Diablo Lilith: Diablo 4 story and lore

One of the most iconic and memorable characters in the Diablo franchise is Lilith, the Queen of the Succubi. As a powerful demon and the daughter of Mephisto, many details surrounding Lilith are shrouded in mystery. 

In Diablo 4, we’re taken through a bloody, gruesome, and heartbreaking story. Even Lilith suffered a terrible loss and heartstopping betrayal, and it’s safe to say Diablo 4 is her villain arc.

Who did Lilith love in Diablo?

Although it may be hard to imagine demons loving anyone, especially the Daughter of Hatred, Lilith did have a great love—Inarius, a former archangel of the High Heavens. 

While their love story may seem like this cute “opposites attract” or “defying the odds” situation, at least in the beginning, it morphed into something darker and more in line with Romeo and Juliet.

Inarius went rogue during the war between Heaven and Hell as he sought to create a world where everyone could live in harmony. Similarly, Lilith suffered terribly at the hands of her father and wanted to escape this eternal conflict.

After capturing Inarius, she lets him go. According to the Book of Cain, a book by Blizzard Entertainment and one I can’t recommend enough, the two decided to work together to escape the conflict between Heaven and Hell. In the process, the two fell hopelessly in love.

But their love came with a price.

Inarius knew his actions meant he could never return to Heaven, and by lying with Lilith, he believed he would one day have to pay for his sins. Despite this fear, Inarius still had a child with Lilith, and this child’s name was Linarian, the first Nephalim, which in Diablo means a child that’s half demon and half angel. But his name was eventually changed to Rathma. 

How did Lilith end up in the Void?

Lilith ended up in the Void due to her bloody actions, and she was sent there by none other than Inarius. 

You may be wondering what caused Lilith to choose violence, and that’s because the council of angels and demons that ruled the Sanctuary came to believe that the Nephalem were heresy and their genocide was the only option—and even Inarius agreed that their powers were a concern.

This only set Lilith down a path of bloodthirsty violence at the prospect of the extinction of the Nephalem. Inarius, however, brought her to a stop but couldn’t harm her due to a promise they’d made, so he banished her to the Void.

What is the Void that Lilith was banished to?

As the name suggests, the Void that Inarius banished Lilith to is a realm filled with endless darkness that no one can escape. Interestingly, Rathma was also banished to the Void at one point—also by Inarius. But he was later retrieved.

What happened to Lilith and Inarius’ child in Diablo 4?

Besides the fact Lilith was betrayed by her lover, Inarius, as he banished her into the Void, he also killed the very product of their love—their child, Rathma.

Rathma didn’t believe in either of his parent’s causes and created his faction. So when Lilith returned to the Sanctuary and began to look for the key that would open Hell’s gates, Rathma hid himself and the key in the Temple of the Firstborn, where he met his father.

Inarius requested the key to Hell, but Rathma refused. By doing so, Rathma, the first Necromancer, was killed. Lilith later found her son’s body, where she got the key, and appeared sad and angry that he’d been stolen from her. But she was able to enact her revenge on Inarius when he and his followers attempted to invade Hell.

Related: Best Necromancer build in Diablo 4

Is Lilith bad in Diablo 4?

As Lilith is a demon, she is, at her core, evil. But that doesn’t mean she couldn’t also be good. A prime example is how she wanted to live in a world without conflict and created the Sanctuary to make it happen.

But, if you’ve played through the campaign in Diablo 4, you know that Lilith came back from the Void with only revenge and her child, Rathma, on her mind. Upon returning to the Sanctuary, Lilith planned to create the world she’d envisioned. Still, after Inarius kills their son, all she has is vengeance and finding her father and Diablo, her uncle.

Like most villains, many heartbreaking points in Lilith’s life pushed her to seek revenge, from being betrayed by her love to being banished to the Void for eternity and finding her deceased son, who her lover and child’s father had killed. After enduring all this, it’s no wonder Lilith gave in to her baser nature and sought to kill Inarius, go down a path of hatred, and open Hell’s Gates.

And who truly knows how the Void, surrounded by nothing but darkness, changed her?

What does Lilith want in Diablo 4?

Returning to the Sanctuary after spending much time in the Void, Lilith wanted a few things—vengeance, bringing her world vision to life, and getting the key to the Gates of Hell. But her ultimate goal in Diablo 4 was to become the supreme ruler of the Sanctuary and take back what was rightfully hers.

To do that, however, she’d need much more power than she has, which is why she was so desperately after Mephisto, her father. She wanted to absorb him, along with the other Prime Evils, Diablo, and Baal, to help her subjugate Hell and, in turn, prevent them from returning to their incredible power.

But as we, as the Wanderer, end up killing her at the end of the campaign, she’s unable to fulfill her wishes.

Is Lilith more powerful than Diablo?

According to the lore, Diablo is Lilith’s uncle. So that alone suggests just how powerful both of these beings are. Unfortunately, it’s hard to say whether Lilith is more powerful than Diablo because there hasn’t yet been a showdown between them.

Given that Diablo is a Prime Evil, he is fiercely strong. But, during Diablo 4, he was weak and still reforming after he was released from the Black Soulstone after Malthael’s defeat, a former archangel of Heaven defeated by the Nephalem.

So, there’s a good chance that if Lilith had been able to get to Diablo and fight him in his weakened state, she could win, but it would have been extremely tough. And this was Lilith’s strategy, as her first target was her father, so she must have believed it would work.

Is Lilith really dead in Diablo 4?

Lilith dies by your hands in the Cathedral of Hatred during the last Act, where she claims you’ve doomed all of the Sanctuary with her last dying breath. But given that she’s a demon and this is a mythical and magical world, there is a chance that she could rise once more.

In Diablo Immortal, there’s a Resurrection Stone, which could eventually be incorporated into Diablo’s lore to resurrect Lilith—although there’d probably be a hefty price for doing so—and there are also Necromancers and members of Lilith’s faction who may be able to find a workaround to bring Lilith back to life. So, anything is possible in Diablo. 

Diablo has many unique characters with extensive backgrounds, personalities, and accounts so intertwined that it can be challenging to piece everything together. But there’s magic in how in-depth the story and character developers have gone to create characters that are relatable and interesting and a world that’s rife with history. 

Diablo 4 is a game I’ve thoroughly enjoyed because it’s so immersive you become invested in the story and want to learn more about your favorite characters and how they became the people you see, like Lilith.

If you want to learn more about Diablo’s lore, I highly recommend Blizzard’s audiobooks because they’re beyond compelling, the narrators are superb, and you feel like you’re witnessing the story. My personal favorite is Diablo: Book of Lorath. 

Hopefully, we’ll get to read more about Lilith’s story from Blizzard soon. 

Related: Diablo 4 players are finally finishing the campaign and gushing over THAT cutscene