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Chapter Thirteen - Kain - Avernus Catacombs

Dark Chronicle - Kain Awakes In The Demon Realm

Kain is lying on his back in an unknown place (actually Turel's Pit, but in the demon dimension). He opens his eyes, and his body lurches up violently as he suddenly regains full consciousness. He sits up, gasping and holding his hand to his chest. Slowly he removes it.

Kain V.O.:
I awoke to find myself in a shadowy realm. A disquieting stillness lay where my heart had been - the heart that had belonged to Janos Audron all along. How was it possible that I still lived?

The Reaver is on the ground beside him. As he draws it closer, and uses it as a prop to stand, Hylden voices speak to him. He cannot see them.

Hylden:
You are still fair of form, vampire.
   and That will go first.
   and This realm will render you hideous...
   and You will go mad, and will not know it.

Kain:
What is this place?

Hylden:
Do you not think of this place every day, vampire?
   and Or are we truly forgotten.
   and We were forgotten.
   and This is the exile into which we were driven -
   and But soon now, soon we will be free.
   and We will be free.

Kain whirls as a pair of Lightning demons drop down behind him.

Avernus Catacombs

Kain exits the portal from the demon realm. He is still in Turel's pit, but now in Nosgoth's 'normal' Material Realm.

Kain V.O.:
I felt strongly drawn - compelled, even - not to linger here, but to go to the Vampire Citadel, at once.

The Vampire Citadel

Kain arrives back at the Vampire Citadel, and views the destroyed Pillars from the council chamber.

Kain V.O.:
I knew what ominous hour this was in Nosgoth's history. For here was the event that had shaped my entire existence... I had cast my fate, refusing the sacrifice, damning the Pillars, and founding my doomed empire upon their ruins. I would raise the Sarafan priests to be my closest Lieutenants, and would one day cast the strongest of them, my servant Raziel, into the Abyss - dealing one last hand to play against Fate. But in the end, had it made any difference? Had I misread the signs, as Moebius told me? In my arrogance, had I missed my cast at destiny?

Dark Chronicle - Vengeance And Sacrifice

Kain peers down into the silent Spirit Forge, smiles as he spots Moebius, and floats down. Moebius is speaking to the Elder God, although he cannot see it, and he unaware of Kain landing behind him.

Moebius:
...the Hylden are merely an inconvenient consequence. They will be dealt with in time.

Kain quietly draws the Blood Reaver.

Moebius:
It's a small price to pay for Kain's death.

Kain:
You're a bit premature.

Moebius whirls, aghast.

Moebius:
Kain!?

Kain:
Is there a crack in your omniscience after all, Moebius?

Moebius repeatedly activates his staff, with no effect.

Kain: (amused)
First your omniscience, and now your powers. You're slipping badly.

Moebius:
This is not possible...

Kain strikes the staff from Moebius's hand and seizes him by the arm. He holds Moebius's palm against the hole in his chest.

Kain:
The part of me that staff affected is no longer in its place. But you already knew that, didn't you.

Kain pushes Moebius away roughly.

Kain:
I always was considered heartless. And now, Moebius, it is time.

Moebius:
To kill me? Again? Your only solution, for every problem: kill.

Kain:
This is not a debate. You see, this time, you have nothing that I want.

Kain seizes Moebius again, this time impaling him on the Reaver.

Moebius: (struggling to speak)
You think this will matter? I serve One who has power over life and death.

Kain:
Then go to him.

Kain pushes Moebius off the blade. The Time Streamer falls, and lies dying on the floor.

Moebius: (dying)
I am his obedient... his devoted servant... Soon, all pain will fade, and my master will bring me life once more.

Moebius dies. We hear the familiar shift sound and Moebius's spirit appears in the Underworld. He slowly pulls himself free of his body and rises, unaware that Raziel is standing behind him.

Moebius:
Master, my apologies, a momentary oversight. Somehow Kain still lives, and has unexpectedly dispatched me. Make use of your good servant, and -

Moebius screams as Raziel lunges forward, impaling him on the wraith-blade.

Raziel:
Go to your master, then. I release you to the Wheel.

The Elder God's true form is revealed to Moebius for the first time. The Time Streamer is horrified.

Moebius:
Ohh... God - no...

Raziel:
Do you see it now? The monster that you served? Is this what you imagined when you worshipped it?

Moebius:
No...

Raziel: (contemptuously)
And in that knowledge, go - and feed it. I release you.

Raziel shoves Moebius off the wraith-blade and opens his cowl, consuming him.

Elder God: (chuckling)
Your petty actions are irrelevant, Raziel. Moebius was a good servant, but he was of no further use. His long life had run its course. You see? - even when you rebel, you are doing my will.

Raziel:
Perhaps, but something has changed, hasn't it? You didn't foresee Kain's return.

Elder God:
You have both traced your paths along the Wheel - this is where the journey ends.

Raziel:
You haven't the means to kill either one of us.

Elder God:
Ah, but you can be stopped.

The room shakes.

Elder God:
And you will come to understand how oblivion can be a mercy. You and Kain will spend eternity buried here together, praying for the merciful release of a death that will never come.

The room shakes again, and Raziel falls to hands and knees, facing the Scion of Balance and champion murals; all three have been knocked down from the upper level, and now rest at the bottom of the forge.

Raziel V.O.:
But I was armed with newfound knowledge, and it burned within me...

Raziel starts to piece together what other people have told him.

Janos V.O.:
...redeemer and destroyer...

Raziel V.O.:
Moebius had never seen his master until the Soul Reaver purified his sight. Even the ancient Vampires had no idea what it was they so righteously worshipped.

Ariel V.O.:
...you must unite what has been set asunder...

Raziel V.O.:
All the conflict and the strife throughout history, all the fear and hatred, served but one purpose - to keep my master's Wheel turning. All souls were prisoners, trapped in the pointless round of existence, leading distracted, blunted lives until death returned them - always in ignorance - to the Wheel.

Kain V.O.:
...the coin is still turning...

Raziel V.O.:
But what hope had there been? One cannot fight the unseen.

Ariel V.O.:
...only then will the Scion of Balance be armed for his true endeavor...

Elder God:
Despair, Raziel. There is no escape.

Raziel V.O.:
It was then I knew what I had to do. I alone could end this.

In the Material Realm, Kain examines Moebius's staff, unaware of Raziel using Moebius's body to manifest behind him.

Moebius/Raziel:
Kain...

Kain turns - and seeing only Moebius - reacts, again impaling Moebius on the Blood Reaver.

Kain:
Do you so enjoy death -

'Moebius' becomes Raziel as Raziel manifests fully.

Moebius/Raziel:
Yes...

Kain:
Raziel!? No -

Horrified, Kain tries to pull out the sword. Raziel grabs Kain's wrist, preventing him from withdrawing the blade.

Raziel:
Yes - this is how...

Kain:
No. Raziel!

Raziel: (struggling to speak)
The Soul Reaver - pure of all corruption - this is what it is for. This is what I am for -

Raziel lays his right hand on Kain's chest wound, the wraith Reaver manifesting.

Raziel: (struggling to speak)
The two become one - both Soul Reavers - together - and the Scion of Balance is healed. And I - am not your enemy - not your destroyer - I am, as before, your right hand. Your sword.

Raziel slumps, nearly drained.

Kain:
No, Raziel - this can't be the way...

Raziel: (hoarsely)
And now you will see - the true enemy -

Raziel's physical form fades leaving Kain's Reaver aglow with its new endowment. It is now the Soul Reaver.

Kain: (sadly)
Raziel -

As Kain pulls the Soul Reaver from the wall and turns, the Elder God becomes visible to him.

Kain V.O.:
And it was then - I saw.

Elder God:
So... I am revealed to you at last.

Kain:
What in the hell...

Elder God:
I am the origin of Life... the devourer of Death. I am the hub of the Wheel, the purifying cycle to which all souls must be drawn.

Kain V.O.:
Had I condemned Raziel to this nightmare when I cast him into the Abyss?

The room shakes.

Elder God:
You may ponder the futility of your ambitions as you spend a deathless eternity beneath a mountain of rubble. You and your Soul Reaver will go equally mad as the eons pass. The Citadel of the apostates will become your living tomb.

Kain raises the Soul Reaver as one of the Elder God's tentacles advances.

Kain:
Your words are heartening -

Kain severs the tentacle.

Kain:
For you would not fear us unless we could truly do you harm.

The Elder God sends forth more tentacles.

Elder God: (enraged)
No! You are nothing!

Kain severs the tentacles, punctuating his words with swings of the Reaver.

Kain:
False God - this is the end - the final turn of your Wheel.

The Elder God

Kain fights with the Elder God. During the battle, the Elder utters a variety of insults and expressions of disbelief. In alphabetical order:

Elder God:
Enough!
   or Feed the Wheel!
   or I have endured your game long enough!
   or I will bury you.
   or I will crush you, vampire!
   or No!
   or Noooo! This cannot be!
   or Pathetic creature!
   or Surrender, Kain.
   or Submit to my will...
   or That almost hurt.
   or This cannot be!
   or This defiance is pointless.
   or This is futile.
   or You cannot defeat me.
   or You will never break from the wheel of fate.
   or You will never defeat me, Kain!
   or You will never escape!
   or Your broken body will be buried here for all eternity.
   or Your sacrifice has been made in vain, Raziel.

The Fall Of The Ancient God

Kain, having temporarily defeated the Elder God, teleports to the upper level of the Spirit forge as the room crumbles.

Elder God:
You cannot destroy me, Kain - I am the Engine of Life itself. The Wheel will turn... The plague of your kind will be purged from this world...

Kain turns away in disgust and begins walking to the exit.

Elder God:
And on that inevitable day, your wretched, stagnant soul will finally be mine.

Kain pauses and turns back, menacingly.

Kain:
In the meantime, you'd best burrow deep.

Epilogue

Kain returns to the council chamber of the Vampire Citadel. He walks over to the break in the wall, contemplating the Soul Reaver in his hands, and looking at the ruined Pillars.

Kain V.O.:
Now, at last, the masks had fallen away. The strings of the puppets had become visible, and the hands of the prime mover exposed. Most ironic of all was the last gift that Raziel had given me: More powerful than the sword that now held his soul, more acute even than the vision his sacrifice had accorded me. The first, bitter taste of that terrible illusion -
Hope.