Bungie has been hinting at what may happen when The Traveler and The Witness finally confront each other, and the launch trailer for Destiny 2: Lightfall gives players a small glimpse at the chaos that will unfold when the two entities meet. The moment has been roughly 10 years in the making as Bungie has been teasing the game's player base about this eons-old conflict between these two god-like entities and the various species caught in the middle. If the imagery in the newest trailer is anything to go by, the confrontation between these beings of Light and Darkness in Destiny 2 will fundamentally change the lives of all beings in the Sol System, regardless of which they may be loyal to.
Since it was announced in 2020, Lightfall has been touted as a major turning point in Destiny 2 as the penultimate chapter of the Light and Darkness Saga. It will see guardians and their allies do direct battle with The Witness for the first time, along with the Shadow Legion of its newest disciple, Emperor Calus. The season finale of Season of the Seraph set the stage for this battle to begin as The Traveler now rests in high orbit above Earth after it appeared to begin leaving while the Warmind Rasputin sacrificed itself to halt Eramis' attempt to use the Warmind's own weapons to destroy The Traveler.
The launch trailer, which aired as part of the first PlayStation State of Play for 2023, gave an extended look at the battle set to take place above Earth between the forces of The Last City and The Witness' followers. Guardian ships, allied fleets, and The Witness' Pyramids can be seen trading fire as The Witness goes to make direct physical contact with The Traveler. While it is unclear from the trailer what the larger consequences of this meeting will be, it is clear the confrontation will result in a surge of power unlike any the Destiny universe has seen up to this point.
While Bungie has hinted at the seemingly eternal conflict between The Traveler and The Witness, the trailer highlights the true scale of power these two beings have at their disposal, which has only been hinted at in the lore. Players have only gotten small glimpses of this power to this point, with The Traveler flexing its power to defeat Ghaul at the end of Destiny 2's launch campaign and to push back the encroaching Darkness in the prologue live event to Beyond Light's launch. The Witness' power, by comparison, has been seen at a much smaller scale between its disciples and Pyramid ships, though it was able to flex its power as well as it was canonically responsible for the disappearance of Io, Titan, Mercury, and Mars.
It is also worth remembering that this is only the penultimate chapter to the Light and Darkness Saga, with The Final Shape serving as the conclusion to this current story. An argument could be made the glimpses of power Bungie will showcase in Lightfall is the proverbial appetizer to the main course coming in 2024, potentially pitting guardians directly against The Witness in combat. That said, players will first need to get past Calus, unlock the power of Strand, and save the hidden city of Neomuna in order to reach a final confrontation.
Destiny 2 is currently available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.