What Happened to Kerrigan After Legacy of the Void?
Kerrigan became a xel'naga, killed Amon, handed the Swarm to Zagara and later came back for Raynor in human form. Here's what Legacy of the Void's ending shows, what it leaves open and where she is in the stories that followed.
After Legacy of the Void, Sarah Kerrigan is a xel'naga. She took the essence of the dying xel'naga Ouros, destroyed Amon in the Void, and left the Swarm to Zagara. Some time later she came back for Jim Raynor, appearing to him in human form, and he left with her. Nothing since has shown what she did next. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
How she became a xel'naga#
The main Legacy of the Void campaign ends with the protoss retaking Aiur and Amon thrown back into the Void, beaten but alive. In the epilogue, Kerrigan senses a voice calling to her from the Void and asks Raynor and Artanis to come with her. The three armies go through together. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
There they kill Amon's servant Narud and free his prisoner, Ouros, one of the last xel'naga. Ouros is dying. He tells them the Void is an extension of Amon's will, and only another xel'naga can destroy him there. He offers his essence to Kerrigan. She accepts, and while Raynor, Artanis and Zagara hold off Amon's forces, the transfer finishes and Ouros fades away. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
The ascended Kerrigan, now glowing with light, leads the final assault. Amon tells her she has been a pawn of the cycle all her life. She answers that she cares nothing for it and chooses freedom for every living thing, and destroys him. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
That fulfils something set up years earlier. In Wings of Liberty, Zeratul's vision showed that Kerrigan was the one who could stop Amon, and in Legacy of the Void the xel'naga cycle turns out to need exactly what she has become: someone shaped by the zerg's essence and reborn as the Primal Queen. (StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty; StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
What happened to the Swarm#
As she ascends, Kerrigan hands the Swarm to Zagara, the broodmother she had been training since Heart of the Swarm, and tells her to remember their lessons. In the aftermath Zagara leads the zerg, Artanis rebuilds Aiur, and Valerian Mengsk stays Emperor of the Dominion. (StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm; StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
The last scene#
The final cinematic, Homecoming, goes back to where Wings of Liberty began. Raynor sits alone in the bar on Mar Sara, looking at old photographs, including one from his marine days with Tychus. Kerrigan appears beside him, looking exactly as she did as a human ghost, and asks if he's about ready to get out of there. Raynor gets up and leaves with her. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
That's the last time either of them appears in the story. The deep page on the Legacy of the Void ending treats it as Kerrigan coming back for him, which is how the scene plays. The game doesn't explain how a xel'naga can take human form or where they went, and some players read the scene more cautiously, as Raynor seeing what he wants to see. The cinematic doesn't settle it either way. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
Where Kerrigan is after the End War#
Nowhere on screen. Nova Covert Ops, the 2016 mission packs set after the war, follows Nova Terra uncovering a plot against Emperor Valerian. Kerrigan doesn't return. (StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops)
The timeline printed in Timothy Zahn's 2016 novel StarCraft: Evolution dates the battle in the Void to 2508, which is the only firm date the story gives for her ascension. (StarCraft: Evolution)
So the honest answer is that her story ends in that bar. She started the series as a ghost, became the Queen of Blades, was turned back into a woman and then remade as a Primal zerg, and finished as the same kind of being that first uplifted the protoss and the zerg. What a xel'naga does with forever is a question Blizzard has left for another day. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
Read more: the Legacy of the Void ending explained, why Kerrigan became zerg and the full Sarah Kerrigan biography. (StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void)
Frequently asked questions
- Is Kerrigan a xel'naga at the end of StarCraft 2?
- Yes. In the Into the Void epilogue, the dying xel'naga Ouros passes his essence to her. She ascends, kills Amon and stops being either human or zerg.
- Who leads the zerg after Kerrigan?
- Zagara. Kerrigan hands her the Swarm as she ascends and tells her to remember what she taught her.
- Did Kerrigan and Raynor end up together?
- That's how the ending plays. Kerrigan appears to Raynor in the bar on Mar Sara, looking human, and asks if he's ready to leave. He goes with her. The game never shows where they went.
- Is Kerrigan in Nova Covert Ops?
- No. The 2016 mission packs follow the ghost Nova Terra after the End War, with Valerian ruling the Dominion. Kerrigan doesn't return.
Sources
- GameStarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Blizzard Entertainment, 2010
- GameStarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard Entertainment, 2013
- GameStarCraft II: Legacy of the Void, Blizzard Entertainment, 2015
- GameStarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops, Blizzard Entertainment, 2016
- BookStarCraft: Evolution, Timothy Zahn, Del Rey, 2016
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Is Kerrigan Dead?
No. At the end of StarCraft II, Kerrigan doesn't die: she becomes a xel'naga, destroys Amon and comes back two years later for Raynor in human form. Here is why some players think she died, and what the game actually shows.
Why Did Kerrigan Become a Xel'naga?
Kerrigan became a xel'naga because it was the only way to kill Amon. In the Void, the dying xel'naga Ouros told her only one of their kind could defeat him there, and she accepted his essence partly to make up for her past. Here is the reasoning Legacy of the Void gives, and why it had to be her.
Why Did Kerrigan Become Zerg in StarCraft?
Kerrigan became zerg because Arcturus Mengsk abandoned her to the Swarm on Tarsonis and the Overmind chose to infest her rather than kill her. Years later, in Heart of the Swarm, she chose to become zerg again. Here's what happened both times and why.
Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades
Sarah Kerrigan was a psychic terran who began as a Confederate ghost, rose to be second-in-command of the Sons of Korhal, and after Arcturus Mengsk abandoned her on Tarsonis was captured and infested by the Zerg Swarm to become the Queen of Blades.
Zagara: the broodmother who rebuilt worlds
Kerrigan made her on Char as the first broodmother. Zagara inherited the whole Swarm after the End War and set it to rebuilding worlds instead.
Amon
Amon was a malevolent xel'naga who turned against the Infinite Cycle of his kind and sought to end all life and remake it in his image. He created the Overmind and the Zerg Swarm, enslaved the Tal'darim, and was finally destroyed in the Void by an ascended Sarah Kerrigan during the End War.
Mentioned in6 entries
How Did Kerrigan Become Human Again in StarCraft 2?
Kerrigan became human again at the end of Wings of Liberty, when Raynor's forces fired an ancient xel'naga artifact on Char and its energy wave stripped away most of her zerg infestation. Here's how it worked, what it left behind and why it didn't last.
Is Kerrigan Dead?
No. At the end of StarCraft II, Kerrigan doesn't die: she becomes a xel'naga, destroys Amon and comes back two years later for Raynor in human form. Here is why some players think she died, and what the game actually shows.
Legacy of the Void Ending Explained: Amon, the Void and the Epilogue
How StarCraft II's last campaign ends and what it means. The protoss cut themselves free of the Khala to retake Aiur, then Kerrigan becomes a xel'naga in the Void and destroys Amon for good.
Why Did Kerrigan Become a Xel'naga?
Kerrigan became a xel'naga because it was the only way to kill Amon. In the Void, the dying xel'naga Ouros told her only one of their kind could defeat him there, and she accepted his essence partly to make up for her past. Here is the reasoning Legacy of the Void gives, and why it had to be her.
Why Did Kerrigan Become Zerg in StarCraft?
Kerrigan became zerg because Arcturus Mengsk abandoned her to the Swarm on Tarsonis and the Overmind chose to infest her rather than kill her. Years later, in Heart of the Swarm, she chose to become zerg again. Here's what happened both times and why.
Why Did Raynor Kill Tychus in StarCraft 2?
Raynor killed Tychus to save Kerrigan. Tychus had made a secret deal with Emperor Mengsk to assassinate her in exchange for his freedom, and when he aimed at her on Char, Raynor shot him. Here's the deal, the scene and what each side's choice meant.
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