The Guardian returns to Eris with the Cryptoglyph, and uses it to empower Eris's Lectern of Enchantment in order to forge more Dreambane armor needed to infiltrate the Pyramid. It is then shown that more phantoms of deceased Guardians are haunting Eris while the Guardian was fulfilling tasks for her; Eris reveals that said phantoms are those of her former fireteam who previously took on Crota prior to the events of the first game. The Guardian then meets with Ikora, who had traveled to the Moon to see the alien vessel with her own eyes. She beckons the Guardian to assist Eris in fighting the Nightmares any way they can. The Guardian then defeats and extracts the essences of the Nightmares of Skolas, Kell of Kells; Taniks, the Scarred; and Phogoth, the Untamed in order to complete the full Dreambane armor set. After completing the full armor set and equipping it, the Guardian descends beneath the Scarlet Keep once more to the Pyramid, and finally manages to bypass the vessel's barrier. Ghost all of a sudden becomes possessed by the Darkness originating from the Pyramid as the Guardian is being drawn into the vessel. The Guardian makes their way through the Pyramid, defeating the Nightmares of Ghaul, the Fanatic, and Crota along the way; the Darkness also taunts the Guardian through Ghost, commenting on the Light's failures and weaknesses. The Guardian then arrives at an altar where an unknown artifact is presented to them; upon touching it, the Guardian is subjected to a vision from within the Black Garden on Mars, with a fleet of Pyramid vessels floating in the sky behind them. The Guardian then encounters the Darkness itself, taking on the form of the Guardian, claiming to be neither friend nor foe, but instead their "salvation". Upon returning to the surface of the Moon, the Guardian gives Eris the artifact for her to study, and reports what they had encountered inside the Pyramid to the Vanguard in the Tower. Utterly suspicious of what the Darkness spoke to be their salvation, Eris, Zavala, and Ikora conclude that the Darkness is preparing for its return, with a threat of a second Collapse soon to be imminent. As the Guardian continues to work with Eris and the Vanguard to combat the lingering Nightmare threat on the Moon and across the solar system caused by the Pyramid, Eris contacts the Guardian once again and reveals that the artifact began emitting a signal that leads to the Black Garden. Despite Eris's fears that the Darkness is leading them into a trap, a fireteam of Guardians assembled by Eris invades the Black Garden through a newly discovered Vex portal beneath the lunar surface near the Scarlet Keep to follow the signal to its source ("Garden of Salvation" raid).