift, not a thinking mind. Simply the way it must be, so that existence may be.

The minds of those studied utterly by the Cleansing Fire
continue to think and dream and beg for silence...

Where that searing dawn fell, silence reigned.
We sought the shadows, but none remained.

The Cleansing Fire seems to be a colossal brain composed of 'blazing suns and black stars' that developed the ability to think, and has spent eternity voraciously seeking knowledge at the expense of disintegrating everything it studies. Somehow, it even keeps a library of minds, refusing to let those it has annihilated actually cease to exist.

A multitude of beings share a wretched existence
irrevocably bound together in perpetual torture.

Lost in a sea of limbs and screaming faces, they claw
for any fleeting pleasure which might dull the pain.

"We awoke to a sudden jungle rupturing the valleys of our home.
Grasping limbs coiled around us, into us. We sank into each other,
then rose into the living sky. My family screams alongside me still."

...the Tangle is some sort of horrific mass of organic beings melded together, and every one of those beings is pulling and clawing away eternally, trying to escape the pain and pursue even the smallest pleasure or consumption to distract themselves from the agony of their horrible existence. The more those trapped in the Tangle reach out, the more beings get absorbed, making the whole thing even more painful and cacophonous.

With this new piece of equipment, we can hunt The Cleansing Fire's footholds on the Atlas. Attack them on her behalf, and we can set them up to fight each other instead of us.

This key glows brighter in proximity to the Map Device, as if it's trying to tell us it wants to be used. It will take you beyond the Atlas itself, to some unknown place in the celestial realm. Rather than defending known lands, this will be an offensive mission into enemy territory. Wherever it leads, be ready for a skirmish.

Champion against champion. So it must be.

The dark light fades...

Our strategists believe that by defeating The Black Star, you've strengthened The Maven's claim on the Atlas. No cause for celebration just yet, though. This is far from over. By all accounts, there's something far more deadly ahead. Be ready, Godslayer.

From the corona of an ancient star,
the Searing Exarch seeks to master the Atlas.

Your absurd defiance ends here, hatchling.

I shall aid my champion in this battle, if needed.

My lady bids you farewell, Exarch. This is her kingdom!

I'm glad you survived your battle with The Cleansing Fire's emissary, but I suspect this is hardly the end of The Maven's battle for ownership of the Atlas. Keep fighting as her champion, Godslayer. She's the best of our terrible options.

So The Maven has given you a tool to begin hunting The Tangle. I knew finding her was our best shot at facing these abominations. Attack it on her behalf, and we can begin setting them against each other.

My engineers have looked at that key... it's some sort of purposeful invitation, almost ceremonial in design. If you put this in the Map Device, it will open the way to somewhere far beyond the Atlas. It's about time we went on the offensive. Prepare yourself for a bit of a tussle.

Foolish Maven, come to feed me her champion!

An open maw is merely a gateway to a labyrinth of stomachs that can never be filled. The destruction of a single mouth does not stem the tide of the ceaseless hunger within. The Maven's claim stands, but the challenge continues.

The Eater of Worlds consumed for countless
eons to satiate the desperation of masters
that could never be satisfied.

This is it, Godslayer. That key is an invitation to face The Tangle's primary champion in some far-off realm. The enemy is expecting you, so stay wary.

I will not let The Tangle's champion claim the Atlas!

Spires grow upon conquered ground at the behest of The Tangle's emissary, marking troves of screaming flesh to be consumed. The destruction of the herald balks the hunger within. The Maven's claim stands... for now.

Oh, what a delight! We've won! The Atlas is ours.

Or at least... until the others arrive to challenge me for this realm...

Two claimants have arrived, desperate in their hunger. Two claimants have been turned away. The Maven and the Nomad stand bloodied and victorious, but time is fleeting, and time is eternal. The enemies outnumber the stars in the sky. The enemies are the stars in the sky. Mark this as the moment you finally understand the insurmountable weight of the approaching tide. This is not the end. This was merely the beginning.