Those reaching the end of Diablo 4 Season 14’s seasonal storyline are being treated to some major teases about what’s next for Blizzard’s ARPG, though those eagerly anticipating the return of the Lord of Terror himself might be disappointed.
Spoilers for Diablo 4 Season 14 below.
Season 14, titled Death’s Awakening, sees players combating a death cult looking to end Sanctuary’s suffering in the wake of Mephisto’s defeat. That eventually leads players to none other than the Pandemonium Fortress, previously seen in Diablo 2 and Diablo 3’s Reaper of Souls expansion, where they encounter the corrupted angel Seraziel. Upon their defeat, Seraziel leaves players with an ominous warning: “He is coming.”
That “he” in question is likely Malthael, whom Seraziel serves and players previously defeated in Reaper of Souls. That’s not exactly a surprise given the “death” theme of the season, but the return of the Pandemonium Fortress (where Malthael was last seen and slain) and Seraziel does make it all the more explicit what Blizzard is setting up.
But that’s not all players have to go on. As broken down by Diablo content creator LoatheBurger, after Seraziel’s defeat, players encounter a mysterious stranger who says there is nothing that can be done against Death itself. When asked who they are, the stranger simply replies “I am no one, brave child. And for all your might, neither are you.”
Talking to the questgiver Dannica about the odd encounter afterwards, players can select a dialogue option that states “There was something familiar about that old man,” with the player character specifically saying their voice sounded familiar.
That seems to imply it’s someone Diablo 4 players have previously encountered, but who this stranger is remains to be seen. Some long lost Horadrim? Lorath (somehow?) back from the dead? The triumphant return of Deckard Cain? Only time will tell.
All of this happening in a seasonal storyline is new territory for Diablo 4. Previous seasons were largely self-contained stories that had little to do with the overarching game’s plot, and certainly weren’t used to tee up possible future expansions.
In an interview with GameSpot ahead of Season 14, Dan Tanguay, Diablo 4’s design director for live services, said it was an intentional choice to have the season relate more directly to the events of the game’s main story. He also said the season was a chance to get more story-focused players involved.
“We know there’s a group of players who are really invested in the lore, probably more so than resetting power chases,” Tanguay said. “They don’t tend to play seasons as much. Here, we said ‘Well, they’ve gotten a really good conclusion to the Mephisto arc, and now it’s an opportunity to see if we can take them along on this ride with us.'”
Following the end of the Lord of Hatred expansion, many players assumed Blizzard would be building towards the return of villains like Baal, the Lord of Destruction, or Diablo himself. Now, it looks like Malthael is instead taking center stage, though Blizzard does at least have options when it comes to what major villain to bring back next.
Thankfully, players won’t have to wait long to learn more about Diablo 4’s future, as BlizzCon is right around the corner on September 12-13. A Switch 2 version of Diablo 4 could be announced at the show, and while Blizzard has already shared some information about what’s in store for Diablo 4 Season 15 (like the ability to use the same character each season and the return of iconic items from past Diablo games), more details will be shared at BlizzCon.