Despite the overall theme of comic release at inappropriate times, like when the main characters had to give a speech to honor Maya's death in Borderlands 3, the Borderlands series is one made of meaningful and interesting stories. It's not uncommon to find depth in side quests that could easily be skipped by gamers, and the main quests of each title from the franchise always prove to be more than a chain of events happening. Sometimes, the tales told in the Borderlands universe are born in the wake of something sinister, menacing, and unseen.
All Borderlands games have a theme of powerlessness and potency, death and life, destruction and creation. This holds especially true for events like the passing of a Siren, when her powers are inherited by another individual, be it one deemed worthy by the dying Siren or someone chosen at random. Borderlands 3 specifically puts a lot of emphasis on the Sirens, their powers, their sisterhood, their ability to find each other, and the role that Nyriad played in central events of the whole series.
Nyriad And The Eridians
Nyriad is a Siren from the past, back when the Sirens and the Eridians lived side-by-side, neither knowing the origins of the other but still able to be at peace. Nyriad had the powers of the leech, one she learns to reckon as a curse more than a gift because of the burdensome actions that having these abilities compels her to do. This and more is what becomes apparent after collecting all the messages left by the Siren on slab stones, written in Eridian language.
Nyriad was probably one of the very few that knew the Eridians well enough to learn their language, and when they came to her asking for help, she knew they were desperate to do so. She helped them build the most inescapable of cages for the most unspeakably evil creature ever seen. One that the Eridians were too curious and too thirsty for knowledge to stay away from, and that is how they discovered a god. Something that would devour stars and planets like they were nothing, and absorb a whole people's culture before eradicating it from existence. That being is the Destroyer, whose physical manifestation players were able to defeat at the end of Borderlands 1.
The Devourer of Everything: The Destroyer and its Prison
The Destroyer, according to Nyriad, is a being whose origins were unknown to the advanced all-knowing Eridians too. Its purpose is simple: uncontrolled, relentless destruction. It is a sentient, intelligent being that comprehends what it devours, and as such, it was even harder to build anything that could contain it. Pandora was built by several generations, and when it was finished the Eridians asked even more of Nyriad.
In the current days, Eridians seem to be extinct in the universe of Borderlands, but the cause of this was always wrongly attributed to the Destroyer. This entity is a contributing factor to what happened, having the Eridians discovered its existence and taken upon themselves the onus of stopping it. However, the Destroyer cannot be killed, and its purpose of perpetual destruction will always carry on. That's when the Eridians knew that they had to put it away, but even a machine as sophisticated as Pandora required energy to contain such a powerful being.
The Eridians asked Nyriad to leech them, to leech their energy and use it to infuse Pandora and make it strong enough to hold. Begrudgingly, Nyriad accepted, as she knew she had no choice and that the Destroyer had to be stopped. This is when one of the Eridians' creations, a Guardian, witnessed the events and didn't lift a finger to prevent its makers' demise nor to avenge them. As Nyriad said, it merely watched; it was the Watcher, the being that at the end of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel warned the Vault Hunter about an impending war.
The Cycle Of Destruction And Creation, And The Destroyer's Reflection
The macro-cosmos of Borderlands itself is home to a plethora of species that wreak havoc on others like bandits with Skag, or even Vault Hunters themselves, killing their way out of everything. On the other hand, there are other species that cultivate life and create it, like the Eridians. They built these refined, advanced beings that are the Guardians in order to protect the Vaults they made. These Vaults were not only meant to store the Eridians' treasures, but also to keep creatures like the Graveward, the Traveler, and the Rampagers at bay.
In her messages from beyond the grave, Nyriad states that she believes the Destroyer cannot be the only being to have such an unfathomable purpose, and she believes that there is a juxtaposed entity to it. A reflection, she calls it. This entity, the Creator, could perpetuate the cycle of making and unmaking that takes place in the Borderlands universe. However, Nyriad says that as much as she shivers witnessing unending hunger, her own blood runs cold at the thought of unstoppable creation.
The very existence of a being that by nature does not know half measures is concerning on its own, but then if its only goal is either ending life or generating it, then everything can be in danger. Whole planets and populations could disappear without leaving a trace that they were ever there. Likewise, brand-new stars, galaxies, and species could be created and then left there, without a purpose.
All of this poses many more questions than it answers, unfortunately, and only new DLCs or future additions to the franchise can provide players with more information. Or, for lack of a better term, only new Borderlands creations will tell.
Borderlands 3 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.