Diablo 4 brings players back to Sanctuary to a time when the land faced imminent destruction brought on by the resurrection of Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred, and her plans to conquer Hell by destroying the Prime Evils, including her father, Mephisto. With the forces of light, led by Inarius, preparing to fight against the demons of Hell, humans find themselves in the middle of the conflict between good and evil once more.
Read ahead as we look back into the events and the ending of Diablo 4‘s story, as well as talk about the implications of the protagonist’s decisions and what additional stories we could expect to see in future expansions.
Diablo 4 Ending Explained
We will talk about the ending in several parts according to each of the major characters of the story.
Inarius
Inarius, driven by his personal agenda of getting his place back in the High Heavens, made it his duty to hunt down Lilith the moment that he got wind of her resurrection. He believed that by killing Lilith, he would regain the trust of the angels and be reinstated to his former rank. Inarius did whatever it took to get closer to Lilith, even killing their offspring Rathma—an action that angered Lilith even more.
Upon finally facing Lilith, Inarius landed his killing blow on her. However, the grace from the High Heavens that he was expecting did not come. The distraught Inarius did not notice that Lilith was still alive. Lilith used her weapon, stabbed Inarius, and ripped off his wings. She then left him to be dragged into Hell. It’s still unknown if we’ll get to see Inarius once more, though there is a theory on what part he could play if he does come back.
Lilith
Thanks to her growing cult, Lilith was once again resurrected and given a physical body. She then plans on facing the Prime Evils, including her father Mephisto, under the promise that she is doing this to provide salvation to her children who believe in her. What she has planned, on the other hand, is to defeat the evils to get total rule over Hell, get their powers, and become the most powerful being that even the High Heavens could not defeat.
After losing to the Wanderer, Lilith gave her final words and said that the decision to side with Mephisto and even believe a word that her father had told them doomed everyone, as they had chosen to release a much bigger threat into the world. Instead of sealing her using the soulstone, an act that would drastically limit her reach and influence in the physical world, the Wanderer decided to destroy Lilith instead. Though it was shown that Lilith had turned into stone and crumbled into dust, it is likely that she was just banished back to Hell, where she could regain her strength and amass a new army of demons.
Neyrelle
During the final scenes and cutscene after the credits, it was found out that Neyrelle took the soul stone that Mephisto was sealed in. She then wrote a letter to Lorath explaining her plans for the soul stone and the reason for her departure. She believes that she will find a way to fix everything and prevent another imminent calamity now that they have brought Mephisto out of Hell and into the physical world.
Neyrelle also expressed that because of all the events that happened and the people that she lost, she decided to take this journey alone to prevent her friends, Lorath and the Wanderer, from getting into danger. She ends the letter by encouraging Lorath, despite him being the only surviving Horadrim left in the Sanctuary.
The Wanderer
Despite both forces of light and darkness losing their commanders, there are still enemies left in the Sanctuary that the Wanderer is vowing to eradicate, as this will also serve as preparation for what Lilith has warned them about.
Mephisto
The ending of the game’s story can be considered the culmination of what Mephisto was planning all along. It started with influencing Elias to resurrect Lilith and tricking her into believing that he was weak enough to be destroyed. By helping the Wanderer several times during their journey, Mephisto was able to convince the Wanderer and Neyrelle to go against Lilith. By allowing himself to be sealed within the soulstone, Mephisto has also managed to get out of Hell, making it easier for him to expand his influence, starting with Neyrelle. Mephisto definitely played the long con, but it all played out.
What to expect in the coming Diablo 4 expansions
Like in the previous Diablo games, Diablo 4 is expected to have future expansions to the story. With how the ending played out, we could expect to see Mephisto become the next big antagonist, maybe even using a corrupted Neyrelle to do his bidding. As for Lorath, we might see a revival of the Horadrim or a group with the similar goal of going against the Prime Evils.
Even Lilith and Inarius could still show up despite meeting their “deaths”. Lilith could just have been banished, giving her the chance to get back. As for Inarius, he could be set up as the next antagonist, possibly even becoming the new Lord of Hatred now that Mephisto has vacated that position in Hell. Whatever is coming, the Wanderers better be prepared when the time comes that the Sanctuary is put under threat once more.