Apex Legends’ Horizon left Olympus to look for Branthium, according to her lore video

It usually takes a tragic backstory to join the Apex Games—and Horizon is no exception. The story of Apex Legends’ next competitor involves a promise, loss, and “a wee bit of betrayal.”

Dr. Mary Somers is a scientist from Olympus who left her planet in search of a solution to an energy crisis. But a betrayal from her mysterious assistant left her stranded in space (and time), far away from anyone she’s ever loved.

Olympus faced a deep energy crisis. “But it wasn’t without sacrifice,” she recounts. “Not for the hero, but for someone very special in her life.” Horizon was absorbed in her research and started seeing less and less of her son.

Dr. Somers and her assistant found “the crystals that would save us all”—a mineral called Branthium. The two went to uncharted regions in the universe to extract Branthium and Horizon promised her son that she’d return.

Horizon’s ship flew close to what looks like a black hole as part of her mission to extract Branthium. But when she finally got her hand on the mineral, her assistant betrayed her, taking the resource home and leaving her stranded in space (and time). The assistant isn’t working alone: “Do you have the Branthium?” a mysterious voice asks her over comms.

Horizon spent five months trapped in her ship, equivalent to 87 years on her home planet of Olympus. Her son, to whom she’d promised to return, died during her imprisonment. The scientist designed a way to return home, but when she does land in Olympus, the city is completely different—it looks like the target of a mysterious, catastrophic accident.

The character hinted at the double-cross in one of her voice memos—“a wee bit of betrayal before breakfast, eh dearie?”—and may have given away a connection with a character that’s been getting more and more screen time in Apex: Ash, a simulacrum from Titanfall 2.

Some of Ash’s voice lines at the end of the season five quest echo Horizon’s sayings. Ash herself repeats the “wee bit of betrayal” quote and she also points out that “all roads lead to Branthium.” Community figure Frozenfroh theorized that Ash could have been Horizon’s assistant before dying and turning into a simulacrum.

The theory gains even more credence when Blisk mentions to Ash that “an old friend” of hers was returning. Ash and Horizon are certainly connected—and fans will likely find out more about that connection after Apex‘s seventh season, Ascension, launches on Nov. 4.