May 18th, 2012 by Steve Perry
Before we get into this Discussion Topic, let me clarify right off the bat. THIS WILL INCLUDE SPOILERS. I intend to mention every single major twist and occurance in the storyline in this post and in the comments, so avoid this post at all costs if you haven’t beaten Diablo III yet. Of course, if you don’t care either way, feel free to read on!
With that out the way, let’s begin. After finishing off Diablo III last night, I couldn’t wait to talk about it with people. Unfortunately, most folks haven’t finished the game as quickly as I did, so I was left to talk to myself. But before I get into the discussion topics, allow me to talk a bit about the major twists and reveals in the Diablo III storyline.
First and foremost, you begin on a quest to uncover the mystery behind the “fallen star”. Turns out the star is a man, a man with no memory save for a warning of an impending darkness. That and a sword, fragmented into three pieces. After recovering the pieces, you not only witness the death of Deckard Cain at the hands of Magdha, hand of Belial, but you also find out that the man is the former archangel Tyrael. The act cinematic reveals the Tyrael shed his wings after voting to spare mankind from annihilation at the hands of the angelic council. Now, expelled from the High Heavens, he is a mortal man.
Now your quest continues with Tyrael; the mysterious niece of Deckard Cain, Leah; and your companion. You then discover that Leah’s mother Adria – once thought dead – is in fact alive and assists her in harnessing the magical power she can barely control. You face off against Belial, the Lord of Hell, hiding in the body of the young Emperor Hakan, before taking off to hunt down Azmodan and defeat his armies. Through this, Leah is using her powers under her mother’s careful guidance to entrap the demon lord souls in the Black Soulstone, a relic created by Zoltan Kulle which currently holds the souls of all five other Lords of Evil. After defeating Azmodan, the final soul is trapped in the stone and Tyrael, Adria and Leah depart to begin the ritual to shatter the stone.
And here’s the big twist. When returning to Bastion’s Keep, site of the struggle against Azmodan’s armies, you discover that Adria is in fact a traitor. She takes out Tyrael and reveals that Leah’s father is none other than the titular demon himself, Diablo. Using the Black Soulstone, she kills Leah and uses her body as a vessel for the resurrection of the new Prime Evil. Now with the power of all seven souls within him, Diablo takes his war to the High Heavens themselves.
A battle between Diablo and the Archangel Imperius takes place right at the gates of Heaven. There, Imperius is nearly slain by the Prime Evil as Diablo begins the destructive process. You begin the assault against Diablo within the High Heavens themselves, ascending to the very peak of Heaven and nearly having to contend with a stubborn Imperius himself before facing off against Diablo one-on-one. After his defeat, all evil is extinguished from the world and Tyrael retakes his place in the High Heavens, this time as a mortal, serving now as the Aspect of Wisdom instead of Justice in the face of evil’s defeat, and forging a new alliance between Angels and Men.
So, now let’s talk about it. What was your favorite part of the Diablo III storyline? What part did you like the least? What would you like to find out more of? Share all of your thoughts regarding the D3 storyline in the comments below!
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