Long read ahead--you have been warned. I will do my best to explain based on what I know from the grimoire, but I encourage you all to go read this post: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/194094535/0/0[/url]. The author may reach the wrong conclusions on some of his theories but he provides a good explanation of some things from the Book of Sorrows and how they connect with the Vex. But onto my post now. We know from the Book of Sorrows how the Vex entered our plane of existence. Crota cut open a wound in space with his sword and the Vex poured in. Realizing that he would be defeated, the original Vex mind (at least in our realm) Quiria, transmitted to the Vex network how the Hive sword logic works and his knowledge of throne worlds. Relating to the logic posted in the thread I linked above, the Vex used this knowledge to create, essentially, their own throne world, the Vault of Glass. While there is nothing in the grimoire I'm aware of that directly states this, we will prove this during the rest of my explanation to follow. Now, Oryx has ontological powers, meaning he has abilities to essentially decide what is, and what is not real in his own throne world. The Vex, on the other hand, inside the Vault of Glass, have ontological weapons. They themselves have no intrinsic ability to simply wish you from existence, but the Gorgons, and the Oracles are not beings, they are not alive, they are machines/tools of the Vex, weapons. They are ontological in nature, inside the Vault of Glass. Because of how the throne worlds work, Gorgons and Oracles only exist in the Vault of Glass. They cannot manifest this power in the world outside, as the Gorgon grimoire card states. The same is true of Oracles. Other than the existence of Gorgons and Oracles in the Vault of Glass, there are several other key items that prove the Vault of Glass is a throne world, or at least it is of the same nature. The relic at the Templar fight is key to the understanding of this theory. While the relic was crafted by Kabr out of the ontological components taken from Gorgons, how it operates inside the Vault is very similar to how the Aura operates within the Dreadnaught raid. Both the relic shield and the Aura relic protect you from the throne world's ontology (I know I'm using this world a lot). In the Vault of Glass the relic cleanses you so that you are not written out of existence by the Templar's ritual of negation, while on the Dreadnaught, the Aura protects you when Oryx calls upon the Darkness. Without either relic, you would not survive. Both relics are similar because, as I said, the Vault is a throne world much like the Dreadnaught. But I'm sure you are wondering, why would the Vex (or Oryx) allow a relic to exist in their own throne world which could be used against them? Simply, they don't. But they can't stop it either. Because the relic shield is crafted from Gorgons which actually do exist in the Vault as determined by throne world logic, and because the Vessel knight does exist according to the Dreadnaught throne world logic, they cannot stop Guardians from using either relic against them. They cannot write these things from existence because their own throne world has already made them real. In a way, the Vex inadvertently made an error that was copied from Oryx by having these relics exists. So we have the two relics. Both operate in similar fashions, and both are crucial to the raids. You need the relics to defeat Atheon and Oryx. Let's not forget that acquiring the relics in each raid during the final encounter requires Guardians to activate a plate, and that in the Vault of Glass, you fight Supplicants while your team is in the timestream, and while your team is in the Shade bubble, you have to fight the Taken Thrall. Similar mechanics. But now comes the big question: how is Atheon a Vex copy of Oryx? Let's compare their nature. Both Atheon and Oryx are the most powerful beings within their throne worlds. They have ultimate control. And--they have similar abilities. While Oryx will call upon the Darkness to destroy you (should you take too long to acquire the aura) Atheon has the oracles (should you take too long to acquire the relic shield). Both are the same, you see. Atheon sends Guardians into a timestream, while Oryx sends Guardians into the Shade bubble. If both encounters are not finished with a set amount of time of all enemies defeated, you all die. Oryx uses doxology, Atheon uses the mark of negation. Both write Guardians out of existence from their throne worlds. And then consider in the Dreadnaught, Guardians overcome the Ogres and use the bombs against Oryx, and in the Vault of Glass, the Guardians overcome the red oracles to gain "Time's Venegeance", both things are what allow you to damage each respective boss. Put all of these things together, and you can say that Atheon is a Vex copy of Oryx. (They even have the same weakspot--their torso!) AFTERTHOUGHTS I know some of you will just say, "no way, Bungo just copied them because they're lazy hur dur". I don't think that's the case here. I think it was deliberate design, not lazy effort. TLDR; Atheon is a Vex copy of Oryx because they share similar traits, abilities, relics, and throne world characteristics, all learned from the Hive by Quiria. EDIT: Some errors have been pointed out in my theory. Regarding the origins of the VoG relic, it was not crafted from Gorgons. Also there are some oversights i my theory pointed out by several posters below, and some gaps I can't explain. Merely trying to use this post as a way to connect some of the game's races.