House of Reckoning

This article is about the Halo Infinite campaign level. For the location, see House of Reckoning (location).

Prev:	The Road
Next:	Silent Auditorium
House of Reckoning
Game:	Halo Infinite
Player:	John-117
Date:	2560
Location:	House of Reckoning, Installation 07
Objective(s):	Find and save the Pilot Defeat Jega 'Rdomnai Defeat Escharum
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House of Reckoning is the fifteenth campaign level in Halo Infinite.

Overview

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Transcript

{Gameplay}

• John-117: "Where is he?"

• The Weapon: "Unknown. There's an unusual signal up ahead. Maybe that's him."

The Chief enters an observation room. A hologram of Escharum appears in front of him.

• Escharum (hologram): "I thought perhaps that I had misjudged you. That you would allow your cohort to die for... the greater good. I pity you that I was correct. (rasps heavily) The House of Reckoning. Such an appropriate name. Many of your kind have entered this arena. None have left. Come. Look upon my work. Understand why we won."

The hologram deactivates.

The Chief stares through the security barrier at the arena below. There are numerous UNSC weapons, equipment, vehicles, and structures assembled together to create an artificial battlefield. With nowhere else to go, the Chief heads down and steps inside the arena.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "It is no accident that the Banished were able to win so decisively. Arm yourself, Master Chief. Scavenge this battlefield. No that each item you find is a remnant of their sacrifice and a testament to our strength!"

The Chief grabs the necessary weapons.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Now start this fight!"

An alarm blares. Banished troops, consisting of Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy attack en masse. The Chief holds his ground and defeats the attackers.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "More!"

A second wave of Banished troops attacks.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Hunt him down!"

The fighting continues as more Banished troops arrive to replace the ones the Chief kills.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Do not let up! Break him!"

Brutes now join the fray.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Know in your bones. You won't leave this place alive."

Finally, no more enemies appear.

• Weapon: "I think that's it. We should keep moving."

Upon exiting the arena, the Chief is met by another hologram of Escharum.

• Escharum (hologram): "Your Created. The false god Cortana destroyed my world. My home! But she could not kill the fire that burns in the heart of the Banished. It made us stronger! (rasping) Can you say the same?"

Hologram vanishes.

The Chief enters an elevator and rides it up to the next level.

• Weapon: "Why is he telling you all this?"

• John-117: "Death changes people. It forces you to look at yourself and make a choice."

• Weapon: "And what did he choose?"

• John-117: "Same as I would. Fight."

The elevator arrives at another observation room and the Chief steps off. Escharum appears before him via hologram once again.

• Escharum (hologram): "Do you recall the siege of Palghanar? One settlement held out against my forces for nineteen days. They fought well. To the end. But their fate would sealed from the start."

Hologram dissolves.

Looking through the security barrier, the Chief sees another artificial battlefield constructed from the remnants of UNSC forces on the Ring. The Chief heads downstairs and enters the second arena.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "This was never about ceremony but about observing choice. Reactions. Fear. Gather what you need, Spartan. A storm approaches beyond these walls. Each misstep you make is the ammunition I need to dismantle your spirit. Prepare yourself or the end!"

Alarms blare again and a group of Banished troops, consisting of Grunts, Jackals, and Skirmishers, attacks. The Chief eliminates the first wave.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Another test awaits you."

Multiple Jiralhanae attack. The Chief defeats the second wave as well.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "I've prepared for you some of our best and brightest."

Or

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Well done. What comes next will destroy hope."

A third wave, led by a Mgalekgolo pair, attacks.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Search every corner. They're there. Waiting."

The Chief finally kills the Hunters and any other remaining enemies.

• Weapon: "We did it! Well, you did it."

The Chief exits the second arena, and finds another hologram of Escharum waiting for him.

• Escharum (hologram): "This world. Looping. Repeating... forever. Is it a symbol of life, or a cruel joke by the Forerunners? (rasping noise)"

The hologram vanishes. The Chief enters an elevator and rides it to the third level. He arrives at yet another observation room. Escharum reappears before him.

• Escharum (hologram): "You were there when we struck the Infinity. The first dreadnought came from the side. In the chaos that followed, you hardly had time to notice the other three bear down upon you. Do you know how long it took us to neutralize your greatest shift? Four minutes. In four minutes, the Infinity, mankind's finest achievement, became a memory. (chuckles)"

Hologram vanishes.

The arena outside this observation room consists of a single structure.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "The end approaches... But first... a last surprise."

As he draws closer to the building, the Chief hears the recorded voices of the Pilot's deceased wife and daughter coming from within. He enters the dark, claustrophobic structure and, after searching around, finds the recording device.

{Cutscene}

Master Chief's POV: He kneels down and picks up the holo-device.

• Daughter (recording): "I miss you."

• Wife (recording): "And "I love you"?"

• Daughter (recording): "I love you, Daddy."

• Jega 'Rdomnai: (mockingly) "So sad..."

• Daughter (recording): "So big."

• Jega 'Rdomnai: "He's broken."

The Chief looks around for the unseen enemy.

• Wife (recording): "Good and can you sing?"

A barrel suddenly rolls away, as an invisible force pushes it aside.

• Jega 'Rdomnai: "You'll break too."

• Daughter (recording): (voice distorted) "Mary had a little lamb..."

The Chief turns his gaze right, following the sound of footsteps. A sandbag is knocked over. The sound of energy blade being activated is heard. The invisible blade slices through the metal grating on the floor, before cutting into the ceiling and slicing several pipes open.

• Jega 'Rdomnai: "And soon... you'll meet your end."

• Daughter (recording): "-can't wait to see you again."

• Wife (recording): "Okay, now say, "bye-bye!"."

• Jega 'Rdomnai: (decloaking) "Say goodbye."

He ignites both his crimson energy sword, Bloodbane, and the crimson blades mounted on his robotic arm. He then reactivates his cloak.

{Gameplay}

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "Blademaster. Show him why I chose you!"

Jega 'Rdomnai is one of the deadliest, most cunning Sangheili the Master Chief has ever faced. The Blademaster strikes from the shadows at every opportunity, while constantly taunting the Spartan. The Chief uses his own combat instincts, as well as his Threat Sensor, to detect Jega's movements. After an intense battle, the Chief finally strikes a fatal blow. As Jega falls, his body seemingly vanishes into thin air, leaving only his energy sword Bloodbane behind.

• Escharum (loudspeaker): "He wanted to kill your friend. But I promised him a sweeter kill. Or a warrior's death."

That business having been concluded, the Chief leaves the structure. As he continues onward, Escharum appears before him via hologram one final time.

• Escharum (hologram): "Whatever the outcome, know this: The Banished control this Ring. We came for war. A thousand legions occupy this world. The Auditorium will give up its secrets. Your interference is just... an irritation. Fleeting."

The hologram disappears.

The Chief steps into an elevator and takes it to the fourth floor.

• Weapon: "I'm getting a read on Echo-216. He's right above us."

The elevator arrives at the fourth floor. The Chief sees the Pilot at the far end of the chamber, trapped inside a torture machine, just as Spartan Griffin was at Chak 'Lok's Tower.

• Weapon: "There he is! We need to get him out of that thing."

The Chief steps off the elevator and hurries past a pair of giant Atriox holograms to reach the Pilot.

{Cutscene}

The Chief deploys the Weapon onto the torture machine's control terminal.

• Pilot: (in agony) "Chief... you shouldn't... have come for me. I'm-"

He lets out a tortured scream.

• Weapon: "Micro gravity wells are putting enormous stress on his body."

• Escharum: (off-screen) "I told you that I would not kill him."

The Chief looks behind him, but sees nobody.

• Pilot: "Leave me. Run!"

• John-117: "We'll get you out of here."

• Escharum: (off-screen) "No... you will try."

• Weapon: "Chief? He's here."

• Escharum: (off-screen) "He knows I'm here. This was never a trap. It is a test of mettle. Our battle ends here."

The Chief turns to the Weapon.

• John-117: "Get him out of there."

• Weapon: "On it."

She starts hacking the terminal.

Scene moves right, away from them, before panning upward as Escharum jumps down from a ledge to confront the Spartan. The Brute War Chief is fully armored and holding a Scrap Cannon.

Scene focuses on Escharum's face.

• Escharum: "Bear witness! Our story will become legend. Told by those who survive you."

He lets out a roar and the battle begins.

{Gameplay}

The two battle-hardened warriors clash, neither one willing to give an inch. As the Chief begins inflicting damage on Escharum, the machinery around the chamber sends out beams of energy, forming a shield around Escharum. The Chief tries to penetrate this shield with whatever weapons are available but to no avail. In the meantime, the Pilot begins screaming in pain again.

• Weapon: "The machine is connected to Escharum's shield. Any damage you inflict on Escharum is transferred to Echo-216. The power's transmitted via a series of relays around the room. Let's see if I can... Got it! Relay's exposed - destroy it!"

If the Chief stalls:

• Weapon: "Shield's still up! Get the relay!"

The Chief destroys the first relay.

• Weapon: "Relay's down. And so is his shield!"

The Chief attacks the now-vulnerable Escharum, inflicting as much damage as he can on the War Chief, before a second relay activates. The shield is restored and the Pilot's screams begin anew.

• John-117: "Escharum's shield reactivated. Expose the relay!"

• Weapon: "Got it! Go!"

The Chief destroys the second relay.

• Weapon: "The shield's down! Now's your chance!"

Again, the Chief uses the opportunity to deal as much damage to Escharum as he can until a third relay activates and restores Escharum's shield, while torturing the Pilot.

• Weapon: "Next relay's exposed! Take it out!"

The Chief destroys the third relay.

• Weapon: "And it's down. You know what to do."

The Chief hits Escharum as hard as possible until the shield is reactivated.

• Weapon: "Final relay's exposed! Destroy it!"

The Chief destroys the fourth and final relay, permanently disabling Escharum's shield!

• Escharum: (enraged roar) "You'll pay for interfering in my plans!"

Escharum discards his scrap cannon and pulls out his personal Gravity axe, Diminisher of Hope.

• Weapon: "That's it! Last relay destroyed! Echo-216 is safe, Chief. Escharum wants you to prove your legend? Time to prove it."

Neither combatant holds back in this final phase of the battle. The two go back-and-forth, exchanging blows, and throwing everything they have at each other. Finally, Escharum falls.

• Weapon: "You did it! Help me get him out."

The victorious Chief returns to terminal.

{Cutscene}

The Weapon finishes hacking the terminal.

• Weapon: "Okay."

The machine deactivates. The Pilot falls out into the Chief's arms.

• Pilot: (still in pain) "I can't... I can't believe you came for me." (grunts and winces) "So, we're done now right?"

• Escharum: "Spartan!"

The Banished War Chief, still alive but barely, staggers into the chamber.

• Escharum: "Fight me!"

• John-117: "It's over."

• Escharum: "Nothing..."

Escharum loses what little strength he has left and collapses. The Master Chief catches him as he falls.

• Escharum: "Nothing ends."

Scene focuses in on the dying Escharum's face.

• Escharum: "My death will inspire a thousand others..."

He lets out a final rasp and looks up at the Chief.

• Escharum: "Tell them... I died well."

The Chief watches as Escharum finally dies.

• Pilot: "I don't understand... You showed him respect. He was a monster!"

• John-117: "Yes. But at the end he was just a soldier."

The Chief stands back up. He continues staring down at Escharum's body.

• John-117: "Hoping he'd done the right thing. Questioning his choices."

He turns and removes the Weapon from the terminal, before walking past the Pilot.

• Pilot: "So... is it over? Their leader's dead right?"

Scene shifts to the Chief and the Weapon.

• Weapon: "The intricacies of any action are complex."

• Pilot: "What? What are you talking about?"

• John-117: "There will be consequences. There always are."

• Pilot: "What could be worse?"

The Chief takes a step towards him.

• John-117: "We need to move. The Harbinger's at the Auditorium. Whatever she's planning-"

• Pilot: "Is worse. I get it. Okay, then. I have one question before we leave."

• John-117: "What is it?"

• Pilot: "Has anyone seen a Pelican?"

Neither the Chief nor the Weapon reply. The Chief just withdraws the Weapon into his armor and starts to leave.

• Pilot: "What? What?! I'm just-"

Fade to black.

• Pilot (voice only): "I had a lot going on. I was busy!"

Level ends.

Gallery

Screenshots

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