Things have reached their lowest point after Eye of Het: nobody has a plan and Zamorak and his necromancers have left, which means that not only have the defenders lost part of their forces, the gods can't stop the eggs from hatching. Outside Senntisten, the World Guardian meets Moia, who dealt with a group of TzekHaar who managed to break through to the surface. When asked, Moia says that Zamorak may have abandoned the alliance, but she doesn't agree- she doesn't want the alliance to lose and she knows the alliance needs the Zamorakians, so she came to help, as did her new friend Hebe. They want to reach the Cathedral, but can't without help, so the World Guardian goes in to clear the way for them.
There's a short monologue from Seren about how she was out of options and desperately trying to find a way to avoid extinction, and then the quest resumes. Once the World Guardian, Moia and Hebe reach the Cathedral, they find that the four fronts are under heavy attack and the defenders are barely managing to hold out. Saradomin is not happy with Hebe's presence, and reveals that she's actually his mortal daughter, Adrasteia. He asks why Moia's there, and Moia repeats that she and Zamorak have different opinions, and she wants to help them save Gielinor.
Unfortunately, things are about to collapse. The eggs are going to hatch, and the fronts can't hold out for much longer. The gods send the World Guardian to the Croesus Front, Moia to help with the Nodon cannons and Adrasteia to tend the wounded. At the Croesus Front, the fungus' growth has accelerated to the point that Gorvek is exhausted. The World Guardian manages to drive it back into dormancy, and then heads to the Glacor Front. Enakhra deserted after Zamorak left, and her loss meant that the others couldn't hold out. Azzanadra had the rest of the mages retreat so they wouldn't die, but while he can hold off the Arch-Glacor, he can't do that and deal with the glacytes at the same time.
The World Guardian deals with the glacytes and heads over to the Nodon Front, where the dragonkin are firing cannons at the Cathedral. Using a siege engine, they deal with the cannons, but Kerapac appears and winds back time to restore his army. This cycle repeats several times until Kerapac gets sick of it and leaves... only for TzKal Zuk to climb out of the sewers and come for the Cathedral. This gives the gods a problem: they can easily defeat Zuk, but to do so, they'd have to stop draining the eggs, which they can't do. Saradomin and Armadyl decide that the time has come to destroy the eggs, but Seren won't let them. Instead, she teleports herself and the eggs away. Saradomin and Armadyl send the World Guardian, Hannibus, Moia and Adrasteia after Seren, promising to handle Zuk and keep the Elder Gods' forces confined to Senntisten in the meantime.
Moia asks what the plan is for when they find the eggs. None of the options are very good- Seren can't keep the eggs dormant by herself, they'd have to kill Seren to destroy the eggs, and any other option is more naive hope than a possible plan. They have to find them first, but Seren could have gone anywhere, and there's hundreds of worlds to search. Moia and Adrasteia go to search Gielinor, and Hannibus suggests talking to Vicendithas, Kerapac's son, who was working on an anima diviner.
Vicendithas is happy to help, saying that the presence of the Elder God eggs would distort a world's runescape to the point that it could be easily picked up, but his diviner isn't quite suited for what's needed. The World Guardian gives him the Measure, which works just fine, and he integrates it into his diviner. In the meantime, the World Guardian and Hannibus talk- Hannibus has been trying to encourage Vicendithas to reconcile with Kerapac, but Vicendithas is not on board. Once he's done, he divines that the eggs aren't on Gielinor anymore. The World Guardian relays this to Moia and Adrasteia, and the group, with Vicendithas joining them, meets at the World Gate to try new options.
The first world they try is Tarddiad, where Seren used to live with the elves. Vicendithas tries to divine the runescape, but has no luck, while Hannibus again tries to get him to reconcile with Kerapac, and also has no luck. The group talks to Angof, who tells them that Seren has only come back to Tarddiad once, and isn't there. Kerapac then turns up, seeking Seren and the eggs. Once he's convinced that they're not on Tarddiad and the group aren't trying to hide them from him, Kerapac says that he doesn't want to serve the Elder Gods, but he has to, so he'll find Seren- but before that, he's going to kill the World Guardian. Angof summons crystal shapeshifters to hold Kerapac off, and tells the World Guardian to run, which they do.
With Tarddiad a bust, they decide to try Naragun, which would hold a lot of memories of Guthix for Seren. As they search, Moia asks if Vicendithas hates Kerapac, pointing out that he is in possession of three Elder Artefacts. Vicendithas points out that Kerapac has no free will, so he'd have to try forging a relationship with Jas, which probably wouldn't work. Naragun is also a bust, and Kerapac turns up. They talk, with Kerapac admitting that he doesn't want the Elder Gods' plan to succeed and if he had his own will, he'd destroy the eggs and turn the Needle on Jas, but he doesn't. The group escapes back to Gielinor and decides to try Kethsi- the people there used the Stone of Jas to the point that it left a heavy residual energy signature on their world, which might disguise the presence of the eggs.
Naturally, as soon as they go to Kethsi, Kerapac turns up. The World Guardian talks to him, trying to convince him to help them, and it works: Kerapac agrees to delay Jas, but says that he's only doing it for a chance of revenge against her, not for the World Guardian or anyone else. Back on Gielinor, Vicendithas has an idea: Freneskae, a world where the eggs had already hatched, and where Seren lived for thousands of years. Once they get there, Vicendithas says that Seren's there. Moia teleports the group to the Elder Halls, where they find Seren and the eggs. She's not happy, saying that she knows the gods want her and the eggs dead, but she's too tired to fight.
Something approaches the Halls, and thinking it could be Kerapac, the group goes to see what it is. It's a strange portal full of shadow anima, and in the World Guardian's head, the Shadow Voice adores it while the Light Voice is repelled by it. Back in the Elder Halls, Seren identifies it as the Shadow Breach, a portal into Erebus. There are two- one is on Freneskae, and the other on Gielinor, held shut by the Codex (the mysterious monolith in the Archaeology Guild). However, the one on Freneskae shouldn't be anywhere near the Elder Halls. Seren thinks Zaros must have done something to make it move, and thinks it's seeking the eggs to gain their power.
Kerapac turns up, and the World Guardian, Moia and Vicendithas go to talk to him. He tells them that Jas is coming and asks if they have a plan, but none of the options are viable. Jas appears, but Kerapac defies her, using the Needle to buy them a few minutes. He has a plan: the World Guardian goes into Erebus to find something- an ally, a weapon, a poison, something- that they can use against Jas, because she can't tolerate shadow anima either. Lacking other options, the World Guardian heads into Erebus. Even with Guthix infusing their soul with shadow anima, they find that they can't stay in Erebus for long, but Kerapac manages to pull them back before they die. Repeated trips give them the ability to stay in Erebus for longer, and they manage to draw the attention of the being that was looking for the eggs, a shadow leviathan.
Seren narrates a cutscene showing what happened next: the shadow leviathan came through the portal, and Kerapac turned the power of his Elder Artefacts against Jas, breaking the Needle in the process. Jas was distracted, and the leviathan managed to drag her into Erebus, but Kerapac was taken with her. The Shadow Breach closed behind them, and Seren realised that everyone else's survival depends on the deaths of her and the eggs.
Back outside the Elder Halls, Hannibus comes to see what happened and an Echo of Kerapac appears. He confirms that Jas and the real Kerapac are now stuck in Erebus, but he's completely fine with it because even if he has to suffer, he knows that Jas is suffering too, and after everything she inflicted on the dragonkin, he couldn't ask for a better fate. Hannibus tries one last time to get Kerapac and Vicendithas to reconcile, but Kerapac refuses, saying that he let Vicendithas live his own life and never interfered in his studies, so he has nothing to apologise for. In turn, Vicendithas says that he doesn't care what Kerapac thinks because he's succeeded where his father failed and always was a better man than him, so he doesn't need an apology.
In the Elder Halls, the group explain what happened to Seren and Adrasteia. Seren is horrified, and the Shadow Voice encourages the World Guardian to use the power of Erebus to kill the eggs, though the World Guardian settles for having a calm discussion about it first. Seren says that letting the eggs hatch on Freneskae wouldn't work because it'd leave them so weak they wouldn't survive, is outraged at the thought of destroying them, and says that draining them wouldn't work because they're too close to hatching- the only reason they haven't is because the other Elder Gods aren't there.
Seren says that her whole life, she was searching for something without even realising it. Zaros, Mah, Guthix and the elves weren't enough, but now she's found it- the eggs. She says they're more alive than anything has ever been, and they know and love her. Hannibus tries to talk her down, saying that he knows how she feels and he wants to help her let the eggs die peacefully and painlessly. He asks her to bring the eggs to his homeworld, Iaia, and let them die with her watching over them. His people would give them the proper rites, and the eggs could die quickly and without suffering. Seren asks him about Iaia, and Hannibus tells her that while there's not many of his people left, they live happily and peacefully, having everything they need, and they understand that death is a natural part of life. He asks Seren if she'll let the group help her... and Seren says no, and teleports herself and the eggs to Iaia.
The group follow her to Iaia, and discover two things: the first is that Seren intends to hatch the eggs there, and the second is that she's gone completely off the deep end and believes that they intend to murder herself, the eggs and the other Elder Gods. Vicendithas is furious, saying that Iaia isn't hers and the Ilujanka have the right to a future, but Seren claims that everything in existence owes itself to the Elder Gods, and they owe them a debt that someone has to pay. Hannibus begs her to not murder his world and his people, but Seren refuses to relent. She calls the Elder Gods to Iaia, but tells the group that she isn't entirely without mercy- the Elder Gods have to cross the universe to get there, and she'll give them that much time to evacuate everyone they can.
The group starts trying to evacuate, but they run into a snag: the Ilujanka have been facing extinction for so long that many of them have already accepted their deaths, and thus won't leave because they think that there's no point. The group evacuates everyone they can from the first settlement and moves on to the next, but Seren starts calling to the Elders so they know where the eggs are. The World Guardian tries to reason with her, but she refuses. Instead, the World Guardian decides to delay her in order to slow the Elders down and buy the others more time. Vicendithas gives them shards of the Needle to delay the eggs' hatching, and once Seren realises what they're doing, the World Guardian is forced to fight her.
The World Guardian fights Seren over multiple phases, and while it does delay her, the Elders arrive. However, when the World Guardian runs for the World Gate, Moia sabotages it, leaving the World Guardian stranded on Iaia. Seren narrates a third cutscene, saying that she had no choice- for her family to live, a world had to die. The Elder Gods touched the eggs and they hatched, sucking all the life from Iaia in seconds. They know and love Seren, so they spared her... but the World Guardian survived, too.
The World Guardian awakens in the threshold of their mind, where Seren is wondering how the hell they're still alive. She then figures it out- the shadow anima Guthix gave them protected them. The Elder Gods can't abide shadow anima, so when the newborns tasted it, they recoiled and left the World Guardian alone. She asks if the World Guardian has lost their abilities, but the Light Voice says no- they lost the extra power they picked up in Erebus, but kept what Guthix gave them. Seren asks about the Light and Shadow Voices, and tells the World Guardian that they're not Sliske, they're the manifestations of the gift Guthix gave them.
Seren says that the eggs have hatched and the children are alive and love her. The World Guardian points out that they're going to grow up and start eating planets, but Seren says that they can't- they should have hatched on Gielinor, but they were stuck on Iaia instead. Iaia had enough anima for them to hatch, but they're too weak to go anywhere else. Besides, now she knows that there are monsters out there that can and will devour Elder Gods, so she won't let the children leave- they have to stay with her on Iaia, where she can protect them. She asks if this is enough, and no matter what answer the World Guardian gives, she insists that she'll keep them on Iaia. She concludes by telling the World Guardian to stay away from her family, and that if they do stay away, there will be peace, but if they threaten her family again, she'll kill them.
Back on Gielinor, Moia is claiming that she had to leave the World Guardian behind when they turn up and tell the others that Moia tried to kill them. Moia admits it, and when asked why, she says that if a god wants Gielinor, they have to get through the World Guardian first, but the World Guardian can't be hurt by gods, so Moia tried to kill them for Zamorak. Adrasteia asks if Moia only helped them for a chance to kill the World Guardian, but she says no- she genuinely wanted to save the world, but the opportunity was too good to turn down. Adrasteia is horrified, but Moia claims that Saradomin would have done the same thing. She tells the others to not be stupid and try to fight her, and says that one day, Zamorak will come and claim Gielinor, before teleporting out.
The rest of the group catch each other up. The refugee Ilujanka have been taken to Anachronia, where the pioneer Ilujanka took them in. The World Guardian and Adrasteia go to the Cathedral, where the fighting is over- since the eggs weren't there anymore, Saradomin and Armadyl could actively fight, and once they stepped in, they took down the enemy with ease. Zuk returned to the Elder Kiln, the Arch-Glacor was sent back to Leng, Armadyl incinerated Croesus, and Kerapac was already gone. Once the World Guardian and Adrasteia tell the gods what happened, they conclude that Zamorak must be planning something, but his troops will be as exhausted as theirs, so there will be time to counter his plans.
Saradomin and Adrasteia teleport to Falador to oversee the recovery efforts, Armadyl heads to Prifddinas to help the elves now that Seren has gone, and Azzanadra asks the World Guardian to join him outside for some fresh air. They talk, with Azzanadra admitting that when Zaros was first banished, he knew for sure that he would return, but since Zaros left this time, he hasn't felt that certainty at all. The World Guardian tells him that they went into Erebus and found that it's a completely different universe, and they don't think Zaros could be alive in there. However, they admit when asked that they didn't find any sign of Zaros (or Char), alive or dead, so Azzanadra chooses to believe that he's still alive, and won't despair. He thanks the World Guardian for saving everyone, and the quest is complete.
Post-quest, the World Guardian finds that Hannibus is devastated and still blames himself for Iaia's destruction, that the Ilujanka are settling in as best as they can, and some of the Nodon have joined them, though they mostly keep to themselves. Vicendithas has created a simulation of Iaia using the Nodon's dreamscape technology, and while it's not perfect, it's enough that the Ilujanka can keep their traditions going. Hannibus is overwhelmed and grateful, and tells Vicendithas that he will always have a place among the Ilujanka as one of their family.
Tropes:
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Kerapac gets his long-awaited revenge against Jas, using both the power of the Needle and the Staff of Armadyl to defy and defeat her, followed by a shadow leviathan dragging her into Erebus. Kerapac is unable to stop himself from getting dragged into Erebus, but is content with his fate, having finally avenged his people for all the suffering Jas put them through.
- Central Theme: Family.
- Seren is prepared to sacrifice anything to protect her unborn cousins, even an entire universe, solely because she considers them her family.
- Kerapac and Vicendithas reconcile on the fact that they can never reconcile with one another: Kerapac sees Vicendithas as a disappointment, but is ultimately content with letting him live his own life; Vicendithas, on the other hand, no longer cares what his father thinks of him and resolves to step out of his shadow once and for all.Kerapac: I have nothing to feel sorry for.
Vicendithas: And I need no apology from you either. - Hannibus's own experiences with family lead him to repeatedly try to convince Kerapac and Vicendithas to bury the hatchet, only to be rebuffed every time. Later still, his attempts to pacify Seren and his empathy for her unwillingness to sacrifice the eggs lead to the destruction of Iaia. This ultimately gives him a severe case of Heroic BSoD, until Vicendithas snaps him out of it by creating a dream replica of Iaia for his people to inhabit on Gielinor (though part of the reason is to apologize for rebuking his kindness earlier). Hannibus is so touched by the gesture that he offers Vicendithas a place among the Ilujanka as part of their family.
- As if to further drive the point home, Seren's Battle Theme Music is named "Family".
- Delaying Action: The World Guardian, with Vicendithas's help, slows down the hatching of the Elder God eggs using shards of the Needle so that everyone on Iaia has enough time to evacuate from the world before the Elder Gods arrive to hatch their eggs.
- Eldritch Abomination: The shadow leviathan is a colossal monster native to Erebus, strong enough to duke it out with Jas. If that doesn't give you pause for concern, then how about the fact that it is filled with nothing but hatred for all living things, that it detects your presence the moment you step into Erebus and that it is so hungry it takes an Elder God to sate its hunger?
- Enemy Mine: The World Guardian is able to convince Kerapac to delay his search for the eggs while they try to find Seren before Jas. While Kerapac is still quite salty with the World Guardian after binding him to Jas once more, he concedes that he hates her even more.Kerapac: There is enough hate in me for the both of you. But if I only had the opportunity to slay one of you, it would be her.
- Face Death with Dignity: Not all of the Ilujanka evacuate Iaia; some choose to stay with their homeworld in its final moments. They do, however, make sure to pass their torches to those who do evacuate.
- Family of Choice: Hannibus offers Vicendithas a place among the Ilujanka as part of their family as thanks for everything he has done for his people.
- Forgiveness:
- After essentially enabling his long-awaited vengeance against Jas, Kerapac is more or less able to forgive the World Guardian for enslaving him to her, declaring that he's glad they met.
- Hannibus tries to convince Kerapac to apologize to Vicendithas for being such a horrible father, but not only does Kerapac refuse, Vicendithas makes it clear he wouldn't ask for an apology and that he doesn't need one either way.
- Godzilla Threshold: When TzKal-Zuk emerges from the sewers and attacks the cathedral directly, Saradomin realizes time has run out and decides to destroy the eggs before Zuk can claim them.
- Horrifying the Horror: Kerapac is an evil genius who is bound to three different Elder Artefacts and was perfectly happy to kill everyone on Gielinor, and he's freaked out by the World Guardian's immunity to shadow anima.Kerapac: What are you, World Guardian? What shadow-souled monstrosity could survive this onslaught? I am bound to the Needle. While it remains whole, I live, but you have no such power. You stand here on the brink of Erebus like it means nothing! Like it's not even touching you! What ARE you?
- I Gave My Word: Armadyl upholds the alliance he made with Seren and departs for Prifddinas some time after Iaia's destruction, tending to the elves in her absence.
- I'll Kill You!: Seren threatens to end the World Guardian if they so much as threaten the existence of the new generation Elder Gods.
- It Has Been an Honor: The World Guardian's Shadow Voice expresses this sentiment when the Elder Gods arrive to Iaia, clearly (and understandably) not expecting to survive.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Jas falls prey to an attack from a shadow leviathan, which drags her (and Kerapac) into Erebus, effectively ending the threat she poses towards Gielinor (and by extension, the entire RuneScape multiverse). She might be dead, but if she isn't, she's certainly suffering a lot, since she can't tolerate shadow anima and Erebus is full of it.
- Mama Bear: If you value your life, do not threaten the lives of the new generation Elder Gods, who are all under Seren's care."Leave us, World Guardian, and never return. Threaten my family again and I will end you. Stay away, and we shall have peace. Now begone. If fate is kind, we shall not meet again."
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Hannibus offers to grant the eggs a peaceful death on Iaia, with Seren watching over them. Instead she takes the eggs to Iaia so that they can hatch, much to the horror of Hannibus.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: After Kerapac is convinced to help, he makes his reasons very clear.Kerapac: Be sure, World Guardian, I don't do this for you. I do this for me. For a chance at vengeance, however small, however slight, against the Roakin. Know that I would die a thousand times over just to see her hurt.
- Opportunistic Bastard: Moia wasn't originally planning to betray the World Guardian; in fact, she honestly intended to help save the universe. However, the opportunity was simply too good to pass up. Moia becomes visibly disappointed when even the destruction of an entire planet wasn't enough to kill them.
- Promotion to Parent: The new generation Elder Gods are all under Seren's care, reincarnated in a weakened state and unable to traverse the rest of the multi-verse due to their reincarnation taking place in an imperfect world created during the current cycle.
- Revenge is Sweet: Kerapac (or at least his echo) feels nothing but delight and satisfaction at finally having taken revenge on Jas.Echo of Kerapac: I am a scientist, a being of calm logic and reason. But I confess that vengeance has burned in my heart ever since she destroyed our cities and inflicted us with her vile curse. Some claim that revenge solves nothing and leaves you hollow and empty, but they are lying. I have never known a greater feeling of satisfaction.
- Sanity Slippage: Seren's sanity has gone steadily downhill over the course of the Elder God War, thanks to her single-minded focus on family conflicting with everyone else's desire to stay alive. She finally loses it completely when confronted with the reality that there's no way for the eggs to survive without (in the best case scenario) a whole world dying, and everyone else is not going to accept that."Jas was the greatest of us all. Irreplaceable. Her loss forced me to accept something. Your survival depends on our deaths."
- Taking You with Me: Done accidentally by Kerapac, though he's ultimately satisfied with the result. Yes, Erebus is a horrible place, and yes, he probably won't survive for long. But he will live long enough to know that Jas will suffer just as much as he will, if not more. In his own words, he could not ask for a better fate.
- They're Called "Personal Issues" for a Reason: Hannibus repeatedly tries to convince Vicendithas to make peace with Kerapac, having only recently learned Vindicta was his daughter, only for Vicendithas to rebuke him and reply that his family issues are none of Hannibus's business. Moia, having had an abusive father in the form of Lucien, tries to pitch in as well, but for less altruistic reasons; namely, to suggest that Vicendithas may leverage the power of the Elder Artefacts in Kerapac's possession. Vicendithas quickly points out that Kerapac is enslaved to the will of Jas, that helping him break free is an impossible task and that, as such, mending their relationship is a pointless endeavor.
- Uncertain Doom: Jas is last known to have been battle-locked with a shadow leviathan which emerged from Erebus and dragged her into the realm with it. Whether or not she survives the encounter afterwards is unclear. Kerapac is also unable to stop himself from getting dragged into Erebus, but is content with his fate, having finally avenged his people for all the suffering Jas put them through for aeons. It's also unclear if Zaros and Char have managed to stay alive in Erebus.
- Zeroth Law Rebellion: Kerapac is able to defy Jas because she only ordered him to locate the eggs for her and did not give him orders on what to do once she found them. In other words, Kerapac was able to rebel against her only because she did not order him not to.
