Kain is upon a boat once again sailing to the Forbidden Island, but with clear skies this time. The ship sets anchor and Kain is rowed onto the beach. Though the landscape of the cave is the same, there are more islanders to fight, plus archers to attack. When he enters Dumuzi’s chambers, he stalks him in the shadows until Dumuzi speaks.
Dumuzi: “There’s no need for that, Kain. I know where you are.”
Kain: “Do you enjoy this, waiting in the darkness for your death?”
Dumuzi: (Laughs) “I assure you that today is not the end of me. I’ll know when that day comes. So did you find my advice helpful in your quest?”
Kain: “Indeed, I have. Care to tell me anything else before I slit your throat?”
Dumuzi: “Your anger is understandable, but misguided. Yes, I sent you to unknowingly open a doorway for the Elder God to step forward through, but it wasn’t to the False God’s benefit.”
Kain: “Please, elaborate.”
Dumuzi: “I knew that Gedaliah was the chosen vessel of the Wheel of Fate, and I also knew that he was not yet ceremonially prepared. That necromancer’s untimely death forced the Wheel of Fate to move too early, jeopardizing its power in the process. You experienced this when it could not defy the Soul Reaver’s power. In time the blade will succumb to the Elder God if you do not collect your army in due time.”
Kain: “Do you truly expect me to still follow your word? You have played me, and deserve to die upon my sword.”
Dumuzi: “I don’t doubt that, but lets focus upon the true enemy at hand. I know of a way to destroy the Wheel of Fate, but it will cost you dearly.”
Kain: “Give me this tool freely, or I will hack you to bits to obtain it!”
Dumuzi: “Kain, Kain, Kain. Everything comes with a sacrifice. But before I consent to give you this gift, you must do something for me. Something you will find rather difficult to do.”
Kain: “Oh? And what might that be?”
Dumuzi opens a portal between the two, showing the Avernus Abbey, then showing William the Great’s tomb.
Dumuzi: “On one of the occasions that you changed fate, you left with an incomplete form of the Soul Reaver. Later, Raziel threw himself upon the sword, thus completing his destiny. However, your young self still requires the Soul Reaver to complete his tasks.”
Kain: “You ask me to relinquish my sword, the only item that kept me from complete obliteration?”
Dumuzi: “Whether your pass it on now or later is irrelevant, but somehow the Soul Reaver will find itself replaced upon William. Fate has decreed it so, and you cannot change it anymore. I have an elegantly crafted plan in order to destroy the Wheel of Fate, but the Soul Reaver is an unknown element. With it gone, we are certain to succeed. Keep it by your side, and you might do so to your grave.”
Kain: “I am to once again trust your intuition?”
Dumuzi: “Think of it this way; this is a far too simple ploy for the Wheel of Fate to conjure.”
Kain: (Thinking) “Amazingly, he was absolutely right. Though I still felt that Dumuzi wasn’t worth trusting, his plan so far had been perfectly calculated, relying only upon my trust. This still wasn’t enough to convince me, and I steadily gripped the hilt of the Soul Reaver in preparation for combat. Suddenly, the sword began to illuminate, and I could feel it hearing to be placed upon poor William. Raziel was pleading to me from within his eternal prison to believe in Dumuzi. Very well, if Raziel was so willing to make such a sacrifice, the least I could do was grant him this last wish.”
Kain walks through the portal, which stays open, and stands before William’s tomb.
Kain: (Thinking) “My instincts told me to use this opportunity to defy the Elder God during a time Raziel was not yet imprisoned. I knew he was traveling this time period somewhere, and with the imbued Soul Reaver I could once again try to defy Fate. However, I knew what the outcome would be, and would always be. Raziel would forever choose to be my right hand, and no amount of debate would change his mind. I’d finally let him go and face my future with dignity.”
Kain places the Soul Reaver upon the grave.
Kain: “Goodbye, old friend.”
Kain traverses back through the portal to Dumuzi.
Dumuzi: “Believe it or not, Kain, you’ve taken your first step towards saving Nosgoth.”
Kain: (Annoyed) “You owe me a favor.”
Dumuzi: “I wouldn’t call it that, exactly.”
Dumuzi stands straight upon his throne/perch and pulls in lightning and misty ectoplasm between his wings. As the light grows, the cave shakes and Dumzi groans with pain. When it seems the cave will collapse, the collected energy is thrust at Kain’s chest. Kain writhes in complete agony as electricity crawls over his skin and ectoplasm covers his body. Eventually, Kain shifts into the Spectral Realm.
Kain: (Thinking) “When I regained my senses, I was overwhelmed with a sense of dread. The very air became stagnant with drowned death, and the ground below me a grave’s sinkhole. My body was a shadow of mortality, as if only my will alone kept me solidified. I knew what hell I occupied, as it was the same hell I doomed Raziel to. It was the Spectral Realm, and I was but a wraith.”
Dumuzi’s form is still present, but his face is illuminated and leaves his body while enlarging, circling Kain.
Dumuzi: “You now have the means to destroy our enemy.”
Kain: “Now that I am destroyed, how can I do anything?”
Dumuzi: (Laughs) “You are not dead yet. You soul has been set in limbo. Though you’ve lost most of your powers, there are so many more that you can now gain.”
Kain: “Am I to receive a similar fate as the Soul Reaver? Should I too learn to fear some ancient sword?”
Dumuzi: “No, not you. Your state has its similarities and its differences to your past friend. Though you will never be imprisoned in a blade, you’ll also never truly wield free will. That was a commodity destined for only one.”
Kain: (Thinking) “I felt slightly relieved.” (Aloud) “Indeed. Since you are not truly deceased, you do not need a vessel to return to the Material Realm, just enough energy. Since you are not truly alive, you will need to sustain yourself on not only blood but spiritual essence as well. Over time you will gradually lose your reserves and must return to the Spectral Realm to feed. Unfortunately, this will be your same reserves to fuel your magical abilities. Blood can only sustain your flesh, but don’t ignore your hunger. If you receive too much damage, you’ll turn completely into a wraith, naturally.”
Kain: “Anything else?”
Dumuzi: “I’ll advise you as you travel. I can continue our communication within the Spectral Realm no matter your location. For now, travel to the Drowned Abbey and recruit the Cornels Jehoram and Amon of Rahab.”
Kain: “Am I to travel like this?”
Dumuzi: “Of course not. You’ll find enough lost spirits to feed upon your departure.”
Kain turns to leave.
Dumuzi: “Remember, if your Cornel’s warrant destruction, consume their souls quickly afterwards. If not, the Wheel of Fate will surely feast upon them and grow stronger, as it did when Raziel conquered your Generals.”
Kain: (Thinking) “There was no pleasure in this gain. No true reward for this victory. I’d handed over my dignity all to easily, and for what? A chance to return Nosgoth to its former beauty? I suppose it was fair that I had become as decrepit as my empire. It shames me to know that my General’s deaths fed the False God. Did that mean I would feed Dumuzi’s belly for every Cornel I consumed? Perhaps. It would be my motivation to turn as many as possible to my war banner, for I did not wish to fatten Dumuzi too much. I’d still have to slaughter my benevolent benefactor after this was finished.”
The differences in the cave are not much, but they are formed to help the player adjust to Kain’s new abilities. For one, Kain’s ‘glide’ ability in the Spectral Realm lasts farther. This will be essential to leave, as cracks in the cave floor have widened massively. The other is the ability to consume the energy of beaten spirits. There will be normal wraiths as well as Sluagh to attack. Once enough has been consumed, Kain’s Essence will be full and glowing. Shifting is visually similar to past games. When Kain reaches the mouth of the cave, the ship is there waiting for him.
