Last year, Destiny 2 players came across a mysterious item during the Festival of the Lost and haven't been able to discern its purpose -- until now. Studious Guardians were rewarded with an item called the Ascendant Lens and if they've held on to it for a whole year, there's a generous reward waiting for them. Hopefully, players held on to the strange item, or they'll miss out on a bounty for this year's Festival of the Lost.
The Ascendant Lens was the final reward for 2020's Festival of the Lost. Players could obtain the item only after countless runs through the Haunted Forest Activity, once 45 chests had been opened using event-specific currency. After this milestone, The Spider on the Tangled Shore offered Guardians a new secret quest. The quest begins and ends with The Spider offering the Ascendant Lens to players...and that's it. Little did players know they'd have to keep it in their limited inventory space until the same time a year later to see any rewards.
Once players have completed the "Lost but not Forgotten" quest that starts off Destiny 2's Halloween event, those with an Ascendant Lens still in their inventory will receive a summons from Mara Sov to seek her out. Returning to the H.E.L.M. and then teleporting to Mara Sov's quarters from the Awoken's wing, she'll ask the Guardian to part with their year-long useless item. She reasons that in players' hands, the Ascendant Lens is worthless. However, it'll serve as a potent research device for one of her Awoken Techeuns. Mara will even reward them with some substantial Festival of the Lost rewards if Guardians part ways with the Ascendant Lens.
After turning in the Lens, players will be gifted a "Bottomless Goody Bag" containing 21 Spectral Pages, some materials and three random rolls on the new Jurassic Green pulse rifle. It's a great way to get a leg up on this year's new Festival of the Lost and take a fair amount of grinding out of unlocking the first few pages in the Book of the Forgotten. While some players may have expected a more substantial, potentially even Exotic, reward from their Ascendant Lens when they received it last year, it's nice to see the item wasn't simply forgotten amidst the Tangled Shore and The Spider's recently announced departure from the game.
If players were wise enough to hang on to the enigmatic item from last year's Season of the Lost, they'll have a head-start on the festivities this year. In addition to finally freeing up that slot in their inventory, Guardians will also finally be rewarded for their patience. The Ascendant Lens mystery is finally solved, and during a season absolutely packed with revelations.