Whispers in the Walls
Loid has had strange dreams and desperately needs to show you something.
Previous story quest: Angels of the Zariman
Starting the quest
In the leadup to TennoCon 2023, three broadcasts from Nora Night's ship were released on the Warframe website. As TennoCon revealed the first mission of the quest, these conversations were meant to describe events taking place immediately before Whispers in the Walls.
After the Tenno completes The New War, they will receive an inbox message from Loid with the quest as an attachment.
Inbox message:
URGENTTenno,
Please meet me at the Necralisk as soon as you are able. This cannot wait.
Discretion is paramount. Tell nobody.
—Loid
The quest can be started in the Codex. Selecting the first mission will trigger an introductory cutscene.
[Dust is seen falling against a dark background. Suddenly an echoing voice booms out, speaking the Voidtongue. As it speaks, the dust pulses outwards, then draws inwards.]
[The scene transitions to an Orokin facility. Two Culverin Necramechs march to take up positions on either side of a large door, then power down as the door begins to slowly close. Inside the chamber, Albrecht Entrati watches the doors seal. He is wearing a navy blue coat and hat reminiscent of a train conductor, though both have gold details and trimming. A ringtone alerts Albrecht, and he withdraws a pager-like device. He snaps it open and reads it, then pockets it before turning away from the doors. As he walks into the centre of the room, his large kavat – Kalymos – stirs from its nap atop a pedestal, and follows him.]
[The room is revealed to be a large laboratory space in the unique Entrati style. Complex devices spin and whirr, mysterious fluid swirls within sealed phials, and arcane purple energy arcs inside containment fields. In the middle of the room, the head and torso of an enormous statue emerges from a cavity in the floor, lying supine, with skin of blue-gray metal or porcelain. Albrecht walks to an ornate desk near the statue, on which are a few Ayatan statues, several books and scrolls, and two computers. The computers, like Albrecht's pager, are completely anachronistic, made of gray plastic, with a distinct keyboard, monitor, and CPU, in blocky square designs. Albrecht's grimoire is resting on the keyboard; he closes it gently and places it to the side before typing in a password – possibly "TENNO" – and hitting Enter. The computer emits a series of beeps, and the sounds of another device powering up can be heard.]
[Albrecht turns away and walks to a heavy metal casket or sarcophagus lying horizontal on the floor, the device which was activated by the computer. The elaborate lid opens with a hiss as he approaches. Albrecht kneels down and gives Kalymos several affectionate pets on the face and ears, then enters the casket and sits inside. The kavat follows, leaping up and settling down near his feet. A thin, bespectacled man in a gray and black uniform walks up to the side of the casket with a mournful look. Albrecht quietly whispers to him, reaching out his right hand and touching the man's face tenderly, using his thumb to wipe away a tear from his eye. The man only reacts with a sad expression. Albrecht lies down and the casket lid closes over him and his kavat, sealing with a hiss. An alarm begins to blare as electrical pops and crackles can be heard from the casket, then suddenly all noises cease as the casket seems to power down. The man standing next to it hefts a large Ekhein hammer, hesitates for a moment, then brings it down on the casket in a crashing blow.]
First mission: The Kalymos Sequence (Necralisk, Deimos)
The Tenno arrives at the front gates of the Necralisk. Loid is there to meet them, and initiates conversation as they approach.
Loid: "Ah! My lonely vigil is over. Follow me, Tenno, and on no account wake the family! Despite their conflicts they sleep in peace, but a solitary dream plagues me."
Loid begins floating towards the Necraloid chamber, moving backwards so as to face the Tenno, who are directed to follow him.
Loid: "You must understand: constructs CANNOT dream. And yet, I have."
Loid and the Tenno arrive before the door to the Necraloid chamber, which, as always, is sealed with a barrier of floating golden discs, preventing entry.
Loid: "In my dream, one single name repeats. KALYMOS."
At the mention of the name, blue energy streams inwards from the door, clearing the barrier and opening the doorway. Loid gasps loudly.
Loid: "The memories surface, long locked away. This was no dream, Tenno. It was a precept. The Kalymos Sequence."
Loid enters the chamber, and the Tenno must follow him to his platform in front of the Cosmic Clock.
Loid: "I must fulfil this dormant precept. The Kalymos Sequence has begun, and it cannot be undone."
A short cutscene will play.
[The Cosmic Clock, floating in the centre of the room, suddenly stops ticking. The stream of Void energy that flows through it abruptly ceases. The Cosmic Clock, sparking and popping, runs backwards for a revolution, before the axle retracts into the main body of the clock. Then the clock begins to implode, collapsing in on itself as if from extreme gravitational forces. It spins rapidly as it sucks up the Orokin machinery surrounding the whirlpool-like Void portal beneath the chamber, compressing it all into a smaller and smaller orb that eventually sinks down into the Void portal. As it does, a large doorway closes over the portal in the shape of an iris shutter, sealing it away and leaving the chamber blank and featureless. However, the eight wall panels around the outside of the chamber – with writing detailing Albrecht Entrati's first voyage into the Void – retract up into the ceiling, revealing a much bigger space. Behind the eight wall panels are illustrated Vitruvian glyphs, and directly ahead, a large doorway leads to a long spiral staircase that goes down into the depths of Deimos.]
The Tenno is directed to enter the new location and go down the staircase.
Loid: "I have one responsibility in the Kalymos Sequence: Awaken the Sleeper. But I cannot do it alone. Please, assist me once more?"
As the Tenno walks down the staircase, the Lychnus lamps on the walls will light up when the Tenno nears them. At the foot of the staircase is the door seen in the introductory cutscene. The Necramechs which had stood guard are now rusted piles of metal on the floor. When the Tenno approaches the door, it will light up and open slowly, revealing the laboratory seen earlier. Everything is as shown in the cutscene: the massive statue, the smashed casket, the anachronistic computer on the ornate desk. This is the SANCTUM ANATOMICA.
(when the Tenno approaches the statue) Loid: "I fear we are off the edge of the map, and into the domain… of monsters. Master Entrati never completed his final project: the VESSELS. The Sequence dictates they cannot awaken before the Sleeper does."
The Voidtongue will boom from far away. During the speech, colour will drain from the world slightly, replaced by a sepia tone.
Loid: "Do you hear that? Let us hope the Sleeper is untroubled by such… strangeness. Find them."
The Tenno is directed to exit the Sanctum through a short corridor that leads to an enclosed dome, with a console in the centre. When the Tenno enters the dome, rings will start swivelling around the edge of the chamber like an armillary sphere, until the elevator arrives at the correct location and the dome opens opposite the Sanctum to reveal a door deeper into the forgotten laboratories.
This area represents a new procedural tileset, featuring ornate Entrati designs, complex machinery, and crackling electricity. Many of the rooms feature more massive statues in various states of completion, or other large centrepieces like Void portals, Void mirrors, or Necramech assembly lines. As the Tenno move deeper into the labs, they will encounter active Necramechs of the Culverin design seen earlier, along with quadrupedal Arcocanids.
Loid: "Necramechs. Poor, abandoned things. Still faithfully following Master Entrati's last command, to defend. Show mercy, Tenno. End them."
The Tenno must kill several Necramechs in the room. Once they are all killed, the Voidtongue will sound again.
Loid: "Master Entrati called it the Voidtongue. He feared it was meaningless… and feared more that it was not."
The Tenno will eventually find a large room with a lectern, on which is resting the grimoire seen earlier.
Loid: "There! That book was like a diary to Master Entrati – his grimoire! No doubt it holds the secrets of the Vessels, and of the Kalymos Sequence! Take it, Tenno!"
Upon interacting with the grimoire, it will be added to their inventory, replacing their secondary weapon for the rest of the mission. The Tenno will open the book and hold it with their right hand.
Loid: "The grimoire is very… active. It is… reading… you!"
The Grimoire is a new weapon type; 'firing' the weapon will see the Tenno cast energy from the pages with their left hand and throw it at the enemy. Several Necramechs will arrive and engage the Tenno, providing an opportunity to practise using the Grimoire.
(after killing the Necramechs) Loid: "I confess it galls me slightly to see a compendium of knowledge used as a weapon, but needs must. We need be in no doubt of your skill, at any rate."
The next room has a group of Necramechs repairing a large, complex contraption. After they are killed, a repetitive knocking sound, in intervals of three, can be heard coming from behind the next door. There are also the remains of inactive Necramechs crumpled in heaps before the door.
When the Tenno enters the doorway, the knocking will stop, and they will see the Man in the Wall, in the form of their Operator, standing in the middle of the room, leaning to one side with his hands clasped behind his back. He stands perfectly still within a ring of Requiem glyphs drawn on the floor in sand. As the Tenno gets nearer, they will hear constant, sinister giggling. When the Tenno arrives at the Void entity, they will hear three short words in Voidtongue, before the walls, ceiling, and floor of the laboratories fall away to reveal a bleak and barren landscape, made of angular blocks of concrete or rough stone. Other stone towers can be seen in the distance. The sky is a turbulent sea of storm clouds, with the massive face of the Man in the Wall seen in various places, his mouth gaping open. Approaching the cliff edge will reveal that the "floor" is not visible, only an endless abyss, a reflection of the sky above. A constant wind blows dust in every direction, and chants of Voidtongue can be heard in the distance.
Loid: "A monstrous danger, these labs. Better off sealed. We can only hope the Sleeper has been untouched by this vast horror. This great Indifference."
As the Tenno advances through the alien landscape, it will merge with areas of the laboratories in certain places (although usually covering it in a great deal of dust), giving the impression of two different planes of reality overlapping. In one area, a large group of disembodied arms can be seen shuffling off into the distance. Shortly afterward, the Tenno will arrive in a broad, open arena, at which point they will be attacked by a large group of strange enemies known collectively as the Fragmented Tide.
Loid: "I ask too much of you, Tenno. These horrors must be stopped!"
The Fragmented Tide is composed of disembodied arms and legs, made out of material reminiscent of the Void Angels, emerging from blocks or triangles of dusty concrete. They will lumber towards the Tenno and attack them with melee swipes, or hurl rocks at them from a distance. When destroyed, they will crumble into dust. They are part of a new enemy faction called the MURMUR. The entire group has a collective health bar displayed on the top of the HUD.
Loid: "If these fragments were to unite…. [shudders] Destroy them swiftly, Tenno!"
Once the Tenno has depleted the collective health bar (by destroying enough of the Murmur), the remaining enemies will collapse into dust.
Loid: "Right. Onward."
As the Tenno continues, the stone landscape will transition again back to the Entrati labs. The Tenno is directed into a long chamber where the two halves of the room are separated by a gap, with a short bridge connecting them.
Automated Announcer: [subway chimes] "The next train is arriving. Doors are on the right."
When the Tenno attempts to cross the bridge, a subway train will suddenly appear and transit at high speed across the room, passing right over the bridge and narrowly avoiding the Tenno. The subway emerges from a temporary Void portal and vanishes into another.
Loid: "A trap? Master Entrati jealously protected his most adored possessions – be they objects… or people. Come. The Sleeper awaits."
Just past the subway station room is a small chamber holding a sarcophagus similar to the one Albrecht was seen entering. As the Tenno approaches, it rises from below the floor and is held vertical, tilted back at an angle. The Tenno is prompted to interact with the casket to awaken the Sleeper, which will trigger a short cutscene.
[The casket opens to reveal the thin, bespectacled man seen earlier with Albrecht Entrati. He stirs, adjusting his glasses and smoothing out his black and gray uniform. As the Tenno steps closer, he turns to face them and steps out of the casket.]
[Loid]: "The Kalymos Sequence has begun? Did he send you? Is he…. No. No, of course he didn't. That would be impossible."
Loid (Necraloid drone): "This is, well, Loid. The original. All emotional centres very much intact. Did you have a good sleep?"
Loid (human): "Ah. The 'helpful' Necraloid my Albrecht had made, so that I might have assistance… and company. Perhaps that made it easier for him to leave. [dismissive hand gesture] Resume your duties, construct."
[The Necraloid turns and slowly floats away, imitating Loid's delivery.]
Loid (Necraloid drone) (mockingly): "'Resume your duties, construct.'"
Loid (human): "Please, follow me, ah…."
[The Necraloid turns back in order to introduce the Tenno.]
Loid (Necraloid drone): "This is a Tenno. An orphan of the Void, continuing the struggle our Master abandoned."
[Loid walks away, as the Necraloid flies off to places unknown, and the cutscene ends.]
Loid: "A Tenno? A deserter, presumably? Is it not aware there's a war going on? [pause, sigh] So. The war, too, is just a memory now."
From this point on, the Necraloid drone is referred to as "Necraloid" to distinguish him from the human Loid.
Loid slowly walks to the back of the room, where another statue is under construction. Loid stands in front of the statue's mouth, where a short extraction cutscene will play.
[The ringtone heard earlier sounds again. Loid produces a small flip phone similar to Albrecht's, and opens it briefly before closing it again. The Vessel's mouth opens, gaping wide into a cavity tall enough to walk into. Loid does just that, entering the mouth and striding into a blue Void portal. The Tenno, after a moment's hesitation, follows.]
[in Sanctum Anatomica]
After a brief loading screen, the Tenno will arrive back in the Sanctum Anatomica.
Necraloid: "Tenno, while Loid completes his inspections, you'd better meet the Cavia… a reminder of darker times. Though Master Entrati always hoped the awaited Operator would be able to understand them?"
Three animals located around the Sanctum are waypointed. Each has a Necramite drone nearby, tending to the animal; the Tenno must interact with each Necramite. The first animal is a massive Norg fish within a giant glass tank suspended from the ceiling.
(upon interaction) Fibonacci: "Yara mig!"
A screen will appear, saying:
Norg status: Fully alert. Brain function: Exceptional. Monitoring nutrients. Subject sent into Void by A.Entrati on Mission 3-1.
The second animal is a large blue and green bird sitting in a golden cage.
(upon interaction) Bird 3: "Zek? Aba! Zek? Zek?"
The screen says:
Avian status: Overstimulated. Sedative recommended. Revival process ongoing. Subject sent into Void by A.Entrati on Mission 3-1.
The third animal is a deer- or goat-like creature.
(upon interaction) Tagfer: [moan]
The screen says:
Cervulite status: Extreme depression. No substitute mate available. Species extinction: imminent. Subject sent into Void by A.Entrati on Mission 3-1.
(after meeting all three animals) Necraloid: "Ugh, an… incomplete experiment, one might say."
Loid will appear by Albrecht's desk, and the Tenno needs to approach him in order to continue.
Loid: "Albrecht left a great deal incomplete. The Vessels are unfinished, like a book one might one day return to. Operable, barely. The Sequence dictates I am to wait for their Operator…. Clearly, that cannot be you?"
Necraloid: "Oh, it can be. Tenno, Master Entrati's Grimoire suggests you are the key. That colourless antique there – use it."
The Tenno is directed to interact with Albrecht's old computer on the desk. The Tenno must complete a new hacking minigame, wherein they must match symbols as they scroll by without selecting mismatching symbols. When the hack is complete, a cutscene will play.
[Static appears on the HUD, and the Tenno's warframe suddenly collapses to the ground as the sound of Transference is heard. Loid looks over to the large statue in the middle of the room – the Vessel. It shudders and begins to move, twisting its neck around, blinking, and moving its mouth.]
Loid: "This isn't right. The Transference stream… it's being diverted!"
[Additional sounds of Transference can be heard as the Vessel's head continues to move, and then the scene abruptly cuts to a man fighting in a subway train, similar to the subway that appeared in Albrecht's lab. The man is wearing a full-body suit that looks identical to an Excalibur warframe, although his head is exposed and there are additional buckles and straps on the suit. He is using an assault rifle to fight off humanoid enemies that appear to be CRT monitors overgrown with Infestation. The entire scene seems to be set in the 1990s of old Earth; the Excalibur-esque suit and the Infested tissue are the only recognisable elements. The subway is covered in New Year's Eve decorations, and is also overgrown with Infestation in some areas.]
[The man runs out of ammo in his assault rifle, and draws a Skana-resembling sword to bisect the last Infested running towards him. As the subway finally falls silent, he falls to one knee, exhausted, using the sword to prop himself up. He stows the sword away on his back again, coughing, before replacing the empty mag on his assault rifle. He stands up and cocks the rifle as the view slowly moves to an over-the-shoulder perspective, and the cinematic ends.]
The player is given control of the man, standing in the middle of the subway. The train is currently stopped at a station and appears to be out of order.
Automated announcer: [subway chimes] "Please note: payment processing systems are down. All ticketing stations are cash only."
Aoi: [heavy breathing] "Arthur. Find a terminal. Check in. I need to know you made it."
Arthur is directed to exit the train and find a terminal in the station. Arthur can walk, crouch, and jump, but cannot sprint, double jump, or slide. The entire station is deserted, with New Year's Eve decorations everywhere, and Infestation growing in several places. The screams of the Infested creatures can be heard periodically in the background.
If Arthur walks in the opposite direction, into the subway tunnel, he will find the Man in the Wall sitting atop vines of Infestation, laughing.
As Arthur proceeds down the platform, he will suddenly stumble and fall to one knee, coughing, before standing up again.
Arthur: "Aoi? Feels like there's someone in my head…."
Around the corner, Arthur will come to an open concourse with hallways to the platforms, an escalator to the outside (not functioning), and some stores and offices directly adjacent.
Aoi: [heavy breathing] "Nearly done with this bitch of a year. I wish we could just start over. Find that Dr Entrati bastard on day one. Then I wouldn't be alone on New Year's Eve."
A working terminal can be found inside one of the offices off of the concourse, in what appears to be a subway control room. The computer is identical to Albrecht's computer in the Sanctum. When Arthur interacts with it, he will type in a short password, which will bring up a calendar showing the current time and date as 31 December 1999, 11:54 pm.
Aoi: [Infested creatures screaming] "They've found me. Keep going, Arthur. Find Dr Entrati. Follow him into hell if you have to!"
The sound of Mag's Crush ability can be heard. Aoi screams as the Infested creatures around her howl, and then the transmission cuts out. At the same time, CRT Infested creatures will begin to swarm the concourse, and Arthur must defend himself for 1 minute. As he does, a voice will play over the speakers.
TV announcer: "It's comin' up to midnight, folks! Is YOUR PC ready for the new millennium? Orrrr… are YOU one of the switched-on thinkers who can tell this so-called Y2K event is just a bunch of bullpucky? Stay tuned. Here's where we find out!"
At this point, Arthur has access to Excalibur's abilities, and can now slide attack, as well as shoot with his assault rifle. Once the minute is up and all the Infested are dead, Arthur must perform a finisher attack on one last Infested in the middle of the room, which will trigger a cutscene.
[Arthur executes a finisher move, then remains crouched down, panting heavily and leaning on his sword. He stands up and rips the sword free, but the effort appears to overwhelm him and he drops the sword to the ground before collapsing unconscious.]
[The sound of purring can be heard as Kalymos nuzzles Arthur to wake him up. Arthur stirs, and the kavat walks away to sit next to the escalator. Arthur looks up to see Albrecht Entrati slowly descending the escalator, and he pulls himself into a crouch. As Albrecht stands in front of Arthur, a clock can be seen behind him reading 11:59, and a distant crowd can be heard counting down from 10. Albrecht makes eye contact with Arthur.]
Albrecht Entrati: "You… are… late."
[As he speaks, the countdown reaches zero, and the crowd shouts "Happy New Year!" as the clock ticks to 12:00. Albrecht looks down, the visor of his hat covering his eyes, and grins unsettlingly as the Voidtongue sounds out. A stream of dust flows into the station and the view cuts to black.]
[in Sanctum Anatomica]
The Tenno's warframe will slowly stand up as the Transference stream is reset.
Loid: "So, Albrecht made it to 1999 in one piece. But that thing is still on his heels. Albrecht rarely smiled, after his return from the Void. And never like that. I smashed the casket for nothing! It followed him anyway!"
The Cavia animals can be heard shouting their undecipherable words continuously in the background, and Albrecht's computer is now dead, emitting smoke and sparks.
Loid: "SILENCE, CREATURES! It seems the Murmur overloaded your connection. Unfortunately for Albrecht's cherished Pom-2. Not as 'future-proof' as the label claimed, alas."
A loud alarm will ring out. Loid will look around, assessing the source of the disturbance.
Loid: "The Murmur. They're attacking the sensory network I installed, our eyes and ears! To arms, Tenno – play the warrior, and leave the tactics to me!"
Loid: "Construct – I'm awake. Your one responsibility is fulfilled. Be with the family. They must be kept in the state of ignorance to which my Albrecht so wisely consigned them."
Necraloid: "But I— Yes. I see. Until we meet again, Tenno."
The Grimoire must be equipped as the Tenno's secondary weapon before the mission can begin. It is already rank 30, no matter how much affinity the Tenno gained during the last mission, and it can also be modded within the Sanctum, along with the rest of the Tenno's arsenal. In order to start the next mission, the Tenno must enter the Sanctum's mission elevator again.
Second Mission: Eyes and Ears (Munio, Deimos)
The Tenno must again venture into Albrecht's laboratories. Shortly after exiting the elevator, they will encounter the Man in the Wall, sitting on a railing.
Man in the Wall: "I'd crawl away in shame too if I'd done what LOID did. Doesn't that Grimoire feel a little… light?"
Loid: "The Murmur presumes to destroy our auditory and visual sensors. In all the time I have been asleep, they have never ONCE been so bold!"
Tagfer: "IIRE! SHOGRUN UKUL!"
Loid: "Ignore the Cavia, Tenno. If Albrecht ever understood their babble, he never bothered to share that knowledge with me."
The Tenno is directed to find the Auricle, a large human ear mounted in a golden Entrati device. Upon arriving at the Auricle, the Murmur will begin to swarm it, and the Tenno must defend it for 2:30 minutes.
Loid: "Here they come. After all those years of creeping, silent encroachment… something has changed them. Stirred them up."
There will be Requiem glyphs outlined in glowing Vosphene, appearing in groups near the Auricle. If the Tenno collects 50 Vosphene glyphs, the defence objective will be healed to full health and gain 8 Chyrinka Pillars as a defence matrix.
Loid: "There is a defence system, of sorts. Gather enough of the floating Vosphene Glyphs, and they should reinvigorate the organs you're here to protect. A fallback system, in case… the promised Operator never showed."
Loid: "The Necramechs never could be compelled to attack the Murmur. Albrecht suspected they could no longer distinguish between the Indifference… and himself. A theory he was reluctant to confirm."
After the wave is complete, the Tenno must then travel to a different defence objective, the Vitreum.
Loid: "They're shifting focus! Get to the Vitreum! Look at them. 'The Indifference'. He could have given lessons in indifference."
Fibonacci: "KOMEK! UTEH KOMEK!"
Loid: "Albrecht once thought the Cavia should have been destroyed. Failures, all. But he briefly showed reluctance. And I saw no reason to punish them for his negligence."
The Vitreum is a large disembodied eyeball set in an Entrati device. Like the Auricle, the Tenno must defend it for 2:30 minutes, optionally gathering Vosphene glyphs to reinforce it.
Loid: "I saw off Granum's thugs. I beat back the Infested. And by the Void, I shall see the end of these monstrosities."
(when the wave is complete) Loid: "Dust yourself down, Tenno. We are still alive. Rejoin me, and the Kalymos Sequence may proceed."
[in Sanctum Anatomica]
Fibonacci: "YARA MIG! URU URU YARA MIG!"
The Tenno is prompted to examine the fish, upon which they will discover the Man in the Wall, dangling upside down from the tank's railing.
Man in the Wall: "You're right, Fish. Loid could never figure things out. We have nothing to worry about."
Loid: "If the Cavia have been babbling our secrets to the Murmur, I shall immolate the lot of them, promise or no promise."
Loid: "It seems Albrecht said more than we heard. Despite the signal becoming corrupted, his words to you are preserved in the Transference buffer. We should extract them… but for that, the Pom-2 requires a replacement 'board', and those are all hidden away in the Netracells. You do understand that accessing a Netracell without a Keyglyph is completely impossible?"
Tagfer: "Mara lohk! Mara lohk!"
The Tenno is directed to examine the cervulite, which is holding a golden key in its mouth. Approaching the animal will cause it to gently deposit the key in the Tenno's outstretched hand.
Loid: "A Keyglyph. So. The Cavia have provided the very item we require. Very well: proceed to the Netracell at your own risk, Tenno. That babbling oddity may be sending you into a trap, and if you do end up in one, I'm afraid you are on your own."
Third mission: The Netracell (Testudo, Deimos)
The Tenno will spawn in a medium-sized room called the Anchorhold. As the Tenno is already carrying a Keyglyph, there is no need to take one from the pillars.
Loid: "Keyglyphs are a heavy burden for living beings to bear. Each type will impede you in its own way."
The Tenno is equipped with a Voidburst Keyglyph, which will cause enemies to explode on death, dealing radial damage. The Tenno is directed to hack the terminal at the edge of the Anchorhold. Doing so will open the gate to the rest of the labs.
The Netracell's location is hidden until the Tenno hacks three terminals scattered around the map (although the Tenno can opt to search for it manually). Unlike Netracell missions encountered later, the enemies in the mission do not have increased levels and Steel Path modifiers; the mission is at standard difficulty.
Eventually, the Tenno will arrive at a large outdoor tile within the Indifference, featuring a stone ramp up to a small platform in front of a seated Vessel. An ornate chair is situated on the platform, facing the Vessel, surrounded by Requiem glyphs drawn in sand. When the Tenno enters the area, they will hear the Man in the Wall's laughter. When the Tenno approaches the Vessel, a short cutscene will play.
[The Vessel leans forward and opens its eyes – pure black. Its expression is one of intense anger, and it glares down at the Tenno. The Man in the Wall is sitting on top of its head, laughing.]
Man in the Wall: "Look at these things [gesturing to the Vessels]. Lying around. ABANDONED. Like you, Loid."
Loid: "You are his demon. Not mine! I won't listen!"
As the cutscene ends, the Vessel will sit back down and resume its neutral stance, the Man in the Wall gone.
Loid: "My apologies, Tenno. I shall refrain from further outbursts."
The Tenno must continue on their mission to find the Netracell.
(upon locating the Netracell) Loid: "There. A Netracell. Albrecht stored all manner of sentimental old junk in these. Insert the Keyglyph."
The Tenno must interact with the Netracell's security terminal.
(upon inserting Keyglyph) Loid: "The Netracell's security apparatus is diligent. That door won't open while it can sense the Murmur nearby. So. Eliminate them."
An area nearby will be marked on the minimap, and a "Netracell alert level" meter will appear on the HUD, starting at 100%. The Tenno must kill enemies within the marked zone to lower the alert level. At roughly 67% and 33% alert level, a Necramite will appear elsewhere on the map, and must be destroyed in order to continue the process.
(when the first Necramite appears) Loid: "Necramites! The lab's automated systems are trying to lock down the Netracell. Your only option is to destroy them."
(when the alert level drops to 50%) Loid: "Cold stone. Sardonic aloofness. I was a fool not to see the resemblance before."
After the alert level drops to 0%, the Tenno can interact with the security terminal again in order to open the Netracell. The doors to the vault (made out of a pair of clasped Vessel hands) will open, and the Tenno can venture inside. The vault is a strange blend of an Entrati facility and the 1999 subway control room, with New Year's Eve decorations scattered around. The Pom-2 board is lying on the desk next to the other computers, but the Man in the Wall is also sitting on the desk next to it.
Man in the Wall: "You shoulda left well enough alone, kiddo! It'll NEVER get BETTER if you KEEP… ON… PICKING… AT IT!"
Loid: "Excellent. Return to me with the board, Tenno."
Extraction will be marked. The Tenno will also be rewarded with a Shrill Voca upon mission completion.
[in Sanctum Anatomica]
The Tenno must give Loid the Pom-2 board.
Loid: "Thank you. A moment, please."
After a brief intermission, during which the sounds of computer repair can be heard, Loid will give it back to the Tenno.
Loid: "Would you do the honours?"
The Tenno must interact with the Pom-2 computer, which is now functional again. Doing so will bring up a grainy video feed of Albrecht.
Albrecht Entrati: "Arthur? Tenno? Mm. Forgive me. I need Loid to understand why I had to leave. Without him. Why I forced him to destroy the device after I had gone. And why I could never say the words he so needed to hear."
Albrecht Entrati: "If I had remained in the Deimos laboratory, Loid would never have been safe from… Him. You know of what I speak. And so I retreated to the only place in history where that entity could not easily follow. To draw His greedy eye away from Loid."
Albrecht Entrati: "Tenno – I require your trust. Craft the little curio whose blueprints you will find in the computer's memory. Complete the Kalymos Sequence. Repair. Rebuild. When the time is right, find me."
Loid: "The skin of a martyr doesn't suit you, Albrecht! If something mattered… he'd have found a way. It's too late. You heard him, Tenno! He requires your trust. So craft the bloody thing."
A blueprint will be added to the Tenno's inventory, and they must return to their Orbiter to craft it.
[on board Orbiter]
When the Tenno goes to their Foundry, the Man in the Wall will be sitting on the Foundry bench.
Man in the Wall: "Tick tock, kiddo! You don't wanna be late again, do you?"
The blueprint will be selected when the Tenno accesses their Foundry. It is labelled Albrecht's Blueprint and described as "A curious blueprint found in the memory banks of Albrecht Entrati's Pom-2". It requires only 1 Shrill Voca, and takes 19 credits and 99 seconds to craft (although it can be rushed for 0 platinum).
(upon claiming it from the Foundry) Loid: "The Jahu Gargoyle. Bring it back here and we shall… examine what 'Form' will do to help us."
Fourth mission: A New Voice (Sanctum Anatomica, Deimos)
In the Sanctum, the Tenno is directed to place the item at the edge of Albrecht's desk. It is a gargoyle statue of a creature with the torso and forelegs of a Cervulite, the wings and hind legs of a bird, and the head of a Norg. The Cavia animals (whom it resembles) can be heard chattering in Voidtongue in the background.
Loid: "Albrecht may have told you to build that thing, but given how he used people and threw them away, he may not have cared for your safety. If that gargoyle is a threat you must take it from the Sanctum immediately. Now, activate it."
Interacting with the gargoyle will cause a hush to fall over the Sanctum.
Fibonacci: "AT LAST. IF IGNORANCE IS BLISS, THEN YOU, TENNO, MUST BE ECSTATIC. COME ON THEN. BRING IT CLOSER! WAKEY WAKEY!"
Loid: "Where did that come from? Identify yourself!"
Fibonacci: "PLEASE, LOID, LET THEM FIGURE IT OUT."
(if the Tenno moves in the right direction, variant) Fibonacci: "THAT'S THE RIGHT DIRECTION! WHO'S A GOOD BIPED?"
(if the Tenno moves in the right direction, variant) Fibonacci: "YES, YES, VERY GOOD. KEEP GOING."
(if the Tenno moves in the right direction, variant) Fibonacci: "THAT'S THE RIGHT DIRECTION! WHO'S A CLEVER LITTLE AIR-BREATHER? YOU ARE, YES, YOU ARE!"
(if the Tenno moves in the right direction, variant) Fibonacci: "THAAAT'S IT. ALMOST THERE."
(if the Tenno moves in the wrong direction, variant) Fibonacci: "NOOOO. THIS WAY."
(if the Tenno moves in the wrong direction, variant) Fibonacci: "…AND NOW IT'S WANDERING OFF AGAIN. HELLO! WRONG WAY. Bipeds…."
(if the Tenno moves in the wrong direction, variant) Fibonacci: "NO! I… [sputters] WE'RE GOING TO BE HERE ALL DAY, AREN'T WE?"
(if the Tenno idles, variant) Fibonacci: "OH, BY ALL MEANS, STAND AROUND CATCHING SNOWFLAKES ON YOUR TONGUE! IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVE AN UNFOLDING CRISIS OR ANYTHING!"
(if the Tenno idles, variant) Fibonacci: "HELLOOO? WAKE UP, TENNO. YOU NEED TO FIND ME."
(when the Tenno arrives at the fish tank) Fibonacci: "HERE! IN THE JAR! 'WHA? THE FISH WITH THE BIG BRAIN?' YES THE FISH WITH THE BIG BRAIN! CAN WE PLEASE, FINALLY, GET THIS INTERMINABLE PROCESS OVER WITH?"
Loid: "Albrecht used you to give the Cavia a voice, just as he used me to keep them alive. Such a resourceful man."
Fibonacci: "So, here we are then: the best of what's left. Clearly Papa's plan was countered. Colour me surprised. Right, then. We may proceed with the Sequence."
Loid: "You animals have observed us all this time, have you not? You've given yourself a ROLE in the Sequence?"
Fibonacci: "Indeed we have [chuckles] – come, Loid, it's named after Papa's favoured pet! Spared the rod and spoiled. We know the Fragmented Ones are heralds of the Indifference. We know the Chosen Operator must summon and destroy them. And regrettably, you, Loid, have made this impossible."
Loid: "Choose your words carefully, fish."
Fibonacci: "Tenno: the Grimoire is incomplete, the final page hidden away. By Loid. Be a darling and retrieve it. That's all. Run along."
Loid: "So be it – the gift of decency was clearly not bestowed upon the Cavia, Tenno, but I cannot deny the page's current status is lost."
The Tenno is directed to enter the laboratories.
Bird 3: "Talk? Talk! I can talk! Hey! Hey! Ooh! Ooh! Mister Loid! Mister Loid! Where is Papa? Why did Papa leave us? Mister Loid?"
Tagfer: "Papa is gone. We could all be gone too. In an instant. Like… like…. We have to keep quiet."
Bird 3: "Okay!"
[in Albrecht's laboratories]
The mission is a simple Exterminate against the Murmur and rogue Necramechs.
Fibonacci: "Allow me to boil this down for you: should the Indifference's corrupting touch reach us and take back our speech? We would be screwed. So: be a love and eradicate the Murmur in this patch before the big bad gets word that Loid's awake and the fish is talking."
Loid: "Tenno… there is some truth to what the… fish… says. That page was the last thing my Albrecht ever wrote. Meant for me. Since I had no interest in reading his endless self-justifications, I hid it away instead. But with all this chaos, it's undetectable."
(when the objective is 25% complete) Fibonacci: "So long as the Indifference is missing a digit, it is confined to the strands of Khra. Don't ask; your tiny mind would likely pop under the strain of understanding. This limitation is our one hope."
Loid: "Do not patronise the Tenno, fish. The strands of Khra are merely Void-renderings of the chains of cause and effect. Conceptually embodied timelines, if you will."
Fibonacci: "Papa's daughter excelled at explaining complicated concepts in childish terms. I see now where she learned it."
(when the objective is 75% complete) Fibonacci: "Arousing as I'm sure this is for you, the rest of us are moments away from an extinction grim, black, and FINAL! So. If you would be so kind. Finish up. So I can point you toward that sodding page."
(when the objective is complete) Fibonacci: "Bravo. It was a long walk toward competence, but here you are. Now, please, the page."
The Tenno is waypointed to a small chamber sealed with a portcullis. Standing in front of the gate is the Man in the Wall, leaning to one side, inside a ring of Requiem glyphs drawn on the ground in sand.
Man in the Wall: "How about you give me the page instead, Kiddo? Consider it part of our deal."
The portcullis will recede, and a short cutscene will play.
[The Tenno walks into the chamber, where a single page from the grimoire is floating above a pedestal. The Tenno holds the grimoire open in their right hand and takes the page with their left. However, it flies out of their hand of its own accord, as does the grimoire. Both are suspended in midair as the Tenno backs away, and the page swoops into the grimoire, taking its place in a burst of Void particles. The book snaps shut and flutters, as if trying to contain the page, before slowly opening again. The Tenno once again takes the grimoire in their right hand, and the cutscene will end.]
Loid: "There. It's done. Keep it to yourself, Tenno. I'm damned if I'm giving Albrecht the last word."
The Voidtongue will boom out across the laboratories.
Loid: "Tenno…."
Fibonacci: "A fell hand raps upon the Untime Door, and sans Grimoire we are undone! We've been rumbled."
An alarm will blare continuously throughout the labs, and the Tenno is waypointed to extraction. However, when they enter the extraction portal, the view will show a pattern of falling dust, as in the introductory cutscene, before returning to the Tenno, now in a completely random area of the labs.
Loid: "Tenno? Are you there? Thank Void! Listen. The Murmur diverted your extraction jump. We need you back at the Sanctum, now! Hurry!"
The Voidtongue can be heard continuously as the Tenno runs through the labs and the Indifference to reach the navigation elevator, and thence the Sanctum Anatomica. One of the Sanctum's walls is missing, the gap opening into the stony Indifference, with sand spilling into the Sanctum proper. Loid will charge into the Indifference, wielding a Zylok Prime and muttering angrily.
Loid: "It takes and it takes. It took my future, it's taking the labs inch by inch… well, I won't let it take his bloody Cavia!"
Outside the Sanctum is a sandy expanse, and in the distance a Vessel can be seen, sitting down. The Fragmented Tide will appear, and the Tenno must fight them alongside Loid, while the Vessel leers down at them from afar, its expression alternating between a scowl and a grin.
Fibonacci: "The sodding Indifference seeks a path through the walls, and then, Tenno, through you. Keep it at bay!"
When the Fragmented Tide is defeated, the Voidtongue will sound out from the Vessel.
Man in the Wall: "VOULL NE XATA VOK, MARA LOHK?"
The Fragmented Tide will appear again, and the Tenno must defeat it once more.
Fibonacci: "The strand holds. The Indifference approaches. Soon… it will take on mass."
When the Fragmented Tide is defeated, a short cutscene will play wherein the Fragmented will assemble themselves into a single, massive, 8-legged entity: the Fragmented Suzerain.
Loid: "Get out! There is nothing for you here! Get out! OUT!"
The Fragmented Suzerain is immune to all damage, and has a variety of abilities to damage the Tenno.
Fibonacci: "Tenno, the Grimoire must speak with its own voice!"
The Tenno must run back into the Sanctum and interact again with the Jahu Gargoyle, which will trigger a cutscene.
[The Tenno gently places Albrecht's grimoire before the Jahu Gargoyle. It opens of its own accord and hovers in front of the gargoyle, light spilling out from its pages. Albrecht's voice is heard speaking from the book.]
Albrecht Entrati: "Loid… you gave me back my sight, but I would not spare you a glance. You gave me back my voice, but I never spoke to praise you as I should have. For you were my right hand. My strength, my support, my sanctuary. Even when the galleries hurled scorn upon me, your sole desire was to suffer it in my stead."
Once Albrecht begins speaking, the Fragmented Suzerain is vulnerable to damage. The Tenno must deplete the first half of its health bar. After the second stage of the fight begins, it will again be invulnerable, and the Tenno must again activate the Jahu Gargoyle to read the grimoire.
Albrecht Entrati: "On your first day of service, you aspired to be worthy of me. I only wish that I could have been worthy of you, my Loid."
Once the Fragmented Suzerain is defeated, a cutscene will play.
[The Vessel in the distance slowly stands up to its full height, glaring at the Tenno.]
Man in the Wall: "VOULL NE XATA VOK, MARA LOHK?"
[The Vessel leans down and pounds its fist into the sand, sending forth a shockwave that knocks the Tenno out of their warframe, which is blown away, leaving only the Operator/Drifter, out in the open.]
Loid: "TENNO!"
[The Tenno braces themself against the constantly blowing wind, and looks back at the Vessel lying in the centre of the Sanctum Anatomica. With determination, they turn back to face the hostile Vessel. The Vessel leans over and attempts to smash the Tenno with its outstretched hand. The Tenno closes their eyes and spreads their arms, seemingly accepting their fate. As the Vessel's hand comes down on the Tenno, the sound of Transference is heard.]
[The hostile Vessel bends down and examines its hand – empty – as the Vessel in the Sanctum stirs. It turns to look at the hostile Vessel, then tears its arm from beneath the Sanctum floor, knocking aside a ceiling fixture in the process. The Tenno's Vessel reaches out its hand towards the enemy Vessel, and the player must complete a quick-time event in order to progress.]
[When the quick-time event is completed, the Tenno's Vessel makes contact with the hostile Vessel, but instead of striking a blow, the Vessel's hand gently caresses the other's face. The hostile Vessel instantly loses its black eyes and angry expression, and instead takes on a look of sadness. From the balcony of the Sanctum, Loid will look on in recognition. The scene mirrors the introductory cinematic, when Albrecht gently held his hand to Loid's face. Overcome with emotion, Loid brings his own hand up to his face, unconsciously mimicking the gesture.]
After a short loading screen, the Tenno will once again be in control of their warframe (initially sprawled on the sandy floor).
Loid: "This stillness… Tenno… no. Operator."
Fibonacci: "The strand of Khra has been cut while the Indifference remains undeterred. I foresee a grim and continuing struggle to safeguard Papa's laboratory from its fell and ruinous grasp."
Loid: "Indeed. I shall not waver."
The Tenno must speak to Loid.
Loid: "'Protect the Vessels. Repair. Rebuild.' So runs the Kalymos Sequence, and such is our task. In the version of the past we saw, my Albrecht said we were too late. The solution, naturally, is to arrive on time, next time. You keep the Murmur at bay. I shall fulfil my role: Punctuality. The Entrati family never could arrive on time without my help. And so… here I am, back to my old role. The diligent servant. Albrecht would have smiled at that, I think."
Tenno: "What did he say to you, right before he left?"
Loid: "He said…"
(Sun: "…that it was always watching.") Loid: "…'do not let it see you weeping, Loid.'"
(Neutral: "…that this was no way to remember me.") Loid: "…'my last sight of your face must not be marred by tears.'"
(Moon: "…that he wasn't worthy.") Loid: "…'how do I still deserve your tears after all I have done?'"
The quest ends with a final cutscene.
[The Man in the Wall sits in the ornate chair seen earlier in the quest, facing a Vessel at the top of a ramp. The Man in the Wall plucks the petals from a large lotus flower one by one, tossing them aside as he speaks.]
Man in the Wall:
"We had a deal. The deal was shook.
A little handshake, all it took!
Though from the deal, the wee child ran…"
[Albrecht Entrati walks up from behind and completes the rhyme. As he speaks, his voice acquires the same gravelly tone as the Voidtongue. Notably, Albrecht has the same black eyes as the Man in the Wall, in contrast to his other appearances during the quest.]
Albrecht: "Yet still… WE END AS WE BEGAN."
[The Man in the Wall crushes the Lotus flower with his hand as both he and Albrecht smile ominously.]
The quest will be marked complete. The new description for the quest now reads:
A vision of the past promised a bleak future, but the unexpected assistance of the Cavia offered a precious second chance. With a memory of love holding the Indifference at bay, Loid prepares to send you back… and perhaps this time, you will not be late.
When the Tenno returns to their Orbiter, they will receive two inbox messages. The first is from Loid, containing a blueprint for the Qorvex warframe.
Inbox message:
For the TennoTenno, the warframe Qorvex was designed by my Albrecht's own hand, to protect the chosen Operator from the hazards of his laboratory. This design is yours by right.
I intend to keep the promise I made to him. When the time is right and the equipment repaired, I will assist you to travel back to the past, to the pivotal year of 1999.
Perhaps, between us, we may change history.
—Loid
The second message is from Fibonacci, containing the Melee Upgrade segment, the Mentor's Legacy mod, and a Melee Arcane Adapter.
Inbox message:
An Appropriate Technique?Chosen Operator. A friendly suggestion: you could do so much more with those Melee weapons of yours. I donate my wisdom on both tool and technique. Listen well.
TENNOKAI, a fighting technique fusing Void and Beastial instinct. Raw power. While I have never used Tennokai, I understand it perfectly. Somewhat of a mind mastery. Enough so that lost materials pertaining to Tennokai have been stored just out of my reach in the Sanctum.
Tools. Papa was not one to rest. Use this segment to unlock more potential for your Arsenal. The Arcane was an art and science that Papa studied well – the convexity of my bowl a magnifying glass on his research, and now your gain.
Install this segment, acquire Melee Arcanes, find Tennokai Modules, and observe the results: the swift deletion of your foes.
—Fibonacci
After completing the quest, the Tenno has full access to the missions in Albrecht's laboratories, as well as the Cavia syndicate in the Sanctum Anatomica. Of note is that the 1999-era communicator device used by both Albrecht and Loid can be found outside the Sanctum, in the sandy space past the breached wall, on the edge of the cliff where the hostile Vessel first appeared. The device will be resting on the ground, occasionally ringing. It cannot be interacted with.
Next story quest: The Lotus Eaters
Warframe lore is amazing