What Rathma's Prophecy is ACTUALLY About | Diablo 4 Lore 

Thanks everyone for taking the time to watch my Diablo 4 Lore video, please let me know your thoughts below!

I think the spear of light was the soulstone plunged into mephisto, and he was the one that was freed

I like the flip side of the coin of your first “piercing the heart” theory, which is that as Lilith pierced Inarius’ heart with a spear, he also broke her heart. So as an angel of light (ostensibly) it “cut both ways” as it were, and he pierced the heart of the daughter of hatred, so she returned the favor (completing the prophecy in 2 ways with one action)

I think it's pretty obvious the prophecy refers to the choice made to use the soulstone on Mephisto. Mephisto is hatred, not Lilith. Mephisto also continues to guide Neyrelle after she captures his essence, he is "freed" in the sense that he's out of hell, in the world, leading a girl with magical ability, little experience, suffering from the crushing death of her mother. Seems like easy prey for a Greater Evil. I saw the deaths of Lilith and Inarius's as a way to try and streamline the story after Diablo 3. Now the focus is again on the Prime Evils. I thought Malthael was the most compelling adversary in the series though he's unlikely to make a return, it seems like the ending of Diablo IV closes off the lore from 3.

I like Inarius's Hated heart theory. It fitting. He is the one who wants to be free from this cycle of war the most, got corrupt by hell, chain by his own hated for his creation, then dy by the hand of his loved, of his own weapons. He is free from eternal conflict. It is poetic and by far, the best Diablo story since Diablo 2.

I think the prisoner set free refers to Mephisto. The reason is because Mephisto has been set free from hell and brought back to sanctuary. The soulstone will be the means to his freedom. I think that final part is coming up later in the story. I feel like the piercing hatred's heart refers to Inarius and the setting free part refers to a future event with Mephisto.

In the cinematic you can pretty much see Lilith's heart break at Inarius' response when she asks "And our son?". I'd like to imagine that to be what the "Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart." part of the prophecy is about, rather than a physical spear.

I came away with the same conclusion about Inarius being the heart of hatred in the prophecy. I think it makes for the most interesting outcome and plot twist. What makes it fun is that it can be interpreted in different ways. We'lI see what the future holds in the DLC. I look forward to more Diablo lore videos from you!

they were lovers, inarius was Hatred's heart (Lilith's lover) and he was pierced with his spear of light either literally or metaphorically (by making him aware of his true position in life, light can mean awakening). The chains he was bound to was the chains in his mind (Lilith trapping you in your own mind is the clue/forerunner) of being shunned from the other angels and Lilith set him free by making him aware that they'll never take him back for what they've done. They did a good job writing in this Diablo

I had a thought about the 'from my mouth crawls hatred' - During the game so far Lilith comes across as calm and focused. She's 'on a mission' so to speak and it was 'do what must be done' in a way. Her interaction with Rathma's corpse was from what I remember the first time Lilith showed any real hatred towards something. She's on her own and not putting up a front, and her tone is filled with it. I see it as from that hatred that she confronted Inarius in such a way and let herself take a stab (debilitating to a degree, most likely) to completely and utterly destroy Inarius mentally and physically, blinded by hatred and a broken heart fueling her demonic nature to seek brutal vengeance. The look on her face while her back was turned when he said the 'I made it right' line. The injury she didn't have to even take slowed her down enough for the MC to make it to Mephisto to free him.

I think there’s some visual storytelling that gives a clue to Inarius being hatred’s heart. When Lilith is about to stab him in the back you see her wings rise behind him almost like they are his wings. Demon wings. As if to signify he isn’t an angel. Just a thought 😊

Diablo 4 story, was actually really good. I didn't want it to end. But while doing it, I became more interested in Rathma's prophecy. He knew that the prophecy, wouldn't go the way his father, thought it would.

Really liked this smaller scale story for d4. Feels like it's doing a similar setup d1 did with the dark wander cliff hanger.

Honestly I believe in theory 3, that’s the last 2 lines are referring to Mephisto, that the soul stones was the spear of light and sets into motion the actions that will lead to his escape and freedom in sanctuary. It would also fit into the idea that this prophesy predicts the return of the prime evils, and a second sin war.

The spire structure that cracks open with Inarius light looks like “a spear of light’ which is piercing the realm of hatred within hell, the home of hatred therefore ‘hatreds heart’

My interpretation of the last part of the prophecy is that "he who was bound in chains was set free" is referring to Mephisto considering we actually do "free" him from his weakened form in the cathedral of hatred and now he is loose on the world. Albeit in a soulstone but we've seen how that ends ...

Diablo 4 is my first Diablo game, can't wait to learn whats actually happening after seeing your videos!!

"From my mouth crawled Hatred" refers to how Elias went to Rathma's library and learned from his own scrolls and books how to summon Lilith. Aka, Rathma's 'written words' or 'teachings' were used to summon Lilith.

So happy to see you cover Diablo lore :)

LOVED your Elden Ring videos; so stoked you’re making more for D4 🎉

First time I got to the end of the campaign I considered the light explosion of Inarius' death piercing the Cathedral of Hate as the metaphorical spear of light piercing hatred's heart. Cinematically-wise it fits perfectly.

It's more than likely the prophecy refers to mephisto's release and he made the prophecy. The odds are the spear of light is the soul stone and it is something he set up to happen. It frees him and he let others think the rest.

You might also look at it this way too: "A spear of light piercing Hatred's heart" - This could be Rathma himself as Lilith is truly saddened on seeing his body.

I’ve played through the whole D4 campaign a couple days ago, and I was a bit confused on how the two creators of sanctuary used humanity, their creation. Inarius didn’t care much about humans while Lilith has driven some humans to slaying each other cathedral or no. Honestly, I do understand how Lilith and Elias was doing what they could to stand against the evils of the burning hells. If Lilith does help humanity stop the burning hells without having themselves destroy each other, then we didn’t need to be enemies against her. Sadly, we don’t have a choice as most humans do not want to be corrupted to be forced to destroy those they hold dear.

In my opinion, "Hatered's Heart" refers to Inarius himself, as in, heart or the loved one of Hatred (Lilith). He was pierced and killed, and at the same time, he was set free, free in death.

Hey, new subscriber here, keep up the good work, your videos are very well laid out and researched :-)

@SmoughBurgh *"I saw my corpse, and from my mouth, crawled Hatred."* This line is referring directly to Rathma's death and its two-fold effect. From his mouth's words, Inarius molded the new hate-filled Cathedral of Light. From his bloodied mouth and wounds, his blood and death stoked Lilith's hatred *"A Father burned his children on a pyre, and a Mother molded a new age from the ashes."* This line speaks directly of Inarius and Lilith. Inarius willingly sacrificed his progeny within the bowls of Hell for his own ends, and Lilith awakened humanity through her return. (Note that the "Mother's Cult" we see in game is nothing more than the Triune in disguise, and do not actually serve Lilith. They serve Mephisto and the primes. This is true too of the Cathedral of Light. So consumed by Inarius' own Hatred, the Cathedral are actively corrupting themselves to Mephisto's influence and are likely infiltrated by members of the Triune as well. So, the "New Age" has nothing to do with the Cult, but merely the re-awakening of humanity itself. I think we will come to find that Lilith's goals, when not being actively poisoned and manipulated by Hatred, are noble and will lead humanity forward in the days to come.) *"I saw the weak made strong, a pack of lambs feasting on wolves."* This line refers to the re-awakening of humanity, the organization of the Cathedral of Light and the brutalization both sides take part in. *"Tears of blood rained upon a desert jewel, and the way to Hell was torn asunder."* This line is obvious, clearly depicting the events we see and take part in at Caldeum. *"Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart, and he who was bound in chains was set free."* The spear of light piercing Hatred's heart is two-fold. First, Inarius (still an angel of light despite his unconventional nature) pierced Lilith's heart metaphorically by admitting to and callously disregarding both their firstborn's death as well as calling Sanctuary an abomination. Lilith, in turn, pierced Inarius' hate-filled heart with his own angelic spear. "He who was bound in chains was set free" is always misunderstood by those I've seen covering this. The mistake people make is in thinking that "was set free" must inherently mean "set free" from the chains mentioned in the same line. This, I believe, is incorrect. I believe it is causal and direct. Through "binding" Mephisto in a soulstone (an act the Lord of Hatred is unusually calm about and even leans into) we bind him in chains *AND* set him free from Hell. In fact, it is a direct result of binding him in the "chains" of the soulstone that he is *able* to be free from Hell, free to roam Sanctuary and beyond.

still i find it a shame that Inarius wasn't redeemed. I ould have liked to see him realizing his faults and somehow returning to heavans to take up the aspect of wisdom which was held by tyrael until a new Angel arrives to take up the mantle of malthael. Inarius has gathered so much experience, he was a soldier of the high heavens, he saw futile in the eternal conflict, he tried to find a way to escape the conflict by finding a middle way and escaping with a demon, he became a creator, a god of a new world only to see it fall to ruin, he was given to hell to suffer by his brothers, he loved hated, he seeked justice, learned fear, had the valor of seeking an escape, hoped for a better future, was obsessed with faith and finally searched forgiveness to being able to return to his brothers side. He had good intentions. With all those experiences he would have had the the chance to be the wisest of all the angels. He could help Imperius to overcome his wrath by simply sharing his experience. Imperius may feel betrayed by malthael and even by tyrael to an degree. Inarius must have felt betrayed too. He could relate and help. Damed it would have been a glory return to the high heavens and would have straightened the Angels side again. Since while the Angels fall apart with every game, hell seems to be as strong as ever. Well i hope that Imperius maybe learns by himself and manages to become a better Angel and somehow make the heavens stronger again. We will see. But i guess this would be too much light for a game like diablo.

"From my mouth crawled hatred" Considering Mephisto literally claws his way out of hell and out of the clutches of Lillith using the prophecy, this is actually quite a direct line with little hyperbole. "A spear of light piercing hatred's heart" Soulstones have glowed before but never as brightly as the one in diablo 4, and considering the rest of the prophecy has been secretly about Mephisto, this line is almost certainly referring to the stone we "trap" him in during diablo 4. (the reason for the unprecedented light I believe can be explained below) Bonus: Mephisto had his wolf form, but was still reforming in his entirety in the center of his domain, one could say the essence of Mephisto found by the player character there was the core of his being, or his heart. "And he who was bound in chains is set free" Mephisto was chained in diablo 2 within Tal'Rasha, but he was merely part of Diablo's plans in both that game and the sequel as he was also bound within the black soul stone in diablo 3. Realistically this is the first game we see him truly free. The final piece of the puzzle is the small bit of lore I've seen almost no one talking about: Soulstones are revealed as being fragments of the Worldstone. If the Worldstone could control the nature of sanctuary and by extension humanity, now that it has been destroyed the stone we bind Mephisto to may just be the largest fragment of the Worldstone left (it now even glows similarly to the Worldstone shown in diablo 2) which now that it contains a prime evil has dire implications for the future of Sanctuary.

Another thing I noticed was that there is more to the prophecy based on a journal you can find in one of the dungeons. It reads "...a wise man with seven arms...a fog of lies...plagues of every name...I saw a child give birth to a mother, as Hatred's sun set and that of Terror and Destruction dawned." I interpret the first lines as being references to Azmodan, a competent general with his 7 Lords of sin as subordinates as well as Belial the Lord of lies. If you know the ending then we see Hatred's sun set in a way which would suggest that any expansions made will be focusing on the return of the other prime evils; Diablo and Baal. Its possible Azmodan and Belial would also be involved since they're essences would reform faster than the primes but given the attention they had in D3 I doubt it

Good stuff buddy

Right there with you, I believe your theory #1 is the actual meaning of the prophecy, it's also very poetic and tragic. It also add to the complexity of good/bad, evil/divine and that's it's not always black and white. I also love that the writer of this superb lore sorta keep an open ended tale that gives us the opportunity to make our own assumption.

I find it interesting that there are 3 separate events that all fit the description of a spear of light piercing Hatred's Heart, and that all 3 events happen one after another. It's possible that Rathma tied the one line to all 3 events. the final part is very obviously, to me anyways, refering to the freeing of mephisto and the rise of the prime evils in sanctuary again.

Inarius is going to come back as a Demon of Hell. You can see that after the credit scene. This would be similar to the fall of the angel Lucifer and him becoming ruler of Hell. Inarius, like Lucier, committed the sin of pride.

When I first heard of the prophecy I thought it was about the events in Diablo II (the "weak made strong" are the Nephalem, the "Desert Jewel" is Lut Gholein, the "way to hell" is the actual way to hell under Kurast, "Hatred" is Mefisto, the "spear of light" are the heroes, and the "he who was bound in chains" is Tal Rasha/Baal). It was a warning to NOT set free Baal and cause the destruction of the Worldstone.

Love your Elden Ring content and happy to see you delve into Diablo 4, especially when so much on RU-vid about Diablo is all about the gameplay and systems and not the story. I think the Spear of Light is the Soul Stone and Hatred’s Heart is Mephisto, Lord of Hatred. His entrapment in the Soul Stone are the events that will lead to his freedom and the coming of the Prime Evils in the coming expansions, and that will be the last line of the prophecy . Mephisto, being the father of Lilith AND the imprisoner of Inarius I believe that the events of Diablo 4 are all the scheming of his. Did Inarius escape, or was he let go?

i always thought of theory 3 being the likely case. rathma's conclusions and his tone about the prophecy is that it is not an ending but a part of something else in the grand scheme of things, which is why he kept saying that nothing his father did would change the outcome. this meant that the prophecy did not end with inarius/lilith conflict but rather lead to other unforeseeable impacts. note also the cultists in caldeum specifically mentioned that it was going according to the Lord of Hatred's plans, so the origins of the prophecy could likely have to do with Mephisto.

A couple of my own theories, offering different perspectives on your fine work here: Rathma’s prophecy could be that he saw the events unfold through our eyes, which would explain why he needed them to be chronologically sorted. If so, “I saw my corpse” could be us in the barn, after we’ve eaten the stew, and we’re about to be butchered - possibly because we are believed to be dead. The reference to “hatred spewing from the mouth” then fits really well with us vomiting blood petals, the daughter of hatred’s calling card. Later, with the spear of light, I think this might be even more literal than the theories presented. When Lilith kills Inarius, we see Prava and her knights witness a “spear” of light rip through Mephisto’s domain - being the prime evil of hate, his seat of power could easily be referred to as the “heart of hatred.”

There are many things bound in chains in the world of Sanctuary. Humanity itself for one.

Thank you for the video! Before dying Lilith says: “without me you you WOULD have no victory. And the cost for it WILL be more than you can pay”. I’m not a native English speaker, but it sounds like the victory had already happened and the consequences of it were in the future. In this case the victory was reaching vulnerable Mephisto to do things to him and the cost of it… Without Lilith it will be more than what’s left. This could mean it’s all about Mephisto and the spear is for him in the end. As for the prophecy, it’s obviously not about Inarius. The prophecy is in order and a spear of light piercing hatred’s heart comes after the blood rain and way to hell opens. Inarius gets killed before Lilith even finds a key.

I have never doubted that the prophecy was about inarius being stabbed and killed, mephisto being set free. I hope he's able to take all the prime evils into himself and make a true Tathamet v2. Not one as wreckless as Diablo when he tried.

Inarius being the heart of hatred would make his Convo with rathma make more sense also. When rathma tells him "you cannot change what I saw" and inarius sounds shook. It sounds like rathma just told him he saw inarius die.

Spear of light - the soulstone. Piercing his form freed his chains

Inarius literally was burning people. The one quest has you protecting a nun who saved a kid from demonic possession but fails in another. The priest came in and says something close to ," You will all burn for this!" Ya you can add what you said but it's literal as Inarius doesn't care. Good videos!

"heart of hatred" probably referred directly to mr "super innocent angel man" as he is the lover of lilith, she did free him with the spear of light piercing his heart and im hoping we see him as a demon or something now

Spear of Light = Soulstone Hatred's Heart - Mephisto himself being stabbed by the stone Chains - Mephisto is in "chains" while still reforming in his realm Set Free - We set Mephisto free to roam Sanctuary again We have a new Dark Wanderer, and they're going to be finding a way to bringing his brothers back to Sanctuary.

I don’t think we have to chose a specific interpretation. I believe prophecies can be more complex than we always assume them to be. All 3 interpretations can be true simultaneously . In nearly every story and video game the narrative is that a force of good will overcome a force of evil. “A spear of light piercing the heart of evil”; the spear, action of the spear, the heart, and evil can all be literal, metaphorical, or be applied to some future event in later content.

The spear was the stone, mephisto is the lord of hatred or hatreds heart and mephisto was bound to his sanctum in hell or In chains but now he is free

Another interpretation of the second to last paragraph would be that the "spear of light" is the military force of the Cathedral of Light (and possibly the player character) that is making its way into the heart of Hatred - the domain, not a character. Which would be deliciously ironic as it has nothing to with either Lilith or Inarius

Great point about "from my mouth crawled hatred" - his words/prophecy caused allot of hate. I had the impression that somehow, offscreen Rsthma swore/cursed Inarius in his last moments as a f you moment.

I think that Prophesy is spelling out basically the plot of the game. 1. Rathma dies and from that action crawls hatred, Inarius' hateful crusade and Liliths' hateful resentment. 2. Inarius(the father) sends his followers(children) to die in his name. Lilith(the mother) builds a new world in opposition to the hells using hells forces and methods, making the weak strong and letting them feast on the wolves. 3. Blood rains over Caldeum(the Jewel of the Desert) and the gates of hell are opened. 4. Truths were revealed(Metaphorically hatred's heart was pierced by a spear of light/truth). 5. He who was in chains(Mephisto) was set free from his prison in hell before his brothers(who could be considered in chains until they reform).

I wonder if we'll ever get to see Trag'Oul in the future. He is the Great Serpent that lives in another dimension who taught Rathma how to become the first necromancer. His goal is to keep the balance between life and death regardless of the Eternal Conflict. I would love to see him play a part in the future.

For the "A father burned his children on a pyre, and a mother molded a new age from the ashes. I saw the weak made strong"... There is a side quest in the first big city, where you help a "Sister" exersice a demon from a child using her own blood and a innaris blessed chalis. She mentiones this act is Blaspemy under Innaris.. and the cathedral of light burnes the demon posessed on Pyres rather than exercise them as they are seen as tainted. Lilith uses the fear the ppl have from the cathedrals "purifying the tainted" to ignite the weak to embrace her offer of making them strong.

"I saw my corpse" (I saw that I would die for this) "and from my mouth" (and because of this prophecy that I have now said) "crawled Hatred" (the Prime Evil Hatred itself, will go free) "a father burned his children on a pyre" (Inarius has become filled with Hatred during his long imprisonment by Mephisto, as intended, and now destroys the very thing he created because he blames and hates sanctuary - thus inadvertently becoming an agent of Hatred, which he'd brought with him when escaped (or was set loose) from hell, and making countless sacrifices to that hatred by burning souls on pyres etc) "a mother molded a new age from the ashes" (Lilith didn't bother trying to save the world from Inarius by stopping him burning her children unlike the last time her children were under threat from him, even though she clearly had the martial ability to do so this time. Instead she chooses to allow Inarius to succumb to his hatred for Sanctuary, thus showing she too was inadvertentely acting in Mephisto's best interests, and was not herself worthy of our allegiance because she wouldve let us all burn to be queen of the ashes) "I saw the weak made strong" (I foresaw that Mephisto's full powers would begin to return) "A pack of lambs feasting on wolves" (Many we view as good (the player characters), will actually be working for Evil.) "tears of blood rained on a desert jewel" (It will begin at Caldeum with an unnatural event, there will be sorrow and slaughter) "the way to Hell will be torn asunder" (the way to hell will be unnaturally opened, leaving potential other Evils will escape) "then came a spear of light" (the soulstone will be willingly brought, mistakenly thought of as a tool against the evil) "and pierced Hatred's heart" (and Mephisto's essence will transferred to it as a vessel) "and he who was bound in chains was set free" (and Mephisto, who had been limited and contained to his realm of Hell was now set free to manifest on sanctuary, without seemingly needed to share his sovereignty with even his two Prime brothers this time) The prophecy was only ever about the victory of Mephisto. Hatred wins.

Inarius has finally been set free from his delusion of redemption, and since he has been full of hate even before being imprison… he’s probably returning as a hatred aspect. We’ve had Izual before as an example, and Lilith literally tells him “you belong to hell” when she defeats him. She also cannot be gone forever, since she’s the only being wanting to save humans. There’s no Tyrael to guide anymore, only humanity and it’s birthright power given by the Lilith. Inarius was the one who used the worldstone to weaken the nefalem, and now he’s gone for good. Lilith was trying to help humans to empower themselves agains the prime evils about to come once again, and she absolutely knows about the nefalem and how they fought agains the Prime Evil itself before (Diablo 3). Where are the Nefalem from Diablo 3? Has she already convinced them to stand and wait? That would be an explanation for them not trying to stop her at all. The only strong human trying to fight her is Diablo IV’s wanderer cause he’s being guided by Mephisto since the start, manipulated agains Lilith. We have to wait but so far the story is VERY well thought. We will probably regret from fighting Lilith and we’ll have to join her again as a last resort for mankind.

Inarius stabbed through the heart, hating his current situation. Mephisto, who was bound in chains was set free.

The way Lilith talks about their son to Inarius during their confrontation... i cant shake the feeling that hatred's heart is rathma, killed by his angelic father

good video is it ok if I ask you a question

Hatred's heart might be Linarian/Rathma. Spear of light = Inarius (being an angel). Killing her son she loved so much was piercing (daughter of) Hatred's heart. This act culmulated in Mephisto's freedom from Hell's chains.

The thing about prophecies that makes them tricky is that they don't necessarily refer to one thing or one person, Parts of a prophecy can refer to a multiple individuals, often in groups of three sometimes four. I believe the being with the hatred heart refers to all three Lilith, Inarious, and Mephisto as each of them fulfills the role the being with the hatred heart and two of them were set free and since Rathma refers to death as "being set free" it could mean that the prophecy is also referring to Mephisto's death. Which could mean that the events of the prophecy have to play out in three different variations in order for the prophecy to reach its conclusion. For example, the Cathedral of Light is dedicated to fighting demons so that is Inarious variation of lambs feasting on wolves, while Lilith's followers turning against the tyrannical Cathedral of Light being Lilith's variation to lambs feasting on wolves. As far as Mephisto's variation, I don't think we have seen that yet which means we have not seen Mephisto's variation of hatred's heart being pierced with light. Which mean's the prophecy has not fully played out yet.

I also think Mephiato was the one set free. He was setting everything up from the very beginning. Once u beat lilith and return to sanctuary and that one armed girl was nowhere to be seen with his soul stone. I knew immediately he got what he wanted and already started corrupting her. She's basically his Taxi until he gets full control. Plus lilith had her vision before she died saying you don't know what you have done.

I came to the conclusion that the heart of hatred being pierced by a spear of light is Lilith piercing Inarius with his own spear, as he seems quite driven by hatred at the end.

Steve blum as mephisto gave me absolute chills. He did great

I swear, Mephisto is like playing chess but 100 moves ahead of everyone else. The fact that this dude died in Diablo II and somehow able to plot his way back into the story through the soulstones is insane. Mephisto is truly a prime evil, wonder if Baal has a secret kid elsewhere all this time... or that remains a secret for Diablo 5.

The spear of light is obviously the player, piercing the heart of hatred which is maphisto. Maphisto is the heart of the realm of hatred who has been in chained in his realm. Held there by fragments of his memories. The player is guided through these shackles when maphisto asks for a favor and leads the player through "unstable disturbances in his realm" shattering the endless loop of conflicts broke the chains. Rathma knew he would be imprisoned in a soul stone. And as consequence be set free. Inarius is inconsequential. There's only one line referring to him. Which is also why rathma reiterated he was being delusional thinking it was about him. The after image of inarius and rathma show that pretty plainly. And the highlight of the plot is maphisto being freed from hell. I'm not sure why this is a question, it should be obvious given it literally happened in the game with that sequence. Also the line about Lilith making the weak strong is further foreshadowing. Her actions helped shaped the player who was weak and made the player strong through her blood. She may have also done something else not yet shown. I believe she did something to unlock the angel and demon connection in humanity. It's very likely she set up the inevitable rebirth of Anu, but that won't be the next expansion. That will be a plot line further along.

What about the expanded prophecy you find in a dungeon; the burned parchment. I found mine after going back to the tutorial dungeon after campaign end. "A burned, half legible parchment Burned Parchment: I saw a serpent coiling in the fires of the Eternal Conflict...saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred...the weak made strong...Tears of blood rained on a desert jewel...Hell was torn asunder...a spear of light, piercing Hatred’s heart...a wise man with seven arms...a fog of lies...plagues of every name...I saw a child give birth to a mother, as Hatred’s sun set and that of Terror and Destruction dawned." Maybe this has been addressed, but I'm having trouble searching comments on a phone.

Im pretty sure the prophecy was referring to Inarius being stabbed, literal spear of light, literally stabbed through the heart, and he was definitely the most hateful between the big players in D4, and Neirelle, being an idiot, freed Mephisto from his inprisonened and weakened state. He got everything he wanted, and whether we wanted to or not, we did nothing but walk straight down the path he laid for us.

Then came a spear of light(the soul stone) piercing hatred's heart(Mephisto) and he who was bound in chains(in the soul stone) was set free(Mephisto will be freed) "The evil of Mephisto, Lord of Hatred, was so pervasive that even after he had been defeated and entombed in a soulstone, his demonic essence oozed upwards into Travincal and corrupted the Zakarum priests. Though he fell to the same heroes who killed his brothers, I fear for us should he ever return." - Deckard Cain(

Another theory could be that hatred's heart is metaphorical and in reference to Inarius killing their son and rejecting their creations broke Lilith's heart. So, Inarius metaphorically being the spear of light that pierces hatred's heart. A bit more of a romantic approach on it.

About the last line of the prophecy, "the one bound in chains will be set free". You could interpret that despite Inarius escaping Mephisto's clutches in Hell, he still weighed heavy by the "chains" of trauma, hate, and desperation. The reason I bring this up, is that it's common knowledge that Angels and Demons can be (and usually are) reformed back in their respective domains, Heaven or Hell, after being defeated or killed. You could argue that the death of Lilith and the capture of Mephisto in the soul stone could atone Inarius' spirit into being reformed to its original state. His baggage was lifted, his regrets laid to rest, and his pain/torment eased. So, it wouldn't surprise me actually if Inarius and/or Lilith returns down the line. Maybe not in Diablo 4 or it's future DLC, but maybe in a future installment of the franchise. If it happens, Inarius shouldn't be the hateful, broken Angel we see him as here. He may still be petty, but his being should be purified back to "factory settings" in Heaven due to the Crystal Arch.

What if the final lines of the prophecy are about Lorath and Neyrile. As Neyrile may become Hatred by spending time with Mephistos soul stone and Lorath kills Neyrile with his spear and is set free from being a horadrim. Just putting this out there

The entire time i was playing i thought about how many characters just assumed that hatred's heart was about lilith, even though she is just the daughter of hatred. Mephisto is the lord of hatred. So him being stabbed would make much more sense. But he didnt exactly get stabbed kn the heart, given that he was basically in an orb. The only one being stabbed through the heart, seems to be inarius himself. He stabbed lilith in the abdomen, not the heart. Inarius being consumed by his hatred for lilith, the heavens, hells and sanctuary makes this part more plausible to be about him. But who was bound in chains and is now set free? Mephisto? Inarius? Being set free can mean a lot of things

I think that the spear of light is a reference to either Inarius' spear being used to pierce his heart that was full of hate and contempt for what he and Lilith had created (sanctuary and the humans). It also could be a reference to the spire (located in the heart of the realm of hatred) in which he was killed being engulfed in light as he died which could be seen in a vision as a spear of light

piercing the heart of hatred refer's to Inarious's hatred for humanity, his position, heaven ignoring him, every bit of hate he has. And afterwards yea, he was indeed set free. he is no longer on sanctuary.

Pretty sure the last part refers to Mephisto. It just hasn't been fulfilled yet. He's "bound in chains" now within the soulstone but whatever Neyrelle is up to will likely fail and he will be roaming free on sancturay.

Hey, good video. Sorry for the book, but lots to go over. So my take on the prophecy after playing through the campaign is as follows. Prophecies rarely speak in simple truths or events and are often relayed in riddles or metaphorically. To that end: "I saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred, (I think this is a direct reference to the prophecy itself. In the mere act of speaking it, Rathma sets into motion the events leading to his death and everything after. Self-fulfilling prophecy.) A father burned his children on a pyre (Reference to the father of humanity, Inarius' church the Cathedral of Light, burning "sinners" alive on pyres.) and a mother molded a new age from the ashes, (Reference to the mother of humanity, Lilith and her followers actively reshaping humanity/sanctuary.) I saw the weak made strong, (Reference to those who Lilith corrupts that become more than they were.) a pack of lambs feasting on wolves, (I guess this is about corrupting the followers of the Cathedral of Light to turn on those in power, but this line confuses me because Lilith's followers are oppressors and are certainly not feasting on "wolves". I thought maybe it could be a reference to her plans to use humanity to help her destroy the lords of hell, but that does not fit chronologically as it reads as present tense. If it instead said "a pack of lambs to feast on wolves" then it would make sense.) Tears of blood rained on a desert jewel, and the way to Hell was torn asunder, (Caldeum as seen in the campaign and the hell gate opened) Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's Heart, (I believe this is just a metaphor for Inarius' army of light entering Mephisto's realm of hell not a literal description of anyone being stabbed through the heart.) And he who was bound in chains was set free." (Inarius set free by way of death. I do not think this line has anything to do with Mephisto as he is/was not bound, but instead recovering from his previous defeat.) Inarius definitely has a role in this prophecy even though Rathma states Inarius thinks it's about him when it's not. I only take that to mean Rathma is stating Inarius thinks he's the main actor when in actuality he's just a red shirt.

The last line could about setting free Mephisto, from his domain, he can "walk". Or there could be someone else who was hold back by power of Mephisto.

Considering the ease with which the Prime Evils are able to corrupt and escape soul stones, to Mephisto particularly in D2's expansions, they aren't much of a prison and it's only a matter of time until Mephisto is able to exert control over Nyrelle (we can already see how ever-present his influence is to her in the epilog). Assuming that all elements of the prophecy have come to pass by the end of D4; to me Mephisto is the most likely candidate for being "freed from chains" as he was stuck in his weakened form in his cathedral of hatred. By putting him in the Soulstone he is safe to grow and exert control away from the machinations of the High Heavens and his brothers meddling. From a chronological view it also makes more sense as the binding of Mephisto is the final act in the story, while Inarius dying happens earlier,.Which means that everything past that would be not part of the prophecy which seems odd. As Inarius' death has little actual impact outside of the battle of the Pale Knights and Mother Prava.

If there is a dlc or whatever comes after the endgame the soulstone could be refined or made into a spear of light to do something with said spear on a later date.

Great as always 🥰🥰💜💜 I hope you touch on the entire Diablo series. Would love to really understand it all, I came at Diablo 3. 😅

I feel like Mephisto really deserved to be front and center in Diablo 4. Terror was something a lot of people were familiar with in the early 2000s. IE What happened with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nowadays we're surrounded by hatred

"...and from my mouth crawled Hatred..." the "mouth" here could be referring to the gate to Hell that Rathma owned the key to while "Hatred" (keep in mind it's capitalized) could refer to the Realm of Hatred, its denizens, Lilith, or Mephisto. It's a bit unclear exactly but the capitalization makes me think that it's meant to be a proper noun. My second thought is that following the idea that Hatred is a proper noun in this context; "Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart" may just be referring to Inarius and the Cathedral of Light invading the Realm of Hatred.

"a father throws his children on the pyre" - I'm shocked that nobody seems to be making the connection to Mephisto orchestrating Lilith's fall at our hands in order to escape hell for this one.

I'm leaning towards it being a Mephisto reference, with the soulstone as the spear.

@smoughburgh I know this is a little late but what if the last line of the prophecy refers to Diablo. Now it kind of uses the we haven’t seen that part of the prophecy yet scenario of course, however considering how much planning Mephisto has put into these events (thank you for that video I liked it a lot) who is to say that his plans are done, given what we know from Diablo 2 mephisto isn’t a front runner he much prefers to use his younger siblings to be the face while he sits back and schemes, also to note that neyrelle is on the path back to the western continent I feel that is where diablos cathedral (or portal to) may reside and he is off to set his brother free. Considering Diablo full face involvement with angels I think it’s safe to speculate he is under very very heavy surveillance from heaven maybe even prisoner. I would speculate further on this and suggest tyreal has diablos essence under lock and key, he has his angelic weapon and I can almost guarantee his life to have a much longer life span and is still prudent in the world even 50+ years later. Just my two cents on it.

I'd like to point out that Inarius seems to be the only one who *was* literally bound in chains, at one point. Smough also jumped back and forth with the chronological order, going from the end of the game in Hell back to the church in the beginning. So the points he brought up don't meet the condition of all fulfilling the prophecy's points in order. But I don't think he was "Hatred's heart. His spear wasn't exactly a spear of light at all. It was just a stick by that point, actually. And it also looks to me that he was impaled a little below the heart in his chest, but I seem to be alone in that. 💀 It's kind of hard to tell, and angel anatomy may be a bit different, like how demons are said to have multiple hearts. But it didn't look like he was impales straight through his heart to me.

I think that the whole idea of the prophecy is an angel(Which looks so beautiful and pure superficially)Can become such a hateful creature

Im of the mind that the final lines have to be about mephisto. Blizzard hasn't really done the foreshadowing of an expansion before the expansion is even announced trick. To me, what we see at the end of the campaign is the end of what rathma saw.. rathma said he saw the beginning of the end of sanctuary. Mephisto being freed from hell is likely to have some rough consequences especially since its implied that this particular soulstone is somehow different from the others. Its highly possible that hes not really contained within it and instead is just using it as a place to hang out and make it to where he wants to before he decides to fully corrupt the girl and cause her to do something to let him out.

Interesting, I should have expected spoilers it seems xD woops only played some beta

Imo the "Spear of light" is the soul stone, since it litteraly pierces Mephisto. And since he is now in a souls stone in sanctuary, he is free to do what he does best. Imo the Prophecy was about Mephisto being freed, starting a new Dark Wanderer event and in the end releasing his brothers, unless he gets stopped before he can manage to do that.

I think it's more simple if we consider the quite literal nature of the games, events and what rathma said. The spear of light is most certainly the soul stone, the heart of hatred is either the cathedral of hatred or the orb nyrel stabbed with the soul stone. Contextually either makes sense given the result. Mephisto was required to revive his brother's previously. It's pretty clear to me mephisto plans to be the only prime not trapped in a soul stone so he can be the prime evil instead of Diablo this time. Also, inarius is an angel and most of what angels consist of in Diablo is literally their wings, so what killed him was ripping his wings off by force, unlike the archangel of wisdom who tore his in protest.

Rathma's home was under the mine. Everyone has to go into our out of the mouth. By the time Inarius was captured and imprisoned in hell, he had come to loath the eternal conflict. Lilith's plea fell on ready ears. Only years later, did self-doubt and self-loathing make Inarius take up his weapons against his children. This perpetuated his own self-loathing. Lilith needed/wanted help from the nephilim to conquer both hell and heaven. The "weak made strong; lambs feasting on wolves." Her being wounded and still entrancing Inarius with her words put the "spear of light" in her hands to complete her son's prophecy. (IMHO.)

"A spear of light pierced hatred's heart, and he was bound in chains set free" - surprised there's not mention considering the possibility the spear of light is the soulstone, piercing 'hatred's heart' of the large red sphere that seems to contain the literal lord of hatred, freeing him from hell as he's carried out by Neyrelle.

During the fight between Inarius and Lilith she states that Inarius belongs in hell and rips his wings off. What if that Demon at the end is actually Inarius, coming back and he wages war against the Heavens because he wasn't allowed back in and was abandoned. The prophecy is about how we end him and his Hatred that he has against the High Heavens.

The Hatred's Heart could be in reference to the love that Lilith had for Inarius - not that it would change the other parts of the prophecy.

the bound in chains line could also be Inarius because he gets to reforge. Free from his madness with a new life. I could see Inarius being a big deal if Imperius remakes him

Every time I see the neyrelle epilogue I feel firmly in Mephisto’s grasp

Everything about this prophecy is so vague it was painful. It could just as easilly be a call-back to diablo 2 than it could be about this game. In diablo 2 mepheisto was bound, in the body of Que-Hegan with the Soul Stone still in his heart, with every limb chained to the walls in Tal Rasha's tomb. Where the jewel of the desert was Lut Gholein. The first half could describe the fall of tristram. The entire game being built around this prophecy was immensely disappointing. It's just as valid to say that the spear of light was Tyrael destroying the corrupted worldstone which he does with an actual spear of light.

I only disagree with you with the last sentence. Inarius Indeed being the Heart of hatred has his actions are motivated by hatred and disgust. However, its Mephisto who's set free, not Inarius He was enchained in hell but now is free to roam sanctuary (on the long run) So the end of the prophecy becomes the beginning of the next Diablo DLC What do you think ?

this prophecy will have moments of fruition in each part of the game. once the game it complete we will see the entirety of the prophecy play out. so far it seems like we are trying to see what we want too, but even the characters in the game are up in the air about how its all playing out. we will see hallmarks of the prophecy and swear by them until the end, when it all comes together.