The traveler could be a tool used by the darkness. To go forth and find species of a certain level of advancement they are considered "ripe for harvest" by the darkness. If they don't then the traveler uplifts the species to a level of advancement able to be harvested. That being the case, it is possible the enemies we face are pursuing the darkness to get at the traveler for being part of the plan. Kind of mass effect like in a sense. A different theory is its part of order vs chaos. Gives enough for a species to fight and if possible be formidable to stop the darkness or entropy (end of the universe). Another it's still a tool and part of some galactic game against two entities to see who will win the Galaxy.