A Lost Destiny 2 Character Makes A Cryptic Return in Lightfall

Somehow, Asher Mir has returned.

With the launch of Destiny 2: Lightfall, players are diving into the game's story and unearthing some hidden clues about where the story could go next. In a surprise detail hidden in one of Lightfall's activities, one of Destiny 2's more memorable supporting characters, the Awoken Warlock Asher Mir, makes a quick cameo — and most players have likely missed it.

Thanks to some Destiny 2 fans on social media and content creators on YouTube, the community has uncovered evidence of Asher Mir's return in the game's plot. Hidden in the Partition activity on Neomuna, which sees guardians explore a repurposed Vex network, Asher Mir's digital self is located on a hidden platform, and he signals to the player to approach him. Though he does not speak, he gives the familiar glare he would give when players visited him on Io.

However, he has left a more direct message for players in a lore description on the Inside Line sparrow, which is available for players from the season pass rewards. When inspecting the lore for the Inside Line, there is a morse code message that says, "STILL ALIVE INSIDE NETWORK IDIOT KIDS."

For those who played OG Destiny 2, Asher Mir was a prickly character who commonly made snide comments. In short, it's classic Asher Mir.

Asher Mir's origins

As one of the original characters from Destiny 2's launch in 2017, the supporting vendor Asher Mir was on the planet Io, which was taken over by the Vex, Cabal, and Taken factions. As one of the planet's primary characters, he would give players details about Io's history and clues about the Vex Pryamidion -- a Vex stronghold that stretched across time and space. In the earlier phases of Destiny 2, Asher Mir was the foremost expert on The Vex, and would conduct experiments into the Vex network and explore the Pyramidion and its many permeatations.

However, with Beyond Light's launch in 2020, Bungie sunsetted a sizable portion of Destiny 2's content, including several planets, activities, and characters. This mass vaulting, unfortunately, included NPCs like Asher Mir and Sloane from the planet Titan. Storywise, the Darkness had invaded the Sol System and swallowed up several planets, erasing them from existence. In 2023, with Destiny 2 in a vastly changed state from its debut, many players who jumped into the game recently have no idea who this character is. Nevertheless, for long-time fans of Destiny 2, this is the clearest confirmation that Asher Mir is still alive, which could lead to more from him in the future.

We're still uncovering more details about Destiny 2: Lightfall, so be sure to check back with IGN for more updates, along with our finalized review.

Alessandro Fillari is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @afillari.