In this article, we are going to explain the story line of The Dark Aether, which started with the game Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War.
The classic zombie story of the Call of Duty series, which began with World at War, ended in 2018 with Black Ops 4 after 10 years. At the end of this storyline, the multiverse was completely destroyed to rid the world of zombies. All evil beings were transported to a world called Dark Aether. At the end of Black Ops 4, the two main negative characters, Edward Richtofen and Samantha “Sam” Maxis, were transported to a new world, the world where the story of Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops 6 is told. will be Upon entering the new world, these two characters have forgotten all their memories of their previous lives, and this has caused fundamental changes in the motivations of these characters, for example Maxis no longer plays a negative role and helps the heroes of the story.
The story line of The Dark Aether generally narrates the conflict between two spy groups, Requiem and Omega. Requiem operates under the direct supervision of the CIA and its operations department is managed by Grigori Weaver, the well-known character of the Black Ops series. On the other hand, the Omega Group is part of the KGB spy agency of the Soviet Union.
In this article, we discuss the stories of the Black Ops Cold War game maps and The Dark Aether storyline. With the release of Black Ops 6 approaching, which is supposed to offer a round-based zombie section after 4 years, many fans are more eager than ever to experience this game, and knowing a general idea of the storyline and getting to know more of the characters can be a more enjoyable experience. Bring in the zombie section.
Die Maschine
In 1983, Maxis receives a message from someone close to him in the KGB. It seems that this KGB agent has discovered a secret from the time of World War II that the leaders of the KGB and the Soviet Union wanted to hide at that time.
At the end of the war, with the advance of the Red Army forces into Poland, the army soldiers come across a two-story base called Project Endstation near Morasco, which was used by German scientists for atomic research. The soldiers enter the underground part of the base to investigate the place, but they are all murdered by strange and undead people. A week after this incident, the Soviet Army erases all evidence of his presence at the Endstation base, and an engineer named Kazimir Zykov, who is an expert on German engineering, is sent into the central part of the Endstation to find the mysterious German machine that caused the explosion. Shut down the killing of Russian soldiers. In doing so, he made a great sacrifice, as the Red Army soldiers completely closed the door to the central part of the Endstation after Zaykoff entered. For this sacrifice, Zaikoff received the Hero of the Soviet Union medal before entering the Central Division. He eventually managed to shut down the German’s terrifying technology and lost his life in the process, but that wasn’t the end of it.
According to Maxis, the Omega group went to the Endstation base in the last year to access the technology of the Germans after years and turned on the machine that was turned off by Zykoff 40 years ago. In doing so, portals from other worlds opened up all over the Earth, opening a path for the same undead creatures that killed the Russian soldiers. The United States and the CIA formed Requiem to investigate these events. With the information Maxis gave Weaver and Requiem, the team found their first clue.
On November 13th, 1983, the Requiem Group sent a task force to Endstation under Weaver’s direct supervision. The operation team was able to bring one of the Omega Group engineers back to life using German technology. With his help, Requiem closed the main zombie portal and the Endstation base was completely destroyed by a nuclear explosion. Also during the operation, Requiem found a lot of valuable information and answers to many questions.
The Endstation project was resumed in August 1943 under the direction and supervision of Kurt Diebner, a German atomic physicist who played an important role in the development of the Nazi military’s atomic weapons. The main person responsible for the project was Dr. Ulrich Vogel, who wanted to achieve the mass production of atomic weapons using an experimental cyclotron particle accelerator. In March 1944, the central machine malfunctioned, resulting in the opening of a portal to the Dark Aether world and the entry of a group of zombies and several historical objects from this world. Some time later, Vogel, who had accidentally discovered another world, changed the focus of the project from making atomic weapons to researching and using the forces of the Dark Aether.
With the defeat of Nazi Germany, Vogel and the Endstation personnel all entered the Dark Aether. Vogel’s plan was to go to the future and another world where the fate of their country would be different. This was of course unsuccessful as Vogel and his men were corrupted by the Dark Aether and lost their identity.
While operating at Endstation, the Requiem team made contact with an unknown entity residing in the Dark Aether. This person told stories of his life years, but never revealed his name.
Firebase Z
After giving Weaver information about the Endstation project, Maxis rejected his offer to go to America and join the CIA, and did not contact Requiem for a long time. Maxis contacted Sergei Ravenov, a Spetsnaz officer working for Omega. Runoff, disgusted by Omega’s actions, provided the group’s confidential documents to Maxis. With these documents, it was revealed that Omega’s goal was to create a bridge between the Dark Aether and his own world to use Dark Aether’s special reserves called Aetherium to create new weapons to win the Cold War. After receiving this information, Maxis went to Military Base 25 in Vietnam to meet with Ronoff and investigate the Omega bases.
In Vietnam, Maxis was captured by Dr. William Peck. Peck was a high-ranking member of the US Department of Defense, but during the Cold War he betrayed his country and joined the Eastern Bloc and the Omega Group. Peck learned about Maxis’ presence with the help of Gorev, one of Omega’s senior vice-presidents. Goro didn’t intend to kill Maxis because he wanted to find Requiem’s spy.
Ronoff informed Requiem and Weaver of Maxis’s location. Weaver quickly launched an operation to save Maxis called Operation Lost Property. In Vietnam, the Requiem operatives meet with Dr. Peck, who says he will release the Maxis base in exchange for power. But Peck breaks his promise, he only wanted the base’s power and connection to Omega HQ. Peck says that he has imprisoned Maxis in the Dark Aether and Requiem has no way to save him. But with Ronoff’s help, the team finds the truth serum made by Peck himself and injects it into the ventilation system of Peck’s chamber. Peck finally tells the team how to free Maxis and they are able to rescue Maxis from the Dark Aether and get out of Vietnam.
At the end of Firebase Z, the identity of the head of the Omega Group is revealed and he is none other than Lev Kravchenko, Dragovich’s right-hand man in Black Ops 1. Weaver and Kravchenko had met earlier in Baikonur, and Kravchenko blinded Weaver’s left eye. . After Team Requiem successfully escapes, Kravchenkov blinds Dr. Pack’s right eye for disobeying orders. Pack was supposed to protect the base and keep Maxis alive, but after receiving orders from a mysterious person, Pack didn’t.
In Firebase Z, we once again saw messages from the mysterious character of Endstation. Despite not knowing the person’s identity, the Requiem team listened to his stories to perhaps gain clues and guidance about the Dark Aether world.
Outbreak
After the events of Firebase Z, the Omega Group focuses on their base in the Ural Mountains. Brought to the United States, Maxis is forcibly admitted to Requiem Hospital to ensure his health after his long stay in the Dark Aether. But away from the eyes of Weaver and the Requiem executives, he communicated with the operations team. He told them that Ronov had found a suspicious case in the Ural Mountains that needed to be investigated. The task force finds a shed full of Aetherium missiles at the reported location. It seems that Dr. Peck was able to create a military weapon using Dark Aether technology.
The mission team, assisted by Ronoff, sent the missiles to a deserted area in the Pacific Ocean to prevent a deadly war from starting. After the mission was completed, Requiem’s Commander-in-Chief ordered Maxis to be placed in a full quarantine to cut off contact with the operations team. Maxis was further tortured by Requiem’s boss and interrogated about his past and his birthplace (neither of which Maxis remembers).
Following Requiem and Omega’s missions to the Ural Mountains, Ronoff informs Weaver that a group of Omega scientists want to join Requiem. Weaver sends the operation team to the specified location, but there they are confronted with the corpses of the scientists. Knowing about the scientists’ plan, Omega killed all of them and managed to take the Requiem team hostage.
Mauer der Toten
After arresting the operation team, Kravchenkov and Omega were engaged in torturing and interrogating them, which led to problems within the organization. Dr. Aleksandra Valentina, one of Omega’s top managers, has been missing for some time. At the same time, strange events are happening in Berlin, and Kravchenkov is sure that these events are related to Valentina.
Kravchenkov orders the Operation Requiem team to go to Berlin and find Dr. Valentina. In case of disobedience, the pilot of the team will be killed. The operation team goes to Berlin in January 1985.
In Berlin, it is revealed that Dr. Valentina is actually the daughter of Dr. Elrich Vogel, a Nazi scientist who was in charge of Endstation Poland. All her life, Valentina sought to continue her father’s path and wanted to introduce the new Reich to the world with an army of Dark Aether. According to Valentina, her father contacted her some time ago and said that the time has come to bring his forces to this world.
But as we said earlier, Dr. Vogel was corrupted and lost his identity after going to the Dark Aether, so how is he able to talk to his daughter now? This question was answered by Kravchenkov. The person who spoke to Valentina is actually a being from the Dark Aether called the Forsaken. By changing his appearance, the Forsaken tricked Valentina into gaining a window into this world.
After destroying Valentina and closing the Forsaken hatch, the ops team manages to rescue the pilot team, but are surrounded by Kravchenkov. But suddenly a portal opens next to them, the team, who has no choice, goes to this portal and heads out of the Requiem headquarters. Due to his long presence in the Dark Aether, Maxis received abilities from that world and now, after being imprisoned for a year, he was able to gain control over them.
In Berlin, Requiem and Omega found their next destination. The nameless inhabitant of the Dark Aether, who had spoken to the operation team in Poland and Vietnam, finally revealed his identity. Kazimir Zaikoff, a Russian engineer trapped in the Endstation 40 years ago, escaped from the Dark Aether after turning off the machine and was forced to live there for 40 years. With the beginning of the events of the game and the conflicts between Requiem and Omega, there was a new hope for Zaikaf. He has now asked both groups to rescue him, in exchange for their help, Zykoff will give them information about the Dark Aether.
Forsaken
Ronoff contacts Requiem once again and tells of Omega’s new project to bring Zaikaf to Russia. This project will be implemented in Ukraine and a military camp. Ronoff says he’ll give all this information to free Maxis’ Requiem.
The operation team goes to Ukraine, but it is too late. Kravchenkov and Peck have opened the door to Zaikaf. Zaikoff takes off his mask and reveals his other identity. Forsaken, the dreaded creature of the Dark Aether is basically Zykaf.
During his 40 years in the Dark Aether, Zykoff saw everything happening in the world, how the fighting did not end when World War II ended and the powers that be decided to drag the people of the world into another war. Seeing these events, Zaykoff was very disappointed, because his sacrifice was not important. He prevented a war, but humans started a new one. His entire being was filled with despair and hatred, ultimately putting Zykaf in a weak position and causing the Dark Aether to have a devastating effect on him. Zaykoff finally became a monster, he was now a Forsaken.
After the Forsaken entered our world, it seemed like everything was over. Omega and Requiem were not capable of dealing with such a powerful being. But suddenly Maxis appears. Using all the powers he gained in the Dark Aether, he was able to defeat the Forsaken, but he himself was trapped in the depths of the Dark Aether. Requiem had won.
But this was not the end. After the task force returns to the United States, all key members of the group are arrested. This order was issued directly from the CIA and Requiem’s boss, a person whose identity was kept secret throughout the game. He is none other than Edward “Eddie” Richtofen. He was the one in Firebase Z who ordered Dr. Peck to imprison Maxis in the Dark Aether. Riktofen has been operating in the shadows all this time, but now that everyone is gone, he has the opportunity to implement his new evil plan.
In Black Ops 6, we will see the confrontation between the members of Requiem and Riktofen. Dr. Peck, upset that all his projects have been stolen by Riktofen, travels to the Pacific island of Terminus, where Weaver and his colleagues are imprisoned. Peck wants to take revenge on Riktofen by teaming up with Requiem. Does Weaver trust Pac? Will Maxis be rescued from the depths of the Dark Aether? What evil deed does rictofen intend to do this time? What is the fate of Kravchenkov? To get the answers to these questions and continue the story, we have to wait until October 25 and the release of Black Ops 6.
