Back to Present Day Nosgoth

Kain VO
With William the Just dead, Moebius’ plans have been thwarted.  His pawn was removed from the game.

Exiting the now-ruined stronghold:

Kain VO
I found myself once more in the Nosgoth I knew.  The carnage from battle was gone.  Yet there was something amiss.  From the distance, I heard cries and a breeze from the south carried with it the faint odor of vampire blood.

Discovering the large statue of William the Just, also ruined:

Kain VO
‘Twould seem the folly fell upon my own shoulders.  With their sainted King William dead by my hand, the people of the land were consumed by a hunger all their own - for vampire blood.

Leaving Stahlberg:

Kain VO
As I wandered about more, the shrieking and cheering became more apparent and defined.  There was some sort of gathering to the south; for with each cheer I smelled an outpour of blood.

Encountering the vampire hunters:

Kain VO
I make no pretense to justify my killing.  Yet these vampire hunters would cloak their bloodlust beneath a veil of righteousness.  Hypocrites!  They would make themselves judge and jury.  Very well, then.  Let us see how they take to my role as executioner.

On a bright grassy knoll, a crowd has gathered to witness the death of the last of vampire kind.  The proceedings take place on a raise scaffold, so all eyes can witness this momentous event.  Vorador looks up from the guillotine once. 
The crowd cheers as Vorador’s head is lopped off, and held high by the executioner.

Executioner
We are free of this unholy scourge!

Moebius
Not yet, my friend.  Would you be free of a plague if only one city was cleansed?
 

Crowd (cheering) No!  No! Moebius Would you spare one wolf in the pack that has devastated your herd? Crowd No! Moebius Then let us destroy them all! Crowd Yeesss!

Moebius
He is the last!

Moebius points at Kain.

Moebius
Destroy him!
  

Kain VO
I had been betrayed.  In my haste, I had not realized it before.  That sigil on his forehead.  The Oracle of Nosgoth was in fact the Time Streamer Moebius.  And I had followed his advice!

How much of my quest was of his design?  Willendorf?  The Battle of the Last Stand?  William the Just?  Was this the trap he had fashioned for me?

Moebius taunts Kain:

Moebius
The people will not rest until Nosgoth is purged of your kind.

We will send you back to the grave whence you came, vampire!

I have seen the future, Kain.  You are not in it!

Let us call upon the puppets from the past!

From the present!

And from ages yet to come . . .

Kain defeats Moebius in combat:
 

Kain Ironic.  By going back in time, and altering the past, you turned William the Just into the Nemesis. Moebius lies on the ground, cowering. Moebius (croaking and wincing, filled with hate and madness) Aye - you have seen my plan, vampire, as I have seen your destiny.  The future says you die! Kain But I am dead . . . Kain beheads Moebius. Kain As are you!

Moebius' Hourglass I knew that Moebius’ hourglass was the focus of his Time Streaming magic.  Farewell, sorcerer, the sands of time have ceased to flow for you.

The Hourglass of Moebius allowed him to sift through the sands of time, giving him dominion over past and future.

Mortanius
Well done, Kain.  Ah, Moebius did so love playing the trickster’s part.  His guise as the Oracle served his schemes well.  Pity with all his plots he failed to plan for you.

Come to me, my undead son.  Make haste to the Pillars; the stage is set for the grand finale.  You will have your vengeance.

As Kain returns to the Pillars, he discovers Mortanius and Anarcrothe arguing.  It is night and the moon illuminates the scene.  He hides behind a Pillar to listen.

Anarcrothe You betrayed us Mortanius!  You had Kain killed and turned him into a monster!  You set him upon us! Mortanius It had to be.  Nupraptor’s insanity poisoned all of our minds.  The Circle had failed in its sworn duties.  It had to be destroyed. Anarcrothe (madly, frantically and somewhat confused) Failed our duties?  Idiot!  The Circle exists for us, we don’t exist for it!  Our powers will save or damn Nosgoth at our whim!  Stand with us, Mortanius, or die!

Mortanius
Then I shall die!

A magical battle ensues, with Mortanius the victor.  Anarcrothe lies on the ground with a broken spine, dying, gurgling his death rattle.  Kain reveals himself.

Kain
If the Circle is to be destroyed, you have to die as well, Necromancer.  I admire your cunning, but you will not escape your fate.

Mortanius
Nay, I will embrace it.  But my death will leave one more to take, princeling.  Finish me!

Kain and Mortanius battle. 

There is a cracking sound, as the dark entity crushes Mortanius’ mind and psyche.  His form is slowly twisted into that of a huge demon.   

The Unspoken
(in what’s left of Mortanius’ body)
You thought yourself a king when in fact you were a pawn!  You have served me well, Kain.
(evil laughter)
 

Kain (shouting/growling defiantly) I serve no one! The Unspoken (with sarcasm and malignancy) Indeed.  Such narrow vision.  Don’t you see?  My silencing of Ariel, and its calculated repercussions, is but the first act in my theatre of Grand Guignol.  Of which you are the tragic ”hero.” Play on, little vampire, play on . . . Angered, Kain screams as he attacks. Kain Vae Victus!

Anarcrothe’s magic was contained within the metal of the scales, and would eventually be released back into the pillar from whence it came. The scales of Anarcrothe I lay before the Pillar of States.		Anarcrothe's Scales The scales of Anarcrothe, used to measure out unholy substances in alchemy.
The Death Orb of Mortanius had given the Necromancer dominion over the grave.  I had thought him the last of the Circle.  And yet, he spoke of another. Before the Pillar of Death, I laid the Orb of Mortanius.		Mortanius' Death Orb As I touched its surface, calm filled me.  Gone was the hunger, the rage that would entice, and only the sweet dark serenity of death remained.

Kain defeats the Dark Entity, and stands at the juncture of the Pillars.  Ariel appears.  Nosgoth has almost been restored to its former glory. Only the Pillar of Balance remains corrupted. Kain VO I am the last Pillar.  The only survivor of the Circle of Nine.  At my whim the world will be healed or damned.  At my whim.