The story presented in Diablo 4 is one of a bleak, demon-infested world where the corruption of Lilith has seduced many of Sanctuary's inhabitants to commit despicable acts in her name. As players travel throughout the world of Diablo 4, they will encounter characters who worship the Mother of Demons with cult-like reverence, leading to a host of interesting storylines and side quests related to Lilith's return to Sanctuary.
While many players might be tempted to skip the story of Diablo 4 in an attempt to reach level 100 as quickly as possible, doing so means they will miss out on some of the most macabre elements of this dark fantasy game. The Diablo series has always incorporated darker elements of the classic angels versus demons struggle into its narrative, but Diablo 4 really ramps up these elements, making it one of the darkest entries in the series. As such, players shouldn't skip over Diablo 4's side quests as they reveal more about the sinister acts Lilith devotees have committed and their impact on the greater world of Sanctuary.
Diablo 4's Unyielding Flesh Side Quest Reveals the Depths of Lilith's Sin
One of the side quests that best illustrates Lilith's corruption in Diablo 4 is the Unyielding Flesh side quest that players can acquire by talking to Krystyna in Yelesna in the Fractured Peaks region. This is an early-game area that most players will reach while following the main quest of Act 1 and players can talk to the woman to the east of Yelesna's Waypoint to trigger this quest. The quest starts off innocuous enough with Krystyna telling the player that she suspects that her husband is being unfaithful to her as he was seen sneaking off in the middle of the night with another woman.
She then asks the player to accompany her into the woods as protection against the ghouls that make their home there so that she can safely search for her husband and his suspected lover. Venturing into these woods in southeastern Fractured Peaks, players will find Krystyna's husband Feodor in a grotesque state, with all of his limbs chained to surrounding pillars and the flesh completely flayed from his body. She asks the player to follow the woman who did this to him deeper into the woods, where the player discovers the being is not a woman but a succubus of Lilith, Yulia the Hellbound, whom players must defeat.
After defeating Yulia and returning to Krystyna and Feodor, the player finds that Krystyna has stabbed what remains of Feodor with a dagger in her rage, which she bequeaths unto the player if they are willing to remove it from Feodor's chest. Diablo 4 players can remove the dagger to receive the rare Blood-Barbed Blade as a reward for their efforts. This entire ordeal was started because of the pleasure in pain Yulia used as a way to seduce Feodor, as he claims to have seen such pleasure and such pain that he became addicted to it even though it ends up leading to his demise.
This quest perfectly encapsulates the themes of sadomasochism that the game places upon victims of Lilith's seduction throughout Diablo 4. Unyielding Flesh demonstrates how Lilith played into Feodor's desire for pain and pleasure by tempting him with Yulia, only to have it escalate to unimaginable heights as he becomes further corrupted by her influence. While Diablo 4 has some pretty grisly side quests, Unyielding Flesh might be the most disturbing simply because it demonstrates how quickly Lilith's influence can exacerbate sinful human desires to the extreme.
Diablo 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.