To complete Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched, wait until the Cosmodrome is the active Distortion destination, drop into Veles Labyrinth from Skywatch, destroy the red corruption blight inside the Lost Sector, then clear the final portal fight and kill Ak-Baral.
Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched is one of seven Nine-Touched boss Triumphs tucked into the Monument of Triumph, and it’s an easy one to run the wrong way for. This isn’t a normal Veles Labyrinth clear — you have to destroy a hidden corruption first to draw the Nine’s attention, and it only works while the Cosmodrome is the active Distortion destination. Here’s the full route from Skywatch to the kill.
What Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched requires
This Triumph asks you to find and destroy a corruption inside Veles Labyrinth in the Cosmodrome, which draws the Nine’s attention to Ak-Baral, and then to defeat him. That sequence matters: a standard Lost Sector run where you just kill everything and reach the boss will not tick the objective, because the corruption is the trigger.
KEY!The one gate you have to plan around is the Distortion Destination rotation. Ak-Baral and the corruption only spawn when the Cosmodrome is the current Distortion, shown by the red Distortion icon on the Director — run Veles Labyrinth on any other day and neither will appear. There’s no separate Power level, timer, or entry cost to worry about; it’s a location objective, so the Distortion rotation is the only thing holding you back.
How to complete Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched in Destiny 2
Once the Cosmodrome is showing the red Distortion icon, this route takes you from Skywatch through Veles Labyrinth, past the corruption trigger and rune maze, to the Ak-Baral kill.
STEP 1/16
Load into Skywatch
Launch into the Skywatch landing zone in the Cosmodrome, but only while it shows the red Distortion icon on the Director.
STEP 2/16
Reach the boat at Forgotten Shore
Travel out toward the Forgotten Shore to the beached boat — this is the drop-in point for the Veles Labyrinth Lost Sector.
STEP 3/16
Drop into the Lost Sector
Jump down into the boat opening and start working through Veles Labyrinth as you normally would.
STEP 4/16
Find the blocked door
Push forward until a Hive spell (green gas) seals a door across your path.
STEP 5/16
Shoot the left symbol
Shoot the glowing symbol on the left and jump through to clear the barrier.
STEP 6/16
Spot the side room on the right
An entrance opens off to the right where a glowing red blight sits — that is the corruption.
STEP 7/16
Destroy the red blight
Destroy the red blight to activate the Nine-Touched objective; clearing the Acolytes alone will not count.
STEP 8/16
Return and shoot the door symbol
Head back to the door that was blocked and shoot its symbol, which now responds.
STEP 9/16
Move into the maze
Continue forward and to the right into the maze-like stretch of the sector.
STEP 10/16
Reach the two-symbol door
Stop at the door marked with two symbols that you need to match.
STEP 11/16
Search the blue-lit room
Turn around into the room lit blue and find the first matching symbol.
STEP 12/16
Find the second symbol
Track down the second symbol in the nearby rooms — placement shifts between runs.
STEP 13/16
Shoot the symbol by the door
Back at the door, shoot the matching symbol beside it to open the way through.
STEP 14/16
Enter the green portal room
Keep going until you reach the room with the green portal as waves of enemies pour out.
STEP 15/16
Kill Ak-Baral
After the waves clear, Ak-Baral emerges from the portal — defeat him.
STEP 16/16
Confirm the Triumph
Ak-Baral’s death completes Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched; confirm it before you leave.
Video help
Destroying the corruption to start the sequence
The whole run hinges on one object. After you shoot the left-side symbol to clear the spell over that first blocked door, look to the right — a side room opens up with a cluster of Hive Acolytes and a glowing red blight. That blight is the corruption, and destroying it is what actually flags the run for the Triumph. You’ll usually see on-screen messaging along the lines of the Nine empowering the weapon’s foe, which is your confirmation that it registered.
This is the step people skip, because nothing physically stops you from ignoring the blight and pushing on to the boss. If you do that, Ak-Baral will still show up as the normal Lost Sector boss, but the Nine-Touched version won’t, and the Triumph stays blank. Destroy the blight first, then head back to the previously blocked door and shoot its symbol to keep moving.
Before you commit to the final room, make sure you’ve destroyed the red blight in the side room off the first blocked door — that single act is what flags the run as Nine-Touched, and no amount of boss-killing counts without it.
Matching the maze rune symbols
Past the corruption, the sector opens into a short maze. You’ll come to a door showing two symbols, and your job is to find those same two symbols on wall buttons in the surrounding rooms and shoot them. Turn around from the door and there’s a room lit with a blue glow that holds one of them; the second is tucked into the nearby rooms as well.
Beating Ak-Baral at the green portal
The route ends in a room built around a large green portal. Stepping in kicks off waves of enemies that spill out of it, and you’ll need to clear them all before anything else happens. Once the last wave is down, Ak-Baral — referred to in some places as Ak-Baral, Rival of Navota — finally emerges from the portal as the boss.
Take him down and the Triumph completes on the spot. The one thing to watch is patience: Ak-Baral can take a short moment to spawn after the final wave, so don’t wander out of the arena thinking the encounter bugged. Stay put, let him appear, and finish him to log Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched.
Common mistakes and other Nine-Touched bosses
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Cosmodrome is not the Distortion destination | Wait for the red Distortion icon to land on the Cosmodrome; the corruption and Ak-Baral only spawn then. |
| Corruption was never destroyed | Go back to the side room off the first blocked door and destroy the red blight before finishing the sector. |
| Rune symbols do not match | Match the wall runes to the two symbols shown on the door, shoot them, then hit the symbol beside the door. |
| Boss has not spawned yet | Stay in the portal room after the final wave — Ak-Baral takes a moment to emerge before you can kill him. |
Almost every failed attempt at this Triumph comes down to one of a handful of things — usually the Distortion timing or a skipped corruption. Here’s the quick fix list for when the objective refuses to tick.
Ak-Baral is only one of seven Nine-Touched Triumphs feeding the Monument of Triumph category. Once he’s done, the same corruption-then-boss pattern carries over to the others: Yann, Nine-Touched; Talas, Nine-Touched; Nightmare of Arguth, Nine-Touched; Inkasi, Nine-Touched; Teliks, Nine-Touched; and Bar-Zel, Nine-Touched. Each is tied to its own Distortion destination, so you’ll be chasing the rotation for those too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ak-Baral spawn every time in Veles Labyrinth?
No. The Nine-Touched version of Ak-Baral only appears when the Cosmodrome is the active Distortion destination and you’ve destroyed the corruption inside the sector. Outside of that, Veles Labyrinth runs with its normal Lost Sector boss.
Where is the corruption for Ak-Baral, Nine-Touched?
It’s a red blight in the side room that opens off to the right of the first spell-blocked door. Shoot the left-side symbol to clear that door, then destroy the blight in the room to the right to trigger the objective.
What do I do with the Hive symbols in the maze?
The door in the maze shows two symbols. Find those same two symbols on wall buttons in the nearby rooms, shoot them, then shoot the symbol next to the door to open it. Their placement can shift between runs, so search the adjacent rooms rather than memorizing a spot.
Is it Velas Labyrinth or Veles Labyrinth?
It’s Veles Labyrinth. Some Triumph text and guides show “Velas Labyrinth,” but that’s a typo — the actual Cosmodrome Lost Sector is spelled Veles Labyrinth, so search for that.
Do I need to complete the other Nine-Touched Triumphs too?
Not for this one. Ak-Baral is a standalone Triumph, so beating him completes it on its own. He’s just one of the seven Nine-Touched objectives that together feed the wider Monument of Triumph category, so you’ll want the rest if you’re chasing that whole section.
