Destiny 2 recently dropped the trailer for its new expansion, Forsaken, and it looks like the game will be darker than ever.

The hunters become the hunted. Thin lines are easy to cross. Everyone is the hero of their own story.

These clichés are perfectly represented in the new Forsaken trailer. Cayde-6, voiced by Nathan Fillion, is sarcastic and badass to the very end. He is murdered by Uldren Sov, who wields Cayde’s Ace of Spades as easily as if it were his own.

Ikora Rey, voiced by Gina Torres, is consumed by the rage felt at the loss of her comrade, which is in heavy contrast to the level-headed and calculating character we’ve grown to admire since Destiny 1. Speaking through clenched teeth, she convinces Zavala, voiced by Lance Reddick, to enact revenge upon the man who murdered the third member of their fireteam.

Riposare in pace, Uldren Sov.

Ikora, hellbent on avenging her fallen comrade, wishes for the Guardians to become assassins. Zavala, on the other hand, points out that we are warriors, not conquerors. Our job is to defend our home and our people, not enact vengeance upon a single person. We cannot turn a blind eye to our duty.

But neither can we ignore the darkness brewing.

It feels as though this is Bungie’s way of taking Destiny in a new direction. Even in Halo, we were defending against the Flood, the Covenant, the Prometheans. Now, we have justifiably become the threat. Our Guardian is the personification of a very dangerous trifecta. Principle, vengeance, and desperation are leading us down a path where we no longer defend against destruction, but create it.

As warriors, we have taken an oath to defend not only our people, but their memories as well. Our Guardian, alongside the Queen of the Reef, is desperate enough to take up a contract with Spider, who tinkers with a dead ghost in front of us. He is, in fact, an ally, but nobody in the Destiny universe helps another out of the goodness of their heart. There’s always an angle. So what’s Spider’s?

It seems we are now the ones feeding into the darkness.

I’m excited for this potential turn in Destiny. In far too many games, we’re forced down a narrative of the moral high ground. While righteous, it can be tedious and sometimes predictable. Allowing ourselves to be consumed by rage gives us new insight and purpose. The vanguard, typically above reproach, have been pushed beyond their moral limits. This, as we hope to see in Forsaken, can be quote liberating.

“The line between light and dark is so very thin,” says Uldren Sov. “Do you know what side you’re on?”

This question is much heavier than it appears at first glance. He’s asking us, as Guardians-turned-assassins, if we know that we’re fighting for the right side. Uldren is, after all, the Prince of the Reef. Destiny lore describes the Awoken as a race of people who live at the edge where the traveler’s light and the darkness meet.

There’s no mistaking the symbolism when Uldren picks up the shard of the traveler and we see his eyes, with their glowing amber irises, surrounded and seemingly consumed by darkness. The traveler has always been used to protect humanity, but once again it seems it can be wielded by those who intend to do us harm, whether it’s an assertion of power or for Destiny’s version of the man who simply throws away a ruby the size of a tangerine.

It’s intriguing that a fan theory, presented by Mind Sculptor on the Destiny forums, is becoming more conceivable. In short, his theory states that we, as the Guardians, are in fact the “darkness.” We are named titans, warlocks, and hunters, all terms that carry negative connotations, and we fight wizards, knights, and acolytes.

Could it be that we’re not going down a new path, but in fact returning to a path that predates Destiny 1? A path of destruction that the rest of the universe has met with staunch opposition.

It may be possible that we are simply a toxic instrument of the traveler that is only being used to protect itself. The Fallen were, after all, once a race chosen by the traveler. They fell from grace, however, and were later consumed by civil war. This is the point in time where the traveler chose its new Guardians.

Are we to be discarded just as easily, should the traveler decide we are no longer fit for our duty?

Uldren Sov gives the order to spread chaos. His intent seems so very obvious, but his actions may have a more substantial effect on humanity. The vanguard fireteam, now missing one of its members, is split in two. Zavala, the defender, is keen to keep his head down and protect what he has left. Ikora, on the other hand, is obsessed with revenge.

In the trailer, Ikora does not receive Zavala’s blessing to pursue Uldren, thus signifying a rift in the core of the resistance. Not only are we now taking on a new enemy, but we are broken within. We are now burning the light at both ends, and we cannot be sure that the traveler will save us a third time.