| “ | There are those who see the Void as dark. It is the folly of the simple mind, unable to perceive the brilliant richness of nothingness. The Void is not only the absence of Light, but Dark. To harness the Void is to enter a state of tranquility, free from the clatter of ordinary matter. | „ |
| ~ Unknown Voidwalker |
The Void is the name given to the substrate that underlies the physical universe; its precise nature is unclear, as it covers many areas. It is described as a place absent of Light, Darkness and matter, and is the source of Void energy, also called "Secret Light" for those such as the Guardians.
This thread talks about what people from the lore say what the Void is, how it interacts people and items, and the kind of powers it provides.
Overview
Explanations
There have been several explanations as to what the Void would be:
- According to Ulan-Tan, the Void is simply another form of Light as it occupied time and space; this prevents the Darkness from entering through the Void.
- Tyra Karn describes it being the vacuum between stars during the Shard of the Traveler Voidwalker mission.
- According to Toland, the Void is not the Darkness, The Void is like Light seen through a prism, vacuum between stars and absence of everything else. Meaning the Quantum Vacuum.
- A Voidwalker states that the Void is not only the absence of Light, but Darkness and matter too, that feeling it is not charitable or malicious, that it should be respected.
- Ikora states that the Void remains as one of the most uniquely perplexing manifestations of the Light.
A Means of traveling to or creating other places and realities
The Traveler is said to be able to travel through the Void to other places in the universe. It is also described as the infinities between spaces.
Eons beyond the void lies other worlds, and that there are items that lets them access, there are even times where one is annihilated down to their particles and pulled through the void from one place to another reality.
This would make sense with how Light is connected across time and space, those who stared into the Void are unbound by them. This would also be proven to be accurate how the Ward of Dawn is described to create a pocket in the universe, which they create their own universes inside the sphere, and how the animation of it shows a small vortex at the bottom that drew in matter and spat out orbs of light inside the Ward. And there is Ikora during Curse of Osiris using Void energy to open up a Vex Gateway (and from center outward like how Void involves the infinities between space) which would have similarities with the Vex Simulations below.
Guardians using the Void & It’s Affect
It is even described as being something that is addicting, that it was easy to use, but to let go was hard, to open a hole with the Void, and draw from the deep, described as being heavy too. Much like the Shadowshots used by Nightstalker. Variks, The Loyal once asked if whether the Guardians really control the Void, or if the Void controls them.
All Guardians are able to access the Void through using their Light-based powers, and are able to experience the Void through meditating, This would be further supported on how the Void freed the mind of individuals. The Void has been said to have a faint scent of ozone associated with it. A person said that the void is not special, just show it respect and you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Spiritual Aspect
Tyra Karn said that in ancient times, Shamans were the original practitioners of the Void, and Guardians who uses the Light refined their methods. And Some of their abilities would support this like Life Steal or Soul Rip.
The Thanatonauts say that the Void is a place between the moment of death and rebirth, the "pause", and that one should not fear death when they enter the Void. This would match what the Hive believe when they tried to call on the dead Hive gods from the Void (When they were absent with Guardians stealing Crota’s Soul and Oryx binding himself to Touch of Malice).
Other Races interaction
- The Vex are even able to have access to the Void too, through the means existing in time, like how The Undying Minds dwell within those voids, and how they can take the desired locations and remove them from the universe into the Void. And the Vault of Glass is described as "Timeless" and how Guardians that enter it are "Marked by the Void", and can mark others with the void too outside the vault. Even Realities were they have the void at their edges, which is described as black nothingness, similar to the Debuff “Marked by the Void”, like how the Apothesis Veil exotic describes too. And their means of traveling from simulations to realities are through the Quantum Vacuum, the same means which is the Void.
- The Hive are capable of influencing the Void too, such as how Savathûn uses one of her long claws to stroke the Void and space-time groans beneath it. Taox said that their race escaped The Hungry Void to the planet Fundament. The Hive seem to be drawn to the masters of the Void too. This led the former Cabal Emperor Calus to hope that a Voidwalker might be able to lead them as one of his Shadows.
- Servitors of the Fallen Houses are able to sense disturbances in the Void; when Mara Sov released her Harbingers on the House of Wolves, their Servitors reported a "strange taste in the Void" when the Harbringers attacked. Variks stated that the Eliksni are capable of using the Void as well, but in a different manner from Guardians.
- Former Cabal Emperor Calus once stared into the infinite void and how he described that it stared back at him, that he would become it's herald for when it comes to consume the universe once and for all. He also went on to describe it as the nothing, the absence of anything, which matches what other individuals described about the void.
Powers & Abilities
Some items can draw upon the essence of the Void when a Guardian dies and resurrects, to be used against their enemies. When there is little Light to draw on in certain areas, items like the Orpheus Rig can draw power from the Void for their abilities.
Some Guardians like Pahanin are described as the living embodiments of the Void, that where he points, even Ahamkara dies.
There are weapons that harnesses the power from the Void. Including Thorn which it describes to feast on that which the Void siphons.
Ikora stated that the Void is negation, and Guardians would become the ultimate negators, this would make sense with some of the Guardians abilities such as Titans' Suppression Grenades and Shadowshots which negates the abilities of their enemies. With using a Vortex Grenade, the target gets enveloped by the Void and is ripped apart and eaten away by it. And Warlocks and Hunters can rip holes in space to leap between point A to B.
Other abilities includes, Minotaur’s Exotic Particle weaponry, Servitor’s Void Shielding and projection, Hive Arcana and Soulfire weaponry, Psion’s Psychic powers.
and with Void abilities would utilize various abilities such as Black Hole Creation, Dark Matter/Energy Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation, Soul/Life Force Manipulation, Pocket Reality Creation, Extrasensory Perception, Portal Creation.
Other Info
- During Festival of the Lost, when d elivering Elemental Candy called “Void Fizz” to Eris Morn, she states that it is “A strange way to exploit the power of the Void“.
- Banshee-44 used to know something really important about the Void, but due to his short term memory, it is likely impossible.(This is likely referencing to his time battling against the Vex at the Portal on Europa)
- The Ghost stated that Taken Vex are "Void Robots", this could be an indication of what the Taken are, or how most of the Taken Vex weapons are void base.