- "The Construct. I always hated that thing. It sits outside the Natural Order, its motives unknowable to any of us."
- — Vercanna the Last
The Construct is an ancient monolith of insurmountable power that has existed since the dawn of time within the Dark Aether. While typically uninvolved and unconcerned with the happenings of the realm, it will occasionally grant its power to a select chosen few - known as an "Archon".
It is a major part of the Call of Duty: Vanguard Zombies storyline, having been introduced in Terra Maledicta.
Background
Dawn of Time
The origins of the Construct are completely unknown. However, it has supposedly existed ever since the dawn of time within the Dark Aether, being worshipped by its first denizens. It was relatively unconcerned and uninvolved with the lives of the entities within the Dark Aether, although at some point this would change slightly as the Construct decided to grant its power to a certain chosen few. These individuals, completing the Trials of Mindfulness, Sacrifice and Resilience would be dubbed as the "Archon". The first of these Archons would wipe out a parasitic species that threatened their realm, while the fourth would use their power to fragment a moon.
Kortifex's Petition
At some point, Kortifex the Deathless, the Lord of the Dark Aether at that point, discovered the Construct and became obsessed with being granted its power. Although he completed the Trials, the Construct would still reject him. Angered, he would prevent anyone else from petitioning it by sending his Sisters of Agony after him. However, his ambitions would be thwarted by the end of the Netherwars when a plot formulated by Vercanna the Last and Bellekar the Warlock trapped him in his Artifact.
The Deathless' Grand Scheme
After Kortifex was trapped in his artifact, it would remain dormant for decades. However, things would soon change after Projekt Endstation breached the Dimensional Membrane between their world and the Dark Aether. His Artifact having come into the possession of Die Wahrheit leader Wolfram Von List, Kortifex took the opportunity to bond with Von List as part of a greater scheme to free himself from his Artifact. In exchange for his assistance, Von List would be granted Kortifex's ability to raise the dead.
As Gabriel Krafft, a group of Allied Special Forces and the Elder Gods Bellekar, Saraxis the Shadow, Inviktor the Destroyer and Norticus the Conqueror did battle against Kortifex's revenants, they eventually stumbled upon a lost page of the Tome of Rituals, sealed away in a Void spell. They would soon after travel to Egypt's Eastern Desert thanks to a portal opened by Vercanna, where they managed to break the Void spell and recover the page using the Decimator Shield. However, this was all according to Kortifex's plan, who "allowed" them to steal the page.
After Krafft and Bellekar deciphered the contents of the page, they discovered that it detailed the ancient separation between Saraxis and her former human host in feudal Japan through use of a bronze Relic Mirror. They would restore both Saraxis' memories and the Mirror, with the hopes to use it against Kortifex. Afterwards, they returned to the Eastern Desert, and after restoring the Pack-a-Punch Machine, used the Relic Mirror and separated Kortifex from Von List once and for all. Kortifex's scepter soon after appeared to the Special Forces, with Kortifex himself manifesting. Now freed from his Artifact, Kortifex declared he would petition the Construct once again, become its Archon, and use his newfound power to destroy the Earth.
Kortifex's Second Petition
Kortifex immediately travelled to the Corrupted Lands, where he once again petitioned the Construct as it hovered above. However, before he could kill the Allied operators, the Construct stopped him and demanded that Kortifex abide by its rules. He obeyed, allowing the operatives to complete the Construct's Trials of Mindfulness, Sacrifice and Resilience. With assistance from a betrayed Von List, the operatives managed to complete all three Trials.
With the Trials complete, the operatives returned to the Dark Aether to stop Kortifex from becoming the Archon - only to discover they were all too late. Fully empowered by the Construct's power, a massive Kortifex vowed to destroy the "red-bloods" that had opposed him. Kortifex and the operatives would soon do battle, with the operatives eventually triumphing and finally bringing death to the so-called "Deathless". Stripped of all his power, Kortifex shrunk back to his normal size and his corpse fell beneath the depths of the Dark Aether.
Gallery
Trivia
- During Modern Warfare III Season Four Reloaded in Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, entities that resemble the Construct can be found at various POIs within Verdansk. These entities, however, emit a purple glow rather than red.