Dark Lord's History
According to Maykr history, the original Dark Lord was an immortal being once known as Davoth, created by the Father to rule over his first deliberate creation, a realm called Jekkad. Jekkad was a higher plane than the Father's first creation, Urdak, and Davoth was a Primeval, one of the first gods, created to rule over it. However, during the final battle, Davoth reveals that it was he who had created the Father, Urdak, Jekkad, and all living things.
According to the Maykr version of history, the people of Jekkad were mortal but made many great wonders, seeking to make their land a paradise: The Father had filled them with ambition without restraint, wishing to see them excel in all things. They were long-lived, but not immortal like the Maykr of Urdak, and it was in this single flaw that the seed of Hell itself was planted.
The Father created Davoth with an undying love for his people and a desire to better their lot, and both he and the denizens of his realm came to regard mortality as a curse. Davoth knew that he himself was not mortal, and feared the possibility of his beloved people's extinction, leaving him alone in an empty realm. Guided by Davoth and lacking self-doubt to reign them in, the people of Jekkad turned their intellects towards defeating death itself.
The Father saw the future of this endeavor, that Davoth and his people would never cease in their search, regardless of the cost. Foreseeing that this ambition would someday threaten all creation and that Davoth would someday seek to challenge the Father himself, the Father sealed off Jekkad from all other realms.
Davoth saw this act as an unforgivable betrayal by his creator, directing his fury at the barriers that encircled his domain as his people continued to fall to mortality. He became the Father's nemesis, the Dark Lord,[2] while his realm would come to be known as "Hell" to the people of Urdak. The once grand and beautiful realm fell into horror and ruin as its denizens set aside all other concerns save for their singular purpose.
Davoth continued to test at the boundaries of his prison, with his legions spilling forth into other realms, defeating many forces sent by the Father to stop them.[3] With each victory, the Primeval's power grew greater. Finally, moved to act, the Father entered the despoiled realm and, atop the Pyramid of the Lost, once a temple to the Father, he tore the essence from the Dark Lord's body and cast it down. While Samur Maykr begged the Father to destroy the Life Sphere containing Davoth's essence, he refused, as Davoth was still his own creation: instead, he placed the Sphere in the Temple of Souls.
While Davoth was reduced to nothing but a sphere containing his essence, he continued to whisper his influence to the corrupted people of his realm. Ultimately, he would be restored to a physical body by the Doom Slayer through the use of the Maykr device known as the Luminarium, as part of the latter's plan to stop Hell's invasion for good. It is stated by the intern that the only way to truly defeat the Dark Lord (and by extension Hell) was to restore his physical form and then kill him. When resurrected, he appeared in the form of the Slayer. The Slayer tried to execute him there and then, but Davoth informed the Slayer that no blood can be spilled in the Luminarium.[4] Summoning a portal, Davoth told the Doom Slayer that he would be waiting in the city of Immora. The intern would later inform the Doom Slayer that should he destroy Davoth, every demon outside of Hell would be destroyed due to the connection between Davoth and his subjects.
When the Slayer arrived at Immora, Davoth, clad in a red-colored mech, greeted him with his entire demon horde. As the remaining forces of Argent D'Nur rose to aid the Slayer, and the Slayer advanced into the city of Immora, Davoth retreated into his chambers, where he goaded the Slayer into fighting to show him his “purpose.” During the fight, Davoth and the Doom Slayer were transported across realms conquered by the forces of Hell, ending in the ruins of a city on Earth. There, Davoth demanded the Father tell the Slayer the truth.
Davoth was, in fact, the true first being responsible for all of existence and the Father was one of his creations. Davoth had created the Maykrs to help him find the secret of immortality; although they succeeded, they feared the consequences of sharing this knowledge with Davoth. As such, the Maykrs betrayed Davoth, sealing him away in Jekkad and stealing his power of creation; the being now known as the Father was a Maykr imbued with the bulk of the stolen energy, transforming him into a god in his own right. Having lost everything to his creations, Davoth vowed to unmake everything as he had made it. He influenced Samur Maykr into placing the Doom Slayer into the Divinity Machine, with the intention of having the Slayer unconsciously contribute to the destruction of the Maykrs and the Father.
Despite this revelation, the Slayer remained resolute in his defiance of Davoth, eventually defeating him by crippling his mech suit beyond repair. As the Slayer removed his helmet and approached him slowly, Davoth asked if the Slayer had anything to say to his creator before he struck him down. In response, the Slayer stabbed Davoth with the Doomblade, uttering only one word: “No.” Davoth's Life Sphere ejected from his body and exploded, confirming his ultimate demise. As a result, every demon outside of Hell was destroyed. The Doom Slayer collapsed as well since the Divinity Machine had made him partially linked to Davoth. His comatose body was entombed where the life spheres of Davoth and the Father's had been kept - the Temple of Souls.
Other Dark Lords
Following Davoth's near-destruction and imprisonment, it appears that other powerful demons within Hell vied for his former rank and appointed themselves as Dark Lord in his place.
Given the chronology of events, it appears to have been Davoth's successor, the Dark Lord of the First Age,[5][6] who made a pact with the Khan Maykr allowing for the construction of "Soul Spires" in Hell. These structures, including the Citadel located in the Hell-city of Nekravol, fused mortal souls with Hell energy to form Argent Energy, an incredible power source which the Maykr could use to stave off their degradation following the loss of the Father. In return for allowing the construction of the towers, Hell would be provided new worlds to harvest, as well as the refuse from the soul extraction process, husk-bodies which would transform into demons much more quickly than if the process proceeded normally.
A voice identified as the current Dark Lord (presumably of the Fourth Age[7]) was heard contacting Olivia Pierce. This is implied to have been the Spider Mastermind, which was later destroyed by the Doom Slayer.
However, it is important to remember that the Maykr Texts were retconned, and even if there are multiple Dark Lords, they were most likely manipulated by Davoth and while undeniably powerful, they served as little more than Davoth's unwitting puppets in preparation of his restoration to physical form.