Destiny fans have rallied around a fellow fan who lost his battle with cancer after hearing his story about how before he died he was able to accomplish a feat that had eluded him despite thousands of hours played— with the help of his friends, he reached the Lighthouse.

Mike Mariana was a huge Destiny fan, logging almost 3,000 hours in the game. According to his clanmates, he spent a lot of his time helping other players get through PvE content, but he had never made it to the prestigious Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is the reward for players who are able to overcome Destiny's greatest PvP challenge, going undefeated — or Flawless — in Trials of Osiris.

But that all changed when his friends enlisted the help of Destiny streamer DrLupo, known for playing Trials of Osiris and helping people go Flawless. It all started when Mike's clanmate reached out to DrLupo about Mike's story. According to the original message to DrLupo, now posted on the Destiny subreddit, Mike had been playing Destiny since the beta, and around the same time he was diagnosed with colon cancer. After beating that bout of cancer, it later returned and required multiple surgeries and hospital stays. The treatment caused Mike to become nauseated making it almost impossible to play games for an extended period of time. Despite numerous tries, none of his friends were good enough to "carry" him to the Lighthouse, so they turned to DrLupo.

DrLupo told Game Rant that he hears similar stories often, but Mike's stood out:

"Numerous times over the last 2 years, I've been approached by people with all sorts of stories. Everyone has one, it's one of the things I love most about gaming - you get to hear those stories. Some are real, some are not. Often times it's hard to tell. I've become accustomed to protecting myself from it - from being tricked into doing something for someone when they aren't being genuine. [...] A handful of his friends had been trying to get him to the Lighthouse in the past, and it was tough - he was going through waves of pain and discomfort on a regular basis. So, they decided to see if they could call in the big guns, so to say."

DrLupo says he was initially skeptical and asked for proof that Mike's story was legitimate. But Mike's friend's determination to find proof for DrLupo sealed the deal. That led to DrLupo successfully getting Mike to the Lighthouse. The whole run can be seen in the video below:

DrLupo says he's happy to have been able to help Mike, to get him to the Lighthouse and use a game to get him outside of his pain and discomfort:

"When it came time to play with Mike, he was like a kid in a candy store. Laughing. Clearly enjoying himself. And that's what I wanted. I wanted to see if I could make a man who had been battling something attacking him from the inside turn into a kid again, and I'd like to think I succeeded."

A few weeks ago, Mike sadly lost his battle with cancer. But DrLupo acted as "lightning rod of sorts" as he calls it, causing Destiny fans to cling to Mike's story and to support his loved ones. A YouCaring page was set up to help support Mike's family. Initially the goal was $5,000, which was met within a day of posting the link. After that the goal was increased to $7,500. The fund currently stands at $7,871.

After news of the story spread, DrLupo has gotten a lot of positive messages sent his way, but he says he reminds people that he's just an intermediary and that "the people giving their support directly are the real heroes."

Source: Destiny Reddit

Destiny: Rise of Iron is available now on PS4 and Xbox One.