This chapter begins with showing exactly what is happening as Kain talks about them.

Kain: (Thinking) “After keeping the Zephonhim protected, we traveled to a location uphill from the Skinner’s Necropolis, allowing a perfect view of the battlefield below.  The Rahabhim have diverted many of their rivers through the area, making a flood sufficient for them to move through.  The Dumahim had been on a rampage, destroying all nearby villages to cut off the Melchahim from human aid.  The Razielhim’s whereabouts remained unkown to me until the night before the attack, leaving me to suspect my Cornels of disobeying orders for awhile.  The Razielhim had been spying puon my foe since their arrival, bu could only report that the Melchahim were preparing underground.  I ordered the formation of my own army; the Rahabhim were to protect the bridges over their diverted rivers, the Razielhim were to remain in the air and quickly kill any unsurmountable obstacles, the Dumahim were cannon fodder and given no true direction, and the Zephonhim would serve as an orderly second wave after the Dumahim dispersed.  All of my Cornel’s predicted this to be an overwhelming victory, since four clans agains one should have proven no contest.  I warned them of Gedaliah’s potential for destruction, but I did not tell them of the false Elder God.  It would be best for them to experience the truth rather than scare them with stories.”

            There is a bird’s eye view of the battlefield at dawn.  Dumahim and Zephonhim on the slant of the mountain, Rahabhim and Razielhim protecting the paths upon the battlefield, and Melchahim guarding their master’s volcanic fortress in the distance.  Kain stands ready by Yofiel, peering relentlessly towards his opponent.  E. Gedaliah is floatin gin the spectral twister he created for himself, staring back at Kain.  The Melchahim forces are numerous, but not more than Kain’s army.  There are normal Melchahim, Zombies, upper-level Melchahim, and a few humans locked in chages and carried upon wooden beams.

E. Gedaliah: “You dare to oppose me?  A god unveiled to you in the flesh?  You are as unworthy as your master, prepared to die for a lost cause!  It is no matter, for I will consider youy all to be my sacrifices, my welcoming to power.  Behold my true army and know how doomed you all are!”

            E. Gedaliah holds his arms forwards and the spectral winds surrounding him flow out into his army.  It swarms towards the caged humans, filling them with his power.  They begin to transform, breaking their cages as they do, into the same horrid beasts found in Soul Reaver 2.  The creatures howl and scream, ready for the taste of blood.  The Dumahim become confused, shifting back and forth.  Sariel sees this and is about to yell at them, but Kain grabs his arm.

Kain: “No.  These are my soldiers, and only I will give the command to attack.”

            He stretches ab it, cracks his neck, and swings his sword before him.  Then he holds it into the air and yells.

Kain: “Vae Victus!”

            He runs down the mountain side, and his army shres his bravery as they follow.  E. Gedaliah gives his command as well.

E. Gedaliah: “Go forth and serve your god!”

            The two armies rush at each other, and the gameplay begins as they collide.

            As with the battle against Pashur’s forces, there will be a box in the upper-left hand corner of the screen, giving everyone’s position; centered blue for Kain, green for his army, red for the Melchahim, and yellow for the demons.  There will also be two purple dots representing Razielhim flying above, and orange dots for Rahabhim around the bridges.  This might get confusing, so an enlarged, paused version of the map wil be available in the ‘Kain Menu’.  Simply put, kill al lthe enemy dots before they kill yours.  Obviously the battle around Kain will not be the entire battle, as none of the Cornels will be present.  Kain will start off with thirty Dumahim, ten Zephonhim, two Razielhim, and four Rahabhim will for each bridge he encounters.  The player must slaughter the enemy forces and move on bfore the Player loses all of Kain’s soldiers.  If too much has been lost, then the Player can go back to the beginning and regain Kain’s numbers through reinforcements. 
The best way to win is have Kain kill off all the demons, then go back and kill the Melchahim.  Once an area is secure, the Player can move forward.  Secured areas will remain slightly so if returned to quickly.  Eventually, there will be a point of no return.  Halfway through, one of the bridges will fall, and the Player will have to wait until four more Rahabhim come to fix it.  Kain will have to use ‘Mind Blast’ to kill the archers aiming at the Rahabhim, trying to prevent their work.  In the Spectral Realm, the wraiths of the vampires will be continuing the battle, with the demons actively seeking Kain out.  The map will not be available in the Spectral Realm.
When the Player reaches the hollowed-out mountain glowing with spectral energies, Namste will swoop down from the skies and grab Kain by the armpits.

Namste: “This way is faster.”

            Here, the Player will not only dodge burning arrows and spectral explosions, but also have to hit Melchahim jumping out at Kain bfore they can land a blow.  The damage taken will all go to Namste, who is not nearly as strong as Kain.  Once they reach the top and see E. Gedaliah, Binah continues to go higher.

Kain: “Fool!  He is in front of us!”

Namste: “The winds are changing.  We have to dive towards him.”

            After they reach the clouds, Namste dives and the Player must avoid hitting E. Gedaliah’s spectral energy missiles that slightly turn towards Kain as he passes.  When they’re close, a Melchahim manages to shoot an arrow through Namste’s skull, who in turn drops Kain towards his target.  Kain will grab E. Gedaliah upon contact and use him as a shield for when they land.  E. Gedaliah laughs the entire way down.  After they land and the dust has a chance to settle, Kain stands up to see his foe paitiently waiting for him.

E. Gedaliah: “Was all this truly necessary?  You cannot defeat me by any means, Kain.  Why did you sacrifice so many of your lineage to reach me once more?”

            At this point, there are images of two of Kain’s Cornels bin the battle field.  Jehoram is protecting a bridge, telekinetically shooting water, when a Melchahim manages to jupm hin his back and shove a spear through his heart.  Jehoram grabs hold of the spear, watching his blood spill out before being pulled upon land.  Amon swims to him through the river, but upper-level Melchahim catch Amon in a net, pulling him on land.  They surround Amon very quickly and with axes in hand.  Yofiel is among a large group of Zephonhim battling Melchahim on all sides.  Rashnu dives to decapitate a demon, but is then caught by a mob of demons who in turn decapitate him, holding his head up by the horns as they yell.  Sariel is holding his own quite well as he swings his sword/staff left and right, then turns around to meet five demons all preparing to rush him.

Kain: “You must be annihilated at any cost!”

E. Gedaliah: “You no longer carry the Soul Reaver.  Dumuzi tricked you into releasing your only protection against me, trading strength for a weakness.  I realize how much you despise me, but it does not matter.  I am forever!  The hub upon the Wheel of Fate!  You are mrely a slight hinderance to my arrival to this world.  Now, know my power, and finally perish!”

            E. Gedaliah slightly floats above the ground with tentacles shifting back and forth between the Material and Spectral Realms.  He attacks in the same manner as the original Gedaliah had, but much stronger and faster.  He still projects the same homing missile spirits, but now he summons demons to fight Kain after each time he’s hit.  The mest manner to fight E. Gedaliah is heavily relying upon ‘Wolfbane’ in combination with ‘Berserker’.  In the Spectral Realm, the tentacles and one large eye can be seen, but not harmed.  However, they can harm Kain, and there are a lot of strong wraiths to attack along with E. Gedaliah.
After E. Gedaliah is drained of energy, he screams out with rage as he kneels down in pain.

Kain: “It seems you are not as divine as you believed yourself to be.  Brought down to your knees by a lowly vampire?  How humiliating.”

            E. Gedaliah then rises as spectral energies ripple through his form.  The tentacles stop shifting and remain in the Material Realm, as does the great eye upon his chest.

            In the battlefield, some of the demons scream in pain as their energy suddenly leaves them, killing them in the process.  Suriel’s blade flows through their disappearing forms, leaving Melchahim to stand in confusion.  Seariel simles and releases a force blast from his hand throwing them back for a distance.  Elsewhere, before the Melchahim axe down Amon, a herd of Zephonhim swarms them as Yofiel follows closely behind.

E. Gedaliah: “I am a god!  Nothing mortal can defeat me, EVER!”

            E. Gedaliah then raises a spherical shield around himself, keeping Kain from striking while allowing his tentacles to strike Kain.  The Player will not be able to break this shiend in the Material Realm, but must shift into the Spectral Realm to use the Executioner’s Blade.  E. Gedaliah is not present at all, but those powerful and dangerous wraiths are.  After piercing the shield, the Player must shift back into the Material Realm.  E. Gedaliah cannot be hit until all eight of his tentacles are knocked out, and the fastest way to do this is to use ‘Lightning Strike’ to hit them all at once, then attack E. Gedaliah while his defenses are down.  E. Gedaliah will eventually expel Kain outside of the shield, regain control of his tentacles, and summon forth two demons.  After E. Gegaliah loses his second bar of life, there is a massive spectral energy vacume around him, causing all the demons to disappear from the battlefield.  This shifts the battle completely over to Kains’ favor has his army swarms the hill.  E. Gedaliah then turns into a huge floating sphere of eyes and tentacles with a silhouette of his physical body glowing from within.

Elder God: “Insolent blasphemer!  I wll never be brought down by such a lowly creature!  You’ve only merited an eternity of pain!  I will rip your soul from its body and slowly drive it mad till you beg me for the blessing of oblivion!  I am a divinity of time and power, and no one will ever defy me again!”

            A few rocks fall behind Kain and the wind picks up drastically, then Dumuzi lands upon the ground only a few feet behind him.

Dumuzi:  “Humility was never one of your qualities, Nakika.”

Elder God: “Have you finally courage to defy me and die?  Are you no longer satisfied with hiding in a mountain, forgotten and unworshiped?”

Kain: (Thinking) “Though I was responsible for the false Elder God’s untimely transformation, I felt helpless between these two ‘higher’ beings.  It was similar to being a lowly sailor watching two storms moving overhead, destinted to confront one another.  Had they been any other, I would have acted cowardly and remove myself from the eye of the hurricain soon to be.”

Dumuzi: “I am no god.  I am not immortal.  The only future I can hope for is a good ending.  Aiding your downfall would be just that.”

Elder God:  “So be it.  However, I will not simply allow Kain to escape during our conflict.  I have my own champion to combat him; a warrior Kain is already quite familiar with.  I call upon my Reaver of Souls to finally fulfill his destiny.”

            The ground glows with a light blue, slowly allowing Raziel to materialize (without a spectral blade).

Kain: (Thinking) “I could not allow myself to think it possible.  My greatest General had returned from his prison, reappearing before me like a ghost of the past.”

Kain: “Raziel?  It cannot be!  He was sacrificed to bhe blade of the Soul Reaver!”

Elder God: “Yes, Kain.  Within my shrine, Raziel allowed himself to be trapped within the blade.  However, the Spectral Blade upon his arm could not be reconsumed into its past prison.  Instead, it was expelled, allowing me to collect my slave as I retreated from your attack.  Millenia of torture has reminded him of whom is master is.  You’ll find him to be more loyal to me than ever before!”

Dumuzi: “Finished?  I care not to wait for you to explain everything to him.  Let’s end this.”

Elder God: “As you wish.”

            The two fly up into the air, beginning their battle and shaking Nosgoth to the core.

Raziel: “Kain?  Is it really you this time, or another illusion?”

Kain: “No illusion, Raziel.  It is I.”

Raziel: “That’s what they others said.  That’s what the others looked like.  You can’t be real!  Nothing is anymore!”

Kain: “What has that parasite done to you?”

Raziel: “Parasite!  That is my word.  No, no parasite.  My god.”

Kain: “Can you be so deluded that you cannot see the truth anymore?  Will yourself to sanity!”

Raziel: “Free will?  It is an illusion too.  Nothing can be done what fate has deemed to be true.  It is inevitable that we will die together this time.”

Kain: (Thinking) “For a moment, I had a curious impulse.  I wanted to let him finish me.  All these years, Raziel was in the grasp of the false Elder God.  His sacrifice meant nothing for himself.  But Raziel was not me.  I was still free of deception, healed by Raziel’s passing.  It was the reason why he left me.  Though he had lost his mind, I would not waste the gift he sacrificed everything to give me.”

            Raziel attacks with his claws and moves incredibly fast rather than blocking, uppercutting as he does so.  He also projects ‘Mind Blast’, forcing Kain against the wall and then rushing at him.  He will not have a life bar and will follow Kain into the Spectral Realm.  The Player will have to survive long enough in the Material Realm to last out the battle above, dodging huge avalanches of boulders.  After awhile, the attention goes to the fight above.  Dumuzi manages to harm the Elder God by clawing, biting, and projecting red beams, but the Elder God damages him in return by constricting him with its tentacles and electrification by spectral energies.  Dumuzi’s chest then glows a bright red, filling the sky with its color.  The Elder God tries to flee, but Dumuzi’s grabs a hold of it with his talons and jaw.  Eventually, there is an explosion, and the two demi-gods fall down back towards Kain and Raziel, who rush for cover.  The Elder God is forced out of its mortal shell and shifts into the Spectral Realm, crawling down a cavern in a mass of energy, eyes, and tentacles.

Elder God: “Guard my escape, Raziel!”

            Kain shoves of debris and shifts to the Material Realm, finding Dumuzi lying down with a giant hole in his chest, barely moving.

Kain: “Do you live, Dumuzi?”

            Kain looks for Raziel, but does not see him.

Dumuzi: “Barely.  Funny, I did not expect dying to be so comforting.”

Kain: “Do not move.  We will destroy the false Elder God another day.”

Dumuzi: “No, not on any other day but today.  You will kill him without me.  I’ve seen the future, and this the way fate has deemed itself to be.”

Kain: “Fate is nothing!  Ignore it and live!”

Dumuzi: “Fate is everything, and it favors us this time.  If you continue, then we will finally win.  Do not waste this moment, Kain.  Rise to it.”

Kain: “How am I to defeat him?”

Dumuzi: (Chuckles) “Thrust your sword into me, and I will pour the last of my power into it.  You’ll wield a weapon capable of trapping a single, powerful entity within it.”

Kain: “So Vorador’s Sword is to become the false Elder God’s prison?”

Dumuzi: “Not his.”

Kain: “Raziel’s?  No, I cannot do that to him again!”

Dumuzi: “To be fair, you didn’t.  Raziel made that move for you.  You and he have damaged the timeline so often that it has taken this long to correct itself.  Raziel was meant to become your weapon against the Elder God.  Now, run me through, and let my soul know rest.”

Kain: “What will happen to me after I deal the killing blow to our nemesis?”

Dumuzi: (Chuckles) “Must you ask?”

Kain: (Thinking) “I was not willing to accept that possibility.  I had lived longer than some civilizations and witnessed the dawning of others.  Nosgoth’s surface had changed for the better and worse, yet I remained mostly the same.  However, Dumuzi, a being so old that no mortal even remembers of his existence, was willing to finally let go.  It gave me something to dwell upon.”

            Kain stabs Dumuzi in the head, and a red mist flows from Dumuzi’s body and into the sword.  When it is finished, Kain holds the glowing sword in the air, shifting into the Spectral Plane as he does so.  Raziel is waiting for him, guarding the Elder God’s escape tunnel.

Raziel: “You returned?”

Kain: “Yes, I have.”

Raziel: “Ready to die like all the other phantoms?”

            Kain does not reply, but runs for an attack.  Raziel’s attacks are the same from before, but he now has a life bar.  After it is empty, Kain runs the blade into Raziel’s chest.

Raziel: “Again?  No, let me free!”

Kain: “I am sorry, old friend.”

Raziel’s spirit flows into the sword, changing its red glow into a green one.  The Player then must go down the tunnel.  As he falls, the Player can choose to float down in order to see the art upon the tunnel walls.  It reveals the story of a single man defying death over and over again, revealing his parasitic nature slowly over time, until he became a mass of eyes and tentacles.

Kain: (Thinking) “The story that followed as I went deeper and deeper unnerved me.  This was obviously the rise of the false Elder God.  Mortal at first, then transformed by his greed and pride.  The similarities of my own story to this one was not lost on me.  Would this become my fate was well if I continued to defy death?  Was Dumuzi simply further along the same path I was upon?  If so, then his end meant much more than I had realized.  For the firs ttime since my mortal days, I actually considered the possibility of dying in battle.”

            He lands in a huge room where the Eldger God remains floating in the air.

Elder God: “Will I ever be rid of you?”

Kain: “Apparently not, Nakika.  Tell me, was that your mortal name?”

Elder God: “One of them.  That name is no more, as I am mortal no longer.  I am eternal.  I am the hub on the Wheel of Fate!  I am…”

Kain: “Silence, please!  There’s no one else here, but you and I.  If you cannot trouble yourself with being honest, then be silent.  Your lies no longer have purpose.”

Elder God: “You now have a new Soul Reaver.  I expect that shall be your weapon of choice.  Did it trouble you to imprison your favorite General again?”

Kain: “Yes, and I will not make my decision a waste.”

Elder God: “Kain, you have the potential to become a god yourself.  Your story so far is similar to my early beginning.  If you defy me, it will never happen.”

Kain: “Godhood is usettling to me.”

            The Elder God will have seven large eyes with a total of three to five tentacles surrounding each.  This end boos is very similar to the Eldger God at the end of LOK: Defiance.  The differences are still numerous; there are multiple eyes to destroy, spectral misiles to block, and demons running around on the bottom floor.  In order to attack all but the bottom eye, Kain must leap upon ledges that are only revealed after the Eldger God loses an eye and crashes against the walls, in turn destroying the last ledge.  The final eye is on top, forcing the Kain to jump on a ledge and then ‘Transporting’ on top of the Elder God.  Thre, the Player must fend off the tentacles and doge spectrail missiles all at a 360 degrees while finding time to destroy the final eye.  After this is done, the Eldger God consumes itself into a single, shining white light.

Elder God: “Kain, you will die if you strike me!  The energy within me will explode, completely obliterating the entire mountain!”

Kain: (Thinking) “I knew the false Elder God was right.  Dumuzi hinted that the end of the Elder God would be the end of me.  Perhaps it wouldn’t mbe.  I had survived for this long.  Why not longer?  Then I realized that survival no longer mattered to me.  Anyone I held dear to me was dead, my empire was filled with unworthy fools, and there was nothing left in Nosgoth worth conquering.  There was nothing left for me.  I hoped that whatever happened, at least I’d have my victory.”

Kain: “Vae Victus!”

            He swipes his sword at the light, and then all goes quiet.

            The victorious army outside themountain looks up at the sky, now filled with white light.  Everyone is blinded for a moment, and Kain’s famous words are heard around the world.  The mountain implodes and sends a power shockwave along with debris.  Then the light dissipates, leaving the unusually barren land filled with an abundance of light.

            Yofiel, Sariel, and Amon are alongside one another, watching the mountain in astonishment.

Sariel: “He is gone. I never thought it possible, but I can tell he is no longer with us.”

Yofiel: “The war is won.  What will we do now without our emperor?”

Amon: “We live beyond him.”

Kain: (Thinking) “And now my legacy has finished.  I leave Nosgoth to whoever deserves it.  To that future conquerer, I advise them not to live forever.  The soul was not beant to be bound to such a meaningless spoil of war.”

 

Epilogue

Deep within a hell long forgotten, the light from the Elder God’s passing is very visible.  Beyond dozens of ebony factories and tempes hiddin in the ruby fumes of an inhospitable atmosphere, the Hylden look up and cheer.  In the lower regions past the barred windows of a mechanized prison, Janos Audron is bound in metal chains.  When he sees the light, he stands up and pulls upon his shackes with a roar until they break.